2011/2012 NBA Thread : A Season Reborn

[Anubis]

He can't?

 

[L.A.]

Nope, part of the cba new rules...not until July 1

 

[Anubis]

Well, veterans are always good for young teams.

Even crabby, pissed off vets.

Looks like the Bulls decided on Rip Hamilton.......I don't know about that.

 

[Poeman]

Well, veterans are always good for young teams.

Even crabby, pissed off vets.

Looks like the Bulls decided on Rip Hamilton.......I don't know about that.

A move the Bulls need 2 years ago...Rip wont have the same impact

 

[L.A.]

The Clippers' trade talks for Chris Paul died again late on Monday, according to a source.

When given permission to speak with Paul, the point guard expressed excitement to the Clippers about playing with Eric Gordon and the potential of having a high first round pick from the Wolves, say sources.

The Clippers are concerned that surrendering both of those assets would compromise their ability to retain Paul in the long-term.

The Hornets and Clippers have held discussions that are built around Chris Kaman, Eric Bledsoe, Al-Farouq Aminu, along with Gordon and the 2012 pick from Minnesota.

Sources say the Clippers are resisting giving up Gordon and that management has promised they won't include him in any deal for Paul. If he is retained, the team is hoping to sign him to a long-term extension.

Further complicating the situation is that many people around the league are skeptical of the NBA's true intentions on whether they actually want to trade Paul. The concern is that the NBA may be trying to protect themselves against legal liability by publicly attempting to trade Paul after they vetoed a deal last week involving the Lakers.

Via Adrian Wojnarowski, Marc J. Spears/Yahoo! Sports

 

[CConn]

That last sentence is bs. The NBA's already protected about 8 different ways legally.

Honestly, now the League's being abot dumb. They should just let the Clippers have Paul and Gordon. They'd still make out great with the draft pick.

 

[L.A.]

After a day thinking about it do we even need Paul? Our pg combination is Billups, Williams, and Bledsoe!!! That's a dangerous trio right there! I'd rather have those 3 at the point instead trading five of guys for Chris Paul...man with the roster right now we can make it to the 2nd round. It reminds in 2005 when the clips signed two vets in Cassel and Mobley

 

[steintym]

Looks like the Bulls decided on Rip Hamilton.......I don't know about that.

Not sure about that either. Glad they're getting someone, not sure Rip is the right fit. They need someone that can create their own offense. Rip is another spot up shooter, come off screens, etc.

More offense at SG was needed, just not sure he's the best option.

 

[Genesis 1.0]

Gotta love how Stern has painted himself into a corner involving CP3 because of the precedent he & ghost commissioner Dan Gilbert set by vetoing the original deal.

Now no one can get Paul without giving up their first born in the process.

 

[Raiden]

I'll be very peeved if Stern actually approves the trade to Clippers with the latest trade proposal, because Lakers actually offered a better deal (which involved Houston), but Stern and all those other owners like Gilbert and Cuban vetoed it. If they approves this Clippers trade then I would believe that they had intentionally voted against the Lakers trade just because it was the Lakers, and not because of the trade proposal.

 

[Genesis 1.0]

I'll be very peeved if Stern actually approves the trade to Clippers with the latest trade proposal, because Lakers actually offered a better deal (which involved Houston), but Stern and all those other owners like Gilbert and Cuban vetoed it. If they approves this Clippers trade then I would believe that they had intentionally voted against the Lakers trade just because it was the Lakers, and not because of the trade proposal.

Basically. They went over it in detail yesterday on ESPN & it's the exact reason they're quoting legal ramifications in killing it.

Phil Jackson was right all along; the NBA should have never purchased the Hornets for this very reason.

 

[L.A.]

How was that trade deal better? Ask any Hornets not lakers and they would gladly take Gordon, Aminu, Kaman, Bledsoe, and minnys 1st round pick over Odom, Scola, Martin, and Dragic...the first proposal may have better players at the moment but 2nd proposal gives u two or three future stars plus cap relief...

 

[L.A.]

Despite expressed interest from the NBA in reviving talks for a possible trade of Chris Paul, the Los Angeles Clippers are still waiting for the league to lower its demands for the New Orleans Hornets point guard, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.
All Chris Paul can do is sit and wait as the league office appears to be running the show in trade talks.
(Getty Images)

Clippers officials and NBA executives representing the Hornets have continued to have conversations, but the tone and substance of the talks has dramatically changed with L.A.’s addition of point guard Chauncey Billups, sources said. The Clippers are selling the NBA on the idea that the market for Paul has shrunk and the league’s demands have to be lowered, too.

For the talks to gather significant momentum again, the Clippers want the NBA to return with a far more modest proposal of what they want for Paul.

“They’re scrambling now,” one official said of the NBA. “But it’s still hard to tell if they really want to trade him, or they’re just determined to keep the asking price in a place where they can hold onto him for the next owner. …These guys in New York had no idea how hard this process would be.”

The Clippers are waiting for the NBA to return with far reduced demands, or they’ll simply start the season with an improved, playoff-ready roster. Clippers officials believe the NBA has to drop its asking price for Paul significantly with the acquisition of Billups, because there’s no urgency for Los Angeles to uproot its core for Paul for possibly only a season or two – not when the Clippers could have the salary-cap space to sign Paul in free agency after the season.

