Monday, November 1, 2004
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
The NBA season starts on election day, but NBA teams are getting out to the polls early.
This weekend saw a flurry of activity as NBA teams cast their votes for player extensions and options, trade offers, roster cuts and starting jobs.
Insider takes you around the league to get the latest on Zach Randolph and Tony Parker's extension situation, the shunning of the 2002 draft class, some starting surprises in Dallas and Philly and a quick look at who lost their jobs.
Randolph gets extension; Parker's on the verge
The NBA pushed the extension deadline back a day meaning that NBA teams have until 6 p.m. on November 1 to lock up players who began their rookie season in 2001.
So far Pau Gasol (6 years, $86 million), Andrei Kirilenko (6 years, $86 million), Jamaal Tinsley (6 years, $40 million), Shane Battier (6 years, $37 million), Jason Collins (4 years, $24 million) and Primoz Brezec (3 years, $8.5 million) have gotten deals done. Who's next?
One day after Halloween, the Trail Blazers signed Zach Randolph to a six-year, $83 million contract extension.
Paying Randolph the $83 million was a big concession for Blazers, who were only offering $72 million on Oct. 29. But don't be deceived by the big upfront number. The Blazers are deferring a full 30 percent of his contract (a whopping $25 million) for another six years after the first six years is up.
Pau Gasol and Andrei Kirilenko also had deferred money in their max contracts this fall -- but that was to the tune of $6 million each, not $25 million.
So why the huge last-minute concessions for Randolph, a player who continues to get his name in the paper for all the wrong reasons?
Randolph's agent, Raymond Brothers, took one of the hardest lines we've heard in his negotiating with the Blazers. He told GM John Nash that if his player didn't get what he was asking for he would take the Blazers' one-year tender next summer and become an unrestricted free agent in 2006. When he did so, he would leave the team.
Did the Blazers bite on the bluff? Apparently so. While many free agents threaten such a thing (Darius Miles did it to the Blazers this summer before signing a six-year deal) only two have actually gone through with it before. The Clippers' Michael Olowokandi and the Grizzlies' Stromile Swift are the only two restricted free agents who have taken a team's one-year tender to become unrestricted free agents the next summer.
It was a huge gamble … one very few free agents are willing to make when we start talking about contract offers in the seventy-million-plus range.
Signing Randolph essentially strips the Blazers of all that cap room they were holding out for next summer. Next year, their cap number should be roughly $40 million -- not enough to make a significant splash in the free-agent market.
Tony Parker and the Spurs are just $2-4 million apart in their negotiations, but still haven't worked something out. Over the weekend, head coach Gregg Popovich took the highly unusual step of publicly protesting Spurs owner Robert Holt's decision not to offer Parker more money.
"At this particular point, we've been told by ownership that they are not going to go beyond the number that's been offered to Tony, and I'm disappointed in that decision," Popovich told the San Antonio Express News.
"I understand the reasons why and the concerns on the part of ownership, but at the same time, over the years we've operated in the (fiscal) arena very successfully. I think Tony Parker has been very fair in understanding the situation and appreciating the situation he's in, while at the same time looking for a contract that shows him the respect that he deserves."
Popovich is absolutely right. The Spurs are offering $64 million. Parker is reportedly willing to settle for a $66 million contract. Given his age, ability and the free-agent market next summer, he should be able to earn up to $20 million more in a place like Atlanta, Charlotte or L.A.
This should be a slam dunk for the Spurs. But Holt is concerned that signing Parker to more money will hurl the Spurs into luxury tax land, something he's unwilling to do.
"Now, I understand it may cost me more next summer," Holt said. "And I might be kicking myself for the next five or six years because I had to pay a lot more to keep him. But right now, with everything so uncertain, I think it's the right thing to do. … I can't pay $50 million in luxury tax. I can't pay the kind of tax (Dallas owner) Mark Cuban and (Portland owner) Paul Allen have paid. I can't do that for a couple of reasons: I don't have that kind of money, and I don't think it's the right way to run a business."
