FanHouse CuttinoMobley

The Clippers didn't wait long to respond to Elgin Baylor's suit alleging unfair treatment and race-based discrimination. According to Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times, a statement put out by the team denies Baylor was ever treated differently because of his race and actually blames Baylor for the team's decades of losing.

Meanwhile, team owner Donald Sterling (who seems central to most of the allegations) offered up disbelief that Baylor would sue.

A report from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, where the Knicks faced the Suns on December 15th.

There was a piece on TrueHoop yesterday that took a look at each of the final games that led to the firings of six NBA head coaches this season. The New York Knicks ended up killing a coach in two of the six "sendoff games," which is something that Mike D'Antoni found to be a bit insulting.

When asked about the slew of early-season firings (and the one that involved Reggie Theus most recently), D'Antoni pretended to be insulted that coaches were losing their jobs after losing to his Knicks.

"I want to say something, and I hate that for Reggie, there's no doubt about it," D'Antoni said. "But just because the Knicks beat somebody they have to fire the coach the next day? That's the second one! I mean, come on! We're not that bad. You guys are spreading some rumors, 'well if the Knicks beat 'em, then we gotta do something.' "

Obviously D'Antoni was joking around here, but there's at least a little something to it. Even though he and his current roster of players may be giving it all they've got, the fact is that the team traded their best players away for an empty roster spot in the form of Cuttino Mobley, along with some lesser talent. It's perceived by many around the league that the Knicks are mailing it in until 2010, and perception is reality -- especially when we're talking about head coaching jobs in the NBA.

Despite their recent struggles to win convincingly against teams with losing records, the fact remains that the Lakers are the best team in the West, and stand atop the conference's standings with a record of 20-3. So when a report surfaces that one of their players may be available, well, let's just say it's worth mentioning.

In a discussion about how the Knicks might go about filling the roster spot that opened up when Cuttino Mobley decided to retire, Alan Hahn of Newsday briefly mentioned that the Lakers' Sasha Vujacic (Machine!) may be "available."

With Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza both healthy and taking up a lot of minutes, there doesn't seem to be as big of a need for Sasha's services this year. His minutes are only slightly down from a season ago, but the ones he is playing aren't the ones in crunch time that he saw during last year's run to the Finals.

Cuttino Mobley officially announced his retirement at a press conference today due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a medical condition that results in an enlarged heart. He's known about the condition for a while (he signed a waiver releasing the Clippers of liability earlier this season) but it's become more and more serious and the Knicks were unable to find a specialist willing to clear him for action.

In hindsight, the trade is bittersweet. Not only was he playing for the Clippers before the trade, he was playing well, and he was likely in line to start for the Knicks. But as Newsday's Alan Hahn points out, had Mobley not been traded, he might not have realized just how far his condition had progressed until too late.

Conceivably, the trade could have saved him.

"I hope it did," team president Donnie Walsh said. "I really do. None of this is as important as somebody's life. None of it. Period. So I'm glad that we had a doctor that put him through tests to show that the risk is there."

How does Mobley's retirement affect the Knicks' bottomline? Because he's retiring for medical reasons, Mobley will get all of guaranteed money -- he's making $9.1 million this year and $9.8 million next.

In theory the Knicks could be granted a medical exception worth 50% of Mobley's salary to sign a replacement this year, and they might be eligible to remove Mobley's salary from the salary cap once he's sidelined for 12 months. Whether that actually happens, though, remains to be seen -- because they completed the trade after they learned he might not be able to play, it's up for debate whether the Knicks are even eligible for such relief.

Cuttino Mobley may be forced to retire before playing a single minute with the Knicks. According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Mobley could announce the decision as soon as tomorrow. He's been playing with an enlarged heart, and even though he knew about the condition before (he signed a waiver releasing the Clippers of liability before the season) apparently all of his meetings with specialists since the trade prompted him to re-consider the risk.

Because he's retiring for medical reasons, he'll still be able to collect his entire salary, although fortunately for the Knicks, an insurance company will be on the hook for roughly 75% of the balance. Considering Mobley is making $9.1 million this year and $9.8 million next, that's no small chunk of change.

Since the team is going to be saving so much money, it makes you wonder if they'll quit taking such a hardline in Stephon Marbury's buyout negotiations -- quibbling over two million seems silly when you just stumbled into an extra $14 million.

Plus, there's a good chance his retirement will have salary cap implications, as well. If the NBA agrees with the medical assesement, they could wipe Mobley's contract off the salary cap next season, or at least the prorated amount he's owed starting from a year after his last game, which was Nov. 19, 2008. The Knicks will likely still be so far over the cap it won't help them recruit any free agents, but still, every little bit helps them get closer to avoiding the luxury tax.

The Knicks ultimately decided Cuttino Mobley's heart condition wasn't worth holding up their salary dump trade with the Clippers, but it doesn't mean that they're comfortable allowing Mobley on the court.

Since being acquired by the Knicks, Mobley has failed at least two heart tests, and he's set to undergo more tests over the next few days. Donnie Walsh confirmed that Mobley won't play the rest of the week. When asked if Mobley will play again this season, Walsh said, "I don't know that. We're taking the right precautions."

