Tyson Chandler, Dime #33Its not quite Jay Williams, but it is a little more serious than Vlad Radmanovic. The truth finally came out about Monta Ellis‘ ankle injury, and the truth is that Monta was riding a moped when he got hurt. All jokes aside (seriously, though, bruh: was the Razor Scooter at a friends house?), it’s a shame that this is the first real mainstream media attention Monta has received (this was all over the sports-channel argument shows yesterday), because he’s really one of the most exciting players in the NBA to watch on a daily basis. But he’s got no one to blame but himself. Most people seem to think a hefty fine is the right punishment, and we’d agree — the Warriors would only be hurting themselves to suspend Ellis after he gets healthy, and voiding the contract is too extreme for the severity of the injury … Is Chris Paul leading a New Orleans team that’s championship material? Yesterday we previewed the ‘08-09 Hornets, who have the weapons with CP, David West, Tyson Chandler and Peja, and added a key X-factor in James Posey that could get them over the hump. The danger spot is depth, or lack thereof, especially in the event of Paul (who might be tired coming off a long season and Team USA summer) going down for any amount of time … A few teams made some relatively minor roster-filling moves yesterday, most notably the Rockets matching the Bobcats’ offer sheet (3 years, $9 million) for Carl Landry. Depending on what Rick Adelman wants to do with Ron Artest — we’d heard a while back that he might start Ron-Ron at the four — Landry could be anywhere from second-string to fourth-string when you throw Luis Scola and Chuck Hayes in the mix … The Kings agreed to ink Francisco Garcia to a five-year, $29.8 million extension. Good move, although we were beginning to think Sacto was putting all their salary cap eggs in the 2010 basket. ‘Cisco will be a solid glue-guy type for a long time — his ceiling is somewhere in the Posey range, with more athleticism … And the Grizzlies signed Quinton Ross, who just a couple years ago was locking down ‘Melo in the playoffs and had stepped into a Shane Battier/Bruce Bowen type role for the Clippers when they were good, but we haven’t really heard much from him since … The Hawks exercised their 2009-10 options on Al Horford (no surprise) and Acie Law IV (not such a no-brainer, but perfectly sensible). We like what ATL is putting together, and looking ahead, they’ve got a lot of cap space available next summer … Meanwhile, the Knicks — and since when did it become a given that the Hawks were running a comparatively well-oiled machine next to NY? — continued their PR goodwill offseason by inviting Dan Grunfeld to camp. Dan, who played ball at Stanford, is the son of ex-Knick Ernie Grunfeld. Along with fan favorite Allan Houston and Patrick Ewing Jr., next thing you know the Knicks will be rotating St. John’s and Syracuse guys in and out on 10-day contracts all year and letting one fan sit on the bench during every home game … How’s Josh Childress doing over in Greece? Here’s some highlights of Chill putting in work … For the past few days on DimeMag.com we’ve been telling you about the Sprite Slam Dunk Showcase, which is going on at the Lenox Mall in Atlanta this weekend and features some of the best dunkers in the world. Check out the preview HERE. If you’re in the ATL area tomorrow, the day’s festivities kick off at noon in the parking lot of the Lenox Square Mall. Some of the most famous street dunkers in the world will be there, like High Rizer, JFK, Werm and TDub. Should be sick … Is Robert Swift made out of worn-out Legos and Elmer’s glue or something? Forget the knee problems; he’s already broken a bone in his hand that will cost him the majority of training camp. On a positive note, Swift is one of the few Thunder players who OKC fans can feel like is one of “their” guys, seeing as he never played when the team was in Seattle. He was about as much a Sonic as Fran Vasquez was part of the Magic … Some of the Dime crew hit up an NBA 2K9 launch party in SoHo last night. Kevin Garnett, Andre Iguodala, Rajon Rondo, Danilo Gallinari and Brook Lopez were in the house, as was Usain Bolt, and our man Bobbito Garcia was on the mic. KG, the 2K9 cover guy, spoke to the crowd for a minute and said, “It’s only fitting that the best basketball game the last seven years in a row has ‘The People’s Champ’ on the cover.” … We’d like to say we watched the NBA TV replay of a 2001 Sixers/Cavs game where Allen Iverson dumped 54 points on the likes of ‘Dre Miller and Jimmy Jackson (not sure if Lt. Jacked was looking so pissed because A.I. was giving him the hot plate or the ‘roid rage), but honestly it was tough to watch anything on that awful, terrible, no-good very bad Cleveland circa 2001 court and those gum-wrapper-looking uniforms … We did notice that the Cavs had both Clarence Weatherspoon and Tractor Traylor that year; obviously the prologue to the Zach Randolph/Eddy Curry era … We’re out like grown millionaires on mopeds …
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September 26th, 2008 at 1:49 am
C4 says:
1st
September 26th, 2008 at 2:03 am
obmb says:
first! en fuego!
