Let’s all take a deep breath – it’s going to be fine
Remember in The Dog where Kramer breaks up with his girlfriend and Jerry and Elaine diss her and talk about how happy they are to see her go (I can’t believe someone hasn’t killed her yet!), but then Kramer decides to get back together with her and Jerry and Elaine have to eat their words? Yeah, that’s kind of where we’re at right now.
- We got Tyson Chandler for nothing. Nothing!
- What was New Orleans thinking? Tyson Chandler for Chris Wilcox and Joe Smith? I’m surprised they wanted anything at all!
- I always thought Chris Wilcox and Joe Smith were really the reasons this team is 13-41.
Seriously Joe and Chris. We didn’t mean all that. I know we were pumped about Tyson Chandler, but it wasn’t because you guys were leaving. But I guess we probably shouldn’t have said anything. Everybody knows the first break-up never takes.
But in the NBA, that’s not the case. This deal was done and done. “Pending a physical” pretty much means, “Which side of the clubhouse do you want your locker to be on?” Tyson Chandler was coming back to OKC. He’d even Twittered about it. Twitter! I plugged his website for crying out loud. But then the whole thing blew up over a turf toe. How about that for a wooden spoon to the krispy nads?
But here’s the thing: It’s not like our entire future hinged on Tyson Chandler. He was just a piece to the puzzle. Everyone could already see that our future was incredibly bright with Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and company. While obviously adding Chandler to the mix made things much better much quicker, it’s not the end of the world. And in fact, we’re lucky this thing didn’t go through and all of sudden were sitting here with a lame big man making $11 million sitting on the end of the bench. We really don’t need another Robert Swift. We’ve got talented but injury-riddled big man covered, thanks.
You’ve got to assume this is a pretty serious injury. I don’t think Presti rescinds the deal over just a “lingering turf toe.” Not that a turf toe isn’t serious, because it definitely is, but it really needs a more serious-sounding name. (The official name is “Metatarsalphalangeal joint sprain.” That’s pretty good.) Chandler could have taken the whole rest of the season to rehab because OKC is out of the hunt and would have had the summer to heal. He just needed to be ready for next year. I don’t think this turf toe was “lingering.” I’m thinking it’s like bad. I’m thinking maybe it’s turned to gangrene or something. Maybe he doesn’t have a left foot at all anymore. Because that better be the case – I’d hate to have lost a quality player over something that could’ve healed with a few months off.
But unfortunately for Tyson – a guy that I really like – I have a feeling he’s got something that’s going to hurt him for a while. Metatarsalphalageal joint sprains aren’t to be taken lightly. And that would have been detrimental to OKC’s future building plans.
(And don’t buy the whole “karma” argument because if that were the case, the deal would have gone through and Chandler would have played six games this year, aggravated it, had offseason surgey and made $22 million off us and played in only six total games. THAT would have been karma.)
I think some people are pointing the finger at OKC and giving a Nelson-esque Ha-HA! but the folks whose faces should be red is the Hornets. Jeff Bower tried to shuffle a guy that was hurt to another team (intentional or not) and on top of it, he tried to justify the controversial deal to his fanbase by saying the Hornets simply needed more frontcourt depth and Chandler wasn’t enough. Maybe if he would have said up front that the move was made for financial reasons then this would be a little less awkward for them. Yeah Tyson, that thing I said about needing more depth and wanting to run more… you were always our guy… I was just saying words… we really like you. I swear. Please don’t hate me.
Side note: If we were looking for a rival, I think we may have found one. First, they don’t listen to us when we told them to stay here or they’d regret it. But they go home anyway and now they’re losing money like Charles Barkley at a blackjack table and might be moving soon. Oh, and some of their fans hate us because they think we “stole” their team. Whatever. Strike one. Then, they break our hearts on a huge night at the Ford Center on a Chris Paul buzzer beater. Strike two. And now, they try and pull a fast one by sending a hobbled big man to us to which the deal falls through. Strike three. Thanks for the memories NOLA. It’s on now.
One interesting angle reader jk points out:
“Here’s the major problem with the deal and its not about TC … The player that we were reportedly most intent about trading for was… John Salmons. He’s been traded. I don’t know where we go with our expiring (in 15 hours) assets–because had this happened 24 hours ago, it would have made sense to make the move with Sactown.”
