A Closer Look: NBA Style

— Many in the Toronto sports media are already pushing for the "interim" to be removed from General Manager Wayne Embry's job title. In his first few weeks on the job, Embry has managed to move Aaron Williams to New Orleans/Oklahoma City for some change. He followed up this move by trading a first-round draft pick and Jalen Rose to the Knicks for Antonio Davis and his expiring contract.

Undoubtedly, these moves should help free up cap space for the Raptors to pursue some free agents, but this year's impending free agent class is pretty weak and historically, NBA free agents have shied away from coming to Toronto.

Although I think Embry should get consideration for the job, I don't see what the hurry is. Remember, former GM Rob Babcock, who was fired mostly because of moves he made in his first year on the job, was already steering the team in this direction, had shrewdly acquired point guard Mike James for malcontent Rafer Alston and was the person most responsible for Toronto's strong draft this year. All Embry's done, so far is trade away a first-rounder and clear some cap space in hopes of overpaying for a semi-impact player down the road. Let's wait a little bit and see what else he can do.

— The Suns' success this year without Amare Stoudemire has everyone thinking the same thing: Steve Nash really must be the league MVP. It's hard to argue with that notion, but it begs a couple of questions. First, is Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni being overlooked when it comes to this team's success? Sure, Nash is the perfect guard for his offensive system, but it is D'Antoni's offensive system and he keeps bringing in players who fit the type of game he wants to play — players like Nash. D'Antoni is one of the innovative offensive minds and premier basketball coaches today and it is time he is recognized as such.

Second, exactly how good is Amare Stoudemire? It seems the team hasn't missed a beat without him and a closer look reveals that Stoudemire benefits much more from the offensive system and the presence of Nash than vice versa. In the two years prior to Nash's arrival, Stoudemire's shooting percentages were a pretty consistent .472, and .475, respectively. Last season, in Nash's first with the team, Stoudemire shot .559 from the field. With Nash always moving and continuously penetrating the lane, opposing bigs would collapse on him, knowing that he would be able to score if they didn't. At that point, Stoudemire was able to fill the unoccupied lanes and get uncontested baskets.

Let's be honest: this is the most reasonable explanation for the spike in the big guy's field goal percentage. Stoudemire's offensive numbers, as well as the offensive numbers of the rest of the Suns, have also greatly benefited from playing in D'Antoni's system. The up-and-down style allows for more possessions and therefore better statistical performances. I'm not saying that Amare Stoudemire is a bad player, no. What I'm saying is that he still has a long way to go to reach the levels of the [Kevin] Garnetts and [Tim] Duncans.

— Lamar Odom is just being wasted in Los Angeles, which is unfortunate considering he could be the perfect complement to a scorer such as Kobe Bryant. Odom plays his best and helps his team most when he has the ball in his hands and is able to get other players involved. Bryant also prefers to have the ball in his hands, but only so he can continuously jack up shots. It's as if he thinks that he'll never see the ball again if he lets another teammate touch it, so he just keeps the ball for himself.

If the Lakers are dead-set on building around "81," they should trade Odom for a guy who is adept at rebounding the ball on the offensive end — revisiting the Carlos Boozer trade talks of last year could be the way to go. That way, when Kobe dribbles the ball up the floor and chucks up a shot from wherever Kobe feels like shooting and Kobe misses said shot, there will be someone there to retrieve the ball and return it to Kobe to "re-set the offense."

— Don't look now, but the Sacramento Kings are starting to look like they have the makings of a formidable team. The Ron Artest/Peja Stojakovic trade is a steal for the Kings, provided Artest remains as un-crazy as he's been in Sacramento. Earlier in the season, the Kings looked like they were headed straight to the lottery due to the fact that they didn't play defense and were losing players on a nightly basis to injury. In the meantime, the team acquired Artest, who is a much better player than the one-dimensional Stojakovic.

On top of that, he brings with him the swagger and defensive attitude that this team has sorely lacked in the past. Bench players such as Kevin Martin, Kenny Thomas, and Francisco Garcia were also force-fed time to replace the injured starters and have blossomed in the starters' absences. If Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Bonzi Wells return at full-strength, the Kings could be this year's version of last season's Denver Nuggets: the team nobody wants to see in the playoffs.

— If reports out of Northern California are true, Warriors coach Mike Montgomery, has a real problem on his hands. The Warriors find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, which is nothing new. But the team's quick start out of the gate raised expectations and now come reports that the team's best player, Baron Davis, is rubbing some players on his team the wrong way with his sometimes selfish and often careless play. Furthermore, he has started to ignore the plays being called by Montgomery, and to make matters worse, Montgomery is reportedly not standing up to him.

So here's my advice to Montgomery: if Baron Davis isn't listening to you, bench him. Yes, he's the team's best player, but you are the coach. Derek Fisher is a very capable backup and with Troy Murphy, Jason Richardson, and company, there is enough scoring to go around. In addition, by giving in to Davis, you risk losing the respect of Richardson and Murphy, two very good players in their own right, who must have also figured out that certain players are above team rules.

Once you lose the respect of your players, you've lost, period. I know that by disciplining Davis, you run the risk of losing your job, considering this is a player's league. The reality, however, is that your job is hanging by a thread, anyway. This may be your best shot at keeping it.

— Just a few days back, I outlined what a great team I thought the Detroit Pistons were. A few days later, the Pistons had four of their starting five selected to be all-star reserves. As much as I admire what the Pistons are doing, this is absurd. The All-Star Game is the one event in team sports that gives acclaim to individual players. I understand why Chauncey Billups is in the game. He's having an all-star season, but let's stop the talk about MVPs and the like. The Pistons are a team in the truest sense of the word. If Billups were to get hurt, the team would be in trouble, but the same goes for the two Wallaces, Tayshaun Prince, and Richard Hamilton. Why? Because their respective backups are not nearly as good.

