☆☆ 2012 NBA Finals ☆☆ The King has been crowned; Heat win 2012 NBA Finals! Bron Finals MVP.

[mronegative]

Originally Posted by PMatic

10 best free-agent fits

Can't wait til half the dudes on the list say they'd like to play for NY before going elsewhere.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by bhzmafia14

I think the top 10 Power Rankings will be:
1) Miami

2) Dallas

3) OKC

4) LAL

5) Chicago

6) Boston

7) Orlando

Memphis

9) San Antonio

10) Portland

JA, I read somewhere that Rudy Fernandez is happy overseas. Is he coming back? 

There were two conflicting reports that came out today. One said he's enjoying overseas and wants to stay there, and another AFTER that said his main priority is to stay with the Mavericks to play out his contract. Personally, I don't see why we'd give up a draft pick if we didn't think he'd come over to play for us, even if it's only a year.

I'd be upset if he did ditch us for Real Madrid, because he's cheap talent right now, and for the Mavericks, that's a God-send. I'd like to have our entire team back as is, but it's not going to happen. We'll lose pieces. Probably stick with Chandler because Cubes will shell out the cash, but Barea, Caron, Stevenson, those are the big question marks. I think we retain maybe one of those, and two if we're lucky and can get Tyson for RELATIVELY cheap. I think Stevenson can be most easily replaced. Brewer can pick up his defensive skills, and shots that Stevenson took can be spread around Kidd, Terry, Dirk, and Rudy.

If we got back Tyson/Barea/Caron I'd be super excited. I'm willing to bet we get two of those three though.

Those power rankings make a lot of sense to me, but I'd still put Lakers as 2 or 3. OKC hasn't trumped them. OKC has no rings with their current squad. OKC doesn't have Kobe (say what you will, I'll still take Kobe over any player in the NBA today). And just because the Lakers got swept doesn't mean to me that the Thunder are any better than the Lakers because they won 2 games against the Mavericks. I don't know how I'd deal with the Celtics, they still have a lot of signings to do, but if they can get a good roster around the Big Four, then sure, I can buy them over the Bulls.

And Tyson to Toronto doesn't make much sense to me. Toronto was right in the middle of the pack in terms of points. They need someone who can help carry the offensive load. Yes Tyson will be phenomenal defensively and help them immensely, but who's going to really come through for them in the clutch scoring? That's a bigger issue that needs to be addressed IMO. And Tyson won't be cheap. And having him come to Toronto in the first place would be a hard sell (Sorry OKB).

Caron to LAC makes a lot of sense, almost too much sense. I really loved Caron's stint here, and I'll be sad if it's over, but damn that's a good fit. He was pretty decent last year as the second-scoring option behind Dirk, we were hottest in the regular season when those two were healthy. None of that really matters because we won it without him, but it'd be nice if we could have him back on the cheap, and provide a nice scoring touch. What's intriguing about him in LA is that he'd be the THIRD option, which should free him up a ton. That's what made him so successful back in Washington. He wasn't one of the main guys on the scouting report. It was Gilbert, then Antawn, then Caron. I still think Caron has the drive to be a fringe All-Star player, whether it's with the Mavericks or not.

I don't see a Crawford/Jennings back-court working out at all. Those two would clash, methinks. Crawford just has that mentality about him. I know he was a 6th man this year, but still, I just don't like the idea of those two together. Plus Jamaal being your #1 option on offense probably? Sounds like NYK all over again. I don't like it. If he takes a back seat and lets the offense run through Jennings and Bogut, then we could see. But I could see him just being a chucker like Michael Redd was, but Redd was a better scorer in his prime.

Richardson on the Bulls makes a lot of sense, but I don't know if they can afford him.

Damn I'm glad this lockout is coming to an end, we can actually talk about BASKETBALL...




Also, report out saying Brandon Roy is likely going to get amnestied.

Assuming the salary cap is set at 58 million, the teams capable of signing Roy?

Kings? Grizzlies? Hornets? Timberwolves? Bucks?

I think Timberwolves would be very intriguing.

Rubio, Roy, Williams, Love, Darko. Still with Beasley, Webster, Wes Johnson, and Anthony Randolph, they'd have the all-raw team, but damn, the potential.

 

[morningstar7777]

Read more on the amnesty deal, it only applies to deals made prior to the CBA. New deals will fall under a new rule called stretch. And for the person asking if a player HAS to go to the team with the highest bid after being waived, the answer is yes, he has no choice.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by morningstar7777

Read more on the amnesty deal, it only applies to deals made prior to the CBA. New deals will fall under a new rule called stretch. And for the person asking if a player HAS to go to the team with the highest bid after being waived, the answer is yes, he has no choice.

