I agree with this entire column which I usually can't say about this guys stuff lol. And it's so true what he points out about Deng. Derrick Rose needs to be one of the Chicago Bulls who stops Ben Gordon I'm here for the fun . . . Let’s play Guess The Scoresheet Line: One player was 5-of-14 from the floor, 2of--8 from three-point land, three rebounds, six assists, seven turnovers, 16 points. The other player was 10-of-19 from the floor, 0-for-0 from three-point land, five rebounds, four assists, four turnovers, 25 points. The first line was Ben Gordon’s from Saturday’s choke against the Lakers at home. “Bad Game Ben,’’ as he’s known. The second line was Derrick Rose’s. But here’s the point: Even if Rose had Gordon’s line, even with those seven turnovers, that would be fine for what this season means, which is Rose's development first, second and third. But when Gordon has that line, especially when he has seven turnovers, then two people are to blame, and neither is Gordon. Gordon, see, is going to play his game, which is largely to make his case for a big contract, like the one that Luol Deng isn’t earning and might never. (Sidebar: Before Saturday night’s game, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said Deng might not get his starting spot back whenever he returns from his tibia injury. Not when John Salmons plays as if he’s collecting Deng’s salary. So, here’s something else for Deng critics: Normally, when a coach indicates a player might lose his starting spot, a player tends to hurry back and gut it out. But here, Deng seems to be lengthening his stay in the injured list. If only the NBA could put bad contracts in Craigslist.) Anyway, there’s no surprise that Gordon will hold the ball, try to dribble, jack up forced shots, and it doesn’t matter if he’s stone-cold and dribbles so badly that he would have three turnovers in an empty gym. That's what he does. Like a 3-year-old home from trick-or-treating. Can't help himself. Not his fault. No, the fault falls on Del Negro and Rose. Both have the power to stop Gordon. Both had better start exercising that authority. Rose remains deferential to his experienced teammates --- too deferential. I mean, who on this roster has MVP credentials on their resume. Who? Waiting. Wait. Ing. Everybody knows this is Rose’s team and will be for a long time, but too many times he plays as if he doesn’t understand that. Del Negro understands it. Ought to, anyway. He’s the coach. He can tell Gordon, “Look, pal, catch and shoot, and that’s it.’’ Del Negro obviously understands offense more than defense, so he must understand this offense doesn’t go through Gordon. Too many times it stops at Gordon. What’s worse, when Gordon has a bad game, he can’t make up for it by shutting down his man defensively. No, Gordon’s man is still going to score. Gordon’s man gets a vacation to Club Ben. The Bulls can't afford to have a guy go cold offensively and take the whole playbook down with him, knowing his defense is going to double the misery. Fix this.
I still don't like RosenKnob, even when I agree with him. Mariotti's gone, does the Trib still need an "angry man of the people" angle? Also on the BG topic, did anybody else notice Sam took the time to shoot down Andrew's quest to have BG lionized again in his mailbag:
I think Sam Smith is clearly wrong on this one. Almost every team in the NBA would love to have Gordon on the MLE. Los Angeles, Cleveland, San Antonio, Miami, Orlando, Boston. They would probably all be pursuing Ben for an MLE deal if the Bulls lowball him again. You don't get the chance to get a player like Ben Gordon for that cheap every day. It would be crazy for all of those teams to pass on Gordon. A money maker like LA who is riding the end of Kobe's career would surely take on that extra fire powr for the MLE. Miami can still sign a big name player like Bosh even with Gordon on the MLE....so that theory by Sam is false. And even if none of the contenders were willing to trade for Ben, the Knicks surely would. Walsh tried to trade for Ben when he was with the Pacers and again last summer with the Knicks. The only thing that has changed since last summer is that 1. Gordon has had a good season and 2. Ben Gordon will no longer be a restricted free agent. The Knicks would surely be giddy to have Gordon on board. But I still think Miami makes a lot of sense. Dwyane Wade is a big fan, and I'm sure Pat Riley is too. (Gordon destroyed the Heat in the 06-07 playoffs leading the Bulls to a sweep, and then Gordon has big games against the Heat. Just this year a 43 point game in one of the most epic games of Wade's career and 34 points in another game. In his career, Gordon is averaging 20.9 PPG on 59 TS% against the Heat. You don't think Riley noticed? I think the Heat will still have very much interest in Gordon as signing him to the MLE will not preclude them from signing a max free agent in 2010. And if they fail to sign a good 2010 free agent, they will still have a Gordon/Wade/Beasley core.
I'm going to go with the guy who has been covering the NBA for the last 20+ years and actually talks to people who end up making these decisions. Most of those teams you listed are right up against the salary cap or over it. While Boston might like BG, they need to fill out a roster and are already over the LT. They aren't going to take up four or five roster filling salaries for one MLE deal for BG. Look at the way their roster is filled now. A few huge contracts and the rest at the minimum mostly. And the Spurs would sign BG on the cheap, like they have with everybody not named Parker, Ginobili or Duncan, but they are definitely going to pay market or near market rates for BG. 4-5 years ago it would have been a much different story, but this is the wrong year to be a free agent looking for a long term score. And I still don't see BG being Miami's number one target when they need frontcourt help worse than the bulls do. And OKC already has two scorers in Durant and Westbrook. The fact that picked up Thabo and immediately dropped him into the starting lineup when he still can't shoot and tried to get Chandler ought to give you a pretty big clue about what they feel they need. Detroit might be an option, but BG is going to come off of the bench their behind Stuckey and Hamilton. I am pretty sure you are overestimating BG's talent and options.
So you don't believe more than one contender will offer MLE? What do you think he is going to get paid?
Gordon at the MLE would be a historically good signing. The economy has changed but who thought Maggetti would get $10M a year last year.
I think BG eventually gets somewhere in the $7-9 mil range. But I think it takes all summer, unless he is hell bent on leaving. What Western conference team is going to sign him to be their starting 2 when he'll have to go up against guys like Kobe 3-4 times a year? All the teams with cap money are loaded at guard already or aren't about to start spending. Detroit is the only team that I think might sign him depending on what they do with the rest of their roster. If they can pull off a trade for Bosh or Melo or Stoudemire then they would need to fill out the rest of their roster and they'd probably have to move Stuckey or Hamilton and Prince to get it done since those are the only decent assets they have at this point. But if I am one of those three, why do I want to sign with Detroit and get paired up with Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell longterm? But BG could then get a big payoff and hamstring a division opponent all in one fell swoop. I'd take a Rose/Salmons backcourt against Stuckey/BG... And if you think Magette's deal is crazy, look at the extension they gave Stephen Jackson while he still had another year on his current deal.
Ben Gordon is the type of player that every contender will offer the MLE to, even if they have a shooting guard. Just running down the list, the Celtics would make him their sixth man and longterm Ray Allen replacement. The Magic would probably make him their starting shooting guard. Cavs, he would be their starting shooting guard. Lakers, would probably make him their starting point guard. Spurs, he would either start at shooting guard, or they would move Ginobili back into the starting lineup and use Gordon as a sixth man. Rockets, Gordon would start. Just because the NBA is in a bad place as a whole doesn't mean that places like San Antonio, Los Angeles, and Cleveland are in bad places financially. When you can get a player ofGordon's caliber for the MLE, most teams are going to just offer him the MLE and make room for him. You don't get a player that good for that cheap very often.
