Fire Sales

[kevin <kevin.lok@lycosmail.com>]

Like I said b4, Pitino got to be patient (and not be trigger happy) cos'
this summer, there's gonna be crazy owners/teams having fire-sales ,
dumping players.

http://www.ohio.com/bj/sports/cavs/docs/022600.htm
Little worth saving from this Cavs team
Kemp should go -- with a real hard look at Person, Knight and Sura.
Paxson and Wittman must act
What's the point?
If you're a Cavs fan, you have every right to ask that question as the
dismal season ends tonight in New Jersey.
Just what was accomplished? What do the Cavs know now that they didn't
know at the end of last season?
OK, Andre Miller can play.
What else?
Lamond Murray has potential to become the small forward this team has
needed for nearly 20 years, assuming he ever can get that shameless
Clipperitis out of his system?
But what else? Good stuff, that is.
After Miller and Murray, who else is worth keeping? Where is this
franchise going?
It's not as if there are three lottery picks on the horizon. It's not as
if there is massive wiggle room in the salary cap to sign free agents.
It's not as if there's much hope.
Who knows if Randy Wittman can coach? Blowing 19 games in which they had
at least nine-point leads is not a good sign. Neither is the seemingly
listless approach of many of his players nor is his inability to gain
the respect of Shawn Kemp.
It's one thing to lose with a purpose. If the Cavs clearly had a
rebuilding plan in place, if they had a group of young players dedicated
to becoming something special one day -- well, then the losing, the blue
seats and the apathy eventually could add up to something.
But what about . . . this?
How many of these guys even consistently play hard and with the best
interest of the team in mind?
Miller? Mark Bryant? Danny Ferry? Earl Boykins? Maybe Andrew DeClercq?
Anyone else?
Trouble everywhere
This is a team that has $50 million tied up in Wesley Person and Bob
Sura over the next four years, and neither would be a starter for a
decent team.
This is a team held hostage by the ridiculous contract it gave to Kemp.
Do you really believe Kemp will get in shape or, to use his own words,
``reinvent himself?'' Last summer, about six weeks went by when he
wouldn't even call the team back. What will make Kemp's attitude any
different the next season around?
This is a team that has a first-round pick only because it failed to
make the playoffs, but it probably will be at No. 7 or No. 8, which
doesn't generate any real excitement. And, get this, the Cavs might have
to send their top pick in 2001 to Denver as . . . drum roll, please . .
. delayed payment for the 1997 Person deal.
Please, don't bring up Zydrunas Ilgauskas' broken foot -- or is it feet?
This guy hasn't played for two years, and until he stays on the court
for a couple of months, there is no reason to write his name in anything
but pencil.
But even with a healthy Ilgauskas, Kemp still would have showed up at
training camp smashing the scales at 308. He still would be foul-prone,
winded and lugging that salary cap-busting $100 million contract up and
down the court.
Brevin Knight still would be pouting, having lost his starting job to
Miller and then discovering that Boykins has become a fan favorite. Hey,
Brevin, it's not just because Boykins is little. It's because the fans
can tell that the 5-foot-5 guard from Cleveland Central Catholic
actually likes his job. He doesn't act as if the world should be
honored, just because he can throw a basketball through a hoop.
And Sura still would be obsessed with his scoring average, while Person
still would have virtually no obsession, no desire, no nothing. While
Sura disrupts the offense by forcing ridiculous shots -- as does Murray
-- Person is a very nice man who performs with all the fire of an empty
Bic lighter.
Including at the top
That's the most galling aspect of this Cavs team -- it's utter
lifelessness and aimlessness.
Some of that can be pinned on Wittman, who came to town as a rookie
coach and fell prey to so many of the mistakes that sink first-year
coaches.
He believed the players when they said that they wanted freedom after
the Mike Fratello regime, that they had the ability and mentality to
run.
So he took off the chains, and they almost strangled the coach, failing
to guard anyone or even to run the fast break with any sort of passion.
They just went up and down the court, firing away -- seemingly clueless
about how to take a game in which they were leading and turn it into a
victory.
And Wittman seemed helpless to stop it, or to convince Kemp to assume
any sort of leadership role. Often, Wittman looked like a guy who never
has been a head coach at any level.
``This is Randy's first year and he's on a learning curve,'' General
Manager Jim Paxson said. ``It's one thing to be an assistant, and the
X's and O's are only a piece of the job.''
Paxson said that Wittman will be back, and he believes that the coach
will have a strong grip on the team. Of course, Paxson hired Wittman, so
he has a major stake in Wittman maturing as a coach.
Paxson also has to prove himself, by dumping several players and somehow
finding guys who can make Cavs basketball relevant again.
``I don't know if we'll gut the team, but we do want to make changes,''
Paxson said.
Mr. General Manager, gut the team, because most of your guys have no
heart. And that means finding someone, somewhere, to take Kemp -- or
else be ready for a another season of a listless zillionaire showing up
late for games and then leaving early, thanks to foul trouble.
The reason the Cavs have been like a gerbil stuck on the wheel of
mediocrity for six seasons is that they have refused to start over,
afraid to take a major step back with the goal of eventually moving
forward.
Can losing with kids who are at least breathing mean any more blue seats
than this season? That's the question the Cavs should ask themselves
this summer.


