Friday, July 4, 2008
Duhon is upgrade, but point is still Magic's weakness
Chris Duhon would be a nice backup to Jameer Nelson at point guard in Orlando, although Nelson would be a nice backup elsewhere. The way to beat the Magic right now, as the Pistons showed in the playoffs last year, was to capitalize on Nelson’s lack of height and poor defense. Any team that can find a way to post up Nelson will have a definite way to attack the Magic. But post-up point guards are rare. Billups happened to be one. Gary Payton was one. Sam Cassell could also post up. Duhon didn’t like that he didn’t have a role with the Bulls and blames his insubordinate behavior on that. We’ll see. He’s clearly the backup point guard now in Orlando and we’ll see if there was a reason the Bulls were willing to part ways with the former Blue Devil before they had even thought about drafting a point guard.
Heat in trouble at point
The Heat are in trouble at point guard. The names the Herald listed today are stopgap measures at best—Jannero Pargo, Tyron Lue, Kenyon Dooling and Carlos Arroyo among others. One thing the playoffs this year showed was the importance of having strong point guard play. It will get a team into the second round of the playoffs. After that the star power takes over, no matter where the position. The Heat won’t be going anywhere with a backup point guard playing as a starter. Not sure what the real problem is with Jason Williams, considering what the Heat is looking at right now. He can’t be any worse of an option than those other guys, who all are considered solid backups. Also there are some teams with too many point guards, like Indiana, who apparently has fallen out of favor with Jamal Tinsley after once being deemed one of Isaiah Thomas’ pet projects. Thomas had a lot of pet projects in New York and the Knicks now have a lot of point guards with all of them seeming to be on the way out. Any of them are better options than the names mentioned at the top.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Elbow to chest sends Beasley home early
Second overall pick Michael Beasley is hurt and leaves practice early and was unavailable to the media. Probably a good thing on one had that the Heat didn’t throw him in front of the press. On the other, it might have been good practice for the kind of grilling he’s going to take during the season. But it is just one practice in July, probably as insignificant of a practice that the Heat will have all year. It just seems interesting that, of all players, it was Beasley had to leave practice early and the reporters didn’t find out who gave him the devastating elbow in the chest. A description of how it happened would have been nice to see. At least it would have verified if it was true or not. But why wouldn’t it be true? Next week’s summer league games are going to be interesting because for the first time, everyone will get to see Beasley against players that are equally athletic. A lot of them will be taller and quite possibly quicker and stronger. In those five days, it’s going to evident whether or not his height is going to be a hindrance at his position. The second overall pick in the NBA draft should probably dominate a summer league whose rosters are filled mostly with other college players and NBA bench players.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
NBA Notes July 2, 2008
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
The Cavs aren’t in position to do anything significant during free agency. They are well over the cap even though they don’t have a scorer that has proven an ability to compliment LeBron James. They do have some trade bait though, especially with forward Anderson Varejao, whose game mimics Ben Wallace’s and whose young enough to have some trade value. If the business aspect of it wasn’t involved the better on-court move would be to deal Wallace, but with his age and the perception that he’s wearing down there wouldn’t be much value for him. Plus, he’s making more money than he’s worth thanks to the Bulls and the ridiculous contract they paid to a malcontent that hardly needs guarded on offense.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
First of all, its crazy to think that guys can reject making more than $10 million over the next five years, which is of course what Andre Iguodala did. But if his agent thinks he’s worth more in the restrict free agent market, that’s his business. He might be worth more but he probably shouldn’t be the highest paid player on his team in most cases. Iguodala would make a nice complimentary player for a star like Lebron, but as the first option, he can be guarded, as Detroit showed in the first round of the playoffs last year. They 76ers are looking to meet with Josh Smith, to me he is the class of the big men in free agency this year if you look at his all-around production and he age. Smith would give teams 17 points per game and dominate defensively with blocked shots. Paring Smith with Dalembert would give them an inside combination defensively that any team in the NBA would struggle inside against.
