George O'Brien
ASFN Icon
This feels like one of the longest two week periods I can remember. Next Thursday we'll know if Q will be a Sun or not. With everything else going on in the area of free agency and trades, it is frustrating not know what is going to happen.
Will the Clippers match? The rumors seem to run about 50-50. I'm guessing the Suns put some interesting gimmicks into their contract to really screw up the Clippers if they match. The most obvious is that the Suns have put in a huge signing bonus because the Suns now the have cash to do that. I suspect that there may be big trade kicker which could bother the Clippers who have to deal with the fact that Q and Maggette don't get along. I would guess that Q will begin a campaign of bad mouthing the Clippers starting next week to help discourage them from wanting him back.
That being said, I'd say the odds remain strong that the Clippers will end up matching. They have not been even mentioned in most free agent discussions in spite of having a lot of cap space. This is true even if they do re-sign Q. Their lack of activity makes you wonder if Sterling every really expected to get Kobe. Perhaps he just used Kobe as an excuse to cut salaries.
On the Dampier front, I remain mystified by the comments by guys like Chad Ford that if Dampier doesn't do a sign and trade, he may end up taking an MLE deal. It seems to me that Dampier could get a lot more money from the Clippers, even if the Clips match Q. He could get somewhat more money with the Suns (about $1 a year over the MLE), so I cannot see any good reason why he would settle for an MLE deal.
It would appear that most GM's are looking at Dampier's career numbers rather than just last year's (go figure). Ill admit his value is beginning to look a lot lower than I would have expected. I'm not sure it would be enough lower to meet the Suns budget. But it does not seem quite as ridiculous as it might have seemed before. Since the Warriors made their recent moves, they may be less willing to take back contracts they don't like.
The Suns chances of getting Dampier remains a long shot. I'm guessing that Memphis is the last team in a position to a sign and trade, but they seem clear Memphis won't move Swift without a fight. If the Warriors settled for some of their other players, it could still happen.
The rumor of the three way trade with Houston (gets Eisley) and Boston (sends Mihm to Phoenix while getting Jacobsen) seems pretty far fetched. Ironically, the problem isn't so much the extraordinary chance of moving Eisley to Houston without giving them a first, it is that Boston doesn't need another guard in Jacobsen (they have four SG's already not counting Pierce who can play there).
In spite of this, there may be something more than an overactive imagination involved here. It is clear that the Celtics need to move some bodies and perhaps reduce their payroll. It is also true that the Rockets need an experienced PG to go along with Lue and Gaines. The Rockets may have a left over trade exemption, but there is no reason to think it would be enough to take Eisley straight up. BTW, the Rockets salaries are at $49 million, so Eisely shouldn't put them over the luxury tax limit.
What would it take to make the deal work? Without knowing the level of Rockets trade exemption, it is impossible to tell. However, from the Boston perspective I would think that the rights to Vujanic would be vastly more attractive than getting Jacobsen. They have a clutter of young players and could afford to wait on Vujanic. In any case, I'm not sure it would work if the Rockets trade exemption isn't large enough.
Why do I take this deal more seriously than most other rumored deals? Because it is not the kind of thing most people would make up, especially people from out of town. Outside of Phoenix, who would care about the trade of third string center on the Celtics for a third string PG on the Suns? There are no big names to make the deal even vaguely interesting to most basketball fans. It's credible because it is so boring.
There was an article about Tractor Trailor which suggests that he may be just as anxious to come to the Suns as the Sun are to get him. My guess is that he waiting on Q to see if the Suns can offer more than the veteran minimum. His name has come up in regards to the Cavs and apparently the Hornets would like him back.
Since the Hornets just signed Chris Anderson, I suspect they are not inclined to offer Trailor much more than the Suns can offer. On the Hornets, his minutes would be more limited than last season. The Cavs are a more serious prospect, but they are also talking to the ever popular Vin Baker. Trailor broke in with the Cavs, but it is not clear if that is good or bad. We'll see.
It is hard to tell how interested the Suns are in Joel Przybilla. I was a little surprised the Hawks did not give him a qualifying offer since he did average 8.4 rpg in 26.2 minutes, but he played only 12 games for them.
Przybilla has a history of injuries and did very little when with the Bucks. 2001-02 was his best year when he averaged 15.2 minutes in 72 games: 4.0 rpg, 53.3% shooting but only for 2.7 ppg. But he lost most of last season with injuries and barely played before going to Atlanta.
