The Bobcats Want To Trade Their Biggest Underachiever; Nets Look For A Secret Weapon

When we talk about the NBA’s biggest enigmas, why doesn’t anyone ever mention Tyrus Thomas? He’s a 6-9 freak of an athlete who showed in college he’s good enough – when he cares – to make a big difference. So far in the NBA, he’s displayed a decent skill set when he’s healthy. He’s not a liability on the line, doesn’t need the ball to be effective and can play in a number of different systems. He even started for a playoff team in Chicago. Of course, it’s hard to stay relevant when your best friend on the team is the trainer, but we think Thomas deserves a little more shine as one of the NBA’s biggest underachievers. Whereas Nick Young has a problem with passing the ball, JaVale McGee with bringing enough intensity every night, and as J.R. Smith‘s problems stem from staying up on Twitter all night, Thomas struggles with authority. Every coach he’s had in the NBA had issues with him, and Paul Silas nearly put the dukes up against him last year. We’ll admit, we were HUGE fans of Thomas at LSU, and thought he’d be a difference-maker in the league. We’re not ready to give up on him yet, even though he’s been in the league for six years, and hasn’t played more than 54 games in any of the past three seasons. But Charlotte is ready to push him out the door – they just can’t find any takers. It’s true. Thomas is still owed $26 million over the next three years, which hurts his trade value as much as his attitude, and HOOPSWORLD reports the Bobcats would trade him immediately if someone was willing. Too bad no one wants him. You know it’s time to reevaluate yourself when the worst team in the NBA wants to get rid of you … New Bobcat coach Mike Dunlap is also pushing Kemba Walker to lockdown the starting point guard spot and become the team leader. Watching E-Z Pass in year two will be interesting. When he wasn’t missing shots last year (under 37 percent as a shooter), he was actually pretty good. Yet you can’t expect a 22-year-old to lead a team that doesn’t have a clue where it’s going … Ryan Anderson is expecting a bigger, and more versatile, role with the Hornets. He says that might even include some PT at the center and small forward spots, which will offer more opportunities to rebound and handle the ball. Sometimes expanding your game isn’t the right way to go. Anderson is a shooter, an absolute assassin who presents a weird matchup for any four man he goes up against. Why can’t New Orleans just let him do what he does best: shoot more threes than anyone else in the league? Fantasy owners would be happy with that … And it sounds like Juwan Howard plans to record his own rap album. There isn’t enough room here for all of the jokes. We would make fun of his age, but remember Dr. Dre is 47. Howard is a young pup compared to the Doc … Keep reading to hear why Brooklyn sent their head coach all the way out to Houston …

Add the Nets to the list of teams interested in Andray Blatche. The 6-11 big man must feel like a 5-star recruit with all of the attention he’s been receiving from contenders like San Antonio and Miami. But Brooklyn? Would he consider it? Well, the man is from Syracuse, and also went to a high school in Connecticut, so he’d be going home in a way. The New York Times reports Avery Johnson was traveling to Houston to meet with the former Wizard at some point this weekend. Blatche is out there for the summer to star in another episode of John Lucas‘ own personal “Celebrity Rehab” and while we highly doubt Brooklyn throws out a contract offer before they see if Blatche has lost any stomach rolls, the fact that the Lil’ General came out to Houston shows a lot. So let’s break it down for AB: as of now, he could possibly play in San Antonio, Miami or Brooklyn. South Beach should be out of the question. With all of those distractions, and the incredible night life, Blatche would be a ticking time bomb. He’d lose focus or miss shootarounds or fall out of shape… just know at some point Dwyane Wade would get frustrated enough to turn him into a new pair of Del Toros. Brooklyn might work, although going home always presents one of two options. Either they turn it up, mature, and want to show all of the folks from home how far they’ve come, or they start hanging with the fellas on game nights, running into old flings and before you know it, they have 25 people living at their house. Then there’s San Antonio, where their coach doesn’t put up with anything outside of playing hard, earning everything and getting the most of your talent. Where do we want to see Blatche play? We think it’s pretty obvious … It sounds like Daniel Gibson is being shopped for loose change in Cleveland, and that’s done nothing but fuel his fire. Boobie tweeted recently he’s not letting some rumors get to his head, even as Cleveland is trying to quench the fire by shooting down the trade reports. The only team that should be looking to acquire Gibson anyways is Miami. It’s pretty obvious he needs LeBron. With him in Cleveland, Gibson looked like the next Dell Curry and had everyone in Detroit trashing their Keyshia Cole CDs. Without the King, we almost forgot Boobie was still in the league … And now y’all can mark your calendars and get set for the new Nike LeBron X+ Olympic joints to drop. The $290 sneakers are releasing on September 29. Anyone feel like the more money Nike charges for sneakers, the MORE people are going to camp out and generally act like they’re in a shark feeding frenzy? … We’re out like Juwan’s album.