NBA Offseason Thread

[the pinjockey 0]

Wait til next week and I am sure in the Philly Inquirer he will write an article discussing needing young players for Iverson. He is the biggest joke in the Philly area.

[Precious Roy 0]

That is the point, though. If they were getting offered a package of young players and a bad contract (read: Boston trade King wanted to make), then we wouldn't be having this discussion as Iverson would already be on a flight to his new team.

 

There is a difference between rebuilding with newly acquired young players (perfectly acceptable, what most Sixers fans are pleading for actually) and punting the season entirely for a draft pick (this is what can not happen, no Barkley deals again).

 

This is totally on point. The best deal they were close to making was Boston's pick (which would have become Foye), Gerald Green and Carlos Boozer from Utah, and Ainge pulled out of it. That's an acceptable deal I guess, you get Boozer who's best years are theoretically still to come but is overpaid, a high school kid with 1 year in the league and a ton of talent, and one of the top rookie guards, but it was taken out of Philly's hands.

 

Why should the 76ers deal Iverson for any less? If all they're getting are Andre Miller+Nene type offers they aren't improving OR rebuilding, and it doesn't seem like any teams really want to sell their future for a couple good, expensive years of Allen Iverson. The only willing trade partners left are probably Atlanta, but unless they're offering Josh Smith and/or Marvin Williams the 6ers won't do the deal. You also have to consider how much money Iverson brings in, even if he stalls a rebuilding process by a few years he's helping keep the team above water. The aforementioned "Barkley deal" would be a disaster.

 

I do think Sam Dalembert is tradable though. Look at the market for bigs, his contract isn't that bad with respect to his talent. He had a bad 05-06 though, they'd be crazy to sell low on him.

[Guest Felonies!]

The current playoff format in the NBA breeds mediocrity. GM's are driven by the oppportunity to make the playoffs and secure the income stream from 2 or more home playoff games. They can say to their fanbase that they made the playoffs and are one or two moves from the finals. In reality, that's not the case.

What about the Bulls. They have a chance to make the Finals now.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Only if the Wallace signing doesn't blow up in their faces.

[therealworldschampion 0]

The only problem with rebuilding for the Sixers is that Billy King will be overseeing it. I mentioned before that it'll be a long time before he gets fired because it seems that in Ed Snider's eyes, King is in Bob Clarke territory, namely being Snider's adopted son in the way that Clarke is.

 

Gee I can't wait for the Sixers to win 40 games, get the 8 seed, get swept in the first round by Miami, Detroit, or Chicago, then not have their lottery-protected 1st rounder because of one of Billy's genius moves.

 

This proves that whether it's NBA careers, coaching (Quin Snyder, Tommy Amaker), or front office people (Billy King)....never bring in one of Coach K's players.

[alfdogg 0]

^ he's pretty much got it. The point I was *trying* to make was that it's not fair that the one guy who's there for more reasons than just money, who actually *wants* to play in Philly, is the guy who has to go. It's not Iverson's fault that King traded for Chris Webber. Or that he gave Willie Fucking Green a five-year deal. Or that he gave Kyle Korver close to $30 million. Or that he now has nothing to show for trading Keith Van Horn. (Philly fans may feel free to add to the list.)

 

The Sixers are going to be horrible for more than "a couple years" if they trade Iverson. Not to mention the negative impact it will have on their fanbase as a whole. Obviously when it comes down to it, he's the one that has to go, because he's the only one anyone would trade for, except maybe Dalembert (hey, someone did trade for Tyson Chandler, after all). And I don't think it's right. I should have explained myself better.

[alfdogg 0]

Hornets re-sign Rasual Butler, and the Celtics sign Kevin Pittsnoogle to a two-year deal.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Only if the Wallace signing doesn't blow up in their faces.

 

I don't think it will, but if it does, I think they have enough talent to to still be a major force in the Eastern Confrence.

[Fökai 0]

It's not like they're going to run the offense through him - in fact, taking Wallace away from the Pistons could probably be bigger than anything he does in Chicago. If he puts up the numbers he has from the last two years, which will be pretty easy with Chicago's defense, he's considered a success. Unless there's a terrible injury mixed in there, Chicago won't be able to complain about his production (the amount of money is an argument for another day).

