LeBron to Europe? Please Don’t Insult My Intelligence

Why does ESPN insist to insult my intelligence?  Why are they gving any credence to the idea that LeBron is seriously considering a jump to Europe?  Sure he is willing to consider a move for $50 million a season but does anyone truly believe that offer would ever come to fruition?

Consider that the deals that Josh Childress and Earl Boykins recently signed are two of the more lucrative deals in their respective leagues.  Childress is only getting roughly six to seven million per season and that is the richest on his team.  Does anyone believe the cash is out there for a European team to legitimatly make this kind of offer to a LeBron James?

LeBron puts that price tag out there because he knows it is not a realistic possibility.  He is essentially saying, “Yeah I’ll go play in Europe if you give me $50 mil a year”, because he knows the likelihood of getting his asking price is remote at best.  I just have a hard time believing that any European teams have the resources to be able to compete with the NBA when it comes to the overall amount of money an elite basketball player can make playing in the NBA.

You see European teams do not pony up $100 million guaranteed contracts the way NBA teams do.  Nor do European players gain as much exposure or garner the endorsement opportunities the way NBA stars do.  Is a European team going to be able to match the $200 million or so LeBron would be walking away from in guaranteed salary and endorsement money he would likely receive if he stayed in the NBA?  I seriously doubt it as if they could they would have already made a run at American players better than Josh Childress and Earl Boykins.  The European leagues are a long way away from being able to financially compete with the NBA for the elite basketball talent of the world.

Artest to Houston; Kings Officially Rebuilding

With the trade of Ron Artest to the Houston Rockets for a #1 pick, Bobby Jackson, and a player to be named, reportedly Donte Greene, the Kings are officially a franchise in transition.  The Kings opening day starters, potnetially looks like this: PG – Beno Udrih, SG – Kevin Martin, SF – Donte Greene or Francisco Garcia, PF – Mikki Moore, C – Brad Miller.  Not the most imposing five in the NBA by any stretch.

But the Kings had to do something with Artest as he has spent the month of July bemoaning the fact that he decided not to opt out of his contract.  The Kings get some cap space for next year when Jackson’s contract expires and what amounts to two #1 picks in Greene, the 28th pick in June’s draft, and a #1 next summer.  I don’t think anyone truly believed the Kings were interested in dealing Artest to a division rival in the Lakers so this was probably the next best option for them.

This is a move the Rockets had to make in order to contend in the west.  They needed that third star player to contend with teams like the Spurs, Lakers, Jazz, and Hornets who all have better depth than the Rockets do.  Artest will gives them that third scorer, lockdown defense, and an extra edge out there.  Artest is definitely an offensive upgrade at the small forward position over Shane Battier and he is arguably as good of a defender.

In other news ESPN is reporting that the Bulls and Luol Deng are close to sealing the deal on a six year contract reportedly worth in the neighborhood of $70 million.  If this deal comes to fruition it likely means Ben Gordon is as good as gone and will be dealt via the sign-and-trade option.

Okafor Re-Ups and More

Charlotte Bobcats’ fans can breathe easy now that Emeka Okafor has agreed to a 6-year, $72 million deal that will keep him in Charlotte for the foreseeable future.  I have to admit that I was mildly surprised when I read that they had reached an agreement this morning as everything being printed in the media the past week or so implied that both sides were at an impasse and a deal was not imminent and that the ‘Cats were pondering whether or not they should explore a sign-and-trade deal for Okafor. 

After inexplicably passing on Brook Lopez in favor of point guard D. J. Augustin in the draft the Bobcats had to re-sign Okafor if they have any hopes of making the playoffs next season.  Okafor is the only real offensive threat on the low post for them and he is the team’s best rebounder and shot blocker to boot.  They had to realize that they were not going to be any kind of a threat if they were to rely on Sean May and Nazr Mohammed to hold down the middle for an entire 82 games.

With Okafor back on board next season could be the breakout year the Bobcats have been looking for.  They have enough talent to make a playoff run and there is no reason why they cannot compete with teams like Washington and Toronto for that 5th or 6th seed in the east.  They had the talent last year until Sean May and Adam Morrison went down due to injury.  Once they lost May and Morrison they lost their top two options off the bench and when Gerald Wallace missed an extended period of time due to injury they had nobody to fill his spot in the starting lineup.

