Well, I'll be derned

KG to Boston after all. A quick breakdown...

Boston gets:
— Garnett

Minny gets:
— Al Jefferson
— Ryan Gomes
— Gerald Green
— Sebastian Telfair (expiring deal)
— Theo Ratliff (expiring deal)
— Boston's first in 2009 (lottery protected)
— Minny's future no. 1 that they traded to Boston in a previous bad deal

Dadgum, that's a lot of players coming into Minny. I've also seen it suggested that this tearing down of an era could be an excuse for McHale to cede control to GM-in-waiting Fred Hoiberg. That's a trade kicker that can't be underestimated.

The obvious: Celtics fans, including the most famous one, Bill Simmons, are all on board the Relevance Train, ecstatic to return to the mix and fight for the right to get obliterated in the Finals by S.A./Dallas/PHX.

The non-obvious: Simmons did make the interesting point that a nucleus of Jefferson, Gomes, Telfair, and Corey Brewer, along with Gerald Green's still-potential potential, is pretty much the same core Boston would have had to rebuild had it stood pat or found a way to trade Pierce (which is what I would have done, if I were Ainge). Minnesota's still got a lot of garbage on the roster to clear out before the young-ins can develop, but we'll at least get to see what those cats can do together.

Additionally, John Hollinger noted the outside chance that Boston could fill its now-depleted roster (assuming the trade, they have only 8 players under contract) with the likes of Brevin Knight, P.J. Brown, and Ime Udoka (I'd throw Matt Barnes in there, too). That's ... actually a pretty damn good team. So if all their gilded dinosaurs stay healthy, we'll amend the Celtics' ceiling to "West in 6."

The question: Why wasn't Minny able to get Rajon Rondo? Telfair seems like a long shot at best, mild salary cap relief at worst. Everyone knows Rondo's got more potential — and Garnett surely is worth more than Jefferson+Gomes+risk. Maybe Boston made the return of Minny's pick conditional on not giving up Rondo, the only viable PG on that roster. There's about a 103% chance the Wolves are in the lottery for the next three years, so that pick takes on significantly more value than I first thought. (God, McHale just tossed away firsts like candy, huh?)

At the very least, things will be interesting in Boston and the East this year. And Minny's a hotbed of fantasy speculation. I'm excited. So are several of my trusted NBA chat sources. All hail the Fred Hoiberg era. Maybe he can teach Gerald Green how to shoot.

Mystery of the internet

mimi and michelle smooch, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

One of the greatest achievements of the internet has to be throwing open the blinds on all the people of the world's unexpected little interests. The picture above, for instance, which I thought of mainly as a family heirloom, was discovered and sought out for something called bestkisses.com. Once I figured out the folks weren't some weird fetishists, I had no problem releasing the photo, albeit not without curiosity — probably like watching someone at a garage sale get excited over some something you had forgotten you even owned.

Unforgotten photos: Golden Bear at Emo's lounge

chris at emo's lounge, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Will be taking Golden Bear's promo shots tomorrow, so it's time I finally got to this one.

This photo wins the award for picture that I've been meaning to edit for the longest time. Took it back in March and as soon as I saw reviewed it on my little LCD, I knew it'd be the best shot of the show. Put off editing it because I tend toward preemptive perfectionism if I think the frame is especially good. Of course, these are the pictures that need the least work, so it usually only takes a matter of minutes to tweak them when I do get to it. I prefer to think of this as a stewing process.

Forgotten photos: Modern-day cowboys

cowboys, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Takin' in a Willie Nelson concert at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo a couple years back. Willie played on a rotating stage right above where the Spurs would normally tip off their games, minus the dirt and all.

White flight

Via Hengst, the Spurs have waived James White. "I guess we're still gonna be waiting for a Spur to win the dunk contest," he reported.

Spurs saved another million or so by letting White go. They're down to 12 players under contract now. Wonder if this means they're that much closer to signing Udoka or that they'll keep second round pick Marcus Williams around. It's also worth noting that the team doesn't have to keep 15 players on its roster at this point, especially if they're looking to skim in under the luxury tax.

Mavs fans are welcome to make their signing-Donaghy jokes ... now.