I was never a fan of Salmons, but that’s interesting. Because Presti thought he had made his move and unloaded two coveted expiring contracts, you have to wonder how many deals he pulled off of as a result. Would John Salmons be in a Thunder uniform had the Chandler deal not have happened? Who else was Presti after that he turned off negotiations with? And the big question: Is he going to try and swing another deal with Wilcox and Smith or are we going to have the Kramer/Jerry situation in the locker room?
So you can really look at this thing two ways: This totally sucks OR wipe-the-forehead-we-dodged-a-bullet-here. Or I guess there’s a third option which is, “Back in the Blake sweepstakes baby!” But I look at it more as we dodged a bullet. Like I said, this thing is getting better. Tyson Chandler isn’t the only shot blocking, defensive minded center in the league that could fill the void for OKC. It just so happened we were able to give up very little to get him. No doubt it was a wonderful deal – but that’s for a healthy Tyson Chandler. Not for one that may or may not have a left foot.
Keep your heads up Thunder fans. Take a step back from the ledge. Everything is fine. Sure a *healthy* Chandler would have been a grand slam, but that doesn’t mean this whole building process is knocked off course. We’re still getting better and we still have a tremendous core of young players that includes one of the top five or six players in the entire league. And who knows, Presti may have a Plan B that he’s about to punch the button on. I have a feeling something is going to happen. For Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox and the overall awkwardness of this situation’s sake, I sure hope it does.
This is from one of Chad Ford’s sources:
“Finally, this question, after the Tyson Chandler trade was rescinded: Is there any chance that Chandler could be traded again by Thursday?
One GM, speaking on condition of anonymity, told me he spoke with the Thunder and thought they were extremely conservative in their diagnosis of Chandler. While he hadn’t seen the medical evidence, he felt that, based on his conversations with the Thunder, the team may have overreacted to Chandler’s turf toe issue.”
This is very confusing, how could this injury be so bad that it would not have healed over the next 8 months. I know in the NFL players will fail a “physical” only when a team wants them to. It kinda makes me wonder if there is not more to this story, because it seems strange, not to mention completely unethical, that NOLA would cover up his injury in order to trade him.
Either NOLA thinks we’re stupid or we’re stupid. I hope they didn’t try to get this past OKC’s doctors.
This would be very, very discouraging. VERY.
This is really, really weird. I smell a conspiracy.
The problem with turf toe is that it never goes away, always will be a lingering injury in that it can come back on any misstep. That said, I don’t remember TC ever really playing with it, outside of the playoff series with the Spurs (healed by next season), leading to 2 questions: 1) How badly does he play with Turf Toe, 2) Will it ever come back?
I guess it doesn’t matter now, but this injury is something that can be played through, we just have no idea of how high of a level.
First off, I am REALLY REALLY sad about this, mainly because I really fell in love with TC’s game when he played here with the Hornets, and that there are so few true 7-footers who are mobile enough to run the court in the league. That being said, if you take the Yao Ming situation into consideration, I think you can see just how chronic and nagging a foot injury can be, ESPECIALLY to a 7-footer! The physical stress on their feet is enormous, and small injuries can be devastating. You can liken it to a crack in the foundation of a really, REALLY tall building (anyone want their office on the 70th floor of the (future)Devon Tower if there is a problem with the basement???)
I think it must be legit, and good for Presti calling it off in the face of STRONG desire to make it happen!
It’s legit guys. But let’s say in the worst case scenario he comes back in a month and plays descent in the post season. EVERYONE will be going “come one he could have been ours”. But let’s think about this for a second.
Presti may have been to nervous about the doctors news, but even if there is a 50 percent chance that it heals, is it worth taking the risk on a guy we’re going to be paying 12 million a season? Presti has worked too hard to get our team in the financial situation it is to blow it on a guy that very well could spend the next two years on the bench, leaving us with no salary room to put the players around Durant, Green and co to become a perennial contender. What sucks about this is the fact that we all thought we’d shored up the 5 slot, Chandler starts and Nads comes off the bench, perfect. But if there’s a chance he sits on the bench and screws our ability to put other players around our core… than good riddance.
Keep your eyes open and your ear to the ground and let us know whats next for our Thunder. You always seem to have a good handle on these things. Keep up the good reporting!!!
