Category: NBA (Page 303 of 595)

      Nash signs extension

      July 20, 2009 /

      Two-time MVP Steve Nash has agreed to a two-year extension with the Phoenix Suns.

      After receiving an improved offer last week and taking a few more days to deliberate, two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash notified the Phoenix Suns over the weekend that he is accepting their two-year extension offer worth an estimated $22 million, according to team sources.

      The Suns offered Nash a two-year, $20 million extension two weeks ago in addition to the $13.1 million he’s owed next season, then bumped it higher in a meeting in Las Vegas last Wednesday attended by Suns owner Robert Sarver, president of basketball operations Steve Kerr and Nash’s agent Bill Duffy.

      When the Suns traded away Shaquille O’Neal, it seemed to indicate that the franchise was ready to start the rebuilding process. But with this extension, GM Steve Kerr appears to be building around Nash and, for the time being at least, Amare Stoudemire. I’m not sure what Kerr’s long-term plan is, and I’m not confident that even he knows.

      NBA, News

      What did we learn at summer league?

      July 20, 2009 /

      Kevin Arnovitz of TrueHoop runs down the eight biggest stories of summer league. He discusses Blake Griffin and Anthony Randolph’s star potential, how the economic crisis is affecting European basketball as well as the NBA, how free agency (specifically the Lamar Odom, Carlos Boozer and Allen Iverson situations) had executives gossiping like housewives, the death of the back-to-the-basket game and how dysfunctional organizational structure breeds dysfunctional franchises.

      He also describes out the deep 2009 point guard class fared this summer.

      The Point Guard Class
      Several point guards who came to Las Vegas made strong impressions. Jonny Flynn, despite all the turmoil surrounding Ricky Rubio, stood out. Though many in Vegas questioned the wisdom of playing Tyreke Evans at point guard long-term, few doubted that his strength, size, and capacity to get to the rim would make him a scoring machine. Observers had reserved praise for Brandon Jennings and Stephen Curry, the former for his unrefined shot, the latter for looking more like a gunner than a floor general. Some of the mid-first-rounders earned a lot of praise. Dallas’ Roddy Beaubois led Vegas point guards in oohs and aahs, zipping through the lane in traffic and filling it up from beyond the arc. Of all the point guards in Las Vegas last week, Darren Collison was among the most polished before going down with an ankle injury. After starting Summer League 1-for-15 from the field, Ty Lawson bounced back to turn in three dominant performances, averaging 23.7 points over that span. Lawson is the kind of point guard who needs to be surrounded by scorers to excel. He’ll have that in Denver.

      It seems like Brandon Jennings is a divisive personality right now. I’ve read some scouting reports that said he played outstanding at summer league while other observers barely mention his name. He averaged 14.6 points, 8.2 assists, 3.6 steals and 4.2 turnovers. He only shot 38% from the field, but even though he has an “unrefined shot,” he made 9 of 21 (43%) three-point attempts. He’s lightning quick, so if he can get a little more consistent with his jumper and develop a Tony Parker floater in the lane, he’s going to be tough to stop.

      How quickly he has to develop depends on whether or not the Bucks are able to keep Ramon Sessions. If Sessions signs elsewhere, Luke Ridnour may keep the starting job while Jennings learns in a reserve role. If Sessions stays, it would give the Bucks great depth at point guard and trade assets for the future. I think the Bucks will match an offer up to the mid-level for Sessions, but the way they’ve been dumping salary this summer, he should be a prime target for teams that have a need at point guard.

      NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip

      The NBA owes a lot to Yao Ming

      July 19, 2009 /

      http://thearchnemesis.com/images/yao-ming-running.jpg

      I’ve always loved that photo. It’s a safe bet that whatever happens over the course of the next year concerning Yao Ming and his health, he’s not going to going to be the same Yao Ming we’ve seen. Of course it’s sad when a big man falls after years of pounding a body unable to cope with the prolonged strain of basketball. But Yao Ming’s early retirement would result in more than just the loss of a star player. Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo! Sports has this to say:

      As the global game goes, he’s basketball’s most important player since Michael Jordan. He’s the reason the world’s most populated country grew smitten with the NBA. He’s the reason that the NBA makes hundreds of millions of dollars out of the Far East, why its American players were treated like rock stars in the Beijing Olympics.

      A lot of NBA players and commentators treated Yao with disdain upon his arrival, an overhyped stiff they promised to embarrass. Truth be told, there was a racial element to the criticism. Perhaps they didn’t want to believe an Asian could become an NBA star. Perhaps they feared an impending wave of Chinese 7-footers to gobble up jobs. Whatever the genesis, the criticisms of Yao pushed beyond legitimate basketball doubts and were nasty and needlessly personal.

      Perhaps, there’s never been a modern athlete with the burden that belonged to Yao…
      He won the respect of his peers in the NBA. He worked relentlessly, and became an unstoppable force when his body was well.

