AK = V.I.P.
Mamba. Matrix. AK-47. All three of them tried their best to get themselves traded at some point during the offseason, and all three stayed put because they’re just too important to their respective franchises. (Although Utah should be exploring whatever it takes to land a Big Three of Kobe, Boozer and Deron.) Last night Kirilenko showed the whole repertoire, dominating both ends of the floor in a blowout win over the Grizzlies. AK was all over the place, putting up 15 points, 12 boards, 9 dimes, 4 steals, 1 block, a handful deflected passes and causing an undefinable amount of Memphis mayhem. At the same time, though, we gotta call AK out for ducking and running out of the way as Rudy Gay came swooping in for a lefty dunk. AK wasn’t letting himself end up on the Top 10 … Dwight Howard (33 pts, 18 rebs) was all over the court against the Suns (including a crazy dunk over Brian Skinner and his ridiculous beard), but it wasn’t enough to get the W. Tough to really blame the Magic for this one, though. They just came off a lengthy road trip and had no rest before getting put in the Suns hamster wheel … Leandro Barbosa had 39 points on 8 triples. What kind of numbers do you think he’d put up on a team where he was The Man? … These first two weeks have the Raptors making a solid case for Schizo Team of the Year. They can’t seem to shake the Sixers, yet they took the Celtics down to the last shot. They destroyed the Nets, yet they get blown out by the Bucks. Last night we saw Good Toronto in a road rout of the Bulls, a 30-piecing in which everyone was getting theirs. Really, Carlos Delfino even led the Raps in scoring … Chicago’s only highlight of the night was Tyrus Thomas pulling off an ugly (and perhaps accidental) version of the T-Mac Special, going off the glass to himself for a two-hander … So much for Indiana’s hot start. After blowing a 25-point first half lead to the Nuggets, the Pacers have lost three in a row and look average again. Carmelo (32 pts, 10 rebs) and A.I. (27 pts, 10 asts) had big nights, but Linas Kleiza (21 pts) was a problem, too. After looking like someone who didn’t quite understand his role in the past, Kleiza is a different player this year. He’s more confident and getting buckets in every form … Another Celtics blowout. Another dominating performance by the Big Three. Are we really looking at a Sox/Pats/C’s sweep? Utah really needs to look into that Kobe thing … There were some around the Dime office who said they wouldn’t believe O.J. Mayo would actually play for USC until they saw him in uniform on the court. It happened yesterday, and O.J. put up numbers (32 pts), but his 18th-ranked squad lost to Mercer. Just too many turnovers for SC (including 8 for O.J.) and Mercer was on fire from the tip. Mayo jacked up 27 shots, by the way. After Game 1, O.J. is second in the battle for national Freshman of the Year — which might double as the battle for national Player of the Year — after Michael Beasley’s bananas 32-point, 24-rebound show in K-State’s opener … We’re out like Bad Toronto …
November 11th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Tamilan says:
Yeah AK47 has skills, offensive and defensive. I don’t blame him from getting out of Gay’s way. That dunk wouldn’t have been stopped.
If anyone should get Kobe, its the Bulls. Everytime i seen Gordon play, he’s jacking up shots and getting in fluke layups. Luol Deng on the other hand has value. Keep an eye out for Jamario Moon of the raptors. Dude had a sick dunk and a rejection on Luol Deng.
November 11th, 2007 at 9:52 am
hollowhustla says:
“What kind of numbers do you think he’d put up on a team where he was The Man?”
Wasn’t he the man for the Brazilian National Team? Don’t think he could carry a team (ala AI), but he is good at what he does, no doubt.
November 11th, 2007 at 10:19 am
João says:
I’m from Brazil, and I dont think that Barbs have all the tools to be “the man” on a team. The way he is with the Suns is the perfect combination for him. He is the kind of player that when is playing under the radar plays great, but whem all eyes are on him, dont do very well. But one thing we got to give to him, he is fast …
“As quick as Nash is, he can’t even match Barbosa’s quickness,” Van Gundy said. “Leandro Barbosa is the fastest man in the NBA.”