How many times can they stretch-release a player? Will he go to same waiver process?

 

[JD617]

[h3]Celtics "Looking Very Hard" at Tyson Chandler?[/h3]
Earlier tonight on NBATV's primetime show called "Gametime," host Matt Winer reeled off a Top 5 list of questions to NBA reporter David Aldridge.  The 4th item on the list (in ascending order) asked about two free agents from the world champion Dallas Mavericks: Tyson Chandler and Caron Butler.

Without being prodded to name teams, Aldridge described how the Celtics don't have many players signed (true), are in desperate need for a center (no offense, Jermaine) and that they are "looking very hard at Tyson Chandler."

Take that for what you will, and you can even watch the video below to judge for yourselves, but it would certainly be huge if Danny Ainge could somehow pull that off.  Maybe it's tied to the sign-and-trade rumors that Sean Deveney of the Sporting News first reported.  Maybe Ainge has even crazier ideas.  Either way, if they were to land Chandler, Rondo would be loving his new alley-oop partner.  It would most likely destroy any dreams of Dwight Howard in green however, even if that is a long shot to begin with. Stay tuned.

Link

 

[dmbrhs]

The only reason Portland would hang onto Roy is for sentimental reasons, and well, we know how Paul Allen is Mr. Sentimental. The Blazers have to let him go. That contract is too much for an unknown commodity (at this point).

 

[bhzmafia14]

Chandler in Boston would be 

. I don't see it happening though.
JA, your right about that OKC and LAL switch. I actually meant to switch them before I submitted it. 

I like OKC, but I do think their offense and coaching was exposed in the playoffs. Unless Kendrick Perkins has brought a new offensive game to his "new look", I see them continuing to fall short of a title. I'm also interested to see how Westbrook plays this season. Will he finally play under control and use his abilities in the best way possible? KD will be KD. He will have a similar season to last year and will probably win MVP because the hype will be ridiculous. He can pretty much duplicate the same season, help OKC get a 1st or 2nd seed in the West and he's probably a lock for MVP.

I don't see Memphis going after Roy, not with Selby, Henry, TA and OJ all competing for that SG spot. Also, if we re-sign Marc, that will put us right at the tip of the cap and maybe over. I'm not sure if Heisley/Wallace have any plans to get in a bidding war for any of the amnesty players before re-signing their top priority. I wish Dec. 9th will hurry up!

 

[mjshoefanatic]

Gordon-Griffin-Butler would be 

Prince or AK47 are worth a look too.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

I'm jelly of all you dudes talking bout your teams signing some nice FAs.....

Can't wait for the Kings to sign Brian Cardinal for 7 mil so that we meet the minimum cap

 

[the anomolie]

I don't think nobody is excited like me. NBA season FTW!!!!!!!! Haven't been this excited since losing my virginity.

 

[harlemtothebronx]

Originally Posted by Zyzz

Originally Posted by HarlemToTheBronx

That gets tacked on in monthly increments, right?

i think so

Thanks.

 

[Bert.]

Prince>>Butler on the Clips

 

[DCAllAfrican]

For those doing Fantasy leagues, wouldn't you want to wait until all of the player movement is done?

 

[airjordan jb23]

Chandler on Boston would be a good look for everyone involved.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

^I would do it after the first preseason game personally.

 

[japanair21]

Damn near every team that lacks a good Center wants a piece of Tyson Chandler. I think that will be the hottest commodity in the off-season, but teams need to look at Nene too. That guy is a beast. Nene on the Celtics?

. The bad thing about Gasol and Nene is that both teams are deadset on retaining both of them.

Three GREAT Centers (given the generation) up for FA right now, and another decent one in Dalembert.

Caron in MIA worries me, and if they amnesty Miller than that frees up space for Caron. The bigger question is do they have enough faith in Joel? Or do they go after Dalembert. I think they can get one, but not both. Dalembert seems like the more likely choice because of his Haitian roots and the fact that having him and Joel would definitely bolster them up, and they still have the mini-MLE.

I wonder what kind of offers Caron will get knowing he's coming off of severe knee surgery.

Cuban could plan this perfectly though... We all know he's willing to break the bank if it's the old tax (dollar-for-dollar), he's done it before, and you know damn well after winning a championship that he would even more so be willing to open the check book.

