How would you like to be Flip Murray right now? We all remember Flip; he is that guy that came over in the trade with Ray Allen. The guy who was his backup for awhile (not counting Antonio Daniels and Brent Barry). Well, as most astute Sonic fans know, Flip has had some good games. Flip has had some bad games as well. But through it all, he never fit well with the Sonics through three coach’s tenures. Was he a Shooting Guard in a Point Guard’s body? Or just a Point Guard who dribbled too much and passed too little?
Eventually Flip was traded to the Cavaliers. The good soldier weathered all of the trade talk, two coaching changes, free agency, the qualifying offer, the lambasting on the internet fan sites, and even this embarrassing piece of the blogosphere: www.tradeflipmurray.com
Yes, flip endured it all, and was traded from the lowly, underperforming 05/06 Sonics to the playoff bound Cavaliers, who coincidentally had a huge need for a shooting guard due to the injury of Larry Hughes. It was Flip’s time to shine; the national spotlight, playing alongside the NBA’s golden child King Lebron.
Unfortunately for Flip, his performance in the playoffs was underwhelming. In 13 playoff games, Flip averaged 8pts, 1.6 assists, 3 rebs, while shooting .330 from the field and .208 from the three point line in 30 MPG.
I mention all of this as a preamble to the fact that the Cavaliers drafted Shannon Brown, a Shooting Guard, with their first round pick, to play Flip’s position; the backup to Larry Hughes.
When Flip was traded for Mike Wilks (I remember saying “who?†at the time) and some spare change, I remember thinking we let him go too cheap, but I was still glad I would never again have to endure that dribbling the clock down to 5 seconds and then going one on five to the hoop.
Flip is a talented basketball player and I wish him well. I am sure this is not how he wanted his off season in free agency to go. I would have to imagine that every player wants to be wanted by his team. It is human nature to feel a sense of value and worth. I am sure flip was hoping for a nice pay raise and steady minutes on the up and coming Cavaliers. Unfortunately, it looks as though Shannon Brown is going to fill that role, and Flip will be searching elsewhere.