Zach Randolph won’t be traded, Steve Francis won’t quit, and the Wizards try to replace Arenas
Zach Randolph, Dime #19There’s still a decent chance Zach Randolph will be playing for some team other than the Knicks come Opening Night, but the Grizzlies won’t be that team. The long-rumored trade that was gonna send Z-Bo to Memphis for Darko and Marko Jaric (along with some spare parts on either side) seemed imminent just a few days ago, but is now reportedly off the table. And even though it was the Knicks who were potentially giving up a 20-and-10 caliber power forward, maybe a first-round draft pick and paying some of that 20-and-10 PF’s salary, it turns out the Grizzlies were the ones who decided to end the trade talks. This doesn’t mean Mike D’Antoni has to start working Zach into his game plan just yet, though; there are still a few teams out there that New York could work out a trade with, most notably Denver, Golden State and Sacramento. For what it’s worth, we still don’t see why the Knicks are so eager to get rid of Zach instead of Eddy Curry, but who knows what’s going on with that front office … Some leftover notes from the Celtics’ White House visit the other day: Eddie House no-showed due to a prior commitment (another neck tattoo session?), Sam Cassell had to pass because of a family emergency, James Posey didn’t show because he didn’t feel right being there after signing with the Hornets (bet he’ll feel OK accepting that ring, though), and P.J. Brown did show up, but Danny Ainge said P.J. is still retired as far as he’s concerned. Good for P.J. if he is in fact choosing to go out on top — and extra props because he actually contributed to the championship team — but if you were in his position, would you walk away now or come back for a shot at a second chip? The Celtics have made it clear they want him back, and they’ve still got to be the favorites to win the title in 2009 … Speaking of guys who might want to walk away, here’s Steve Francis in a recent interview with the Rockets’ website: “I’m not going to sit here and say I’m 100 percent because I’m not. I still have a ways to go. It’s going to be a tough process, but I’m willing to sacrifice. Even if I don’t start the season, I know within the next three or four weeks I’ll be 100 percent. I don’t want to go out there if I’m not 100 percent and possibly re-injure myself.” At this point, it would be more of a surprise if Stevie Franchise was healthy. And don’t get your hopes up for Francis staying off the injured list this year: he revealed in that same interview that he and Yao Ming both use the same trainer … Out of Francis, Grant Hill, Penny Hardaway, Larry Johnson and Danny Manning, whose career was a bigger disappointment due to injuries getting in the way? And are we gonna have to add Gilbert Arenas to that list someday? … On the Arenas front, the Wizards are in the market for backcourt help. They’re reportedly looking at Juan Dixon and DerMarr Johnson, to name a couple. Seeing as both of those guys are from the D.C./Baltimore area, it looks like the Wizards don’t wanna spend too much money flying anyone out for a tryout … One more Agent Zero note: Gilbert’s cousin, University of Alabama cornerback/kick returner Javier Arenas, returned an interception 63 yards for a TD in the Crimson Tide’s 49-14 rout of Arkansas … We’re out like Darko in NY …
September 21st, 2008 at 6:34 am
nola says:
first
September 21st, 2008 at 6:54 am
analord says:
players that have their career ruined by injury…
JAY WILLIAMS!
At least Penny and GHill had their moments, Jay Williams was killing in college, doing alrite as a rookie, then…we all knew what happened…
September 21st, 2008 at 7:06 am
jamesinva says:
penny hardaway is a disappointment for how good he was. i remember back in elementary school and middle school, he was the MAN. EVERYONE loved him as a player. then he just disappeared.
grant hill did pretty nicely this past season. injuries obviously held him back big time but he came back and contributed nicely.
larry johnson’s big 4 point play “LJ” shot and help to reach the finals is enough to NOT call him a “huge let down”.
didnt danny manning put up big numbers throughout his career? i remember he was putting up buckets with the clipps and put up pretty good numbers with the hawks too…i could be wrong.
i recall a year ago when zach was traded from portland to the knicks all the knick fans were bashing frye and how excited they were about getting zach. i straight up said in smack that he would struggle with curry in the middle, clogging it up, that his defense isnt too great and that he would cause problems even while throwing up 20 and 10. he did the SMAE THING in portland and how many wins did the blazers get during that time. trust me, its better off the knicks trade zach for expiring contracts than to keep him on board IMO.
September 21st, 2008 at 7:31 am
yo says:
all of those players did well enough to have a career in the nba. the player I most wished I could have seen play without ever gotten injured is bobby hurley – dude was killing the original dream team in those scrimages and had his team beating the 92 gold medal team and couldn’t stop him until they put m.j. on em.
September 21st, 2008 at 7:51 am
MoxWestCoastRep says:
Yo! Its 5 in the am and the Mox is hammered! Holla Dime!
September 21st, 2008 at 8:11 am
sans says:
Danny Manning chased the chip in his prime, signing with Phx for 20% of what the Hawks offered him (the traded Nique to get Manning for the long haul), and blew out his knee irreparably (I think even before the season, maybe).
I’d go with Grandmama. He was the deisel Barkley 2.0 prototype: undersized PF with huge grit and ricockulous hops, with a knack for making big plays. And the tooth. Sure, he was a pivotal member of the Knicks when they pushed into the Finals from the eight spot, but he was really no where near what he once was.
September 21st, 2008 at 8:35 am
Luigi says:
damn. Gil wont be on tht list. trust me
September 21st, 2008 at 9:04 am
WEST says:
I would say PENNY Hardaway.
He was on the brink of taking over the league. He probably could have won at least 1 ring at some point with his talent and the right cast around him. Just a truly insane player slowed down by bad knees.
