The Downbeat - 17 September 2009 - #59 - The Basketball Shorts On Edition

by Basketball John on Sep 17, 2009 5:00 AM MDT in The Downbeat Comment 5 comments

1_medium From Bryon Russell's Twitter page (Can't confirm if it's him, seems pretty legit though),

STAY TUNE THE MJ BRUSS RE-MATCH IS IN THE WORKS, WE HAVE SPOKEN

There are reasons why I could or couldn't see Jordan doing this. One, his competitiveness just might make him do it. And getting called out by BRuss on national TV might push him over the top.

On the other hand, what reason does he have to do it? If he gets shown up by BRuss, it tarnishes his image a little more.

He won't have Bavetta, Hollins, and Crawford to bail him out though.

2_medium Couldn't find anything online to back this up, I'm assuming it was on TV, so take it for what it's worth. But apparently Rick Bucher stated,

The Jazz have great interest in Lee and are still looking to move Carlos Boozer. There would have to be other pieces involved, but with Boozer’s contract expiring, that would make sense for both sides.

The reasons I don't think this happens are,

Boozer to the Knicks might actually help them to a better record and of course that means a lesser chance of the Jazz ending up with a higher pick in the 2010 draft. Of course, losing Lee might offset that. Maybe Boozer doesn't make that big of a difference. Maybe Boozer gets injured.
A sign and trade is what would have to happen. That would probably mean a long-term deal for Lee for around what Millsap got. That's a lot of cash tied up in two players that play the same position. You could swap one of them for Memo at times, but the three aren't playing together at the same time.
Because of Lee's likely contract not coming close to Boozer's, they'd have to send someone with him. I don't think the Jazz want to take anyone else back.

And now it's being reported that the Lee/Boozer deal isn't happening.

8_medium From Stepien Rules,

[Is] John Stockton be the last short, white, American-born, Basketball Hall of Famer ever? Ummm…yeah, looks that way.

4_medium The list of training camp invitees is piling up. On the list so far,

Paul Harris, Syracuse.
Ronald Dupree, LSU
Goran Suton, Michigan State
Wesley Matthews, Marquette

They could be fighting for Harpring's spot should he retire/got bought out. According to what was reported, Harp should have met with the Jazz by now to let them know what he's doing. So the Jazz could be using that information to pick people for training camp.

Harris and Dupree look like the ones that could have the biggest chance at getting a roster spot. If Harp does leave, Suton would be the odd man out.

Harris looks impressive. According to reports, he's a physical specimen to behold and has a good offensive game. Doesn't look like he can hit the three though.

Dupree is more of the defensive specialist.

One other note, Harp shares the same agent (agency) with David Lee.

5_medium From the Flash owner's Twitter:

@starburymarbury I am the owner of the Utah Flash NBA dleague team. Why not come play for us this season. Fans would love having u.

If Orem can land MC Hammer & Vanilla Ice, why not Starbury?

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yey for early morning downbeats!

by MelMan2002 on Sep 17, 2009 5:32 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

#2

Trading Boozer to the Knicks almost automatically guarantees he plays his first 82 game season for how ever many years, putting up 25 & 10 every game and almost single handedly taking the Knicks to the playoffs, reducing the Jazz’s draft pick to no higher than… i dunno, 20th…

It’s Murphy’s Law right?

seriously though, it’s just not worth the risk for no real benefit and a guarantee of paying the luxury tax for way too long! much rather have Sap starting than Lee!

by sherbs on Sep 17, 2009 5:52 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs