Author: John Paulsen (Page 567 of 937)

      Tyson Chandler headed to Oklahoma City?

      February 17, 2009 /

      The answer is yes, according to Marc Stein’s sources.

      Sources with knowledge of the trade parameters told ESPN.com that the deal was approved by the league office Tuesday afternoon, with the Hornets receiving forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox in exchange for their best interior defender.

      ESPN.com reported early Monday that the Hornets — who have been looking to move Chandler mostly for financial reasons — were in talks with the Thunder on a trade that would net the expiring contracts of Smith and Wilcox. Thunder general manager Sam Presti is a long-time admirer of Chandler dating to his time with the San Antonio Spurs.

      The Thunder also possess numerous draft picks to sweeten trade packages — including five first-round picks in the next two drafts — but Presti was able to land an accomplished center to complement his promising young trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green without surrendering any major draft considerations.

      With a payroll at nearly $67 million this season and scheduled to reach almost $77 million next season, New Orleans felt it had to part with Chandler before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trading deadline regardless, even though dealing away the 26-year-old almost certainly takes the Hornets out of serious playoff contention in the West.

      “…even though dealing away the 26-year-old almost certainly takes the Hornets out of serious playoff contention in the West.”

      This is the first time that I can remember (though I’m sure there have been other cases) that a serious title contender traded away one of its best players for financial reasons. The Hornets are on the hook for almost $77 million next season and they needed to cut salary to stay under the luxury tax threshold. In the process, they are sacrificing a legitimate shot at an NBA championship. This move just goes to show how the bad economy is having a direct effect on NBA personnel decisions.

      The Hornets do get Chris Wilcox as part of this deal, and he is having an off year after having three very productive seasons. There’s a chance — albeit a slim one — that the Hornets could still keep their darkhorse status headed into the playoffs if Wilcox gets back to his 14-point/8-rebound days. He isn’t in the same league as Chandler on the defensive end of the court.

      I like this trade for the Thunder. They’re getting one of the league’s best defensive centers at a fairly reasonable price. Along with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green, the Thunder have a nice core to build around.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Should the Spurs trade for Vince Carter?

      February 17, 2009 /

      There has been some talk of late that the Spurs are interested in acquiring Vince Carter.

      Duncan says he would love to have Carter as a teammate, and why not? At age 32, Carter remains one of the NBA’s most productive small forwards, averaging 20.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.9 assists.

      Duncan hedges when the price for Carter reportedly includes Roger Mason Jr., Bruce Bowen, George Hill and Fabricio Oberto.

      “I’d hate to see that many guys go,” Duncan said after an All-Star appearance he enjoyed, largely because of its brevity.

      If general manager R.C. Buford can find a way to get Carter from the Nets without including so many rotation players — a Robert Horry sign-and-trade could be part of such a solution — it is easy to imagine Duncan giving such a deal the blessing Popovich likely would seek.

      Here’s a look at the proposed trade in the ESPN Trade Machine. Kurt Thomas could also be substituted for Oberto.

      Of the four Spurs that would be heading to New Jersey, the team would miss Roger Mason, Jr. the most. He’s playing over thirty minutes a game and has hit several clutch/game-winning threes this season. In fact, he’s shooting almost 45% from long range; he’s exactly the kind of player that the Spurs need to space the court for Duncan, Ginobili and Parker in crunch time. There is no doubt that Vince Carter is a better player, but he’s also a different player, and that’s what should scare Spurs fans about this deal. San Antonio is 26-9 since the beginning of December and they are arguably the second-best team in the West. Their current roster is capable of giving the Lakers fits if the two teams were to meet in the playoffs, so is it worth the risk to add Carter to the mix?

      Hill is the piece that San Antonio is most likely to miss in the long term. He has played very well in his rookie season and has finally given the Spurs a proper backup to Parker. He looks like he’ll be a starting-caliber point guard in a year or two, so they’d be giving up on his potential as well. Bowen can still defend in spurts and hit the corner three and Oberto is a big, beefy backup on the front line (though he isn’t playing much this season).

      Without those four, the Spurs would have a rotation that would include Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, Carter, Finley, Thomas, Bonner and Udoka. I think Gregg Popovich trusts those eight guys, but what happens if one of them gets injured? Does he have faith in any of the other guys further down the bench?

      My guess is that the Nets would do the deal if Mason, Hill and (maybe) a first round pick were included. It would give the team incredible cap flexibility in the summer of 2010. With Devin Harris and Brook Lopez already on board, New Jersey would become an attractive landing spot for one (or two) of the big name free agents that should be available that summer.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Bosh to Chicago?

      February 17, 2009 /

      The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that the Bulls are talking about a deal that would allow them to land Chris Bosh.

