Reflections on the Basketball Hall of Fame

The Hall Dropped the Ball

Last week, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced seven new members of it’s 2012 class, including; former NBA sharp-shooter Reggie Miller, the league’s all-time winningest coach, Don Nelson, University of Virginia standout Ralph Sampson, two-time Olympic gold medalist Katrina McClain, four-time NBA champion Jamaal Wilkes, longtime college referee Hank Nichols and the All-American Red Heads — the female version of the Harlem Globetrotters.

The newcomers are joined by five members of the class who had already been announced: Nike co-founder Phil Knight, ABA star Mel Daniels, seven-time NBA All-Star Chet Walker, Olympian Don Barksdale and Lydija Alexeeva, who led the Soviet Union to two Olympic gold medals.

Once again, the Hall dropped the ball.

Inexplicably, Louisville coach Rick Pitino failed to make the cut. By any objective criteria Pitino is one of the best college basketball coaches of the past twenty-five years. An innovator, who was one of the first coaches to build an offense around the three-point shot at both the collegiate and professional level, he’s made six trips to the Final Four, winning the National Championship with Kentucky in 1996.

Pitino’s exclusion was particularly glaring since the announcement came a week after he led a third program to the Final Four, becoming the first coach to officially do so (Calipari’s Final Four appearances with the University of Massachusetts and Memphis were vacated due to NCAA violations) when his Louisville Cardinals defeated the Florida Gators in the Elite Eight. (Pitino also went to the Final Four with Providence and Kentucky).

Unfortunately, such peculiar omissions have become commonplace for the Basketball Hall of Fame. It should be noted that unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame includes high school and college coaches, as well as professional players and coaches who thrived in other countries. Over the years, the Hall’s inclusion of what was perceived as an abundance of collegiate coaches and foreign players while former NBA stars have been denied entrance has led many basketball fans and insiders to question the Hall’s credibility.

The issue came to head in 2005, when the Hall inducted three college coaches (Sue Gunter, Jim Calhoun and Jim Boeheim), longtime NBA coach and commentator Hubie Brown and female Brazilian star Hortencia Marcari, without admitted one former NBA player. Fans were particularly outraged that Dominique Wilkins, then the NBA’s ninth all-time leading scorer and two-time NBA Champion Joe Dumars were denied admission.

The omission of Wilkins in particular was so disturbing that NBA Commissioner David Stern felt compelled to publicly express his c0ncern over the Hall’s selection process. Seeing as though Stern and the NBA are the Nasimith Hall of Fame’s greatest benefactor, the Hall was forced to take notice. Dumars and Wilkins were admitted the following year and the percentage of inductees has noticeably swung in favor of former NBA players since then.

Perhaps Pitino’s exclusion is the result of a backlash against collegiate coaches, though if that’s the case then the committee has swung too far the other way. The inclusion of Jamaal Wilkes, in this year’s class, a three-time NBA all-star, though certainly not a star player (Wilkes averaged 17.7 points and 6.2 assists over a twelve-year career), indicates that the selection process has shifted and voters are much less selective regarding former NBA players. Wilkes’ selection could also be seen as a product of fans and voters tendency to overvalue members of championship teams. (Wilkes won a ring with Golden State in 1975 and three with the Lakers in ’80, ’82 and ’85.)

First Ballot Hall-of-Famers

Another possible explanation for Pitino’s exlusion from the Hall of Fame is that the committee members may have determined that he’s not a “first ballot Hall-of-Famer,” a random distinction used to distinguish between different tiers of Hall-of-Famers and most commonly applied to candidates for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The problem with this approach to voting is that the Hall-of-Fames make no such distinction between inductees, so it’s illogical for the voters to do so.

ESPN’s Bill Simmons has proposed a pyramid-shaped tier structure to the Basketball Hall of Fame, with the greatest of all-time, such as Michael Jordan and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar making up the top tier and borderline inductees such as Dumars and Wilkes on the bottom level. If the Hall instituted such a system or another tiered approach then gradations of evaluation by voters would be relevant, but as the Hall is currently constructed, voting should be based on whether a player is worthy of induction, regardless of how many years he’s been on the ballot.

Hall of Fame caliber players shouldn’t have to pay their dues in order to be admitted. They did that already; it was called their career. If voters believe that a player should wait a year or more before being inducted then maybe that player doesn’t deserve to be inducted in the first place.

Is Reggie Miller Really a Hall-of-Famer?

The biggest name in this year’s Hall of Fame class is long-time Indiana Pacer Reggie Miller. To most basketball fans Miller was a no-brainer for election. A deadly three-point shooter, he led the Pacers deep into the playoffs on several occasions, including a trip to the NBA Finals in 2000, while earning a reputation as one of the most clutch performers in the NBA. His late-game heroics during the epic playoff battles between the Pacers and Knicks are legendary.

Forget the late-game theatrics for a moment and let’s break down his game. Miller was one of the best three-point shooters the league has ever seen and he was very effective at drawing contact and getting to the foul line, where he was regularly among the league-leaders in shooting percentage, but that was basically all he did. He was a one-dimensional player. Miller didn’t grab rebounds. He failed to use his size to exploit smaller guards in the post. He wasn’t a particularly good passer and didn’t create opportunities for his teammates off the dribble. On the defensive side of the ball he was simply average. And for all his scoring prowess, Reggie averaged just 18.2 points per game for his career.

Miller was never selected to an All-NBA First or Second Team (he was selected to the All-NBA Third Team three times) and the highest he ever finished in MVP voting was 13th in ’99-’00. The Pacers all-star was selected to five all-star games, which while impressive hardly screams “Hall-of-Famer.” His statistics and accolades are most comparable to players like Mitch Richmond (21.0 points per game, six all-star teams and All-NBA Second Team – ahead of Miller – three times), Tim Hardaway (five-time all-star, All-NBA First Team once and All-NBA Second Team twice, 17.7 points and 8.2 assists per game) and Kevin Johnson (three-time all-star, 4x All-NBA Second Team and 17.9 points and 9.1 assists per game), all of whom are considered long shots for the Hall of Fame.

The mercurial Hall of Fame selection committee obviously didn’t view Miller as a lock either. Last year, his first on the ballot, he wasn’t a finalist for induction. I don’t have a problem with Miller being elected, especially given the Hall’s ambiguous standards and its consideration of collegiate and international performance, but let’s not let his spectacular moments on the big stage of Madison Square Garden obscure the truth that Reggie Miller was a very good player for a long time. He was not elite.

Phil Knight?!?

phil_knight1.jpg

The most surprising member of this year’s class is co-founder of Nike Phil Knight, who was selected for his “significant contributions to the game of basketball.” At first glance it seems absurd that a man who has never owned, played or worked for an amateur or professional basketball league or team in any capacity should be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He doesn’t seem to belong with many of the recent “contributor” inductees like Jerry Buss, Hubie Brown, Jerry Colangelo and Meadowlark Lemon.