UPDATE: Whoops, it only saves them about $100,000. They must really not have been impressed with him in Summer League. "He apparently lacked the physicality the Spurs sought," the Spurs beat writer reported.

Forgotten photos: Display window frogs

store frogs, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

These were up at Tesoro's Trading Co., I think, about two years ago.

Two-sentence movie review: Ratatouille

It's about a struggling artist who finds his niche. No wonder I think it's probably the best movie I've seen in many, many months.

506,359

Grady, 11:15 a.m., via text: Yo just thought I'd let you know i just got a 506359 on tetris for the n.e.s.

Me: motherf---

Me: why were you playing this early to start with? Dang, that was my impossible dream you just shattered

Grady: I got up for work and it was cancelled. Then i just got in a groove and kept rollin. Got a tetris on level 18 to seal it

Me: Dag

—

I spent an entire summer during college trying to top 500,000. Playing every day, usually two or three games per day, I got as close as 498,000 and change. Grady is now officially the master in this family.

Good news!

My mom called tonight and said she'd just gotten the results from her final body scan after completion of her chemo treatments. Prognosis: all clear!

"Scroggins sisters, three for three," I said.

"Kickin' cancer butt!" she said.

Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers, karma, life force, cosmic energy, and all that stuff during this struggle. The support meant a lot to her.

Udoka looks like odd man out in Portland

The Blazers resigned small forward Travis Outlaw, giving them something like 27 players on their roster. Outlaw, 22, is obviously part of the longterm building around the Big Deduction, Greg Oden.

As expected, that likely leaves Ime Udoka in search of a new home. Along with the Spurs, Memphis is reportedly interested.

So let's see how the 15 roster spots are shaping up, after the initial flurry of free agent activity:

1. Tim Duncan
2. Manu Ginobili
3. Tony Parker
4. Bruce Bowen
5. Michael Finley
6. Brent Barry
7. Fabulous Oberto
8. Francisco Elson (Did you know he's 30 already? He looks 26.)
9. Matt Bonner
10. Jacque Vaughn
11. Robert Horry
12. Beno Udrih (Gotta think he's on the block for cost-savings, too.)
13. James White (presumably)
14. Ime Udoka or Mickael Pietrus
15. Marcus Williams or Ian Mahinmi.

That, for now, looks to be the lay of the land.

I bring the rock

louis silhouettes, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Out now in stores across central Texas, Visitors' first full-length, Secrets, featuring this photo of Louis on the back, inside flap — you know, behind the clear plastic thing where the CD kind of snaps into place. An inverted version of the image also appears on the CD itself, giving you two opportunities to check it out as you put it into your computer to rip and then never see again.

But someday it'll be a collector's item, surely, given the tremendous upside potential of both my career and Visitors'. Buy it on speculation. Available on the Visitos site, at Waterloo or End Of An Ear in Austin, and Hogwild Records in S.A. Preview some tracks an you-know-where.

More on Spurs trade

This article on HoopsWorld clears up the confusion for me about the Spurs trade. Site editor Bill Ingram writes that it's all about finding a replacement for Bruce Bowen, who's getting up there in years and was noticeably a step slower this season. I think that's partly right, but I also think it's mainly about flexibility.

The Spurs recent history suggests that they've abandoned the typical NBA model for filling a need. Most teams guess at the one player they think will save the day and then overspend to get him (Hi, Orlando, I'd like you to meet Rashard Lewis). The Spurs, though, especially after the Rasho and Malik deals, have opted instead to place small bets on several players. Then they wait and see which of them pays off. In trying to find a big man to go alongside Duncan, they signed Elson, Oberto, Butler, and Bonner (and re-upped Horry) for almost the same price as Detroit paid to take Nazr Mohammed off the Spurs' hands.

A year or two later, and they know Elson, Oberto, and Bonner can all bring something different and useful to the court. They also know Butler has talent, but isn't a fit for the Spurs system, so they used him in a deal to give themselves more flexibility all over again.

Now the target is finding an athletic, defensive wing to help (and perhaps replace) Bowen. The Spurs signed James White last year, drafted Marcus Williams this year, and are said to hot on the heels of Mickael Pietrus and/or Portland's Ime Udoka. All these guys are a little different, but all four are also either 6-6 or 6-7, known for being good defenders (except maybe White), and can shoot the three (Pietrus 38% last year, Udoka 40%).

