The White Chocolate era is over, Gilbert Arenas is in trouble, and more drama for Stephon Marbury
Gilbert Arenas (photo. Tim Tadder)For anyone who was fortunate enough to follow the NBA when Jason Williams burst onto the scene back in 1999, a common reaction to yesterday’s news that “White Chocolate” is retiring was something along the lines of, “Damn, I feel old.” Yes, it really was nine years ago when J-Will first started to own the highlight reels. Yes, he is 32 years old now. For anyone who remembers WC as simply “Jason Williams” from his run where he won a ‘chip with the Heat, they’ll unfortunately never get the gravity of the era that ended yesterday. As a ball-handler, passer and simply as a showman on the court, J-Will was really before his time. Had he come around today, in the age of YouTube and six million basketball blogs and too-realistic-looking video games, he’d be a megastar. He won’t ever get anywhere near the Hall of Fame, but dude had one of the sickest handles and creative minds you’ll ever see on the court … This is the the final weekend before NBA training camps open up, and eight days from today, the preseason officially tips off (Oct. 5, Pistons/Heat and Warriors/Hornets on the docket). A few teams had their Media Day yesterday, and most notable was Gilbert Arenas and the Wizards getting fined $15,000 apiece for Gilbert not speaking to reporters. That didn’t stop the Wizards’ media session from being dominated by Agent Zero talk, though. As DeShawn Stevenson put it, “Making $111 million, it’s gonna be like that.” … Speaking of fines, did you see where the Giants and Plaxico Burress are actually negotiating his fine/suspension terms for going AWOL for two days? Is that what it’s come to? (No surprise that Plax’s agent is Mr. “Next Question.”) You know Monta Ellis is hearing this story thinking, “Can I negotiate my punishment?” … If you’re in the Atlanta area today, you need to get to the Lenox Square Mall for the Sprite Slam Dunk Showcase, where 16 of the sickest dunkers in the world will be on display. The contest kicks off around noon, with open tryouts being held for anyone who wants to go up against the experts. Check out some of the competitors HERE, and come back Monday when we’ll have a recap of the dunk contest from our people down in ATL … DimeMag.com reader “Kobeef” had an interesting take on the Raptors and their leader: “Chris Bosh is a notch below the best players in the League, which is why the Raps are a notch below the best teams in the league.” In our ‘08-09 Toronto Raptors preview, we put their ceiling at the second round, but it’s also not out of the question they barely sneak into the playoffs. Even if Bosh does play like a true superstar, a lot rests on the health of Jermaine O’Neal, which is never a safe bet … To no one’s surprise, Eddy Curry reportedly showed up to the Knicks’ facility out of shape — or at least not in the kind of shape Mike D’Antoni hoped for. A couple weeks back we told you about E-City supposedly having spent a lot of time at Chicago’s ATTACK Athletics gym, but we never said he was spending that time actually working out. D’Antoni did get half-a-season of experience working Shaq into his system in Phoenix, but Eddy isn’t even as athletic/motivated as Shaq these days, is he? If you’re D’Antoni, do you have to go small with this roster and start Zach Randolph or David Lee at center? Because after Curry, your options at a legit five are either Jerome James or coaxing Herb Williams out of retirement … No matter what, the big man situation in New York is inevitably going to be completely overshadowed by what’s going on with Stephon Marbury. The Knicks’ flip-flopping on what they want to do with Steph currently sits at Donnie Walsh saying he’s going to give Steph a fair chance to prove himself — but that just seems like a recipe for an awkward situation when Steph shows he’s clearly better than Chris Duhon and the Knicks still want to get rid of him … Injury update: Shane Battier (foot) will be sidelined for about 3-4 weeks, Mike Dunleavy (knee) and Yi Jianlian (ankle) will be limited at least at the beginning of camp, and Danilo Gallinari (back) isn’t expected to be 100 percent until the start of the regular season … Should Mavs fans be worried that Brandon Bass is apparently buddies with Pacman Jones? The two co-hosted a celebrity beach volleyball event in Dallas last night, where Josh Howard, Jason Terry and J.J. Barea were there repping the Mavs. We’ve gotta find out if they played the national anthem before the match, and if everyone was watching J-Ho at that moment … We’re out like J-Will …
September 27th, 2008 at 2:04 am
solomon says:
whoa! primera!
