2012 NBA Offseason Speculatin' and Spectatin'

What is up, friends, I used capital letters.

LOL! What a lark!

talk about cba year 2

talk about the untimely demise or untimely continuation of teams based on old people

talk about deron williams going to dallas

just dont remind me that the thunder have this entire team signed up through next year, too

yeah lets talk abt them shits

Grizz getting bought by young billionaire:
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8038389/sources-billionaire-robert-pera-agrees-purchase-memphis-grizzlies

someone tell me how good anthony davis will be

http://i.imgur.com/fdFVi.jpg

this good

Sources told ESPN.com that Pera was spotted at a Grizzlies game in March touring the team's facilities and operations and Heisley acknowledged to the Memphis Commercial Appeal in March that there was another unnamed bidder for the team along with California billionaire Larry Ellison. Heisley was quoted as saying that he halted negotiations with Ellison because the deep-pocketed Oracle founder wanted to relocate the franchise.

"We're not even considering Ellison," Heisley told the newspaper. "This team cannot be moved."

The Chicago-based Heisley bought the Grizzlies in 2000 when they were located in Vancouver and moved the franchise to Memphis starting with the 2001-02 season.

ha

prediction: the grizzlies will be moved

they're in Memphis till at least 2021; massive penalties for moving out of Fed Ex Forum before then.

hey you know who can deal w/massive penalties: billionaires

plus you can prob recoupe most of that money being more profitable somewhere else

I wish Ellison had bought the Warriors.

wow bison used capitals

http://www.gq.com/sports/profiles/201207/dream-team-20th-anniversary-1992-olympics-usa-basketball

Malone: I'm from the country. Our etiquette is pretty much, "Pass me the beans," and we pass it down. No disrespect to the prince—it took me a while to understand the rules. This glass was on this side, and this fork was for this... You know what? Let me eat. You're talking about a fish out of water—that's how I felt. I had a nice suit on, I guess.

The Chicago-based Heisley bought the Grizzlies in 2000 when they were located in Vancouver and moved the franchise to Memphis starting with the 2001-02 season.

ha

― lag∞n, Monday, June 11, 2012 10:41 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The clamor for the NBA to return to Vancouver is deafening.

as it will be when they leave memphis!

Heisley selling is way lame, he was a fun owner.

spent a lot of money, told the GM to make both horrible and brilliant moves.

it's funny how in not that long marc will be better than pau

what cities really want teams right now? Seattle and Vegas?

Kansas City

cities near larry ellison's compound

Toledo

San Juan, PR
San Juan Osos

read some rumor that golden state was trying to get josh smith for the 7th pick and other stuff. golden state is definitely the type of place i'd like for him to end up. my biggest fear is him going somewhere like the spurs or celtics with a good coach/culture and turning into a beast instead of the frustratingly talented dipshit he is now.

god I hope the hawks are dumb enough to give us josh smith for like Dejuan Blair and some DVDs of Gregg popovich's best coaching tips vol. 2

https://mobile.twitter.com/rickyrubio9/status/212373764544020480?photo=1

too cute

DVDs of Gregg popovich's best coaching tips vol. 2

would watch

lol just came here to post that rubio pic ^____________^

I like the parallel universe where the Cavs pick Josh Smith instead of Luke Jackson and Lebron and Josh destroy the league for a decade.

lol at the wishful-thinking reports of Mike Miller retiring.

so that GQ Dream Team thing is pretty cool - but stern is lying through his teeth

Rome: "...was the fix in for the lottery?"

Stern: "No, and a statement: shame on you for asking."

Rome: "I understand why you would say that to me. I think it's my job to ask because I think people wonder."

Stern: "No, it's ridiculous. But that's OK."

Rome: "I know you think it's ridiculous, but I don't think the question's ridiculous, because I know people who think that. I'm not saying that I do, but I think it's my job to ask you that."

Stern: "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?"

WOWZA

jim rome doesn't beat his wife btw, it's a weird rhetorical thing that stern has used a few times before... like asking someone if they've stopped doing something that they've never done

anyway, stern is an idiot. i have no idea why he'd get so annoyed by the lottery conspiracy of all things.

Such a bad saying.

uh stern owned rome there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZrxaGKvo7o

The behind the backboard angle of this dunk was a work of art. Im sure that shot will be used for years to come.

fwiw, the "have you stopped [doing some horrible thing]" trope is the standard rhetorical example of a loaded question, iow a question which contains an unflattering assumption that must be accepted as true to answer the question on its own terms. Answering either yes or no establishes that you were [doing some horrible thing] at some point in the past.

Listening to the audio from that Rome segment is hilarious. Stern just crushes him.

stern is p thug

http://30fps.mocksession.com/2012/06/13/charles-barkleys-pre-game-pump-up-music-was-mariah-carey/

^_^

ATTN: m bison

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itnvwZ4Z1Hc

T.I.'s hat!

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/19352135/charlotte-looking-to-deal-no-2-pick

One source said that Oklahoma City's James Harden could be in play due to the Thunder's salary situation following next season. GM Sam Presti already has Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on the books for more than $29 million next season -- and both Harden and Serge Ibaka will command huge contracts after the 2012-13 campaign.

okc mismanaged giving russbrook a max deal IMO

nah, he's awesome

also....dope hat, TI
let's go to taco cabana and talk about Willie anderson's impact on the team next season

him & KD will be good enough to compete for titles for a long time & presti is a good enough GM to replenish

russ is too good to be lowballed & someone would give him a max offer. i guess they could've tried to sign at him idk $65m or something but it probably wouldn't have worked (maybe they did). i think they'll be able to get ibaka in well under the max, and if that means harden has to go i'm not sure they have another option.

thats why I think that option sucks bc they should've been trying to manage cap space to keep them both

idk maybe I'm spoiled bc Parker and ginobili have deals that are under their market value so the team could remain competitive

i'm not sure there'd be a way to keep all four of those guys unless someone took a contract way under their market value

they got bird rights! they can go over the cap, it's just how willing would they be to do that given their tiny market

Hope portlands new gm is aware harden may be available maybe I should find his email somehow, give him a lil tip

trading harden for the #2 pick could potentially be a stroke of genius

i mean it would suck but it would give you the chance to get a pretty amazing player

got some p important news gonna post to the so not baller thread
late breaking shit

http://t.co/v5NNs1sM

Pretty good Woj column on the last years of Stern / the Rome incident from another POV.

also....dope hat, TI
let's go to taco cabana and talk about Willie anderson's impact on the team next season

― he bit me (it felt like a diss) (m bison), Thursday, June 14, 2012 9:35 PM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I lived in SA for a year a few years back. Chachos man, chachos.

that shit is in Leon valley, fuck that bullshit speedtrap

Nah, I go to the other two locations.

where in SA did u live?
why did u leave?

From Salinas California, in SA lived near UTSA and worked on the other side of town, live in Phoenix now. Still have inlaw family in SA so visit on occasion. Got married there on the army base.

aw
well if you're in town holler at a thug

Will do, went to every game the Warriors played in there. Pretty sure I was the only fan and we got pwned by like 40 every time.

http://t.co/v5NNs1sM

Pretty good Woj column on the last years of Stern / the Rome incident from another POV.

― Clay, Thursday, June 14, 2012 5:57 PM (46 minutes ago)

ehhh, looks like woj kinda has it out for stern. i think stern's evil too, but his tone in that interview was pretty hilarious and rome totally had it coming. everything stern said was otm

can see why woj would take jim rome's side since they both seem to be v. good at baseless accusations

wait woj has it out for someone?

woj is awful and Rome's worse but just thought another take was worthwhile. stern's tyrannical nature will doubtlessly be part of his legacy.

like I am very much looking forward to a post-stern nba.

really can't wait for the biographical history that will tell us how many bodies stern has buried and where

very much looking forward to a post-stern nba.

