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If you were tired of your boyfriend/girlfriend, and wanted to trade them to another person in exchange for their boyfriend/girlfriend and the rights to their 2009 significant other as well as 2 million in cash, would you do it? Before you answer that, make sure your girlfriend isn’t looking over your shoulder. Why did I only say girlfriend? Because honestly a lot of guys would understand (from a sports perspective) and might want a “fresh start”. Also to be considered is the fact that the majority of insensitive men realize they could a) sign back on with the previous relationship after a 30 day waiver period, or b) knowingly full well they could block the trade and force their hand in remaining with their current girlfriend whereas our female counterparts would a) slap us silly and b) repeatedly yell and berate and remind us that relationships are not like sports franchises. By the way, the silly aforementioned corollary only confirms why I am still single. :)

However in the NBA, this is the business norm. From the ridiculously one-sided trades between the Lakers and Grizzlies, the Spurs and Sonics to the blockbuster-laden swaps concerning the Suns and Heat, the Mavericks and Nets, to of course other smaller, less popular (though not less relevant by any means) trades that we won’t bother to mention since I’m all about the glitz and glamor of big name waiver waves.

We’ll address the trades in chronological order starting with the Los Angeles Lakers trading much maligned first round bust F Kwame Brown, G Javaris Crittenton, G Aaron McKie, draft rights to Marc Gasol and 1st round picks in 2008 and 2010 to the Memphis Grizzlies. In return, the Lakers receive Pau Gasol (career: 18.9 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game, this season: 21.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and the Grizzlies 2nd round draft choice in 2010. Many pundits have labeled this particular trade as a steal for the Lakers and I wholeheartedly agree. The Lakers did not give up a single starter nor a significant bench player (Walton, Fumar, etc…) and instead received a former rookie of the year, a 2006 All-Star, a Spanish Olympic Basketball gold medalist. In short, they received a low post threat who can grab rebounds at a decent clip, and owns a numerous array of post moves, a mid-range jumper necessary for a 2nd scoring option (behind Kobe Bryant) of a big man. He has been toiling away in the shadows of Memphis as a 1st option, team foundation, face of the franchise player and now has the chance to contribute significantly to an already stacked team consisting of the best player hands down in the NBA (Bryant). Armed with the dangerous yet versatile Lamar Odom, the steady veteran presence of Derek Fisher, and the pace-setting spark of bench contributors such as Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar, the Lakers are certainly back atop amongst the Western Conference elite. After Wednesday’s showcase matchup vs. the new-look Suns (with Shaq, more on that later), I am ready to affirm this. Their fluid ball movement, fastbreak scoring with their hawking defense led on both ends by Kobe Bryant attest their stake as a favorite to head to the NBA Finals. Bryant looks comfortable passing the ball, getting his teammates involved in the game early, getting his shots in sparingly and then exploding and taking over the game in the 4th quarter to seal the game, which are all part of a solid formula for winning. Now all of this is occurring without center Andrew Bynum who finally has blossomed into a force this season before his knee injury. If Bynum does not come back in time to gel with Gasol and the rest of the Lakers, they are still at best an elite contender, and at worst will look to take the momentum of the 2007/2008 season as a springboard to make major noise next season. I didn’t mention how this trade affects the Grizzlies because it’s not right to talk about the victim after a horrific ordeal such as highway robbery.

This is a good time to remind everyone that while trades in my opinion are good for the league in “shaking things up,” I realize it will take time to see the fruits of the labor. The best example is the Phoenix Suns trade with the Miami Heat that allowed them to acquire C Shaquille O’Neal in exchange for F Shawn Marion and G Marcus Banks. Immediately G Dwayne Wade only two years removed from an NBA Finals MVP gets a fresh new partner in crime and chemistry time to gel with Marion in hopes of a better season next year. Though O’Neal is not only over the hill, but still rolling in the grassy plains at the foot of the hill, he is still 7 foot 1, 3 hundred twenty freaking 5 pounds!, he still commands a double team on occasion, and when properly motivated, both an offensive and defensive obstacle. So while this trade may pan out for the better since the Phoenix Suns were already sorely lacking on the defensive (particularly interior defense) end, if last night was any indication they will be going fishing early in May if they do not fix that interior D. The Lakers with Bryant and Gasol (who is good in his own right though won’t be mistaken for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar any time soon) were basically running lay-up drills through Amare Stoudemire and O’Neal. Though O’Neal rounded out and stepped up in the 2nd half eliciting images of dominance past, if the Suns do not fix their defensive woes down the stretch… well you know, fishing.