There don't appear to be any other significant extension talks still underway. A few players including Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy, Samuel Dalembert and Gerald Wallace had ongoing negotiations … but no deals have been reached. Richardson and Murphy's agent, Dan Fegan, is threatening to move his players to another team next summer if a deal doesn't go down, but as of late Halloween, the two sides were still too far apart.
Other top players like Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler, Joe Johnson and Vladimir Radmanovic ended extension discussion well before the deadline and will become restricted free agents next summer.
Trade talk starting to heat up
A number of teams began picking up the phones this weekend to start trade talks in an attempt to fill holes or move problems on a team.
Latrell Sprewell has taken his demands of a contract extension to a new level, telling the Wolves that he wants a trade if they won't give him the three-year, $40 million contract extension he believes he deserves.
The Wolves offered him a three-year deal believed to be worth $27 million. He called the offer "insulting," even though he knows there's no way he could earn that type of money on the open market next year.
"I pretty much told them I don't want what they're talking about," he told the Pioneer Press. "So if we can't work it out, work something out with somebody else."
"I'm not trying to stay the year here, I will say that," he said. "If they don't want to sign me, I want to go somewhere else. Why would I want to help them win a title? They're not doing anything for me. I've got a lot at risk here. I've got my family to feed. Anything can happen; it's a long season. You never know."
The Wolves are offering $9 million a year, and Spree is pulling out the "I've got a family to feed" defense?
Is he trying to feed Shawn Kemp's family? He could feed Iraq for $27 million.
Jason Kidd was cleared to begin practicing with the team this weekend, meaning the Kidd rumors are already out in full force. The Blazers are interested in a Kidd for Shareef Abdur Rahim swap, but Kidd claims he doesn't want to play for the Blazers. He would approve a trade to the Nuggets, Mavs, Timberwolves or Lakers.
Given the turmoil in Minnesota right now, perhaps a deal with the Wolves makes the most sense. If the Nets sent Kidd and Alonzo Mourning to Minnesota for Spree, Cassell and Ndubi Ebi, the Nets could clear a boat load of cap room for the summer, and the Wolves could get a point guard who, if nothing else, won't be complaining about his pay every night.
Watch the Bulls the next couple of weeks. The word out of Chicago is that GM John Paxson has had it with Eddy Curry and is once again pursuing trades for the talented, but inconsistent big man.
Curry came into camp in the best shape of his career, but his inability to rebound, remember plays or give a consistent effort on the court have brought the Bulls to the opinion that he's not going to reach his potential in Chicago.
The Grizzlies made a pretty strong play for him over the summer, offering Bonzi Wells and Stromile Swift for Curry and Robinson. Swift can't be traded this season, however, so the terms of the deal would have to change.
Some sort of Curry for Jason Richardson swap might also make sense for both teams. The Bulls need a two guard, and the Warriors need a long-term answer at center. Neither team has been able to work out an extension with their player.
Class of 2002 takes a big hit
There's been a lot of criticism heaped on the draft class of 2000 and 2001, but the class of 2002 took some huge lumps over the weekend. Teams have until 6 p.m. on November 1 to pick up the fourth-year options of players drafted in the first round of the 2002 draft. If they don't, the players become unrestricted free agents next summer and teams lose their Bird rights to re-sign them.
Twenty players in the Class of 2000 and 2001 had their options picked up. However, only 14 players from the Class of 2002 received the honor.
Yao Ming, Mike Dunleavy, Drew Gooden, Nene, Chris Wilcox, Amare Stoudemire, Caron Butler, Jared Jeffries, Melvin Ely, Fred Jones, Jiri Welsch, Curtis Borchardt, Tayshaun Prince and John Salmons all will be under contract with their respective teams next season.
Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Dajuan Wagner, Marcus Haislip, Bostjan Nachbar, Juan Dixon, Ryan Humphrey, Kareem Rush, Qyntel Woods, Casey Jacobsen, Frank Williams and Dan Dickau will all become unrestricted free agents after the season. Two other players from the class, Jay Williams and Chris Jefferies, have already been waived.
The decision not to pick up Skita (the No. 5 pick in the draft), Rush and Jacobsen were the most surprising. The Nuggets have maintained for the past two years that Skita was a diamond in the rough and just needed polishing. However, the team has a very deep frontcourt and wants to clear enough cap room to make a run at a starting shooting guard next summer.
