NBA Offseason

Jon Abbey · June-20th-2004, 01:39 PM

Peter Vecsey reports today that if Kobe signs with NY and is found innocent, Nike is prepared to double his $45 million contract to $90 million.

also in the Post, a very interesting article on the future of the Nets:

http://nypost.com/sports/nets/23347.htm

Captain Hate · June-20th-2004, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Abbey

Peter Vecsey reports today that if Kobe signs with NY and is found innocent, Nike is prepared to double his $45 million contract to $90 million.

I really don't understand the economics of this. As somebody who likes to wear Nikes, I can't see where this is going to benefit me. Am I being too big of a prick to hope that Kobe signs with the Knicks, is found innocent and then pops an ACL?

Squaredancecalling Steve · June-20th-2004, 03:59 PM

Interesting column from the past week's Press Democrat on Mike Montgomery and Chris Mullin revealing that, following the Final Four, Mullin went three times to the coach's house in Menlo Park to talk basketball.

>>"Chris thinks about the game like I think about it. He doesn't go for the nonsense. You play defense. You pass to the open man. It's how you play the game."

In other words, they found a common ground. It was like strangers finding out they're the same religion. And in this case, the religion is basketball fundamentals, the Gospel of Hoops. They promised not to breathe a word to anyone in the basketball world. No one at the Warriors or Stanford knew of the continuing dialogue, this ongoing conversation between Mullin and Montgomery.<<

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/column/cohn/17cohn_c1.html

Dr Dave · June-20th-2004, 05:58 PM

Wow, Jon. That's really depressing. Although imagine Kenyon Martin with the Pistons...(I know it's fantasy, all right?)

PS: Who's staying with the Lakers next year?

Noj · June-20th-2004, 07:04 PM

Mitch Kupchak is in discussions with Rudy Tomjanovich about the vacant coaching position--should know by Wednesday how that goes.

Jon Abbey · June-20th-2004, 07:10 PM

not sure why anyone would take the Lakers job until they see how the personnel situation resolves itself.

Dr Dave · June-20th-2004, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Abbey

not sure why anyone would take the Lakers job until they see how the personnel situation resolves itself.

...unless Lawrence Frank has a reality TV contract in his back pocket...can you imagine?

frankiepop · June-20th-2004, 08:26 PM

offseason?

they havent even finished showering...????????

Enforcer · June-21st-2004, 09:18 AM

The Charlotte expansion draft is tomorrow, I believe. Who will be exposed? Who will they take?

Enforcer · June-21st-2004, 09:54 AM

Shaq and McGrady eyeing Dallas?

Gordon B · June-21st-2004, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larry Nagel

The Charlotte expansion draft is tomorrow, I believe. Who will be exposed? Who will they take?

I predict that they'll grab Kerry Kittles early and keep him. My second prediction is that they will pick Antoine Walker and trade him. If he goes to the Knicks, I'll be very upset.

Darryl G. Thomas · June-21st-2004, 01:13 PM

Why is the NBA expanding? If anything they should be contracting. All they are doing is just producing shittier basketball by reducing threadbare bench strength throughout the league and putting another crappy team in the league.

Of course with free agency, Charlotte will probably be in the Finals in couple of years.

Enforcer · June-21st-2004, 01:37 PM

I realize that I'm a sap at heart, but this is a great story about Jermaine O'Neal, a fine young man.

Larry

Jon Abbey · June-21st-2004, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon B

My second prediction is that they will pick Antoine Walker and trade him. If he goes to the Knicks, I'll be very upset.

how could the Knicks do this? wouldn't they have to match salaries for him within 15 percent? honestly, for all of Walker's flaws, he's still better than the guys who are in his salary range who they could trade for him, especially considering I think he's only signed for one more year, Penny, Mutumbo, Houston (Houston is probably a better player when healthy but getting him off the cap long-term would make this exchange easily worth it). I don't see how NY could possibly end up with Walker, did you see something somewhere about this, Gordon?

Enforcer · June-21st-2004, 02:39 PM

Jon,

Are there any updates to the rumblings in New York about the Knicks' efforts to sign Okur or Rasheed)? As for Wallace, your guess is as good as mine. He's a tough cat to get a read on. He may leave despite the good things that came his way here. For Okur, it's more of the same, but for different reasons. Judging by what he says, not only to the press, but to people in the community who have gotten to know him, he really likes it here. He feels very welcome in the area and likes his teammates. But his agent is obviously going to emphasize the advantages of taking on a starting role with another team, so I'm inclined to think he'll be on his way out.

