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| 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!
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