The Time Is Now

by Jack Maidment

The year of the veteran or the year of the end?

This past off season has seen a passing of the torch of sorts with one generation’s past superstars begrudgingly and without acknowledgement stepping aside to make way for the next.

This means two things. The old guard are gone. Tracy McGrady, Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson are the symbols and their end will in all likelihood be without the fanfare that they still hear in their heads.

Age has caught up with these players who used to sit atop the very pinnacle of basketball excellence. In all three of their respective careers they were, at one point or another the best in the game.

For T-Mac that moment was all too fleeting, the odd game, the odd month. For Iverson and Shaq their shine was more durable, more enduring and they shone the brightest.

The very best.

But now, the dream has died, the fantasy has been lived and it is time to go.

Only one of the three has a job for next year and any chance to start is down to injury and injury only. Would Boston have gambled on O’Neal or for that matter O’Neals had Kendrick Perkins not gone down with a knee injury

As for Iverson and McGrady? The bottom line is that no one wants them. And that has got to be tough. Another season might happen for both, more likely for McGrady than Iverson, but any dreams of a contract without some sort of release clause should things turn pear shaped is pure fantasy.

The second thing is that the time is now for LeBron, Wade, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and all those guys drafted between 2003 and 2008.

The NBA is now theirs. This is their peak, their history. They are now The Generation.

The reality is they now have 5-7 years of gold to make their bid: for wins, for titles, for legacy, for the Hall.

It is time for the changing of the guard.

LeBron James + Miami Heat = Disappointment

by Jack Maidment

LeBron James announced last night that he would join the Miami Heat.

‘The Decision’ has to rank highly, perhaps number one, on the death of society/car crash television moments.

He sold out his home-town on live, national television. Surely a move of someone with absolutely zero self awareness since the damage to Brand LeBron will be irreversible.

The Cleveland Cavaliers did everything they could to help LeBron win in his 7 years there. They spent money and gave him any number of sidekicks and the support of the fans never slipped below adoration, even when the Cavs crashed or limped out of the playoffs year after year.

Yet, instead of operating with some class and filling in the team that has been his since he turned pro with advanced news of his decision he left them blind, finding out with the rest of us.

Dan Gilbert’s response of fury and capitals is absolutely understandable.

All of Ohio will be rooting against him now, along with everyone else who isn’t a Miami fan.

By electing to join Wade and Bosh on South Beach LeBron has thrown away the chance of ever being in the same category as the NBA’s previous great players and winners.

What separates the greats from the also rans is the fact that they are driven to win, but more than that they need to win on their terms.

Would Bird, Magic, Jordan, Kobe or Russell have deserted their respective teams after 7 years of hitting the wall? No, because any set backs acted as fuel to add to their competitive fire.

For that reason LeBron’s decision will be viewed as a cop out, the easy option.

The most physically gifted player possibly in the history of the game decided to take the short cut and for that reason only Heat fans and network television executives will have anything resembling love in the years to come.

It is time to accept that LeBron is not the best player in the game. Nor will he ever be. The best player doesn’t defer. Basketball is not a sport played by committee. He just isn’t wired to be a winner on his own.

The Miami Heat and LeBron James. The team and player you (now) love to hate.

Let the backlash commence.

Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh Miami Heat bound

Miami: two for three, one day to go

by Jack Maidment

Dwyane Wade has agreed to re-sign with the Miami Heat – and he is bringing the most coveted big man in this year’s free agent class with him.

Chris Bosh will make his long anticipated departure from the Toronto Raptors to head for the sunshine and tax breaks of South Beach.

Details of each player’s respective contracts have yet to be discussed, with one eye on LeBron James and his announcement on ESPN this evening at 9pm, ET.

Should James decide to join Wade and Bosh in Miami the three of them would be setting an unrivalled precedent in the NBA: taking a significant pay cut to play together in the name of a championship, or championships.

It seems at this stage that James is more likely to re-sign with his home town Cleveland Cavaliers because of his stated desire to be a global icon and billionaire.

Leaving Ohio without delivering a championship would be a serious smudge on his legacy and winning with two other All-NBA talents in Miami would not bring the same benefits and respect that winning with himself as the main man would.

The other problem with Wade, Bosh and James playing on the same team, aside from whose team it will be in crunch time, will be signing other players to fill out the rest of the roster, with the Heat only being offer to offer the veteran minimum of $1 million after taking care of the Big Three.

Can three players win a championship with little help?

A tandem of Wade and Bosh with money to fill out the roster might almost be the better option with plenty complimentary talent and no question over who gets the last shot of the game.

Carlos Boozer is a Chicago Bull

by Jack Maidment

A long courtship was finally resolved yesterday with the announcement that Carolos Boozer will be wearing the red white and black of the Chicago Bulls for the considerable future.