Larry

Jon Abbey · June-21st-2004, 03:55 PM

the Knicks are going to spend the midcap on someone, they have no internal budget constraints. the biggest names I've heard are Kobe/Rasheed/Camby/Okur, I'd guess that's roughly in that order of how much they want them. Denver has said they won't let Camby go for that little (I guess they have the right to match? not positive). I don't think Detroit can afford to keep both Rasheed and Okur, and I don't know why Okur would want to stay there (assuming Rasheed does stay). he got little enough playing time down the stretch, no one ahead of him is going anywhere, and Donnie Darko is coming up fast behind, once he recovers from his broken hand.

I think right now everything in the league is waiting first on the Charlotte picks tomorrow, then to see how the Kobe/McGrady/Shaq craziness plays out. obviously if Isiah thinks he has any shot at all at getting Kobe with the midcap, he holds out for that.

Darryl G. Thomas · June-21st-2004, 04:03 PM

King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Now that the Lakers have broken up, you're going to miss them.

June 21, 2004 | The Lakers exploded Friday, blew apart like Bruce the shark at the end of "Jaws," little bloody pieces of Karl Malone's ambitions plopping into the water for a solid hour afterward.

Phil Jackson quit. Shaquille O'Neal asked to be traded. Kobe Bryant declared for free agency. It got so bad that two ballboys took lifeguard jobs and Jack Nicholson phoned the Clippers ticket office. Dyan Cannon and Andy Garcia were left pondering a world in which they never get their mugs on TV, even for a few seconds at a time. Suddenly, not returning those calls from "The Surreal Life" is starting to seem a little shortsighted. Fine idea, taking career advice from Meg Ryan.

Malone looks like he's going to retire, and if he doesn't he should, and Gary Payton, exposed as a washed-up star in the playoffs, wouldn't be a major factor even in the unlikely event he re-signs.

And so ends the one-year tale of the damnedest, most weirdly fascinating team that's played a season in my lifetime, and probably yours too. They went from being title shoo-ins to also-rans, then back, then back again, bickering and pouting and self-destructing all the way. By comparison, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" was a pleasantly quiet evening over at the neighbors' place. This bunch made "East of Eden" look like "Ozzie and Harriet."

Bryant probably won't leave. The Lakers can offer him more money than anyone else, and what he's really wanted for a long time was to play for a team without Shaq on it and not coached by Phil Jackson, who has the odd idea that if you're playing with the most dominant player of all time, you oughta think about passing him the ball from time to time. If the Lakers trade O'Neal, which they've said they're going to try to do, Bryant will get his wish.

A lot is being made of team owner Jerry Buss "picking" Bryant over Jackson and O'Neal, and how that's a risky choice, given Bryant's on-court selfishness, which only figures to intensify without the most dominant player of all time demanding the ball from him, and his sexual assault trial in Colorado, which could send him to prison.

But what was Buss supposed to do? Jackson has pretty clearly had enough of being Bryant's coach, so the choice was really Bryant vs. O'Neal, with Jackson as a possible bonus if you keep O'Neal and you're willing to pay up. Letting them both get away is probably not an option, even if there's little danger of the fan base jumping to the Clippers. There are plenty of other things for the glittering L.A. crowd to devote its time and attention to, you know, like having babies and shopping for ironic Jesus T-shirts.

Now, if Shaq and Kobe were at the same stage in their careers, I'd take O'Neal, easy. But Bryant's only going to be 26 next season. O'Neal will be 33 before the next playoff year starts, and he's slowing down noticeably.

For all of his justified complaining about his teammates, mostly meaning Bryant, not getting him the ball enough, the fact is that even with the season on the line, Shaq can no longer get himself in good position for an entire game. In Game 4 of the Finals against the Pistons, O'Neal dominated the early going, catching entry passes almost directly beneath the rim and scoring at will. By the third quarter, he was screaming at teammates during timeouts to get him the ball. But he was also calling for it out around the free-throw line. He was out of gas and not doing anything to beat his smaller, slower man to a spot.

That problem's not going to get better. For the last few years, Shaq's inability and/or unwillingness to get into top shape has cost him energy when it matters, in the playoffs. For the next few, it will simply be age.

With the exception of the freakish Robert Parish, who didn't slow down until he was 38, all of the great true centers of the last few decades were well on their way downhill by 35. Even the seemingly ageless Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who won four championships after his 35th birthday, began his decline at 34. There's simply no future in the Shaquille O'Neal business.

It's not a sucker's bet to wager on Bryant staying out of prison, and as long as he's around, the Lakers at least figure to be more interesting. But unless they can pull something out of the hat this offseason -- news that they're talking to retread coach Rudy Tomjanovich doesn't say much about the boldness of their thinking -- you won't have the Lakers to hate in next year's playoffs.

You'll miss them. They were interesting.

