What I Did On My Vacation, Part II

Yeah, yeah, I know -- another vacation?

Even though the trip to Tahoe seems like last week, I was off again this week. This is by design.

Once college football starts -- and with the first "Tailgate Overtime" special slated for August 13th, it's sooner than you think -- I'm pretty much cooked until the following spring. So each summer, as the Marlins and Devil Rays slog it out on FSN Florida, I take all the vacation time that I am allotted from Sun Sports.

It's not so bad, really. I spent this week at home doing, umm, nothing. Played golf four days in a row (note to self: that's one day too many. I, and my aching lower back, have new respect for the flatbellies who play four consecutive days of tournament golf every week just to make their mortgage payments). Took the kids to day camp. Packed for a weekend at the beach. Received kind e-mails from Kanu, EDSBS, and Brian after I placed them on my personal best-seller list. And, of course, I watched the NBA Draft.

Within minutes of the completion of the first round, Sun Sports contributor Todd Wright sent me an e-mail regarding the Blazers' deal with New York that sent Zach Randolph and parts to the NYC in exchange for Channing Frye and the lovable Steve Francis.

His complaint, translated into printable language, was that new Portland GM Kevin Pritchard was a great big dope for subjecting soon-to-be franchise center Greg Oden to the locker room cancer that anyone remotely connected to the NBA knows Steve-O to be.

Why, Todd wondered, would Portland risk poisoning Oden? My answer to him, and to all: they won't.

Granted, the Knicks are hardly known for fiscal ingenuity, but this deal was masterful. Randolph was the lone remaining character issue in Portland, and the Knicks knew it. Further, they knew that Pritchard and the Blazers front office is hell-bent on erasing the Jail Blazers image forever. So Isiah Thomas, in a rare fit of common sense, insisted on including Francis as part of the package to pry Randolph from the Pacific Northwest. It was a combination character-slash-cap move, with the Knicks betting heavily on their ability to get inside Randolph's head, while simultaneously removing an expensive headache in Francis.

As I told Todd -- and as subsequent media reports indicate -- Francis will likely be bought out, or perhaps waived outright, with Portland eating his remaining salary. If I were Pritchard, I might try to dangle Francis in another trade, just to see if someone wants to throw stupid money at him, but it's a long shot. Put simply: there's absolutely no chance that Steve Francis ever wears a Blazers uniform. Penny Hardaway had a better chance of showing up in Orlando again after the Magic dumped Francis on the Knicks last year in the trade that brought Trevor Ariza to Florida.

Once the Magic waived Hardaway, that deal helped the Magic earn the salary cap flexibility that they hope to enjoy during July's free agency spree. Portland, once they rid themselves of Francis in some form, will most likely still be on the hook for a chunk of his change, but they'll have Channing Frye and Greg Oden on the same front line, without the headache of Randolph to screw it up. The Knicks will hope to massage Randolph into something resembling a model citizen, with David Lee, Malik Rose, and Eddy Curry doing the tough-love thing at practice.

In the twisted world of NBA finance, that's a pretty good deal.

Speaking of good deals, I think I like the Boston-Seattle trade that brought Ray Allen and Glen "Big Baby" Davis to the Celtics for Delonte West, Wally Sczcerbiak, and #5 pick Jeff Green.

Not only does Jesus Shuttlesworth bring instant offense to the Celtics, he also placates Paul Pierce and the Celtic faithful -- this is Danny Ainge's way of saying, "no, really, I'm serious." Seattle, with Kevin Durant in the fold, could probably care less, but they still get a lottery pick-level player in Green and a couple of veterans to lighten the load on Durant. Further, they free up some money to make a run at keeping Rashard Lewis, which sounds like a long shot, according to his agent. Even if Lewis leaves (for Orlando?), Seattle basically gets two top-5 picks, West, and Wally World in exchange for Ray Allen.

That, too, is a pretty good deal.

A couple of draft memos:

To the Atlanta Hawks: Don't listen to the media hounds who wonder how you're going to play 47 small forwards at once. Keep Al Horford, keep all the Joshes and Williamses, and go lay some Euroleague-style hoop on 'em. It's the Eastern Conference. You'll be fine.

To the Chicago Bulls: No, you still don't have a low post threat, but Joakim Noah will be the best teammate anybody on your roster ever had. He's Anderson Varajao with twice the game -- and Varajao just played in the NBA Finals, in case anyone missed it. Sure, Noah needs work on his offense, but so does Ben Wallace, and he's been in the league for 11 freaking years. And has a ring.

To the Philadelphia 76ers: Umm, you knew that Al Thornton was still available at 12, right? I mean, no offense to the freshman from Georgia Tech whose name escapes me at the moment, but is there a plan here?

To the Minnesota Timberwolves: Congratulations. Thanks to your selections of Corey Brewer and Chris Richard, you just became the favorite NBA team of Gator Nation. And if I were Kevin Garnett, wouldn't I be just a little more inclined to stick around and see how these kids can help me?

And to the Orlando Magic: You dealt your second-round picks for cash considerations. Building a free agency war chest, I suppose. Now let's see what you can do with it this summer.

That's enough for now. I am on vacation, you know.