NBA news and notes…
We had a number of different things take place over the weekend and I didn’t want to devote all my attention to just one of them. But let’s start with Damon Stoudamire.
Stoudamire hasn’t played in weeks and is/was under contract for the next two years but the Grizzlies just agreed to buy him out of the contract. Is this ideal for Stoudamire or what? Yes, he misses out on some money that he wouldn’t have received for a couple years, but he’s free now to sign with a possible playoff team and get to play again. Not to mention that the lump sum he gets is probably in the neighborhood of 3-4 million dollars for the remainder of this season and the guaranteed portion of next. Probably a win/win for both parties. I expect Damon to end up with the Celtics or the Nuggets. The Celtics because Rondo is not an outside shooting threat and the Nuggest because they lost their backup point guard. If I were Damon I think I’d pick Boston. What about you?
Chris Webber could be on his way back to the NBA. Webber apparently is going to sign with the Golden St. Warriors. This doesn’t make much sense to me because Webber is not an up and down type player anymore at all and Golden St thrives running the ball up the court and shooting from outside. I’ve always loved his ability to pass the ball and shoot the 15-18 footer but this signing doesn’t make much sense unless the Warriors just aren’t happy with Al Harrington. Webber has pride and if he doesn’t come back and do well I can see him stepping away and hanging them up. Webber will make the vets minimum of 1.2 million which is pro rated for the rest of the season.
Lastly, Chris Anderson is looking to come back to the NBA. This is an amazing story of what a drug addiction can do to someone. Anderson, if you’ll remember, was given a 2 year suspension in 2006 for repeatedly violating the substance abuse policy. The sad part is that Anderson had just signed a 14 million dollar contract when he was suspended and the Hornets didn’t have to pay him at all due to his indescretion. The Hornets get the first crack to sign him after reinstatement but that is highly unlikely. The Hornets are currently the best team in the Western Conference and to add someone now to the mix would do more harm than good. I don’t expect Anderson to get picked up and if he does it will be by some team who is desperate and willing to take a chance on a high energy player with a shaky past.
other notes: Celtics lost for the 5th time in 10 games. Kobe loses to Lebron again.