I wonder:
A.) If the toe/ankle is that serious, if downplaying it’s significance by saying the medical evaluation was too conservative is a trading tactic. THe Hornets may be thinking that there are other Chandler suitors that would still be interested if they thought OKC missed the diagnosis.
B.) If ownership got cold feet late in the game and pulled the plug by influencing the report of a medical evaluation to rescue them from signing a big check.
C.) The injury is such that Chandler will only ever be 90% healthy, which makes him an 8 and 8 guy rather than a 12 and 12 guy. I remember the phrase “It’s not going to end his career, but it could hinder it.” and it makes me wonder if that’s what the Hornets fear.
I’m leaning towards B though. The doctor who did the evaluation was the SAME doctor who previously performed surgery on Chandler’s toe. Chandler went on the have a great year that year. The doctor said “…I’m just saying it could take a turn for the worse if you come down on somebody’s foot or hyperextend it or something.” Which is like saying “Your head is just fine, but I can’t clear you, because someday it’s possible that you might suffer a concussion”.
PLEASE. That’s your reasoning? Get out of town. I smell foul play.
Geez, look at the comments here and around the web. This is becoming a convention of the Conspiracies-R-Us fraternity.
Secret backdoor deals, double crossing, fakeouts, nefarious 3-step ahead chess moves… soon to be followed by undercover government agents and aliens, no doubt. Perhaps National Enquirer will get a scoop on what “really” happened.
Royce, I think they took your advice about taking a deep breath. Unfortunately, they inhaled gasoline fumes when they did.
Here’s my wish list:
http://dimemag.com/2009/02/kirk-hinrich-not-going-to-t-wolves/
Presti are you listening???
In the end I think this is rather simple. New Orleans needed to unload some salary, we needed a center. We made the deal, the center failed his physical, trade off. No conspiracy, it’s pretty straight forward.
@okcnba
Well, that’s no fun!
Remember the two main rules about conspiracy theories:
1. they are nearly always wrong
2. see #1
Never attribute to malice or cunning what can be attributed to stupidity, ignorance, vanity, etc…
The more I think about it, I think this is probably a case of differing perspective of the OKC and NO organizations. A glass half-empty/half-full scenario.
Quite possibly, the NO guys are more willing to work with a chronic injury, especially since it was one of their guys already holding a big contract. They ask the doctor “can he play with this injury?” and the doc says sure. But he warns it may inhibit his productivity and may become problematic over time. They figure, “ok, we’ll do the best we can. He’ll probably be alright”.
So when they need to drop salary, Chandler comes to mind as one of the better prospects. Perhaps they weren’t completely forthcoming about his injuries, but his troubles this season were well known anyway. They probably figured everyone else already knew Tyson had foot/ankle issues, so anyone bargaining for him was willing to accept that. They probably figured that the OKC would view it the same way that they did.
In OKC, however, Presti has a different philosophy. He asks the doctor a different question… “can Tyson, with proper rest and rehabilitation, come back to 100% form”. The doctor (who evidently was the same one who advised NO in the past) makes essentially the same diagnosis (or possibly Tyson’s foot/ankle is worse since he last examined). Now you get a completely different reaction to the medical results. Presti’s viewpoint is “if I can’t guarantee he won’t have long-term problems and be spending an inordinant amount of time on the bench, then it’s not worth the price.
Yes, Presti is conservative. We LIKE that he is this way. That is why he has a bundle of assets to trade with and use to barter with other GM’s — especially the ones who have been on spending binges and are now hurting.
To me, this is the most logical explanation of what has happened.
@okiefunk
Hinrich to Collison. Version 2.0.
(OMG Double Post! sorry…)
Whatever, the good thing is that unlike other blogs were not sitting here saying stupid sh** and not acting like basketball fans that dont know anything about basketball.I think that if this was anyother team, they would be going crazy. Luckily Presti has a plan in place and we still have the cap space if we want to sign anyone this summer.
P.S. I dont think any of us are really serious about the conspiracy theories. The Ford Center is sold out every night and OKC has the money to pay Chandler, we still would’ve been under the cap. I really think this has to do with the severity of TC’s injury. Presti is not a wimp, he is a kid genius (a la Kevin Pritchard).