NBA Off-season Trades/news

[El Coconuto]

I just can't wait to send a picture of his jersey to my brother with the caption "I told you we'd sign Deron eventually", prompting a panic search from him whilst I lmao @ him.

 

[Ridders]

:lol: Thats cold

 

[Ridders]

Bruce Bowen retires after 12 seasons


Posted Sep 3 2009 4:57PM
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Bruce Bowen won't be pestering the NBA's best anymore.


The 38-year-old former San Antonio Spurs forward retired Thursday after 12 seasons and a reputation as one of the league's most menacing defenders, hounding opponents with a tenacity that some players groused was more dirty than dogged.
He called it quits after being waived this summer by Milwaukee, where the Spurs dealt him in a veteran dump-off for swingman Richard Jefferson -- a decision Bowen said he understood.
"You need to do things to better the business, and the Spurs definitely got better in the players they received, so I'm looking forward to continuously supporting the Spurs, but from more of a distance now," he said in a news conference at his wife's San Antonio salon.
Bowen said he had been weighing retirement for the last five years.
Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili get most of the glory for bringing three NBA championships to San Antonio this decade. But Bowen gladly did the dirty work, relishing his role as the pesky, lockdown defender who covered the other team's best player.
Asked about the likely reaction to his retirement from stars like the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant and the Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash, Bowen chuckled, "I'm sure a lot of people are happy."
Bowen was named eight times to the NBA's all-defensive team. He finished runner-up three times in defensive player of the year voting. And though he never averaged more than 8.2 points a season, Bowen didn't shy from taking a clutch 3-pointer.
He started alongside the Big Three during the championship runs in 2003, 2005 and 2007. Bowen went on to start 500 straight games before kicking New Orleans' Chris Paul in March 2008 and drawing a one-game suspension -- justice in the eyes of Bowen's critics.
Opposing fans vilified Bowen as a master of cheap shots and sneaky shoves. Amare Stoudemire once insisted Bowen purposely kicked him in the playoffs. Dirk Nowitzki said after a physical April playoff game that it was the Spurs who had a dirty player, not Dallas.
Nowitzki didn't mention Bowen by name. He didn't have to.
Bowen acknowledged Thursday only one play in which he purposely kicked another player: Ray Allen in a March 2006 game against the Seattle SuperSonics, a scuffle that earned him a $10,000 fine.
"That play, I remember and I regret because of me intentionally doing that," Bowen said.
But he said that his reputation as a sometimes dirty player is unfair.
"People are entitled to their own opinions. I've been fighting that for quite some time," said Bowen, who added he drew a lot of calls because of bad timing. "It just so happened that I was there after everyone stuck their hands in the cookie jar and then the lights came on and I had a cookie."
Bowen was not the most obvious starter for a championship team early in his career. Drafted by Miami from Cal State Fullerton, he spent several seasons bouncing between clubs and earning little playing time.
But after his 2001 arrival in San Antonio, he found his place, eventually earning defensive player accolades and a regular starting job.
He said he hopes that will be his legacy.
"It's not how you start but how you finish," Bowen said. "I hope my legacy would be as someone that never was satisfied with just being where they were."

Fair to say i won't be sad to see this thug gone. The NBA will be a safer place come the 2009-10 season.

 

[Ridders]

 

[Ridders]

*Edit*

 

[Ridders]

Source: Sessions, Wolves agree


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By Chris Sheridan
ESPN.com
Archive

The waiting and wondering is finally over for restricted free agent Ramon Sessions, who agreed Friday to sign a four-year, $16 million offer sheet with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
A source told ESPN.com that the paperwork on the deal was being processed Friday morning. After Sessions signs, the Milwaukee Bucks will have seven days to match the offer, which they are not expected to do.

