You'd think that since Smush is now out of the NBA, he'd look back on his time playing for one of the league's most storied franchises fondly, right? Not so much. In the following interview, Parker says playing for the Lakers was "overrated," and says any problems he had with the team started and ended with Kobe Bryant.
After much hand-wringing and "100 degree" reversals, Ron Artest decided against opting out of the final year of his contract with the Kings. By staying, he'll earn just $7.4 million, or less than half of the $16 million that guys like Elton Brand and Baron Davis left on the table in search of greener bank accounts pastures.
But while the Kings know they'll have Artest back (even if he's only a bargaining chip to be used in a trade), the same can't be said for Beno Udrih. Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee reports that the Kings called Udrih the first moment they were allowed to offer him the full mid-level exception over five years, but that may not be enough. Instead of settling for a mere phone call, Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy met face to face with Udrih last night in New York to make his pitch.
There's no word yet if the Clippers will match Sacramento's offer -- and they may not be able to commit to anything until figuring out what they're going to do with Brand and Corey Maggette -- but it's not surprising to see that Dunleavy made contacting Udrih a priority. The Clippers desperately need a point guard after finishing last year with Smush Parker and Brevin Knight sharing duties and officially giving up hope on Shaun Livingston, whose rights were renounced.
In this episode of Gossip Time, my BFF Carmelo Anthony tells me about all sorts of silly things, like his elementary school trouble-making, his obsession with loud music, and of course his hair!
He also drops a huge bomb about Smush Parker at the 0:50 mark -- I had suspected this for a long time and Melo confirms. Oh, Smush ... I really can't be mad at you for this though.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded NBA Correspondent, brings his exclusive NBA reporting to FanHouse. Check back here regularly for more videos.
In this video Marcus Williams tells about the origin of the Martin Luther King quote tattooed across this chest, but the interview really gets interesting around 1:50, when Smush overhears him downplaying the talent coming out of New York.
An interesting sequence of events the last two days, if you're into following two of the league's worst teams. The Clippers recently signed Smush Parker for the rest of the season. Coach Mike Dunleavy explained the rationale.
"You got a choice between Smush Parker or the NBDL," Dunleavy said. "Smush Parker or the NBDL? Which way are you going to go?"
Pat Riley, obviously, holds the fundamentally opposite opinion. The Heat cut Smush loose last week; thanks to Jason Williams's recent injury and one of the ugliest performances in memory last night against Toronto, Riley turned to... the NBDL. He signed point guard (and potential future Steve Nash*) Blake Ahearn of the Dakota Wizards.
For the clubs, it does not really matter. For Smush -- who gets the opportunity to show he's not a chronic problem -- it matters. For Ahearn -- who gets to show he's better than Chris Quinn -- it matters. That Dunleavy thinks his move was brilliant is funny.
If we don't care about the scourge of the NBA, who will? The Bleaker Rankings will assess the grotesque each Tuesday.
1. The Knicks. Even awful in green! What can they not ruin? One win in nine games in March ... over the Heat. Playoff push, indeed.
2. Seattle basketball. The losses never end: On the court, in the board room... and Kevin Durant's about to be eclipsed in the R.O.Y. race by Luis Scola.
3. The Bucks. How long until Andrew Bogut shows up to the arena with a paper bag on his head? The sad thing: Michael Redd hasn't been awful, but his contract will get him run out of town this summer. Blame Larry Krystowiak, says I. He has the talent on this team to have better than the worst defense in the league.
4. The Bulls. No one seems to want the 8th seed in the East. You'd think Chicago -- who won 49 games last season with a young team -- might be able to pull it off. And under Jim Boylan, the entire roster has (we repeat) regressed.
5. The brain stems of those who would deny LeBron 31-8-7 James consideration (at the very least) for the MVP award.Jeff Van Gundy left LBJ off his MVP candidate list during Sunday's Rockets-Lakers game because Cleveland is in 4th place in the East. LeBron is not only having the best 2008 of all players; this might be the best individual season of the decade.
Others receiving votes: Smush Parker's sense of chivalry; my frickin' head this morning.
"The thing about the disgruntled player crying about 'I don't like it here anymore and I want out because we're not winning and I want a chance to win, but I want you to let me go and pay me,' I don't think there should be any buyouts," Riley said. "You want to go? OK, we save all the money. We won't buy you out. We'll waive you."
