Everyone awake from the all-star snoozefest?

Happy Family Day!

Everyone going to sit around and remember the great tradition of the day while hugging one another? Or sit around a bit bored because there’s nothing to do?

Me? I’m going to coast, which is a welcome prospect; no media with the lads today, nothing but a radio gig at 5 p.m. so I can sit around and dream up trade rumours that’ll get me through Thursday.

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Okay, I’ll vote that as the single most uninspired all-star weekend I can remember.

I’m not sure what the tall foreheads in New York will do when they debrief over it but the Saturday night stuff was horribly dull. The dunk contest finalists seemed fixed to me and I think the judging panel could have been, um, better.

The three-point contest went to overtime and that’s okay but there was no sense of personality and that’s what you need most in those things, someone with a sense of humor and a microphone.

Don’t get me started on the old guy, young guy, WNBA star thing; its due date is way past.

Skills? Waltzing though some dribbling, passing and shooting just doesn’t do it for me., But here’s the big question: How do you fix it? I can’t come up with anything. I do think next year’s dunk contest will have some juice if LeBron James was serious when he’d said he’d enter but even that probably won’t be enough.

Do you add H.O.R.S.E. or G.E.I.C.O. or S.T.E.R.N. or whatever they want to call it to the Saturday night shenanigans? I heard it fizzled, too.

I don’t know for sure but I do know something has to give.

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Here’s one:

Q: Hey Doug: True or false...this was one of the worst slam dunk contest ever?

Massimo C, Thorold

A: Sadly, false, by a long shot.

Remember the year they wanted everyone to do “replica dunks” and had that wheel they had to spin? That was horrible ‘cause they were asking guys to do stuff they simply could not do.

Or the year Chris Andersen and Nate Robinson missed about a zillion dunks in a row?

Those were way worse.

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Big day coming Thursday, right? Maybe, although deadline day tends to fizzle more than sizzle.

But if I had to guess at five teams most likely to make a trade, this is what the list looks like:

Portland: I just have a feeling they’d like to get older and the Raef LaFrentz expiring contract will bring some suitors.

Chicago: They’d probably like to trade Vinny Del Negro but I figure Larry Hughes has to move somewhere.

New Jersey: Gotta be fire where there’s all this smoke, doesn’t there? That fella who used to wear No 15 around here better not buy any ripe bananas this week.

Phoenix: Whacking Terry Porter might be the only move they make but Amare Stoudemire’s a pretty big ticket that a lot of teams will want.

Cleveland: If they’re serious about winning it all and keeping that 2010 free agent happy, you have to figure there’s a move afoot to add some frontcourt scoring.

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Oh yeah, the game on Sunday night.

Snore.

If it wasn’t for Shaq – and mostly because of that hilarious intro dance – I’m not sure there was a memorable moment of the night.

Maybe what they need to do is put microphones on every player, coach and ref, broadcast it in the arena and on TV and turn the night in some kind of trash talking comedy routine.

The game, players going through the motions most of the night, was bad, audio byplay on the bench and sidelines might be more entertaining.

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Speaking of numbers, I’m told Shawn Marion will don No. 31 when he gets here.

Which means the contributions of Charlie Villanueva, Roger Mason Jr. and Shawn Respert weren’t enough to have their jerseys retired.

Oh, and the Jamal Sampson No. 31 replicas in storage can now be set on fire.

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Back to the trade deadline and here’s something to think about:

If the economic picture is all doom and gloom – and a first-ever drop in the salary cap would certainly suggest that it is – teams may not be able to move any of the expiring contracts, no matter how good they may seem to be.

Let’s say a team is cash-strapped going into next season. Unless they could move expiring contract for an expiring contract, what’s the sense of making a deal? If money’s going to be so tight in 2009 and 2010, why in the world would anyone want to take on even an extra dime? What I think you’re going to see happen is teams hold on to those expiring deals, let them expire and then sign free agents to cheaper deals because there’s not much money around.