However, the business mogul’s impact on the sport is immeasureable. Nike’s sponsorship of individual basketball players, most notably, Michael Jordan has been highly instrumental in catapulting the NBA from a league whose finals games were aired on tape delay in the late 1970’s to a world-wide international brand, and increasing the popularity of basketball to the point that it’s challenging soccer for the most popular sport in the world.

What makes his induction somewhat difficult to swallow is the suspicion that his corporate dollars played as much of a role in his selection as his contribution to the game. For example, in 2009, the summer Michael Jordan was inducted into the Hall, Jordan Brand, a premium division of Nike, invested approximately $250,000 into a vast exhibit which commemorated Jordan’s career.

Knight personally is worth several billion dollars. He’s donated hundreds of millions of dollars to his alma mater, the University of Oregon, and has made substantial contributions to the Stanford Graduate School of Business (also his alma mater) and the Oregon Health and Science University Cancer center. It’s not much of a stretch to consider that the cash-strapped Naismith Hall of Fame may be hoping for a handout from Knight in return for his induction.

The suspicion of impropriety is enhanced by the lack of transparency within the Hall’s selection process. Whereas selection committee members for Halls of Fame in other sports openly debate their selections, the public doesn’t even know who the members of the selection committee are for the Naismith Hall, nevermind who they voted for.

The King of New York

Like Pitino, former Knicks star Bernard King didn’t get the call he was hoping for last week. Unlike Pitino, this was the ninth time King was nominated and the second time he was named a finalist for induction. His situation poses an issue that’s often debated regarding Hall of Fame candidates in all sports. How do you weigh dominance against longevity?

King was one of the elite players in the NBA during the mid 1980’s as a member of the New York Knicks, winning a scoring title in 1985 and being selected to the First All-NBA Team in consecutive seasons. His quick first step and devastating arsenal of low-post moves rendered him virtually unguardable. However, his prime was cut short by a gruesome knee injury, and though he returned to average twenty points per game, he was no longer the dominant force he once was. Also working against King is his failure to achieve significant success in the post-season, though he was surrounded by marginal talent at best throughout his career.

Generally, I don’t like to weigh in on topics such as a player’s Hall of Fame candidacy when I didn’t see that athlete play in his prime, which is the case with King. However, I believe that there’s no greater indication of a player’s worth than the impressions of his peers. The feedback I’ve heard from those that played with and against King is that he unequivically should be in the Hall of Fame. Hall-of-Famers Larry Bird and Dominique Wilkins are among those who have said that he was the most difficult player for them to defend. Sure, King’s prime was cut short, but he still averaged 22.5 points per game for his career, scoring over 20 points per game 11 times, while shooting a staggering .518% from the field.

International Candidates

King’s candidacy is particularly difficult to evaluate in light of the Hall’s consideration of international competition. If the Hall of Fame was simply an NBA Hall of Fame then King’s exclusion would certainly at least be arguable based upon his lack of longevity as an elite player. The problem is, the Hall has inducted so many international stars who didn’t compete against the best players in the world on a regular basis, while not admitting a player who was one of the most dominant scorers in the most talented league in the world.

The trouble with evlauating international candidates is that the standard for evaluation has changed. Years ago, when the best European or South American players only competed against players in their region it made sense to include the elite players in those regions in the Hall. Now that the best international players play in the NBA we can compare them to the best players in the world and their dominance in their native region isn’t quite as relevant.

Take a player like, Tiago Splitter. The Spurs forward is one of the best Brazilian players of his generation (along with Nene and Leandro Barbosa) and was named MVP of the Spanish League in 2010. In previous generations he may have been well on his way to a Hall of Fame career as a star in the Euroleague or South America and theoretically still could if he continued to play overseas, but the big man is averaging just 9.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in his second season in the NBA.

Splitter hasn’t accomplished enough overseas to warrant Hall of Fame consideration, though there are international players whose candidacy is more difficult to decipher, specifically those who came to the U.S. later in their careers when the migration of international talent to the NBA picked up steam in the ’90’s like Dražen Petrović, Vlade Divac, Toni Kukoč and Arvydas Sabonis. All four were superstars overseas and very good players in the NBA, though none of them should be Hall-of-Famers based solely on their NBA careers. The question is, How much weight should be given to their performance in their native country, the Euroleague or their level of play in the Olympics and other international tournaments?

Sabonis seems to be a no-brainer for the Hall of Fame. It was apparent when he led the Soviet Union to the Gold Medal in the ’88 Olympics, destroying future Hall-of-Famer David Robinson of the U.S. in the process, that he was one of the best players in the world. His skill level and production in the NBA with clearly diminished mobility after several major injuries was a testament to how great he once was. Fittingly, Sabas was inducted into the Naismith Hall last year.

The case for former Yugoslavian National Team teammates, Petrovic, Divac and Kukoc isn’t quite as clear. Drazen was named Euroleague Player of the Year four times before joining the NBA and had emerged as one of the best long distance shooters in the NBA before he died tragically in a car accident in 1993 at the age of 28.

In addition to his accomplishments with the Yugoslavian National Team, Divac was named one of the Euroleague’s 50 Greatest contributors and made an all-star team during an impressive 16-year NBA career. Kukoc won the Euroleague Final Four MVP award three times and was an integral part of a Chicago Bulls team that won three consecutive championships from ’96-’98, winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1996.

Petrovic was inducted into the Naismith Hall in 2002. Divac and Kukoc haven’t been elected and most likely won’t be. Based solely on their NBA careers none of the three are worthy of induction. If they had played ten years earlier before European players joined the NBA they would have certainly been inducted based on their international credentials and if they played ten years later and joined the NBA at the age of 19, they wouldn’t even be up for consideration. The Hall’s inability to establish a consistent standard for international players causes further damage to the credibility of its selection process.

Collegiate Accomplishments

Ralph Sampson’s NBA career is certainly not Hall of Fame worthy. He was a great player over his first few seasons with the Rockets and along with Akeem Olajuwan led Houston to the 1986 NBA Finals, but Sampson’s knees were shot by his mid 20’s and he only played more than 50 games in a season once after the age of 25.

Sampson’s NBA credentials don’t compare to King’s, but the Hall considers players’ collegiate careers as well and Sampson is considered one of the greatest college players ever. He was named the Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year three times (He and Bill Walton are the only players to win it more than once and they both won it three times) while playing for the University of Virginia and led the Cavaliers to the Final Four in 1981. But why should a player’s college credentials be considered for the Hall of Fame? Isn’t that what the College Basketball Hall of Fame is for? Who’s going to be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame next, Christian Laettner?

An NBA Hall of Fame

One way to solve many of the problems discussed above regarding the confusing and often changing standards of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame would be for the NBA to create its own Hall of Fame, which would inductee players, coaches and other contributors based solely on their performance in or contributions to the NBA. The accomplishments of outstanding international coaches, players and contributors have been and will continue to be recognized by the FIBA Hall of Fame and standout collegiate athletes, coaches and contributors will continue to be immortalized in the College Basketball Hall of Fame and great female ballplayers can be inshrined in the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.

