Category: Rumors & Gossip (Page 216 of 225)

      Who wants T.J. Ford?

      May 29, 2008 /

      In a recent post about Mike D’Antoni’s decision to take the Knicks job, I mentioned that the first order of business is to find a quick guard to push the ball up court and to make good decisions. T.J. Ford, the odd man out in Toronto with the emergence of Jose Calderon, would be a great guy for the Knicks to target. Now that Toronto is actually pursuing a trade, it made me wonder – other than the Knicks, which teams should be interested in Ford?

      The answer is all about pace, which is a team’s average number of possessions per game. Ford is a great player in the open court where he can use his incredible speed and wonderful ball handling to make positive plays for his team. When the tempo slows, Ford’s weaknesses – size, lack of a consistent jumper – rise to the surface. His shot is a work in progress, but he is a good on-the-ball defender.

      So, besides the Knicks, who should be interested?

      Denver Nuggets
      If the Nuggets find a taker for Allen Iverson, Ford would be a nice fit with Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith (or Linas Kleiza) on the wings. It might take Smith or Kleiza to get the Raptors to bite, though they might do the deal for the Nuggets #20 pick.

      Indiana Pacers
      Did you know that Indiana played at the third highest pace this season? It’s a shame that their point guard (Jamaal Tinsley) isn’t suited for an up tempo style. I like the idea of Ford feeding Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger on the wings. The Raptors might have interest in Shawne Williams, who played well in his first season, but the Pacers would have to add some salary to make a deal work. Other than maybe Marquis Daniels, they just don’t have any favorable contracts to move right now.

      Miami Heat
      I’m sure there are those that are wondering why the Heat are on this list, but we need to get out of the mindset that Miami has to be a grind-it-out team. Shaq is gone and the much more athletic Shawn Marion has taken his place. I’m hearing that the Bulls are going to take Michael Beasley, which would leave Derrick Rose for the Heat, but if it goes the other way, how nice would a core of Ford, Wade, Marion and Beasley look? It might take Dorrell Wright or Daequan Cook to make it happen.

      Golden State Warriors
      Sure, the Warriors already have two good point guards in Baron Davis and Monta Ellis, but Davis is looking for a big, long-term contract and the Warriors may not bite. If he opts-out of the final year of his deal, then the Warriors could work out a three-way trade involving Davis that would bring in Ford as their main ball handler. A Ford/Ellis backcourt would be small, but devastatingly quick. Who would the Raptors want in return? Brandan Wright seems like a big price to pay, but it might be worth it. Mickael Pietrus or Kelenna Azuibuike are also options.

      Phoenix Suns
      Nash is getting on in years and the Suns will need someone to take over once he’s gone. Why not acquire Ford to be Nash’s backup? It would allow the former MVP to rest more which should extend his career. This is all fine in theory, but with D’Antoni gone, the team will probably slow its pace, so it won’t need Ford.

      Los Angeles Clippers
      Apparently, Shaun Livingston is almost ready for contact drills, but the Clippers need stability at the point guard position and Ford would be great insurance if Livingston isn’t ready to go. The main problem with this move is that the Clippers aren’t built for an up tempo style. I’m guessing that Elton Brand will play out his final year to prove to teams that he’s ready to go. Brand and Chris Kaman aren’t built for an up tempo attack.

      Atlanta Hawks
      I’d love to see the Hawks acquire Ford. Mike Bibby helped them get to the playoffs, but he’s on the decline and is quite pricey for what he brings to the table. Imagine Ford pushing the ball up to Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams (or Josh Childress) and Josh Smith on the wings. That would be scary. The Raptors might be willing to trade Ford for Williams or Childress.

      NBA, NBA Draft, Rumors & Gossip

      Larry Johnson looking strong

      May 28, 2008 /

      Fox Sports is reporting that Larry Johnson injured foot looks completely healed.

      From all appearances, L.J. is back.

      “It felt good to come out here and still be able to come out and run,” Johnson said after the 90-minute practice on Tuesday. “Body-wise, I’m 100 percent.”

      It’s taken a long time for the rough-and-tumble running back to say that. After rushing for more than 1,750 yards in 2005 and 2006, he missed most of training camp in a contract dispute and never regained his stride. But he’d scored two touchdowns on Oct. 4 when a Green Bay linebacker jumped onto his back and rode him to the Arrowhead Stadium turf late in the fourth quarter.

