NBA Transactions

We're into the 10-day contract and D-League shuffling portion of the season, I'll (mostly) avoid those movements to focus on signings and waivings. 

Rockets sign Michael Beasley, Andrew Goudelock to rest of season contracts. Beasley tore it up in China (not surprised) and has come back to USA as somebody's science experiment...Rockets GM Darryl Morey is an experimenter, should be a good match....right? This is James Harden's team and his desire to incorporate Beasley will determine how much of a chance Beasley gets. Beasley is one of the all time disappointing players, a natural scorer in college I thought he had the size and skill to be a dominant player in the NBA. While he has had some moments, mostly he's just a jackass off the court and can't get it going on the court. Maybe a season in China will give him some hunger and/or humility and he'll be the player he can be. The Rockets could use an extra scorer, it would be fascinating if Beasley was the difference maker for them in the playoffs. 

Sixers claim Sonny Weems off waivers. Only on the Sixers is Weems considered a wily veteran. He'll probably get some run for the rest of the season. The Sixers will go through some changes this summer, hard to imagine Weems is part of the long term. 

Suns waive Sonny Weems, sign Chase Budinger. Weems is a so-so 2 guard who is athletic but never scored as much as he should have; Budinger is a shooter-only kinda guy (and, man, he's got kind of an ugly shot). With the emergence of Devin Booker and the return of Branden Knight, it doesn't seem to me like the Suns need either of these guys but I guess Budinger gives them a little more...I dunno...veteran-ness? Hard to imagine they keep Budinger next season.  

Thunder sign Nazr Muhammad to rest of season contract. Nice to see the old vet back, he's a veteran tough guy, OKC loves their veterans and, well, Kendrick Perkins wasn't available. His impact will be of the intangible variety. 

Pacers sign Ty Lawson to rest of season contract. I think this is a good match. The Pacers have Monta Ellis and Lawson should keep the energy up coming off the bench. I expect Lawson to move on in the off-season but for now, it'll be interesting to see if he can score them a playoff surprise. 

Spurs waive Rasual Butler, sign Kevin Martin. Personally, I think Martin was perfect for the Mavs, I'm not sure what he does for the Spurs. He's a vet, he'll get a little time off the bench but he's slow and doesn't play the Spurs way. I kinda think they're better off with Butler.  

Wizards waive Gary Neal, sign Marcus Thornton to rest of season contract. I think Neal was hurt for most of the season, not sure he gets another chance next year. I like Thornton, he'll give the Wizards some chutzpah off the bench. 

Grizzlies waive Mario Chalmers, sign Briante Webber, Ray McCallum and Alex Stepheson to 10 day contracts. Chalmers blew out his knee a coupla weeks ago and now he's out of a job. (Will Lebron give him a gig in Cleveland next year? I doubt it....what a cold-hearted bastard). Webber I don't know, McCallum got run out of San Antonio to make room for old vets (Andre Miller got his spot), and Stepheson was doing 10 days at a time with the Clippers for a while. Any of these guys could come in handy during the playoffs (the Grizzlies know how to make 6 fouls go a long way). I feel like the Grizzlies just keep getting Grizzlier. 

Cavs sign Jordan McRae to rest of season contract. Played more in the D League than the NBA over the last coupla years. 

Hornets sign Jorge Gutierrez to rest of season contract. He's a high energy PG off the bench, will never be a starter but I think he can be a solid backup PG for years to come.

Next Wave of Primaries

Democrats
On Tuesday there will be primary elections in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri. Sanders is so far behind in delegate count that coming close in any given election isn't nearly good enough and with the Republican side winnowing down, it feels to me like he's outlived his purpose of giving Hillary a challenge. Hillary isn't the most lovable liberal candidate but she is the most politically savvy and I am confident her support is well positioned and well supported across the nation. Even if Sanders hangs around and wins every once in a while, he's still too far behind to catch up.

I'll take Hillary in Florida, North Carolina and Ohio, I'll take Sanders in Missouri, and a dead heat in Illinois (which still vastly favors Hillary). Hillary piles on to her lead on delegates and super delegates. I guess Sanders makes it through the next 6 primaries later on this month, there's no reason for him to quit; if he's popular enough to keep getting money out of people then he may as well keep going. But his chances of winning are virtually zero.

