Building a championship team - with or without LeBron

The NBA, the commissioner, coaches, players, for the most part, have given in to the hype of free agency 2010. Max contracts, LeBron James, or bust. The hopes of New York, Cleveland, Miami, Chicago and any other team willing and able to spend money depend on signing LeBron. It seems stupid to have to state this fact, but championship teams in this day and age, cannot rely solely on one player.

Take for starters LeBron's inability to win in Cleveland - with a bad team around him OR a good team around him. But instead of turning this into a LeBron bashing session, there is a logical way to approach 2010 free agency without getting lost in the hype.

Kobe needed Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, and Trevor Ariza. Paul Pierce, KG, and Ray Allen were supplemented by Big Baby, Rondo, Sam Cassell, and James Posey. Posey was instrumental, along with Gary Payton, Shaq, Udonis Haslem, in Miami's championship with D Wade. The Spurs big 3 had Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, etc. The list goes on. For teams like Miami and New York, starting from scratch might be the best way to go. But, even with James and 2 other max contracts, don't expect a championship next season. You need to be able to pay other players and develop a team, in every sense of the word. The only reason the Boston Big 3 worked out is the leadership and tone set by KG and Doc Rivers along with being surrounded by guys that could hit open shots and play defense.

Of course, for some teams, like the Knicks and Cavs, it's not just about the championships. Without marquee free agents, basketball is no longer significant. For Cleveland, the black hole of sports, that makes them even less relevant than they were before. As a free agent, I would avoid those cities/teams because the goal is to sell tickets and merchandise, not win championships. Well, LeBron might actually prefer that.

Another note about building a team based on the 2010 free agent class - the most anticipated free agency in history. Outside of Dwayne Wade, how many champions are a part of this class? How much money is Amar'e Stoudemire really worth if he only choses to rebound during home playoff games? How bout LeBron? Did he really give up on the Cavs this year? Sure looked like it. Building teams is as much about leadership, coaching, and commitment as it is about talent and max contracts.

I think most GMs and owners know this. But then again, Gilbert Arenas has a $100 million contract and the Knicks payroll last year was filled with guys not living up to their contracts. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly lessons of bad contracts are easily forgotten.

For those who get sucked into the hype, enjoy paying Carlos Boozer $15 million a year to get you to the 2nd round of the playoffs. For those who know how to build teams, the free agent list is long and ripe for the picking. Look for teams with good foundations (Spurs, Thunder, Blazers, Magic, Suns) to get better and contend with the Lakers. Look for the Knicks, Bulls, and Heat to get better, make the playoffs, and fall short as usual.

Personally, I hope LeBron goes to the Knicks and nobody follows. Here's their starting lineup:

C - Eddy Curry
PF - Danilo Gallinari
SF - LeBron James
SG - Wilson Chandler/Andy Rautins
PG - Sergio Rodriguez

Finals MVP: Vujacic or Powe?

Game 2 Stats for Leon Powe: 21 pts, 6-7 FG, 9-13 FT, 2 Reb
Game 3 Stats for Sasha Vujacic: 20 pts, 7-10 FG, 3-4 FT, 3 3PT, 4 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Blk

The NBA Finals are a big stage for players to make a name for themselves. Leon Powe made a splash in Game 2 and Sasha Vujacic matched that effort in Game 3. Both are young players who have shown moments of strong play and their efforts in the finals came at the right time. But let's be clear about one thing: there is a reason both players come off the bench and play the minutes that they do. Both Doc Rivers and Phil Jackson know that the type of production from Powe and Vujacic that we saw doesn't come every night.

To further emphasize the point, Leon Powe followed up his big night with an 0-3, 2 Reb, 1 TO, 1 Pt night in about half the minutes he played in Game 2. The message here is that role players are a big part of what happens in a game but it is much easier for those players to have big games at home. Take a look at Rajon Rondo. Rondo has been very effective at the point for the Celtics at home. After combining for 23 Ast and 4 TO at home, he went for 4 Ast, 2 TO in Game 3 before spraining his ankle. Rondo's production has been vastly different on the road versus in the Garden. Yesterday, Kobe came out aggressive and made it easier for Vujacic to get open shots. In Game 2, Rondo and Pierce set up several easy dunks and layups for Powe.