      Start moving LJ up your draft board. He has a lot of miles on his odometer, but he’s only 28 and he missed half of the season with the injury, which means his legs should be relatively fresh heading into the season. I can only think of five guys that I’m sure I’d take over LJ if my draft were today – LaDainian Tomlinson, Joseph Addai, Adrian Peterson, Steven Jackson and Brian Westbrook. There are three other candidates – Frank Gore, Marion Barber and Clinton Portis – but a strong preseason might push Johnson ahead of them.

      Fantasy Football, NFL, Rumors & Gossip

      McHale wants Love?

      May 27, 2008 /

      DraftExpress is reporting that multiple sources within the Minnesota organization are saying that GM Kevin McHale has locked onto Kevin Love as his favorite prospect in the draft.

      McHale reportedly likes the skill-level and all-around feel for the game that Love brings to the table, as well as his winning mentality, and sees him as an excellent potential compliment to Al Jefferson in Minnesota’s front-court.

      Picking 3rd in this draft, many would consider it a reach to take Love, although numerous advanced statistical formulas have identified him as being the 2nd most productive player in this draft, behind Michael Beasley.

      There is already some talk that Minnesota will look to make a trade with Memphis GM Chris Wallace, who would then have the option of fortifying his front-court by drafting Brook Lopez at #3, or swinging for the fences and taking O.J. Mayo. Memphis could offer Minnesota the young prospect of their choice in Kyle Lowry, Hakim Warrick or Javaris Crittenton to help facilitate the deal.

      A couple of weeks ago, I posted a video of Love in training and commented how he looked leaner and more athletic. It looks like McHale sees the same things.

      Minnesota’s backcourt features Randy Foye and Rashad McCants, and they have Al Jefferson manning the middle, so Kevin Love would seem to be a nice addition to that core group of guys. Ryan Gomes is decent, but he’s probably better suited to be a combo forward off the bench. Last year’s first round pick, Corey Brewer, had an awful season (37.4% from the field, 5.8 ppg) so small forward is an option as well. Going with Love would allow Brewer to develop for another season or two before giving up on him.

      Another school of thought would have the Wolves take Brook Lopez with the pick, which would allow Jefferson to play his “natural” position of power forward. But the league is getting smaller and quicker and Jefferson is best when his back is to the basket, so maybe his best position is center.

      Are there any Minnesota fans that want to chime in?

      NBA, NBA Draft, Rumors & Gossip

      Redd to Cleveland?

      May 22, 2008 /

      The Racine Journal-Times is reporting that the Bucks have been “gauging the interest” that other teams have in Michael Redd. There’s a new sheriff in town (GM John Hammond) and he’ll want to reshape the team. The Bucks have some talent, but clearly there wasn’t much chemistry there and changes have to be made. Keep in mind that Hammond comes from Detroit, where they built a consistent winner without a single bona fide superstar. The Pistons’ strategy is to find solid star- and starter-level guys that represent good value. Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace… these are all players who play beyond their respective contracts.

      Dan Labbe of Cleveland.com wrote a blog post campaigning to bring Michael Redd to the Cavaliers. Here are a couple of his key points…

      Dan, why Michael Redd?

      Great question. First reason, the Cavs biggest asset is expiring contracts. Their next biggest asset is a first round draft pick. Who likes expiring deals and draft picks? Teams going nowhere. Especially teams going nowhere with one particular player that is grossly overpaid. Milwaukee, I’m looking in your direction.

      Wait a minute, Dan. You just said Michael Redd was grossly overpaid, yet you want the Cavs to go get him? Sounds like crazy talk to me.

      Ahhh, excellent point you make there. But Milwaukee and Cleveland are in two very different situations. That $47 million due Redd over the next three years (not to mention a player option for $18 million that fourth year) is an albatross to the Bucks. That’s franchise player money and Redd’s not a franchise player. Not to mention the Bucks aren’t a contender. But for the Cavs, a team trying to win a title ASAP, who cares how much money it costs? A good shooter like Redd that can create a bit on the wing could be the difference playing next to LeBron. Besides, the Cavaliers have no contracts that currently run past ’09-’10 (assuming LeBron James opts out), so Redd’s deal wouldn’t hamper them too excessively down the road.

      So how do the Cavs get him?

