Category: Rumors & Gossip (Page 162 of 225)

      Will the Jazz trade Carlos Boozer?

      April 29, 2009 /

      With regard to Carlos Boozer’s future in Utah, Johnny Ludden of Yahoo Sports writes that the Utah Jazz “are expected to explore trading him and devote their resources to keeping Paul Millsap.”

      Boozer angered franchise officials and teammates alike early in the season, when he spoke openly of wanting to test his free agency this summer. It didn’t help that he made the comments while he was nursing a quadriceps injury that cost him more than half the season.

      After Monday’s season-ending loss, Boozer now says he’d like to return to the Jazz, adding that he feels like “one of those cornerstone people who brought this team back to prominence.” In truth, the decision might not be entirely up to him. Even if Boozer doesn’t opt out of his contract, the Jazz are expected to explore trading him and devote their resources to keeping Paul Millsap.

      As if the Jazz needed any more evidence of Millsap’s value, he helped lead Monday’s comeback while Boozer watched from the bench.

      “We’re not getting that effort every night from everybody,” [Deron] Williams said, “and we’ve got to have that.”

      I may be wrong, but this sounds like the general feeling of the writer more than the actual position of the club. The key phrase is that “the Jazz are expected,” which only means that some nebulous person or persons is of the opinion that Utah will explore trading Boozer in order to keep Millsap. It doesn’t mean that that’s what the franchise is planning to do.

      This summer’s free agent market is going to be tough on the players, so even though Boozer has previously stated that he plans to opt out, he may ultimately decide to play out the final year of his contract in order to prove to teams that he can stay healthy. Other than the Jazz, there are five teams that have the cap space to make an offer of $10 million per season or more — the Pistons, the Hawks, the Grizzles, the Raptors and the Thunder. He’d certainly help make the Thunder a playoff team, and he’d be a good fit in Detroit with their current problems along the front line. The Grizzlies have the need, but may not be willing to make the commitment. The Hawks don’t really need a power forward, but the Raptors could certainly use him as a complement to Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon (and it might ultimately keep Bosh in Toronto).

      In addition to Boozer, Mehmet Okur ($9.0 million) and Kyle Korver ($5.3 million) can each terminate their contracts early this summer, so the Jazz might have a very different face heading into the 2009-10 season. My guess is that Okur and Korver will play out their contracts since they are unlikely to find that kind of money in free agency. Boozer is set to make $12.3 million next season, so he’ll probably be looking for a deal averaging somewhere in the range of $13-$15 million. But with his history of injury, will anyone be willing to pony up?

      NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Browns to cut Shaun Rogers?

      April 28, 2009 /

      I’m going to preface this post by apologizing for not having a link, but Terry Foster from WXYT Sports Radio in Detroit just reported on his talk show that the Browns could release defensive tackle Shaun Rogers and if they did, he wants to play for the Lions again.

      This is a massive rumor and I suggest everyone takes it with a huge grain of salt, but considering Rogers and new Cleveland head coach Eric Mangini didn’t get off on the right foot when they first met, it’s not far-fetched that the Browns would part ways with the defensive tackle. Plus, by dealing Kellen Winslow to the Buccaneers earlier this offseason and nearly trading wideout Braylon Edwards before the draft, it’s clear that Mangini wants his own players and isn’t afraid to part with anyone from the old regime.

      But the reality of the situation is that the Browns would take a cap hit of around $9 million in they released Rogers and he’s coming off a Pro Bowl season. The Browns also didn’t address the defensive line position in last week’s draft (second round pick David Veikune played defensive end at Hawaii, but Cleveland views him as an outside linebacker) and they don’t have a viable replacement for Rogers if they did part ways with him. Plus, Rogers reported to the Browns’ offseason workouts in late March, so any ill-will towards Mangini apparently has been settled.

      It also doesn’t make much sense that the Lions would want him back after trading him last offeason. While it’s true Matt Millen is the one who dealt him to Cleveland, current GM Martin Mayhew worked under Millen last year and no doubt had a hand in trading Rogers. So outside of adding a talented player to their defensive line, why would the Lions want him back? It’s not like he endeared himself to many people in Detroit with his lazy work ethic and ho-hum demeanor.

      I would file this away in the rumor file for now, but I thought it was an interesting rumor so I figured I would post something on it.

      NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      Free Agency Rumors: Lee, ‘Sheed, AI & Prince

      April 28, 2009 /

      One GM predicted that the summer of 2009 would be a “nuclear winter” of sorts for NBA free agents, and that players are going to have to dial down their expectations. Since virtually every team in the league is in cost-cutting mode, there will be bargains to be had.

      – David Lee is a restricted free agent, which usually means he’d play at least another year with the Knicks, but given the current state of the NBA, there’s a good chance that the Knicks wouldn’t match a substantial offer. Sources of the NY Post say that GM Donnie Walsh would be reluctant to match an offer that averaged out to $10 million per season. At any other time, I’d say he’s worth that kind of money, but not right now.

      – The NY Times says to expect that the Spurs will make a run at Rasheed Wallace, assuming he’s wiling to play for the mid-level exception. The News-Herald says that the Cavs are another possibility. He definitely makes sense for the Spurs, given his ability to space the court. San Antonio has been looking for a big man to play alongside Tim Duncan ever since David Robinson retired. Apparently, ‘Sheed asked for a buyout this season, but was denied.

