Mason Won’t Return to Thunder Mason’s agent, Roger Montgomery, confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday that talks between the nine-year NBA veteran and the Thunder had broken down and the two sides wouldn’t be agreeing on a new contract.
Mason had expressed his desire to return to Oklahoma City after a knee injury forced him to miss the second half of last season. Montgomery says the two sides weren’t able to agree on a role for Mason, who still wants to make significant contributions instead of simply being a mentor for younger players.
If he’s 100% healthy, adding a veteran Wing, with the athleticism, skill-set and coachability of Desmond Mason, who can still contribute in a significant way, as a competent role player … like he did last year for the Thunder, prior to sustaining his season-ending injury … might be a solid fit for the 76ers, working under Eddie Jordan’s system, if they intend to legitimately compete hard for an EC playoff spot.
So you’re scared and you’re thinking
That maybe we ain’t that young anymore
Show a little faith there’s magic in the night
You ain’t a beauty but hey you’re alright
Oh and that’s alright with me …
Going into tonight’s game, which of these two player rosters would you prefer, if you were a working GM in the NBA?
One is $12.7 million over the Salary Cap; the other is $1.1 million under the Cap.
One has an average age of 24.7; the other an average age of 26.6.
One has 2 No. 1 [overall] NBA Draft Picks on it; the other has 1.
Both are led by first-time, interim head coaches.
Objectively speaking, when you’re hard-pressed to distinguish between the authentic talent levels of two teams in the NBA with respective W-L records as far apart as these … i.e. Toronto is 10-15, .400; Oklahoma is 2-24, .077 … it does not portend well for the squad with the higher win percentage, if it’s also playing away from home.
As the first game in a 6-stop Western road trip, this is now a crucial get for the Raptors.
* Win tonight … and the up-coming match-ups against the Clippers, Kings and the Warriors will not look nearly so daunting.
* Lose tonight … and the Dinos will be staring straight into the abyss of a calamitous 10-game losing streak:
Sun Dec 14 vs New Orleans/15-7, .682 - LOSS Mon Dec 15 vs New Jersey/12-12, .500 - LOSS
Wed Dec 17 vs Dallas/14-10, .583 - LOSS Fr Dec 19 at Oklahoma City/2-24, 0.77 - ? Sat Dec 20 at San Antonio/15-10, .600 – ? [L] Mon Dec 22 at LA Clippers/7-18, .280 - ?
Fri Dec 26 at Sacramento/7-19, .269 - ? Sat Dec 27 at Portland/17-10, .630 - ? [L] Mon Dec 29 at Golden State/7-19, .269 - ? Wed Dec 31 vs Denver/17-8, .680 - ? [L]
from which they might not be able recover this season.
On the road, in the NBA, is where a team – especially one that’s struggling – finds out exactly what it’s made of … and, whether it should either:
Despite having the 2nd best basketball player in the world today on their roster, it’s as though the Management Team in Cleveland is still searching in the dark for a roadmap, detailing how to get their crew safely to the Land of Milk and Honey.
It says in this corner that … the Cavaliers are no closer today to winning the NBA title, one day in the future, than they were yesterday, before this latest transaction occurred; or, than they were several months ago, when they last attempted (in vain) to upgrade the personnel on their team …