Our next trade topic involves Jason Kidd returning to the team that drafted him after years in New Jersey. For Devin Harris, Gana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Moe Ager (who?), Keith Van Horn, two draft picks and cash (everyone loves cash!), the Mavericks received Kidd, Malik Allen, and Antoine Wright from the New Jersey Nets. Immediately, the Nets get an upstart young PG, a physical defensive presence and Moe freaking Ager! That and cash. They may trade Vince Carter as well, but since as of press time the trade deadline has passed, we have to wait until this summer to see what happens to Vinsanity. The Mavericks believe now that they are in the thick of the suddenly even thicker, even more dramatic (in terms of standings) race in the Western Conference. Ideally yes they are, with an elite PG in Kidd running alongside the likes of reigning (cough cough) MVP Dirk Nowitzki, Josh Howard, and Jason Terry. However in giving up frontcourt depth, and the only defensive weapon capable of blanketing the greased lightning known as Tony Parker (of the San Antonio Spurs), the Mavericks may have taken a step back. Wednesday night’s shelacking at the hands of the New Orleans Hornets nonwithstanding, it should be cautioned that perhaps Dallas gave up too much in acquiring an old-step-slower Jason Kidd. Even though he still garnered triple doubles frequently in New Jersey, it should be reminded that that was in the Eastern Conference, where (even if the East won the All-Star game) the overall conference strength does not measure up to Western’s standard. In the West, Kidd has to face the likes of Baron Davis, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Allen Iverson, Brandon Roy, and Steve Nash in terms of point guard match-ups. What many also forget is that while personally I will always fondly remember Nash as a Maverick when they were still perennial underdogs, his tremendous success in Phoenix is ultimately attributed to playing along side Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire who are excellent finishers at the basket off of pick and rolls. The fact that he is surrounded by terrific three point shooters help but the low % of threes inherently allows for the fact that threes cannot be consistently relied upon percentage-wise in direct comparison to high percentage shots in the post like dunks, layups and hook shots (which happen to be repertoires of both Marion and Stoudemire). In Dallas back in the heyday, Nash was still a good scoring PG with the excellent vision and pass distribution many know today. The only thing was, Nowitzki was primarily a jump shot/long range 3 point shooter. Off the pick and roll, you will not have as much success compared to athletic finishers like Marion and Stoudemire. Now to be fair, after Nash left, Nowitzki matured into a complete player (as evidenced by his “MVP year”) rebounding the ball better, and developing a low post game. It remains to be seen how Kidd will be able to mesh with Nowitzki as Nowitzki is fully being capable of being the finisher Nash was not able to work with in his time in Dallas. Nevertheless you cannot overlook Kidd’s leadership, calming veteran presence/experience and the indisputable fact that he does make everyone around him better. If Dallas can overcome giving up its depth, interior D depth, and its best counter (a common thorn in the side for the “mighty” Spurs) against the speedy T. Parker Longoria, they have a legitimate shot in the playoffs, but don’t be surprised if they are out in the 1st round again.

As for the defending champs, they couldn’t stand idly by while the rest of the West reloads, but in true San Antonio fashion, they made a move that isn’t blockbuster by Hollywood standards yet enough to make a splash. For 3 point specialist Brent Barry, Francisco Elson and the 2009 1st round pick, the Spurs acquired Kurt “Crazy-Eyes” Thomas. Immediately for the Sonics, nothing will happen other than Kevin Durant wasting his rookie year trying to carry the team on his young slender shoulders rather than learning the ropes and growing into his own. As for the Spurs, this trade can actually be deemed maybe not a steal, but more of a pick-pocket. Doesn’t really matter as the Spurs only gave up a gritty veteran losing playing time to Ime Udoka (a 3 point specialist, defensive hawk mentioned before by yours truly), and falling-out-of-favor big man Francisco Elson (they can conceivably resign Barry if/when Seattle releases him). In return they get ol’ Crazy Eyes Thomas who is a tough if not undersized defender with a reliable mid range jump shot to free up Duncan’s double teams. Unfortunately, the Spurs are still without Parker who is out with an ankle injury, and they have only gotten older on the front line with Duncan, Thomas, Horry, and Oberto. San Antonio doesn’t look the same dominant selves they always do after their annual “rodeo” road trip where they usually go on a roll. Though they ended up going 6-3 on that trip, the aura surrounding the team does not feel the same. The usual flying-under-the-radar-yet-dangerously-on-a-hot-fiery-roll spirit of the team just somehow doesn’t feel right. Hopefully as a fan, this is nothing more than the Spurs only needing to get healthy and string together some wins in catapulting them yet to another playoff run.