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More mail:

Q: I’ve sat in different seats in the ACC and each of them offers a different experience, in its way. Where’s your preferred or favorite seat to watch a game in an arena? Is the mid-court always preferred? If so, how high or low would you go for the ‘perfect seat'? Would your selection change according to whether you’re working or not? Would it change from one arena to another? Appreciate the blog. Thanks.

Will G, Toronto

A: Personally, the best seat would be about 15 or 20 rows up at midcourt; or, if that’s out of the price range, in the first four or five rows of an upper deck. I think up a bit high as a fan you get a sense of the spacing of the game and see more stuff develop. You don’t, however, get to be on TV holding up your cell phone waving to someone.

And yes, it would change if I was working or not. If I’m working, I’d rather be on the court to get the byplay between players and coaches and a true sense of the speed – and effort – each night. And I’d prefer midcourt in a perfect world but if I’m covering a team and there are no sideline seats, I like to be on the baseline right by the bench.

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I answered a couple of questions in the comments section about my response to a query yesterday about FIBA’s rules allowing only one naturalized citizen on any national team.

You can question by use of “their country” for as long as you like and if that offended some, I apologize. It was not to denigrate folks who flee one country for another for their safety or to join family or to make a better life.

It has everything to do with absolute “fake” citizens like J.R. Holden or Becky Hammon being given Russian citizenship to play in the world championships and Olympics or Chris Kaman becoming a German citizen solely to play basketball.

Allowing more than one per country would indeed open the system to abuse. And that’s why I think the FIBA rule is fine.

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Comments

[Patrick]

Morning Doug,

The All-Star weekend was indeed a snoozefest. I used to love these as a kid but I guess that, along with blessing me with the occasional white hair, growing old has rendered me completely indifferent in regard to these events... although I did enjoy Shaq's dance and pass-between-the-legs/dunk.

Anyway, since you brought up the trade deadline, do you think that the Raptors will make any other move prior to Thursday? I'm assuming it would be a minor one but maybe they're thinking about bringing in a big body (purely for rebounds/hussle) and/or getting rid of one of their small guards (I'm looking at you Will Solomon)?

I mentioned this in the past but what about bringing in a D-league big man (for example, Richard Hendrix) for a 10 day contrat and just seeing if he might be useful? Can't hurt, can it?

Thanks and have a good one!

Blogger's note: A 10 per cent chance of a trade and no need whatsoever for some minor league project to come in and sit on the end of the bench for a week and a half

[JH]

Do you see the money crunch that is happening in MLB(ie:good players still unsigned, good players getting short term deals for much less than they expected) happening in the NBA?

Blogger's note: Sure

[Aaron Campbell]

When is Stoudemire's contract up? Would absolutely love to see him in T.O.

[Stan]

It's been very quiet on the Marion front since the trade... I know the All Star game was going on and everything, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who has this on his mind -- any chance that Marion pulls an Alonzo and refuses to play here? I would've thought that we'd hear at least some comments coming from him about his new team... Do you have any insider info to ease our minds?

Blogger's note: No, no chance whatsoever; he'll be here late tonight, get a physical, practice tomorow.

[Steve G]

With Porter now out.. do you see the Suns keeping Amare?

Blogger's note: If finances are at issue, they now owe Porter about $4 million not to coach so I think they might still make a money deal for Stoudemire

[Amr]

Doug,

Can the raps trade Garbojosa's expiring contract for another player, since it's still on the books and taking up cap-space?

If not, why?

Blogger's note: No, they can't. He's waived out of the league, has signed with another team.

[Felix Tsui]

A few things I would like to see during all-star week:
1. 7-footer 3-pt competition (and i don't mean players like hawes, miller, bargs or nowitzki) and include an average joe (won through some sort of contest)
2. 7-footer skills comp also to include an average joe (also a contest-winner)
3. howard vs. shaq FT competition with some sort of meaningful penalty to the loser
4. a real game of HORSE (dunks included!)

thoughts?