CHICAGO BULLS
The Bulls top priority this offseason is what they plan on doing with Ben Gordon and Luol Deng. On the court it would be easier for the Bulls to take a loss at guard given the amount of players they have at that position with Kirk Hinrich, Thabo Sefalosha, Larry Hughes, Malik Rose and Gordon. At small forward the number of proven players are far less and there would be a sizeable drop-off with the loss of Deng. Deng, basketball-wise, should remain the priority. But after last season in which the Bulls were in disarray the better route to go here is taking the team member that’s going to cause less chemistry problems as the Bulls move forward with their talented younger players. A Tribune story today raised some issues about paying Deng and Gordon less money since their stats were down, but the environment of the team this season made it tough to succeed. If Jim Boylan was a better coach, they would have removed the interim label.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
In the aftermath of Baron Davis’ departure, the Warriors have significant room under the salary cap to go after anyone as a replacement. Apparently some feel Monta Ellis is a capable replacement. Ellis is more of a combo guard than one ready to run the team. Still they need to be considering Leandro Barbosa or Kirk Hinrich. Barbosa is rumored to be headed for the Knicks, but Chris Mullins might want to see what it would take to get him to Golden State. The one glaring issue about Davis opting out of his contract and having a deal in place with the Clippers a day later is that it reeks of illegal activity. Contract negotiations take some time and the two sides in this case appear to have made a deal in less than an eight-hour shift. The NBA should investigate this, but won’t.
NEW YORK KNICKS
The Knicks are showing they clearly need a point guard even though in the last few seasons it seems like they’ve had an overabundance of players at that position. Rumors have swirled this offseason regarding players that might be coming to New York to play the 1 spot. At one time or another the Knicks have been rumored to be interested in Leandro Barbosa, Chris Duhon and Frank Isola said in his blog today that he believed the Knicks were looking for to work a trade with Charlotte for their point guard Raymond Felton.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
NBA notes July 1, 2008
MIAMI HEAT
The summer league games always sound like they’re going to be so interesting and then when they're on they seem like a practice, especially when the last basketball that was on television was two teams playing for the NBA championship. Why isn’t Miami’s new coach bothering to coach the summer league team. It’s not like he’s has any experience as a head coach. Both in Chicago and Detroit the head coaches are coaching the summer league teams and the consensus in those places is that it’s a good idea since neither Michael Curry or Vinnie Del Negro have any head coaching experience. Erik Spoelstra, where are you?
DALLAS MAVERICKS
The Mavericks could really use the help of Shaun Foster, the rookie from Vanderbilt. He’s a prototypical size for a shooting guard, but for the majority of these rookies, the sports writers are wasting ink. This may be one of those guys. He’ll have to break through a lineup that has had set rotation at guard with Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse. If today’s story was correct in its assessment of Foster’s shooting, the goal for him next year should be filling the role as a knockdown shooter from the bench. That’s one thing Stackhouse is not. Stackhouse is an explosive player. Unfortunately when those types of guy start to get older, they’re like the power pitcher in baseball that can no longer blow his fastball by batters.
DETROIT PISTONS
James Posey is the type of backup Detroit has been looking for to come in and spell Tayshaun Prince. The only problem is that it is unrealistic to think the Pistons can land the him. The Celtics have come out and said he is the team’s top priority in free agency and they can offer the same amount of Detroit. The Pistons will have to make it worth the hassle of uprooting and leaving a team that won the NBA championship last year and has a team capable of winning it again next year. Detroit would have to offer an attractive star as bait to give him the impression a move to Detroit would give him a better shot at a title. Right now that it doesn’t hold true that the Pistons could beat the Celtics if the teams as they are currently constructed were to meet again in next year’s playoffs. They key will be the length of the contract the Pistons are willing to offer and that will be something that will be easier to grasp once Detroit pulls off its imminent monster trade.
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
The Hornets can’t overpay for Chris Paul. When the terms came out today about his contract extension fans should be hoping they’re talking in the five year range. He’s destined to be an elite point guard for the foreseeable future. He’s arguably the best point guard in the league already and all indications are he stays out of trouble and he has shown an interest in staying with New Orleans when he could have played out his contract and hit the market as a restricted free agent after last season. Then he really could have set the market for his value since he would have been the top free agent to come out that year. The Hornets, like everyone else, is also targeting James Posey. But I like the idea of them going after Corey Maggette. He could add some toughness that is lacking with Peja Stojakovic, who might be more suited to come off the bench at this point in his career as someone that will come into the game to knock down shots. Maggette would give the Hornets another player that can create offense. The biggest need, however, is for a shooting guard. Where are they going to find one of those?