Republicans
This is the (next) big day for the Republicans eager to see a brokered convention.  If Rubio takes Florida, Kasich takes Ohio, and someone can block Trump in Illinois, then the race continues; if Trump wins those states, I'd say the game is over, not much opportunity left for the others. A mix results in more of the same.

The last few weeks were about the emergence of Cruz (or the lack of emergence of Rubio). I thought after South Carolina, with the exit of Jeb Bush, that Rubio would get a chance to shine; but if I was paying better attention, I would've realized that the last round of states favor Cruz, who made the most of them. The fact that the 'establishment' prefers Rubio to Cruz or Trump is only making it harder for Rubio but he scored well in the last coupla contests in DC and Wyoming. If Rubio wins Florida, he's got a chance to get something going; but if he doesn't, he's got no hope left and will have to step aside to give Cruz a chance. Trump is still in the lead but not commandingly so, Cruz could still best him if this race gets all the California but probably only if Rubio and Kasich get out of the way. Likewise, Kasich must win Ohio to make any difference at all.

What will happen? The polls in Florida have Trump winning big but as we saw in Michigan, the polls can be wrong--waaaaay wrong!--in a year all about the insurgents. It comes down to north of Orlando (should be firm Trump supporters) and south of Orlando (Rubio's stomping ground) and whether the Rubio benefactors want to keep his career alive. If Rubio loses in Florida, he is certainly out of this year's race but suddenly, too, it casts a shadow on his future as Florida's Senator. If his supporters turn out, he could win and look like a hero going forward; if they don't turn out, he loses and looks shaky until he takes his next election. (If Rubio's crowd goes for Cruz. then Rubio might ought to sell his house) Trump only needs a simple majority to take all the delegates and if so Rubio is out. I don't think Trump wins as big as he's leading right now, but I think he wins big enough to comfortably cast off Rubio.

Kasich has a much firmer lead in Ohio, largely because I think he has a better control over his home than Rubio has over his and also because I think there is a more salient anti-Trump audience. So Kasich wins Ohio but that doesn't feel like enough to really give him a boost across the country...unless Rubio gets out of the way leaving Kasich to be the anti-Trump and the anti-Cruz simultaneously. I think Cruz comes in 2nd, Trump 3rd.

I think Trump easily takes North Carolina and Missouri, squeaks by in Illinois and Florida and comes in a distant third in Ohio. I'll say Rubio finishes a tight 2nd in Florida and a distant 3rd in Missouri and Illinois. I'll say Cruz finishes 2nd in North Carolina, Missouri and Ohio and 3rd in Florida and Ohio. Kaisch will win Ohio, finishes a tight 3rd in Illinois. Trump is the big winner, Cruz is the clear runner-up, Rubio goes home and Kasich hangs around and tries to look like the adult in the room for a few more weeks.

NBA Transactions

After the trade deadline, which was a bit of a snooze this year, came the real player movement: waivings and signings. There's still probably a bit more to go but what have we got so far?

Nets named Sean Marks new General Manager. For a day or two this was big news: a Spur lifer coming to Brooklyn to resurrect a moribund franchise. Until it dawned on everyone that no matter what Marks does, this franchise is pretty well guaranteed to stay moribund for 2-3 more years. They're spending too much money, they've got no draft picks and they've got no cache. The Nets are gonna be a collection of D-Leaguers for the next coupla years no matter how brilliant Marks is. He's just there to collect a paycheck and keep the mood from turning irredeemably sour. Good luck, that is not gonna be an easy job.

Pelicans waive Jarnell Stokes, sign Bryce Dejean-Jones to rest of season contract. The Pelicans got Stokes in a salary dump from the Heat and kept the dumping vibe going; hey, man, that guy was a rebounding machine in college, maybe he just doesn't have the size or the instincts but I saw him play once upon a time and he's at least got a D-League career ahead of him. Dejean-Jones just made his league debut about six weeks ago but seems to have already found a home in New Orleans (at least for the rest of the year). He started that game where Anthony Davis went off for 59 points, so he's got that going for him.