[alfdogg 0]

You know, we've all speculated on how far the Bulls will go with Wallace...where do the Pistons rank in the East now? I'd say they're obviously still a playoff team, the 4th seed would probably be considered a success. I'm going to say they'll end up with the 5th or 6th seed.

[bobobrazil1984 0]

They are top 4. It remains to be seen if they win the Central, but its them or Chicago. Billups, Rip, Prince, Rasheed, Nazr, Flip M, and McDyess is still a pretty excellent roster.

I think it'll take at least a year for Chicago with Ben to really reach their potential, so I put pistons slightly ahead of the bulls for this season.

 

Anyways, I think its moot. No way anybody beats Miami in the playoffs with the way Dwayne is reffed. he bumps into you, foul. you try to move out of the way of his wild spins, foul. you try to defend a jumpshot, foul. and so on.

[Precious Roy 0]

We can only hope that the Cavs and Heat get matched up and it becomes a free throw contest

[Ripper 0]

Well I am going to make a call on the Bulls. They are going to be better, but that is because of Thabo not Ben Wallace.

 

Here is the truth about Ben Wallace. He is a sucky one on one defender. If you are counting on him to be the last line of defense, you are going to suck. Ben Wallace can rebound, I give him that, but he will only get you 2-3 more rebounds than Tyson would have. Plus he is just as inept on the offensive end as Chandler. Plus he is great and being a help defender that can come and block some shots on the weak side....like Chandler. Ben Wallace became out the this worldly good when the Pistons got Rasheed Wallace, who is a very good post defender. That allowed Ben to run free, causing havok all over the court. Now he is going to have to THE guy. THere is no other defender on the blocks for the bulls unless you play Ben with PJ Brown(which isn't a bad Idea actually). What I see in the Bulls is the same team as last year with a stopper added to the backcourt in Thabo. They will be better, but this still isn't close to a championship team.

 

And the Hawks got a offer from Golden State for Troy Murphy (6-10 guy that is a guarenteed double double) for Harrington but didn't want to take on his contract. So they would rather try to lure free agents (when we all know no one is coming to this team with the ownership the way it is) and a draft pick in the twenties instead of a guarenteed, proven double double 6-10 PF/new aged Center.

 

Plus I don't even want to think what Denver was offering, but I guarentee it was something that could help this team now. Zaza is officially the weak link in the starting line up. Speedy is a better guard than people give him credit for Joe Johnson, Josh Smith are on the verge of superstardom, and Marvin Williams WILL have a monster year. Zaza is a Center who can't defend, flops alot and gets alot of offensive rebounds...mostly off his own misses. Sheldon Williams might start at Center, but dude is seroiusly slow...like...seriously. With Troy Murphy there...you got to take him.

[Human Fly 0]

So you are saying, basically, that Tyson Chandler is as good of a defender as a 4 time defensive player of the year?

[Ripper 0]

No I am saying with the Bulls, alot of what Wallace was able to do with the Pistons is negated.

 

Defense is alot more than one guy. The pistons had 5 guys on the court that were great defenders. The Bulls will have Hinrich out the with Ben Wallace. No help on the blocks like Tayshawn and Rasheed gave him. I said they would be inproved, but he doesn't change a 2nd round team at best into NBA champions.

 

And be not confused, at least 2 of those defensive player of the year awards were crap. He wasn't even the best defender on his TEAM last year.

[Precious Roy 0]

Troy Murphy has 5 years, $50 mil left on his deal. A nice player to have, but at that price? Not when you already have Joe Johnson making the max and a bunch of dudes coming up for extensions in the next couple years.

[Ripper 0]

I guess when it comes down to it, I would rather have Smith and Childress back, but honestly they are going to have to accept that some of these guys are too good to come off the bench and they are going to move on. Josh Childress isn't going to accept bench minutes if he plays another year like he did last year. Niether is Josh Smith or Marvin Williams. so one of them is gone.

[Brett Favre 0]

The Knicks signed Jared Jeffries to an offer sheet for the MLE. The Wizards have told everyone they will match any offer.

 

Also, Luke Walton will appear in an episode of "The Young and the Restless".

[Guest Felonies!]

If he sounds just like his dad, I'll watch. I will watch.

[alfdogg 0]

Anyone here know anything about Maceo Baston? The Pacers signed him today from the Euroleague, but I remember the name and know he's been in the league before.