Rush was a big surprise for the Lakers. He's played well when he's healthy, but he's mostly been buried behind Kobe Bryant on the depth chart. Rush was actually happy to hear he'd be free this summer. "This gives me a chance to go out there and explore my options," said Rush. "I've been playing behind Kobe for three years now, and this gives me a chance to get out there. I'm actually kind of excited about it."
There was really no room left for Jacobsen after the team decided to sign Quentin Richardson this summer. Their guard rotation will be Steve Nash, Joe Johnson, Richardson and Leandro Barbosa. The minutes for Jacbosen were going to sparse, no matter what.
Starting over
Mavs head coach Don Nelson stunned just about everyone over the weekend when he announced that rookie Devin Harris will get the starting nod at point guard over Jason Terry, who hasn't come off the bench since his rookie season and struggled to run the offense the way Nelson wanted.
Harris has more playmaking skills and is a better defender than Terry, but observers were stunned that Nelson -- usually not fond of rookies -- made the call so quickly. Nelson hasn't started a rookie on opening night since Tim Hardaway joined the league in 1989.
Right now, Terry is taking the demotion well. "Anybody who looks at the history of me, that's where I made my name," Terry said. "With my energy and leadership coming off the bench with that second group, that's going to be exactly what we need."
Still, watch the situation closely. There are plenty of teams out there that need a point guard, and the Mavs have essentially put Terry on the block by making the move this early.
Another situation to watch is in Philly where Jim O'Brien has handed the starting small forward job over to rookie Andre Iguodala. Veteran Glenn Robinson was slated to start there. When O'Brien made the move, the speculation immediately began that the Sixers will try to trade Robinson (who's in the last year of his contract) or possibly even waive him if he acts up about the benching.
The Sixers are now flirting with putting Robinson on the IL. That's not a good sign.
Shareef Abdur Rahim has earned the starting nod over Darius Miles, but don't expect it to last too long. A source inside the Blazers claims that they're doing it primarily to boost Rahim's trade value. The team would like to make a move there before the holidays. Rahim is in the last year of his contract, and depending on how he plays, should have a number of suitors.
Cut me, Mick
Teams have until opening night to cut their rosters down to 15. All eyes are on the Grizzlies, who still have 17 good players on their roster. It looks like Ryan Humphrey will be one of the casualties. The other one? The team is deciding between second-year point guard Troy Bell and rookie point guard Antonio Burks. The Grizzlies used a mid-first-round pick on Bell last season and used a second-round pick on Burks this summer. But with two other point guards firmly entrenched in the rotation -- Jason Williams and Earl Watson -- the Grizzlies don't need four point guards. Look for the Grizzlies to dump Bell; despite the high predictions from Jerry West when he drafted him, Bell hasn't really fit into the style of play Hubie Brown prefers. A number of teams -- including the Hawks, Bobcats, and Jazz -- will likely try to pounce on Bell if he's set free.
The Suns bought out the last two years of Howard Eisley's contract over the weekend, clearing the way for him to join another team once he clears waivers. The heavy favorites are the Jazz. Eisley excelled in Utah under coach Jerry Sloan, and the Jazz need his help. Both Carlos Arroyo and Raul Lopez are doubtful for the opener, leaving the Jazz with just untested rookie Keith McLeod at the point.
The Bulls are working on a buyout with Eddie Robinson. The team has been trying to trade him all summer, but no one is interested in an injury-prone slacker who has $14 million remaining on his contract. Robinson has been holding out for all $14 million, but once Eisley settled for $10 million of the $14 million he was due, the market may have been set a little lower. Then again, Eisley actually wanted to play. Robinson? That's a big question mark.
The Blazers are still investigating the whole Qyntel Woods dog incident, but once the investigation is over, expect the Blazers to dump him.
Other top free agents out there after having cleared the waiver wire? Lonny Baxter, Donnell Harvey, Gary Trent, Darius Rice and Rick Rickert could all land jobs on 10-day contracts in the next week or so.
