NBA Off-Season / Summer 2010

[mortz]

matt barnes has gone to the lakers!

 

[McLovin]

Barnes is highly under-rated imo. Excellent signing...

 

[Ridders]

Well that's interesting! Bench's looking alot better.

Free-agent forward Matt Barnes(notes) has reached agreement on a two-year, $3.6 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Lakers expect to receive a signed contract on Thursday night. The deal will pay him $1.7 million next season and give him a player option for $1.9 million in 2011-12.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had guaranteed $7 million over two years with a team option for a third season, but Barnes wanted more guaranteed money to sign with a non-championship contender. Cleveland refused to improve its offer and ultimately was willing to let Barnes go to a lower bidder.

The Lakers also signed veteran center Theo Ratliff(notes) on Thursday.
Barnes announced earlier in the week he was signing with the Toronto Raptors, but a sign-and-trade deal that would have paid him $9 million over two years fell apart.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ys-lakersbarnes072210

Gee the guy is sacrificing alot of money for the chances of a title. He can opt out at the end of the upcoming season.

LA also signed Ratliff

 

[Tiger Hawk]

What a chump.

Even if the Lakers win again, he's not going to get anywhere near $7m under the next CBA IMO. Should have taken the guaranteed money.

Ratliff's a useful pick-up. Won't do much but blocks shots but is nice to have at the end of the bench.

 

[Big Mick]

Wow.

Lakers moving forward.

Miami vs Lakers in the Finals is going to be sick.

Lebron vs Artest
Wade vs Kobe
Bosh vs Gasol

Lakers have advantage here but...
Anthony vs Odem/Bynum
Chalmers vs Fisher/Blake

Heat have advantage here:
Miller vs Barnes

Wow.

 

[ByRd]

Great signings by LA. We have really upgraded our bench this off season to go along with the starters, im a very happy man

 

[Special K]

Ratliff is a corpse but I'd like to see him get a ring. Actually I just saw he put up 5ppg, 4 rbs in 22 min last year at the Cats... Always liked Theo

 

[Ridders]

What does this mean for Shan-wow? Emotional time for Lakers fans. Already bid farewell to the DJ Mbenga era and the Adam Morrison experience could also be coming to an end.

Will remember him most for him saying "GOOD JOB BABY" to Kobe after winning the title.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qemUcz0EeAA

1 min 16 in the clip.

 

[Big Mick]

So what will the Lakers bench look like?

C - Ratliff
PF - Odem/Caracter
SF - Barnes/Walton/Ebanks
SG - Blake/Vujacic
PG - Fisher/Blake

f**k me. Not bad for a bench

 

[Big Mick]

How good would the NBA Finals be if Miami played the Lakers

Starting 5:

Miami
C - Joel Anthony
PF - Chris Bosh
SF - Lebron James
SG - Dwayne Wade
PG - Carlos Arrayo

Lakers:
C - Andrew Bynum
PF - Pau Gasol
SF - Ron Artest
SG - Kobe Bryant
PG - Derek Fisher

Rotation:

Miami

C - Zydrunas Ilgauskas / Jamaal Magloire
PF - Juwan Howard
SF - Udonis Haslem
SG - Mike Miller
PG - Mario Chalmers

Lakers:
C - Ratliff
PF - Odem/Caracter
SF - Barnes/Walton/Ebanks
SG - Blake/Vujacic
PG - Fisher/Blake

 

[Big Mick]

So what teams do you think look really good coming out of this so far.

Aside from Lakers, Miami...who else?

I love what the Bulls have done, and if Boozer stays fit, they'll be a contender

C - Noah, PF - Boozer, SF - Deng, SG - Korver, PG - Rose
BENCH - C - Asik, PF - Johnson, SF - Gibson, SG - Brewer, PG - C.J. Watson

Great rotation and solid starting line up. If they can bring in a relatively talented SF to put Deng on the bench and allow for Gibson to continually develop, because he'll be good in time.

UTAH Jazz:
Despite losing Boozer and Korver and others they still look very good:

C - Jefferson, PF - Millsap, SF - Kirilenko, SG - Bell, PG - Williams
Bench: C - Okur, PF - Evans, SF - Hayward, SG - Jeffers/Miles, PG - Price/Gaines

Not bad at all.

Bucks:

Really like what the Bucks did. Larry Sanders looks like a STUD.

C - Bogut, PF - Gooden, SF - Maggette/Salmons, SG - Redd/Salmons, PG - Jennings
BENCH - C - Sanders, PF - Brockman, SF - Delfino, SG - Douglas-Roberts/Salmons, PG - Keyon Dooling.

Really good rotation...still lacking a Center.

SUNS:

Despite losing Stoudamire, I reckon they've gotten better overall!

C - Lopez, PF - Turkoglu, SF - Hill, SG - Richardson, PG - Nash
BENCH: C - Frye, PF - Warrick/Lawal, SF - Dudley/Griffen, SG - Childress, PG - Dragic

I think overall they have gotten better.

 

[Ridders]

Well Haslem can't play SF, but I get what your going at. Would be a fascinating series for sure.

I'd imagine Ratliff would be pretty inactive until Bynum goes down. Guess he'd also get some garbage time minutes as well.