Sixers waive JaKarr Sampson. This was part of the 3-team trade that was to send Motiejunas and Thornton to the Pistons for a 1st round pick to the Rockets and Joel Anthony to the Sixers. The deal got voided but the Sixers had already waived Sampson to make room. Oops. The scuttlebutt is the Sixers had a deal with Sampson that they would re-sign him when the time was right but Sampson made other plans and signed a rest of season deal with the Nuggets. Sampson played minutes for the Sixers last year but I wouldn't have thought he was to be part of their future, though it sounds like the Sixers had other thoughts. This ain't exactly like Carlos Boozer dissing Lebron and the Cavs back in the day but, hey, man, sometimes the deals don't work like you like.

Nuggets waive JJ Hickson, Steve Novak. This was to make room for JaKarr Sampson and cut salary. Novak signed with the Bucks, Hickson signed with the Wizards (both of the rest of season variety). Novak gives the Bucks a shooter off the bench (that will probably never play), Hickson gives the Wizards bench depth that got purged when Humphries and Blair were shipped out for Markieff Morris.

Trail Blazers waive Anderson Varejao. This was to cut salary. Varejao immediately signed on with the Warriors (a subtle 'f you' to Lebron) and gets to watch the Finals this year from the winning bench instead of the losing one.

Celtics waive David Lee. This was to cut salary. Unable to find a taker for Lee's expiring contract, the Celtics went ahead and expired it early. Lee signed with the Mavs. I think Lee fits better on a young team just looking for professional veterans to guide yougnsters (re: Wolves or Jazz). On a potential playoff team, I think Lee is just there to dress like a basketball player and maybe get some emergency minutes. Lee's game has dropped off considerably in the last coupla seasons making him the NBA equivalent of a 'Spring Training Invitee' kinda player. I kinda expect Lee to retire in the off-season (or maybe take Varejao's spot with Golden State?).

Nets waive Andrea Bargnani. This was to cut salary. I believe I heard Bargnani is heading to Europe, which is probably his best move. Once upon a time Bargnani was a #1 overall pick and while he wasn't always terrible, he never came close to living up to his potential. Only Anthony Bennett is keeping Bargnani from being the worst top pick in the last 30 years.

Suns sign Phil Pressey to 10 day contract. With Bledsoe and Knight both suffering injuries, I wouldn't be surprised to see Pressey hang on with the Suns for the rest of the year.

Hornets sign Jorge Gutierrez to a 10 day contract. Gutierrez had some nice moments for the Bucks last year. Seems like he could have a decent career way at the end of an NBA bench. He'll give the Hornets some speed and intensity off the bench.

Clippers sign Alex Stepheson to 10 day contract. A 29 year old rookie? Hmm, feels like the Clippers are digging deep for any depth they can get. One assumes that when Blake Griffin comes back, Stepheson will probably be gone.

Mavs waive John Jenkins. This was to make room for David Lee. Jenkins was claimed by the Suns, giving them another SG to give them minutes. Knowing the Suns, he'll probably play.

Suns waive DeJuan Blair. This was to make room for John Jenkins. The oft-injured Blair is one of those guys that's a nice player when he's not hurt. I was surprised to see that he played 29 games this year for the Wizards (and 29 last year too), I haven't noticed him since he left the Mavs a few years back. I'm not sure about his health status but at this point he's probably just as useful as David Lee. I dunno, maybe he's a dick. I still feel like he could be a decent backup but maybe he's just too unreliable, in which case, he'll probably retire this summer (or be back in Summer League).

Magic waive Jared Cunningham. This was to make room for Chris Copeland. Cunningham, a former 1st round draft pick, was a throw-in on the Channing Frye deal. Cunningham has been waived by the Magic, Hawks and Sixers and traded by the Mavs and twice by the Cavs. He did play some minutes with the Cavs this year so I reckon we'll see him at Summer League.

