A good job opens to start a, hopefully, quiet weekend

Time to take a breath, right?

Uneventful weekend hopefully ahead, time to sit back and relax, gird those loins because it’s going to get crazy around the league mid week.

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Rod Thorn is going to retire president or poobah or whatever his actual title is with the New Jersey Nets in a little while (here’s Dave’s story) and that’s going to open the floodgates to all kinds of speculation.

You’re going to hear Kevin Pritchard because he’s the flavour of the month, you’ll probably hear Danny Ferry because he’s out of work and you’re going to hear a lot of relatively anonymous front-office types who could make the step up.

And you’re going to hear Maurizio Gherardini. In fact, if you read Dave’s piece already you’ve already heard it.

No question about it, there will be some interest from Jersey in Bryan’s right-hand man because of his long connection with new Nets owner The Oligarch (it’s about time the NBA got an oligarch, I say).

Will Maurizio listen?

I fully expect he will. And he probably should.

Look, the chance to really run a franchise from the top has to be alluring, to be the guy with the final say in matters personnel is much preferable, in my opinion, to being a guy in a group who offers advice.

It would probably be a stretch for a guy like The Oligarch to reach out to someone relatively anonymous – he strikes me as a big splash kind of guy – but with Maurizio’s connections and background and familiarity, he should be on the list.

And I would fully expect that if the Nets call Bryan to ask permission to talk to Maurizio, it will be given. No way Bryan holds a guy back from being interviewed for a position that’s a promotion.

Now, before the e-mails and comments start rolling in, I’m not saying Maurizio is going to get the job; I do expect he’ll be considered and I think he should go and listen if he is.

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Glad you asked:

Q: Did any NBA team do better than the Grizzlies & the Clippers in (Thursday) night's draft?

Bo K, Mississauga

A: Oh yeah, I think you have to put Sacramento in that category for sure. I don’t know if DeMarcus Cousins will find the maturity necessary to thrive right way (that’s the biggest concern about him because his physical tools are immense) but to get him and then Hassan Whiteside was a home run.

The Clippers – yes, the Clippers – would probably be second on my list because Al-Farouq Aminu fills a glaring need at small forward, they managed to procure Eric Bledsoe (not his brother Derrick) to fill in for the 41 games that Baron Davis misses with injury or disinterest and got an Oklahoma stable pony for Blake Griffin in Willie Warren).

I know they didn’t draft Bledsoe but his acquisition makes them the hands-down winners in my books.

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So we’re down to the round of 16, are we?

I gotta say, lots of angst building around here for the Black Stars and the Yanks this afternoon; it’s a tough out for the young Ghanas, who’ve got a bit skittish as the tournament’s worn on. But a fella can hope, no?

I do know that a Super Family outing to Niagara Falls to see relatives today comes at the worst possible moment; I wonder if I can find a stool down there for a couple of hours?

There are only two others in this round that I And I find hugely compelling.

How about Germany-England tomorrow morning? What a perfect Sunday brunch kind of thing, no? This should be hugely passionate but I have to say I have little faith in the Three Lions because they’ve looked so utterly shaky for three games.

I will say this: I’ve seen a whole bunch of games at the same spot so far in this tournament (hi, BP Square 1, see ya Sunday!) and nothing so far has matched the atmosphere of Spain-Chile yesterday. It was very cool and exactly why I love this tournament more than any other in the world.

I can only imagine what it’ll be like Tuesday for Spain-Portugal which has to be the game of the mundial so far. I’m all over Spain seeing as it’s probably tied with Italy as the favourite country not called Canada.

Should be a great week and the big games hopefully won’t get in the way of that pesky free agency stuff in the NBA.

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Oh, mail. Right, one more shot.

Click here and we’ll see what we can do after the visit to the Honeymoon City is over and I’m ensconced at the desk killing a quiet Saturday night.

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Speaking of free agency, I am quite glad to read this story by ESPN’s Chris Broussard about LeBron James and his plans for the start of the wooing period.

As you know, I always thought traipsing around the continent in some elaborate tour was somewhat unseemly and teams planning huge dog and pony shows was even moreso.

I half expected to read that the Knicks planned not only to fete James at some Manhattan penthouse but also to superimpose a James face (ala Superman) on the night sky.

Sitting back, letting teams make their pitches in one fell swoop and getting on with the business of making a decision just seems more grown up and professional to me and I’m glad that’s the way James is going to go.

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Anyway, sorry I’m a tad tardy today, the events of the last couple of weeks and dearth of rest kind of caught up to an oldster. And given what’s going to go on in the next couple of weeks, stockpiling sleep isn’t a bad idea.

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Oh yeah, there’s this:

Word from the Raptors cave late Friday was that nothing is going to transpire this weekend, no trades, no moves, nothing too big.

So I’m coasting a little bit. And you should, too.

Comments

[hum]

"...Spain-Portugal which has to be the game of the mundial so far"
I think the English-German rivalry is slightly bigger than the Iberian one. But you might be right, as I find it hard to say which match-up has the most quality of personnel.

I think Portugal-Spain will be fun to watch, because they will play with passion, unlike the more professional aspect of England-Germany. But if the English players and - to a lesser extent - the German players, might lack some spontaneous risk taking, I think few rivalries can match an England-Germany in terms of passion within the stands, and the streets.