      This is absolutely true. I remember not believing he would amount to anything in the NBA, but I can safely say now that he has proven himself to me and countless others. If you still don’t think Yao is important to the NBA, you’d better remember that there’s a country of a billion and a half people across the ocean, and a large number of them (if you’ll pardon the generalization) don’t think the word “basketball” too often, but rather “that game Yao Ming plays.”

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Odom-to-Miami looking like a real possibility

      July 19, 2009 /

      Yesterday, when we learned that Lamar Odom called Lakers owner Jerry Buss to try to smooth things over, it seemed (fairly) inevitable that the two sides would come to some sort of understanding and Odom would return to the Lakers. But a day later, it looks like there is a real chance that he may end up signing with the Miami Heat.

      Amid a growing sense around the league that the Miami Heat have a real shot at stealing Lamar Odom away from the Los Angeles Lakers, Odom is expected to take the weekend to ponder his next move.

      Sources with knowledge of Odom’s thinking told ESPN.com that he has not abandoned hope of resuscitating serious negotiations with L.A. after Lakers owner Jerry Buss angrily pulled a three-year, $27 million offer off the table earlier this week.

      According to a broadcast report Friday night from longtime L.A. television anchor Jim Hill, Odom called Buss directly on Thursday in an attempt to reignite talks.

      The Heat, meanwhile, have made it clear that they are prepared to offer the richest contract they can in an attempt to convince Odom to stop haggling with the Lakers, with the Dallas Mavericks also eager to offer the same fallback option.

      Heat star Dwyane Wade made a public plea Friday for Odom to return to the franchise that sent him to the Lakers in the Shaquille O’Neal deal in the summer of 2004, announcing that “we want him back home.”

      According to sources close to the process, Odom has been apprised that he can sign a five-year Heat deal consuming all of the team’s mid-level exception, which would be worth $34 million and include the option to return to free agency after three years and negotiate a larger contract with Miami.

      Read the rest of Marc Stein’s column (which he’s been updating throughout this process) here.

      I think this all comes down to Jerry Buss’s mood. Odom wouldn’t have called him if he didn’t want to take the Lakers’ offer. But Buss pulled the offer after negotiations fell apart, and it’s not clear how willing he is to open talks again.

      Ultimately, cooler heads are likely to prevail. With Richard Jefferson landing in San Antonio, Shawn Marion headed to Dallas, and Portland sitting on a load of cap space, the Lakers’ Western Conference foes are getting better, and even though they signed Ron Artest, they know they can’t afford to lose both Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom this summer.

      Or maybe they can. Like I said, this all depends on Jerry Buss. He made Odom an offer that was well above his market value and Odom’s camp tried to put the squeeze on him.

      Hell hath no fury like an owner scorned.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Market heating up for Knicks’ free agents

      July 18, 2009 /

      Things have been pretty quiet this summer on the David Lee and Nate Robinson front. But now that the unrestricted free agent market has all but dried up, teams are setting their sights on the restricted free agents that are still available.

      Knicks team president Donnie Walsh predicted negotiations with David Lee will come to a head early next week, and indications were Lee will either sign an offer sheet with the Trail Blazers or settle for the Knicks’ five-year offer, which agent Mark Bartelstein still believes is below Lee’s market value.

      he Blazers got back $10 million in cap room when the Jazz matched their four-year, $32 million offer to forward Paul Millsap. Bartelstein is trying to get the Blazers to offer Lee a five-year, $50 million contract, but they have been reluctant, feeling that the Knicks will match.

      With his eye on the 2010 salary cap, Walsh is seeking a deal averaging between $7 and $8 million.

      Isn’t Millsap’s value higher than Lee’s? Millsap is just as good of a rebounder and can score with his back to the basket. Lee is an energy guy and his numbers are a little inflated since the Knicks play at such a frenetic pace under Mike D’Antoni. Walsh has his value pegged (at $7-$8 million per season), but it is Bartelstein’s job to get as much money for Lee as he can.

      I don’t think the Blazers are reluctant because they think the Knicks will match, I think they’re reluctant to give Lee $10 million per season.

      Meanwhile, Olympiakos made a strong offer to Nate Robinson.

      The Knicks will have trouble competing with Olympiakos’ offer to fellow restricted free agent Nate Robinson. A source said the Greek team’s offer is equivalent to $10 million a year, factoring in endorsements and merchandising.

      Robinson can play next season for $2.9 million and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. If he goes to Greece, the Knicks will still hold his rights next summer. Josh Childress will play for Olympiakos for another season after testing the waters this summer.

      The NBA needs to get rid of restricted free agency altogether. If a team can’t work out an extension by the summer before the final year of the player’s contract then that player should become an unrestricted free agent the following summer.

      7/19 Update: The Hoop is reporting that Olympiakos’s offer to Robinson is for $9 million over two years.

      Finally, the Knicks have interest in Ramon Sessions, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times. (Actually, he posted this on Twitter.)

      I hear Knicks covet Ramon Sessions, expected 2 call Bucks soon about sign and trade. Otherwise prepared 2 use mid-level. Yes, Knicks love Sessions

      I’ve been waiting for the market for Sessions to heat up. I think he’s worth the mid-level, so the Bucks better figure out a way to keep him or get something in return.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

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