Random post... but apparently Marbury is streaming LIVE right now, talking about everything. If he's still on whenever you read this... I guarantee it's better than anything on TV right now.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/have-at-it
Friday, July 24, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
I really should be a GM
So, apparently the Orlando Magic have decided to match Dallas's offer for Marcin Gortat. I'm pretty sure the offer was for the full MLE so probably ~$5.5 million. While I think the Polish Hammer is totally worth that in a vacuum, Orlando do already have Dwight. $5.5 mil is a whole a lot of money for 12 min. a night from your backup center. And consider the fact that the Magic also just signed Brandon Bass to a 4 year, $18 mil deal... that's $10 mil between Gortat and Bass. Two role players at best for the Magic.
Instead of those two deals, why not just cough up the extra million and keep Turkoglu instead? At first most thought the Magic wouldn't keep Turk because of salary and tax implications but they practically spent the same amount on Bass and Gortat combined. I would think a line up of Nelson/Carter/Turkoglu/Lewis/Howard is a whole lot scarier than Nelson/Carter/Lewis/Bass/Howard... with Gortat being like 9th man off the bench. (anybody want to take a bet that Pietrus, Riddick, and Anderson will all avg. more minutes in an ORL uni than Gortat?) I mean that first lineup would rival the Lakers in firepower and having four 3 point bombers around Dwight is a whole better than 3. Now, I'm sure the Magic will be fine... but the thing is, if they were willing to spend this much all along, they could have been SOOO much better.
On other GMing news around the league, apparently one of the richest owners in sports (ex-Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen) is playing hardball with Brandon Roy's extension. Roy thinks he deserves a max 5 year deal, but Portland is only offering a 4 year deal (though still maxed). Really? I don't even understand why this is an issue. Yeah, yeah, it's not my money... but Roy has shown that he's an elite player and easily top 10-15 in the entire league. How do you NOT max him? And to be petty over one year? IMHO, if your young superstar WANTS to stay with you for another year, that's a GOOD thing. Who doesn't think Cleveland or Miami would like to worry about James' or Wade's impending free agency until the summer of 2011? Now, I'm sure this is all just posturing by the Portland front office and eventually Roy will get his deal. But if that's true... why bother with these number games at all? It's just building unnecessary animosity between the player, organization, and fans.
And on a similar note... that 4 year number rears its ugly head again in the Millsap situation. To catch up... Portland offered Paul Millsap a 4 year, $32 million deal last Friday. It averages out to $8 mil a year, but is front loaded, so Millsap will get about ~$11 million in the first year with descending amounts in the next 3 years. While that it certainly a large offer it is by no mean unfair and not nearly "toxic" enough to persuade the Jazz not to match. Portland could have made it much more difficult for the Jazz by raising the average salary to $9-10 mil (Portland has the cap space after all) and/or adding a 5th year... which also allows them to "front-load" even more money.
IMHO, the Jazz will match and try to deal Boozer. If they can't get anything of value for Boozer... worst case they can do a straight salary dump. He's only due 1 year left at $12 mil for next season anyways. They were entirely prepared to just let Boozer walk earlier this summer so if I don't think the Jazz brass would be too upset if they had to just give him away. DET, OKC, and MEM are all still under the cap. No need for any teams to give up any picks or other young talents. Just Boozer for straight dump or maybe the other teams can even send back a small $3-4 mil unwanted contract to Utah (Kwame, Wilkins, etc.) to offset Boozer's 1 year salary a bit. Would all three say really "no" to Boozer if all they had to do was pay him for 1 year? I doubt it.
Instead of those two deals, why not just cough up the extra million and keep Turkoglu instead? At first most thought the Magic wouldn't keep Turk because of salary and tax implications but they practically spent the same amount on Bass and Gortat combined. I would think a line up of Nelson/Carter/Turkoglu/Lewis/Howard is a whole lot scarier than Nelson/Carter/Lewis/Bass/Howard... with Gortat being like 9th man off the bench. (anybody want to take a bet that Pietrus, Riddick, and Anderson will all avg. more minutes in an ORL uni than Gortat?) I mean that first lineup would rival the Lakers in firepower and having four 3 point bombers around Dwight is a whole better than 3. Now, I'm sure the Magic will be fine... but the thing is, if they were willing to spend this much all along, they could have been SOOO much better.
On other GMing news around the league, apparently one of the richest owners in sports (ex-Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen) is playing hardball with Brandon Roy's extension. Roy thinks he deserves a max 5 year deal, but Portland is only offering a 4 year deal (though still maxed). Really? I don't even understand why this is an issue. Yeah, yeah, it's not my money... but Roy has shown that he's an elite player and easily top 10-15 in the entire league. How do you NOT max him? And to be petty over one year? IMHO, if your young superstar WANTS to stay with you for another year, that's a GOOD thing. Who doesn't think Cleveland or Miami would like to worry about James' or Wade's impending free agency until the summer of 2011? Now, I'm sure this is all just posturing by the Portland front office and eventually Roy will get his deal. But if that's true... why bother with these number games at all? It's just building unnecessary animosity between the player, organization, and fans.
And on a similar note... that 4 year number rears its ugly head again in the Millsap situation. To catch up... Portland offered Paul Millsap a 4 year, $32 million deal last Friday. It averages out to $8 mil a year, but is front loaded, so Millsap will get about ~$11 million in the first year with descending amounts in the next 3 years. While that it certainly a large offer it is by no mean unfair and not nearly "toxic" enough to persuade the Jazz not to match. Portland could have made it much more difficult for the Jazz by raising the average salary to $9-10 mil (Portland has the cap space after all) and/or adding a 5th year... which also allows them to "front-load" even more money.
