Bleacher Report - Articles by Andrew Ungvari

Andrew Bynum: As Important To the Lakers Now As He Is in the Future

Andrew Ungvari — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:23:50 -0500

Don't get it twisted. Believe what you want about Kobe's infamous "Parking Lot Video" from 2007 but Kobe never really wanted Andrew Bynum traded.

Well, he didn't exactly want Bynum traded.

Go back and watch the video again. It's still easy to find. Go ahead. Watch it. Listen to what Kobe says.

Does Kobe say "Ship his ass out!?" Of course he does. But pay attention to the context in which he says it. Listen to what Kobe says immediately after. He says "We're talking about Jason Kidd."

The Orange County dorks who recorded the video (and unsuccessfully tried to sell it) ask Kobe about why the Lakers didn't get Jason Kidd. It is only when they mention that Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was reluctant to part with the then-19-year-old Bynum for Kidd is when Kobe is perceived to have thrown Bynum under the bus.

It's not that Kobe didn't think that Bynum had the potential to be a great player one day. It's that Kobe didn't want to wait for that day to come. He wanted to win immediately.

Don't forget the video was taken in May—when Bryant was usually too busy practicing for an upcoming playoff game and didn't have the time to hang out at the Newport Coast Shopping Center getting interviewed by street "journalists." It was the third consecutive May when Bryant was home for the summer.

What the "Kobe Video Guys" and Bryant himself didn't understand was that Kidd was making more than $20 million that season and Bynum alone, because he was still playing on a rookie contract, wouldn't have enabled the deal to happen.

The Lakers would have had to include both Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown in order for the salaries to match up. So it's not as if Kupchak passed on Bynum-for-Kidd so much as hesitate to hand over his entire frontcourt for a passed-his-prime point guard.

According to Sports Illustrated's Arash Markazi, "The Kobe Video Guys" say that Bryant went on to say, "How good do you think Andrew Bynum is going to be in 10 years? Are you f---ing kidding me? I'm trying to win this s--- now."

But all that is besides the point.

The point is that Bryant never said anything about Bynum's game or what he felt Bynum's potential was.

It's not that Bynum had much to do with the Lakers championship run last year since he was still trying to recover from an MCL tear in his knee.

Bynum had even less to do with the Lakers trip to the Finals in 2008 when he missed more than half the season, including the playoffs, after suffering a subluxation to his other knee.

The Lakers formula for success in each of these last two seasons could be described as "youthful yet experienced." The 2008 team that lost to the Celtics in the NBA Finals had one player on the team over the age of 30—Derek Fisher.

The team that won the title last season had only two players in their 30s and one of them was Bryant who had just reached 30 the previous August.

This current season is only a few weeks old and already two more Lakers have hit 30—Lamar Odom and newcomer Ron Artest.

A third, Pau Gasol, will turn 30 soon after the conclusion of this NBA season.

Gasol might have played in more basketball games since 2007 than anyone else on the planet. Between two runs to the NBA Finals, the Beijing Olympics, and last summer's EuroBasket Championships in Poland, I dare you to tell me who else even came close.

You could make the case that the size of the Lakers window of opportunity to compete for an NBA title is dependent on the 22-year-old Bynum and how much of a load he's willing to carry going forward.

As Kobe Bryant approaches his mid-30s, will he be willing to cede power to Bynum as he expected of Shaq back in 2004? He may not have a choice if he wants to continue collecting rings.

The biggest shame to come from Bynum's knee injuries over the last two seasons was that both came in January when Bynum was playing the best basketball of his career.

In 2007, Bynum had gotten off to a slow start but seemed to have turned a corner just before the new year. From Dec. 9 up until he suffered the injury on Jan. 13, Bynum was averaging close to 16.5 points and 10.75 rebounds per game.

From Jan. 7 until he suffered his second knee injury on Jan. 31, he was averaging close to 21 PPG and 9 RPG—including a career-high 42-point game.

While some might call Bynum injury-prone, it's really more a case of bad luck and unpreparedness. Someone with a chronically bad back or genetically bad feet is injury-prone whereas having teammates fall on your knee in back-to-back seasons is really just horrible luck.

Had Bynum bent his knees in both instances he probably wouldn't have injured either of his knees to the extent in which he did.

Since Gasol was forced to shoulder much of the load in the frontcourt for most of the last two regular seasons it's only right that Bynum returned the favor while Gasol missed the first 11 games of this season due to hamstring issues.

Just how good has Bynum been in Gasol's absence?