September 27th, 2008 at 2:11 am
solomon says:
well, maybe someone talked j-ho into not speaking shit into camera phones… he outta keep his trap shut this time around…
and hell, now i believe it… eddy curry is hopeless… be it isaiah, be it d’antoni, be it skiles… i want to see curry traded to utah…
and someone lay off starbury… let him play 1st… smack him later if he aint showin’ anything…
we’re out like going to the gym and not actually working out…
September 27th, 2008 at 2:26 am
JOB33 says:
I bet Curry sweats just watching others run.
September 27th, 2008 at 3:10 am
Quest??? says:
fuck david brandon, that is all
September 27th, 2008 at 3:10 am
Quest??? says:
somewhere in the world, sergio rodriguez is crying himself to sleep right now
September 27th, 2008 at 4:22 am
ya boy says:
eddy curry’s never improving physical condition is at this point like watching a palin interview.Highly amusing,to the point that the actual pain of the whole situation just is like an out of body experience.
i’mma miss j-will.cat was way ahead of his time.
September 27th, 2008 at 6:18 am
sans says:
crying himself to sleep on top of a pillow made of dollars.
Quest???…what is with you and David Brandon?
J-Will inspired me to hit a whole bunch of ballers in the face with my passes….anyone else remember Bill Murray trying to break into the L with his no-look catch…yeah, those are my teammates when I do my JWill impression…
September 27th, 2008 at 6:29 am
kobeef says:
I made the Big Time - thx Dime
I actually like Toronto and have watched the team grow but the more I watch the more it seems like they just aren’t an elite team. And on team USA Bosh wasn’t exactly a tier 1 player.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:22 am
Milk Lady says:
He is professional. There are lots of his fans on ___tallloving.com___ for professional athletes, moive stars and modles talking about him recently? BTW, guys, lots of sexy girls and models turn up there.If U’re tall and strong enough, you can try to date the hotties like me there.
September 27th, 2008 at 7:23 am
sans says:
Fuck You Milk Lady…what the hell is a “moive star” anyway?
September 27th, 2008 at 7:50 am
JOB33 says:
What has the world come to when even dime is invaded by the spammers? Moive star= Bollywood?
September 27th, 2008 at 7:51 am
chaos says:
Man white chocolate brought the who street ball style to the main stream in his first couple years. The foolishness at which he made cats look was serious!
September 27th, 2008 at 8:02 am
Yoooo says:
Boozer wasn’t a tier 1 star on the US squad either, or Michael Redd. Come season tho they crack heads. Im not saying ima Bosh fan, but truth of the matter is US squad was like a loaded AAU squad. Once that season is over they all go back to being the man on their squad. Even Bosh
September 27th, 2008 at 9:04 am
Luigi says:
well…J-Will was sickening in Sacto. but he was never the same once he got traded for bib.
n Starbury could start for any team in the league if he wanted to n if he got his attitude straight n just played for the love of bball. he woulda made it in the HoF. he has the #’s but his personality or what hes known for will keep him out…
n Agent Zero. your literaly my fave player but ur lucky the wiz payed u that much money or else ud be in debt right now. but now in december when u ply. better make ur money where its due
September 27th, 2008 at 9:05 am
MBE18 says:
White Chocolate was one of the most entertaining players that I have ever seen during his stint with the Kings. I will never forget that behind the back elbow pass he did in the rookie game.
September 27th, 2008 at 9:35 am
igp says:
Hey dime how come no mention of that atl dunk contest. Oh wait…
September 27th, 2008 at 9:41 am
TD says:
Remember when J-Will froze GP in his rookie year… I do, this is when Gary Payton was one of the best defenders in the league. J-will is gonna be missed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqkOI8f66Yc
September 27th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Ansonious says:
Shitty for the clips J-will would’ve been sweet coming of the bench for them. Oh well you gotta wonder if Shaun Livingstons phone has been blowing up with calls from the clips apologizing and begging for him to rejoin the team. I’m out like voting for McCain peace!
September 27th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Quest??? says:
@ sans david brandon single handedly killed pass the mic plus he sucks at everything he does so fuck him.
September 27th, 2008 at 10:55 am
VERTMAN says:
J-Will had a great career. Was dope for the championship, but past couple seasons you could tell his body was starting to break down. Was hard for him to bounce back. Dude was so much fun to watch.
September 27th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Austin Burton says:
@Ansonious — Great point about Livingston. I didn’t even think about what the Clippers are gonna do to replace Williams. The PG’s left on the market: Sam Cassell (no way), Lindsey Hunter (no way), Darrell Armstrong (maybe) and Damon Stoudamire (maybe). Or they could get a guy who didn’t/rarely played last year, a la Darrick Martin. Or they could wait and see who gets cut from other teams’ training camps.
