[Liberty4Life]

It's called a salary dump. A bunch of the bad teams are doing it now.

Yes, but I'd also qualify Memphis as a bad team, and they are taking on salary. Zach Randolph is a cancer, too -- his high school coach once said something to the effect of, 'I read the newspaper every day to see if Zach Randolph has been shot dead. If he hasn't, that's a good day'.

In an unrelatd story, it looks as if Rubio is going to shun Minnesota and play for Spain for two more years. My question: how long does an NBA team hold on to his draft rights? And what happens after that? I know in baseball, the time frame is quite short (it used to be one year, it might be even less now). After that, the player has to go right back into the draft. What happens in basketball? At what point is he no longer obligated to sign with the T'Wolves if he goes to the NBA?

Yes, but it's Memphis ahd Chris Wallace - their GM is the same guy who traded for Vin Baker when he was a GM for the Celtics. This guy makes Elgin Baylor look like a smart GM.

The same guy who should receive a championship ring from the LA Lakers for making the Pau Gasol deal. Yes, I'm familiar with Chris Wallace. I should have realized that when I first posted.

[flamesbball84]

not so fast on turkoglu

The Blazers announced on Friday that they have not yet reached an agreement with free agent Hedo Turkoglu, despite reports to the contrary.
The deal cannot be made official until July 8th anyway, but for the moment neither the Blazers nor Turkoglu's agent would confirm the agreement. The Raptors remain interested in Turkoglu, but right now all signs point to his signing with Portland.

[flamesbball84]

turkoglu isnt portland bound afterall

The Oregonian is reporting that free agent Hedo Turkoglu has rejected an offer to sign with the Trail Blazers and has ended negotiations with the team.
There is no word yet on what caused Turkoglu's abrupt decision, though details should emerge soon. For the moment, this seems to leave the Raptors as the favorite to sign Hedo.

[flamesbball84]

Yahoo! Sports reported that Turkoglu backed out of his earlier commitment and has his sights set on Toronto. Yahoo! Sports reported that Toronto can offer Turkoglu about $6 million more than Portland.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/stor ... AHeadlines

[Liberty4Life]

Yahoo! Sports reported that Turkoglu backed out of his earlier commitment and has his sights set on Toronto. Yahoo! Sports reported that Toronto can offer Turkoglu about $6 million more than Portland.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/stor ... AHeadlines

Not only will Turkoglu get paid more, he'll work less. He won't have to deal with working in the month of May or June with Toronto.

[flamesbball84]

TORONTO (AP)—Free agent Hedo Turkoglu(notes) will join the Toronto Raptors after spurning the Portland Trail Blazers, according to multiple reports.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=a ... &type=lgns

Word is that the contract is five years for $60 million, if he actually signs this time, that is.

[flamesbball84]

Yahoo! Sports reported that Turkoglu backed out of his earlier commitment and has his sights set on Toronto. Yahoo! Sports reported that Toronto can offer Turkoglu about $6 million more than Portland.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/stor ... AHeadlines

Not only will Turkoglu get paid more, he'll work less. He won't have to deal with working in the month of May or June with Toronto.

They'll have a pretty solid nucleus in Calderon (he'll be better next year and return to his all-star caliber play, he was playing through injuries for nearly all of last season), Bosh, Bargnani, and Turkoglu. he question with them will be at SG and if they will have any depth at all. Mostly all of their other top players are free agents, so who knows what will happen with that, although I know they don't have the money to keep all of them.

[flamesbball84]

The Raptors had been serious in their pursuit of Shawn Marion and Carlos Delfino. Now the most likely scenario is that they'll be renounced or traded, along with Anthony Parker. To clear the kind of cap room that would be required to sign Turkoglu would probably take renouncing every free agent Toronto has, including Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Jake Voskuhl and some cap holds from players overseas. That would give the Raptors room to offer Turkoglu more money than Portland was offering -- although there are plenty of details left to be worked out, especially as Toronto may first try to trade some of those players instead of letting them go for nothing.

If I were the GM up there, no way I would sign Turkoglu if it meant getting rid of all that. No way anyone can say that Turkoglu is better than Marion, Delfino, Parker, Pops, and Voskuhl combined, all who were major contributors or provided much needed depth. Pops didn't play until right at the beginning of March, but he had some pretty good games for the Raptors and has potential.

[flamesbball84]

In the wake of losing Hedo Turkoglu, the Portland Trail Blazers have become engaged in serious discussions about making an offer to New York Knicks restricted free agent David Lee, ESPN.com learned Saturday.

