“Average” Teammates? Nope!
I'm still smiling at the post-trade reaction to the Golden State Warriors Stephen "Average" Jackson trade. We here at 2SOTH are quite open in our disgust for pretty much everything Jackson does, but now his ex-teammates are getting in on the act.
This from ESPN.com:
"Ball movement is a lot better," Anthony Morrow told The Oakland Tribune. "We've got to keep moving the ball like we've been doing. Our whole team right now, it's just beautiful. We're playing really well right now as a team. I'm really proud of my team."
And if that's not enough... more from rookie Stephen Curry:
"Jack is a scorer," Curry said, "and he feels like he can take his man 1-on-1 at any time in the game. That's just the style of play that he's good at. Once he gets the ball and sizes up his man, things slow down just naturally through that. Everybody else on this team I think kind of plays differently, so the ball moves a little quicker."
Fact: This has never happened in Golden State Warriors history.
It seems everyone is feeling better since "Average" Jackson left Oakland.
I'm no Warriors fan... but even I feel better for Golden State.
Monta Ellis: Destroyer of teams
Let's discuss Monta Ellis.
Drafted in the Second Round (40th overall) in the 2005 draft.
Underwhelming in his rookie year due to injuries and lack of playing time.
In his second go 'round he bumped his average to 16.5 points per game and started to look promising. In fact so promising that the Warriors traded Jason Richardson away to free up playing time for the young man on the heels of the famous David beats Goliath victory over the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs.
In his third season Ellis pushed his scoring to over 20 points per game. He was still a me-me-me chucker with only ~4 assists per game, but he was a good chucker in a league that values good chuckers.
When eligible for an extension the Warriors paid Ellis handsomely, and he rewarded them by going for a moped ride. Of course he fell off, injured himself then lied about the cause of his injury to the team.
In that same off season Baron Davis left for the Clippers and Stephen Jackson shot guns in the air and got suspended, but Ellis is just as much to blame as those two for the disappointing on court play for the Warriors as anyone else.
And now he reportedly wants out. In what other occupation would it be even remotely acceptable to sign a lucrative contract with an employer, fail to do everything possible to make the situation a success then demand to be moved to greener pastures while in the midst of said lucrative contract.
Monta Ellis, you get the 2SOTH 'Dick In The Bay' Award.
“Average” Bobcat…
Well, it's finally happened. After all of the talk, the Golden State Warriors have moved Stephen "Average" Jackson. In what can only be described as a "deal that had to happen", Jackson will play his next game in Charlotte Bobcat colors. Here at 2SOTH, we saw it coming from a mile off.
In this deal, the Warriors receive Vladimir Radmanovic and Raja Bell from Charlotte in exchange for Acie Law IV and their all-Average former Captain Jax.
I find it hilarious that the Warriors got what they did in the end. A lot of reports are asking if they could've got anything better? I like the fact they've been able to get two handy scorers on their day, and a rugged defender in Bell. Also, they've been able to avoid sending Jackson to a destination of his choice.
This was the opposite of the feeling in the room when Stephen Jackson's pending arrival was announced.
Jackson stated that NYC, Cleveland or anywhere in Texas would suit him fine. Well, when you ask you don't always get. And I'm happy for the fans of Golden State that this cancer has been removed. I don't think it will be long before Don Nelson goes either...
Here's to a speedy recovery Oakland.
“Average” Jackson update…
Hello everyone! It's that time of the fortnight again, where we give you an update on Stephen "Average" Jackson! 2SOTH is about as big a fan of Jackson as we are of testicular cancer. This man is overpaid, whiny and most disappointingly disloyal.
Jackson is apparently unhappy with the fact he is being portrayed as a bad guy lately after his trade request in August. Well, newsflash for Jackson but you brought this on yourself. Why would any half intelligent fan of any franchise treat Jackson with any love? He's literally in the midst of "taking the money and running". We all remember how Rasheed Wallace was treated when he referred to trade rumours as nothing as long as someone "Cut The Check".
I hope for the sake of all Warriors fans that the people in charge can ship Jackson to the Eastern Conference as soon as possible. Just one single visit to Oakland a year would be a good result. We all know it's going to happen, let's hope it's quickly.
Average Jackson to get his wish?
It appears Stephen "Average" Jackson is likely to be moved out of Oakland soon... with possible suitors including the Clippers, Spurs, Cavs and Hornets...
Or is he? And are they?
It seems the trade will definitely happen at some stage but the Warriors aren't prepared to part ways with Jackson for a bargain basement fee.
There's a lot of implications regarding Jackson's 3 year $28m extension that kicks in after this season. So his potential new home needs to account for that. Will they get a return on investment? Unlikely, unless he's the final piece to a franchise's puzzle. No one can logically say that about the Clippers or Hornets.
So that leaves the Cavs and the Spurs. I'd be pretty sure the Spurs are happy with what they have, although Jackson is talented and his arrival might provide a little insurance for the potentially fragile Ginobili and Richard Jefferson.
The Cavs, and more importantly LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal are reportedly very interested in bringing Jackson to the Q. But the asking price is Zydrunas Ilgauskas. A price that at this stage, is too high for Cleveland.
Where will Stephen "Average" Jackson spend his Christmas?