November 11th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Amar says:
so far, Ak cheated out of back-to-back triple doubles because of Sloan’s rotation system (likes to emphasise team game by holding guys back so they don’t make some milestones . . . like when he benched stock so he couldn’t go and get the all-time assists / game record, he’s had like 5 games of 28 assists with 8 mins to go, and never got a chance to break it) by a grand total of 2 boards and 1 assist. AK is looking good, bad news for the jazz is that they’re not going to be playing against Golden State, Cleveland, Seattle and Memphis all season long.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:16 am
jbodden says:
first off i believe that the trade rumors and paxson refusing to extend contracts got the bulls twisted but they got a curse on them cuz they used to have a interior scorer but now they dont and that was curry but i understand that curry wasn’t killing in chicago then but now their in desperate ned of one and they should consider someone like paul gasol or if they didn’t trade lamarcus aldridge on draft night for Tyrus thomas they eould have been tough team to beat in the east but Paxson knows what he’s doing ….yeah right..lol
I like the role barbosa plays on the team because that adds alot of fire power to their bench it’s like a starting six and that’s why they have so much wins every year because when players are injured here comes barbosa to save the day
and on another note….
Tim floyd must be tight right now because of the lost to mercer but even tight because O.J. along with every body else didn’t take care of the ball but 32 points is great but it’s nothing it’s only early in the season and that’s a learning lesson for OJ ,and his 07 classmate beasley is making a point right now that he is already national freshman of the year but we have to see what goes down in the regular season and in the tournament than we can decide
November 11th, 2007 at 11:35 am
seth says:
as a Kobe fan, I’d love to believe that “winning is the only thing” for him and that he’d go to a Utah squad that you correctly said would tear stuff up if they somehow had Kobe, Deron and Booze…but in reality, would Kobe (or any other headliner) willfully go to UTAH? I mean we’re talking about UTAH. Not NY, not Chicago, not even Minnesota…we’re talking about UTAH. The same UTAH immortalized by Dennis Rodman. We’re talking about UTAH.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:48 am
Duke says:
The only thing Utah has…….sorry Utah, I don’t really know.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Bone says:
Well the only thing Utah has is an All-Star power forward and the best Under-25 PG in the League, which is more than the Bulls, Lakers, Knicks, or pretty much any team in the League can say (Suns and Spurs have the PG and post player, just slightly older PGs). How sick would those three be together? I shudder to think.
If you are Utah, what do you offer? AK as the centerpiece, Ronnie Brewer, Millsap, and a couple picks? Although with those three, I would rather trade Memo than Millsap if I am the Jazz. Millsap doesn’t need the ball to be effective. How about a starting unit of Deron, Kobe, Harpring, Millsap, and Boozer? Siiiiiiiiiiiiiick!
November 11th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
MiCkeY MoNDaY says:
Dwight Howard for president!
November 11th, 2007 at 12:28 pm
E-ROC says:
If Kobe goes to the Jazz, it’s over!!!! I feel bad for Dwight Howard because he has no help besides Lewis and Nelson. Turkoglu has had some good games, but we all know that fool will disappear down the stretch.
Doc Rivers needs to stop playing the big 3 40 minutes a game. The regular is a marathon, not a sprint. The Big 3 might not have anything left in the tank in end. Doc needs to take a page of Popovich’s book and play the reserves, no matter how horrible they are.
November 11th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
John Adams says:
salt lake city isn’t as painfully white and mormon as you might imagine, though those qualities are befitting of the rest of the state. it’s actually fairly liberal, and i’ll say it, somewhat hip. like a baby-denver, but with a distinct flavor in its own right.
November 11th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
stupid idiots says:
kobe would never agree to go to utah. he’d veto in a second dipshits. utah has ZERO marketability
November 11th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
E-ROC says:
stupid idiots–If Kobe has chance to play with a dynamic superstar in Deron Williams and a good low post player in Boozer, I’m sure he would say “yeah” to that trade.
November 11th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Duke says:
Yes, because we all know kobe is a rational thinker and would want to go to Utah. Wait, he isn’t a rational thinker.
November 11th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Bone says:
If Kobe were to veto a trade to Utah, it would officially validate what we all think about him - that it really isn’t about winning. If he does agree to a trade there, if one came up, it would be a nice clean-up for his image.
November 11th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
db says:
I’m sure Kobe’s agent would block a trade to Utah before even picking up the phone to talk to Kobe about it. You lose two thirds of your endorsement value instantly.
November 11th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Bron42 says:
First off…Kobe isn’t gettin traded to the west, you all need to accept that. On top of that kobe wouldnt go to utah. saying utah isn’t “AS white or mormon as you think” still means its pretty white and mormon. not to mention its not really marketable and they’d have to give up their whole bench minus morris almond to get him ala kg. So then its pretty much boozer,kobe,deron and some guys. I dunno if that cuts it in the west. Boozer is good but not that good. Lets not forget he tends to have injuries.
Dwight is sick, and now that they got their injury exception for battie, they need to make some moves to strengthen that bench. Sign DJ mebenga for like a coconut and 4 dollars and then use the rest for a SG who can actually play (sorry bogans, sorry reddick).
