Great news Elindholm!

[Yuma]

"The Salt Lake Tribune reports that power forward/center Mehmet Okur is likely to be the Jazz's top free agent priority this offseason."

I may buy a utah t-shirt or something if they take Okur away from us!

 

[George O'Brien]

"The Salt Lake Tribune reports that power forward/center Mehmet Okur is likely to be the Jazz's top free agent priority this offseason."

I may buy a utah t-shirt or something if they take Okur away from us!

Such breathless news.

Utah has always been the most logical destination for Okur. They have the money and don't have someone like Lampe being groomed to take over.

 

[Yuma]

Such breathless news.

Utah has always been the most logical destination for Okur. They have the money and don't have someone like Lampe being groomed to take over.

Then why in the heck is he being reported to be one of the Suns top priorities on ESPN, and other sports shows I watch, as well as many web sites you can log into? I know as lazy as the AZ Republic is, that they just print what the C's and Sarver team tell them. I knwo Gambo recently said the Suns were cooling on Okur, but we all know his track record. According to Gambo, TMac should have been here in Phoenix!

Sorry, but any team that is higher on the list than us IS big news to me George. We dodged one bullet with Podolskine this off season, IMHO. This would be the second big mistake we could make, IMHO. Giving Okur big money when he is so unproven is a huge mistake. Actually, Okur is probably the third bullet. Not trading away our core for TMac was probably the second bullet.

Until I see Okur officially signed with someone else, I can't rest easy this summer. I may not know exactly who I want the Suns to get, but I sure know who I don't want them to get!

 

[elindholm]

I know as lazy as the AZ Republic is, that they just print what the C's and Sarver team tell them.

1. It's doubtful that they dig even that deep. Most likely they just repeat what they hear on ESPN and so forth -- the same reports we hear and read.

2. Even if they do talk to management and ownership, why would they get a straight story? It would be bad strategy for a team to consistenly divulge its true intentions.

3. Cuban's blog on the Nash situation is revealing in terms of how big a role agents play. I think George O'Brien's earlier hunch is on the money here: it's Okur's agent who has been stirring the pot, claiming repeatedly that various teams have expressed interest.

We see the same thing with Rodman once a year or so. Suddenly we get a report that "several NBA teams" are considering bringing him back for a comeback. Eventually we learn that no teams expressed any interest; it was just his agent making noise.

 

[Yuma]

You are probably right. I know the Suns probably had a multimedia presentation like they did for Penny. If not, then some type of "wow" stuff was made for the "fun" part of the negotiation. After that, the agent and our management probably took 6-7 hours to hammer out details of the signing.

Also, look how much HATRED cuban has for that agent. That probably says the most about how much an angent had control of the situation. Cuban said he added a partial fifth year as an ego thing for the agent. Well, we countered with a partial sixth. So I guess the agent won out in the end.

 

[George O'Brien]

You are probably right. I know the Suns probably had a multimedia presentation like they did for Penny. If not, then some type of "wow" stuff was made for the "fun" part of the negotiation. After that, the agent and our management probably took 6-7 hours to hammer out details of the signing.

Also, look how much HATRED cuban has for that agent. That probably says the most about how much an angent had control of the situation. Cuban said he added a partial fifth year as an ego thing for the agent. Well, we countered with a partial sixth. So I guess the agent won out in the end.

Agents are a huge but hidden part of the prcess. There have been some utterly absurd trades that ultimately were due to a team refusing to deal with a particular agent.

BTW, one of the reasons there is not more interest in Dampier is that his agent is considered to be very hard to deal with.

 

[coloradosun]

The same can be said in regards to Okur's agent boasting about how many teams he has been in contact with and that is why he is most reportedly going to sign with Phoenix. It was probably that his agent said that the Suns are his preference.