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PORTLAND, Ore. -- Three-point specialist James Jones became a free agent Thursday after deciding not to exercise his contract option with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The option would have made Jones a Trail Blazer through the upcoming season and paid him about $3.1 million.

Jones averaged eight points in 58 games last season. He had 91 3-pointers.

Portland acquired the five-year veteran forward last year on draft day. He can begin negotiating with other teams on Tuesday.

Could be a very valuable asset if Sasha decides to get paid elsewhere. IIRC he burnt us pretty badly when we played them this season.

Like? Dislike?

if sasha goes then ya, but when does sasha need to get resigned, jones could be gone

hermes wrote:if sasha goes then ya, but when does sasha need to get resigned, jones could be gone

I was thinkin the same thing but only going after a different play, JR Smith.

SF:Odom/Ariza/Walton
PF:Gasol/Turiaf
C:Bynum/Mihm
SG:Bryant/Smith
PG:Fisher/Farmar

His shooting touch is absolutely money, and he'd be a good fit here. Having said that, there are other free agents I'd pursue before I throw my money at yet another small forward like Jones.

JR Smith is my dude...he's an overall scorer and the only guy who tried against us when we played the Nuggets in the first round.

How is Jones' defense? We all know he can shoot the lights out.

I would think JR Smith would want a lot more than MLE money.

Erik Eleven wrote:How is Jones' defense? We all know he can shoot the lights out.

he does play for denver

hermes wrote:

Erik Eleven wrote:How is Jones' defense? We all know he can shoot the lights out.

he does play for denver

Nope. James Jones has never played for Denver. 2 years in Indiana, 2 years in Phoenix and last year in Portland (JR Smith plays for Denver though). But just for the record: why is playing for Denver a bad thing defensively? They were among the 10 best teams when it came to opposing points per 100 possessions this season (meaning their defense was among the 10 most efficient ones).

His (Jones') defense is about average. Needs to bulk up to be a great defender, but he's decent given his size now.

Our FA...

Sasha
Ronnie
DJ Mbenga
Ira Newble

So Monday Sasha is the key FA Mitchie tries to resign, he's gonna be tough to sign

I assume Ronnie resigns

I am assuming Newble is gone

What about DJ? Gone? I'll assume he stays.

So that leaves us with Joe C at...16 players minus Newble (gone), so we stay at 15? Are we set? What do you guys think. Thanks.

CITYOFANGELSX3 wrote:I would think JR Smith would want a lot more than MLE money.

One would hope that he wants a ring more than anything. If he doesn't, we don't want him anyway, do we?

I doubt Dj comes back. He's most likely outta here knowing Chris Mihm is bound to make his not-so-sudden return to the team.

If I had to guess, i'd say both Sasha and Ronny are resigned. Everyone else walks, and the roster stays virtually the same as it did last year, but with an added Bynum in the middle.

I'd like to see a sign and trade of Sasha and Pavlovic. That guy has some huevos and some serious intensity. He's completely unafraid of anyone and he plays tougher defense. If we keep Sasha, just don't give him too long a contract or he might pull a Luke on us next season.

I don't think James Jones is starter-worthy. He's a good 3-point shooter, but not good enough to offset his one-dimensional game and mediocre defense. If both were on the team, I'd rather give minutes to Ariza.

Merged, let's use this thread for free agent discussion, unless there's some good reason for a free agent to have his own thread, e.g., Ron Artest.

Last fall the Lakers started with 14 players as Mitch said he wanted flexibility should someone become available... Probably they'll do the same strategy again (not to mention the issue with $$)

Fisher/Farmar/ Kobe/Odom/ Ariza/Walton/ Vlad/Gasol/ Bynum/Mihm - 10 guaranteed
Sasha/Turiaf - 2 potential resigned FAs
Joe C or Karl - 2nd rd pick or nonguaranteed returning player

If 14:
1 other opening: Mbenga, Newble, Yue - probably not
or MLE signing - potentially

Assuming Mbenga, and Ira Newble go, and Yue coming in from overseas, and the addition of Joe C. That's 15 players, exactly.

I really would have thought Vlad Rad would spark outside interest, I guess 6M for 3 more years for a sharpshooter that is the worst defender in the L is not attractive. Damn.

Can't we just trade him back to the Clips? At least we'd save on the $600 Destination Charge.

I don't expect the Lakers to be very active on the free agent market at all. In fact, if they use either of the exceptions you can almost guarantee it's because of an offer they couldn't refuse (Artest, Maggette, etc...). The more likely scenario is to resign Sasha & Turiaf, and if they can find better/cheaper replacements for Newble, DJ & Coby then they will.

Keep in mind that the Lakers will be over the luxury tax, so every additional dollar in payroll counts double.

Using the full MLE will cost more than $10M
Using the LLE will cost $3.82M
Signing a vet free agent will cost $1,595,162
Signing a rookie will cost $884,228

If Joe Crawford has any game he will have a good shot at making the roster, or any undrafted rookie that they find for that matter.

Obviously things could change if they find a way to shed some salary, the easiest way would be trading Odom for a smaller contract. Also, they could be forced to be active if they let Sasha get away, but they actually have full control over that.

Also, anyone interested in Diop should know that the Mavs are rumored to be willing to offer the full MLE to him. No way would the Lakers match that.

lakerfan10770 wrote:I don't expect the Lakers to be very active on the free agent market at all. In fact, if they use either of the exceptions you can almost guarantee it's because of an offer they couldn't refuse (Artest, Maggette, etc...). The more likely scenario is to resign Sasha & Turiaf, and if they can find better/cheaper replacements for Newble, DJ & Coby then they will.

Keep in mind that the Lakers will be over the luxury tax, so every additional dollar in payroll counts double.

Using the full MLE will cost more than $10M
Using the LLE will cost $3.82M
Signing a vet free agent will cost $1,595,162
Signing a rookie will cost $884,228

If Joe Crawford has any game he will have a good shot at making the roster, or any undrafted rookie that they find for that matter.

Obviously things could change if they find a way to shed some salary, the easiest way would be trading Odom for a smaller contract. Also, they could be forced to be active if they let Sasha get away, but they actually have full control over that.

Also, anyone interested in Diop should know that the Mavs are rumored to be willing to offer the full MLE to him. No way would the Lakers match that.

Putting Sun Yue at the end of the pine should take care of that tab.