Tag Archives: Peja Stojakovic

by | June 13, 2011 · 4:38 PM

An Emotional Journey with the Mavericks

Vindication

It would be impossible to completely sum up all the emotions that have churned through me over the entirety of the NBA Finals. This was easily one of the greatest Finals that we have been witness to in the history of the league. Just about everything happened that could and therefore it was emotionally draining for those of us with vested interests in the series.

The Kobe Beef is based in Dallas, Texas. I have lived here for the vast majority of my life. The Dallas Mavericks have always been my favorite professional sports team. Always. Sure, growing up when the Cowboys were winning Super Bowls and partying like it was going out of style was great. Still love the Cowboys too, but they are not the Mavericks.

I have been a fan of the Mavericks for roughly 21 years now and watched them stumble through the 1990s without giving up on them. I cannot say that I expected them to win much during that decade but watching the Three J’s always brought me joy. It never bothered me that they were competing with the Milwaukee Bucks for the worst record in the league. They are my team. Just because they were terrible, and they were, did not mean that I did not care. I am not Chris Bosh.

Unfortunately, I never got to see the Mavericks play in person at Reunion Arena. I would have liked to but that is of little concern now. The first time I actually had a chance to see the Mavs play was when I was in college. They came to UNT to hold their training camp and had a scrimmage in the Super Pit in which students were encouraged to attend. It was wonderful, especially because no matter the outcome of the game the mavericks would win. I can still remember my friends asking me who the short white guy was. I told them that he is not white, he is Puerto Rican and his name is J.J. Barea.

That was a number of years ago. Since then I have seen the Mavericks be dragged through the mud by the media and their critics. They certainly did not help themselves with their various playoff disappointments but all of that is moot now.

Whatever anyone thought of the Mavericks has been shattered. They have climbed to the top. For a while the treacherous seasons of the ’90s did not seem that far gone. Now, they are a distant memory banished to a far away land. The Dallas Mavericks are NBA Champions for the first time in franchise history. Writing that line gives me great joy. I like many other fans, have been through it all with the club. Every high and every low. However, we had never experienced the greatest thrill until now. No team is more deserving.

This group of veterans who cannot jump high or run fast deserve this. They played as a team and won as a team. Throughout the playoffs their celebrations have been muted. They were focused. Rick Carlisle kept their opponents guessing. They were the better team and they were without some key players.

It does not seem real yet, it has not sunk in yet. It will though and it will be perfect.

No pundit expected anything of the Mavericks as they entered the playoffs this year. The only expectations came from their fans and from themselves. In every series they were considered the underdog with the exception of the Western Conference Finals. Yet, they persevered as a team and kept finding miraculous ways to win and overcome adversity. When they lost the 23 point lead in game four against Portland, they were written off. When they had to face the Lakers in the Conference Semi’s they were brushed aside. There were even those who dismissed them against the young and inexperienced Thunder. Dallas overcame them all but the critics remained, however, they were shrinking in number and overdue praise for Dirk Nowitzki was beginning to surface.

In the Finals Dallas faced the Miami Heat. The Heat are everything that the Mavericks are not. They are flashy, boastful, young, cocky, arrogant, and childish. They were anointed, by themselves, to be the next dynasty. How many rings will this team win? I guess we will still have to wait for that question to be answered.

These teams met before in the Finals. The end result left a bad taste in my mouth for years. However, it seemed to effect Nowitzki and Jason Terry more as they are the only two hold overs from 2006. They played will determination and guts. They knew that nothing was written in stone and that you have to create your own destiny. They did and what they accomplished can never be taken away.

The emotions of the championship will never fade, they will just be stored away until they are needed once the celebration dies down. I know that I will always hold onto them. It has been a long time coming.

J.J. Berea, Rodrigue Beaubois, Corey Brewer, Caron Butler, Brian Cardinal, Tyson Chandler, Brendan Haywood, Dominique Jones, Jason Kidd, Ian Mahinmi, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki, DeShawn Stevenson, Peja Stojakovic, Jason Terry, and the Dallas Mavericks are NBA Champions. I can die happy.

