The Rockets just got better. Their starting line-up will now be Rafer Alston, Tracy McGrady, Shane Battier, Ron Artest and Yao Ming. Now that should be a team that can get to the second round.
In exchange the Kings gets Bobby Jackson, Donte Green and the Rockets' 2009 1st round draft pick. With Kevin Martin, Quincy Douby, Jason Thompson, etc., the youth movement continues in Sac-Town.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Jazz match offer for CJ Miles
The Utah Jazz have agreed to match the 4-year, $15 million deal for CJ Miles, amove that makes no sense ot me considering they already have Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver and Morris Almond at that position.
THe only way I can conceive it making sense is if they move Andrei Kirilenko or anticipate Matt Harpring's knees breaking down, and they move one of those guys to the 3 position. Now if the Jazz sign Kosta Koufos instead of sending him overseas for a year, the Jazz have all 15 roster spots filled.
If you don't improve, you get worse, and I can't say that swapping Jason Hart for Brevin Knight is enough improvement. Then again, none of the Western Conference playoff teams have really improved yet. Denver lost Marcus Camby. The Lakers may lose Ronny Turiaf and Sasha Vujacic. The Spurs lost Brent Barry. The Rockets gained Brent Barry, so that's a little bit of improvement. Dallas got DaSagna Diop back; that's nice. Midseason is a more likely candidate for when we'll see Pau Gasol-level moves.
THe only way I can conceive it making sense is if they move Andrei Kirilenko or anticipate Matt Harpring's knees breaking down, and they move one of those guys to the 3 position. Now if the Jazz sign Kosta Koufos instead of sending him overseas for a year, the Jazz have all 15 roster spots filled.
If you don't improve, you get worse, and I can't say that swapping Jason Hart for Brevin Knight is enough improvement. Then again, none of the Western Conference playoff teams have really improved yet. Denver lost Marcus Camby. The Lakers may lose Ronny Turiaf and Sasha Vujacic. The Spurs lost Brent Barry. The Rockets gained Brent Barry, so that's a little bit of improvement. Dallas got DaSagna Diop back; that's nice. Midseason is a more likely candidate for when we'll see Pau Gasol-level moves.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Will Childress go to Greece?
It's becoming more commonplace for foreign players to dabble in the NBA and then go back overseas. Jorge Garjabosa, Primoz Brezec, Sarunas Jackisevicius, and Bostjan Nochbar are all headed back overseas. Guys like Travis Hansen are finding they might as well stay overseas since they can make more than any NBA team would be willing to offer. Draft picks like Fran Vasquez and Tiago Splitter are signing mutli-year deals to stay away rather than come to the NBA. Now word has it Greece has offered Josh Childress a three-year $20 million deal. That will be really interesting. It will mean that the NBA has real competition for the talent.
It may mean next time there's a bargaining over the collective bargaining agreement, the players will have a little more leverage. "Hey if you don't want to lose all your sixth men to Europe, we need more leeway and cap space here." Owners may not like it, and some teams are losing money as is, but their paradigm is in for a big shift soon. If Childress takes the midlevel to stay rather than the extra $2 million a year to go to Greece, the NBA's bought it self a little time (and with no taxes and a weak dollar, the money's worth more over there).
It may mean next time there's a bargaining over the collective bargaining agreement, the players will have a little more leverage. "Hey if you don't want to lose all your sixth men to Europe, we need more leeway and cap space here." Owners may not like it, and some teams are losing money as is, but their paradigm is in for a big shift soon. If Childress takes the midlevel to stay rather than the extra $2 million a year to go to Greece, the NBA's bought it self a little time (and with no taxes and a weak dollar, the money's worth more over there).
Rocky Mountain Revue - Two games, two Jazz losses
I've watched both games on TV of the Utah Jazz going against different opponents. Right about now they miss Dee Brown, a point guard familiar with the offense to make everyone else look better. I would say Morris Almond is still looking good, and with CJ Miles getting a 4-year, $15 million deal with Oklahoma City, it looks like the Jazz now have an opening for their third-string shooting guard.
The two big men, rookie Kosta Koufos and 2nd year man Kyrylo Fesenko, don't look as ready as Almond to permanently occupy an NBA roster. I imagine unless the Jazz see serious improvement this fall, they'll keep Jarron Collins as their backup center, play a lot of Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap together as the 4 and 5, and let Koufos and Fesenko take turns playing for the Utah Flash, the Jazz's D-League team. It may also mean the Jazz look at Kurt Thomas or another veteran big man who can play the 4 or 5 to fill the 15th spot on the roster with a one-year mid-level deal.
