Le Basketbawl

The “Chicago Tribune” reported Wednesday that the Chicago Bulls have agreed in principle to a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks that will send veteran shooting guard John Salmons to Milwaukee in exchange for Francisco Elson and Kurt Thomas. The paper reported that the deal has not been finalized and that the players that the Bulls receive are subject to change.

Salmons’ contract according to the report has an option allowing the player to have a guaranteed contract for next season for $5.8 million. The Bulls  are looking to delve into the Free Agent market next summer and did not want Salmons salary to count against their cap for next season. The two players that Chicago will receive in return will have contracts that will expire at the end of the current season. According to reports that would leave Chicago with $20 million available under the cap for this summer. 

Neither team has commented on the record as the deal was expected to be finalized Wednesday night and announced on Thursday before the NBA Trade Deadline kicks in at 3:00 pm EST.

The “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel” has reported that veteran Free Agent Jerry Stackhouse will sign a contract with the Milwaukee Bucks for the remainder of the season. Stackhouse will try to fill the void left by Bucks guard Michael Redd who was lost for the rest of the season last Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Redd blew out his left knee and will have surgery to repair it either late this month or early next month.

Stackhouse was the number three selection in the 1995 NBA Draft taken by Philadelphia. He has also had stops in Detroit, Washington D.C. and spent the last five seasons playing for the Dallas Mavericks. The veteran saw limited time last season playing in just 10 games. In 14 seasons in the NBA Stackhouse has career averages of 18.4 points, 3.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.

The veteran was shipped to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a four team trade that would put Shawn Marion in a Mavericks uniform. Memphis bought out the balance of his contract making him an unrestricted Free Agent. Stackhouse has not played at all this season and it will be interesting to see what he has left in the tank as he becomes part of the Bucks.

If You are a regular here at “The House That New York Vinnie Built” Le Basketbawl than you are well aware of how closely I have been following the situation concerning Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West. Although New York Vinnie is far from a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers and I have never really paid that much attention to West before this past summer; I have been rooting for this young man to turn his life around.

Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks it looked like the Delonte West who was such an integral part of the Cavaliers core last season may have returned. West in probably his strongest game this season scored 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 1 block as Cleveland blasted the Bucks 101-86.

West as you are most likely are well aware of by now is battling a bi-polar disorder; with the proper medication the young man is fine. Unfortunately he went off his meds this summer and he had been dealing with the results of that ever since. Delonte back in September was pulled over in  Upper Marlboro, Maryland. West was riding a motorcycle at about 10:00pm when he cut off a cop on the Capital Beltway.

When the policeman pulled the Cavaliers guard over he was found packing some serious Frickin heat; he had a handgun in his pocket, another one shoved into the Frickin leg of his pants and they found a rifle in a guitar case that was strapped to his back. The weapons have been identified by the police as a Beretta 9mm handgun, a Ruger .357 magnum handgun, and a Remington 870 shotgun. West was charged with speeding and weapons counts according to Maryland Police.

The guard was present for the Cavaliers Media Day but then missed four straight workout sessions without getting permission from the team. West was fined for those missed practices. West then asked and received permission from the team to take a leave of absence from the team to work out his mental health issues. He did not play in any of Cleveland’s preseason games or in the first three games of the regular season.

The guard has  been back  with the club for a while now however his play has been sporadic at best. There have been many nights when West has not even appeared in a game; something that would have been unthinkable last season. However New York Vinnie watched the game on Sunday and from the moment West entered the game he seemed more animated and aggressive than he has been in a while. That attitude paid off as he was the leading scorer for the Cavaliers in the game.

New York Vinnie has always been a fan of “Scrappy Players” a guy that gives his all every Frickin time he hits the court. Sunday Delonte West  was the Frickin Poster Boy for “Scrappy Players” showing a love and enthusiasm for the game that you can not Frickin fake.

However let us not forget that it was only one game; the real proof will be in how he plays this week as the Cavaliers play back to back games in Memphis on Tuesday and Houston on Wednesday. Was this the start of the return of the young man who was the team’s most consistent player in last season’s NBA Playoffs not named LeBron James? Or was this just a mirage; a Frickin tease of what he is capable of being? Those are answers only time will tell; however New York Vinnie will be pulling for West. The NBA can never have too many “Scrappy Players.”

