HEY, you wanna mute the merriment down there in Orlando for a second? I’ve got an announcement to make:
As peachy positive as it is for the city, its fans and the NBA’s decaying franchise to have lucked into a third lottery transfusion of rare young blood, Tracy McGrady’s floor plan does not include the Magic past next season, if not sooner.
According to a McGrady loyalist, the prospects of playing alongside UConn’s Emeka Okafor (whose skill level hovers somewhere between Hakeem and Adonal Foyle) or any other eligible draftee fails to provide any incentive whatsoever to stay.
“It means nothing,” minces my man.
Nor does the thought of trading the prime piece of property (VP Pat Williams advocates a speedy deal before the pick can walk away without compensation) for an established player.
Nor does the fuzzy chance of Grant Hill’s repeatedly reconstructed ankle allowing him to return to his former glory.
“Tracy wants to play some place (other than Athens, of course) where he can compete for a championship every year,” the source underscores.
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Rasheed Wallace, on a roll, guarantees Okafor will be first on draft day to get hysterically hugged by his agent on camera; Pat Williams is leaning toward adopting him as well. Atlanta schoolboy Dwight Howard will go next (regardless of whether my pointless Paper Clips retain their pick), followed by Duke’s Luol Deng (Bulls; a living lock) and Stanford’s Josh Childress (Bobcats).
Meanwhile, several team executives claim Sebastian Telfair is slip-sliding out of his projected lottery slot and is free falling toward the bottom of the first round, whereas 6-7 Shaun Livingston, another high schooler, and Wisconsin’s Devin Harris have moved up into the top six-to-eight.
I don’t believe Telfair’s tumble is nearly that bad. No, Lincoln’s 5-11 luxury item hasn’t mesmerized anyone during workouts with the Blazers, Clippers and Jazz. In fact, anonymous opponents from obscure colleges are said to have outplayed him. Still, his range finder has been relatively true and deep and his ball handling is confident and creative.
“The kid isn’t as good as you guys (New York media) have made him out to be,” admonishes a West Coast talent scout. “But don’t me wrong, he’s good. Can he play in this league? Absolutely. Is he ready to run an offense of a winning team? Not for three or four years, he’s not.”
That may be, but it’s his problem. Telfair is going to get paid important money ready or not. For some strange reason, adidas felt compelled to over-commit $12 million guaranteed over six years to him with another $8M there for the plucking in bonuses should he actually produce quality numbers.
Furthermore, according to someone close to agent Andy Miller – an indicted co-conspirator in Joe Smith’s illegal signing with the Timberwolves as well as the alleged coordinator behind the contract being handed over to David Stern – the Blazers committed to taking his client with the 13th pick.
You know very well some team had to make a prearranged pledge for Telfair to have passed up playing for Louisville. At the same time, adidas isn’t naive; no way it would’ve made such an extravagant investment without being certain Telefair would go high on the first round and, at the very least, if taken lower, earn a minimum of three years (i.e. be on a pro roster) of G-up salary.
But, wait; stop the presses! Informants now say the Blazers aren’t nearly as infatuated with Telfair as they were this winter when he was dominating Cali and Jersey tourneys. Suddenly they’re hedging their pledge, which apparently has a built-in escape clause permitting Portland to tag him at No. 23 instead.
This is making adidas very nervous and with good cause. As part of its commitment to Telfair, the sneaker company, I’m clued in, has a comprehensive agreement with the Blazers. It entails buying corporate suites and seats at the Rose Garden, promoting the rookie on billboards throughout the state and various project within the community.
This was supposed to be a gigantic joint venture between adidas and Paul Allen’s people, and it’s now in serious jeopardy.
“If the Blazers don’t select Sebastian at No. 13 he will not last to 23,” underlines the same talent scout. “That would definitely muck up adidas’ designer plans.”
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It’s imponderable to me why so many people got so carried away by Tayshaun Prince’s deletion of Reggie Miller’s Game 2-tying layup. So he came out of nowhere and overtook a guy 15 years older than him, big deal! Someone should’ve asked the referee, which came first, the blocked shot or the three second call?