Clippers Calling the Shots, Stephon Marbury’s New Tattoo, and Zach Randolph headed to L.A.?
Zach Randolph, Dime #19The Clippers can’t be used to this kind of attention. On the offseason free-agent/trade forefront, all eyes are on the Clips right now, as their next move will determine where a lot of chips fall thereafter. Josh Smith and Emeka Okafor are two of the biggest names left on the board, and one of them should be headed to L.A.’s other team sometime soon. From there we’ll get a better gauge of where some of the other free agents could go, which teams need to make trades to fill certain needs, and so on … One rumor we heard involving the Clippers was a trade proposal for Zach Randolph — possibly for Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley — that the Knicks rejected. Numbers-wise, Z-Bo would be a good replacement for Elton Brand’s scoring and rebounding (both guys are 20-10 horses in the paint), but Zach is nowhere near the defender Brand is, and you wonder how he’ll fit into the puzzle if Mike Dunleavy Sr. wants to push the tempo with Baron Davis, Al Thornton and Eric Gordon running all over the place … Speaking of, Thornton scored 22 and Gordon had 15 in L.A.’s summer league loss to the Bobcats. Gordon hurt his hamstring in the second half and was still limping afterwards, so we’ll have to see if he misses any time. D.J. Augustin scored 14 for Charlotte … O.J. Mayo stamped 26 points (4 triples) on the Bucks in his second pro game. Joe Alexander wasn’t so hot in the loss; he went 2-for-13 from the floor … Spencer Hawes put up 23 points and nine boards and Quincy Douby scored 20 in Sacramento’s win over Toronto. Shelden Williams added 16 points and 10 boards. But how long will it be before he notches a double-double in a game that counts? … And our favorite summer-leaguer, DimeMag.com reader Dawan “Doc” Robinson, had four points and two steals off the bench for the Sixers in their loss to Denver. Doc has Jamont Gordon (who starred at Mississippi State last year) and Junior Harrington (who has real NBA experience) playing in front of him in Philly’s backcourt, but hopefully he keeps getting more PT as the Vegas league progresses … Vets who were in the building for the summer league games: Andre Iguodala, Ron Artest, Marcus Camby, Kevin Martin and J.R. Smith. Yes, J.R. is loose in Vegas. Alert the authorities (and the tattoo parlors) … If the rumored Artest/Lamar Odom trade is going to happen, the Lakers would most likely have to take back Kenny Thomas‘ contract, which means they can’t match Golden State’s offer sheet for Ronny Turiaf without taking a big luxury tax hit. If Artest doesn’t end up in L.A., word is the Kings are getting calls about Ron-Ron from the Spurs, Bobcats (Gerald Wallace?), Mavs (Josh Howard?), Heat (Shawn Marion?) and Suns (Leo Barbosa?) … We know Gerald Green can dunk. We know this. And this dunk here is sick, but as Jed points out, “My favorite part is how Green definitely looked down while dribbling.” Clyde Drexler did that a lot, too, but Clyde’s handle was obviously good enough for him to thrive in the League … In yesterday’s Smack we talked about summer league squads running the same system as their NBA big brothers (witness the Sixers constantly feeding the ball to PF Marreese Speights, giving a preview of what we’ll see with Elton Brand). Breaking down the Wizards’ summer team, Nick Young told the Washington Post, “I’m Gilbert, Dom (Dominic McGuire) is CB (Caron Butler), and Dray (Andray Blatche) is Antawn (Jamison). We’re the new Big Three!” … So a couple of days after the retailer that exclusively carries his Starbury line files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Stephon Marbury showed up in Vegas with a Starbury logo inked on his head. Maybe he can do like The Game and cover it up with a big “NY” tat … E-mail from Austin: “Fiancee and I went to the Storm/Sparks WNBA game. Why did I not only see one guy wearing a Lauren Jackson jersey, but the guy with him was wearing a full Candace Parker Team USA uniform? You’re not supposed to do that as a man. Then there was this little kid in a Eduardo Najera jersey. Didn’t know they made those outside of Denver. Anyway, Seattle put the clamps on Lisa Leslie (2-for-11), and Candace Parker couldn’t really get going (14 pts). She was obviously the most talented player on the court, but she got her stuff sent back at least three times by Lauren Jackson. I went to 30-something Knicks games last year and watched almost every Sonics game on TV, and the Storm’s defense is on a whole other level. Yolanda Griffith is like 38 years old and limping around on a bad hip, and she still busted her ass harder than most of the ‘07-08 Knicks (and Chris Wilcox) did on a regular basis.” … We caught some of NBA TV’s “FIBA World Basketball” show yesterday (think “NBA Action” but focused on overseas ball). Did you know the team who won the ‘chip in France’s top pro league is from a city called “Nancy.” We’re not making that up. Tony Parker and Eva were in the crowd watching while some dude named Jeff Greer (Rutgers) posted 29 points and got MVP. One guy on the Nancy squad looked exactly like Sinbad … Today’s NBA TV summer league schedule: Mavs/Warriors at 6 p.m. EST, and Grizzlies/Lakers at 8 p.m. EST. Watch your head, Coby Karl, you might be drawing the defensive assignment against O.J. … We’re out like men wearing women’s jerseys …
July 13th, 2008 at 7:16 am
sirak says:
I’d be careful if I was Brand with his achiles, karma’s a bitch and i think he’s gonna be due a serve after this fiasco…
July 13th, 2008 at 7:17 am
sirak says:
ha - never made the first comment before - cool
July 13th, 2008 at 8:33 am
sans says:
still haven’t. Thornton looks like he should have a nice year. Where’s Nasty Nate on the Knicks now? 3rd string, most likely the backup. If the Knicks run, how many times are we gonna see Nate dunk on people?