There's a good chance that three of those four guys will make the 15-man squad, on a team that already has similar players in Bowen, Barry, and Finley. Again, it's a wait-and-see approach instead of going all-in with one big signing.

Of course the key is not just cap flexibility but roster spots. You only get 15, including guys you send to the D-League. Those roster spots are more valuable than people think. Each one that isn't directly contributing to winning games should represent the chance for a young player to suddenly develop into more than you ever hoped for. In other words, every aging, unused veteran clogging the end of the bench represents a lost opportunity at finding a surprising young stud.

This flexibility-focused approach is how the Spurs found Ginobili and Stephen Jackson after looking for a reliable 2-guard for almost a decade. It's how they've finally settled on the dirt-cheap Jacque Vaughn as Tony's back-up, while letting more expensive options like Speedy Claxton, Jason Hart, and even Avery Johnson (way back when) walk to greener pastures.

All of which makes the fact that the Greek guard won't play for the Spurs an asset to San Antonio. To send over Butler, the Spurs had to take on Spanoulis's salary in return. They exchanged a player they wouldn't use anyways for cash and that coveted roster spot. That seat on the bench now likely goes to one of the young, promising wings, or perhaps toward developing Ian Mahinmi, a more athletic big man with a much higher ceiling than Butler.

And as for the Scola situation, Ingram sheds some light on that, too — namely, that he wasn't ever going to play for us anyways. "Spurs scouts were certain that Scola was never going to join San Antonio," Ingram reports. "He wants to start, and that just isn't going to happen on a team with Tim Duncan." Not to mention that Scola's agent has accused the Spurs of violating our country's founding principles: "In the country of liberty, he is being held prisoner," he once said, which isn't exactly a good point for negotiations to reach.

So, in the end, that second round pick (along with the cash) represents just one more opportunity to grab a young player who surprises everyone. It's a long shot, but at least there's a chance.

Are the Spurs potentially confused?

Like everyone else, I find today's Spurs trade confusing. Jackie Butler and the rights to Luis Scola to the Rockets for a Greek guard who will never play another NBA game, a second-round pick, and cash.

General reaction cuts two ways:

1. Say, "What the hell?" Then give Spurs management the benefit of the doubt because we just won the title.

2. Great vengeance and furious anger. Quoth one Spurs blogger: "From a fan's perspective, this is entirely inexcusable. Actually, it's more like a fucking travesty." He then wrapped up the post by calling the deal a "turd sandwich."

Kelly Dwyer, normally of SI.com but filling in at TrueHoop, also went just a bit overboard, saying the trade "looks on paper to be one of the more lopsided NBA deals in the last decade."

Okay. Everyone catch your breath for a second. We all wish the Spurs had gotten more, but let's not get too worked up over the hype we're telling ourselves about what these guys could be. At their best, they're role players. That's easily forgotten. The talk of potential comes without a ceiling, and we tend to envision the stratosphere. Just this summer I found myself daydreaming of Butler and James White as integral pieces when the team transitions to the Tony Parker Era. Butler, the dynamic lost-post threat, a brick of a body with hands like cotton; White, the flying, dunking, slashing scorer and shifty defender — a spindlier, black Ginobili — forever running alongside Parker's fast-break.

Coaches and GM's, on the other hand, just want a guy who rotates on defense. That's probably where the disconnect is. Management, appreciating the unique combination of freakish talents and basketball smarts it takes to compete at this level, is looking for someone who won't get eaten alive. When coaches are high on players who aren't born superstars, I think this is the ceiling in their mind, the hoped-for result.

Example: right now it appears White's actual game isn't even up to Summer League standards. And Butler is a young, offensively talented player who is also lost in the Spurs defensive scheme, showed up to camp last year 30 pounds overweight, plays Duncan's position, has a $2.4 million salary this season, and whose value will never be higher. Might be time to let him go.

My guess is that fans/media conflate the two ideas of potential, and that leads to this trade being casually compared to the debacle that was "Marko Jaric and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad contract extension for Sam Cassell AND a first."

