Baron reaches verbal agreement with clippers

MikeRice · Post #1 » by **MikeRice** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:02 am

baron to clippers for 5 years 65 million... this probably is not good news for us as this will mean Brand is more likely to resign, leaving just Smith for the sixers to target...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3470016

ATLfan · Post #2 » by **ATLfan** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:04 am

Looks like the Clippers are trying to do what the Celtics did last year but the key to it all is getting Brand resigned.

evildallas · Post #3 » by **evildallas** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:09 am

Good contract value and risk assessment. Brand seems like a shoe-in to resign even if he takes a little less in year 1 to get a full 5 year deal. Maggette is the guy who just got punked. S&T is now not an option for him and there are few teams that can offer more than the MLE.

Harry10 · Post #4 » by **Harry10** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:15 am

wow, that is a good deal for the Clips, i thought Baron would have wanted 15M or more a year for 5 years.

i think his agent could have totally worked something out with NY if he wanted to, to get more money, but i guess he really wanted to move back to LA

MikeRice · Post #5 » by **MikeRice** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:19 am

evildallas wrote:Good contract value and risk assessment. Brand seems like a shoe-in to resign even if he takes a little less in year 1 to get a full 5 year deal. Maggette is the guy who just got punked. S&T is now not an option for him and there are few teams that can offer more than the MLE.

could mean Maggette is headed to Orlando who already is said to have offered him their MLE, that would fill their big hole at the 2 and not force them to play Courtney Lee right away... more bad news for us

killbuckner · Post #6 » by **killbuckner** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:21 am

Harry- why don't you tell us how you think that NY would have given him more money than that.

killbuckner · Post #7 » by **killbuckner** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:23 am

The real bad news for the Hawks is that Golden State has more caproom than Philly did and could use a player like JOsh Smith.

MikeRice · Post #8 » by **MikeRice** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:30 am

i dont really see Golden State signing Smith but i could be wrong... don't they already have Brandon Wright, Biedrens and Randolph who they just drafted in the front court?... Randolph and Wright are both pure athletes like Smith, I think he would be too much of the same for the Warriors and they would prefer someone with a more diverse skill set. I'm hoping they've already invested too much in that type of forward to give Smith a huge deal, unless they are misguided into thinking Smith can play the three.

evildallas · Post #9 » by **evildallas** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:33 am

Golden State has Biedrins and Ellis to so up first.

I hadn't thought about Maggette in Orlando. That would suck.

The Davis deal is actually roughly the money I expected him to sign for. He passed on 17.8M because another year from now and he's negotiating as a 30 year old PG with injury history. History says he isn't getting full max then as people balk at giving those later years in that situation. For instance that age thing didn't help Steve Nash in his negotiations a few years ago and he turned out real productive. He was looking at the big picture and maybe gave a little home town discount too.

Clippers are looking good:
Baron
Eric Gordon
Al Thornton
Elton Brand
Chris Kamen

They'll look better if they can recycle some of the dead weight they have on the bench (that was a shot at Cuttino and Tim Thomas).

ckchen · Post #10 » by **ckchen** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:35 am

killbuckner wrote:The real bad news for the Hawks is that Golden State has more caproom than Philly did and could use a player like JOsh Smith.

Really? From where I'm standing, I would assume that GS would need to start looking for a replacement PG before anything else. They seem like they are actually okay and young at PF (Harrington, drafted Randolph, have Wright from last year) and they like to play small anyway.

Harry10 · Post #11 » by **Harry10** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:49 am

killbuckner wrote:The real bad news for the Hawks is that Golden State has more caproom than Philly did and could use a player like JOsh Smith.

GSW want to get another forward??? do you know they have Biedrens,
Wright, Randolph, and Harrington right?

Raptors and Bobcats should be worried..... Wizards should also be
alittle bit concern, Gilbert and Monta!?