[FPB]

Hey Doug, just FYI, we are Ghanaians not Ghanas. Anyhow, it's going to be one hell of a game. Thanks for cheering with us. We are going all the way.

Blogger's note: Got that, was kind of a joke. But I'm all over the Black Stars. Best of luck

[Steph]

Doug, if the world cup was played every two years as opposed to the current four, would it, in your opinion loose some of it's luster?

Blogger's note: Probably lose some.

[Striker 77]

Spain and Portugal can be the new rivalry... Lets put it this way.. In the round of 16, we already have a 6 seed versus and 8 seed (Germany-England), and a 2 seed versus a 3 seed- (Spain-Portugal). It doesnt matter when these games happen, as long as they do. Both of these games are going to be AWESOME to watch. Lets enjoy it!

By the way, Doug, you mentioned that super son is an Azzurri fan...I am too, obviously disappointed... What turned him into an italian fan? Just curious,
thanks,

Blogger's note: I think it stems from the great time we had in Rome, Treviso and Venice in '07

[LeeZ]

During Brian's post-draft presser, an ink-stained wretch said something along the lines of "you've indicated that Turk is eliciting some interest from a number of teams", to which Brian replied, with somewhat of a forced smile on his face, "that was supposed to be an off-the-record conversation." Is that reporter now in deep doo-doo? Regardless, it seemed like a very innocuous "revelation"; yeah, obviously Turk is fetching some interest, why would that even be off the record in the first place, as no team or player names were mentioned. And have you ever let something from an off-the-record conversation slip out, and if so, did your source clam up from that point on?

Blogger's note: I was kind of surprised to hear that, too, from Bryan. And I don't remember anything like that happening to me.

[e d]

Hey Doug
If Ed Davis is so good, how come he wasn't listed at all in the NBA mock draft? They didn't have to waste that pick.
Ed

Blogger's note: Um, you need to re-read mock drafts.

[Alan C.]

Thank the Lord for your blog, Doug -- there wasn't a scrap of basketball news in the paper Star today.

[Jc]

Hey doug,
Just a follow up from my comment yesterday regarding the reporter who was asking the tax questions. I actually had a chance to email him yesterday (writes for the Queens Chronicle). His side was that he writes primarily about the business of sports and that you can tell a lot about an athlete by what they understand of the business side. He cited Patrick Patterson who apparently made a comment about being happy to go to tax free Texas. While acknowledging his point, I pointed out how it just served to make Toronto look bad. Would a Canadian kid drafted in the NHL by Washington be asked if he knew first aid because he was more likely to be shot in washington? I think his response to me indicated he agreed. No need to post this, just wanted to give you some more info on it. Thanks

[JHP]

Doug

I hope you enjoy the weekend and I for one will be very happy when James makes his decision. I believe after that every other team will overpay for whatever free agent they sign. So if the Raptors are sellers at that point I'm not that upset. Being burdened with move overpriced players for the next 5/6 years does not make sense.

[J]

Ed,

Both nbadraft.net and draftexpress.com, two of the better sites at predicting the draft, had Ed Davis at 9. You might be looking in the wrong direction if you don't see his name. ;)

[Cory]

GO BLACK STARS!!!! No questionable calls this time for the USA to cry about.

[Mike]

I see Sam Mitchell and Popeye Jones will be part of Avery Johnsons staff in NJ..

[Adrian]

United States should be proud. Ghana put forth a terrific game. There should be no one ashamed of how that one played out.

[Joe]

Hey Doug,

Didn't know you were such a big soccer fan. Nice to see that your son is a big Azzurri fan. They had a tough go this year but they'll be back.

If you had a choice between:
a) covering a World Cup Match
b) covering game 7 of the NBA Finals

Which would you choose? Why?

Blogger's note: Have already done a Game 7 so ...

[Matt]

Hey Doug,

Great work as always. Probably sick of the comments from fans (like this one) but do you think any of these rumours has legs:

1) Raps could package one of Banks or Evans with Bellinelli to get a package of Posey and Collison from NO?

2) GS Ellis for Turk (read that one in a SF paper and they seemed to embrace the idea - which begs another question: is Ellis that much of a problem?)

3) Bosh to Chicago in sign and trade receiving Deng, draft pick, and trade exemption.

[Joe]

Doug,

Don't know if you are aware of this but espn is reporting that Sam Mitchell has been hired as an assistant coach for Avery Johnson in New Jersey. That's great news for Sam and gives him a chance to get back into the league. Hopefully this leads to a head coaching position later on. Here's the link
http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/news/story?id=5331913

[FPB]

Fantastic game, no? Best performance all round so far. How the Americans wish they never meet the Black Stars ever, ever again. This is football not handball. Go Black Stars Go!.

[Jeff]

mynbadraft.com actually had him #6 recently, and had him going to detroit at #7 leading into draft night. of course, they also have alabi going #21, so they were wrong on both accounts.

[dave]

Hi Doug, Random Question:
Will we ever see LeBron in a Raptors uniform - within the next year?

Blogger's note: Um, no.

[Thane]

Beautiful play by the Black Stars! (and, for us Azzuri supporters, has the added bonus of making our game against NZ only the second biggest upset of the finals)