NBA News and Notes

The Golden State Warriors probably overspent a bit to keep Andris Biedrins in Oakland signing him to a reported six year deal potentially worth up to $62 million.  The Warriors were in a tough spot here though.  Biedrins was rumored to be the next player in line to spurn the NBA in favor of a deal with a European team and the Warriors needed to do something to hang onto their leading rebounder and shot blocker.  Biedrins has developed into a servicable big man but one wonders if he is ever going to improve upon his numbers over the last two seasons which imply that he is only ever going to give a team 28-30 minutes, 10 points, and 10 rebounds a night.  If he can ever get to where he can play 35 minutes a game and produce 13 rebounds and 2 blocks per game then he will be worth the contract they gave him.

Sounds like New Jersey’s Nenad Kristic will be the next player to go back to Europe.  This comes as a bit of a surprise since his agent had always maintained Kristic wanted to stay in the NBA but the Nets have yet to make a serious pitch to sign Kristic and it had been rumored that the Nets were looking to deal Kristic after they picked up Brook Lopez in the draft.  Kristic has been a bit of an enigma over his career.  He has always tantalized with his ability to score and his numbers had steadily increased over his first couple of seasons in the league until he started having injury problems that limited him to just 18 minutes per game in the 45 games he managed to play.  If Kristic wants to play again in the NBA signing a deal with a European team that will allow him to come back after one season is probably the best thing he can do for himself.  Go overseas and have a strong season and come back to sign a better deal next summer.

Sounds like the Hawks are entertaining sign-and-trade options with Josh Smith.  The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Detroit is the Eastern Conference team being mentioned in trade talks but they walked away due to the Hawks asking for too much in return.  I have not seen anything suggesting who the team in the west might be that is interested in Smith.  I kind of wonder why the Heat have not come calling for Smith.  Why not offer a package of Shawn Marion and their first rounder for Smith?  Smith, Beasley, and Wade is an awfully good core of talent to build around.

The Nuggets dealt for Renaldo Blackman for whatever reason.

Monta Gets Paid

As was expected all along the Golden State Warriors locked rising star Monta Ellis up to a long term deal Thursday.  Ellis and the Warriors came to terms on a $67 million deal that keeps him in Golden State jersey for the next six seasons.  I remember reading early on in the process that Ellis was looking for a deal that gave him $10 million per season and I never really thought he would get it given how much he earned last year I was expecting something in the neighborhood of seven to eight million per season.

But, after Baron Davis jumped ship to Los Angeles it was essential for General Manager Chris Mullin to lock Ellis up to a long term deal to keep the natives from getting restless in Oakland.  I have always been convinced that Mullin played the Baron Davis situation the way he did because the Warriors see Ellis as the future of the franchise and were not convinced Davis was worth giving the type of extension and money he was looking for.  Giving his litany of physical issues over the years Davis could very well may have already peaked. 

Ultimately, though, Mullin decided that if he was going to hand out a long term contract worth over $10 million per season it was going to be to the 22-year old budding star and not to the 29-year old who, prior to this past season, had put together a string of 5 seasons where he missed at least 15 games due to injury.  Mullin made the safe play by sticking with the young gun whose overall game, shot selection, and performance has improved each of his first three years in the league.

Carl Landry Following Childress to Europe?

On the heels of Josh Childress’ announcement that he will play in Greece next season Carl Landry’s agent is telling folks that Europe might be an option for his client next season as well.  As was the case for Childress Landry is a restricted free agent as well.  Whether or not this is just a case of an agent doing what he does best by posturing in the local media to gain leverage remains to be seen. 

Based on the comments made by Houston General Manager Daryl Morey it sounds like the Rockets are calling his bluff.

“Carl and his agent are doing what they think is best for him and if that includes exploring Europe that is their right to do that,” said Daryl Morey, Houston Rockets General Manager.

“We continue to want Carl as a Rocket. We have a difference of opinion on the next steps to get him re-signed, but we have not changed our desire to see him return.”