      – It was long thought that Tayshaun Prince was untouchable as Joe Dumars gives the Pistons roster a makeover, but not so says the Detroit News. If the right deal comes along and Prince has to go to make way for an impact forward, then so be it. Pro Basketball News says that the Hornets may try to take advantage of the Pistons’ housecleaning and target Prince and/or Rip Hamilton. I’d be very reluctant to part ways with Prince, who is a very good all around player and one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.

      – Former Sixers GM Billy King doesn’t know whether or not Allen Iverson has it in him to “fit in” instead of having to be “the Guy.” The consensus seems to be that Iverson is no longer good enough to be the #1 offensive option on a championship contender, so King says he has to ratchet down his shots and try to lead a team with his experience and grit.

      NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Cars crash at Talladega! Oh, and Brad Keselowski wins

      April 26, 2009 /

      http://www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2008/04/27/svCRASH_wideweb__470x309,0.jpg

      With Talladega finished and Brad Keselowski the winner, people have started learning about the big crash, or the key term: “The Big One.” Take notes on that, there’ll be a quiz later. Of greater interest than the winner is of course the fact that a multi-car crash occurred. Jay Hart of Yahoo! Sports writes:

      Seven people were injured Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway, victims of the spectacular last-lap crash that saw Edwards’ 3,200-pound race car spiraling through the air, then slamming into the catch fence that separated him from fans only a few feet away.

      That, not Brad Keselowski winning his first Sprint Cup Series race, is what will be remembered about the Aaron’s 499. Most who were there left the track ecstatic, even if Dale Earnhardt Jr. did wind up second, because they got to see the best race of the season.

      But at what cost?

      The injuries to the seven fans were said to be only minor, reportedly a broken jaw being the heftiest price paid. But as Edwards said, it’s only a matter of time before the price of admission goes up.

      Since the instituting of restrictor plates at Talladega, each year has been one long wait for someone to make a mistake and send tons of shrapnel and drivers flying into the Alabama sun. The idea behind these restrictor plates is, obviously, to restrict the maximum speed available to those on the track. Since no one can maintain a clear mechanical advantage, it’s a race of pure skill, and luck.

      I can see the obvious benefits of this: it’s exciting, the media attention is always greater following a big crash, and it makes for great photos. NASCAR has been in some sore need of that attention lately. As gasoline prices have continued to rise and attendance has dropped, things have been getting tighter off the track too.

      But what’s the answer here? If the plates were taken off, though crashes might not be quite so large, they could be much more violent for the few involved. The idea behind of the specific speed calibration is to keep cars from sky-rocketing if turned sideways at 220MPH. I would not like to have a 3,200lb car land on me, potentially crushing my beer, pelvis, face, and corn dog.

      I suppose I’m not smart enough to revolutionize the sport today. It’s important that these kind of issues remain in the public eye though, because someone in NASCAR needs to start considering a third option not previously discussed here. Someone who’s not busy watching something else.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, General Sports, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Pistons swept and looking to clean house

      April 26, 2009 /

      http://mikedorazio.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/rasheed-wallace-rip-hamilton-480.jpg

      First off, pardon the crap pun in the title. With the Detroit Pistons now officially swept by Cleveland, Pistons fans are looking toward next season, as are the columnists. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com writes:

      By letting Iverson and his $22 million walk along with Rasheed and his $13.7 million, Detroit will have roughly $17 million in cap space this summer.

      With only a few other teams significantly under the cap and most teams trying to cut payroll rather than add it, the Pistons are in terrific position to improve their club. Impact players who are likely to be available as free agents are Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap, Ben Gordon, Marvin Williams, Hedo Turkoglu, Charlie Villanueva and Anderson Varejao.

      On top of that, several teams may be looking to trade good players merely to gain financial relief, as New Orleans attempted to do at the trade deadline with Tyson Chandler. Detroit is in position to take advantage of whatever fire sales may take place around the league.

      Detroit will have a very different face in the next season. Since their championship run in 2004, it’s been quite a steady rate of decline for Rasheed Wallace and company. Their victory over the highly favored Lakers was, while admittedly not the most exciting brand of basketball, nonetheless a wonderful series to watch. Despite the obviously overpowering talent of the final year that Shaq and Kobe were together on the court, the Pistons managed to generally outplay and outshine them in all 5 games. Their victory was a great upset and a wonderful example of a team beating individual talent.

      Will that same mentality exist in Detroit at the start of next season? I can only hope so. In this time when a superstar seems a necessary component to winning, the Cavaliers for example, it was quite refreshing to see fundamental and basic basketball strategies win the day over the flashier favorites.

      This year’s playoffs don’t have much of a hope for something like 5 years ago happening again. The Lakers look like pretty heavy favorites (in fact the only team with a semi-shot at beating them is Lebron James and the four other guys he plays with), but with Joe Dumars still a proponent of the solid-D, pass-heavy team play of past Detroit teams, it may be a great year next time around for Pistons fans, but something of a snoozer for everybody else.

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

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