The two big men, rookie Kosta Koufos and 2nd year man Kyrylo Fesenko, don't look as ready as Almond to permanently occupy an NBA roster. I imagine unless the Jazz see serious improvement this fall, they'll keep Jarron Collins as their backup center, play a lot of Carlos Boozer and Paul Millsap together as the 4 and 5, and let Koufos and Fesenko take turns playing for the Utah Flash, the Jazz's D-League team. It may also mean the Jazz look at Kurt Thomas or another veteran big man who can play the 4 or 5 to fill the 15th spot on the roster with a one-year mid-level deal.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Marcus Camby and James Posey
Two recent NBA transactions:
DENVER sends Marcus Camby to LA CLIPPERS for the option to switch second-round picks.
Who wins: Clippers, Hawks
Why: Nuggets got out a little from their luxury tax nightmare, but they gave away their best defender. Clippers meanwhile got Chris Kaman a heckuva backup center, and while it doesn't salvage their off-season, it softens the blow of losing Elton Brand and Corey Maggette.
And it just became that much more diffcult for the Clips to make Josh Smith an offer that the Hawks can't match.
----
BOSTON loses James Posey to NEW ORLEANS in free agency.
Who wins: Hornets*
Why: The Hornets just picked up the Sixth Man from the champion Celts, and what has been the knock on New Orleans? No bench. However, the salary cap is going to be an issue in 2009. If they win the championship next year, then salary cap shmalary shmap.
DENVER sends Marcus Camby to LA CLIPPERS for the option to switch second-round picks.
Who wins: Clippers, Hawks
Why: Nuggets got out a little from their luxury tax nightmare, but they gave away their best defender. Clippers meanwhile got Chris Kaman a heckuva backup center, and while it doesn't salvage their off-season, it softens the blow of losing Elton Brand and Corey Maggette.
And it just became that much more diffcult for the Clips to make Josh Smith an offer that the Hawks can't match.
----
BOSTON loses James Posey to NEW ORLEANS in free agency.
Who wins: Hornets*
Why: The Hornets just picked up the Sixth Man from the champion Celts, and what has been the knock on New Orleans? No bench. However, the salary cap is going to be an issue in 2009. If they win the championship next year, then salary cap shmalary shmap.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Stay retired, Brett
I have two examples for Brett Favre I'd like him to think about.
Joe Montana with the Chiefs.
Michael Jordan with the Wizards.
Just stay retired. Let Aaron Rogers take over. He can still know he accomplished what Dan Marino and Jim Kelly could not.
Joe Montana with the Chiefs.
Michael Jordan with the Wizards.
Just stay retired. Let Aaron Rogers take over. He can still know he accomplished what Dan Marino and Jim Kelly could not.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Off-season NBA Power Rankings
(Never too early, especailly with drafts and trades changing the make-up).
1. BOSTON - The champs stay on top because the Big Three will all be back, and talented roleplayers will gladly take pay-cuts to be part of something special. But they really should try to keep James Posey.
2. L.A. LAKERS - Sure they got blown out of the building to lose Game 6, but this team did it without the services of Andrew Bynum, and they shouldn't have too hard a time getting free agents to want to sign now that they're a good team again.
3. SAN ANTONIO - They win championships in odd-numbered years, but they'll need a decent mid-level signing to stay up here. If they land Corey Maggette, they move up a spot.
4. DETROIT - Their starting five will always get them to the Eastern Conference Finals, but beyond that, they have one ring from Larry Brown's serendipitous year, where they ran past the toxic chemistry of the self-destructing Lakers. They fired Flip, but Joe Dumars has made it clear he's open to trade anyone.
5. UTAH - They have everyone back another year, but they should really try to upgrade the backup point guard position.
6. NEW ORLEANS - Their starting five is one of the best in the league, but they could use some more reliable bench players.
7. PORTLAND - They'll have Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless to add to the already exciting core of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Sergio Rodriguez and Travis Outlaw.
8. ORLANDO - Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis are a good 1-2 punch. So... do they have anything else the Bulls would want for Kirk Hinrich?
9. HOUSTON - Normally I would expect this to be the year Tracy McGrady makes the second round, as long as Yao's healthy. But then, maybe T-Mac is cursed. And does anyone think they'll get past the Lakers, Spurs, Jazz or Hornets if they meet them in the first round?
10. CLEVELAND - Their midseason trade was more of a trade sideways. Now they need to figure out if they want to make another big trade, see what they can get for Wally Szczerbiak and/or Ben Wallace.
