On The Sidelines 09.03.08: Injuries Abound

Posted by Porfirio Diaz on 09.03.2008

The Warriors and Spurs suffered injuries to key players this past week. With the injuries of Monta Ellis and Manu Ginobili, do both teams still have enough to contend for the playoffs?

Inside The Lines

Monta Ellis suffers injury, out for at least three months

In perhaps the biggest setback of a difficult summer for the Warriors, team officials confirmed Wednesday that Ellis -- just awarded one of the biggest pay raises in league history -- will be sidelined at least three months after suffering a severe high ankle sprain in his hometown of Jackson, Miss. Ellis, 22, underwent successful surgery Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala., to repair a torn deltoid ligament in his left ankle, which the team announced after an ESPN.com report earlier Wednesday. In an afternoon conference call with local reporters, Warriors executive vice president of basketball operations Chris Mullin said Ellis informed the club that he injured himself last Thursday playing pickup ball in his native Mississippi. [Source: ESPN.com]

Ouch. Well, there goes the Warriors' playoff chance.

Losing Baron Davis is one thing. This wouldn't be as big of a deal if it was Davis going under the knife. He's known to take long absences away from the game due to injury. This would have just been another one of those times. But losing the team's point guard of the future who just received a lucrative extension? Now that hurts worse. Ironic that the Warriors' front office thought they wouldn't have to deal with a point guard with injury concerns once Davis left and then proceeded to throw money at a point guard who figured to be the opposite. Ha ha….FAIL!

It's not like the Warriors had that great of a chance to make the playoffs this year anyway, not with the Western Conference becoming tougher and tougher each year. The injury to Ellis just confirms it; no playoffs this year for the Warriors again. You can't expect most teams to afford losing players to injury for a lengthy amount of time and still be able to compete for the Western conference playoffs.

What's worse is that there are reports that Ellis lied about how he injured his ankle. He said that he injured his ankle working out. Somewhere, the Chinese women's gymnastic team and Sarah Palin are bursting into laughter. If you read the section header, it was Chris Mullin who reported that Ellis hurt himself last Thursday playing a pickup game of basketball. That is actually a violation to one of the "morality causes" in his contract. The Warriors do have the right to void his newly minty fresh $66 million contract if they want. It will never come down to that for several reasons. Doing so would make Ellis a free agent and teams would have no problem going after him. The last thing the front office needs is to let another point guard get away, unless the injury is a long term problem. They wouldn't want to give out more bad vibes to its already more than sadden fan base or its increasingly dysfunctional franchise. Plus, the players union would never allow it to reach past that point.

Ellis is due back around December, with the earliest being around Thanksgiving. Warriors can't survive the brutal West with Maggette, Al Harrington, and Stephen Jackson alone. Will they even be near the playoff race once Ellis comes back? There's also the "rusty" factor once Ellis does come back. Would he regain last year's greatness so quickly after his return? I doubt it. I predict it might take him a few weeks to get back to game form.

If there's one positive in all this, it's been reported that Marcus Williams will get the starting nod. I've been high on this guy, so it's time to see if he's the real thing or not. He's not going to replace Ellis or even Davis but he'll flourish in the Don Nelson's run and gun system. Prediction: breakout season! I would even suggest drafting him for the upcoming fantasy basketball season at…whatever draft round he's predicted to go in. Not only that, but young guys like Belinelli will get more minutes. So it's not like this is a total loss.

In any case, this has been quite the offseason, hasn't it Warriorfan?


Ginobili to undergo surgery on left ankle

San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, who helped lead Argentina to a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics, will need surgery to repair a ligament injury in his left ankle. The Spurs said Friday that Ginobili will have surgery next week. The team will announce a timeline for his return after the surgery. Ginobili said an MRI of his ankle showed no improvement from a previous exam two months ago. He led the Spurs in scoring last season (19.5 points) and won the league's sixth man award. "They're going to operate on me," the 31-year-old Ginobili told Argentina's La Nacion newspaper Friday. "It's not worse, which is important. Now, the thing is, it's not better either, and it seems like the only way to repair it completely is arthroscopic surgery." [Source: foxsports.com]

Ouch part deux. Another key guy goes down, making the West even more cutthroat.

Of course, the questions and second guessing immediately came flying out. Did Ginobili do the right thing by skipping surgery to play for his country? Was he being selfish? Shouldn't he have obligations to the one's that are paying his salary? Since when did Ginobili have an imdb page?

Ok, that last one was by me. Really, I want to know!

Some will argue that his first obligation should be to the Spurs, since they are paying his salary. To risk an injury to something that's been hurting can be considered selfish. Now that he's hurt, he may have cost the Spurs another championship run. Some will argue that he shouldn't be criticized for representing his country. Ginobili himself said he has no regrets with his decision. So why not let him play? It was his right and choice to do so. These are just some of the risks of playing in the Olympics and it just claimed another victim. I would have chosen to get the surgery right after my last game, but it's not my career.

But if you think this will lead to the downfall of the Spurs, think again. There have been too many times where I counted the Spurs out and every time they keep proving me wrong. Unlike the Warriors, the Spurs are good enough to survive a few games without Ginobili, though that's the thing. Some reports are saying he's expected to miss six-to-eight weeks. Other reports are saying he could very well miss two-to-three months. If it's the former, Spurs will be fine. If it's the latter, then it would be time for Spurfan to worry. Tim Duncan may be the face of the franchise, but Manu has been the best player for the Spurs for the past few years. He's been the guy to go to when the game has been on the line and most of the time he delivers. He's not just one of the best sixth man in the league, but also one of the best players. Spurs can't do it without Ginobili. In fact, they might need him more than ever.


Oh ya, there's also that flopping thing he does so well


Free Agency 2008

This section is going to be a brief look into some of the moves during free agency.

- Grant Hill exercises option with Suns for 2008-2009 season
- Gilbert Arenas opts out of contract with Wizards
- Elton Brand opts out of contract with Clippers, leaves $16.4 million in last year of his deal
- Baron Davis opts out of contract with Warriors, leaves $17.8 million in last year of his deal
- Corey Maggette ops out of contract with Clippers
- Ron Artest declines to opt out of his contract, remains with the Kings
- Jamison, Wizards sign 4 year, $50 million extension
- Kings hold on to Beno Udrich, signs for 5 year, $33.3 million deal
- Baron Davis signs with Clippers, estimated deal worth 5 year, $65 million
- DeSagana Diop gives verbal commitment to sign new contract for Mavericks
- Chris Duhon signs with the Knicks on a two year worth over $11 million contact
- Former slam duck champion Gerald Green signs one year, minimum salary contract with Mavericks
- Chris Paul agrees on four year, $68 million deal extension with Hornets
- Mickael Pietrus reaches a verbal agreement with the Magic, contract details unknown
- Sixers send forward Rodney Carney, Calvin Booth, and a future first-round pick to the Timberwolves for a second round pick.
- Elton Brand accepts a five-year, $79.795 million deal from the Sixers
- Corey Maggette accepts a five year deal, worth around $50 million.
- Pacers and Raptors officially complete trade, sending Jermaine O'Neal and the rights to Nathan Jawai to Toronto while Indiana obtains T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston, and the rights to Roy Hibbert
- James Jones signs five-year deal worth more than $23.2 million
- Celtics sign Patrick O'Bryant for a one-year deal
- Marc Gasol signs three year, $9.72 million deal with the Grizzlies
- Los Angeles Clippers renounce their rights to free agents Shaun Livingston, Dan Dickau, Boniface Ndong, Smush Parker, and James Singleton
- Raptors re-sign Jose Calderon to five-year, approximate $45 million contract
- Brent Barry signs 2 year contract with the Houston Rockets
- Roger Mason sign a two-year deal, worth less than $8 million with the Spurs
- Bucks signs Andrew Bogut to five-year, $60 million extension
- Gilbert Arenas signs six year, $111 million contract with the Wizards
- The Clippers agreed to terms on a deal with the Denver Nuggets to acquire center Marcus Camby for only a second round pick
- Magic signs Anthony Johnson, contract details unknown
- Warriors signs Anthony Randolph
- Nets sign Eduardo Najera
- Cavs sign Daniel Gibson to five-year extension, financial terms were not disclosed
- Celtics sign Patrick O'Bryant
- Bucks signs Tyronn Lue and Malik Allen
- L.A. Clippers sign Kelenna Azubuike to offer sheet, a three-year $9 million deal
- Warriors signs Ronny Turiaf
- Knicks sign Anthony Roberson for two years, worth more than $1.6 million
- James Posey leaves Celtics, signs 4-year $25 million deal with the Hornets
- Deron Williams signs 4-year, $70 million extension with the Jazz
- Eddie House and Tony Allen agree to remain with the Celtics, reportedly a 2 year deal worth over $2 million
- Nets acquired Keyon Dooling from the Magic in exchange for cash and the trade exception the Nets got in the deal that send Jason Kidd to the Mavs
- Spurs re-sign Kurt Thomas, contract details unknown
- Nets trade Marcus Williams to the Warriors for a conditional first round pick
- Jazz acquires Brevin Knight from the Clippers for Jason Hart
- Golden re-signs Monta Ellis to a 6-year, $67 million contract
- Sebastian Telfair signs a new 2-year contract with the Timberwolves
- Chris Andersen, who was reinstated by the NBA early March, signed with the Nuggets, contract details unknown
- Warriors match Clippers' 3-year, $9 million offer sheet to Kelenna Azubuike
- Josh Childress leaves NBA to sign a 3-year contract with Olympiakos of Greece
- Sasha Vujacic agrees to Lakers' 3-year, $15 million contract
- Maurice Evans agree to terms with the Hawks on a 3-year deal, worth about $7.5 million
- Emeka Okafor and the Bobcat reached a 6-year, $72 million deal
- According to sources, Deng and the Bulls are on verge of a six-year, $71M deal
- Kings agree to trade Ron Artest to Rockets in exchange for Houston's first-round draft pick in 2009, Bobby Jackson and the draft rights to Donte Greene.
- Kwame Brown signs 2-year, $8 million contract with Pistons
- Nuggets acquired Renaldo Balkman from the Knicks for Taurean Green, Bobby Jones and a second-round draft pick in 2010.
- Louis Williams re-signs with Sixers reportedly worth than $25 million over 5 years.
- Carlos Arroyo leaves NBA, signs with Israeli giants Maccabi Tel-Aviv over an estimated 3-year contract worth $2.5 million net next season (roughly the equivalent of a $5 million NBA salary after taxes)
- Earl Boykins signs a one-year deal worth more than $3.5 million to play with Virtus Bologna of the Italian league, which makes him Italy's highest-paid player.
- Jason Williams agrees to Clippers offer, reportedly receiving a 1-year contract. Financial terms of contract are unknown.
- Hornets re-sign Ryan Bowen, terms to deal unknown
- Pistons re-sign Walter Herrmann, contract details unknown
- Sixers and Andre Iguodala agree to 6-year, $80 million contract
- Hawks sign Ronald "Flip" Murray, terms of deal are unknown
- Three way trade: Cavs receive Mo Williams, Bucks receive Damon Jones, Luke Ridnour and Adrian Griffin, and Oklahoma City receive Joe Smith and Desmond Mason
- Jannero Pargo signed with Russian club Dynamo Moscow on 1 year, $3.5 million deal (after taxes)
- Clippers re-sign unrestricted free-agent Paul Davis, contract details unknown
- 38-year-old Shawn Kemp signs with Italian team Premiata Montegranaro
- Gordan Giricek signs with Turkey's club, Fenerbahce on a two year contract
- Oklahoma City waive Donyell Marshall
- Theo Ratliff signs with Sixers, terms of deal were not disclosed
- Heat and Dorell Wright agree on a two-year deal
- Devean George and the Mavs agree on a two-year contract, worth about $4 million
- Hornets sign Devin Brown
- Spurs officially sign Michael Finley to a two-year, $5 million contract
- Boston sign forward Darius Miles, who missed the last two NBA season due to microfracture surgery on his right knee.
- Nuggets re-sign J.R. Smith on three-year, $16.5 million
- Suns trade D.J. Strawberry to the Rockets for rookie Sean Singletary
- Hornets sign Sean Marks
- Grizzlies sign Hamed Haddadi, star center for the Iranian national team in the Olympics
- Rockets trade Patrick Ewing Jr. to the Knicks for the draft rights to center Frederic Weis
- Heat sign Jamal Magloire, reported for veteran's minimum

I didn't get to comment on last week's transactions so I will include those thoughts here as well.

Cut by one of the worst teams in the league. Things are looking down for poor Marshall. Nothing else to add except for a related and slightly embarrassing fantasy basketball story from a few years ago. This was when I was just getting into the whole fantasy sports thing. I had Ray Allen on my team and was injured for the better part of the season (I'm thinking 2003-2004). Someone offered straight up for Donyell Marshall, who was having a decent season in Toronto. With my team trying to make the playoffs and couldn't afford to have Allen sitting on the bench, I foolishly accepted. Of course, the other managers vetoed and proceeded to rip me a new one, rightfully so. Allen did come back to play near the end of the season but I missed the playoffs. Lesson learned. Let that be a lesson to all fantasy players: trading is fun when you pick on the weak.

Hey, it's the "Sultan of Swat" coming back to raise the hopes of Sixerfan everywhere. It's a nice pickup to back up Dalembert.

I'm sure Mavfan is jumping for joy over this, considering he was the one that almost derailed the whole Kidd-Harris trade…errr…maybe he was on to something.

Insert Spurs are old joke here.

No doubt the Miles signing is just roster filler but it's always nice to see someone come back from something like microfracture surgery, no matter how insignificant that player now is.

J.R. Smith: master and All-Star of the car crash.

Let's see, it's my first real chance to play in American professional basketball after being one of the top players on the Iranian national team. So naturally my team of choice to would be the Memphis freakin Grizzles! Watch the Grizzles groom him into an All-Star where near the peak of his career, they give him to the Lakers for some Skittles and a DVD copy of Sex and the City. Naturally, I have no clue on who Haddadi is or how he might improve the team. Anyone want to chime in on this guy?

Just like his dad, only without the hype, star power, and the frozen envelope of doom~!

Great, Heat get another chronically injured player on the team. He'll surely help out with the Heat's sad depth at the center positive. Mark Blount? Joel Anthony? Welcome to Miami, Beasley. Party in the city where the heat is on and party all night on the beach till the break of dawn.


Out of Bounds

- I meant to post my football team from the 411 fantasy league last week, but I forgot. So here it is!

1. (8) Frank Gore RB
2. (25) Willis McGahee RB
3. (40) Reggie Bush RB
4. (57) Greg Jennings WR
5. (72) Laveranues Coles WR
6. (89) Heath Miller TE
7. (104) Matt Schaub QB
8. (121) Reggie Williams WR
9. (136) Ahmad Bradshaw RB
10. (153) Drew Bennett WR
11. (168) L.J. Smith TE
12. (185) Jerramy Stevens TE
13. (200) J.T. O'Sullivan QB
14. (217) Ryan Longwell K
15. (232) Devery Henderson WR
16. (249) Oakland DEF

I smell championship!

- A two-headed baby was born in Bangladesh. Just freaky and amazing at the same time. However, it didn't survive. As sad as this story is, ask yourself this: would it have been better if the baby did survive? Imagine the live he would have had to life.

- Ironic story of the (past) week! Dave Freeman, co-author of "100 Things to Do Before You Die,"...died from a fall off his own house.

- Another sad story (geez, I'll full of these this week): the famous "In a world' voiceover guy master died. Dang. If there was anyone that could sell a trailer/movie, it was him. He will be missed.

- Ok, sad over. Here's a funny Bolt parady video.




Final Seconds

Let's here it Warriorfan. Think I'm wrong? Comment below.


And I'm out of time. Out like the Warriors' playoff chances.