Sessions

Sessions' name had been linked with the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers throughout the summer. But New York was unwilling to guarantee more than one year -- which would tie up the Knicks' coveted cap space for the summer of 2010 free-agent market. And Los Angeles made a trade last month with Minnesota to acquire Sebastian Telfair as the backup to Baron Davis.
In Minneapolis, Sessions would compete for minutes with rookie Jonny Flynn of Syracuse, the sixth pick of the draft who was elevated to No. 1 on the Wolves' point guard depth chart after efforts to acquire Ricky Rubio's rights from the Spanish club DKV Joventut failed earlier this week.
That put the Timberwolves in the position of scrambling to find another playmaker, and the 23-year-old Sessions was the best option on the free-agent market after he and his agent, James "Chubby" Wells, decided weeks ago to hold off on committing to the Knicks in the hope a new opportunity would arise.
"We are excited about the opportunity to have Ramon Sessions on our team," Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn said in a statement. "Ramon has the ability to play both guard positions, and thus will be able to complement the members of our current backcourt.
"At only 23, Ramon also has the potential to improve and fits our plan of building a young, up-tempo team with championship contending potential," Kahn said.
Unclear, though, is how the addition of Sessions for at least the next three seasons would impact Rubio's status with Minnesota.
The Wolves have been adamant that they will wait two years for Rubio if necessary. But Rubio's decision to stay in his native country when perennial Spanish club power Barcelona offered to pay his entire $5 million buyout with DJK Joventut, coupled with Sessions' looming arrival, only figures to encourage teams interested in Rubio -- such as the Knicks -- to try to pry him away from Minnesota via trade.
Matching the offer to Sessions, whose deal includes a player option for the fourth season, would put the Bucks over the luxury tax threshold, making it extremely unlikely the two-year veteran will return to Milwaukee.
Sessions averaged 12.4 points and 5.7 assists last season for the Bucks.
Chris Sheridan is a senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Interesting move. I haven't seen much of him, but i've heard plenty of people rave about his abilities. Nice pick-up considering Rubio is staying in Spain. Do they play in the back-court together or will Flynn be backing Sessions up?

 

[Noa]

Still up in the air if Bucks will match. Will put them over the LT if they do and dont make any moves to offload salary.

Good player, 6"3" can get to the rim @ will on anyone. Good drive and kick and good rebounder, can overdribble the ball and defence is a work in progress.

At least this ended the 300pg thread on real.gm.

 

[Ridders]

I doubt they will match, unless they can offload salaries. It doesn't make sense for a team to be over the luxury tax threshold if your not even making the playoffs. Unless your Isiah Thomas of course :crazy:

 

[Noa]

If we keep him we have 5 months to shed salary, I think. Also Redd and Gadzuric will be expiring next year (thank f**k) and Ridnour expires this year (thank f**k).

 

[Special K]

The bucks should really let him walk. They got into this position by over paying..

 

[Ridders]

Sessions would be a pretty significant lose though, i mean from what i've heard the kid has plenty of talent, plus he's pretty young as well. Imo if the kid is as good as advertised, 16 million over 4 years (T-Wolves offer sheet) is an absolute bargain. Would the bucks be brave enough to match? Even if they aren't able to offload any expiring deals, they'll only have to pay the luxury tax for one season with expiring contracts.

 

[Noa]

The bucks should really let him walk. They got into this position by over paying..

I agree in principle but if you can swing a deal to trade Ridnour to keep Sessions you do it.

 

[Tiger Hawk]

Is it really overpaying though? $4m a year for a young pass-first point guard seems like decent value. Realise it would put them over but 5 months to shed payroll would be worth the gamble.

 

[El Coconuto]

Herb Kohl is one of the biggest tight-asses in ownership history! No way he'll let Hammond go into luxury tax area. Shame for all Bucks fans, really.

 

[Special K]

I don't really like Sessions. I think he is alright player and he is worth the 4 mill but is he worth 8 million?... I don't think so. I hate the whole bucks team they really need to blow it up and start again as it screams "dead end roster"

Ridnour is he expiring? Even if he is he isn't on that big of a deal. Unless they move some talent to get under the Lux then I don't see keeping Sessions as a great idea

 

[Noa]

Ridnour is expiring. and I agree Sessions is not worth 8, got my doubts at 4.

As for the Bucks we have 4 to 5 players you can build a good team around if you have a superstar. Unfortunately we dont have one, though Brandon Jennings is showing great signs.

Ilyasova, Bogut, Mbah-a-moute, Jennings, Meeks I like. The rest, Yuk.

 

[Tiger Hawk]

Looks like AI is signing with the Grizz. This is going to be interesting!

 

[Ridders]

Has an NBA team ever dropped 100 points in a game without registering a single assist? If not i think the Memphis bunch might give it a good crack. Terrible terrible move by Memphis, how exactly does this help the development of OJ Mayo? Mayo's already got to deal with fighting for the ball from Gay and Randolph, now he has to share a backcourt with A.I. :crazy:.

Personally i thought A.I to the Heat made alot more sense, primarily because that team needed another reliable scorer, especially given the drug problems Beasley is going through.

 

[Ridders]

Also what are the odds that towards the end of the season Marc Gasol breaks down during a live NBA game, pulls out an uzi, and massacres everyone in the arena because he's hasn't gotten A SINGLE touch in the paint for the entire season.

 

[Special K]

Adding AI and Zach is a really geniused idea for a team that had a tremendous young core.

Is Mike Conley even alive? I bet Portland is doing hand stands they didn't trade any of their young core to keep Oden and Conley together