His stooge Adam Silver is just gotta take the reins in the most shitty boring way.

adam silver is creepy and i refuse to believe he is up to anything good

silver will at least have less cult of personality ish going on, and can't be nearly as rigid as stern.

uh stern owned rome there

― the route is ban (k3vin k.), Wednesday, June 13, 2012 8:55 PM (2 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

no, he was a complete idiot. Rome asks a completely non-loaded question and Stern asks him a loaded question.

like that was seriously some yahoo-comments-level argumentation from the commish

if Rome had said something like "did the lottery get fixed again," sure Stern would have pwned him. But no, that's not what happened and Stern is an old fart who needs to quit humiliating himself.

you have to admit that "i have to call someone important, stephen a. smith is up next" is a good double burn

yeah come on matt

give me 100 sterns before one rome

stern trolling a troll is much less of a sin to me than the original troll

the commissioner of a sports league probably shouldn't be making domestic violence jokes!!

i mean this is really not something that he should be hailed for, btw stern is a good troll but he's also a massive bag of dicks

btw rome is pretty cool, he's windbaggy so he'll get rich but he's generally a smart dude

it's not a domestic violence joke! It's an old rhetorical device.

well, whatever. "a rhetorical device that references domestic violence" -- it's still a shitty thing to say, especially for someone of his stature and there's plenty of ways to deploy that same device w/o referencing domestic violence

i mean i definitely "get" the culture of stern even tho he's a dogshit commissioner who isn't doing anything to help the sport or its players in any fashion, but celebrating this incident is nagl for anyone imo

the trolling is funny but i can't rly defend a commissioner being an unprofessional prick. doesn't rly help your case to act all mobster suddenly when the topic of corruption is broached.

p.s.

stern's a clown, the league is fixed

― Hamburger Hitler (Hungry4Ass), Friday, June 15, 2012 2:39 AM

oh yeah btw when I say that David stern is thug and that his return-troll was less a problem to me than the original troll, he is still a little punk

I don't care about the "beating your wife" thing. What I liked, and why I cheered Stern, was calling Rome on being a "cheap stunt/cheap thrill" guy and the Stephen A. burn. Rome's an ass, and it takes a troll to call him on it.

It's sad that the Stern of the last few years is such a grump. He had a long run of quality before the irascibile ass took over.

i guess, but if you can't take the high road with a guy like rome then why are you commissioner in the first place

he's no bud selig (fuck baseball)

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5nbko72fy1qzel1vo1_1280.png

aw

dope

belongs in cooperstown

; )

Stern was always awful. In '83 he called the GM of the Mavericks into a room and tried to browbeat him into giving the Cavs back one of their traded picks so the league could sell the team more easily.

Dude is pure sleaze.

the problem with the "beating your wife" thing is that it's so fucking DUMB.

other than it being offensive, how so

because Rome didn't ask him a loaded question!

if he'd said "hey, did you fix the draft again," THEN Stern's reply makes sense. Stern was just flailing for a zing.

oh come on, it wasn't technically a loaded question but it was a cheap, stupid question with the exact same implications. stern was within his rights to be annoyed

an actual journalist might have asked something like "what would you say to those who feel there's something problematic with a league-owned team winning a non-televised draft lottery?" rather than "hey so, did you guys fix it? LOL! i mean i'm JUST SAYING!"

rome and stern deserve each other

clay for commish

I am actually looking for a job right now, that would be a significant upgrade over my prospects, make it happen imo

oh come on, it wasn't technically a loaded question but it was a cheap, stupid question with the exact same implications. stern was within his rights to be annoyed
― cissymanwhore (k3vin k.), Saturday, June 16, 2012 1:39 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It wasn't a loaded question at all. It was a 100% direct question. Which is why Stern's response is dumb. He used a rhetorical device that only makes sense in response to a loaded question, because he's an old fart who needs to retire.

Stern's response is only a hop and a skip away from saying something like "did YOU fix the draft, Mr. Rome!?!?!?!"

come on

he literally asked him if he fixed the draft

he deserves what he gets after that

matt armstrong is right--stern misused that loaded question cliche.

but who cares they are both horrible

http://i.imgur.com/7SR8J.jpg

San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker says he suffered a scratched retina on one of his eyes during a New York City nightclub brawl involving singer Chris Brown and members of hip-hop star Drake's entourage.

Parker, wearing dark sunglasses, described the incident Friday in Paris during a news conference posted on YouTube. He said he expects to be sidelined for about a week while the French team prepares for the Summer Olympics.

Parker said he was wearing a "therapeutic" contact lens and had to go to an emergency room for treatment after arriving in Paris.

Parker said: "I was with my friend Chris Brown and me and my friends took some punches, so I'll be missing the start of the French team because I can't do anything for a week except keep the lens in and then take drops."

Police said Brown, his girlfriend and his bodyguard were among several people injured during the bottle-hurling fight early Thursday at W.i.P in SoHo.

Parker said "they started throwing bottles everywhere. I don't know what happened. At first it was OK, but then it started getting worse and when the plane landed it was really hurting so I went straight to the ER."

The Spurs declined comment.

BOOOOOO TONY

official ILH decree: Chris brown belongs in jail, team breezy gets their twitter accounts frozen for 5 years

god dammit, tony

no word on if tony flopped when the glass hit him

http://i.minus.com/jVh2W4TpoCvEy.jpg

o_O that photo

I scratched a retina when I was about 12, shit is *unpleasant*

Shame on you for not going w/ the better NYDaily News cover instead:

http://www.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1096216!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_315_450/image.jpg

worse Tony Parker crime: being friends with Chris Brown or sleeping with Brent Barry's wife and ruining their marriage?

making popcorn while i wait for m bison to rage ban u if you want some

answer is chris brown btw let a player play

it takes two people to ruin a marriage
Chris brown is just an all around terrible person

it takes two people to ruin a marriage

unless you're talking about his own marriage

but m bison more or less otm

I'm a little biased cuz Brent gave some money to my gf's charity and apparently was a totally awesome dude.

I guess a lot biased

Brent is a dude, def feel for him

sleeping with a teammate's wife is lowdown and dirty though.

This is so WTF as to be awesome:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/chinese-nba-movie-starring-dwight-howard-carmelo-anthony-200003319--nba.html

so if the NBA does impose retroactive flopping fines, does that mean they get to repossess all of vlade divac's assets in the US

also, is mike dunlap the next spo??

does he love film?

sometimes i think spo would be a much better coach with other roster

Bulls hire some weirdo named Phil Jackson, only head coaching is for some wacky team in the CBA smh

i don't understand that post

that was the history of phil jackson

in a capsule

so, in the wake of missing out on anthony davis, charlotte's new plan of action is just to pretend that they're the mavs

http://media.charlotteobserver.com/smedia/2012/06/19/18/13/175tMm.St.138.jpeg

change the fucking name already

we need to talk about the Hornets' impending name change btw

?

Benson is gonna change it, hasn't decided on a name

lmao at Charlotte mavs jerseys

@DraftExpress

NBA source tells me Emeka Okafor and Trevor Ariza have been traded to the Washington Wizards for Rashard Lewis and the #46 pick

Benson is gonna change it, hasn't decided on a name

This is a good idea imo

hawnets dumpin salaryy

haha this is such a bad deal for the wiz

they get rid of shard's expiring $23 mil salary to take on two more years of ariza/okafor at $21-22 mil/year

maybe wizards draft beal now ?

why would the wiz do this? what's the catch? what am i missing here?

Stein: "The trade will add two defensive specialists to Washington's roster as the Wizards continue to try to change their culture around prized rookie John Wall."

