• Chris Bosh strongly intimated today that he will not look to sign an extension with the Raptors this summer, but rather stick to his “goal” of testing free agent waters after next season. It puts the team in quite a bind, as his desire to avoid an extension at this time should serve to effectively limit trade interest. Not a lot of teams are going to be looking to bring him in as a one-year rental. The writer of this piece asked (a few days ago) if it made sense for the team to extend Bosh if they actually could, as he has been at an “almost dead flat numerical plateau” for the past four seasons while consistently missing games, and a new contract would be almost guaranteed to command at least 30 percent of the team’s cap.
• Amar’e Stoudamire says there’s “no doubt” that he’s better than Bosh. He also doesn’t seem overly-interested in a future in Phoenix, but he does “love D.C.” and will be “totally serious” about considering the Knicks in 2010.
• Eddie Jordan plans to install a Princeton-style, read-and-react motion offense in Philadelphia that involves all five players on the floor. That bodes well for fantasy impacts and means Elton Brand, a competent passer, makes sense as the team’s starting center and Samuel Dalembert… not so much. Jordan had this to say of Dalembert: “If he’s in the locker room, we’ll do our best to get him involved in the offense … If he can’t accept that, then there are other alternatives.”
• Ben Wallace is contemplating retirement on the heels of an injury-plagued season and limited effectiveness when he did play. If he were to retire, he’d be walking away from a guaranteed $14 million next season and would bring a whole new dimension to the Cavs’ salary-cap situation.
“I’ve got to sit down and talk with my family and see what I feel,” Wallace said. “It isn’t getting any easier for me. It is tough going out there every night with something hurting and not being able to give the effort you want to give. I love the game and respect the game too much to be going out there half-hearted … I was never into it for the money and if it comes down to it to where I feel I can’t be productive on the floor, I’m not going to come back and try to hold this team hostage because I have another year on this contract. That isn’t me, I’m bigger than that.”
Click the link to the Wallace story and you’ll also find that Anderson Varejao will opt out of the last year of his deal ($6.2M), while Zydrunas Ilgauskas remain a Cav and be paid $11.5 million in salary.
• Here’s a saucy rumor, even if it doesn’t have much legs: with a Hong Kong-based company buying a 15 percent stake in the Cavaliers, the natural next step is that Yao Ming will join LeBron James in Cleveland. Yao can opt out of the final year of his contract after next season, which would otherwise pay him $17.7 million.
• Jamal Crawford is still weighing his options in Golden State.
• Count on “financial discipline” preventing the Bucks from re-signing both Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions this off-season, and potentially stopping them from even offering Charlie V a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent.
• A number of players recently underwent surgical procedures to deal with various issues of varying severity, including but not limited to: LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Tyson Chandler and James Posey, Wilson Chandler, and Steve Blake.
Draft Notes:
• The Timberwolves are expected to try to package one of their later first round picks (Nos. 18 and 28) with their No. 6 pick in order to move up. Rumor has it that Oklahoma City is interested in moving down a few picks in order to take Stephen Curry. For what it’s worth, Curry himself has said that he sees the Knicks as a perfect fit.
• You probably won’t find many fantasy owners having a problem with Tyler Hansbrough emulting David Lee’s game/impact.
• Ricky Rubio’s agent is limiting his visits with teams to those with picks between No.2 and No. 4.
• If you are looking for a daily draft info fix, I’d recommend checking out DraftExpress – they’ve got a host of information. Also, their pre-draft measurement database has been updated and now includes athletic testing (vertical leap, bench press, sprint, etc).
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sheesh it’s a coin-flip....
nice update. as usual, john canzano is hinting that the blazers are looking to make at least 1 big-time deal. i just wish the playoffs were over so this off season can really get going.
Wow, Ben wallace’s comments impress me. Not often you see a guy willing to walk from 14 mil even if he can’t play. He’s like the anti-marbury
Ben Wallace has always displayed class. I loved his years in Detroit.