He is one of only two players in the NBA averaging more than 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. The other is Chris Bosh—considered to be the third-biggest prize on this summer's free agent market.

Bynum also trails Bosh by one for the league lead in double-doubles this season, despite playing in two fewer games.

Considering that Bynum is only 22, it isn't inconceivable to see Bynum as a Laker for the next 15 seasons. He should still be around long after Fisher, Bryant, Gasol, Artest, and Lamar Odom are retired.

Bynum represents the bridge from these Lakers to the team's next generation. It is his potential, realized or unrealized, that will chart the course for how much rebuilding the Lakers will require once those other guys are gone.

Had Bynum attended UCONN for four years, instead of jumping to the NBA out of high school, he'd be a rookie right now. Instead he's in his fifth season and no longer looks like a man-child but like a man.

In an era where power forwards like Chuck Hayes, Drew Gooden, and Al Horford are playing center, Bynum should have no problem following in the footsteps of past great Lakers centers as George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Shaquille O'Neal—all of whom led the Lakers to NBA championships and all but Mikan won at least one Finals MVP award.

Mikan's playing career ended in 1956 and the first Finals MVP Award was handed out in 1969. With career playoff averages of 24 points and 14 rebounds per game, he surely would have won at least one.

Of course the big question mark concerning Bynum is how well he and Gasol can coexist. Gasol was acquired by the Lakers after Bynum's first knee injury and the two have only played together in 73 combined regular season and playoff games—many of which came with Bynum recovering from both knee injuries.

Bynum is under contract for two more guaranteed years after this one and the Lakers have a team option for a third year in 2012-13 that they'll surely exercise should he stay healthy.

You can bet that Bynum's agent, David Lee, will allow his client to test the free agent market after experiencing testy negotiations with the Lakers over Bynum's current contract as well as failed negotiations last summer with Trevor Ariza, another of Lee's clients.

Until then, Bynum seems like he's on his way to his first All-Star appearance. With Shaq back in the Eastern Conference and Yao Ming out for the year, it seems as if his stiffest competition to get to Dallas will come from the Clippers' Chris Kaman.

Unlike in his previous four seasons, Bynum doesn't seem paranoid of referees blowing their whistles every time he makes the slightest bit of contact—something Blazers fans are seeing with Greg Oden right now.

Healthy, experienced, care-free, and involved, Andrew Bynum seems as if he's finally on his way.

Having won a fourth championship last June and steadily approaching 1,200 career games played, Kobe knows he's got a partner for the rest of his career in the young seven-footer.

Just imagine how he feels about him now.

Andrew Ungvari is a senior writer and featured columnist for Bleacher Report as well as co-lead blogger for the basketball website, SirCharlesInCharge.com .

For up to the minute news on all things basketball and occasionally brilliant thoughts and observations, follow him on Twitter .

Uncontested Shots: Five Things I've Learned About This NBA Season So Far

Andrew Ungvari — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:12:15 -0500

The 2009-10 NBA season is almost two weeks old and already there are some things that have come as a surprise (The Cavs are 2-2 at home) and a few other things that shouldn't be considered shocking at all (Allen Iverson is unhappy in Memphis).

Be that as it may, here are five things I've learned about this season so far:

The Miami Heat Will Bring It Every Night

It's not just that Dwyane Wade and Co. are 5-1 this season. It's that they've done it by only scoring over 100 points one time this season. They've only surrendered an average of 90.7 points per game to their opponents after giving up 98 per game last season.

What that means is your going to have to bring it against the Heat if you want to beat them.

Their lone defeat came 104-96 loss to the Phoenix Suns. No surprise it was the only game this year in which the Heat gave up more than 100 points.

What that means is that the Heat will have to figure out ways to win games against high-scoring teams who can pass the century mark on a bad day or when they go up against defensive-minded teams. It's no surprise that the Celtics, the league's best defensive team (84.4 ppg), suffered their lone defeat this season against those same Suns.

As is, Wade is scoring 28 of the Heat's 98.5 points per game. If he can't get more help on the offensive end then they'll run risk of wearing him down before the playoffs.

There are rumors that the Heat might be interested in the Golden St. Warriors' Stephen Jackson . While Jackson would cut into the Heat's available cap space for next season his presence could lift the Heat to a first-round playoff victory and give Wade a more optimistic outlook on the future of the team—thus increasing the likelihood that Wade signs an extension to stay in South Beach.

On the flip side, Heat public address announcer Mike Biamonte's elongated cries of Wade's name after a made bucket are as irritating as ever. He's easily surpassed the Pistons' Mason as the league's most intolerable.