11. NEW JERSEY - Devin Harris, Vince Carter, Yi Jianlian, Bobby Simmons, Nenad Krstic, Brook Lopez... They're becoming a different team, and that's a good thing.
12. PHOENIX - No Mike D'Antoni, no Shawn Marion, no reason to believe they'll be anything more than a first-round team at this point. Which still means 50+ wins.
13. WASHINGTON - Is Gilbert Arenas really worth $127 million? Probably not. But Rashard Lewis isn't worth $130 million and that didn't stop Orlando last year.
14. DALLAS - Mark Cuban is unafraid of crazy trades, so maybe he has one up his sleeve to undo the damage done by gutting their future for a slowing-down Jason Kidd. And hey, Rick Carlisle is a good coach.
15. TORONTO - It hurts that Jorge Garbajosa is outta here already, and that Andrea Bargnani hasn't shown much improvement, but I look for Jermaine O'Neal to rebound from last year now that he's in a new environment and has a big guy like Chris Bosh next to him.
16. DENVER - Kirk Hinrich, Raymond Felton and Andre Miller should be guys they should be trying to trade for. A team with Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony should be better than this. Carmelo's the one on the block, but I'm not so sure it shouldn't be AI they try to move.
17. PHILADELPHIA - The little team that could has the cap room to go after Josh Smith. If they land him, then the 76ers should repeat showing up in the playoffs.
18. CHICAGO - They have some resignings to do, but I expect them to make a good trade for Kirk Hinrich and get themselves back in the playoff hunt. Derrick Rose is great but can he have a Chris Paul-like rookie season?
19. L.A. CLIPPERS - Baron Davis and Elton Brand? Maybe the Clips can get back to the playoffs after all. But now it looks like Brand might go elsewhere, with money talking. Hopefully Eric Gordon is the type of player that negates the loss of Corey Maggette.
20. GOLDEN STATE - With Baron Davis gone, and a bunch of their players in free agency, it's going to be that much steeper an uphill climb to get back to the playoffs.
21. MILKWAUKEE - They have too much talent to lose as much as they did last year. RIchard Jefferson gives them another All-Star in the line-up, and Scott Skiles is the only coach to get the post-Jordan Bulls into the playoffs.
22. ATLANTA - They pushed the soon-to-be world champs to a seventh game. Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson are a solid backcourt. But they could likely lose Josh Smith, which would be a major blow.
23. NEW YORK - Good thing: they have Mike D'Antoni. Bad thing: they still have Stephon Marbury.
24. MIAMI - Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers... This team will not be as bad as last year's team.
25. MINNESOTA - Kevin McHale has actually accumulated some nice pieces. Al Jefferson, Randy Foye, Kevin Love, Mike Miller... These are pieces to play with.
26. CHARLOTTE - They got the point guard they wanted in DJ Augustin, but we still don't know if he'll be any better than Raymond Felton. And will Emeka Okafor be going away?
27. SACRAMENTO - They had a nice surge toward the end of the season, but they still look like a mess. Ron Artest has foreshadowed being a headcase again, talking about regretting not opting out, which means mid-season trade likely.
28. INDIANA - TJ Ford and Jarrett Jack are solid 1-2 upgrades at point guard, and Roy Hibbert will soften the blow of not having O'Neal any more.
29. MEMPHIS - They got OJ Mayo but gave up Mike Miller and Kevin Love for him. Still, with Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Mayo, etc., they'll win some games. Some.
30. OKLAHOMA CITY - Russell Westbrook joins the black pit with Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. But the fans will be vociferous that first year.
(Never too early, especailly with drafts and trades changing the make-up).
1. BOSTON - The champs stay on top because the Big Three will all be back, and talented roleplayers will gladly take pay-cuts to be part of something special. But they really should try to keep James Posey.
2. L.A. LAKERS - Sure they got blown out of the building to lose Game 6, but this team did it without the services of Andrew Bynum, and they shouldn't have too hard a time getting free agents to want to sign now that they're a good team again.
3. SAN ANTONIO - They win championships in odd-numbered years, but they'll need a decent mid-level signing to stay up here. If they land Corey Maggette, they move up a spot.
4. DETROIT - Their starting five will always get them to the Eastern Conference Finals, but beyond that, they have one ring from Larry Brown's serendipitous year, where they ran past the toxic chemistry of the self-destructing Lakers. They fired Flip, but Joe Dumars has made it clear he's open to trade anyone.
5. UTAH - They have everyone back another year, but they should really try to upgrade the backup point guard position.
6. NEW ORLEANS - Their starting five is one of the best in the league, but they could use some more reliable bench players.
