Goodbye Sacramento?

Sorry Kings fans, I had to put one of the best buzzer-beaters in one of my favorite rivalries growing up as a kid. I remember being at my friend Shannon's house that day, and a bunch of my friends watch Big Shot Bob hit that three leaving us all in disbelief. It's fitting tonight, the Sacramento Kings play what might be their final game in Arco Arena against the Los Angeles Lakers tonight.


In case you don't know, the Maloof brothers who own the team has been in discussion to move the team to Anaheim and rename them the Royals. The move has been bashed by some, and even guys like Chris Webber are trying to save the Kings. Last night, I was watching TNT's Inside The NBA showed some sympathy for the Kings, and talked at great length about how loyal the fans were and coupled them with Seattle. In my opinion, I thought the over-top sensitivity had to do with Webber and Kenny Smith, both former Kings being at the desk, but I felt it was unnecessary for a perennial moving franchise.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the Kings team that had Webber, Mike Bibby, Vlade Divac, and others trying to dethrone the evil Lakers. But how can people tell me to feel some sadness for a franchise who has moved from Rochester-Cincinnati-Kansas City/Omaha-Sacramento?  I understand teams move, but usually, it's one or two moves, not potentially five if they head to Anaheim. The other thing is if you want to be outspoken about a team leaving, how about the fans actually show up for the games? The Kings are second to last in attendance drawing an average of 13, 796 fans per game is pathetic. Smith, Webber, and Charles Barkley can say all they want about how great the fans were in their day, but when it comes down to numbers, they don't lie.  

The Maloofs are smart businessmen. Right now, most of their money is in Las Vegas, which is struggling worst than the Charlie Sheen Live Tour, so why would they keep the Kings in Sacramento when that business venture is failing as well?  It makes no sense when the Maloofs can provide an alternative team in suburban Los Angeles where all the transplants can see their favorite players on a nightly basis. So long Sac-Town.

-Charlie.

DOY: Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans is back playing basketball, and made a poster out of Gary Neal last night. This isn't the first time Neal has been on the receiving end of a DOY, you might remember JR Smith's massive throw-down on Neal earlier this year. Glad to have DOY back, we missed you.

The Laundry List of NBA Trades

I'm going to attempt a list of all the trades from the NBA's trade deadline this afternoon. They came in a flurry. If I forget one or two or mess one up, let me know. Here we go...

1. New Orleans traded scoring two-guard Marcus Thornton to the Sacramento Kings for Milwaukee native Carl Landry.

Trade works for both sides. The Hornets add frontcourt depth and the Kings get a scorer alongside 'Reke Evans.


2. Baron Davis and the LAC 1st round pick to Cleveland in exchange for "Mo" Williams and Jamario Moon.

Donald Sterling is mean. I gotta believe Baron is saltier than a volcano burrito from Taco Bell. He has to leave his hometown and Blake Griffin to go to freakin' Cleveland and play with Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varejão. Zoiks.

3. Captain Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong to the Hawks for Mike Bibby, rookie Jordan Crawford, Maurice Evans and a first round draft pick.

The only reason I care about this trade is Jordan Crawford. He's a rookie and has plenty of upside with the John Wall and the Wizards.

4. Hasheem Thabeet to Houston for Shane Battier.

Thabeet gets to return to the place he called home at the beginning of his stay in America. Otherwise this is just a cap move.

5. Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic to Beantown for Nate Robinson and Kendrick Perkins.

Makes little sense for Boston to give up their center for an athletic forward and a clumsy center, neither of whom can rebound and play good defense. They may have surrendered the Eastern Conference championship.

6. Gerald Wallace to the JailBlazers for Joel Przybilla, Dante Cunningham and two first round picks.

G-Force gets to go to a pretty solid team and contribute for the playoffs. MJ looks to the future for the Bobcats who just gave up their best player while vying for a playoff spot in the East.

7. Semih Erden and Luke Harangody to Cleveland for a second round pick in 2013.

Whoopdee-doo. The Cavs got some size.

8. Aaron Brooks to Phoenix for Goran Dragic.

I can taste the end of Steve Nash in the Valley of the Sun. While it saddens me, maybe he'll go to a better team before his time runs out.

