Suns & Bobcats Swing Deal

The Suns and Bobcats swung a 5 player trade on Wednesday with the Bobcats Jason Richardson heading to Phoenix, and Raja Bell and Boris Diaw now heading to Charlotte. According to an NBA.com interview with Richardson he was initially surprised at the trade, not having heard about it, but once it hit him, he was pleased to be bringing his skills to Phoenix where Shaq and Nash are playoff bound again:

NBA.com: How satisfying is this deal, especially because you helped build what was going on in Golden State and you had to leave that winning culture to a rebuilding program? To know that you're entering a team that has a lot of recent success, how much does that energize you?

Richardson: That's exactly right. I think my whole career I've been on rebuilding teams. It's been tough because I've only been to the playoffs once and even with that team, we didn't have a winning record. So if you give me the choice to play with guys who have been there before, who have won it, that's a rush. I've never had that in my career, guys of that caliber.

Here's a look at the exact details of the trade:

Phoenix Suns acquire:
G Jason Richardson
F Jared Dudley
2010 2nd-round pick

Charlotte Bobcats acquire:
G Raja Bell
G Sean Singletary
F Boris Diaw

The former slam dunk contest winner Richardson, now will suit up for his third team in his NBA career. Richardson started out in Golden State, then was traded to Charlotte, and now brings his high-flying and potential high-scoring game to Phoenix. Both teams seem to benefit here, although Charlotte gets two solid veterans with defensive skills and playoff experience. Of course, the Bobcats need to make those playoffs first, but in the East it's always possible with teams finishing with .500 records and making the post-season.

All that Jazz, Missing a few Beats

The NBA's Utah Jazz had the unfortunate luck of facing the Charlotte Bobcats Friday night without three of their biggest stars. Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmut Okur were all MIA against CHA. Deron and Kirilenko both were injured, while Okur is tending to his critically ill father in Turkey. The final remaining star, power-forward Carlos Boozer, was promptly benched by the coach for foul trouble. The end result was a 104-96 victory for the upstart Charlotte Bobcats. The team received 23 points from Ray Felton and 22 from Gerald Wallace. Jason Richardson is currently out for knee surgery, but since there's no structural damage he'll only be out a mere week or two.

The Bobcats strung together several impressive runs which were helped by Boozer sitting out. According to game and team stats, Charlotte is the lowest-scoring team in the NBA this year, but against the depleted Jazz they managed to finish with a season-high in total points scored. And despite all the absences on the Utah roster, the Bobcats had to win the game in the final 30 seconds. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan credited the hustle of a young basketball club, but was quick to note Boozer's foul troubles as well as missing their floor general, Deron Williams, didn't help.

Utah looked like one of the top notch teams in the Western Conference as the season opened, as they were one of the few unbeaten. Coach Jerry Sloan achieved an amazing milestone, winning his 1,000th game, and to add to that, he's the longest-tenured coach with one team in the NBA right now. These days it's rare to find that sort of dedication to one brand of basketball, and one paycheck. His team may still be one of the best out west, but once the injury bug and foul trouble strikes, this team lacks its jazzy, energetic nature.

Larry Brown to Coach Bobcats

On Tuesday the Bobcats will make it official that they have hired a new coach to replace the recently fired Sam Vincent. Sources including Associated Press and ESPN are reporting that longtime NBA coach, Larry Brown will make his return to the sidelines. Brown has ties to North Carolina, making him a good fit for Michael Jordan's Charlotte team. The Bobcats will be the ninth team Brown coaches. He's had previous jobs in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Indiana, Detroit, New York, and San Antonio, with a championship run for the Pistons in 2004. Brown also achieved the NCAA championship in 1988 with the Kansas Jayhawks.

According to Associated Press:

Two years after his ugly exit as coach of the New York Knicks, Brown reached an agreement on Monday to return to the NBA as coach of the Jordan-led Charlotte Bobcats, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.

The person, speaking on condition of anonymity because an official announcement has not been made, said Brown was expected to sign a contract on Tuesday. The Bobcats called an afternoon news conference for what they termed a "major basketball announcement."

