Roy Hibbert - Indy says they will match/offer same terms.

[BballFanAddict]

Very interesting to hear how on the fence they are about Hibbert. That seems to be the word coming out of a lot of media outlets now.

Not sure what it matters than Larry Bird is a big fan of Kaman's though. Bird doesn't have any real sway with the franchise anymore, does he?

Actually, I read somewhere that Bird resigned from his employment due to a chronic back issue that will likely require surgery. In addition, it was said he is still a consultant and could even get his job back in a year or so; meaning he could come back as President in place of Walsh in the next year or so.

So it doesn't sound like there was bad blood or any work related issue that pushed Bird to quit, but instead a personal issue. Of course all of this is speculative as I do not know if its true.

[Billy]

I heard that too BballFanAddict... I'd think in that case that they would be likely to match. Who the heck knows at this point. This kind of feels like Wes Matthews. It sure seemed Portland stood a good chance, but Utah really thought hard. I think this will come down to the wire and I think the Pacers will match.

[DusterBuster]

Very interesting to hear how on the fence they are about Hibbert. That seems to be the word coming out of a lot of media outlets now.

Not sure what it matters than Larry Bird is a big fan of Kaman's though. Bird doesn't have any real sway with the franchise anymore, does he?

Actually, I read somewhere that Bird resigned from his employment due to a chronic back issue that will likely require surgery. In addition, it was said he is still a consultant and could even get his job back in a year or so; meaning he could come back as President in place of Walsh in the next year or so.

So it doesn't sound like there was bad blood or any work related issue that pushed Bird to quit, but instead a personal issue. Of course all of this is speculative as I do not know if its true.

I wasn't suggesting there was bad blood or anything, I just didn't think he had anything to do with the franchise since he retired due to his health. I didn't know that he might still be a consultant of sorts.

[Air Poohdini]

You guys are going to have a great front court, congrats.

[DusterBuster]

You guys are going to have a great front court, congrats.

Nothing is done yet.

[BballFanAddict]

I heard that too BballFanAddict... I'd think in that case that they would be likely to match. Who the heck knows at this point. This kind of feels like Wes Matthews. It sure seemed Portland stood a good chance, but Utah really thought hard. I think this will come down to the wire and I think the Pacers will match.

Yeah it does seem like the Utah situation. I think the big difference is that Centers seem to be a dying breed, which should make Hibbert more important to Indy than Matthews was to Utah. I will be very happily shocked if Indy doesn't match.

I also do not see the Kaman meeting as a positive indication for Portland either, as Indy said before FA started that they would pursue a back up Center. If Indy can get Kaman cheap, then they could end up matching Hibbert (screws Portland's plans) and remove a back up plan for Portland (Kaman).

I guess how much Indy pays Kaman will be a good indication of their thinking and plans. A higher contract would seem to indicate they are not going to match Hibbert.

Very interesting to hear how on the fence they are about Hibbert. That seems to be the word coming out of a lot of media outlets now.

Not sure what it matters than Larry Bird is a big fan of Kaman's though. Bird doesn't have any real sway with the franchise anymore, does he?

Actually, I read somewhere that Bird resigned from his employment due to a chronic back issue that will likely require surgery. In addition, it was said he is still a consultant and could even get his job back in a year or so; meaning he could come back as President in place of Walsh in the next year or so.

So it doesn't sound like there was bad blood or any work related issue that pushed Bird to quit, but instead a personal issue. Of course all of this is speculative as I do not know if its true.

I wasn't suggesting there was bad blood or anything, I just didn't think he had anything to do with the franchise since he retired due to his health. I didn't know that he might still be a consultant of sorts.

Yeah, I didnt mean to say you were, I was simply pointing out that he left on good enough terms that he is still be consulted, as well as he could even come back. Again, I am not sure if this is true or not though.

[Blazer50]

deleted to reformat

[DusterBuster]

There's a video of ESPN's Chris Broussard talking about the Hibbert / Blazers contract....

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:8119364

He seems to believe there's a "solid" chance the Pacers may decline to match as well for whatever it's worth.

[The Sebastian Express]

All these people thinking there is a chance to decline gets my hopes up why do people do this to me!

[DusterBuster]

All these people thinking there is a chance to decline gets my hopes up why do people do this to me!