NEW YORK KNICKS
Chris Duhon might fit into the Knicks style of play, but in Chicago last season -- which was disastrous -- Duhon seemed to do more pouting and complaining than actual playing. He didn’t act like professional. His showing up at the Duke NCAA tournament game was a blatant act of insubordination and the more guards that came to the Bulls, the more he complained instead of rising to the challenge and forcing the coach to play him, he simply gave up. After what the Knicks have gone through in recent seasons as far as chemistry problems, why bring in someone with a history of being disruptive. The Knicks need team players right now. New coach Mike D’antoni seems like he’s laying down the law. If Duhon doesn’t like what’s going on, what’s he going to do?
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Losing point guard Baron Davis will be huge blow for the Warriors for a long time to come unless they can convince Gilbert Arenas to join the team. The Warriors might have done the only thing they could do here. Davis wanted five years guaranteed. Smartly, the Warriors were only willing to offer him two. Davis has shown no history that he will be able to play in the majority of games over the next five years, most of which will be into his 30s. He’s a phenomenal player and will be for the next couple of seasons, but beyond that is anyone’s guess. If Monta Ellis doesn’t come back the Warriors will be in even bigger trouble. Apparently they’re willing to throw $100 million at Arenas. Maybe they should be looking at Suns guard Leandro Barbosa, who the Suns, inexplicably, are rumored to be shopping around.
CHICAGO BULLS
Hopefully for the Bulls, Derek Rose will not be similar to their No.2 overall pick in 2002 Jay Williams as far as off-court fortune. There are some similarities in the two in they way they were regarded coming into the NBA. Williams came out of Duke the best college player in America. He was on a normal learning curve before the motorcycle accident. Rose will be playing for a better team next year than the team on which Williams played. Next week’s summer league can’t some soon enough. The Bulls are going to have to find out if they want to turn the team over to Rose right away. If that is the case, they’ll have some lucrative trade bait with Kirk Hinrich, a player that Golden State also might want to start thinking about acquiring. A Bulls backcourt of Rose and Larry Hughes is probably they’re best option right now with Gordon coming off the bench, assuming he sticks around. Up front they should make it Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas and a true center. There are a few on the market. Disagna Diop from New Jersey, Andris Biedrins from Golden State. Noah and Thomas seem to repetitive, like the Cavs having both Ben Wallace and Andersen Varajao.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
The Lakers appear to be set as a team for the next couple of seasons. They are already over the salary cap and still need to sign center Andrew Bynum to a long-term contract. There isn’t much room to upgrade this Lakers team anyway other than getting a better point guard. Derek Fisher is a nice player that is perfect for the triangle offense, but his best attributes are what he brings to the team in terms of leadership and ability to command the team. He understands his role in it and his role on the floor. The Lakers might be able to find a point guard with more individual skill, but they might miss the intangibles Therefore, the Lakers are set. That’s why they’re offseason headlines are about signing backups. They do still have the mid-level exception to play with, which puts them in the mix for James Posey
The summer league games always sound like they’re going to be so interesting and then when they're on they seem like a practice, especially when the last basketball that was on television was two teams playing for the NBA championship. Why isn’t Miami’s new coach bothering to coach the summer league team. It’s not like he’s has any experience as a head coach. Both in Chicago and Detroit the head coaches are coaching the summer league teams and the consensus in those places is that it’s a good idea since neither Michael Curry or Vinnie Del Negro have any head coaching experience. Erik Spoelstra, where are you?
DALLAS MAVERICKS
The Mavericks could really use the help of Shaun Foster, the rookie from Vanderbilt. He’s a prototypical size for a shooting guard, but for the majority of these rookies, the sports writers are wasting ink. This may be one of those guys. He’ll have to break through a lineup that has had set rotation at guard with Jason Kidd, Jason Terry and Jerry Stackhouse. If today’s story was correct in its assessment of Foster’s shooting, the goal for him next year should be filling the role as a knockdown shooter from the bench. That’s one thing Stackhouse is not. Stackhouse is an explosive player. Unfortunately when those types of guy start to get older, they’re like the power pitcher in baseball that can no longer blow his fastball by batters.
