The Sports Rumors

March Madness, NBA Season Winding Down, MVP Race

It’s been a hell of a long time since I’ve written on my world renowned website… well, not really renowned. But it has been what, a month? There were so many times over the past few weeks where I felt like I had to put my two cents out there and ruffle some feathers but something kept coming up. You people with the angry text messages and emails forget that I have a job and a career! But regardless, that’s neither here nor there though because I’m back and I guarantee that I’ll have a good percentage of you foaming at the mouth, pissed off and wanting to strangle me. But that’s what I do and that’s why you read, so let’s get this thing going.

First order of business. As you all know, we’re in the center of March Madness. Every year, ESPN goes absolutely ape sh*t about this month and all the upsets and how crazy fun this time of year is. Let me be the one to say it as a former college student and now working professional:

MARCH MADNESS IS OVERRATED.

Wait, what? Did he just say that? Yeah, you’re damn right I said it and I’ll say it again. March Madness is the most overrated event that we have in sports. And please, spare me your financial figures. I know it grosses the most money in Vegas. Here’s why, genius… it’s a month long! There are 63 games (check my math on that one). 63 games present 63 opportunities at minimum to gamble. You think if the Super Bowl was a month long, it wouldn’t gross a higher dollar figure? Secondly, if you like watching school’s you have never heard of, with players you likely won’t ever see again, and free throw shooting percentages from the top seed Memphis that make Shaq look like Jeff Hornacek, then go for it. Watch all the March Madness you want. Me, personally… I like to watch players who can sink open jumpers. I like to watch teams score more than 50 points a game. I don’t like watching players who are incapable of beating a backcourt trap. I like quality, skilled basketball.

Now mind you, I wasn’t like this before. You go back to the days of UCLA and the O’bannon brothers, the Duke years, the Fab Five years, and so on and so forth; that was quality college basketball. Today? Not so much. For God’s sake, the best players in the college ranks are freshmen! The only reason they are even playing in college is because they are forced to. Kevin Love, Rose, OJ Mayo, Beasley… that is talent. Tyler Hansboro is a good college player, but in the NBA, he’s just a more skilled Mark Madsen. Yeah, I said it. He won’t amount to anything in the NBA other than a nice off the bench energy guy. Think I’m wrong? How’s the career of JJ Redick and Adam Morrison working out?

Now I won’t be a total scrooge, and there is no getting around the fact that filling out those brackets and joining office pools is fun. But seriously, I just care about if the teams I selected win; I don’t care how they did it and I certainly don’t care for watching the games. I can honestly say that I’d much rather watch the Warriors-Lakers or Suns-Celtics than Wisconsin-Davidson. That brings me to my next topic of conversation…

God the NBA is so great right now. I can’t remember a time where I was so into every single game and every single box score. Think of all the compelling stories. The Western Conference playoff seeding, the MVP race, Lebron vs The East, the injury bug hitting contenders, and even garbage teams like the Knicks publically preparing to make a run at Lebron and Wade. Since I haven’t written in a long time, it’s hard for me to cover every interesting story in depth, but I will touch on a few.

My ranking of the best teams? Not going to be one of the topics I hit on. Why? Because I don’t know. If I don’t know something enough, I won’t talk about it and hopefully, you can respect me for it. I can’t tell you if the Lakers are the best team in the NBA because I don’t know how healthy Gasol and Bynum will be. I don’t know what the state of the Spurs is because they have been so topsy turvy the past few weeks. I don’t know if the Suns are just hitting a little fluke or if they are actually adjusting to each other (which I doubt). I can’t tell you how good or bad the Mavs are. I can’t tell you with certainty if the Celtics have enough to beat a western conference team in a series, or even the Pistons for that matter. I just don’t know. I do know that ANYONE in the west can beat anyone. I do know that Boston and Detroit from the east are going to be a hell of a challenge in the finals for the Western Conf representative. I do know that Lebron won’t be in the finals this year, much to David Stern’s dismay.

What I do know is that the MVP race is between two, and only two players.

All season long, I was convinced that Kobe Bryant was the most valuable player in the league. I had the following ranking in mind:

1. Kobe
2. Kevin Garnett
3. Lebron James
4. Chris Paul

That’s how I saw it for much of the season. But then I reevaluated things.

Lebron James has all but fallen out of the race in my opinion due to his team’s record in the east. You’re not the most valuable player in the league if you’re team is 40-31 in the east. I’m sorry, but you’re not. This is the conference where the Atlanta Hawks are nine games below .500 and have sole possession of the eighth and final playoff seed. Only three teams in the east have a winning percentage greater than .600, and Cleveland is not one of them. The “Lebron has no help” argument is getting old. Zyrdunas Illguaskas, Drew Gooden, Ben Wallace are three of the big men he has played with. That’s more than a lot of teams have had.