Actually, Wallace did not have much class while he was with the Bulls. They gave him a huge contract (grossly overpaying him) to help put the young Bulls team over-the-top. He ended up being the main dissenting voice against the coach and management and an overall bad influence on many of the young players. This culminated in the disastrous 2007-08 season in which the Bulls reversed their win/loss total from 06-07 to go 33-49 and included the Scott Skiles Christmas Eve firing and putrid but thankfully short-lived Jim Boylan era.
But hey, by some minor miracle the Bulls ended up getting Derrick Rose out of that mess. Stay Classy Ben Wallace!
its hard to find a bulls fan with anything but really bad things to say about wallace – that signing definitely did not work out as planned
Gotta love Eddie Jordan’s comments on Dalembert. Good for Brand, too. I’m hoping he’ll bounce back in an offense more suited to his talents.
The Cavs should be able to splash around some decent cash, but who do they target? I think a defensive wing that can hit threes (Anthony Parker?) would help considerably, and could be had for less than the MLE.
I wouldn’t extend Bosh if it didn’t involve a sign and trade. I think the raptors should build around bargnani and calderon.
And Ben Wallace is full of poop. Only way he should walk away from 14 million is if someone’s paying him off under the table.
“Full of poop”?!?
Ok, now, let’s keep it clean people. Think PG-13…
it will be interesting to see if, after some conversations with family members, sticking around for one more season for a guaranteed $14M ends up making sense
That writer for the Post doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Even if Bosh has plateaued at 22/10 (which I disagree with), how many other 25 year old PFs are there in the league at that level, one? Is he as good as Lebron, or Kobe, or Howard? No. Can he carry a team to a championship by himself? No. But obviously the Raptors are a much better team with him than without him, and he’s well worth a max. contract, for any team. Tim Duncan was averaging 22/12 when he was 25, and he had David Robinson boxing out for him. True, there aren’t gonna be many teams willing to mortgage their future for a rent-a-player, but like I’ve said before, there are a handful of teams that I think Bosh would be more than happy signing a long term extension for. Money really isn’t an issue since he’ll get the max. regardless, he’s just saying he’s sticking to his “plan” cause he wants out of TO. They’ll still get good value for him this summer.
yeah it’s interesting. seems to me the guy is arguing that bosh’s numbers aren’t all they are cracked up to be, as in 22/10 from bosh simply “is what it is” or looks good on the stat-sheet but they could find more impactful ways to spend the money
He’s not a 40 point scorer like Wade, but still, apart from Howard, and maybe Jefferson, there isn’t a PF in the league I’d rather build my team around right now (even though Amar’e doesn’t agree with me), if that’s not worth 20 mil a year I don’t know what is. He’s consistent as anyone, shoots +80% from the line, and is a class act. I’ll still cheer him when he comes back to the ACC in a Bulls Jersey, cause there’s a right way and a wrong way to ask for a trade. Vince Carter could learn a lot from the youngster.
“An NBA executive said Knicks president Donnie Walsh is trying to work out a sign-and-trade for forward-center David Lee in a cost-cutting move.”
http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/59642/20090607/knicks_hoping_to_sign_and_trade_lee/
i wonder if a lee/bosh package could work out. you have to think bosh sees NY as an interesting place to get his max deal from, the trade would give him a year to see how the offense suits him
That works for me. Toronto has the cap space to take on bad contracts like Banks and Jeffries, and I think Lee’s just waiting to thrive in big time minutes, so TO would be a good situation for him.
It’s a good move for NY too. The whole point of them clearing all that cap space is to sign Lebron, Wade, Bosh, or Amare, or two of them. It would also be a great counter move to Cleveland’s new ownership in the Lebron sweepstakes, cause if Cleveland sputters again next year for some reason, Lebron playing with Bosh in NY doesn’t look so bad, and they could afford it.
And Bosh would definitely like it there, just look what D’Antoni did for Amare.
If I’m Colangelo, the only way I trade Bosh is if he is privately telling me that there’s basically no chance that he resigns with the team in 2010. If that’s the case, then I would insist on including Wilson Chandler in any Knicks deal. If I were a Raps fan, I could live with Bosh for Lee, Chandler, and Jeffries’ bad contract. Lee and some of the Knicks garbage contracts is not enough. A starting line-up of Calderon, Chandler, Marion, Lee, and Bargnani would be very competitive.