Haha, no kidding. I was pretty much convinced there was no chance the Pacers decline to match the offer about 24 hours ago. Now.... I'm not quite as sure.

The pessimist in me wants to say that nothing has changed and it's just a matter of time before they match it. But the optimist in me is starting to get a little louder with all these reports.

[lukeyrid13]

Just another young center we're getting teased with

[mojomarc]

I have a sense that people think Hibbert / Batum are mutually exclusive. I applaud the home run idea that Allen and Oshley are pursuing. I think this shows that it could be accomplished.

I'm pretty sure that Hibbert's offer can't start for more than $12.9m. Are you assuming that we ask Indiana to not only not match but to give him a max extension (four years of course) and then trade him to us?

[DusterBuster]

Just another young center we're getting teased with

At least we'll only be teased by Hibbert for a week or two, not 5 years like some other C's.....

I guess how much Indy pays Kaman will be a good indication of their thinking and plans. A higher contract would seem to indicate they are not going to match Hibbert.

Agreed. I tend to believe that pretty much every bigman is going to get paid big money this summer. They're that "in-demand" right now. You look at that deal for Asik. He's about as big of a white stiff as there is in the NBA. All the guy does is defend and rebound, he can't preform a offensive move to save his life. That said, he's 7ft tall and young. If he wasn't a 2nd rounder and subject to that Arenas rule, I have no doubt he would have gotten upwards of 7 to 8 mil. I don't think there's a chance Kaman comes out of this summer with anything less than 8 mil per year.

In that regard, I see their interest in Kaman as a good thing for Portland. I won't be overly excited about it until I hear that they've come to an agreement and we get some info on price.

[kdawg32086]

I have a sense that people think Hibbert / Batum are mutually exclusive. I applaud the home run idea that Allen and Oshley are pursuing. I think this shows that it could be accomplished.


Another interesting issue is MN's offer of 45-50. Why hasn't anyone specifically outlined the offer like the other deals now being mentioned. The Wolves have $46M committed (having not waived Martell). In addition, their issue is making Batum or Wes Johnson be a SG when there are proven SGs available at a lower costs - Crawford & OJ Mayo. MN sort of feels like an agent leaking misinformation for whatever reason. Go Blazers!

Travis Diener?

[The Sebastian Express]

Come on Indiana, you know you wanna do a S&T for the rights to Freeland and Claver.

[Blazer50]

Jon Diebler - Not Travis Diener - Sorry

[Wizenheimer]

hypothetical you're the GM situation
walsh/pritchard call. they claim the kaman interview went well, and they'd be willing to agree to a hibbert sign and trade for the right price. otherwise, they'll match. what is the max offer that you would make?

rights to claver

[DusterBuster]

hypothetical you're the GM situation
walsh/pritchard call. they claim the kaman interview went well, and they'd be willing to agree to a hibbert sign and trade for the right price. otherwise, they'll match. what is the max offer that you would make?

rights to claver

Agreed. They could have the rights to both euros for all I care. Overall though, I'd call their bluff. If they're serious enough to consider Kaman and doing a S&T of Hibbert, that means they have some reservations about matching the deal. In that case, the only thing I offer them is the rights to the euros, anything else and I tell them to put their money where their mouth is.

Ben Golliver was just on The Sports Insider, he was a big ol' wet blanket for anyone excited for Hibbert to Portland. He expects Indy to match, which he is unfortunately probably right on.

The Indy's beat writer Mike Wells is just getting on with Brian Berger. Here's what he has to say.....

*No real surprise at the offer, but some worry in Indy that the Pacer may not match. Pacers should have known the max offer was coming after the season he had.

*Hibbert is a great guy, hard worker, yadda yadda yadda.

*Kaman is definitely Plan B for them.

*Mike Wells gut feeling with Hibbert is that he's going to be a Blazer next year. Thinks it'll be too much money for the Pacers.

[DavidSterned]

rights to claver

Then the Blazers can be like "What do you mean you don't want him? You're the one that drafted him"

[Billy]

hypothetical you're the GM situation
walsh/pritchard call. they claim the kaman interview went well, and they'd be willing to agree to a hibbert sign and trade for the right price. otherwise, they'll match. what is the max offer that you would make?

rights to claver

Don't forget they can have Shawne Williams too!