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myself and like 2 other people were the ones hyping Demar......i know one dude was a toronto fan...i've been hyping Demar for a lil minute
NBA Off-Season News Thread: Roy extends 80/5, AI to Grizz, Chandler/Okafor swap, Marquis to C's.
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by japanair21,
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Bargnani, Bosh, Turkoglu, DeRozan, Calderon starting with Nesterovic, Evans, Belinelli and Jack off the bench
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Intriguing, but after last season I ain't going to put much faith in them till I see them on the floor winning games
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Intriguing, but after last season I ain't going to put much faith in them till I see them on the floor winning games
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Toronto's defense will be horrible this year. Teams will run through a frontline of Turk, Bosh and Barg.
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Yeah I'm saying.Originally Posted by I NaSmatic I
Bargnani, Bosh, Turkoglu, DeRozan, Calderon starting with Nesterovic, Evans, Belinelli and Jack off the bench.
Intriguing, but after last season I ain't going to put much faith in them till I see them on the floor winning games.
They had a terrible year last year with a good group, but they made some changes, all the guys on the team seem to have a good head on their shoulders.
If Bargs ever grows to be a star, then this team could be good, and they better hope so before Bosh ditches TOR for DAL.
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Multiple sources have confirmed that Hawks general manager Rick Sund is on an extended trip to the left coast, and part of his itinerary includes time in Los Angeles for face-to-face talks about a contract extension with Joe Johnson's camp (I mentioned this on Twitter late last night after hearing for sure that this was going on). A three-time All-Star, Johnson is heading into the final year of the five-year, $70 million deal he signed in August 2005
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i have a hard time seen any big name 2010 FA signing a contract extension
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Yeah, but if you sit down and look at all of the names, Joe is probably what? 10th? 12th?
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Maybe Joe wants the money now instead of risking having a underwhelming season due to him slowing down and his team mates getting better?
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They will when they start seeing that salary cap going down.
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Damn, Joe Johnson making bank
im not you
Banned
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Lebron
Wade
Bosh
Stat
I would think Joe Johnson would fall next on that list
Wade
Bosh
Stat
I would think Joe Johnson would fall next on that list
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I think a lot of people are going to be disappointed at the movement of the 2010 FA class. I honestly see 90-95% of the big names being re-signed. Those bignames include the 1st tier and 2nd tier of that class.
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Nope. The Declining Salary Cap has zero effect on max contract caliber players. Their potential figures will still remain the same and will be grandfatheredinto the next Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).
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Originally Posted by chr1scross
Still my favorite picture of the 2. "Kickin ++% and Taking Names!F**k All Y'all, we takin this league OVER."
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[table][tr][td]Was Thabeet Still Fighting Injury Effects in Vegas?[/td] [td]
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][td]Written by Chip Crain [/td] [/tr][tr][td]Wednesday, 05 August 2009 04:39[/td] [/tr][tr][td] There have been a lot of recriminations, criticisms and downright insulting comments made about Hasheem Thabeet's performance in the Las Vegas Summer League.
Not without good cause either. Thabeet had more personal fouls than rebounds. Thabeet had troubles scoring despite being 4-6 inches taller than his competition. Thabeet struggled to look as good as Hamed Haddadi for goodness sake. Not good for a 7-2 Center drafted second in the draft to be the defensive presence in the middle for the Memphis Grizzlies. I personally wrote a blog discussing the negative aspects of Thabeet.
Of course I was also one of the people who didn't feel the Grizzlies greatest need as at Center and that picking the big man from UConn was a mistake. I still feel that way too but I am more willing to cut the big guy some slack after talking with Chris Wallace on Tuesday.
Does anyone remember that Thabeet didn't actually work out with the Grizzlies the week before the draft? It turns out that Thabeet had hurt his shoulder sometime before the draft and was unable to work out for Memphis. Memphis had to go see him in LA and they had a nice talk. Thabeet did no drills, no exercises. Nothing. They just talked. The following Thursday night the Grizzlies made Thabeet their selection.
Well it seems now that the shoulder injury may have been a bit more serious than originally thought. Thabeet was unable to get into adequate condition for the summer league held just two weeks later due to the injury according to Chris Wallace. There doesn't appear to be any long-term threat from the injury. The lack of work prior to the draft and immediately after the draft left Thabeet in poor condition for the Summer League play.
