NBA offseason - Page 2

Yeah, we here in Portland have been waiting for that one to become a reality. Of course, then we have disgruntled Derek Anderson backing up Allen at the 2, but at least Allen isn't hurt half the time.

My hope is that we also deal one of the russians we just drafted--preferably the one we took with the 21st in the trade from Jersey. That way we're not completely logjammed at SG. As it is, next year, all signs point to the offense running through Randolph anyway. Which should be interesting.

And Radmanovic will help out nicely.

There should be at least one more decent trade coming out of Portland pretty quick here. I'm unhappy with our point guards. Telfair was probably THE worst pick in the draft, because he's Stoudamire with no J, and we already have one Stoudamire, and he's been stuck in "mediocre" for the last 3 years.

I can't blame Stoudamire for his output, it's the system they've played him in. They never gave Damon a chance, and the few times they did he really helped this team. What's hurt this team is the horrible play calling or lack there-of. Cheeks is a terrible coach and Dunleavy lost the grip on the team before that. For the longest time it was dribble up the floor slowly force into the post (too far out to be effective) that didn't work put up a last second off balance J, repeat.

Give Damon a team that runs and guns and moves then he'd be scoring 20 a night and dishing 7 or 8 assists. They keep trying to make him play like a 6'4" PG and he can't.

What they need is a solid SG, and Derek Anderson is terrible, he can't shoot he's a mediocre passer and he's always hurt and he is always complaning.

Mike Krzyzewski as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers? Wouldn't that be interesting...

that woudl be interesting, but if i were coach K, i would look to spurrier's NFL stint and avoid the NBA. Retire as one of the top 5 NCAA coaches of all time. Dont mar your record with the debacle that will be the LA Lakers 04-05

Took a bit for this story to break, to tell the truth, I hope he takes the job. As a fan, having so many sub-plots lined up before a season starts just makes things that much more interesting.

Xtian: I'm with you on Anderson--my main problem there is that when he was healthy, they didn't run him..they ran Bonzi because he was bigger and fit in more with the "dribble it up and run a half-ass set offense" that, you're right, IS detrimental to Stoudamire's productivity. And then when they finally DID try to run him--his ass got hurt, and then Randolph blew up. So Anderson's window was glued shut, and then when he finally got it open, it broke. I wouldn't be surprised if they moved him. He was a good acquisition, but like most Blazers, he was horribly used.

...if we could only get Jermaine O'Neal back, goddammit.

Anyway, Yeah, Cheeks isn't a great X and O's guy, and his play calling and substitutions are a little out there at times--but Stoudamire just isn't all that great. He could be, but he has serious confidence issues. Even when he was starting consistently, he'd start tripping when his backup would light shit on fire. he'd look at it as threat instead of help. It's Mark Jackson syndrome--it's what got Rod Strickland bounced around the league. So because of those confidence issues, some days he plays real half ass. Sometimes he forgets he's a 1 and starts playing the 2 and letting someone else bring the ball up every possession.

I simply wish he'd pass more. I hate that patented "10 seconds on the clock? Guess I'll dribble it down to 2 and hoist whatever the fuck up" that he does almost EVERY game.

Telfair will probably pass more, but that's simply because he has no jumper. Which will lead to defenses sagging back and playing 5 on 4.

As a Laker fan i am glad they are going for a home run on the coach. I really don't know if Kobe will appreciate the hiring of K though. He is a no nonsense coach and I don't think he will be subservient to kobe's wishes, but I am sure he would gear the offense around fast break offense and defensive intensity. But one can only imagine that if the lakers are talking to Coach K, they have the unspoken approval of Kobe.

Coach K would be wise to stay in North Carolina. He won't jive with Kobe at all. Riley should be able to handle Kobe and could win some games if the get a few players from Dallas for Shaq.

