Category: NBA (Page 525 of 595)

The results of an MRI on Dwyane Wade’s sore right hand came back negative, which means there is nothing structurally wrong with it. But there’s no clear course of action other to rehab and hope that the pain goes away. If it were his off hand, it’s probably an injury he’d be able to deal with during the season, but it’s his shooting hand, and this soreness could really affect his game.

Wade said he would consider taking time away from the team, a prospect that could prove daunting, with starting point guard Jason Williams already set to miss the start of the season following offseason knee surgery.

“Right now we’re going to do the therapy and give it enough time,” he said, “and if it doesn’t calm down in enough time, then shut it down for a little while.”

Fantasy impact: This news makes it tough to take Wade over Kobe Bryant, and if the injury lingers, Gilbert Arenas and Steve Nash start to creep into the conversation. Let’s hope the hand reacts well to rehab and he’s able to start the season normally. It would be a shame if the league was without one of its brightest young stars for the start of the season.

In a somewhat bizarre finish to his tumultuous offseason, Bonzi Wells has agreed to a two-year/$5 M contract with the Houston Rockets. Wells holds a player option for the second year of the contract and fully intends to enter free agency next summer, according to his agent, Merle Scott.

Wells was looking to cash in this summer after a glorious playoff run against the Spurs, where he averaged 23 points and 12 rebounds in the series. He turned down a five-year/$36 M offer from the Kings, which turned out to be a huge financial blunder. He fired his agent at the time – William Phillips – once the free agent market dried up (and the Kings signed John Salmons), so presumably Phillips gave him some bad advice on the Kings’ original offer.

Nevertheless, the Rockets were in the right place at the right time. Landing Wells – even for one year – at $2.5 M is a coup, assuming you’re not worried about his reputation for being a malcontent. He is a very talented player and he will be motivated to produce, as he’s made it clear that he intends to test free agency again next summer.

From the Rockets’ perspective, it’s not clear how Wells will fit into the lineup alongside Tracy McGrady and the newly-acquired Shane Battier. Wells and McGrady both play shooting guard, while McGrady is more than capable of swinging over to small forward, Battier’s natural position. Unless they plan to run Battier at power forward, one of these guys is going to have to come off the bench, and it won’t be McGrady.

Two weeks ago, I discussed Bonzi Wells’ current situation in “Where’s Bonzi?” Well, he’s still a man without a team and he’s since fired his agent (William Phillips) and signed with Merle Scott, an indication that he’s not too happy with the way the summer has gone. There is still interest from several teams, and most recently he met with the Houston Rockets.

After earning $8 million last season, he turned down a five-year, $36 million offer from the Kings, a strong indication that an offer of a mid-level exception would not work. The Kings instead signed John Salmons, and the majority of teams over the cap spent their mid-level exceptions.

The Rockets have just $2.1 million of their mid-level exception remaining to offer unless they can work out a sign-and-trade deal with the Kings. The Rockets have a $4.2 million trade exception in which they could sign a free agent for as much as $4.2 million and send only a draft choice, but as with any sign-and-trade arrangement, that would require an agreement with the Kings.

It looks like Wells may have shot himself in the foot when he turned down the five-year/$36 M offer from the Kings. With so few teams under the salary cap, it’s unlikely that anyone is going to want to invest $8+ M a year for five years in a 30 year-old player with a history of being a malcontent. If he is able to get a contract greater than the mid-level exception (~$6M), some team is going to have to put a package together that the Kings will accept. Teams over the cap have to execute a sign-and-trade with Wells’ old team to get around the salary cap rules.

The Rockets seem like a strange fit. They’ve already got Tracy McGrady and Shane Battier on the perimeter, so Wells (or Battier) would have to come off the bench. That assumes that McGrady’s back is good to go, which is a big assumption.