04/19/24
July 12, 2005
Least in the East: SportsFilter columnist Lilnemo runs down the free agent situation for all of the teams in the NBA's Eastern Conference, finding no team more run down than the New York Knicks. "There really isn't much that can be done with this roster, unless a GM of equal or greater incompetence really wants one of these albatross deals."
posted by rcade to basketball at 09:02 AM - 20 comments
"There really isn't much that can be done with this roster, unless a GM of equal or greater incompetence really wants one of these albatross deals." I know just the fellow. He might want another power forward.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:31 AM on July 12, 2005
tieguy, I'm sure the Bulls want him back. But I think that there is such a large market for point guards that he might receive a better offer elsewhere. Duhon may spurn a better deal to remain with the Bulls out of loyalty, but that doesn't happen too often.
posted by lilnemo at 11:56 AM on July 12, 2005
like most of his comments, lilnemo's analysis is grounded in outer space. O'Brien isn't the coach of the Sixers anymore, cuz. Mo Cheeks is. Happened like a month ago. You made me laugh though, predicating your entire analysis on what moves they would make to fit O'Brien's scheme.
posted by Mike McD at 12:08 PM on July 12, 2005
Happened like a month ago. Which is about when I started writing this piece. It is pretty funny though. Should have caught that. Auerbach still coaches the Celtics right? :p
posted by lilnemo at 12:15 PM on July 12, 2005
Factoring in that Jim O'Brien is not the coach of the 76ers: I still think Delambert and Korver return, and I'm still not sure that Willie Green stays, like I said before his game is too similar to AI's. If anything this means Rodney Rogers probably won't be back. And I still think the best medicine for this team would be cutting ties with Webber. He didn't show any signs of "gelling" with Iverson. I don't know if even Mo Cheeks could solve that.
posted by lilnemo at 12:19 PM on July 12, 2005
lil: ah, I thought you were implying the bulls would drop him, not that the bulls would be outbid. My bad.
posted by tieguy at 12:55 PM on July 12, 2005
Commenting on Indiana...There is no way Larry Bird is going to cut Stephen Jackson, particularly with Reggie gone. The Pacers need outside scoring more than ever, and if nothing else, Jackson provides that. What the Pacers really need is for some fool like Isiah to pick up Croshere's hefty contract. That guy has been pitiful since signing it and can't even guard a chair.
posted by curlyelk at 12:57 PM on July 12, 2005
Whoa, why would anyone cut Stephen Jackson? He's a complete lunatic, but maybe it's a lunatic you're looking for. He turned out the lights against the Celtics (big deal, I know) in the playoffs last year. Don't try to save me.
posted by yerfatma at 01:53 PM on July 12, 2005
There is no way Larry Bird is going to cut Stephen Jackson, particularly with Reggie gone. Did I say Larry was going to cut Stephen Jackson? No. I stated that it is more likely that Stephen Jackson would be cut than Ron Artest, not because I think Larry would, but more to make the point that Artest makes a larger contribution to the team (when he is in his right mind). Danny Granger might make Stephen Jackson expendable as a more cap/salary-friendly long-range shooting option. I wouldn't be surprised if Indiana shopped Jackson around if Granger becomes as good a shooter as he is advertised. I agree, Croshere's contract is bad. But after going this long without any takers, I don't think the Pacers are going to find anyone willing to take on the final 2 years of his contract.
posted by lilnemo at 01:54 PM on July 12, 2005
A somewhat shorter explanation: Danny Granger @ $6-8 Million over 3-4 years or Stephen Jackson @ $31 Million over 5 years? Don't try to save me. You may need some saving if you keep using Billy Joel lyrics.
posted by lilnemo at 01:57 PM on July 12, 2005
I agree, Croshere's contract is bad. But after going this long without any takers, I don't think the Pacers are going to find anyone willing to take on the final 2 years of his contract. Heard on the local AM radio show that the Mavs are considering talking to Indiana about a possible Croshere for Finley trade. Can't say I'm all to enthralled about it, but there you go.