7. PORTLAND - They'll have Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless to add to the already exciting core of Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Sergio Rodriguez and Travis Outlaw.
8. ORLANDO - Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis are a good 1-2 punch. So... do they have anything else the Bulls would want for Kirk Hinrich?
9. HOUSTON - Normally I would expect this to be the year Tracy McGrady makes the second round, as long as Yao's healthy. But then, maybe T-Mac is cursed. And does anyone think they'll get past the Lakers, Spurs, Jazz or Hornets if they meet them in the first round?
10. CLEVELAND - Their midseason trade was more of a trade sideways. Now they need to figure out if they want to make another big trade, see what they can get for Wally Szczerbiak and/or Ben Wallace.
11. NEW JERSEY - Devin Harris, Vince Carter, Yi Jianlian, Bobby Simmons, Nenad Krstic, Brook Lopez... They're becoming a different team, and that's a good thing.
12. PHOENIX - No Mike D'Antoni, no Shawn Marion, no reason to believe they'll be anything more than a first-round team at this point. Which still means 50+ wins.
13. WASHINGTON - Is Gilbert Arenas really worth $127 million? Probably not. But Rashard Lewis isn't worth $130 million and that didn't stop Orlando last year.
14. DALLAS - Mark Cuban is unafraid of crazy trades, so maybe he has one up his sleeve to undo the damage done by gutting their future for a slowing-down Jason Kidd. And hey, Rick Carlisle is a good coach.
15. TORONTO - It hurts that Jorge Garbajosa is outta here already, and that Andrea Bargnani hasn't shown much improvement, but I look for Jermaine O'Neal to rebound from last year now that he's in a new environment and has a big guy like Chris Bosh next to him.
16. DENVER - Kirk Hinrich, Raymond Felton and Andre Miller should be guys they should be trying to trade for. A team with Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony should be better than this. Carmelo's the one on the block, but I'm not so sure it shouldn't be AI they try to move.
17. PHILADELPHIA - The little team that could has the cap room to go after Josh Smith. If they land him, then the 76ers should repeat showing up in the playoffs.
18. CHICAGO - They have some resignings to do, but I expect them to make a good trade for Kirk Hinrich and get themselves back in the playoff hunt. Derrick Rose is great but can he have a Chris Paul-like rookie season?
19. L.A. CLIPPERS - Baron Davis and Elton Brand? Maybe the Clips can get back to the playoffs after all. But now it looks like Brand might go elsewhere, with money talking. Hopefully Eric Gordon is the type of player that negates the loss of Corey Maggette.
20. GOLDEN STATE - With Baron Davis gone, and a bunch of their players in free agency, it's going to be that much steeper an uphill climb to get back to the playoffs.
21. MILKWAUKEE - They have too much talent to lose as much as they did last year. RIchard Jefferson gives them another All-Star in the line-up, and Scott Skiles is the only coach to get the post-Jordan Bulls into the playoffs.
22. ATLANTA - They pushed the soon-to-be world champs to a seventh game. Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson are a solid backcourt. But they could likely lose Josh Smith, which would be a major blow.
23. NEW YORK - Good thing: they have Mike D'Antoni. Bad thing: they still have Stephon Marbury.
24. MIAMI - Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers... This team will not be as bad as last year's team.
25. MINNESOTA - Kevin McHale has actually accumulated some nice pieces. Al Jefferson, Randy Foye, Kevin Love, Mike Miller... These are pieces to play with.
26. CHARLOTTE - They got the point guard they wanted in DJ Augustin, but we still don't know if he'll be any better than Raymond Felton. And will Emeka Okafor be going away?
27. SACRAMENTO - They had a nice surge toward the end of the season, but they still look like a mess. Ron Artest has foreshadowed being a headcase again, talking about regretting not opting out, which means mid-season trade likely.
28. INDIANA - TJ Ford and Jarrett Jack are solid 1-2 upgrades at point guard, and Roy Hibbert will soften the blow of not having O'Neal any more.
29. MEMPHIS - They got OJ Mayo but gave up Mike Miller and Kevin Love for him. Still, with Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Mayo, etc., they'll win some games. Some.
30. OKLAHOMA CITY - Russell Westbrook joins the black pit with Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. But the fans will be vociferous that first year.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Is Arenas worth $127 million?
Due to the Warriors trying to land him, Gilbert Arenas has been offered a six-year $127 million deal to stay with the Wizards. Considering his injury history, and the fact that the Wizards need a lot more help to get a title, is it a wise investment to keep Agent Zero for $21 million a year? I think they will regret that signing down the road.
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