NBA Rumors

[JasonEvans]

Amare Stoudamire for Al Jefferson and the #6 pick... worst deal ever (http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/106953?eref=sircrc&eref=fromSI), right? How could Minnesota do this?

--Jason "this is rumor season, so lets get a thread going with all the insanity" Evans

[SupaDave]

I'm just curious to see what the Cavs give Lebron.

[Marty10]

Phoenix has offered them that but Minnesota said no.

[Billy Dat]

http://blogs.indystar.com/pacersinsider/archives/2009/06/grangers_back_i.html

"I've been hearing rumors about how Josh McRoberts has been living in the weight room this offseason.

I saw it with my own eyes when I ran into him at Conseco Fieldhouse earlier this week.
McRoberts said he's put on 20 pounds of muscle since the end of the season.

The Pacers want to re-sign McRoberts, who appeared in 33 games last season.

A Pacers official told me they envision McRoberts being like Denver's Birdman. They like McRoberts' athleticism, energy and rebounding ability off the bench."

[SupaDave]

http://blogs.indystar.com/pacersinsider/archives/2009/06/grangers_back_i.html

"I've been hearing rumors about how Josh McRoberts has been living in the weight room this offseason.

I saw it with my own eyes when I ran into him at Conseco Fieldhouse earlier this week.
McRoberts said he's put on 20 pounds of muscle since the end of the season.

The Pacers want to re-sign McRoberts, who appeared in 33 games last season.

A Pacers official told me they envision McRoberts being like Denver's Birdman. They like McRoberts' athleticism, energy and rebounding ability off the bench."

McBob - Birdman Jr? Hmmmm...

[PumpkinFunk]

I've seen a whole lot of rumors about the Wizards trading Jamison and the #5 pick - Stoudamire and Ginobli are the two big names being thrown out there.

[JasonEvans]

Yao Ming to the Cavs (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AuzBTtFqyRcDtuQDStidVRi8vLYF?slug=ap-yaoming-cavaliers&prov=ap&type=lgns) to play alongside Lebron... wow! Not sure how it would be accomplished, but the new minority owners in Cleveland, who are from China, are said to really want to make it happen.

--Jason "if Yao stayed healthy -- a huuuge if -- the Cavs would be the team to beat" Evans

[moonpie23]

Boozer (forgiven) and Ginobli to the Cavs.......just give em the ring...

[JasonEvans]

Boozer (forgiven) and Ginobli to the Cavs.......just give em the ring...

Did you hear a rumor about that happening or are you just making stuff up? How would the Cavs pull that off?

--Jason "who are the big free agents this year?" Evans

[FireOgilvie]

Yao Ming to the Cavs (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AuzBTtFqyRcDtuQDStidVRi8vLYF?slug=ap-yaoming-cavaliers&prov=ap&type=lgns) to play alongside Lebron... wow! Not sure how it would be accomplished, but the new minority owners in Cleveland, who are from China, are said to really want to make it happen.

--Jason "if Yao stayed healthy -- a huuuge if -- the Cavs would be the team to beat" Evans

Yao is really strange to me. He can totally dominate one game, but then disappear completely in another (which is hard for a 7'6" center). He's also injured way too much of the time. There's no doubt that he's good, but I don't know if he would be "the answer" for the Cavs.

[JasonEvans]

Here are the Free Agents of note this summer. I would expect that all these guys will have multiple teams looking at them and expecting to upgrade their roster by adding these players (as opposed to just filling out your roster)--

Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, Mike Bibby, Shawn Marion, Carlos Boozer, Rasheed Wallace, Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Ron Artest, Andre Miller, Hedo Turkoglu, Grant Hill, Ben Gordon, Stephon Marbury, Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak, Chris "Birdman" Anderson, Antonio McDyess, Von Wafer, Chris Wilcox, Bobby Jackson, Drew Gooden, and Anthony Parker.

There are a lot of restricted free agents too, where their current team can match any offers, as well as a smaller numbers of players who can opt-out of their current contracts and become a free agent. I expect the market for restricted free agents and player-option free agents will be poor as the poor economy and the bumpe crop of 2010 free agents will likely make teams very reluctant to spend money this off-season.