Neither Trailor nor Przybilla are likely to be major contributors but both are physical bangers. Trailor has generally been healthy through his career but Przybilla is a lot taller.
Will the Clippers match? The rumors seem to run about 50-50. I'm guessing the Suns put some interesting gimmicks into their contract to really screw up the Clippers if they match. The most obvious is that the Suns have put in a huge signing bonus because the Suns now the have cash to do that. I suspect that there may be big trade kicker which could bother the Clippers who have to deal with the fact that Q and Maggette don't get along. I would guess that Q will begin a campaign of bad mouthing the Clippers starting next week to help discourage them from wanting him back.
That being said, I'd say the odds remain strong that the Clippers will end up matching. They have not been even mentioned in most free agent discussions in spite of having a lot of cap space. This is true even if they do re-sign Q. Their lack of activity makes you wonder if Sterling every really expected to get Kobe. Perhaps he just used Kobe as an excuse to cut salaries.
On the Dampier front, I remain mystified by the comments by guys like Chad Ford that if Dampier doesn't do a sign and trade, he may end up taking an MLE deal. It seems to me that Dampier could get a lot more money from the Clippers, even if the Clips match Q. He could get somewhat more money with the Suns (about $1 a year over the MLE), so I cannot see any good reason why he would settle for an MLE deal.
It would appear that most GM's are looking at Dampier's career numbers rather than just last year's (go figure). Ill admit his value is beginning to look a lot lower than I would have expected. I'm not sure it would be enough lower to meet the Suns budget. But it does not seem quite as ridiculous as it might have seemed before. Since the Warriors made their recent moves, they may be less willing to take back contracts they don't like.
The Suns chances of getting Dampier remains a long shot. I'm guessing that Memphis is the last team in a position to a sign and trade, but they seem clear Memphis won't move Swift without a fight. If the Warriors settled for some of their other players, it could still happen.
The rumor of the three way trade with Houston (gets Eisley) and Boston (sends Mihm to Phoenix while getting Jacobsen) seems pretty far fetched. Ironically, the problem isn't so much the extraordinary chance of moving Eisley to Houston without giving them a first, it is that Boston doesn't need another guard in Jacobsen (they have four SG's already not counting Pierce who can play there).
In spite of this, there may be something more than an overactive imagination involved here. It is clear that the Celtics need to move some bodies and perhaps reduce their payroll. It is also true that the Rockets need an experienced PG to go along with Lue and Gaines. The Rockets may have a left over trade exemption, but there is no reason to think it would be enough to take Eisley straight up. BTW, the Rockets salaries are at $49 million, so Eisely shouldn't put them over the luxury tax limit.
What would it take to make the deal work? Without knowing the level of Rockets trade exemption, it is impossible to tell. However, from the Boston perspective I would think that the rights to Vujanic would be vastly more attractive than getting Jacobsen. They have a clutter of young players and could afford to wait on Vujanic. In any case, I'm not sure it would work if the Rockets trade exemption isn't large enough.
Why do I take this deal more seriously than most other rumored deals? Because it is not the kind of thing most people would make up, especially people from out of town. Outside of Phoenix, who would care about the trade of third string center on the Celtics for a third string PG on the Suns? There are no big names to make the deal even vaguely interesting to most basketball fans. It's credible because it is so boring.
There was an article about Tractor Trailor which suggests that he may be just as anxious to come to the Suns as the Sun are to get him. My guess is that he waiting on Q to see if the Suns can offer more than the veteran minimum. His name has come up in regards to the Cavs and apparently the Hornets would like him back.
Since the Hornets just signed Chris Anderson, I suspect they are not inclined to offer Trailor much more than the Suns can offer. On the Hornets, his minutes would be more limited than last season. The Cavs are a more serious prospect, but they are also talking to the ever popular Vin Baker. Trailor broke in with the Cavs, but it is not clear if that is good or bad. We'll see.
It is hard to tell how interested the Suns are in Joel Przybilla. I was a little surprised the Hawks did not give him a qualifying offer since he did average 8.4 rpg in 26.2 minutes, but he played only 12 games for them.
Przybilla has a history of injuries and did very little when with the Bucks. 2001-02 was his best year when he averaged 15.2 minutes in 72 games: 4.0 rpg, 53.3% shooting but only for 2.7 ppg. But he lost most of last season with injuries and barely played before going to Atlanta.
Neither Trailor nor Przybilla are likely to be major contributors but both are physical bangers. Trailor has generally been healthy through his career but Przybilla is a lot taller.
Last edited:
