Jan

4

NBA News And Notes

Posted by Stephen Rhodes under SDC COMMENTARY 

A few tidbits from around the Association:

By the day – or so it seems – it is looking like Charlotte Bobcats swingman Adam Morrison is gaining that uncoveted title of “first-round bust”.  A good case in point is in their game against New York last Tuesday; Morrison, for whatever reason, managed to throw up a brick and then an airball in consecutive shot attempts.  And unlike his persona while a star at Gonzaga, he was actually passing up open looks at the basket – which you know has to be driving Bobcats coach Larry Brown nuts. 

I think the culmination of his game not finding its identity over Morrison’s short career is probably the main reason why there is little-to-no interest in Morrison.  Then there’s the incompetence of the Bobcats’ front office; for some reason, they chose to rubber-stamp Morrison’s second-year option at $5.2 million per year.  They did this so Morrison wouldn’t use his no-trade option this year.  Considering that no one is interested in Morrison, that speaks volumes about the decision makers in Charlotte (Michael Jordan, are you listening?)

Expiring contracts are beginning to ad up as the season progresses, as there’s 46 days until the NBA trade deadline (February 19, to be exact).  Some names to think about if you need a player to fill a role as opposed to just a marquee name: Miami Heat guard Marcus Banks and Oklahoma City forward Joe Smith.  The downside to Banks’ situation is that he has 2 years and $9.2 million remaining on his current contract.  Smith, on the other hand, is just an expiring contract waiting to be taken over.  Oddly enough, a couple teams – Boston and Cleveland – have a need for a forward.  Cleveland, the team that traded him duing the Summer to the Milwaukee Bucks in the deal that got the club Mo Williams could use Smith once again, as perhaps the final piece to their championship puzzle while Boston needs to fill the void with the loss of James Posey.


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