posted by Ufez Jones at 02:17 PM on July 12, 2005
FWIW, The Trib says that Duhon is expected to sign a 3-yr contract in the $6M range.
posted by tieguy at 08:46 PM on July 12, 2005
Did I say Larry was going to cut Stephen Jackson? No. I stated that it is more likely that Stephen Jackson would be cut than Ron Artest, not because I think Larry would, but more to make the point that Artest makes a larger contribution to the team (when he is in his right mind). Point taken. As for Finley/Croshere trade...SHEESH! That would be awesome from an IN perspective, but I can't see it happening. Cuban isn't that ate up.
posted by curlyelk at 11:36 AM on July 13, 2005
As for Finley/Croshere trade...SHEESH! That would be awesome from an IN perspective, but I can't see it happening. I dunno, I remember thinking the same thing before the Jamison/Stackhouse and Walker/Henderson deals last summer. This would in fact, be awesome for Indy. Getting Finley to step into Reggie's soon to be vacant SG slot and getting out from under the last 2 years of Croshere's contract would be nice, but Finley's contract is longer and there is a $30 Million difference. Who are the Pacers supposed to be packaging with Croshere in this deal to meet the trade salary % requirements?
posted by lilnemo at 12:54 PM on July 13, 2005
Cuban isn't that ate up. I wouldn't say that. Cuban is pretty wily. He does something that many GMs do not, he keeps his team competitive, and in contention for the playoffs every year. Sometimes this means taking on a bloating, expiring contract or two in order to clear space for the next chess piece, or to better afford one of your younger players. Trading Finley makes it more likely that the Mavs will be able to keep Devin Harris and Josh Howard. Most teams tend to have a season or two of roster overhaul which result in sub-par years (see the Sonics post-Karl/Kemp/Payton, or the current Lakers). Its hard to say which works best. I guess it depends on your fans. Which would you rather have? A team that consistently competes on the highest level for several years. Or a team that is geared towards pushing for the championship for that year and will immediately be dismantled (think the '97 Marlins).
posted by lilnemo at 01:07 PM on July 13, 2005
The Trib says that Duhon is expected to sign a 3-yr contract in the $6M range. I like how the Trib reporter goes out of his way to say that Duhon didn't generate much interest amongst other teams. Maybe not at the full MLE but I'm sure other teams would have been willing to pay about the same range for Duhon's skills. Obviously Duhon really wanted to return to the Bulls. Good for everyone involved.
posted by lilnemo at 01:13 PM on July 13, 2005
.... Just wanted to complete the "comment cycle" with a dribbler down the third baseline.
posted by lilnemo at 01:14 PM on July 13, 2005
Cuban isn't that ate up. Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that since Bradley retired, our overpaid awkward white-guy ratio has slipped far below the Maverick norm. Thank god for Keith Van Horn! I dunno, I remember thinking the same thing before the Jamison/Stackhouse and Walker/Henderson deals last summer. Walker needed to be let go. It was a nice try here, but it just didn't work. I still think that without him, Jamison would've had a pretty damn good year as a starter and the Mavs would've been better off in the long run. Stack's not exactly been a bust, and we'll see how he does as a (probable) starter this year, but I'd still rather have 'Tawn around.
