Daily Links: Don't drink and link or Where the MLE gets you Polish Hammered

Published July 3, 2009 at 2:21 p.m.

Sorry, I couldn't decide on a which title I liked better so I used both...

Link o'2am driving too fast in multiple lanes gets you pulled over and your blood drawn

Phoenix Mercury's Taurasi gets DUI citation

Is this the event that finally vaults Diana into the pantheon on great Arizona sports figures: Charles Barkley, Jason Richardson, Cliff Robinson, et al?

Suns (not much to see here...move along)

• Nash remains confident of contract settlement - The Globe and Mail
  NBA superstar Steve Nash remains confident that he will sign a contract extension with the Phoenix Suns this summer. But if an agreement isn’t reached, Nash said he would like to play for the New York Knicks.
• Griffin eager for chance with Suns
  The Suns waived a physical requirement for Wallace to complete the Shaquille O'Neal trade but plan to have one done on him in Phoenix or Cleveland next week in case he plays this season. - Interesting bit of Wallace news tacked on to this "Meet Taylor Griffin" article
• Suns, 2 words on Amaré: Be careful
  Paula Boivin warns of trading Amare...cites lots of trades gone bad. The question with Amare remains, do you make him your highest paid player for the next 5 or 6 yrs? It is not an obvious answer
• An open letter to Cavalier fans Phoenix Suns Community Blog - Fanster.com - Do you bleed deep purple?
  I don't necessarily agree with this but it's a fun read

NBA Free Agency, etc

Note that both Gortat and Ariza seem to have been had for the MLE. Those seem to be reasonable contracts to me unlike Ben Gordon's overblown deal (5yrs / $60m) or the rumored $5yr/$60m that Toronto might throw at Hedo...Remember when Gordon was looking foolish for turning down $50m from the Bulls and then he hit a few shots in helping his team lose in the first round and now he's getting $60m? Good to know that sanity hasn't completely taken over the NBA...and of course there's the Grizzlies taking on 2yrs and $33m of Zach Randolph to be the "veteran presense" on that otherwise young and interesting team.

• HoopsHype - NBA Rumors
  Artest to the Lakers for 3yrs / $18m. Ariza to the Rockets for the MLE. Gordon and Charlie V to the Pistons. Gortat to Dallas. Marion could stay in Toronto. Hedo looking at Portland and Toronto. Iverson to the Grizz or Heat. Kleiza waiting...Bibby could stay in the ATL. Kidd to the Knicks(?)...it's been a typically busy first few days of the free agency period.
• Suicide lines: Celtics offer 'Sheed deal; Iverson to the Heat? - Ball Don't...- NBA - Yahoo! Sports
  More free agency links and such
• Hardwood Paroxysm " Blog Archive " Just Add Fire
  I was going to write an entire piece on why Artest was a bad fit in LA and why Ariza is the better player for Houston..Rob Mahoney did it for me
• Report: Ricky Rubio will stay in Spain for two more years - Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sports
  Does this make the T-wolves dumb for drafting him or dumb for not trading him to the Knicks or wicked smart for drafting him and not trading him to the Knicks. The kid is only 18. A couple more years in Spain isn't going to hurt and at some point he's going to want to come play here and the Wolves will have traded Miller and Foye to own his rights (plus they got a few bigs in return from the Wiz).

Other

• WNBA.com: 2009 WNBA All-Star Balloting
  The Mercury are killing it in the all-star balloting. Go vote for the home town girls
  
• SUNS: Suns and Mercury Both Shine on Wednesday Night
  "I’m scouting a little bit," Griffin laughed. "I really want to find a way to get (Mercury rookie) DeWanna Bonner onto our Suns roster. She’s been impressive."
• Avery Johnson frontrunner for Pistons job
  No comment

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