Coack K should ask Rick Pittino if it was a good idea to go to the pros.

i don't see how someone can compare spurrier to coach k. it's 2 totally different sports and spurrier was way too arogant for his own good by attempting to play the fun and gun in the nfl. it just couldn't work. if larry brown can win an ncaa championship and then go on to win one in the nba i can definitely see coach k do it too. although i really can't see him leaving the cameron crazies. i hope he does though. i hate duke.

The reason I brought up Spurrier was because he was in a similar position in his coaching career, yes different sports though. Spurrier was at the top of his game, winning a lot. Coach K has enjoyed winning for a long time now and is at the top of his game as well. I guess Pitino would have been a better comparison, but its been some time since Pitino was an NBA coach, Spurrier was fresher in my mind.

Steve Nash is a.. Sun? Sure is. Looks like Phoenix realized that there was no way in hell Kobe was going to Phoenix.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1833028


Nash isn't worth that kinda scratch, Cuban was smart for not matching. Nash is good, but 65mil? No.

The Suns deal was my worst nightmare for this offseason. As soon as it became apparent that the Lakers were doing everything possible to placate Kobe I realized that the Suns either had to pull the trigger paying too much for T-Mac, or they'd feel obligated to spend all of their money this offseason and overpay for Nash and Okur. Typical, make a move that makes you good enough to make the playoffs but hamstrings you against any future moves that would actually put you over the top.

Somebody was going to overpay for Nash, that much was obvious. Did it have to be my team? As it was coming down I was hearing 8 1/2 mil per season which was bad but not painful. This is painful.

Wow. 65 mil? He's got about 3 years left on him, and then he's a permanent backup.

Is Okur really going to help them as well?

I think he has more than 3yrs left in him, but.. but.. 65mil? They must be banking on Stoudamire reallying improving his game..

I think Stoudamire has a lot of improvement left in him--but yeah, I don't see Nash going for much longer than 3 more years. I was being generous with that estimate, too. He's getting run down, I don't think Cuban had any intention of re-signing him for any price, actually.

Unless he stays impeccably healthy, maybe he'll hit 4 years before he goes backup for the last days of his career, but I don't think he can do that. and 65 million is LUDICROUS for him. He can't play D. and his J is suffering. Badly.

His J isn't horrible, and his lack of D will be less obvious on a team that actually has a couple of decent defensive players instead of the D that Dallas didn't even pretend to play. I say he's got a good 4 years left in him, but even if he goes 4 I don't understand the signing. Basically you're saying that you don't believe Barbossa will ever start (which I tend to agree with) and that the guy you got the rights from the Knicks for either isn't ever coming over any time soon or isn't as good as every report I've heard.
Basically, the whole thing stinks of making a move to placate the idiot fans. People were bent that the Suns dumped salary and the Suns were worried about what the fans would think if they didn't spend all those pennies. So yeah, a starting lineup of Nash, Johnson, Marion, Stoudemire and Okur is much prettier than the one with Barbossa and Voskuhl, but at the end of the day is it enough to do more than make it to 5th or 6th in the west? Probably not. I would have rather seen the Suns sign some marginal people to one year deals, let the youth improve for a year and make the attempt next year with the same money. If the young guys continue to improve, it wouldn't take much to entice a superstar to take all those dollars. Nash smells of desperation.
Amazing that this entire series of events was based on the chance that they could get Kobe (and which was worth the risk) and that before Kobe was 100% out of the picture they panicked and pulled the trigger on something else. The worst part is that the short-sighted fans will actually applaud this shit. The only thing that might turn the fans against them on this is if Kobe actually does switch teams. If that happens they will take a ration of shit.

if players like francis and davis get the maxium then nash deserves a shit load of money too. he's the second best natural point guard in the league. he's a pass first point guard who can create his own shot and still score. how the fuck has his j been suffering? i was surprised a team would give him that kinda contract though because all we hear is how long can he stay durable. to say he has only 3 year's left is bullshit too. he's still looking good to me and i say he'll still be excellent in 3 year's time. he'll nost likely drift off a bit in the later years of the contract but i think that's to be expected.

