Category: Fantasy Basketball (Page 193 of 274)

      Knicks suddenly busy on deadline day

      February 19, 2009 /

      The New York Knicks were suspiciously absent from lot of the trade rumors that have been flying the last few days, but that’s mostly because they weren’t in play for any of the big names. They’ve pulled off two deals and may pull off a third…

      The Knicks have swung two deals.

      No. 1: Tim Thomas, Jerome James and Anthony Roberson to Chicago for Larry Hughes

      No. 2: Malik Rose and cash to Oklahoma City for Chris Wilcox

      The contracts of Thomas, James and Hughes expire after next season, so in the first deal it looks like the Knicks are trying to make themselves better with Hughes. (I guess.) Rose and Wilcox both have deals that expire this season, so it appears that they’d like to add Wilcox to the mix in the frontcourt. He’s better than Rose, so it’s probably a good move depending on how much cash they had to throw at OKC.

      The Knicks may also make a third trade:

      Sources say the Kings have offered Kenny Thomas for Nate Robinson and Jared Jeffries. If the Knicks could move Jeffries, it would clear another $6.8 million in the summer of 2010.

      The Knicks would have to give up the talented Robinson and eat Thomas’ $8.7 million salary next year … but it’s probably worth it to the Knicks. Especially now that they’ve shored up their offense with the deals for Larry Hughes and Chris Wilcox.

      So the Knicks would part ways with the diminutive but talented Nate Robinson in order to give themselves even more cap space in the summer of 2010. This deal might be the result of the possibility of the cap decreasing over the next two years. The Knicks may be looking at their books and realizing that they can’t pay David Lee, Nate Robinson and have enough left over to sign two big-name free agents next summer.

      If they were to pull off this trade, they would be on the hook for only $16.7 million heading into next summer. Assuming the cap ends up at $56 million (or so) that leaves $39 million in cap space. If they can sign Lee to a deal averaging around $8 million per season, that leaves $31 million for a superstar or two.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      NBA trade rumors: Shaq to Cleveland?

      February 19, 2009 /

      6/16/09 Update: For discussion about the more recent Shaq rumors, click here.

      6/25 Update: Shaq has been reportedly traded to Cleveland.

      The trade deadline is at 3 PM ET today, and the rumors are flying fast and furious. I’m not going to spend too much time on each one, but here’s a rundown of the rumors…

      – Yahoo! Sports says that the Cavs are considering acquiring Shaquille O’Neal at the cost of Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. I’m not sure what the upside is here for the Suns other than the fact that they’d get about $5 million in cap relief next season when Pavlovic’s salary comes off the books.

      – The NBA league office apparently sent out a memo warning of drastic reductions in the salary cap and luxury tax thresholds, which may have a few teams scrambling today.

      – There was some talk of a Tracy McGrady-for-Baron Davis deal, but that rumor seems to be dead.

      – The Suns are reportedly still trying to pry talent away from the Grizzlies, offering up Amare Stoudemire for Mike Conley, Rudy Gay, Hakim Warrick and a 2009 first round draft pick. Unsurprisingly, the Grizzlies have declined.

      – The Bucks are trying to get out from under Richard Jefferson’s contract and they’ve been making some headway with the Blazers and Cavs about Raef LaFrentz and Wally Szczerbiak, respectively.

      – The Cavs have been trying to pry Antwan Jamison away from the Wizards, who might be more willing to deal today with the news about the (possible) significant drop in the luxury tax threshold.

      – The Vince Carter-to-the-Spurs talk has died down because they don’t want to give up Roger Mason or George Hill in the deal. Apparently, they want the Nets to give Carter away.

      Deadline day is like a poker game with 20 people playing. Teams are holding out until the last minute hoping that they can get the best deal. Complicating matters is the state of the economy and the financial strength of the NBA. There could be a flurry of trades today or everyone could stand pat.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Not so fast! OKC rejects Chandler trade

      February 19, 2009 /


      Typically, before any NBA trade is finalized, team doctors take a look at the new players and make sure they are fit for duty. Apparently, the doc in Oklahoma City doesn’t think Tyson Chandler’s toe is up to snuff.

      Tyson Chandler missed the New Orleans Hornets’ last 12 games before the All-Star break with a sprained left ankle. But that had nothing to do with why he failed his physical with the Oklahoma City Thunder and was thus sent back to the Hornets on Wednesday.

      After examining Chandler’s left big toe, Dr. Carlan Yates, Oklahoma City’s team physician, determined that the risk of re-injury was too great to give Chandler a clean bill of health. He therefore advised the Thunder to rescind Tuesday’s trade that landed them Chandler for Joe Smith, Chris Wilcox and the rights to Devon Hardin.

      “This is absolutely crazy,” Chandler said in a telephone conversation Wednesday night. “I’m super shocked. This is nuts.”

      Chandler, 26, was baffled by Yates’ ruling in part because Yates performed surgery on Chandler’s big left toe in April of 2007 when the Hornets were playing in Oklahoma City. Chandler played 79 games the following season and while he’s missed 19 games this season, none have been because of his toe.

      “He said he doesn’t know how long I’ll last,” Chandler said in reference to Yates. “He told me, ‘I have no doubt you can play on it. I’m just saying it could take a turn for the worse if you come down on somebody’s foot or hyperextend it or something.'”

