Gilbert Arenas (photo. David Deal)It’s funny how people like us — you know them as “The Media” — will find anything to do to kill time in between big events. For example, we were watching “SportsCenter” at the office yesterday and they started a debate: “Which big man’s legacy is more on the line: Shaq or Tim Duncan?” Umm, are you serious? Shaq is a first ballot no-question Hall of Fame all-world center in any era, and Duncan is a first ballot no-question Hall of Fame all-world power forward in any era (or you could put him at center, we don’t care). Even if one of them gets swept out of the playoffs this year while averaging 10 points in the series, their legacies should not be negatively affected. Shaq and Duncan both have four championship rings and three Finals MVP’s. Whose legacy is on the line? Yeah, go ask Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Dominique Wilkins and Patrick Ewing about that … Ending his short-lived media boycott (we knew he couldn’t stay away from a mic for too long), Gilbert Arenas fired some shots over at the Cavs before their series starts today: “I’m an assassin. I get buckets,” Arenas told reporters after Friday’s Wizards practice. “I know I haven’t played in a long time, but the shot is still there, so when I come off that bench, there is going to be some trouble.” If you didn’t know, Arenas had said he wasn’t gonna talk to the media after he came back from his knee injury because he didn’t want to answer 1,500 “How’s your knee?” questions … Another FYI: Eddie Jordan said he’s going to at least begin the playoffs bringing Arenas off the bench. That’s not the worst idea, seeing as the rest of the Wizards have grown accustomed to Antonio Daniels being the starter and Gil has still been killing as a sixth man. But unless Daniels is amazing on a consistent basis, Arenas is one Washington loss away from being back in the starting five … A lot of people are picking the Wizards to upset the Cavs, and with good reason. Although LeBron himself is better than he was last year, this current Cleveland squad as a whole might not be better than last year’s version. And seeing as that group didn’t exactly blow past the sans-Arenas, sans-Caron Butler Wizards (it was a sweep, but the games were close), can these Cavs — with Delonte West and Devin Brown having a collective blip of playoff experience between them, and Wally Szczerbiak having only been past the first round once in career — hold off a Washington squad that has their Big Three back on the floor? … Arenas had another great quote when talking about how the Wizards want to cause distractions for LeBron, something along the lines of, “We’re gonna have everyone talking about the war when we just want the oil.” … Donnie Walsh officially dropped the guillotine on Isiah yesterday, relieving Zeke of his coaching duties but curiously saying Isiah would stick around in an “advisory” role. Why can’t they just divorce themselves of Isiah totally? Does James Dolan like him that much? This only adds to the suspicion some people have that Thomas has some dirt on Dolan … If you missed it yesterday, we broke down and ranked all 16 playoff teams from first (L.A.) to worst (ATL). We also ranked the teams on the outside of the playoffs looking in, to see where they sit in the League’s hierarchy while they wait for the Lottery balls to drop … ESPN2 aired a show counting down the 10 best NBA games of the season, with the Suns/Hornets double-overtime game (Peja’s game-winner; Shaq’s first official night as a Sun) getting the top spot. But how do you even talk about the second game of that outstanding Lakers/Warriors home-and-home series and fail to even acknowledge the Derek Fisher/Monta Ellis call that pretty much decided the whole thing? We would say because it was just a feel-good PR piece, but then they didn’t edit out Hedo Turkoglu’s Big Balls Dance after showing Hedo stick a game-winner against Boston … Nice touch by Chauncey Billups while talking about that Celtics/Pistons game where he hit the free throws with 0.1 seconds left, looking into the camera and laughing, “Watch the pump fake!” Tony Allen should take that personally … That was followed by a show counting down the Top 25 plays of the year. Not to sound like Knicks’ homers — ’cause their really aren’t that many NYK fans in the office — but Nate Robinson’s tip dunk should have cracked the top five Anyway, the actual top five was, (5) LeBron’s Shawn Kemp-like backwards double-pump buzzer-beating dunk, (4) Amare’s two blocks on the same play