posted by Ufez Jones at 04:51 PM on July 13, 2005
rcade tells me that the entire Southeast Division somehow got clipped from the column. So here it is:
| MIAMI | |||||||
| No. | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | DOB | Exp | College |
| 49 | Shandon Anderson | GF | 6-6 | 210 | 12/31/73 | 8 | Georgia |
| 45 | Rasual Butler | SF | 6-7 | 205 | 5/23/79 | 2 | La Salle |
| 51 | Michael Doleac | C | 6-11 | 262 | 6/15/77 | 6 | Utah |
| 5 | Keyon Dooling | PG | 6-3 | 195 | 5/8/80 | 4 | Missouri |
| 40 | Udonis Haslem | PF | 6-8 | 232 | 6/9/80 | 1 | Florida |
| 19 | Damon Jones | PG | 6-3 | 190 | 8/25/76 | 6 | Houston |
| 6 | Eddie Jones | GF | 6-6 | 200 | 10/20/71 | 10 | Temple |
| 44 | Christian Laettner | FC | 6-11 | 240 | 8/17/69 | 12 | Duke |
| 33 | Alonzo Mourning | C | 6-10 | 261 | 2/8/70 | 12 | Georgetown |
| 32 | Shaquille O'Neal | C | 7-1 | 325 | 3/6/72 | 12 | LSU |
| Wayne Simien | F | 6-9 | 255 | 3/9/83 | R | Kansas | |
| 8 | Steve Smith | SG | 6-8 | 220 | 3/31/69 | 13 | Michigan State |
| 15 | Zhizhi Wang | C | 7-1 | 284 | 7/8/77 | 5 | China |
| 3 | Dwyane Wade | G | 6-4 | 212 | 1/17/82 | 1 | Marquette |
| 24 | Qyntel Woods | GF | 6-8 | 221 | 2/16/81 | 3 | Northeast Mississippi CC |
| 1 | Dorell Wright | GF | 6-7 | 200 | 12/2/85 | R | None |
If Dwayne Wade doesn't get injured, the Heat probably go to the Finals and roll over the Spurs. But he did, and they didn't, so that little exercise is moot. Which leaves Mickey Arison, Pfund, and Riley with some decisions to make. All signings will be determined by whether or not Shaq gets an extension, and for how much. It would be nice to cut Eddie Jones and plug in a more economical small forward and Qyntel Woods could very well fit the bill, but if Shaq gets the extension that he seeks, you could see a Heat team with a significantly weaker bench this upcoming season. I would be very surprised to see a third of this roster returning next year. It seems that just about any eligible free agent the Heat had is looking for a lucrative offer elsewhere.
| WASHINGTON | |||||||
| No. | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | DOB | Exp | College |
| 0 | Gilbert Arenas | PG | 6-3 | 191 | 1/6/82 | 3 | Arizona |
| 2 | Steve Blake | PG | 6-3 | 172 | 2/26/80 | 1 | Maryland |
| Andray Blatche | F | 6-11 | 235 | 8/22/86 | R | None | |
| 10 | Damone Brown | F | 6-8 | 202 | 6/28/79 | 4 | Syracuse |
| 5 | Kwame Brown | FC | 6-11 | 248 | 3/10/82 | 3 | None |
| 3 | Juan Dixon | G | 6-3 | 164 | 10/9/78 | 2 | Maryland |
| 33 | Brendan Haywood | C | 7-0 | 268 | 11/27/79 | 3 | North Carolina |
| 20 | Larry Hughes | SG | 6-5 | 184 | 1/23/79 | 6 | Saint Louis |
| 4 | Antawn Jamison | F | 6-9 | 225 | 6/12/76 | 6 | North Carolina |
| 1 | Jared Jeffries | SF | 6-11 | 230 | 11/25/81 | 2 | Indiana |
| 8 | Anthony Peeler | SG | 6-4 | 208 | 11/25/69 | 12 | Missouri |
| 7 | Laron Profit | GF | 6-4 | 204 | 8/5/77 | 5 | Maryland |
| 51 | Michael Ruffin | PF | 6-8 | 246 | 1/21/77 | 5 | Tulsa |
| 36 | Etan Thomas | FC | 6-9 | 260 | 4/1/78 | 3 | Syracuse |
It would be a shame for the Wizards to finish out of the playoff race this season after the way they played last year, but with Hughes most likely cashing in out of town and Kwame Brown being let go with little or nothing in return it could be a very long year for the Wiz. Haywood, Jamison, Jeffries, and Thomas make for a solid frontcourt but if Hughes bolts, Arenas will be saddled with the majority of the perimeter scoring. Adding Bonzi Wells would provide some size and aggressiveness in the back court.
