This was originally a long article by SportsIlustrated.com but I have summarized it the best I can. Teams That Could Make A Splash: Sixers: They have 11 million under cap and are made Josh Smith and Maggette there targets. Jamison was one of their targets but he signed a lucrative contract with the Wizards today. Grizzlies: Have about 15 million to spend and could look for a veteran Shooting Guard. Other then a guard, they will likely keep their money for next years spending spree. Clippers: They will have 15 to 20 million under the cap if Brand and Maggette leave. If they were to lose both, they are going after a big time player. Teams Facing Tough Decisions: Hawks: They need to re-sign Foward Josh Smith and Josh Childress. Smith will likely look for big money but is he the leader to take them to the next level? Bulls: Have Loul Deng and Ben Gordon as FA's and are also tied with Hinrich's contract. They will have to make a decision. Warriors: They have 7 free agents including Biedrins and Ellis. They want to keep them but not sure if they want to offer them big contracts as this is Nellie's last year with the team. Three Best Unrestricted Free Agents: 1. Gilbert Arenas 2. Antawn Jamison (agreed to deal with Wizards earlier today) 3. Corey Maggette Three Best Restricted Free Agents: 1. Josh Smith 2. Emeka Okafor 3. Andre Igoudala I want to note that Okafor and Igoudala have started discussions with their original teams about long-term deals. Three Potential Bargins: 1. James Jones 2. Mickael Pietrus 3. Chris Quinn
I'd watch Diop. If he signs with the Mavs, I think you guys stay put unless you go for Brand. IMO. Lol true. They showed interest in him earlier this off-season which is why I brought it up.
The following I compiled from news that I read from several different links. If you guys want the links, just say so and I will provide them. Notes Around The League: The Jazz and PG Deron Williams are talking a long-term extension that is worth about $90 million over a spread of 5 years. The Lakers are making Sasha Vujacic their top priority this off-season. The talk around the league is that Vujacic could be making up to five million a year. The Clippers Maggette and Brand have decided to opt out as we all know here. The news is that if the Clippers were to lose both of the star players, they would go after a star player and then try to make lesser-known signings such as Chris Duhon and possibly execute a trade for Kirk Hinrich. The Bulls have started contract talks with Loul Deng and Ben Gordon.
LOL no one wants to play for the clippers.... Now I just wish the Knicks would get something resembling a team.
ESPN is reporting that Kings Forward Ron Artest will not opt out of his contract. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3468447
Clippers, Brand and Davis News: The Clippers are planning an immediate run at Golden State's Baron Davis. They are hoping to pair him up with Elton Brand who opted out earlier today. Brand stated that he will wait and see what the Clippers do this off-season and then will make his move. link
Heres the first Knicks news for you bro: Knicks' PG pursuit will start with Duhon The Knicks have unvieled their top target this summer, its Chris Duhon. GM Donnie Walsh and new head coach Mike D'Antoni will meet with the restricted free agent on Tuesday, the first day of free agency. If the Knicks fail to acquire their top targeted man, they will turn to New York native Sebastion Telfair and Sacramento Point Guard Beno Udrih. Other possibilities via trade include Portland's Steve Blake and Memphis Point Guard Kyle Lowry. These targets signal the end of Stephon Marbury's time in New York. http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=429408 Suns Target Pistons Free Agent Jarvis Hayes Suns are targeting several free agents including Pistons Jarvis Hayes, Tyronn Lue, Anthony Johnson, Chris Duhon and Allan Houston. They are also trying to get rid of Barbosa's and Diaw's contracts who are making $27.4 and $36 million over the next four years. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080630/SPORTS03/80630003/1051/rss16 I just want to point out that any reports I post will be summarized due to the articles being lengthy and information in it that is not necessary.
100 million for gilbert, hahahahh washington lost their damn mind...in fact i wouldn't even pay 50 million for a mediocre(imo) jamison
Brand will be back, he just wants that extension like Gilbert I'm hoping. Maggette is no surprise, as much as Sterling loves him, Dunleavy isnt his biggest fan.
PG - Davis SG - Mobley/Gordon SF - Thornton PF - Brand C - Kaman And Clippers are back in the playoffs. Hopefully Sterling and Baylor can pull it off.
Yeah that would be a NICE lineup. One thing that I wanted to add is that the Clippers are expected to be Davis' ONLY suitor this off-season aside from the Warriors.
Good read Don. I like Udrih a lot. He's a good PG. Lets just hope they don't overpay for him. My only concern is that if they sign him, I don't think you'll see Davis coming. Also, they may need to bring in more talent to surround Brand because its the only way they will keep him imo. But it is only the first day of FA so I need to settle down.
It sounds like Udrih is going to get the full mid-level exception from whichever team he signs with. Not many PGs out there and plenty of teams who need one will drive his price up some.
I just read on Rotoworld that Udrih signing will be impacted by the Clippers interest in Davis. If the Clippers do continue to show interest in Davis, Udrih will likely be going back to Sacramento.