A comparison between Penny and AgentZero might not be too far off depending on how he comes back this season and in the future.
September 21st, 2008 at 9:04 am
that's whats up says:
in related news, Javier Arenas (Agent 28) has fired his own agent and said he will sit out the next few games while he learns to negotiate his new contract
September 21st, 2008 at 9:16 am
Luigi says:
Javier Arenas will be drafted by the Redskins. just watch.
September 21st, 2008 at 9:25 am
jonny taise says:
i’ve always loved LJ. he didn’t disappoint after getting injured, but it would have been great to see him have a long healthy career.
dude was a MONSTER. the early 90s nucleus of him, zo, gill, bouges was so fun to watch!
September 21st, 2008 at 9:42 am
cass says:
I have to go with Penny as well. That guy had everything and wasn’t even close to hitting his potential when the injuries started up. You forget how nice he was because he hung around so long as a shell of his former self.
September 21st, 2008 at 10:16 am
BALLZ says:
Penny will be the popular answer, but for me it’s LJ. Those UNLV teams were like the Fab 5 only better and ballsier. LJ was so fucking sick. For real this guy would have had career 22, 12 and 5 averages if he’s never hurt. If he and Zo stay together and healthy for an entire career and the Hornets put something around them, not only is that team still in Charlotte but they may have flown a banner.
September 21st, 2008 at 10:32 am
Bron42 AkA Your Moms Best Friend says:
Penny at least had his spotlight moment and went to the finals. What has grant hill ever done accept get alot of money? Jay Williams can still ball actually, hes just not as quick but his jumpshot is bananas now. And injury or not, those ol grandmama commercials were better than anything lebron has ever done lol
September 21st, 2008 at 10:58 am
craig990 says:
Dime..
Stevie also said in that interview that the fire/motivation is still there! he is watchin old tapes of him and seeing what he needs to do to get there again!
Man.. If stevie can come back at least by December 100% and a bit like his old self… the Rockets will be even tougher!
Steve will come back! I guarantee..! He wont be the same 20point guy..but he can still give you about 13 points per game! Just wait!
September 21st, 2008 at 11:29 am
Coop says:
Johnson was good throughout so I wouldn’t say it’s him. I’d go with Hill; He was a point-forward who could do it all, he was the 90s version of what Pip was and what Bron is, in many ways. I’d take him over Penny because Hill is, by all accounts, a nicer guy and would probably have been superior as a team leader.
September 21st, 2008 at 11:40 am
heavy d says:
There are other cases as mentioned already, but looking at that list Grant Hill spent most of the prime of his career on crutches and Penny never got a prime because years 4-8 has plenty of injuries. Think of how many seasons hope was lost for the Orlando fans. I’m not sure I even put Stevie Franchise on the list. He only had 1 season with less than 70 games until he was in NY. I see him as the player who most had his game evaporate overnight, but I’m not sure I’d write that all off to injury.
September 21st, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Godot says:
Bobby Hurley
September 21st, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Dave says:
Grant Hill is the one who’s potential career I miss the most. Those Orlando Magic teams led by the combination of Hill and McGrady could have been lethal.
September 21st, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Luigi says:
yeah. Orlandos team wuda benn sick if they kept Hill. n sucked so bad in 04 that they drafted Dwight..n then still kept T-Mac happy. ah yes we can dream.
n i can dream that Gilbert Arenas will be better than Kobe someday
September 21st, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Luigi says:
yeah. Orlandos team wuda benn sick if they kept Hill. n sucked so bad in 04 that they drafted Dwight..n then still kept T-Mac happy. ah yes we can dream.
n i can dream that Gilbert Arenas will be better than Kobe someday
September 21st, 2008 at 4:31 pm
jimmhumm says:
c-webb took a massive decline after his knee surgery. But on the up and up STAT and K-Mart have both been very succesful after career killing surgeries. Even Z-Bo returned to his normal (floor born) self after knee surgery. I don’t know what’s up with Francis on NBA Street Vol.2 dude was killing cats with the MAgic. Now he don’t get no burn.
September 21st, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Coop says:
K-Mart is not the same as he was before microfracture.
Franchise isn’t the same because his injury sapped his explosiveness and agility which is what his game was predicated on. He was never an elite passer or shooter.
Z-Bo was okay after microfracture because he never leaves the ground.
Stat is the only guy who has a game based largely on athleticism that has come back positively from MF surgery.
September 21st, 2008 at 6:00 pm
TJ says:
I think Grant Hill. I know a lot of people are thinking Penny, but I’ve said it before, I think he was a little overrated.
Hill was nasty those first couple of years in the league. Go check the stats for his first six years. 20p/10r/7a his second year in the league and 26/7/5 his last year in Detroit!
September 21st, 2008 at 9:50 pm
rodnets says:
grant hill
September 21st, 2008 at 9:51 pm
QuEsT??? says:
I Have An Announcement To Make:
Fuck David Brandon and Jameer Nelson.
September 22nd, 2008 at 2:17 am
sam says:
vin baker..haha
September 22nd, 2008 at 4:05 am
Coop says:
Ah please don’t talk about Vin Baker. I’m a Sonics fan. Sob.
I think it waa Jim McIlvaine; he was a 4 and 4 monster before his massive extention, then he totally fell off to 3 and 3. Damned hippy!
September 22nd, 2008 at 7:47 am
Big Ael says:
Seems he is a hooker. I’ve seen his profile on the tall dating club
___tallloving.com__ for hot singles to hook up for Tall Love and Sexy Dating. He seems to be hooking up with nice girls there. I’ve been there for day, it seems the girls are not hard to hook up.