MEANINGFUL mater ial first: Andrew “Fuzzy” Levane yesterday celebrated his 89th birthday.
Mundane matter next: The Wizards have committed to Flip Saunders as their next head coach, and officially will announce as much sometime this week. This contradicts a pretty reliable source who claims Avery Johnson is first in line.
That actually makes infinitely more sense. You have got to be off the reservation to have a pot shot of getting through on Gilbert Arenas’ wavelength on any kind of a regular frequency, and the Little General is out there.
Saunders is far too normal. He had trouble gaining the respect and keeping the attention of a reasonably stable core (overlooking Rasheed Wallace, otherwise it ruins my argument) of polished Pistons. Imagine trying to accomplish something constructive while suffering Agent Zero’s histrionics.
May as well team up Arenas with Nate Robinson, put a tent over the Verizon Center, and call it a circus. Their new act could be passing the ball around their backs to each other on the free throw line.
Look for the down economy to change the summer habits of more than a few teams. Word has it the Hawks and Bobcats will not send teams to Orlando, Utah or Las Vegas. Rather than fly a flock of players across the country for a week at a cost of roughly 150G, some teams figure to stage mini-camps in their home cities, assign a player or two to someone else’s squad, or flat out combine forces. I had heard the 76ers would be cutting back as well, but a source says they plan to participate (in partnership with the Nets, perhaps) in Orlando’s tournament.
Bill Duffy appears to have accumulated more prospective first-round draft choices than any other agent — Hasheem Thabeet (he’s leaning toward leaving UConn), Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Brandon Jennings, Jeff Teague, Al-Fariq Aminu and Darren Collison.
Five seconds to go last Sunday, my Paper Clips down three, Kobe Bryant informs Eric Gordon, who buried a 3 on the previous possession, “Don’t worry about it, you’re not going to take this shot. I’m gonna hold you the whole time, and they’re not gonna call a foul.” Clips inbound, Bryant horse-collars Gordon the entire five seconds, Lakers win. The refs’ explanation: Gordon was holding Kobe. Yup, that’s rational. Gordon held Kobe on offense so he wouldn’t have to catch and shoot!
That brings us to my irrefutable selections for the most outstanding performers of 2008-09. Certain guidelines must be observed. For instance, votes for the All-NBA teams must be by position that the player is typically deployed; and, in order to qualify for the Sixth Man award, a player must come off the bench in more games than he starts.
I have my own standards. I delete coaches with legit MVP candidate on the job — meaning Mike Brown, Phil Jackson, Stan Van Gundy, Erik Spoelstra (his rookie status might exempt him) and Byron Scott don’t get consideration. I also forbid myself from voting for any player on a below-the-belt team (five votes for MVP, three for all other categories).
MVP (League requires five choices in this category, otherwise three): Bob Ferry pronounces LeBron James as the first player in league history with the goods to become a certified All-Star at four positions, apart from center. Cavaliers top the charts and have lost once at home. That ends any discussion regarding other nominees — Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard and Chris Paul.
First Team: James, Paul Pierce, Bryant, Wade, Howard; never before has a player (Paul) enjoyed such great numbers (league leader in assists and steals while scoring 22-6 points) and gotten bumped to business class.
Second Team: Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Deron Williams, Paul, Yao Ming.
Third Team: Carmelo Anthony, David West, Chauncey Billups, Brandon Roy and Tim Duncan
If any of the above get hurt, Tony Parker, Joe Johnson, Mo Williams and Andre Iguodala take their place.
Coach of the Year: Jerry Sloan. On account! Additionally, prolonged injuries (Carlos Boozer and Williams) did not prevent Jazz from making playoffs; George Karl, Nate McMillan.
Sixth Man Award: Jason Terry, Travis Outlaw, Allen Iverson (just want to see if you’re paying attention), er, J.R. Smith.
Defensive Player of the Year: Howard, James, Joel Przybilla.
All-Defensive First Team: Howard, James, Ron Artest, Paul and Deron Williams.
Second Team: Przybilla, Shane Battier, Tayshaun Prince, Bryant and Wade.
Rookie of the Year: Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo, Kevin Love.
All-Rookie Team: Brook Lopez, Rose, Mayo, Love and Eric Gordon
Second Team: Jason Thompson, Russell Westbrook, Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Marc Gasol
Most Improved Player: Devin Harris, Danny Granger, Roger Mason; Kendrick Perkins has improved the most since arriving in the league.