Category: Rumors & Gossip (Page 178 of 225)

      Breaking down the Chicago/Sacramento trade

      February 18, 2009 /

      According to ESPN sources the Bulls and Kings have agreed to a multi-player trade. There aren’t any so-called “big” names in the deal but there are a number of starter-level players involved.

      The Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings have reached tentative agreement on a trade sending Andres Nocioni, Drew Gooden, Michael Ruffin and Cedric Simmons to the Kings for Brad Miller and John Salmons, front-office sources said on Wednesday.

      The Kings would then turn around and ship Ruffin to the Portland Trail Blazers for forward Ike Diogu and cash considerations, sources told ESPN’s Chris Broussard.

      One source told ESPN.com that the Bulls players were pulled off the team bus Wednesday afternoon and were told they had been traded.

      The trade centers around Nocioni, Gooden (or at least his expiring contract), Miller and Salmons. The Bulls’ big “get” here is probably Brad Miller, who is still a pretty good center. Salmons is a dynamic wing who is playing very well this season, but it will be interesting to see how the Bulls plan to use him. He is not nearly the same player coming off the bench.

      For the Kings, they will get immediate salary cap relief as Miller’s $12.3 million will come off the books for next season. Nocioni’s contract runs another three years at the tune of $20 million, so they must see him as an upgrade to Salmons. Nocioni is capable of starting, but has spent most of his time in Chicago coming off the bench in large part because he plays the same position as Luol Deng.

      Is there a winner here? Not really. The Bulls got the better end talent-wise, but the Kings got a nice mix of talent and salary cap relief. It looks like a win-win for both sides.

      The big news here is that without Gooden’s expiring deal, the Bulls are probably out of the running for Amare Stoudemire’s services. But as the week has worn on it is looking less and less like the Suns are going to move him before the trade deadline.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Salmons, Hinrich trade talk

      February 18, 2009 /

      In Marc Stein’s latest trade deadline column, he discusses potential new homes for Sacramento’s John Salmons and Chicago’s Kirk Hinrich.

      San Antonio, meanwhile, is in the hunt as well, pursuing Salmons — with an offer of Bruce Bowen and Ime Udoka — as a far more affordable trade target for its perimeter rotation than Vince Carter. New Jersey’s Carter has tempted the small-market Spurs for days but can be absorbed by them only in a hugely expensive and complicated deal.

      There is another complication for interested parties: Sources revealed Tuesday that Salmons has a 15 percent trade kicker in his contract that would require the team that acquires him to pay him a bonus of nearly $2 million and add that figure to its payroll. Salmons otherwise would rank as one of the league’s better bargains, earning just $5.1 million this season while averaging 18.3 points and shooting 47.2 percent from the field and 41.8 percent on 3-pointers.

      Salmons is playing heavy minutes this season and isn’t the same player coming off the bench, so if the Spurs were to acquire him, it would behoove them to insert him in their starting lineup. This might be a tough pill to swallow for a franchise that is all about chemistry and players knowing their role. If the Spurs can find a way to add Salmons without losing Roger Mason or George Hill, it would be a pretty nice move. Salmons can start, but he may not finish if Gregg Popovich goes with Mason and Manu Ginobili in crunch time.

      Minnesota, according to NBA front-office sources, has strong interest in Hinrich and is pursuing the 28-year-old to address a void at lead guard that hasn’t been filled by Randy Foye (whose success this season came after a shift to shooting guard) or the undependable Sebastian Telfair.

      The Wolves also have two expiring contracts of their own (Jason Collins and Rashad McCants) that they’re prepared to shed.

      Wow, it’s interesting sometimes to see how far a guy’s stock has fallen. Kirk Hinrich has a very affordable contract — $26.5 million over the next three seasons — but an injury got him off to a slow start this season and he isn’t shooting the ball particularly well, so the Bulls may be willing to trade him to Minnesota for cap relief. Derrick Rose is the future at point guard and the move would allow them to re-sign Ben Gordon (though that ship has probably already sailed).

      Hinrich could provide solid leadership in Minnesota. Prior to this year, he has averaged at least 6.0 assists for five consecutive seasons, and if the T-Wolves feel that Foye is really an off guard, then Hinrich should be a nice complement. With a core of Hinrich, Foye, Al Jefferson and Mike Miller (if Minny keeps him), the Timberwolves could be competitive.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      What went wrong in Washington?

      February 18, 2009 /

      The Washington Wizards are involved in some trade rumors as tomorrow’s deadline approaches.

      The Wizards, sources said, quickly rebuffed Cleveland’s offer of Wally Szczerbiak’s $13.8 million expiring contract for former All-Star forward Antawn Jamison.

      One source with knowledge of the Wizards’ thinking said Tuesday that team president Ernie Grunfeld is determined to continue resisting interest in Jamison and Caron Butler because the club has renewed hope that injured starters Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood will play in a small handful of games before the season ends, affording the Wiz an opportunity to evaluate the full team they hoped to field this season.

      Looking at Washington’s payroll, the team is in a really bad way. They owe the injury-prone Arenas a mind-boggling $96 million over the next five years and they owe the 32-year-old Jamison around $40 million over the next three seasons.

      I watched Ernie Grunfeld run my beloved Bucks for four seasons and he did a poor job. He picked a few first round busts — Joe Pryzbilla, Marcus Haislip — and was responsible for breaking up Milwaukee’s big three — Ray Alllen, Glenn Robinson and Sam Cassell. Combined, he traded those three players away for Toni Kukoc, Leon Smith, Desmond Mason, Anthony Peeler, Joe Smith and the about-to-be-a-free-agent Gary Payton. Ridiculous. His only saving grace was that he found a gem in he second round of the 2000 NBA Draft when he selected Michael Redd with the 43rd overall pick.

