Still waiting for Finley's decision DIME Magazine / Dime Magazine Posted: 2 hours ago Yesterday was supposed to be D-Day in the Michael Finley free agency race, as the Spurs, Suns, Heat and T-Wolves all continue to wait for No. 4's decision. Hours passed and of this morning nothing Finley-related had happened. Are the horses still left making last-ditch efforts to sweeten the pot for Fin? You better believe it. ... So while there was no real Finley movement there was this phenomenal bit of news: Nick Van Exel is back. One of our all-time favorite players, who hinted last season that he was thinking of retiring because of his aching knees, reportedly signed a free-agent deal with the Spurs. There's no info yet on the terms of the deal, but initial reports were that they were able to sign Nick without using any of the cash they're offering Fin. You have to love the Spurs front office. Do they ever do anything wrong? Ever? Van Exel should be a great backup to Tony Parker. He only really has to play limited minutes every night and every now and then, he can still light it up. So even if they lose out on Finley, they at least got some kind of backcourt help heading into the season. ... We came across a rumor yesterday that has Jalen Rose potentially being dealt to the T-Wolves, but there was no info on who else would be involved or who the Raptors would get in return. Wally? A lot of people have been speculating that Szczerbiak is potential trade bait, but with the way the T-Wolves have been holding on to Wally, we can't really see them trading him for Jalen. ... So some of us are out in Las Vegas for MAGIC, an apparel convention where pretty much every clothing company comes in for four days to set up booths to show off their new lines. Our favorite booth so far was some company called "Country Girl." Picture a country house in the middle of a convention floor with six beautiful women in little bikinis and straw hats. We don't even know what they were selling. ... We got a look at the Jordan XXIs in three colorways. Dope. That's all we can say. ... Our favorite part of the first day was the half hour we spent cornered by Mike James, who was there to support a new line called Eklectik Jeans. He says he's been playing daily in John Lucas' Houston run with Damon Stoudamire, Damon Jones and Sam Cassell. He absolutely loves his Rockets squad this season and really thinks he has a shot to win his second ring. He doesn't even wear his Pistons championship ring. He gave that one to his pops. ... We're out like Jalen. Not much information out of it except how excited he seems to be about next season.
im loving the confidense these guys have. Last year going in to the season i didn't see that from our players. OHHHHHH I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE SEASON, AND DAM ASTROS CAN'T WIN SH.IT
Word. Looks to me by all the quotes i've heard/seen from james is that he is a businessman. Every team he goes to is "just another gig" and from that standpoint his "I will opt out or go to the highest bidder in the FA marker" quote is a pure business-as-usual remark, can't hate him for that. Ever since he said that comment i've noticed more people wanting him gone Don't think the Rockets wouldn't trade him in a second if they had a chance to get better.. so why can't he go to whats best for him, he already has his ring now it's time to get paid. Anyway, that's another topic and I hope MJ stays with us atleast this season to help us on our title run, if he goes after this season then thanks Mike for tryin' to get Houston another ring.
While the article appears to be written by an orangutan, I do like knowing about Mike James, you get a B- Billy.
The article is written by Dime Magazine, they put out a Dime Smack column every day on foxsports.net. It usually has a hip-hop feel to it but they will throw out some interesting stuff every once and awhile. They put out a Fantasy Smack every day during the season too, in case some fantasy b-ball guys are interested.