ATLfan · Post #12 » by **ATLfan** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:53 am

The Warriors still have to worry about Beans and Monta. I could see Gilbert going back to the Warriors becuase he is from Cali but if he signs they won't have enough money for Monta.

killbuckner · Post #13 » by **killbuckner** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:55 am

You don't think that Golden state could use a shotblocker like Smith? Randolph and Wright are simply lottery tickets at this point- they aren't guys you can count on at all. I think the warriors will give Ellis a shot at PG for a season to see if he can handle it- its not like they are going to make the playoffs this season anyway.

THe Warriors have like 18 million in caproom and then can still go back and extend Biedrins and Ellis. I'd expect Harrington to get moved- he really doesn't have much place on a rebuilding team. I just look around at the FA's that are available and Smith seems like the best fit by far.

Post #14 » by **HMFFL** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 2:05 am

The Clippers are really trying to turn things around and I love this contract for both sides. Baron gets the longterm deal he wanted and the Clippers get a steal if Baron can stay healthy. The Clips will most likely resign Elton Brand now and this means even more money for the ownership from the fanbase. So, I expect the future to be bright for the team and the season ticket sales to go up.

I suppose Baron and the Warriors didn't agree on many things or there was a lack of respect from one or both sides. The Warriors will now need to retool the team and find away to move towards being a playoff contender. If Gilbert Arenas doesn't accept the offer that's on the team from GS things could start looking really bad.

raleigh · Post #15 » by **raleigh** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 2:21 am

I just look around at the FA's that are available and Smith seems like the best fit by far.

Iguodala would seem to be a better fit with their young core, though.

Ellis/Iggy/Randolph/Wright/Beans

evildallas · Post #16 » by **evildallas** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 2:24 am

mrhonline wrote:
I just look around at the FA's that are available and Smith seems like the best fit by far.

Iguodala would seem to be a better fit with their young core, though.

Ellis/Iggy/Randolph/Wright/Beans

Iggy would be able to play the 2 or 3 which wouldn't block the development of Wright and Randolph. They could use a starting PF now, but I doubt they want to invest in 5 year deal on one.

ckchen · Post #17 » by **ckchen** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 2:34 am

I think that the fact that GSW immediately turned around and offered Gilbert Arenas a max deal shows what they think their greatest need. I'm not convinced that they feel like Monta will be able to play PG for any significant portion of time - and I still think it's more likely that GS would try to use that capspace in a trade to get a PG in trade (Hinrich, Mo Williams, Felton, Chauncey, Watson/Ridnour, Barbosa, or Lowry + the baggage they would make you take to get him (Antoine/Buckner) ) then to try to sign a free agent SG/SF or PF.

killbuckner · Post #18 » by **killbuckner** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 2:34 am

I guess I just see Randolph and Wright as laughable starters. Sort of like Acie- if he develops into a starter its sheer bonus but it certainly can't be counted on. In my book you don't worry about blocking players who might someday develop into something.

But sure- Iguodala would be another fine fit. If I were Golden State I would certainly consider signing him for the same reason I have been suggesting that Philly sign Ellis. But in either case the other team has to be willing to offer more than they think they can get straight up from their current teams. Thats the biggest issue. Otherwise the players are better off just waiting and letting their teams use bird rights.

conleyorbust · Post #19 » by **conleyorbust** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:46 pm

GSW needs a point guard but a combo of Iggy, Jax, and Ellis might be able to fill that role by committee.

kb, I agree with you in one sense because Smith has proven himself where Wright and Randolph have not. On the other hand, those two project to fill the same role Smith fills whereas there is lead ball-handler on the team now and Iggy can be that guy. In fact, Iggy seems like the perfect Nelly guy for that role.

So yeah, this could be bad for us if GS decides to go after the best talent on the market (our boy) but it could be great if they decide to aggressively pursue the best fit on the market and force Philly to match early... of course if that happens they might let Iggy walk and use the money on Smith... so who knows.

conleyorbust · Post #20 » by **conleyorbust** » Wed Jul 2, 2008 2:33 pm

Could GS go after Calderon? They obviously put it out there for Gilbert already, but they need to get that hole filled. I know Nellie enjoyed having Nash on his team, Calderon is similar in a lot of ways. Jose verbally agreed to a deal with T.O. in principle but that doesn't mean anything if a team offers him a significantly better deal.