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by | May 5, 2011 · 9:11 AM

They Are Who No One Thought They Were

Take dat wid chu.

The city of Los Angeles is in shock and it is not because of a botched breast augmentation or one too many injections of Botox. No, it is because their team, the team they depend on so that they can be seen on national television, the Los Angeles Lakers are down 2-0 in a best of seven series with the Dallas Mavericks. Not only are they down 2-0 but the two games they lost were at the Staples Center. Right now the best thing the Staples Center has going for it is Youtube highlights of Blake Griffin, who just won rookie of the year.

This is the first time the two franchises have met in the playoffs since 1988 and the series has lived up to its billing, for one team at least. The Dallas Mavericks came back from a 16 point deficit in the first game of the series to win 96-94. This victory due to their extended bench which outscored the Lakers’ reserves 40-25. Phil Jackson was not overly thrilled about the developments in game one and went as far as emulating his star play in saying that he, and his team, was “worried.”

Kobe Bryant had said, after the Lakers game one loss, that he (I am paraphrasing here) was worried, and that the Maverick could beat the Lakers. Yes, Bryant is talking about the same Lakers that were a shoe-in to three-peat yet again. Bryant is also talking about the team with the most feared frontcourt outside of Dwight Howard. These are the Lakers, are they not? They are lords over the Western Conference (when the San Antonio Spurs are out of the equation), right? Who can possibly beat them?

The Dallas Mavericks.

Early on in game two, head coach Rick Carlisle set the tone. It wasn’t anything Marv Albert and Steve Kerr picked up on instantly, but it created an arena in which the Mavericks could operate on their terms.

Carlisle controlled the matchups. It was obvious to see from the start. When he went small and Dallas extended the lead, Phil Jackson was forced to adjust. Carlisle and Jackson have met before in the playoffs. Jackson got the best of him the first time they met. But, can one really say that when the team Jackson had before was a Bryant/Shaquille O’Neal team? No. That was the equivalent of Jordan/Pippen in 2000-03. It cannot be ignored, but it cannot be ignored in the same manner as Barry Bonds’ single season home run record cannot be ignored.

Phil Jackson and his Lakers had no answer in game two. Bryant provided and answer occasionally, but that was only to keep his team close. Close is never good enough, though.

The Dallas Mavericks played their tempo throughout the game. It would be easy to say that 40 of the 48 minutes were dominated by Dallas. The Lakers were lethargic and could not contend with a superior opponent. Los Angeles is not used to an opponent who can match them physically in the frontcourt. They have had a cakewalk to the finals the past few season. Now, they have a test. Now, they are losing.

Here at the Beef, especially this author, we love Ron Artest. However, we love him more in a pinstriped Indiana Pacers’ jersey than we ever could in purple and gold. In this series, he is little more than a distraction. The media will always want to remember him as the protagonist of the Malice in the Palace. That is not who he is any longer, though. He is still Ron Artest (and will potentially be suspended for game three), but Tony Allen has stolen his title in terms of defensive will and tenacity on the court.

Artest has become a non-factor  in this series. Who can he legitimately guard? Dirk Nowitzki can shoot over him and Shawn Marion can drive by him. He is out of place. The only player that he can flummox anymore is Peja Stojakovic and that is only because it is not difficult to defend a spot-up shooter. Yet, that is not to say that Stojakovic cannot get by Artest using the dribble. As he did so in both games.

Dallas controlled just about every aspect of game two. No, scratch that, they won the game handily and therefore controlled the game throughout. Even when the Lakers gained the lead, for the fleeting moments that they did, it did not appear as they had any semblance of control on the game. Dallas was making a statement, and that statement came from Würzburg, Germany.

Nobody in the NBA can guard Nowitzki. His off-legged jumper is something that will go down in the annals of NBA history as something that can never be duplicated. Charles Barkley said that when you guard Nowitzki you need a cigarette and a blindfold. Phil Jackson, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Ron Artest have masked their eyes and are presently smoking. What Nowitzki has done would be incomprehensible had we not seen him execute his offense to perfection for the past 13 season. Even though we have seen it before, it is not any less remarkable and is still spectacularly difficult to defend.