Nothing changes a team's culture like adding two mediocre overpaid dudes.

emeka / nene / ariza / beal / wall
seraphin / vesely / booker / jordan crawford / mack

i dont think that roster is a playoff lock - yet

i mean... that's a potentially decent team, and the bottom seeds in the east are going to be perpetually up for grabs

but i'm not sure they should be aiming to get the 8th seed and be destroyed by the heat in 2013

I can see the desire to simply stop being losers though.

The Magic have hired Rob Hennigan as the franchise's new general manager.

Hennigan was most recently assistant GM with the Thunder and becomes the youngest GM in the NBA at the age of 30.

Hennigan met twice within the last week to meet with members of the DeVos family.

Magic president Alex Martins seeks to build the franchise in a way that is similar to the Thunder.

Hennigan will immediately be forced to make a decision in regards to the future of Dwight Howard.

“It is with great enthusiasm and optimism that we announce Rob Hennigan as our new General Manager,” said Martins. “Rob is an astute strategist and evaluator of talent who comes to the Magic family from two championship-level organizations. We feel he is an outstanding fit and the right choice to lead our Basketball Operations team in achieving our championship goals.”

so jealous

prolly a good hire
hoping they will trade Howard to the spurs, it's the right thing to do

The Wizards wtf

for starters, they're doing this to "change the culture," but Okafor is known to be lazy and his teammates on the Hornets hated him, and Ariza thinks he's a scoring machine

I'm not sure how Pops and Dwight would get along.

pop would fucking yell at him until he understands basketball

Yelling is what people do when they speak a wholly different language from the person they are talking to. It rarely helps.

god hollinger slaughtered the wizards over this trade

haha yep

NOH should have had to give up a first rounder, what a rip

the wizards make no sense

hornets front office must be feelin like pimps right now

Is David Stern still the GM there? He's doing a good job.

they shd do a backsies trade for chris paul now

ha hollinger mentioned that he's a free agent after next year if he doesn't extend. just imagine

Spurs' Tony Parker sues NYC nightclub for $20 million over alleged eye injury
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/22/us/new-york-parker-complaint/index.html?section=cnn_latest

oh come on

think he's just gonna use that to pay Boris diaw under the table to stay in SA

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/8090057/deron-williams-only-interested-signing-brooklyn-nets-dallas-mavericks-sources-say

so that's basically "get dwight howard and i'll re-sign, or else i'm bolting to dallas"

it never really seemed like he'd be going anywhere else anyway

it's also bizarre that none of these guys wanna play for the lakers

nobody wants to put up with kobe I guess

this is pretty minor but since i was just reading about it...

it seems that even if the heat amnesty mike miller and/or he retires, they'll be over the cap anyway so it will only mean that they pay less in tax. their only upgrades will be the $3.2 mini-mid level (which is what they gave battier last season), the veteran minimum & their first round pick

the only "notable" player that they may replace is turiaf, who could opt out of his deal (pays him $1.2 m next year). assuming miller comes back.

will be interesting to see if they can lure ray allen w/ that mini-mid level

heard mike miller might retire - and it was his back that was killing him?

they were talking about retirement & maybe he really is just too hurt to play but idk he'd be walking away from $18 million

will be interesting to see if they can lure ray allen w/ that mini-mid level

― J0rdan S., Sunday, June 24, 2012 9:53 AM (1 hour ago)

didn't nash say he'd play for the minimum?

i doubt it

if nash signed for battier's deal he'd be giving up at least $20 million... that's assuming there is a 3 year, $30m offer out there for him & i think there will be. if anyone offers him more than that he'd be giving up prob like the most money anyone's ever given up in the history of the nba to play for a title. doesn't seem likely.

ray allen, otoh, i'm not sure how much better he could do than 3 years / 3 mill a year. definitely better, but he wouldn't be giving up anything near what nash would have to.

If Miller's back is really that bd he might be able to take a medical retirement. He'd get all his money and insurance would pick up 80% of the Heat's cost.

another name to keep an eye on is lamar odom imo

lamar needs to go on a long pilgrimage in the australian outback imo

he would fit into how the heat have built their team and he'd be cheap. he may be done as a player tho.

I was really surprised at how well the heat role players shined in the postseason - battier + miller from 3 sealed the series, I think

odom fell off to such a historic degree that you can't help but wonder if it was a fluke; if you take into account all the things going on in his personal life at the time i could see it. if the heat can get him to convince them he's ready to play and can get him for cheap, he'd probably be a great fit

nash seriously would be the best fit for them even though their cap situation would probably preclude this - they don't even need him to handle the ball - he'd probably shoot 60% on kickout 3s, no joke

yeah that would actually be unfair

i don't see that happening tho... seems as pipe dream as the idea of him going to NY

this dude I know is so convinced Nash will sign with Portland that I bet him a couple hundred dollars on it. Looking forward to that windfall.

Did he give you even odds? That is like stealing!

clay's buying after nash gets signed

yeah he was like "so excited for nash to be point guard next year" and i said "there is a zero percent chance that steve nash will play for the blazers next year" and he said "you mean one hundred percent, right" and i said "i bet you one hundred dollars that steve nash will not play for the blazers next year" and he accepted immediately. the things hope will do to you.

You'd better remind him of it at frequent intervals and have him reaffirm the bet multiple times, because he needs to dig himself a deep enough hole he won't try to jump out when payoff time comes around.

Should I be concerned that Danny Ferry is about to become my team's GM? I don't recall him doing anything other than awful free agent signings out of desperation and hiring Mike Brown as coach

I suppose it would do no good to point out that nothing will change, whether or not you are concerned, so you may as well fall in line with your impotence and cultivate a certain apathy.

It's pretty well cultivated. The thing that bums me out most about it is that everyone is saying it's a signal that the team us not for sale anymore. They really are the shittiest owners

Should I be concerned that Danny Ferry is about to become my team's GM?

The fact that he's worked in San Antonio for the last few years should raise the possibility that he's learned a few things since Cleveland.

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/06/25/miami-heat-owner-sues-blogger-over-unflattering-photo/

lol

According to two league sources, the Wolves plan on making three-time All-Star Brandon Roy a two-year contract offer.

ka...hn

didn't the Wolves draft him and then trade him for Foye?

Yes.

https://twitter.com/#!/elainealden

landry field's girlfriend :O

:-o

this article only exists because of advanced stats http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/46524/bobcats-must-roll-with-pick-on-offense

and it's actually great!

was kinda hoping that no one would offer roy a contract & he would come and play 16 mins a game for the heat

woj: As ex-Portland Trail Blazer Brandon Roy plans his comeback to the NBA, the Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves have emerged as serious suitors to sign the former All-Star guard, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Several teams could be willing to use their full-mid level exception for Roy, sources said.

Full mid-level seems like a huge gamble imo

I watched a lot of Blazers games in Roy's last season and he was the most injured-looking dude I've ever seen. I think he's out of his mind to attempt this.

apparently he looks incredible in his workouts (heard some "maybe he just needed a long time off" sort of talk) but yeah I mean if the guy values walking from 30 onwards I'd step away.

http://www.red94.net/calm-storm/9729/

Word broke late Sunday night that the Rockets were exploring ways to acquire both the #5 and #8 picks in Thursday’s draft, hoping to then send those two selections over to Orlando for center Dwight Howard in what would be the boldest move in recent NBA history.

Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress
Houston now has the #14, #16 and #18 picks to go after Dwight Howard it looks like. Serious ammunition for the stockpile.

Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress
The Houston Rockets have traded Chase Budinger to Minnesota for the #18 pick. Confirmed.

morey is insane

budinger is pretty good... wolves prob don't need anymore wings but that's a decent trade

Larry Bird is expected to step down as president of the Indiana Pacers, the Indianapolis Star reported Tuesday.