The Clippers could be willing to give the Hornets a future first-round pick, sources said, but they’re enthralled with the idea of the unprotected 2012 first-round pick they acquired from the Minnesota Timberwolves possibly turning into an Anthony Davis of Kentucky or a Harrison Barnes of North Carolina. The Clippers remain resistant to the thought of surrendering both that pick and shooting guard Eric Gordon in a package

 

[Raiden]

Right now, what peeved me most about that no-trade of CP3 is that it led to the Lamar Odom trade to the Mavs, just because Odom's feelings got hurt and he asked to be traded, and for some reason they not only granted his wish, but sent him to the defending NBA Champ Dallas Mavericks. I have a feeling that Jim Buss is behind this deal, because I'd like to think that there's no way Mitch Kupchuk could be this stupid to trade Odom for a future draft pick. Unless it led to the Howard-to-Lakers deal, this could go down as one of the worst trade in Lakers' history.

 

[CConn]

Personally, I enjoy seeing the Lakers suffer.

****ing *****es.

 

[Raiden]

Personally, I enjoy seeing the Lakers suffer.

****ing *****es.

Just curious, what team do you root for?

 

[Anubis]

I'm guessing not the Lakers.

 

[CConn]

Just curious, what team do you root for?

Sixers.

And Mavericks. Kinda. My liking for them was born from the awesomeness of Nash, Nowitzki and Finley.

Ever since the broke up the band, I've cared a little bit less.

 

[L.A.]

The Nuggets and Nene have reached agreement on a five-year contract that will pay the big man up to $67 million.

The Nets were also pursuing Nene but may be focusing their attention on trying to swing a trade for Dwight Howard who has requested that the Magic deal him to New Jersey.

Via Marc Stein/ESPN (via Twitter)

 

[L.A.]

Mo Williams and Trevor Ariza have emerged as new names in the Chris Paul to the Cilppers trade talks.

Both Williams and Ariza have onerous contracts for their respective teams.

Via Marc Stein/ESPN

 

[Genesis 1.0]

Ugh. That's a terrible deal.

 

[L.A.]

The New Jersey Nets have entered into serious talks with the Orlando Magic on a multiteam trade scenario that would bring Dwight Howard to the Nets, according to sources close to the process.

Sources told ESPN.com that the most active proposal discussed by the teams would send Portland Trail Blazers swingman Gerald Wallace to the Magic along with Nets center Brook Lopez as two of the main pieces Orlando would receive in exchange for Howard.

As part of such a trade, which could be expanded to include a fourth team, sources say Orlando would also shed the long-term contracts of Hedo Turkoglu and Chris Duhon -- both absorbed by New Jersey -- while also potentially receiving future draft considerations.

Other players would have to be added to the deal to make the salary-cap math work, but sources said Portland would receive multiple first-round picks as part of the exchange for surrendering Wallace and facilitating the trade.

Yet it remains to be seen if the Brooklyn-bound Nets can convince the Magic to indeed go through with trading Howard before the season starts. Earlier this week, one source familiar with the Magic's thinking insisted to ESPN.com that they were not yet prepared to trade Howard away, clinging to the hope that he can be talked into staying.

Howard himself is known for changing his views on the matter on a near-daily basis, torn by his desire to move to a more glamorous market like Brooklyn or Los Angeles and the prospect of staying with the team that drafted him and delivering the championship to Orlando that Shaquille O'Neal could not.

One source said that the Nets were moving "aggressively" in their pursuit of Howard after Nene -- New Jersey's top free-agent target -- agreed to terms Tuesday night on a five-year, $67 million deal to return to the Denver Nuggets.

The Nets also know they likely have to fend off the Lakers, who have long been linked with a possible trade for Howard with an offer built around young center Andrew Bynum. But there also is a sense around the league that the Lakers' re-emergence in the Chris Paul sweepstakes, as reported Tuesday night by ESPN.com, could be a signal that L.A. believes that the Nets are in the lead for Howard.

It's believed that a deal for Howard ultimately will force the Nets to not only release forward Travis Outlaw through the amnesty clause in the league's new collective bargaining agreement but also to renounce the rights to free-agent power forward Kris Humphries.

The question remains: How fast is Orlando willing to move when it comes to surrendering Howard, who can become a free agent in July 2012 along with Paul and Nets star guard Deron Williams.

New Magic CEO Alex Martins met with Howard when he arrived at Amway Center on Monday morning. Afterward Howard sounded like he'd softened on the possibility of staying in Orlando as long as there are some changes.

"I love this city, there is no place I'd rather be but Orlando," Howard said. "I just want to make sure we have the right things here so we can win a championship. I'm all about change. If you're willing to change and you're willing to do what it takes to win then, you know, you got me."

Martins, promoted to CEO just last week after the surprising resignation of Bob Vander Weide, has publicly insisted that the franchise believes it can keep Howard and convince him to extend his contract. But the Nets have been targeting Howard for months, convinced that re-signing Williams can be assured next summer if they can complete an in-season deal for Howard.

"I'm an optimist," Martins said Monday. "I am confident that we can work with Dwight and convince him to stay here long term."

Days earlier, Orlando announced that it would allow Howard to speak with the Lakers, Nets and Dallas Mavericks about a trade. On Tuesday, ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard reported that the Lakers, Nets, Mavericks and Magic are the only four teams that Howard is willing to commit to long term.

Howard publicly announced Saturday that he'd indeed asked to be traded. Then on Sunday night he followed up with an explanation that his relationship with Magic general manager Otis Smith had eroded, in part, because Smith had not acquired players Howard had suggested over the last several years.

Marc Stein and Chad Ford cover the NBA for ESPN.com. Information from ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst was used in this report.

 

[Ghostvirus]

Hamilton to Chicago? So what, Detroit & Chicago are just going keep trading off players?

 

[steintym]

Did it become official yet? Last I heard, Rip was considering three teams, although the Bulls were the favorites.

 

[Raiden]

I heard Khloe's brother Rob will move in with her and Lamar in Dallas, and that's a great news; I hope the rest of the Kardardian clan will move to Dallas as well.