Tag: 2009 NBA free agency (Page 20 of 21)

      What LeBron really meant in his first post-playoff interview

      June 8, 2009 /

      Back in the good ol’ days, athletes used to speak their mind when someone put a microphone in front of them. Players would get into trouble for the things they said, so as time goes on, they’ve become more and more careful about not offending anyone. Some guys even hire publicists to teach them how to interact with the media. This has led to virtually all player/reporter interactions to be completely sanitized of any possibly controversial material.

      As a former college player, I’ve been interviewed by a few reporters in my day, and watching one of the best (Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan), I learned how to sound like I was saying something when I was actually saying nothing. I did it out of pure fear — I didn’t want Bo waking up the next day to see that his small forward had said something stupid or controversial to a reporter.

      While listening to LeBron’s first post-playoff interview the other day [video], it occurred to me that he was talking a lot, but wasn’t actually saying much of anything. There were a lot of platitudes — he needed to get better over the summer, that he loves playing in Cleveland, etc. — but the interview was seemingly absent of honest opinion or revelation.

      So here is LeBron’s transcribed interview, along with my translation of what he really said when he wasn’t saying anything…

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      Humor, NBA

      NBA free agency and draft rumors

      June 4, 2009 /

      – Charlie Villanueva is open to joining the Cavs, and given the current state of the economy, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that the best he’ll be able to do is a deal at the mid-level (~$5.8 million). The Bucks first have to decide whether or not to make the qualifying offer (~$4.6 million) and they may elect not to in order to avoid going over the luxury tax threshold (~$71 million, and could drop). Without Villanueva (and Ramon Sessions, who is also slated to become a restricted free agent), the Bucks’ payroll is at about $61 million with only eight players under contract. Villanueva would give the Cavs a good matchup for Rashard Lewis. Both players are slender power forwards who can shoot the ball, though Charlie V isn’t known for his defense.

      – UFA Andre Miller doesn’t have a problem with the Sixers’ hire of head coach Eddie Jordan. The Sixers are over the cap but well under the luxury tax, so I’d expect them to sign the 33 year-old to a one- or two-year deal in the $6-7 million range. He is unlikely to get that on the open market, but Portland is a team with cap space that could use his leadership.

      – Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo plans to keep Chris Bosh and try to surround him with better players, unless the talented power forward expresses serious doubts about re-signing. By sending Jermaine O’Neal to the Heat for Shawn Marion (and his expiring contract), the Raptors have about $10 million in cap space heading into the summer. While that may not be enough to land someone like Carlos Boozer, it is enough, coupled with the team’s mid-level exception, to add two or three pretty good players to the roster. How about Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva/Chris Andersen? I’d expect the Bosh rumors to heat up next season if Toronto struggles again early on.

      – Hoopsworld says that there’s a rumor making the rounds that the Thunder might take DeMar DeRozan #3. This sounds a little fishy to me because everything I’m seeing shows DeRozan slipping a little after poor agility and sprint tests at the combine. James Harden has the better standing vertical and is just 1.5″ off of DeRozan’s max vertical. Harden also beat DeRozan soundly in the agility and sprint tests and is the much more polished offensive player at this point. DeRozan is 1.5″ taller, but Harden has a higher reach because he has a longer wingspan.

      – With Jonny Flynn and Jrue Holiday climbing the draft charts, Ricky Rubio is suddenly open to interviews and workouts with teams picking #2 to #4, which includes Memphis, Oklahoma City and Sacramento. Rubio apparently didn’t play very well in his season finale, and his camp may be worried about him slipping out of the top four if those teams in question find a guy they like better.

      NBA, NBA Draft, Rumors & Gossip

      Boozer headed to Detroit or New Jersey?

      June 1, 2009 /

      That’s the word from Peter Vecsey of the New York Post, anyway.

      Apparently, rising free agent-of-choice Carlos Boozer is telling confidants he’s either going to Detroit or New Jersey — only way the capsized Nets pull that off is by doing a sign-and-trade.

      Utah seems more interested in re-signing Paul Millsap (and justifiably so). It’s not a huge surprise that Boozer is thinking about his next destination, and when he’s healthy, he’s an All-NBA caliber player.

      Detroit seems like a good fit. They have a nice set of perimeter players — Tayshaun Prince, Rip Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey — and with Rasheed Wallace likely leaving, they need help up front. They have a ton of cap space, and might elect to use it this summer on Boozer instead of waiting for Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire and failing to sign either. Had they found a way to hold onto Chauncey Billups, that would be a formidable foursome, but it was the Billups trade that freed up the cap space to potentially sign Boozer. Depending on how they structured his contract, they could sign Boozer and then re-sign Wallace for another year, which would make them a scary playoff team next postseason.

      The Nets are over the cap, but they have Bobby Simmons’ expiring deal (~$11.2 million) that could be used in a sign-and-trade with the Jazz. However, Utah will need some other incentive to take on Simmons; otherwise, they could just let Boozer go if he opts out. The Nets have a few young, mildly interesting prospects — Ryan Anderson, Sean Williams, Josh Boone, Yi Jianlian — but they’d be foolish to give up Brook Lopez for Boozer. Would Simmons plus the #11 pick in the draft be enough to convince Utah to do a sign-and-trade? They’d basically be paying the Nets $11.2 million for the #11 pick — I’m not sure it’s worth it.

