Thanks for all the Rec's and comments in the Eastern conference edition. It's really appreciated. In this part, we take a look at what's going around the Western conference...
Denver Nuggets - Denver Stiffs
Ty Lawson gets a new tattoo.
In their Official Free Agent Thread, fans debate the distance between Carmelo Anthony's house and the Pepsi Center; another threatens to never post in the thread again... and then posts in it again.
Al Jefferson wants out of Minnesota... and the Nuggets are interested.
A pervert spies on other teams' blogs, and other perverts commend him for it.
Can anyone say metapost?
Minnesota Timberwolves - Canis Hoopus
The T-wolves agreed to a 4-year, $20 million deal with Darko Milicic...
...in the wake of this, Canis Hoopus did some digging in Basketball-Reference:
Per basketball-reference.com, here’s a list of Centers in their mid-20s with similar PERs to Darko, who played at least 500 minutes last year, who are NOT on rookie contracts (Darko himself had a PER of 12.9 with the Wolves, but is not on this list because b-r.com considers him primarily a forward, not a Center.):
Krstic is on a 3yr, $15.8 mil contract.
Zaza is on a 4yr, $19 mil contract.
Biedrins is on a 6yr, $62 mil contract (!!!)
Ty is on a 6yr, $64 mil contract
Hollins is on a 3yr, $7 mil contract.
(Emphasis is mine.) For his production and cost, Biedrins provides relatively low value. Although, learning from the Pacers' Dahntay Jones experiment, perhaps the Nuggets and George Karl can bring out the best in him, just as they learned how to use Jones effectively.
Following the Darko story, member FaithfullyFanatical had this to say:
With Darko back in the fold, it's possible the Wolves could trade Kevin Love or Al Jefferson, two names that have been rumored in trade talks.
Getting Darko signed may in its own way help the Nuggets (if they manage to get either of those players as a result).
Portland Trail Blazers - Blazersedge
According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, Danny Ferry will turn down the Blazers GM offer. His logic...
The meddling ownership elements that resulted in the demise of Kevin Pritchard and Tom Penn are still in place, and that’s a concern for Ferry, who may not be eager to step back into such a situation after an exhausting experience in Cleveland.
Former vice president of basketball operations Tom Penn says the Blazers are a "dark horse team" in free agency. Well, in many more words that... to make it easier for you guys, I've dissected his long, winding, babble to get the gist: the team may be doing some sign-and-trades to get one of the "glamour free agents" in FA.
As has already been discussed 'round here, the Blazers nearly stole Chris Paul from the Hornets.
John Hollinger says ex-GM Kevin Pritchard is a genius for signing all of his potential-FA's during the season and avoiding the spending frenzy that has ensued so far this July.
Also from Ken Berger: ex-Nugget Steve Blake is also attracting a fair amount of interest, mainly due to his high value.
Oklahoma City Thunder - Welcome to Loud City
SBN's Thunder blog, Welcome to Loud City, proves that if Gordon Freeman were to shave his beard, this is what he'd look like:
The Thunder may be pursuing Chris Duhon, the Knicks free agent point guard.
Welcome to Loud City get to know recent draftee Ryan Reid.
Utah Jazz - SLC Dunk
According to DIME magazine, and no I'm really not making this one up and fabricating the link (although I did accidentally misspell the link, "DIME bag". Shows where my mind was, Pantera fans), a proposed sign-and-trade deal for Boozer would involve sending Vince Carter, Marcin Gortat, and Brandon Bass to Utah. It's crazy if Orlando is that desperate to placate Dwight Howard (now that is acquiescing). For Bass' agent, however, this idea has no legs, but that remains to be seen. Another thing, too, is the salary discrepancies... to make up for Bass, Carter, and Gortat's combined salaries, the Jazz would have to include someone like Andrei Kirilenko in the trade.
NCAA Swing analysis of Harpring, Korver, Brewer, Almond, Matthews and Hayward.
Kyle Korver's stay in SLC may be ending soon, and the Blazers are targeting Utah’s restricted free agent Wesley Matthews.
UtesFan89 looks at how the first day of free agency affected the Jazz.
Golden State Warriors - Golden State of Mind
Warriors fans are glad they don't have the cap space to spend after seeing the amount of money being thrown around right now.
Lightz0ut takes a stab at updating Golden State's jerseys... this is what the updated jerseys actually look like.
The Warriors are reportedly talking to the Hawks about acquiring Marvin Williams.
Golden State of Mind's take on the Biedrens-to-Nuggets rumour. They are divided on the matter, to say the least.