http://www.vancouversun.com/newsite/sports/000419/3958962.html

As another dismal season ends for Grizz, all eyes will be on Abdur-Rahim
and whether he wants to stay.
Gary Mason Vancouver Sun Vancouver Sun / BEAR facts: Vancouver Grizzlie
star forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim is leaving his future with the team
hanging in the air, answering questions in a way that seem to indicate
he hasn't embraced the idea of staying under the incoming regime of new
owner Michael Heisley.
I hope Shareef doesn't do anything stupid this summer. And I'm not
talking about his pending marriage to Delicia Hodges, who, by all
accounts, is a wonderful woman. And even though I haven't yet been
invited to the big event, despite having once complimented Shareef on
the stylish pants he was wearing, I want to wish the two of them well.
But as I say, that's not what I'm talking about.
I'm worried Shareef is going to wake up one morning, after Stu Jackson
has officially been fired, after Lionel Hollins has officially been
replaced, and announce that it's over.
He wants out as a Grizzlie.
I hope Shareef doesn't do this for several reasons but here's the main
one: because it would indicate he's not the person I thought he was, the
person we all thought he was. And it would show he wasn't any better
than all the other spoiled, conceited, self-interested athletes who have
gone before him and demanded a trade for purely selfish reasons.
I'm referring, of course, to threats made by Shareef to demand a trade
if Jackson is fired.
Jackson, as we know, was the one who convinced Shareef two years ago to
sign a big contract extension here at more than $70 million-plus US. At
the time, it was seen as a crucial move by the organization because it
signalled that a future all-star like Abdur-Rahim was prepared to accept
the so-called "negatives" that came with playing with an expansion
franchise like the Grizzlies, in an NBA outpost like Vancouver, because
he believed in what was being built here.
It didn't hurt that Jackson and Shareef enjoyed an almost father and
son-like relationship. And that the GM sought his star player's input
when it came to major moves. Many believe, for instance, that Shareef
had a loud voice in the decision to trade Steve Francis.
So you can see why Shareef would be upset over suggestions Michael
Heisley plans to soon replace his current boss and mentor. You just
don't understand how that can possibly justify demanding a trade.
It should be simple. You sign a contract, you honour it, unless you can
prove that the other party involved has reneged on its part of the deal.
And near as I can tell a change of ownership, with all the changes that
can flow from that, doesn't qualify. Especially in pro sports.
Now, if Stu was fired and replaced with, say, Michael Jackson then
Shareef might have grounds to want out. And let me say I wouldn't be
surprised if Michael Jackson's name surfaced as a GM candidate before
this bizarre saga is finally played out. Right now, however, the only
name that seems to be giving players the jitters is Dick Versace, who,
the last time I looked, was still proudly blowing the nose he was born
with and hanging around humans, not chimpanzees.
Before leaving on the Grizzlies' season-ending road trip, which wraps up
tonight in Houston, Shareef tried to play down his earlier comments
about demanding a trade while at the same time remaining coy about his
future.
"I'm a Vancouver Grizzlie and that's how I treat things right now," he
said.
"So you plan to honour your contract regardless of what changes are
made?"
"I'm saying I'm a Vancouver Grizzlie right now."
He repeated that phrase at least four or five times.
It was the kind of line that seemed rehearsed. Or at least seemed like
it was suggested to him by someone, like, maybe, his agent.
Agent: "If they ask you about a trade, just say: 'Right now I'm a
Vancouver Grizzlie.'''
Shareef: "Just keep saying it?"
Agent: "Yep, over and over again."
Shareef: "What if they ask about my wedding?"
Agent: "Just say right now you're a Vancouver Grizzlie."
Let's just say Shareef's response leaves me feeling a little uneasy
about his future here.
Beyond changes in management, Shareef might also be thinking about some
other things, like the new role he's playing on this team. He is no
longer the automatic go-to guy. More often than not he shares the
spotlight with Michael Dickerson and Mike Bibby, or defers it to them
entirely.
Shareef also seemed to be increasingly frustrated by teams that had
figured him out offensively. More players seemed to know when his
patented inside spin move was coming and shifted to easily block it off.

Wanting to be a leader, Shareef also demanded the ball a lot in the
dying seconds of close games only to watch his game-winning shot clang
off a rim or see his desperate plunge to the basket get called for
offensive charging.
Yet, Abdur-Rahim was still threatening to finish the season one of only
five NBA players in the league to average 20 points a game and 10
rebounds, which, if nothing else, speaks to a well-rounded talent. And
despite the many clutch shots that he missed, Shareef's importance as a
leader on this team grew this season, not diminished.
Still, it would be easy for him to run now. It wouldn't be difficult,
especially in today's environment, to get traded to a contender. There
are some who would say that's not a bad idea.
Personally, I hope Shareef's not tempted to look for the easy way out of
here.
Like I said, I've always felt Shareef stood apart from so many NBA
players not because of his abilities but because of his values. In that
regard, he was always older than his years, certainly older than many of
the kids walking into the league today who consider honour a dirty word.

"I'm a Vancouver Grizzlie," Shareef says. "What else can I say but
that?"
That you plan to remain one.
Email: garmason@direct.ca