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.

Camby to the Clippers

The Denver Nuggets, desperate to gain salary cap and luxury tax relief, executed what amounts to a salary dump by agreeing to send Marcus Camby to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for the opportunity to swap 2nd round picks in 2010.  From a financial standpoint the move makes a lot of sense for the Nuggets. 

By shedding Camby’s contract which had two years remaining on it they will now potentially be a good $15 million or so under the cap once Allen Iverson’s contract expires at the end of next season.  They will have the flexibility to be able to part ways with Iverson if they choose to do so and go after an impact player on the free agent market.  Obviously the Nuggets would have preferred to unload Kenyon Martin or Nene but it appears as though they cannot give them away at this stage. 

Martin’s career peaked during the ‘03-’04 season, he has had microfracture surgery on both knees, and he is still owed over $46 million over the next three years.  Nobody wants to take the gamble on him staying healthy enough to be a $15 million a year caliber player.  Nene is a tantallizing talent but he too still has a rather hefty contract and has only managed to stay healthy enough to appear in 81 games over the past 3 seasons. 

NBA Free Agent Frenzy

Wednesday marked the first day teams could officially sign free agents and execute agreed upon trades as the moratorium on roster moves was lifted as of 12:01 this morning and there some major transactions going down on Wednesday.  The most notable of which was Elton Brand officially become a Philadelphia 76er.  Corey Maggette accepted an offer from the Warriors reported to be worth $50 million over 5 years which is what Maggette was probably wanting all along.

The other major transaction that went down Wednesday was the official execution of the agreed upon trade between the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors.  Indiana receives T. J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston and the rights to Roy Hibbert in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal and the rights to Nathan Jawai.  This deal does not make a ton of sense.  In T. J. Ford the Pacers finally get someone who should be able to unseat Jamaal Tinsley whom they have been looking to displace for a couple of years now.  But, to do so, they give up the only real post scoring presence and best rebounder they had which kills any chances they may have had at making any kind of a playoff run.

From the Raptors stand point Ford was expendable as the franchise has become enamored with the idea of Jose Calderon being the starting point guard.  Jermaine O’Neal, however, has seen better days and by trading for him the Raptors now have little to no cap flexibility for the next couple of summers.  O’Neal is still owed over $40 million on the remaining two years of his contract and the Raptors are going to have to decide what to do with Andrea Bargnani by the time O’Neal’s contract expires.  O’Neal can still give a team quality minutes when he is healthy, the problem is he is rarely healthy enough these days to give a team more than 30 minutes a night for 50 or so games.  I have a feeling the Bryan Colangelo may live to regret taking on O’Neals contract for the next two years.

NBA Update: Brand Bailing on the Clippers and Heading East

Both ESPN and Yahoo! Sports are reporting that Brand intends on signing with the Sixers on Wednesday after the deals involving Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth are completed.  Apparently the chance to compete for a spot in the Finals appeals to Brand and the Clippers were not stepping up to the plate the way the Sixers are prepared to do in terms of the dollars involved.  According to Yahoo! Brand became disenchanted with the Clippers after they were unwilling to sweeten their deal after the Warriors came through with a significantly more lucrative offer.  He felt disrespected by the way the Clippers were trying to play hardball with him.

Brand’s decision to bolt for Philly potentially makes things even more interesting for the Clippers.  First, and foremost, will Baron Davis renege on his verbal agreement to sign with Los Angeles.  Was his signing on the dotted line contingent on the Clippers re-signing Elton Brand?  The main thing going in LA’s favor right now is the fact Baron is a hometown boy who would not mind finishing his career in Los Angeles.

This move seems to be setting off a domino effect with several key free agents.  ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that as a result of losing Davis and losing out on Brand they are expected to announce they have come to terms with Corey Maggette and the Clippers will now turn their attention to luring Josh Smith away from the Hawks.

NBA Free Agency Update: Maggette Drawing Interest Around the League

The Celtics have reportedly contacted Corey Maggette about a deal.
The Spurs are reportedly ready to offer Maggette their full mid-level exception.
The Jazz and Magic are also reportedly interested.
As are the Hornets.

Of the teams mentioned thus far the Hornets seem to be the most intriguing of the choices and possibly the best overall fit for Maggette.  He is saying all of the right things right now but with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen currently under contract for the next two years one wonders how happy he would be in Boston having to defer the lion’s share of minutes to those two.  A guy like James Posey was perfect for Boston at that spot because he only commands 20-25 minutes per game and Maggette is not going to be happy unless he is getting at least 30 minutes a game if not more.

The Hornets are young up-and-coming team in the west and the one thing they are lacking right now is a dynamic scorer to pair with Chris Paul and David West.  Maggette is just the type of player the Hornets are looking for to stick at the two spot alongside Paul.  Maggette could potentially be that one guy to put the Hornets over the hump and into the Finals next year.