Not sure if this is the best idea for the Trailblazers. David Lee is going to be commanding some big bucks - at least Turkoglu big and likely bigger - and he might not even be a starter with Aldridge and Oden in town. That is a TON of money to be spending on a guy who coudl very well be a backup behind two of the better young post players in the league.

[flamesbball84]

The Bobcats are interested in free agent forward Brandon Bass, though with DeSagana Diop, Nazr Mohammed and Vladimir Radmanovic under contract, they might need a sign-and-trade to acquire him.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer reports that Bass has been offered a five-year deal worth more than $25 million, though it isn't clear which team made the offer (probably not Charlotte). Other teams interested in Bass include the Mavericks, Magic, and Hornets.

[thepostman]

TORONTO (AP)—Free agent Hedo Turkoglu(notes) will join the Toronto Raptors after spurning the Portland Trail Blazers, according to multiple reports.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=a ... &type=lgns

Word is that the contract is five years for $60 million, if he actually signs this time, that is.

wow...that is just ridiculously stupid...turk is not worth that...at most he is worth 8 mil a year...and even that is pushing it

[flamesbball84]

TORONTO (AP)—Free agent Hedo Turkoglu(notes) will join the Toronto Raptors after spurning the Portland Trail Blazers, according to multiple reports.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=a ... &type=lgns

Word is that the contract is five years for $60 million, if he actually signs this time, that is.

wow...that is just ridiculously stupid...turk is not worth that...at most he is worth 8 mil a year...and even that is pushing it

I'd never sign a 30 year old to a five-year contract unless he is a bonafide superstar. Two-three years at most.

[Liberty4Life]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=a ... &type=lgns

Word is that the contract is five years for $60 million, if he actually signs this time, that is.

wow...that is just ridiculously stupid...turk is not worth that...at most he is worth 8 mil a year...and even that is pushing it

I'd never sign a 30 year old to a five-year contract unless he is a bonafide superstar. Two-three years at most.

Unless you really, really front-load the deal. The problem is many contracts are backloaded, and teams are paying the most when a player is playing the worst.

[flamesbball84]

The Boston Globe is reporting that free agent Rasheed Wallace has committed to sign a contract with the Celtics.
The deal is expected to be two years at the mid-level exception (approximately $5.8 million), as the Celtics' enthusiastic recruiting paid off in a big way. Rasheed was reportedly impressed by Danny Ainge's promise that his arrival wouldn't prohibit the Celtics from adding more talent to the roster. It remains to be seen whether this affects Boston's stance toward restricted FA Glen Davis.

[flamesbball84]

Jason Kidd has given the Dallas Mavericks a verbal commitment that he will re-sign with the team Wednesday, according to NBA front-office sources.

[flamesbball84]

The Mavericks and Toronto Raptors, according to NBA front-office sources, are discussing a sign-and-trade deal that would bring Marion to Dallas.

Although no trade appeared imminent Monday night, Dallas has emerged as perhaps the best option for Marion.

that would be huge for the mavs, especially given how oft injured josh howard was this past season.

[Liberty4Life]

The Mavericks and Toronto Raptors, according to NBA front-office sources, are discussing a sign-and-trade deal that would bring Marion to Dallas.

Although no trade appeared imminent Monday night, Dallas has emerged as perhaps the best option for Marion.

that would be huge for the mavs, especially given how oft injured josh howard was this past season.

Shawn Marion... that guy's fallen off a cliff since leaving Phoenix.

[TDDance234]

You'd lose your will to live too if you had to live in Toronto.

[flamesbball84]

The Mavericks and Toronto Raptors, according to NBA front-office sources, are discussing a sign-and-trade deal that would bring Marion to Dallas.

Although no trade appeared imminent Monday night, Dallas has emerged as perhaps the best option for Marion.

that would be huge for the mavs, especially given how oft injured josh howard was this past season.

Shawn Marion... that guy's fallen off a cliff since leaving Phoenix.

Phoenix was a perfect fit for him - there were numerous offensive options that he didn't have to be depended on to provide offense every night. in fact most of his offense came off of offensive rebounds, broken down plays, fastbreaks etc. because they didn't have any plays designed for him. If the Dallas coach will do it, he'll be able to do the same thing because they'll have Dirk, Jason Terry, and Josh Howard and he'll ahve the same type of PG that can make everyone better in Jason Kidd - other than the style of play between the Marion era Suns and the current Mavs squad, it's a very similar situation where he could fill the same role.