September 27th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Atom says:
Yea Milk Lady you dirty, dirty whore. You have me intrigued by this tall related loving of which you so verbally espouse. BTW, I am tall and strong enough and love both moive stars and modles. Hit me up at http://www.f*ckoff.com
September 27th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
David_Brandon says:
@sans,
you know you made it big when they talkin about you. hahaha, i dont even know that dude quest, man. thats the funny part! i come to the site one day and see that dude talkin crazier than jim jones tryina diss hov. some ppl hate. this is one of ‘em. like katt williams said, you need more of them. but i’m not wastin my time on some 15 yr old who’s made cause he didnt get pass the mic or nobody responds to his posts or whatever dudes prob is, ya know. this is the ONE time i talk about it an thats that. its like when some new rapper tries to throw shots…you gotta ignore ‘em an let ‘em die off. this is that. lol
September 27th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
smity far away says:
I know i’m kind of late but Jason Williams was one of the best entertainers we’ve seen in basketball. like he could combine his skill with the entertainment aspect of hoopin (like iverson, hakeem, magic, pistol, rodman and more…). good for him that he did get a chip. and his elbow pass was the greatest pass no-look pass ever. damn, i might say its just the greatest (until i see some clips of other joints that change my mind…). i will just say its the greatest NBA pass. you all agree or disagree completely?
September 27th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Amar says:
jason hart is back with the clippers — he was okay there previously in his career.
September 27th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
sparkyJ23 says:
J-Will is too fucking good for the laegue - that dude had me straight up rewinding to see where the fuck the ball went.
September 27th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
Ansonious says:
@ Austin Burton Thanks for the props!
September 28th, 2008 at 2:45 am
Quest??? says:
@ david brandon first off, u are the one writing quest is a queer, second of all i did get a pass the mic email i just couldnt respond because it was in the junk mail and i would do one way better than u. and i dont hate on u because ur good, i hate on u because ur suck so bad and ur pass the mic was so wack that u dont even deserve to post here. so fuck u and fuck jameer nelson, u havent made it anywhere mothafucka. and p.s. i aint 15
September 28th, 2008 at 2:46 am
Quest??? says:
and dnt try to be kool with your hip references to jim jones(sucks) and katt williams. we all know ur lame a so do urself a favor and dont embarass urself like that.
September 28th, 2008 at 2:48 am
Quest??? says:
btw, if ur ignoring me why the the fuck are u writing quest is queer?? i dont think thats jameer nelson loggin on here.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:41 am
M Intellect says:
Shout to TD on the GP freeze!
You think they ever spoke about that shit at Miami?
Shaun Livingston should have signed with the Suns, imagine Nash coaching him into that system with his size and versatility…
September 28th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
ScoGo says:
J-Will was an important dude to the Association. As I recall, his rookie year was the year after the GOAT left basketball for the second time (and with three more rings). Sportscenter was duopolized by Air Canada above the rim and White Chocolate beyond belief. “Half man, half amazing” had the leading jersey sales that season and J-Will was #2. Fun to watch indeed.
Jason - if you take some of your retirement time to read this smack, please stay visible in the basketball world. The game needs its legends on its wings.
September 28th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
David Brandon says:
SIGH….quest….man. you need to check yourself pimp. dont come at me w/o the right facts.
1. i never talked about you, dude. i didnt even know who you WERE til i saw some crazy ass post and then sans said something about it. i dont come in to start sh*t. i come cause i love the hoop talk. there’s a couple ppl that say dumb stuff allllll the time. an i dont touch on it. but this is a special project. and i never said quest is a queer. i dont even say queer. that words HELLA old! i’d think a somethin WAY better to say bad about somebody. so unless you can give me the EXACT moment i said that, shhhh.
2. youre right. my pass the mic WAS garbage. but it got posted. and everyone else in here liked it. so i guess we alll have bad taste an youre just the man now. we should all be honored to be in your presence.
3. think about this. you spend more time talkin about ME than you do HOOP lately. no homo, right…
4. ok fine, say youre not 15. you’ve been acting like it. you coulda came at me PERSONALLY instead of runnin your mouth. you didnt do that. and now you have a “problem” w/ me thats w/ foundation. ok…
5. now that i FINALLY had to talk to you about this, it’s buried. over. done. back to hoop everybody…nothin to see here.
hey, where’s GEE been at? unless i just missed his ass completely, its been a little bit, right?