As mentioned earlier, the NBA has revealed their salary cap for the upcoming season. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3479183
Josh Smith is in LA... http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/hawks/stories/2008/07/08/hawks_0709.html
Sterling should be commended for his efforts. Honestly, I hope they go at Iguodala and Krstic or another big man. They have the money now and Iggy's a better defensive & team player than Maggette. It'd be a nice slap back at Brand. A lineup of Davis/Iguodala/Smith?/Krstic?/Kaman is not bad.
Well, Davis isn't from Duke. I would hope a Bruin alum would have the moral character to keep his word (even if he did play under Lavin).
Golden State should have jumped on Josh Smith instead of Corey Maggette. He's much younger, already better, and definitely fits their style of play. I don't think Atlanta is going to match a huge contract with all the mumbling going on up there. He'd be a nice pick up for the Clippers, but they'd be pretty cap strapped heading into the future with Davis, Smith, and Kaman. I don't think that's enough to survive in the West either, although I believe Gordon and Thornton will be solid pros.
Wow would have thought Brand was sure to stay put with Davis going there. Davis should have stayed at Golden State, you have to think he went to LA to play with Brand, well and for a boatload of cash. Even when the Clippers put up they can't build a team, whew rough days.
**** yeah sixers... im ****ing pumped... obviously brand was the big target with that low post presence we desperately needed to pretend to have some kind of half court offense... now just extend Iggy and lets build a title contender! wow im still in denial, i been dreaming about Brand coming over but didn't think it was gonna happen... then the Carney trade (im still pissed we drafted him that year, least hes gone now) and the writing was on the wall... great move, hopefully brand is fully healed and we'll be ready to roll...
Ok, first off seems my words got twisted or misinterpeted some, Odom is by no means a great stop the presses player, and he is nowhere near the talent Brand is at PF. Brand has the talent. And yes I have seen him play on numerous occasions and I have never been impressed by him. He puts up the numbers, he has some talent surrounding him and fails to take his team to the playoffs. Granted the west has been tighter than section's leather man purse.... KG took his team deep into the playoffs almost single handedly, and despite Mchale trying to destroy that franchise from day 1, tried his damdest to keep it respectable. You cant question his desire to win. Allen's Milwaukee days were respectable,IMO. Him and Robinson have been the best tandem that team has had for a long time. I just dont care for, nor do I have any desire to watch multi-millionare's choose even more money over playing for a good coach, or a good franchise. It sends the message to youngsters that its not about winning, its all about the money. Which in turn makes players less passionate, and less effective. If I wanted to watch basketball players that just went through the motions, I'd watch Blue Chips or something.
So he should leave some $20M on the table just so he can have roughly a 25% chance at winning an NBA title? THAT'S the standard you want to hold him to, because he's Corey Maggette? Maggette did what 99% of the players in the NBA would do. To vilify him for doing so, and then add "I don't care about the other players in the league" makes zero sense. Well, this I agree with. And you know what? If they'd taken my advice, and given just enough to get Maggette, I think they would have had enough to throw a big contract at Smith. They might have been able to get both! But no, they paid Maggette at least 25% more than they needed to secure his services. I find this statement absolutely hilarious on multiple levels. You do know that KG is the highest paid player in the NBA this year, right? And you also know that the first thing he did upon arriving in Boston was to sign a long-term extension beginning at $16.4M in 2009-10, right? He didn't go to Danny Ainge and say "you know what, Danny? I've got enough money. Just pay me a couple million so I've got some walking around money, and use the rest to recruit high profile free agents. Or you know what? Just give my whole salary to the Jimmy Fund." You also know that Ray Allen is receiving $36M over the next two years, which is a lot of money for a guy whose game is declining significantly. I don't see him trying to give any of that back. Let me help you, and everyone else who's raking Maggette and Brand over the coals here: it's ALWAYS about the money. If you think that KG would have given up the $22M or whatever he made last year to get his ring, you're extraordinarily naive.
KG almost turned down the offer though, he didnt want to play for Boston until he found out Allen was going there.
So he would have stayed in Minnesota, collected his huge contract, and continued playing for a crappy team.
You're missing the point. He loved playing for Minn. He hated losing. If he was going to leave Minn. he wanted it to be for a winning team. He deserves to be one of the highest paid players in the NBA.
No, you're missing the point. This idea that it's all about winning, and anyone who goes for the money is a mercenary is patently ridiculous. I don't contest for a moment that Garnett deserves to be near the top of the NBA's pay scale. Garnett is no different from just about every other NBA player, in that he would take his paycheck and be happy with it at the end of the day. Maybe winning is more important to him than to others, but the idea that he'd sacrifice a huge chunk of his pay for the "love of the game" is wrong. It is very rare that you'll see a player leave a big contract on the table just to play for a better team.
Maybe I am missing the point. I just dont see how anyone can justify not wanting to be the best and being surrounded by the best at whatever they do. Especially for more money, when they are already rich. I guess as a not wealthy man, I just dont get it.