The Mavericks have always been considered a soft, jump shooting team. Fair enough, they were. But ask the Lakers if that is what they are currently. Dallas has grown, not only in size but in toughness. Tyson Chandler has changed the mentality in Dallas.

Los Angeles’ lauded big men have met their match through two games in the Western Conference Semi Finals. Andrew Bynum has not played like the young, overhyped center that some mistakenly believed he was, but more like the young, oversized player who is not used to taking on a challenge equal in stature to himself.

Dallas has big men to match the Lakers. When Chandler is on the court, Bynum’s numbers drop. He has only averaged 12.8 points and has an efficiency rating of -7.2. That rating is indicative of the Mavericks’ defensive resolve thus far in the series.  It is not just Chandler who is giving Bynum fits, as he is no longer swiping at the ball and instead holding his ground and not committing the foul. Along with Chandler, Brendan Haywood has also stepped up to become an unsung hero of the playoffs for the Mavericks as well.

With Haywood on the floor, Bynum’s rebounding numbers drop from 11.4, in the two games, to 8.6. His overall efficiency sees a decline as well from 1.1 to -17.1. Added to that is the fact that, through this series so far, Haywood has been accountable for every block the Mavericks have recorded while he is on the floor. Mark Cuban paid the money for a two-headed beast in the middle and that beast is dominating the defending champions.

The Mavericks are still a jump shooting team, however. This has worked against them in the past, but not so far against the Lakers. Taking the ball into the teeth of the Lakers’ defense is exactly what Los Angeles baits their opponents into doing. The Mavericks are stubborn. They still remember that Don Nelson taught them (the ones he coached at least) that the best shot is a jump shot. Only this Dallas team does not rely entirely on it.

In the two games against the Lakers, the Mavericks have employed and offense predicated on ball movement. Sure, occasionally Jason Terry holds the ball for too long and is forced into a low percentage shot but the Lakers have yet to fully capitalize on such situations. Dallas knows that driving into the paint against the Lakers is folly to an extent. But they must do it anyway. It opens up passing lanes and, as game two displayed, it leaves perimeter shooters such as DeShawn Stevenson and Stojakovic open.Three-point shooting has been key for the Mavericks thus far.

When the Mavericks do capitalize in the paint it is with J.J. Barea. So far the Los Angeles has yet to check him. In fact, they never will. Barea’s speed on the court is something that no Laker can contend with. Shannon Brown will be a step or two behind him and wholly out-of-place in terms of defensive positioning. It is testament to Barea’s courage that he competes for the same ground  on the floor that Bynum and Gasol feel is their birthright to defend. Having Steve Blake guard Barea is laughable at best right now.

The Dallas Mavericks learned from Brandon Roy. Roy torched them and lead his Portland Trail Blazers to victory in game four of the opening round, thereby tying the series 2-2. People doubted the Mavericks’ resolve. Portland never won another game in that series. Now, Dallas is on a four game win-streak. Most everyone had them written off on six in the first round but , surprise, these are not the old Dallas Mavericks. This is a team who has won four in a row and three straight on the road. Doubt them no longer.

Yes, the Mavericks have been up 2-0 before, but this time it is different. This time there will be no phantom calls that Stern calls down to his minions. Oh yes, the Lakers will fight. They must and Bryant will spearhead their assault. But, what can they do at this point? They have yet to get a meaningful stop, they are getting out coached, and Nowitzki is playing as if his defenders were rag dolls. This is Dallas’ series to win. The Lakers, after years of coasting through the Western Conference Playoffs, have finally met their match. Dallas has stung the champs and Los Angeles will not recover.

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by | February 24, 2011 · 12:53 AM

Carl Landry traded to New Orleans Hornets

On the move again

Is David Stern allowed to make trades? Can he do that? Well, he kind of just did. On Wednesday the New Orleans Hornets, who are owned by the NBA, finalized a deal with the Sacramento Kings. So, yes, apparently Stern can make trades.

