So how can you generally be acknowledged as the best player in the NBA and, after 12 years in the league, never be named most valuable player?
That all will change this season for Kobe Bryant.
Yes, Kevin Garnett has transformed the Celtics and Chris Paul has been a wizard for the Hornets. The Cavs might win only 25 games without LeBron James.
But Bryant has been terrific and deserving, surpassing career averages in field goal and three-point shooting, steals, assists and rebounds. He’s taking fewer shots than at any time in his previous six seasons but is second in the league in scoring (to James), averaging 28.2 points per game. His rebounding (6.0) is his best in five years (6.9 in 2002-03), his field-goal shooting (46 percent) is his highest in six years (47 in 2001-02), steals (2.0) second most in his career (2.2 in ’02-03).
And he’s doing much of this with a finger on his shooting hand that doctors say needs surgery.
This is no lifetime-achievement award, like Paul Newman winning the best actor Oscar for “The Color of Money” or Martin Scorsese winning best director for “The Departed.”
Dirk Nowitzki has been the MVP, for crying out loud. No disrespect to two-time MVP Steve Nash, but he might not get a shot off playing one-on-one with Bryant.
This is the essential problem with media voting for league awards: They let others vote, not just me. Whose crazy idea is that?
It’s also called “getting it,” which doesn’t always happen right away, as Phil Jackson knows.
It’s easy to forget, but Michael Jordan didn’t “get it” for a long time.
Isiah Thomas used to say during those great Bulls-Pistons battles of the late 1980s that if Jordan ever truly got it, truly trusted his teammates, the Pistons would be no match for the Bulls.
That’s exactly what happened in 1990-91. B.J. Armstrong carried the team down the stretch of the regular season, when the Bulls won in Detroit for the first time in several years. While Jordan sat on the bench resting in the first game of the conference finals, Will Perdue was the key player to slow the charging Pistons before the Bulls swept past them. And then John Paxson hit big shots in the clinching game over the Lakers in the Finals.
Bryant gets it.
“Kobe has turned the corner,” Jackson told me this season. “Is there another one to turn as we go on? I don’t know, but he’s gotten it. The star makes his mates better.
“His defense has been remarkable and he has been willing to make the right plays.”
The media has missed on this award before. Even I have been guilty.
There were all of Bryant’s other issues, the feuds with Shaquille O’Neal and teammates, the outbursts, the immaturity.
But at 29, a year older than when Jordan won his first championship with the Bulls, Bryant is right there, the best player in the NBA and the player who overwhelmingly should be voted MVP.
An NBA delegate for Obama
Portland rookie Greg Oden was going on and on last week about receiving a call from Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. “I was so nervous,” Oden said. “What I got from talking to him is that he is a real sports fan and he knew about the Blazers. He said that when I come back, Brandon (Roy), LaMarcus (Aldridge) and I will be a force next year. He also asked me about my knee and he said he wasn’t feeling my mohawk.” Oden also wrote a long entry on his blog about the conversation. Was it just coincidence that Obama’s call to the former Ohio State star came just days before Tuesday’s crucial Ohio primary?
It’s Barry interesting to Kerr
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Steve Kerr amped up the Suns’ feud with the Spurs a bit last week when Brent Barry (you would have thought he was an MVP candidate the way teams were chasing him when he was bought out by Seattle) said he’d re-sign with the Spurs. Kerr suggested on a Phoenix radio station it seemed to smell of an illegal, prearranged deal with Seattle GM Sam Presti, a former Spurs executive. “I think maybe there was something behind the scenes there,” Kerr told KTAR-AM 620. “If I’m Seattle, I’m not going to let Barry go, I’m going to let Donyell Marshall go. Brent’s a guy who is much more productive. Donyell Marshall doesn’t have much more left in the tank. Sam Presti used to be in San Antonio as an assistant. Who knows? I don’t have any proof.” Last season, while a broadcaster and a Suns minority owner, Kerr questioned Amare Stoudemire’s suspension while Tim Duncan was not penalized for leaving the bench earlier in the game. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was furious at Kerr, a former Spur, and told him privately that Kerr had too many hats on — broadcasting and ownership. The teams meet again Sunday.
Linton Johnson gets a look
Chicagoan Linton Johnson is getting a 10-day look with the Suns, who want to see if he can do some of the defensive things Shawn Marion used to do. And Johnson says he keeps around his championship ring from his season with the Spurs. “I wake up and look at it every morning,” he says. Johnson jokes it’s one of his seven. He claims six as a Bulls fan, including being an active participant in the parties (riots?) that shut down several streets after the 1991 and 1992 titles. “I was one of those kids on Madison [Street],” Johnson says. He played in Spain for three months and has been working out at the Berto Center. “It was tougher to get back in than I thought it would be.”
Painful for the Pacers
There are few organizations with more professional and committed people than the Indiana Pacers. So you weep for their continued embarrassments with players. Last week a murder suspect was arrested at the home of Shawne Williams, prompting Pacers President Larry Bird — who has been one of the classiest men in the NBA for almost 30 years — to acknowledge: “We don’t want our players hanging around with murderers.” Wince.
Brown landing with Hawks?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week that owners blocked Hawks general manager Billy Knight from firing coach Mike Woodson, further suggesting Knight could be the one in trouble. Woodson is close to Larry Brown, who was said to be in Atlanta recently, raising speculation about Brown going to Atlanta in some role.