But, really, the outrage here is mostly a residual of what we expected from Scola after Ginobili's rise. He's still widely regarded as the best player in Europe, mainly thanks to his tenacity, but he's also 27 and only 6-9. There isn't much potential left to reach, making it unlikely he'll morph into some wild, elbowy hybrid of Ginobili and Duncan. His trade value, simply, was down, thanks to his age. This year, we were in Chris Duhon territory. If the Rockets are lucky, he'll match the production of Oberto + Elson, and they'll be paying him about the same salary as those two guys combined, too.

In the end, with Houston's dirty oil money, the Spurs pocketed like $7 million and opened up a roster spot, possibly for Frenchie Mickael Pietrus. I could live with all this, if we hadn't just paid Matt Bonner $9 million for the next three years. So I guess all I'm left with is: In Pop we trust.

That's life

lone star summer, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Not alcoholism, of course, even if I did just lose a job. That picture, though, says "Texas summer nights" to me as well as any I've taken, and for the last week or so it really has been summertime, living easy, etc.

I just realized that I never once mentioned on this blog that I was leaving the Washington Post. I guess actually the Post left me, and Austin. And I did tell anyone who would care about this news in person, anyways.

But it's now officially done. Adios, office by the capitol. Adios, sifting through endless news stories and answering phones. Adios, set schedule. Adios, insurance. (Hello, Cobra.)

Still got the Observer gig going, although I've already told them I'm almost certainly going to have to leave in mid-August. The lease on our apartment only runs through July, although we can stay at friends' and families' places around town for a couple weeks. But for now Amanda and I no closer to knowing what comes next than we were weeks ago.

I'm surprisingly non-worried about the whole deal. I sweated for a few days, then I said, eh, and started reading some good books (The Black Swan and The Corner, both highly recommended.)

And as for leaving the Post, it wasn't exactly gut-wrenching either. I was ready for a chance of pace, and it's weird working for a satellite office of a company (and industry) in flux and in a panic. From a distance, my impression of working in the D.C. newsroom could be equated to signing up for one of those prescription drug studies. Yeah, you might make out with some good dough, but it seems a little like walking into a social experiment. The politics and bureaucracy of such a high-profile institution sound like dubious waters to jump into.

That said, I enjoyed the job I had, and everyone I worked with, from my immediate boss, Sylvia (now back in D.C. with a new beat), to my editors to the other reporters I talked to on the phone were all real nice, professional, everything you'd expect. (And that's not just kissing ass in case anyone from the company ever stumbles across this blog, although that couldn't hurt.)

But the Post right now is all mixed-up, like most newspapers. It still produces some of the best and most meaningful journalism around, but it also produces a ton of bullshit. Like I said, weird to observe in bits and pieces from afar.

I could say more, but I don't know if it'd be interesting to anyone outside of journalism. I'll think on it. Sucks that already I've had to censor what I write on here because I want to be able to use it in job applications — and not have it ruin job references, for that matter. I mean, I've known the bureau was shutting down — excuse me, the company decided to reallocate resources to cover the 2008 presidential campaign — for like five months. I just couldn't say anything because it wasn't public knowledge in D.C. Closing bureaus, domestic and foreign, is a touchy subject in the industry these days.

Wrapping up my Jason coverage...

jason at joan grona gallery, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Pictures from the show are up in a set on Flickr now. More photos from our going-away party will be added there later, likely friends-only in case any of Jason's future students go Googling for his email or something and end up on my photos.

As for the above photo, it was a total accident, since I fired the shutter before I had finished adjusting the controls. The effect was an overexposed bounce flash of the wall next to me coupled with a long shutter speed allowing the ambient light to blur in the background. Jason was standing outside of the glow of the light, almost entirely in shadow, which is why the crispness and exposure were preserved. I love the result, that he seems to be floating outside the backdrop. Photography so often is the art of happy accidents.

Giving it away

the internet loves me, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Hark all ye Googlers who search for Howard Dean, for the first hit shall be Wikipedia. Go forth and my picture will be revealed, and you shall know that I received nothing for it.

These days I hate the idea of giving photos away, but I keep getting talked into it. Original shot here.

Puro San Antonio

stay classy, san antonio, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

Here's a picture from right after the Spurs victory parade, when people were buying up the Spanish cuss words in droves. Notice how the shirts cleverly avoid referencing anything that might be at all copyrighted. It's also funny to me that in about five years one of those shirts is going to end up in thrift store in, say, Deluth and make absolutely no sense. But hey, that's just how San Antonio rolls.