Commissioner Stern has repeatedly expressed his support for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame and stated that he’s not interested in creating an NBA only Hall of Fame. It may simply be an issue of finances. The NBA currently helps keep the Naismith Hall afloat and perhaps Stern is worried that a Hall financed completely by the league would be a poor investment. Regardless of the reason, it appears there won’t be an NBA Hall of Fame any time in the near future and the Naismith Hall will continue to make perplexing errors in their selection process in the future.

Athletes Who Looked Strangest in New Uniforms

Peyton Manning

The Peyton Manning saga has finally come to an end (at least until it’s time to see whether he can actually still throw the ball) and the Colts legend will conclude his career as a Denver Bronco. If you find it difficult to picture Manning in a Broncos jersey, you’re not alone. Manning’s the latest in a long line of superstars who became so identified with the team and city they played for, only to conclude their careers in a foreign jersey.

This is a list of the 15 ballplayers who looked most out of place in new uniforms at the end of their careers.

Top 15 Strangest Looking Uniforms

15. Karl Malone – Los Angeles Lakers

The rest of the country was barely aware that there was a professional basketball team in Utah until Karl Malone and John Stockton arrived in the mid ‘80s. Malone scored more points than any player other than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, while building the Jazz into a perennial playoff contender. However, in ‘03, he signed with the Lakers in hopes of winning the championship that had eluded him throughout his career. Unfortunaetly, he fell just short once again as the Lakers lost to the Pistons in the NBA Finals.

14. Duke Snider – New York Mets and San Francisco Giants

The Duke with Willie Mays
The Duke with Willie Mays

The Duke was a mainstay in centerfield for the Dodgers for 16 seasons, powering the team to two championships (One in Brooklyn and one in L.A.) During the 1962 season, the Dodgers sold him to the Mets, where he was instantly a crowd favorite from his days in Brooklyn. After one season in New York, though, he asked to be traded to a contender and was sold to the Giants. Years earlier, his teammate Jackie Robinson retired rather than play for the Dodgers’ arch rival, but Snider accepted the move and concluded his career with one unproductive season in San Francisco.

13. Franco Harris – Seattle Seahawks

Harris was an important component of all four of the Steelers’ championship teams in the 1970s, and in ‘72 he won a playoff game in stunning fashion with his “Immaculate Recpetion.” The Steelers cut the popular veteran before the ‘84 season after he threatened to hold out for more money. He signed with the Seahawks and ran for a few hundred yards in his lone season with the team.

12. Hank Aaron – Milwaukee Brewers

“Hammerin Hank” smacked home runs for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves organization for 20 years. In 1974, just months after he broke Babe Ruth’s record, the team traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers so he could prolong his career in the American League as a designated hitter. His numbers significantly declined over his two seasons with the Brewers, though he was selected to his 21st All-Star Game in 1975.

11. Emmitt Smith – Arizona Cardinals

Smith ran for more yards than any running back in NFL history during his 12 years with America’s team and was arguably the Most Valuable Player on their Super Bowl teams of the mid ‘90s. After his record-breaking 2002 season, the Cowboys hired Bill Parcells to rejuvenate the floundering franchise and he  promptly cut Smith, who then signed with the Cardinals where he languished behind a weak offensive line for two seasons.

10. Patrick Ewing – Seattle Supersonics and Orlando Magic

Ewing was the centerpiece of the New York Knicks franchise from the moment they selected him with the first pick in the 1985 draft. He led them to two NBA Finals, but by 2000 the Knicks had transitioned into an up-tempo team, ill-suited for his aging knees. Unwilling to meet his demands for a contract extension, the Knicks traded Ewing to the Seattle Supersonics where he played for one season before riding the bench for the Orlando Magic the following year.

9. Ray Bourque – Colorado Avalanche

The all-time leading scorer for NHL defensemen suited up for the Boston Bruins for 21 seasons. In 2000, the team was in rebuilding mode and Bourque asked to be traded to a contender. Management honored their captain’s request and shipped him to Colorado, where he capped off his career by winning the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in his final season. He brought the cup to Boston to celebrate at a rally with Bruin fans.

8.  Joe Montana – Kansas City Chiefs

“Joe Cool” quarterbacked the 49ers to four Super Bowl victories while earning a reputation as one of the greatest clutch performer in football history. After he missing the entire ‘91 season and most of ‘92 with an elbow injury, the team decided to go with the younger Steve Young at quarterback and traded Montana to Kansas City. At 37 years of age, he still had something left in the tank and he led the Chiefs to the AFC championship game in January 1994.

7. Bobby Orr – Chicago Blackhawks

During his 10 years with the Boston Bruins, Orr won three MVP awards and scored the winning goal in the Stanley Cup Finals in ‘70 and ‘72. Then, in ‘76, he turned down a lucrative offer from the team, which included part ownership, to sign with the Chicago Blackhawks. Crippled by knee injuries, he played in only 26 games in three seasons with the Blackhawks and famously never cashed a check from the team, because he felt he hadn’t performed up to expectations.

6. Willie Mays – New York Mets

The “Say Hey Kid” roamed centerfield for the New York/San Francisco Giants from 1951-72. Widely considered the best all-around player in the game, he led the team to victory in the 1954 World Series. At 41 years of age, Mays was washed up when the Giants sold him to the Mets in 1972. The hearts of baseball fans sank to the floor when he misplayed two fly balls in the World Series during his final season in 1973.

5. Brett Favre – New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings

Favre wasn’t just Mr. Green Bay, he was the face of the league during his tenure with the Packers. The Mississippi gunslinger created countless indelible images in that green #4 jersey and though he began his career with the Falcons, after 16 seasons with Green Bay it seemed inconceivable that he could ever play for another team. But as Favre contemplated retirement in 2008, the Packers committed to Aaron Rodgers and shipped Favre to the Jets. He suited up for New York for one season before closing out his Hall of Fame career with the Packer’s rival Minnesota Vikings.

4. Johnny Unitas – San Diego Chargers

Unitas was the field general of the great Baltimore Colts teams of the late 1950s and one of the individuals responsible for the surge in popularity experienced by professional football in the United States. From 1956-72, he led the team to two championships and won three MVP awards. By 1973, his body had broken down and the Colts traded him to the San Diego, where he played five games for the Chargers before retiring after the ‘73 season.

4. Joe Namath – Los Angeles Rams

No athlete was more associated with the spotlight of New York than “Broadway” Joe. He was the Jets’ quarterback from 1965-76 and led the team to a legendary upset over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. By the mid ‘70s, knee and hamstring injuries had sapped him of his mobility, and in May ’76, the Jets waived him so he could sign with the Los Angeles Rams. Broadway Joe just didn’t look right in a blue and yellow jersey, playing in only three games for the Rams before calling it a career.