| ORLANDO | |||||||
| No. | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | DOB | Exp | College |
| 2 | Stacey Augmon | GF | 6-8 | 213 | 8/1/68 | 13 | UNLV |
| 11 | Andre Barrett | PG | 5-10 | 172 | 2/21/82 | R | Seton Hall |
| 4 | Tony Battie | FC | 6-11 | 240 | 2/11/76 | 7 | Texas Tech |
| 13 | Kelvin Cato | C | 6-11 | 275 | 8/26/74 | 7 | Iowa State |
| 55 | Andrew DeClercq | FC | 6-10 | 255 | 2/1/73 | 10 | Florida |
| Travis Diener | G | 6-1 | 175 | 3/1/82 | R | Marquette | |
| 3 | Steve Francis | PG | 6-3 | 200 | 2/21/77 | 5 | Maryland |
| 8 | Pat Garrity | F | 6-9 | 238 | 8/23/76 | 6 | Notre Dame |
| Marcin Gortat | FC | 6-11 | 240 | 2/17/84 | R | None | |
| 33 | Grant Hill | SF | 6-8 | 225 | 10/5/72 | 10 | Duke |
| 12 | Dwight Howard | PF | 6-11 | 240 | 12/8/85 | R | None |
| 34 | Brandon Hunter | PF | 6-7 | 255 | 11/24/80 | 1 | Ohio |
| 7 | Mark Jones | G | 6-6 | 215 | 5/25/75 | R | UCF |
| 41 | Mario Kasun | C | 7-1 | 260 | 4/5/80 | 2 | None |
| 14 | Jameer Nelson | PG | 6-0 | 190 | 2/9/82 | R | St. Joseph's |
| 9 | DeShawn Stevenson | SG | 6-5 | 210 | 4/3/81 | 4 | None |
| 15 | Hidayet Turkoglu | SF | 6-8 | 220 | 3/19/79 | 5 | |
| Fran Vazquez | FC | 6-10 | 238 | 5/1/83 | R | None | |
Dave Twardzik is faced with the same dilemma Carroll Dawson faced last year. If you have a post player who could develop into a top five talent, do you trust Steve Francis to get him the ball? And we all know what Dawson ended up doing. Will Twardzik come to the same conclusion? Remember trading for Francis was the departed Jon Weisbrod's doing. It is possible that Brian Hill gets Francis to sublimate his freewheeling ways for the betterment of the team. He might shift Steve to the 2 to take advantage of his quickness and start Nelson at the point. Or we very well may see Steve Francis traded for the 2nd time in 2 seasons. In any case, if Twardzik is convinced that Turkoglu, Hill, Garrity, and Francis(?)can score/defend effectively from the perimeter I don't foresee any drastic moves.
| CHARLOTTE | |||||||
| No. | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | DOB | Exp | College |
| 12 | Cory Alexander | PG | 6-1 | 190 | 6/22/73 | 9 | Virginia |
| 35 | Malik Allen | PF | 6-10 | 250 | 6/27/78 | 3 | Villanova |
| 10 | Keith Bogans | SG | 6-5 | 215 | 5/12/80 | 1 | Kentucky |
| 7 | Primoz Brezec | C | 7-1 | 255 | 10/2/79 | 3 | None |
| 13 | Matt Carroll | SG | 6-6 | 220 | 8/28/80 | 1 | Notre Dame |
| 2 | Melvin Ely | FC | 6-10 | 255 | 5/2/78 | 2 | Fresno State |
| Raymond Felton | G | 6-1 | 198 | 6/26/84 | R | North Carolina | |
| 1 | Jason Hart | PG | 6-3 | 185 | 4/29/78 | 4 | Syracuse |
| 24 | Jason Kapono | SF | 6-8 | 220 | 2/4/81 | 1 | UCLA |
| 22 | Brevin Knight | PG | 5-10 | 170 | 11/8/75 | 7 | Stanford |
| Sean May | PF | 6-9 | 266 | 4/4/84 | R | North Carolina | |
| 50 | Emeka Okafor | FC | 6-10 | 252 | 9/28/82 | R | Connecticut |
| 21 | Bernard Robinson | GF | 6-6 | 210 | 12/26/80 | R | Michigan |
| 4 | Kareem Rush | SG | 6-6 | 215 | 10/30/80 | 3 | Missouri |