Jesus, signing a point gaurd through age 36? The Suns should be happy if they get three good years out of him, I just don't get signing ballers in their thirties to long term contracts... let alone point gaurds.


I just don't get that guy, if he's so talented, why does he continue to sign mediocre contracts in Europe? Man is that Marbury deal looking better and better for the Knicks, though, should I be surprised that none of Layden's projects are working out?

Fuck the Dallas Mavericks! What a mistake to let Stevie go. From what I understand though, it wasn't so much the money as it was that Cuban had been trying to "upgrade" since before last season. Nash got the message when Cuban went after Jason Kidd. Drafting a point guard in the first round this year sealed the deal.

And while I agree a six year contract seems long for an older point guard, it just makes me sad that there is no team loyalty either way any more. What a world we live in that Nash is gone and that fucking waste of height Shawn Bradley remains.

The Mavs resigned Antonio Daniels, who I think has a Billups-esque breakout season in him if he goes to work on his game. He's got the size and the skills to run the point for that team. If they succeed in trading for Shaq, and manage to hold onto Dirk, he'll be a more-than-adequate court general.

Oh, I know, it's just that I loved the way Nash ran the offense and was hoping against hope that he'd have the opportunity to dish to Shaq. Also, Nash was alwasy a great interview because he seldom spoke in soundbites.

Holy shit, I goofed

Edit.

On a totally unrelated note, Steve Nash and his long hair always reminded me of Michael J. Fox's character in Teen Wolf. I just refer to Nash as Teen wolf now.

Newest Suns news (such as it is). The Suns don't believe they're out of the Kobe sweepstakes. They heard Kobe wasn't planning on making a move until August and didn't feel like they could wait and possibly get nothing. Now the plan of attack is to try a sign and trade, which the Lakers have already outright stated they will not do. Marion, Johnson, Chicago's #1 and a future Phoenix #1. Basically, the Suns are continuing to delude themselves and their fans. Yay.

On the bright side, they've cooled on Okur because they realized they don't need scorers at every position and they're better off trying to get a defensive/rebounding center. Apparently they won't even bring him in now. On the minus side, now they're taking a hard look at Ginobili which couldn't make less sense with Johnson starting and Jacobsen backing him up. It's like they just can't help themselves, MUST SPEND MONEY!!!!

the lakers are offering coach k 40 mil over 5 years. that's fucking insane!

No the Suns are crazy. Coach K accepts this job i'll eat my hat. The money obviously is talking if thats the case. Looks like O'Neal isn't going anywhere. The price is too large.

Do the Lakers really want a malcontent on their roster next season? And wheres the market for Shaq? For all the talk of how amazing it was to see Shaq on the trading block, notice how many teams are actually willing to go after The Big Aristotle.

The Lakers may be better off trading him midseason, though, who knows how healthy he'll be by the deadline.

Grant Hill's comments in this Bill Rhoden column make me think Krzyzewski is going to take the Lakers gig. And it doesn't sound like it's about the money.

Of course, it would help if I posted the link to the column.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/04/sp.../04rhoden.html

Don't have a subscription. Well Monki the Lakers don't want Shaq if he is gonna piss and whine continually let alone spew whatever silly nonsense he can come up with. The more time passes the more I think money is the larger issue in this whole thing. John Salley mentioned last week I believe that this whole Shaq vs Kobe thing was overblown and that this is all about the dollars. That is off but I believe money is a huge issue. Shaq is steamed that Kobe will be making more bank than him soon and he wants more dough these last years he's playing. Problem is two massive salaries on a team wanting an NBA title isn't practical. The other issue is many teams would take shaq at half price but that isn't going to happen. The guy won't back down from his salary demands. Not many teams can pay no.1 and not that many teams play in the east which is where the Lakers would like to send him. 2 times a year is all they want to see of the diesel. I have a hard time believing Nowitzki is going anywhere. The Lakers aren't going to get real value out of any trade. I'm hearing the best deals at the moment are the Suns offering Amare and Marion or Dallas trading Walker, Stackhouse and some future draft picks. I'd take Kenyon Martin and Kidd or Jefferson over those other deals. Its really a messy situation for the Lakers though. I wouldn't be surprised that if it happens that it will be one of the biggest trades ever. Meaning 4 or more teams are in on it.

