Author: John Paulsen (Page 358 of 937)

      TMZ: Wizards tell Arenas they can void his contract

      January 12, 2010 /

      TMZ is reporting (via “sources”) that the Washington Wizards have already informed Gilbert Arenas that they believe he is in violation of the morality clause that is in every NBA contract.

      We’re told a team official was trading text messages with Arenas after the locker room incident. Sources tell TMZ … in one of the messages, the official told Arenas the team felt Agent Zero violated the clause in his contract prohibiting him from engaging in conduct detrimental to the team or the NBA … and they could have the contract voided as a result.

      Most NBA contracts contain morality clauses — but it’s difficult to void an NBA contract on those grounds. The Indiana Pacers didn’t void Ron Artest’s contract after “The Malice at the Palace” in 2004.

      What’s the point of having a morality clause in a contract if it can’t be exercised? If a player is brandishing a firearm in your locker room and threatening his co-workers, isn’t that immoral?

      This will be an interesting story to watch. It is definitely in the best interests of the franchise to void his contract, which was bloated the day he signed it.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Bosh trade would alter NBA landscape

      January 12, 2010 /

      Of all of the big-name players that will become free agents this summer, Chris Bosh’s situation seems to be the most delicate. The Raptors are playing pretty well — they’ve won eight of their last 11 and are currently the #6 seed in the East — but it’s not clear what his threshold is for staying in Toronto. A postseason berth? It’s probably going to take more than that. 50 wins and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Semis? Maybe.

      But with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade basically untradeable, and with Joe Johnson and Amare Stoudemire playing well on winning teams, Bosh’s situation is the most fluid.

      Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo told Peter Vescey of the New York Post the following via email:

      “For the record, I am not actively seeking a deal or discussing Bosh with any team, much less the Lakers.

      “I haven’t traded him yet and our position has been the same. We will not make a deal just to make a deal. Our intention is to keep him here long term.

      “Additionally, I have not yet offered an extension as Dwyane Wade and LeBron James both received [from their respective teams]. So technically he has not said no.

      “I honestly don’t think C.B. knows what the future holds, or what he wants to do, so I would say we’re still in the game as far as his pending free agency.”

      Colangelo’s language is interesting: “I haven’t traded him yet.” Yet. That means he’s open to trading him, right? The Raptors are under the gun because they face the prospect of losing Bosh with zero compensation this summer. The deal that Vescey discusses in his article is a Andrew Bynum-for-Bosh swap with the Lakers. That deal would be feasible in the summer if the teams executed a sign-and-trade with Bosh. Otherwise, I don’t know that there’s a scenario where Bosh would agree to a sign-and-trade because he’d be effectively decimating his future team. The Lakers are the exception due to the presence of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. The deal makes some sense because the Raptors would get a true center with All-Star potential to play alongside Andrea Bargnani, who would be able to play his natural position — power forward. For the Lakers, the deal makes sense because while Bynum has played well in spurts, he and Pau Gasol don’t work all that well together when they’re both on the floor.

      Chad Ford writes (via TrueHoop) that other teams around the league are reacting to the news that Bosh might be on the move:

      Continue reading »

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Rockets on the verge of moving T-Mac?

      January 12, 2010 /

      Via TrueHoop, Chris Broussard says that the Rockets think they can move Tracy McGrady before the trade deadline, and that the top two destinations are Washington and Chicago.

      Washington, which league executives believe is in cost-cutting mode after the Gilbert Arenas disaster, could have McGrady for a deal featuring Caron Butler and some expiring contracts, perhaps Mike Miller and Randy Foye.

      Chicago, which has definite interest in McGrady, also has the combination of young talent and expiring contracts the Rockets are looking for. There is a Bulls player Houston covets, but it’s not clear who that is. Since the Rockets surely realize that Derrick Rose won’t be traded, logic suggests it’s Joakim Noah.

      A package of Noah, Brad Miller and Jerome James (the latter two have expiring contracts) would work financially, but sources say the Bulls have no desire to part with Noah.

      I’m not sure why any team would covet McGrady at this point. He hasn’t scored double figures in a game in more than 11 months and there’s no guarantee that he’s going to get back to his old self. I certainly wouldn’t advise trading a healthy Caron Butler or Joakim Noah for him.

      The only upside is salary cap relief. If the Wizards just want to blow the team up, then this is one way to do it. McGrady’s deal is expiring, so whoever trades for him can really help their cap flexibility in the short term. But at this point, Butler is the Wizards’ best player and only has one year (at an affordable $10.5 million) left on his deal. Why trade him?

      Then again, who knows what’s going on in the mind of Ernie Grunfeld.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Anthony Randolph out two months

      January 12, 2010 /

      The promising season of Anthony Randolph is effectively over, per the San Francisco Chronicle.

      He is projected to miss about two months with multiple left ankle injuries, the team announced before Monday’s game against Cleveland.

      An MRI exam revealed Randolph has two torn ligaments on the outside of the ankle and an avulsion fracture where an inside ligament pulled away from the bone. He’ll be in a protective boot for three weeks before starting rehabilitation, which usually takes at least four weeks for similar injuries.

      It sure looked like Randolph was ready for a breakout season after torching the summer league. He averaged 11.6 points and 6.5 rebounds, but played just 23 minutes per game for a bad team. He even ended up being the subject of a lot of trade talk before the injury. The Warriors know that he has a ton of upside, but they don’t seem to want to keep him. It’s unlikely now that teams will try to acquire him, though since he’s still on his rookie contract, there isn’t much downside. Generally, when a player gets injured, the trade talk stops until he comes back and proves that he can still play. That will probably be the case with Randolph as well.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      Line of the Night (1/11): Joe Johnson

      January 12, 2010 /

      The Hawks beat the shorthanded Celtics, 102-96, in Boston, and are now 3-0 against the C’s this season. Johnson hit 14 of 25 shots (including 5 of 7 threes) to score 36 points. He had a rather thin line, with just three rebounds and one assist, but the Hawks needed him to score last night, and that’s what he did.

      Another interesting thing to note about the Hawks is that Jamal Crawford is getting a ton of minutes at point guard at Mike Bibby’s expense. In six January games, Bibby is averaging just 25 minutes per game to Crawford’s 29. More importantly, in crunch time against the Celtics, the Hawks went with Crawford, not Bibby. At this point in Bibby’s career, Crawford is simply better able to get his own shot. He’s not a much of a distributor, though he’s capable of hitting the open guy when he doesn’t have a shot (which doesn’t happen very often).

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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