Jun

23

Reports Say Raptors & Pacers Are Talking Jermaine For T.J.

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Now here is a trade that actually makes sense for both teams involved, which most likely means it will never come to fruition. The “Indianapolis Star“? reported Monday that the Indiana Pacers are talking with the Toronto Raptors about a deal that would send Raptors point guard T.J. Ford to Indiana in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal. O’Neal has seem to have worn out his welcome in the Hoosier State, while Toronto is committed to guard Jose Calderon as the starter. The Pacers could definitely use help at the point, where as O’Neal would be a great compliment to Chris Bosh with the Raptors. As I wrote at the the top, it probably makes too much sense, and will never get done.

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Jun

23

ESPN: Is Team USA Too Short To Win In Beijing?

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Jun

23

ESPN: USA Basketball Ready To Compete In Beijing

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Jun

23

Warriors In Trading Mood? Mullin Isn’t Saying

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???????????????????????????????????????? Golden State Warriors vice president Chris Mullin

The Golden State Warriors, as anyone who are fans of or follow the team know, are a team of speed that doesn’t have a large number of big men on their team.? With the draft in a few days, the team - like most other teams in the NBA just before draft day - is looking to improve their roster.? To recap, the Warriors traded Jason Richardson for the rights to Brandan Wright (the #8 overall pick); last week,?team vice president Chris Mullin stated that he had inquired about moving around in this year’s draft and as of this writing is checking out all trade possibilities.? Mullin - this is old news, but relevant - is of the belief that the Warriors are one good player from being a playoff mainstay; because no one in the draft at the Warriors’ draft position can help them in that quest, the only options out there are either a trade or free agency.

A trade does carry some risks: they have a $10 million trade exception (courtesy of the Richardson deal) that they must use before June 30; what the exception does for Golden State is allow them to acquire a player with a salary of $10 million or less - by trade only - and is an incentive for a team looking for salary cap relief.? And there are?players out there who could fit that scenario - Ron Artest, Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw and Tayshaun Prince come to mind.? Should the Warriors allow their exception to expire, they can still sign a player, but at a much heftier price tag.? If they went that route, they’d have to trade a “name-brand” player - and with the Warriors’ current situation, Al Harrington is the likeliest to depart Oakland.

Why Harrington, you ask?? For several reasons; the Warriors do not have many tradeable assets if they want to keep Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins and Wright.? We know that Baron Davis isn’t going anywhere, not to mention that Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes are unrestricted free agents - available to any bidder at this point.? Also factor in that Stephen Jackson, despite coming off a very good season, is rather risky for some of the other league GM’s.? Which brings us back to Harrington.? Harrington is due to make a hair over $9 million next season; while he has been the “good soldier” as part of Warriors coach Don Nelson’s “roller coaster” last season, one has to get the feeling that Harrington himself thought that he was being underutilized in Oakland.?

Another factor that may play in Harrington’s favor is that he switched agents and probably would be the first to tell you that a change of scenery may benefit him; however, Mullin seems not too keen on that idea, as the Warriors have very few big men who can rebound (besides Biedrins).? As it were, any team that wants Harrington would have to give up a quality player in return.? all of these scenarios aside, Mullin has simply been cryptic about the Warriors’ intentions, saying, “Hmm … under contract, heck of a player, I anticipate him being here.? Al’s played a lot of different positions throughout his career, and that’s real valuable, especially for us. … Do you want more?? I think players always want more, teams want more.? Realistically, the guy’s a heck of a player and has been pretty much everywhere he’s been.”? Make your own conclusions, but knowing Mullin’s track record, the possibility of Harrington being shipped are at least 50% as of this writing - and getting larger by the day as the draft fast approaches.?

Jun

23

NBA Notes

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????????????????????????????????????? National Basketball Association

A?couple pieces of interest that may affect the direction of the 2008 NBA Draft, according to Chris McCosky of the Detroit News:

  • Negotiations between the Atlanta Hawks and Josh Smith are getting interesting, to say the least; Smith is a restricted free agent, and as such, is seeking a deal beginning around the $11 million a year range.? A heck of a start for newly hired Hawks general manager Rick Sund as he might balk at that asking price.? Should negotiations come to an impasse, the Detroit Pistons will be all over that - in the form of a “sign-and-trade”.
  • Some reports out of Phoenix have Phoenix Suns forward Boris Diaw being offered to the toronto Raptors for T.J. Ford and their 17th pick in the first round; on the flip side, a report out of New York shot that rumor down, claiming the Suns have no interest in Ford.? Suns coach Terry Porter and Ford have a history together as Ford was the point guard in Milwaukee while Porter was coach there; Porter would love to have Ford as Steve Nash’s backup.? If memory serves me correctly, Ford has publicly said that he wants to be a starter in the league, so it is speculative as far as how reliable the rumors out of Phoenix are.

Jun

23

NBA Calendar

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????????????????????????????????????????????? National Basketball Association

Below are NBA activities of note:

  • June 26 - NBA draft, New York City.
  • July 1 - Teams can begin negotiating with free agents.
  • July 9 - Teams can begin signing free agents.

Jun

23

Reports Say Nuggets Are Committed To Keeping Carmelo

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“ESPN The Magazine” NBA beat writer Chris Broussard reported Sunday night that the Denver Nuggets have told the agent for All-Star Carmelo Anthony’s agent that the team will not trade him this Summer. ?Anthony’s agent in a phone interview with Broussard said “He’s not going to be moved. It’s not happening. We’ve been given assurances from the owner on down.”

Reports surfaced earlier that their was a scheduled meeting for Monday between Nuggets officials and representatives for ‘Melo to discuss the trade rumors that have circulated in the last few days. There had been rampant speculation that Anthony may be sent to the Detroit Pistons, the team that had bypassed him with the second pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.

? Copyright 2008 thesackattack.net