Now a lot of people may remember the Grizzlies telling people that Thabeet was working out right after the draft. Maybe he was, but he just didn't work on conditioning. They didn't work on positioning, rebounding or shot blocking either from the look of things in the Summer League but that is all playing off the fact that Thabeet was out of shape. Not that he is incapable of doing these things.
Wallace wanted to remind people that Thabeet is a work in progress. Wallace assured me that he is already in better shape and still has a way to go on strength but he will be there soon and will be making the same kind of impact that he did at UConn.
Well the city of Memphis should get their first glimpse of the conditioned Thabeet starting in October. One can only hope that this is in fact the case. Another scene like the fans saw in Vegas may turn advocates for the team into advocates for change.
One other point has to be made here. Despite rumors to the contrary, Wallace assured me that everyone in the Grizzlies War Room was on board that Thabeet was the correct choice, himself included. There is no truth to the stories floating around that Wallace secretly wanted Tyreke Evans, Stephon Curry or even Ricky Rubio.
One has to wonder how long that story remains if Thabeet starts slow.
[/td] [/tr][/table]
I hope Thabeet doesn't end up like Bynum and Oden injury wise. It's a sign of relief that his horrible play in summer league wasn't ALL him beingThabeet. It had to do with his shoulder injury somewhat as well, I guess...
[/td] [/tr][/table][table][tr][td]Written by Chip Crain [/td] [/tr][tr][td]Wednesday, 05 August 2009 04:39[/td] [/tr][tr][td] There have been a lot of recriminations, criticisms and downright insulting comments made about Hasheem Thabeet's performance in the Las Vegas Summer League. Not without good cause either. Thabeet had more personal fouls than rebounds. Thabeet had troubles scoring despite being 4-6 inches taller than his competition. Thabeet struggled to look as good as Hamed Haddadi for goodness sake. Not good for a 7-2 Center drafted second in the draft to be the defensive presence in the middle for the Memphis Grizzlies. I personally wrote a blog discussing the negative aspects of Thabeet.
Of course I was also one of the people who didn't feel the Grizzlies greatest need as at Center and that picking the big man from UConn was a mistake. I still feel that way too but I am more willing to cut the big guy some slack after talking with Chris Wallace on Tuesday.
Does anyone remember that Thabeet didn't actually work out with the Grizzlies the week before the draft? It turns out that Thabeet had hurt his shoulder sometime before the draft and was unable to work out for Memphis. Memphis had to go see him in LA and they had a nice talk. Thabeet did no drills, no exercises. Nothing. They just talked. The following Thursday night the Grizzlies made Thabeet their selection.
Well it seems now that the shoulder injury may have been a bit more serious than originally thought. Thabeet was unable to get into adequate condition for the summer league held just two weeks later due to the injury according to Chris Wallace. There doesn't appear to be any long-term threat from the injury. The lack of work prior to the draft and immediately after the draft left Thabeet in poor condition for the Summer League play.
Now a lot of people may remember the Grizzlies telling people that Thabeet was working out right after the draft. Maybe he was, but he just didn't work on conditioning. They didn't work on positioning, rebounding or shot blocking either from the look of things in the Summer League but that is all playing off the fact that Thabeet was out of shape. Not that he is incapable of doing these things.
Wallace wanted to remind people that Thabeet is a work in progress. Wallace assured me that he is already in better shape and still has a way to go on strength but he will be there soon and will be making the same kind of impact that he did at UConn.
Well the city of Memphis should get their first glimpse of the conditioned Thabeet starting in October. One can only hope that this is in fact the case. Another scene like the fans saw in Vegas may turn advocates for the team into advocates for change.
One other point has to be made here. Despite rumors to the contrary, Wallace assured me that everyone in the Grizzlies War Room was on board that Thabeet was the correct choice, himself included. There is no truth to the stories floating around that Wallace secretly wanted Tyreke Evans, Stephon Curry or even Ricky Rubio.
One has to wonder how long that story remains if Thabeet starts slow.
[/td] [/tr][/table]
I hope Thabeet doesn't end up like Bynum and Oden injury wise. It's a sign of relief that his horrible play in summer league wasn't ALL him beingThabeet. It had to do with his shoulder injury somewhat as well, I guess...
