NBA Offseason News and Moves

[Guest Mindless_Aggression]

Jacque Vaughn has signed with the Nets and Anthony Peeler with the Wizards. I know, no one cares but with the signing of Peeler and the resigning of Etan Thomas, I think it's safe to say we have ourselves a new eastern conference champion and they are the wizards of the nation's proverbial hardwood.

 

But in a less delusional statement, the Nets officially have 2 scoring threats and one of them can't shoot the ball worth a damn. Well I guess Rodney Rogers is still there but he's been pretty irrelevent with the Nets up to this point.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

they got rid of Rogers

[nogoodnick 0]

Phoenix has slowly built themselves a great team in the offseason. Nash and Q in the backcourt should be great especially with Joe Johnson and Barbosa as backups. If they can figure out what to do at center they should be pretty good.

 

Starting lineup:

PG Nash

SG Richardson

SF Marion

PF Stoudemire

C Voskul?

[Dangerous A 0]

Suns are on the way up, Nets are on the way down.

 

Clippers, well, they'll probrably be about the same, maybe a bit better.

[Dangerous A 0]

Marion may not stick around in Phoenix, btw. They want to unload him because they are gonna max out Amare in a couple years.

[nogoodnick 0]

New Jersey better get things figured out. The rest of the East is improving and they have signifigantly declined in the offseason. Kidd isnt happy and Jefferson is gonna be a major player in next summers free agent market. If they cant make him happy they will lose him. The only bright side is they should have a lot of cap room next summer.

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

The Nets are tanked. I don't blame them for not wanting to max out K-Mart, but to not even bother to replace him is heinous. And I know Kittles' contract blows, but to give him away for literally nothing, that hurts. No way Jefferson sticks around next year.

[Guest Redhawk]

Looks like the Lakers are trying to catch up to the Blazers in thug-ism.

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Marcus Douthit, a second-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers out of Providence College, was charged on Thursday with taking part in a wide-ranging identity theft and embezzlement scam and pocketing several thousand dollars.

 

The 125-count indictment unsealed by a statewide grand jury accuses Douthit with allegedly participating in a phony car accident as part of a scheme to obtain money from insurance companies, said Michael Healey, spokesman for the state attorney general office.

 

Six others have been charged in the alleged scheme.

 

He was paid $6,500 from money obtained from the false claim in December 2001, and deposited that money into a Providence bank account, the indictment states.

 

Douthit has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit embezzlement and one count of embezzlement more than $100. He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison on the charges, Healey said.

 

The 24-year-old center was reportedly on the verge of being offered a guaranteed contract with the Lakers after playing well in a summer league, according to The Providence Journal. He averaged nearly 8 points and 6 rebounds for the Friars last season.

 

Healey said prosecutors had left messages with Douthit's agent urging the player to turn himself in.

 

Providence spokeswoman Pat Vieira said school officials could not comment because they hadn't seen the indictment in full.

 

"It all came as a complete surprise to us," Vieira said.

[Fökai 0]

If the Nets unload Kidd before the start of the season, they'll have Jazz-esque cap space next season. I'd make the trade, especially considering Kidd's market value and the salaries they could dump after next year with those additions (for Chicago, it'd be Crawford, Williams, Davis and Robinson).

[Steviekick 0]

From Yahoo.com...

 

New Jersey continues to find ways to save money – this time through trading shooting guard Kerry Kittles to the Los Angeles Clippers for a future second-round pick and cash considerations. Two weeks ago, the Nets shipped All-Star power forward Kenyon Martin to Denver in a sign-and-trade for three first-round picks.

 

Damn. They really want to suck it up this season. Kidd's going to demand a trade and Richardson will bolt.

[nogoodnick 0]

Looks like the Lakers are trying to catch up to the Blazers in thug-ism.

No one can catch our thug-ism.

 

But on a serious note NJ needs to ship Kidd. How much is his contract and how many years?

[MrRant 0]

I've heard rumors of a sign & trade of Ray Allen to the Nets for Kidd.

[Guest Leon]

How about Jason Kidd to the Lakers for two 1st round picks and one second round pick? Sounds like a fair deal to me...

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

Kidd has 5 years and over $90 mil left on his contract.

[Precious Roy 0]

Who the hell do the Nets suit up next season?