9. Nazr Mohammed to OKC for D.J. White and Morris Peterson.

D.J. White was  GOD DAMN BEAST in college but I didn't think he was still in the league. Same goes for Mo-Pete for that matter. The Thunder have a ton of size now with Perk and Nazr.

10. Marquis Daniels was traded to Sacramento, but I have no idea what Boston got in return for him.


Initially, Daniels was expected to veto the trade but now he's going with it.


-Mikko

Bucks Beware

So now it begins.

Ever since the NBA Draft Yi Jianlian has been oddly silent in regards to his situation with the Milwaukee Bucks. So much so that even when he agreed to an interview with an NBA.com reporter he stipulated that there could be no questions regarding Milwaukee. (And the reporter accepted. Journalistic integrity? Anyone?) Now however, the complexion of Yi's situation is begging to become much clearer than mere speculation. Yesterday both Marc Stein and Chad Sheridan offered new insight on the state of the Yi saga. Sheridan wrote:

"If the stalemate continues, the only way Yi could make himself eligible for the 2008 draft would be to sit out an entire season. If he were to return to his pro team in China for the 2007-08 season, the Bucks would retain his NBA rights.

At this point, if I had to say whether I thought Yi will ever play a game for the Bucks, I'd have to say no. Yi's camp seems extremely determined to force the Bucks to trade his rights, and at a certain point I believe Harris and the Bucks owner, Sen. Herb Kohl, will simply throw their hands up and decide they don't want the headache anymore."

Stein also offered a similar take:

"Yi's camp insists that he won't sign with the Bucks and that the 19-year-old is prepared to play no professional basketball for a year to make himself eligible to re-enter the draft in 2008, unless the Bucks trade his draft rights....

...Yi didn't outright demand a trade but, according to sources, insisted that it remains his wish -- as opposed to an agenda being pushed by Nike or his American agent Dan Fegan -- to play in a bigger market with a larger Asian population."

There are two extremely important points in the above quotes. First, Stein reports that Yi himself (not just his agent) wants out of Milwaukee. The assumption by many was that Yi was merely letting his agent handle the situation, and that he himself did not have a strong feeling either way. Assuming Stein's info is accurate, that does not seem to be the case. The second, and most important point, is that Yi and his camp are making serious rumblings about sitting out a year alltogether and entering the 2008 Draft. (A possibility that I first broke two weeks ago) If Yi is in fact serious about carrying out that threat Milwaukee would find itself forced to either trade Yi or risk losing him for nothing.

Now comes the tricky part. If the Bucks do decide that trading Yi is their only option, what are their options? Yi has expressed a desire to go to a team in a larger media market such as Chicago, New York, or Sacramento, or Golden State. New York would seem to be out of the running after the trade for Zach Randolph, and the Bulls are likely satisfied with their young frontcourt duo of Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah. That leaves Golden State and Sacramento as the most likely trade partners for the Bucks. In examining Sacramento's roster they appear to have very few assets that would be attractive to the Bucks. Milwaukee was seeking to fill a need at either PF or SF through the draft, and the only real trade asset that the Kings have at either position is Ron Artest. The problem for the Kings is that their three top young talents (Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia, and Quincy Douby) all play SG, where the Bucks already have an All-Star in Michael Redd.

The best trade situation for the Bucks would by far be with Golden State. The Warriors were said to be very high on Yi heading into the draft, and they have the perfect assets to go about acquiring him from the Bucks. Consider; the Bucks need depth at SF and PF. The Warriors have the PF the Bucks would desire in Brandan Wright and could also package one of their free agent SFs (Matt Barnes or Mikael Pietrus) in a sign and trade. Such a deal would benefit both teams, as the Warriors would get the player they coveted all along by merely moving a SF they likely would not have re-signed and the Bucks would add young talent at both of their need positions while saving some face.

Whether or not the Bucks do decide to go the trade route with Yi will likely not be decided for quite some time, as the season is some two and a half months away. What is certain however, is that the Bucks must tread carefully in this situation lest they alienate Yi entirely and lose him for nothing.