There's a article on ESPN's TrueHoop that sum's it up best. It's not so much the article itself as the title of the article.
I think either Chris Broussard is being clever, or he just simply made a spelling mistake.
There's two O's and no E in Moron.
Not so Captain Jax…
There's a new development on this subject every fortnight it seems.
In the latest chapter to this ugly story, Stephen "Average" Jackson has relinquished his title as the Golden State Warriors captain. Not surprisingly, the Warriors are saying they are fine with it.
A quote from Jackson regarding the captaincy (via espn.com);
"I don't want to be a role model. ... Being captain was overrated to me, anyway. You don't do anything but go out before the game and talk to the refs. I don't want to do that, anyway."
Well... just brilliant.
Another shining endorsement on Stephen's enshrinement into the All-Average Jackson 5.
Gone is any chance at all that Jackson stays in Oakland. We called it early.
Stayed tuned for the final chapter of this story when Stephen Jackson is traded. Maybe it will be in about a fortnight.
Special order of win
Every year at least one team far outperforms their expected results in the win column.
Last year it was Denver who surprised us. In 2008 it was Atlanta. Before that the Warriors and in 2006 it was the Clippers of all people.
Who will it be this year?
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Phony Island Warriors…
As predicted, the Golden State Warriors are actively seeking a trade partner to move disgruntled "Captain" Stephen Jackson. Quoted yesterday on ESPN.com, coach Don Nelson said the following:
"If it's good for the team, we'll look at it," Nelson said Friday. "It has nothing to do with Jack or a request. But we'll accommodate him if we can, if it's good for him and it's good for us we'd certainly look at it. ... We wouldn't give him away."
Nothing to to with Stephen Jackson or a request? But they'll "accomodate him" if they can. Don Nelson is sounding less like the Head Coach of the Warriors, and more like Rick James speaking about grinding his feet into Eddie Murphy's couch.
All in all, this is still and will continue to be a terrible situation for the Warriors. But now Don Nelson is making it worse. It's safe to say there's not too much "UNITY" between the Warriors and Jackson these days...
I give it until November 15th at best.
Once Were Warriors…?
Well it looks like we're in for another interesting roller-coaster ride from the Warriors of Golden State this season.
I touched on Stephen "Average" Jackson's behavior recently when he asked to be traded to a contender. These requests happen quite often these days but it seemed a little tasteless considering the Warriors had recently given Jackson a 3 year, $28m extension. Now it seems to have gotten worse!
It seems that in the space of three weeks, the Warriors and Jackson have experienced the following:
Aug 29th: Stephen Jackson is quoted as saying "I don't think I'll be a Warrior next year. I'm looking to leave".
Sept 1st: Warriors GM Larry Riley is quoted as saying "Stephen Jackson has been a true professional since arriving here three seasons ago, and our expectations of him have not changed despite his recent comments".
Sept 15th: Warriors Head Coach Don Nelson is quoted as saying: "Jack is still my cap", "I've talked to him" and "I don't anticipate any problems".
Sept 15th: The NBA fines Stephen Jackson $25,000 for "public statements detrimental to the NBA".
We definitely haven't heard the last on this subject. It's great that the Warriors support their "Captain", it really is. But what else can they really do? I'm sure that in this age of players getting just about everything their way, this will not end well for Golden State.
My guess is that Stephen Jackson will continue his push to leave the Warriors, GM Larry Riley will shop him and if the situation gets dire enough, will only get 75c on the dollar for him. Any team interested in Jackson, will haggle a fire-sale deal if this goes on any longer than necessary. And it all comes back to what Jackson does next.
In my opinion, with his actions, Jackson has essentially paid $25,000 to buy himself extreme leverage to leave the Oakland. I guess he just has to hope that someone wants to take a risk on a dis-loyal crybaby who makes $7.5m per year.
2010
As far as predictions go, I realize this is practically impossible to get 100% correct. A full scale prediction of every team's win-loss record for the upcoming season. And worse yet, it's only September! However, I thought this would be interesting to look back on in June 2010.
Eastern Conference W L
Western Conference W L
Cleveland 60 22
Boston 56 26
Orlando 54 28
Atlanta 50 32
Toronto 45 37
Chicago 43 39
Miami 42 40
Charlotte 39 43
Indiana 38 44
Washington 37 45
Detroit 34 48
Philadelphia 32 50
Milwaukee 28 54
New York 27 55
New Jersey 24 58
LA Lakers 62 20
San Antonio 56 26
Dallas 54 28
Denver 50 32
Portland 50 32
Utah 48 34
New Orleans 42 40
Oklahoma City 41 41
Houston 38 44
Phoenix 37 45
LA Clippers 36 46
Golden State 35 47
Memphis 31 51
Minnesota 28 54
Sacramento 15 67
In making these predictions, I've taken into account all roster changes up to and including the 13th of September 2009. As soon as a blockbuster deal goes down, I may have to edit these figures.
I'm excited to see what Blake Griffin can do for the Clippers, what Allen Iverson can bring to the Grizzlies and how Amare Stoudemire will handle being stuck on a 37-win team. But most importantly, it will be interesting to see who can secure home court advantage throughout the entire Playoffs. This one fact alone may determine the Champion this year.
As always, time will tell and bring on the upcoming season!!!