NBA Off-season Trades/news

[Panthers_God]

Touchy? Not really. I didn't call the poster stupid, but when I see a stupid argument, I'm going to call it that.

An athletic, defensive-minded seven footer who will still be in his 20s when his current deal expires earning the mid-level? Come on....the only way that happens is if he's injured the next two years. Even then, odds are some bozo will still overpay him.

Agreed that I'd rather pay Boozer that sort of money than Okafor.....but Okafor still earns less than Chandler the next two years, plus does all the things he does AND more.

We'll see how it goes when the season starts.

Honestly Okafor is the better player but he's not that much better. They are both poor free throw shooting big men with little to offer on offense. I dont know how much more Okafor will score with CP3 but it would be hard to match the efficiency at which Tyson Chandler scored at. Although I do think Okafor may be able to put up 12+ rebounds a game. They're both the same age and both had problems with serious injuries.

I think Charlotte will probably dump Chandler when his contract expires and sign a free agent or sign and trade. But N.O. will be stuck with Okafor for 5 years for good or for worse.

Its a hard one. We will see how it plays out during the season.

I don't think this necessarily makes the Hornets contenders

 

[Ridders]

Magic’s Lewis fails drug test, suspended 10 games


NEW YORK(AP) —Orlando Magic forward Rashard Lewis(notes) tested positive for an elevated testosterone level and was suspended Thursday for 10 games.
Lewis said in a statement that he took an over-the-counter supplement late last season that included a substance he did not realize was banned by the NBA.

“First and foremost I take full responsibility for the situation and accept the corresponding penalty,” Lewis said. “I apologize to Magic fans, my teammates and this organization for not doing the research that should come with good judgment.”
He will be suspended without pay for the first 10 regular-season games for which he is eligible and physically able to play. He will be docked about $1.6 million of his $18 million salary for the 2009-10 season.
The first game he could play would be Nov. 16 at home against Charlotte. He will miss Orlando’s first game against Cleveland, the team the Magic upset in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Orlando Sentinel first reported the positive test Thursday. Citing unidentified league sources, the newspaper reported the supplement contained DHEA, a steroids precursor.
Lewis is the sixth player to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs since the league began testing in 1999.
“I hope every athlete can learn from my mistake that supplements, no matter how innocent they seem, should only be taken after consulting an expert in the field,” Lewis said in his statement.
Lewis’ agent, Tony Dutt, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The 29-year-old Lewis was an All-Star last season and is one of the NBA’s best 3-point shooters at 6-foot-10, allowing him to play on the perimeter and the Magic to create the matchup problems that helped them beat Boston and Cleveland in the postseason.
He was hurt late in the regular season, missing the final three games with right knee tendinitis, then returned to average 19.0 points in the playoffs to help lead the Magic to the NBA finals

Potential juicing in the NBA is really something that has always intruiged me. Baseball as a sport has been severly tainted by PED's, when imo NBA and NFL players would have alot more to gain from juicing. I'm not saying that's what Shard did, atm i'll take his word that it was an honest mistake (so far its only elevated levels of testosterone that he is guilty off), but seriously i would be amazed, if PED's weren't used in the NBA alot more than what we hear about.

 

[El Coconuto]

Shard's drugs aren't designed to enhance performance, they're designed to speed up recovery, which one might argue, enhances the next games performance. Ugh!

 

[McLovin]

Big Ben back in Detroit...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...LYF?slug=ap-pistons-wallace&prov=ap&type=lgns

I love it...He obviously wont be the 15 rebound per game beast he was when he left but the Pistons just aren't the Pistons without Big Ben imo...

Give him the starting centre gig!!

 

[Ridders]

Would be fitting to hear some "60 million" chants in his first home game back, just like when he went to The Palace for the first time as a Bull. As harsh as it sounds, i'm kinda glad he was exposed post-Detroit.

 

[SilverSteeler]

Big Ben back in Detroit...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...LYF?slug=ap-pistons-wallace&prov=ap&type=lgns

I love it...He obviously wont be the 15 rebound per game beast he was when he left but the Pistons just aren't the Pistons without Big Ben imo...

Give him the starting centre gig!!

I would definitely start Big Ben, a frontcourt of Charlie V & Kwame is not good

Wallace will fit in nicely into the starting lineup with his defense helping out Villanueva.

 

[Goldthorpe]

The Pistons will be ranked with one of the lowest salaries in the NBA for the up-coming season, still the Pistons look very good. The value for money is excellent.

PG: STUCKEY, Rodney/BYNUM, Will
SG: GORDON, Ben/HAMILTON, Richard
SF: PRINCE, Tayshaun/DAYE, Austin/SUMMERS, DaJuan/JEREBKO, Jonas
PF: VILLANUEVA, Charlie/WILCOX, Chris/MAXIELL, Jason
CC: WALLACE, Ben/BROWN, Kwame

Hopefully Big Ben can produce something like 5.0p, 8.5r, 2.0a, 1.5s and 1.5b per game. He will certainely make them more tougher defensively, although he needs to be injury free as he is 35 this season.