DETROIT PISTONS
James Posey is the type of backup Detroit has been looking for to come in and spell Tayshaun Prince. The only problem is that it is unrealistic to think the Pistons can land the him. The Celtics have come out and said he is the team’s top priority in free agency and they can offer the same amount of Detroit. The Pistons will have to make it worth the hassle of uprooting and leaving a team that won the NBA championship last year and has a team capable of winning it again next year. Detroit would have to offer an attractive star as bait to give him the impression a move to Detroit would give him a better shot at a title. Right now that it doesn’t hold true that the Pistons could beat the Celtics if the teams as they are currently constructed were to meet again in next year’s playoffs. They key will be the length of the contract the Pistons are willing to offer and that will be something that will be easier to grasp once Detroit pulls off its imminent monster trade.
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
The Hornets can’t overpay for Chris Paul. When the terms came out today about his contract extension fans should be hoping they’re talking in the five year range. He’s destined to be an elite point guard for the foreseeable future. He’s arguably the best point guard in the league already and all indications are he stays out of trouble and he has shown an interest in staying with New Orleans when he could have played out his contract and hit the market as a restricted free agent after last season. Then he really could have set the market for his value since he would have been the top free agent to come out that year. The Hornets, like everyone else, is also targeting James Posey. But I like the idea of them going after Corey Maggette. He could add some toughness that is lacking with Peja Stojakovic, who might be more suited to come off the bench at this point in his career as someone that will come into the game to knock down shots. Maggette would give the Hornets another player that can create offense. The biggest need, however, is for a shooting guard. Where are they going to find one of those?
NEW YORK KNICKS
Chris Duhon might fit into the Knicks style of play, but in Chicago last season -- which was disastrous -- Duhon seemed to do more pouting and complaining than actual playing. He didn’t act like professional. His showing up at the Duke NCAA tournament game was a blatant act of insubordination and the more guards that came to the Bulls, the more he complained instead of rising to the challenge and forcing the coach to play him, he simply gave up. After what the Knicks have gone through in recent seasons as far as chemistry problems, why bring in someone with a history of being disruptive. The Knicks need team players right now. New coach Mike D’antoni seems like he’s laying down the law. If Duhon doesn’t like what’s going on, what’s he going to do?
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Losing point guard Baron Davis will be huge blow for the Warriors for a long time to come unless they can convince Gilbert Arenas to join the team. The Warriors might have done the only thing they could do here. Davis wanted five years guaranteed. Smartly, the Warriors were only willing to offer him two. Davis has shown no history that he will be able to play in the majority of games over the next five years, most of which will be into his 30s. He’s a phenomenal player and will be for the next couple of seasons, but beyond that is anyone’s guess. If Monta Ellis doesn’t come back the Warriors will be in even bigger trouble. Apparently they’re willing to throw $100 million at Arenas. Maybe they should be looking at Suns guard Leandro Barbosa, who the Suns, inexplicably, are rumored to be shopping around.
CHICAGO BULLS
Hopefully for the Bulls, Derek Rose will not be similar to their No.2 overall pick in 2002 Jay Williams as far as off-court fortune. There are some similarities in the two in they way they were regarded coming into the NBA. Williams came out of Duke the best college player in America. He was on a normal learning curve before the motorcycle accident. Rose will be playing for a better team next year than the team on which Williams played. Next week’s summer league can’t some soon enough. The Bulls are going to have to find out if they want to turn the team over to Rose right away. If that is the case, they’ll have some lucrative trade bait with Kirk Hinrich, a player that Golden State also might want to start thinking about acquiring. A Bulls backcourt of Rose and Larry Hughes is probably they’re best option right now with Gordon coming off the bench, assuming he sticks around. Up front they should make it Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas and a true center. There are a few on the market. Disagna Diop from New Jersey, Andris Biedrins from Golden State. Noah and Thomas seem to repetitive, like the Cavs having both Ben Wallace and Andersen Varajao.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
The Lakers appear to be set as a team for the next couple of seasons. They are already over the salary cap and still need to sign center Andrew Bynum to a long-term contract. There isn’t much room to upgrade this Lakers team anyway other than getting a better point guard. Derek Fisher is a nice player that is perfect for the triangle offense, but his best attributes are what he brings to the team in terms of leadership and ability to command the team. He understands his role in it and his role on the floor. The Lakers might be able to find a point guard with more individual skill, but they might miss the intangibles Therefore, the Lakers are set. That’s why they’re offseason headlines are about signing backups. They do still have the mid-level exception to play with, which puts them in the mix for James Posey
Monday, June 30, 2008
NBA notes June 30, 2008
Miami Heat
With the addition of new players in Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers the Heat not only got its hands on players that had legendary success in college, it insures they’re adding players that aren’t used to losing. That might be an important factor in turning the team around but not in that they are used to winning. How are they going to deal with losing. The Heat are going to lose right away and either they’ll respond to the competition or they’ll fold. One thing Beasley has going for him is that he’s coming from a program in college that wasn’t used to being a national center of attention. Going to the NCAA tournament and being excepted to do something there was a new thing for Kansas State. He’s going to be used to playing on a team with a losing history.
