Around the League
Joe Johnson
Shooting Guard
Phoenix Suns
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
49
15.6
4.4
3.8
.427
.796
Suns future looking brighter: After two straight years of Joe Johnson dominating summer leagues only to hit the regular season and start tripping over his feet, it's great to see Johnson finally living up to his promise. The trade that sent Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway to the Knicks was really about giving the Suns a ton of cap flexibility. But the side effects of the trade have been downright amazing. Johnson has turned from an inconsistent role player into a star almost overnight.
Look at the numbers in December: Playing alongside Marbury and Haradaway, Johnson averaged 12.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3 apg on 39 percent shooting. In January, with Marbury and Hardaway launching up shots for the Knicks, Johnson is averaging 20.9 ppg, 5 rpg, 4.7 apg on 47 percent shooting. He's doing all of this with just 6.5 more mpg. And he's getting better. In his last five, those numbers have improved to 24.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 5.8 apg on 49 percent shooting from the field.
"He's really playing good basketball," coach Mike D'Antoni told the Arizona Republic. "He's putting up All-Star numbers. I don't know if anybody has been playing better than him the last three weeks."
With those type of numbers, who needs Kobe Bryant? Johnson seems to have nailed down the two guard position. With Milos Vujanic set to come over next summer and Leandro Barbosa coming along, Phoenix's point guard position should be set, as well. Instead, the Suns would be better off trying to find a nice big man (Mehmet Okur, Jerome James or a vet like Vlade Divac) with that projected $6.5 million in cap room. If they can find the right piece, there's no reason they couldn't be right back in the playoff hunt again next year. Only this time, they'll be below the luxury tax threshold, have two nice first-round draft picks and another promising prospect in 18-year-old big man Maciej Lampe.
The Knicks still sound like they're happy with their end of the deal, but the Suns came out of this trade with a very, very bright future.
Kwame Brown
Power Forward
Washington Wizards
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
46
9.9
7.0
1.5
.470
.745
Kwame coming on strong: Bulls GM John Paxson may want to take another deep breath before deciding to write of Eddy Curry or Tyson Chandler. Out of nowhere, Kwame Brown has begun to show a major pulse for the Wizards. No one knows exactly why or how, but over the past month Brown has put up some pretty nice numbers for a 21-year-old. Since being inserted in the starting lineup 11 games ago, Brown has averaged 14.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg on better than 50 percent shooting. Brown was out of the starting lineup on Sunday with a broken nose but surprised the Wizards when he asked into the game anyway. He played 14 marginal minutes, but his determination shocked the hell out of everyone.
"I decided to go because that's how I am," Brown told the Washington Post. "If I'm still walking I want to go." No doubt someone would have had to pick Michael Jordan up off the ground had he heard that statement coming from Kwame's mouth. Has the kid finally begun figuring out the NBA?
Says one veteran NBA scout, "He's really starting to play well. He's always had the talent to dominate. It was just figuring out the game that tripped up Kwame. He's still only playing at about 50 to 60 percent of his potential, and look where that's getting him. I think he's going to be really good in another year or two. Eddie's done a great job with him."
Speedy Claxton
Point Guard
Golden State Warriors
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
44
9.1
2.6
4.1
.432
.789
Speedy makes Van Exel expendable: How did Nick Van Exel go from the guy who was going to lead the Warriors to the playoffs to trade bait in just a little more than three months? Injuries and attitude have been a big part of it. But the Warriors brass also has been blown away by how well Speedy Claxton has played in Van Exel's absence. Over the last eight games, Claxton is averaging 15.4 points, 6.5 assists, 2 turnovers and 2.9 steals in 34.9 minutes. The fact the Warriors are 5-3 during that stretch hasn't been lost on anyone, either.
"Speedy has done a great job," coach Eric Musselman told the San Francisco Chronicle. "He has a great attitude. He's one of the easiest guys I've ever been around to coach. He has a great demeanor about him. He kind of brings the same thing every day, like a steady approach. When he plays well, we play well. He adds tempo to our game, whether he starts or comes off the bench."
