Chicago Bulls veteran power forward Drew Gooden is heading into the final year of his contract in the upcoming season. Monday the “Chicago Tribune” reported the player said his uncertain long term status will not effect his short term performance. Gooden was traded to the Bulls last February He was acquired along with Larry Hughes from Cleveland, in a three team deal that also involved Seattle. Gooden who has played for four different teams in his six years in the Association, said his contract status will not be a distraction. He told reporters “I’ve been in this position before, and I put too much pressure on myself that time. This time I know if I play my (behind) off, things will take care of themselves.”
Days after Miami Heat Team President Pat Riley said his team did not have the budget for a free agent, the franchise signed former L.A. Clippers point guard Shaun Livingston to a two year deal Friday. The “Associated Press” reported that Livingston was practicing with the team on Friday, and would join the team as it plays a series of preseason games in Europe. Livingston, had been the subject of speculation all Summer, as rumors aligned him with Miami, as well as Golden State and Portland. Livingston has not played since February 26, 2007, when he blew out his knee while playing for the Clippers against the Charlotte Bobcats.
Miami head coach Erik Spolestra told reporters “He has great size and feel for the game at his position. I’ve followed him for a few years. It’s unfortunate, really, what happened, but we’d normally never be able to get a player of his talent at this time. He’s very committed to getting healthy and we have a great staff to help him get there.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Speculation has started that Miami may have a deal in the works to trade a player currently on their roster to stay under the NBA salary cap. Riley had stated that the Heat were just $415,000 from the cap which is why they could not bring in a free agent.
After a Summer of uncertainty, it appears that restricted free agent guard Ben Gordon will end up playing for the Chicago Bulls in the upcoming season. The “Chicago Tribune” reported that Gordon has apparently changed his mind and will sign a one year qualifying offer by Chicago. Gordon had said in August that he would not sign the offer, and thought his days as a member of the Bulls were over. There were reports earlier this month that Gordon was talking with CSKA Moscow about playing overseas. If Gordon does sign the qualifying offer by Wednesday which is the NBA deadline, he would become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the season.
The “Palm Beach Post” reported Thursday that Miami Heat Team President Pat Riley told reporters that his team would not be signing any free agents. Riley said the reason was that Miami had only $415,000 to spend to reach the NBA salary cap. Speculation had been growing that the Heat who truly need a starting point guard, would have interest in either Jamaal Tinsley or Stephon Marbury if they were released from their current teams. Riley told reporters “Right now we’re not in the market for anybody, because we can’t afford to sign anybody because we are that close to the tax.”
The New York Knicks announced Thursday that they have signed two familiar names for the upcoming season. Team President Donnie Walsh announced the signing of former New York Knicks guard Allan Houston, who will attempt another come back to the Association. Walsh announced “Knicks/Grunfeld-The Sequel” as New York has signed free agent swing man Dan Grunfeld to a contract. Grunfeld is the son of former Knicks player and General Manager Ernie Grunfeld. The senior Grunfeld is now Team President of the Washington Wizards.
The 37 year old former All-Star has been working out all Summer, and has contacted New York Knicks Team President Donnie Walsh. Houston who attempted a comeback last year with New York, wants to give it one more shot. Houston last played in the Association in 2005 when chronic pain in his knees forced him to retire. Grunfeld was not drafted, and has spent the last two seasons playing overseas. Terms of the contracts have not been released.
The Orlando Magic, according to their team website, have signed a trio of players to their squad - forward/center Dwyane Jones, swingman Jeremy Richardson and guard Mike Wilks; with the signings, the Magic have a squad of 16 players. The Magic will also hold their annual Media Day this coming Monday from 2-4 PM (EST) at the RDV Sportsplex.
The San Antonio Spurs announced Wednesday that they have added two more players to their roster for the upcoming season. The Spurs signed free agent guard Salim Stoudamire, as well as rookie guard George Hill. Terms of the two deals were not disclosed. Hill was the Spurs first round draft pick taken with selection number 26 in the 2008 NBA Draft. Hill impressed team officials with his play in the Las Vegas Summer League, and the Rocky Mountain Revue. Stoudamire has spent three seasons in the Association all with the Atlanta Hawks. He has averaged 8.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists per game in his NBA career.
I have always had a great deal of respect for Detroit Pistons Team President Joe Dumars. During his playing days, with the Pistons which took place in the the “Bad Boys“era he was one of the few players on that team that actually epitomized class. Dumars along with Vinnie (the microwave) Johnson, and for a short period of time Adrian Dantley, allowed Laimbeer, Mahorn, and Rodman to be the bad guys, while they took the high road.