Back in August New York Vinnie wrote an article asking How Much Of Dumars Success Was Due To John Hammond? New York Vinnie thought it was a question that needed to be raised after some of the unexplainable moves that Detroit Pistons Team President Joe Dumars had made over a period of a little over a year. As we entered the Summer of 2008 the Pistons had come off their second straight loss in the Eastern Conference Finals. The previous year they had fallen to the Cleveland Cavaliers and in 2008 the Boston Celtics sent the Boys From Motown home for the summer on their way to winning the NBA Title.

The Pistons had been one of the elite teams in the NBA for most of the decade; however they were getting a little long in the tooth and needed to make some changes. However something was changing on the management side of the ledger with Detroit at that point.

One of the major changes that took place in the Pistons Organization was long time Assistant General Manager and Dumar’s right hand man John Hammond left the team. Hammond who had resisted overtures from other teams in the past became the General Manager of the Milwaukee Bucks. Hammond took over from Larry Harris who had a roster that was basically a bunch of Frickin Crappola along with Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd. This summer when the original article was written Milwaukee was coming off a lack luster season however New York Vinnie could see the team was heading in the right direction.

Meanwhile in Detroit their fortunes were heading the other way. Dumars made the still Frickin unexplainable trade that sent Chauncey Billups to the Denver Nuggets for Allen Iverson. Of course that turned out to be a Frickin disaster for the Pistons as Iverson helped the team spiral downward finishing below .500 and grabbing the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The Pistons to no one’s great surprise were swept and were sent home for the summer.

Now Dumars had some money to spend for Free Agents this past summer but in New York Vinnie’s mind it was not spent wisely. He signed Free Agent forward and former Milwaukee Bucks player Charlie Villanueva after rumors of trying to acquire Carlos Boozer never materialized. Now New York Vinnie believes that Boozer would have been a definite upgrade from Jason Maxiell but Charlie Villanueva is no Carlos Boozer if you catch my drift.

The other big name Free Agent they picked up was former Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon a player who had a career year last season as he was teamed up with NBA Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose. Gordon led Chicago in scoring and allowed them to rid themselves of a total Pud Larry Hughes whom they unloaded on “MY BOYS” the Knicks.

New York Vinnie did not think that the moves would help the Pistons get back to elite status this year so I asked how much did Hammond’s input have in Joe Dumars final decision making. One Detroit based fan site “Pistons Forum.com” thought the question was Frickin ridiculous. New York Vinnie is wondering how much they are laughing on November 23? Most Likely not as much.

If you take a look at the NBA Central Division standings you will notice that John Hammond’s Milwaukee Bucks are in second place in the division with a record of 8-3 just a half game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. And their best player Michael Redd has not even played a minute this season. Oh; and the “Once Mighty And Powerful Detroit Pistons” they are in “LAST PLACE” in the NBA Central Division with a record of 5-9.

Now is New York Vinnie going to write that I predicted this fabulous turn around for the Bucks and that I knew Brandon Jennings was going to score 55 Frickin points in a game? Of course not, New York Vinnie would be out and out lying if I did that.

New York Vinnie also realizes that it is very early in the NBA season and Milwaukee could very easily fall back to earth and the Pistons could turn it around. New York Vinnie has seen nothing that would indicate to me that Detroit will turn things around but that is still possible. However New York Vinnie is wondering if my fans over at Pistons Forum.com will have the Stones to reprint this article like they did the first?

Going to college is not meant for everybody. It was not meant for Milwaukee Bucks rookie Brandon Jennings as his grades in high school would have made it highly unlikely he could have gone to a top Division 1-A so he could showcase his talents for a year before being eligible for the NBA Draft. Instead he became a trend-setter spending last year in Europe and playing ball for Italian powerhouse Lottomatica Virtus Roma in the Euro-league.

Jennings did not particularly like being in a foreign country thousands of miles away from family and friends and living in a much different culture than he was used to. However he stayed focused, stuck it out and so far it seems to be paying off for him in the NBA.

The Milwaukee Bucks rookie point guard was named NBA Player Of The Week for the week of November 9-15 after he would have a night that forced people to sit up and take notice. He became the youngest player in the history of the NBA to score 50 points in a game when he dropped 55 on the Golden State Warriors last Saturday night pushing the Bucks to a 129-125 victory.