On Bosh: If 22 pts and 10 rebounds aren’t good enough for ‘em, then what is? If they let him go, then they deserve whatever fate they get. There are plenty of teams out there who would be dying to have those numbers.
On Stoudamire: New York is where pro basketball players go to die. Even worse with Washington. Unless the Nicks turn it around, this will probably be the last you hear of him.
On Eddie Jordan vis-a-vis Dalembert: Do I smell a trade in the works? Barely, but Dalembert’s getting older. The more likely possibility is a waiver, but that’s not an absolute. Either way, Samuel’s about to disappear in a hurry.
On possible Cavalier losses: If the above holds true, then I’d look for Cav management to try to lure better talent and hope like hell that they can convince LeBron James to stay. Otherwise, they’re going to disappear. I don’t think the answer would be Yao Ming, given his fragility.
On Crawford: If he’s got any brains and anything left in the tank, he’d get out of Golden State in a hurry and find himself on a more prominent team that can use his services.
On Villanueva and Sessions: The sound you hear is the cry of a dying Buck.
On the surgeries:
James: Good to know it’s benign. He’s still got a lot of basketball left in him.
Garnett, Tyson Chandler, James Posey and Steve Blake: Aren’t they getting a little long in the tooth?
Wilson Chandler: Who?
Everytime someone mentions how good Bosh, Wade and Melo are I have flashbacks of Darko Milicic. The only thing I can come away with is we got Stuckey out of Darko but Rodney will not be as good as any of the above mentioned.
despite bosh’s lip service, i don’t think it will be a matter of them “letting him go”. he’s going to walk after next season if they don’t trade him. the writer may have just been projecting…
it will be interesting to see if there is a market for dalembert. jordan had another great quote: “If he can’t play within the core group, maybe he’ll be a spot player,” Jordan said. “If he can’t accept that, then there are other alternatives. I believe in unselfish basketball.”
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/20090602_Bob_Ford__Jordan_brings_new_system__optimism_for_Sixers.html
as for crawford, not sure how opting out of $20M works in his favor. there’s no way he’d recoup that on the open market. if he can force a buyout, that’s another story
wilson chandler: the guy that was 52nd in per-game rank over the season’s final two months and had season averages that included 1.3 threes, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks
If Amare can’t get back to blocking 2+ shots a game, then he’s really not better than Bosh.
I think most teams would prefer Bosh over Amare.. Similar production, but Bosh is younger and hasn’t had any major injuries.
But Bosh and Amare are both perfect to pair up with Lebron. They both have good jumpshots and wouldn’t clog up the lane.
I’m officially on the Lebron to NY bandwagon now.. Lebron, Bosh/Amare, and a stud PG playing for D’Antoni would be amazing. That team would put up a ton of 3′s and a ton of huge dunks. I’m jealous of NY already.
What do the clips do this offseason? They can’t possibly keep Griffin( ahh it kills me thinking he’ll be a Clip) behind Camby, Kaman, and randolph, in the playing time picture. Any one of those pieces (although awful contracts) could help a team with size issues.
Injuries to all three of those players should give Griffen plenty of PT.
they’d rather get out from under the long-term commitments to z-bo and kaman, but camby’s attractive expiring deal is probably the one that ends up moving. toss in the injury factor for kaman, and griffin could still get solid PT. also:
“Save for a possible trade, Dunleavy’s solution seems to involve getting Griffin minutes at small forward and center.”
http://www.sgvtribune.com/preps/ci_12538509
Does varejao really think he will get paid more than 6.2 M? No one is gonna pay that much for a flopper who can’t shoot straight.
there are a few teams that will likely approach him with a long-term deal. he’s a career 50% shooter, which ain’t bad for a post guy any way you shake it. 8 reb, 1 stl, 1 blk every 30 min and decent man defense, young teams with cap room are likely to be looking at him
+1. What’s going with this guy’s contract disputes and now opting out of $6.2 mil? It’s crazy, is there something extra special about his career 6pts/6reb/0.6blk that I’m missing? I know he’s a servicable big and decent bench guy. Even his current pay seems like a stretch for his contributions. Why anyone would pay more than 6.2 mil for him is baffling to me.