3. Babe Ruth – Boston Braves

Though he began his career in Boston, the Babe was so synonymous with Yankee baseball that Yankee Stadium became known as “The House That Ruth Built.” In the twilight of his career he desired that he wanted to manage, but the Yankees had no intentions of replacing skipper Joe McCarthy, so they sold Ruth to the Boston Braves in 1935. Overweight and broken down, the Great Bambino played less than two months for the Braves before walking away from the game.

1. Michael Jordan – Washington Wizards

When we envision M.J. soaring through the air with his tongue wagging or knocking down a game-winning shot, he’s wearing a red Chicago Bulls jersey. However, three years after retiring from the Bulls, discontent as co-owner of the Wizards, Jordan came out of retirement at the age of 38 to play for his new team. Though he still performed at an All-Star level, the air was out of his game, and the Wizards failed to make the playoffs both seasons he took the floor.

Manute, Muggsy and Spud

The Washington Bullets/Wizards have been a dismal franchise for the past thirty years (currently 9-30 this season) though at least in the 1980’s they were entertaining. Here’s a shot of the tallest and shortest players ever to play in the NBA when they were teammates with the Bullets during the ’87-’88 season, 7’7” Manute Bol and 5’3” Muggsy Bogues.

These are a couple shots of Manute with 5’7” 1986 Slam Dunk Contest Champion Spud Webb.

The Elephant in the Knicks Locker Room

It’s been a wild twelve months for the New York Knicks.

They acquired Carmelo Anthony, let General Manager Donnie Walsh go, endured an extended lockout, cut Chauncey Billups, signed Tyson Chandler, began the season with an 8-15 record and ended the first half on an improbable winning streak fueled by a Linsanity which captured the imagination of basketball and non-basketball fans from New York to Beijing.

Throw in the signing of former all-star Baron Davis, the recent addition of streak-shooter J.R. Smith, speculation about Mike D’Antoni’s job security and questions about whether Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo can co-exist and somehow the most crucial story of the Knicks season has been almost completely overlooked by the media and fans.

Amar’e Stoudemire has lost his explosiveness.

The dynamic scorer the Knicks signed to a five year $100 million contract in the summer of 2010 can no longer jump.

Pick and rolls which once culminated in him throwing it down with authority now result in mini-hooks or push shots which over the past few weeks have been swatted back in his face with staggering regularity. He hasn’t had his legs underneath him when releasing the jump-shot from the elbow which had become such a potent weapon for him in recent years. STAT’s scoring and rebounding numbers, 17.5 and 8 per game are the lowest since his rookie season and his 44% field goal percentage is by far the lowest of his career.

It’s not just Stoudemire’s scoring prowess which has fallen off. His lateral quickness is significantly diminished as well. Never a great defender, he now hobbles after his man on pick and rolls like a washed up Penny Hardaway, unable to push off on his knees.

STAT’s apologists are quick to argue that his struggles are the result of a long layoff last summer due to a back injury and the extended lockout, as well as the emotional strain from the recent tragic death of his brother, but the signs are much more ominous.

Amar’e may have been behind schedule due to his back injury, but he was doing full workouts by the fall and has had two months since the start of the season to get his legs back. Dirk Nowitzki admittedly came into the season so out of shape that the Mavericks held him out of games for a week so he could work on his conditioning and he’s since reestablished his old form. The tragic death of Stoudemire’s brother occurred just a few weeks ago and doesn’t explain his lackluster performances before that.

Even more concerning is that Amar’e’s decline appears to be a trend which can be traced back to last season. The 6’10 forward’s stellar play during the first half-season of his Knicks career had him in the Most Valuable Player discussion. He was averaging 26.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game at the all-star break and had the Knicks poised to make their first playoff appearance in seven years.

In the second half, his scoring and rebounding numbers dipped to 23.5 and 7.3 per game. Some writers attributed the decline to a reduction in opportunities due to the acquisition of Carmelo, but anybody who watched the Knicks regularly could see that he didn’t have the same spring in his step. Some nights it looked like there wasn’t any juice in his legs at all. In and of itself, the drop-off last season could be attributed to the abundance of minutes he played early in the season, but the trend has continued this year.

Stoudemire is only 29-years-old, typically still the prime of an NBA player’s career, though he joined the league straight out of high school and has already endured ten grueling NBA seasons during which he’s suffered major injuries. The microfracture surgery he underwent on his left knee in 2005 was so serious that the Knicks were unable to insure his $100 million contract. Many general managers around the league thought they were crazy for committing that much guaranteed money to a player with that kind of history.

The Knicks forward also suffered a detached retina during his tenure with the Phoenix Suns, which nearly ended his career and a back injury in the playoffs last year that was more serious than first believed. Knicks fans know from watching Larry Johnson how a back injury can rob a player of his explosiveness.

Amar’e can still be a solid contributor without the burst that once made him an all-star – 17.5 points and 8 rebounds isn’t too shabby – but if he is indeed on the downside of his career it would be a devastating blow to the Knicks. With so much of their cap space dedicated to Amar’e, Melo and Chandler over the next three seasons, they need all three of their maximum-salary players to perform at an all-star level if they’re going to compete for a championship.

Amar’e is still guaranteed $60 million after this season. That salary, combined with the lack of insurance on his contract render him virtually untradeable, even if he were to regain his old form.

The new Collective Bargaining Agreement threw the Knicks a lifeline in the form of the Amnesty Clause, which they could have used as insurance for Amar’e’s deal. While they wouldn’t have been able to recover the remaining money on his contract in the event that he were injured or his quality of play severely declined, they would have been able to clear his salary from the cap by releasing him. Instead, they went all in on Amar’e once again, using the clause on Billups (whose option they had picked up just six months earlier) in order to free up cap space to sign Chandler.

So why has Amar’e’s downturn received minimal coverage by the local and national media? In part, it’s been overshadowed by Carmelo’s struggles, the Chandler acquisition and of course, Linsanity. For national journalists and sportscasters who don’t watch the Knicks on a regular basis, it’s easy to attribute Amar’e’s struggles to an inability to co-exist with Carmelo or to what has been a strange, compressed, lockout-shortened season.

Another reason Amar’e’s slide has been overlooked in New York specifically is that the media and fans simply don’t want to believe that STAT’s skills may be declining. Amar’e came to the Knicks when no other superstar would and embraced the challenges of playing in the Garden, breathing life into a dormant franchise and re-invigorating a fan base that was starving for quality basketball. New Yorkers also recognize that if he hadn’t come to NYC, Melo and Chandler never would have either. They desperately want him to succeed.

Ultimately, there’s only one person who knows what’s wrong with Amar’e and that’s Amar’e himself. Last week, he told Alan Hahn of MSG Network, one of the few reporters who have discussed the issue of Amar’e’s explosiveness both publicly and with the Knicks forward, that he’s still getting his legs back and is almost there.

The Knicks and their fans better hope he’s right. If Amar’e can’t soar above the rim, the Knicks championship aspirations will be grounded with him.

