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this.Originally Posted by Laced Up Jordans
^ Look at dude's sn and laugh at his trade proposal of the #4 and Love. GS fans always overrate their players. Remember them being all hyped up over Brandan Wright?
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports 45 minutes ago
The Portland Trail Blazers have empowered a private headhunting firm to research and reach out to potential general manager candidates, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
The use of the firm is further evidence embattled GM Kevin Pritchard has fallen out of favor with ownership and likely will be replaced before next season.
At least two current NBA front-office executives have been targeted, sources confirmed, and the firm has also made several fact-finding calls about Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti.
Pritchard lost a power struggle with Blazers president Larry Miller. His top ally and assistant GM Tom Penn was fired late in the season. Pritchard had sought a contract extension last year only to be rebuffed. AOL Fanhouse reported Pritchard’s courtside seat next to owner Paul Allen had been taken away this season.
Ownership has refused to give Pritchard a public show of support, and multiple sources say Vulcan Inc., which oversees the Blazers, had become fed up with Pritchard’s egocentric behavior.
Sources say some potential candidates are uneasy about the ownership dynamic in Portland. Vulcan Inc. has a history of meddlesome behavior, and some established NBA front-office executives are hesitant over a structure where they fear they’ll have little chance to establish and carry out their own philosophies and organizational framework. With Miller and popular coach Nate McMillan, the Blazers have two powerful and entrenched figures firmly in place.
Nevertheless, this is still a largely appealing job because of the solid state of the franchise’s talent base and a motivated and wealthy ownership group. Pritchard is still preparing for the June draft and making cursory calls on potential trades. Agents dealing with him say he’s toned down his verbiage, no longer making bold proclamations about his ability to buy draft picks and move up to snare their clients. It’s clear he can do little, if anything, without the approval of his superiors.
Originally Posted by JPZx
Did any of you actually read the article?It was completely optimistic towards the Rubio-to-Minny deal. Some of you are just letting the headline fool you. Try reading it...
[/h4][h4]By Brian Windhorst, The Plain Dealer [/h4][h5]June 05, 2010, 8:21PM[/h5]
John Kuntz / The Plain DealerWill the off-season changes around the Cavaliers include an effort to trade point guard Mo Williams? Indications are the front office are dabbling with other teams to determine his trade value.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- One message has become quite clear since the Cavaliers' season ended just three weeks ago. Team owner Dan Gilbert is not interested in status quo.
He's fired the coach, accepted the resignation of the general manager and there are no signs of stopping.
Gilbert has qualified these moves by saying he will not be afraid to take risks. Or as he said Friday: "The unknown is just that."
With that in mind, league sources have indicated the Cavs have begun to consider taking some risks with their roster. That may even include seeing if a trade makes sense for one of the most popular players on the team.
According to multiple league sources, the Cavs are testing the trade value for point guard Mo Williams, among other players. It is part of what appears to be an effort to tweak the entire backcourt, as Delonte West is also on the trade block.
These talks are being piloted, sources said, by new general manager Chris Grant. However, the decision to determine Williams' value could mostly be the result of the two weeks of in-depth conversations led by Gilbert on the state of the team. The products of those talks resulted in the firing of Mike Brown and Danny Ferry's decision not to seek another contract.
It is not assured that the Cavs will make a deal. This is the time of year when teams amp up trade discussions prior to the draft. Last year, the Cavs traded for Shaquille O'Neal the day before the draft but started the discussions for that deal in the first week of June.
Williams has been the best scoring guard LeBron James has played with in his career. Because he can play both off the ball and with the ball effectively, he has proven to be an excellent fit with James, who usually has the ball in his hands.
This season, Williams increased his assists and did not complain when his shots went down as O'Neal and Antawn Jamison joined the team. He is well liked within the locker room as well. In 150 regular-season games, Williams has averaged 16.9 points and shot 45 percent from the field.
In other words, he's been a valuable player.
