Category: Fantasy Basketball (Page 197 of 274)

Lakers trade Radmanovic for Morrison

February 8, 2009 / John Paulsen

In one of the most random trades ever, the Lakers and Bobcats traded disappointments.

The Charlotte Bobcats traded managing partner Michael Jordan’s first draft pick on Saturday, sending struggling forward Adam Morrison and reserve guard Shannon Brown to the Los Angeles Lakers for forward Vladimir Radmanovic.
Jordan’s first major decision after becoming part owner with the final say on all basketball decisions was taking Morrison with the third overall pick in the 2006 draft over Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay and others.
Morrison and Brown were never a good fit. Morrison’s defensive deficiencies didn’t mesh with Brown’s style, and Morrison had failed to hit shots consistently, struggling in a starting role the past four games after small forward Gerald Wallace suffered a partially collapsed lung and a broken rib against the Lakers on Jan. 27.
Morrison, who cut his trademark hair short before this season, will get a chance to crack the Lakers’ rotation and become an outside scoring threat. Morrison, who averaged a national-best 28.1 points for Gonzaga in 2005-06, missed all of last season after tearing a knee ligament in a preseason game.
Morrison, due about $5.3 million next season in the final year of his rookie contract, was averaging just 4.5 points while shooting 36 percent from the field and 34 percent from 3-point range.
The deal also gives the Lakers some salary-cap relief. Radmanovic is owed $6.5 million next season and $6.9 million a year later in a player option.

Since he plays so little (and for the Bobcats), I haven’t seen much of Morrison since he entered the league. His PER (6.02) is brutal and his career shooting percentage (37%) is equally awful. The Lakers are rolling the dice that the guy just needs a change of scenery. He’s a decent three-point shooter (33%) and if he can get his confidence back, maybe he can help his new team. After all, he’s just 24 and still has a little upside.

With this trade, Lakers’ GM Mitch Kupchak rids the team of one of his worst signings — Radmanovic. He’s a good shooter, but he’s completely lost defensively and can’t be trusted on that end of the court. Morrison may turn out to be equally as bad, but the Lakers get out of the last year of Radmanovic’s contract, which runs $6.9 million in the 2010-11 season.

Fantasy Basketball, NBA

Adam Morrison Charlotte Bobcats Los Angeles Lakers Mitch Kupchak Vladimir Radmanovic

What are the Knicks going to do with David Lee?

February 4, 2009 / John Paulsen

During a chat yesterday, Chad Ford had this to say about David Lee:

Donnie Walsh is trying to find a home for Eddy Curry or Jared Jeffries that frees up some cap space so that he can re-sign Lee. It sounds like that’s close to Mission Impossible, though I said the same thing about Zach Randolph this summer. If he can do that, I think Lee stays. If he can’t, he’d be smart to get something now instead of losing him in the summer. There is LOTS of interest in Lee both now and in the summer. He’s one of the few restricted free agents teams think they can steal away because of the Knicks cap situation.

Let’s be clear — the Knicks don’t have to trade anyone away to re-sign Lee. Ford is talking about clearing cap space so that the franchise doesn’t have to pay a luxury tax next season. They are currently on the hook for $69.3 million and that doesn’t count new contracts for Lee or Nate Robinson. With the the luxury tax threshold unlikely to change much from this season ($71 million), Walsh would need to move a contract or two to clear space for signing Lee and/or Robinson. Lee is the priority because he’s such a good fit in Mike D’Antoni’s up tempo attack. He is averaging 16.0 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, and is shooting almost 57% from the field.

Eddy Curry will make $21.7 million over the next two seasons but has only appeared in one game this season. The Knicks desperately need to get him some minutes if they hope to trade him before the Feb. 19 deadline. Jeffries is getting some minutes, but he has been horribly unproductive (PER: 7.39), though he was never much of a stat guy.

The bottom line is that if the Knicks want to re-sign Lee, they can. Their projected payroll goes down to $18.2 million for the 2010 season, so they would only take the luxury tax hit for one season if they chose to sign Lee to a multi-year deal (or matched another team’s offer this summer, when he becomes a restricted free agent).

What’s he worth? I’d say his play this season has put him into the range of $10-$11 million per season. I’d be careful not to pay too much more, because right now he’s putting up great numbers on a bad team that plays at a blistering pace.

Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

David Lee Donnie Walsh Eddy Curry Jared Jeffries John Paulsen Nate Robinson New York Knicks Summer of 2010

Are the Suns thinking about trading Amare?

February 4, 2009 / John Paulsen

ESPN’s Chad Ford said that they are in his chat yesterday.

Jason (Culver City CA) [via mobile]: What are the chances of Amare Stoudemire getting traded before the deadline?
Chad Ford: Last week I said 10 percent. But I think that was low. The more people I talk to in the league, the more I think it’s something in the neighborhood of 30 to 40 percent. Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver are taking a hard look at the team right now. If they decide to blow it up, Stoudemire will be the first to go.

Let’s see, you’re thinking about blowing the team up and your first move is to trade away your 26 year-old All-Pro forward/center? This is nonsensical. Why not trade away Shaq, who is 36 and due to make $20 million next season? Or Steve Nash, who is 34 and has just one more year on his contract?

Why would you trade away your best player, especially when he’s only 26?

I criticized Steve Kerr’s decision to break up that Suns team that was a couple of bench-clearing suspensions away from upending the eventual-champion Spurs in the 2007 playoffs. His first move as GM was to trade Rudy Fernandez to the Blazers for cash considerations. Then there was the Marion-Shaq trade, which forced Mike D’Antoni out, because he doesn’t know how to coach a slow-it-down team. Seemingly every move Kerr makes backfires.

The Suns are now 26-20, they’ve lost seven of their last 11 games and are hanging on to the #8 seed in the West. They are a shell of that exciting team that we saw in those playoffs two years ago and if Carlos Boozer can come back strong for the Jazz, Phoenix is in serious danger of missing the postseason altogether.

Now they’re thinking about trading away their best player, who is only 26 and entering the prime of his career.

That’s just great.

Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

Amare Stoudemire John Paulsen Phoenix Suns Rudy Fernandez Shaquille O'Neal Steve Kerr

Dwyane Wade shoots down New York as a possible destination in 2010

February 3, 2009 / John Paulsen

D-Wade thinks he and LeBron could end up playing for the same team in two years, but he doesn’t think it’s going to be for the Knicks.

Days after suggesting the possibility of becoming a teammate of LeBron James after the two become free agents in 2010, Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade shot down at least one potential destination for the star-studded tandem: New York.
Wade said Tuesday that he remains committed to the Heat for now and could see himself spending the rest of his career in Miami. But Wade also said he would explore all of his options should he elect to opt out of his contract and become a free agent in 2010, the same summer several of the NBA’s top players have options.
”Is it a possibility me and LeBron will play together? It’s always a possibility,” Wade said after the Heat’s practice Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. “We’re both free agents. Is it a possibility I’m going to New York? That’s not a possibility in my mind.”
That’s the strongest stance yet Wade has taken on his potential free agency in 2010. His comments came on the heels of a New York Post story published Friday in which Wade was quoted as saying he and James could end up as teammates.
But Wade took exception to some of the comments attributed to him in the story and said Friday that he never implied that the two would play in New York.

It’s interesting that Wade admits that he plans to look at all of his options next summer (and who wouldn’t?) but goes out of his way to cross New York off the list of possible destinations. For a guy who is intent on keeping his options open, it seems odd to rule out the biggest market in the country.

Miami is an attractive place to play and my guess is that Wade ends up re-signing with the Heat, especially since they’ll have the cap space to sign a top tier free agent in the next two summers.

Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James free agent Miami Heat New York Knicks Summer of 2010