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Beside the Point: The Blog by Patrick McManamon

From the category archives:

NBA

NBA money matters and luxury taxes

July 15, 2009

There’s a lot of money talk coming from the NBA these days. Perhaps it’s just coincidence that the league will start talks for a new Collective Bargaining Agreement soon. Perhaps it’s the economy. Perhaps it’s both. But the league predicted a 29.3 percent drop in ticket sales by for the Clippers this season (this is [...]

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A slow time in sports leads to summer basketball

July 13, 2009

With the All-Star break upon us, this is clearly the slowest time of the year in professional sports. But … there’s the NBA Summer League.
This is a nice place to follow its happenings. It’s here I learned that Orlando quietly picked up another 6-11 guy who can shoot threes in the Vince Carter trade, that [...]

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Dwayne Wade says no to Cleveland

July 10, 2009

Kind of busy writing Sunday stuff for the newspaper, but I did notice this …
Dwayne Wade told Dan Patrick's radio show that he and LeBron James have talked about playing on the same team, and it could happen if they both become free agents in 2010. But it won't be in Cleveland.
"I don't like the weather [...]

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Not something you see written about often

July 8, 2009

Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star addresses a delicate topic: Are the Indiana Pacers too white?

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Another NBA free agent goes to a Cavs competitor

July 6, 2009

Well the Boston Celtics just got better. Rasheed Wallace for two years at the mid-level exception. I kind of wish the Cavs had done that, though clearly there is risk involved. Cavs GM Danny Ferry is very good at laying low until he finds the right guy, and there are guys available (Shawn Marion, Josh [...]

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Shaq posted this photo of himself on Twitter (it is all Shaq, all the time)

July 1, 2009
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The Celtics were pretty cold with Leon Powe

July 1, 2009

Leon Powe's story shows why players have agents and ridiculous talent-show judges ask for hundreds of millions of dollars. You just never know what will happen. (As for Simon Cowell … if this blog drew $900,000,000 for the paper, I would not ask for a penny over $143 million. What the heck you gonna do [...]

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NBA free agency gets underway

July 1, 2009

Interesting NBA free agency takes from Marc Stein of ESPN:
If the Cavs are interested in Charlie Villanueva (and why wouldn't they be?) it'll be difficult. Detroit has entered the fray and has actual salary cap room to make Villanueva a better offer. Money does talk, after all.
UPDATE: According to Yahoo, Villanueva and Ben Gordon are [...]

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A Shaq quote on Cleveland!

June 30, 2009

From SI.com: "My wife said this is the first time she's seen a great team get a great player and not lose any players. But I'm going to take it one game. Anybody can say [they're going to win a title, but now you've got to get there. Anytime you're in the Finals, they want [...]

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Idle thought

June 29, 2009

Did anyone besides me notice Ricky Rubio's answer when asked at the draft what NBA player he is most like (asked because few have seen him play since he played in Spain). His answer: "I'm Ricky Rubio." Glad he cleared that up. With that statement, it became official: We have another snot-nosed kid walking around [...]

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The DeJuan Blair mystery solved

June 29, 2009

Ian Thomsen clears up the mystery about DeJuan Blair of Pitt, and why he didn't go until the second round in the draft. According to Thomsen, Blair underwent ACL surgery on both knees in high school, and many teams said his long-term prognosis was not good. Thomsen finds some disagreement on Blair's long-term health, though. [...]

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Shaq's reaction to the trade

June 29, 2009

The video that Shaquille O'Neal posted on his Twitter page (shoot me) made its way to YouTube. Here's the video, which Shaq dubbed his first official reaction to the trade to Cleveland (lyrics below):

I'm here at the crossroad.
Where my life is heading, man I don't know.
Should I stay or should I go?
Cause anything's better then [...]

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Some interplay with Shaq, LeBron and Dwight Howard at the 2007 All-Star Game

June 25, 2009

Shaq wins!

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Shaq!

June 25, 2009

Wow.
A holee molee hang-on-to-your hats wow.
The Cavs added Shaquille O'Neal to their roster, and gave nothing up of consequence. Heck, one of the guys they gave up – Sasha Pavlovic – might even wind up back on the team (grimace now).
To get an All-Star and all-timer and all-personality guy, a guy who can compete with [...]

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Some NBA trade rumors to ponder

June 23, 2009

Some interesting trade rumors out there as Thursday's NBA Draft approaches.
How about Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo of Boston going to Detroit for Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Rip Hamilton? Interesting, but it's not going to happen.
Or Washington sending the fifth and 14th picks in Thursday's draft alon with a young guard to Phoenix forAmare [...]

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The Lakers celebration — and Kobe's T-Shirt

June 18, 2009

These are the Los Angeles Lakers appearing for their championship celebration, which drew about 400 people to the Staples Center. Note all the players are wearing white T-shirts, except Kobe Bryant, who has a grey one over the white shirt.

Now here is a closeup of the white T-Shirts and Bryant's.
 
The white one celebrates the team [...]

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The nerve of the Phoenix Suns

June 16, 2009

Imagine this novelty in the NBA: The Suns want actual (gasp) players if they trade Shaquille O'Neal.
No retired guys.
No ball boys.
No assistant trainers.
No contracts worth mega-millions that will run out at the end of the season (OK, maybe one of those).
Real, honest-to-goodness players.
Numerous national and local stories indicate that the Cavs will not be able [...]

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It wasn't all zen coaching and Kobe

June 15, 2009

The Lakes are a good team. They've proven themselves to be the NBA's best. But it wasn't all genius and Kobe Bryant that led them to the title. They had some good fortune — including the gimme trade with Memphis for Pau Gasol. The Lakers are not the first team to have things go their way [...]

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Just wondering …

June 15, 2009

What is it, exactly, in the human psyche that prompts folks to act this way because their team won a professional title?

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X marks Phil's spot

June 15, 2009

It takes a certain amount of gumption to have a hat ready with an 'X' on the front, but Phil Jackson has never lacked for gumption. The hat he wore after the Lakers win Sunday signified the 10th title he'd won as a coach. That reality prompted one wise NBA writer to opine that that [...]

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Some more thoughts while flying to Orlando

May 24, 2009

—It is imperative that Mo Williams find his shot tonight. At times in Game 2, Williams looked like a mess. He hesitated on shots and looked very uncertain. The Cavs made a concerted effort to get him shots early, and when he didn't make them his shooting struggles (13-for-40 in the series, 57-for-139 in the [...]

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The word from Orlando

May 22, 2009

Courtney Lee had a pretty eye-opening dunk on LeBron James in Game 1, a one-handed throw-down as James was preparing to block the shot. ""He shook my hand on the side after I dunked on him. It's all about competition, man," Lee said…. Lee was a counselor at one of James' Nike camps at Western [...]

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The Cavs lose Game 1 to Orlando

May 21, 2009

Mike Brown called his team's offense in the second half of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals "stagnant."
That's putting it politely. The Cavs lost Game 1 to Orlando because they quit doing the things they had done all season, things that won them 66 games. That meant ball movement and player movement. But in [...]

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Sartorial Stan

May 20, 2009

Said Magic coach Stan Van Gundy of his clothes: "I know how I look. I'm aware of it. I have mirrors in my house."

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Were Iverson's ears burning?

May 19, 2009

Interesting tale on how the Denver Nuggets acquired one of my favorite NBA players, Chauncey Billups. And it includes a tale of LeBron James at the Olympics in China that's rather humorous: 'We're talking about practice!' Le Bron James declared as he led (Carmelo Anthony) and other rich, famous members of Team USA on a [...]

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