September 26th, 2008 at 2:43 am
Steve Nash says:
Retards
September 26th, 2008 at 2:58 am
smity far away says:
nice smack. good read. i at least would like to see if robert swift can produce anything at the pro level before he is completely washed up due to injuries…
September 26th, 2008 at 4:04 am
Camp Lo says:
Moped Ellis anyone?
September 26th, 2008 at 4:32 am
alf (from melmak) says:
boring day dime.
just thinking out loud here. who among the players today can make it big as an action star? rodman almost did the trick before.
my meal allowance goes to d-will. he can be in one of those buddy-buddy cop movies ala lethal weapon or something.
September 26th, 2008 at 4:56 am
Tha Boddy says:
This just in I have received my Rasheed Wallace Bullets jersey…I come home from a hard day of working at 12am ET and find a small box on my room…Im thinking it’s my portable hard drive (no homo) but I pick it up and it’s light azz hell…Upon opening it I see my jersey and immediately decide to cut myself to see if my blood still is magical, red and blue…it was so I put it in a air tight carrying bag along with my 1996 Micheal Jordan all star jersey (Red&Black) never to see it again…in afew years i’ll check in my closet and remember that painful game that I still have the ticket from the best part is it still glows with the blood I wiped from my lip after waking up from being mobbed…THANK YOU DIMEmag big props to you all!!!
September 26th, 2008 at 5:27 am
jay says:
whoa.. i lost count.. another cold smack.. 100th consecutive?..
September 26th, 2008 at 6:06 am
lee says:
Agent Zero could go the movie route. And are you forgetting George Meurisant’s movie career .. and Shaqs !!
September 26th, 2008 at 6:28 am
solomon says:
on the contrary, this is one of the better smacks in a long time…
and, OMG, the “1st”s are back… totally g@y…
i used to remember robert swift when he’s still playing the mickey d all am… man, skills and all, he’s so freakin’ fido dido thin… my guess - his bone frame couldn’t carry the extra weight… at least spencer hawes bulked up well…
and g-state outta void that effin’ contract… being paid millions, athletes should know that they need to protect their bodies, at least from non-basketball related shit…
what jay williams did was dumb… and given that, what monta did was worse…
we’re out like bulking up… and using your brains…
September 26th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Atom says:
Sorry Solomon, but any one who use the acronym “OMG” automatically loses the right to call anything “totally g@y”
September 26th, 2008 at 8:22 am
M Intellect says:
I’m sorry as well Solomon, but I gotta agree with Atom. I blatantly envisaged a dude trying to do the double snap without his Kufi falling off when I read that secobnd line of yours, so calling someone else gay is kinda off-limits to you…
September 26th, 2008 at 8:36 am
fallinup says:
OMG…11 and 12 are….LOL.
September 26th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Mike says:
I hope Monta was at least riding a Vespa. Those are somewhat respecatble (if you are Italian… or a yuppie).
September 26th, 2008 at 8:47 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. I’ve been there for day, it seems the girls are not hard to hook up.
September 26th, 2008 at 9:08 am
yallallreadyknow says:
monta is a fool. serve him right. and monta still thinks he’s better than he really is. i like dude as a balla, but lying about the accident wasn’t cool. man up next time you lil b*tch. warriors should fine him for a contract violation and suspend him 3 games without pay for lying.
francisco garcia got 5yrs and $30mil? seriously? on what merit basis? them maloof boys are wasting money
why is allan houston back in the league? for what? he’s a stiff. 1 dimensional. jump shooter. and he probably can’t even jump anymore
September 26th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Austin Burton says:
@jay — If you wanna submit some excerpts for Smack so it meets your taste tomorrow, feel free:
Smack@dimemag.com
September 26th, 2008 at 9:30 am
Kobeef says:
@Camp-Lo
Agreed - Moped Ellis from this day forward.
Warriors should fine Monta the max - I think that is 6.6 Million.
@Dime
“ridin’ dirty”..hilarious
Robert Swift had one or two good games but yeah…his injury status is getting grant-hill-esque.
29 million seems insane for Gracia. The guy is skilled but really hasn’t done anything. What ever happened to earning your money?
