Category: News (Page 171 of 199)

      The Top 10 Head Scratchers of the 2009 NBA Offseason

      July 16, 2009 /

      The NBA offseason is by no means over, but the lion’s share is behind us, so it’s a good time to take a look back at a few of the…um…let’s say “questionable” decisions of the summer. Here are my Top 10, in no particular order. Feel free to add to the list if I missed something.

      1. Trevor Ariza plays spiteful hardball…and loses.
      Let’s get this straight — the Lakers offered Ariza the same deal he was getting on the open market, and he refused since the Lakers could have offered more, but didn’t? Um, okay. David Lee (the agent, not the Knicks forward) says that Ariza wanted to go somewhere where he’d be “appreciated.” Lee overestimated the market for his client, and the Lakers quickly moved on to acquire Ron Artest. Now instead of playing for the world champs, Ariza is stuck in Houston on a team that faces a very uncertain future. Lee now says that Ariza turned down a deal worth $9 million more, but still picked Houston. It sounds to me like he’s just trying to save face.

      2. Grizzlies acquire Zach Randolph.
      Once the Clippers traded for Randolph (and his toxic contract) last season, I thought the bar for NBA general managers had hit a new low thanks to Mike Dunleavy and his wily ways. But Dunleavy proved that he wasn’t the dumbest GM in the league when he convinced the Memphis Grizzlies to take on the final two years Randolph’s contract at the tune of $33.3 million. Remember that $25 million or so of cap space that the Grizzlies were going to have next summer? Yeah, that’s down to about $8 million with this brilliant move. Just when it looked like Chris Wallace was going to rehab his image after the Pau Gasol trade — Marc Gasol panning out, trading for O.J. Mayo — he goes and does this. Sigh.

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      NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Heat trying to land Boozer, Odom

      July 16, 2009 /

      According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports…

      Now, the Heat are working furiously to deliver Lamar Odom and Carlos Boozer to the shores of Biscayne Bay. The Heat are trying to sell Odom on a five-year, $34 million contract at the mid-level exception, and a league executive with knowledge of the talks says Miami has also hatched a three-way proposal with the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies to secure Boozer.

      The essentials of a possible deal would include Miami sending forward Udonis Haslem and Dorell Wright to Utah. Because Memphis is under the cap, Utah could move Wright’s $2.8 million salary to the Grizzlies and save itself approximately $5.6 million with salary and luxury-tax payments. Memphis would probably get cash and picks for its trouble. The Heat would have to send one more small contract to make the math on the salary exchange work.

      Odom can play some small forward, so this isn’t an outrageous plan by Riley and the Heat, though I’m not sure where it would leave Michael Beasley. Wojnarowski says that the Lakers have offered Odom $36 million over four years (which works out to about $8 million per season, after state taxes), so I’m not sure why he’d take the Heat’s deal, unless he is looking to sign the biggest contract overall. There is no state tax in Florida, so Miami’s $34 million deal is slightly larger than the Lakers’ deal, after state taxes.

      The Boozer acquisition seems more likely, and although I do like Haslem, I’m not sure that he’s enough to convince Utah to pull the trigger. Portland is also working on a deal for Boozer, since all signs point to the Jazz matching the Blazers’ offer sheet to Paul Millsap whether or not Boozer is on the roster. The Blazers are also trying to get the Pistons involved so that they can try to pry Tayshaun Prince away from Detroit, though Joe Dumars has wisely stayed out of such talks thus far. It appears that he doesn’t see Boozer as a $14 million per season player and that’s what Boozer’s camp is asking for. With his injury history, they need to set their sights a little lower.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Felton, Bobcats not close to a deal

      July 16, 2009 /

      Raymond Felton is having a tough time coming to terms with the Charlotte Bobcats on a new deal.

      “We’re definitely not close as far as what we’re discussing and what we think fair market [value] is for Raymond,” Bradbury said Wednesday, a day after the meeting.

      While Bradbury declined to discuss numbers, he indicated there was a surprisingly hefty difference in the deals he and Higgins proposed for the restricted free agent point guard.