[Jimmy Tango]

Hey Doug, I totally understood what you meant about the naturalized citizen issue. Your examples are great. But don't forget non-basketball examples where some oil rich nations are essentially paying top long distance runners huge gobs of cash to run under their flag. Pretty sad story, really. Glad we don't see it in basketball.

[Jamie]

Im soo excited for Marion! Just the change is going to be nice to watch (gives a fan something new to see), but the starting line up is going to be great, and Im looking forward to seeing Marion, Bargs and a healthy Bosh on the court together...Hopefully Jose had a nice, relaxing, healing weekend and this could get exciting!

Question: Do the next few weeks (and how he responds to the new player) determine Coach Triano's future with this club, or would you say that has already been determined?

Blogger's note: Nothing is determined until the end of the season

[adam]

Do we have a bi-annual exception for this summer?

Blogger's note: Yes.

[Vijay C.]

Hey Doug great blog never miss a day of it, although this is only the 2nd time i've written in...Anyway my question is before the season started i'm not sure where i read it, but i remember reading that Toronto is trying to get the Allstar Game for 2010/11 the year that the "Big Free Agents" all sign with whatever team. Is this a true rumour? Do you know if Colangelo is trying to get the Allstar game in toronto?

Blogger's note: Not before 2012, I'm told

[jack]

I have no question or comment.
I just want to say Happy Family Day to all.

[Sean]

Hi Doug, with the cap going down next year, do you expect to see guys who can opt out of their deals (e.g. Boozer, Kobe) choosing to wait? Or is the lure of more guarenteed money too much?

Blogger's note: Not opting out would be a gamble that things will turn around before 2010 and that there'd be extra money in a good free agent class. Pretty big gamble.

[Rob V.]

I agree, All Star weekend was a bust!. Love em or hate em, at least Charles Barkley is "entertaining". They certainly could have used him... inebriated and all!!

An observation this morning:

That Phoenix franchise has certainly gone from "sugar" to "sh__t" pretty darn fast hasn’t it?. What is Steve Kerr doing???. I understand bringing in Shaq because they of course were swinging for the fences on that one however, when has publicly talking about trading one of your stars ever helped a sagging franchises cause.

Also, the fact that they let it leak that their coach would be fired over All Star weekend is embarrassing for everyone associated with that franchise. This guy has to learn GM 101... keep your mouth "shut"!! Kerr may have had a great 3 point percentage in the playoffs as a player however he certainly hasn’t been a "sharp shooter" as a GM.

Does he really think his team has any chance of staying cohesive as rumours continue to swirl about one of your key players, and a coaching change? I realize chatter is the nature of the business however I'm wondering if Kerr is still a little use to having "face time" with the cameras rolling because he doesn’t seem to know how to keep things LOW KEY!!. These, after all are major changes for that organization. His objective (I would think) should be to keep the team focusing on winning ball games and not all of these other shenanigans!

Thoughts Doug?

Blogger's note: None, really, at the moment; you make good points

[Steve G]

it's not family day for all..

considering it's only a holiday for select provinces!

[Pascal LeBlanc]

Recently, you gave us your list of best nicknames in league history and you told us how today's nicknames sucked for the most part. This may not be pure genius, but after Saturday's dunk contest, I think Nate Robinson should now be nicknamed KryptoNate. I haven't heard it yet (which kind of a surprise) and I think he deserves it (probably more than Howard being nicknamed Superman). If you like it, tell the grunts in NY about it. Thanks, P.

[Pascal LeBlanc]

Nervermind, I just saw that the NY Post already used KryptoNate in an article...

[Simon S-G]

Just curious, has Jermaine or Jamario said anything to the Miami media, or are they as quiet as Shawn and Marcus right now?