Magic’s All-Star Sendoff

It’s NBA All-Star weekend and this year’s festivities in Orlando mark the 20th anniversary of the most inspirational All-Star performance in the league’s history. Just months after being informed that he’d tested HIV positive, Earvin “Magic” Johnson received a rightful sendoff from the league he helped build.

On November 7, 1991, Earvin “Magic” Johnson shocked the world when he announced that he’d contracted the HIV virus and would be retiring from the game of basketball immediately. That press conference is crystallized in the memories of all basketball fans who were old enough to remember. Nothing revealed the severity of the situation more than the stoic expression on Magic’s face, devoid of the trademark smile we’d all grown so accustomed to.

It’s easy to forget that little was known about HIV/AIDS twenty years ago other than that it was believed to lead to quick and certain death. The indomitable Magic had finally met his match in the game of life; or so it had appeared.

As the 1991-92 season progressed without him, fans showed their support for the beloved architect of the Lakers “Showtime” offense Magic by casting more All-Star votes for him than any other player in the Western Conference even though he hadn’t played one game that season. However, it wasn’t clear if he’d honor the fans’ wishes and play in the game.

In 1992, the American public wasn’t well educated about HIV/AIDS. Nobody was sure exactly how the disease was spread. Some players, including fellow all-stars Karl Malone and Mark Price, expressed concern about acquiring the virus through Magic’s sweat or blood and make it clear that they didn’t want to play with him.

Players, fans and analysts questioned how effective Magic would be even if he did play. He hadn’t competed competitively in months and the public wondered whether the HIV virus or possible side effects from the many medications he was taking would effect his performance. Furthermore, there was concern that it could be detrimental for his health to play.

Ultimately, with the blessing of his doctors and the rest of the game’s participants, Magic decided to take the court at Orlando Arena in Orlando Florida. As he’d done so many times throughout his career, he quickly silenced his doubters.

The Western Conference all-stars played a fast-paced style, reminiscent of the Lakers “Showtime” offense, and Magic had no trouble keeping up. He knifed through the defense and dazzled the crowd with vintage no-look passes, flashing his patented smile after every big play. He was back in his element, playing the game he loved, as if he’d never left.

The Western Conference all-stars ran away with the game, defeating the East 153-113. Magic finished with 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting and added nine assists and five rebounds in just 29 minutes of play and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.

With a few minutes remaining and the outcome no longer in question the game turned into a personal farewell for one of basketball’s all-time most beloved players. With a minute left, the rest of the players cleared out and let Magic guard his close friend Isiah Thomas one-on-one. Zeke ran down the shot clock dribbling behind his back, then as he looked to get off a jump shot Magic’s long reach forced him into heaving an airball. The next East possession was Michael Jordan’s turn and he wasn’t going to take it easy on his old rival. Undaunted, Magic got a hand in his face, causing MJ to miss off the front of the rim.

Then it was Magic’s turn. His teammate Clyde Drexler got him the ball at the top of the key with 20 seconds remaining on the clock and Isiah guarding him closely. Magic backed him down with a couple dribbles, then stepped back and released an awkward looking, rainbow, three-point shot. Swish! He nailed it!

Nobody could believe that knuckleball found its way into the basket. It was his third three-pointer in the last three minutes. Magic pumped his fist, as a huge smile crept across his face, and the crowd exploded in jubilation. The East didn’t even bother inbounding the ball. The clock ran out as players from both teams hugged Magic. For one last last time, it was his night.

There have been more competitive NBA All-Star Games than the one in 1992, but none more memorable. Like his game-winning hook shot over the oustretched arm of Kevin McHale in Game 4 of the ’87 Finals or when he jumped center in place of Kareem and led the Lakers to the championship in his rookie season, Earvin Johnson reminded us once again that he’s simply Magic.

Clyde Invigorated by Linsanity

The excitement and energy surrounding new Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin has reinvigorated Knicks Hall of Famer and broadcaster Walt “Clyde” Frazier. Clyde has taken his rhymes to twitter and is making appearances on national sports programs to discuss the new phenom, who Frazier’s former teammate and captain Willis Reed said this week reminds him of a young Clyde.

Most notably, Frazier dug deep into his legendary wardrobe this to find the perfect outfits to match the pageantry known as Linsanity. He wasn’t kidding when he tweeted before the Knicks/Lakers showdown at the Garden last Friday night…

“The Knicks and Lakers are in town …my brown and white cow will astound!”

Wednesday night Clyde followed it up with a “more conservative” brown leather jacket for the Knicks matchup with the Sacramento Kings.

It’s Melo’s Time

When Donnie Walsh was named President of the Knicks in April 2008 he had a plan. The former Pacers GM intended to rid the franchise of  the bloated contracts left over from the disastrous Isiah Thomas era in order to create cap space to sign one or two superstars during the free agent bonanza of 2010, the kind of superstars that would return the once proud franchise to championship contention.

Almost four years later, Walsh’s plan has come to fruition, albeit with different all-stars than he had anticipated. After striking out on LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the summer of ’10, Walsh signed former Phoenix Sun Amar’e Stoudemire to a five-year $100 million contract.

Unlike many of his peers Amar’e embraced the challenge of returning the Knicks to glory. He made it cool to play in New York again, so cool that his buddy Carmelo Anthony forced the Nuggets to trade him to the Knicks several months later. Two weeks ago, the two superstars (along with $58 million) enticed Tyson Chandler, of the 2011 champion Dallas Mavericks, to sign with the team as well.

In Stoudemire, Anthony and Chandler the Knicks have the most formidable front line in the NBA and the makings of a good team. If Amar’e and Melo learn to play together they can be very good.

But in order for them to win a championship in the next few years Carmelo Anthony needs to be great. Great like Dwyane Wade when he refused to let the Heat lose in the 2006 NBA Finals or Dirk Nowitzki knocking down off-balance shots from every angle on the court in the closing minutes against the Heat last season. Every championship team (with the exception of the 2004 Pistons) has had a dominant player who took over games in crunch time. Carmelo has to be that guy.

Come playoff time, when New York faces Derrick Rose and the Bulls, Wade and Lebron’s Heat and possibly Kevin Durant and the Thunder in the Finals, Melo needs to be the best player on the floor. Not necessarily at all times, but for significant stretches, particularly in the fourth quarter. Carmelo can be that guy.

Amar’e’s importance to the Knicks shouldn’t be glossed over. His winning attitude changed the culture of a moribund franchise and without his decision to come to New York, Melo and Chandler wouldn’t have followed. He’s earned the right to be captain and the last Knick introduced during player introductions. Though he lacks the explosiveness of his younger days, he’s still an imposing offensive force and the team will rely on his scoring. But he’s not Melo.

There are less than ten players in the world who possess the skills necessary to lead a team to a championship and Carmelo Anthony is one of them. He’s the best pure scorer in the league. The 6’8 forward can blow by his man with a devastatingly quick first step, which he allows him to get to rim with ease or set up a jab-step to create space for his picture perfect jumper. He can light it up from behind the arc or take his man in the post.