That to me sounds like someone who does not want to give Carl Landry the kind of money his agent is looking for.  Surely they would love to have Landry back as he surprised a lot of folks with his play off the bench for the Rockets down the stretch.  He averaged 8 points and just under 5 rebounds in roughly 17 minutes per game off the bench for Housont and gave them an edge and some toughness when he was on the floor. 

But, now, two questions remain.  One is whether Landry truly has an interest in going overseas and two is how much are European teams willing to offer?  It is unlikely he will get an offer akin to what Childress recieved.  Childress is a much more established talent in the league and a more versatile player who defends well.  It remains to be seen what kind of benchmarks Landry sets for himself in the coming years.  Keep in mind that Ike Diogu and Craig Smith posted similar numbers to Landry’s during their rookie campaigns and they are still stuck on the bench posting similar numbers.  Childress was an occasional starter seeing 30 plus minutes off action while Landry has yet to show he can win a starting job in the league.

Stay tuned as we could see more restricted free agents making noise about playing in Europe next year.

Childress Jumps to Greece, Jennings Goes to Italy: The Beginning of a Trend?

Restricted free agent Josh Childress is heading overseas to play in Greece for Olympiakos after agreeing to a 3-year deal worth $20 million.  Childress is heading to Europe to play despite the fact that Atlanta allegedly had a $36 million deal on the table that started at a base salary above $5.6 million.  This is a very intriguing move to me to say the least and coupled with Brandon Jennings deciding to play in Europe as opposed to going to college for year raises some interesting issues for the NBA.

Now Josh Childress is not the first NBA free agent to decide he is going overseas to play ball next year: Primoz Brezec, Carlos Delfino, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Bostjan Nachbar have signed with European teams as well for next season.  Nor is Childress the first American player to go overseas to play basketball scores of college kids who do not get drafted go overseas to play every year.  What Childress is, is he is the first American born free agent that NBA teams are interested in who has decided to spurn the NBA and go overseas to play basketball.

While Childress was a free agent and free to negotiate with any team of his choosing he was still a restricted free agent which means the Atlanta Hawks ultimately held his fate in their hands.  They had the right to match any offer made to him by another NBA team which means that as long as the Hawks still want him around and can afford to match the contract offered him he was destined to remain in Atlanta and apparently that was not an appealing option to Josh Childress.  It is going to be interesting to see if other players in Childress’ class of restricted free agents who have yet to sign with anyone are going to follow suit and there is some quality talent out there like Luol Deng and Monta Ellis.

What Will Become of Allen Iverson?

With Marcus Camby’s unceremonious departure from Denver last week speculation is running rampant about who may be next.  Of course the lightning rod for rumors and innuendo in Denver this summer is Allen Iverson and what comes of his expring contract.  Iverson had expressed interest in the past about working out an extension and staying in Denver.

No doubt that when Denver pulled the trigger on the deal that brought AI to Denver they were convinced he was going to be the guy who put them over the top into instant title contention.  Unfortunately Kenyon Martin’s play continues to deteriorate along with his aging, ailing knees and Nene Hilario cannot seem to stay healthy.  So it has largely been the ‘Melo and AI show in Denver the past year-and-a-half.

The thing about Iverson is he is 33 years old and plays with such wreckless abandon that one is not sure when he is going to start showing signs of wear and tear and start slowing down.  Once that happens his career is pretty much over and done with since he has never really taken the time to work on shot selection and becoming a more discipline player on the court so his major advantage over opponents is his superior quickness and once he loses that quickness he does not have the jump shot to survive in the NBA.  But Iverson is coming off of one of his most productive seasons in years.  He posted his second best ever field goal and 3-point percentages and his lowest ever assist to turnover ratio.  Certainly he owes a lot of that to having an elite player like Carmelo Anthony to play off of.  As I am sure Anthony will be the first to let it be known that having a guy like Iverson, who attacks the rim and demands the attention of defenses, as a teammate has led to him getting cleaner looks and shots at the basket.