The 28-year-old power forward agreed to a 5-year, $80 million deal.

The move will give the Bulls the low post threat that they have been lacking for many seasons and the addition of Boozer should make for one of the better front courts in the NBA, teaming with Joakim Noah and Luol Deng.

Boozer moving to a new team was the most predictable of any of the free agent moves this year given the number of times he has said he wanted to leave the Utah Jazz in the past two seasons.

The move will also be seen as a boost for Chicago’s chances of landing LeBron James ahead of his decision live on ESPN tonight, 9 ET.

Joe Johnson Commits to Atlanta Hawks

by Jack Maidment

The Atlanta Hawks offered Joe Johnson a six-year, $119 million deal on July 1 and he has agreed to sign, making him the first of this year’s premier free agents to commit to their future.

A cynic would say that any meetings the 29-year-old had with other teams in the past four days were a highly visible way of compelling the Hawks to offer Johnson the money that he wanted.

Or perhaps he just loves Atlanta and was glad to make the deal.

Either way the Hawks kept the man that matters most to their franchise. Regardless of any playoff exits in the past few years the fact is that Johnson has led a team long a basement dweller into the light of the post season.

A Championship is far from realistic but number 2′s signature means the Hawks can carry on being relevant at least.

If Johnson can start to thrive in the playoff atmosphere, something he has not done up to this point, the Hawks could yet surprise someone in the Conference semis in the next few years.

Or the deal could turn out to be a crippling financial burden; too much money for an ageing shooting guard who has never shown he is capable of carrying a team when it needs him too.

As for Amare Stoudemire and the Knicks it seems that regardless of how convinced he is that he will be playing in New York for the next 5 years he will have to wait for LeBron to say no before he can say yes, or wait for an invite from James.

It is understood that the Knicks have given LeBron the chance to pick his own big man as part of their pitch.

NBA 2010 Offseason: One to Cherish

by Jack Maidment

With one Game 7 victory the Los Angeles Lakers brought to a close another NBA season and ushered in the much vaunted free agency class of 2010. Beyond that and the Draft? Not much, so let us savour every last morsel of relevant basketball related information until the League goes in to its recuperation period.

In a matter of days those who can will be making their runs at the player(s) who they believe can save/help/resurrect their franchises.

For New York it means persuading LeBron that there is more to life than winning.

For Chicago it means showcasing Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah as the two-three punch on a potential championship team.

For Miami it means retaining Dwyane Wade.

Everyone else will flail and fail; or at least try and pass off Joe Johnson as a saviour.

And Chris Bosh will tell all that will listen that he can be the centre piece of a winning team.

All of this will take place while the Lakers sit on a roster that looks good to dominate the NBA for the next three years.

With the undoubted demolition of the Boston Celtics, LeBron’s contract status and Vince Carter still playing for the Orlando Magic, the standard out East will be no where close to the challengers this year gone.

Something major will have to take place in the West to turn the race for the Conference Crown into something more than a one horse cake walk.

In short: LA is the King. And the King stay the King until.

As for the Draft the Wizards can look forward to a future with John Wall in charge. What happens to Gilbert Arenas (he stays, plays, doesn’t explode) will have a large bearing on how big a turnaround the Wizz can hope for.

Meanwhile Evan Turner’s move to Philadelphia should inject some life into a Sixers franchise long bereft of relevancy.

Beyond that the draft is a mixed bag but cherish it because in a few weeks all there will be is Summer League.

Urgh.

LeBron to NY? Now that is an easy decision.

by Jack Maidment

As you might expect, there is a lot of conjecture surrounding LeBron James and the choice he will make this coming summer.

Stay or go. That is the question.

From what you read and what you here there are apparently only two options: remain in Cleveland or head to New York.

Fair enough. I am in agreement with almost everybody else in thinking these are the only two realistic and viable options, barring some sort of mythical agreement between Wade, Bosh and James to take less money and start a super team someplace.

Ian O’Connor wrote a piece for ESPN this past week in which he suggests that LeBron simply must go and play for the Knicks because, according to Mr O’Connor New York is much better than every where else.

Or something along those lines.

Apparently winning a championship in NY City is more of a big deal than anywhere else.

Ok.

I’m going to disagree with that.

And here is why.

Imagine you are the captain of the English football team and through some freak occurrence you end up winning the World Cup in South Africa.

But the team you are playing for isn’t your homeland but Brazil, or Italy, a country to which you have little affinity.

Would lifting the World Cup be special?

Of course.

But how much better would it be lifting it while representing the country, the people and the communities that run through your veins and make up who you are?

Is the same not transposable to LeBron?

He is after all a young man born and raised in the state of Ohio.

The city he calls his own, Akron, is a matter of minutes from the arena he plays every other night.