[flamesbball84]

News: The Jazz and Pistons are rumored to be in discussions to swap Boozer for shooting guard Richard Hamilton, the Cleveland News-Herald reports.

Spin: Boozer was long rumored to be a free-agent target of the Pistons before he opted in to the final year of his contract. Moving Boozer out of town may be the best option for the Jazz, as they still hope to re-sign restricted free agent Paul Millsap to a long-term deal.

News: The Desert News reports that the Jazz have spoken to the Rockets regarding a trade of Kirilenko for Tracy McGrady.

Spin: The Jazz are concerned with both McGrady's salary and health. There have been talks, but it does not appear to be too serious.

News: With the signing of Rasheed Wallace to a two-year contract, Davis could now be on his way to San Antonio now, Comcast SportsNet reports.

Spin: The Spurs are expected to offer Davis their mid-level exception and it is believed that the Celtics will not match the offer, especially with Grant Hill being considered as a strong possibility for Boston. Davis would provide the Spurs with much-needed frontcourt depth and could very well slide into the starting lineup at center alongside Tim Duncan.

[flamesbball84]

NEGOTIATIONS: Getting closer, but no deal yet
Brandon Bass | Mavericks
The Dallas Morning News reports negotiations are ongoing between president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and Brandon Bass' agent, Tony Dutt.

The Mavericks offer is believed to have been upgraded recently, perhaps to the $3.5M neighborhood annually, while Bass wants something in the $5M range.

"Brandon's still very interested in Dallas," Dutt said. "We're making headway. We're just not there yet."

# One option for Bass is the Detroit Pistons. Dutt told the Detroit Free Press Monday that the Pistons have inquired about Bass and there is mutual interest.

"We see it as a great situation that we would like to explore at some time," Dutt said. "It's an organization that has the respect of players."

Free agent Mike Bibby and the Hawks have agreed to a three-year deal worth about $18 million.
Bibby is the most recent FA to settle for a salary around the mid-level exception, though he may have accepted less money to re-sign with Atlanta. The Hawks will have a fairly stacked backcourt this season, with Jamal Crawford likely coming off the bench behind Bibby and Joe Johnson. Atlanta will now turn its attention to free agents Marvin Williams, Josh Childress and Zaza Pachulia.

ESPN's Ric Bucher is reporting via Twitter that free agent forward Trevor Ariza is said to be wavering on his commitment to the Rockets.
It would make sense that Ariza is rethinking his decision, especially when the Rockets may start the season without Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, in addition to Ron Artest, who is going to join the Lakers. Ariza could be a star in Houston, but is possibly talking to the Cavaliers, which would make more sense, if his goal is winning instead of going to the first team he could find that offered him more "respect" than the Lakers. Stay tuned.

[Liberty4Life]

You'd lose your will to live too if you had to live in Toronto.

Yeah, but not Miami. He played horribly average ball with the Miami Heat, immediately before going to Toronto.

[Liberty4Life]

Re: Ariza

29 NBA GM's need to understand something: If Rockets GM Daryl Morey is hot on someone, do what you can to sign that player.

[flamesbball84]

You'd lose your will to live too if you had to live in Toronto.

Yeah, but not Miami. He played horribly average ball with the Miami Heat, immediately before going to Toronto.

It was a terrible fit for him. He was expected to be the man on the team and the go to guy when DWade was out, and when DWade was played he was expected to be the #2 guy on the team and also be a go to type of player. He was also expected to be a go to type of player in Toronto. That's not his type of game, never has and never will be. His most successful years was when he never had to be that and just scored "junk" points for lack of a better word.

[Liberty4Life]

You'd lose your will to live too if you had to live in Toronto.

Yeah, but not Miami. He played horribly average ball with the Miami Heat, immediately before going to Toronto.

It was a terrible fit for him. He was expected to be the man on the team and the go to guy when DWade was out, and when DWade was played he was expected to be the #2 guy on the team and also be a go to type of player. He was also expected to be a go to type of player in Toronto. That's not his type of game, never has and never will be. His most successful years was when he never had to be that and just scored "junk" points for lack of a better word.

Yeah, but "being the man" was something that Marion always wanted to do. There was a story (back when he was in his prime) where he was asked if he'd want to be the second-fiddle on one of the best teams in the league, or be "the man" on a lousy team. He had to seriously ponder that question before choosing the latter, but only if the lousy team was still a playoff-bound team.

Besides, what kind of situation is he going to be in at Dallas? Is he going to be "the man"? Or will a fading Irk Nowitzki (remember, Nowitzki has no "D") be the man? Jason Kidd?