FanHouse Bonzi Wells

NBA Essentials provides the must-see links, quotes and videos of the day.



* "With 10 seconds left in the half, Portland took a 20-second timeout. A Blazers substitution brought Jerryd Bayless into the game. Greg Oden was supposed to leave the game, but he didn't." -- InsideHoops

* "I once heard it said that experience is not what happens to a man, experience is what a man does with what happens to him. That's real science, so I'll drop that one again. Experience is not what happens to a man, experience is what a man does with what happens to him." -- Stephon Marbury blogging at the New York Post

* "You see where that [expletive] jumped from?" Mark Blount said. Chris Quinn walked to the media center at the front of the room and hit the rewind button to watch the play again. "That is an ath-lete," Joel Anthony said. "That's a tight end in the NFL," Blount said. -- ESPN's Daily Dime

* "This two-pound fruitcake is an opportunity for Yao, Hawk and friends - Ben Roethlisberger, Jimmie Johnson, Nicole Richie and Joel Madden - to give back during the festive season and also in this time of economic distress." -- Ball Don't Lie

* "I'm sure many of you have heard by now that Bonzi Wells has taken his talents to China this year for the princely sum of 80,000 dollars. This is a guy that turned down a 36 million dollar contract 3 years ago." -- At the Hive

* J.R. Rider's "Play of the Decade" versus Kobe's Olympic alley-oop; 12 Lessons learned in 2008; and hoops and tacos.

This has already been one of the most active trade deadlines in recent memory, and the Hornets, despite sitting pretty as the current No. 1 seed, didn't want to miss out on any fun. They didn't shake up their roster by adding a Jason Kidd or a Shaquille O'Neal or a Pau Gasol, but they are on the verge of making a smaller move that will nonetheless improve the team, sending Bobby Jackson to the Rockets for Bonzi Wells and Mike James.

Check out Jonathan Feigen's article in the Houston Chronicle for the fine print -- the Rockets are also getting rookie guard Adam Haluska, as well as the right to swap second-round picks -- but the real gist of it is that the Hornets will be adding some much needed depth while the Rockets are gaining a bit more salary flexibility. This deal is all but official -- it's just waiting the league office to open and grant it's stamp of approval.

This isn't just a straight salary dump for the Rockets -- Jackson does have some game left, and it helps that he's familiar with coach Rick Adelman from their time together back in Sacramento's heyday. But from where I sit, the Hornets are getting the better end of the deal. Both James and Wells are underrated reserves capable of making an instant impact on both ends of the court, especially with a needed change of scenery. Plus, they both have playoff experience, which will be important not only in the actual postseason but also in the stretch run as the Hornets try to hold off the five other teams within three games of their top seed.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
Or perhaps you prefer "nighthorse"? Either way, Kevin Durant leaving in the third quarter because of an ankle sprain is bad. Kevin Durant not returning to the game because of an ankle sprain is worse. Worstest of alls? That's he has dealt with this injury most of the season and will deal with the rest of the way home. Yes, the Sonics are phoning in their season, but Durant looked primed for a monster 2008, coming out hot with 23.5 points per game after a mildly disappointing December. I don't want to tell you to trade the next big thing, but if you can convince someone to give you full value on a guy who does not seem intent (as we originally thought) on raising his field goal percentage and who is dealing with an ankle injury, well ... go for it. Just don't do anything all crazy like.

Hot Cakes
Don't look now but one of my favorite players and erstwhile mancrushes, Charlie Bell, has ripped off two straight 20 point games. Michael Redd, not coincidentally, missed his third straight game with a bruised thigh. Redd could miss a few more, so Bell is a superb play for the near future in daily leagues. If Mo Williams or Redd miss any significant time, snatch Bell up immediately.

The Rockets were on the losing end of a Golden State comeback on New Year's Eve, and after leading by as many as 11 in the second half, the players felt it was a pretty bad loss. So bad in fact, that Houston's Bonzi Wells was purely disgusted afterwards, and could only find one word to (repeatedly) describe the effort: trash.

I'm only guessing here, but based on Bonzi's mood in this interview, I think he and the rest of the Rockets probably didn't have nearly the New Year's party that say, some members of the Denver Nuggets might have had.