Bucks waive Chris Copeland. This was to make room for Steve Novak. Copeland was quickly nabbed by the Magic, though I'm not sure he brings anything more than what Jared Cunningham could give....and was waived by the Magic the next day. (I was really liking the Magic youth movement but I'm not seeing the genius of their recent moves)

Warriors waive Jason Thompson. This was to make room for Anderson Varejao. Thompson signed on with the Raptors. The Warriors are not really hurting for depth (though you think they would be since their stars don't play many 4th quarters), I guess bringing in Lebron's ex-girlfriend adds a little gangsta to any otherwise clean cut squad.

Wolves waive Andre Miller. This was to cut salary. Kind of a weird move, really. The Wolves have no depth at all now and Miller was not a terribly expensive player, so now they're scrambling to find someone to fill minutes when they had a perfectly acceptable vet at a reasonable price. I know he's not a long term piece for the Wolves (and perhaps they signed him with the proviso that they would make him available at the trade deadline), but they still need bodies for the rest of the season. But Miller signed with the Spurs, so at least he'll get one last deep run in the playoffs before retiring.

Nets waive Joe Johnson. This was to cut salary. The Nets couldn't move that bloated contract but making him available was the nice thing to do since there's no way they were re-signing him in the summer. Johnson has since signed with the Heat and he should give them depth for the post-season.

Rockets waive Marcus Thornton. This was to...I dunno...cut salary? It doesn't feel like the Rockets are looking to bring anyone in but since they already tried to trade Thornton, maybe they just felt the need to get him out. I kinda like Thornton, he's a solid ball handler and, at times, a conscious-free gunner off the bench. Grizzlies, Clippers or Wizards could use a guy like that (or the Bulls unless they've just given up on a post-season run). Rumors tend to have him heading to the Heat but I'm not sure they've got any more roster spots available.

Suns waive Khris Humphries. This was to make room for...Anthony Bennett? (Seriously?) Seems like they'll need someone to fill Markieff's minutes. I don't know what the compensation is for waiver claims (I don't think there are any but I could be wrong), seems like the Suns could've gotten something for Humphries, he's still a pretty good player. I can understand the Wizards wanting to get younger and more offensively aggressive at that position but Humphries is a good defender and rebounder, seems like a coupla Mav 2nd round picks would've been better than just letting him float away. Humphries signed with the Hawks, giving them a nice replacement for Splitter.

Spurs waive Ray McCallum. This was to make room for Andre Miller. McCallum is young enough to be back in Summer League, I kinda doubt he'll catch on anywhere this season but he'll be back. I always loved Andre Miller, unless he hooks on with the Jazz next year, it feels like this will be his last run in the league. Nice that he'll get a long look at the playoffs. He doesn't have the speed to play in the Spurs offense but he's still a crafty presence off the bench that will serve them well.

Raptors waive Anthony Bennett. This was to make room for Jason Thompson. Supposedly he's heading to the Suns and maybe that's the spot for him, but its hard to imagine he'll ever catch on. Bennett is maddening: he'll have moments where he looks like a badass, then you won't see him again for three weeks. I bet in pre-draft individual workouts he looked like a monster but on the court he was never much to see. The craziness of the Suns might be just the thing for him but I suspect he'll be off to China soon enough. Thompson couldn't get minutes with the Warriors but maybe he'll bring some spicy secrets on Toronto with him. And he has to be an upgrade over Bennett.

Heat waives Beno Udrih. This was to make room for Joe Johnson (and cut salary). This deal kinda pissed off some teams because apparently there were some shenanigans involved in getting Udrih paid off the books (or some such something like that). If the details are there, the story will eventually emerge. Until then, its just another guy getting cut to make room for another guy.

Grizzlies waive James Ennis. This was to make room for Ryan Hollins. Ennis actually got minutes last year with the Heat but I guess the Grizzlies figured they needed bulk more than swiftness. Grizzlies just got Grizzlier. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ennis with the Wolves or Pelicans next year, we'll see whose uni he's wearing in Summer League.

Rockets waive Ty Lawson. This was to cut salary. Last summer's most intriguing and seemingly one-sided trade was pretty much a non-starter for the Rockets. Lawson never fit in with the Harden-controlled offense (which was predictable, in hindsight). Where does Lawson go? Early speculation was NYK but supposedly Phil's not interested. Nets always need players and the Clippers do too. On the one hand, he's not the giant talent he was just a few years ago but he's not washed up, he can still be good somewhere. Not sure if we'll find out where this year, though.