      The Amare Stoudemire trade talk still has the Bulls among the teams most involved, but a new scenario making the rounds has the Bulls taking part in a three-team deal that would bring Toronto Raptors star Chris Bosh to Chicago.

      The rumored swap would send Stoudemire to Toronto and land the Phoenix Suns a package of players and draft picks from the Bulls, likely to include Drew Gooden and his expiring $7.2 million contract, Tyrus Thomas and a first-round pick.

      Maybe I’m wrong, but this just sounds like wishful thinking by Brian Hanley, the writer of the article. He doesn’t even say that he has a source — he just calls it a “rumored swap,” which means he might have read about it on some fan blog somewhere. (Not this one, of course.)

      The Raptors have said all along that they don’t want to move Bosh and with the recent actions by the Suns indicating that they may in fact keep Stoudemire, I don’t really see how this deal goes down. Besides, if you’re the Suns, wouldn’t you rather do a straight up Bosh-for-Amare swap than to do a three-team deal and trade for Tyrus Thomas, Drew Gooden and a few other pieces? Bosh’s trade value is higher than Stoudemire’s because he’s two years younger, hasn’t had microfracture surgery and has a reputation for being a solid defender.

      If I were a Bulls fan, I wouldn’t hold my breath. This just sounds too good to be true.

      2/18 Update: Toronto GM Brian Colangelo says there is “no truth” to the trade rumor.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Stoudemire to stay?

      February 17, 2009 /

      That appears to be the case, at least according to ESPN’s sources.

      After the Suns spent several days taking and making phone calls on potential trades for Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O’Neal, NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that Phoenix — having received a series of underwhelming proposals for Stoudemire — prefers now to leave its core intact for the rest of the season to see if new coach Alvin Gentry can do more with this group than the outgoing Terry Porter.

      “I got the impression today that [the Suns] are standing pat,” said one source with knowledge of the team’s thinking.

      Said another source close to the situation: “That is very accurate.”

      Officials from two other teams told ESPN.com on Monday that the Suns’ willingness to consider offers for Stoudemire has been scaled back considerably from last week, when Stoudemire himself seemed resigned to being sent elsewhere, telling reporters: “I know for sure, wherever I go, we’re going to definitely be playoff contenders.”

      At a news conference to announce Gentry’s hiring, [Steve] Kerr stopped short of promising that the Suns would sit out the deadline completely, but did add: “I’d like to keep what we have and go forward and see what we can do,” Kerr said.

      Well, well, well…it appears that cooler heads may have prevailed. It could be that the Suns realized that they weren’t going to get equal value for their superstar or they may have decided that he wasn’t the problem after all. The dismissal of Terry Porter would indicate that management places a fair amount of blame for the Suns’ inconsistent play at his feet.

      After all this build up, the Suns may very well decide to keep Stoudemire through the end of the season. Salary cap ramifications aside, I think this is the right call.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      #4 Pitt upsets #1 UConn

      February 16, 2009 /

      It’s funny how draft stock doesn’t always have a whole heck of a lot to do with how good a player is. For example, take the two big-name big men in tonight’s Pitt/UConn matchup. One guy is projected to go as high as #2 in some mock drafts and the other is supposed to be a mid- to a late-first round pick. One guy is 7’3″, long and athletic and is one of the nation’s best shot blockers. The other is an undersized power forward who is maybe 6’7″ if you’re feeling generous. How did these to players perform tonight? One guy scored 22 points and grabbed 23 rebounds and the other managed just five points and four boards.

      Who’s who? Well, the 7’3″ Hasheem Thabeet is projected to go in the top 5 in most mock drafts and he was thoroughly outplayed by 6’7″ strongman DeJuan Blair. In fact, Blair is so strong that he nearly broke Thabeet’s arm early in the first half (an event which was captured in the above picture).

      The game was a back-and-forth affair until late in the second half. With 3:11 to play and the game tied, 61-61, Levance Fields made the first of back-to-back three pointers to put the Panthers up six. He went on to hit four straight free throws to put the Huskies away. The Panthers upended the Huskies, 76-68.

      Sam Young — another NBA prospect — led the Panthers with 25 points, hitting 4 of his 6 three-pointers. A.J. Price posted 18 points and eight assists.

      The key to beating UConn is to limit Thabeet’s impact on both ends of the court. Pittsburgh kept him from dunking and he was just 3-6 from the free throw line. On the other end of the court, Blair was very physical with the big man, pushing him back underneath the basket before using a plethora of post moves to finish at the rim. It’s hard to block shots when the offensive player is pushing you back, and that’s exactly what Blair did tonight.

      Another #1 falls. Pittsburgh is a tough team and they won’t be an easy out come March.

      College Basketball, NBA Draft

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