Matt, I’m sure you will appreciate this if you haven’t already seen it. It’s from one of Bill Simmon’s articles.
Kobe’s reputation as a “killer” at the end of games remains overblown. The site http://www.82games.com just posted a study of game-winning shots from the last five-plus seasons (regular seasons and playoffs since the 2003-04 season) that revealed Kobe was shooting 14-for-56 (25 percent) with one assist and five turnovers, and made 12 of 15 free throws. So let’s say that was 70 possessions total, including Sunday night… He only had one assist in nearly six years???
I should e-mail that to Michael Wilbon since he doesn’t go a day without saying Kobe is the best closer in the game.
Why is it that if you ask anyone who follows the NBA who they would want taking the last shot for their team, most will say Kobe. How has he gained that reputation?
Lebron has had some pretty remarkable 4th quarters.. Against the Pistons a few years ago in the playoffs, Game 5 against the Magic this year, and that game-winning 3 pt shot as time expired in Game 2.
I’d personally rather have Lebron with the ball in his hands as time is expiring. He’s much better at finishing around the rim. I’ve seen Kobe miss so many layups and fadeaways at the buzzer (at the end of any quarter, not just the 4th) this postseason.
I feel like Dwayne Wade is probably a better closer than Kobe too.. And even Paul Pierce, he seems to make a lot of big shots. I remember when the Hawks were 6-0 and playing at Boston this season and Pierce made some ridiculous shot as time expired to beat us and I was even surprised.
So why does Kobe have the crown as the best closer in the NBA when apparently he’s pretty mediocre with the game on the line?
I’d rather have Melo taking that shot then lebron. Melo is like 56% on 82games.com clutch shooting chart
Kobe is great in those last 5 minutes though, even if he gets overly selfish on the last possession.
Has Kobe ever scored 27 straight points in the 4th quarter like Lebron did against the Pistons (whatever it is that Lebron did that game)? Or score/assist on every possession from the 3rd qtr to the end of the game like Lebron did against the Magic?
I think we all know that Lebron is the better player. If he was currently on the Lakers… With Kobe’s current supporting cast… I can’t even imagine the beatdown’s they’d be putting on everyone.
I know Kobe is good.. But you didn’t answer my question. Why is he thought of as the best closer in the game, when he clearly isn’t? I’m just wondering what he did to earn that reputation.
He earned that reputation because he can make the most impossible shots seem effortless (you probably don’t watch his games?) like his go to fadeaways or spin moves.
It doesn’t necessarily make him the best closer, but perhaps the most dangerous.
I would definitly have kobe create the last shot than lebron.
Nope, I don’t watch his games. I only watch the UGA sports and the Falcons. But I see his highlights, and I see his fancy shots. But Bill Simmons don’t lie. Making only 25% of game-winning shots isn’t too impressive. Maybe if he mixed it up a little bit and passed it to one of three wide open players every now and then, he wouldn’t be triple teamed in the final 5 seconds every time.
Another expert who has never watched a guy play. Seems to be standard with the online moguls
Is Bill Simmons wrong with his statistics? All I did was provide the stats and ask why Kobe is known as such a great closer when he’s only making 25% of his game-winning attempts.
Because he makes fancy shots? Oh, ok. Gotcha. That explains the 25%.
I’m sorry I’m not an NBA scout and Kobe specialist like you “Nene”. Forgive me. I’m just creating a topic of discussion.
But if that bothers you “Nene”, don’t respond. Pricks like you are really amusing.
Kobe just missed two 3′s in less than 24 secs to narrow a 4 pt lead
In my opinion, calling someone a “Closer” isn’t just about game winning shots. The last few minutes of tight games are where it really counts. Heck, if a guy is a great closer he shouldn’t have to make a game winning shot because he should have that killer mentality to put a team away before that. It’s that drive that we’ve seen in Kobe for years, in Wade for years, and from LeBron in the last couple seasons. I think they’re all excellent closers and although I don’t have the statistics, I feel like they would have impressive numbers in the fourth quarter of close games.