      Keep in mind that if the Nets find a way to acquire Boozer, it is highly unlikely that they’ll have the cap space to sign LeBron next summer unless they find a way to move Vince Carter before next February’s trade deadline.

      NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip

      What do the Cavs do now?

      May 31, 2009 /

      This is not how it was supposed to go.

      The Cavs were destined to make the Finals and face the Lakers, with LeBron turning in a fantastic Game 7 performance in front of his loyal fans at the Q to bring the city of Cleveland its first championship since 1964. With a title already under his belt, and a few more on the horizon, he would happily re-up for another four or five seasons. Or at the very worst, the Cavs would lose to the more talented Lakers, leaving fans with the feeling that “one more piece” would be all that is needed to finally bring a title to Cleveland. Under that scenario, there would be no way that LeBron could leave, right? Not when the Cavs were thisclose to a title…

      Just over a year ago, I wrote that “The Cavs have failed LeBron James,” which was posted about three months before GM Danny Ferry pulled the trigger on the trade that brought Mo Williams to Cleveland. That trade, along with LeBron’s renewed focus and an improved work ethic (which was inspired by his seeing first hand how Kobe prepared during the 2008 Olympics), pushed the Cavs to a league-best 66 wins this season. Williams was named as an alternate to the All-Star Game (after grousing about not being voted in by the coaches) and all was well with the world.

      The Cavs received some more good news when Kevin Garnett struggled with injuries down the stretch of the regular season and was eventually shut down for the playoffs. At the time, the Celtics were considered the Cavs’ biggest threat in the East, but KG’s injury might have allowed the Magic, one of four teams that beat the Cavs twice during the year — the Celtics, the Lakers and…um…the Wizards were the other three — to advance to the Conference Finals when they otherwise wouldn’t have survived to face the Cavs. The Magic were a very bad matchup because the Cavs simply didn’t have anyone that could cover Dwight Howard. When they didn’t double-team him, he would make a living on the post, and when they did send another guy, it would free up the Orlando sharpshooters for open jumpers.

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

      Bucks to exercise “financial discipline”

      May 27, 2009 /

      I’m not sure that this is what I wanted to hear, but Bucks GM John Hammond says he’s going to be careful with the payroll this summer.

      The team’s financial discipline will affect the future and, more specifically, restricted free agents Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions, and possibly European player Ersan Ilyasova. It will affect whom the Bucks select in the draft and whether they will be able to sign a free agent this summer, which right now appears highly unlikely.

      The upside, though, is that if the Bucks are able to maintain that discipline now, as difficult as it might be, it will afford them the flexibility in a year or two to make some major moves and deal from a position of power rather than with their backs against the wall.

      “We need to have discipline moving forward,” said Hammond. “That means that we need to have discipline from the financial side of our decisions. We are a team that is teetering at the (luxury) tax and for us to change our roster and to move the organization in a direction which we feel that we would want to go, we’re going to need some financial flexibility. And in order to get to that position, we have to have discipline here initially.”

      In order to maintain the rights to Villanueva, the Bucks will have to present him with a qualifying offer (determined by a formula based on the player’s previous salary and where he was drafted) of $4.5 million. Unless the luxury tax turns out to be higher than anticipated, paying Villanueva that kind of money would take the Bucks into tax territory, which means the Bucks would not make him a qualifying offer. Villanueva would then become an unrestricted free agent and would be able to go to any team with no compensation to the Bucks.

      That is where the financial discipline would enter in.

      Last season, Villanueva was an asset at the $3.4 million that he was paid. But would he remain an asset at a $4.5 million salary – or even higher, if another team gave him an offer sheet that exceeded that figure – especially if it meant the Bucks would be paying the tax?

      The same can be said for Sessions, who was an asset last season at a $712,000 salary. But would he remain an asset if another team offered him a multi-million dollar offer sheet that the Bucks would have to match to keep him?

      I have no problem if the Bucks decide to let Villanueva walk. It would be nice to get something in return, but I understand if financial constraints force the team to pass on making him the qualifying offer to retain his rights.

      Sessions is another matter. He averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists in 27.5 minutes of playing time this season. In 38 games as a starter, he averaged 15.2 points and 7.5 assists in 33.8 minutes of PT. His PER (17.65) is #13 amongst point guards and the fifth-best amongst point guards under the age of 26. His +/- numbers are the best on the team for anyone who played more than 1200 minutes. He has a knack for getting to the rim, which is a skill that has become more and more important since rule changes have reduced the amount of contact defenders can deliver on the perimeter. Since Michael Redd is more of a spot up shooter, Sessions is a good complement.

      In short, the Bucks would be nuts to let him go. He’s still flying under the radar, so Milwaukee could probably lock him up for 4-5 years at $3-$4 million per season. If he continues on his current career trajectory, the Bucks could have a top 10 point guard in the next season or two at a very reasonable price.

      NBA, NBA Draft

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