Friday, August 28, 2009

Nothing Much Going On

Despite a quick start to the offseason, things have cooled off lately, and that's why there hasn't been a whole lot of talk on here lately. So anyway, here's some comments on some of the minor stories over the last couple of months:

Rashard Lewis is probably the biggest recent story, as he has been found to have an illegal substance in something he took. It's understandable that this may have been an error, but when you're making as much money as Lewis is (much more than he really deserves, even though he is a very good player), you had better be careful to know every last thing you're putting into your body. He does get respect though for saying that he understands and accepts the suspension that he is getting.

Ramon Sessions still hasn't found a home, despite practically seeming to have agreed to terms with half of the teams in the league at this point. Honestly, it's time for the rumors to stop going and for sites to just wait until a signing actually happens before they say anything anymore. He's a good player, without a doubt, but that's when he's on. His inconsistency really makes him much less of a player than all the attention is making him seem.

Summer league was fun to watch. As a Bulls fan it was great to see James Johnson showing so much promise. His jumper went through a bit of a tough stretch, but his shooting stroke is almost picture perfect and he also showed the ability to be able to take over games when called upon, which won't be something that'll make a difference in the next year or two, but could be helpful after that. Taj Gibson showed some good scrappy play that should at least help him to stay on the team for a while. Going beyond the Bulls though, Blake Griffin showed why he was a #1 pick. Brandon Jennings looked great at times and horrible at other times. Jennings will likely put up some great stats, but not actually make his team too much better. DeMar DeRozan looks like he's still raw, but that promise is clearly there. Hasheem Thabeet doesn't look very good at all right now and has huge bust potential. However, chances are that he'll at least be a good defender. James Harden looks very good for the Thunder, bringing a good all-around game. The last one we'll go over right now is Tyreke Evans, who is showing a great ability to score, but still doesn't make sense as the draft pick for a team that needed a point guard, not a shooting guard, especially when Rubio was right there (and likely would've actually come to the NBA if the Kings had picked him).

Michael Beasley has checked into drug rehab. I really think this is being made into a bigger deal than it really is, but you have to give respect to the guy for actually recognizing a problem and making the decision to do something about it rather than just letting it get worse.

Back to Ricky Rubio, so he's drafted by a team that picks another point guard right after him. That's the reason he's using for not being eager to come to the NBA right now. However, you can't actually believe that the kid isn't being a diva either and upset about going to Minnesota. Nothing ticks me off more about people who are drafted than when they try to pick and choose which teams they play for. They're going to be playing in the top league in the world and making very good money. Many regular workers out there only have so much say as to where they get to work, and they don't make a fraction of the money that Rubio is going to make. The kid should either suck it up and play where he's been drafted to without whining about it or just stay out of the NBA. Kobe was a jerk for doing it, Mayo was a baby for saying he wouldn't play for certain teams, John Elway and Eli Manning were both losers when they did it as well. Just shut up and play.

Stephen Jackson supposedly wants out of Golden State. With the state of things there, I can't blame him.

Okay, that's it for now. As more stories come in there will be more commentary on them.