| 32 | Tamar Slay | G | 6-8 | 220 | 4/2/80 | 3 | Marshall |
| 0 | Theron Smith | F | 6-8 | 225 | 10/3/80 | 2 | Ball St. |
| 3 | Gerald Wallace | GF | 6-7 | 220 | 7/23/82 | 3 | Alabama |
It's going to be another year or two before we're able to determine whether Bernie Bickerstaff's template is working. Drafting in the lottery should give you some pieces, but the real key is going to be free agency. The first few years of expansion franchises are filled with signings like Blue Edwards, Harold Minor, and Oliver Miller so it's going to be slim pickin's in Charlotte for a while. Now that that is out of the way, what the Bobcats need is perimeter scoring. Last season Charlotte took a flyer on unproven wingmen like Kareem Rush, Jason Kapono, Keith Bogans, Corey Alexander, Bernard Robinson and Gerald Wallace. Of that group Kapono and Wallace will most likely return, with Rush a resounding third. An athletic, physical guard who can make the 18 footer like Maurice Evans would be a dream, but DerMarr Johnson would shore up the guard corps nicely as well.
| ATLANTA | |||||||
| No. | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | DOB | Exp | College |
| Cenk Akyol | G | 6-4 | 194 | 4/16/87 | R | ||
| 1 | Josh Childress | GF | 6-8 | 210 | 6/20/83 | R | Stanford |
| 40 | Jason Collier | C | 7-0 | 260 | 9/8/77 | 4 | Georgia Tech |
| 00 | Tony Delk | PG | 6-2 | 189 | 1/28/74 | 8 | Kentucky |
| 13 | Boris Diaw | GF | 6-8 | 215 | 4/16/82 | 1 | None |
| 14 | Predrag Drobnjak | C | 6-11 | 270 | 10/27/75 | 3 | None |
| 7 | Tom Gugliotta | PF | 6-10 | 250 | 12/19/69 | 12 | North Carolina State |
| 3 | Al Harrington | SF | 6-9 | 250 | 2/17/80 | 7 | None |
| 36 | Royal Ivey | PG | 6-3 | 200 | 12/20/81 | R | Texas |
| 10 | Tyronn Lue | PG | 6-0 | 178 | 5/3/77 | 6 | Nebraska |
| 15 | Donta Smith | GF | 6-7 | 215 | 11/27/83 | R | Southeastern Illinois JC |
| 5 | Josh Smith | GF | 6-9 | 225 | 12/5/85 | R | None |
| 44 | Michael Stewart | FC | 6-10 | 230 | 4/24/75 | 7 | California |
| Salim Stoudamire | G | 6-1 | 179 | 10/11/82 | R | Arizona | |
| Marvin Williams | F | 6-9 | 230 | 6/19/86 | R | North Carolina | |
| 42 | Kevin Willis | C | 7-0 | 245 | 9/6/62 | 20 | Michigan State |
The Hawks have made some strides over the past few drafts but they still need someone to pass the ball. They could find themselves overpaying for a point guard. A steady hand like Chris Duhon or Howard Eisley would be a good fit. But if the Hawks overspend for anything, it should be size because they really need defensive anchor, Samuel Delambert would be perfect, but Jerome James, Francisco Elson, Ervin Johnson, Dale Davis, or even a returning Kevin Willis seem more feasible. Don't be surprised if the Hawks work something out with the Wiz for homegrown product Kwame Brown.
posted by lilnemo at 06:59 PM on July 14, 2005
Duhon already does play for basically the minimum (since he was a second round pick), but the Bulls have been making positive noises about resigning him to a bigger/longer contract (though still small.)