Teams are forced to double team him and when they do he makes them pay. Though he may seem like a one-dimensional player at times, Melo is an excellent passer, so much so that Knicks Coach Mike D’Antoni plans on running the offense through him this season, and is capable of grabbing double digit rebounds every game.

Perhaps most importantly, Melo possesses what ESPN’s Skip Bayless refers to as “the clutch gene.” He wants the ball in the closing minutes of tight games and he’s consistently among the league leaders in shooting percentage for game-tying or game-winning shots.

Still, despite an NCAA championship, Olympic gold medal and four all-star appearances, Melo hasn’t reached his full potential as a player. There are some glaring holes in his game, particularly his reluctance to play defense, a tendency to bog down the offense with his isolation plays and an unwillingness to take conditioning as seriously as many of his peers. In fact, some of his teammates on the 2008 Summer Olympics team teased him about his belly.

Now in the prime of his career, at the age of 27, the Brooklyn native has a chance to make a fresh start with a Knicks team that has the nucleus in place to form a championship team, something he never had in Denver. The Knicks aren’t a finished product, as General Manager Glen Grunwald continues to work to solidify the point guard position (He’s hoping newly signed Baron Davis will fill that role once he returns from a back injury) and add some front court depth.

It’s also typically a slow climb to a championship, beginning with tough playoff losses, as a team grows into a cohesive unit and learns how to finish games in the playoffs. The Knicks probably won’t peak for another year or two, but the run starts now and it begins with Melo.

His seven-year stint with the Nuggets was a prelude to the main event. Madison Square Garden is where Carmelo Anthony will define his basketball legacy. Deliver a championship to New York and he’ll go down as a legend.

Which L.A. Team is More Likley to Win It All?

For decades the Los Angeles Clippers have been the laughing stock of the NBA, the red-headed step-brother to a Lakers franchise which has dominated the league with a flare that captures the glitz and glamor of Tinseltown.

The Clippers have made the playoffs just twice since moving to L.A. in 1984. Their notoriously stingy owner Donald Sterling routinely allowed his best players to walk, bungled draft picks and failed to attract any star power to the media capital of the world. Meanwhile, the Lakers won eight NBA championships during that period on the backs of superstars so big they only need one name, Kareem, Magic, Shaq and Kobe.

So when the NBA lockout finally concluded last week and two of the league’s top players, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard, were on the trading block and both reportedly interested in playing in L.A., basketball fans and insiders assumed that the Lakers would land one, if not both of them. Given the Clippers reputation as a moribund franchise, nobody believed they were seriously in the running, even though they had several attractive young assets.

Initially, it looked as though the scenario would play out as expected, with the Lakers reaching an apparent agreement on a three-team deal involving the Rockets and Hornets in which they would obtain Paul in exchange for Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. Then at the last minute, the league – which currently owns the Hornets – set off a firestorm by nixing the trade for “basketball reasons.”

Still, history dictated that the Lakers would find a way to restructure the deal and get their guy. But that’s not what happened. Instead, a devastated Odom reportedly asked to be traded. Instead of giving their versatile big man time to cool off, in Clipper-esque fashion, the Lakers shipped one of their biggest trade chips to the Mavericks for virtually nothing (the Mavs 2012 first round draft pick.)

The Clippers swooped in amid the chaos and began serious negotiations with the Hornets for Paul, which culminated in a deal Wednesday night in which they sent Eric Gordon, Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 first-round pick, Chris Kaman and Al-Farouq Aminu to New Orleans for the four-time all-star point guard.

The trade gives the Clippers the best guard-big man tandem in the league with Paul and last season’s Rookie of the Year Blake Griffin, a combination reminiscent of Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire during their glory days in Phoenix.

Paul wasn’t the only move the Clippers made this past week. Donald Sterling’s club won the bidding for veteran point guard Chauncy Billups, who can also play some two guard next to Paul, after he was waived by the Knicks under the amnesty provision. The club also signed gritty small forward Caron Butler and matched the four-year $43 million offer Golden State made to their up-and-coming restricted free agent center DeAndre Jordan.

With a formidable starting five and the best one-two punch in the league other than LeBron and D-Wade, for the first time ever, the Clippers have the makings of a legitimate rivalry with the Lakers. In fact, one could argue that they have a better chance than their Staples Center cohabitants to win the championship this season.

The Lakers were swept by Dallas in the playoffs last season, Phil Jackson retired and they completely mishandled the Odom situation, turning their biggest strength, their deep front line, into a weakness. They have numerous question marks heading into the season, including an aging backcourt, the relationship between Bryant and new head coach Mike Brown and as always, whether Bynum can stay healthy.

Yet, the Lakers still have the potential to be an elite team. Don’t forget, they’re just two years removed from back-to-back championships and last I checked, they still have one of the top five players in the world in Kobe Bryant. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum form a devastating power forward/center tandem and both are solid bargaining chips for a potential trade with Orlando for Howard.

The Clippers have weaknesses as well, particularly inexperience and a lack of depth down low, which will be crucial in this compressed season. With several new parts and very little time to gel, the Clippers probably aren’t ready to compete for a championship this season, though they’re legitimate contenders and they’ve certainly closed the gap between themselves and the Lakers.

As Blake Griffin said when asked about the acquisition of CP3, “When you hear the Clippers, it’s not going to be a joke anymore. I can guarantee you that.”

We’re So Sorry, Uncle Albert

Free Agent Albert Pujols is Ready to Field Offers

Albert Pujols has been the best player in baseball for the better part of the past decade and appeared to be hitting the free agent market at the perfect time this fall. The all-star first baseman just led the Cardinals to their second World Series championship during his tenure in St. Louis, becoming just the third player to blast three home runs in a World Series game in the process in Game 3 against the Rangers.

So, why do there appear to be so few teams vying for his services?

The truth is, in many ways, the timing of Pujols’ free agency couldn’t have been worse. There are usually at most 10 to 12 teams that have the resources to match or exceed the nine year, $200 million offer the Dominican slugger turned down from the Cardinals during last spring training. However, due to lack of need or finances, many of those teams simply aren’t interested.

The first rule of baseball free agency is to try and involve the Yankees in the negotiations. The Steinbrenner clan is often willing to pay way over market rate to get their man (See Alex Rodriguez and C.C. Sabathia). Typically, even if a player has no interest in donning the Pinstripes, he can count on the Yankees upping the ante for other teams interested in his services.

The problem is the Yankees have one of the best all around first basemen in baseball, Mark Teixeira, locked up to a long term deal. Teix is too good in the field to move to DH in order to make room for Pujols and even if Pujols were willing to DH for the Yankees, which is unlikely, the Yanks want to keep the DH spot available for the aging left side of their infield, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. The team’s primary concern is beefing up a shallow starting rotation, not adding a big bat.

The team usually vying with the Yankees for elite talent on the market, their arch rival, the Boston Red Sox, are set at first base as well, having locked up Adrian Gonzalez through 2018. They too are focused on adding a couple of arms to a patchwork rotation which fell apart this past September.