The storyline for the Finals so far has been KG's good defense negating his poor shooting, and the play of Pierce and Allen vs Bryant. If the Lakers win Game 4, their role players will certainly contribute, but the tone is set by the best player. I think Boston wins the series because KG is neutralizing Gasol and Odom while Kobe cannot guard both Pierce and Allen. Which brings me to my next point, Pau Gasol is overrated as an "all star" in the league. He has limited post moves and he doesn't rebound or box out well. Tim Duncan put up HUGE numbers against the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, even in defeat. KG provides just as many problems on the offense and defense. With Gasol struggling and Odom in foul trouble and Vladimir Radmonovic doing absolutely nothing useful on the court, the Lakers are forced to play Turiaf and Walton for more and more minutes. The Lakers are not a championship quality team when those guys play extended minutes.

Let me also not forget to give props to Jeff Van Gundy for two things he said in the broadcasts of Games 2 and 3. First, when Mark Jackson compared Leon Powe to Dr. J, Van Gundy blasted him and apologized profusely to Dr. J for one of the most riduclous statements made on the air. And secondly, last night during Game 3, Van Gundy made the sharp observation that "Powe can only hurt you if he outworks you." The fact of the series has been that the big players have made the biggest impact. Kobe was held in check in Games 1 and 2 and outdueled Ray Allen in Game 3 while Pierce and Garnett struggled. Gasol and Odom have been ineffective throughout most of the series.

One disclaimer about my prediction: when Kobe is involved, he always has a chance to win. When I say that the Celtics are more talented, I mean that KG, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Sam Cassell, James Posey, Rajon Rondo are more talented - combined - than Kobe. But Kobe is still Kobe.

KG to the Celtics!

Don't look now, but here comes the East. The Celtics and Timberwolves are on the verge of a trade that could help balance the lopsided NBA.

First Ray Allen was plucked from Seattle and now Kevin Garnett appears to be on the move for a lot of potential in Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, and Sebastian Telfair plus an expiring contract (Theo Ratliff). There is no question that the West still has better teams than the East, but the power may be shifting a bit. Let's look at the star power that has changed sides in the past couple seasons.

East to West:
1. Allen Iverson (to Nuggets)
2. Ron Artest (to Kings)
3. Grant Hill (to Suns)
4. Steve Francis (to Rockets)

West to East:
1. Ray Allen (to Celtics)
2. Kevin Garnett (to Celtics)
3. Jason Richardson (to Bobcats)
4. Zach Randolph (to Knicks)
5. Rashard Lewis (to Magic)

The East to West movement is mainly aging stars or those with baggage, or both. And while Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are also getting older, Zach Randolph and Jason Richardson are at or reaching prime age of play. Still, the Western Conference received a fortuitous bounce on lottery day which resulted in Portland and Seattle drafting Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. In the same way, the East was fortunate to land Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in the same draft year. The West certainly has more proven players and teams, not to mention 8 of the last 9 MVPs since Jordan's final MVP season and the past 6 consecutive MVPs.

The Celtics instantly become contenders in the East with the addition of Kevin Garnett. Miami's addition of Smush Parker and potentially others puts them back into contention. Orlando improved by adding Lewis and the Bulls improved through the draft. The Pistons will be solid and the Knicks will be improved yet again. New Jersey welcomes back Vince Carter as well as a healthy Nenad Krstic. Things are looking up in the East. The Cavs have yet to make big moves and the Wizards look for Arenas to really break out this season yet both teams will contend if healthy.

The talent in the west in undeniable with Steve Nash and Tim Duncan as the stalwarts. But I think the Mavs were exposed very badly last year and contrary to Mark Cuban's philosophy, they will need to rebuild in order to win. I would not put my faith in Dirk carrying Dallas to a championship because of how he was unable to respond to the Golden State defense. When Dwyane Wade was being blanketed by the Mavs, he rose above their defense to carry Miami to its title. Dirk instead faded into the offseason. Also, the Suns only have a couple more years of Steve Nash at that pace to be productive and Golden State cannot win on simply adrenaline as it reloads around Baron Davis. The Jazz will need an offensive boost to become challenge the Spurs and the Nuggets will need to gel better. The Lakers and Hornets need to stay healthy and need help around their stars, Kobe and Chris Paul. If their talent develops, Portland seems to have the brightest future, but that is still at least two years in the making.

So looking ahead to this season in the NBA, the Western Conference may well win the MVP or home court in the finals but don't be surprised if a team like the Heat or Bulls is able to bring a championship back east.

