Heat's Pat Riley: signing Shaun Livingston a "dead issue." -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Here's the money quote:
Heat president Pat Riley said the team remains interested in ex-Clippers point guard Shaun Livingston but that his signing is a "dead issue" at this point because the Heat's roster is full.
So the Heat are interested in a dead issue. As fellow my SBNation blogger PeninsulaisMightier points out, this is more than a little Orwellian on Riley's part. (Of course, if was a Phil Jackson quote, we'd call it Zen.)
The article says that Shaun is back in LA, which would seem more than a little significant, right? I mean, it doesn't say he's in Minnesota.
over 3 years ago
Steve Perrin
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Clips have money and space?
Since J-Will retired, I assume we have a roster spot and some $ to offer… Although you have to wonder, when all other teams passed on him.. You have to assume each team consulted their team Dr’s….
Gotta use your imagination
Clippers would have his Bird rights after this season.
Imagine having Livingston to make a Mobley, Thomas or Camby trade that much sweeter. You can never have too many assets, especially if they don’t cost anything…
Get me BD and 75 and I'm in
What an idiot
How stupid are Livingston and his agent for passing on a TWO YEAR guaranteed contract for a guy who can’t even play until the middle of this season? That would have been another half season of FREE money.
Wow…I thought Shaun was smarter than that.
What is this thing?
Is it a FanShot? Is it an emergency urgent bulletin? All I know is that it’s blue. All of the bells and whistles are a little bit beyond me, and this “breaking news” format doesn’t seem to be the right spot for some semi-substantive thoughts on how Livingston fits, but I also don’t want to go backwards. Oh well.
Let’s put the Club Optimism hat on for Liv. There’s the new “destiny” angle, with the JWill retirement and a kind version of the fact that he’s—ahem—still available.
But Liv isn’t a bad fit at all. He fills a need, for a wing defender—see KA’s Clipperblog post about this being a potential problem for the Clips and their current rotation of Thornton, Mobley, Davis, Gordon, Thomas and Novak (Blanket the only proven defender.) Livingston-Gordon could work in some situations (in the future), with EG smaller and physical to defend against PGs.
The Clips have enough guys, and have to work all of them into roles and minutes and go through some trial and error, that they don’t need Liv to be productive or even available right away. Hart is a competent backup, and the fact is that in this first stretch we’re going to want to see a lot of Baron Davis, and then some more Baron Davis after that, with just a smidge of Jason Hart out there holding the fort on defense and getting the ball to Ricky Davis or Eric Gordon or somebody who can hit a shot (Tim Thomas or Steve Novak: and you prefer… Brian Skinner?)
Where was I when that nightmare started… oh yeah. Shaun Livingston. Perimeter defense. Good passer, creative. Able to contribute significantly in the second half of the season, by which time the Clips will have worked everything out, become a juggernaut, and need that little extra boost for the stretch run and the playoffs. By the time the playoffs come around, Livingston is the something like the player that we always hoped he could be, coming off the bench and turning the Clipper 2nd unit into a formidable group alongside the rapidly maturing Eric Gordon. It was fate, written in the stars.
The fact is that they don’t need him right away. He’s not expensive. If somebody gets hurt, they can bring in a stopgap guy, the same kind of player they would probably bring in at this point anyway. It’s not a bad fit, and who knows, it just might work. The other teams have passed because they want to give a spot to somebody who can play right away, or there are other factors. Unless I’m wrong, he just doesn’t fit quite as well into other teams as he does with the Clips. It’s not just loyalty. It’s so weird and crazy that… it just might work.
This thing
(1) This thing is a FanShot promoted to the front page. I’m just that powerful. I like the fact the blue – it breaks up the front page some. Gotta shake things up from time to time.
(2) I think most other teams passed on him because they think he’s not ready. But frankly, if I’m Miami and I have the choice between Chris Quinn (whose ceiling is Chris Quinn) or Shaun Livingston (whose ceiling is considerably higher) I go with Liv.
(3) I think it’s important to remember that this injury is basically unprecedented in basketball players – almost unprecedented in the world. Willis McGahee came back to full strength after similar surgery, so it can be done. But with so few data points, it’s hard to say what’s normal. 18 months and he’s still not ready – is that normal? Who knows?
In this world, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. - Elwood P. Dowd
by Steve Perrin on Sep 30, 2008 9:51 PM PDT up reply actions
FanShot--Promoted!
On #3: what I was trying to get at may also have 3 parts.
1) There’s the comeback from the injury, which is at 18 months and counting, and still isn’t quite complete.
2) There’s the way that the knee holds up under the duress of use and NBA play. When he’s back “all the way,” or as far as he’s going to get, with it “hold up,” as MD wondered.
3) There’s also his general durability and physical ability to play in the NBA, knee aside—or rather, with the knee now factored into the bigger picture.
It’s always fun to have these running question marks, and it’s hard to believe that this one seems to have made it back, at least for now.
by citizen zhiv on Sep 30, 2008 10:01 PM PDT up reply actions
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