The trade will send forward Carl Landry to the Hornets to bolster their frontcourt which has experienced issues with injuries this season. In exchange the Hornets will send Marcus Thornton to the Kings along with cash considerations.

Ever since Chris Paul demanded a trade last summer, the Hornets have been busy making trades to appease him. New Orleans answered Paul’s cries on several tiers. They traded away Darren Collison, James Posey, and Julian Wright in a four team trade and acquired Trevor Ariza and Marco Belinelli. The team then traded two draft picks to the Portland Trail Blazers for Jerryd Bayless. Soon thereafter, New Orleans traded Bayless and Peja Stojakovic to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Jarrett Jack, Marcus Banks, and David Anderson.

Phew!

Now throw Landry into the mix. The Hornets have made a ton of moves since the summer and are doing everything they possibly can to convince Paul to remain in New Orleans. However, it may not be enough especially with more and more of his peers vaulting for the Eastern Conference in the hopes of establishing “super teams.”

For now though, the Hornets are trying their best to make their team appealing to Paul. Yet, at what cost are they doing so? Remember, this is a team that is owned by the league.

New Orleans is over the salary cap and was forced to absorb $2.24 million as part of Landry’s $3 million contract. They acquired him using a trade exception as Thornton’s contract was only worth $762,195. This is a team that the league was forced to take ownership of because of financial hardships yet the Hornets are now taking on more salary. Odd. Is that even allowed?

Nonetheless, this trade is nothing but a win-win for the Maloof’s, who own the Kings. Because the NBA was forced to take over the Hornets, all of the league’s owners became part owners of the Hornets. They are already seeing a return on their investment.

Clearly, there is some Cajun voodoo working in the Hornets favor. Yet, it has yet to be seen if this voodoo will have Landry back in the form he was in with the Houston Rockets, when he was playing at his best.

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by | February 7, 2011 · 6:38 PM

Overlooked Dallas could prove it’s their conference to rule

Dirk's injury caused Dallas to miss an opportunity to show the West who's the best.

After experiencing their best start in franchise history and having a steady hold of best in the West, teams should be afraid of someone else in the Lone Star State.

The Dallas Mavericks are getting miffed completely by the other team in Texas (and no, we are talking about the Houston Rockets).  This is the best team in the West that isn’t getting talked about for many reasons.

Yes, the Spurs are pretty good.  San Antonio is 42-8 and sits atop the Western Conference standings with a seven game lead over second place.  They are sixth in the league in scoring with 103.9 a game and are committing the fewest personal fouls in the NBA.

In addition, they are doing this in a new system of faster play and more scoring.  Last year, they were 15th in the league in scoring under a system that favored lock-down defense.  They are doing this with Tim Duncan playing less minutes than ever before in his career.  He has only been the leading scorer once this season for the Spurs with only 21 against the Thunder on New Years Day.  Their turnovers are staying down and they are doing it with a core that includes several young players in George Hill, DeJuan Blair and Gary Neal.  Yes, the Spurs look good.

Chicago and San Antonio are the only two teams that have beaten Dallas twice.

Dirk Nowitzki was out in both games.  They went 2-7 without the big German.  Seven losses and yes, it’s the Mavericks holding that second place spot in the West and yes, they are seven games behind them.

We can’t say whether or not the Mavs would be number one in the West if Dirk hadn’t gone down.  But you have to look at the fact that two wins in there against San Antonio would have eaten away at the Spurs lead in the conference.

He did score seven points in his debut back from injury but quickly responded with 32 a few nights later against Detroit and helped guide the Mavs in a win over the Lakers.

It’s ok though that people aren’t talking about Dallas.  It really doesn’t seem to bother this group of players that have known nothing but failure.  No one on this team has a ring and Jason Kidd is the only player on the team that has played in the finals twice (both were losses).

It’s not that the Mavs love losing but let’s be honest, it’s nothing new for some of these guys.  Dallas has only made it out of the first round once since making the finals with three first-round exits against Golden State, New Orleans and San Antonio.

