Posts tagged LarryHughes at FanHouse

O! how wonderfully the sun could have shone in Chicago. If only ...



John Paxson was knocking on Kobe Bryant's door in October. Next thing you know, Larry Hughes is the savior. Meanwhile, in May, Pax had a clear shot at Mike D'Antoni before the franchise mucked things up and led Mike D to believe THE NEW YORK KNICKS! would be a more stable situation. Where's that leave the Bulls? In Vinny Del Negro's stunningly moisturized hands.

It'd be funny if it weren't so dang sad.

First he was out. Then Steve Kerr wanted him to stick around.

Now it looks like he's on his way out again.

According to a report by KTAR in Phoenix, the Suns have granted head coach Mike D'Antoni permission to speak to other teams about their vacant head coaching positions, including the Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks.

And so the drama begins anew.

ESPN reported on Friday that Chicago was the most likely destination for D'Antoni if the lunch planned for that day between owner Robert Sarver, General Manager Kerr and D'Antoni did not yield an acceptable resolution. It would appear that it did not.

What this means for former MVP Steve Nash, former MVP Shaquille O'Neal, and MVP hopeful Amare Stoudemire will of course be of heavy debate this summer, particularly considering the offensive fireworks D'Antoni's system provided Nash and Stoudemire. Avery Johnson is allegedly a leading candidate for the Suns' gig if D'Antoni does move on.

Chicago is a tremendous choice for D'Antoni if he takes it, who can implement his run and gun style into a team of young, athletic players who already have solid defensive instincts in place. With Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, and Andres Nocioni, he has a bevy of interior players that can get up and down the court, a serviceable point guard in Kirk Hinrich, scorers in Larry Hughes (well, kind of) and Ben Gordon (just go with me here), as well as a high draft pick, D'Antoni has the elements to build a winner from the wreckage.

The end of one era and the beginning of a new one in both Phoenix and ... somewhere else, yet to be decided.

I guess the phrase is ... "Don't let the depressingly unrealized potential hit you on the way out."

(HT: Bright Side of the Sun)

I'm not sure the name Larry Hughes and the concept of vengeance ever belong in the same sentence, but what the fungus: Larry Hughes spent Thursday night avenging his former captors, shooting a balmy 11-17 on his way to 25 points, a near triple-double (9 assists, 8 boards) and a victory over East #4 seed Cleveland.

It seems Hughes had games like regularly with Washington (he didn't -- he has one career triple-double), but he assuredly didn't play like this for Cleveland. One play in particular brought back some D.C. memories -- a steal and transition dunk in the fourth which closed the Bull's deficit to six. (Cleveland by as many as 15 points in the third.) In fact, Hughes kept Chicago alive several times -- including 7 in the span of a minute late in the third to singularly cut the 15-points lead to 8. Basically, Hughes was good. Quite good...

... which really has to piss off Cleveland fans, who watched Hughes play bad (quite bad) for a few painful seasons. Overall, Larry has not been great shakes in Chicago. That he exploded against the Cavs (in Cleveland) while The LeBrons are trying to clinch home court in the first round and get on a decent roll in advance of the postseason ... just plain vengeful.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
If you don't get the Bad Boys reference, I'm sorry. It appears my time has passed me by. Anywho, Kyle Lowry got the most run of the trio of young Memphis point guards last night, seeing 32 minutes and scoring 24 points with four assists and two steals. Javaris Crittenton had 30 minutes and scored 17 points with four assists and a steal, while Mike Conley, Jr., scored zero points (0 for six shooting) with one assist and a steal in 16 minutes. All of this is important, because for the rest of the season, the Grizzlies are essentially having a tryout for point guard. Whoever is playing well will keep getting the run. I love Conley, and he's legit, but I think people undervalue Lowry. Since it appears he's not going to have a tremendous leash, well, adjust accordingly.

Hot Cakes
Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes are both starters now (do these guys have dirt on a slew of NBA coaches?). Hughes put up eight points with five assists and two steals in 25 minutes while Gooden went nuts, albeit against Memphis, for 21 points and 14 rebounds. It's classic sell high on either guy, although they're certainly doing their best to spite LeBron James at this point.

Mike Miller has been out almost the equivalent of a week in NBA games for the Grizzlies, but is expected to return tonight. Consider holding him out one more game because back injuries = bad field goal percentage.

Former Cav and current Bull Larry Hughes made a surprising admission to Brian Windhorst of the Akron Beacon Journal before Sunday's game between his old and new team: he'd rather be happy and lose than be unhappy and win.

"I play to enjoy myself, some people take this the wrong way, but winning a championship is not what I base everything on. ... I didn't come here to play the point guard, that's just it. I came here to run the wing, just like [LeBron James] was running the other wing. I was asked to sacrifice for the team to win and for everybody, I guess, get paid. That is what was told to me and I wasn't happy with that."

Windhorst doesn't understand Hughes' comments:

I thought winning is fun, sitting at home at watching the playoffs is no fun according to most NBA players I've known. I can see not playing at all, just sitting on the bench. But if you are a big part of a winning team, I thought that was desirable. Very few players in this league get everything they want, most of the time you have to settle. As long as Larry was being paid what he was being paid, I'd think some settling would've been acceptable.