Stern Says All the Right Things

Facing a potentially catastrophic scandal, NBA Commissioner David Stern did and said all the right things. And what he said is that:

a) The NBA did all it could to prevent something like this from happening. Through the training, screens, and checks the NBA has a thorough system to educate referees on rules and monitor their behavior.

b) This was isolated to one referee who had developed a bad gambling habit and became trapped. He knowingly disobeyed the rules and before resigning on July 9th, he was planning to pursue a plea agreement in the impending case.

c) The NBA will review its procedure and rules to ensure the integrity of the game.

There is more to be interpreted from David Stern's message. First of all, he described a lot of the league's policies and procedures regarding officials. The referees are subjected to an observer system to monitor the calls that they make or don't make. Like the players, they are subjected to training camp, preseason, and regular season training sessions. Furthermore, there are different levels of referees that indicate what level of the playoffs they are allowed to ref. This is based on experience and performance. All things considered, Tim Donaghy was a mid-level NBA ref with a moderate amount of experience.

What I understood from David Stern illuminating the public on the NBA's procedures is that handing out pamphlets with gambling rules may not be the most efficient way of making rules clear. Stern insisted that the NBA's gambling policy for referees is clear, but how many of us have started a job, or opened a bank account, or signed up for something online and haven't read all of the conditions pertaining to that contract. The NBA is not completely innocent in this situation. Also, as part of the collective bargaining agreement, referees are not allowed to gamble in any form, except horse racing during the summer after the season is over. They must obtain a permit from the NBA to do this. This is a stupid rule. Either they are allowed to gamble or they are not allowed to. Horse racing is no different than slots or blackjack. If the referees' union wanted to give them some leeway, a more reasonable point to agree upon would be to disallow gambling on sports.

Tim Donaghy worked 139 regular season games and 8 playoff games over the past two seasons. The allegations of what games he placed bets on are still unclear. He is accused of betting on some games that he worked and possibly other games. The worry around the sports world is that the results of some games could have been changed due to Donaghy's bias. However, I don't believe he really influenced the outcome of games unfairly. If the NBA system is as thorough as David Stern claims, then presumably any irregular behavior would have been noticed and Donaghy would have been suspended in a similar fashion to Joey Crawford last season. Tim Donaghy wasn't the reason the Spurs beat the Suns. Tim Duncan had a much bigger role in that outcome. Believe that because it's true.

Still this will force the NBA to answer to a lot of critics and luckily they have David Stern to do so. Let the young stars in the league speak for the quality of basketball. In the mean time, this is a nice break to the boredom of summer sports.

Bonds...Vick...NBA Refs?

It was a bad week for sports. Bonds is two homers from the record, Michael Vick will be indicted, and the NBA is facing a Pete Rose-like scandal.

Here's my take. Barry Bonds is a good baseball player. He might be a jerk but he knows how to hit. The truth about baseball is that players have been using performance enhancing substances since the first day. The greats as we remember them now were not all model citizens. So although Bonds has given people plenty of reason to hate him, he has been a consistently good hitter his whole career. I'd much rather Bonds be the hero instead of Mark McGwire. I guess I'll just be happy when he breaks the record and people stop caring about baseball again.

On Michael Vick: he's stupid. He's Marcus Vick's brother. He's the most talented athlete in the NFL. He likes to watch and bet on dog fights. He finally has a receiver to throw to but might never get the chance to do anything substantial in the NFL. His loss, Nike's loss, the NFL's loss but look for a big suspension based on what Roger Goodell's reaction has been to this summer's plethora of misbehaving players.

On the NBA referee scandal: so many speculations can be made about this case. It is still too early to know whether games were actually tainted by betting and throwing games. But this is much worse than a player betting on games. This has potential to affect the credibility of the league just a year after it decided to give referees more respect and power with cracking down player reactions to calls made. This could make Rasheed Wallace turn in his sleep thinking about all of those technical fouls he was given. And although Joey Crawford wasn't implicated, it certainly reminds us of Tim Duncan's ejection last year and Crawford's subsequent suspension. Basically the NBA has to hope that this was not part of a bigger problem and is an isolated incident involving a human being that made some mistakes.

On a brighter side in the NBA, look for Steve Francis to have a renaissance in Houston. He'll be healthy and back in a city where he made is mark and is comfortable. At 30, he has plenty of good basketball left and Houston has quietly made key moves in the offseason to help them get to the next level. Less pressure on TMac and Yao means they will be even more effective.