Mavs Want Artest; Camby Insulted by Trade

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the Mavericks have offered Jerry Stackhouse and Brandon Bass to the Sacramento Kings for Ron Artest.  It goes on to say that the Kings will not seriously entertain Cuban’s overtures unless Josh Howard is thrown into the mix.  I guess one cannot blame Cuban for trying but I don’t really get the interest here.  Granted Stackhouse’s better days are behind him and Bass had his best season as a pro scoring 8.3 points and grabbing 4.4 rebounds per game coming off the bench in Dallas last year but did he seriously believe the Kings would bite at this?  Or, does he believe the Kings are that desperate to unload the increasingly unhappy Artest?  Surely Artest has more trade value than this.  Heck, the Lakers are reportedly willing to part with Lamar Odom who is a lot more productive than either Stackhouse or Bass are at this stage with likely more productive years ahead of him than Stakchouse does.

What is a bit puzzling about the Mavs reported interest is why the interest is there anyway.  Don’t the Mavs already have Josh Howard who is essentially a slimmer version of Artest?  Is the intent to move one of them to shooting guard?  If so that would definitely be an interesting offense to witness in Dallas.  Then again with Rick Carlisle as the new coach they may be looking for more defensive minded players who can excel in a halfcourt tempo offense.

Switching gears a bit, Marcus Camby tells the Rocky Mountain News that he felt blindsided and insulted about his unceremonious departure from Denver.  Essentially Camby is miffed about how the deal all went down and felt like the team should have given him a heads up about what was going on.  He says he knows this is strictly a business move and the team really does not owe him an explanation but he felt that after six years he would have been treated a little better.  He goes on to say he feels as though maybe the organization is using him as a scapegoat for the team’s failure to advance deep into the playoffs.

I get where Camby is coming from but it is not as though he is the first guy to be treated this way in pro sports.  He just needs to get over it and move on.

The Nets reportedly offered the Nuggets a package of young players and expiring contracts in exchange for Camby but they were not interested in taking any salaries back for Camby.  It is an interesting rumor to say the least.  Why not take back a Josh Boone or Sean Williams and Marcus Williams in addition to say Stromile Swift for Camby?  At least you get some good young talent on the roster in the event Kenyon Martin and/or Nene go down to injury again.  But, obviously, the Nuggets were interested in just dumping salary and saving money instead of competing for a championship next season.  Instead they are looking at Francisco Elson, David Harrison, and Chris Anderson to fill the void left by Camby.

More NBA Rumors and News

The Knicks signed free agent guard Anthony Roberson to a two year deal stoking speculation that Stephon Marbury’s days in New York are numbered.  The signing puts the Knicks roster at 16 players, 7 of which are guards, which is one above the league limit meaning they need to trim the roster by one player.  There is some speculation that Jerome James may be the fall guy here.  The Knicks of course are denying there is any truth to the rumor that they are looking to move Marbury.

In other Knicks’ news Danilo Gallinari has a sore back and is being held out of Summer League competition as a precautionary measure.  After missing his first five shots Gallinari settled in to hit five of his last six shots and score 14 points in the second half of the Knicks first summer league game.

Donnie Walsh also denies rumors that the Knicks are interested in acquiring Ron Artest.  While I am sure Artest would love to come back home and play for his home town team the Knicks do not have a lot to offer other than proposing a potential swap for Marbury.  That notion is not as far fetched as it may seem though.  The Kings need to seriously consider moving the enigmatic Artest who has become increasingly grumpy about not opting out of his contract and they are in desperate need of an established point man in addition to a marquee name.

Beno Udrih is a solid player but I am not entirely sold on him being a quality NBA point guard.  Marbury’s career has probably peaked but his contract is up at the end of the year and they could probably force the Knicks to take Kenny Thomas back given they would need addtional salary to make such a deal work under the salary cap.  This, in turn, frees up an additonal 8.5 million in cap space for next summer which would put the Kings a good 25 to 30 million under the cap with some decent young talent to build around.

The Pacers actually offered the Heat Jamaal Tinsley in exchange for Udonis Haslem.  Fortunately for Heat fans Pat Riley is smarter than that.  There is no way the Heat are going to move their only established post player for a middle of the road point guard.  Not that Haslem is anything special himself but he provides the Heat with their only real low post option on offense.