Two big market teams that are usually willing to throw around big dollars have fallen on hard times financially. New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon is embroiled in a lawsuit stemming from the Bernie Madoff scandal and is reluctant to spend an exorbitant amount of money before that matter is resolved. He just let the team’s best player Jose Reyes sign with the division rival Miami Marlins. Even if Wilpon were willing to dish out the cash, the Mets are several players away from being serious contenders and appear to be in rebuilding mode, a situation which doesn’t appeal to Pujols.

The Dodgers, another historically high spending team are in complete turmoil. Contentious divorce proceedings caused owner Frank McCourt to file for bankruptcy and led Major League Baseball to compel him to sell the team. Despite the uncertainty of the situation, the team recently re-signed five-tool centerfielder Matt Kemp to an eight year $160 deal, but don’t expect them to extend another contract offer of that magnitude before a new owner is on board and by that time Pujols will have signed elsewhere.

Other big market teams, such as the Phillies and White Sox are set at first base, with Ryan Howard and Paul Konerko. The Angels’ Mark Trumbo led rookies in home runs and RBIs this past season and the team anticipates the return of Kendry Morales from knee surgery. They have more pressing needs to address than first base, specifically, the left side of their infield.

All of these circumstances have left the game’s best player flirting with the Miami Marlins and visiting with the Toronto Blue Jays, in an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations with the Cardinals. The Chicago Cubs have long been considered a potential suitor for the three-time MVP winner, though their interest has only been lukewarm to this point.

It’s questionable whether Pujols would even be willing to play for a rebuilding team like the Cubs and Chicago’s new General Manager Theo Epstein will certainly take into consideration another factor which is working against Pujols, his age. Prince Albert turns 32 in January, which may have meant nothing during the steroid era, but with more stringent drug testing in place,  even the best conditioned players are slowing down in their mid to late 30s.

Prospective suitors need look no further than Alex Rodriguez. In 2007, at the age of 31, the Yankees third baseman hit 54 home runs and drove in 156 runs on the way to his third MVP award. After that season the Yankees signed him to an outrageous $270 million, 10 year deal.

Since then he hasn’t played more than 137 games or hit over 30 home runs in any of the past three seasons. The Yankees are stuck paying him $27 million a year (possibly more if he breaks the home run record) through the age of 42. Teams are understandably wary of making the same mistake with Pujols.

The few teams that have an opening and the means to sign a first baseman of or near Pujols stature also have the luxury of a younger and cheaper alternative in Prince Fielder. Cecil’s son is only 27 years-old and his numbers were very similar to Pujols last season. He’d make a nice consolation prize for the Cubs or Cardinals, which places less pressure on them to increase their offers for Pujols. The Orioles, Mariners and his former team, the Brewers, have expressed interest in Fielder.

Baseball’s winter meetings began yesterday in Dallas and as the hot stove heats up, it wouldn’t be surprising to see a couple of other teams like the Rangers or Nationals throw their hat in the ring with a serious offer to Pujols. However, as of now, the greatest player in the game is garnering minimal interest on the free agent market. He may have to settle for the nine year, $200 million deal the Cardinals offered him last spring.

How Will NBA Teams Use the Amnesty Clause?

The final details of the collective bargaining agreement between NBA owners and players are still being ironed out, though one thing we know for certain is that the agreement will include an “amnesty clause.” The clause will allow teams to waive one player and though the team will still be required to pay the player, his salary will not count against the salary cap or for purposes of the luxury tax. The clause can be used at any time, but only on players who were under contract when the new CBA was signed.

Players who are waived under the amnesty clause will then be available on waivers, but initially only teams that are under the salary cap can bid on them. If none of those teams claim an amnestied player then cap-strapped contenders like the Lakers, Heat and Mavericks will be able to stock up on other teams castaways.

Unlike the so-called Allan Houston amnesty clause in the 2005 CBA, the new amnesty clause will not require teams to use it immediately.  They may hold onto the clause until next summer when there’s a stronger free agency class not to use the clause at all as the Knicks inexplicably chose not to use the Allan Houston clause on Allan Houston in ’05.

This is a breakdown of which players each time will likely use the clause on.

Atlanta Hawks

Joe Johnson isn’t a franchise player, though at $107 million over the next five years he’s being paid like one. That being said, the Hawks aren’t going to release their best player. The wiser move is to get out from under the $24.9 million in cap space devoted to Marvin Williams over the next three years and rid themselves of the constant reminder that they selected him over Deron Williams and Chris Paul in the 2005 draft.

Boston Celtics

The only potential candidate for amnesty in Boston is Jermaine O’Neal and the $6.2 million he’s due this season. O’Neal was rarely healthy enough to play last season and had little impact when he did, but with a lack of big men on the market, the Celtics may roll the dice on O’Neal’s gimping knees making it through the season.

Charlotte Bobcats

Michael Jordan would love to shed the $18 million owed to Boris Diaw over the next two seasons, but the overweight Frenchman is a greater contributor than backup center DeSagana Diop, who’s set to make more than $13 million over the next two years, with a player option that could put his three year total over $20 million.

Chicago Bulls

One year into his six year, $90 million deal, Carlos Boozer is looking like a bad investment. The Bulls played equally well when he was hurt last season and his backup Taj Gibson was more effective at times during the playoffs. If they can add a scoring power forward or top notch two guard to share the backcourt with Rose they should let Boozer go. If not, the $15 million owed to Kyle Korver and $13.8 million to Ronnie Brewer over the next three years are other options.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Quite a coup by the Cavaliers! They received a first round pick, which turned into Kyrie Irving, in exchange for taking Baron Davis‘ albatross of a contract off the Clippers hands and now they get to cut Davis and remove the remaining $28.7 million of his contract from the cap. The Clippers must be kicking themselves. Again.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavs decision regarding the amnesty clause will depend on whether they can re-sign Tyson Chandler. If so, there’s no reason to pay Brendan Haywood $35 over the next four years to be a backup center after Ian Mahinmi gave them quality minutes in the NBA Finals. If Chandler gets away then Haywood is their best option at center and the Mavs will stand pat.

Denver Nuggets

It didn’t take long for the Nuggets to regret signing Al Harrington to a deal worth $27 million over the next four years. That being said, with Wilson Chandler and J.R. Smith signing with Chinese teams, they may want to hold on to Harrington’s scoring off the bench, at least for the time being.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons have three prime candidates for amnesty, two of which stem from General Manager Joe Dumars disastrous free agent summer of 2009, Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon, who are due $24.2 and $37.2 million respectively over the next three seasons. However, the Pistons will likely use this opportunity to finally part ways with the disgruntled Richard Hamilton, who has $25 million remaining on his deal.

Golden State Warriors

David Lee is an excellent rebounder, but the third best player on a below .500 team isn’t worth $14 million a year for the next five years. Still, at least Lee is a solid contributor, which is more than can be said for Andris Biedrins, who’s due to make $27 million over the next four seasons. If one of these big men is waived it will likely be Biedrins.

