Sticks and Stones Break Bones...Apparently So Do Suitcases

It's that time of year again; the leaves are falling, baseball's almost over (thank God) and Carlos Boozer's injured, yes the NBA season's just around the corner. It's shaping up to be a compelling season, with many stories surrounding a few great teams and the many who aspire to run with them someday. As always in October, there's plenty abuzz in the league, but before I get on with things, a salute is due to New York streetball legend John Strickland, who passed away in his sleep this week at just 38. Most recently an on-court and front-office player form my hometown Halifax Rainmen, his influence ran much deeper: (from the New York Post)

Strickland’s reach goes so far that even Miami Heat star Lebron James mourned his passing on his Twitter account saying: “R.I.P to homie Strick.”Finish Your Breakfast”. Roc Boyz in the building.” Strickland was mentioned in Jay-Z’s hit song Public Service Announcement in the line: “No one can do it better. I check cheddar like a food inspector. My homey Strick told me, ‘Dude, finish your breakfast.’... As a low-post wizard and a superb passer, he once averaged more than 40 points per game at Nike Pro City, considered the circuit’s primer league. Strickland became the first person to win a title there as a player and a coach when he led Gold’s Gym to the championship this summer.

Obviously a huge blow to the basketball community; I'd honestly heard that line hundreds of times, ignorant to it being about the same guy helping hold down my city's only link to pro hoops. Rest in peace Strick, all the best to his family and the Rainmen.

Back in the NBA, the Carmelo Anthony trade rumors that dominated the past couple of weeks have dissipated. After Melo showed up training camp denying any interest in a trade and saying he was perfectly happy, things curiously faded between the Nuggets and the indiscriminate list of teams they had been openly talking to. Based on the reported offers and the complexity of most deals, it sounds like the Nuggets are learning the hard way what Phoenix did every year for the last 3: It's hard to get legit return on a superstar. Denver's going to have to make a rather shitty decision pretty soon: (discounting the .006% chance Carmelo isn't completely full of shit and all these trade rumors are unfounded) either get lowballed for their franchise player or linger on with this imposition looming.

Carlos Boozer and Dwyane Wade have surprised few and vexed many injuring themselves already; Boozer's hand the apparent victim of a dreadedly sinister.....path-blocking suitcase. For some reason, most of the media attention has shone on Boozer and his repeated bouts with the chilling list, but Wade's spotty bill of health seems like a much more pressing matter for the Heat; the plan behind having him exert himself less doesn't seem to be producing the right outcomes. Miami's likely going to bring him back slowly and lose ground in what's sure to be an adjustment process; an injury was bound to happen but one this early, before they've developed any kind of momentum, is critical. Boozer's baggage is clearly a setback for the Bulls, but not only are the stakes not as high for them, plugging 'Los into their offensive scheme in a few weeks will be far easier than orchestrating the co-existence of the two most potent and ball-dominant scorer/distributers in the NBA.

The preseason tipped off with the usual Euroleague cross-promotion, only with their champs (FC Barcelona) knocking off the reigning Lakers. There have been alarms raised by pundits who see this as a cause for concern in LA, but c'mon really? This is the preseason, the rust is getting knocked off (along with a few spare players) and bench mobs are running wild. This isn't a tangible gauge of how teams will play, hell the Raptors are scoring blowout wins. Not only is international basketball getting better by leaps and bounds (like you didn't know), but most NBA teams, let alone the one with maybe the safest bet on playing 'til June, don't give a fuck a right now. Let's not make this into more than it is.

The NBA's annual GM Survey dropped last week, and apparently the high minds disagree with my title prediction, overwhelmingly picking the Lakers to 3-peat. Can't say I mind it. They'll be very, very tough, being not only extremely talented, but having poise on Boston, experience on Miami, and everything on just about everyone out West. I stand by my selection, but regardless of who comes out on top I feel like this is going to be a very competitive Finals; one to rival last year's, which is the only prediction I really care about getting right.

...And in unrelated news, the downward spiral of Steve Francis continues: the former All-Star, whose career arc took a curiously steep dip in the middle of his prime, was arrested yesterday at LAX for public intoxication. An altercation at a ticket counter led to police being called, and Francis posting $10 G's bail after the cuffs were slapped on, he was "intoxicated, unable to care for himself, and combative toward police". Nice to see you're enjoying retirement, Steve.

"He Who Hesitates is Lost"

This year's trade deadline was more exciting than most, with several big names on the move after months of rampant speculation and incessant rumors. That being said, for every move that was made, we saw teams fail to pull the trigger on anticipated deals that could have serious implications over the coming months and seasons. Let's take a look at who didn't make a deadline move, why not, and how seriously it could fuck them over:

- The most surprising move, or lack thereof, was Phoenix deciding not to ship Amar'e Stoudemire to any of the many interested teams. The problem here was that Stoudemire had been held onto for too long; the Suns have been talking about trading him for years and could never make their mind up whether or not to hit the switch on rebuilding mode. This hurt Amar'e's trade value, as every team knew Phoenix was willing to part with him (and needed to, lest they risk losing him for nothing in July), making it impossible to get equal value in return. If the rumored Hickson/Ilgauskas package was truly the best offer they received for an elite big man, then this card was played terribly. Consequently, you can probably pencil the Suns in for a low playoff seed and the worst month of June possible as they clamor to work a sign-and-trade (which is sure to be even more of a lowballing than their refused deadline deals) before Stoudemire bolts like Usain to a better situation.

