11/24 Observations
Baron Davis isn't panning out, Elton Brand looks a step slow, Corey Maggette is Corey Maggette. Quiet as kept, the most influential free agent move of the off-season could be Roger Mason Jr. leaving Washington for San Antonio.
Oh, and George Hill is looking pretty good. Maybe Sam Presti wasn't the key to the San Antonio front office.
Speaking of Presti, firing PJ was a lousy move. The problem isn't the coach, it's the team. The Sonics have a lot of expiring or short deals and should shake up their roster. Even adding a guy like Antoine Walker for Chris Wilcox could work as Walker, if nothing else, will give the Thunder some passion and attitude. The Thunder just have a lifeless group of players.
Eddie Jordan should be nervous because he might be next in the firing line. The Wizards simply aren't playing well.
It should be interesting to see if Mike Dunleavy Sr. gets the same amount of rope than Elgin Baylor got. The Clippers are a complete mess and adding Zach Randolph isn't going to clean things up any.
The Bobcats have a team full of people who could go to a playoff team and make a difference but together they just make for a lousy squad. Even worse, the contracts that Michael Jordan and friends have doled out to these players make most of them untradable.
The Pacers are the little engine that could... but probably won't.
The Sixers are still struggling to click which is odd because they seem to run a very simple offense. Although I still think the culprit is Andre Miller.
Boston and LA are the class of the league. Everyone else is playing for third place.
Deron Williams could get some MVP votes this season because, without him, the Utah Jazz are beyond inconsistent.
The other player who could make a huge impact when he finally gets healthy is Shane Battier. The Rox could use him.
Vince Carter and the Nets are putting together a solid season and might just make a run at the playoffs. I wouldn't go crazy about them but Yi Jianlian and Brook Lopez are looking decent.
Shaq is back. 'Melo, meanwhile, has yet to take it to the next level. As long as he stays on Denver and with George Karl, he might never do it. The comparisons to Big Dog Greg Robinson are getting scary.
While the Blazers are a fun team to watch, they need to start sorting out their roster and thinking about using some of their redundant young talent in a deal with Raef Lafrentz's expiring deal.
Donnie Walsh locked up executive of the year in this past week alone.
