Two of the names on the list of squads considering Shaun Livingston as a dice roll won't suprise you: Miami, a team light of point guards, and Minnesota, a team absent of acceptable point guards. But the third, according to a Yahoo! Sports report from Adrian Wojnarowski, might knock you off-center for a second: Portland.The Blazers, of course, have 74 players on payroll. If Woj has this one right (no reason not to think so, a bloated roster has never stopped Kevin Pritchard before), those jokes about Paul Allen's buying a European club to stash his junior team don't seem out-of-hand.
Minny seems to be putting on the press, though, which is no brainer for a team rolling with Sebastian Telfair (one of the worst players in the league last season) and Randy Foye (as two-guard as they come) at the point. (That Kevin McHale couldn't pry Kyle Lowry or Javaris Crittenton from Memphis in the big Mayo-Love deal remains astounding.) Miami, despite landing one of the steals of the draft in Mario Chalmers and re-signing, uh, Chris Quinn, has a serious need for stardom there, as well.
Of course, the last reports about Livingston's future indicated he might be forced by lost athleticism to move to the wing instead of the point. Miami has huge needs there, as well. Minnesota? Not so much. I think the opportunity for playing time would serve to push Shaun away from PDX, but Pritchard has a way of angering the rest of the league with daft moves. We'll see.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-16-2008 @ 12:42PM
James Flint said...
Sebastian gets a lot of flack but calling him one of the worst players in the league is very ignorant. If you watched the Wolves last season you would know that he was their second most important player behind Al Jefferson. He averaged 10 points and 6 assists, had a terrific assist to turnover ratio, finally shot over 40 percent, and ran the team very well. To say that he is one of the worst players in the league is idiotic and shows how little you actually pay attention. Do some research before make foolish comments like that.
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9-14-2008 @ 1:19PM
wyn said...
"Sebastian Telfair (one of the worst players in the league last season)"
Where's the jaw-drop emoticon? Is there an indignant emoticon too?
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9-15-2008 @ 10:34AM
mike said...
+1 to wyn's comments......anyone who thinks Telfair was one of the worst players in the league automatically loses credibility. Besides the facts (STATS TO SUPPORT), there is also oh, I don't know, WATCHING the game and noticing that Telfair significantly improved the 2nd half of last season.
Brutal, brutal opinion in this piece of "journalism".
9-15-2008 @ 11:39AM
ManofSteelo said...
I'd like to third the RIDICULOUSNESS of the statement, "Sebastian Telfair (one of the worst players in the league last season)", for obviously you haven't heard of guys like Adonal Foyle, pretty much all of last year's New York Knicks NOT named Crawford or Balkman, and, of course, Shaq. Yeah, Telfair pretty much blew his shot to start in Minny after putting up back-up PG numbers (basically 9 pts 6 assts per) with starter's minutes, but his asst to turn ratio was 10th best for his position, meaning he's in the top third, percentage- wise, for his position in the league. But that's nothing, when compared to your current ranking of Tony Parker as the #25 best player in the league (WTF?); for that alone, you should be shot. Either that, or being forced to read your own useless, less-than-subtly incendiary drivel ad infinitum (or nauseam, as it were), accompanied by a soundtrack from Bjork's Greatest Hits.
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9-15-2008 @ 1:51PM
ManofSteelo said...
One more thing: What are you smoking when you say Miami is a team "in serious need of stardom" at the pg position, and why in hell are you implying that Skinny Livingston (career 7 pts, 5 dimes) is the guy to fill that spot? I mean, they already have Wade (who can play the one for them in certain situations -- even if he doesn't want to), since he's now 100% healthy (and is a Top 5 player in the league in everyone else's right mind and listings -- except yours, of course). And why the dig on Chris Quinn, who certainly proved his mettle in the last 17 games of the season, averaging 14 and 6? He and Chalmers between them should hold down the point this year and will do so until Chalmers beats him out and/or Quinn decides to head elsewhere. Seriously, though: you've already struck out BIG-TIME on the feeble-minded Top 50 project; do you really have to play yourself further by making such absurd declarations about aspects of basketball NOT predicated on the damn PER?
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9-16-2008 @ 4:12AM
grover said...
Sorry, but 14 and 6 during a tank season does not exactly impress.
Wade *can* play point, but that does not necessarily mean that he is best suited to do so. (See also: LeBron, AI) A top level point would do a great deal to help Miami's chances now that they are reformed as a smaller team with Wade, Marion and Beasley likely to man the wings.