Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2020 4:26:47 GMT -8
The Dallas Mavericks started the 2002 season with two point guards—stud rookie Tony Parker and jack-of-all-trades Jason Kidd—and not much else. They dealt Kenyon Martin and Vladimir Radmonovic to the Knicks for Jamal Mashburn. Then they committed to Parker at point guard, flipping Kidd to Miami for Euroman magnifique Dejan Bodiroga, Chucky Atkins, and Antonio Davis. Panned! It wasn’t enough to deal one franchise point guard: they flipped Parker and Adonal Foyle to the Raptors for superstar wing Ray Allen and the very odd, very high equity Shawn Bradley. And then they got Kidd back from Miami for Jamal Mashburn and Chucky Atkins. You’d think it was the second Heat-Mavs deal involving Kidd. You are an idiot. It was the third! Anyway, the Mavs finished with 45 wins and the best perimeter trio in the league. They made the finals as a seventh seed. Highlight: Jason Kidd dropping 56 on the road in game 7 of the second round vs. the Kings with Ray Allen injured. Lowlight: scoring 71 points in a finals game. The Nets smacked us. Bye!
The Denver Nuggets entered 2002 with Shaq and a council of elders: 39 year-old John Stockton, 39 year-old Patrick Ewing, 36 year-old Scottie Pippen, and another old I’m blanking on. Reggie Miller? IDK. I had just offered Mikki Moore a three-year contract at 120% of the minimum salary because he blocked the occasional shot. One morning at 5 am Nuggets GM Royal offered me his ’04 for Mikki Moore. I accepted: it was Shaq or a lotto for a fringe big, right? No, because Erbes decided to build an offense around four one-dimensional inside scorers and gifted Royal Jalen Rose for Antonio McDyess. Then Royal went a little wild, dealing Shaq for Paul Pierce, the Sonics 2002 first, and the Suns 2002 first. Then he went wilder, flipping the Sonics pick to the Raptors for Raef LaFrentz. The Nuggets had a successful season, winning 55 games and converting Shaq and a bunch of olds into a viable core. They lost in 5 to the Mavs in the first round, but honestly, who didn’t? Tune into next year’s edition—things get exciting here.
It helps readability and write-ability in the occasional small paragraph, so let’s all be grateful for the Houston Rockets. They won 14 games and had a -16.3 point differential. FBB gifted them a long-term Shawn Marion injury, and they ran away with the worst record in the league. Nobody minds seeing a masterful tank job go punished, so who cares that they fell to fifth in the lotto? Even the Rockets don’t; they landed day-one superstar Dave Diamond (Americanized name) while the teams picking between Yao and Dave fell for brand names.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were fooling nobody with the idea that they had a core around superstar Vince Carter. Pretty soon, they weren’t fooling themselves either. They started with fringe starters
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Damon Stoudamire, and Latrell Sprewell around VC. Oof. The first stage was denial, and it was costly. They dealt their 2002 first and Spree for his clone, Jerry Stackhouse. Acceptance came in the form of a bunch of picks, including their 2003 first, for Vince Carter. If you don’t engage in trade talks reasonably, you end up making unreasonable deals!
The San Antonio Spurs were another team involved in a picks-for-superstar, only they were on the right end of their deal, landing Alonzo Mourning for a pot of picks. Great move, questionable fit. They were young, building around sizable draftee Zach Randolph and Euro sportstar Manu Ginobili, an international FA they landed with a max contract. Lucky for Spurs’ GM UKJohnFan, the Miami Heat made a go of it and shipped them Tracy McGrady for Zo. The Spurs reset their contract year, too, as the Los Angeles Clippers’ first-round doormat.
What went wrong for the Utah Jazz? The defending champions returned their entire core and then some, landing combo guard Sarunas Jasikevicius in free agency. They looked good early, and throughout the year, their peripherals suggested they remained elite. But they just seemed to fall off in the second half. They were close to dealing Jasikevicius, Glenn Robinson, and the aging David Robinson to the Mavs for a retool package of Dejan Bodiroga and Jermaine O’Neal, but they decided to make one last go at a ring. They escaped the gimmicky Grizzlies in the first round, but the top-seeded Clips rode a dominant Tim Duncan to a second-round sweep. The firesale would soon be on.
