We’ve all been there…
The week before xmas rolls around and there are only three gifts under the tree. One is obviously a book; the second is for your sister labeled something stupid like “From: Rudolph”; and the other appears to be a Nintendo game but after you take peek and discover that it’s a nail grooming kit from your Aunt Linda, you begin to worry…
“Am I getting the shaft this year?”
Your anxiety builds up until December 24th, but then, magically, throughout Christmas Eve day, the presents slowly appear. The gifts vary in size…like the gifter had no guidance whatsoever. The tallest one is covered in large trash bags held together by duct tape, the smaller ones are blatantly wrapped at a retail “wrapping station”.
Your mind begins to race…
How did this happen? Santa doesn’t come until xmas morning…who deserves the credit for such a bountiful onslaught of holiday cheer?
Your Dad.
Only your Dad puts off shopping until the very last day. Your Dad is the one who goes to Toys ‘R’ Us and “throws money” at anything left on the shelves. The result is a bunch of random-but-awesome shit that you didn’t even ask for…a hockey stick, a leather jacket, two catcher’s mitts…maybe a silk shirt.
My premise is this…Michael Jordan is the dad who shops on xmas eve.
Bobcats fans are in for a real treat when they wake up to a whole room of new players. He already blew the “big one” by giving us our new coach early, so…
What will Michael Jordan be getting us for xmas?
Baron Davis?
This has been widely rumored, and covered earlier by Mike here at Bobcats Baseline:
… [the] rumor goes like this – Bobcats will send promising offensive talent D.J. Augustin, misfit shooter Matt Carroll, and rarely-used backup center Desagana Diop to the Los Angeles Clippers. In return, the Los Angeles Clippers will send Baron Davis, an aging, injury-riddled point guard that is about a decade past his prime.
Don’t forget “out of shape” and “uninspired” when blessing B-Dizzle with adjectives. But hey, could a reunion with Paul Silas and a faster pace of play be the tune-up that Baron needs? And if the Clippers would take Diop and Carroll’s contracts, Baron’s deal wouldn’t be that hard to swallow. Can’t say we wouldn’t be intrigued to see this gift under the tree.
Chris Kaman?
Donald Sterling’s second favorite Clipper is also reportedly being aggressively pushed onto the trading block. Kaman has been a decent traditional center for a couple years now, and actually made the All-Star game for the first time last season while averaging 18 ppg.
But that All-Star selection probably says more about the dearth of solid traditional centers in the West; and besides, it’s looking like it will be a one-time thing for Kaman anyways. He’s only played 10 games this year due to an ankle injury and is averaging just 10 ppg/7 rpg. If Kaman is stuffed in our stocking with a packet of Fun Dip, we’d toss him aside while we assess what else we haven’t unwrapped.
Andre Miller?
Brandon Roy and Andre Miller have had a tenuous relationship in Portland’s backcourt. 
Despite the fact that his long-term viability as the cornerstone of the franchise has been called into question due to his bad knees, Roy reportedly stressed the poor fit between he and Miller to the Trailblazers front office recently.
The Trailblazers have long been enamored with Gerald Wallace. Connect the dots and you get the Andre Miller for Gerald Wallace rumor. Miller is 34, but has a reasonable contract and has been amazingly durable and consistently productive for years. He’d be an upgrade over DJ at the point, but how much of an upgrade? Getting Miller would be kind of like finding a refurbished iPad under the tree.
Marcus Camby?
To sweeten the pot, the Blazers could include Marcus Camby. The big man was brought into Portland last year to fortify their Oden-less frontline as they eyed a deep playoff run. That didn’t work out, and it doesn’t
look like it’s in the cards this year either — so Portland is apparently open to retooling.
Camby is 36, but still has a little left. He’s an athletic big who has essentially become a rebounding and defensive specialist. If Charlotte commits to running a more uptempo offense, Camby would be a better fit than Nazr Mohammed. If your brother got Gerald Wallace for xmas, and you got Andre and Marcus, would you trade gifts?