July 13th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Dave says:
1st
July 13th, 2008 at 8:50 am
gary says:
i thought it was Nantes that won the french chip?>
July 13th, 2008 at 9:01 am
gary says:
also… how tall IS marty collins?!?
July 13th, 2008 at 9:01 am
YOUNGFED says:
Where’s the pick of Steph’s new Tatt.
July 13th, 2008 at 9:01 am
gary says:
http://www.nba.com/summerleague2008/team/index.jsp?team=knicks
July 13th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Dagomar says:
Hope you don’t know any French people.
July 13th, 2008 at 10:31 am
OKC Hicks says:
@ Dave
Sorry dawg, buy you looking like a fool saying “1st” on the 4th post. Memo to all posters: don’t put 1st even if you are, you look stupid either way.
@ Sirak
Man if karma is such a bitch then why did Boozer bolt Cleveland and tear shit up at Utah? It has nothing to do with karma when your just handlin’ your biz…
And if Z-Bo heads to L.A. I can’t wait to see fans start the “Well, you know, Brand and Z-Bo do have a lot in similar…” talks. No comparison. Randolph and Eddy Curry been hittin that IHOP more than the gym, believe dat…
July 13th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
If the clippers have the funds they should trade for z-bo and ink okafor (the cheaper signing). That would make them solid in the front court and provide insurance off the bench.
3 of the top 10 draft picks have now started their rookie careers injured not to mention oden. Is greg considered a rookie? Can he win rookie of the year? We know they can play but you have to question their durability. How can a 19 year old (rose) have tendinitis? What’s next mayo has osteoporosis?
July 13th, 2008 at 10:53 am
OKC Hicks says:
I was 16 when I had tendinitis in my right knee. It’s just how you work out and if you lift a lot and play a lot, sometimes you will develop it. It has nothing to do with age, but more about how much you exert yourself.
July 13th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Luigi says:
lmaoooo Young is Gil…Dominick is Caron…Dray is Twan… GENIUS! way to keep the big 3s spirits up. lol
oh yeh, if GG can play some D n show some hustle. then MAYBE he could be a steal 4 the Mavs,
July 13th, 2008 at 11:36 am
how can we get rid of james dolan? says:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/YouTube-of-the-Day-Shaq-jumps-over-an-Escalad?urn=nba,93422
this shyt made my day
July 13th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Bone says:
@OKC Hicks - Boozers first two years in Utah he played a combined 84 games, so karma did get him at first with the injuries.
@Spiff - Yes Oden is technically considered a rookie and can win ROY
The Clippers do not need Randolph. He is slow, out of shape, and a cancer. I don’t know why anyone would want his fat ass.
July 13th, 2008 at 11:50 am
doc says:
That shaq shit funny as hell.Yeah Dime they got me coming off the bench but as long as I get in every game I just gotta let them know they can be comfortable with me runnig the show.My coach said for a great PG all a coach gotta do is roll the ball out there and watch.I gotta get to that point.Im showing I can do it though.The haters thought I could never be a true point because since i was like 8 I been known for putting the ball in the hoop.Thats how my name was made in this ball shit for real.But they dont care about that here.Everybody did the scoring thing in they day so I gotta play my part.Im feeling the support though.Us dimeheads gotta stick together.
