Discussing Other Teams' Moves

[fishercob]

Rip bought out (not amnestied) by the Pistons. He'd fit great in Chicago, OKC, or maybe New York.

[7-Day Dray]

Rip bought out (not amnestied) by the Pistons. He'd fit great in Chicago, OKC, or maybe New York.

Should be good news for us. Could take a team out of the running for Nick.

[mhd]

Indy is being the smartest team out of anyone this off-season with cap space and legit playoff aspirations. Don't sign anyone and expect improvements internally.

[closg00]

Indy is being the smartest team out of anyone this off-season with cap space and legit playoff aspirations. Don't sign anyone and expect improvements internally.

They reached out to Nene, that would have been a sweet get for them.

[pancakes3]

1 - very sad news about brandon roy forced into medical retirement.

2 - UVa-Transfer-to-UMass Gary Forbes inked a 2-year deal with the Raps?! I knew he had talent but I never thought he'd be able to stick in the league.

3 - Marcus Thornton got grossly overpaid. Grossly. Unfortunately that means bad things for us. Horrible things. Considering we're 18 million under the cap, considering that the kings set an absurdly high bar, and considering we're super short on shooters (RMJr. notwithstanding), I'm fully expecting a similar deal for Nick.

Note: 5/40 is the same deal that John Salmons got after a few good games for Milwaukee a few seasons ago. It's eerie how similar the two situations are. Shooting guards that got really hot for ~25 games after being traded to a lottery team playing meaningless games and inked 5 year extensions? At least Salmons has size. Thornton checks in at what, 6'4 on tippy toes? Again, this factoid only makes the "Nick will get paid 40 mil" likelihood all the more feasible.

Edit: oh yeah, the hornets better get a move on. they've only got 6 guys on their roster.

[Dat2U]

Thornton is much better than Salmons IMO and he's had nice stretches of play before the end of last season.

But yeah, he's not worth $40 million, although I think he's a better player than Nick Young.

[hands11]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... ible-news/

Breaking: Blazers determine center Greg Oden has suffered setback, and restructure his one-year deal for a lesser amount…

…But the Blazers, who didn’t comment Thursday after his appointment, determined that he is less likely to return to the court this season.

[mhd]

Dallas signs VC. Great low risk move by them. Prediction: He'll be better than what Caron provides in LA at a fraction of the cost.

[dangermouse]

My OPINION: Dan Gilbert owned Lebron James, the Cleveland Cavalier, for 7 years. Gilbert made money hand-over-fist from non-basketball ventures that were enhanced by him owning the Cavs at a time when that team was very good. Gilbert threw a fit over James leaving. Now, he has aided in blocking Chris Paul.

When you break it down, yes, Dan Gilbert did IN A WAY "own" LeBron (as a basketball player), and made money off him indirectly through the franchise. I dont see where someone gets off equating that to a master/slave relationship, though, and thankyou for the history/background of your family, I honestly found that quite interesting and it is good of you to share it with us.

I dont remember slaves (black or white or otherwise), you know, having a choice, getting to sign a contract, or negotiating a salary.

You say Paul has done his time, played X amount of years on a franchise that hasnt got him any help (in another post I believe, there are so many to go through and im in a different time zone so i have to catch up) so he should be able to play where he wants (or words to that effect). But that isnt true, apart from the point about the help. Paul has only played Y amount of years with the Hornets and is still under contract to play this season there, too. If Paul wants to play for the Lakers and only the Lakers, then the two teams and their respective owners need to come to an agreement on a trade to get him there, in this case the owners of the Hornets include the rest of the league etc. etc. Im sure this has been done to death right now.

Dan Gilbert did act like a spoiled entitled brat when LeBron left. LeBron had every right to play wherever he wanted. Perhaps if LeBron acted with class and grace upon his leaving, Dan Gilbert might not have acted like such a tool. Anyway, I dont want to defend Gilbert there for that incident, but I will for the latest letter.

Even though he got some points wrong, he made it fairly clear that he was unhappy with the trade because the Lakers were basically robbing the Hornets blind on the deal. His exact words are "It would be a travesty to allow the Lakers to acquire Chris Paul in the apparent trade being discussed."

That implies that a different, fairer trade (in this eyes of Gilbert and other owners) would be perfectly fine and would go through (as we will probably see happen in the next few days, anyway). As you can see it has NOTHING to do with revenge on an uppity black slave who wants to disobey a heavy handed master, or revenge for LeBron leaving, or any of that kind of ridiculous speculation. Perhaps you need to step back and take a more subjective view of all of this before reading between the lines and shouting racism from the rooftops.

[dangermouse]

Wilson Chandler cannot come back from China this season, TGW.

That happened post-trade. Wilson Chandler is also an emerging wing. There was no-one of his value in the Paul trade. Not even close.

Timofey Mozgov and Danillo Gallinari are young and I like them; but is either of them Kevin Martin, Lamar Odom, or Luis Scola?

Personally I think Danillo could be on the same level as KMart, as a scorer. Mozgov is a C, and a decent young prospect at a position that is in a drought in the NBA. It could be argued that Mozgov is worth more to a team (especially a rebuilding one) than Scola or Odom.