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A lot of people seem to forget that big men take the longest to transition to the NBA, cut the kid someslack
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That's not the point I was trying to make. There's less money to spend with the teams. Their options aren't going to be as open asthey thought it would be with the teams being more financially strapped. Maybe not Joe but a lot of lower 2nd tier guys and 3rd tier guys that would usaullycommand a max contract or close to it won't get it because teams won't have much money to spend. I figure the amount a player makes with a max contractdoesn't change.
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Ten Summer Stories to Watch
August 5, 2009 12:55 PM
The NBA pretty much goes year 'round. But maybe not right now. The giant NBA information machine is creeping along at subsistence levels. And it's no wonder: Many executives, insiders, agents, journalists and editors who collaborate to make news all seem to be on vacation.
(A hundred NBA journalists' subliminal messages to Donald Sterling: Sign Allen Iverson if you must, but please do so in a way that is not too newsy, or kindly wait until I'm back in the office.)
But this NBA summer is hardly out of stories to watch. 10 headlines to expect before the season starts October 27:
1. Minnesota Has a New Coach
There was the potential for a ton of coaching upheaval this offseason. As the season concluded, there was chatter -- which didn't pan out -- about change in New Jersey, Atlanta, Toronto, Chicago and Golden State. Meanwhile Philadelphia, Detroit, Sacramento and Washington will all enter the fall with new leaders (Eddie Jordan, John Kuester, Paul Westphal and Flip Saunders, respectively).
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3. Allen Iverson Finds a Team Iverson has long been one of the NBA's most relentless warriors: The tiny guy who uses creativity, quickness, guile and toughness to score against bigger and stronger players. It's one of the best shows in the world. But everyone always knew his style of play would age poorly and the numbers have started to show he has been hurting his team with his inefficiency. However, after flaming out in Detroit, he'll have a lot to prove and he's still one of the best free agents remaining. It's a no-brainer that Iverson will find a team, and soon. The Clippers have been the primary rumored target, but doesn't some part of you want to see him back in Philadelphia for old time's sake?
(Ray Amati/NBAE via Getty Images)[/td] [/tr][/table]
And then there's Minnesota. New Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn has put his imprint on the team in fundamental ways -- by shipping out half the roster and making a big splash in the draft. But Kahn's most profound change came in parting ways with Kevin McHale -- who had defined and guided the team's first two decades as an executive and coach.
Who will Kahn choose? He has been thorough and painstaking. (July 7 quote: "We're a third of the way through preliminary interviews.") Reports have ESPN's Mark Jackson, Laker assistant coach Kurt Rambis and Rocket assistant Elston Turner as the finalists, and the team owner has intimated the process could be concluded soon.
2. Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo Are or Are Not 100%
When healthy, the Celtics of Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are essentially unbeatable. They won a championship their one full season together and almost beat the Eastern Conference champion Magic without Garnett a few months ago.
Garnett has been out of sight all summer. Will he be back at 100% or close from his injury? If so, the Celtics are powerful contenders. If not ... the upgraded Cavaliers and Magic will have to be considered the favorites in the East.
Meanwhile, in the absence of Garnett, the most productive Celtic in the playoffs was Rondo, who was rumored to be on the block early in the summer. On draft day Chad Ford reported: "Several league sources told me about Doc Rivers' relationship with Rondo. They say Rivers has told them Rondo is 'impossible to coach' and 'stubborn.' The worry is that if the Celtics give him a big contract extension next year, he'll be even more unmanageable in the future."
Pencil the Celtics in as contenders. But realize, there is a lot of volatility in that market.
4. Teams Find Partners, Investors, or Buyers
The Bobcats are for sale. The Grizzlies have been willing to entertain offers for quite some time. The Nets insist they are on rails to Brooklyn but that move would require a ton of financing (even to play in a cheaper stadium that has been compared to a "shed"). The Kings are pining for a stadium in Sacramento ... or San Jose, or Anaheim. In every case, owners are sniffing around for cash that does not yet seem to be on offer.
5. An Innovation That Changes the Season
About this time last year, Phil Jackson empowered Kurt Rambis to overhaul the Lakers' defense. Even early in preseason they were clearly a cut above. "And," points out David Thorpe, "they never looked back."
