When Matt Leinart was drafted, I figured he would be a very good NFL QB. Not the best, but Pro-Bowl potential. As much as I root for him to succeed, he doesn't make anything look easy.
Until Matt Leinart spends a night in prison with his teammates doing the electric slide to "I Will Survive", he won't make that step up to being a franchise quarterback.
After I read a rumor that the Rays may try to go for Manny Ramirez if he is put on waivers by the Dodgers, I wondered why nobody has picked up Jermaine Dye for the rest of the season. Heck, even Carlos Delgado was signed by the Red Sox.
The Rays need a solid bat in their lineup, mostly handling the DH duties, so why not add Dye? He is a solid veteran hitter and he knows what it takes to win in the post season.
Now that the Pacers have secured their point guard of the future in Darren Collison, the Pacers have a glaring need at the power forward position. With the current players on the roster that could fill that spot, there isn't a clear cut choice to be the starter.
Jeff Foster, Josh McRoberts, Tyler Hansbrough, and Solomon Jones are all possibilities, but who in their right mind feels comfortable with that quartet to choose from? Not me, that's for sure. Keep in mind that the Pacers are at the roster max of 15 players right now, which leaves Magnum Rolle, a guy the Pacers want to sign, out in the cold.
Here are two possible trade scenarios that could work out:
Scenario 1
Pacers incoming: * Brandon Bass * Ryan Anderson
Orlando incoming: * Dahntay Jones * Josh McRoberts * Solomon Jones
This trade works for both teams. Bass gets an opportunity to play more (which he has stated he wants) and Orlando grabs a solid perimeter defender and two (although small) expiring contracts. Anderson could play a smaller Troy Murphy role for the Pacers and this trade also opens up a roster spot for Magnum Rolle.
Scenario 2
Pacers incoming: * Jason Thompson
Sacramento incoming: * Brandon Rush
This trade allows the Kings to decrease the traffic jam in their frontcourt, while the Pacers do the same on the wing. The money is even and this is really a win-win for both parties. However, the roster spot for Magnum Rolle is still non-existent.
If either of these trades were pulled off, Pacer fans should/would be thrilled with the possibilities of a playoff run this season. There is still plenty of time before the season starts and Larry Bird stated that they still had work to be done this Summer, so we shall see.
The Pacers and three other teams were able to pull of a big trade yesterday. I wouldn't call it a major trade for any of the teams except for the Pacers, as they landed their point guard of the future in Darren Collison.
Pacers' fans haven't had this much to be excited about since the beginning of the season that quickly ended with "The Brawl." That team looked like they were a championship contender and that was the beginning of the end for the franchise that I have grown to love.
Larry Bird quickly energized a dwindling Indiana fan base with this trade though. Collison can be a stud in this league for a long time, but he is young, so fans need to be patient as he learns on the fly this season.
Along with Collison, the Pacers took on James Posey as well, as solid veteran, perimeter defender. How much will he play? Not sure that he fits into the plans for this team, this year. Maybe he is bought out.
If Posey isn't bought out, that leads me to assume the Pacers aren't done dealing as they are now thin up front after Troy Murphy was sent to New Jersey as part of the four team trade. I will miss Murph-Dirt's double-doubles for sure. Murphy just seemed like a cool guy to be around, which are the kind of players that fans gravitate to and cheer harder for.
There were rumors after the trade was announced that that Pacers wanted to buyout TJ Ford's $8.5mil contract for only $5mil. Ford was apparently not interested in that at all and I don't blame him. He picked up his player option this year, so why would he leave $3.5mil on the table?
I've been pretty tough on Bird, as he has deserved a lot of criticism, but this trade makes me want to give him a hug!
With the AL playoff race heating up as the season comes to an end, there are a few players that could help set themselves apart from their peers in the MVP race. As I see it, there are four solid candidates right now, with the possibility of several more player throwing their names into the discussion by season's end.
Here is how I have the order as of now:
Josh Hamilton - Hamilton was a serious triple-crown threat before the All-Star break, but with his home run and rbi total slowing down so far in the second half of the season, that dream is probably gone. Hamilton is still hitting .355 for the first place Rangers, who are a comfortable 7.5 games up on second place Oakland in the AL West.
Miguel Cabrera - Cabrera is a legitimate contender for the triple-crown this year. He is currently third in batting, with a .343 average and third in home runs with 26, but he leads the AL with 93 rbi. If the Tigers were closer than 9 games out, Cabrera would be a lock for this award. If he can finish strong and the Tigers move a bit closer in the standings, Cabrera could walk away with the title.
Robinson Cano - Cano might not be the sexy candidate, but he very well could be the guy to win the MVP award with the way the Yankees are playing in the tough AL East. Cano ranks 5th in batting (.332), 11th in home runs (21), and 11th in rbi (72), but it is his Gold Glove caliber play that really sets himself up for this award. I have Hamilton first on this list, but I wouldn't be surprised if Cano won.