Hearty lols @ Morey (or rather the Red94 writer) thinking that it's a sweet/"bold" move to give away a #5 and an #8 for a player who is so obviously treading water before a big contract and would absolutely not stay in Houston past this final year of his current contract.

Also RIP Bird w/ the Pacers. I don't think anyone expected him to stay as long as he did -- esp. after having so much quick success as a coach and then just peacing out -- but it's still sad to have him not be associated w/ the team again. Not to mention the fantastic job he's done.

Also, I'd love a link to any stories that analyze the draft / success history of players red-flagged for injury reasons. Seems like there are one or two players each year that fall out of the lottery / 1st Round because Dr.s wouldn't sign off on them; obviously, it's Sullinger this year. Just wondered how those players ended up fairing.

i do think morey's crazy but ppl are really underestimating the advantage a player's current team has when it's time to offer a new contract.

my read on dwight is that he'll talk tough through his agent about playing in one of a couple cities but that it might be a different story once he actually sees the dollars on the offer sheet.

houston has enough players that they could be v good if they get dwight, success + the fact that they can offer him more money + the fact that deron might leave brooklyn for dallas eating up their cap room simultaneously making both of dwights preferred destinations untenable - depending on what they give up itd be a risky but dece bet by houston

houston basically forces derons hand via trading for dwight, its quite crafty - cause the only way dwight and deron can play in brooklyn together is if the nets trade for him, but if houston has a better offer which they do then that cant happen so deron goes to dallas and theres not enough cap room to sign dwight

not sure what other teams will have cap room after next season but id bet none of them have as good personel as houston

boston maybe could get in on the dwight sweepstakes if they tread water for a year

houston basically forces derons hand via trading for dwight, its quite crafty

crafty until they "amass assets", can't pull the trigger on a trade, orlando's GM doesn't like what the nets have to offer (nothing), and deron flees to dallas & pwns houston for 6 years

well then they have tons of draft picks so its not really the worst thing in the world, may even be better than trading for dwight tbh

btw i don't think morey would be crazy to trade for dwight... i think if he said he'd play for dallas that they could reasonably get him to ink with houston. but the way they're going about it is kinda risky.

picks 14, 16 & 18 aren't bad, but not really the greatest things in the world either

the nightmare scenario is trading for dwight then having him leave in free agency, thats the big risk, cause like blowing up a perennial contender for a first round exit is prob a good idea regardless

i'm not really faulting morey btw, obv the ceiling of the current team is, like, getting the 7th seed

in any event it does seem like he's hellbent on a trade & someone said somewhere that even if they can't get dwight, they'll still try and make a big splash (i.e. josh smith)

deron will be an interesting test case to see if the "trade for a star and dare him to leave a max max deal on the table" actually works out in the team's favor

if they cant get dwight id trade lowery/scola/etc for draft picks n young players and try to rebuild that way - the josh smiths of the world are not going to put you over the top

dwight shd retire

it seems like deron wont stay in brooklyn unless they get dwight, or i guess possibly their are other players that could convince him, idk reading tea leaves, that wallace trade was like the worst ever my god u r so dumb russian billionaire jetskier

Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress
Sources say Houston has an offer of Lowry, the #14 and #16 picks for Tyreke Evans and the #5 pick on the table. Up to Sacramento to decide.

\(o_o)/

David Aldridge ‏@daldridgetnt
Told there is no way that Kings would do purported offer of Lowry/14/16 for Evans and five if it was even actually offered.

Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress
I actually don't care. Just find it amusing how painful it is for a billion dollar company to credit a guy working out of his mom's basement

Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress
For those wondering, here's ESPN's "take" on how the Houston trade "broke": http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2012/story/_/id/8097233/minnesota-timberrwolves-send-18th-pick-houston-rockets-sources-say - Hilarious stuff.

Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress
Nope! RT @TheGafford Think ESPN will credit you for this one? lol

that would be a bad trade for the kings

yep

morey is smart to leverage sac's anti-chemistry in trying to pry 'reke away, but there's no way they'd also give up the 5th pick

he prob just figured hey its sacto they r dumb might as well give it a shot

yeah, not a terrible idea

i wouldve proffered an even more lopsided offer personally

nice trade for the wolves, budinger makes less than a million (0,8) and will splash 3s like there's no tomorrow

no more wes johnson \o/

budinger seems like the kind of player kevin love will make better by covering up his lack of rebounding and a good enforcer to throw at anyone who steps to rubio

daryl morey is gonna go off this summer i think, he's still mad that stern cockblocked the cp3 lakers trade which would have gotten him gasol

basically the rockets have had a will trade for all star big man or bust sign in the window since yao retired

the wolves have soooooo many mediocre wings

Budinger now the best of them.

& chase actually dunks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA5PLjlv0d4&feature=related

starting lineup for the minnesota timberwolves right now: rubio, ridnour, budinger, love, pek.

let's hope kahn doesn't bring a dece SG and this would be the first white team since the 60s !!!

Sadly Rubio is out till sometime next year so it probably won't be an old fashioned white wash.

i'm sure they'll still "start" wes johnson

honestly, morey should go after pau again. i'm kind of surprised no one is talking about it. the lakers clearly want to trade pau, and his trade value is pretty low now but i think he could still be a really good player if he got out of LA. the lakers could totally use lowery to fill their starting PG role, and since they're old + kobe's contract is suffocating their cap, they could really use some mid-first rounders who are cheap & could develop into solid role players around a theoretical lowery + kobe + bynum nucleus.

The Budinger thing is why I love Morey.

-buy Budinger pick (from Minnesota) in the second round
-sign him to an unusual 4 year deal
-get 3 productive years out of him for dirt cheap
-trade him for a top 20 pick on his last year after Parsons outplays him

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Ttzreu-Mg

starting lineup for the minnesota timberwolves right now: rubio, ridnour, budinger, love, pek.

let's hope kahn doesn't bring a dece SG and this would be the first white team since the 60s !!!

― moullet, Tuesday, June 26, 2012 4:23 PM (2 hours ago)

this would be amazing and has to happen

I feel like the Rockets should just go get Pau again

Not if they can get Dwight.

maybe they can get both?

this is on yahoo

[quote]"Magic was always..." And Drexler goes into a decent Magic impression: "'Come on, Clyde, come on, Clyde, get with me, get with me,' and making all that noise. And, really, he couldn't play much by that time. He couldn't guard his shadow."

"But you have to have to understand what was going on then. Everybody kept waiting for Magic to die. Every time he'd run up the court everybody would feel sorry for the guy, and he'd get all that benefit of the doubt. Magic came across like, 'All this is my stuff.' Really? Get outta here, dude. He was on the declining end of his career."

Drexler had played exquisitely in the 1992 All-Star Game in Orlando, although the MVP award eventually went to Magic, who had been added by Commissioner Stern as a special thirteenth player to the Western Conference roster. "If we all knew Magic was going to live this long, I would've gotten the MVP of that game, and Magic probably wouldn't have made the Olympic team."[/quote]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v640/Novale/shrug.gif

forgot its only q

^ things ppl say after playing lockdown defense on Quentin Richardson.

lolcats detroit thanks you.

i guess they got a 1st rnd protected pick at least. not awful.

Detroit saves $15 million in this trade.

Ken Berger ‏@KBergCBS
Source confirms Detroit sends Ben Gordon and 2013 protected first-round pick to Charlotte for Corey Maggette's expiring contract.

det finally admitting that Ben Gordon signing was tragic and awful
cha finally admitting they have no idea what they're doing

Charlotte's just trying to find a way to fold the franchise.