Somewhere, right now, some smart basketball mind is doing something that will change the upcoming NBA season. Thorpe's guess: "Several teams, like Cleveland, Orlando and to some extent Houston have made things really hard for offenses by flooding ball side zones, and then really rotating and helping to keep people from getting open behind the zone. Maybe this is the summer a clever offensive mind figures out how to punish teams for that kind of defense."
[table][tr][td]
8. Together At Last It wasn't exactly love at first sight for Ricky Rubio and David Kahn. It was more like Kahn said: "You're still available? Wow! OK!" (And Rubio responded, in essence: "The Minnesota Timberwhats?") But Kahn has been steadfast in his courtship, and even made a July trip to Spain in an effort to hurry along buyout negotiations. Rubio still really wants to play in the NBA. So some kind of teamwork is looking more and more likely.
(Rodolfo Molina/Getty Images)
[/td] [/tr][/table]
6. David Lee and Nate Robinson Will or Won't be Knicks
The New York Knicks are, of course, intent on a strategy of rebuilding through free agency next summer. At the same time, they have two key free agents this summer, in David Lee and Nate Robinson, who would like to continue the rebuilding process under Mike D'Antoni. But will the Knicks pay up to keep Lee and Robinson?
Salary cap projections from the league suggest the Knicks need to be very frugal now to have cap room for a maximum-salary player next summer. But if you're building a winner, doesn't it seem counterintuitive to let players of this quality walk away?
7. Carlos Boozer: Traded or Not?
Carlos Boozer opted in to his Utah contract. But he seems to have opted out of the idea of playing for the Jazz. He has spent his summer talking up cities like Chicago and Miami, while saying Utah has promised to trade him. The Jazz deny making promises, but acknowledge they're pursuing trades for one of the West's best big men. Stay tuned.
9. Injuries with Impact
The Clippers and Pacers have some of the worst attendance in the NBA -- and optimism for each team hinges on recent lottery picks. Blake Griffin was the top overall pick for the Clippers, while University of North Carolina legend Tyler Hansbrough became a Pacer with the 13th pick. Both, however, are battling injuries at the moment: Griffin has a bum shoulder and Hansbrough is dealing with a recurring shin injury.
Meanwhile, Tony Parker suffered an ankle injury playing for his national team, and many NBA players headed for qualifying tournaments for next summer's World Championships.This after Manu Ginobili was hurt playing for his national team last summer. Cross your fingers that's the end of this story, but this summer has the potential to be a major intensification of ongoing player battles between the NBA and national teams.
10. Unemployed NBA Players
There won't exactly be bread lines, but some players you watched play in the NBA last season will be looking for work somewhere else soon.
To save money, many teams (even the wealthy Lakers) have decided to carry short rosters -- just 13 players, instead of the allowed 15. On opening night, there could be 30 or 40 fewer NBA jobs than a year ago. At the same time, dozens of draftees and imported free agents (everyone from David Andersen with the Rockets to new Bull Jannero Pargo) have already filled roster spots.
As of this morning there are 381 signed players. If every team sticks to a roster of 13, just 24 more will get contracts. (As many as 71 could get jobs -- that would put every roster at the maximum 15). Meanwhile Chad Ford lists 40 notable free agents, from David Lee to Morris Almond. The full list is at 70.
Do the math. Forced retirement is a quiet reality of every summer. This year, the musical chairs could be especially harsh.
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Interesting read, especially that last bit about unemployed players.
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Still my favorite picture of the 2. "Kickin ++% and Taking Names!F**k All Y'all, we takin this league OVER."
ant no soft 7 foot Power foward who can't guard anyone or rebound going to help anyone take over the leauge
real talk if im Portland i wait and see how oden does this year before i offer LaMarcus a contract. and i sure as hell wont give him a max one
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ant no soft 7 foot Power foward who can't guard anyone or rebound going to help anyone take over the leauge
real talk if im Portland i wait and see how oden does this year before i offer LaMarcus a contract. and i sure as hell wont give him a max one
Dirk already did.
Oh wait, he's not soft, he's a decent defender, and he's not a bad rebounder.
mistah majestic
Banned
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ROY!
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They
Can
Fricking
Have
Him.
Can
Fricking
Have
Him.
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