against Andray Blatche, (3) Michael Redd’s game-winning trey on the Cavs, (2) the Lakers’ play where Kobe tossed it over his head to Luke Walton who went behind the back to Lamar Odom for a dunk all in one motion, and (1) Ray Allen’s game-winning buzzer-beater against the Bobcats. So everyon’s been trying to will a Lakers/Celtics finals into fruition and pre-hype a series that hasn’t happened yet, and the top two plays of the entire season happen to feature L.A. and Boston? Hmmm … With the possibility of a Hornets/Jazz conference finals matchup still hanging out there, here’s one more wrinkle to add to the Chris Paul vs. Deron Williams rivalry: the third PG spot on Team USA could come down to a battle between CP and Deron, assuming Jason Kidd and Chauncey will get the first two spots. (Although we could see Chauncey voluntarily bowing out if he’s coming off another grueling playoff run.) So if it’s a choice between Paul and Williams, who would you take? … For the last week or so, our editorial assistant Andrew Katz has been down in Florida, trying out to become a Slamball athlete. After giving it a good run next to some legit former D-1 college ballplayers and overseas pros, ‘Drew is headed home. Check out his latest diary entry HERE … And while you’re at it, take the weekend to vote for the champion of our NBA 1-on-1 tournament. As expected, it’s come down to Kobe versus LeBron … We’re out like questioning Shaq and Duncan’s legacy …
April 19th, 2008 at 5:03 am
YOUNGFED says:
WTF Austin, Why Chauncey gotta bow out after a grueling playoffs. Why not Kid? You act like Chris/Deron be killin’ Chauncey when they meet. GTFOH.
April 19th, 2008 at 5:08 am
YOUNGFED says:
Oh ya Fuka 1st. Now yall corny ass cats can’t get it.
Holla!!!
April 19th, 2008 at 5:12 am
Mike says:
Dunk of the Year?
Stromile Swift over Tyrus Thomas:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2361364/Stromile-Swift-or-How-to-Increase-Vertical-Jump
April 19th, 2008 at 5:31 am
Ifte says:
4th you bitches
oh yeah Suns vs. Spurs, Hornets vs. Mavs, and Houston vs. Jazz all tomorrow
oh s.h.i.t Suns vs. Spurs in THE 1ST ROUND
April 19th, 2008 at 5:58 am
YOUNGFED says:
BETCHA’ DIDNT KNOW:
BY THE NUMBERS:
0 Number of technicals Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace have heading into the postseason (NBA wipes the slate clean for the playoffs)
3 Number of players with Philly/Detroit ties (Rasheed Wallace, Philadelphia; Hamilton, Coatesville; Willie Green, Detroit)
4 No. 7 seeds who have defeated a No. 2 seed since 1984
2-2 Season series record between the Pistons and 76ers
1983 Last time 76ers won a title
2005 Last time 76ers were in the playoffs (lost to Pistons, 4-1, in first round)
April 19th, 2008 at 6:23 am
G says:
Cute. But the Pistons are gonna PAY WHAT THEY OWE! THE SIXERS COMIN FO’ THAT ASS!
April 19th, 2008 at 6:40 am
YOUNGFED says:
lol @G, Good Boondocks quote
April 19th, 2008 at 7:43 am
doc says:
Well can we get back Sheed for fucking Willie then.
April 19th, 2008 at 9:23 am
YOUNGFED says:
Hell no all yall do in philly is boo Sheed anyway.
April 19th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Suciniac says:
Seems like Isiah has something on Dolan after all.No other single person has caused so much damage to a ball club than Isiah(not even Artest) and he will still keep a job with the Knicks.That’s just ludicrous.
April 19th, 2008 at 10:54 am
QQ says:
I’ll take the Wiz over Cavs, but one warning for Arenas though: if he can’t keep his mouth shut, Lebron’s going to whip Zero’s ass.
April 19th, 2008 at 11:34 am
daquest?on says:
do u think the cavs would be this bad if they had carlos boozer?? i sure dont think s, i think they would have been way better but the gm dint take care of carlos boozer and that was a bad move
April 19th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Duke says:
Boozer is a better fit for Utah. He wouldn’t get half the touches he does in Utah if he was still with the Cavs.
April 19th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
eric says:
Can’t wait for the west series to start. Don’t see any series shorter than 6/7 games
So much has been said about how the playoffs differ to the season. Now a lot of team have to prove themselves in that context, hornets and suns esp.
I see the lakers take out the spurs in 7 in the west conf finals before losing to the celts in 7
April 19th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
K Dizzle says:
@ post 12
What? You gotta check your history
Cleveland didn’t screw booze over, he screwed them over.
