Holy Vick !!

Count me in the "this is a great move" camp. Even if it doesn't work, it's worth the shot. Vick's paid his due to society. However horrible what he did was, he's done more time than most do for this kind of crime. So, I don't really care what animal rights activists have to say. If he got off like say Donte Stallworth, then their beef would be legit.

In terms of football, this is the kind of move that we desperately needed. West, who I think should have his jersey retired when it's said and done, is turning 30 this year. We should know that we'd be lucky if he's got even one year left as an elite running back. And, he's coming off yet another injury. Even if we've got his replacement lined up, it doesn't account for the game changing ability being lost by West becoming a mere mortal. There's no one that makes us dangerous if he's not in top form. Donovan isn't that dude anymore. So now we've got a guy who changes all that. In theory, anyway.

The O-line still has to get healthy for us to have a shot. And the defense doesn't inspire a great deal of confidence right now. The pass rush looks weak, and losing Stewart Bradley was BIG. All that being said, getting Vick is a step towards being hellified at least on one side of the ball. And, if the unthinkable were to happen and Donovan got hurt, we've got a legit starter ready to take his place.

Obviously, Vick needs some time to get his game back, but time is something he's got in this current situation. If Donovan starts to feel heat on his neck, then he's gonna have to step up or step aside. At this point, Vick's either gonna make us better, or he's gonna make us realize we ain't there yet.

I got it...

All right, here’s the deal (assuming I have my numbers right*):

Oklahoma City. They have expiring contracts, and nothing good to buy with them. There is NO CHANCE LeBron or Wade are going to Oklahoma. None. Zero. And they know it.

Meanwhile, they have a nice young core with a potential superstar and a half (Durant and Westbrook). But they have some gaping holes, particularly in their front court.

So here’s my Stephanski trade:

Sammy and Speights
for
Etan Thomas and Earl Watson

In terms of money, it’s about the same (roughly $14M per package), but the Thomas/Watson package comes off the books in Summer 2010. ‘Dre walked and took $10M in salary with him. We were projected to be about $3M over the cap next summer if we’d kept ‘Dre. But subtract this $24M total (‘Dre, Thomas, Watson) from that, and we’ll be sitting at $21M under the cap next summer. And you know what that means.

Why would the Thunder do it? Because they’d get an athletic shot-blocking center to play alongside Nenad Krstic, plus a young near-stud at the 4 to play behind Jeff Green. And they give up next to nothing for it. The 2009 Thunder would look like this (backups in parens):

1 – Russell Westbrook (Shaun Livingston)
2 – James Harden (Kyle Weaver)
3 – Kevin Durant (T. Sefolosha)
4 – Jeff Green (Speights)
5 – Dalembert (Krstic)

With the right coach, that team looks a little scary, no?

Anyway, this is what’s up, Ed. Call me. I’ll walk you through the deets.

-G

*I have only a minimal handle on the cap rules, so take this with a grain of salt.