Blogger's note: Someone talked to Jamario, he's cool; the others? All tomorrow

[Bill]

While the weekend was a bit of a bore, seeing JYD sitting courtside with his trademark smile was worth it to me. If you had to put a fan favourite team who would you put on it? JYD and Alvin seem like no-brainers but who else? Peterson? Bonner?

Blogger's note: Let me think about it a bit.

[Derek H]

In terms of cap space I thought the JO-Marion deal opened up $17 mil but I thought I read/heard you state $10 mil. If Marion's expiring contract is $17mil then is it not about $17mil plus at least other expiring contracts ie. Parker, etc.?

Blogger's note: There are all knds of other issues at play, a decrease in the cap number, variouls "cap hold" on free agents; nothing is for certain or cast in stone until July.

[GM]

I get your point about players representing other countries, but don't think I can agree fully. I don't think a family connection is tenuous at all. If Kaman's grandparents are German, why isn't that legit? Look how many Irish-Canadians or -Americans, or Italian-Canadians or -Americans, still identify themselves as Irish or Italian. It's a part of who they are. We're more than the country we grew up in. And if Dalembert is slightly legit in your mind because he spent a few years here, why isn't Petr Nedved? He lived here for years, too, when he represented Canada. He might even live here now, for all I know.

Matt Bonner is a good example. He should be allowed to play for Canada if he wants. His grandfather is Canadian, his wife is Canadian and his children, if he has them, will be Canadian.

I think of it this way, too: If I moved to another country for work or any other reason, married a local and had children, even if they never spent a day in Canada, they'd sure be raised knowing about Canada and my Canadian values would be reflected in them and they would hold Canadian citizenship as well as the citizenship of the country they grew up in.

[Kevin]

I'm reading Rob's comments on the Phoenix Suns and shaking my head. Not only did they have a good team, they had something really special. I'm not entirely sure of the timeline but I do believe that the Marcus Banks contract that now belongs to the Raptors contains money that could have been used to keep Joe Johnson in town. Between Johnson's eye injury and the Amare/Diaw ejection one could say the Suns have had no luck in the playoffs.
If you look further you could see that bad management decisions forced this team to play with a 9 man roster and meant something bad was going to happen. Selling off draft picks and dumping Kurt Thomas were two major problems.
I could live with the Shaq decison last year but Kerr directed Porter to turn Steve Nash from a unique ball player into an older veteran this season. Superstar Nash cannot exist in a walk it up and dump it into Shaq system, especially when he needs to go back and play defense.
I hope Kerr rather than Porter becomes the fall guy and I hope the owner, Sarver, is not far behind.

[Kevin]

I didn't mind the All Star Festivities as much, but I PVR'd them so that might have something to do with it.

As for the MariO'Neal trade, I have a question regarding the cap:

If a team is under the cap they can make trades where the salaries don't have to match, correct? (like the Clippers getting Camby for 2nd rounder after Brand left). How would this work if the trade they made would put them over the cap?

I figure it would work that the team under the cap could make a trade UP TO the cap without having to match salaries but any trade that would push them over that would have to match salaries (i.e. 10 million under cap allows for a trade that takes on a contract worth 10 million but if it was 11 million they'd have to match the entire 11 million). Or would you only have to match the amount that exceeds the cap? (i.e. 10 million cap space taking on an 13 million contract necessitates only 3 million going out).

Blogger's note: Good question that I can't answer right now; as soon as I see someone from the team who'd know, I'll try to find out.

[Matt from Oakville]

Hey Doug,

Any thoughts on the Porter firing and the Suns going back to the run-and-gun system? Doesn't make much sense at this point, especially with Diaw/Bell gone and that guy named Shaq. What is going on with this franchise? Is it all Kerr's fault?

Blogger's note: Not sure it's all, I think there's some blame to be placed at the feet of Robert Sarver, too

[Kevin]

One more really good Phoenix downfall link.

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/sports/articles/2009/02/15/20090215spt-p2main.html