Milos Vujanic said he isn't coming next season

[slinslin]

In a interview to some italian paper Milos said he thankful to the Knicks for picking him in the draft and to the Suns for interested in him. He added that he will not come to the NBA next season and he plan to play another year in Italy for Skipper Bologna.

 

[slinslin]

Of course that is probably just the smart thing to say right now.

He probably hasn't even talked to Colangelo yet.

I think we have a decent chance to sign Divac to the veteran minimum for one or 2 seasons and that would definately help getting Milos over here to play with Zarko and Vlade in his rookie season.

 

[Goldfield]

I would be all for Divac's veteran help for a year or two.

 

[F-Dog]

That's a smart statement to make--it looks good in Bologna and improves his bargaining position with Phoenix. It's possible he even means it...


I'm starting to think that Divac and Vujanic (next year at least) will be a package deal for the Suns. Either they'll sign both players, or neither of them will come.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by F-Dog
That's a smart statement to make--it looks good in Bologna and improves his bargaining position with Phoenix. It's possible he even means it...


I'm starting to think that Divac and Vujanic (next year at least) will be a package deal for the Suns. Either they'll sign both players, or neither of them will come.

Agreed.

I think it will all depend on being able to move Eisley in the off season. If they can't, it may be better to have Vujanic get more playing time in Europe than sit on the bench here.

 

[fordronken]

Wow, imagine having Kobe, and the superstar he was traded for on draft night on the same team!

 

[slinslin]

I just heard from an italian fan that is buyout is supposed to be 800.000$.

That means the Suns will have to sign him to a similiar deal like Lampe. 3 years 3M$ or something like that and contribute the maximum 350.000$ they can contribute to the buyout.

However that means the Suns would still need some more capspace if they want to get in the Kobe race.

 

[F-Dog]

Isn't Vujanic making $2.5m per year right now? Which means that the Suns will have to offer nearly $3m/year to match the financial benefit of staying with Skipper Bologna.


If the Suns get Kobe, then Vujanic is going to stay in Bologna for at least another year. Otherwise, the Suns are going to have to make a lot of difficult financial decisions.


Remember, the Suns will have at least one high draft pick to fit under the cap as well...

 

[slinslin]

Don't think so.

I am not sure he gets 2.5M$ a season. I think he gets 2.5M$ total on his contract but anyway.

Vujanic has to know that if he succeeds in the NBA he can potentially make much more money than he could ever in the italian league.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by F-Dog
Isn't Vujanic making $2.5m per year right now? Which means that the Suns will have to offer nearly $3m/year to match the financial benefit of staying with Skipper Bologna.


If the Suns get Kobe, then Vujanic is going to stay in Bologna for at least another year. Otherwise, the Suns are going to have to make a lot of difficult financial decisions.


Remember, the Suns will have at least one high draft pick to fit under the cap as well...

Let's face it, if the Suns go for Kobe, they will not do some other things like sign Vujanic next year. If the Suns seriously believe they can sign Kobe, they will probably trade one or both of their draft picks. Indeed, they may have to in order to clear enough cap space

On the other hand, if they can't get Kobe or he gets convicted, they may focus on trades that take advantage of the team's cap space. (The Spurs got Hidayet Turkoglu for nothing but cap space.)

It is not out the question that the Suns might decide their best bet would be get some players with one year contracts and then make their big push in 2005. White's contract expires and they are currently only scheduled to have $24 million in salaries.

 

[slinslin]

If the Suns get rid of White they might be able to afford 2 draftpicks, a max contract offer to Kobe and still have a little money available.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by slinslin
If the Suns get rid of White they might be able to afford 2 draftpicks, a max contract offer to Kobe and still have a little money available.

Same for Eisley.

 

[hcsilla]

Originally posted by George O'Brien

On the other hand, if they can't get Kobe or he gets convicted, they may focus on trades that take advantage of the team's cap space. (The Spurs got Hidayet Turkoglu for nothing but cap space.)

It is not out the question that the Suns might decide their best bet would be get some players with one year contracts and then make their big push in 2005. White's contract expires and they are currently only scheduled to have $24 million in salaries.

I would take these 2 sceanarios over the scenario of overpaying someone like Quentin Richardson or Mehmet Okur.

The cap space is very very valuable in these days.

 

[Joe Mama]

That $24 million doesn't take into consideration at the very least a qualifying offer for Joe Johnson of over $3 million and Amare Stoudemire's optional year. Assuming they let Casey Jacobsen walk they would be at $30.5 million with 8 players on their roster. Of course that doesn't take into consideration a guy like Harvey or paying any of those future draft picks.

Joe Mama

 

[hcsilla]

Originally posted by slinslin

However that means the Suns would still need some more capspace if they want to get in the Kobe race.

Good point.

 

[sunsfn]

slinslin posted,
----------------------------------------------------------------
In a interview to some italian paper Milos said he thankful to the Knicks for picking him in the draft and to the Suns for interested in him. He added that he will not come to the NBA next season and he plan to play another year in Italy for Skipper Bologna.
----------------------------------------------------------

Milos Vujanic
Birthdate: 11/30/80

He was 23 last November.
If he keeps turning down the NBA, sooner or later they will
forget about him.

I really think he will be here next year.

 

[George O'Brien]

Originally posted by Joe Mama
That $24 million doesn't take into consideration at the very least a qualifying offer for Joe Johnson of over $3 million and Amare Stoudemire's optional year. Assuming they let Casey Jacobsen walk they would be at $30.5 million with 8 players on their roster. Of course that doesn't take into consideration a guy like Harvey or paying any of those future draft picks.

Joe Mama

That's certainly true. It is just like the currently projected $33.8 is not all available for an FA.

In 2005 we will know if JJ and Casey are players. At this point, neither would justify being re-signed, but I'm hopeful they will be by then.

In 2005, Eisley will have only one guaranteed year left on his contract and if he has not been moved before, should be easy to move then. So overall, the Suns should be a better position to go after a super elite player than this summer.

BTW, T-Mac has a player option that year and Ray Allen will be coming off contract.

 

[slinslin]

There will be other interessting players available in 2005. The draft of 2001 unless they sign extensions.

Pau Gasol, Zach Randolph, Jason Richardson, Tyson Chandler, Eddy Curry, Kwame Brown...

Especially Curry, Chandler or Brown could be worth a look because at that time they might be just about to break out as consistent big time players that can be had for less than what they will be worth in the near future.