Kevin Garnett has, without a doubt, turned the Celtics from a bottom feeder to a title contender. However, it’s hard to give an MVP award to a guy who has Ray Allen and Paul Pierce playing alongside him. I’m not knocking KG in any way. He’s the pin that keeps that team intact. However, they would still be a playoff team without him.

That leaves us with two players. Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul. Ironically, both are tied for first place in the western conference, which makes this even harder.

If you are not impressed by Chris Paul at this point in the season, you never will be. I responded to friends who asked me about him after the first 30 games and I said, “Let’s wait and see if he can sustain it over a whole season.” Sustain it? He has surpassed EVERY expectation I could have set for him. He is a fierce competitor, makes his teammates better, finds ways to win and can do everything on the court. He can score 40 plus, he can dish 20 dimes, and he could be the first player in league history to average three steals a game. He has an average supporting cast that he has made look great. Basically, he has done everything that he could possibly have done to win the MVP award. Unfortunately for him, the next guy is also balling at a very high level.

Kobe Bryant. He’s been the best player in the game for the past three, maybe four years. No one compares with his tenaciousness and pursuit of perfection. No one. In the past, he did not make teammates better. Now, he does. Look at guys like Jordan Farmar, Ronny Turiaf, Sasha Vujacic, and Luke Walton. They are all playing the best ball of their careers and it’s because Kobe has finally learned how to involve and trust his teammates. Put your past perceptions about him aside and look at this single season alone. He has gotten his teammates involved, sensed when he has had to take over, and done so accordingly with a strikingly high success rate. Pau Gasol has been a great help, but keep in mind, he hasn’t even played 20 games yet with the Lakers. Just in the past ten days alone, Kobe has gone on the road and led the Lakers to victories over the Mavericks and Jazz, snapping their 19 game home win streak. There is nothing more that he can do to win the MVP award, just like Paul.

So who’s my MVP right now?

I’m an honest person and I’ll be real. My bias as a Lakers fan AND the fact that Kobe has been robbed of MVP awards in the past leads me slightly more on his side. I mean, he was ranked the second best shooting guard by ESPN and affiliates in NBA History, second only to the great Michael Jordan, yet he’s never been the most valuable player? That just doesn’t make sense. Now I said it was a slight edge to Kobe. How slight? I’ll give Kobe 50.5% of the vote and Chris Paul 49.5%. And believe me, for those of you who know me and my religious following of Kobe, that’s saying something.

Chris Paul does get love for being in the best damn commercial I’ve seen in a long time though, as seen below:

The NBA season is far from over. Actually, the real season is just about to begin. I cannot wait to see every single playoff matchup (Except the Celtics-Hawks…. I think I’ll pass on that, thanks). I was going to end this article with a mundane sentence, but maybe this will be better, or at least give you a chance to hate on me a little more. Here are some predictions for you to chew on:

Rookie of the Year: Luis Scola (Has intangibles that Durant doesn’t)

NBA Regular Season MVP: Kobe Bryant

Biggest Underachievers: Dallas Mavericks

Surprise Playoff Team: Washington Wizards

Best Playoff Series: Suns vs Spurs

Worst Trade: Shaq to Phoenix (Ruined what that team was based on)

Best Trade: Obviously, Pau to Lakers for dirt

Eastern Conference Champion: Boston Celtics

Western Conference Champion: LA Lakers

NBA Finals: Lakers over Celtics in 6

NBA Finals MVP: Kobe Bryant

And of course…

Ugliest MotherLover in the League: DJ Mbenga

KEVIN GARNETT TRADED TO BOSTON

Kevin Garnett has been traded to the Boston Celtics. It’s OFFICIAL. Details to come soon…

You read it here first! 7:18PM EST.

Kevin Garnett to Boston Almost Finalized

Well, we’re back to talking about K.G. trade rumors again. ESPN reported earlier today that the deal to Boston is almost complete. The trade is said to include the following players for Garnett:

Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, and Ryan Gomes.

This is probably the first time that Mchale and Ainge have simultaneously used all of their intelligence together to come up with a half decent idea. Trading KG for even Theo Ratliff would be a step forward for the Wolves since KG is going to walk at the end of the season anyway. The trade works out for the Celtics as well even though they’re going to lose a hell of a talent in Al Jefferson. Pairing KG with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen should be a pretty potent combo, especially in the joke that is the Eastern Conference. Envisioning them playing together leads me to believe that KG will have one of his best seasons in years by grabbing boards off of Pierce and Allen’s misses while getting a lot of looks down low as well. Allen should clean up from three everytime Pierce penetrates and gets doubled. Pierce will benefit because now he’s not the only player to guard on the team. I wouldn’t be surprised if that Celtic squad ends up in the Eastern Conference Finals. That being said, lets start making predictions when the trade actually is official, because with Ainge and Mchale, you just never know.