Ben Gordon and Kemba Walker, sure, why not.

chatolette is kinda an amazing franchise, like theyre so bad no one even talks abt them being terrible, theyre in their own horrible category

Eh, charlottes only taking on 2 yrs of his contract. They're basically getting a 1st rnd pick for maggete which ain't bad. Not like they're planning on winning anytime soon

But his contract is $25 million for those years. Going price for a pick in the past has been around $2-3 million.

detroit's not going anywhere fast so it's likely to be a good pick.

If it was for next year's lottery, sure. But it's lottery protected next year, so Detroit has a few years to make it a middling pick. And they should get better while Cat's keep stinking.

smh at you guys thinking this is bad for Charlotte

I support the bobcats purposely sucking and rebuilding thru the draft. I'm going on the assumption that they actually realize ben Gordon is terrible

Sources confirm to Ken Berger that the first round pick is lottery protected in 2013, top-eight in 2014, top-one in 2015 and unprotected in 2016.

!!!!!!!!!

This is AWESOME for the Bobcats

can we reflect for one sec on how quickly dumars buried the pistons

Dumars has been riding his one year of being a good GM for a decade now

I feel like the Rockets should just go get Pau again

― Matt Armstrong, Tuesday, June 26, 2012 7:42 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

i made this exact point in the draft thread

or in this thread, actually. i can't keep em straight.

given the protection on the pick seems like a dece trade for both teams

bobcats likely overpaid but w/e could end up working out ok for them

hey, it gets them to the salary floor

ha yeah I was thinking that

rich cho did a couple of trades in his okc days like the one from tonight

"rent" your cap space for a year or two, helping detroit but receiving potentially good picks in back

nice trade both teams get a player they will hate and the cats get a pick eventually

dumars is the guy who hasn't left his college town five years later, and really hes riding exactly 2 good decisions (finding ben wallace and trading for sheed) and those should be canceled out by the awful moves hes made since

he also picked billups off the scrap heap and made a smart trade for rip, that whole team was p masterfully assembled

since then... lol

Sources: Clips engage Mavs in Odom talks

lololo

clips actively seeking team cancer

i'd be willing to bet on odom if i was lakers/clippers/heat

yeah me too

i would not necessarily trade a lot for him

anyone know his salary sitch off the top of their head?

he has one year left at 8+ million, but he can be bought out for 2.4 before Friday.

i guess he will definitely be bought out then?

I would assume so. I think they'll see if someone that needs to shed salary asap wants to unload talent on an expiring deal, but I don't see any team out there that needs to make such a move. I could see them maybe packaging him with a pick to get someone but that's a tough sell.

They most likely won't take on anyone with more than a year left as it would kill their Howard pipe dream.

ESPN has a rumor of Warriors #7 for Wilson Chandler. I kinda like that for both teams?

huh. Not too bad - what was the deal Chandler signed when he came back from China?

Chandler signed a five-year, $31.7 million contract back in March

And he turned 25 in May.

So you'd have him for his prime at roughly the mid-level. Or you take a crapshoot at seven with a player that may only duplicate what you have. Hmm. He does fill some holes, at least.

it seems steep for chandler but otoh i'd be shocked if harrison barnes is ever as good as him and barnes is gonna be a top 4 pick

@Mike_Bresnahan Hawks have been pursuing Pau Gasol. Nothing imminent, but Josh Smith would be key piece going to Lakers.

HMMM

kobe would just be the most fantastic influence on josh smith

the lakers really should try and get a 4 who isn't great at defense but can do other things

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA
Houston has traded Sam Dalembert as part of a package to Milwaukee, league sources tell Y!

morey is gonna have eight first round picks before 7 pm tomorrow night

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA
Dalembert and the 14th pick go the Bucks for the 12th pick, Jon Brockman, Jon Leurer and Brockman, sources tell Y!

morey is hilarious -- he now has chandler parsons & jon leuer on the same team!

Double Brockman for the win.

we'll give you the 12th pick and everyone on our team named "jon"

i love morey

its shaun livingston!!!!

well, finally understood amir johnson contract: http://www.buzzfeed.com/ktlincoln/a-bunch-of-nba-players-follow-porn-stars-and-booty

John Hollinger ‏@johnhollinger
SCOTUS: ACA to be upheld for "basketball reasons"

anthony parker retires.... ):

is ): the Anthony Davis smiley?

no it's {:-]

ha

Mama, there goes that man

http://www.mercurynews.com/warriors/ci_20963683/report-warriors-coach-mark-jackson-victim-extortion-by

"mama, there goes that man with nude photos of me in a folder"

scumbag.

Ken Berger: Jackson apologized to his family, friends, the Warriors and church, quoting Bible: "What goes on in the dark will come out in the light." Twitter

is that a reference to his dick pics or

hand job man job

Pants down man down

nice, EZ

Alas, not as good as your Davis smiley.

you talk about a guy who, pound for pound, was a victim of extortion by an ex-stripper. when his number is called he's ready

no it's {:-]

― J0rdan S., Thursday, June 28, 2012 1:33 PM (3 hours ago)

haha

haha not a grown man move jackson

d-wade getting knee surgery

hope it explodes during surgery

Out of Olympics so far: Rose, Aldridge, Billups, Wade and now Bosh

and Howard.

please, do join us

AY CHAP 2012 OLYMPICS IN LONDON (BASKETBALL EDITION) CHEERIO

oj mayo is an unrestricted free agent.

that's kinda interesting

sux when a good team makes a cost saving move like that

mayo will prob be overpaid anyway tho

Sad thing is he's not as good as he thinks or people hoped. However, he'd arguably be the best player on the Bobcats.

sure, but so would nick collison

Definitely damning with faint praise.

fab mayo

mayo will prob be overpaid anyway tho

― J0rdan S., Friday, June 29, 2012 2:43 PM (26 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ya but they couldve sign n traded him, by just releasing him theyre just dumping salary, granted they have some other dudes to sign, but still to let talent walk and get nothing in return

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/knicks/post/_/id/20972/jeffries-takes-charge-on-the-open-water

http://a.espncdn.com/espnradiostations/i/espnnewyork/radio/features/120619_Jeffries_fish200x300.jpg

"I'm probably the only NBA player that goes on these sites," he said.

he should hook up with dean ween B-)

http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_chrisrobbins/051811WEEN.png

https://twitter.com/JLin7/status/209038662971830272

Mo Williams picking up his option; he's going to Utah, Odom to the Clippers and Dallas takes back zero salary.

like that move a lot for the clips

so if th mavs don't get deron, seems like Nash might be there for a lil reunion?

welcome back, kg!

at a nice lil discount, too

wow three more years of kg !!!

how i wish he was healthy on the 09 run..

hip hip hooray!

prolly sets the market for duncan, too

http://i.imgur.com/JuWTZ.jpg
THREE MORE YEARS! THREE MORE YEARS!

Deron Williams, the most coveted player in this summer's free-agent class, will meet with representatives from the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Mavericks on Monday before deciding which team to sign with this July, according to a source privy to Williams' plan.

Mavericks free-agent point guard Jason Kidd will also join whichever team Williams chooses, sources said.

*knuckle pushups* #FLEXING

deron-Kidd tandem
uhhh he's going to dallas

hollinger seems to think the opposite

i guess the thinking is that if it's a tandem deal that dallas won't have enough cap space

how much room did they clear trading odom?

deron-kidd should be awesome, hope they make it

they could run a 2 guard system like adelman is doing in minnesota

kidd is hella cooked yall

yeah i don't think that would be a starting tandem or anything

Kidd is still a serviceable backup.

this team is really something else

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA
If the Nets don't do a deal for Joe Johnson, they're considering a significant offer for Memphis shooting guard O.J. Mayo, Y! sources said.

