September 23, 2008 – Dr. J-Water
What’s up everybody, you good? Sorry I haven’t written in a bit, but i’ve been off on a bit of a vacation, but hopefully the other Docs around here treated you right with some good NBA dish! Did you guys peep those ‘Hypermax’ kicks we featured this week in ‘Sneak’-a-Peek? Are you kidding me. I can’t wait to get my hands on a pair of those next summer!
‘Nuff small talk. Here is a quick run down of the NBA news today that I think you all need to know about if you haven’t yet heard:
Phoenix Suns Sign PG Goran Dragic
The Suns have been looking for an adequate back up point guard to relieve some pressure from the shoulders of two time MVP Steve Nash for years. General Manager Steve Kerr believes they have finally found their man. The 22-year old Slovenian Goran Dragic today signed a contract with the Suns. Details of the contract have yet to be released.
This is big news for Suns fans. Over the past few years the Phoenix Suns have perennially been among the elite in the Western Conference over the course of the regular season. However each year, one of the biggest factors affecting the Suns ability to close the deal in the playoffs has been the number of miles put on their point guard Steve Nash throughout the season. The Suns have tried everything from combo guards Leandro Barbosa and Joe Johnson, to scoring point guards like Marcus Banks, to point forwards like Boris Diaw and even Grant Hill. Although I wouldn’t exactly call any of the Suns experiments at getting Steve Nash some appropriate in game rest a failure, I certainly wouldn’t call any of them a success either. Hopefully the Suns have finally found their point guard of the future. Suns GM Steve Kerr plans to give Dragic court time immediately this season, and slowly increase his playing time over the next few years as Steve Nash nears retirement.
Could the added rest for Nash this year, mean a Suns team with the endurance to play high octane offense all the way throughout a deep playoff run?
Julius Hodge to sign with Nets by end of the Week
I read a great blog post entry by point guard Julius Hodge (formerly of the Denver Nuggets) on HoopsHype today that stated he expects to sign with the New Jersey Nets a non-guaranteed contract by the end of the week. Apparently the Nets are bringing him in to fill the third point guard spot behind Devin Harris and Keyon Dooling. I’m really pulling for Hodge to make the team, and hopefully even crack the rotation.
Why am I pulling for Julius Hodge? The guy was a first round pick back in 2005 and he was on the right track to becoming a rotation player in the NBA. For those of you who don’t know about the shooting, Hodge was the victim of a random act of violence only 2 years ago and almost died. After visiting a nightclub on April 8, 2006, Hodge was on Interstate 76 in Denver around 2:00 a.m. when another vehicle pulled alongside his with guns a blazing. Apparently Hodge with multiple gunshot wounds was told he was only 5 minutes away from bleeding to death when he arrived at the hospital. I really hope Hodge makes the Nets and keeps his NBA career alive. I love a good comeback story!
Marbury expected to be bought out by week’s end
Well the Stephon Marbury/New York Knicks saga may finally be over shortly. Word out of the Marbury camp is that they are very close to deal on a buy-out that would pay Marbury a large chunk of what is owed to him on his $20 million+ a year contract. Owner James Dolan must just cringe at the thought of signing that check.
This leads us to a rather interesting question regarding Marbury…..what next? Marbury will be put on waivers if he is bought out, however I have a hard time believing many of the contenders would be willing to shake up their locker room chemistry this late in the summer with a personality as big as Marbury’s. The only team that comes to mind is the Miami Heat, who have been notoriously active in searching high and low for a high quality and available point guard. So, will the Miami Heat extend an offer to Stephon Marbury?
My guess is a big fat NO for a variety of reasons. One is Marbury was always at his best as a scoring point guard, which would be a complete mismatch with players like Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion. Wade is the leader of this team and needs the ball in his hands quite a bit to create for this team to be successful. With Shawn Marion, he needs a pass-first point guard that has great court vision and will always be looking for a backdooring Marion for the alley-oops and drop passes. The other aspect is the Heat have taken a bit of a gamble on the big personality and ego that come along with the big talent that is Michael Beasley from this years draft class. My guess is Pat Riley wants to surround Beasley with mature steady veterans in the locker room that will keep him in line and set a good example. Please tell me no one thinks Marbury is that type of guy? If so, I might get sick…
I know everyone is starting to get geared up and anxious for the new season to start, but if you’ve got any thoughts on today’s NBA rundown from Doc J-Water drop a note in the comments below.