 

[Tiger Hawk]

You can lock the Heat and Lakers into the Finals right now. Seriously. Out of the other teams making some moves this off-season:

• Bulls have added Boozer but they lack shooters. They'll improve from last year but I don't see them being a serious threat (as of right now that is);
• Bucks will also improve but they lack the overall class of the top sides. Bogut is solid but not elite, Salmons came back to the field last year and Maggette / Gooden are average to solid, depending on the night. Also, Redd won't be back until February so their depth will be tested when Maggette gets his usual 10 game injury;
• Utah I question how they're going to be defensively. Jefferson, Okur, Millsap are all so-so with only AK-47 being a solid defensive player. They're also going to be questioned stretching the floor and with their depth;
• Blazers I predict will be one of the big challengers to the Lakers. If Oden stays healthy, Roy fully recovers and they get consistent production from their second and third tier players, they could really threaten this year.
• Ditto the Spurs. I still think they need help on the wings (I don't like the Jefferson re-signing) but Splitter by all accounts is a top pick-up and I'll never count out a Tim Duncan team.
• Celtics might threaten the Heat out East, depending on what they can turn Sheed into. They desparately need some help on the wings, ideally a stretch 4 who can hang with / defend the small forward position. If they can get a solid contributor there, I think they can challenge again next year.

So overall I think with the above-average additions the Heat have signed (Haslem, Miller etc) it puts them over the edge out East. The fact the Lakers have gone back to back and been able to sign a couple of decent reserves should mean they're too strong again out West.

The big silent player in all this is the Magic. They've signed Q-Rich and re-signed Redick but it seems to me reasonably obvious that as currently constructed they're not good enough. Bass was an under utilised player last year who should still have some value on the market, and Gortat is possibly the best centre in the NBA currently not starting. If Howard is going to play 40 minutes a night, and they're going to stick with Lewis as their starting 4, then they should look to use one or both to bring in some help.

 

[Nth-Qld-Raider]

For the Magic to be a chance this coming season they have to make a move now or before the trade deadline, and bring in a Quality PF, or it will be the same crap as last season, finish top 4 in the East and once they hit Boston, Miami and the Lakers, it will be curtains.

 

[Ridders]

In regards to Barnes, think it's possible that he will opt out after the first year of his contract and the Lakers, who will by then have his bird rights, re-sign him to a better deal.

 

[Big Mick]

Rumours circling that the Magic are putting together a package for Chris Paul

Jamaal Williams, Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter and 2 x 1st round picks for Chris Paul and David West

I think thats a balanced deal.

Paul is elite, West is pretty decent...the Hornets get Carter for one year on an expiring deal, and get Lewis and Williams to pair with West and Collison. Plus 2 1st rounders.

Orlando would be pretty sick if it happened

C - Howard , PF - Okafur, SF - West , SG - Reddick, PG - Paul Bench - Orton, Duhan, Richardson, Gortat, Bass, Pietrus.

In other news:
Report: Bulls, Thomas agree to one-year deal


Posted Jul 23 2010 6:20AM


CHICAGO (AP) -- A person familiar with the negotiations says veteran forward Kurt Thomas has agreed to a one-year contract with the Chicago Bulls.



The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal has not been finalized. Several outlets reported late Thursday that Thomas was headed to Chicago.
The 37-year-old Thomas gives the Bulls a strong defender and rebounder in the frontcourt to go with Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer.


Thomas has averaged 8.8 points and 7.0 rebounds for seven teams in his 15-year career, including a seven-season run with the New York Knicks.


He averaged only 3.0 points and 4.2 rebounds with Milwaukee last season, but was effective in the playoffs, contributing 7.9 rebounds as the Bucks pushed Atlanta to seven games.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/99086874.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUqPk4DyCc75DiUiacyKUUr

 

[Panthers_God]

Saw that Hornets are only gong to trade Paul to a team willing to take on Okafor's contract as well.

 

[Big Mick]

May have been Okafor and not West. My mistake.

 

[Tiger Hawk]

Rumours circling that the Magic are putting together a package for Chris Paul

Jamaal Williams, Rashard Lewis, Vince Carter and 2 x 1st round picks for Chris Paul and David West

I think thats a balanced deal.

Paul is elite, West is pretty decent...the Hornets get Carter for one year on an expiring deal, and get Lewis and Williams to pair with West and Collison. Plus 2 1st rounders.

Orlando would be pretty sick if it happened

C - Howard , PF - Okafur, SF - West , SG - Reddick, PG - Paul Bench - Orton, Duhan, Richardson, Gortat, Bass, Pietrus.

Eh?

In any event, no way I'm shedding myself of Okafur's contract just to take back Lewis'.

And if I'm the Hornets, I'm just going to remind Chris Paul that we're doing the best we can to get better - they've signed free agents in recent years (Posey, Stojakovic) plus made trades (Okafur) - but he's always free to sacrifice some of his pay so we have some more cap flexibility. I'd also remind him that had he not missed about 40 games last year we might have performed a bit better.

And there's no way I'd send him somewhere he wants to go. He signed a contract to play, he accepted the money so man the f**k up and go out and prove you're worth all those millions.

 

[Ridders]

If I were the Hornets, and decided on trading Paul, I'd look towards the Knicks. They're so desperate for another superstar that you could probably pillage their roster and give away Okafor's contract.