[Dangerous A 0]

He's a former Michigan Wolverine that was part of an overhyped recruiting class that came in right after the Fab 5 left school. He came in with Maurice Taylor.

 

He was drafted in the 2nd round by the Bulls I believe, but either didn't play and washed out or they cut him early or something. He's been stashed away overseas ever since. Baston is 6'10-6'11 and very, very long.

[alfdogg 0]

The Bucks have agreed to trade Jamaal Magloire to Portland for Steve Blake, Brian Skinner, and Ha-Seung Jin. I like this deal for the Bucks, they get their starting PG and Skinner is a solid backup at the 4 or 5. As for the Blazers, they obviously have high hopes for Jarrett Jack, I guess.

 

Also, the Clippers are expected to sign Aaron Williams to a 2-year deal.

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

Makes the Ford-for-Villaneuva trade look even better for them. Villaneuva and Blake is a better combo for them than Magloire and Ford, I think.

[Ripper 0]

I personally think Steve Blake is cursed. Everyone and their mother knows that he should start with the Bucks but some how he will be behind Mo Williams and CHarlie Bell to start the season.

 

I have never seen a guy be so productive when he is on the court not get minutes. Well...except Boris Diaw in Atlanta.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

Bucks still won't do anything with Terry Stotts. They should've never got rid of Terry Porter.

[Precious Roy 0]

I kind of assumed that Washington would match on Jared Jeffries, but the more I read about it it's looking kind of 50/50. It would put Washington very close to the luxury tax, the first year salary is pretty high, and there's a big trade kicker written in. They have Arenas, Jamison, Butler, Thomas and Daniels all locked up to sizable deals already. Butler and Jamison can both play the 3, and they've been flirting with signing Deshawn Stevenson who'll probably come cheaper than Jeffries. Plus, Jeffries agent is saying that he doesn't want to play for Washington and they should just let him walk.

 

The signing is a little surprising to me, I thought James Dolan had put the clampdown on adding more contracts, and because they're over the luxury tax they have to pay double the contract. That's $12 mil a year for a role player. Crazy. Jeffries is a nice player, hustles, plays D, unselfish, he'll improve our team, but they're definitely overpaying for his services. But what else is new. I guess Isiah figures he might be gone after this year anyway.

 

I like a lineup of Curry-Frye-Jeffries-Francis-Marbury with Crawford, Robinson, Lee, Balkman, Mardy Collins and Q-Rich off the bench. There's a lot of youth and athleticism there, though not a whole lot of depth at the bigs. Taylor and Rose are in the last year of their deals and hopefully can be traded before the season for a young big or two, because having guys who know they're going to be traded by February in the rotation will undermine the development of the team. I like Jalen Rose, but there just isn't room for him.

[Ripper 0]

You would have to get rid of at least two of those guys. Q and Crawford with the biggest marks on them, but they have some monster contracts.

[Precious Roy 0]

Why do we have to get rid of at least two of those guys? You mean other than Rose/Taylor? I'd think the odds of moving any one of Crawford, Q-Rich, Francis or Marbury are close to nil.

 

I'm hoping Isiah Thomas' gameplan is RUN RUN RUN, that's our best chance of winning, and it's something that Larry Brown refused to do. If we play that style we can get away with playing Jeffries or Lee at the 4, and maybe Mardy Collins at the 3 from time to time. Hell, maybe Balkman can play a little 4. There's Malik Rose at the 4 too. That style could make up for the lack of height after Curry/Frye. I'm not even going to bother with Oliver Miller Jerome James.

 

It should be easy enough to move Jalen Rose and Maurice Taylor as long as we don't expect much in return. Some picks and a scrub or two would be fine.

[therealworldschampion 0]

Apparently there was a report in the Boston Globe from a "well-connected" NBA source that the Sixers are going up for sale. All I can say is that I hope to God that it's true because if the Sixers get new owners (hopefully a group headed by Pat Croce), the first thing they're likely to do is send Billy King packing. This may also be why the Iverson trade rumors stopped, because they need something that will attract potential buyers.

[alfdogg 0]

I think Crawford's one you've got to hang onto, unless you're dealing him in a package for someone like KG. He's their big shot-taker, and capable of going for 35-40 on any given night, as we saw in Chicago.