Here’s the story cuz I’m too giddy like a kid on christmas for this playoff ball to write it all out
so it’s gonna be cut and paste
Free agency controversy
After the 2003-04 NBA season, in which Boozer averaged 15.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, the Cavaliers had the option of allowing him to become a restricted free agent, or keeping him under contract for one more year at a $695,000 salary. The Cavaliers claim to have reached an understanding with Boozer and his agent on a deal for approximately $39 million over 6 years, which he would sign if they let him out of his current deal.
Once Cleveland eliminated the final year of Boozer’s deal, making him a restricted free agent, his agent began to receive calls. He received an offer from the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz had participated in the free agent market in previous years and had failed in attempts to sign Corey Maggette, Jason Terry and Elton Brand. They were determined to be successful and offered the most they could under the circumstances. Boozer signed their offer sheet, and Cleveland had the option to match, but were already over the salary cap, and so could match only up to the Mid-level exception, thus they ‘chose’ not to re-sign him. Boozer joined the Utah Jazz in July 2004 for six years and a total of US$70 million.
Boozer has denied that he made any commitment to the Cavaliers: “There was no commitment. It’s unfortunate how the turn of events went through the media,” Boozer said shortly after signing the deal with Utah. “I’m not a guy that gives my word and takes it away. I think I’ve made that clear.” However, Boozer’s agent subsequently ceased representation, and in addition former Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund has said, “In the final analysis, I decided to trust Carlos and show him the respect he asked for. He did not show that trust and respect in return.”
April 19th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
daquest?on says:
i dint say the cavs screwed boozer over i said that they dint pay him the money he deserved so he had to leave.. now on to my secnd point, duke said that boozer wouldnt have as many touches in utah as in cleveland so does that mean that lebron cant play with another legit star on his team?.. think about it boozer dint work, neither did larry hughes, and right now his team sucks
April 19th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
jz_smoove says:
i like boozer but man, he screwed the cavs in and out. no way you have no clue what your agent is up to. agent does what you tell them to do. agent can brainwash players, of what $$ they can expect to get for example or wheres good for them, but they still need orders what needs to be done.
April 19th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
QQ says:
@post 15
Cavs didn’t give Booze a high offer because he basically told them that he will stay with them, no matter what (ever heard of gentleman’s agreement?). But Booze decided that signing with another team that’ll give him loads of money is ‘better’ than the agreement. The Cavs had no choice but to let him go.
April 19th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Austin Burton says:
From my Boozer feature in Dime #35:
“Man, I wanted to stay. I love Cleveland. We were young, we were kicking butt, I’d just had a phenomenal year with LeBron … Me and him could have been one of the best combos to lead the new generation,” Carlos says. “But they took my option away to make room under the cap, and I had three offers from different teams for significantly more money. And I was really thinking hard, like, do I stay and take $30 million less or do I go?
“As soon as everything went down, I told LeBron I was getting offers from these three teams for X-amount of dollars,” he goes on. “And LB sent me a text right back, like, ‘Booz, do what you gotta do, man. I can’t tell you how much my life changed when I inked that Nike deal.’ See, LeBron is real like that. He was like, ‘Man, you got a wife, too? You better take that shit and run with it.’ People make it out like I stabbed someone in the back, but that’s not like me. I’m not the type of guy to shake your hand then do something behind your back.”
April 19th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
daquest?on says:
there u go
April 19th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
K Dizzle says:
there u go with what? He left cuz he got offered more money not because the cavs didn’t want to keep him so don’t use post 18 to back up your point
“but the gm dint take care of carlos boozer and that was a bad move”
they had an agreement and let him out of the contract expectin him to re-up which he didn’t cuz only a fool would leave 30 mil on the plate.
The cavs coulda held him to 2nd round money for one more season then paid him utah money after that contract was up, but they bargained in good faith and he ran when the chain was off. There’s a reason his agent quit on him after that. This story ain’t new and it’s not a secret what happened
one more thing, nice defense by Bell on manu in double overtime, that shit was weak
April 19th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
daquest?on says:
Well did the cavs pay him what he was worth?? i dont think so, so the gm dint take care of him, boozer wanted to stay in cleveland but danny ferry is cheap, go ask sasha and verajao.. n e wayz that suns and spurs was great
April 19th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
2 Easy says:
SPURS/SUNS…WAT…A…GAME!