With Van Exel ready to return to the lineup, Musselman had the unenviable duty of telling the veteran he had lost his starting job and would now come off the bench. Van Exel is saying all the right things for the moment, but management wants to get rid of him before things turn sour again.
Hawks should think twice about Doc: Rumors that the Hawks are on the verge of signing Doc Rivers in the dual role of coach and GM are running rampant. Is it a good idea? Rivers quietly criticized Magic GM John Gabriel about his player personnel decisions during his tenure in Orlando -- but the evidence suggests Doc wasn't so hot at the job either. He flat out refused to re-sign Darrell Armstrong this summer, despite Armstrong's rep in the locker room as the heart and soul of the franchise. While the Magic crashed and burned without any leadership at the point to open the season, Armstrong has been flat remarkable in New Orleans. Armstrong recently filled in as a starting guard for eight games and averaged 16.9 ppg and 5.8 apg during the stretch.
The fact Rivers fell in love with players like Steven Hunter, Ryan Humphrey and Jeryl Sasser at the Chicago pre-draft camp also came back to haunt the franchise. The Magic passed on players like Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer, Zach Randolph, Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas to get those three. Could you imagine how different the Magic's future would be had they taken any combination of those three players over the last two drafts? Rivers has insisted management picked those players, but a good source in Orlando insists the opposite was true. Rivers wanted those players, and management tried to accommodate him. Either way, while the evidence suggests Rivers is an excellent coach, his GM skills leave enough doubt that the Hawks should really hold out and bring in someone else to run the front office.
Miles makes an impact in Portland: The Blazers are 4-1 since acquiring Darius Miles. Is that a coincidence? Since joining the team Miles has a plus/minus rating of +17.3. The next closest starter in Portland is Derek Anderson at +4.1. Miles' 9.6 ppg and 4.1 rpg may not jump out at you, but he's making a big difference in Portland right now.
Joe Johnson
Shooting Guard
Phoenix Suns
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
49
15.6
4.4
3.8
.427
.796
Suns future looking brighter: After two straight years of Joe Johnson dominating summer leagues only to hit the regular season and start tripping over his feet, it's great to see Johnson finally living up to his promise. The trade that sent Stephon Marbury and Penny Hardaway to the Knicks was really about giving the Suns a ton of cap flexibility. But the side effects of the trade have been downright amazing. Johnson has turned from an inconsistent role player into a star almost overnight.
Look at the numbers in December: Playing alongside Marbury and Haradaway, Johnson averaged 12.9 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3 apg on 39 percent shooting. In January, with Marbury and Hardaway launching up shots for the Knicks, Johnson is averaging 20.9 ppg, 5 rpg, 4.7 apg on 47 percent shooting. He's doing all of this with just 6.5 more mpg. And he's getting better. In his last five, those numbers have improved to 24.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 5.8 apg on 49 percent shooting from the field.
"He's really playing good basketball," coach Mike D'Antoni told the Arizona Republic. "He's putting up All-Star numbers. I don't know if anybody has been playing better than him the last three weeks."
With those type of numbers, who needs Kobe Bryant? Johnson seems to have nailed down the two guard position. With Milos Vujanic set to come over next summer and Leandro Barbosa coming along, Phoenix's point guard position should be set, as well. Instead, the Suns would be better off trying to find a nice big man (Mehmet Okur, Jerome James or a vet like Vlade Divac) with that projected $6.5 million in cap room. If they can find the right piece, there's no reason they couldn't be right back in the playoff hunt again next year. Only this time, they'll be below the luxury tax threshold, have two nice first-round draft picks and another promising prospect in 18-year-old big man Maciej Lampe.
The Knicks still sound like they're happy with their end of the deal, but the Suns came out of this trade with a very, very bright future.