When I first spotted this article on TrueHoop this morning, I wanted to agree with Windhorst. As a fan of the game, it's been drilled into my head that players should hold winning above all else. But in reality? I can totally understand where Hughes is coming from.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
Stephen A. Smith rolled over in his vocal-chord enhancing cyborg chamber last night as Rasho Nesterovic posted a very nice line -- 16 points, five boards and three blocks -- with Chris Bosh beginning to sit out a week with a knee issue. Nesterovic isn't going to set the world on fire, but he can be a nice option in deeper leagues for boards and blocks over the next week, and as long as Bosh stays injured, he's a cheap filler. Plus, he kind of looks like Dwight Schrute, so that's a bonus.

Hot Cakes
It's safe to say Devin Harris is going to take that starter's job in New Jersey. He scored another 21 off the bench last night with five boards and two dimes in 35 minutes; Marcus Williams had eight points with three boards and two dimes, plus four turnovers in only 18 minutes. Get prepared to see Williams' minutes continue to dive.

Luis Scola went off for 18 points and 14 boards against the Nuggets. With Yao Ming done for the season, you could really see that Scola felt a need to carry the offensive load. Unlikely he's available in your league, but if he is, get ready for a boost in value for the remainder of the season.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
I recently added Robert Swift for $25 in a really, really deep league. Woo, me. No, seriously, what a nightmare. The Supersonics promised to give him some run because he was going to be a restricted FA and they wanted to know what they had. Instead, Swift is likely out for the season. Taking his place? Johan Petro (who I dropped for him, of course). Petro scored seven points, grabbed 10 boards and blocked two shots last night and in he's gonna be available in most leagues. He's not a total gamer, but hey, it's late in the season and if you're in a deep league and need a center, you could do worse. (Rasho NEST-er-o-VIC, anyone?) The other guy to watch? Mickael Gelabale. He's a youngster out of France and he scored 12 points two games ago and 21 with eight boards, an assist and a steal against the Lakers last night. Look, the Sonics are punting on this season. That doesn't mean you can't take advantage. If Gelabale continues to get run, scoop him.

Hot Cakes
Tyrus Thomas went for 18 points, six boards, five dimes, two blocks and a steal last night. Maybe we can stop calling him an "enigma" or some-such-honkey, and just admit that Scott Skiles didn't know how to use him. Everyone else fine with that? If your trade deadline hasn't passed, trade for him -- could be a monster second half.

The initial word that it was a straight up Ben Wallace for Larry Hughes swap. And that would have sent me ton a little bit of a tangent. (Or straight to GoDaddy to buy FireDannyFerry.com) Instead, what eventually shook down makes a little bit more sense. Kind of.

The Cavaliers will get Wallace, Joe Smith and a future second round pick from the Bulls. They will also receive Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West from the Seattle Supersonics. The Bulls get Hughes, Drew Gooden, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown. Meanwhile, for their "troubles" (read: dumping West and shedding Wally's contract), the Sonics get Ira Newble (expiring) and Donyell Marshall from the Cavs as well as Adrian Griffin from the Bulls.

So, your biggest question is ... w-t-f, Ferry? Why on good green Urf would Ferry cave and take on the monster salary of Wallace, even if he got to dump the 1.5 dimensional second option for LeBron James that never panned out in Hughes?

With the NBA trade deadline looming, Trade Machinations rounds up real rumors (and creates fake ones) of moves that'd make the NBA a better, brighter place.

If it seems Cleveland's at the center of most trade rumors (non-Ron Artest division) this morning, it's because that is the case. ESPN's Chad Ford has spent half his morning chatting about a rumored deal which would (inexplicably) send Ben Wallace to the Cavaliers.

Ford says Cleveland wants to send Larry Hughes back to Chicago (which makes sense -- albatross for albatross), but the Bulls won't bite on that. Without Hughes, I have no clue why Danny Ferry would take Wallace back. Interior defense isn't among Cleveland's top 10 concerns. Larry Hughes' contract might be top 3.

Even if nothing comes of this, Ford's chat is worth its weight in Munster for all the lines resembling this one:

Sorry ... another GM who was reading the chat wanting more details on the Wallace deal ...

If there are no more trades today, I guess we can blame Ford's chat.

UPDATE: Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski confirms the rumors are out there.

With the NBA trade deadline looming, Trade Machinations rounds up real rumors (and creates fake ones) of moves that'd make the NBA a better, brighter place.

We have a contender for Cleveland's Mystery Superstar, the big but anonymous ticket rumored to be headed to the Cavaliers this morning. The Philadelphia Inquirer's David Aldridge busts a move on his blog:

I was told by no less than six general managers during All-Star weekend that the Heat was shopping Shawn Marion around. ... If--if--it's Marion, that would certainly give LeBron James some serious help. My guess is that Miami would wind up with Mike Miller, and Memphis would get that Jason Williams-Ricky Davis slew of expiring contracts. But what would Cleveland donate to the party? That's what's stumping me.

What Cleveland would discard has stumped everyone, actually. With Udonis Haslem seemingly staying put, Drew Gooden would be redundant. This morning's rumor from the Akron Beacon-Journal said Zydrunas Ilgauskas has not been mentioned in any talks. Excepting Larry Hughes, Cleveland does not have much more to offset Marion's mammoth salary. (Free Damon Jones!)

Will it happen? I think it's rime to retire the 'will it happen?' line, because anyone who says they know is selling you bridges in Antarctica.