Late Summer NBA Round-up

Yep, it's still summer. But I've just gotten my first fantasy basketball-related email so that must mean the NBA season is right around the corner.

First, a quick word. Quite honestly, today's NBA is pretty wack, by my standards. And it all comes back to the gargantuan gauranteed contracts that nearly 80% of the league has signed. Of course, the Knicks are the worst example of this, with a majority of the team just waiting around and collecting checks, but it's really the whole league's problem. These gauranteed millions basically mean that there are no real rivalries anymore. No teams, except for maybe Cleveland and Detroit, downright hate each other. There are no head-to-head baller rivalrires, either. What's one mano-a-mano matchup that you can't wait to see this year? Just one. I'm stumped. I really am. Lebron, Kobe, D-Wade and Carmelo are all just pals that like to go bowling, pop bottles and burn L's together. There's no animosity in their eyes when these guys face off. (And, yes, I know all about Deshawn Stevenson and LBJ, but Deshwan is more famous for his beard than his game.) All the NBA is, right now, is just a bunch of huge-ass millionaires wandering around a hardwood floor, occasionally throwing down a dunk or putting up a 3-point shot. Of course, I'm oversimlifying, but just watch a game and look at all the laughs and jokes and inter-team butt-slapping. It's hideous. Compare that with, say, the NFL where any time any combination of the Eagles, Giants, Cowboys and Redskins play each other, a full-on riot between the players, coaching staffs and fans is just inches away from breaking out for the entirety of the game. The NBA just can't compete with this unless they get rid of gauranteed contracts. Or do something else.

Anyway . . . . let's take a look at some of the top headlines of the past couple weeks.

Josh Howard doesn't like the national anthem because he's black.



Aiight. I can see that. Fight the power, J-How. Two points about this whole mess, though.

1. Josh Howard needs to shut his damn mouth. First he admits to smoking weed on a radio show and now this. He's just being silly.

2. The media needs to chill out. So what? He gets high and he's unpatriotic. I can name about 3,000 other pro athletes who fit that bill. Howard is not some kind of thug, he's just an idiot who doesn't know when to shut up. Huge difference.

Shaq is retiring in 735 days.



Cool. In two years, Jason Collins will be a more viable starting center than Big Dies, so that makes a lot of sense for everyone. The real question is, will he be able to alienate the fan-base and the management of the Phoenix Suns in that time-frame? If he can, that'll be four franchises that he's left looking like a Portland hotel penthouse after Zach Randolph hosts a victory party for Qyntel Woods's favorite pit bull. And Josh Howard is the NBA's bad guy?

Gilbert Arenas is out until December.



It's really gotta suck to be Agent Zero these days. He had to watch all his peers grab a gold medal this summer playing on a team that he was cut from. He's had three surgeries on the same knee. And I can't even remember the last time he said anything zany and cute on his blog. This year could be it for Arenas. He's gotta get back to his top hibachi level this season or it could be lost forever.

Jason Kidd will not be getting a contract extension from the Mavs.



I'm not sure if this could really be filed under "bad news" because Cuban knew what he was trading his future for when he pulled the trigger last year. And then when he pulled it again after Devean George's little hissy fit. But this is a little troublesome for Mavs fans. While they'll still probably sneak into the playoffs next year, the season after could be the start of some rebuilding. Dirk is getting old and he's proven over and over that he's no killer. Kidd could be gone. And, the way things are going, Howard could be shackled up in a military prison in Albania within the next three months.

Stephon Marbury has a tattoo on his head.



This happened a while ago, but I've never made a formal mention of it and that's really a shame. I should've had a whole Starbury Head Tattoo month on this blog or had a telethon or started a foundation. But, yeah, just wanted to be on the record saying that this could be the most insane thing he's ever done. If he weren't the baldest man alive, it wouldn't be too much of a problem. He is, though, and that tattoo is absolutely hideous. You amaze me, Steph. You really do.