Kwame Brown
Power Forward
Washington Wizards
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
46
9.9
7.0
1.5
.470
.745
Kwame coming on strong: Bulls GM John Paxson may want to take another deep breath before deciding to write of Eddy Curry or Tyson Chandler. Out of nowhere, Kwame Brown has begun to show a major pulse for the Wizards. No one knows exactly why or how, but over the past month Brown has put up some pretty nice numbers for a 21-year-old. Since being inserted in the starting lineup 11 games ago, Brown has averaged 14.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg on better than 50 percent shooting. Brown was out of the starting lineup on Sunday with a broken nose but surprised the Wizards when he asked into the game anyway. He played 14 marginal minutes, but his determination shocked the hell out of everyone.
"I decided to go because that's how I am," Brown told the Washington Post. "If I'm still walking I want to go." No doubt someone would have had to pick Michael Jordan up off the ground had he heard that statement coming from Kwame's mouth. Has the kid finally begun figuring out the NBA?
Says one veteran NBA scout, "He's really starting to play well. He's always had the talent to dominate. It was just figuring out the game that tripped up Kwame. He's still only playing at about 50 to 60 percent of his potential, and look where that's getting him. I think he's going to be really good in another year or two. Eddie's done a great job with him."
Speedy Claxton
Point Guard
Golden State Warriors
Profile
2003-2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM
PPG
RPG
APG
FG%
FT%
44
9.1
2.6
4.1
.432
.789
Speedy makes Van Exel expendable: How did Nick Van Exel go from the guy who was going to lead the Warriors to the playoffs to trade bait in just a little more than three months? Injuries and attitude have been a big part of it. But the Warriors brass also has been blown away by how well Speedy Claxton has played in Van Exel's absence. Over the last eight games, Claxton is averaging 15.4 points, 6.5 assists, 2 turnovers and 2.9 steals in 34.9 minutes. The fact the Warriors are 5-3 during that stretch hasn't been lost on anyone, either.
"Speedy has done a great job," coach Eric Musselman told the San Francisco Chronicle. "He has a great attitude. He's one of the easiest guys I've ever been around to coach. He has a great demeanor about him. He kind of brings the same thing every day, like a steady approach. When he plays well, we play well. He adds tempo to our game, whether he starts or comes off the bench."
With Van Exel ready to return to the lineup, Musselman had the unenviable duty of telling the veteran he had lost his starting job and would now come off the bench. Van Exel is saying all the right things for the moment, but management wants to get rid of him before things turn sour again.
Hawks should think twice about Doc: Rumors that the Hawks are on the verge of signing Doc Rivers in the dual role of coach and GM are running rampant. Is it a good idea? Rivers quietly criticized Magic GM John Gabriel about his player personnel decisions during his tenure in Orlando -- but the evidence suggests Doc wasn't so hot at the job either. He flat out refused to re-sign Darrell Armstrong this summer, despite Armstrong's rep in the locker room as the heart and soul of the franchise. While the Magic crashed and burned without any leadership at the point to open the season, Armstrong has been flat remarkable in New Orleans. Armstrong recently filled in as a starting guard for eight games and averaged 16.9 ppg and 5.8 apg during the stretch.
The fact Rivers fell in love with players like Steven Hunter, Ryan Humphrey and Jeryl Sasser at the Chicago pre-draft camp also came back to haunt the franchise. The Magic passed on players like Tayshaun Prince, Carlos Boozer, Zach Randolph, Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas to get those three. Could you imagine how different the Magic's future would be had they taken any combination of those three players over the last two drafts? Rivers has insisted management picked those players, but a good source in Orlando insists the opposite was true. Rivers wanted those players, and management tried to accommodate him. Either way, while the evidence suggests Rivers is an excellent coach, his GM skills leave enough doubt that the Hawks should really hold out and bring in someone else to run the front office.
Miles makes an impact in Portland: The Blazers are 4-1 since acquiring Darius Miles. Is that a coincidence? Since joining the team Miles has a plus/minus rating of +17.3. The next closest starter in Portland is Derek Anderson at +4.1. Miles' 9.6 ppg and 4.1 rpg may not jump out at you, but he's making a big difference in Portland right now.