Yeah, I'm sure it's a one or the other scenario. At least they have a decent fall back option if Davis cant be had.
nah baron is going to eastern conference, cant have another team trying to get in the playoffs blazers are about to make their run and finally get back in the playoffs
I don't see what all the fuss over Udrih is. A PER of 13.3, and an average of 4.9 assists per 36 minutes does not make you hot **** in my book. He's got a nice shot, sure, but his assist/turnover ratio stinks for a point guard. In a just and fair world, he'd be a third guard for a good team, able to provide a change of pace at either the 1 or 2. I see Marko Jaric, The Sequel when I hear "full mid-level exception" and "Beno Udrih" mentioned together. The Clips are too cheap to sign Davis. They pull this crap every year. They wave around their bundle of cap room, then either do nothing, or spend good money on the absolute wrong people (Tim Thomas comes to mind). Davis will demand a max contract, or damn close, the Clippers will say "gosh, we had 5 years and $60 million in mind", and he'll walk away and sign elsewhere.
Deng, Gordon, Iguodala and Okafor all turned down big money contract extensions, and it looks like Okafor is the only one who it's going to benefit. I could understand Iguodala doing it, and even Deng, to a lesser extent, at the time, because I thought they legitimately had a good chance of getting more money elsewhere. Deng, incidentally, desperately needs out of Chicago. His talents have been stifled by that team for long enough. Gordon's decision was the truly perplexing one; if he gets half of what the Bulls offered, I'll be surprised. Davis for Billups in a sign and trade might work, though it sort of defeats Detroit's goal of getting Rodney Stuckey in the starting lineup. Because Danny Granger is a significantly better player than Rashad McCants. It wasn't as bad as Antonie Wright, Yaroslav Korolev or Joey Graham over Granger, but it was still the wrong call. Dude, give it a rest. Seriously.
Ughh theres not one option there I like. Duhon is a perfect player....as a backup. Udrih, the one suitable option, is probably going to get a 5 year deal where as the knicks probably wont offer more then 2 years since theyre trying to clear cap space supposedly for the summer of '10.
Warriors Make Their Move On Arenas The Warriors have offered Gilbert Arenas the max. The Warriors join the Wizards in bidding for Arenas. The max offer that can be offered up by the Wizards is a six year, $124 million dollar deal. Yesterday, the Wizards were reported to have offered 6 years, $100 million. With the Warriors going strongly after Arenas, it looks like Baron Davis will be moving on to a new team, possibly the Clippers. Per ESPN
Player News: Hawks Forward Josh Smith will meet with the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday and will later this week meet with the 76ers. As expected, the Grizzlies will not attempt to re-sign Kwame Brown and Casey Jacobsen. Raptors Point Guard Jose Calderon has reached a verbal agreement with the Raptors. Details are not available at the moment. Rotoworld.com
An update on Arenas: Washington has also offered the max. The Wizards can offer more than Golden State, so you have to assume he's staying put. And per the Wizards Insider, the Kings are willing to do "whatever it takes" to get Arenas.
Notes Around The League Per ESPN: Knicks Forward David Lee is still subject of trade talks. New coach Mike D'Antoni said he would love to coach Lee this season but he feels that they are very thin at the Point Guard position and are making that vacany one of their top priorities this off-season. Magic GM Otis Smith has stated that he will not trade Turkoglu for Maggette. Interestlingly, Lewis was not mentioned. The Rockets are expected to persue Spurs Brent Barry. The Kings will offer a full midlevel exception to Beno Udrih. Andrew Bynums agent has stated that he wants the max contract for his client. The Knicks are expected to offer a two year deal to Bulls Point Guard Chris Duhon.
Thanks. Kind of expected them to do that. It was reported yesterday by Stephen A. Smith that he would ask for the max contract. Also, surprised the Kings are in this.
You've got the love the Bobcats. They've got two good players on their whole damn team, and they're trying to get rid of one of them. I do not understand why they're trying to get rid of Gerald Wallace. What, are they trying to get Adam Morrison a ton of playing time all of a sudden? I can't believe Donnie Walsh is dumb enough to pursue Duhon as a starter. Got to be as a backup point whose primary job is to play good defense and slow down the other team's point guard. Blake is an interesting fit, in that he's a guy who could probably execute the offense D'Antoni wants to run, though again, he's really best suited as a backup. Telfair is interesting and might be available, since I'm not sure there's a place for him in Minny. As for Lowry, I don't know what they could give the Grizzlies for him, but the Grizzlies have made enough dumb moves that it's got to be a possibility.
Supposedly when D'Antoni visited chicago there was talk he liked Duhon more then Hinrich which imo is pretty crack pipe-ish. Lowry is an amazing defender in the passing lanes but the guys offensive game is as ugly as Charlie Ward's if thats possible. Still Id take him because hes everything this team isnt, tough, aggressive and hungry (outside of the kitchen...ya hear that Eddy McFlurry?). Ok backup I guess not a starter. telfair hasnt seen the defensive side of halfcourt. pass. Blake cant shoot inside the 3 point line, horrible FT shooter, and is a liability defensively. Again an ok backup I guess but nothing too good.
So play him at the 4 and Al Jefferson at the 5. It doesn't really make a difference. They're shaping up as a small-ball team as it is. Um, yeah, put down the crack pipe, Mike. If they're eyeing Duhon as a starter, they're nuts. Most of those criticisms are on the money, though I'm not sure where you're getting the horrible FT shooter thing. Blake's a lifetime 77% FT shooter.
Well aside from the fact Granger is a ridiculously better player then McCants, he also is an excellent defender. When the offense didnt revolve around O Neal last year, Granger averaged 20 ppg in the 40+ O Neal missed. Part of that is he was allowed to shoot more missing one solid option from the lineup but it had more to do with being able to him expand his offensive game as the team needed him to. You could easily make a case for his stats being just as good as Pierce or Marion next year as he should be the focal point.