This is also how they roll: "Exclusive! The Express-News is the only newspaper in the world with a sketch of Eva's dress. See the full design in Sunday's paper."

And if you think the town isn't excited about that Sunday pull-out, well, you haven't realized that it's no coincidence it'll run on the day with the highest circulation.

“It's a Poor Sort of Memory That Only Works Backwards”

“It's a Poor Sort of Memory That Only Works Backwards”, originally uploaded by JWILLOME.

Oh, dang, I just saw that Jason's posted photos of the paintings from his show this weekend. This one's my favorite, and of course it was the first to sell. Damn richies. Regardless, see them all here. Congrats, J!

"The poop must flow."

Storm, originally uploaded by chuckdog.

This weekend we had to send my old friend Jason Willome off on his Hawaii professor adventure. That's right, I'm friends with a guy who has a professor's house in Hawaii with an extra room just for friends to crash. Doesn't get much better than that. Photos of Jason double-fisting hardy mainland ales at his going-away party are forthcoming.

For now, though, I had to pass on this picture from new Flickr friend Chuck City, who I virtually met by virtue of meeting in person his very cool chick, Heather G.

Chuck is stationed in Afghanistan right now, where he — no joke — shuts down Afghani Burger Kings that get their food "from a doo doo meat factory." Anyways, I got back from San Antonio to find that Chuck had commented (from way out in the geopolitical boonies) on a few of my photos, noting one in particular that he thought had an outstanding caption, all of which prompted me to look through his stream and find the picture above.

The caption: "Shit trucks aint scared of no storm. The poop must flow."

Now that is an awesome photo and caption. I could see "The poop must flow" becoming sort of a mantra for life.

Ah, Photoshop

ah, photoshop, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

It only took five months and a prodding email, but I finally touched up a couple shots Adrian and Karri asked me to make suitable for printing. It's always slightly amazing to look at the before/after of an image, so I thought I'd stick this one up. Crazy thing is, I'm not very good with this software compared to most folks who are popular on Flickr, to say nothing of the people who make a living with it.

Independence Day wordless

louis in motion, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

(Uh, given the title, there shouldn't be any text here, but I have to point out I stole the the idea from photographer Todd Deutsch, who does great work with ordinary subjects.)

In which I rediscover the joy of working in black and white

And, for kicks:



There's a narrative quality to B&W that I'd gotten away from.

Backflip

recover backflip, originally uploaded by Mr. Wright.

The band Recover got back together. At their reunion show, people flipped out.

Same old Spurs

For all my Spurs-fans friends, a quick summary of this article in the San Antonio paper, which lays out the team's roster for next year, but takes many paragraphs to get there.

— Going into the free agent season, the Spurs expect to retain 14 of the 15 players who took that championship spin down the Riverwalk.

— Melvin Ely is the only player peacin' out. After coming over in a mid-season trade, he hardly played and looks to be moving on. Enjoy that ring, Melvin. I look forward to seeing on it on eBay soon.

— Robert Horry is not retiring.

— James White and Jackie Butler will both get a chance to strut their stuff in Summer League. I'll be rooting for White, who might be the best dunker I've ever seen and could be the dose of young athleticism this team needs. He sounds like a good kid (from Cincinnati's program, no less?!) who has already adopted that Spurs attitude: "For me to [get playing time], they've gotta be able to trust me on the defensive end. That's probably the biggest thing. Being able to go out there and being in the right spots at the right times and do the right things so they can trust me."

— Players the Spurs hope to resign: Fabricio Oberto, Jacque Vaughn, and The Red Rocket, Matt Bonner. All have indicated they would like to stay in S.A.

— The final roster spot will probably go to second-round pick Marcus Williams, who, according to at least one article, is not the head-case waiting to sabotage team chemistry that people make him out to be. Welcome to Austin (Toros), Marcus.

— The Spurs could open another roster spot by trading Beno Udrih, a move they've been pursuing for some time.

— The only free agent we're rumored to be after is Grant Hill, but it looks like we're about his third or fourth choice. Fine, we didn't want his toothpick ankles, anyway.