Also worth mentioning-- Dahntay Jones is a free agent, though I suspect he will want to re-sign with Denver and probably will not get much more than a million or two. His stock is just not that high. Shelden Williams is also a free agent, though he will simply be hoping to sign for the veteran minimum -- which would be around 800k for him, I think. Shav is a free agent too and will merely be hoping to get a roster spot.

--Jason "Kobe can opt out and become a free agent, but would only do that to re-sign with the Lakers for more money" Evans

[superdave]

Hedo, Birdman and Ariza made themselves a lot of $ during the playoffs. I guess the odds are that they would re-sign where they are.

You have to think Boozer wont get a huge deal because he is injured so often. I'd be shocked if Cleveland went after him because of their past history and lack of cap space though.

Is the salary cap going backwards this year?

[SilkyJ]

Hedo, Birdman and Ariza made themselves a lot of $ during the playoffs. I guess the odds are that they would re-sign where they are.

You have to think Boozer wont get a huge deal because he is injured so often. I'd be shocked if Cleveland went after him because of their past history and lack of cap space though.

Is the salary cap going backwards this year?

I believe so. IIRC, its dropping by about $1-1.5mm

[moonpie23]

Did you hear a rumor about that happening or are you just making stuff up? How would the Cavs pull that off?

--Jason "who are the big free agents this year?" Evans

http://www.waitingfornextyear.com/?p=12848

http://blog.cleveland.com/bransonwright/2008/12/post_146.html

http://www.rootzoo.com/threads/view/NBA-Basketball/Cleveland-Cavaliers/Shaq-Lebron-and-BOOZER-together_253573

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128685

there are plenty more...

[Carlos]

Also worth mentioning-- Dahntay Jones is a free agent, though I suspect he will want to re-sign with Denver and probably will not get much more than a million or two. His stock is just not that high. Shelden Williams is also a free agent, though he will simply be hoping to sign for the veteran minimum -- which would be around 800k for him, I think. Shav is a free agent too and will merely be hoping to get a roster spot.

--Jason "Kobe can opt out and become a free agent, but would only do that to re-sign with the Lakers for more money" Evans

I think you're underselling Dahntay and overselling Shelden. According to Steven A. Smith... I'm sorry, that should be STEPHEN A. SMITH (because you have to yell when you're in Stephen A. mode)... the Celtics are very interested in Dahntay. I'd also bet that several other teams would be interested in him after the way he played this season. Guys who are willing to go out there and play tough defense and not care about their offense are a nice pickup for a lot of teams.

As for Shelden, he's in a bit more difficult situation. He saw inconsistent minutes for Minnesota after the trade which isn't a whole lot different than his situation in Sacramento or Atlanta. He's also in the middle of a pretty strong list of free agents at PF. Carlos, Lamar Odom, Drew Gooden, Brandon Bass, Anderson Varejao, Antonio McDyess, Chris Wilcox, and Joe Smith are all unrestricted free agents and most of them have would likely have more appeal than Shelden. There's also a list of restricted guys or guys with team options like Louis Amundson, David Lee, Charlie Villanueva, Glen Davis, Hakim Warrick, Channing Frye, Ike Diogu, and Sean May... again, all of those guys (with the huge, Krispy Kreme sign sized exception of Sean May) are likely to have more appeal than Shelden.

In other interesting NBA news, the one guy who is traveling up the draft board right now is Tyler Hansbrough. The Hawks absolutely raved about his recent workout and most are expecting him in the late lottery.

[ForeverBlowingBubbles]

I think you're underselling Dahntay and overselling Shelden. According to Steven A. Smith... I'm sorry, that should be STEPHEN A. SMITH (because you have to yell when you're in Stephen A. mode)... the Celtics are very interested in Dahntay. I'd also bet that several other teams would be interested in him after the way he played this season. Guys who are willing to go out there and play tough defense and not care about their offense are a nice pickup for a lot of teams.