He’s not called a closer for hitting game winning shots. It’s because he has a strong tendency to take control of a game in the 4th quarter. If you have watched the Lakers, you would realize this. I don’t know how you can say Kobe “clearly isn’t” the best closer in the game. That is definitely a title up in the air with so many great player (Wade, LeBron, Pierce…), but it is absolutely ridiculous to imply that Kobe isn’t a closer, just because you read some stat about game winning shots on some website. Watch some Laker 4th quarters, and then apologize to everyone on this site as you realize you are completely unjustified in saying Kobe is not a closer.
Oh, and Ashley, you need to chill out. All you ever do on here is bash players and quote stats that only paint a fraction of the picture just to make your arguments seem legit. Just enjoy the game, don’t kill it for yourself or anyone else.
I’m well aware of what Kobe does. I don’t have to watch every Lakers game to know that.
I never said Kobe isn’t a closer. All I asked is why most people act like he’s miles ahead of the pack as the best closer in the game. If you watched the post-game interviews last night he got asked multiple times about his ability to close out games. They were all acting like it was the most stunning thing ever that he missed a 3 pt shot, some FTs, and committed a costly turnover in the final minute.
To be the best closer, it should be a combination of dominating 4th quarters and making clutch game-winning shots. But he has 1 assist and 5 turnovers over his last 70 last-second possession’s. And obviously teams know that, so the entire defense collapses on him because they know he is going to force the shot no matter what. Hence the 25%.
So maybe every now and then he should kick it out to one of three or four wide open Lakers to keep the defense honest.
If everyone said “Yeah, Kobe is one of the best closers along with Lebron, Wade, etc..” then this wouldn’t be an issue. But there’s no one on here who hasn’t heard numerous people on TV say that if they needed one shot to win a game at the last second, they want it in Kobe’s hands. And that’s why I asked what warrant’s Kobe to be given that honor.
And now I can conclude that people are just mis-informed, because no one has given a legit answer, provided any memorable game-winning shots (obviously he has made atleast 14 in all his games), or provided any justification for the 25% shooting.
So case closed. And it’s unfortunate that the only guy I intended the question for (Buser) has been MIA throughout this.
Do those stats you read count times he passed it out to people who missed shots? Cause over the last 5 years the Lakers haven’t exactly had the bets supporting cast.
Why does kobe have the rep? I think what hyde said has some merit. We see him consistently hitting rediculously difficult shots. Assuming that the last shot is going to be contested and difficult someone concludes that Kobe must be the guy to do it. The lakers are on tv alllll the time, and this is the type of thing that gets brought up by commentators, who just want something to say and arnt really held accountable for its truth value. And so it is reinforced and a myth begins. A key part of this sort of thing is the general irrationality of society- most people arnt interested in evidence for their beliefs, but don’t get me started on this…
Kobe deffinetly has the skills to contribute mightily in the clutch, but his hero mentality makes the lakers too easy to defend- hence his poor last shot %. I think arguing over who you want taking the last shot is actually the wrong question. A better question is who do you want with the ball in their hand to make a play. Perhaps an even better question is who has the ball, and who is he playing with. I’d like to see last shot team stats, (for evidence) but gun to my head, I’d guess the Celtics are up on top. With Pierce you have a guy with skills and the right mindset. He can and will make a clutch shot, draw a foul, or make the pass to an open team mate. And then you have team mates who can knock down the open shot. LeBron has the skills and the mindset, but his team stinks. Kobe has the skills, but not the mindset. This is why I’d take the C’s over the current LeBroners and Kobers. Of course if you put LeBron on the C’s, its even better!
i can see both sides of the argument, but i also get annoyed when commentators paint it as kobe is on this higher plain that nobody else can even approach. you can’t argue that he’s not on the short list, but to suggest that you wouldn’t consider anyone else in any late-game situation is a bit much
I wasn’t* even surprised.
Also, are you feeling less confident about Lebron staying in Cleveland now?
I kinda am. I have no preference, it’s not like Lebron playing for D’Antoni would be a bad thing. A few weeks ago I was saying there was a 99% chance Lebron wouldn’t leave Cleveland. Now I feel like it’s 60/40 that he’ll stay.
