The “Milwaukee Journal Sentinel” has reported that new Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond, told reporters that the team would carry 15 players on the roster in the upcoming season. That of course is the maximum amount of players a NBA team can have, consisting of 12 active, and 3 inactive players. Hammond told reporters that one of the roster spots will be occupied by veteran guard Damon Jones. Jones was traded to the Bucks during the Summer in the deal that sent guard Mo Williams to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jones was asked not to report to training camp this past week, as Hammond and new coach Scott Skiles have determined that he does not fit into the team’s plans. Jones is in the last year of his contract, and is reportedly owed $4.4 million. The Bucks will hold onto Jones, rather than waive him and have to pay his entire salary. Rather they will wait and hope that a need for a guard comes up for another team in the Association. Their best case scenario is that another franchise would offer Jones the NBA veteran minimum salary, about $1.2 million, and see if they can get a buyout at a reduced rate. Jones has played 10 seasons in the Association, the last 3 with Cleveland.
Monday “Newsday” reported that the Memphis Grizzlies had decided that they were going to pass on the deal that would have brought New York Knicks forward Zach Randolph to Memphis. Earlier this month there were reports of a proposed deal that would have sent Randolph to Memphis in exchange for Darko Milicic and Marko Jaric. The Grizzlies were also asking for the Knicks selection in the first round of the NBA Draft. New York Team President Donnie Walsh reportedly did not want to give up the draft pick. Whether that is what tabled the deal or Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace had a change of heart but the reports are that Memphis has decided not to make the trade. Randolph came to the Knicks on the night of the 2007 NBA Draft, in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers.
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.
“Pacers.com” reported Thursday that Indiana Pacers Team President Larry Bird has stated that point guard Jamaal Tinsley will not be with the Pacers for the upcoming season. Indiana now has an abundant number of point guards, starting with T.J. Ford who will most likely be the starter. Ford came over in the deal that sent Jermaine O’Neal to Toronto. Indiana also now has Jarret Jack whom they picked up on Draft night from Portland, as well as Travis Diener, who be going into his second year. Bird spoke with the team’s website earlier this week, and made it clear that Tinsley does not figure in the Pacers future. Bird said “We’re talking to some teams and hopefully before camp something can happen. Everybody thinks there’ll be a buyout or we’ll cut him or whatever but that’s not going to happen. We’re going to try to make a deal that’s good for both parties. Jamaal’s a good basketball player and he’d be very valuable to some team. It’s going to be a process and I knew that going into it.” Bird said he had spoken with Tinsley, and both parties agreed it was best for Tinsley to get a fresh start with another team.
The human mind works in strange and mysterious ways. Here is a perfect example; when ever I think of New York Knicks controversial power forward, I automatically think of Spike Lee. Yes, that Spike Lee, celebrated film director, and avid New York Knicks fan. Why do I associate the director of “Do The Right Thing“ and many other superb films with Randolph? It all stems from an interview Lee did on the night of the 2007 NBA Draft. On that night former Knicks Team President Isiah Thomas traded for the former member of the Portland Trail Blazers, and Lee was in the crowd in New York where the draft was taking place. Soon after the trade was announced, a reporter interviewed Lee who was ecstatic about the trade. In his mind, the acquisition of Randolph was going yo put his beloved Knicks into the NBA Post Season.
By mid-season of the 2007-2008 campaign, any talk of the playoffs had vanished. Randolph had worn out his welcome with the Knicks, and the fans in the “Big Apple“. Randolph along with Stephon Marbury, and center Eddy Curry were perceived as malcontents, and did nothing to stop the New York season from becoming an effort in futility.
At the end of the regular season Knicks CEO James Dolan, apparently shook off the magic spell that Zeke had him under the last few years. Although Thomas is still employed by the team he had been relieved of his duties as Team President, and head coach. It is now up to new Team President Donnie Walsh to try to get the Knicks back to being a contender again in the NBA.
Tuesday “Newsday” reported that talks have heated up between the Knicks and the Memphis Grizzlies that would send Randolph to Memphis in exchange for Darko Milicic and Marko Jaric. The holdup in the deal is that the Grizzlies also want a Knicks first round draft pick, and Walsh is reticent to give it up. If I am Walsh I make this deal before somebody can advise Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace to pull the offer off the table. Although Milicic has never lived up to expectations, Jaric is a quality guard. Even more importantly though the Knicks get rid of a player who has a reputation for being a cancer in the locker room, and clear salary cap space. This is the perfect example of addition by subtraction! So Donnie, bite the bullet give up the first round pick and make the deal. As far as Chris Wallace goes, Wallace spent the entire off-season earning back respect after the Gasol trade to the Lakers last season. The acquisition of Randolph, could sink Wallace’s reputation once again, and this time for good.
I would imagine it would be tough for any son to follow their father into a profession, in which dad was successful. The pressure would probably be extraordinary if your father was chosen to be one of fifty deemed greatest in their craft in all of history. Not to mention your father is being inducted into the Hall of Fame of that profession next week. Now imagine you are going to work in the same building that your dad had his greatest glory, and oh yeah there will be thousands of people watching your every move. Meet Patrick Ewing Jr. newest member of the New York Knicks.
The “Associated Press” reported Friday that the Knicks have received Ewing from the Houston Rockets in exchange for the draft rights to center Frederic Weiss. Ewing is now with his third NBA team, since being drafted in June. He was a second round pick by the Sacramento Kings, and was traded along with Ron Artest to Houston earlier this month. Patrick Jr. is a 6′8” forward, unlike his dad who of course was a center. Ewing told reporters he is excited by the thought of playing for New York. Ewing said “Coming to the Knicks, and hopefully being able to contribute, means a lot to me. It has always been my dream to play for this team. My goal is to show the coaches that I can play and do all that I can to help the team win some games.”
The “Associated Press” has reported that the Houston Rockets have received guard DJ Strawberry from the Phoenix Suns in return for rookie guard Sean Singletary. Phoenix will be the third team that the rookie Singletary has been with in the Association, since the NBA Draft in June. Singletary was originally selected by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the draft. He then was traded to Houston included in the deal that sent Kings veteran forward Ron Artest to the Rockets. Strawberry was a second round pick by Phoenix in the 2007 NBA Draft. He played in just 33 games last season for the Suns.
If you are a regular reader of mine, you know all too well how I have have campaigned for Cleveland Cavaliers General Manager Danny Ferry to acquire a quality point guard. As much as the Cavaliers have improved during his tenure as G.M. I have always felt that the team needed that quarterback on the floor to run the offense. “ESPN.com” NBA beat writer Chris Broussard is reporting that Cleveland has acquired point guard Mo Williams in a three way trade with the Milwaukee Bucks and “The Team Formerly Known As The Seattle SuperSonics“.
The trade which we told you was being discussed on Monday Reports Out Of Cleveland Are That Cavaliers Have Interest In Bucks Williams have Cleveland sending guard Damon Jones to Milwaukee, and veteran forward Joe Smith will go to the team now located in Oklahoma City. The Bucks will receive guard Luke Ridnour, and forward Adrian Griffin from OKC, Oklahoma City will also get forward Desmond Mason in the swap.
Williams was a second round pick by the Utah Jazz in the 2003 NBA Draft. He has been with the Bucks since the 2004-2005 campaign. He averaged 17.2 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.5 rebounds in 66 games (all starts) this past season. This is a big step in the right direction for Cleveland. According to my sources from Cleveland, the Cavaliers want to retain restricted free agent guard Delonte West. Danny get Delonte signed, and you will not here any complaints from this corner for quite a while!
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