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 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: Brand Following Maggette out the Door?

ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting that the Philadelphia 76ers are doing some maneuvering to free up even more salary cap space in an attempt to up the ante on Elton Brand’s services.  Philly GM Ed Stefanski is trying to find someone to take Calvin Booth and Rodney Carney off his hands without having to take anything back in return.  One can only assume he is looking to dump them for cash or a draft pick that would not count against the salary cap for the upcoming season.  If he manages to do this the Sixers would be looking at roughly and additional $2.8 million in extra cap space they could use to front load an offer to Brand that the Clippers may not be able to fit under the salary cap.

Brand has always maintained from day one that his intentions has always been to remain in LA and his agent claims the reason they opted out of the last year of his contract that was to pay him over $16 million was so that he could agree to long term deal in the neighborhood of $12 to $13 million a season to give the Clippers some extra cap space to go out and sign somone like Baron Davis.  In fact, according to Stein, the Clippers locked Davis down so quickly as he was the one free agent Elton identified that he wanted to have as a teammate next season.

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.