Acquiring malcontent stars leaves everybody disgruntled
Jason Kidd isn't selfish, at least not on the court. He's just old. He's the ultimate stat-sheet stuffer who impresses the naïve with triple-doubles while infuriating the initiated with his inability to defend. Dallas succumbed to the statistical spotlight, bringing in Kidd's playmaking in exchange for Devin Harris' play-stuffing. Before the trade, the Mavs were 35-18 and sailing toward the best record in the West. Afterward they were barely a .500 team (16-13) waiting to be blown out in the first round by New Orleans.
After whining and pouting and faking his migraines, Kidd got what he wanted -- out of New Jersey -- but nobody got more from the deal than the Hornets' Chris Paul. Given five games to attack Kidd, Paul averaged 24.6 points and 12 assists with a ridiculous 10-to-1 ratio of assists to turnovers. Six New Orleans regulars, Paul included, shot 50 percent or better from the floor. Kidd, meanwhile, averaged just 8.6 ppg and 6.8 apg and helped exactly none of his teammates shoot better than 47 percent.
With Shaquille O'Neal, the Suns got a mixture of Iverson and Kidd: selfish and old. O'Neal's selfishness is more subtle than Iverson's, but it's there. He contributed to the spectacular fall of the Miami Heat by being obstinate and out of shape, and his arrival triggered the equally awesome collapse of the Suns. Overnight Phoenix went from dynamic to stagnant -- and downright mediocre -- going from 37-16 (.698) without O'Neal to 19-15 (.559) with him.
O'Neal bogged down the Suns' offense with unseemly inefficiency, shooting 44 percent from the field and 50 percent from the foul line, and didn't do the one thing, the only thing, he was supposed to do: contain 32-year-old Tim Duncan. After a modest (for him) regular season, Duncan exploded on O'Neal for 24.8 points and 13.8 rebounds per game.
It's rarely worth it, the addition of a disgruntled superstar. Boston got it right with Kevin Garnett, but it's unfair to Garnett to compare him to Iverson, Kidd or O'Neal. While that trio of malcontents hijacked their former franchises, Garnett had to be talked into the trade that would send him to Boston. He wasn't thrilled in Minnesota, no, but Garnett wasn't interested in killing one team just to play for another.
Boston added a team guy, and look what happened: Boston has become a great team. Dallas, Phoenix and Denver? Losers, all three of them, and in the aftermath of their postseason flameouts, one coach has been fired and more might follow.
Don't blame the coach, you idiots. Blame the moaning megastar who infected his new team. And the general manager who willingly acquired the virus.