With Wallace, clock is ticking
The joke going around the NBA is Mike Brown better enjoy his time now that Ben Wallace has arrived in Cleveland. Coaches don’t seem to have a long run after Wallace arrives. Witness Doc Rivers, Rick Carlisle, Larry Brown and Scott Skiles.
Layups
Perhaps the biggest restricted free agent this summer will be Raptors point guard Jose Calderon. The Raptors say they’ll match any offer and probably must with T.J. Ford’s uncertain health, but figure the Bulls to be among a dozen teams chasing him. …
Eddy Curry is under siege again — and Skiles is sitting at home this time. The Knicks have gone to playing small lineups more amid suggestions Curry cannot keep up with the game. Responded Curry: “I believe there’s a lot of teams that wouldn’t think I was obsolete. The game hasn’t changed in 50-plus years, so why now is it a small person’s league?” …
Ron Artest on not being traded: “They think I’m like a franchise player. (Other teams) were trying to get a bargain. It’s like they were shopping at a no-frills store. I’m a name brand. They were looking for government cheese and I’m Kraft.” Artest still says he’ll opt to become a free agent. His continued presence in Sacramento flies contrary to the Kings’ future. The team is falling and youngsters such as John Salmons are regressing as Artest eats up shots to look better before he becomes a free agent. …
Playing more with Yao Ming out, the Rockets’ Dikembe Mutombo said he may rethink his decision to retire now that he has turned 60 (or whatever he is … OK, he’s 41). …
Now this is a good-looking rebuilding plan. Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor told Minneapolis media that, because the team has to pay millions of dollars to players whose contracts were bought out — players such as Troy Hudson and Juwan Howard — there won’t be a lot of money available to sign big-money free agents this summer. …
Primoz Brezec has been in uniform for three teams against the Pacers, his first team, this season. That’s what you call a journeyman. And he has no use for embattled Bobcats coach Sam Vincent: “I think I set a record in the NBA: Out of 50 games I started, I didn’t get the ball, I didn’t get a shot off. So I was like, ‘You know what, Sam? You don’t need me, you don’t like me and I don’t like you, so get me out of here.’ And see how they’re doing this year?” That was two teams ago. …
Since trading Pau Gasol to the Lakers, the Grizzlies are 1-12.
How about Gasol for MVP?
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Pay me, I’m leaving
Nets general manager Rod Thorn said point guard Jason Kidd had lost his enthusiasm to play for his team despite Kidd’s nearly $20 million annual salary.
Since being dealt to Dallas, Kidd’s presence has drastically increased the Mavs’ assists; they were one of the league’s worst passing teams. Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry have upped their scoring, getting out on the run for easy baskets. But coach Avery Johnson still appears to be suffering. He’s known for calling plays, which often strangles his offense. Johnson was widely condemned last week for sitting Kidd at the end of a loss to the Spurs, obviously because Kidd isn’t a good shooter. Kidd ignored the embarrassment, but it’s clear Johnson has adjustments to make.
And then there’s Sam Cassell, who virtually demanded to be released from his contract so he could go to a better team.
Cassell, who is supposedly headed to the Celtics though there have been rumors of Lakers’ interest, had the gall to tell Los Angeles media he deserved his buyout because, “I know for a fact I’ve done tremendous things for this organization. I’ve helped this organization have respectability in the city of L.A.” After Cassell averaged 17.2 points and 6.3 assists to lead the Clippers to within a game of the Western Conference finals two seasons ago, the organization signed him to a two-year, $13 million deal. He hasn’t played nearly as well since because of injuries. They ought to retire his paycheck stub.
There’s quiet concern growing around the NBA about the trend of teams paying players to leave with some two dozen such deals in the last two years. Said one team official: “I don’t like the precedent being set with all of these players getting bought out. It sends a terrible message to other players that if they don’t like their situation, the team is obligated to buy them out.”
I got paid, I’m staying
Need an NBA good guy of the week? (It’s easier than one might believe.) Presenting, Michael Redd.
Despite a disappointing season after playing for USA Basketball (he’s likely to play in the Summer Olympics in Beijing), Redd told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week he wants to remain with the Bucks. “I’m committed to Milwaukee,” he said. “I have a six-year deal here and I’m committed to being here through the duration of my contract. I want to stay here and win here rather than go to another team and win there. Establish something here. Why can’t we win here? That’s my mind-set. I’ve been in the playoffs four times since I’ve been here. But this has been one of the worst seasons. This year, we don’t have too many excuses. Last year, we had injuries. This year, we’ve been healthy and just haven’t got it done.”
Stand up guy. Loyal. Grateful. Appreciative. Someone you can root for. Redd also was the guy who — after signing his six-year, $91 million deal — bought a church for his father, a pastor, in Columbus, Ohio.
I’ll get paid, but I might leave
Not sure if Pat Riley is feeling any relief. But Shaquille O’Neal is gone (and the Suns are struggling) and Antoine Walker apparently couldn’t get his buyout in Minnesota, so he called in sick for practice over the weekend. He also had passport “issues” and didn’t accompany the team to Toronto as he has been inactive the last five games.
Of course, Miami is the league’s worst team. After Riley suggested he would “shut down” Dwyane Wade for the season, Wade rejected it. That move didn’t seem to square with Riley having Wade defend the toughest offensive opponent, even with Shawn Marion in Miami.
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The relationship between Riley and Wade is said to remain cool, raising questions similar to those in Cleveland with LeBron James. Will the stars remain with their teams after they can opt out following the 2009-10 season? Rarely, it seems, do great players spend their careers in one place anymore.
— Sam Smith
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