Second Fiddle: Goodnight Canada

Apparently there is a rumor out there that the Rockets are skipping the wooing of LeBron and Wade and will be first and foremost going for Chris Bosh. I can see why Houston wouldn’t be going for Wade seeing as they just obtained K-Mart #2, and I’m assuming the reasoning not to go after LeBron would be the fact that everyone else will be in line 1st and will most likely be a waste of time. It’s a pretty smart strategy for what the Rockets are attempting here. Firstly, Bosh is definitely leaving Toronto. Secondly, we all learned in college, when you go to a bar/club and see a group of girls, you aren’t supposed to go for the hottest T&A chick right? She knows she is wanted by all the guys and she’ll get what she wants in the end. So you might as well go get that Asian chick because you know she’ll be really good at one thing...And she’s probably better looking after you get her away from the shadow of the T&A chick. That’s how it’s like with Bosh. Pull him away from LeBron’s shadow and suddenly Bosh is a lot more eye-catching for your team than you first thought. And the one thing that Bosh is really good at? Scoring. A lot of people are concerned that Bosh can be a defensive liability in the front court and that is a legitimate concern. But Bosh going to the right team will fix itself. In Toronto Bosh was the entire team it seemed like. He scored 22-27 points consistently every night while his teammates often failed to step up as his side-kick. If Bosh goes to Houston , he will not be scoring 22-27 per game. He will have Yao and Kevin Martin there to help with the scoring pressures. Oftentimes the stress and concern that comes with taking the load of scoring will result in lackadaisical defense and I think this is the case with Bosh. It’s not his fault; he his the only one his team that can consistently score so he must focus on that aspect in order to win games. Kevin Garnett is a prime example of this. Yes KG was a good defensive player in Minnesota but it wasn’t until he went to Boston where he didn’t have to score as much, and intern, focus on being the defensive leader of his team, ultimately resulting in his 1st DPOY award. Bosh might not get that award with Houston but he will be better on D and will help his team in other facets of the game with his extra energy. The only issues I see with Bosh not wanting to play with the Rockets is that Houston is a smaller market than what he is after and the well being of the other 2 stars he will be playing with is always iffy. No matter how you slice it, Yao and K-Mart have missed out on so many games the past 3 seasons and that is a major concern for any title-seeking free agent. But you can never count the Rockets out when getting what they want and that is in large part due to this phrase that Houstonians have come to know very well, “In Morey We Trust”.

An awesome friend of mine drew up that portrait at the top. What better way to greet a superstar big man on July 1, 2010 than with these two guys behind Morey at Bosh's door step?

Second Fiddle: Joe Schmo

Most of these players are looking for a max contract offer. I say most because I doubt any team will offer Joe Johnson a max contract after he showed no signs of deserving the max in the playoffs. This could be good or bad for a team interested in Joe. On one hand, any team that is thinking about signing him will probably be able to get him for far less than they previously thought. But on the other hand, does that team trust his abilities once they reach the playoffs? In this instance I think that Joe will only benefit on a team that has another player better than or equal to his talent. This was made clear to me by the massive struggles that the Hawks had with a Bucks team that they should have destroyed on paper. The Hawks couldn't ask for better match-up issues. And then they set a record for the worst point differential in a 4 game series sweep against Orlando. To stop the Hawks, all the opponent had to do was stop Joe. Other than maybe Jamal Crawford, there isn't another player on that team who can carry them when Joe is the main focus on their opponents defense. Crawford can, at times anyway, carry the Hawks but he is too streaky to keep it up. Joe needs to be with another star equal to him so he doesn't get wrapped up. I can't say what team he will go to, but it needs to be the team that decides to sign 2 of these big names. If I had to guess, I'd say Joe goes to a team with Bosh or Amare in NY and makes just a little more than he does now, but not the max, if LeBron doesn't go to NY anyways.

Second Fiddle: The Homebodies

I'm trying something new this time since this is a long topic. "Second Fiddle" is going to be a series of related issues, other wise I would be writing a book.

With all the hype LeBron James is bringing right now due to being eliminated early in the playoffs and now everyone focusing on his inevitable free agency, I sometimes wonder if the other free agents feel neglected. The media cares mostly what LeBron will do which makes sense because he is the best. But these other guys are great players who can turn around a franchise over night with just their signature and could definitely challenge whatever team LeBron goes to. So let's show some love. The other top free agents in no specific order are as follows: Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Dwayne Wade, and Joe Johnson. These guys are my potential "Franchise Face Changers". And when you have so many them in the free agent pool at the same time, it turns into a once in a lifetime opportunity for a potential "League Face Changer". So lets look at the options and perhaps the best suitors for these players who could completely change the face of the NBA.

First off, I didn't include Yao or Dirk in the previous paragraph even though they are free agents and are included in the "Franchise Face Changers" category. But unless anyone wants to disagree, I don't think they are going anywhere. Yao owes it to the Rockets to stay and give his all (health wise). Unless he is forced to retire due to injury or the Rockets give up on him, which is doubtful, he's not going anywhere. He has too much to prove in Houston to show that he can take them to the promise land. Speaking of the promise land, Dirk can smell it every year on the first game of the season. Even though the Mav's have been getting eliminated from the post season earlier than they are "supposed" to, Dirk will stay because he has amazing players all around him that I don't think he will get elsewhere. And if he goes anywhere else, Team X will not be his team like it is with the Mav's. But he doesn't owe it to Dallas like Yao does for Houston. He has given his all and it's just not happening the right way, there is just a certain "je ne sais quoi" that is missing. So as I don't think he will leave, I wouldn't blame him if he did.

For Love of the Game

Love your team or love the game? This is one of the biggest sports arguments that I always seem to get into with my friends...Here is an example: I am a huge supporter and fan of my favorite team, just like anyone right? But when I am watching my team in a game, and the other team does something that they shouldn’t have, I voice it even if it benefits the other team . “What are you doing Rondo?! You aren’t good at shooting the 3 ball, take it to the hole, that’s what your good at man!” Everyone I’m watching the game with looks at me and wonders why I’m rooting for the other team. “No that’s what he should have done if he wants to get a better chance at scoring.” “SO WHAT! Why do you want him to score?!” Well I don’t necessarily want Rondo to score. Believe me, I want my team to win, but I do love to be coach sometimes and point out mistakes and what not, whether it’s my team or not. And IF my team is going to lose, I’d rather lose by the other team having a flawless game than losing because both team sucked but the other team was just a tiny bit better. At least I still got to see one team play good ball.

This is what I tell my friends in these instances, which usually sets off a bomb...“I love the game more than my team, if it wasn’t for the game, there would be no team.” That seems logical to me. I love my team because I love the game of basketball. I love playing basketball, watching basketball, and talking basketball. I just happen to root for whatever team in whatever city I grew up in because I love that city. In essence, a team does not define a sport in my mind. A team can help the sport yes, but not define it. Game came first, team came second. Easy-peezy, lemon-squeezy right?

Age Over Beauty

The older I’ve gotten and the more aware I’ve become about the business side of sports, it seems that I’ve become very annoyed at these teams that keep giving aging players huge contracts just because they have a name. Ryan Howard's new contract put me over the edge, but since I don't know baseball as well, now I have to bash the Lakers. L.A. gave Kobe Bryant a new deal a couple months ago that definitely made me ask why. Yeah he’s still The Guy currently for L.A. but he is getting more of an annual income for the next 3 years as he ever has though he’s about to be 32 years old and he’s getting injured more frequently. Kobe is scheduled to make $26 million in 2011-2012, $28.7 million in 2012-2013 and $31.5 million in 2013-2014, his final year of the contract. If there is an argument to combat this type of money for an older player it would be that Michael Jordan made over $30 million in his final 2 years as a Chicago Bull. Once Bryant enters the final year of this contract, he and Jordan will be the only players in NBA history to reach the $30 million mark for one year’s salary. So I pose this question now...Does Kobe Bryant deserve about the same money as Jordan did in their final years? Does Kobe even deserve the same amount as LeBron right now? I guess that’s an opinion in the end. Let’s just say that I would give LeBron $10 million more than whatever Kobe is making 3 years from now, because he will just be that much better than Kobe at that time, right? Yeah I know there are rules for years a player has played and what he makes based on that, but the Lakers are giving Kobe one hell of a raise/bonus per year since the max contract for a player is about $19 million per year. My point is this: Does the Lakers front office really think that he will be worth 30-35% the team’s total salary 2-3 years from now? Were they really that scared that he would join another team if they didn’t offer him “ Jordan like” money? I understand loyalty to a player who has been on that team his whole career but that player should also have the respect to that franchise to take less money since he has accrued so much over the years and let the team use that money else where in order to help the team. I am not saying all this because I hate Kobe Bryant, in fact in the last couple of years I’ve come to respect him more than any current player. To quote Bill Simmons, “He has found the secret.” He is a less selfish player and just wants his team to win regardless of his stats. I guess I would be too if I was getting that new check. I am saying this because as a fan of a certain team who’s certain all-star player got injured and he and his $20 million plus contract sat on the bench for over a year, I just don’t understand giving a future 35 year old who is getting injured more often that amount of cash.