"Michael never said that he was hiring coach Brown. He just said they were going to make some decisions that were in the best interest of the organization," Vincent said. "So I kind of assumed of going in the direction of hiring a veteran coach and someone who was very popular in the community."

Jordan and Brown both played at North Carolina under Dean Smith, and Brown's mother lives in Charlotte. So when Vincent was fired two days after Brown resigned as executive vice president of the Philadelphia 76ers, speculation immediately turned to their pairing in Charlotte.

"I wish coach Brown all the success in the world," Vincent said. "I think he'll have a great group of guys and I wish him nothing but the best."

Source: Associated Press.

While the Bobcats are one of the most recent expansion teams in the league, they have yet to qualify for the playoffs as "Bobcats". The team was previously the Hornets who left Charlotte for New Orleans. Michael Jordan took a minority stake in the team to help guide the ship. This big coaching move may be a strong effort by executive Michael Jordan to gain some respectability for his Charlotte Squad. Jordan's done all he can with the exception of ripping off his suit to reveal a Charlotte Bobcats jersey. Unfortunately another dunk contest winner and star, Jason Richardson wears his famous #23 already.

Be Cool Kobe!

Wednesday night saw Kobe Bryant ejected from a crucial game, against the Charlotte Bobcats. It's crucial because in the West a loss puts a team like the Lakers from first down to a 3 way tie for second. LA now trails New Orleans by 1 game for first. Another loss or two could send the Lakers to the middle of the pack, about fourth or even worse. That's how tough the West has become this season.

According to the San Fransisco Chronicle, Kobe earned his two techs within just 29 seconds. The T's came due to Kobe not liking a foul call and jawing with the officials. Sometimes star players aren't afforded too much talking time.

More about Lakers v. Bobcats here

You can now see how simple events could really hurt some West Coast teams. Dirk's recent injury is far from simple and it's unfortunate, but that injury according to Sportscenter could see Dallas not a part of the playoffs. Kobe is in dangerous territory because he's close to the max number for techs, before he starts having to sit out games. So Kobe basically needs to keep his emotions in check, and the rest will follow. If he doesn't, the Lakers could lose homecourt advantage in the playoffs, or even their playoff spot. I expect the Lakers will be in the playoffs, but again the slightest player lost from the roster, or a loss of Kobe could hurt them.

I still give Kobe props because his sick move against the Warriors several nights ago was one of the best I've seen in terms of 2007-08 NBA season highlights. Spinning through traffic and floating towards the basket only to give a no look wrap-around, backwards style pass to teammate Ronnie Turiaf for the basket? That's definitely where Amazing happened.

Gerald Wallace KO'd but OK

During Friday night's Bobcats vs. Kings matchup, G/F Gerald Wallace took an inadvertant elbow from Kings' player Mikki Moore. The elbow knocked Wallace down to the hardwood and required he be taken from the game by stretcher. According to ESPN, Wallace was having bouts of amnesia from the blow as well.

From the Charlotte Observer:

"It was Gerald -- you knew he'd get up," said Charlotte Bobcats teammate Matt Carroll, following a 116-115 overtime home loss to the Kings. "Then I saw his eyes were shaking and I knew he was really out."

Out with a Grade 3 concussion, which the Bobcats describe as the most serious. He had a slight case of amnesia after the injury. Following a CAT scan, Wallace was sent home to rest.

He didn't accompany the team to Washington for tonight's game against the Wizards, and there's no telling when the player teammates nicknamed "Crash" will be well enough to play. (SOURCE)

Let's hope for a speedy and safe recovery of Bobcat Gerald Wallace who does just about everything imaginable in terms of stats.

2008 Begins: Around the NBA

Just like 2007, all good things must come to an end. That includes the Jazz ending the Trailblazers' 13 game win streak. Utah 111-Portland 101. This makes the Pistons own one of the hottest streaks in the NBA.

The Magic pulled off a 112-110 win in OT against the struggling Bulls. Toronto edged out New Orleans 107-102 , and the Bobcats made a nice fourth quarter run to win their game.

Players of the week for last week, were Chris Paul and Paul Pierce. Paul had an incredible 40 point effort and Pierce had a 38 point effort as their teams added wins.

