Greg Miller: Owners rule!

Utah no more. 

It all makes sense!  

Dammit!  

I should have seen this!

Deron Williams was hoisted to the spotlight after Jerry Sloan’s sudden resignation. All the while I thought, and pretty much the world thought that Sloan was eased out because he just couldn’t stand D-Will. However, with the way Utah owner Greg Miller handled Williams, fact is he was expendable.

As he should be!  

Why the hell would team owners slave themselves for their players? Miller was right on the money when he said that players come and go, coaches come and go, but it’s hard to destroy a franchise. Utah will survive the loss of a top-tier star like Williams... especially with the talents that the New Jersey Nets shell out for D-Will’s entry.

After the Carmelo Anthony trade bogged down, Mikhail Prokhorov is humiliated. First he was defeated by Miami in the Lebron James Decision and now the New York Knicks just upskirted the Nets in the Melo trade. He has money and power... but his team is crap! So he pounced at his people and asked them to find a big-time player in his grasps or else heads will roll!

Ahem.

The Nets continued their search to find a suitable home for Devin Harris and in the coming days, they could be feeding Troy Murphy of to some team that wants him. They have been talking to several teams like Dallas and Portland but when the Williams-Sloan situation erupted, they zoned in on that option.

Oh news flash – Murphy and a second round choice was shipped to his original team Golden State for the expiring contracts of Brendan Wright and Dan Gadzuric. The Warriors however will not keep Murphy as they are expected to buy him out if they can’t trade him before the deadline.

Of course for New Jersey, Melo was the first option because he is a superstar scorer which the team desperately needs at the moment. However, Williams is an exceptional second option to have right now. D-Will could jumpstart Brook Lopez. Lopez was thought of by many as the stat-magnet that Kevin Love became and David Lee was once was. Harris tried but he failed to make his stock higher. And how about Kris Humphries? More than dating Kim Kardashian, he has been “mini-Love” for the Nets because of his knack for hounding putbacks and loose balls. Perhaps D-Will could make Humphries evolve to a la Paul Millsap?

(Although Humphries came from Utah and he was pretty much a benchwarmer during his stint there.)

Having Williams for Harris is an extreme level up. But the cost for his entry is radical, considering the Nets gave up an unprotected first round pick and another first round selection that came from the Golden State Warriors. The Nets and the Warriors are nothing but playoff dreamers. Utah will definitely enjoy these lottery draft picks. And not to mention Derrick Favors, a young big man that could be the league’s Vin Baker... when he was still in the Milwaukee Bucks (the better version).

And as for Harris and Favors, they are young and ready to prove themselves for new Utah coach Tyrone Corbin. Harris had a great last season while Favors is a kid that Utah wanted all along.

In a matter of weeks, Utah unloaded their franchise’s cornerstones. So in a span of six months, the second coming of Stockton and Malone was destroyed. So is the architect of their squad in Sloan. Fact is, Greg Miller checked out the state of his franchise and the last thing he wants to be in right now is to be like Cleveland, Denver, Phoenix or Orlando since Dwight Howard’s contract is also expiring. Asking Sloan to step down in his spat versus D-Will made D-Will an enemy of the state! Add the fact that he is allegedly a locker room cancer, Williams was sent away to lure potentially four young stars (adding the draft picks) that can help them in the future. Williams was going to go anyway... and they made sure that they get the better of the trade.

Greg Miller is a young owner who is also old school in thought. Even if he was bobbleheads of his players in his office, he will not be a slave to these superstars. Deron Williams and the rest of the best now are certainly superstar material but before them the league had Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Stephon Marbury, Ben Wallace, Shawn Marion, Baron Davis, Allen Iverson, and Steve Francis. All of these guys played for three or more teams in the span of their careers. These guys preferred superstar treatment, championship opportunities, more money, and some of the most ridiculous things rather than brand loyalty.  

Look at what crap they are in right now? When they got injured... or when their game got goofy... because they are expensive journeymen, the owners found no love for their inflated egos, unmotivated gameplay, and their over-the-top contracts. 

Miller did just that. Just when Deron thought he has the power, Miller makes him expendable. Everyone was taken aback and suddenly everyone's confused. 

Getting rid of Jerry Sloan and Deron Williams... Greg Miller is the main man in Utah. 

GAME OVER!

Postscript: Sacramento Kings dealt Carl Landry to the New Orleans Hornets for Marcus Thornton. This barely resembles news except for the fact that Dallas owner Mark Cuban is livid with the trade (contract issues). Perhaps the best news that’s in Atlanta at the moment is the acquisition of Kirk Hinrich. The Washington Wizards gave up Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong for the struggling Mike Bibby, Jordan Crawford, and Maurice Evans. Bibby has been producing much which is why the Hawks decided to infuse new blood in their backcourt.

GAME OVER AGAIN!