The 20 year old native of Compton, California expected to go a lot higher in the NBA Draft than he did this past June sliding all the way to the number ten slot. Jennings has taken a liking to the city of Milwaukee as it reminds him of a European city. The rookie told the “Associated Press” that everything has worked out for the best playing for the Bucks. Jennings said “Everything that happened to the draft, not going to those teams that I thought were going to pick me up, I think I’m in a great situation right now.The city of Milwaukee is laid back, and that’s what I need right now.”

The relationship seems to be working out for both sides as the Bucks are off to their best start in quite a while currently in second place in the NBA Central Division with a record of 6-3. Jennings through nine games has averaged 24.8 points, 5.8 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game and has become a name that is being bandied about in the early stages of the season as a possible NBA Rookie Of The Year candidate.

The young man seems to have his priorities in order and his head on straight despite all the hoopla that goes with his new life. The rookie was asked by reporters what he wanted to accomplish in his first year in the NBA? Jennings responded “My main goal is coming out here, making the playoffs, getting my teammates involved and trying to bring the winning back to Milwaukee. We have to win. I’m going to do my part and I’m going to try and make sure the team does their part.”

Brandon My Man; you keep playing the way you have been and keep that attitude then Your Old Pal New York Vinnie believes you will have a long and prosperous career in the NBA.

Last summer NBA fans were intrigued with Brandon Jennings; this summer he seems to have flown under the radar of NBA fans. You most likely remember Jennings as the young man who last year signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Arizona. However he was not sure if he would have the academic requirements to attend the school. Instead he signed a three year contract with Italian power house Lottomatica Virtus Roma during the summer. He opted out of his contract at the end of last season and was selected with the tenth pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Milwaukee Bucks.

“ESPN.com” is reporting that so far Bucks General Manager John Hammond is impressed with the young point guard. The Milwaukee G.M. said the team liked what they saw from Jennings during his time in this summer’s Las Vegas League tournament. Hammond said “We saw a pass-first point guard, a guy who wants to win and a pleaser; a guy who wants to please his teammates and his coach. I don’t think people thought of him that way, based on his reputation.”

New York Vinnie  is very interested to see how Jenninngs stacks up against other NBA rookie who spent at least one year playing NCAA ball as opposed to the Euro-Leagues. Will Jennings be more mature because of the experience or did he become a loose cannon over in Italy? We will soon find out as NBA training camp gets underway in less than a month.

Your Old Pal New York Vinnie has been an NBA “Die-Hard Fan” since I was just a little boy. Now don’t get me wrong; New York Vinnie is very excited that the Bronx Bombers have the best record in Baseball and My Giants will be kicking off the NFL season this week. However when it comes down to it New York Vinnie’s first sports love is the NBA. Look today is Frickin Labor Day and I am writing about Basketball; guess that tells you all you need to know.

New York Vinnie believes that one of the major difference between the casual NBA fan and the “Die-Hard Fan” is the appreciation for the lesser known players. Even the most casual NBA fans knows who King James, Superman, Black Mamba, CP-3 and D-Wade are. Those guys are almost bigger than the Frickin game itself.

But the NBA ”Die-Hard Fan” appreciates the guys who are not household names and are not featured each night on “SportsCenter.”  The guys that do the things in the trenches the pluggers who leave it all out on the floor each and every game. No they don’t have the sheer talent of the NBA Elite but they are just as necessary to winning an NBA Title. No Army can be just officers you need the guys on the frontlines as well if you catch New York Vinnie’s drift.

One guy that fits that description is one of the newest members of the Milwaukee Bucks former Memphis Grizzlies forward Hakim Warrick. The Bucks signed the Free Agent after Memphis yanked a one year qualifying offer off of the table. What will be the Grizzlies loss will be a big gain this upcoming season for Milwaukee; Warrick has averaged 10.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in his four year career.

Warrick has a good possibility to be the starter at the power forward position when Milwukee starts the regular season. The “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel” asked Warrick how he feels about the chance for a more prominent role on his new team. He responded “That’s something that motivates me. When I get consistent minutes, I’ve shown I can go out there and produce. Coming here, I want to show my consistency, be out there on the floor and help this team win.”

New York Vinnie believes that Warrick will start paying dividends this upcoming season for his new club and would not be at all surprised if he becomes a core player for Milwaukee. Warrick has the skills and the right attitude to help the Bucks get out of the Central Division’s “Low Rent District.”