(Apologies for not mentioning the 11 player trade that brought Ben Wallace and Wally Szcerbiak to Cleveland and many other role players to Chicago and Seattle, but Cleveland needed a PG more than a big man, and Detroit as well as Boston seem to be the class of the Conference) I could be wrong, but these trades sum up and foreshadow the excitement that will be the rest of the regular season as everyone gears up for the playoffs. Anytime big named trades like this may induce anticipation while killing players-playing-for-only-one-team-their-whole-career, it reflects the state of the league. And despite the many negative stories over the years, the NBA can hope to continue to grow stylistically, world-wide influentially, and usher a new era of players and household names.

I lived in Lubbock, Texas for 4 years where I received a well-deserved (somewhat) and accredited (at that time at least) bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University. What Lubbock lacks in trees, hills, water, or a diverse ecosystem, it makes up for it with lots and lots and lots and lots of wind, and an ever changing climate (I have witnessed snow in the morning only for it to be 71 degrees by 3:30pm that very day!). That and a copious amount of gorgeous coeds that attend Texas Tech (inexplicably or not, we just roll with it). My junior year in college, United Supermarkets opened up a new store on 50th and Indiana called, Market Street. It was across the street from Albertson’s thus slowly but surely and effectively nudging them out of business. The combination of being new and the unique architecture that reflects a “market street”, offered various things such as oven baked bread (ranging from french to biscotti to sour dough), fresh-brewed Seattle-style coffee, thinly cut deli meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as sushi all with the aura of a market square in old world Italy (or Spain) but with the comforts of an indoors air-conditioned linoleum jungle. Make no mistake it was nice, and an innovative way to shop at the supermarket. That’s it. It was… only… a… supermarket. You could dress a pig in pants, but it’d still be a pig. I don’t know if that analogy applies, but truth be told, one of Bobby Knight’s weirder controversies in his illustrious career involved United Supermarket’s Market Street store on 50th and Indiana (ironic!) in Lubbock, Texas. ESPN promptly broke the story one unusual night in 2004 on SportsCenter by stating that Knight in fact had gotten into a verbal scuffle with the school chancellor at an “upscale salad bar.” When I first saw this, I chuckled (more like laughed my butt off) then resumed ignoring my studies and playing Halo on XBox with my roommates.

I was not old enough to remember or care what Bob Knight did at Indiana. I only knew that he was a good coach, he won a lot, and had only one student player that went on to have a meaningful/prominent NBA career, Isiah Thomas. It was peculiar that for a coach with such a vaunted winning record, it yet only produced one NBA All-Star (much less one of the NBA’s top 50 players of all time). Of course there was the baggage as well. From throwing chairs, to choking (allegedly) a player, to “firmly” grabbing a “disrespectful” student at Indiana, to this salad bar brawl, controversy seemed to follow Coach Knight wherever he went.

If I were to be objective, to offer my indiscrete, unqualified, and uninformed (and one that no one cares for) opinion of Bobby Knight, it’d be that it is amazing he has won as many games as he did with his conservative style of coaching. Motion offense, man-to-man defense, absolutely no zone defense, and his apathy for 3 pointers is notorious. Rigid and unwavering, its his way or the freaking highway (as such parallels his hard nosed mannerism in real life). However in terms of me personally being qualified to give basketball opinions, keep in mind you’re reading an article from someone who didn’t pick up a basketball until freshman year in college, and though I would be considered above average for an Asian playing bball, I would be considered below benchwarmer standards in general. So while naysayers and the public may be enamored with superstar recruits, long range barrage of 3’s and zone defense (OK maybe not that last one), Bob Knight has made a living and a legendary career out of his own idea of playing basketball.