The same can be said about the Magic as well.  Orlando is desperatley looking for someone like Maggette who can come in and score from the 2 guard spot and create his own shot.  Turkoglu and Lewis essentially score the bulk of their points by playing off of Dwight Howard and converting open jumpers.  Maggette gives them another option that teams will have to guard against attacking the rim and potentially opening up more scoring opportunities for Howard.  He could be the guy to help Orlando get over the hump as well.

Everyone is always going to be open to listening to what the Spurs have to say simply because they have been contenders to reach the Finals the last 9 or 10 years.  But, I am not convinced Maggette’s game fits so much with what the Spurs do.  The Spurs don’t like to run as much and Maggette likes to get up and down the floor.

NBA Free Agency Update: 07/01/08

Baron Davis chooses to ditch Golden State in favor of the Los Angeles Clippers. Not really surprised to see Davis move on, he opted out for a reason.  Despite what everyone was saying it appears that Davis was truly ticked about Nelson benching him.  The Warriors were reportedly interested in negotiating an extension but the two sides were rumored to be very far apart.  Surely the Warriors were trying to bide their time until they knew what it was going to ultimately take to re-sign Monta Ellis.  I like this acquisition for the Clippers and it likely means Elton Brand stays put and all but signals the end of Corey Maggette’s days with the Clippers.  With the additon of Davis the Clippers now have a solid starting five in place and if Brand stays healthy there is no reason they cannot compete for a playoff spot next season.

As was widely expected to happen Jose Calderon has agreed to stay in Toronto. Calderon had a breakout year with the Raptors this past season averaging just over 11 points and 8 assists per game and emerging as a reliable 3-point shooter.  Calderon’s play made mercurial point guard T. J. Ford expendable.  The Raptors had to do everything in their power to lock Calderon up immediately as he was the only remaining point man on the roster.  Toronto will now likely look to pluck a servicable backup off the free agent pile to back Calderon up.  Expect them to make a run at someone like a Chris Duhon or Carlos Arroyo or they may try to lure a veteran like Damon Stoudamire or Sam Cassell into the fold.

Beno Udrih is no longer an option for the Raptors as he decides to stay with Sacramento after the Clippers made a push to sign him. The Kings could do worse than Udrih but they really had few options available and with Ron Artest opting to play out his contract in Sacramento next season they have no real cap flexibility to go out and pick someone up and the current alternatives they have under contract still need some seasoning and are not yet ready to run an offense.

Sizing up the NBA Free Agency Market

Free agency started today with the Sixers, Grizzlies, and Warriors having the most money to spend. Here is a list of available free agents:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/s…2008FreeAgents

There is not a whole lot to be excited about with this year’s group.  Elton Brand, Baron Davis, Gilbert Arenas, and Corey Maggette are about the only real difference makers available on the un-restricted list.

Davis and Maggette are as good as gone.  Davis opted out because he is probably still upset over being benched for the entire second half in a late season game against the Suns.  Besides, the Warriors really see restricted free agent Monta Ellis as the future anyway and they would rather match any offer he gets in lieu of placating Davis and giving him the money that he wants.  Davis is supposedly lobbying for a sign-and-trade that would send him to the Knicks though I don’t know what the Knicks could offer aside from potential picks and Marbury’s contract which expires after the upcoming season.

Maggette has supposedly butted heads with Dunleavy since day one and I doubt he whas any interest in staying with the Clippers.  It is being rumored that Orlando is his top choice as of right now but the Magic would have to agree to do a sign-and-trade in order to fit him under the cap and I don’t really see who they would be willing to part with at this point to get him.

Brand supposedly is intent on staying in LA but the Sixers are supposedly going to make a competitive offer to see if they cannot lure him ot Philly.  Although if you are content to stay with the Clippers then why opt out?  Why not make an attempt to negotiate a contract extension if that is where you truly want to be.  If both parties are truly committed to each other then this should not be an issue, right?

Arenas supposedly wants a max deal and it was being reported on SportsCenter last night that the Wizards are willing to give him $100 mil over 6 years.  Arenas is a bit of a dicey proposition though.  When healthy he is as good of a scorer as there is in the league, unfortunately he was only healthy enough to appear in 13 games last year.  Do you take the risk of signing him to a big deal hoping his knee gets back to where he can give you 38 to 40 minutes a night or do you try to sign him to shorter contract? 

One name of interest to keep an eye on from the unrestricted list is Gerald Green.  He is only 22 and looked poised to have a breakout year after averaging 10 points in 22 minutes a game coming off the bench for the Celtics in the ‘06/’07 season.  He got buried on the bench in Minnesota and never got the chance to show what he could do out there. He could easily be a 15-20 ppg scorer on the right team next year and he could end up being a steal of a signing for someone since he is going to command relatively low salary.