Jimmer Fredette Sucks

Every year prior to the NBA Draft, there is a prospect that gets an inordinate amount of buzz despite the fact that they truly are not that good. Typically, this is because they do one thing really well - usually shooting the basketball. This year's overhyped player - none other than Jimmer Fredette.

First, let's look at the obvious reason as to why he will not be worth an early pick. Fredette is 6'2". He would be extremely undersized as a shooting guard, which would encompass his one skill. As such, he would need to be considered a point guard at the NBA level, which would fit about as well as Keanu Reeves would in the role of Hamlet. Fredette has minimal ball handling skills, cannot pass, and is nothing more than a spot up shooter. As a point guard, he would need to make plays and be able to distribute the basketball. That is not what he does. He simply does not fit in the NBA.

Second, all he can do is shoot a basketball. In fact, he shot a basketball so much that in his 1323 minutes played at BYU last year, he attempted 765 field goals - one every 1.7 minutes. This is a point guard? He cannot defend. He cannot pass. He cannot rebound. He is, quite simply, J.J. Redick. And we all can see that Redick is still nothing more than a five minute per game player, who might be able to hit a few threes if the team is down big.

Third, NCAA basketball scoring champions do not typically fair well in the NBA. For example, look at Adam Morrison. Morrison coming out of college had a lot of buzz like Fredette does - a guy who could shoot the ball, but had no other skills. Morrison, right now, is the twelfth man off the bench, waving the towel and being a glorified cheerleader. Yeah, he was worth that lottery pick.

Yet, despite the fact that Fredette should be nothing more than a second round draft choice based on his lack of an ability to do anything other than shoot a ball, he is being considered as a possible lottery pick. Specifically, the New York Knicks are rumored to be interested in moving up in the draft in order to select him. And people wonder why it is that the Knicks suck almost every year. Could it be personnel decisions such as this?

So, feel free to waste your pick on someone that is a draft mistake waiting to happen. At least if the Knicks get him in a game, that pick will still be better than drafting Frederic Weis.

Isiah Thomas Returns - Part Five?

Imagine for a moment that you own a business. In the past, this business had been rather successful, ranking near the top in it's respective field. However, the business has fallen upon hard times recently, and needs help to achieve it's former level of greatness. As such, you are looking for someone to lead the business back.

Amongst your candidates, there are people that have been successful in the type of business that you own, there is someone that has learned the position by working his way through the ranks, and then there is someone that destroyed the last four companies he has been a part of over the last ten years. Obviously, that last person is not someone you would seriously consider, right?

Unless, apparently, you happen to be the Detroit Pistons. Their present head coaching search is down to four people - Mike Woodson, Kelvin Sampson, Bill Laimbeer, and......Isiah Thomas. Yes, that Isiah Thomas. The same Isiah Thomas that managed to bankrupt the Continental Basketball Association two years after purchasing it. The Isiah Thomas that took a talented Pacers team that had just come off an NBA Finals appearance, yet was unable to get them past the first round. The same Isiah Thomas that ran the New York Knicks into the ground, both in the front office and as a coach - yet was almost brought back last year as an advisor. And yes, the same Isiah Thomas that is presently attempting to coach in college basketball without anything resembling success.

All of this does not take into account the various scandals that have marked his career either. From his attempts to freeze out Michael Jordan during the All-Star game, to his being sued for sexual harassment while with the Knicks, to his being hospitalized for an overdose of Lunesta (and trying to cover it up by claiming his daughter was the one getting the medical attention), to the Knicks having illegal workouts with draft prospects while he was in the front office, Thomas is toxic. Stay away at all costs.

We here at Mr. Dave's Sports Blog are aware that making fun of Isiah Thomas is roughly akin to beating up Helen Keller - too easy. Yet, despite his long list of failures, Thomas continually returns in the ranks of basketball. Either he has pictures of someone in the NBA that allow him to continue getting employment, or he is David Stern's version of the retarded kid that works at McDonald's washing dishes for $3.00 per hour. Nice to know that the NBA's favorite charity involves watching Thomas pretend to be a competent basketball coach/executive/towel boy while not having the capabilities to manage my cat.

