Firday Morning Comedown
Man, I was in the WORST mood last night after I contemplated the big trade yesterday. There are two ways of looking at it but I'm really feeling like we got hosed. Still, I've said from day one that I trust Danny Ainge with the fate of my favorite pro sports franchise so I am going to be patient and hope for the best. It's evident from this trade that we have all but given up on this season. Last night on TV, Danny reasoned that if we don't make the playoffs our draft poisiton moves from 15 to 7. Unfortunately since there are so many other crappy teams in the East, we will get no higher than 7 unless the ping pong balls fall our way. For those of you that have no idea what I am talking about, the NBA, unlike other pro sports leagues, holds a lottery that will determine who gets the first pick in the upcoming draft, so having the worst record in the league doesn't mean you are guarenteed the top pick. The last time the Celtics had the worst record in the league, the freakin' Spurs got the top pick which turned out to be Timmy Duncan. Instead we got Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer. Let us never speak of that day again.
Perhaps the Detroit deal was a last resort as off the record reports have Danny turning down a deal with Seattle that would have exchanged Chris Mills, Jumaine Jones, Mike James and Jiri Welsch for Calvin Booth, Brent Barry and Vladimir Radmonivic. That's a horrible deal for the Celtics as Jiri is easily the best player involved and Brent Barry is a free agent this summer so the team could just sign him outright. Calvin Booth's salary is off the hook and would have ruined any financial flexibility we might have had, so good call Danny.
Personally, I think Danny did the Detroit trade as a big EFF YOU to Isiah "I Am So Smart Because I Have A Blank Check To Work With" Thomas and the Knicks. In this mornings ESPN Insider column, one GM went on record, albeit anonymously, to say:
"They're morons," claimed another executive referring to Danny Ainge and Billy Knight. "I can't believe they just did that."
I'd be willing to bet that quote came from an office in NYC, although the Hawks are dummies for basically giving up Sheed for a late first round draft pick in, depending on who you ask, figures to be a weak draft. One good thing about the draft, for which the C's will have 3 first round picks, is that it is loaded with big men even if most of them are 18 years old. A look at the likely candidates:
Emeka Okafor (6-foot-9), Dwight Howard (6-11, 18-years-old), Pavel Podkolzine (7-4, 19 yrs), Kosta Perovic (7-2, 19 yrs), Andris Biedrins (7-0, 18 yrs), Peja Samardzski (7-0, 18 yrs), Ivan Chiriaev (7-1, 18 yrs), LaMarcus Aldridge (6-11, 18 yrs.), Robert Swift (7-1, 18 yrs), Rafael Araujo (6-11, 23), Ha Seung Jin (7-3, 18 yrs.) and possibly big guys like Colorado's David Harrison (7-0) and Michigan State's Paul Davis (6-11).
Work some magic Danny. Oh, and the reported deal with the Spurs for Malik Rose never came to fruition. I'm guessing the Spurs wanted Chris Mihm, whom they have had ineterest in before and Danny told them to piss off.
Mark Stein has a great column today on how hard it is to be a fan of the NBA today with all the wacky trades made due to salary cap implications, most of which make no sense from a pure exchanging talent for talent viewpoint. Fans want their teams to win, not save money.
Join me now as we look back over some past trade deadline deals including the 1990 blockbuster that sent center Uwe Blab from Golden State to San Antonio in exchange for center Christian Welp. Ah, good times.
Good news today for Apple as they have been named the top computer maker in a Consumer Reports satisfaction poll. Also, Business Week has reported that Apple earned the largest profit increase for a tech company for the last calendar year. Put that in yer pipe and smoke it!
In today's I TOLD YOU SO, SO NOW I AM GOING TO GLOAT corner I give you the myriad of problems faced by Napter 2.0. Remember the big hubbub around the time of their release last year. Pffffffffffft. Buh-bye. The company lost $15 million in its first two months of operation, has seen several executives depart, and the latest data shows Napster 2.0 only holding 12 percent of the online music business, compared to Apple's 56 percent. If that wasn't bad enough, after initially agreeing to install Napster software on all their new machines, HP decided to reverse course and sign up with the iTunes Music Store. Ahem....hahahahahahahahaha.
Anyone else hear about what the band The Alarm did for their latest single? Recording as The Poppyfields, the band, from north Wales, are at number 28 after selling more than 4,000 copies of 1970s-style punk single 45RPM. In its accompanying video The Alarm are replaced by teenage Chester rockers The Wayriders who mime along to the song.. Yo, image is everything. Obey your thirst. Show 'em my logo!
Tonight I'll be forced to drink myself to sleep after reading this quote from Paul Pierce:
"We've made three of the five worst trades in the last 20 years," Pierce, 27 in October, groaned to me several days ago in L.A., pinpointing the acquisition of Vin Baker and the gift-wrapping of Walker to Dallas and Joe Johnson to Phoenix. In all fairness, Ainge was only responsible for Walker; Chris Wallace choreographed the other two monstrosities.
"Yo," wondered the dumbfounded Pierce, "how old was Michael Jordan when he started to win titles?"
Fucking double standard. Apple increases its profit and everybody is in love with them. EMI records a nice profit and they're a bunch of slimy suits who take advantage of poor little musicians with unfair contracts. Oh, but tech companies are supposed to make a profit. Music companies are just here to provide people music without charging enough to recoup its investment and make a little extra to pay for the girl answering the phone.
When David Stern retires, Mark Cuban should be commissioner. The guy understands how to create a league that is exciting and profitable. Right now I can hardly watch an NBA game. They're pitiful.
Paul Pierce, don't even put yourself in the same sentence as Michael Jordan. You're no Michael Jordan. You're more of a Charles Barkley, aka you're never going to win a title. If you really want to win a title, find a way to get yourself shipped to the Kings, Lakers or Spurs. You're not going to win shit in the East. And you're not going to win shit playing for the Celtics.
Damn dude, who pissed in your cornflakes this AM?
Funny you post that about the Celts after how bad your Kings looked last night. FYI - Until last night guess what team held the Kings to their lowest point total of the season? Here's a hint, they wear green and white, I write about them once in a while over here and you were at my house watching that game. :) But they still suck.
Labels (and bands) would make much more money if they quit with the ridiculous advances that they are forced to try and recoup. Think Norah J. got a huge advance?
And Apple has nowhere to go but up.
I didn't wake up on the wrong side of the bed, exactly. But when you're at the Plant Bar until 2:30am, you're not going to feel good when it's time to go to work.
Kings had an off night. REALLY off. Hey, if you're gonna lose, might as well get blown out. Without Miller it's gonna be tough to beat the T-Wolves on the road. Like Songalia is gonna rise up and lead them to victory. Yeah.
Let's be honest: the East is so far behind the West it's disgusting. The Pacers could squeek out a win in a round of seven, but no team is good enough to stand with the top teams of the West. Pierce wants to win (almost as much as he wants respect) but winning the Eastern conference is nothing but a runners up prize. Thinking that the Celtics or Knicks are going to be contenders any time soon is so delusional. Memphis and Houston are more likely to win a title.
Re: Advances...bands should stop taking such large advances. Lables will keep giving them and bands will continue to take them, and I get the impression nobody on either side thinks of this as a loan--which it is. Artists should be more financially responsible. (Who do you think is paying for that dinner you just went to with your record label execs?) And without a doubt labels should make contracts more fair and equitable.