New Orleans Hornets
It’s a legitimate to talk about the strain put on some of these athletes that are going to play for the Olympic team this summer and the story today was right to bring of the fact that the team’s franchise player Chris Paul will have played in 112 games by the time the Olympics are done, assuming the United States makes it to the medal round. There is a lot of money at stake with the ticket sales and all, but that’s not really concerns me. Those millionaires are going to continue to make money whether or not Paul is playing. It’s worse for the fans, who want to root for the team at 100-percent. There is no clear way to solve that problem other than not allowing the NBA players to play or make a team up of less than franchise players. A team of all-stars can be formed that probably would make for a competitive team since there are very few foreign franchise players, but that would be getting away from the idea of sending the best. That might not be that important, but giving the fan something to cheer about every night when the get home from work is important. Maybe even more important that winning a gold medal.
New York Knicks
The Knicks have to get rid of Marbury. He is supremely talented, but too much of a loser. His teams have rarely been successful in the NBA and its too bad because he could have been one of the best players in history if he didn’t cause the demise in his team every year. But what if Marbury is just misunderstood? He’s a player that if he was willing to accept a team role then he could fit in and be a great player. Maybe on a team like the Lakers, whose offense forces everyone to share could be a place where Marbury could make an impact. The problem is that he’s a player like Allen Iverson that needs to dominate the ball in order to be effective. Without the ball in his hands he feels uncomfortable, not a productive and ultimately threatened. This has to change or he’s destined to do the same thing wherever he goes that he did in New York, New Jersey, Phoenix…and the next team.
Orlando Magic
There is a story in today’s Orlando Sentinel talking about the possible return of Corey Maggette to the Magic. How is this a good fit? One of the last things the Magic need right now is another small forward. They have two with Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkolu. The Magic has enough scoring with those two and Dwight Howard. Maggette is also going to command a decent financial package. If they go bring him in to play small forward then the Magic would have Hedo at shooting guard, which isn’t that bad given he has the skill to play there offensively, but then Lewis would be back and the power forward spot for another season. The only way to get it to word would be if Maggette is willing to play the role of a sixth man. As far as the starting lineup, the biggest thing the Magic needs right now is a banger to help absorb some of the inside force that’s was all concentrated on Howard last season.
Phoenix Suns
It doesn’t make any sense that the Suns are looking to lower Steve Nash’s minutes next season as a 34-year-old point guard yet they appear to be willing to part with Leandro Barbosa, who might be the NBA’s best backup point guard. That doesn’t make sense along with the Suns’ apparent interest in 37-year-old Allan Houston. The Suns have figured out a way to go from a team that had a youthful, energetic feel to one that seems to have a geriatric at every position. Steve Nash is getting up there, although players that rely on guile more than athletic ability can play longer. Shaq is clearly on his last leg. He was not able to dominate anyone in playoffs last year and it’s almost hard to believe Grant Hill is still playing. Adding Houston to this collection is laughable.
Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers are talking about the deal they made to send Kyle Korver to Utah, which allowed them to free up cap space for this offseason. In order for it to be considered a good deal they’ll have to get someone in return that is more of an impact player than Korver was. Unfortunately for them this is considered a weak free agent class. One of the players talked about in a story today was the addition of Elton Brand, who will make 16.4 million this season if he doesn’t opt out of his contract with the Clippers. If I’m the 76ers GM it would be difficult to bring in Brand and pay him more money than 16.4 million, which is what he would want. He’s had major injuries and it doesn’t make sense to give someone coming off that kind of injury that type of money, not matter who much they need a low-post scorer. Golden State’s Andre Biedrins is a more attractive prospect. They wouldn’t have to pay him the same amount of money and he would come with a more accurate picture of what he can do.