There's a two year grace period until the harsher tax penalties are kicked into gear. That means two years for Cuban to basically break the bank before he decides whether he wants to start limiting his luxury tax spending.

After those two years, the only players with guaranteed contracts are Dirk (last year), Marion (last year), and Haywood. If Tyson, Caron, and Barea want to take three year deals, he could front-load their contracts. Kidd and Terry are both up after this year. Terry is staying regardless of how he does next season. They kept Jerry Stackhouse for a while he obviously suffered tremendously, even giving him a 7 million/year contract.

. So Terry stays. Kidd? I have no idea. Maybe he signs a short deal, maybe year-by-year, but he's going to retire a Maverick too. He won his ring, I'd think he has no desire to chase more rings. He's back where he started, he was a pivotal piece of his ring, I don't think he's going anywhere if he doesn't retire.

So technically they could sign Barea, Caron, AND Tyson if they manage it properly and the guys are willing to get two-three year deals (which shouldn't be hard for Caron, considering who knows how many teams are willing to commit long-term to a 30+ coming off injury).

I think the thing working FOR Dallas in all of their FA signings is that Cuban and these guys have been very loyal. Maybe not Tyson since his stint has been so short, but...

Caron could have been traded last year to not only relieve cap space but to also try and get someone else to try and win in the post-season, they didn't. Cuban stuck with Caron, and Caron now has a ring because of that. No, he didn't contribute on-court, off-court he did. You can say off-court doesn't matter, that's fine, but in the negotiations, I think it's something to consider.

Barea likely wouldn't be in the NBA if it wasn't for Cuban and Donnie Nelson giving him a chance. He looked terrible at times, and it never really looked like he'd be a normal rotation player until the last few years. He always looked too small, made mistakes, and missed some of the gimmes. Now, Barea just won a ring with this group, and he played a huge part in a lot of games.

Oh wait, this isn't the Mavericks thread? I'll stop soon.

The best thing about the CBA for the Mavericks as it stands is that grace period. It could work in our advantage to sign our guys back, and then try and manage from there. We have to go all-out because if we don't now, lose key pieces, then that window will close. Dirk will continue to be Dirk, but he didn't do it alone. And without those pieces, it's damn-near impossible to win in the NBA. If we get our boys back, we're primed to contend again.

 

[japanair21]

Originally Posted by Zyzz

Prince>>Butler on the Clips

That's another thing that makes me hopeful we can retain Butler. There are other good wings out there who could help teams like the Clippers.

 

[kevin cleveland]

Adam Morrison is working on a buy out with his Serb team...... I guess he is drawing a lot of NBA interest

And all is right with the world.

 

[stroshow4.insidehoopsmock...]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Three GREAT Centers (given the generation) up for FA right now, and another decent one in Dalembert. 
  

Dalembert sucks.  Ask any Sixer fan about him.  Dumblembert makes at least 2 bad decisions for every shot he blocks.

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Originally Posted by StroShow4

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Three GREAT Centers (given the generation) up for FA right now, and another decent one in Dalembert. 
  

Dalembert sucks.  Ask any Sixer fan about him.  Dumblembert makes at least 2 bad decisions for every shot he blocks.

I literally yell at my TV everytime I see Dalembert take a jump shot

which is like 5 times a game

In Philly, was he in love with the jumper that much?

 

[japanair21]

, well Miami is clamoring for him.

 

[pmatic]

I'm pretty sure I saw Dalembert put the ball behind his back and shoot a jump shot around the free throw line this past season. I couldn't help but laugh but found myself later asking "Why do that?"

 

[stroshow4.insidehoopsmock...]

Originally Posted by rck2sactown

Originally Posted by StroShow4

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Three GREAT Centers (given the generation) up for FA right now, and another decent one in Dalembert. 
  

Dalembert sucks.  Ask any Sixer fan about him.  Dumblembert makes at least 2 bad decisions for every shot he blocks.

I literally yell at my TV everytime I see Dalembert take a jump shot

which is like 5 times a game

In Philly, was he in love with the jumper that much?

Yes he was.  He's a tall, athletic dude... but man, he just DOES NOT get it.  At this point I think it's safe to say he never will.  I was thinking about writing a blurb on free agents teams shouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole, and he was gonna be number one.

 

[Bert.]

does Boston even have cap space? i dont see them re-signing Jeff Green if they actually have money.

 

[mjshoefanatic]

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Zyzz wrote:

---

Prince>>Butler on the Clips

That's another thing that makes me hopeful we can retain Butler. There are other good wings out there who could help teams like the Clippers.