As for Shelden, he's in a bit more difficult situation. He saw inconsistent minutes for Minnesota after the trade which isn't a whole lot different than his situation in Sacramento or Atlanta. He's also in the middle of a pretty strong list of free agents at PF. Carlos, Lamar Odom, Drew Gooden, Brandon Bass, Anderson Varejao, Antonio McDyess, Chris Wilcox, and Joe Smith are all unrestricted free agents and most of them have would likely have more appeal than Shelden. There's also a list of restricted guys or guys with team options like Louis Amundson, David Lee, Charlie Villanueva, Glen Davis, Hakim Warrick, Channing Frye, Ike Diogu, and Sean May... again, all of those guys (with the huge, Krispy Kreme sign sized exception of Sean May) are likely to have more appeal than Shelden.

In other interesting NBA news, the one guy who is traveling up the draft board right now is Tyler Hansbrough. The Hawks absolutely raved about his recent workout and most are expecting him in the late lottery.

great post - I hope he gets at least one more shot.

[dukelifer]

In other interesting NBA news, the one guy who is traveling up the draft board right now is Tyler Hansbrough. The Hawks absolutely raved about his recent workout and most are expecting him in the late lottery.

I said it before - the team that does not pick Hansbrough will regret it. I think Hansbrough is a pretty boring player to watch but there is no denying that he is very skilled and NBA strong right now. He can be a rock solid player in the NBA. And if he can play up the Psycho T persona- who knows - he could even make some money with endorsements.

[_Gary]

I said it before - the team that does not pick Hansbrough will regret it. I think Hansbrough is a pretty boring player to watch but there is no denying that he is very skilled and NBA strong right now. He can be a rock solid player in the NBA. And if he can play up the Psycho T persona- who knows - he could even make some money with endorsements.

I'll be the first to admit my predictions on who does and doesn't bust coming out of college is not the best - but, I'm gonna stick with my first thought about Hans. I say he'll be, at best, an average NBA bench player. The only way that changes is if he develops a 3 point shot similar to somebody like Rasheed Wallace. I don't believe he has the body to really battle underneath with other PFs or centers. He doesn't have the hops to do it. Nor the length. Nor the quickness. I just don't see him making a living doing what he did in college. He'll have to surprise me with a lot more versatility than I think he's capable of right now in order to rise above the level of "average bench player" in the NBA. Just my two cents.

[hughgs]

I'll be the first to admit my predictions on who does and doesn't bust coming out of college is not the best - but, I'm gonna stick with my first thought about Hans. I say he'll be, at best, an average NBA bench player. The only way that changes is if he develops a 3 point shot similar to somebody like Rasheed Wallace. I don't believe he has the body to really battle underneath with other PFs or centers. He doesn't have the hops to do it. Nor the length. Nor the quickness. I just don't see him making a living doing what he did in college. He'll have to surprise me with a lot more versatility than I think he's capable of right now in order to rise above the level of "average bench player" in the NBA. Just my two cents.

Why can't Hansborough be an "average bench player" and still make a living playing basketball? It seems that you've created a definition that implies that most NBA players aren't making a living playing basketball.

[superdave]

How many times did we see Hansborough fail to get his shot off inside against taller players? He had better get that face up jumper working really well and get some better ball handling skills. He's not a great rebounder either. He's a hustle guy going into a league where out-jumping a guy by an inch determines whether you get your shot off or get a rebound. He'll make some team's rotation but I wouldnt expect double digit scoring out of him too often.

[MADevil30]

Why can't Hansborough be an "average bench player" and still make a living playing basketball? It seems that you've created a definition that implies that most NBA players aren't making a living playing basketball.

I'd assume Gary was using the phrase "make a living" to mean "score a ton," not literally make money. When the minimum salary for a rookie is $450,000 i think its a given that anyone lucky enough to play in the NBA is earning a more than decent pay-check. Even if he's not a career starter, I'd expect Tyler to be good enough to earn more than the minimum throughout his career.

[_Gary]

I'd assume Gary was using the phrase "make a living" to mean "score a ton," not literally make money.

Yes. My meaning was that he wouldn't score a bunch of points in the paint or down low.

[JasonEvans]

I think you're underselling Dahntay and overselling Shelden. According to Steven A. Smith... I'm sorry, that should be STEPHEN A. SMITH (because you have to yell when you're in Stephen A. mode)... the Celtics are very interested in Dahntay. I'd also bet that several other teams would be interested in him after the way he played this season. Guys who are willing to go out there and play tough defense and not care about their offense are a nice pickup for a lot of teams.