Kiki Vandeweghe returns to the NBA, this time in a top exec role with the NJ Nets.

TheStar.com discusses the upcoming mic check for Raptors' coach Sam Mitchell.

Boston Herald discusses how the Celtics are more than star power.

ESPN's Daily Dime looks back at 2007 and ahead to 2008 for the NBA.

MJ Practices With Bobcats

Let the rumors start up again. The legend was back on the court, away from his role as observer and part owner. Yes, Michael Jordan decided it was time to practice with the team this past Tuesday. Something he did with the Washington Wizards before he decided he needed to come back to the game. Is this deja vu?

Jordan claims he took to the court to show the Bobcats the little things they were doing wrong. The team's lost 10 of its last 12 games and MJ felt he could lend a bit of wisdom. The Bobcats sit at 8-14 and are better than only a handful of Eastern Conference teams. They also seem to lack that "go to guy" that most teams have, despite adding the services of superstar Jason Richardson this past off-season.

According to Canadian Press, "I also told them yesterday that on this team we have no all-stars - none," Jordan said. "That means everybody has to rely upon each other to be successful. Until we develop an all-star that can take over a game, I think it's very important for them to understand that they have to play as a unit. I think that's the message that a lot of the guys got."

Jordan is 44 years old which definitely isn't anywhere near the average age for NBA players. So don't call it a comeback, just call it a practice and teaching session. Jordan should continue to man things from the sideline, but dropping by to share his wisdom isn't going to hurt the team by any means.

Read more about Jordan's return to the court here.

NBA Standings Analysis 11.11.07

Checking out the NBA standings even though it's still early, there's some surprises. The division leaders as of today are Boston, Detroit and Orlando. Nobody is too surprised by the Celtics red-hot start. Orlando is definitely on the rise thanks to Dwight Howard who continues to shine. And Detroit is a stable team which plays like most teams should. But many are surprised by Chicago's lackluster start and the Wizards winless start. The Wizards do have Gilbert Arenas back, but he is reportedly trying to recover from knee/leg surgery still. Miami is also winless and sorely misses D-Wade. That most likely explains the new Converse commercials where Wade is shown in an empty arena announcing himself.

Out West, not too many surprises. The teams you'd expect to be good are good (Utah, Denver, Phoenix, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas), those you'd expect to be bad are bad (Seattle, Minneosta, Memphis). However, the Clippers would have to be the surprise at 4-1. Elton Brand has been a solid force for them over the past few seasons so without him, its tough to understand how they are pulling wins off. Upon further analysis, three of the four teams they beat are winless (Bulls, Sonics, Warriors). Their other win is the Pacers, and their loss the Pistons. Still, they are winning and leading their division. The other division leaders are Utah and Houston/San Antonio. Houston's looked great early on, and as usual the test will be that T-Mac and Yao stay healthy this year. Portland is interestingly sitting at 3-3 without Greg Oden, but this will most likely start to change. Winless teams Minnesota and Seattle are in true rebuild mode and Golden State is either really missing J-Rich or just had a big surge the second half of last season.

If you look at the overall early picture so far it makes you wonder if the East is that bad anymore? A team like the Wizards has been a strong contender the past few years, as has Miami. Boston was not. Charlotte may be coming in to their own, as Orlando definitely is turning into a contender, slowly but surely.

Buy an NBA Team for $350 Mill

For a cool 350 million dollars you could be the proud owner of the Orlando Magic. It seems a bit cheap if you think about it, adding up the ticket sales, merchandising and salaries of all their players, staff, dancers, employees and executives.

Sports Business Radio has an August 2006 article which lists 5 teams out you can buy each for under 350 million. They include the Portland Trailblazers, Orlando Magic, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers and Memphis Grizzlies. Not too bad at all. Particularly appealing, and probably now selling for a much higher price, are the Trailblazers with future prodigy, Greg Oden, considered a franchise/cornerstone player.

In related news a website called Make Money with Super Affiliate Zac Johnson discusses how a woman sold the rights to the internet domain name "bobcats.com" to the Bobcats for $50,000 which just might be nice for most of us, but could have been a bargain sale for the Bobcats.