@BRAND0NJENNINGS: Dwight Howard is acting weird now.... Smh

brandon jennings should be a free agency reporter for nba tv imo

Dwight Howard met with new Orlando Magic GM Rob Hennigan Friday, telling him he wants to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

didn't this guy say he would stick around for the next year around last year's trading deadline? dwight needs to get his head screwed on straight for real.

dwight is honestly so embarrassing

that he won't even 1% the public backlash that lebron got is absurd

Well maybe it's because of all the rings he has oh wait

dwight is honestly so embarrassing

that he won't even 1% the public backlash that lebron got is absurd

― J0rdan S., Saturday, June 30, 2012 11:50 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah this is more than fair, dwight's behavior has been disgusting for years

out of all the players that have done this (lebron, bosh, melo, cp3), dwight's departure has been so utterly awful and misguided

it's really not even close. at least all those other guys played hard, too.

WTF IS THIS?

Daryl Morey ‏@dmorey
Meeting w/Omer Asik in a few minutes -- tell him how much you want him to be in Houston! He will see your msg live - include #Asik2Houston

K.C Johnson ‏@KCJHoop
Hearing Rockets prepared to offer Omer Asik in the $8 million range annually.

yeah good idea daryl

hahahaha morey
also dwigh howard...smh indeed, petulant lil baby

Chris Broussard ‏@Chris_Broussard
Gordon, the New Orleans Hornets' restricted free agent, is seeking a max, 4-year, $58 million deal, sources say.

that is many monies

Chris Broussard ‏@Chris_Broussard
Eric Gordon will visit Indiana Sunday, Houston Monday & Phoenix Tuesday. He will also meet with Portland & perhaps Charlotte & Dallas.

hmm

i know nba contracts don't really make sense by design but that is a wacky amount of money for eric gordon

is he worth $15 mil a year IN THIS ECONOMY

all NBA guard tony Parker makes $12.5mil, rondo makes like 9 or 10

that's all well and good but hey eric gordon has played more than 70 games once in a four-year career

$14.5/y would make eric gordon the 24th highest paid player in the nba

the grizzlies have three of the 25 highest paid players in the nba

i'm not sure if eric gordon is one of the 25 best players in the nba

gordan's fairly injury prone too, right? XP

ha who are these teams that have 14.5 mil for Eric gordon?

at least the hornets have the incentive of saving face on the chris paul trade

http://store.nba.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12839090&CAWELAID=1300659934

Dwight loyalty shirts

can't wait to buy this for 5 bucks and troll Howard when he's on the nets/bobcats/olympiakos

oh that shirt cannot be for real

out of all the players that have done this (lebron, bosh, melo, cp3), dwight's departure has been so utterly awful and misguided

― J0rdan S., Saturday, June 30, 2012 11:57 PM

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/19455155/report-dwight-howard-tells-nbpa-magic-blackmailed-him

he feels the Magic blackmailed him into signing the "opt-in" clause.

http://gifs.gifbin.com/082009/1249287503_ice_cube.gif

hahaha

sign this or else...we'll watch you go sign with nets?
NOOOOOOOOO U CAN'T DO THAT ORLNDO MAGIC MANAGMENT
ok then sign here
ANYTHING U SAY

IM NOT SIGNING TIL U GIVE STAN THE AXE
ok hes gone, sign it
OK
.... months later...
HAY U BLACKMAILED ME

Dwight Howard is a douche, but he comes across as someone whose douchery is based in a cluelessness of Mt. Rushmore proportions. LeBron comes across as smart enough to know how not to be a douche, but that his douchery emerges naturally from his value system.

guess he'll have to update his website

http://www.dwighthoward.com/wp-content/themes/dwight/images/dwight_poster.png

p easy fix, just put nets over the magic parts and cross out amway and put BROOKLYN ARENA and spray paint DERON WAS HERE

hey dudes if yr team is lookin for an upgrade super cool beas did not receive a QO and is an unrestrected FA.

also! with kg's new contract he is the highest paid player over a career in nba history!

congrats, KG!

Chris Broussard ‏@Chris_Broussard
Situation btwn Dwight Howard & Magic getting ugly. Howard feels Magic made him promises they didn't keep to get him to sign opt-in.

entire orlando front office: U MAD BRO?

this is hall of fame shit

Chris Broussard ‏@Chris_Broussard
Sources tell @RicBucher Players Assn is considering taking legal action against the Magic on Dwight's behalf. (con't)

Chris Broussard ‏@Chris_Broussard
Goal would be to eliminate Dwight's opt-in and make him a free agent this summer.

wow what a bunch of fools. let dwight hang himself, don't get the NBAPA involved in this farce.

Portland offered Roy Hibbert a max contract at 12:01am, reportedly.

amick: "Indiana did not offer a max deal, and Hibbert is now leaning to Blazers unless Pacers match. One other unnamed team offered max."

this would be huge IMO.

Cmon the Pacers are obviously gonna match

out of all the players that have done this (lebron, bosh, melo, cp3), dwight's departure has been so utterly awful and misguided

― J0rdan S., Saturday, June 30, 2012 11:57 PM

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/19455155/report-dwight-howard-tells-nbpa-magic-blackmailed-him

he feels the Magic blackmailed him into signing the "opt-in" clause.

― am0n, Sunday, July 1, 2012 12:28 AM (7 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

iirc they gave him candy, thats bribery not extortion

jesus what universe is this where roy hibbert is a max player, cmon now

did anyone watch the nba finals where an actual nba center played less than 20 min per game total across both teams

and everyone who did play was v fast

glad to see kg back obv though he wasn't going anywhere and i imagine he will have to be dragged off the court as a 40 year old rather than voluntarily retire

damn

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA
Y! Sources: With the loss of Ray Allen looming, Boston pursues free agent guard Jason Terry.

if portland does actually sign hibbert, that means the end of the batum era right?

jesus really terry

glad to see kg back obv though he wasn't going anywhere and i imagine he will have to be dragged off the court as a 40 year old rather than voluntarily retire

― questionable motor (agent hibachi), Sunday, July 1, 2012 9:09 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

as soon as he retires he should be hired as an assistant coach just to hang around and intimidate all the players into going hard

better terry than oj mayo

not too into dwight saga but melo's was basically just as bad, recall that it stretched over 2+ years including playoff runs, included lala's preferences as a major factor and his coach all but laughed with glee once he was gone

no id rather see oj, terry's on the verge of washed up

not for the respective prices imo

wait we dont believe oj mayo gets like a max contract offer or something just because brooklyn is desperate right, he's really going to sign for the veteran exemption or whatever that's called (5m-ish) or something along those lines i assume

ya oj seems like a midlevel singing most likely

wow memphis has 62mil in salary committed already

the blazers thing is weird.... so they would roll with aldridge, hibbert AND meyers leonard? that's a giant team! just seems like a weird place to go

like, imo, if you're in the west you look at your team and say, "could this team beat the thunder in a playoff series at any point in the next five years?" and if the answer is "no" (and it's probably "no") you do what you can do to change that. i don't think a team that exchanges roy hibbert for nic batum is beating the team with kevin durant on it. but maybe i'm wrong.

what if neil oshey is just a downlow terrible GM. what did he do in LA besides have chris paul fall into his lap? trade for mo williams?

p good rando pickups that actually played minutes- kenyon, reggie evans; did not fuck up massively

kenyon was terrible!

reggie evans is decent for a fourth big man but i'm not sure you want that as your signature move

kenyon was pretty bad but it was a good job of squeezing cheap rotation guys out of a market that looked completey tapped

Chris Broussard ‏@Chris_Broussard
Source: Celtics willing to double (in terms of $) Heat offer to Ray Allen. Will give 2 years/$12 million. Heat can offer only $3 mill a yr

re hibbert, i sorta feel like if a player's team can offer a player the max but chooses not to and you in turn offer that player the max, you prolly fucked up

roy hibbert doesn't even average 30 minutes a game, how in the world is he a max player.