July 13th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
OKC Hicks says:
Yo Doc,
When you do make the team, hook a brotha up with some gear for real! Haha just playing. But really though, I’m sure I can speak for everyone on here in saying that we hope you do make the team. Keep doing it big, man!
On Boozer, I guess injury could be considered karma but I thought he meant success-wise, but good point, you got me on that one.
And I like the Big 3 comparison to summer league. I bet if there were playoffs for the summer then they’d get to the first round and get bounced though haha.
July 13th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
MoxWestCoastRep says:
@Dime
No more WNBA discussion.
Thanks,
Men Everywhere.
July 13th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
JC says:
Not mad at the WNBA coverage. Mad at Gerald Green looking down while dribbling. Mad my girl doesn’t have NBATV.
July 13th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
James says:
sirak : Stop wishing bad on people chump
July 13th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
K Dizzle says:
lol @ that “shaq” escalade jump
I ain’t hatin on Elton, but I lost a lil respect for him, might change my opinion if there’s more to the story, but
that’s how it is right now
Doc
just so you know, if and when you play the Lakeshow, you know who I’ll be cheerin for lol
I’m out like “Mr Brand, a Mr. Davis on line 1″
July 13th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Homeless J says:
When OJ Mayo has a killer performance, people should say “OJ DID IT!” and when he has a bad night, people can say “THE GLOVE DIDN’T FIT.”
“OJ threw down a dunk on [so-and-so] and straight-up treated him like Judge Eto” (or Nicole Simpson but that’s kind of fucked up although slightly more appropriate)
or when he has a bad/mediocre performance and someone else on his team helps lift them to a victory, like rude-gay (pretty much the only other player on their team who’d be able to win them a game or two), they can be favorably compared to Johnny Cochran. “OJ shit the bed with his performance but rudy gay aka Johnny Cochran came through and bailed him out and got him acquitted.”
July 13th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
T-Bone says:
“Then there was this little kid in a Eduardo Najera jersey. Didn’t know they made those outside of Denver.”
Uhhhhh, Najera has a huge following in the hispanic community OUTSIDE of Denver.
Man you guys are SLIPPIN’
July 13th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Homeless J says:
just read that Stephon is apparently getting Amazon.com to sell his shoes exclusively, and the price will go up “because of the failing economy.”
July 13th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Buck Fush says:
Let’s see, logical destination for Starbury if he gets cut?
Toronto? New Orleans? Houston? New Jersey? Philly?
July 13th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
K Dizzle says:
Boston…
July 13th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
mavid says:
Dime,
Both Smoove and Okafor are RESTRICTED FAs. Why do yall keep writing like it`s pretty much an inevitability that one of those guys is going to the Clips?
If the Clips wouldnt give Brand a 5-year, 80-mill deal, why on earth would they offer such a deal to Smoove or Okafor? (both of which are downgrades from Brand). I see the Clips trying to trade for someone. Smith is staying put. Okafor`s situation largely depends of Larry Brown`s preferences.
July 13th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
Lee says:
The clippers can front load a contract to put the other teams in the luxury tax this season if they match it. Thats how I understand that they could get those player.
Hey doc, who are the best guys you’ve played against / with this summer. Would be interesting to get a players view. Good luck.
July 13th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
godfreyallstar says:
ive had tendinitis since i was 15
July 13th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Big Freeze says:
I’d rather watch my cock shrink than watch a WNBA game
July 13th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
don cannon says:
1st
July 13th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
sirak says:
@James, go watch the WNBA.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:50 am
Borgs says:
Big Freeze - I’d rather watch another man’s beef syringe shrink than watch the WNBA.
Buck Fush, Re: Marbury - Siberian Third Division. Seriously though, what if he goes to Italy or plays Euroleague, how rampant his ego? Same old story I guess; he might average 30+ PPG, but I’m unconvinced of its positive translation to the Win-Loss ledger.
Dime - Yes, I’m aware there are foreign cities with unusual names. By the way, “Nancy” is only some English-speaking dimwit’s translation. The city is actually “Nantes”.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:24 am
clark says:
he is a humor guy,many friends like to chat with him online on tall dating site ___T a l l m i n g l e . c o m___,He often told us some funny jokes. Seems he is famous on that site,especially some hot models talk with him positively.
July 14th, 2008 at 10:56 am
MSkittle says:
Jeff Greer was a baller in college.