Anyone who has seen More Than a Game will know just how much the area means to LeBron.

And yet, all of this seems to be superseded in the minds of writers when they have anything to say on the matter.

Its all about New York being the biggest market and how great Knicks’ fans are and how much fun LeBron would have in the city.

Some of that may be true.

But he already plays for his hometown team and the admiration Cleveland Cavalier fans show him can not be matched anywhere.

Go to New York and he will be loved but not in the same way.

He will be a mercenary waging war for a team and a city with which he has no bond, no connection, except for a liking for one of the baseball teams.

You can forget your bigger market, your smaller amount of money, your great fans, your ‘unsurpassable’ victory parades and everything else that goes with The Big Apple.

All of that pales into insignificance with bringing a title to the place you hold dearest.

Some things cannot be bought.

He will stay.

Jamison move makes LeBron’s Cavs Big. And Favourites.

Jamison adds size and scoring

by Jack Maidment

The past three years in the NBA have taught us one thing more than any other: the cold war didn’t die, it just moved.

The arms race that characterised the battle for supremacy between the USA and the Soviet Union has re-emerged only this team its basketball teams that are stockpiling weapons.

Unless you’re poor that is.

In which case you are probably one of teams that is allowing this whole process of one-up-man-ship to happen.

For if there were no teams looking to shed salary so that they can try and fail to sign LeBron James there would be no opportunity for the ‘haves’ to pillage the ‘have-nots’.

Case in point, Antawn Jamison to Cleveland on deadline day.

A continually combusting Washington Wizards pulled the trigger on a trade in which they will receive next to nothing with one of the pieces supposedly heading to the capital, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, undoubtedly returning to the Cavs once the mandatory 30 day period has elapsed.

(Ironically, the Wiz have traded the two of their big three that didn’t cause them any problems. Gilbert Arenas, AKA the man no-one wants to play with remains. The Wiz: The Next Knicks. Have you seen his contract?)

So the Cavs gain a former All-Star and one of the most underrated scorers in the League for a bag of chips.

Scoring and versatility at the 4 was something that the Cavs were lacking and Jamison certainly fills the hole.

The trade leaves Cleevland with a wealth of front court options, with the potential to field LeBron at point-forward, Jamison at scoring guard and a front 3 of Big Z, Shauille O’Neal and Anderson Varejao.

The Lakers are no longer the biggest team in the League.

If the two meet in the Finals there will never have been two bigger teams physically squaring off in the history of the game.

So where does this move for Jamison (and Sebastian Telfair who was also thrown in) put the Cavaliers?

It was the last throw of the dice for Danny Ferry, Cavs GM, who has done everything possible to try and surround LeBron James with the best team possible.

He sure isn’t making LeBron’s decision in the upcoming off season any easier.

The Cavs are certainly a lot bigger now and much more dangerous in a half court set with Jamison able to stretch the floor.

Defensively they are now more of handful with the largest interior of any team in the League.

They have size, bulk, shot blocking, physicality and athleticism.

Will they win the East?

Yes.

Will they win the Finals?

It is on that question that the future of the League could depend.

Win and LeBron almost certainly stays for the next 5 years.

Lose, again, and he will have all the reasons he needs to go after a fresh start.

I say he wins.

And he stays.

Allen Iverson Retires. Headed to the Hall.

by Jack Maidment

Allen Iverson, undoubtedly one of the greatest NBA players of all time, has announced his plans to retire at the age of 34.

After agreeing terms with the Memphis Grizzlies in what appeared to be a bad fit, the high scoring guard only stayed in Grace-land long enough to suit up, come off the bench and decide that, um, thanks, but no thanks.

What appeared a bad fit from the start, Iverson simply proved the scores of critics correct by walking away from a team which wasn’t prepared to sacrifice the growth of its’ young core for the sake of an ageing superstar’s ego.

The fact that Memphis were the only team League wide to vaguely appear serious in their pursuit of the free agent should have proven a fairly dramatic wake up call for the 4 time NBA leading scorer and 2001 MVP recipient whose stock has plummeted in recent years.

The #1 pick in the 1996 Draft, Iverson’s first 10 years in the NBA showed the world a new type of basketball player, a new way to play.

Listed at a generous 6ft Iverson dominated the game in a way that was previously unthinkable for someone of such a relatively diminutive stature. His small stature allowed fans to directly relate to him; it was easier to root for a guy whose head isn’t a foot above yours.

The gaudy numbers, the cross-over, the tattoos, the outspoken nature, Iverson irrevocably changed the NBA. The influence that his infectious personality has had on the League cannot be underestimated.

Whether it be dragging his Philadelphia team to the Finals or almost breaking the ankles of one Mr Jordan, Iverson’s early career was the perfect mix of talent, stats and controversy. Un-typically outspoken for a pro athlete, Iverson guaranteed one thing: it was never going to be dull.