Which is why I like Derek Fisher so much and admire him. He put his priorities in the proper order. He gave up mor emoney and a spot on a bonafied contender out west so that he could take better care of his daughter for less money and, at the time, a worse team in the Lakers.
He'll be on a 50 win team that can score a bunch of points but still has no defense and won't get past the 1st round. No shock that it's what a lot of guys only seem to care about. GL Maggette
Yep, our Sixers might be the 2nd best team in the East right now. GM Ed Steffanski is at least trying to make some upgrades which Billy King rarely did. I think the Sixers just need another good outside shooter (Brent Barry? Linas Kleiza). Now sign Iggy and we are in good shape.
didn't Brand give his word (or verbal acknowledgment) that he was signing with Clippers??? I thought I read/heard somewhere that he made this statement to B. Davis that led to him signing there?
Lol yep. I love Ed Stefanski. He's one of my favorite GM's. I HATED HATED Billy King. A little more than $4 million a year for Turiaf. Warriors are overpaying everybody they can get their hands on. They should save that cash and throw it at their own FA Monta Ellis.
I dislike using this as an example, because everything's on a much different scale, but still, I think the analogy holds true: have you ever left a job for the difference of a couple thousand bucks, even though you had friends and a good boss at the old job? Why leave? It's not that much money, after all. After taxes, it might be an extra $50 or $75 in your paycheck. What's that, a dinner at Outback with your wife or girlfriend every couple weeks? What difference does it make to you? Right, wrong or indifferent, most everyone's motivated largely by the dollar when it comes to their professional life, be they a butcher, baker, candlestick maker or NBA player. Why do we hold basketball players to a different standard? Because they make more money? Because they're not living paycheck to paycheck like many of us do? Because they get much more clear-cut feelings of victory and defeat in their job?
NBA News: Ten years ago, the Clippers passed up on agent David Falks client Mike Bibby in the NBA draft. Agent Falk would come out and state that he vows to get the Clippers back for passing up on Bibby. Was this his revenge? Shortly after the Sixers made their offer to Elton Brand, agent Kevin Falk was told that the Clippers would offer $81 million for Brand. Only one problem... Falk never told Brand about it. Agent Falk stopped returning the Clippers calls as well. Later, Brand would go on to verbally sign with the Sixers. The Clippers have shifted their focus to Hawks Forward Josh Smith. They are expected to make a heavy run at Smith. Also, they will be pursuing Bobcats Center Emeka Okafor. Corey Maggette's long decision process was because of Elton Brand. Maggette was pondering taking less money to play with Brand and Davis in LA. Once Brand bolted for Philadelphia, Maggette went to Golden State. In 1982, an anonymous letter was retrieved for legendary coach Bobby Knight. The letter had explicit language in it such as racial slurs and death threats toward the late great Red Auerbach. The threat in the letter stated that the author would " grab a tire iron or pipe and crack Auerbach's skull into a thousand pieces." The letter was kept secret for 26 years. The multiple page letter had been archived since the search for the author ended almost three decades ago. The Suns have renewed their interest in Spurs Brent Barry. Barry turned down his player option which was a veterans minimum with the Spurs. The Pistons are interested in former Raptor Carlos Delfino. The Heat are patiently searching for a Point Guard in the market. They have told Jason Williams that its going in a different direction but wouldn't completely rule out his return. The same has been told to Earl Barron. Source: SI.com
Wow, I sure hope Brand has a great relationship with Falk...never told him??....dont know the behind the scenes conversation between player and agent, but there better have been an understanding between these two to the point of "F' the Clippers and any future offer"...cause that's the only way I wouldnt want to know, or need to know if an offer came in that was as high as that.
I can't imagine Brand passing on the Clippers if they would have given more money than the Sixers. Getting Baron to go with Brand and maggette would have been good, but now it is all on for getting Smith.
Sixers offer is $82 million. The Clippers offered $81 million but Brand's agent didn't tell him. The thing is that the Clippers were willing to give him $85 million (and be over the luxury tax) and a no-trade clause in his contract. What it all came down to was that a better shot at the finals and he wants to play on the East coast. What makes his decision even MORE controversial is that he, Brand, lured Davis to LA. He called him and said lets team up and so forth. Now, Davis is there and Brand is in Philly.
What the hell are the Warriors thinking? I like Turiaf but that's just ludicrous. Buss may open up the wallets though considering he is our own FA.
Brand turned down more money from GS to go to a better team. You can also argue that Philly is a better team than the Clippers, and that them being in the East gives him a better chance to get into the playoffs. So, didnt Brand do exactly what you'd want him to do?
Skip Bayless talking about Elton Brand. He is saying " Brand, I had the upmost respect for in this league, just turned his back on a player that he recruited and a franchise." or along those lines. I personally can't stand Skip Bayless but this is one thing I agree with him on. Also, I don't know who this guy with the dreads is but he doesn't know much. He said he left the Clippers for twenty million in Philly. He was possibly going to get more! God, analysts. And Bayless has lost it again. He said Philly is a little better than Detroit.