I guess we’ll have to see what the Cavs can sign the right players with all this cap space to keep Lebrob happy.
Lebron was clearly annoyed with his teammates and I’m starting to see him wanting a fresh start in NYC. I kinda want to see it happen actually, Lebron in NY would be pretty exciting.
How will Hova know which NY(NJ) team to back?
I’m sure he would jump ship to the Knicks if Lebron ends up going there.
Isn’t he a part owner of the Nets?
yeah. thus the conflict.
Although they are still planning a move to Brooklyn. 2011-12 is the current goal. James would definitely help them compete with the Knickerbockers in the NYC market.
I thought that fell apart.
Buser,
Whats your take on the rumor that DAL will trade howard for the 5th pick? Any basis to it? how would that work out for the Wiz?
that one seems to fall under the ‘rumor-mongering’ heading, considering it’s coming from a wiz reporter. i don’t see it happening
I like the Kapono move for the Sixers, they’ve been looking for a shooter since the Korver trade. Evans may not be awful in Toronto either, adding some toughness to that weak front line.
Yeah definitely a good trade for the 76ers, I think they were dead last in 3 pt shooting last season. If Kapono can get consistent playing time next year he could be pretty valuable.
trade looks like a win-win to me. two players that were expendable where they were at but exactly what the other team needs. kapono probably will warrant deep-league love next season
I wish I had any idea how the Raps are gonna look in 3 months so I could assess this trade properly, but I don’t mind Evans too much on the bench, he’ll chip in 7 boards a game and that’s exactly what we need. Kap was definitely expendable, he’s good 3PT shooter, but he’s worthless everywhere else, and now we can keep Parker. I don’t see Kap doing much better in Philly next year with other shooters like Lou-Will, Green, Rush and Young there.
neither williams nor green qualify as shooters, young is questionable, and kareem rush is a FA. i can’t see parker returning to the raptors – my guess is that a smart contender signs him away
How are Williams and Green not shooters? Williams averaged 2.7 3PTA last year, Green 2.0, and Young 2.2 (whether they are making them or not is another story). Philly’s gotta find time for Brand, Dalembert, Speights, Young, Iguoadala, Green, (Miller), Williams, and even Jason Smith next year. Realistically, how many minutes can Kapono wrestle away from all them, even if he starts, 25 at the most? He’s only ever averaged more than 23 once in his career. Sure, he can hit 2 threes a game in that, but he’s a defensive liability. Korver’s best season in Philly was something like 14.4 points, 3.5 boards and around 2 threes. Kapono’s best season ever was 10.9 points, 2.7 boards, and 1.6 threes. There are probably better options with more upside I’d consider in the 12th round I think, unless I was desperate for 3s.
You’re probably right about Parker getting more money and more PT somewhere else, but at least we freed up more PT for him if he wants it. I think he likes Toronto, since they were really the only team willing to give him a chance, but of course this might be his last chance at a big contract, and I don’t think the Raps are willing to pay too much. I’m really curious what BC’s got up his sleeve.
allen iverson – career 3.8 3PTA
Therefore he qualifies as a shooter?
those guys are slashers, not shooters. williams made 29% and green made 31% of those threes, so that’s not who you want taking those shots. i’m not saying kapono is a phenomenal two-way player, but his career 3pt% is 45%, so he’s a dramatic improvement. and yes keeping korver around made sense in hindsight
for whatever reason, the raptors told parker he wouldn’t be a starter for them if he returned, so i don’t see much motivation for him to re-sign
Yeah, I’m not saying Kap isn’t a drastic improvement over those guys, but my point is that there’s only so many shots to go around. In real life it’s a great fit for the 76ers, but for fantasy purposes I don’t think he’ll do much better than he did last year, around 23 minutes, 9 points, 2 boards, 2 threes. I was excited when the Raps signed him, but he was very disappointing.
not that i’m saying there are tons of minutes to go around, but if the 76ers wants to improve their long-range shooting, it will have to be kapono getting those minutes to help them do that. green is okay-ish, but his skills are also fairly redundant for their team