September 26th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Michorizo says:
Congrats Boddy, I still haven’t got my jersey. I still haven’t got an email for my contact information either.
Dime
Should I be waiting for an email?
September 26th, 2008 at 9:57 am
that's whats up says:
@ post 18 - if you can actually get someone to give you 29 Mill you have earned your money
September 26th, 2008 at 9:57 am
23/33 says:
In order for Swift’s injury status to be Grant Hill-esque, wouldn’t he have to have done something in his career prior to the injury?!?! The last thing he did before his series of injuries was make it home before curfew from the prom! No one in Seattle will miss him except the local tattoo parlors.
I just don’t understand why Allan Houston won’t give it up…it’s not like he needs the cash, unless he went to the Mike Tyson/MC Hammer school of investments. His knees are shot, just let it go and live off your studio job.
September 26th, 2008 at 10:09 am
steven says:
Dime you’re killing me with the Knicks! Watch them take your advice and start having “fan night” where a fan can sit on the bench- assuming there’s room with Eddie, Zach, and Houston! I hope they keep Ewing Jr. at least he can play defense and play a role like Raja Bell, but Houston? c’mon- he was overpaid and overrated! I remember Spree, Camby, and LJ making the plays that made that Knicks team over-achieve- not Houston, hell even Charlie Ward played harder than Houston.
September 26th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Big V says:
H2O!!!!!!!
September 26th, 2008 at 10:32 am
isotope says:
Hope the Rockets dont regret the Landry deal. Dude is going to be coming off the bench behind Artest(or Battier), Barry, and Aaron Brooks. Thats a lot of money for the 4th man off the bench.
Ok, I agree dude shouldnt have lied about the injury but was Monte really THAT wrong for riding a moped. I understand a lot of money is invested in a lot of the players but does that mean they can’t do physical non-basketball activities? Athletes get injuries from lifting weights or slipping in the bath tub. What if he got the injury from playing his Wii? I mean, we’re talking about a moped here for crying out loud. Those things go as fast as what? 50 mph?
September 26th, 2008 at 10:41 am
Big Sia says:
2K99999999999999!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 26th, 2008 at 10:56 am
dapro says:
Props to AB for coming back at the catz that talk sh&6 all day. It’s funny as hell to read
If you go at someone because you feel they’re doing a sh$#@ job, be prepared to do it better
September 26th, 2008 at 11:47 am
Mike says:
Here’s the real story behind Monta’s moped accident.
…in considering the gas crisis, he chose to ride his moped to his skydiving lessons. As he was in route to his destination, he started to day dream about the movie “Torque” which excited him to a point where he mashed the breaks and flipped over the handlebars. Ironically, he didn’t get hurt during this process. As he pulled himself off the groud, he walked over to the moped and kicked it repeatedly injuring his foot and ankle.
September 26th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Brown says:
How many PFs do the Rockets need? I still don’t understand why they drafted Joey Dorsey, who does no more or less than Landry or Hayes. They have 3 guys who are basically the same player. They must be holding onto them as trade chips, cuz lots of teams could use a guy like that.
September 26th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
BxBaller says:
So the Knicks’ image rebuilding project is in full effect? All they need to do know is lower prices, or give the fans some open practices like they did a few years ago.
And whats taking so long with the NBA2K9 demo on the Playstation network? I can’t wait for two more weeks for real.
September 26th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
sans says:
My 360 took a hit from the Red Rings of Death recently, I don’t think it’ll be back in time for the first days of 2K9. Sad times. Luckily, the weed in the NorthWest is so amazing, I’m not hurting that much.
September 26th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Austin Burton says:
@sans — I have a 360, fairly new. What are the Red Rings of Death?
September 26th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
JHov says:
Hopefully you won’t see it Austin! If your 360 every flashes a red ring instead of the normal green one..I say immediately shut it down! You could save it! The Red Ring of Death means your system has just crashed and you have to send it back to Microsoft..thats the only way to fix it..they will do it for free but it could take a couple of months!
I once got two rings before then I shut the system down..waited a couple of minutes and restarted it and never had another problem out of it!
September 27th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
bookkwormmaster says:
@ Austin Burton
The Red Rings Of Death is an Xbox 360’s worst nightmare for the system and even more so for the owner. My lil bro had it happen to his 360 and we had to send it back to Microsoft to get it replaced. I found that the best method to keeping your 360 from dying and your pockets from crying is to unplug the power cord WHENEVER u get done playing. ALWAYS unplug it after play and you should have no problems at all