Despite his out spoken nature and his predisposition for difficulty, “practice?” need we say more, every GM in the League would have given their left arm to acquire The Answer at the end of the 2001 season.

So what went wrong? How have we ended up in this mess, with no team willing to take on a player guaranteed of his place in the Hall of Fame? A player who clearly has a lot to give?

The answer is apparent.

Firstly, and quite simply, Iverson’s ego is gigantic. That is not to say he was arrogant, rather he displayed the confidence in his abilities that was necessary for a small guy to continually get punished by bigger men and keep coming back for more: if he didn’t believe in himself, who would?

While playing top dog at the 76ers all was well. His numbers justified his lofty mindset. But upon his trade to the Nuggets and subsequently the Pistons, Iverson was unable to comprehend his status as anything other than ‘The Man’.

He had never been asked to be ‘The Other Guy’, the role player, the supporting act.

He could stand in front of the media day after day and reassert his dedication to the cause and his willingness to do what the coach says for the good of the team, but the reality of the situation couldn’t have been more different.

Regardless of what people think of his conduct, or his apparent ‘lack of professionalism’ in not putting his team first, Iverson is unable to play from the bench.

That is a fact and it isn’t changing. Ever.

If he is unable to play from the bench and if he is unable to lead a team on his own any more, which regardless of what Iverson says, he can’t, he can no longer play in the NBA.

At 34, Iverson is in all likelihood not done. There will be an owner just crazy enough, or in need of a boost in revenue, who will take him on.

If his retirement is permanent and he has suited up for the last time, let us not remember the grouchy Piston or the quick-as-a-flash Grizzlie. Let us remember AI the 76er. The man who showed no fear and could score points like no other.

The man who is going to the Hall.

Toronto Raptor’s offensive prowess enough to keep Chris Bosh in Canada?

by Jack Maidment

Best scoring teams in the NBA this year. Phoenix Suns. Golden State Warriors. Toronto Raptors.

Wait.

The Raptors? As unlikely as it may seem, the Canadians rank third overall in points scored this season.

108.12 points per is pretty damn impressive, especially when you consider that the franchise has experienced a fairly radical reshape in the past few months.

Shawn Marion has gone. As has Anthony Parker. Both athletic wing players, both versatile, both missed?

Losing two of your better players doesn’t seem like the type of business strategy designed to keep your restless star player in town next year.

With that in mind, it was far from surprising when the Raptors aggresively pursued Hedo Turkoglu whose value, fresh from a trip to the Finals, was at its peak.

Whether or not the amount of money Toronto splurged on snatching Turkoglu from the clutches of the Portland Trailblazers has had the desired effect on Chris Bosh’s mindset regarding 2010 and free agency, there can be no denying the benefits of having the ex Orlando Magic forward on your squad.

14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists may not exactly justify the man’s contract, but Hedo is certainly balling as he tries to adapt to a new home town, a new system. The level he was at last year should eventually come back to him as he adjusts to the wants and needs of his new team.

If Turkoglu isn’t blowing up with points every night, how are the Raps so prolific on the offensive end?

Their much coveted big man and his larger frame is perhaps the main reason. Chris Bosh has been putting up the kind of numbers that will have GMs across the land salivating. 29 points, almost 12 rebounds, 2 assists and a block a game. Numbers worthy of the anticipated demand for his services next summer.

The problem for the Raptors is that basketball is a game played on both ends of the floor. They are currently suffering from the same affliction that has dwelt in Golden State for some years. Entertaining for sure, but the ‘we’ll score more than you’ philosophy can only get you so far.

Defense is the key. A boring fact, but a fact all the same. Allowing 108.62 points a game just isn’t going to get it done in the NBA and it is for that reason the the Raps sit at .500, 3 games won, 3 games lost.

Until they develop a defensive identity the Raptors will remain a team on the cusp of greatness. They have enough fire power to worry any team in the League, but the consistency that a solid defense would bring is sorely missing.

Their status as dark horses for dishing out a playoff upset is well founded, especially given the promising play of rookie wing DeMar DeRozan who is right next to Brandon Jennings in terms of chances of excitement when a rookie plays.

The question for Toronto fans is simple: will the Raptors’ collective performance this year be enough to convince Chris Bosh to stay north of the border?

If it is, Toronto should have a promising few years ahead of them: Bargnani is always improving, Turkoglu should have 3 solid years to come, Calderon’s ability to run a team is unlikely to evaporate and the future of DeRozan is undeniably bright.

If not, Toronto will truly feel the sizeable hole left by Bosh, in all probability consigning the franchise to further years in the NBA wilderness, neither awful or great.

Mediocrity. Nothing more frustrating.