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Posts Tagged ‘Blake Griffin’

July 14th, 2009

This seems to be the time of year for rumors in almost every sport. Since I like to rant about recent sports topics why not rumors? Let’s get started in baseball.

Last at the home run derby Cy young award winner and Toronto Blue Jay ace, Roy Halladay talked about the possibility of being traded. He professed his love for his current team but added that he would be open to a move to a major market in the National League. Are you listening Philladelphia Phillies? They were obviously not. It was reported today that Pedro Martinez in on the verge of signing with the Philadelphia Philles.. Okay not a bad addition and maybe he will give you a few games and do well, but Roy Halladay is a much better than catch. Cole Hamels and Roy Halladay would be a great one-two punch and make the Phillies a chance to repeat. It would be a shame if Philly balked and he ended up in St. Louis and it came back to haunt them.

In the NBA it was reported that Allen Iverson will sign with the LA Clippers. The only catch is that the Clippers want to talk to A.I. face-to-face about coming off the bench. This is a good move by the Clippers by asking to meet with him and he may actually do okay in LA. It’s sad to see that no team wants Iverson but it would seem he has brought it on himself. It would be better to see him finish his career playing off the bench with a shot at a ring, but I don’t see it.

In Minnesota, New York, and Spain the Ricky Rubio saga continues. Timberwolves president David Kahn is doing everything he can to keep Rubio in Minnesota He is working with Rubio’s agent Dan Fegan and on a buyout from DKV Joventut of the Spanish ACB League which is believed to be in the 4-5 million dollar range. I don’t think that Rubio realizes the young talent base that the wolves have and I believe they would be a playoff team if he did indeed sign on and play in the Twin Cities. Although he fits into the system in New York I would rather see him play where he was drafted. If he goes to New York he could be looking at a bigger market and more fanfare but it’s clear that Ricky Rubio has a huge following and is very marketable wherever he will go. It will take some time with the complicated buyout but David Kahn is taking his situation and his family into account and handling it very well. “I don’t feel any pressure on behalf of the organization and we don’t feel any need to put pressure on anybody. What we did was the right thing to do, I truly believe that. And I believe it was the right thing for the entire organization,” Kahn added. One thing for sure is Ricky Rubio is going to be a star in this league it just will be a matter of time before we figure out where that will be.

June 27th, 2009

I am a huge fan of the NBA and like every aspect of the game.  The long season doesn’t bother me, playoffs basketball doesn’t get any better, and I even like the mascots, okay some of them.  However I will have to say this could be the worst draft I have seen in a long time.  The draft was not deep and the talent was thin.  There was not any excitement or intrigue or surprises.  In short it was a horrible draft. Today I am going to rant about the NBA draft.

Here are the winners and losers of the NBA draft:

Losers:

The Fans: you could see the first pick coming from about a mile away and there were no big draft day trades during the draft so in retrospect this draft was boring.

Blake Griffin: You’re a talented athlete and maybe you can change the history book of this franchise, but it doesn’t look promising.

Ricky Rubio: Okay the guy is a talent and perhaps the best guard in the draft but I hate it when a player can personally hold a team for ransom and refuse to play.  Once he was picked by the Timberwolves he

The Next NBA Prima Dona

The Next NBA Prima Dona

threatened to go play in Europe for two more years.  Just what the NBA needs another Prima Dona.

Winners:

Golden St Warriors: they drafted one of the best NBA prospects in Stephen Curry and this kid has the talent to start in the back court.  Another reason this team is a winner is because they will Amare Stoudamire on the team in July.  That makes the Warriors a playoff threat.

Minnesota Timberwolves:
They are getting some grief for picking so many guards but look at what they are doing.  Ty Lawson was shipped to Denver and that got them a first round pick in the future.  Ricky Rubio is going to refuse to play but that is not bad either because teams will come calling that he will play for like the Knicks and the Wolves will get more pieces.  Jonny Flynn is more than capable of running the point and Wayme Ellington is a nice compliment at shooting guard.

Teams that traded: Cleveland got better with Shaq, the spurs got better with Jefferson, and the Magic got better with Carter.  This is a great way to approach the season when the draft has nothing to offer.  Trading away picks and salary to make a run at the title is how it is done nowadays in the NBA.