Also, how was it decided as to which of the Pistons got in and why Tayshaun Prince was left out? Tayshaun Prince is one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA and has a better-than-average offensive game. Ben Wallace has no offensive game whatsoever and he's in. Richard Hamilton is very adept at scoring, but doesn't really excel in anything else and he's in. So, why not Tayshaun?

This is another flaw in selecting individual players due to a team's success. The team would not be as successful without Tayshaun Prince, so it stands to reason that most of the other four Pistons wouldn't be all-stars without Prince, either. Let's leave the All-Star Game as a showcase of the individual players. The good teams usually play in their own showcase later on in the year. It's called the NBA finals.

— If the Philadelphia 76ers can get a good deal for Allen Iverson, they should take it. Iverson is one of the game's most celebrated superstars due to his speed, stature, and scrappiness. As much as coaches look for those attributes in players, Iverson possesses attributes that coaches shy away from, as well. Iverson has, at times, put himself above the team by refusing to adhere to the same set of rules that other players are expected to. Iverson is also aging and misses a significant number of games almost every year due to injury.

Most importantly, Iverson has never displayed the ability to make his teammates better. Because he dominates the ball, teammates are often left standing around watching him play. When they finally do get the ball, they are often put in tough positions due to the shot clock or left in the unfamiliar position of actually having the ball. This is why attempts to put another scorer around Iverson have failed over the years.

Yes, I'm aware that the Iverson-led Sixers did make it all the way to the NBA finals once, but that was in the watered-down Eastern Conference that no longer exists. Does anyone really think that the Sixers have a good shot at making it back with teams like the Pistons and Heat in their way? Me neither. That's why it's time for Iverson and the Sixers to part ways. It could end up being the best scenario for both parties.

— Finally, there is a team that nobody is really talking about that has a great opportunity to make some noise this year — the Seattle SuperSonics. The Sonics are loaded with role players who don't fit into the team's long-term goals — players that many contending teams are clamoring to get. There are many teams who want to take a flier on Vladimir Radmanovic, a small forward playing the four in Seattle due to the presence of Rashard Lewis. What possible playoff team couldn't use the rebounding of Reggie Evans? Almost anyone could use the infusion of instant offense that Ronald "Flip" Murray brings to the table. The Sonics can't use these guys because the Sonics are a bad team. The only use for role players on a bad team is as trade bait.

That being said, if the Sonics really want to improve, they need to take a step back. The team has a ton of money tied up in two all-stars, Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. With the team playing as it is now, it looks as if it's headed straight to the NBA draft lottery. In many years, getting one good young player can help catapult a team to success.

The only problem is that this might be the wrong year. Even if the Sonics get the top pick in the draft to add to their stars, it may not have the desired effect. This year's draft class is said to be very deep, but not necessarily very good at the top. It also wouldn't help the team to target the following season as the breakout season, either, because by that time, Ray Allen should be about 32 years-old and Rashard Lewis most likely will have exercised the opt-out clause contained within his contract.

So, what should they do? They should trade their all-stars. Ray Allen is a star player in this league, but by no means is he a superstar. He has a silky-smooth shot, but doesn't shoot it at a good clip. He just signed a monster deal last offseason and is on the downside of thirty. This is generally the time that shooting guards start to see their respective games begin to decline. If you don't believe me, ask Latrell Sprewell, Eddie Jones, Jalen Rose, and Allan Houston. With every year that Seattle lets pass by, Ray Allen's value decreases. In a few years, it might be hard to trade a better-than-average 34-year-old shooting guard making over $10 million per year.

Right now, Ray Allen is the perfect complementary star and he's masquerading as a superstar. This "superstar" label not only increases the desires of other teams to add him, it maximizes his trade value. He doesn't do much for a team as it's very best player unless that team has a lot of talent to put around him, which the Sonics don't. As the second-best player on a team, however, Ray Allen can elevate that team to a contender. That's why the Sonics are in a great position. They can trade away Allen at a premium price for a combination of young guys, draft picks, and expiring deals. There are teams out there that should be itching to get him that could meet this price. Think Minnesota and Memphis.

As for Rashard Lewis, he is a very good player and has been an all-star. Lewis, however, is not the type of player who's a perennial all-star, and I think the Sonics recognize this. He is also very highly-paid, but unlike Allen, he is still pretty young and has an opt-out clause in his contract at the end of next year. Here's the Sonics' dilemma: they already pay Lewis handsomely and he is playing under a contract that was signed before he was an all-star. It stands to reason that he is going to want a pay hike if he re-signs.

The problem is that Lewis already may be overpaid and he, like Ray Allen, is better as a complementary guy. As a matter of fact, he is currently a complementary guy to a complementary guy. It doesn't make much sense to tie down the salary cap for the foreseeable future with Rashard Lewis being the team's best player, which he might be in two years.

Rashard Lewis is very good when he's on, but he can also be taken out of games. When the second-best player on the team is inconsistent, it hurts, but it is downright devastating to a team built primarily around two players. If the Sonics can't contend with two all-star-caliber players (and they obviously can't), then they need to figure out a way in which they can contend. In my opinion, the most effective avenue in which to do this is to trade away their biggest assets and stockpile cap space, draft picks, and good young players. This way, Allen and Lewis don't have to sit through the rebuilding period and the Sonics can build the team that they want with the players they want to build around.

And with that, I'm outta here.