      Felton, the Bobcats’ first-round pick in 2005, has maintained he wants to stay in Charlotte. After averaging 14.2 points and 6.7 assists last season and winning over coach Larry Brown, the Bobcats have made re-signing him a top offseason priority.

      The Bobcats could match any offer he receives, and Bradbury said he’s had some informal talks with teams. Felton could also sign the one-year tender of $5.5 million and become an unrestricted free agent next season.

      Here’s what I wrote about Felton for our 2009 NBA Free Agency Preview:

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      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      NASCAR’s Jeremy Mayfield tests positive for meth…again

      July 16, 2009 /

      NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield is having a rough go of things this season. He’s already tested positive once this year for methamphetamine and apparently NASCAR has caught him again. On top of that, it sounds like he has a real solid relationship with his stepmother.

      The urine sample collected on July 6 “conclusively” showed that Mayfield had again used the addictive street drug, NASCAR’s lawyers wrote in the filing that urges a U.S. District Court judge in Charlotte to reconsider the temporary restraining order that lifted the 40-year-old driver’s suspension.

      Wednesday’s filing also included an affidavit from Mayfield’s’ estranged stepmother, Lisa Mayfield. In the document, she alleged she was “personally aware” of his use of meth between 1998 and 2005 and that Jeremy Mayfield cooked up his own batch the drug before the sale of major ingredient for the drug, pseudoephedrine, was restricted.

      Lisa Mayfield also recounted an incident in 1999 when she claimed to have witnessed Mayfield use the drug before a race at Darlington Raceway.

      “I was concerned about his heavy use and talked to his father about it,” Lisa Mayfield said. “I saw Jeremy use methamphetamine by snorting it up his nose at least 30 times during the seven years I was around him.”

      Mayfield denied those claims as well.

      “I’m not even going to call that lady my stepmom,” Mayfield said. “She’s a very evil lady who can be bought.”

      I don’t know whether he is or isn’t a meth head, but if he is and he’s denying it, that should raise a red flag to those around him that there’s a serious problem here. If he’s hooked on this stuff, then he needs professional help because chances are, he’s not going to kick the drug on his own. Forget your next NASCAR race – get some help.

      This drug service announcement has been brought to you by The Scores Report, the National Sports Blog.

      General Sports, News

      Lakers pull offer to Odom off the the table

      July 15, 2009 /

      It seems that Lamar Odom and the Lakers have reached something of a stalemate.

      Sources told ESPN.com that Odom and the Lakers had reached an accord entering the weekend on a per-season wage of $9 million for the 29-year-old. But Odom balked at L.A.’s unwillingness to extend an offer spanning more than three years in length and spent the past few days weighing his options.

      Yet it’s believed that Odom has indeed received offers from the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks that — because neither Florida nor Texas imposes state taxes — are not as far away in value from the Lakers’ presentation as it would seem.

      Odom would have the ability with either the Heat or the Mavericks to sign a three-year, $19 million contract and negotiate a new deal with full Larry Bird rights in the summer of 2012 or take a five-year deal worth $34 million to bank more overall money, along with the state-tax benefits, than he could in a new three-year deal with the Lakers.

      It’s funny how certain things come to light as these deals are made, or in this case, not made. California’s tax rate for people making more than $1 million is 10.3%, while Florida and Texas do not tax personal income. That means that the Lakers’ three-year offer is worth about $8 million per season after state taxes, or just over $24 million total. Compare that to the deals that the Mavs and Heat could offer ($19 million for three years or $34 million for five years) and a mid-level deal in a state with no income tax isn’t too far off.

      Still, why would Odom reject the Lakers’ offer if everyone knows it’s the best that he has available? Portland isn’t interested, though that could change if the Jazz match the Blazers’ offer sheet to Paul Millsap. None of the other teams with cap space seem too eager to make a run at Odom, so it seems strange that he is playing hardball here. It’s not like he has a history of playing consistent basketball year in and year out. As far as his on-court performance is concerned, the guy is kind of a flake.

      My guess is that Odom’s camp waits to see what happens with Portland then come back to the Lakers and accept this three-year deal. But one wonders if Jerry Buss is sick of playing games and might decide to stick it to Odom if/when he comes crawling back.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

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