Whats worse, Brian skinners frosted beard or drew goodens chalk board eraser on his neck?
p.s: gimme beasly or rose over gordon and mayo anyday.
November 11th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Jules says:
Somebody on the Suns need to go and cut off Brian Skinner’s bleaching accident while he sleeps…
November 11th, 2007 at 4:28 pm
stupid idiots says:
E-ROC you are the biggest dumbass in the world.. this is bigger than just kobe not wanting to play for the lakers…if he decides to leave, and doesnt go to another big american basketball city like newyork, LA clips, or chicago, he loses a SHITLOAD of money from endorsements. and by shitload i mean about the same as his nba salary. so there is absolutely no chance that he will go to utah. he wont do even if they are stacked like boston. Thats why he threatened to sign wit the clips if the lakers didnt trade shaq… you think kobe thinks that the clips would be contenders? dumbass its in LA so he can still make the same amount of endorsement dollars as if he was on the Lakers.
November 11th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
DOC says:
Sixers need one of them young guns
November 11th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
Austin Burton says:
“Sign DJ mebenga for like a coconut and 4 dollars”
That was hilarious.
As far as Kobe to Utah, I believe his Nike money is guaranteed, so he won’t lose that. What are his other endorsements? Didn’t he lose McDonald’s and Gatorade during the Colorado thing? I agree that it’s more likely his agent that kills that deal than Kobe himself, but a Jazz squad of Deron/Kobe/Booz and spare parts could be a Celtics-like juggernaut.
I’d like to think Kobe is in the same mindset as A-Rod. He’s tired of living in a city where everything he does is under a microscope and would welcome an environment where he can just play ball.
November 11th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
Bron42 says:
ya but kobe also has to kno, like a-rod, with his star power, hes never not gonna be under the microscope. unless hes playin for the alaska national team cameras will follow kobe.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
bigdre says:
what can utah offer to get kobe? okur, brewer, giricek, and AK? that’s a bit too much pieces to give up for kobe. if i was utah, i’d wait out for brewer to develop further or get a cheaper yet proven 2 guard in the offseason. it’s not like they can’t get any better with this team considering they got great young talent in d-will, brewer, and booze.
November 11th, 2007 at 11:48 pm
Gee says:
Kobe to Orlando. No I don’t have any justification what-so-ever lol. I just think that would be the Shizzz. I don’t know how in the world they would get him though. I would give up Rashard, Carlos and J.J. 2 draft picks and some cash. Boom I got Kobe, Dwight, Hedo, and Jameer…..that is sick…..Stop playin!
Forget his agent, KB would nix that deal. Kobe ain’t trying to see Utah, and I don’t blame him. That trio would be nice, but it wouldn’t have the same flare as Boston’s.
Houston really could use a player like AK or Shawn. More than that, a solid and consistent pg.
Brian Skinner’s team should hold him down and just cut that ish off!
Yea on the real if I am Barbosa I am trying to get on a squad where I am man and have a green light. Although I think he kinda likes his roll, cause he doesn’t have so much pressure.
Denver is looking good at times. Still…no good thing will come (ring wise) as long as G.K. is coaching, but that is just Gee.
Beasley is serving notice, that is all that was! OJ scored the same amount as the number he wears right??
Georgetown is going to miiiiissss Green.
….still cracking up at Damon Jones and him throwing “the worst alley-oop ever”.
November 12th, 2007 at 2:31 am
GP says:
I lived in Utah for 2 yrs while I finished up my grad research, it is just as white and mormon as I thought it would be. “Baby denver”? WTF, no way Salt Lake should be mentioned in the same sentence as a actual city. No way Kobe would go to UTah and thats cool, because Utah, is well, Utah.
November 12th, 2007 at 7:47 am
Amar says:
If kobe was serious about winning, he wouldn’t be on the lakers. There are a lot of teams out there that are almost as flashy as the lakers in tinsletown though, so those are the places he’s interested in going to. It’s foolish to suggest that kobe + deron and booz wouldn’t be immediate title contenters. It’s similarly foolish to suggest that Kobe would ever be interested in going to that franchise.
It is funny, though, that all the black guys who DO end up signing with the jazz and give it a shot end up saying only nice things about it later on in life. Look at Thurl Bailey, he’s totally embraced the SLC community (but he’s played on a few teams in the L, yet chooses to live in utah).
That said, Kobe is a great talent, unfortunately, winning isn’t one of his priorities, otherwise he wouldn’t have ran shaq out of town. now he sees just how good he had it with the daddy. his resume since then has been a series of 1st round exists on the same magnitude of the t-macian tragedy.