Gordon B · June-21st-2004, 04:10 PM

Today's DallasNews.com ran a story after my post indicating that the Bobcats may trade Antoine Walker to the Knicks. I don't know who the Knicks are giving up in return. Tim Thomas + ? Beats me. But it's unlikely that 'Toine will stay with Charlotte.

Latest rumors- Vince for AI. I think Philly wins that trade, big time.
McGrady to Clips for Magette and #2 pick of the draft.

There are also rumors of McGrady going to Houston but there are also questions if Van Gundy wants him. McGrady doesn't like to practice and JVG conducts hard, Riley-like practices.

Jon Abbey · June-21st-2004, 04:47 PM

Darryl, I watched most Lakers games this year. they weren't really that interesting on the court, very sporadically. more interesting than San Antonio, certainly, but their not showing up in the Finals (taking nothing away from Detroit, who played great) was the final straw, no one should mourn their dissolution except maybe some Lakers fans.

Gordon, right, I forgot they had Thomas. I don't think Isiah would do that, that sounds like wishful thinking from Cuban leaked to the Dallas papers.

the McGrady rumor is actually Maggette, Wilcox and the #2 pick in the draft. the Clippers are a funny team, they always seem to have half of the young, talented players in the league, but they never win any games. you should subscribe to ESPN Insider, Gordon, it's not much money and it would save you some time, plus your info would be more accurate.

Jon Abbey · June-21st-2004, 04:50 PM

that dallasnews.com site is clueless, I could write more informed stories, and I don't even follow Dallas.

Jon Abbey · June-21st-2004, 08:10 PM

Clippers trade the #2 pick to Charlotte for the #4 pick and the #33 pick, kind of odd. it should never be forgotten that Donald Sterling doesn't actually care if his team wins games or not.

much more interesting is that Jim Grey is reporting McGrady and Juwan Howard to Houston for Francis, Mobley and Kelvin Cato is a done deal if none of those guys get picked by Charlotte tomorrow (Howard, Mobley, Cato are all exposed). I'd think Orlando could get more for him, but maybe they want to get him out of the conference. Yao and McGrady, that's a nice twosome to build around.

Gordon B · June-21st-2004, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Abbey

Clippers trade the #2 pick to Charlotte for the #4 pick and the #33 pick, kind of odd. it should never be forgotten that Donald Sterling doesn't actually care if his team wins games or not.

much more interesting is that Jim Grey is reporting McGrady and Juwan Howard to Houston for Francis, Mobley and Kelvin Cato is a done deal if none of those guys get picked by Charlotte tomorrow (Howard, Mobley, Cato are all exposed). I'd think Orlando could get more for him, but maybe they want to get him out of the conference. Yao and McGrady, that's a nice twosome to build around.

So the best player in the East will be in the West next year. I agree that Orlando loses big on this trade. I think they are better off keeping McGrady and take the risk of losing him in a year than pulling the trigger on the Houston trade.

walto · June-21st-2004, 09:22 PM

What will the Houston backcourt be if that trade happens?

Jon Abbey · June-21st-2004, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walto

What will the Houston backcourt be if that trade happens?

they wouldn't have much talent on the team behind Yao and McGrady if that went through, maybe Jimmy Jackson, Maurice Taylor and Piatkowski would be the other three starters? I think the point is that you get McGrady paired with Yao, then you worry about the rest later, even if it takes another season to get some more guys.

Jon Abbey · June-21st-2004, 10:49 PM

Tyronn Lue is also part of this deal, so he'd be an option for Houston at PG if it goes through.

Gordon B · June-21st-2004, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Abbey

Tyronn Lue is also part of this deal, so he'd be an option for Houston at PG if it goes through.

Not much of an option. The only good thing he ever did was guard AI in the finals when he played for LA.
There's always

He hit 34% from the field last year.

walto · June-22nd-2004, 06:30 AM

Without considering any of the financial aspects, it doesn't seem to me like a trade that would help either team much, BWTHDIK?

Gordon B · June-22nd-2004, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walto

Without considering any of the financial aspects, it doesn't seem to me like a trade that would help either team much, BWTHDIK?

McGrady is a superstar and still young. Pair him with Yao and you've already got a playoff team. The Rockets will presumably use their midcap exemption on a guard. The current Rockets team is only as good as the maddeningly inconsistent Francis.

Uli · June-22nd-2004, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon B

McGrady is a superstar and still young. Pair him with Yao and you've already got a playoff team.

They alredy had a playoff team with Francis.

walto · June-22nd-2004, 08:44 AM

"Pair him with Yao and you've already got a playoff team."

FWIW, I don't agree with that.

[EDIT after seeing Uli's post]: They had Francis AND Mobley--a pretty high-scoring (if not terribly efficient) backcourt. & Cato's a decent back-up. McGrady's a great player and Yao is no slouch, but....it takes a village.