Back to the coaching situation Beaks I hear what you're saying about K. Yeah now we're hearing more about how K is fed up with seeing all the best high school talent skip college and go directly to the NBA. Perhaps it isn't the money afterall. It'd be a huge mistake for him though. The man is loved and adored at Duke.

The huge mistake isn't going to happen afterall. Coach K has turned down the job. Guess we're back to Rudy T and Henry Bibby (God I laugh at this guy as laker coach). Too bad Byron Scott took that Hornet job he'd make a great coach in LA.

Too bad, Coach K pussied out. Guess you really don't want a coach that's not willing to risk tarnishing his collegiate career for a shot at playing with the big boys.

So the Jazz resigned Giricek (excellent move) and tendered an offer to Okur. Detroit fans, what's the deal with this guy, and is he a marked improvement over our last overpaid big white guy, Ostertag?

He's got potential to be a lot better than Ostertag. He'll fit in nicely with the Jazz.

Okur is another big white guy Sorro. However he has better upside and more talent. If I was the Jazz I wouldn't grab him though. Save some money and go for someone else.

Looks like its Rudy T in la. I wish him luck.

I sorta wish the lakers lost earlier, so they could have jumped on byron while he was still available. His family has really wanted to return to LA, and I have heard that he secretly desires the lakers job. OH well.

Hopefully Rudy T can calm things down in LA, and Kupchak gets off his ass and starts dealing with the horrendous personnel sitting on the lakers bench right now.

Trade Devean George!

I wish Rudy luck as well. Always has been classy and professional which is why its hard to believe he's going to coach these Lakers *evil laugh*. As for Byron the guy loves the Lakers and southern cal. The guy wasn't patient and took the next best coaching situation out there. The guy should have known that Jackson weighs every offseason heavily with his " Maybe " talk. Seriously though the guy was 9-0 in the finals. Detroit still sitting pretty btw with just Rasheed's contract situation ahead for them. Btw what the hell is Indiana doing right now? You'd think they'd be upgrading.

Utah guy on the radio here who made it sound like there was a decent chance that Utah would actually trump all takers and re-sign Ostertag even after they just signed Okur. Love them white boys.

If Ostertag makes the minimum, he can be on the Jazz if he wants. If not, we better let him go to anywhere else.

Headache time. The Cavs allowed Carlos Boozer to become a restricted free agent so they could sign him to a long term contract; a reward, of sorts, for his stellar play last season and dedicated work ethic. Now, other teams are approaching Boozer (as they should) and offering him more than the Cavs can muster up under the cap. Boozer made a verbal committment to GM Jim Paxson already, but with an agent like Rob Pelinka in the mix, I'm worried. I like Boozer, and I'd hate to see him be a dick and renege on his promise to Paxson, but if teams like the Jazz and the Nuggets (who're closer to contending for a title than the Cavs) can pay him $8 million a year, I'm jaded enough in the wake of watching "Indian for life" Jim Thome stomp off to more lucrative pastures to know that there's a good possibility the Cavs will lose a key part of their developing young core.

Worse, if Paxson gets played for a fool, what's to stop LeBron from ankling Cleveland for a competently run, committed-to-winning franchise?

Damn ESPN for putting this on their front page!

It goes without saying that I meant "...what's to stop LeBron from ankling Cleveland for a competently run, committed-to-winning franchise when his contract is up?"

Jim Thome is having a great time here in Philly, by the way. Thanks for sending him over.

Carlos Boozer has agreed to six years for $68 million with the Utah Jazz. Cavs GM Jim Paxson will most certainly be fired in the next twenty-four hours for committing one of the most boneheaded contractual mistakes in the history of the game. And I fully expect "pulling a Paxson" to enter the vernacular posthaste.