JJ Redick?
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel points out that the net result of the Magic’s two trades was going small for big. The Magic are now overloaded in the backcourt, with Gilbert Arenas and Jason Richardson pushing Chris Duhon, Jason Williams, Quentin Richardson and JJ Redick for playing time. Meanwhile, sending Marcin Gortat to the Suns leaves Dwight Howard with no true backup. The Magic currently go small with Brandon Bass or Ryan Anderson when Howard needs a rest or, god forbid, gets in foul trouble.
That proposition is a bit scary when you’re looking at potentially facing the Boston Celtics in the playoffs. Could the Magic turn one of their many smalls into a big? Maybe if they’re willing to part with JJ Redick and take Nazr Mohammed or Gana Diop?
From a basketball standpoint, Redick really duplicates Matt Carroll’s skill set. That pesky issue aside, it would be hilarious to see Redick on the Bobcats. In case you weren’t aware, Bobcats (Tarheel) fans have made booing JJ Redick one of the Cable Box’s best traditions. At this point, the level of derision is so out of proportion to anything that Redick has ever done to affront Bobcat/Tarheel fans that it’s clearly taken on a life of its own. It would be pretty cool to see Redick turn those boos into delirious cheers by nailing three after three in an uptempo offense. Still, for Tarcats (or Bobheels) Redick would be like getting a big pile of coal in your stocking.
So get to bed early (via Ambien and eggnog), Vitamin Water your tree, and leave out his favorite drink because Michael Jordan coming tonight.
– Deesdale & Dr. E
D.J. Augustin is promising? The only thing Augustin can “promise” is to get posted up by opposing point guards each and every night. Also, Matt Carroll has no skill set. Matt isn’t a shooter. Matt is shooting threes at a 0.143 clip this season. This is not a one year thing for Matt. Matt shot threes at a 0.211 last season, and shot threes at a 0.267 the year prior to that. Matt has to be the worst player in the NBA. He’s in good company with this Bobcats roster. The Bobcats have a talent for filling out their roster with scrubs. DeSagana Diop and Eduardo Najera have to be the second and third worst players in the NBA. Onto the potential trades; I would do either the Clippers or the Blazers trade. This Bobcats roster can use a major overhaul.
How about we trade Naz, Diop, Carroll, Najera, and MAYBE a future second rounder for Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, and David Lee. Sounds good to me!
Dear lord I hate when people make stupid fake trades like this.
If afraid its starting to look like a gun-for-Sullinger year, so trading Stephen Jackson (as much as I like him) for a young up-and-coming SG could make sense. If Jordan thinks this season can be patched up for another playoff run, Davis makes some sense.
Another reason to like a potential Baron Davis trade is that it will free up two additional roster spots. What is truly sad is that there are free agent veterans and young athletic D-league players who are better players than both Matt Carroll or DeSagana Diop. With 10 day contracts going into effect on Jan 5, the Bobcats will have additional flexibility to improve those two spots.
The trade for Baron Davis will work out great because it will put a PG in a position will he will be motivated again because no one is challenging his spot. He doesnt even start anymore. I wish we could work a three team trade that gets rid of stephen jackson and brings in jj reddick somehow. JJ is hated by bobcats fans, however he has become a solid player and would fit really well contrasting with the style of Gerald Henderson. The new uptempo style is better fitting for derrick brown since he has no IQ on offense as it seems. All he wants to do is dunk on people and play defense which is great for the new style of play. More minutes need to be found for this guy. I will feel bad for DJ because he would not fit in LAC because Eric Bledsoe is the starter and DJ will have to find a new team next year.
Um, what? Having a rookie replace you in the starting lineup isn’t motivation enough?
