August 11, 2005

Hopes and Dreams...

There was a small blurb in the Star Tribune today that got me excited. Now before I get going it's not a great source - the Rumor section is normally filled with buckets of smelly green shit, but it still got me excited. It was a sentence of hope:

"Rumors are that Cleveland General Manager Danny Ferry has some interest in making a trade with the Wolves for point guard Troy Hudson. One player the Wolves have interest in is point guard Earl Watson of Memphis."

Wait, what? Someone's interested in Troy Hudson!? REALLY!!??

Now, I know I said it's not a very good source, but still, just the thought that someone, somewhere, would even have the thought that someone wanted T-Hud got me all excited. Then they throw in that the Wolves are interested in Earl Watson - which hasn't been a secret. I had also read some other trade rumors involving the Wolves and Memphis, so in my mind - I'm still trying to live the fantasy that Danny Ferry really wants Hudson - the foundation for trade talks is already in place between the Wolves and Grizzlies. but let's look at each of the three teams to see if there is a possibility of any deals here - you makin' deals, errr?

Timberwolves
Who can we part ways with - or rather, who are guys I fucking hate having on my team?

Michael "Bowl of Candy" Olowokandi - Underachieving, numskull of a player, who has all the physical gifts to be a good center in the league, but was Clipperized early in his career. He's in the last year of his contract, so he's an attractive asset to a team looking to cut salary after this season.

Troy Hudson - Remember when T-Hud trashed the Lakers in the playoffs three years ago? I do. I also remember that the Wolves, desperate for a back up point guard, signed him to a rediculous contract - $36 Million over 6 years. That made me sad, especially watching him disrupt the offense and play the part of the sieve on defense for two years following that. But apparently Danny Ferry thinks otherwise - so says a bad source, BUT DON'T RUIN THIS FOR ME!!

Cavaliers

From all the rumors that I've heard about the Cavs, the two things that keep coming up are Drew Gooden and their lack of a back up point guard. Apparently Gooden is too much of an offensive player for their system, and with the free agent signing of Donyell Marshall, Gooden looks to be expendable. They've also had a hard time locking down a backup point guard - Damon Jones heads their list, but he's kinda partial to Miami, so lets hope he goes back there.

Grizzlies

Lorenzen Wright has demanded a trade and Earl Watson has requested a sign-and-trade deal. Okay, so they've got some flexibility, especially after signing Damon Stoudemire to run their point. Not to mention losing Stomile Swift - a power forward - to free agency.


Okay, so things look like they could be in a workable situation. We(or rather I) want to get rid of Troy Hudson and Michael Olowokandi. The Cavs need a backup point guard, and wouldn't mind parting with Drew Gooden. Neither Earl Watson or Lorensen Wright want to be in Memphis, and Jerry West seems to be trying to accomodate those two players. The stage is set.

Trade Option #1 - Resonable

The Cavs send Drew Gooden($4.6 Million) to Memphis for a newly signed Earl Watson($4 Million). Then the Wolves send Troy Hudson($5.5 Million) to Cleveland for Earl Watson.

Bam! We get rid of a headache, and get a solid backup point guard who has proven he can do the two things Troy Hudson is bad at - run an offense and play some defense. Yes! I'm happy!

Trade Option #2 - Not gonna happen, but it would be interesting

Okay, so it's the same deal as above, except Kandi($6.1 Million) goes to Memphis, along with a first round draft pick, and we get Lorenzen Wright($8 Million). Yeah. They're both in the last years of their contracts, Lorenzen wants out, and our first round pick for next years draft isn't going to be that good - but it may be good enough to entice Jerry West to bite on the deal.

Ha HA! We would get rid of both our headaches, all three if you count Spree, and we upgrade at both positions as well. Sure, we lose a draft pick, but seriously, we haven't had them in so long, what's one more year? I realize it wouldn't actually happen but - fingers crossed - it could and would be fabulous if it did.

So I've taken you on this ride all based on a far fetched, one sentence blurb from a crappy source, in a weak sports paper. But I can still hope that someone, somewhere thought enough about it that they mentioned the possibility THAT SOMEONE WANTS TROY HUDSON!

And as some character in a movie I watched recently said: Sometimes hope is all you have.

Hope. I still have hope.

1 comment:

Drew Boatman said...

The thing that's the most frustrating about this is that Troy is a better player than Earl Watson, and Kandi has more talent than Stromenzen Wrift. But there's nothing more pathetic than watching someone talented completely shoot themselves in the foot when they're in the game. I mean, Troy's role is simple. All he has to do is come in the game and provide a spark. ANY kind of spark. But instead, he insists on doing his whole "heat check" bullshit, and bombing threes as soon as he steps on the floor. It's just sad. But he's good, and sometimes he provides entertaining moments. Kandi, on the other hand, is probably the biggest underachiever in the entire NBA. Well, maybe not, I suppose he's got good competition, but he's close. I mean, have you ever seen him try? Shit, even as lazy as I am, I at least try 2 or 3 times a day. I don't think I've ever seen Kandi try. Oh. That's right. He tried really hard to get his sweatshirt back. But even at that, he failed. 10,000 volts can't be wrong.

I completely agree.... I would give up Kandi and Troy for nothing. Just get them off the team. They were the absolute symbols for what was wrong with the team last year and I don't want them screwing up the chemistry anymore. KG deserves better than these two knuckleheads (ha!).