By Chad Ford
NBA Insider
The NBA season starts on election day, but NBA teams are getting out to the polls early.
This weekend saw a flurry of activity as NBA teams cast their votes for player extensions and options, trade offers, roster cuts and starting jobs.
Insider takes you around the league to get the latest on Zach Randolph and Tony Parker's extension situation, the shunning of the 2002 draft class, some starting surprises in Dallas and Philly and a quick look at who lost their jobs.
Randolph gets extension; Parker's on the verge
The NBA pushed the extension deadline back a day meaning that NBA teams have until 6 p.m. on November 1 to lock up players who began their rookie season in 2001.
So far Pau Gasol (6 years, $86 million), Andrei Kirilenko (6 years, $86 million), Jamaal Tinsley (6 years, $40 million), Shane Battier (6 years, $37 million), Jason Collins (4 years, $24 million) and Primoz Brezec (3 years, $8.5 million) have gotten deals done. Who's next?
One day after Halloween, the Trail Blazers signed Zach Randolph to a six-year, $83 million contract extension.
Paying Randolph the $83 million was a big concession for Blazers, who were only offering $72 million on Oct. 29. But don't be deceived by the big upfront number. The Blazers are deferring a full 30 percent of his contract (a whopping $25 million) for another six years after the first six years is up.
Pau Gasol and Andrei Kirilenko also had deferred money in their max contracts this fall -- but that was to the tune of $6 million each, not $25 million.
So why the huge last-minute concessions for Randolph, a player who continues to get his name in the paper for all the wrong reasons?
Randolph's agent, Raymond Brothers, took one of the hardest lines we've heard in his negotiating with the Blazers. He told GM John Nash that if his player didn't get what he was asking for he would take the Blazers' one-year tender next summer and become an unrestricted free agent in 2006. When he did so, he would leave the team.
Did the Blazers bite on the bluff? Apparently so. While many free agents threaten such a thing (Darius Miles did it to the Blazers this summer before signing a six-year deal) only two have actually gone through with it before. The Clippers' Michael Olowokandi and the Grizzlies' Stromile Swift are the only two restricted free agents who have taken a team's one-year tender to become unrestricted free agents the next summer.
It was a huge gamble … one very few free agents are willing to make when we start talking about contract offers in the seventy-million-plus range.
Signing Randolph essentially strips the Blazers of all that cap room they were holding out for next summer. Next year, their cap number should be roughly $40 million -- not enough to make a significant splash in the free-agent market.
Tony Parker and the Spurs are just $2-4 million apart in their negotiations, but still haven't worked something out. Over the weekend, head coach Gregg Popovich took the highly unusual step of publicly protesting Spurs owner Robert Holt's decision not to offer Parker more money.
"At this particular point, we've been told by ownership that they are not going to go beyond the number that's been offered to Tony, and I'm disappointed in that decision," Popovich told the San Antonio Express News.
"I understand the reasons why and the concerns on the part of ownership, but at the same time, over the years we've operated in the (fiscal) arena very successfully. I think Tony Parker has been very fair in understanding the situation and appreciating the situation he's in, while at the same time looking for a contract that shows him the respect that he deserves."
Popovich is absolutely right. The Spurs are offering $64 million. Parker is reportedly willing to settle for a $66 million contract. Given his age, ability and the free-agent market next summer, he should be able to earn up to $20 million more in a place like Atlanta, Charlotte or L.A.
This should be a slam dunk for the Spurs. But Holt is concerned that signing Parker to more money will hurl the Spurs into luxury tax land, something he's unwilling to do.
"Now, I understand it may cost me more next summer," Holt said. "And I might be kicking myself for the next five or six years because I had to pay a lot more to keep him. But right now, with everything so uncertain, I think it's the right thing to do. … I can't pay $50 million in luxury tax. I can't pay the kind of tax (Dallas owner) Mark Cuban and (Portland owner) Paul Allen have paid. I can't do that for a couple of reasons: I don't have that kind of money, and I don't think it's the right way to run a business."