Dallas is really stepping up in big games and it’s going to get them somewhere eventually.  They really showed some grit in their win against the Celtics in Boston last Friday also against the Lakers in Dirk’s third game back from injury.  They won both games without a key component as well.

The Mavs have essentially been playing and winning without the guy that is getting paid to score the second most points on the team.  Without Caron Butler, the Mavs only have two small forwards that can start and that’s Shawn Marion and now Peja Stojakovic.  DeShawn Stevenson is guarding well and shooting 41 percent from beyond the arc (a career best).  He has really emerged into an unlikely role player for Dallas and Tyson Chandler is keeping them fired up as well.

Dallas is going into tonight’s game against Cleveland on an eight-game winning streak.  It will be a nine-game streak by the end of the evening knowing the pathetic Cavs.

Additionally, February is a very easy month for the Mavs.  Aside from one game in Denver on the tenth, they have a very easy road schedule with games in Sacramento, Houston, Washington and Toronto.  They are 5-2 against those teams including Denver and they have beaten all of them except Toronto at least once.  If the Mavs ever loose to the Raptors again this year, the team should be very ashamed.

Meanwhile, the Spurs are slowing down a bit.  They have fallen down to tenth in the league in scoring in their last ten games and experienced a very questionable loss to Portland last Tuesday.  Their starters went 26-58 from the floor and LaMarcus Aldridge dropped 40 points on them.

Dallas can only look forward at this point since they should be very assured by how they have performed this season.  It’s nothing new that no one is talking about the Mavs but one thing is for sure, Dallas will be on a lot of team’s radar come playoffs.

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by | January 21, 2011 · 4:10 PM

Stojakovic Not the Answer for Struggling Mavericks

Trading places

The Dallas Mavericks are set to acquire Peja Stojakovic, who was recently released from the Toronto Raptors, once he clears waivers.

To free up a roster spot for Stojakovic, the Mavericks will trade Alexis Ajinca to the Raptors along with cash considerations (a Mark Cuban specialty), and a 2013 second-round draft pick. In return the Mavericks will get the draft rights to “2007 second-round pick Georgios Printezis (who plays in Spain and is no longer considered an NBA prospect) and create a salary-cap exception equal to Ajinca’s $1.5 million salary,” Marc Stein reports.

This is the second time that Stojakovic will have changed teams this season as he was dealt to Toronto in a trade with New Orleans early on in the season. Now the question must be asked: who is Peja Stojakovic at this point in his career?

Stojakovic has only appeared in eight games, yes eight, this season. At this point is where I would usually insert statistics but a total of eight games merits none. He has missed the previous 26 games due to a sore left knee which dates back to November 26, 2010.

His age is also an issue at 33. Dallas is already a team full of veteran players and getting another one, especially one with health issues warrants questions. To top it off, Stojakovic is simply a weak-side three-point shooter. The Mavericks already have two capable weak-side deep threats in Jason Kidd and DeShawn Stevenson. However, in the most basic sense, Stojakovic is a small forward and the Mavericks are in desperate need to fill the void left by Caron Butler at that position. Apparently, they are incredibly desperate.

It is unlikely that Stojakovic will see much if any time on the court once he joins the Mavericks so there must be ulterior motives in bringing him in.

Since Toronto bought out the remainder of his contract in order to release him, Dallas is getting Stojakovic on the cheap. It is likely that acquiring Stojakovic is part of a larger scheme that the Mavericks are working on in order to completely replace Butler’s absence and turn around their recently spiraling season. Dallas recently signed Sasha Pavlovic to a second ten-day contract in yet another stop-gap move to fill the vacated small forward position.

The Mavericks have established themselves as movers having completed blockbuster deals each of the previous two seasons. The current signings are a far cry from the team’s normal modus operandi. Therefore, the acquisition of Stojakovic is likely to represent one piece of a trade puzzle. He is trade bait. He will be grouped along with a number of other players (hopefully J.J. Barea) and shipped off in exchange for a small forward and possibly a backup point guard.