[via Jen's Free Throws]

B-Ball, B-Fast is a look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.
Cup of Coffee
Yao Ming owners have mixed emotions about Tracy McGrady being injured. On the one hand, you get games from Yao like last night, where he puts up 26 points, 19 rebounds and two blocks. On the other hand, you get games from Yao like last night, where he shoots nine of 22 from the field. (And props to Sarge from First and 10 Inches for noting this in the comments previously.) When you are 7'6", you should not be missing half your shots on a ten foot goal. Under any circumstances. Still, these are the facts. Yao's raw numbers will go up and his percentages will go down for as long as T-Mac is hurt. If you're worried about your percentages and have enough boards and blocks, sell high after his next monster game. If you can take the hit but need the big man cats, hold onto and hope he can figure out how to score more efficiently (it should have happened at this point).

Hot Cakes
While we're on the Rockets, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that Luther Head got the starting nod and 45 minutes of playing time last night. Bonzi Wells, the usual favorite ride in Adelman-land, saw 30 coming off the bench. I'm chalking it up to the Allen Iverson-at-the-two matchup that Houston was dealing with; Head is better equipped to defend the speedy Iverson there than Wells. Don't go dropping Bonzi but definitely add Head if he's available and your league is deep enough -- his three point shooting prowess alone makes him valuable if he's getting PT. T-Mac is still "questionable" or "day-to-day" for Saturday, depending on who you listen to, so both are decent to strong plays.

Kind of like my boy Josh Boone. Boone got another start at center for the Nets, and I'm going to call 11 points, eight boards and two blocks in 33 minutes against Shaquille O'Neal a pretty nice outing, regardless of how old he is. If you're just "keeping an eye on" Boone, you're probably not doing enough.

Just like Dywane Wade. What does he think? That a 41/5/6/3/3 line is enough to get a team a win? Come on! Just plain lazy. Don't be surprised to see Miami try and make a move on the trading market soon -- he needs some help, badly. Especially when his starting point guard, Chris Quinn, goes down. 13 minutes, three dimes and no points wasn't a result of Jason Williams being young and pressing him for time. The roles will be funky all season long based on whose healthy and getting White Chocolate some rest, but J-Dub should still see the lion's share of minutes and stats.

Spicy little dub-dub for Anderson Varejao, picking up 11 points and 15 boards in 30 plus minutes. Zydrunas Ilgauskas got a shade under 30 and did much less, only recording five boards. Varejao is younger and Big Z was worn down last year so there could be a shift in the minutes coming. Or the Cavs could just go big when they face teams that are stronger in the paint. Either way, Varejao should be rostered in deeper leagues and at least considered in shallow ones.

If you're an NBA player who has suffered a blow to his image, you can fix it in a couple of ways. You can switch teams and convince everyone you've matured, like Sheed did. You can keep a low profile and wait for time to pass, like Zach Randolph seems to be. Or, if you're Bonzi, you can luck into a coaching change . . . and pretend nothing ever happened.

Bonzi is going to stay a Rocket, despite having gone AWOL just before the playoffs. He can thank former coach--and new Rockets coach--Rick Adelman for that. From MyFox Houston, here's Wells on the first meeting between the two:

It was a perfect conversation. He asked me how do you feel? He said how is your mind? How is your body? He didn't talk about my past or what happened last year. He didn't want to talk about all of that crazy stuff. Most coaches don't do that. They focus on other things. I told him right then I am here. I am in Houston. This is where I need to be.

He goes on to profess his love for Houston, and tell us that all his teammates understood why he left the team last season. Conspicuously absent is any mention of Jeff Van Gundy, who oddly enough claimed at the time to not be mad at the Bonz.

The Rockets are in prime position to do some things in the playoffs. But there's no doubt that they would be even better had the Bonzi Wells signing worked out. Bonzi's tenure in Houston, which effectively ended yesterday, has been one big mystery. He never really got to play much, much less provide a solid third option. The franchise hadn't invested much in him, but still, it would have been nice to get something for their money.

So of course, straight-shooter Jeff Van Gundy...has nothing but what The Houston Chronicle calls "fond memories"? From The Chronicle:

"He was fine," Van Gundy said. "I have nothing but positives to say about him. This one incident, he should have called me. Other than that, he handled himself very well.

Really, none of us know what Wells did or didn't to before the incident in question. So I guess we'll have to take JVG at his word. But look, anyone who follows that team knows that Wells was never really a part of it. It's almost like Van Gundy is too eager to paint a pretty picture, like he's trying to gloss over the doomed Rockets/Bonzi affair. And come on, it's Van Gundy--why would he do that if he were in a position to complain?