Wolves waive Kevin Martin. This was to make room for Greg Smith. Shame the Wolves couldn't trade Martin but giving him a chance to hook on somewhere else was as good as it was ever gonna get, I reckon. The Wolves signed Martin in a different time, when the team's needs and prospects were radically different. When K Love got moved out and the Wolves went into youth movement mode, Martin was an awkward leftover that never really fit. Early speculation is that he'll end up with Andre Miller in San Antonio but I think he's a better fit for the Mavs or Grizzlies. And, again, the Clippers (like the Post Office) are always hiring for cut rates.

Gutierrez (Hornets), Pressey (Suns), Stepheson (Clippers) all got 2nd 10 day contracts. But Jimmer Fredette (Knicks) did not.

Academy Awards Recap

So how did I do with the predictions? I got Documentary (Amy), Original Song (Spectre), Cinematography (The Revenant), Foreign Film (Son of Saul), Animated Feature (Inside Out), Original Screenplay (Spotlight), Director (Innaritu), and 3 of the 4 actors (Dicaprio, Larson, Rylance). 10 out of the 20 that I tried.

I missed Visual Effects (Ex Machina), Score (The Hateful 8), Adapted Screenplay (The Big Short), Picture (Spotlight) and then all the Mad Max juggernaut categories (Costume, Makeup, Production Design, Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing). 10 out of the 20 that I tried.

Obviously the ones I called correctly are because I'm brilliant, but what about the ones I missed? I almost got Score, suggesting that while the Academy would love to reward Morricone, they're getting tired of rewarding Tarantino; the Academy did the right thing. I missed Adapted Screenplay because I thought Big Short would take the top prize, thus leaving Room to get a bonus prize; no dice, in fact, when Big Short won that was probably an indication that it wouldn't win anything else. Visual Effects was a surprise to me, I just assumed Star Wars (or possibly Mad Max) would win that; though I really liked Ex Machina, its effects were minimal and subtle, not sure it actually deserved this award but, oh well. Best Supporting Actress was also a surprise to me though Vikander was the easy pick; to reward her so quickly, so young, might end up cursing her, I hope that doesn't come to pass. Mad Max taking Costume and Makeup is actually pretty impressive, I was surprised at the nominations much less the wins, but Mad Max was a unique visual experience and the Academy was right to reward it. As for the other Mad Max wins, I just assumed the Academy would choose Star Wars but I guess they figure there'll be plenty more Star Wars flicks coming to reward (or snub all over again).

As for Best Picture, I knew The Revenant would not win. Prizes for Dicaprio, Innaritu and Lubezki were predictable and well deserved, but the film itself was not necessarily one for the ages. I cynically thought the Academy would choose the smug, overrated (downright delusional) Big Short. But I'm really quite pleased they went with Spotlight, though as a film it has its problems because while the screenplay was magnificent, the direction was lackluster to say the least. I wondered if the movie understood itself. For example, the crusading reporters are defending the little guy from the big bad church but over and over again they bully potential interviewees by suggesting they need to talk to the Globe and forgot those insignificant little papers chasing the same story. Does the movie get the irony? I'm not sure. I know the screenwriter put it in there but the director (same guy, incidentally) doesn't bring it out well enough. Another example (MAJOR SPOILER): part of the plot revolves around the church suppressing court documents, but when the Globe is able to bring them to the public, they're not yet ready to write their big expose....so the Globe suppresses the court documents! Again, this is a subtlety in the overall story but it doesn't really play that way in the movie. The screenwriter did brilliant work (McCarthy earned his Oscar), but the direction is pretty soft (McCarthy will earn more Oscars if he finds someone else to direct his scripts). Spotlight is a compelling, engaging, intelligent piece of work that tells a complex story in a way that is easy to follow. Good for the Academy for picking the best choice for Best Picture. (That said, I thought The Revenant was a better film but that's not what the Oscars are all about. Did that sound weird? Maybe I'll write that out one o' these days)