The Pistons have enough points in them with Gordon, Rip, Prince and Villanueva. Hopefully Wilcox can get up to his career average high of 14.1p and 8.2r per game.

 

[Tiger Hawk]

I hate the Pistons team. Wilcox can score, but who will pass him the ball? He doesn't play defence and is an average rebounder. Ditto Villaneuva. Gordon is a gunner and Stuckey is really a shooting guard. Where does Hamilton fit in? Prince is the only distributor of the bunch but how often will he touch the ball? Wallace was a corpse last year, at 35 he won't suddenly turn it around.

 

[Goldthorpe]

Rodney Stuckey [4.9a], Rip Hamilton [4.4a], Ben Gordon [3.4], Tayshaun Prince [3.1]and Will Bynum [2.8] are all above average distributors. Even Charlie Villanuea averaged 1.8 assists last season. They aren't going to have a Chris Paul, Deron Williams or Steve Nash but they will have 5 or 6 players that can create something for each other.

Last season their defence wasn't too bad but they bring in Ben Gordon, Charlie V and Chris Wilcox and their defence does seem weaker but as I said in my previous post hopefully Ben Wallace can help out and make the team better defensively.

Each to their own I guess.

 

[Special K]

No way Gordon starts over Rip and no way Wallace gets any where near 5ppg and 8rbs.. Wallace will be more 1.04 ppg and 2rbs I highly doubt he gets many minutes.

I think the pistons look terrible personally.

 

[Ridders]

Come now, maybe Big Ben will play inspired ball after returning to the city he did a Boozer on (60 million!!!).

Speaking off Mr. Knife-in-the-back himself, i'm still amazed Detroit didn't seriously chase Boozer. What exactly was their reasoning for this? I'm a bit of a Ben Gordon fan boy so i can't really speak objectively about the guy, but with the team already having Stuckey & Hamilton, what was the point in splashing 50 million + on him. What i really would have liked to see them do is use the money they spent on Gordon to tie up Boozer, not sign Villanuea, and hold that cap space until the summer of 2010, when the free agent class will be much bigger.

 

[El Coconuto]

Rip Hamilton is one of the WORST person to play with if you're an up and coming star, let alone one that plays in the same position as him. Every book I've ever read by different NBA stars all say that RIP is an a-hole. I already feel bad for Gordon.

 

[Tiger Hawk]

Come now, maybe Big Ben will play inspired ball after returning to the city he did a Boozer on (60 million!!!).

Speaking off Mr. Knife-in-the-back himself, i'm still amazed Detroit didn't seriously chase Boozer. What exactly was their reasoning for this? I'm a bit of a Ben Gordon fan boy so i can't really speak objectively about the guy, but with the team already having Stuckey & Hamilton, what was the point in splashing 50 million + on him. What i really would have liked to see them do is use the money they spent on Gordon to tie up Boozer, not sign Villanuea, and hold that cap space until the summer of 2010, when the free agent class will be much bigger.

Boozer opted in to his last year though didn't he, never become a free agent.

 

[Ridders]

Only did so because no one was going to pay him more than what he would have made in the last year of his current contract (something around 12 million i think). You have to remember he was saying all year that he was going to opt out because it made the most sense financially. Don't think he anticipated the fact that no team seriously coveted him. Hardly surprising given he just came off a season cut down by injury.

 

[Ridders]

Magic sign point guard Williams

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ESPN.com news services

The Orlando Magic added depth to their backcourt on Wednesday, signing point guard Jason Williams, who did not play last season.

Williams


The New York Knicks had claimed Williams off waivers and owned exclusive negotiating rights to him. After working out Williams and entering into talks, however, the two sides could not reach agreement.
The Magic then stepped in.
"Jason provides depth and leadership to our backcourt," Magic general manager Otis Smith said in a statement. "He is a veteran point guard that knows what it takes to help us reach our ultimate goal. We are excited to add him to our team."
In 10 seasons with Sacramento, Memphis and Miami, Williams has averaged 11.4 points and 6.3 assists. He was a member of the 2005-06 Heat championship team.
Williams retired after the 2007-08 season and applied for reinstatement in February. He must wait a year from the date he left the game to return which makes him eligible to play on Sept. 26 this season.

Return of White Chocolate. Don't ask me why, but for some reason this news really excited me.

 

[El Coconuto]

As a Magic fan, it excited me too.

 

[Mr Saab]

Jason Williams is 2 steps too slow...and is a turnover machine

 

[Special K]

I like white chocolate but he struggled during his last season at the heat.

 

[SilverSteeler]

Another good singing from the Magic, they have plenty of depth this season which I felt they lacked last season and they should make it through to the East Finals again.

It is one of those good veteran PG signings that championship teams do and for cheap.

 

[joel caine number 1 fan]

Jason Williams is 2 steps too slow...and is a turnover machine

he had a career low 1.4 t/o in hes last season and 4.6 apg
he wont be anything but a 3rd string pg ,very good pick up imo