Official NBA Truth & Rumors Thread

I don't think we are quite ahead of Detroit yet, but I don't see how Detroit is getting better right now, they seem to be stepping back, we will have to see how the offseason plays out. I just don't see anyone in the east being unbeatable, I think the Celtics had a great run but even they could be beat. I'm not guaranteeing anything about the Wizards but I don't see why we can't contend in the East. I see no reason not to be hopeful. They were a solid playoff team fighting through major injuries for 2 years, sure they could have injuries again but if they don't theres no reason why we can't take the next step in the East. I don't see any reason to be pessimistic about our chances, the East isn't full of powerhouses outside of the Celtics.

 

Whew you and me both, I think we need to get Cleveland again in the first round and we need to take them out. I think if we do that we are taking things to a new level. Its hard to beat LeBron in the playoffs, you're playing the refs too...but it can be done.

 

In the last 20 years theres only 5 or 6 players to average 20 and 10 for a career. Elton Brand is one of them. he definitely changes the east. Philly does need a 3rd player to complement him and Iggy but theyre close. Really close.

 

In P-Jax's Bull years, you had two who could efficiently create their own shots: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Phil has three here: Odom, Kobe, and Fisher (Pau could too but really shouldn't and Vujacic fires at will anyways). In Phil's first Laker stint, you had Kobe and maybe Fisher too. So far, that's been plenty enough to win games. If Odom is trying to be Pippen-ultralite, Artest is going to play the Rick Fox role (defense and hitting the 3). It's just up to Phil where he wants to go. Other teams may need more guys who can create their own shots but in the triangle, roles are defined. You have two guys who can create with one standing on the edge, 2 guys to create spacing, and one guy in the middle. That's the simple formula.

Odom has played like Odumb at times but I found a renewed confidence in his progress after the Utah series. I don't doubt Artest's shooting ability. And I will note that Odom's passing ability is superior to Artest's. A very key thing to have as a SF in the triangle. And I believe you have alluded to it in how Odom distributes well. I saw it as key to the Lakers' resurgence with Odom's hockey assist passes. He creates shots for others.

Best case to get rid of Thomas for both teams is to find some poor sap willing to take on his contract (Memphis? Minnesota?).

I'm not saying he's a defensive presence but he is a good rebounder and he is capable of help defense and he's shown improvement in shot-blocking with a string of multiple blocks per game especially in the playoffs sans the Denver series (averaged more than 1.5 since his Bynum went down). Yes, we could've used Artest's perimeter defense against Boston but without Odom's contributions on the boards, which no one else was doing, and his ability to create shots and let the offense flow, I doubt we'd even get there to begin with. I had been pushing for us to consider Pietrus, Barnes, and etc to be utilized as cheaper role players whose sole duties are to hit the open jumpers and play defense. That allows us to maintain Odom's offensive facilitator role and his rebounding, as well as cap flexibility, while fixing 2 holes.

Which makes the need for someone to replace Turiaf, a very capable shotblocker, all the more important. Kenny Thomas will not provide that and at 2x or more the cost. If Buss is going to go over the cap, might as well keep Turiaf and force the Kings to find another way other than Thomas.

 

He never changed the West, I like Brand but I think players putting up big numbers as the number one option on crappy teams usually are a bit overrated. Plus that injury was really serious, the Clippers didn't want to give him that much money because he's not 100% despite what he and the 6ers say. Its hard to come back from that kind of injury. He makes the 6ers better for sure but he doesn't turn them into a power house. I think the Wizards will have a better record and will beat them in the playoffs if they meet.

 

Wow, I did not know there were problems with him being coach. They made the playoffs last yr, he cant be that bad. Must have actually made the players work or something, heaven forbid.

 

I put Washington in the "puncher's chance" category of contenders. If everything goes right, that is, Arenas, Jamison and Butler are all healthy at the same time, and they all get hot from the field, then they can beat most anybody. But over a seven game series, that's awfully tough to do.

 

Smith is a headcase. He's wildly talented, but now that the big dollars are being flashed, we're starting to see that he's got issues.

In other news, the Tracy McGrady to Detroit rumor won't die.

The article goes on to say that Rockets GM Daryl Morey talked to McGrady, and McGrady said he's happy in Houston.

 

Move over Beno Udrih and DeSagana Diop, we have a new leader in the clubhouse for "Worst Offseason Contract"! Any time you can give 4 years and $25M to a swingman who plays decent defense and can't do anything on offense except shoot a decent three pointer, and he's 31 years old, you're going to regret it.

 

This year's cap is $59M. So Posey's taking up about 10% of their cap room. Looking at it strictly from that point of view, it's not ridiculous. I mean, he's probably a 6th or 7th man, maybe a starter, so 10% of the cap isn't outrageous. No, the problems are these:
1. He's not a particularly good player.
Posey's been living quite nicely off his reputation as a winner. And indeed, his actual contributions as a player exceed his stats. That said...his stats suck. His PER numbers for the last four years: 10.5, 9.8, 12.7, 12.0. I don't care how much of a "glue guy" you are, that's terrible. And at age 31, those numbers aren't going up.