It's the NBA. Not the WWE.

There Is Still Plenty of Talent In Phoenix

Say what you will about the Suns giving away Shaquille O'Neal for nothing, but they still have plenty of ammunition with which to go toe-to-toe with the league's best.

Steve Nash, Amare' Stoudemire, Jason Richardson, Grant Hill, Leandro Barbosa, and newcomer Channing Frye have brought the Suns back to the high-octane, "Seven Seconds or Less" offense, that was so successful under old coach, Mike D'Antoni.

Most impressive about the Suns six wins is that four of them have come on the road. Their lone loss, to the defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic, came the night after beating the Heat.

It should be noted that the Suns started out 4-1 last season before losing eight of their next 15.

So while this team isn't necessarily a contender just yet, they have far exceeded expectations of those who expected them to continue their downward spiral after missing last year's playoffs.

The Artest-For-Ariza "Trade" Has Worked Out For Both Teams

The more this season plays itself out the more people will realize how Ron Artest and Trevor Ariza are both in better situations for themselves and their respective teams and careers.

With Pau Gasol yet to play in a game this season due to a hamstring injury and Andrew Bynum missing the last two games with a sore elbow, Artest has shown the league why the Lakers chose him over the much younger Ariza.

Artest's ability to play power forward has allowed the Lakers to not only improve their record to 6-1, but has allowed them to be extra patient in bringing Gasol and Bynum back.

Artest is averaging 12 points, 5.4 boards, and 4.6 assists per game. Those additional five assists per game have helped the Lakers to sixth-highest amongst all NBA teams despite not having anyone averaging five or more per game.

The starting point guards on the five teams ahead of them are Rajon Rondo, Baron Davis, Steve Nash, Aaron Brooks, and Deron Williams—all in the leaue's top-10.

The Lakers' leading assist man is Lamar Odom at 4.9 apg—tied for 23rd best.

As for Ariza, the Rockets should be thrilled with what they have. They have surpassed expectations with an early 4-2 record and Ariza is leading the team in scoring, averaging 20.2 points per game—up from 8.9 ppg with the Lakers last year.

While Ariza's shooting percentage is down from last year, that should be expected given the increase in shots he's taking. He has already taken 100 shots in six games this season after taking only 596 in 82 last season.

The big shocker, as far as Ariza is concerned, is that he's made 46 percent of his three-pointers—despite making only 32 percent for his career.

Stop Writing Off The Spurs

I know that the Spurs are 2-3 and have lost all three road games they've played this season. What surprises me is how many people have already dismissed them and prepared their obituary.

Have any of those people followed this team over the last 10 years?

Anybody who has watched this team play this decade could tell you that they don't play their best basketball until February.

Sure, it's nice to get out to a great start and bank some wins in the race for homecourt advantage in the playoffs. But when you have a veteran group like the Spurs do, all you need to do is finish fourth or higher to have a chance to win a championship.

Even if the Spurs were to finish seventh in the Western Conference, would even Vegas consider them underdogs against the Suns, Nuggets, or Blazers in the first round?

The Spurs are begging you to count them out and write them off. They play 12 of their next 15 games at home, with only one back-to-back during that stretch (at Dallas followed by at home to Utah)—a stretch that will give them ample time to gain momentum going forward.

Should the Spurs come out of that stretch with an overall record of 11-9 or worse, maybe then we can take a closer look at their possible demise.

But until then, put down the pen.

I Hate To Say I Told You So About Iverson...But I Told You So.

Allen Iverson was granted a leave of absence from the Grizzlies to tend to a personal matter in Atlanta. But even before he left the team he was already making a fuss about coming off the bench.

Now there are reports that Iverson is mulling retirement .

Here's what I wrote back on Aug. 29 when talks between Iverson and the Grizzlies were getting serious:

"The Grizzlies are using Iverson to drum up interest in a nonexistent fan-base while Iverson is using the Grizzlies to further his career. This move makes sense for Iverson but makes absolutely no sense for the long-term future of the Grizzlies.

"Some time in March, the Grizzlies will release him so he can sign on with a contender. As a result, the Grizzlies will spend the final two months of the season doing what they should have been doing the first two months of the season."

And here's what I wrote on Oct. 23:

"I don't know if (Iverson) is going to get traded but I do know he won't be on the Grizzlies when the season ends. In all likelihood, Iverson will be bought out by the Grizzlies in time to sign on with a contender for the remainder of the season and be eligible for the playoffs."

Just remember where you heard it first.