With the addition of new players in Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers the Heat not only got its hands on players that had legendary success in college, it insures they’re adding players that aren’t used to losing. That might be an important factor in turning the team around but not in that they are used to winning. How are they going to deal with losing. The Heat are going to lose right away and either they’ll respond to the competition or they’ll fold. One thing Beasley has going for him is that he’s coming from a program in college that wasn’t used to being a national center of attention. Going to the NCAA tournament and being excepted to do something there was a new thing for Kansas State. He’s going to be used to playing on a team with a losing history.
New Orleans Hornets
It’s a legitimate to talk about the strain put on some of these athletes that are going to play for the Olympic team this summer and the story today was right to bring of the fact that the team’s franchise player Chris Paul will have played in 112 games by the time the Olympics are done, assuming the United States makes it to the medal round. There is a lot of money at stake with the ticket sales and all, but that’s not really concerns me. Those millionaires are going to continue to make money whether or not Paul is playing. It’s worse for the fans, who want to root for the team at 100-percent. There is no clear way to solve that problem other than not allowing the NBA players to play or make a team up of less than franchise players. A team of all-stars can be formed that probably would make for a competitive team since there are very few foreign franchise players, but that would be getting away from the idea of sending the best. That might not be that important, but giving the fan something to cheer about every night when the get home from work is important. Maybe even more important that winning a gold medal.
New York Knicks
The Knicks have to get rid of Marbury. He is supremely talented, but too much of a loser. His teams have rarely been successful in the NBA and its too bad because he could have been one of the best players in history if he didn’t cause the demise in his team every year. But what if Marbury is just misunderstood? He’s a player that if he was willing to accept a team role then he could fit in and be a great player. Maybe on a team like the Lakers, whose offense forces everyone to share could be a place where Marbury could make an impact. The problem is that he’s a player like Allen Iverson that needs to dominate the ball in order to be effective. Without the ball in his hands he feels uncomfortable, not a productive and ultimately threatened. This has to change or he’s destined to do the same thing wherever he goes that he did in New York, New Jersey, Phoenix…and the next team.
Orlando Magic
There is a story in today’s Orlando Sentinel talking about the possible return of Corey Maggette to the Magic. How is this a good fit? One of the last things the Magic need right now is another small forward. They have two with Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkolu. The Magic has enough scoring with those two and Dwight Howard. Maggette is also going to command a decent financial package. If they go bring him in to play small forward then the Magic would have Hedo at shooting guard, which isn’t that bad given he has the skill to play there offensively, but then Lewis would be back and the power forward spot for another season. The only way to get it to word would be if Maggette is willing to play the role of a sixth man. As far as the starting lineup, the biggest thing the Magic needs right now is a banger to help absorb some of the inside force that’s was all concentrated on Howard last season.
Phoenix Suns
It doesn’t make any sense that the Suns are looking to lower Steve Nash’s minutes next season as a 34-year-old point guard yet they appear to be willing to part with Leandro Barbosa, who might be the NBA’s best backup point guard. That doesn’t make sense along with the Suns’ apparent interest in 37-year-old Allan Houston. The Suns have figured out a way to go from a team that had a youthful, energetic feel to one that seems to have a geriatric at every position. Steve Nash is getting up there, although players that rely on guile more than athletic ability can play longer. Shaq is clearly on his last leg. He was not able to dominate anyone in playoffs last year and it’s almost hard to believe Grant Hill is still playing. Adding Houston to this collection is laughable.
Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers are talking about the deal they made to send Kyle Korver to Utah, which allowed them to free up cap space for this offseason. In order for it to be considered a good deal they’ll have to get someone in return that is more of an impact player than Korver was. Unfortunately for them this is considered a weak free agent class. One of the players talked about in a story today was the addition of Elton Brand, who will make 16.4 million this season if he doesn’t opt out of his contract with the Clippers. If I’m the 76ers GM it would be difficult to bring in Brand and pay him more money than 16.4 million, which is what he would want. He’s had major injuries and it doesn’t make sense to give someone coming off that kind of injury that type of money, not matter who much they need a low-post scorer. Golden State’s Andre Biedrins is a more attractive prospect. They wouldn’t have to pay him the same amount of money and he would come with a more accurate picture of what he can do.
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