2. The idea that he will be useful at age 35, the 4th year of the contract, is comical.
Statistically, Posey's a below-average player RIGHT NOW. Even if we grant him "average" status, given all his contributions as a "glue guy", he's not going to get better. Players of his type tend to age very poorly. Posey makes his living as a perimeter defender, well, speed and quickness decline much faster than other attributes. Unless your name is Bruce Bowen, if you're a perimeter defender, you're probably going to see your skills fall off a table within a couple years of your 30th birthday. Could Posey be the next Bowen, and be a top-notch defensive stopper well into his 30s? I doubt it. For one, Bowen was a far better defender at his peak than Posey. For another, history weighs heavily against it. Careers like Bryon Russell are a much more likely predictor.

3. He doesn't address New Orleans' two biggest needs - frontcourt depth and a starting 2 guard.
Quick, who's New Orleans' third big man after Tyson Chandler and David West? Anyone? Hilton Armstrong was terrible last year, and Melvin Ely has been lousy his whole career. The Hornets have Mike James as a Plan B for a Chris Paul injury, and have Peja Stojakovic and Julian Wright as small forwards. Bonzi Wells is a free agent, however (no idea if they'll resign him). So, the Hornets would have been wise to spend their MLE on either a backup big, or a starting 2 guard. Posey is much better served as a 3, and better still as a 6th or 7th man off the bench. If they're going to start him at the 2, it's going to burn them horribly. If Posey's at the 2 and Stojakovic the 3, or vice versa, any team with speedy wingmen is going to slaughter the Hornets.

4. He's probably going to shove Julian Wright to the bench.
Wright has shown plenty of promise. In limited time last year, he had a 15.4 PER. But since Posey is a Proven Veteran, with a Proven Salary, and happens to play the exact same position, guess who's going to get nailed to the bench?

5. He gives them nothing that Peja Stojakovic doesn't already on offense.
Posey is a spot-up jump shooter who relies heavily on the 3 and couldn't get to the rim if his life depended on it. That's the exact same thing Stojakovic does, only much better.

Posey is 31 years old and is entering his 10th season in the NBA. He's not going to learn new tricks on offense. He is what he is.

 

I'm going to begin praying every night that Utah extends his contract.

 

I can just see the headlines now.

7/10/2009
Boozer verbally agrees to contract extension with Jazz.

7/11/2009
Boozer signs contract with Sixers.

 

Its not that great of a deal for sure but the gamble is that the Hornets will win a title or at least get very far in the playoffs for the next 3 or 4 years of the contract, which I think makes it worth 25m. He's not the guy thats going to carry you but he is a valuable part of a championship team like the Celtics. I would have loved for my Wizards to have signed him. Really most deals in the NBA are tradeable was well when teams want expiring deals.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3494107

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=VegasChatter-080717

 

Ya but its the clippers. You can never tell who is really that good. However Brand also had a good run with the Bulls. He's Barkley-esque in stature and production.

 

I like Brand a lot, just don't know about a huge guaranteed contract after missing the entire year like that. If he's 100%, and there is no guarantee he is the 6ers are a lot better, if not they just sunk a huge portion of their salary cap. Can't fault them for the gamble though, post players that can put up 20/10 don't just grow on trees.

 

Thats exactly the point.

 

There's one down for the 2010 summer...

(but also one team out of the cap space running)

 

Kevin Love dominating.

 

I expect nothing less. The guy gets the job done even when you think he can't.

 

Well better than that turnover machine.

 

gotta LOVE it. i wasn't too happy about the 7 for 20 shooting though. Corey Brewer with only 4 shot attempts makes me kinda dissapointed too. He should be taking on a bigger role than that in SL imo. Hope he's not a bust. And i have officially spent too much time analyzing a worthless SL game, especially because i only got to see the box score...go me.

 

Yea, but that's a credit to Love's effort. Even with a poor shooting game in a summer league, he still goes all out. He did it even in pickup games at Wooden. That's the kind of competitiveness you want to see in players.

 

Yup Brewer offensive game is awful. Glad to see Craig Smith finally playing.

 

Hopefully that motivates him.

 

Not sure if the Clips can even afford to bring him back at this point. I hope they can find a way though.

 

As I noted above, the odds that Posey's going to seriously contribute to a championship team aren't great, and more to the point, he doesn't give them much they didn't already have. "Championship experience" and "Proven Veterans" are constantly overrated when they hit free agency, and this is no exception.

Yes, if Posey plays lockdown defense in the finals against Rip Hamilton or LeBron James or Paul Pierce or Rashard Lewis or whoever, and hits some clutch 3s and the Hornets win as a result, it's worth whatever they've paid. But I'll bet heavily against that being the case.