I’m writing today from lovely Pearl, Mississippi of all places. 98 degrees yesterday, and according to the news, with the humidity, it “felt like” 106! Just a wonderful part of the country…uh-huh. It’s a miserable state, one that hates all things that are non-confederate loving people, and needless to say, this NW kid is a fish out of water! Oh well, I fly home tonight, can’t wait to touch down in Sea-tac.
First of all, HOW FRIGGIN’ hot are the A’s??? Will they lose another game? They are amazing, and quite frankly, very fun to watch. They are very easy to root for. Maybe it’s because the M’s are finished already, but I’m absolutely amazed at their run. 13 of their last 15, they are finally hitting, their pitching is on fire, and they are CLUTCH. It’s just amazing to think how buried they were to start the season, now they lead the wild-card chase with a 16-5 July?? Wow.
On the Sonics, Locke is reporting that Damien Wilkins is about to get a prominent offer sheet from the Blazers. Maybe too much for the Sonics to match. I know it sucks, but again, taking the raw emotion out of it, is he really worth over-paying for? What is Damien Wilkins anyway? Is he a small forward? Well we’ve got that position covered, maybe two-fold if Vladi comes back in some capacity. Plus they love Gelabale, the french kid they drafted who they’ll have playing overseas that is an unbelievable athlete. Is Wilkins a 2-guard? Well, that’s hard to say too, as he’s not much of a shooter either, shooting 27% from 3. He’s just a solid bench guy, but the if Nate and company overpay for him, I think you have to let him go, unless you absolutely believe he’s going to be a huge cog in the engine next year. Plus, the Sonics are serious about bringing Flip back, AND they also are pursuing Juan Dixon who visited this weekend. They would add both Flip and Dixon, and letting Wilkins walk, as well as bringing back Vladi, might be part of the plan.
Nothing new on the Gooden rumors, although there was already a report that had him dealt to the Clippers for Marco Jaric and Chris Wilcox. The rumor was denied, but Jaric is visiting the Cavs right now. Since the Cavs lost out on the euro point guard to the Pacers (Jasicieviscus?) they might ramp up their interest big-time to get Jaric, and again, Gooden is their luxury they can move. Getting a starting point guard is probably a bigger priority now instead of a backup PF like Evans, so I’d bet the Sonics are falling in their pursuit. Besides, I read up a little more and found some Cavs fans online who HATE Gooden, saying he’s a selfish, stat-guy only and would never be a good center. So maybe it’s a matter of the stat sheet looking better than reality?? Who knows.
Here’s the story from Locke:
http://www.lockedonsports.blogspot.com/
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