Houston Rockets

Hasheem Thabeet hasn’t been able to get off the bench since the Rockets selected him with the number two pick in the 2009 draft. It’s time for them to sever ties with the former UConn center and the remaining $5.2 million guaranteed to him.

Indiana Pacers

This is an easy one for the Pacers. There’s only one excessive contract on their roster and it’s the $7.5 million owed to James Posey for this season.

Los Angeles Clippers

Center Chris Kaman has been hobbled by injuries the past couple of years. The smart move is re-sign restricted free agent DeAndre Jordan and attempt to trade Kaman to a team starving for a big man. If they sign Jordan and can’t move Kaman then they want to consider eliminating the $12.7 million owed to him from their 2011-12 cap.

Los Angeles Lakers

Will the Lakers cut the cord with Metta World Peace? His game is slipping and they’re indebted to him for $21.8 over the next three seasons. GM Mitch Kupchak is looking to make the roster younger and more athletic, but there aren’t any small forward free agents who fit that bill. Barring a trade for an athletic perimeter player, the Lakers will probably use the provision on little used forward Luke Walton instead. Bill’s son has two years and $11.5 million remaining on his contract.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizz signed swingman Rudy Gay to a five year, $82 million contract last summer and then came within a game of the conference finals without him. They need to clear cap space in order to re-sign Marc Gasol and cutting Gay would be the most logical way to do that, but the Grizzlies aren’t plush with cash like the Lakers or Knicks and management isn’t willing to pay a player of that caliber not to play for them. They could try and trade Gay for cheaper parts and probably won’t use the amnesty clause at all.

Miami Heat

Mike Miller never got into the flow of the Heat’s offense last year and failed to make opponents pay for double teaming one of the “big three.” He’s the only amnesty possibility on a team without many guaranteed contracts. Miller is owed $6 million per year for the next two years with a player option for $6.6 million for a third season, which isn’t excessive for a sharp shooter, but Miami may need to waive him in order to free money to sign a defensive minded big man.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks are is in no-man’s land; they don’t have the building blocks for a contender, but aren’t bad enough to look rely on ping pong balls for a franchise player. If they decide to shed some salary, the $27 owed to Drew Gooden over the next four years would be a good start, but I’m guessing the Bucks will pass on the amnesty option.

Minnesota Timberwolves

David Kahn, the much maligned GM of the T-Wolves, shocked NBA insiders when he signed Darko Milicic to a four-year $20 million deal in the summer of 2010. The question is whether Kahn is willing to admit that he made a mistake after just one season and sever ties with the Serbian big man. The Wolves could also use the clause on reserve forward Martell Webster who’s scheduled to make $10 million over the next two years.

New Jersey Nets

Travis Outlaw‘s outrageous contract exemplifies why NBA owners felt they needed to protect themselves from overspending on mediocre players. Outlaw, who signed a five year, $35 million contract with the Nets in the summer of 2010 averaged just nine points per game last season. Don’t expect him to be joining the Nets when they make their move to Brooklyn.

New Orleans Hornets

The owner-less Hornets don’t have an obvious selection for amnesty relief, but in a last ditch effort t0 convince Chris Paul to stay in New Orleans, they could free themselves of the $21.8 million owed to Trevor Ariza over the next three seasons and replace him with two moderately priced contributors.

New York Knicks

Where was the amnesty clause when the Knicks desperately needed it four years ago? With Eddie Curry finally off the books and Jerome James, AKA, “Big Snacks” a distant memory, the Knicks don’t have any atrocious contracts on the books. The only real candidate for amnesty is Renaldo Balkman who’s set to make just $3.3 million over the next two years, but when the Knicks try to land a third superstar next summer, every little bit helps.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Nobody should be more infuriated about the amnesty clause than Sam Presti. The OKC GM masterfully constructed a contending team in a small market, while his contemporaries foolishly overpaid for vastly overrated stiffs. His reward is that he has to sit back and watch as they’re granted a do-over. Presti doesn’t have one excessive contract on his roster.

Orlando Magic

Orlando GM Otis Smith had to be praying for a double amnesty clause because he’s desperate to get rid of Gilbert Arenas and the $62.4 million he’s due over the next three seasons, as well as the $34.5 remaining on Hedo Turkoglu‘s contract. Ultimately, Smith will opt for Arenas, who’s owed more money and is the less productive of the two. Then he’ll try and get a team to take Turkoglu off his hands as part of a deal for Dwight Howard.

Philadelphia 76ers

A year ago, the Sixers would have cut ties with Elton Brand, who still has $35 million remaining on his contract over the next two years, but Brand had a bit of a comeback season and is the only low post threat on this up-and-coming team. The more likely scenario is that’s they’ll create $6.7 million more in cap space by using the clause on Andres Nocioni. The Argentinian forward played just twelve minutes a game last season.

Phoenix Suns

Josh Childress has four years and $27 million remaining on his deal with the Suns, which is way too much for a player who was stuck on the bench behind Grant Hill, Jared Dudley, Channing Frye and Hakim Warrick last season. The former Atlanta Hawk will likely be searching for a new home soon.

Portland Trailblazers

Just two years ago, Brandon Roy was arguably among the top ten players in the league and the Trailblazers rewarded their franchise player with a maximum salary contract. Then his knees gave out, causing him to miss most of the past two seasons and undergo numerous procedures. At just 27, Roy’s days as a franchise player are over and though he may still be able to help a team off the bench, he’s not worth any where near the $68.7 million remaining on his deal. Portland fans won’t like it, but the Blazers need to let their captain go.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings won’t feel compelled to use the amnesty clause on any of their current players, though if they’re looking to free up some cap space in order to be a player in free agency Francisco Garcia is the most likely candidate. Garcia is an athletic swingman, but his limited skill set makes his replaceable and waiving him would free up over $6 million per year for the next three seasons.

San Antonio Spurs

Richard Jefferson is the obvious choice here. The former Nets forward is on the downside of his career and never found his niche in the Spurs offense. Couple that with the the $30 million he’s owed over the next three years and the Spurs dealing George Hill for rookie forward Kawhi Leonard and the writing is on the wall for Jefferson.

Toronto Raptors

Jose Calderon is a mediocre point guard at best, but is being paid like an all-star at the rate of $10 million per year over the next two seasons. The problem is that the only other point guard on the roster, Jerryd Bayless, is incapable of running an offense. The more likely victim of the amnesty clause is Linas Kleiza and the $14 million he’s due over the next four years.

Utah Jazz

Mehmet Okur missed much of last season with a torn Achilles tendon and in the last year of his contract, the Jazz are attempting to move in a younger direction. With a number of talented big men, including the third pick in the 2011 draft, Enes Kanter, the Jazz will shed the $10.9 million owed to Okur this season from their cap.

Washington Wizards

Rashard Lewis has become the poster boy for the owners’ push for an overhaul of the system. The Wizards forward is set to make a staggering $43.8 million over the next two seasons. This for a player who averaged 11.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season on a terrible team.