April 19th, 2008 at 6:55 pm
SAS Sizzle says:
spurs suns is great already, what is the suns fans excuse today? they blew a huge lead and then there were three great shots by SAS to take it, duncan’s three was huuuge
April 19th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Big Aaron says:
Thirty mil is A LOT of money on top of an offer you’ve already received but if Booz truely wanted to stay in Cleveland, he would have played for less money and done what was right for the team. It not like the offer from Ferry was the NBA contract equivalent of a pack of Skittles and smile, this was still a huge amount of money. The part that grates on me from Austin’s post and previous article is this one:
“He was like, ‘Man, you got a wife, too? You better take that shit and run with it.’”
This is on a par with Spree’s comment about having to feed his family. Boozer wasn’t going to be on the poverty line without the extra $30m on top, was he? He would still be living it up like most of us can only dream of. I think a lot of people, myself included, would just let this whole thing go if he just came out and said “Yeah, I just wanted another $30 million in the bank. So what?” but he’s constantly trying to make out he’s the good guy and not in the wrong.
Anyway, if you wanna know about screwjobs, try being an Orlando fan and seeing Grant Hill do his fucking Bionic Man impersonation down in Arizona for the vets minimum. God damn I hate that prick.
April 19th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
daquest?on says:
yo big aaron r u from orlando?? cuz im gonna move there in a month and i want to know if there are basketball leagues there? n e from orlando fl here? plz tell me where i can find a basketball league
April 19th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Nick Barnes says:
“There’s a reason his agent quit on him after that. This story ain’t new and it’s not a secret what happened”
His agent quit because he earned MORE money from the Utah deal? Remember that agents get paid a percentage of the player’s contract. More money for Boozer = More money for agent.
April 20th, 2008 at 2:18 am
Mo says:
CP doesn’t need to play Olympic ball. Let him rest and work on his game for next season. It’s an honor to play for your country but I kind of hope he doesn’t play/get selected. I think one of the reasons he’s played so well this season was because last season after having foot surgery, he was able to rest his body after playing ball for like 4 years straight (including summers). After playoffs, the team will also play pre-season games in Europe. He’s young but sometimes you can play too much ball. Only the freak of natue known as Lebron James an keep going like the Energizer bunny. Let Kidd, Billups and Williams go. If I’m a Hornets fan, I’d want CP to not go to Beijing.
April 20th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
K Dizzle says:
@ Nick Barnes
“His agent quit because he earned MORE money from the Utah deal? Remember that agents get paid a percentage of the player’s contract. More money for Boozer = More money for agent.”
I got one better for you. How about the agent gets nuthin?
Check this piece from ESPN:
Among the intriguing pieces of fallout was the decision by SFX, the company that represents Boozer, to disassociate itself from the player, a rare move that spoke to the bad public relations it must have received in the wake of the contract. The agent who worked out the deal, Rob Pelinka, ‘resigned’ from the company, as well. Many believe he was forced out.
April 20th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Celts Fan says:
Boozer screwed Cleveland, yes, but Cleveland left that door open by not having him sign his deal before letting him out of the previous one or by offering him more. Also, ya, he did jump for more money, but no one here would say, “Ya, I’d rather do the same job in Cleveland for $30M less than what I could earn in Utah.” It’s not like he’d be taking less to stay in Miami/LA/NYC (one of the “destination” cities) instead of a place like Milwaukee or Utah (no offense, but those aren’t exactly destinations even though they are very, very nice cities.)
players only get a 10-15 year window to make serious $$$, then they have to live off of what they earned (and any investments, businesses, etc. they invested in) for the next 30-50 years. Go get yours man, we all would if we were lucky enough to do so. You never know when you may pull a Shaun Livingston and never be the same…
April 20th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Nick Barnes says:
From Wikipedia:
“Pelinka was vilified in the press for allowing his client to go to the highest bidder rather than forcing him to honor the unconfirmed handshake agreement. As a result, SFX dropped Boozer as a client.[9] Boozer maintained that Pelinka had been forced by SFX to sever their relationship. A year later, after a short stint with another agent, Boozer re-hired Pelinka.[10] Pelinka is now President of SFX Basketball.”