yeah... i mean does anyone picture a montage of the blazers celebrating an nba title as mike breen says "and roy hibbert was magnificent all series, leading the franchise to its first nba title since 1977"

no

hibbert did kinda own the heat this year fwiw, indy was ahead w/him on the floor in their series and way behind w/him off, of course this points to the fact that he cant play many minutes and the heats particular venerability to big men

I'm just trying to ignore the rumors that the nets are trying to take Joe johnson's contract. I get irrationally happy and it's probably not gonna happen. I will hang a framed portrait of Danny ferry from my wall of it does tho

nets r so sad couldve renamed themselves and been stocked w/a bunch of good young players to build on instead theyre the brooklyn nets feat joe johnson and gerald wallace

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA
The Nets have reached agreement on a 4 year, $40 million contract with Gerald Wallace, league sources confirm. NY Post first reported.

congrats, nets

it's funny gerald wallace is the only player in the history of the nba to actively want to play for the bobcats

lot of knicks fans thinking abt switching loyalties right now

nets trade the 6th pick for wallace then sign him for more than anyone else wouldve offered as a free agent

http://i.imgur.com/RJfAM.jpg
what do u mean there is no bribery in the nba

Joe Treutlein ‏@Hoopdata
Roy Hibbert got a max deal because someone in Portland still doesn't like Kevin Pritchard and knows Indy has to match.

on cbssports.com

Dwightmare

http://sports.cbsimg.net/u/photos/basketball/nba/img19455681.jpg

dwight needs to wake the fuck up right guys hahahaha

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA
Y! Sources: With the loss of Ray Allen looming, Boston pursues free agent guard Jason Terry.

― J0rdan S., Sunday, July 1, 2012 9:11 AM

also heard nick young D: im ok with ray leaving (clause: anyone but the heat) but yeesh

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2012/0313/nba_a_howard54_cr_576.jpg

lolololol

got some bad advice from UR MOM

The thing about Hibbert is that he's not a max player yet, but in a league where a player's effort and will-to-improve-to-hit-a-ceiling is at a premium, Roy will get max offers from someone. Pacers want to keep him, hoped they could pay him what he's actually worth (below max), but they'll be happy to offer him a max if they have to, I think. It'd be different if they knew they could use that max money on someone else who wanted to be here, but that's not happening.

They lowballed, Portland/Unnamed Team offered max, Pacers will offer max, Roy will sign w/ Pacers. If Roy weren't a character guy, I don't think they resign him; but, he is, so they will. If they thought they were in the running for Williams/Howard/BigTimer, it'd be a different story. For now, the Pacers will lock him up for what will be the prime of his career, and then let some team overpay him next contract-time.

Want to love Howard again, but all this trade/contract stuff is really nagl if you want fans to think of you as a bball player first. Although that said, when I read LeMarcus Aldridge's name, first thing that pops into my head is Mr. Penny Marshall, and that's totally OK imo:

http://vicmackey.trakt.tv/images/episodes/1392-2-8.jpg

Like, now I want to see Howard sue the Magic and then the Magic find some fine-print in the union agreement that says Howard has to sit out two full seasons w/o pay or something. Which is totally dumb/irrational since all NBA players totally have the right to seek their maxmoney and it really shouldn't bother me. Just seems like, for guys who need to depend on their likeability to enhance THEIR BRAND, some of these top-tier players are going at that in an awfullly autistic way. "What? Why would the Magic/basketball fans care that I've held my team hostage for two years dithering about trades/free agency? idgi?"

OTOH Magic were crazy for not sending him somewhere before last year's deadline, so I guess everyone is getting what they deserve now.

Also, really hoping that some non-Pacers team gets desperate and offers Eric Gordon ridic money so the Pacers don't have a chance to sign him. I love the Platonic Ideal Eric Gordon that can score 20+ ppg and get to the rim at will, but dude is just gonna get injured again and has Cap Space Albatross written all over him. Regardless, looks like Pacers are throwing their weight behind Gordon, Nash, BRoy, Mayo (another dude the Pacers have been after for years), and maybe Ilyasova.

Let the free agent fun begin, wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

max deals should have some sort of injury percentage attached, like play below 70 games and the team should get to reduce the salary or at least the cap hit or something

all sorts of perverse incentivization problems there (here comes your 2 min of scrub time buddy!) i guess but it might be a fun world where a team could take like four "max" contract flyers and assemble a team of perpetually injured high level talent

Nicolas Batum is considering a four-year, $45-50 million offer from Minnesota. !!

wow

KAHN!!!!!

is he gonna play shooting guard?

Chris Broussard ‏@Chris_Broussard
Sources confirm Memphis has offered full midlevel to Ray Allen for 2 yrs. Bos willing to pay 2 yrs/$12 mill, tho no offer made yet.

GIVE US MAYO

Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA
Phoenix has expressed interest with Landry Fields as part of possible sign-and-trade package with New York for Steve Nash, sources tell Y!

hahahahahahahaha

reunite w/ amare, gr8 idea nash

if the suns sign & trade nash for a package surrounding landry fields they just should contract the franchise

uh from espn rumors

Wolves looking at Stiemsma

KAHNNNNN

DARKO + STIEMSMA FRONTCOURT

The Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic have had preliminary contact about a possible deal for All-Star center Dwight Howard, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

hahaha

I mean...the more things change etc

lol this is great

damn scotty brooks sonned the thunder

David Aldridge ‏@daldridgetnt
Deal done in OKC for Scott Brooks; should be signed Monday. Four years, 4M+/year.

4 more years of empty positive platitudes on the bench

So what's the Blazers' cap sitch if they end up signing max for Hibbert?

The Brooklyn Nets and Hawks are engaged in ongoing talks on a multiplayer deal that would send several expiring contracts to the Atlanta for All-Star guard Joe Johnson, according to sources briefed on the discussions.

But sources told ESPN.com that the Nets fear that they'll be surrendering too much financial flexibility in the trade as currently structured, which has placed the deal in jeopardy.

Another big stumbling block, sources said, is Atlanta's insistence that Brooklyn include promising Nets guard MarShon Brooks in the trade.

Sources say that the Nets, furthermore, will only go ahead with this trade if they know that Deron Williams -- this summer's No. 1 free agent -- has verbally committed to re-signing with Brooklyn.

The most recent proposal, sources said, would call for the Nets to send the expiring contracts of Jordan Farmar, Johan Petro, Anthony Morrow and Jordan Williams to the Hawks in exchange for Johnson.

Sources say that the Nets, though, would prefer to complete a deal with the Hawks by including at least one of their free agents via sign-and-trade -- most likely Gerald Green -- and by hanging onto to one or two of the aforementioned expiring contracts.

If the Nets can convince the Hawks to take on Green or perhaps Kris Humphries in a sign-and-trade, it would allow them to stay over the salary cap and keep their mid-level exception to sign an additional free agent. Sources say that the Nets have serious interest in Bosnian free-agent forward Mirza Teletovic to add additional frontcourt depth.

Sources say that the Nets, furthermore, will only go ahead with this trade if they know that Deron Williams -- this summer's No. 1 free agent -- has verbally committed to re-signing with Brooklyn.

had to re-read this one a few times

oh man if batum is getting $50/4 I guess enjoy him, minny. That's a shit ton of cash for a guy who averages like 14/4/1 and plays pretty good defense.

that guy voulgaris is playing in a 1 million dollar buy-in poker tournament

The Toronto Raptors have offered free agent point guard Steve Nash a three-year, $36 million contract, sources told ESPN.com senior writer Marc Stein.

