Category: Rumors & Gossip (Page 44 of 225)

      Phillies could be on the verge of trading Werth, acquiring Oswalt

      July 21, 2010 /
      July 18, 2010 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America - 18 July 2010: Houston Astros starting pitcher Roy Oswalt (44) delivers a pitch to the plate during the National League game between the Houston Astros and the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates Paul Maholm.

      Several heavy-hitters in the media are proclaiming that the Phillies are on the verge of making a couple of trades.

      The first involves Jayson Werth, who is currently hitting .283 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI. ESPN’s Buster Olney and Jayson Stark report that the Rays are involved in discussions for the outfielder, who is a free agent at the end of the season and is unlikely to be re-signed in Philadelphia.

      The second trade rumor involving the Phillies has Astros’ ace Roy Oswalt as the key piece. Stark reports that the Phillies have spent a lot of time exploring a deal for Oswalt, who won’t come cheap seeing as how he’s still owed $16 million next season and has a $16 million club option for 2012 (or a $2 million buyout).

      While a trade for Oswalt would certainly bolster the Phillies’ starting rotation, is a move like that wise for GM Ruben Amaro Jr. to make? It’s not like his club is one starting pitcher away from fixing all of their current problems, even if that one starting pitcher is Oswalt. Plus, this is a team that needs to start preparing for the future and giving up more prospects in a knee-jerk trade in attempts to win now might not be the most advantageous move.

      We’ll see how this plays out.

      External Sports, MLB, Rumors & Gossip

      Jefferson heading back to the Spurs

      July 20, 2010 /
      Apr. 14, 2010: San Antonio Spurs forward Richard Jefferson during an NBA game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX Dallas defeated San Antonio 96-89.

      According to Marc Stein, Richard Jefferson will officially back with the Spurs sometime soon.

      This is the week, by all accounts, that San Antonio and Richard Jefferson will complete the restructured deal that we’ve all assumed had to be forthcoming since Jefferson stunningly opted out of a $15 million salary for next season on the eve of free agency. The specifics in terms of years and dollars remain unknown, but I’ve been assured that Jefferson will officially be back with the Spurs quite soon.

      In describing his decision to leave $15 million on the table, the word ‘stunning’ is totally appropriate. Jefferson sees himself as a 20-point scorer in an up-tempo offense, but the rest of the league sees him as a 30-year-old aging athlete who averaged 12 points a game last season. He probably thought he’d get a deal in the four- or five-year range at $9-$10 million a season, but it looks like he’s going to have to settle for quite a bit less. He did the Spurs a favor by opting out, so maybe they’ll treat him well.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Larry Sanders, the surprise of Summer League?

      July 20, 2010 /
      PHILADELPHIA - MARCH 19: Alfred Aboya #12 of the UCLA Bruins shoots against Larry Sanders #1 of the VCU Rams during the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament at the Wachovia Center on March 19, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

      Maybe the term ‘surprise’ shouldn’t be applied to the 15th pick in the NBA Draft, but I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Bucks’ first rounder, who was most often described as ‘raw’ by the draft punditry.

      A little background: Sanders is 21 and left VCU after his junior season. He averaged 14-9 with 2.7 blocks per game last season. He’s 6-10.5 in shoes and has a monstrous 7-5.75 wingspan, giving him a standing reach of 9-4, which in his draft class trails only DeMarcus Cousins, Solomon Alabi and Jerome Jordan, who all have a standing reach of 9-5. His athletic tests (vertical 28″, lane agility 12.49) were not good, though he can really run the floor for a guy his size.

      He also had a good Summer League…here are a few comments from around the internets:

      Matt Moore, CBS Sports: The Bucks are going to have a fleet of capable, talented power forwards this season. Sanders was one of the most impressive rookies in Vegas, playing solid defense, showing off a well-balanced frame, and looking very much like a versatile offensive option. Sanders’ mid-range game was considerably better than expected. He showed nice tough with the ball and again, is a mountain in terms of size. He needs to work on his spacing and defensive awareness, but it was a very impressive showing.

      TrueHoop: How will Larry Sanders’ game fit in with Milwaukee’s existing parts? His sound face-up 18-footer will help a Bucks offense that was choked for open space in the half court. He also gives Brandon Jennings another dependable partner on the pick-and-roll and wins almost every race to the rim in transition. A Sanders-Andrew Bogut tandem could eventually constitute the best defensive frontcourt in the league. Milwaukee is unlikely to reach the highest echelon in the East with its firepower, but by blanketing the paint with two capable pick-and-roll defenders who can block shots and clean the glass, the Bucks have the makings of a team that could post a stingy defensive efficiency rating in the high 90s.

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      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Not so fast, Matt Barnes

      July 20, 2010 /
      May 18, 2010 - Orlando, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES - epa02163651 Orlando Magic's Matt Barnes (L) and Dwight Howard react against the Boston Celtics during the third period of game two of the NBA Eastern Conference finals at the Amway Arena in Orlando Florida, USA, 18 May 2010. The Celtics hold a one game to none lead in the best of seven series.

      Matt Barnes announced via Twitter that he was going to join the Raptors on a two-year deal worth $10 million. Yay! But wait, the Raptors already used the bulk of their mid-level exception on Linas Kleiza. They must be working out a sign-and-trade with Orlando. Yay! But wait…

      The Magic, though, are prevented by salary-cap rules from starting a sign-and-trade deal for Barnes at higher than $2 million, because Orlando doesn’t have Barnes’ full Bird rights after employing him for only one season. A sign-and-trade deal would also have to span at least three years, although only the first year is required to be guaranteed.

      Barnes was initially believed to be on the verge of signing with a title contender late last week — such as Miami, Boston or the Los Angeles Lakers — when the Raptors made an aggressive late rush to join the bidding.

      Barnes also gave serious consideration in recent days to the Cleveland Cavaliers before talks with Toronto got serious.

      How do Bryan Colangelo and the Raptors miss this? Aren’t they paid to understand the salary cap and its rules?

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Putting all of this ‘MJ would never have done that’ talk into context

      July 19, 2010 /

      For at least a year now, we’ve been hearing people criticize LeBron for potentially (and now actually) leaving the Cavs to play with another superstar. One of the arguments they often bring up is how Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, or Magic Johnson would never have left Chicago, Boston or L.A. to form a dynasty elsewhere.

      Now, even Jordan has said that he wouldn’t have called those guys up and tried to join forces.

      “There’s no way, with hindsight, I would’ve ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, ‘Hey, look, let’s get together and play on one team,’ ” Jordan said after playing in a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada. “But that’s … things are different. I can’t say that’s a bad thing. It’s an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.”

      Skip Bayless, in his infinite wisdom, has been saying this for months, and took this moment to gloat a bit about what MJ said.

      “Michael said, ‘I’m going to stay in Chicago.'”

      In September of 1988, coming off his first MVP, Jordan signed an eight-year deal worth $25 million. (Soak those numbers in for a moment…the greatest player ever to play the game made about $3 million a season in his prime. Amazing.) The Bulls were 50-32 the previous season (Scottie Pippen’s first year in the league) and were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. So his playing situation was not unlike LeBron’s, though I don’t think too many NBA stars would choose the city of Cleveland over Chicago.

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      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

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