Paul Konerko - Konerko is another guy that might not be the sexiest pick for this award, but his steady bat and timely power have helped the White Sox stay atop the AL Central in a heated race with the Minnesota Twins. Konerko is batting .302 right now and this would be the third time in his career that he is been over the .300 if he can manage to stay above that line. With 27 home runs and 76 rbi, Konerko's power numbers are right on par with the leaders. A strong August and a first place finish would help Konerko's cause.
After just one Summer League game it seems that a lot of Pacers' fans are ready to hand the starting point guard job to Lance Stephenson. It's going to take a little more than one game to convince me, but I did like what I saw from him yesterday. If you are looking for some video, please check out Pacers Digest, who literally has broken down the video piece-by-piece.
With summer league play, it is very tricky to get a real read on a player's true abilities. Look at some of the past summer league standouts: Anthony Randolph, Marco Belinelli, Jerryd Bayless, etc. These guys all have been brilliant during the summer and have struggled to match those outputs, due to lack of playing time mostly. So, lets not get carried away with proclaiming Stephenson the savior of the team...at least for right now.
Stephenson did show that he was able to get by his defender without any trouble. When his defender was able to keep in front of him on the drive he was making some very nice passes. However, that is not all of what the point guard position is about. Getting guys into place on the offense, running the offense, controlling the tempo of the game, those things really determine a point guard's value. If the Pacers just wanted a guy to penetrate and dish, then Jim O'Brien should have been starting TJ Ford all of last season.
At only 19 years old, Stephenson showed a lot of promise, but I would wait to see what lies ahead of him during training camp and the season. Maybe the Pacers got the steal of the draft. We will see in time.
With the free agency period officially underway, there have been some talk/rumors about the Pacers and Jordan Farmar. My initial thought was "WHY?"
Farmar is a career backup and that is it. He can play some solid minutes off the bench and would do well with the second unit, but he isn't a starting quality point guard in the NBA. Having said that, he has learned from Derek Fisher the past few seasons and has a boat load of athleticism.
According to some reports, Farmar is a prime target of the Pacers and the Blazers. What does he want contractually? What does he want as a player? These things remain to be seen, but if Farmar goes to Portland he would most certainly be the backup to Andre Miller.
Is there really a reason to give him a contract that is more than two or three years?
With the fourth piece in the Free Agent Frenzy series, I am going to look at Earl Watson.
Watson was with the Pacers last season and was on a very reasonable 1 year contract. While starting a total of 59 games for Indiana, Watson was worth every penny of that contract. March was his best month as he had five games of double digit assists. He averaged 7.8ppg and 6.8apg for the month.
Earl has stated that he wants to play for a winner, so does that cut the Pacers out of the picture? Winning helps, but if there is an opportunity to start, a lot of players will go with that.
In order to get Watson on the team, he would obviously want a bigger contract than what he signed last season. Something like a 3 year, $10mil deal would be in the neighborhood of what EW is looking for.
I'd say Watson would be the best bet to come in for Indiana, as he knows Jim O'Brien's offense and JOB trusts the way he plays.
In the third part of the Free Agent Frenzy series, I want to take a look at Shaun Livingston. I think we can skip watching the video of the horrific injury that almost ended Livingston's career prematurely and focus on what he can bring to this team.
After a few seasons of trying to get back to full strength and a solid showing with the Wizards at the end of last season, it seems that the 24 year old is ready for a more demanding role. For the month of April, Livingston averaged 15.5 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.6 rebounds per game for Washington. Of course, this is a small sample size, but in the 8 April games, Livingston scored in double figures in 7 of those, sending him out on a very solid note and gaining a lot of momentum heading into the summer.
I really don't see Livingston as a high-risk, high-reward type of player at this point. Give him a two or three year deal and let him prove what he can do on the court. At the very least, give this kid a minimum deal and a shot at a starting spot.
In the second part of the Free Agent Frenzy series, I will take a look at Luke Ridnour and what he brings to the table.
Ridnour isn't the biggest name in free agency, but he gets the job done. Let's look at his numbers.
Per 36 minutes:
17.4 ppg
6.6 apg
2.9 rpg
1.1 spg
47.8% fg
38% 3p
2.2 to
Ridnour only played 21.5mpg this past season as he played behind Brandon Jennings. He provided a very nice change of pace and a stabilizing presence on the floor with the second unit.
While he made 6.5mil last season, Ridnour could probably be signed for a similar deal to what Dahntay Jones got. If he didn't want a long term contract, something like Earl Watson's deal is quite reasonable for a one year look. I'm going to go with a 15% chance of Ridnour signing with the Pacers this summer.
After I read a rumor that the Rays may try to go for Manny Ramirez if he is put on waivers by the Dodgers, I wondered why nobody has picked up Jermaine Dye for the rest of the season. Heck, even Carlos Delgado was signed by the Red Sox.
The 
After just one Summer League game it seems that a lot of Pacers' fans are ready to hand the starting point guard job to Lance Stephenson. It's going to take a little more than one game to convince me, but I did like what I saw from him yesterday. If you are looking for some video, please check out 
Farmar is a career backup and that is it. He can play some solid minutes off the bench and would do well with the second unit, but he isn't a starting quality point guard in the NBA. Having said that, he has learned from Derek Fisher the past few seasons and has a boat load of athleticism.