Motion offense that emphasizes the big man setting screens and wing players passing the ball around until someone is open for an uncontested lay-up or easy jumper only highlights the philosophy that Knight believes in unselfish play, teamwork and that no one player is bigger than the team. The grind of man-to-man defense mirrors his ethos that in order to succeed you must face challenges head on, work hard, and sweat it out in order to win. Sure dramatizing basketball terminology is fun but for someone who went to 80% of all the home games (sadly Texas Tech is barely a football school much less a basketball one, an attribute sure to have irked Bobby Knight a lot) while in college, watching your grossly under talented, and out manned team upset another top 5 ranked (full of blue chip players) in Lubbock, Texas 3 miles from the upscale salad bar is pure sports euphoria. If I were to be objective again and took off my homer goggles and concentrated on the off-court problems that Knight had, I would have to say he was one tough old nut. Old school? or just rude and belligerent? I think a bit of both. However objectively, from the outside why is it that anyone associated with Knight always has something positive to say about him? Maybe a few bad apples come out and declare the man a rotten egg on society and overbearing in terms of putting his paws on your in hopes of crushing your windpipe. Nevertheless maybe 95% of everyone who ever personally knew Knight always comes out saying, he’s a brilliant coach, and that as a teacher whether of life or basketball has no peer. Boasting a 98% graduation rate for student athletes, that alone has to validate and prove that despite the media circus stink that hangs onto Bob Knight, he alone helps graduate players at a percentage rate higher than some universities themselves! The ratio is skewed but you get the idea.

He threw a chair onto the court… so what, I’ve thrown fits further on the hardwood. He choked a player (allegedly)… so what, I’ve choked on many standardized tests to the point of questioning my own intelligence. He got into a verbal spat with the university chancellor at an upscale salad bar… so what, I’ve parked in the chancellor’s spot at 2am on a Saturday on finals weekend because the library parking lot was full and still got a parking ticket! Point being, no one cares what I do, but then again I didn’t win 3 NCAA National Championships, and one of which with the only perfect season to date (take that Patriots! :) ).

So while there are vastly more villains in the sports world to lament or lambast (see current Indiana Hoosiers coach, Kelvin Sampson) Bob Knight always has a special place for the national media to condemn and scrutinize every wrong thing he does even if he oddly resembles that crusty-old-denture-clattering-man-at-the-church-picnic who every kid was scared of because he would yell at you or might even hastily grab you because you were running indoors or “horsing around too much dagnabit! Show some respect!” Of course that guy isn’t on the 6pm SportsCenter for tossing lettuce in Lubbock and of course that guy didn’t get to coach Michael Jordan at one point. Knight may have understood that the scrutiny comes with the territory, but he didn’t have to like it either (just watch how he addresses the reporters in any post-game session).

Upon reflecting this eccentric but successful career of Coach Knight, to sum it up one need not to look further than one of his former students who he has referred to as one of his most favorite players (the man has coached for more than 30 years, that’s quite a statement considering the volume), Ronald Ross. The feel-good story of a walk-on whom no other school wanted that went on to lead (one of the least talented teams that did so much with so little that I have sadly but proudly laid eyes on) his team to the sweet 16 in 2005 (past heavily favorite and ranked Gonzaga fielding future NBA players such as Adam Morrison and Ronnie Turiaf). Bereft of talent but brimming with confidence and determination, that team must have made Knight very proud even if they didn’t win a title. For a man who prides on doing it the right way on the court and in the classroom, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if this was one of Knight’s favorite teams, and Ross was one of Knight’s favorite players.

If I were to be ignorant (it isn’t quite a stretch), and ignored or even went as far as erased any memory of Coach Knight’s past history at Indiana and only concentrated on his short tenure here at my alma mater, I would still say he’s a great coach and an even better motivator of young men. Then again he’s given me free pizza along with hundreds of other students waiting outside United Spirit Arena (sponsored by United Supermarkets of said infamous salad bar; those guys owe me a check for all these plugs!) the night before a big conference home game, so my opinion may be influenced by free food. :)

According to the Bible, (paraphrasing) David (a Jew) faced off against Goliath (a Philistine) a long long time ago in a land still strife to this day with conflicts.  With a tiny stone slung from his sling, David biblically and metaphorically slew the much larger Goliath thus ending chapter 17 of Samuel 1 and starting an inane sports metaphor that has not nor will end any time soon. 