So, Detroit, bring Isiah Thomas back as your coach at your own peril. Just expect failure at an epic level.

The NBA has a looming problem

In the wake of the Carmelo Anthony trade to the Knicks, a pattern has begun to develop. At this point, players have begun colluding amongst themselves, agreeing to play for a specific teams in order to build a few 'super teams'. Now, there is nothing illegal about this on the dies of the players, but if the owners were to get together in order to lower salaries, it would be a severe issue. Nothing quite like a double standard.

When did this all begin? In terms of athletes intentionally creating the 'super team' concept, it leads back to the Boston Celtics in the 2007-08 season, when Ray Allen and Paul Pierce pleaded with Kevin Garnett to join them in Boston. With the formation of the 'Big Three', the die had been cast.

Fast forward to this past off-season. LeBron, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh meet several times, and decide to partner up in Miami to create their own Super Team, only their version is a younger, more dynamic group with three players entering their prime. It doesn't matter that the Heat no longer have anything resembling a surrounding cast to support them, as there was no longer any room under the cap. They have their version of the Big Three scoring roughly 68.6% of the team's points. The fourth leading scorer? Udonis Haslem, who is out for a long time at 8.0 points per game. Behind him? We find Eddie House at 6.9 points per.

Now, the New York Knicks are joining the party. After picking up Amare Stoudemire through free agency, they picked up Carmelo Anthony, who forced the Denver Nuggets to trade him. So who is the third piece? None other than Chris Paul, who joined Carmelo and Amare in toasting to playing together in New York during Carmelo's wedding. Paul happens to be a free agent after next season, so don't expect him to sign an extension in New Orleans.

The NBA is rapidly becoming a collection of the haves against the have nots. Why play in a place like Toronto or Sacramento, when you can force that team to deal you to a team like Miami or New York? Why attempt to build something in an area that truly enjoys basketball, but happens to be in the middle of nowhere? After all, image is so much more important than the game, right?

This is something that David Stern needs to look at during the collective bargaining agreement. The league may become nothing more than six to eight teams loaded with superstars, while the rest of the teams either have to fold or play in obscurity. A hard salary cap would help to fix this issue. So would creating a franchise type tag in the NBA. But regardless of what they determine the answer to be, this needs to be fixed. And soon.

Shut up Carmelo Anthony

For the entirety of this season, Carmelo Anthony has been trying to force a trade from Denver. His target - the New York Knicks. He is threatening to not sign any extensions with any other team if he does not go to New York, despite the fact that the Knicks have practically nothing to offer Denver in trade.

Denver's options here are limited. They have tried signing Carmelo to an extension (3 years, 65 million), which he refused. A potential deal with New Jersey fell through when, despite the absolutely egregious amount of talent that the Nets offered, the Nuggets dragged their feet at pulling the trigger. At this point, it appears that Anthony will get his wish to be a Knick, but only through free agency.

Now, this poses another potential problem for Anthony. The collective bargaining agreement for the NBA ends after this season. As such, no one is sure as to what the financial landscape of the league will be next year. His steadfast refusal to sign an extension with Denver, or to accept a trade to a team other than New York, would potentially cost him millions of dollars. In an interview with Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post, Hockman asked, “If they trade you somewhere, and you don’t sign the extension, you’re screwed …” Before Anthony could answer, Hochman attempted to correct his statement by saying, “Well, not necessarily screwed…” But, Melo flashed a smile and said: “Screwed.”

So, to make certain that is truly understood, Anthony feels screwed because he would either have to accept a ridiculous sum of money from a team he may not want to play for, or go to his desired destination for potentially less money. Well, too bad. It's called life, Carmelo. People are stuck at places they don't want to work at because it pays their bills. And while I understand not wanting to live in New Jersey (seriously, that team is terrible, the people on Jersey Shore are indicative to what is in northern New Jersey, and that area smells of burning tires and garbage) $65 million would allow me to purchase a place with a lot of air fresheners.

This is the bed that Carmelo Anthony has made by trying to force his way out of Denver. It's time that he accepts the consequences of his actions.