Since going into the front office for the Pistons, Dumars has built the team from the Motor City into a powerhouse. This decade Detroit has consistently been one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference. They played in two NBA Finals, going 1-1 in the process.
They have made it to the Eastern Conference Finals the last three seasons, and were beaten by three different teams. The Miami Heat en route to winning a Championship, did it in 2006. The Cleveland Cavaliers after years of trying finally beat Detroit in 2007, only to be swept by the Spurs in the Finals. Boston defeated Detroit this past season, and won their first NBA Title since 1986 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Dumars spoke to the media in June, and said there would be big changes for Detroit in the off-season. He proclaimed that the only player off limits was rookie Rodney Stuckey. The rest of the team could be had, for the right price (players in exchange.) The only player that the Pistons have acquired since July 1, is journeyman center Kwame Brown.
We started out with the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers who gave Detroit all they could handle in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, are now a much better team than they were at the end of last season. Philadelphia shocked the planet, when they stole forward Elton Brand in broad daylight away from the Los Angeles Clippers. Brand, if healthy and all indications are that he is will be a difference maker in the East.
The team also signed their own two restricted free agents Andre Iguodala, and Louis Williams.The Sixers have also strengthened their bench with the additions of guards Royal Ivey and Kareem Rush, and veteran big men Donyell Marshall, and Theo Ratliff.
Marshall’s former team the Cleveland Cavaliers, have also gotten a big boost in the off-season, by improving an area of need, their back court. Cleveland now has their strongest back court in the LeBron James era. Last month they traded for Mo Williams from the Milwaukee Bucks, and Friday they signed their own restricted free agent Delonte West.
Last month they locked up LBJ protege guard Daniel Gibson to a long term deal. Earlier this month they signed former Memphis Grizzlies guard Tarence Kinsey to contract as well as rookie Darnell Jackson who was a member of NCAA Champion Kansas last season. My sources out of Cleveland tell me that Anderson Varejao is being shopped, which means they would need another young power forward. With arguably the Association’s best player in James, the only question marks are veteran big men Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ben Wallace.
The Toronto Raptors who are fully committed to Jose Calderon as their starting point guard traded T.J. Ford to the Indiana Pacers for Jermaine O’Neal. O’Neal will greatly improve with the change of scenery, as well as playing with Chris Bosh.
The Miami Heat picked up two strong young players in the draft in Michael Beasley, and Mario Chalmers. And more importantly D-Wade looks to be fully recovered from his injuries. Look for major improvement from their lost season last campaign.
The Associated Press reported late last week, that Dumars has had a change of heart, and will leave his team with the same make up they had at the end of 2007. Dumars told reporters that he was not getting the value in return for his current players to warrant a change. Dumars told reporters “We talked to teams this summer, but nothing was presented to me that would make us better than we already are. This can be one of the elite teams in the league that contends for a championship.”
A definite possibility Joe, but let’s face facts. This team is getting old, and now they have a rookie head coach in Michael Curry. Although Saunders is a horrible post season coach, he does great during the regular season. What did they see in Curry that made him a hotter commodity than Saunders? Guess we will have to wait a bit longer to find out.
“The Oregonian” reported Monday that the Portland Trail Blazers will work out free agent guard Shaun Livingston, in hopes of bringing him into the fold for the upcoming season. Portland is the latest team to show interest in the former Los Angeles Clippers point guard. Earlier reports had both the Miami Heat and the Golden State Warriors showing desire to possibly add Livingston to their rosters. Livingston worked out for several teams in Chicago last month. He has not played since February 26, 2007, when he blew out his knee while playing for the Clippers against the Charlotte Bobcats. The 23 year old Livingston was drafted by the Clippers with the number four pick in the 2004 NBA Draft.
The “South Florida Sun-Sentinel” reported Friday that the agent for newly re-signed Miami Heat point guard Chris Quinn says his client is excited to be back in Miami. Quinn, who will be going into his third season in the Association signed a two year deal with the Heat on Thursday. The deal reportedly is a two year deal for which he will receive $ 2 million. Quinn can opt out after next season, and would become an unrestricted free agent. Mark Bartelstein, told reporters that his client is looking forward to playing for Miami’s new coach Erik Spolestra. Bartelstein said “This is where Chris wanted to be. He wanted to be back in Miami. He really likes Erik Spoelstra a lot.”
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