GODDAMN IT!!!! As a Cavs fan who's weathered any number of front office blunders, this one is the worst. The Cavs have very little room to maneuver under the cap, and obviously do not have the kind of talented personnel to trade for Shaq, or, at the very least, a power forward that offers the double-double average Boozer put up last year. They were putting together an exciting young team, and, suddenly, it's back to rebuilding. If I'm LeBron James, I'm demanding a trade. I know I won't hold it against him.

Yeah, that shit is unbelievable. Nice call, by the way.

Re: What are the Pacers doing? We're looking for our Rasheed Wallace, the missing piece to our puzzle. From what I understand they're looking at Steven Jackson and Derek Fisher, who I think would both be good fits in Indy. We didn't get into the McGrady sweepstakes too heavily because I'd imagine Orlando wanted half our team (including Artest, which is a big no-no). Would giving up our tremendous depth and developing talent for an elite scorer like McGrady have been a championship move? We'll never know, but I'm kind of glad they didn't pull the trigger. Anyway, this is not a team with a bunch of glaring weaknesses...we're kind of soft in the paint, but that's been ostensibly addressed with the addition of David "Fetal Shaq" Harrison in the draft. If Donnie Walsh and Larry Legend can make some moves this offseason, rest assured that they will. They don't sit on their hands like the other GM in Indianapolis does.

Wow thats stunning. Jazz are really making some moves. Meanwhile the Blazers and Nuggets (the other two teams vying for that playoff spot last year which the Nuggets won) have done nada to improve their teams. Rockets get McGrady and Memphis will make a run at Kobe. The old Midwest division (which is bye bye now) is in full swing. Btw LeBron should stay in Cleveland for now he owns that town. Silas is a terrific coach and they have some other players who could improve. Still losing Boozer hurts them. Who knows maybe Danny Ainge will do another idiotic thing and move Paul Pierce to the Cav's? *chuckles* One can dream right?

Fisher would be a nice score. Jackson though? Oh and they do need help in the paint. Wallace would be a huge signing but Foster is still the starting center which in the end won't get it done.

According to the Utah guy (sports guy for a Utah paper) nobody was going to walk away with Ostertag at the mid level exception because Utah was prepared to pay more. So more than $5 mil basically. Of course, the Boozer signing may change that up completely.
Boozer dicking over the Cavs is amazing. The fact that they would put themselves out there in an effort to build good faith and he would shit on them like that, he just screwed free agents for years on that one. Oh, you don't like your deal? Tough shit, play it out for $600k a year and we'll talk when your deal is up.

I hate to come down hard on Paxson for taking Boozer and Pelinka at their word, but he should know better. He should've taken into account the free agent feeding frenzy, picked up the option, and said, "Sorry for now, Carlos, but we'll make you an even better deal next year." I think he got strongarmed into this situation, and worried about losing Boozer when/if his market value increases after another year of all-star level of production. I'm plenty angry with Boozer, but Paxson's apparent naivite is inexcusable for a professional GM. The Cavs now have fifteen days to match the offer, which is damn near impossible. They'd have to drop salaries (Eric Williams and Tony Battie would both be gone) and probably trade Z (albeit from a weakened position), *then* have no cap room to replenish their bench. All this for a third year player who's had one breakout season, but hasn't demonstrated consistency.

Frankly, I've never seen anything quite like this. We knew Thome would probably leave the Indians for more money. Boozer, however, is different because he asked Pelinka to approach Paxson with this allegedly good-faith offer. If true, that's the biggest shock of all. I was always pretty sure Paxson was a moron, but I never had Boozer pegged as an asshole.

or maybe he just decided to keep possibly the best coaching job in the world.

the lakers actually talked to roy williams before it was decided phil wouldn't come back but williams said he could never tell dean smith he was leaving. plus if he did decide to leave then that would make 2 states that would want him dead in consecutive years. go heels!