How am I overselling Shelden to say "he will simply be hoping to sign for the veteran minimum." In other words, he is just hoping to find a roster spot somewhere.

I agree with you that Dahntay has higher NBA stock -- significantly higher. Still, I doubt he gets more than 1.5-2 million per season. I think he'd be looking for a 2 or 3 year deal in the 5 million dollar range. That would be good for him.

--Jason "I think Shel will not be on an NBA roster next season" Evans

[Carlos]

I said it before - the team that does not pick Hansbrough will regret it. I think Hansbrough is a pretty boring player to watch but there is no denying that he is very skilled and NBA strong right now. He can be a rock solid player in the NBA. And if he can play up the Psycho T persona- who knows - he could even make some money with endorsements.

Like I said, Hansbrough is traveling up the draft board.

Teams that don't take the steps to sign him may regret it.

Even if a team has to shuffle their draft plans, I think it makes sense to grab him in the lottery.

In the end Tyler will walk away from the NBA having made a nice living.

So in a nutshell, if you had to describe his NBA potential it would be traveling, steps, a shuffle, and a walk.

[SupaDave]

Like I said, Hansbrough is traveling up the draft board.

Teams that don't take the steps to sign him may regret it.

Even if a team has to shuffle their draft plans, I think it makes sense to grab him in the lottery.

In the end Tyler will walk away from the NBA having made a nice living.

So in a nutshell, if you had to describe his NBA potential it would be traveling, steps, a shuffle, and a walk.

Still wouldn't draft him in the lottery - sorry. This is the year to get you a guard...

[SupaDave]

Still wouldn't draft him in the lottery - sorry. This is the year to get you a guard...

BUT after seeing the Spurs move to get Jefferson - I really like Tyler with a team like the Spurs. That looks like his type of team. Don't know the Spurs pick order though.

[JBDuke]

Like I said, Hansbrough is traveling up the draft board.

Teams that don't take the steps to sign him may regret it.

Even if a team has to shuffle their draft plans, I think it makes sense to grab him in the lottery.

In the end Tyler will walk away from the NBA having made a nice living.

So in a nutshell, if you had to describe his NBA potential it would be traveling, steps, a shuffle, and a walk.

Very nicely done! And, as much as I hate to admit it, I agree.

[A-Tex Devil]

... to Pistons?!?!?!? (http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=4280665) :eek:

[johnb]

In other interesting NBA news, the one guy who is traveling up the draft board right now is Tyler Hansbrough. The Hawks absolutely raved about his recent workout and most are expecting him in the late lottery.

Why would a team rave about someone they intend to draft? Isn't this poker time?

[MChambers]

Why would a team rave about someone they intend to draft? Isn't this poker time?

It should be, if you are a well-run team . . .

[SupaDave]

It should be, if you are a well-run team . . .

But this is the Hawks we're talking about!! LOL!

[DukieBoy]

Here is why involving G. The Bulls are trying to move up to get him. It could mean that the team is going to let Ben Gordon go if they are looking for another shooting guard in G.

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/107571-sources-bulls-packaging-picks-for-henderson (Here is why involving G. The Bulls are trying to move up to get him. It could mean that the team is going to let Ben Gordon go if they are looking for another shooting guard in G.

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/107571-sources-bulls-packaging-picks-for-henderson)

[SlimSlowSlider]

"A Bucks official with knowledge of the deal said Tuesday that Milwaukee plans to trade scoring forward Richard Jefferson(notes) to the San Antonio Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto, giving them a veteran cast and financial flexibility.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-bucks-spurstrade&prov=ap&type=lgns

Great trade for San Antonio, IMO.

[CDu]

"A Bucks official with knowledge of the deal said Tuesday that Milwaukee plans to trade scoring forward Richard Jefferson(notes) to the San Antonio Spurs for Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto, giving them a veteran cast and financial flexibility.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-bucks-spurstrade&prov=ap&type=lgns

Great trade for San Antonio, IMO.

Yeah, it leaves them thin on the frontcourt, but it definitely gives them an additional perimeter weapon which they need. And Oberto and Thomas aren't exactly impact players in the post, so they can probably be replaced.