Los Angeles Clippers - Clips Nation
The Clippers have been meeting with LeBron... and apparently, it went well.
Clippers fans are relieved that it's other teams drawing up bad contracts, not LA.
Free Agency War Games.
For one fan, signing with the Clippers is LeBron's best chance at a championship. I'm just reporting it, baby.
Los Angeles Lakers - Silver Screen and Roll
Phil Jackson is returning for one more year.
Amare and the Knicks are nearing a deal. 5 years, $100 million, apparently.
Silver Screen and Roll has 17 reasons why the Lakers will get a threepeat.
SoCalGal wants you to know what's your favourite movie. Sadly, only one person voted for Citizen Kane (that would be me).
I need a Rec just for going on there for you guys.
Phoenix Suns - Bright Side of the Sun
Bright Side of the Sun provides a visual guide of Amare's summer of free agency. (Nice post.)
A scouting report of new acquisition Hakeem Warrick.
Channing Frye is remaining a Sun. Seth Pollack provides a nice glimpse into how it went down:
- Channing offered 5yrs/$20m (may even have been offered 4yrs/$16m, but that's sketchy)
- Channing offered 5yrs/$25m
- Channing reportedly looking for full MLE (5yrs/$32m-ish)
- Suns reported not willing to budge on 5yrs/$25m. That's the final offer
- Channing gets interest from other team -- reportedly Bulls and Knicks
- Suns up the final offer
- Channing accepts 5yrs/$30m
The Suns clearly wanted this guy.
Charles Barkley to be the Suns' next GM.
Sacramento Kings - Sactown Royalty
Real Madrid signs Sergio Rodriguez.
How to make it in America.
In Basketball for Myopics, Ziller rips into a local beatwriter - and has a point (while doing many other things well, the Lakers didn't share the ball very well). This article got 41 Recs. Pretty amazing.
Dallas Mavericks - Mavs Moneyball
Mavs Moneyball ponders the possibility of Dwayne Wade joining the Mavericks.
Up until he decided to stay with the Hawks, Dallas tried to acquire Joe Johnson.
Bryan Gutierre sums up the Mavericks' free agency so far.
It's only a rumour, but word is that the Mavs have made an offer to Dirk Nowitzki.
Houston Rockets - The Dream Shake
NickHetherington believes that LeBron will taint his career if he decides to leave the Cavaliers.
Yao Ming didn't opt out of his contract... while Tom Martin discusses his future in Houston.
Trevor Ariza, Shane Battier, and Luis Scola are all possible trade chips.
Memphis Grizzlies - Straight Outta Vancouver
Straight Outta Vancouver tells us that the internet is confused... oh, and why the Grizzlies locked up Rudy Gay so quickly.
The Grizzlies waived guard Lester Hudson... his reaction:
WASHINGTON WIZARDS HERE I COME! !!!!!!!!
No joke.
Straight Outta Vancouver explains why Grizzlies fans shouldn't hope for much activity in FA (it's because the salary cap is really confusing).
The Grizzlies are looking at Raymond Felton, though apparently won't make a big run at him if he wants more than the MLE.
Memphis did not make a qualifying offer to ex-Jazz Ronnie Brewer.
New Orleans Hornets - At the Hive
52% of Hornets fans wanted Avery Johnson to coach the team.
In a post about 3rd-year forward Julian Wright, MrWayneKeller makes me do a double-take:
For a moment there, I thought he broke him arm!
At the Hive addresses all the Chris Paul rumours. They also provide a relevant picture.
San Antonio Spurs - Pounding the Rock
As we already know, Richard Jefferon opted out of his final year. One thing to consider is the new CBA possibly hampering future free agents... By leaving the $15 million now and maybe having to contend with half the amount for the rest of his career, Jefferson may be looking for $10 million for the next 5 or so years. Essentially, a short-term sacrifice for a long-term goal.
Pounding the Rock polls fans on which team has the most to do achieve what they did this year in the coming season. Phoenix (3rd in the West) came first with 33%, while the Nuggets (4th in the West) came in 6th with 6%. Not bad coming from Spurs fans.
NIcIove ttries to figure out what's best for Tony Parker... who says he wants to be a free agent next year. Caveat: the interview in which he allegedly stated he wanted to leave in a year was in French, and something may have been lost in the translation (as Pounding the Rock alludes).
Going back to the earlier Ken Berger story, the Spurs are, according a source, "hellbent on moving him," with the Knicks being a likely destination. This contradicts Parker's own interview, however, in which he states that Gregg Popovich told him they weren't trading him. Mighty confusing!
Phew! Hope you guys enjoyed the post and I gave some insight into what's going on around the league.