IMHO, the Jazz will match and try to deal Boozer. If they can't get anything of value for Boozer... worst case they can do a straight salary dump. He's only due 1 year left at $12 mil for next season anyways. They were entirely prepared to just let Boozer walk earlier this summer so if I don't think the Jazz brass would be too upset if they had to just give him away. DET, OKC, and MEM are all still under the cap. No need for any teams to give up any picks or other young talents. Just Boozer for straight dump or maybe the other teams can even send back a small $3-4 mil unwanted contract to Utah (Kwame, Wilkins, etc.) to offset Boozer's 1 year salary a bit. Would all three say really "no" to Boozer if all they had to do was pay him for 1 year? I doubt it.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Spanish Armada is Sinking
So the newest rumor via ESPN is that Rudy Fernandez is outraged by the courtship of Turkoglu by the Blazers and that Rudy is on the verge of demanding a trade or going back to Europe.
For those not in the know... the previous latest rumor is that Portland is about to offer Turkoglu a 5 year / $50 million dollar deal. As for why Rudy is upset... basically he sees Turk's addition as a threat to his role on the team and I don't blame him at all. They both serve a similar purpose in terms of ball handling and shooting 3s. Even though Rudy averaged the 5th most minutes of any Blazer at 25 mpg last year, it's only natural to expect an increase in minutes from your rookie year. But if you add Turk's 30-32 minutes a game to Portland's already tight rotation, where are the minutes going to come from? That's not even considering the returning Martell Webster who will want 20+ minutes as well.
It's also worth noting that most Blazer fans reaction has been negative so far (judging from forum posts over at RealGM) calling him selfish and a whiner. It's really sad/shocking how fast some fans turn on their players. I mean, Rudy was a HUGE fan favorite last year among Blazer fans. And Turk at $10 million for 5 years isn't even that good of a deal. Those Blazer fans are gonna be kicking themselves in a couple years when Rudy is blowing up like an all-star on another team (on a rookie contract!) while they're stuck with mediocre Turkoglu at $10 mil per.
The thing is, Rudy probably sees himself as a starter quality player in this league and I completely agree with him. If the Blazers want him off the bench then he needs to at least get the Ginobili/Terry treatment. That means 27-28 minutes a night and be in the game in clutch moments. That's a difficult task with Roy and Turk ahead and Outlaw next to him on the depth chart.
I really do hope Rudy's situation works out and he stays a Blazer. IMHO, Portland GM Kevin Pritchard REALLY needs to condense that lineup. If he's so inclined to sign Turk, then go ahead, but ask Rudy to reserve judgment until mid-summer. By then, he needs to jettison Webster, Outlaw, and probably Batum as well for low usage guys. Straight salary dump if absolutely necessary. If not... trade him to Minnesota! Maybe that way we can see Rubio this year as well (new Spanish Connection).
For those not in the know... the previous latest rumor is that Portland is about to offer Turkoglu a 5 year / $50 million dollar deal. As for why Rudy is upset... basically he sees Turk's addition as a threat to his role on the team and I don't blame him at all. They both serve a similar purpose in terms of ball handling and shooting 3s. Even though Rudy averaged the 5th most minutes of any Blazer at 25 mpg last year, it's only natural to expect an increase in minutes from your rookie year. But if you add Turk's 30-32 minutes a game to Portland's already tight rotation, where are the minutes going to come from? That's not even considering the returning Martell Webster who will want 20+ minutes as well.
It's also worth noting that most Blazer fans reaction has been negative so far (judging from forum posts over at RealGM) calling him selfish and a whiner. It's really sad/shocking how fast some fans turn on their players. I mean, Rudy was a HUGE fan favorite last year among Blazer fans. And Turk at $10 million for 5 years isn't even that good of a deal. Those Blazer fans are gonna be kicking themselves in a couple years when Rudy is blowing up like an all-star on another team (on a rookie contract!) while they're stuck with mediocre Turkoglu at $10 mil per.
The thing is, Rudy probably sees himself as a starter quality player in this league and I completely agree with him. If the Blazers want him off the bench then he needs to at least get the Ginobili/Terry treatment. That means 27-28 minutes a night and be in the game in clutch moments. That's a difficult task with Roy and Turk ahead and Outlaw next to him on the depth chart.
I really do hope Rudy's situation works out and he stays a Blazer. IMHO, Portland GM Kevin Pritchard REALLY needs to condense that lineup. If he's so inclined to sign Turk, then go ahead, but ask Rudy to reserve judgment until mid-summer. By then, he needs to jettison Webster, Outlaw, and probably Batum as well for low usage guys. Straight salary dump if absolutely necessary. If not... trade him to Minnesota! Maybe that way we can see Rubio this year as well (new Spanish Connection).
Dolla Dolla Bills, Y'All
Long time no post... but I just read this today and had to share. SI just published their top 50 highest paid American athletes for the year. No surprise, Tiger Woods is way ahead of the pack at $99 million for last year and that's actually down from the previous year. First basketball player is James at $42 mil, then Shaq, Garnett, Kobe, Iverson, yada, yada. That's all expected. The sad/funny part comes at #30 and 31... Rashard Lewis and Shawn Marion. LOL... that's a shammockery of the NBA salary system and economic model if there ever was one. I mean, sure lots of the people on the list are making way more than they deserve right now (i.e. Shaq & AI), but at least they were worth that much at some point of their contracts. But Lewis and Marion? A couple of third options on winning teams? And the fact that this is just the 2nd year of Rashard's 6 year, $118 million dollar deal means that we'll be seeing his name on this list for years to come.
You can check out the list yourself here...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/specials/fortunate50/2009/index.html
You can check out the list yourself here...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/specials/fortunate50/2009/index.html
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