Each of those "older" guys have 4+ years left. They are NOT that old, TGW. Older players playing competitively: Kobe is 33, Paul Pierce is 34, Manu Ginobili is 34, Kevin Garnett is 35, Tim Duncan is 35, Steve Nash is 37. The core that New Orleans could reasonably expect 3 great seasons together with Emeka Okafor. New Orleans had a great deal there.

I like what Denver got and think the deal worked for them. That said, NEW ORLEANS WOULD HAVE HAD A BETTER DEAL. I am not even going to debate this further, TGW.

The only way the deal would have been better than the Nuggets deal, is if the Hornets were aiming to stay a mediocre team for the next few years.

[mhd]

WOW, David West close to a deal with Celtics. I know hes coming off ACL surgery, but if its a one year deal, its a steal.

[Ruzious]

WOW, David West close to a deal with Celtics. I know hes coming off ACL surgery, but if its a one year deal, its a steal.

So, they're keeping Green AND signing West AND they're getting Brandon Bass for Big Baby? That's a lot of forwards that have tweener qualities. I do like them signing Wilcox, but I guess he's going to have to play center. Still, Wilcox will be effective, because of KG's presence.

[dangermouse]

Kevin Martin is POSSIBLY AS GOOD OR BETTER THAN RAY ALLEN WAS PRIOR TO GOING TO BOSTON.

As someone who watched a lot of Sonics games. No. Just no. You could build around Allen, and they did. The Allen-led Sonics were 1 game away from defeating the Spurs (eventual champs) in 05. I dont think KMart is the kind of talent you can build a team around. Dont get me wrong, he is a good player, but he doesnt have... any of the qualities Ray has/had, except his abililty to score.

I think most of the people who say a trade would have been horrible for New Orleans cannot even fathom why Memphis is in fine shape, having traded Pau years back. Same people don't realize Denver is better without Carmelo.

Could it be.... because both teams got good young prospects back...?

And sure, NOH could flip the players they recieved at the deadline for prospects/picks/$. But its not a sure thing, is it? If i was moving my star PG... lets say his name was Gary something... Gary Payton. i would want more certainty that im not dooming my team to the quagmire of mediocrity than the possibility of making future, un-agreed upon moves. id want a younger guy back who i have more of a chance of building a future around... someone like that Jesus Shuttlesworth guy i saw on the tv the other day...

I think this is the last i have to say on the matter, apart from David Stern and the league really f-ing the whole thing up with the way it was handled. I agree with the why, but not the how. Anyways, i'd expect a new (better) offer to be put on the table soon, and id expect it to go through no matter how many times Dan Gilbert wrote the word "travesty" in 14 pt bold comic sans to Stern's secretary.

[dangermouse]

WOW, David West close to a deal with Celtics. I know hes coming off ACL surgery, but if its a one year deal, its a steal.

So, they're keeping Green AND signing West AND they're getting Brandon Bass for Big Baby? That's a lot of forwards that have tweener qualities. I do like them signing Wilcox, but I guess he's going to have to play center. Still, Wilcox will be effective, because of KG's presence.

He played a lot of centre with the Pistons and the Sonics/OKC. But yes that is a whole mess of tweeners. I would expect Green to back up The Truth at SF exclusively, I believe thats his natural position, plus Wilcox/Bass/West are all way better at PF.

West could play some C next to Garnett and Bass, too.

I still dont think they beat the Heat/Bulls. 5th seed or worse imo.

[Ruzious]

I pretty much agree, DM. I think they'd be better off letting Green go. But maybe they want him as a trade chip down the line. I always liked Bass, because he's got an automatic mid-range jump shot, but what position is he?

[sfam]

You gotta be pretty impressed with how fast Ainge has turned. He's turned on a dime after losing out on Paul. Plan B involves a cheap but OK player in Chris WIlcox, getting Green on the cheap, shedding Big Baby's far larger salary for a more efficient backup in Brandon Bass, and now, acquiring on of the better bigs available in David West. This shores up their front court as much as possible.

[sfam]

I pretty much agree, DM. I think they'd be better off letting Green go. But maybe they want him as a trade chip down the line. I always liked Bass, because he's got an automatic mid-range jump shot, but what position is he?

I think Green can be a decent backup at SF. Given the rest of the folks they got, I can't imagine him playing much of any PF this year.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Dallas signs VC. Great low risk move by them. Prediction: He'll be better than what Caron provides in LA at a fraction of the cost.

+1

[LyricalRico]

I pretty much agree, DM. I think they'd be better off letting Green go. But maybe they want him as a trade chip down the line. I always liked Bass, because he's got an automatic mid-range jump shot, but what position is he?

I think Green can be a decent backup at SF. Given the rest of the folks they got, I can't imagine him playing much of any PF this year.

I agree on both points - Green will be Pierce's backup, and he'll probably be traded again.

As for Bass, he probably starts at C for them.

Bass/Wilcox
Garnett/West
Pierce/Green
Allen/FA
Rondo/FA

Essentially small ball all the time (did they recently hire EJ?) but they do at least get younger and infuse some talent. If Dwight somehow goes to LA, the C's might still have a shot in the East.

[closg00]

Dallas signs VC. Great low risk move by them. Prediction: He'll be better than what Caron provides in LA at a fraction of the cost.

+1

+2 The Butler signing is the worst of the FA so-far, too-much $$