Empty the Bench

- Maybe… Gilbert Arenas really, truly doesn’t get it–still. Nobody should be surprised by his lack of maturity anymore, but his recent comments in The Washington Times about the status of his lingering knee injury have to come off as at least a little bit insulting to Wizard fans, the franchise, and his teammates. Though he’s only 6 months removed from mucking up his team’s salary-cap situation for years to come after being gifted an astonishing 6-year, $111 million contract extension, Arenas insinuated that there might be no reason for him to play at all this season, even if he’s given a full bill of health. “I don’t know. I mean, seven wins? Would you?” Yes, Gilbert–if I my employer was paying me $14.6 million this year to play in 25 or 30 basketball games, and if I was healthy, you’re damn right I would.

- Maybe… the Detroit Pistons need to figure out who the better fit at shooting guard for this season and next is–Richard Hamilton or Allen Iverson–then quietly (if that’s possible) start shopping the odd man out. Having two All-Stars at one position is, essentially, a good problem to have, and it’s not that I don’t think the relevant parties can’t all put their heads together to figure out how to make it work. But considering how strapped this team is for a consistent presence on the starting front line, it does feel like somewhat of an excessive luxury; second-year SG Arron Afflalo is developing into a fine reserve off the bench and proving increasingly capable of playing solid man-defense and of knocking down big shots.

Rodney Stuckey is in the starting lineup to stay, and though his prolonged shooting slump is troubling, Iverson’s ability to create his own shot–not to mention his hunger for a championship–is much too valuable come playoff time to sacrifice. Though they’d be facing a reversal of this problem next season if Iverson walked and Hamilton was traded, I wonder how amendable the Jazz would be to a straight-up swap of Carlos Boozer for Rip. Makes sense for both teams, assuming Boozer agrees to an extension with the Pistons. If he was relatively healthy and back on the court by, say, the end of the February, would that be enough time for him to get indoctrinated into Detroit’s system before the playoffs roll around?

Three more random NBA maybes after the break…

- Maybe… it’s time for us to stop talking about the possibility of the NBA’s best player, LeBron James, potentially leaving Cleveland in the summer of 2010, and to start talking about where one of the league’s very-best power forwards, Chris Bosh, is going to end up when he definitely walks. Unless something drastic happens in Toronto between now and then, I’m putting the odds of Bosh wearing a new jersey in the fall of 2010 at 90%.

- Maybe… the Atlanta Hawks wish they could have a few draft-day mulligans right about now. It’s been rehashed a hundred times now, and hindsight is always 20/20, but man alive have they made some world-class flubs over the past 4 years. In ‘04, they took Josh Childress sixth overall ahead of guys like Andre Iguodala and Al Jefferson (boy those two would be sick on the Hawks). The next year, the Hawks spent the second-overall pick on Marvin Williams, who’s developing into a fine young player but will in all likelihood never equal Deron Williams (3rd) or Chris Paul (4th).

In ‘06, the Hawks made what stands as their most ill-advised lottery pick during this stretch, taking Shelden “Stiff” Williams fifth overall, ahead of Brandon Roy (6th), Randy Foye (7th), and Rudy Gay (8th). (Williams is barely seeing the court on the 9-30 Sacramento Kings.) Bear with me, we’re almost there. In the summer of 2007, Atlanta nailed the 3rd overall pick by taking Al Horford, but then selected PG Acie Law 11th overall, four slots ahead of where Pistons starting PG and emerging star Rodney Stuckey was selected. While Stuckey is blossoming, Law is still stuck on the pine and failing to beat out Flip Murray for minutes. Despite all these draft-day gaffes, the Hawks are still one of the league’s most exciting up-and-comers, and the future seems bright, but just think about what could have been.

- Maybe… we should all take a step back from the ridiculousness of the sexual harassment lawsuit that New York Knicks center Eddy Curry has been slapped with and start to consider the very real possibility that this David Kuchinsky is nothing but a bonafide goldbricker. Okay, the details of these allegations against the tubby Knicks center are a bit amusing, but if Curry proves to be innocent, let’s not forget that we’re talking about a married man with three kids who’ll have had his name dragged through some serious mud, and that’s hardly a laughing matter. Imagine if it happened to you. And please, certain members of the NBA Blogosphere, grow up and spare us the homophobic jokes.