It must be odd for Clippers fans to hear Walsh speak in such ominous tones -- not only was Mobley playing before the trade, he was playing well. He last suited up a week ago today, tallying a season-high 23 points with seven steals in a win over the Thunder, and in 11 games this year he's averaged 14 points in 33 minutes.

That said, heart conditions can be tricky and don't always show themselves until too late, so if the Knicks think they found something, it's better to be safe than sorry. The downside, though, is that the Knicks will be terribly short-handed in the meantime, especially after Nate Robinson strained his groin last night. He's expected to miss a week, which means the Knicks will be down to just two healthy guards (ahem, not named Stephon Marbury) available tonight against the Pistons -- here's to hoping Chris Duhon and Anthony Roberson feel like playing 48.

Concerns about Cuttino Mobley's ticker couldn't kill the big Zach Randolph trade. The Associated Press reports that the swap -- Randolph and Mardy Collins for Tim Thomas and Mobley -- has been made official by the league. Thomas will play for the Knicks tonight, and I suspect Z-Bo will suit up as well.

The cynical surmised Donnie Walsh might be biting back against Clippers boss Mike Dunleavy, who reportedly sprung a surprise when the two were negotiating a summertime Z-Bo trade. (The Basketball Jones had a good discussion on this earlier.) Who knews if Walsh was indeed angling for a pick or cash considerations; the eventual result makes it seem more honest than anything, though.

Regardless, we can get back to what's really important now: LeBron's red shoes!

It's pretty easy to feel bad for the city of Cleveland. None of their sports teams can manage to win anything, and everyone seems to believe that LeBron James is headed to New York in 2010. So that's why, when he debuts a new line of Nike shoes called the "LeBron VI Big Apple" on the night the Cavs play the Knicks, you kind of have to chuckle at the general paranoid aura floating out of the city that rocks! (Via Nike Press Release)

The Zoom LeBron VI performance basketball shoe represents the essence of LeBron James: team, toughness, passion and vision. James worked with Nike designer Ken Link to create a shoe that meets his performance needs and the needs of players with a powerful, dynamic style of play.

[...]The shoe's collar has been engineered with a wider opening so it's easier to slip on and wear while maintaining a full-length fit feel. On the collar, graffiti art highlights LeBron's mantras-passion, family, winning, fearless and vision.

So, yeah, pride. Family. Passion. New York!

Zach Randolph was supposed to finally take the floor for the Clippers Monday night, after the team attempted to make a deal with the Knicks three days earlier. But the deal has yet to be completed, and David Aldridge is now reporting that it's "in limbo because of a physical concern raised by the Knicks about [Cuttino] Mobley."

This concern about Mobley has caused the Knicks to hold off on signing the deal, and at this point it's unknown if they'll do so before the deadline, which is this afternoon. Players have 72 hours to complete a physical after a trade, and it's usually just a formality. In fact, teams involved in deals can actually waive the physicals altogether to have players available to suit up for their new teams more quickly, but in this case, the Knicks are taking the full amount of time to get an extra long look at Mobley.

It's unknown if Mobley has taken a physical yet; Mike Dunleavy said in a pregame interview that the Knicks "had something not come back for them" and couldn't sign off on the trade until it does. Dunleavy went on to speculate that the Knicks might be awaiting paperwork or results from some blood tests, but he expects things to be completed by the deadline. If you believe Aldridge's report though, it sounds like it's a much more serious issue, and one that might possibly keep the deal from being completed after all.

UPDATE: ESPN's J.A. Adande is reporting that it's a heart issue, and that Mobley will be examined by a specialist later today. The deadline for the teams to complete the deal is 6:30PM EST.

The other sneaker has fallen: Ramona Shelbourne of the Los Angeles Daily News reports that Zach Randolph is a Los Angeles Clipper. Mardy Collins will join Z-Bo in Southern California. Tim Thomas and Cuttino Mobley, two fellows who have contracts which expire in 2010, will become Knickerbockers.

In case you're wondering: as of today, Donnie Walsh has roughly $33 million of cap space to work with in the Summer of 2010, when the entire league (small exaggeration) is up for unrestricted free agency. Only Eddy Curry, Wilson Chandler, Jared Jeffries and Danilo Gallinari are under contract for the 2010-11 season. A max player in with 7-8 years of NBA experience (that covers LeBron, Wade, Bosh and Amare) will earn a salary at 30% of the salary cap -- expected to come out to a $20 million starting salary. Walsh can add one of those plus have about $13 million to tinker around the edges with, so to speak. (Joe Johnson, anyone?) Today is a great day to be a Knicks fan. (Know any who survived last season?)

Meanwhile in L.A., the Clippers now have three big men earning a total of $35 million this year. You assume the Clips won't flip Z-Bo. Chris Kaman's name has been all over the fishwrap lately -- does Mike Dunleavy have a deal in place to get a swingman back? Marcus Camby could also be bait; he has been completely anonymous on the court for the Clips. I just don't see L.A. keeping all these mammoths around for long, not with a massive, gaping hole at the two-guard. (Collins -- best known as the guy Isiah Thomas anointed the starter over Stephon Marbury one fateful road trip last winter-- and Ricky Davis are the fellows at that position with two-guard of the future Eric Gordon, who Clips fans consider unfit for a starter role at this time.)