I am all for J.J. coming to the bobcats, he has vastly improved his skill set since college and has proven playability in an uptempo offense, only problem I see is that Orlando knows how good he is and would offer Duhon instead.
http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=22jugnr
Here’s a trade proposal:
Shaun Livingston to the the Clippers for guard Randy Foye.
I can’t say I understand that. Shaun Livingston is an apt point guard and without him, Sherron Collins is our backup – or god forbid Augustin gets injured, our starter. And meanwhile, the Clippers have Eric Bledsoe and Baron Davis at the point.
From the Boston Globe:
Bobcats try to pick up speed Two weeks ago, we talked with Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins about the plight of his downtrodden team, and he didn’t seem at all pleased with the lack of consistency. But the job of coach Larry Brown didn’t appear to be in jeopardy because, well, he’s Larry Brown.
But the Bobcats made a change this past week, replacing Brown with former Celtic Paul Silas, and the change was for the better.
The Bobcats are in disarray, and it began when they refused to bring back Raymond Felton, instead allowing the burly point guard to flourish for the Knicks. D.J. Augustin is a solid backup guard but not a starter for a playoff team.
Brown became increasingly disenchanted with the roster and began blaming himself, especially after a 93-62 loss to the Celtics Dec. 11, intimating that the team had tuned him out.
After discouraging losses to Washington and Oklahoma City, the team needed a fresh voice, and Silas has decided to completely change the style of play, going with a fast-break offense to accentuate the team’s strengths. Let’s face it, a club with Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace, and Tyrus Thomas is not going to scare anybody in a half-court offense.
Until the Bobcats attract a quality big man — and no, Nazr Mohammed doesn’t count — they will have to win games with an up-tempo style.
“The one thing I want to do is to bring energy to this ball club,’’ Silas said. “We are going to have to try to get up and down so the fans can see us at our best.’’
Said Higgins, “The fact of the matter is, we haven’t given up on the season and we have to try to get back into it. Losing three of our last six games by 30 points or more, that’s a bad sign for us in the short term. Our goals will be to try to remain competitive and continue to try to improve our roster.’’
First, the Bobcats need a front-line point guard. They would love to move the final two years of Jackson’s deal to get one, but Wallace seems more likely because he’s younger and comes with less baggage.
Also, look for the Bobcats to try to gain cap relief by offering Boris Diaw to Orlando for the expiring contract of Jason Richardson, a former Bobcat. Diaw has a player option for $9 million next season, while Richardson’s $14.4 million comes off the books.
ETC.
First off, a Jason Richardson for Boris Diaw trade wouldn’t happen again. Right now, J-Rich is not only the better player, but he has the better–expiring–contract. The Orlando Magic really like Jason Richardson. That Organization likes Jason Richardson so much that they traded for Hedo Turkoglu’s contract just to get Jason Richardson. That same overpaid Hedo Turkoglu, who has the ability to play as a point forward; which would make Boris Diaw’s skillset unnecessary for the Orlando Magic. Here’s my problem with MJ: the man wants it both ways. MJ wants to make a playoff push, yet he wants to cut salary at the same time. That’s practically impossible to do in today’s NBA’s landscape. GMs trade talent for shorter contracts and vice versa; GM’s don’t trade talent and shorter contracts for less talent with longer contracts. This team has to pick a direction. Does it want to rebuild through the draft and trade their veteran talent for expiring contracts and picks, or does MJ want to try to make a playoff push, acquire more talent, which could mean having to add longer contracts. I have little faith that MJ will make the right decisions…
i cant think of anyway
but you guys think we have a chance getting oj mayo??
OJ Mayo isn’t a point guard, he’s an undersized SG. The Bobcats need a point guard who can run a team.
OJ mayo can play point guard in a fast paced offense.. he could start at the 1, remember the first couple of years everybody said chauncey was undersize SG and couldnt run team.. and their games are similar
Baron Davis doesn’t want to be traded.
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/12/27/baron-davis-doesnt-want-the-clippers-to-trade-him/
Can you blame him. There is no Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon on this team…