A few observations on the NBA hot stove league, which is considerably more interesting than the regular season and only slightly less so than the playoffs:
- Shaq is headed to Miami, where he hopes to begin yet another mini-dynasty. But just as the Lakers, his first two or three years, weren’t nearly as good as the Orlando team he’d just left, don’t expect the Heat to be championship contenders right away. I mean, they’ll have Shaq, Dwayne Wade, Eddie Jones, and about ten guys you’ve never heard of.
- Meanwhile, Kobe may soon be facing a second rape trial, this time with the Lakers as his accuser. He’s already made demands about who they hire as coach, who his teammates are, and who knows what else, and now he’s asking rival suitor the Clippers to play a certain amount of games in Anaheim. A few questions- do the $150 million contracts he’s about to be offered have a “void-if-you-go-to-jail” provision? If Kobe is foolish enough to actually sign with the Clippers, will they give up players in a sign-and trade? Because if they traded, say, Elton Brand and Corey Maggette, that would give the “new” Lakers quite a nucleus.
- Our friend Stephen A. Smith, on SportsCenter last night, said that “everyone who loves basketball is hoping for Kobe to be found innocent.” Uh, yea, if he actually IS innocent. If it turns out he did it, I would hope he’ll be found guilty.
- The Nuggets appear ready to sign Kenyon Martin away from the Nets, possibly in a sign-and-trade for… Nikoloz Tskitishvili. Yea, GREAT trade. I’m sure Nets fans, if they gave a shit, would be outraged.
Posted by Stephen Silver at July 12, 2004 06:20 PM