L.A. Woman

Two teams traded their refuse yesterday in the Association, and it's rare to see a more similar slop swap. It's the Lakers moving starter (but almost never a finisher) Vladamir Radmanovic to the Bobcats for yet another failed Michael Jordan first round pick, Adam Morrison. (Somewhere, Kwame Brown is crying. On a bed of money.)

Now the last time anyone was really paying attention to Morrison, he was bawling like a baby when his Gonzaga team got bounced out of March Madness in 2006. A few months later, Jordan took him with the third overall pick, over actual players like Brandon Roy, Randy Foye and Rajon Rondo. (Wow, did the 2006 draft suck.) In his rookie year, he played nearly 30 minutes a game, shot under 38% from the floor, and might have had the fewest boards ever (3 a game) for a 6'-8" forward getting real minutes. The next year was lost to a knee injury, and this year has seen him solidify his standing as one of the worst players in the Association, with the percentage going down to 36%.

Here's the really amazing thing to me about Morrison; he's a shooter that has shown no evidence of being able to, well, shoot. Good shooters will, even if their shot isn't falling, be able to hit from the line. For his career, he's under 72% from the line. This is a guy who would not be in the league if he wasn't drafted high; any 10-day contract guy with his performance would have been shown the door years ago. At least he'll have good stories to tell about the year he spent with Larry Brown and Phil Jackson.

What did the 'Cats get for him? Two more inches, 30 more pounds, 4 more years and, at least, the hint of competence in his chosen field of shooting, in that The Rad Man has been over 80% from the line in three of the last four years. He's also a 38% three-point shooter for his career, with a board every six minutes (instead of Morrison's board every 10).

Charlotte will be the fourth Rad Stop in eight years, and the first that isn't on the West Coast; I'm not sure how he's going to adjust to being inland in Charlotte, but it wouldn't shock me if he's in the Association longer than Morrison. (By the way, he's also a first-class head case and defensive sieve that Laker Fan, I am certain, will not miss. Ever.)

I think the 'Cats got the better of the deal, but given that both guys make way too much coin for a bench / specialist player, maybe the winning team is the Lakers. Morrison's deal ends this year, while Radmanovic's goes to 2011. Personally, I think Morrison would do well in Europe, just so long as he avoids Paris...