Before we get to the relevance of the recent and very exciting Super Bowl, we’re going to examine closer the correlation between two half-naked men tackling each other back when leprosy was chic to modern day men tackling each other in polyester tights with various homoerotic overtones.  In referring to my personal Bible (the Concordia Bible, New International Version), as I was raised a Lutheran, Goliath was a nine foot champion from Philistine who was facing Saul and the Israelites in Socoh in Judah.  In other textual adaptions, they had his height closer to six foot six.  The latter seems to be more plausible as the average height in the Biblical age are no where near to what they are today (six foot even).  Imagine Yao Ming being a dwarf to the “nine foot” Goliath.  The story progresses to state that for twice a day for forty days, Goliath would step out between the lines and demand the Israelites to present their champion to take him on.  Apparently Saul and the Israelites were terrified and none dared to face him.  So what this means is Goliath basically rode on reputation and an overinflated misconception of superiority (does this sound familiar in regards to a certain 14 point favorite?).  He didn’t actually fight anyone in that particular war, so the Philistines were piggybacking on the hype that was Goliath.  If ESPN existed back then, 5 out of 5 prophets would have picked Goliath to win, with no chance for David, and Jericho would have set the odds at 100 to 1 that David would topple the gigantic freak of nature.  Not to mention that any capable analyst or King of the Jews would have looked at the match-up more closely and determined that this “mythical” victory for David over Goliath was more even than the B.C. age of hype would have you believed.   Goliath in close quarter combat against many mindless grunts would no doubt deal a lot of damage based on pure size, rage and the laws of the video game universe.  However in a one-on-one death match against a smaller, faster, more agile opponent like David in an wide-open battlefield, Goliath’s plodding walking bulls-eyed torso is a huge handicap.  Remember that scene in Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark, when this mean looking Arab starts swinging a humongous scimitar and yelling-who-knows-what while Indiana Jones just calmly reaches for his gun and shoots the mofo?  So while David the future king of Israel didn’t have a gun, he had the next best thing: a freaking rock on a sling.  This underrated long range weapon evened the “apparent” lopsided fight by not allowing Gigantor to get his mitts on him.  This begs my question, how was this a huge upset?  David “shot” a man twice his size in the head.  IF he was truly Goliath, a big mofo, then it was not a tough target.  Goliath’s only real advantage was to squeeze the life out of the puny David that is if he could catch him assuming he was not superhuman and the laws of physics still existed back in the B.C.’s.  

 In truth, the hype that is David toppling Goliath is nothing more than two men facing off, and one shooting a lumbering target from far away.  So why was it so “shocking” that the New York Football Giants beat the New England Perfect Patriots?  Why do the talking heads insist that this was a classic David vs. Goliath parallel?  At least New England faced and beat 18 opponents on their way to play New York.  Goliath didn’t even see any of the Israelites before David, he just screamed them into terrification (I made that word up).  The Giants already lost to the Patriots in week 17 by 3 points in a game they led 2/3 of the time.  The Patriots had not covered a spread much less a double digit spread dating back to early December.  Why would it be “unthinkable” for the Giants to upset the heavily heavily (Vegas induced) favored Patriots?  The first point to consider should be that it wasn’t like New England had a discernible advantage over New York.  Other than experience and an impeccable record, they didn’t get to field 11 men while the Giants only field 10 or 9 players.  Now that would have been a real upset.  Both teams had 2 weeks off.  Both teams had to play a 16 game schedule, and both teams were moderated by the best objective refereeing crew theoretically and humanely possible.  Another thing to consider is that while New England had to face off against a hot and equally talented San Diego team, a determined and tough Jacksonville team, their one advantage was that they played two games in the comforts of their home stadium while the Giants had to play 3 playoff games on the road, through the Cowboys and the Packers no less, teams whom were considered to be possible roadblocks for the Patriots’ quest for perfection. 

 So while talent and experience comparisons are viable reasons to believe New England had a legitimate advantage and could not possibly lose the Super Bowl, and though they led most of the game and were about one minute away from a victory were it not for Eli Manning’s best impression of Shane Falco in the movie: The Replacements, the Giants win on Sunday is surely an upset.  However to call it an upset of David vs. Goliath proportions is ridiculous and also based on an overhyped Biblical metaphor that has unnecessarily transcended into sports today.  I mean how can the 14 point underdog be “David” when they are the New York GIANTS?!