- Also, the Utah Jazz held onto their prized-but-long-time-trade-bait big man after several offers for Carlos Boozer fell through. Despite informing 'Los and the rest of the NBA that he wasn't part of their long-term plans months ago, Utah is contending for a division crown and trading a borderline All-Star for pennies on the dollar would've been a hasty move. Instead, they shipped their starting shooting guard for absolutely nothing, pissing off their franchise player

and confusing the hell out of everyone else. Maybe they thought Wesley Matthews could fill the void (...not saying he can't), but blatantly dumping one of your core guys to save a few dollars when your team's among the best in the conference doesn't send the right message to players or fans. Now, much like Phoenix, Utah can only pray that Boozer allows them to work a sign-and-trade, which given his history in such situations, is a sketchy proposition.

- Third in our series of Teams That Might Regret Holding Onto Their All-Star Big Man are the Toronto Raptors. A few months ago, mired in their usual nonchalance and defensive ineptitude, the Craptors were almost certainly going to have to deal Chris Bosh. Since 2010 dawned, they've played enough inspired basketball to make Bryan Colangelo think he's got a chance of holding onto his soon-to-be free agent. It's a tough read. Bosh has repeatedly stated that he 'loves' Toronto as a city and as a team, but he's also expressed a desire to play for a contender; something the Raptors are far from being. If he does re-sign, he'll be committing to a team that has $50 in dead money committed to The Remains of Hedo Turkoglu, has a poor track record of appeasing its star players, and an worse one when it comes to steadily building a winning franchise. He might claim he loves being the man on a mediocre team, but even though Bosh is a stand-up guy and least likely of these three players to bail unceremoniously, he'll have to weigh options and priorities very carefully this summer. 'Loving' a team is a different story from making the most important decision of your life in the faith that they'll show you that love in return.

- On the flipside, you have the teams that should've been looking to acquire a piece or two, and for whatever reason didn't get it done. Take the Miami Heat; a team that four years ago made some short-sighted moves that got them a title but now has left them in a serious hole. Since then, they've tumbled from the NBA's penthouse to the East's basement, and though they've attempted to climb out, look like they can't find the door. Dwyane Wade once affirmed his desire to be in Miami hiw whole career, but since making that statement has seen his team fall apart around him, forcing him to exert himself more than he should ever have to keep them in the playoff hunt while his GM publicly puts him on blast. It's obvious he's not happy here and will have teams lining up to deliver a franchise to his feet in mere months. The lack of activity by the Heat is alarming; deadline rumors had them aggressively pursuing Stoudemire and Boozer, but they shot themselves in foot by not really having any promising trade bait. The chance of luring a big-name free agent still might save them when Jermaine O'Neal's whale expires in June, but with so many teams waiting to gamble this summer, getting a jump on the market would've been key to cinvincing Wade to stay.

- The Golden State Clusterfucks also stood pat after dangling everyone on their roster short of Stephen Curry all season. I wish I knew why. Not only do they hold several intriguing, young trade prospects, but they have no identity within which to worry about the fit of a potential acquisition. They weren't even mentioned to be pursuing many offers, which given the disarray of their roster and record, just seems lazy.

- Although they weren't talked about as much, I sincerely expected the Pistons to shake things up because a) they have lots of talented pieces, b) Joey D's never shied away from triggering a big deal, and c) they're fucking pitiful this year. This seemed like a perfect time to jettison one/some of their young studs in what was clearly a buyers' market, but admittedly their recent decision to commit a third of their cap space to two guys who aren't currently starting hasn't given them much room to work with. Although he'll no doubt be working the phones to make something happen in June, Mr. Dumars' early summer plans will likely involve much more leisure time than if he had been in a different frame of mind back on that fateful June night in 2003. Hopefully visions of Carmelo and Dwyane re-upping with his team won't haunt him while he's putting to save par.

Of course, we'll need wait and see what develops over the next few months before we can cast a final judgement on the Trade Deadline. Maybe the passive route was the best idea and the waiting game will pay off for these franchises, but the trade market we just saw is a rare breed and passing it up is a serious roll of the dice at a high stakes game. Things are only going to get zanier this summer, and only time will tell if these teams came out for the better. But with so much talent and cap space readily available, there might be a lot of GMs soon spending time near the bottom of a bitter whiskey bottle, lamenting what might've been.

Have a good weekend everyone, I'll be back in a few days.