If you shoot 48% as a team and finish the season with a +7 average scoring margin, no one can second-guess you, right? Eh. The Memphis Grizzlies were heavy on bigs and light on wings going into 2002, with an offense built around Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Brian Grant, and Jalen Rose. Grizz GM Erbes decided to go all in on a strength, shipping Jalen Rose to Denver for Antonio McDyess, a much worse version of players they already had. They dominated middling teams with their big-heavy lineup, but if your backcourt is Eric Snow (three turnovers, no jumpshot) and Bruce Bowen (very dear to me), you’re going to lose to teams with firepower. Still, a very fine season for Jeff.
The Golden State Warriors had probably the league’s most promising duo in Dirk Nowitzki and Chauncey Billups. Just 23, Dirk put up an absurd 32 PPG on 49/80/49, mostly as a power forward. Chauncey: 25.5 PPG on 47/80/43. As for the rest of the roster, yikes. The Warriors struggled to find any productivity beyond their top two. They flipped rookie Troy Murphy for A-potential Ron Artest, but Artest wasn’t ready to meaningfully contribute. It was no surprise the Warriors’ duo got them 50 wins. No surprise either, however, that the 3.6 BPG squad with no third option lost in five in the first round.
The Los Angeles Clippers won 60 games, had a +10 ppg scoring margin, and rode the best player in the league to the top seed in the west. It’s BBS, baby, so naturally all the talk was how bad of a job Darell and Frangie were doing and how easy the Clips would be to beat. Is that fair? On the one hand, the Clips got a lot better after flipping Gary Payton for stud scorer Larry Johnson. On the other hand, the Clippers’ starting point guard was bona fide scrub Damon Jones. Unfortunately for the Clips, they didn’t get a chance to prove the doubters wrong. Eleven minutes into Game 1 of the conference finals, Tim Duncan was 2 for 6 with four turnovers against powerhouse post defender Antonio Davis. So demoralized was Duncan that he faked injury and the Clippers got swept. Mavs win!
The Los Angeles Lakers were in serious business before training camp, landing Gilbert Arenas with the no. 2 pick in the ’01 draft, international FA Andrei Kirilenko with a max, and the very-talented Elton Brand with a package of picks. But AK didn’t develop as hoped and Brand seemed to regress, and the Lakers were left without a playoff team and without their pick. The experts said Kiri was less valuable than expirings and that the Lakers were a favorite for the contract year. The Lakers picked it up in the second half, but finished the season with 35 wins and a -4 ppg scoring margin. Tune in next year for happier news!
The Phoenix Sunzzz had a disciplined tank, running very slow and inside and declining to RC/AC promising youngsters Pau Gasol and Baron Davis. Boring teams get boring write-ups! They averaged 89 points, 48 rebounds, and four blocks per game. Artful, but it leaves you cold. Excitement came when Andrew sized up the thin draft and dealt his pick for Tyson Chandler and Andre Miller. Solid move. I’ve said enough about this gross season.
The Portland Trail Blazers drafted the ultra-promising Gerald Wallace with the fourth pick in the 2001 draft and traded up to take a risk on Eddy Curry. Solid gamble: Curry must’ve had 100 inside scoring or something close to it; he averaged nearly 20 points on >60% shooting in the preseason. His rookie season was less inspiring, but he scored 18 points in 29 mpg and was fairly low turnover. Gerry showed promise, averaging a block and a steal in 26 minutes, and the Blazers added so-so youngsters SAR and Damon Stoudamire at low cost. They finished the season with nice youth and the eighth pick. They’d soon land Allan Houston for spare parts. More to come next season.
The Sacramento Kings were the talk of BBS heading into 2002 after adding a second top-ten player in Steve Nash (cost: Jamal Crawford) to go with Kobe Bryant. A woeful frontcourt couldn’t keep the Kings from rolling, but a season-ending injury to Kobe Bryant did. GM Ashes saw his team go from possible contender to also-ran overnight, and he put a Kobe Bryant trade block that some chalked up to temporary frustration. But the Orlando Magic offered a king’s ransom: their lottery pick, Antoine Walker, and rookie Joe Johnson for Kobe, and Ashes rode that deal to 57 wins and a second round playoff exit.