There don't appear to be any other significant extension talks still underway. A few players including Jason Richardson, Troy Murphy, Samuel Dalembert and Gerald Wallace had ongoing negotiations … but no deals have been reached. Richardson and Murphy's agent, Dan Fegan, is threatening to move his players to another team next summer if a deal doesn't go down, but as of late Halloween, the two sides were still too far apart.
Other top players like Kwame Brown, Eddy Curry, Tyson Chandler, Joe Johnson and Vladimir Radmanovic ended extension discussion well before the deadline and will become restricted free agents next summer.
Trade talk starting to heat up
A number of teams began picking up the phones this weekend to start trade talks in an attempt to fill holes or move problems on a team.
Latrell Sprewell has taken his demands of a contract extension to a new level, telling the Wolves that he wants a trade if they won't give him the three-year, $40 million contract extension he believes he deserves.
The Wolves offered him a three-year deal believed to be worth $27 million. He called the offer "insulting," even though he knows there's no way he could earn that type of money on the open market next year.
"I pretty much told them I don't want what they're talking about," he told the Pioneer Press. "So if we can't work it out, work something out with somebody else."
"I'm not trying to stay the year here, I will say that," he said. "If they don't want to sign me, I want to go somewhere else. Why would I want to help them win a title? They're not doing anything for me. I've got a lot at risk here. I've got my family to feed. Anything can happen; it's a long season. You never know."
The Wolves are offering $9 million a year, and Spree is pulling out the "I've got a family to feed" defense?
Is he trying to feed Shawn Kemp's family? He could feed Iraq for $27 million.
Jason Kidd was cleared to begin practicing with the team this weekend, meaning the Kidd rumors are already out in full force. The Blazers are interested in a Kidd for Shareef Abdur Rahim swap, but Kidd claims he doesn't want to play for the Blazers. He would approve a trade to the Nuggets, Mavs, Timberwolves or Lakers.
Given the turmoil in Minnesota right now, perhaps a deal with the Wolves makes the most sense. If the Nets sent Kidd and Alonzo Mourning to Minnesota for Spree, Cassell and Ndubi Ebi, the Nets could clear a boat load of cap room for the summer, and the Wolves could get a point guard who, if nothing else, won't be complaining about his pay every night.
Watch the Bulls the next couple of weeks. The word out of Chicago is that GM John Paxson has had it with Eddy Curry and is once again pursuing trades for the talented, but inconsistent big man.
Curry came into camp in the best shape of his career, but his inability to rebound, remember plays or give a consistent effort on the court have brought the Bulls to the opinion that he's not going to reach his potential in Chicago.
The Grizzlies made a pretty strong play for him over the summer, offering Bonzi Wells and Stromile Swift for Curry and Robinson. Swift can't be traded this season, however, so the terms of the deal would have to change.
Some sort of Curry for Jason Richardson swap might also make sense for both teams. The Bulls need a two guard, and the Warriors need a long-term answer at center. Neither team has been able to work out an extension with their player.
Class of 2002 takes a big hit
There's been a lot of criticism heaped on the draft class of 2000 and 2001, but the class of 2002 took some huge lumps over the weekend. Teams have until 6 p.m. on November 1 to pick up the fourth-year options of players drafted in the first round of the 2002 draft. If they don't, the players become unrestricted free agents next summer and teams lose their Bird rights to re-sign them.
Twenty players in the Class of 2000 and 2001 had their options picked up. However, only 14 players from the Class of 2002 received the honor.
Yao Ming, Mike Dunleavy, Drew Gooden, Nene, Chris Wilcox, Amare Stoudemire, Caron Butler, Jared Jeffries, Melvin Ely, Fred Jones, Jiri Welsch, Curtis Borchardt, Tayshaun Prince and John Salmons all will be under contract with their respective teams next season.
Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Dajuan Wagner, Marcus Haislip, Bostjan Nachbar, Juan Dixon, Ryan Humphrey, Kareem Rush, Qyntel Woods, Casey Jacobsen, Frank Williams and Dan Dickau will all become unrestricted free agents after the season. Two other players from the class, Jay Williams and Chris Jefferies, have already been waived.