The team announced before Monday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers that Parker has been waived, offering no further details. Parker, who had an additional season remaining on his contract, received a significant buyout, including a significant payout for the $2.5 million 2008-09 option year he had on his Heat contract.
If Riles is against buyouts, then why did he grant Parker his walking papers? (Or sign Alonzo Mourning after 'Zo refused to play for the Raptors in in 2005? Or take back Eddie Jones after he got bought out by the Griz?) I will say, though, if Riley was really trying to screw Parker (above and beyond that whole "banishing him since November" thing), he did it the right way, releasing him after the March 1 deadline to make him ineligible for the playoffs.
Some flavor of detail regarding the circumstances in which 51 seconds of a protested December Heat loss to Atlanta will be replayed are surfacing. The Miami Heraldpasses on word that players marked inactive for the December game won't be eligible be the March affair, and it's possible any players acquired in trades between now and then will be ineligible as well. Jason Williams and Smush Parker were inactive; Atlanta's Josh Smith had already fouled out, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It's going to be one weird minute of basketball.
But it's unlikely it will get as weird as a replayed 1979 game the Cleveland Plain Dealer's Branson Wright relives on his blog.
[T]he most interesting do-over was on March 23, 1979. That's when the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Nets finished a game that began on Nov. 8, 1978. After the league upheld a protest by New Jersey, the game resumed from the point of infraction -- late in the third quarter.
Eric Money, Harvey Catchings and Ralph Simpson became the first players in professional sports history to play for both teams in the same game ... because they were traded by the 76ers and the Nets before the game was resumed. ... In the box score, Money scored 23 points for New Jersey and four points for the 76ers.
Last week it was reported that Smush Parker had been summoned back to Miami from New York, where he had been spending the holidays. At the time, it seemed like injuries to Jason Williams and Chris Quinn had forced Pat Riley's hand, forcing the coach into bringing the banished point guard back into the mix.
The Heat and banished guard Smush Parker offered conflicting updates Tuesday on his status. Riley said Parker did not practice Tuesday and has not been working out with the assistant coaches or training staff.
However, Parker's agent said Tuesday there were expectations Parker would resume day-to-day activities at the start of this week. Tuesday was the first time the Heat practiced since its Dec. 29 loss at Washington.
Parker has been away from the team for over a month, so if he's added to the mix sometime soon, you'd have to imagine he'd need at least a handful of practices to catch up to speed.
Among the numerous players likely to be traded soon, Mickael Pietrus might stand out. Not just because he's abnormally useful for a minor trading block resident, but because he's young, he's cheap, and his contract expires this summer. Golden State seems more than willing to let Air France fly away, according to this story by the Contra Costa Times' Geoff Lepper. (Fans wouldn't likely mind either.) But who would target Pietrus, and what sort of value would Chris Mullin request?
Small forward isn't a particularly strained position league-wide; the usual desire about this time is additional shooting prowess. (Example: Utah and Kyle Korver.) Pietrus offers wing defense and stellar athleticism, two qualities which, again, aren't in terribly short supply. (Dahntay Jones was unemployed until two weeks ago.) Desperate teams like Cleveland and Chicago, New Jersey and Houston wouldn't really have a use for him.
But Miami's a sensible landing pad. The Heat pursued Pietrus doggedly this summer, but had nothing to give Golden State in a sign-and-trade. They have something now, though: Smush Parker. As expected, Troy Hudson's bell tolls. Baron Davis is playing too many minutes given his injury history. As Marcus Thompson II notes in his CoCo Times column, his speed would fit well in the Warriors' up-and-down philosophy. And Miami could surely use Pietrus still -- that Dorell Wright-Luke Jackson platoon at the three is a bit lackluster.
Remember Smush Parker? Besides famously being thrown off of the Miami Heat for fighting with a female valet attendant over a lousy twelve bucks, he was also the starting point guard for the Lakers during two of their worst seasons in recent memory -- 2006 and 2007.
After much hand-wringing and 
An interesting sequence of events the last two days, if you're into following two of the league's worst teams. The Clippers recently signed 
If we don't care about the scourge of the NBA, who will? 
Some flavor of detail regarding the circumstances in which 51 seconds of 
Last week it was reported that 
Among the numerous players likely to be traded soon, 