      Oklahoma City was looking at Chandler as a long-term solution in the middle, but concerns over the toe made it impossible to count on him in that capacity. They didn’t want to take the risk, and that’s their right. They can now use that cap space on another center this summer or next.

      For the Hornets, it makes for a somewhat awkward reunion. David West and Chris Paul were none too pleased about the decision to trade Chandler away, so they were happy to hear the news. For his part, this is what the Hornets’ GM had to say.

      “We welcome Tyson back with open arms,” Hornets general manager Jeff Bower said. “We went into this trade to garner more frontcourt depth to add to our team as we continue our push towards the playoffs. We expect Tyson and the rest of our big guys to step up to the challenge.”

      All right, Bower is flat out lying here. They tried to make this trade for salary cap relief, not to “garner more frontcourt depth.” West said it best…

      “This move has nothing to do with basketball. It was strictly a business decision. Using some common sense, that’s what it came down to. I was hoping that all of it was a rumor. We have now become one of the smaller teams, and we really have put ourselves back in the situation we were in two years ago when we had a big hole in the middle.”

      If Chandler is able to return and get back to the type of play we’re used to, the Hornets will once again be a major factor in the Western Conference playoffs. His PER was a stellar 17+ the last two seasons but it is sitting at 14.16 right now, and injuries are to blame.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Breaking down the Chicago/Sacramento trade

      February 18, 2009 /

      According to ESPN sources the Bulls and Kings have agreed to a multi-player trade. There aren’t any so-called “big” names in the deal but there are a number of starter-level players involved.

      The Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings have reached tentative agreement on a trade sending Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Michael Ruffin and Cedric Simmons to the Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons, front-office sources said on Wednesday.

      The Kings would then turn around and ship Ruffin to the Portland Trail Blazers for forward Ike Diogu and cash considerations, sources told ESPN’s Chris Broussard.

      One source told ESPN.com that the Bulls players were pulled off the team bus Wednesday afternoon and were told they had been traded.

      The trade centers around Nocioni, Gooden (or at least his expiring contract), Miller and Salmons. The Bulls’ big “get” here is probably Brad Miller, who is still a pretty good center. Salmons is a dynamic wing who is playing very well this season, but it will be interesting to see how the Bulls plan to use him. He is not nearly the same player coming off the bench.

      For the Kings, they will get immediate salary cap relief as Miller’s $12.3 million will come off the books for next season. Nocioni’s contract runs another three years at the tune of $20 million, so they must see him as an upgrade to Salmons. Nocioni is capable of starting, but has spent most of his time in Chicago coming off the bench in large part because he plays the same position as Luol Deng.

      Is there a winner here? Not really. The Bulls got the better end talent-wise, but the Kings got a nice mix of talent and salary cap relief. It looks like a win-win for both sides.

      The big news here is that without Gooden’s expiring deal, the Bulls are probably out of the running for Amare Stoudemire’s services. But as the week has worn on it is looking less and less like the Suns are going to move him before the trade deadline.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Salmons, Hinrich trade talk

      February 18, 2009 /

      In Marc Stein’s latest trade deadline column, he discusses potential new homes for Sacramento’s John Salmons and Chicago’s Kirk Hinrich.

      San Antonio, meanwhile, is in the hunt as well, pursuing Salmons — with an offer of Bruce Bowen and Ime Udoka — as a far more affordable trade target for its perimeter rotation than Vince Carter. New Jersey’s Carter has tempted the small-market Spurs for days but can be absorbed by them only in a hugely expensive and complicated deal.

      There is another complication for interested parties: Sources revealed Tuesday that Salmons has a 15 percent trade kicker in his contract that would require the team that acquires him to pay him a bonus of nearly $2 million and add that figure to its payroll. Salmons otherwise would rank as one of the league’s better bargains, earning just $5.1 million this season while averaging 18.3 points and shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 41.8 percent on 3-pointers.

      Salmons is playing heavy minutes this season and isn’t the same player coming off the bench, so if the Spurs were to acquire him, it would behoove them to insert him in their starting lineup. This might be a tough pill to swallow for a franchise that is all about chemistry and players knowing their role. If the Spurs can find a way to add Salmons without losing Roger Mason or George Hill, it would be a pretty nice move. Salmons can start, but he may not finish if Gregg Popovich goes with Mason and Manu Ginobili in crunch time.

      Minnesota, according to NBA front-office sources, has strong interest in Hinrich and is pursuing the 28-year-old to address a void at lead guard that hasn’t been filled by Randy Foye (whose success this season came after a shift to shooting guard) or the undependable Sebastian Telfair.

      The Wolves also have two expiring contracts of their own (Jason Collins and Rashad McCants) that they’re prepared to shed.

      Wow, it’s interesting sometimes to see how far a guy’s stock has fallen. Kirk Hinrich has a very affordable contract — $26.5 million over the next three seasons — but an injury got him off to a slow start this season and he isn’t shooting the ball particularly well, so the Bulls may be willing to trade him to Minnesota for cap relief. Derrick Rose is the future at point guard and the move would allow them to re-sign Ben Gordon (though that ship has probably already sailed).

      Hinrich could provide solid leadership in Minnesota. Prior to this year, he has averaged at least 6.0 assists for five consecutive seasons, and if the T-Wolves feel that Foye is really an off guard, then Hinrich should be a nice complement. With a core of Hinrich, Foye, Al Jefferson and Mike Miller (if Minny keeps him), the Timberwolves could be competitive.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