One more thought. The ESPN “Who’s Now” segment has to be the worst segment they’ve ever aired. It is such a stupid idea. What the hell is “Who’s Now”. What is the criteria? They change it everytime I hear it. Is it who’s the most popular sports figure? The best at what they do? The most endorsements? It’s a dumb concept and I hate it more than I hate the “Head on” commercials. And thats saying something.

(Mchale: “Okay… I have an idea. Here’s how we can botch this trade…”)

UPDATE: Kobe and K.G. Trade Talks Heating Up

Quick update for my folks at work having a miserable Monday.

Kobe – A dialogue has been opened back up with management but still no major progress has been made and he has not softened his stance regarding wanting out of L.A. This is a stance, as I wrote in my earlier article, I don’t see him changing. He is set on getting out of L.A. and going to Chicago, Phoenix, or Dallas. UNLESS the Lakers somehow land K.G. Which leads me to my next update (I know you like that segway).

K.G. – Now that it’s obvious that common sense has prevailed in Minnesota and trading Garnett is seen as an option, the floodgates have opened as far as other teams and their offers. The frontrunners however are clearly Phoenix and the Lakers. Dallas is a distant third right now in the race for K.G.’s services. The details of the package L.A. is willing to offer have not been disclosed but my common sense tells me it will most likely involve packaging Lamar Odom and the overrated, overhyped, baby-faced soft creampuff known as Andrew Bynum. As known by many, Kobe and K.G. are pretty close friends and Garnett owns a house in Malibu, California. Of course Phoenix would probably gouge their eyes out if Kobe and Garnett pair up so look for an offer including lots of draft picks from Phoenix as well as a third team (Boston? Atlanta?). The next 48-72 hours should be interesting so stay tuned. Oh and contrary to what some are reporting about Dallas and Minnesota trade talks; Dallas isn’t going to send Dirk for K.G. It’s not happening. Cuban has a man-crush on Dirk (See Dirk’s MVP award presentation in which Cuban cried like a… well.. finish the sentence as you please). Stay tuned for updates.

Hmm. Maybe getting some value for K.G. this as opposed to none next year isn’t a bad idea after all.

K.G. to Phoenix? Not happening

As you probably know, Minnesota and Boston had come to agreement on terms to send the highly talented Kevin Garnett to the Celtics for a package of young players and the #7 pick overall. The deal was in place and Boston fans were about to find some solace after missing out on the Oden and Durant sweepstakes. But of course, it is Boston so what happened next was bound to happen. At the last second, K.G. shoots down the deal saying he doesn’t want to play for them. (Suicide Watch: Danny Ainge & Bill Simmons). Moving on to the next trade scenario for K.G. brings us to Phoenix, Arizona. Garnett has apparently gotten frustrated with incompetent, moronic McHale and owner Glen Taylor and told them that if you’re going to trade me, send me to the Suns. I don’t see it happening and here’s why:

1) The Twolves want Amare in exchange for Garnett and are not willing to accept a package including the disgruntled (and overrated) Shawn Marion, Boris Diaw and some other bench geek. They want Amare for K.G. The Suns won’t do that because it makes no sense. You have a 24 year old entering his elite years who is already wrapped up in a long term contract. Trade him for a GREAT player but, lets be honest, has a lot of miles on his odometer. 12 years and being age 31 isn’t very enticing. Throw in the fact that he’s got a figure over 20 million per season coming up and he can opt out after the season.

2) Reason number two is the Shawn Marion being Shawn Marion. A three way trade was possible by sending Marion and Diaw to Boston, Boston sends the package they just offered to Minnesota, and Minnesota sends K.G. to the Suns. That’d work out for everyone right? Well Marion said he’s not playing for ‘Sota and he’s definitely not playing for Boston. So that’s that. (By the way, wasn’t being the highest paid player on the Suns while being the 3rd, maybe 4th most important enough for Marion?? Guess not.)

3) Lastly, K.G. has a clause in his contract that states he will get a 15% increase on his contract (as if he really needs it), if he is traded to another team. That would bring his 2007-2008 figure to a little over $25 million for one season. To make matters worse, he has a bunch of little extra clauses that are supposed to kick in July 1^st in which he’d make even more money. Phoenix is over the luxury tax limit and they are already looking at a San Francisco 49ers like financial disaster 3 years from now (because of the contracts that Nash and Amare have, plus the ENORMOUS contracts that overpaid Jalen Rose and Diaw have.) Jalen Rose was the highest paid cheerleader this year by the way. So the Suns don’t have the wiggle room to afford KG unless they move Amare AND Marion’s contracts.

Only way there is even a remote possibility of KG playing for the Suns is if another team gets involved for a 3-way, and Princess Marion accepts going there PLUS the team offers equivalent to what Boston offered ‘Sota.

To summarize folks, looking around the league and what can be offered, this trade isn’t going down.

Sorry KG. You won’t be running alongside Nash anytime soon.