      Now, after almost six years of running the Wizards, the team is in last place in the Eastern Conference and has one of the ugliest payroll situations in the league. And he doesn’t want to make a move because he wants to “evaluate” the core of Arenas, Butler, Jamison and Haywood? Wasn’t it that same core that failed to get out of the East the past few years? What is there to evaluate? The East is better now and that core isn’t going to get it done.

      At 32, Jamison isn’t going to get any better, so they should trade him while they can. At least they can get some salary cap flexibility if they move him. They should build around Arenas (his contract is virtually unmovable unless he comes back strong) and Butler (one of the league’s best bargains) and hope they can get competitive before those two guys get too old. Arenas is 27 and Butler turns 29 next month, so they have a three- or four-year window in which to make another run.

      NBA, NBA Draft, Rumors & Gossip

      Vince Carter to the Blazers?

      February 18, 2009 /

      The Rockets and Spurs are known suitors for Vince Carter’s services, but apparently the Blazers have entered the fray.

      Sources say the Blazers and Nets have discussed a deal that would send Carter to Portland for Raef LaFrentz and his expiring contract along with Travis Outlaw and Sergio Rodriguez.

      LaFrentz’s $12.7 million comes off the books this summer and Outlaw is an upgrade to the Nets situation at the three. As for the Blazers, adding Carter gives them a veteran small forward who has more playoff experience than most of the players on Portland’s roster.

      See this trade in the ESPN Trade Machine.

      It seems strange to me that a young team like the Blazers would want to acquire the 32-year-old Carter. He is playing at a very high level, but his contract runs another two seasons at the tune of $33.6 million, which would severely impact the team’s salary cap space in the fateful summer of 2010.

      However, I can see why they might want to pull the trigger here. The Blazers are currently sitting in the 4th spot in the Western Conference playoff race and the two teams fighting for that spot — the Hornets and the Rockets — just lost Tyson Chandler and Tracy McGrady, respectively. With the Lakers safely in the #1 position, the Blazers may be looking ahead to a semifinal showdown with Kobe and Co. Having Carter in tow should help Portland’s chances of pulling an upset.

      Now, about next summer…Portland could be looking at the free agent class of 2010 and wondering if they have a legitimate shot of signing any of the five big-name free agents. LeBron is probably going to re-sign with the Cavs or jet to the Knicks or the Nets, D-Wade will probably re-sign with the Heat, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire play the same position as LaMarcus Aldridge and Joe Johnson plays the same position as Brandon Roy. Instead of holding out hope that they can sign an impact player next summer, the Blazers are thinking about adding one now, and all it’s going to cost them is a solid small forward (Travis Outlaw) and a young point guard prospect (Sergio Rodriguez).

      Why are the Nets thinking about this deal? Salary cap flexibility. Without Carter on the payroll, the Nets would only be on the hook for $27 million heading into 2010, with Devin Harris and Brook Lopez locked up for two more seasons. That’s an attractive situation for a big-name free agent (or two).

      During his chat yesterday, Chad Ford commented on the Blazers desire to upgrade at small forward.

      Sounds like their primary target is Gerald Wallace. The problem is that Charlotte wants them to take back Nazr Mohammed in any deal. Richard Jefferson is an easier get, but he’s got a bigger salary, is older and isn’t as good of a defender. I think Caron Butler is the best fit, but I’m not convinced Washington will let him go. Vince Carter is intriguing, but you have to worry about chemistry a bit with him. Bottom line, I think the Blazers will do a deal and I think it will be something that lands them Wallace or Jefferson.

      The Blazers, armed with Raef LaFrentz’s expiring contract (most of which is covered by an insurance policy) are definitely on the prowl for a small forward.

      Related content: Should the Spurs trade for Vince Carter?

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Tyson Chandler headed to Oklahoma City?

      February 17, 2009 /

      The answer is yes, according to Marc Stein’s sources.

      Sources with knowledge of the trade parameters told ESPN.com that the deal was approved by the league office Tuesday afternoon, with the Hornets receiving forwards Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox in exchange for their best interior defender.

      ESPN.com reported early Monday that the Hornets — who have been looking to move Chandler mostly for financial reasons — were in talks with the Thunder on a trade that would net the expiring contracts of Smith and Wilcox. Thunder general manager Sam Presti is a long-time admirer of Chandler dating to his time with the San Antonio Spurs.

      The Thunder also possess numerous draft picks to sweeten trade packages — including five first-round picks in the next two drafts — but Presti was able to land an accomplished center to complement his promising young trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green without surrendering any major draft considerations.

      With a payroll at nearly $67 million this season and scheduled to reach almost $77 million next season, New Orleans felt it had to part with Chandler before Thursday’s 3 p.m. trading deadline regardless, even though dealing away the 26-year-old almost certainly takes the Hornets out of serious playoff contention in the West.

      “…even though dealing away the 26-year-old almost certainly takes the Hornets out of serious playoff contention in the West.”

      This is the first time that I can remember (though I’m sure there have been other cases) that a serious title contender traded away one of its best players for financial reasons. The Hornets are on the hook for almost $77 million next season and they needed to cut salary to stay under the luxury tax threshold. In the process, they are sacrificing a legitimate shot at an NBA championship. This move just goes to show how the bad economy is having a direct effect on NBA personnel decisions.

      The Hornets do get Chris Wilcox as part of this deal, and he is having an off year after having three very productive seasons. There’s a chance — albeit a slim one — that the Hornets could still keep their darkhorse status headed into the playoffs if Wilcox gets back to his 14-point/8-rebound days. He isn’t in the same league as Chandler on the defensive end of the court.

      I like this trade for the Thunder. They’re getting one of the league’s best defensive centers at a fairly reasonable price. Along with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green, the Thunder have a nice core to build around.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