We aren’t saving our best for last. The Seattle Supersonics’ core of Andre Miller, Paul Pierce, and Tyson Chandler was about as uninspiring as it gets, but it hung around the playoff picture due to listless management and a few too many solid vets. Change came fast and late; first, GM Garrett sent Chandler and Miller to the Suns in exchange for their top-three-projected pick. Then, Royal and his west coast hours struck again, and the Sonics dealt Pierce and their two lottery picks for a very talented, very flawed Shaq—an A+ inside scorer and defender good for 4 turnovers a game and 45% on his league-leading free throw attempts. Shaq and spare parts finished with 34 wins, and the Sonics looked like they’d need a blockbuster trade or a major free agent signing to avoid getting CY’d.
The Denver Nuggets entered 2002 with Shaq and a council of elders: 39 year-old John Stockton, 39 year-old Patrick Ewing, 36 year-old Scottie Pippen, and another old I’m blanking on. Reggie Miller? IDK. I had just offered Mikki Moore a three-year contract at 120% of the minimum salary because he blocked the occasional shot. One morning at 5 am Nuggets GM Royal offered me his ’04 for Mikki Moore. I accepted: it was Shaq or a lotto for a fringe big, right? No, because Erbes decided to build an offense around four one-dimensional inside scorers and gifted Royal Jalen Rose for Antonio McDyess. Then Royal went a little wild, dealing Shaq for Paul Pierce, the Sonics 2002 first, and the Suns 2002 first. Then he went wilder, flipping the Sonics pick to the Raptors for Raef LaFrentz. The Nuggets had a successful season, winning 55 games and converting Shaq and a bunch of olds into a viable core. They lost in 5 to the Mavs in the first round, but honestly, who didn’t? Tune into next year’s edition—things get exciting here.
It helps readability and write-ability in the occasional small paragraph, so let’s all be grateful for the Houston Rockets. They won 14 games and had a -16.3 point differential. FBB gifted them a long-term Shawn Marion injury, and they ran away with the worst record in the league. Nobody minds seeing a masterful tank job go punished, so who cares that they fell to fifth in the lotto? Even the Rockets don’t; they landed day-one superstar Dave Diamond (Americanized name) while the teams picking between Yao and Dave fell for brand names.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were fooling nobody with the idea that they had a core around superstar Vince Carter. Pretty soon, they weren’t fooling themselves either. They started with fringe starters
Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Damon Stoudamire, and Latrell Sprewell around VC. Oof. The first stage was denial, and it was costly. They dealt their 2002 first and Spree for his clone, Jerry Stackhouse. Acceptance came in the form of a bunch of picks, including their 2003 first, for Vince Carter. If you don’t engage in trade talks reasonably, you end up making unreasonable deals!
The San Antonio Spurs were another team involved in a picks-for-superstar, only they were on the right end of their deal, landing Alonzo Mourning for a pot of picks. Great move, questionable fit. They were young, building around sizable draftee Zach Randolph and Euro sportstar Manu Ginobili, an international FA they landed with a max contract. Lucky for Spurs’ GM UKJohnFan, the Miami Heat made a go of it and shipped them Tracy McGrady for Zo. The Spurs reset their contract year, too, as the Los Angeles Clippers’ first-round doormat.
What went wrong for the Utah Jazz? The defending champions returned their entire core and then some, landing combo guard Sarunas Jasikevicius in free agency. They looked good early, and throughout the year, their peripherals suggested they remained elite. But they just seemed to fall off in the second half. They were close to dealing Jasikevicius, Glenn Robinson, and the aging David Robinson to the Mavs for a retool package of Dejan Bodiroga and Jermaine O’Neal, but they decided to make one last go at a ring. They escaped the gimmicky Grizzlies in the first round, but the top-seeded Clips rode a dominant Tim Duncan to a second-round sweep. The firesale would soon be on.
If you shoot 48% as a team and finish the season with a +7 average scoring margin, no one can second-guess you, right? Eh. The Memphis Grizzlies were heavy on bigs and light on wings going into 2002, with an offense built around Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Brian Grant, and Jalen Rose. Grizz GM Erbes decided to go all in on a strength, shipping Jalen Rose to Denver for Antonio McDyess, a much worse version of players they already had. They dominated middling teams with their big-heavy lineup, but if your backcourt is Eric Snow (three turnovers, no jumpshot) and Bruce Bowen (very dear to me), you’re going to lose to teams with firepower. Still, a very fine season for Jeff.