 

C- Collins

PF - Aaron Williams

SF - Jefferson

SG - Lucious Harris

PG - Kidd

 

Bench - Scalabrine, Jacque Vaughn

 

Say hello to the lottery.....

[Krankor 0]

Chicago does not want or need Kidd. They have enough at the PG and don't want to taken on a massive contract like that. They need cap room to resign Curry and Chandler at years end. The most likely move for Chicago is dealing Crawford, Robinson, and Williams to New York for some bench players with expiring contracts.

 

That New Jersey line up is quite terrible.

Say hello to the most lottery balls.

[Fökai 0]

They need cap room to resign Curry and Chandler at years end.

 

Paxson seems to be fed up with both of the "Baby Bulls" - both Chandler and Curry were used as potential trade bait earlier in the summer. The Bulls were discussing taking on a big contract (Allen, Pierce or Kidd) in return for taking a few of their longer contracts off the books.

 

The most likely move for Chicago is dealing Crawford, Robinson, and Williams to New York for some bench players with expiring contracts.

 

That's the trade that the Bulls ultimately desire, but the Knicks are stubborn on keeping Harrington, who the Bulls want along with Mutombo and Shandon Anderson (Mutombo and Harrington's contracts expire after the 2004-2005 season).

 

Besides, the Crawford deal won't go down unless the offers for 'Toine and/or Dampier fall through for the Knicks. The Bulls will retain Crawford's contract until next year, with a new crop of teams with cap space (Jersey, for one)

 

Their projected depth chart looks like this:

 

PG: Heinrich, Duhon, Pargo

SG: Gordon, Crawford, Johnson

SF: Deng, Robinson, Jefferies, Pippen

PF: Chandler, Williams

C: Curry, Davis, Shirley

 

--------------------------------------

 

If the trade for Crawford goes though;

 

PG: Heinrich, Duhon, Pargo

SG: Gordon, Anderson, Johnson

SF: Deng, Harrington, Jefferies, Pippen

PF: Chandler, Davis

C: Curry, Mutombo, Shirley

 

The contracts of JYD and Robinson are out the window (3/$18 mil and 2/$14 mil, respectively), along with shedding Harrington and Mutombo's contracts after the season concludes. Pargo and Shirley's contracts being both non-guaranteed, as well as the rumors of Pippen hinting at retirement, have us with cap room ourselves heading into next year's offseason.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I have trouble seeing Jason Kidd getting traded.

 

Espically with his serious knee injury.

 

Plus Jason Kidd said if he is traded it would be to a West team(San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks are the teams).

 

Spurs - Already have their PG of the future in Tony Parker

Lakers - Possible, but I don't they are interested in Kidd, and I don't think the NJ Nets want people like Caron Butler for Kidd.

Mavs - Already have their PG of the future in Devin Harris

[Guest Mindless_Aggression]

Eddy Curry I think they'll retain. He always comes on strong after the mid way point, namely because he gets his fat ass in shape during the season and not before it. If they can get him in respectable shape before training camp, he'll be fine.

 

Chandler...well he's really good at hurting himself. Tries hard and has his moments but just not what he was supposed to be.

 

The Bulls need jump shooters now. Heinrich woulda been top 3 in assists in his first year if someone could knock down a fuckin jumper. It was sad to see him run a play perfectly, kick out to the open man who proceeded to nearly kill someone with his jumper. Frustrating to the max.

[Krankor 0]

Paxson doesn't want to get rid of Curry or Chandler at this point. He said just a few weeks ago that he was very pleased about how they were practicing heavily this summer. Paxson even said that team basically depends on the play of Curry.

 

I could see Chandler if he is still battling injuries around the trade deadline to be dealt for something in the way of 1st round draft picks or a scorer.

 

The Bulls are about to sign a free agent SF from Argentina named Andres Nocioni. Paxson said it's basically a done deal. Nocioni is going to be playing for Argentina's Olympic team and should bring some decent shooting for the bulls.

[Fökai 0]

Paxson doesn't want to get rid of Curry or Chandler at this point. He said just a few weeks ago that he was very pleased about how they were practicing heavily this summer. Paxson even said that team basically depends on the play of Curry.

 

I made a mistake in my earlier post, stating that Paxson "seems" to be fed up. To correct my post, that should be changed to "seemed". He changed his stance on Curry because the Bulls lost the lottery - if they had the opportunity to select Okafor, they would’ve moved either Curry or Chandler after the draft. This was their plan to throw a deal out at Boston (Pierce) or Seattle (Allen).