Now, this is all just speculation of course. However, what are the Mavericks’ realistic long-term, or even short-term, plans for Stojakovic? He does not make the team better and he certainly will not help them regain their winning form of earlier in the season. He has no future in Dallas. This is a team that was built to win now and with a potential lockout next season this group of veterans may never get another shot at a title run.

Peja Stojakovic is not the answer the Dallas Mavericks are looking for. No, he is merely a pawn in Cuban’s chess game to replace Butler and return to the NBA Finals.

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by | November 20, 2010 · 5:14 PM

5 Player Trade between New Orleans and Toronto

The new Dudley Do-Right

Just when the shadow of Hedo Turkoglu had lifted from the Raptors they acquire the likes of another aging one-deminsional player. Peja Stojakovic has been traded to the Raptors from the Hornets along with Jarryd Bayless according to an ESPN report. In exchange Toronto will send Jarrett Jack,  David Andersen, and Marcus Banks to New Orleans.

Stojakovic is in the final year of his contract in New Orleans and is earning $14.25 million this season. He has appeared in only six of the Hornets eleven games this year and has seen his numbers steadily decline each of the previous four seasons.

Due to a contract restiction, Bayless, the third-year backup point guard in New Orleans, will have to be traded seperately. His contract stipulates that he cannot be part of a multi-player deal until after December 23.

Jack has been operating as Toronto’s starting point guard although he has been splitting the duties with Jose Calderon. It is not known whether the point guards will continue to see evenly split action on the Raptors but it is likely that Calderon will move into the starts role.

The Hornets have obviously heard Chris Paul loud and clear. This summer Paul demanded a trade from the team after seeing other players move around the league dramatically altering its makeup. This is the second move New Orleans, who are an NBA best 10-1 on the season, has made since Paul’s haphazard demand. They brought in Trevor Ariza and Marco Belinelli before the season started.

The acquisition of Andersen gives the Hornets more depth at the center position as, until now, the only backup to Emeka Okafor was D.J. Mbenga. Banks is in the last year of his contract and has only appeared in three games this season.

For the Raptors, this trade can be seen as an effort to continue to rebuild and free up salary for next season after Stojakovic’s contract expires. Bayless will make a nice addition to the “Young Gunz,” as they have been coined, who are made up of DeMar DeRozan, Sonny Weems, and Amir Johnson. If Toronto is smart, they will try and move Stojakovic before the trade deadline as his contract is large enough to fetch a talented player or two with the icing on the cake being that it is an expiring contract. What the Raptors need to look for is more depth in their frontcourt as Solomon Alabi finds him self as the sole true center on the team with Andersen’s departure. It would also be wise if the invested in a big man with considerably more defensive prowess than Andrea Bargnani.

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by | July 22, 2010 · 1:21 PM

Chris Paul Wants Out of New Orleans: The Oligarchic Nature of the New NBA

Birds of a feather...

Dell Demps has not even had his new job, as general manager of the New Orleans Hornets, for longer than the blink of an eye and he is already at DEFCON One. Chris Paul is trying to force a trade so that he can leave the Hornets. Obviously, this constitutes a nightmare scenario for both Demps and the city of New Orleans. It also is an attempt to further vindicate a growing trend in the NBA. The hearts of New Orleans, despite their stalwart resilience, can only take so much.

Rumors about Paul’s future in New Orleans have swirled all summer, generally without any of them holding much merit. The Dallas Mavericks tried to entice Paul to join the club on two separate occasions, the first was in their attempt to use Erick Dampier’s expiring non-guaranteed $13 million contract to lure the Hornets into a trade, and the second was after they had acquired Tyson Chandler, Paul’s friend and former teammate in New Orleans. Chandler was the recipient of many of Paul’s alley-oops. The Charlotte Bobcats were also rumored to have interest in Paul earlier this month and were planning to also use Dampier’s contract, which they acquired in a trade with Dallas, as the main chip to send to New Orleans. However, the Hornets and especially owner, George Shinn, have no interest in trading the face of their franchise. Now, however, New York, Portland, and Orlando (who have already tried to entice New Orleans into a trade for Paul this summer) have entered the forefront in the potential Paul sweepstakes with the Lakers thrown into the mix for good measure as well. Surprisingly, the Mavericks have also been mentioned on Paul’s shortlist but the Knicks are the frontrunners so far.