      It can be done. It starts with Wally Szczerbiak’s expiring deal. That alone would get Redd by league rules. But Milwaukee will want more. So you throw in some talent. Maybe you have to part with Daniel Gibson (though you’d have to sign him first). Or maybe you do them a favor and take Bobby Simmons’ not-so-good contract in exchange for the expiring deals of Damon Jones and Anderson Varejao (he’s got a player option after next season). Maybe you toss in a draft pick. Find a combination they’d want and do it. Look, that’s not my job. I just think it can be done.

      Labbe is right on a couple of points. First, Michael Redd is getting paid franchise money but is not a franchise player. One of the problems with the NBA is that there are only 10-15 so-called “franchise” players. Here’s a list of guys that I’d give max contracts to retain: LeBron, Kobe, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Deron Williams and Dwyane Wade. Those eight players don’t really have any serious flaws in their games. Then there are guys like Dirk Nowitzki, Carlos Boozer, Yao Ming, Chris Bosh, Elton Brand and Steve Nash, who are almost on that level. There might be a player or two I’m forgetting, but the point is that just because you’re the best player on your team doesn’t mean you deserve a max contract. But the Bucks, who are already at a disadvantage since they play in a small market, had to overpay Redd almost three years ago so that he wouldn’t bolt to Cleveland. Now, after seven seasons of consistent improvement and one season of questionable shot selection that brought about charges of selfishness, the Bucks are thinking about moving on.

      And really, is Redd “grossly overpaid”? I don’t think so. Larry Hughes is grossly overpaid. Ben Wallace is grossly overpaid. Wally Szczerbiak is grossly overpaid. But Redd, who just two seasons ago averaged almost 27 points a game on 46.5% shooting, has a fair market value of $12-$13 million.

      Even at the risk of pissing off Redd (who might need a little kick in the butt anyway), a possible trade is worth exploring, but the kind of deal that Labbe is talking about – Daniel Gibson, a first round pick and the expiring contracts of Wally Szczerbiak, Damon Jones and Anderson Varejao – is like the Grizzlies’ decision to send Pau Gasol to the Lakers for Javaris Crittenton and bag of peanuts. It isn’t going to happen. That deal is ridiculous.

      The only way that a small market team can become a consistent winner is if they hire a good coach, draft well, retain the talent they have (by overspending) and have an owner willing to pay the price (i.e. luxury tax). Nobody wants to play in Milwaukee, but they will if they have to, or if the money is right, or if the Bucks are a winner. (Just look at San Antonio.)

      Redd’s ideal role would be as a sidekick that can make teams pay when they double-team the star. The Bucks do have an emerging big man, Andrew Bogut, but the two are rarely on the same page and seem to be in a constant tug-of-war over the direction of the team. Bogut came into his own after the All-Star break, averaging 16.3 points and 11.6 rebounds, while shooting 51% from the field. He’s never going to be Dwight Howard, but he could be a semi-affordable cog in the wheel like Rasheed Wallace is in Detroit. That’s where the good coaching comes in.

      But back to Labbe… If Hammond hates Redd’s game, the Bucks could conceivably take his deal. It would allow Milwaukee to cut a ton of salary heading into the 2009 season, but at what cost? They’d be trading one of the best scorers in the league to a division rival for cap flexibility, a late first round pick, and Daniel Gibson. How is that any different than the Gasol trade? Since no one really wants to play in Milwaukee, they won’t be able to use that flexibility to attract a superstar, so what’s the point? If Hammond were to take that deal I’d say fire him on the spot and re-hire Larry Harris. At least he didn’t give his players away.

      But for Cleveland, that deal would be a no-brainer.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      The Cavs have failed LeBron James

      May 19, 2008 /

      There’s no other way to say it: the Cleveland front office has failed LeBron James.

      Just look at their current rotation: LeBron, Delonte West, Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Sasha Pavlovic, Anderson Varejao, Daniel Gibson and Joe Smith. Other than LeBron, is there a player on that list that is in the top 20 at his position? Delonte West was probably the best thing to come out of those two deadline deals the team made in February, but he’s injury-prone and is a restricted free agent this offseason. Ilgauskas is probably still a top 20 center, but I can name 15 guys off the top of my head that I’d rather have on my team. (Okay, want me to list them? Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming, Tim Duncan, Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman, Andrew Bynum, Brad Miller, Tyson Chandler, Andrew Bogut, Andris Biedrins, Samuel Dalembert, Mehmet Okur, Al Horford, Rasheed Wallace, Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal. There, that’s 17 for you.)