The Golden State Warriors had probably the league’s most promising duo in Dirk Nowitzki and Chauncey Billups. Just 23, Dirk put up an absurd 32 PPG on 49/80/49, mostly as a power forward. Chauncey: 25.5 PPG on 47/80/43. As for the rest of the roster, yikes. The Warriors struggled to find any productivity beyond their top two. They flipped rookie Troy Murphy for A-potential Ron Artest, but Artest wasn’t ready to meaningfully contribute. It was no surprise the Warriors’ duo got them 50 wins. No surprise either, however, that the 3.6 BPG squad with no third option lost in five in the first round.
The Los Angeles Clippers won 60 games, had a +10 ppg scoring margin, and rode the best player in the league to the top seed in the west. It’s BBS, baby, so naturally all the talk was how bad of a job Darell and Frangie were doing and how easy the Clips would be to beat. Is that fair? On the one hand, the Clips got a lot better after flipping Gary Payton for stud scorer Larry Johnson. On the other hand, the Clippers’ starting point guard was bona fide scrub Damon Jones. Unfortunately for the Clips, they didn’t get a chance to prove the doubters wrong. Eleven minutes into Game 1 of the conference finals, Tim Duncan was 2 for 6 with four turnovers against powerhouse post defender Antonio Davis. So demoralized was Duncan that he faked injury and the Clippers got swept. Mavs win!
The Los Angeles Lakers were in serious business before training camp, landing Gilbert Arenas with the no. 2 pick in the ’01 draft, international FA Andrei Kirilenko with a max, and the very-talented Elton Brand with a package of picks. But AK didn’t develop as hoped and Brand seemed to regress, and the Lakers were left without a playoff team and without their pick. The experts said Kiri was less valuable than expirings and that the Lakers were a favorite for the contract year. The Lakers picked it up in the second half, but finished the season with 35 wins and a -4 ppg scoring margin. Tune in next year for happier news!
The Phoenix Sunzzz had a disciplined tank, running very slow and inside and declining to RC/AC promising youngsters Pau Gasol and Baron Davis. Boring teams get boring write-ups! They averaged 89 points, 48 rebounds, and four blocks per game. Artful, but it leaves you cold. Excitement came when Andrew sized up the thin draft and dealt his pick for Tyson Chandler and Andre Miller. Solid move. I’ve said enough about this gross season.
The Portland Trail Blazers drafted the ultra-promising Gerald Wallace with the fourth pick in the 2001 draft and traded up to take a risk on Eddy Curry. Solid gamble: Curry must’ve had 100 inside scoring or something close to it; he averaged nearly 20 points on >60% shooting in the preseason. His rookie season was less inspiring, but he scored 18 points in 29 mpg and was fairly low turnover. Gerry showed promise, averaging a block and a steal in 26 minutes, and the Blazers added so-so youngsters SAR and Damon Stoudamire at low cost. They finished the season with nice youth and the eighth pick. They’d soon land Allan Houston for spare parts. More to come next season.
The Sacramento Kings were the talk of BBS heading into 2002 after adding a second top-ten player in Steve Nash (cost: Jamal Crawford) to go with Kobe Bryant. A woeful frontcourt couldn’t keep the Kings from rolling, but a season-ending injury to Kobe Bryant did. GM Ashes saw his team go from possible contender to also-ran overnight, and he put a Kobe Bryant trade block that some chalked up to temporary frustration. But the Orlando Magic offered a king’s ransom: their lottery pick, Antoine Walker, and rookie Joe Johnson for Kobe, and Ashes rode that deal to 57 wins and a second round playoff exit.
We aren’t saving our best for last. The Seattle Supersonics’ core of Andre Miller, Paul Pierce, and Tyson Chandler was about as uninspiring as it gets, but it hung around the playoff picture due to listless management and a few too many solid vets. Change came fast and late; first, GM Garrett sent Chandler and Miller to the Suns in exchange for their top-three-projected pick. Then, Royal and his west coast hours struck again, and the Sonics dealt Pierce and their two lottery picks for a very talented, very flawed Shaq—an A+ inside scorer and defender good for 4 turnovers a game and 45% on his league-leading free throw attempts. Shaq and spare parts finished with 34 wins, and the Sonics looked like they’d need a blockbuster trade or a major free agent signing to avoid getting CY’d.
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even gil decides to leave