The decision not to pick up Skita (the No. 5 pick in the draft), Rush and Jacobsen were the most surprising. The Nuggets have maintained for the past two years that Skita was a diamond in the rough and just needed polishing. However, the team has a very deep frontcourt and wants to clear enough cap room to make a run at a starting shooting guard next summer.
Rush was a big surprise for the Lakers. He's played well when he's healthy, but he's mostly been buried behind Kobe Bryant on the depth chart. Rush was actually happy to hear he'd be free this summer. "This gives me a chance to go out there and explore my options," said Rush. "I've been playing behind Kobe for three years now, and this gives me a chance to get out there. I'm actually kind of excited about it."
There was really no room left for Jacobsen after the team decided to sign Quentin Richardson this summer. Their guard rotation will be Steve Nash, Joe Johnson, Richardson and Leandro Barbosa. The minutes for Jacbosen were going to sparse, no matter what.
Starting over
Mavs head coach Don Nelson stunned just about everyone over the weekend when he announced that rookie Devin Harris will get the starting nod at point guard over Jason Terry, who hasn't come off the bench since his rookie season and struggled to run the offense the way Nelson wanted.
Harris has more playmaking skills and is a better defender than Terry, but observers were stunned that Nelson -- usually not fond of rookies -- made the call so quickly. Nelson hasn't started a rookie on opening night since Tim Hardaway joined the league in 1989.
Right now, Terry is taking the demotion well. "Anybody who looks at the history of me, that's where I made my name," Terry said. "With my energy and leadership coming off the bench with that second group, that's going to be exactly what we need."
Still, watch the situation closely. There are plenty of teams out there that need a point guard, and the Mavs have essentially put Terry on the block by making the move this early.
Another situation to watch is in Philly where Jim O'Brien has handed the starting small forward job over to rookie Andre Iguodala. Veteran Glenn Robinson was slated to start there. When O'Brien made the move, the speculation immediately began that the Sixers will try to trade Robinson (who's in the last year of his contract) or possibly even waive him if he acts up about the benching.
The Sixers are now flirting with putting Robinson on the IL. That's not a good sign.
Shareef Abdur Rahim has earned the starting nod over Darius Miles, but don't expect it to last too long. A source inside the Blazers claims that they're doing it primarily to boost Rahim's trade value. The team would like to make a move there before the holidays. Rahim is in the last year of his contract, and depending on how he plays, should have a number of suitors.
Cut me, Mick
Teams have until opening night to cut their rosters down to 15. All eyes are on the Grizzlies, who still have 17 good players on their roster. It looks like Ryan Humphrey will be one of the casualties. The other one? The team is deciding between second-year point guard Troy Bell and rookie point guard Antonio Burks. The Grizzlies used a mid-first-round pick on Bell last season and used a second-round pick on Burks this summer. But with two other point guards firmly entrenched in the rotation -- Jason Williams and Earl Watson -- the Grizzlies don't need four point guards. Look for the Grizzlies to dump Bell; despite the high predictions from Jerry West when he drafted him, Bell hasn't really fit into the style of play Hubie Brown prefers. A number of teams -- including the Hawks, Bobcats, and Jazz -- will likely try to pounce on Bell if he's set free.
The Suns bought out the last two years of Howard Eisley's contract over the weekend, clearing the way for him to join another team once he clears waivers. The heavy favorites are the Jazz. Eisley excelled in Utah under coach Jerry Sloan, and the Jazz need his help. Both Carlos Arroyo and Raul Lopez are doubtful for the opener, leaving the Jazz with just untested rookie Keith McLeod at the point.
The Bulls are working on a buyout with Eddie Robinson. The team has been trying to trade him all summer, but no one is interested in an injury-prone slacker who has $14 million remaining on his contract. Robinson has been holding out for all $14 million, but once Eisley settled for $10 million of the $14 million he was due, the market may have been set a little lower. Then again, Eisley actually wanted to play. Robinson? That's a big question mark.
The Blazers are still investigating the whole Qyntel Woods dog incident, but once the investigation is over, expect the Blazers to dump him.
Other top free agents out there after having cleared the waiver wire? Lonny Baxter, Donnell Harvey, Gary Trent, Darius Rice and Rick Rickert could all land jobs on 10-day contracts in the next week or so.