Terrence Ross ‏@T_DotFlight31
Lol I'm really n the car just chillin wit my two home boys listening to fleetwood mac

ilh 12/13 rookie of the year

doooooope

rockets sign Omer Asik to a 3 year/25 mil offer sheet, 3rd year backloaded for $15 mil
what is happening

asik did really well in a nba 2k2 season

But sources told ESPN.com that the Nets fear that they'll be surrendering too much financial flexibility in the trade as currently structured

really good thing to be fearing when you are considering a trade for joe johnson, excellent thinking nets front office.

hahaha I'm so happy the spurs are at most going to try and re-sign diaw or get erazem lorbek from europe

rockets sign Omer Asik to a 3 year/25 mil offer sheet, 3rd year backloaded for $15 mil
what is happening

― m bison, Sunday, July 1, 2012 4:58 PM (33 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

remember last summer when there was a lockout b/c owners thought salaries were out of control hilarious timez iirc

hahah I think this shd just be entered as evidence against the owners in any labor related dispute when this CBA expires
like IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, DUMMIES

omer asik is p good!

yeah im not sure how much you guys think he should get paid but that's about a million times more defensible than whats being thrown out for wallace or nic batum

the first two years, yes!
that third year is hawrrible

third year is just a poison pill to get him. 8/per on average is totally defensible.

i think asik is hella overrated but i saw someone point this out on twitter and i think it's a good way of looking at the deal: it's a 2 year, $10m deal + a year as an expiring contract

like if he actually signs with houston he'll be worth $5m a year & in the final year he'll be at worst valuable trade bait

that is pretty smart actually

FUCK AND YES

Marc J. Spears ‏@SpearsNBAYahoo
Nuggets agree to re-sign guard Andre Miller to a three-year deal, sources tell Yahoo! Sports.

go nuggz

this weekend:

old dude signings = rad

young dude potential signings = wtf avoid at all costs

hollinger's take is basically "daryl morey: evil genius"

In the current CBA, it's known as the Gilbert Arenas rule. In the next one, it might be known as the Daryl Morey rule, because the Houston Rockets GM just drove a Mack truck through every one of the provision's current loopholes in agreeing to a three-year, $24.3 million offer sheet with Chicago restricted free agent Omer Asik.
Let's set aside whether Asik is actually worth $24 million over three years for a moment -- we'll tackle that further down -- and just ponder the evil genius of the structuring of the contract and how it gives the Rockets a huge advantage in prying him from the Bulls.

Under the "Gilbert Arenas" provision of the league's collective bargaining agreement, a player like Asik -- a second-round draft pick coming off his second season -- can be offered only a maximum of the midlevel exception in free agency for the first two seasons, but can be offered any amount up the maximum in years after that.

Houston took advantage of this provision by limiting his offer to three years, rather than the maximum of four, and offering the maximum eligible salary in Year 3.

It's so damaging because of how the league assigns the salary cap and luxury tax hits for the respective sides. In Houston's case, the amounts are averaged over the three seasons, requiring the Rockets to have a little over $8 million in cap room to consummate the deal.

No biggie for Houston; they happen to have exactly $8 million lying around if they renounce their rights to Marcus Camby, cut Shaun Livingston, Greg Smith, Courtney Fortson and Diamon Simpson, and either waive Jon Leuer or use the stretch provision on Jon Brockman. Houston could also get there by renouncing its rights to restricted free agent Courtney Lee, but that seems more unlikely.

And looking ahead, the Rockets are still in pristine shape going forward. An $8 million cap charge for Asik in 2013-14 and 2014-15 simply isn't going to hurt them.

But Chicago? Holy hell, this is going to hurt. The league calculates the cap charge differently for a team matching the offer sheet, using actual salaries instead of the average. So the Bulls get off easy in the short term; a $5 million cap charge for Asik this year and next should have been in their budget to start.

But then in 2014-15, it jumps up to about $14.1 million. And it's not clear how the Bulls are supposed to handle that, especially given their aversion to the luxury tax and the fact they may be subject to the repeater penalty by then. Between Asik, Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah, they have $61.6 million committed and that's without paying Taj Gibson, retaining Luol Deng, or adding any free agent or draft picks.

They're almost certainly a tax team, in other words, and in fact they're likely to be deep into the tax, even if the league's tax level rises a few ducats by then. Which makes the effective cost of keeping Asik that season closer to $30 million than $15 million. And as much as I may admire his defense and rebounding, it's inconceivable that Asik is worth anywhere near $30 million.

Are there ways around this? Yes, but the medicine is worse than the disease. If in 2014 the Bulls were to use the amnesty clause on Carlos Boozer, who would be on the final year of his deal, that would cut $15 million from their cap number (and likely from their luxury tax bill) that year, but they would still have to pay Boozer, which would still make Asik's effective cost $30 million -- except in that case, it's $30 million and a starting power forward.

Alternatively, Chicago could use the stretch provision on Asik prior to Year 3. That would cost them $5 million a year in 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17, possibly saving them from a luxury tax in all three seasons.

But doing so only would give them two years of Asik, while still paying the entirety of the deal, which means they'll have signed him to a two-year deal for $24 million. Which is about as bad as the effective cost of three years, $39 million that we're presenting as the alternative. (You can also count the tax hits in years 1 and 2, but they're the same in both alternatives so we'll ignore them for now.)

Basically, there's no easy way out for Chicago, which is why they're unlikely to match Houston's offer sheet. They still have Gibson, who is an absolute defensive beast and is extension-eligible this summer -- presumably on far better terms than Asik's deal. Meanwhile, Chicago can shorten its frontcourt rotation to three men -- Boozer, Noah and Gibson -- while using Luol Deng as a small-ball 4 in stretches.

Thus, in all likelihood, Houston is going to end up with Asik. I have to admire their cleverness in pulling this off, but I also have to shake my head that the CBA allowed this.

When they get around to the next one, maybe they'll realize that it's crap to count the tax and cap hit in the year it hits for the matching team, while allowing the offering team to only offer one year at the higher level. Houston drove a truck through this loophole, but in the future requiring four-year deals for Arenas contracts will at least require teams to offer a more genuine maximum deal. Doing so in this case would have made it a four-year, $39 million deal from the Rockets, required nearly $10 million in cap space (and requisite harder decisions from the Rockets), and likely pushed them to a different alternative.

So congratulations, Houston -- it looks like Chef Linguini is likely all yours.
On to the next question: Is he worth it?

That's a bit of an eye-of-the-beholder question. Asik's advanced stats support the subjective viewpoint that he's one of the five or 10 best defensive players in basketball, and defense in general tends to be wildly underrated in the free-agent market (although weirdly, not in the draft). He is also, objectively, a monstrous rebounder, with his 20.1 Rebound Rate ranking sixth in the NBA last season.

Asik is a terrible offensive player, however, with bad hands, poor touch and a proclivity for illegal screens. Advanced stats seem to indicate that he takes away almost as much with his offense as he does with his defense -- but that overall he's a plus, even compared to the league average.

And that, in the big picture, makes him a second-tier starting center. And you know how much those are worth? About $8 million a year. Houston should know; they just paid nearly the same amount to the departed Samuel Dalembert.

Houston will hope Asik can improve on that prognosis by upping his offensive production to slightly less pathetic levels, with the tutelage of Kevin McHale, but even so his defense justifies the contract.

It also helps that Houston gets somebody under lock and key before re-signing its own free agents. The cap holds for Lee and Goran Dragic are low enough that it behooves the Rockets to use the cap space first, and then rebuild their backcourt.

From there, Houston can go in any number of directions, depending on Dwight Howard's availability and the market for Kyle Lowry. But first they took care of the most urgent need  if the Bulls don't match, the Rockets will have a real starting center this year, and they won't be overpaying for him.

When they get around to the next one, maybe they'll realize that it's crap to count the tax and cap hit in the year it hits for the matching team, while allowing the offering team to only offer one year at the higher level.

ya this is weird what was the rationale for setting it up this way