      The point is that the 2008 Cavs feature LeBron James with four below-average starters and a few mediocre rotation guys. I do like West, Varejao and Gibson, but that’s about it. What’s worse, the Cavs had the fourth highest payroll this season ($81.1 million) and they’re on the hook for another $74.8 million next season.

      It takes work to have a roster this expensive be this bad. But don’t blame it all on GM Danny Ferry. He took over in 2005 a full year after the Cavs’ bonehead move to let Carlos Boozer become a free agent because of a “verbal agreement” that he would re-sign for the mid-level exception. At that point, Boozer was a 22 year-old 15.5-point, 11.4-rebound power forward that had All-Star written all over him. Why in the world would you risk the advantage and consistency of pairing he and LeBron for the next decade just to save a few million on his contract? I know the fans in Cleveland hate Boozer for this, but it was probably his agent at the time, Rob Pelinka, who was at fault for Boozer’s part in things. I don’t know what kind of a promise Boozer made to the organization, but once he became a free agent, the Jazz offered him $4.6 million more per season than what the Cavs said they would pay him. For his part, Boozer has insisted all along that there was no handshake and no promise. Still, that kind of deal would be illegal under the collective bargaining agreement, so the blame falls entirely on the Cavs for pursuing (or claiming to pursue) such an arrangement.

      It is that historical misstep that has sent the Cavs franchise into its current tailspin. LeBron alone is good enough to win 40 games, and the Cavs supporting cast stepped up enough in the 2007 postseason for Cleveland to get past the dilapidated competition in the East to make a Finals appearance, but as the ensuing sweep (at the hands of the Spurs) would indicate, the Cavs were a long way from a title then and they are even further away now.

      And the clock is ticking. LeBron signed an abbreviated deal that allows him to opt-out in the summer of 2010. Barring any additional signings, the team projects to have some salary cap flexibility in the summer of 2009, when Szczerbiak, Joe Smith, and Eric Snow come off the books, but new contracts for Delonte West and Daniel Gibson threaten that flexibility. The team will have to improve through the draft and through trades – two areas where the Cavs have struggled over the past few years.

      Here’s a list of all the bad moves that the franchise has made since drafting LeBron:

      1. In 2004, the Cavs could have held onto Jason Kapono, one of the league’s best three-point shooters. But they elected not to re-sign him after he shot nearly 48% from long range. Sure, why would you want a guy that could make teams pay for doubling LeBron?

      2. Instead of drafting Luke Jackson (#10 overall), the team could have drafted Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, Jameer Nelson or Andris Biedrins, whom were all drafted in the next 10 picks of the 2004 Draft.

      3. In 2004, they failed to pick up the option on Carlos Boozer, trying to do an illegal deal to get Boozer on the cheap. The so-called “verbal agreement” falls through when Boozer signs with Utah for six years and $68 million.

      4. Instead of trading for Sasha Pavlovic (giving up a first round pick that turned into the #13 pick overall), the team could have instead used that selection on Danny Granger, Rashad McCants, Hakim Warrick or Francisco Garcia, whom were all taken in the next 10 picks of the 2005 Draft.

      5. In the summer of 2005, instead of signing Larry Hughes to a five-year, $67 million deal, signing Donyell Marshall to a four-year, $22 millon contract, and re-signing Zydrunas Ilgauskas to a five-year, $51 million deal, the team could have made a stronger run at Michael Redd or Ray Allen (whom were both unrestricted free agents that summer) and Tyson Chandler or Samuel Dalembert (whom were both restricted free agents). If that failed, they could have saved all of that cap space for the future.

      6. In the 2006 Draft, the Cavs could have selected Jordan Farmar, one of the league’s best young point guards, instead of Shannon Brown. The Lakers took Farmar with the pick immediately following the Cavs’ pick. (Kudos to Ferry for drafting Gibson in the second round.)

      Simply stated, had the Cavs exercised the option on Boozer and made a better pick in the summer of 2004, the team could have had a core of LeBron and Boozer, along with Al Jefferson or Josh Smith. Now that sounds like a group with championship contender written all over it.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, NBA Finals, Rumors & Gossip

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