Wednesday, March 15

Trades Redux

It’s early, but I thought it would be interesting to see how the 3 trades the Sonics pulled off recently have played out. I know we’re all thrilled with the way Watson and Wilcox have done in green and gold, but how are Flip, Vladi, and Reggie Evans (oh, yeah, the Potato, too) doing in new jerseys?

FLIP MURRAY
Ah, the Flipster. Young Ronald has started 8 of 10 games in Cleveland thus far, averaging 13 points, 2 boards, and 3 assists. However, his increased production is only from increased minutes, as his FG% is the same as in Seattle, and his 3-pt mark has gone from bad (22%) to worse (12%!). Also worth noting: Cleveland is 4-6 since acquiring Murray; they were 32-22 before he showed up.

REGGIE EVANS
Mr. Glass has gone at the boards with alacrity since arriving in Denver, putting up nearly 9 boards a game in only 22 minutes, a remarkable number. It’s clear what he’s up to, though, when you see his 37% FG mark and 43% FT mark: Evans is going Rodman – grabbing boards at the expense of the rest of his game. His 20-rebound game against Toronto notwithstanding, Evans’ negative +/- rating in a Nugget uniform belies his contribution to Denver. The Nuggets are 6-3 since he showed up, though, so he’s obviously not an obstacle to their success.

VLADIMIR RADMANOVIC
Here’s where it gets interesting. Vlade has clearly enjoyed his visit to LA. 49% from 3-point range (!), 7 boards a game, nearly 13 points a night, and, most important to Vlade, 33 minutes a game are all positives. So long as he keeps draining from outside, it’s all good for Radman. But with 89% of his shots coming from jumpers, is this likely to continue? After all, he’s only hit 40% or better from long-distance once in his career, so it doesn’t seem likely he’ll be able to hit 50% for the rest of the year – or the playoffs. His arrival in LA coincided with a 4-game Clip losing streak, but LA has rebounded to post a 6-6 mark with Vlade in tow. The surface analysis says that Vlade’s a great fit for LA, as his outside game complements Elton Brand’s inside prowess. All that said, I think the Clips are plenty glad to have him around. (Although, can I ask a question here? Why is Mike Dunleavy starting something called Quintin Ross at small forward, when he’s got Corey Maggette and Radmanovic sitting on the bench? Okay, the Clips have gone on a 3-game win streak since he did it, but it’s still weird.)

VITALY POTAPENKO
You can look at two ways. 1) The Potato has played 5 minutes for Sac-to since they acquired him from the Sonics. 2) The Kings 7-2 since the Potato showed up. You say tomato, I say Potapenko.

I’ll look at the Sonics’ side of this equation later on.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good stuff, enjoyed it more than Percy's writeup the other day where he says the Sonics got the short end of the stick.. Any idea how many dunks Flip has thrown off the back of the rim in Cleveland so far?

Even with Evan's rebounding it's nice to have the black hole out of our paint and in Denver's (seriously, did the guy EVER throw it back out after an entry pass this year?).

Anonymous said...

Uh ... because a "black hole" is a gravitational field from which nothing escape. Which is an highly appropriate metaphor. Calling him a "white hole" would imply that he's a white-boy street whore. Which is a stupid-ass metaphor.

I realize you're making a joke (as well as some obscure point about racism), but seriously man, that's unbelievably lame. Not to mention that it completely destroys your credibility. So cut it out, eh? You're embarrassing yourself.

Otherwise this is a great site. Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

Chris Wilcox is abysmal on defense.

Wilcox's defense, as Biggie would likely put it, "is worse than Whitey Cracka's D during a pick-up game @ the racist YMCA."

Paul said...

I love it how overly-sensitive some white people are about race jokes. It's like they feel guilty or something, and the mere notion that there might still be a problem with racism tears a whole in their universe.

It's like when born-again whackos like Pat Robertson start talking about how much they hate gays, and they start frothing at the mouth so much it makes you wonder if they might secretly be lusting after the cabana boy.

The point is, you all need to settle down. If Biggie's jokes get your panties in a twist, too bad. He may go off the deep end on occasion, but at least what he writes is entertaining, which is the whole point of this blog. If you don't have a sense of humor, I suggest you go whack off to the +/- stat leaders at 82games.

So there!

Anonymous said...

In more important news, sonicscentral pointed our at their site that nba.com is running a "Dance Team O' the Year" competition. I suggest you all vote early and often to propel the Sonic Dance Team to the ridiculous heights they so deserve. You can vote at:

http://www.nba.com/features/dance_bracket_2006.html

(As if you needed additional incentive, they're currently matched up with the hated Mavericks Dancers. Don't mess with Texas? I say, Don't mess with Everett, you hickville rednecks!)

Anonymous said...

FYI, Iverson may not play tonight due to a bruised and sprained foot.

Anonymous said...

I don't really care how much of a defender AI is... he's just frickin' amazing! He is such a wizard with the ball and his shot, that it makes me forget how good or bad his defense is.

He is my favorite player...

BTW: I would like to see someone make 0.01 of a steal...