McGrady and Co.

T-Mac has a new home and it happens to be a place where the impending free agent class will, apparently, gravitate to come the summer.

This move is a pretty bold statement to the fans of New York and the NBA that the Knicks are going to be a big player in the 2010 free agent frenzy. Just think about the possibilities that McGrady will be shown in the off season. If the Knicks sign two players to max deals and T-Mac takes a massive pay cut, the Knicks will have a pretty formidable team come 2010-11 season.

Throw T-Mac in the SF position, use him more as a role player, while Wade slots in as the SG, and Bosh/Stoudamire fill in as the PF. That would be a trio that could contend for multiple rings. Sorry goes out to the Suns, Heat, and Raptors. Life is tough.

See how I didn't mention LeBron James, the big prize in the potential free agent class. I'm starting to think that James is going to stay in Cleveland because of the love he is receiving from the fans and management. The true X-factor is Wade/Bosh/Stoudamire. If one of these guys gives James a call during the off season and wants to team up, I would assume that James would willfully comply. But with the PR mess that would ensue, it would make sense for him to stay.

James is the type of man who wants everything. He wants to be the leader, the man, and most importantly, the king of basketball when the dust settles on his career. Teaming up with one of the big free agents and winning multiple NBA championships would only solidify his reputation and legacy.

On the other hand, if James left the Cavs and, after teaming up with one of the big free agents, won multiple rings would anyone stand out and criticize James for not being the true NBA god he wants to be. He would be winning rings because he has the true supporting cast that All-star teams or Dream teams are made of. If he does choose to stay in Cleveland, it would show the world how great of a basketball player he really is. Taking a low-tier team and taking them to the promised land.

Only time will tell what the Knicks, with all their salary space, will do in the off season.

Now, just have to find a way to grab myself a T-Mac Knicks jersey.

More Than an Injury

Will it be cuff-links for Yao?

Yao is having surgery to repair his injured foot and will most likely miss the entire upcoming season with a small chance his career might be finished as well. I can't believe how fast things can turn for the worse in life. The Rockets seemed to have it all a few years back. Drafting Yao out of China with the 1st pick in the 2002 draft and pairing him with T-Mac for the 04-05 season. It seemed like the Rockets had the big inside presence and the outside scoring that would lead them to the NBA Finals.

After years of first round exits and disappointing results, people kept saying, "Next year, next year." Well, that never materialized and now, for the 09-10 season, the Rockets will have both big studs, that were suppose to take them to the promise land, sitting on the bench with no contribution except for some charity events.

I have always been a fan of Yao and even bigger supporter of T-Mac but I am finally going to give up on both of them. I will still proudly wear my T-Mac jersey and will most likely find myself buying a Yao jersey the next time I'm in New York visiting the NBA Store but honestly, I'm sad.

Watching your favourite athlete fall apart isn't something I wish upon any sports fan. I understand that all athletes, as age takes it's cruel toll, will slowly fade from superstar form but with T-Mac and Yao it was different. Both players seemed to have such potential, which they never found. I was itching for an NBA Championship for the two and the Rockets but it never happened. Watching T-Mac and Yao fall short every year took a toll on me.

All those years I watched and cheered on the two from start to finish I never thought about the possibility that they would never set foot on the court together ever again.

This Week in Basketball

Things are moving pretty quickly now that the Laker's have been crowned the 2009 champs.

Hedo to the Raptors

If the Raptors sign Hedo to the reported 5yr $53million deal, I will be forced to find a new team to cheer for. This deal makes no sense! Dude is 30 years old. If he was named Kobe Bryant than being 30 at this point would be fine but he's not, he's Hedo Turkoglu. As expected his stats peaked when he was 28 years old. This season, his stats dropped just a little. He is not worth $53million over 5yrs. I know this move is all about making Bosh happy so he will stay in Toronto (in my mind he's already gone but I'll leave that for another day) but this move doesn't help Toronto keep Bosh. The only way this move helps Bosh is if the Raptors take the championship away from the Laker's next season which is not going to happen. Hedo is not the solution for the Raptors. If this rumour does come true, the Raptors will be screwing themselves for years to come.

Artest to the Laker's

I love this move! Having a guy like Artest on the team adds that physical, gives no mercy, I'll kill you, get the hell out of my way, mentality that the Laker's will need when they defend their championship next season. Artest can play lockdown defence which allows Bryant, and his 30 year old body, some down time on the court instead of him shutting down the opposing superstar on defence. Just looking at the Laker's team it seems more and more like the Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, and Jackson combo. Absolutely dirty!

The Rockets are Cursed

This is an off-season that the Rockets wish never happened. McGrady is most likely out for next season and if he does return he's a shell of what he used to be. Artest is off to the Laker's and rumoured in return is Trevor Ariza. Ariza is a role player and nothing more. His great play in the playoffs will bring some cash but the GM who signs him (thinking he'll be a true leader instead of being a role player) for big bucks is going to look stupid when the season unfolds. Now to the big news. Yao Ming, their superstar centre, seems to on the side of not returning next season due to injury. I feel for the Rockets. Losing their "big 3" is something no GM could anticipate. I always thought that the combo of Ming and McGrady would do damage in the NBA and bring them to the Finals but it never happened.

T-mac in Darfur, so wrong!

Let me put this on the table before I start with my comments about this video.

There is a serious problem in Darfur and countries from around the world should step up and try to solve the problem through diplomatic avenues. The people who live in Darfur and who are being displaced need a leader to stand up and give the people something to look forward to and believe in.

Now that is out of the way.

This is great how T-mac is taking time out of his life to travel and go over to Darfur to see firsthand how terrible things in this world can truly be. There are so many things right about this trip to Darfur but again there are so many wrong things.

Throughout the short clip, education is named as the primary priority being expressed by the people of Darfur. It seems a little odd to me to have T-mac there because he obviously didn't go to college. I can almost guarantee you that T-mac was not on the honour roll at his high school either (I could be wrong). He had a special skill and he used it to produce the life we currently see. I have nothing against this. It just doesn't seem like the person who should be sitting in front of those people of Darfur because it seems like he didn't pay his dues. To me seeing T-mac there with those people who are struggling to get a cup of water just seems to show how cruel this world can be. T-mac plays a game and makes millions of dollars through his contract and sponsorship deals after skipping an opportunity to go to college, for free.

Sticking with the education theme. Did you hear how T-mac talks with the people in Darfur?! Come on man, I know you are straight out of high school, have no college degree, and come from a slang/hip-hop culture but can you speak to the people of Darfur and the human activists with proper English. I found it to be totally disrespectful. Education is the way to a better future and T-mac does not stand for education. When he was sitting with some of the local people he went off with his slang and street English while the locals were left to sit and stare. The only time they acknowledged T-mac was when he said the word education.

The video just shows how out of touch some of these celebrities are with the real world. They sit in their penthouses with $500 bottles of juice/water while people in Darfur go to bed hoping when they wake up everything they have experienced was just a dream. A terrible dream.

I am happy T-mac is going out and trying to help but it just seems he needs to wake up and present himself in a way that can give hope to the people of Darfur.

The first step is to speak like an educated person because education is the key that opens up the door to a better world.

Nash Say Hello to The Floor

I guess screens aren't too welcome in the NBA anymore. That was a pretty cheap shot Barnes took on Alston though. A forearm to the chest or an elbow but a body-check? That was a little overboard.

But the funniest thing about this video was the fact little Canadian Steve Nash wandered into the shoving match and was introduced to the floor. Had a short laugh when I saw that.

Nash you know I have man love for you but it was pretty funny when you hit the deck.

Just another night in the NBA.


UPDATE: Suspensions to Barnes and Alston for 2 games while Nash received 1 game. Shaq and T-Mac both received fines.