Check out Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Brandon Roy, and Deron Williams in their Foot Locker House of Hoops commercials. The dudes talk about an experience in their own house of hoops and their overall love of the game. Not bad but it would’ve been cool if there were actual reenactments of their experiences. But I guess in this tough economy, Foot Locker’s budget only allowed for them to have the players, a basketball, and a white background. Oh they did give Deron a stool though.
The Washington Wizards, New Orleans Hornets, and Memphis Grizzlies were involved in a three-way trade that sent Mike James and Javaris Crittenton to Washington, Antonio Daniels and a conditional second-round pick to New Orleans, and a conditional first-round pick to Memphis.
In two stints with the Hornets, James never really was able to break into the rotation and be an important role player for the team. A career 43% shooter, he never even reached 35% with the Hornets. I always kind of liked James as a top guard off the bench as he is a proven scorer in the league. He did average over 20 ppg a few years back. He is definitely not a pure point so I saw him as an Eddie House-type guard who could come into the game and provide that scoring punch while CP3 was getting his rest. To be honest, I am not sure how much of an upgrade Daniels is over James but I guess he is more of a distributor and provides some size on the defensive end.
What I am surprised about is how the 20-year old Crittenton could already be on his third team. I always thought teams were looking for big point guards. In Crittenton, not only do you get a 6-5 point guard, but also a young one with an incredible amount of potential. He showed flashes of greatness with the Lakers then failed to impress with the Grizzlies but really, how could he? He was playing out of position at shooting guard alongside two smaller point guards in Mike Conley and Kyle Lowry. Now with OJ Mayo on the team, one the point guards had to go and I guess it was Crittenton that was picked again. Sadly, I don’t really see him playing much in Washington (especially when Gilbert Arenas comes back) either and don’t think his future is in the nation’s capital. Now I’m not sure about his work ethic or his maturity level or anything like that, but based on what I’ve seen of him so far, I think the former Yellow Jacket should get a chance to play at least 15-20 minutes a game to show what he can do.
I can’t help but scratch my head when I think about this team and I’m not alone. That Pau Gasol trade is one of the worst trades I’ve seen in recent history. But everyone knows this so I’m not going to spend any time on it. The Grizz have nice young players on their team but too many of them. It’s no secret they need to make some more (and better) moves to improve.
Posterizing Luis Scola.
Face of the Franchise: Rudy Gay. This high flyer from the University of Connecticut has been developing quite nicely for the Grizzlies. They acquired his rights in a trade with the Houston Rockets and that is one trade in which they had the upper hand. Gay is one of the most athletic players in the L and is dangerous from everywhere on the court. It would be in Memphis’ best interest not to screw things up with this team or he will be gone in a few years.
Send Him Away: Javaris Crittenton. I love Crittenton as a player. At 6-5, he’s a big point guard that GMs and head coaches salivate over. The problem is, they already have their point guard of the future in Mike Conley and drafted his backcourt mate, OJ Mayo, this year. It’s possible they might want to rotate him in as a third guard but they should trade him away while he still has value because Kyle Lowry has none.
Wow. Proof Marko Jaric has more game off the court than on it.
Impact Newcomer: Marko Jaric. For no reason other than maybe his fiancee, Adriana Lima, will show up to some games. Basketball-wise it’d be OJ Mayo, my choice for Rookie of the Year.
X-Factor: Darko Milicic. A horrible bust in the famed draft class of 2003, Milicic needs to step up his play for the Grizzlies as they are thin up front. Hakim Warrick is a decent role player at best because at 219 lbs, he’s not much of a post defender or rebounder. Marc Gasol will be making his NBA debut as will newly signed Iranian, 7-2 Hamed Haddadi but it will take some time for them to adjust to the NBA game. Milicic has to play well and be their force up front until Gasol is ready to become their #1 option in the post.
He’ll be good.
Forecast: Mid-Lottery. If this team was in the east, I’d say they have a shot at the playoffs. This team reminds me of the Atlanta Hawks, lots of young talent but not much cohesion. Unfortunately for them, they are in a still loaded Western Conference and will be beat up by the bigger, better teams. I don’t think they’ll be as bad as they were last year, however.
Posted by david im 