But in 25 playoff games, Williams' scoring and shooting percentages have dropped even as his minutes have gone up. He has not performed well under the postseason pressure and at times has gotten down on himself.
This seems to be what might be concerning the Cavs as they evaluate their team. After winning 127 games over two seasons but coming up short of even making the Finals, they are reassessing what they really have.
"One thing we've learned is how different the postseason is from the regular season," Gilbert said.
Williams' defense is another issue. While he's generally improved defensively over the last two years, the Cavs have matchup disadvantages with top teams in the East. Williams was limited in what he could do defensively against Derrick Rose of the Bulls in the first round and Rajon Rondo in the second round.
Had the Cavs advanced, Jameer Nelson of the Magic might have been an issue in the conference finals.
Over the last two playoff years, Williams has often been removed from guarding the opposing point guard in favor of players Brown felt were better matchups.
Nonetheless, he is a former All-Star and getting fair return value might be a challenge or just impossible. That is what the team seems to be determining at the moment.
Williams has three years and $26 million left on his contract and that will make it harder to move him. However, in an uncommon circumstance, his deal actually reduces in annual salary after the 2010-11 season. Also, Williams has opt out clauses after each of the next two seasons.
As for West, the motives for a trade may be different. Just as it is hard to believe the Cavs might want to trade Williams, just a year ago West seemed like he was going to be a core player for the foreseeable future. Especially because West had a history of increasing his level of play in the postseason and is a strong defensive player.
West's level of play fell off this past season as he battled both legal and emotional problems that contributed to losing his starting job. But that might not be the central reason the Cavs would look to trade West -- it is because of his contract.
Scheduled to make $4.6 million next season, West is only guaranteed $500,000 if he's waived by Aug. 5. That means a team could save a significant amount of money by trading for and then releasing West. Savings like that is hard to get in the summer, and West's style of contract makes him one of the Cavs' biggest trade assets.
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
World Wide Wes has been telling everyone that he believes LeBron James(notes) is leaning hard toward signing with the Chicago Bulls. No one can be certain if basketball’s most famous middleman has been whispering honest insights to friends or amping the anxiety of Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert. Just know this: It wasn’t until Tom Thibodeau – who swore he never again wanted an agent – signed with William Wesley’s CAA that the Chicago Bulls grew serious about the coach’s candidacy.
LeBron James is already influencing coaching and front-office decisions a month before he officially becomes a free agent.
(NBAE/ Getty Images)
Something pushed Bulls officials to get on a plane, fly to Los Angeles on the eve of the NBA Finals and meet with the Boston Celtics assistant coach. Within 48 hours, the Bulls had a deal for Thibodeau to become their head coach. For several weeks, the Bulls had chances to interview him. They never did. Just a year ago, Thibodeau couldn’t get offers from the Sacramento Kings, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia Sixers and Minnesota Timberwolves. The Celtics see him as a career assistant and wouldn’t even consider him as a candidate to replace Doc Rivers.
Only now, Tom Thibodeau has a three-year contract to coach the Chicago Bulls.
As one front-office executive with a franchise that has significant salary-cap space this summer said, “I think all the big free-agent deals will be done by July 1, if not the draft. The NBA would have a cow if [it] knew what’s going on now.
Originally Posted by YEEUPP
[h1]Source: LeBron, Bosh Seriously Considering Joining Wade In Miami[/h1]
Jun 05, 2010 11:40 PM EST
According to "an NBA source close to the discussions," LeBron James and Chris Bosh are seriously considering joining Dwyane Wade to play together in Miami.
All three would have to take significant pay cuts to play for the Heat. Miami is expected to have salary cap space for more than two maximum-salary contracts but well short of enough room for three.
You can smile now H3at23.
Originally Posted by JPZx
What if they all signed one-year deals with Miami and basically said, "Were all in for this year, championship or bust"
What if year-after-year all three of them signed one-year deals with a specific random team and proceeded to rattle of like 10 straight ships with 10 different teams
and he wants to win a championship...Originally Posted by Grimey
He's LeBron though..