 

Paxson had a change of heart and re-juggled the team to put the offensive focus around Curry. They’ve put their eggs into Curry’s basket for this upcoming season. If he blows the opportunity to become a solid NBA’er this upcoming season, Paxson will consider moving him again.

 

The Bulls are about to sign a free agent SF from Argentina named Andres Nocioni. Paxson said it's basically a done deal. Nocioni is going to be playing for Argentina's Olympic team and should bring some decent shooting for the bulls.

 

Agreed.

[Precious Roy 0]

Ben Gordon and Deng should help in the '"hitting open shots" department, they were both very consistent in college, Gordon on the perimiter and Deng in the mid range 10-18 feet game. If Crawford decides to not be such a gunner and Curry and Chandler can put a complete season together they could be a dangerous team in the Central. I don't think it's out of the question for them to compete favorably with Milwaukee.

 

And apparently RJ is "happy" in Jersey, take it as you will....

[Gert T 0]

I don't know if this belongs here, but I do not know the seriousness yet, so I won't make my own thread. In the U.S. National Team's 96-71 victory over Puerto Rico, LeBron James, Allen Iverson and Amare Stoudemire all were suspended for this game for missing/showing up late for a team meeting.

[nogoodnick 0]

Jason Kidd Demands trade

 

ESPN.com news services

 

A furious Jason Kidd met with New Jersey Nets CEO Rod Thorn and owner Bruce Ratner at the team facility Friday afternoon, and although the All-Star point guard has not demanded a trade, he is looking toward the possibility of being dealt to a contender, two newspapers reported Saturday.

 

The New York Post reported Saturday that Kidd, still irate over the recent fire-sale trades of Kenyon Martin and Kerry Kittles, has decided to wait and see what moves the Nets make next before making a definitive move.

 

"He voiced his displeasure," one source told the Post, saying the meeting was drawn out and heated. "Jason's not happy with what has gone on. He didn't demand a trade, but it may only be a matter of time."

[Guest Mindless_Aggression]

I usually don't agree with most trade demands, but this one, I can't really blame him for. They essentially gutted his team and killed any chance of them being a contender for a very long time. They might still make the playoffs, but it'd be a 6 to 8 seed and thats just a feeding ground for the Pacers, Pistons or Heat.

[Precious Roy 0]

No, you really can't blame Kidd here.

 

A year after he resigns for 6 years, in the peak years of his talent, and with the Nets promising to continue to build a championship team around him, they turned around and let the two players who complimented Kidd's style best go elsewhere. Having watched a fair share of Nets games over the last couple years, Martin and Kittles were without a doubt Kidd's two go to guys on the fast break, and without them to run with him his greatest strength is negated.

 

Kidd also isn't getting any younger, and his balls out, play through injury, run run run style means he's only got a couple years left at maximum effectiveness.

 

Nets have already started rebuilding with the hording of draft picks. Jefferson likes Jersey and seems to be willing to stay and help a younger team develop, he's still young enough to be the face of the franchise, the best move for both Kidd and Jersey is to part ways while his value is at it's peak.

 

Personally, I like the Ray Allen-Kidd swap, for both teams.

[Krankor 0]

Kidd being traded to Seattle would kind of be pointless for him because he would still be on a team that is a non-factor for an NBA Championship.

 

On paper the trade would help Seattle but it will still be tough for them to even get an 8 seed spot in the west.

 

Dallas probably would be the best fit for Jason Kidd. Dallas has been looking to deal Walker and this could be a good opportunity for them since their only PG is Marquis Daniels and Tony Delk.

[Steviekick 0]

We all see how ansy Cuban is to win a championship. I see a Kidd for Walker and someone else coming up in the future.

[Guest nikowwf]

Part of the blame could sure as hell be blamed on Kidd, who got them to sign Mourning, which is money which could have went to Kenyon.

 

I respect his right to ask for a trade, but this is not a slam dunk deal that the nest must do it, after re-upping him for max money (even though he has injury problems), giving him his coach, and giving mourning a huge contract even though he had a disease which would seemingly preclude him from playing.

 

niko

[Guest Flyboy]

their only PG is Marquis Daniels and Tony Delk.

You forgot Devin Harris.