Earlier this summer, the possibility of the Hornets considering the option of trading Paul was mere speculation around the league. Former general manager, Jeff Bower, floated the idea at the behest of proposed Hornets buyer, Gary Chouest. Bower is no longer with the organization because of this. The front office of the Hornets has been nothing but inconsistent this summer with their intentions moving forward. It certainly does not help the situation in New Orleans when there is no clear voice of the organization. This is likely a contributing factor in Paul’s decision. New Orleans has certainly not been a big player in free agency this summer as they still have the bloated contracts of James Posey and Peja Stojakovic.

Paul had joked earlier this summer about teaming up with Amar’e Stoudemire in New York but he is no longer joking. Obviously, Paul was witness (pun intended) to “The Decision” which landed LeBron James in Miami along with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. He has two years left on his contract with the Hornets but seems to have grown sour on the notion of staying with the franchise that drafted him. What is clearly going through his head was the notion of want rather than need. ‘If they have that, then I want that too.’ A precedent has been set by the Miami Trice and a power shift in the NBA is in full force. However, it may not have been all Paul’s idea to try and force a trade. No, outside forces definitely played a powerful role in shaping minds this summer. Leon Rose, who is Paul’s agent, is part of the Creative Artists Agency that also represents James, Wade, and Bosh. Chris Paul also joined leagues with LRMR, James’ marketing firm, this summer. Coincidences? That is highly doubtful. These agencies are leveraging themselves to become some of the most powerful forces in the NBA today and in the future. If these players and agencies have their way, and there is no reason to think that they will not continue to do so, a lockout will become unavoidable when terms of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement are being negotiated.

The National Basketball Association has become an oligarchy. When one first thinks about that statement, it can be argued, in the most general terms, that the league has been for some time. Only seven teams have the championship since 1985, of those seven only three can be considered the ruling oligarchs. Those teams are the Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, and San Antonio Spurs. Second tier oligarchs consist of the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics. The Houston Rockets and Miami Heat represent more of a dot-com company that had its bubble burst. It is a simple analogy to make: certain teams in the NBA equate to a ruling power structure that is quite unwavering and uninviting to those who look to break into their realm. Yet, now the power seems to be shifting away from these teams at a rather alarming rate. The power, though, is not shifting to other franchises but rather to a source that the organizations have no control over. It has shifted dramatically to the player, not just any player though. Power has shifted to the superstar player. More importantly, however, power is landing in the hands of a select few super agents and agencies that are able to work backroom negotiations and land secure the big deal and land superstar players together. These are the new oligarchs of the NBA.

If the Hornets were to lose Paul the future may not be as bleak as it may seem. His absence would allow players such as Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton to grow and play at a level that is not restricted because of Paul’s presence on the court. Collison was able to flourish when Paul went down with an injury for much of the season last year. He set a rookie record for assists in a game with 18 only to break that record a few months later with 20 assists in a game. He recorded a triple-double and averaged 18.8 points and 9.1 assists as a starter. Chris Paul is replaceable, however, the prospect of doing so is not enviable in the least and the team will not be the same. He is the focal point of the Hornets marketing, merchandising, and advertising campaigns and the team would lose millions of dollars if they were forced to reconceive the image of the franchise.

David Stern seems to have no problem with the various Rod Blagojevichs running around in the NBA working back-channel deals in order to create super teams. Tampering has been a word that is not familiar to the commissioner’s tongue. The seeds were planted long ago by these men who knew they could land mega deals for their clients if they were willing to listen. Now those seeds have sprouted and have begun to take shape. How it grows from now is anybody’s guess. What is more certain is that Paul is following the trend set by his contemporaries for an opportunity to win now and do it with other star players, especially those he played with in Beijing. It is the sign of the generation, a generation that is always looking for something more, something better than what they already have. New Orleans does not have to honor his wishes to be traded in the least but Chris Paul has likely played his last game in a Hornets’ jersey.

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