It has become an accepted axiom in the NBA that for a team truly to become great, it first must become awful. There’s also a little known corollary for players: To find a way onto a great team, you often must be on an awful one first. Boris Diaw began the year as the best player on the Charlotte Bobcats but left what will go down as the worst team in NBA history after taking a buyout in March. He’s now playing with one of his best friends, Tony Parker, and is a starting forward for San Antonio, which is halfway to sweeping Utah in the Western Conference quarterfinals and is playing as well as any team in the playoffs. Diaw had 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting, six rebounds and four assists in Wednesday’s 114-83 win.
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Last year Mike Bibby gave back $6.2 million to the struggling Wizards in order to play with his brother-in-law, Eddie House, and make a run at an NBA title with Miami. This year Ronny Turiaf used the Wizards as a way station en route to Miami, getting waived by the Nuggets after Washington dealt him with JaVale McGee in a trade for Nene.
The Spurs’ sixth man, Stephen Jackson, also was with the Bobcats at this time last year before getting traded to mediocre Milwaukee in June. But in March, he went from the Bucks to the terrible Golden State Warriors, who in turn sent him back to San Antonio, where he won a title with the Spurs in 2003. After experiencing the league’s underbelly, Jackson has his best chance since to win another.
– Craig Stouffer
