Empty the Bench

The starters for the All Star Game are mildly interesting, but we all know that they’re determined by fan vote. Every year it’s just a popularity contest among an unthinking, uninformed mob that consistently votes for injured stars, fading veterans and hometown favorites. You can’t really take issue with the starters because it just comes down to the fact that people are stupid, and we all have to accept that. The reserves, however, are voted on by a highly informed set of people: NBA coaches. We can hold that smaller and more involved group responsible for their selections, which were announced today.

The East bench will be comprised of Wizards forwards Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison, Pistons guards Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, the Raptors’ Chris Bosh, the Hawks’ Joe Johnson and the Celts’ Paul Pierce. Out West, the bench will be manned by Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire of the Suns, Chris Paul and David West of the Hornets, Carlos Boozer of the Jazz, Dirk Nowitzki of the Mavs and sophomore Brandon Roye of the Blazers.

Those are reasonably solid benches, but there are a few questionable calls in my mind. It’s very much a matter of opinion, and to each his own, but I would suggest Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce and David West were not deserving despite the great season each is having. Out East I would argue for Jose Calderon (second in the East in assists, and a no-brainer in my opinion), Andre Iguodala (second in the East in steals and nearly a 20-5-5 guy who plays great D) and Josh Smith (leading the East in blocks and leading the NBA in blocks and steals combined). In the West I would have preferred to see Baron Davis make it. The man is a bull. For a more in-depth look at the snubs, check out Henry Abbott’s rundown off all the guys crying in their beers tonight.

If you’re looking for more of our analysis of who should have been in the game, Brian and I weighed in on our picks for the Eastern Conference and Western Conference All Star squads last week.

Around the League:

- We’re not going to chase down all the possible Jason Kidd trade scenarios here, because that just seems like a fool’s errand and the major media outlets can do it a lot better than we can, but here’s one that has piqued our interest: Jason Kidd to the Atlanta Hawks. I really wanted to see Kidd in Los Angeles or Denver, but this is my new fantasy scenario. The Hawks are on the cusp of becoming a perennial playoff team, they have scads of young and athletic talent that could run with Kidd, they have scorers, they have young players to deal and they have a draft pick or two they really don’t need as well. Atlanta would likely include Josh Childress in any deal, Sheldon Williams is more than expendable, and Atlanta also has the all-important expiring contracts in Tyronn Lue, Lorenzzen Wright and Anthony Johnson. Would it be worth giving up newly-minted All Star Joe Johnson and his bloated contract? If it means we see a lineup of Jason Kidd, Josh Childress, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith and Al Horford for the next two years it would be.

- It was revealed earlier this week that cute-as-a-button guard Earl Boykins would be back in the NBA before the end of the week, and it came out today that he will join the Charlotte Bobcats. He should provide them with energy and a nice scoring option off the bench while eating into Jeff McInnis’ minutes. The 31-year-old Boykins proved to have plenty left in the tank with 14 points and 4.5 assists in Milwaukee last season and will help jumpstart an often stagnant offense. The 5′5″ guard will be one of the Bobcats better perimeter shooters and should find plenty of fan support from the old Muggsy Bogues faithful.

Earl Boykins Photo Credit: Icon SMI

- Meet Danilo Gallinari. An extremely smooth offensive weapon standing 6′9″ tall, he should be the top international pick in the 2008 NBA. Gallinari will be one of the most skilled players selected this year, and some think he could be the second consecutive number one overall pick out of Europe.

According to one scout, “I think he’s the best player in the draft. He has so much character, he’s a big, strong kid with a special combination of skills, and he’s going to be a matchup nightmare whether he’s playing small forward or power forward… He can go outside, he can play one-on-one and he can go to the rim.”

- With all the recent chatter about the aforementioned Jason Kidd landing in Dallas and emerging star Devin Harris being sent to New Jersey, Henry Abbott over at TrueHoop gets a second shout out today for an eye-opening statistical look at the two point guards on opposite ends of their career. Among the highlights:

Harris’s age: 24. Kidd’s age: 34.

Harris current salary: Just under $4,000,000.
Kidd current salary: Just under $20,000,000

According to 82games, for every 100 possessions Devin Harris is on the floor, Dallas scores almost 12 points more than the same number of possessions without Harris. With Kidd, that number is five.

When Harris is on the court, the Mavericks have outscored opponents by 217 points this season. When he is off the court, the Mavericks have been outscored by 11. Harris is, therefore, +228.

When Kidd is on the court, the Nets have been outscored by 154. When he is off the court the Nets have been outscored by 116. Kidd is, therefore, -38.

- Ron Artest’s stint in Sacramento has been relatively uneventful (except for that whole domestic violence thing… oh, and that animal cruelty thing… whatever), but it appears his days in Sac Town are numbered. Said Artest, “I look around our team, and I see the emerging young stars, and I don’t get the sense that I’m going to be around. I don’t have a real commitment from the Kings, and it might just be time to move on. But for now, we want to finish out this season and try to make a run at the playoffs.” Artest has also recently announced that he intends to opt out of his contract during the offseason, but it might make more sense for the Kings to just deal him now and get something in return. Somebody get Isiah Thomas on the line, STAT!