Andrew Ungvari is a senior writer and featured columnist for Bleacher Report as well as co-lead blogger for the basketball website, SirCharlesInCharge.com .

For up to the minute news on all things basketball and occasionally brilliant thoughts and observations, follow him on Twitter .

Celtics Are Cruising While The Cavs Are Losing: Why Opening Night Matters

Andrew Ungvari — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:39:26 -0500

We hear it all the time about how regular season games don't matter—especially a game on opening night.

And for the most part it's true.

What happens in October really doesn't have any bearing on how a team ultimately performs or how far they go in the playoffs.

But like every rule there are exceptions.

This particular off-season saw a lot of roster tweaking amongst the teams at the top. The rich got richer at the expense of the middle-class and lower-class teams and as a result, we're headed for what could potentially be not only one of the greatest postseasons but also one of the most unpredictable.

Never have so many teams been considered legitimate contenders. The easiest way to determine if a team is a contender is by asking yourself if you'd be surprised if Team X wins the title?

And right now there are only five teams that we can say that about and three of them reside in the Eastern Conference.

That's why the opening night game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics has proved thus far to be the game that set both teams on their current paces.

How important is the top-seed in the Eastern Conference? Extremely important when you consider that the teams that finish second and third will have to face each other in the Conference Semi-Finals while the top-seeded team will most likely end up going against the Hawks, Heat, Wizards, or Raptors.

Which sounds like an easier road to the Larry O'Brien Trophy?

If two teams are tied at season's end the first tie-breaker in determining who gets the higher seed and homecourt advantage is head-to-head record.

Now keep in mind that the last 15 games between the Cavs and Celtics prior to opening night were won by the home team.

Also don't forget that the Cavs went a remarkable 39-2 on their home floor last season and that included an overtime loss to the 76ers on the last day of the season in which LeBron James and Mo Williams were kept out of the lineup.

So much of what makes a team tough to beat is mental. There's a swagger that teams have, especially at home, that says "No matter what, we're not losing this game."

After whispers all summer long about the health of Kevin Garnett and the age of the Celtics starting lineup, and even louder whispers about how well Shaquille O'Neal would coexist with LeBron James, opening night was the night for one of the two to silence their critics—at least for a little while.

And for the first 5:45 of the game it looked like that team was going to be Cleveland.

Up 19-5, the Cavs looked like the Shaq experiment was going to work and the Celtics looked confused and old.

And then the tables turned.

From that point on the Celtics outscored the Cavs 90-70 and won by a score of 95-89.

Heading into Friday night's games, the Celtics are 6-0 and have yet to give up more than 90 points to an opponent.

Meanwhile, the Cavs are 3-3, and after Thursday night's home loss to the Chicago Bulls, have already lost as many times at home through four games this season as they did in 41 games last year.

More importantly, the Cavs are now 5-11 in their last 16 games against the Celtics (2-3), Magic (3-6), and Lakers (0-2), including last season's playoffs.

Not only have the Celtics started out perfect but everything else seems to have gone right for them since that game. Their prize off-season acquisitions, Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels, have fit in seamlessly.

Rajon Rondo inked a five-year, $55 million contract extension just before the deadline which will prevent the Celtics from having to match a ridiculous offer from a team like Miami next summer.

Kevin Garnett has looked healthier and healthier with each successive game and Ray Allen looks like he deserves that big money extension when he hits free agency next July.

On the flip side, the Cavs didn't just lose a game. They lost a little bit of that home swagger. The Bulls aren't going to be the only team that will go into Quicken Loans Arena thinking they can win a game there.

The Cavs also lost the grace period that teams are usually afforded after making a big trade. There are already rumors out there about the Cavs making a run at Allen Iverson.

But worst of all, they've raised the anxiety level of a fan base that is so afraid of losing its superstar just days after watching two former Indians pitchers, both Cy Young Award winners, face one another in Game One of the World Series.

Friday night, LeBron makes his only trip of the season to Madison Square Garden. The timing couldn't be worse for Cavs fans. In the midst of a 3-3 start the Cavs are in New York the day that New Yorkers are celebrating their World Series champions with a parade.

There is no shortage of LeBron-to-the-Knicks stories in the New York tabloids or dozens of other newspapers and websites across the United States today.

In every city the Cavs travel to there will be reporters daydreaming about LeBron playing in their town in 2010—just like there were with Chris Webber in 2001, Jason Kidd in 2003, and Kobe Bryant in 2004.

As long as the Cavs continue to fall behind the Celtics in their quest for the top seed in the Eastern Conference those possibilities will ring louder and louder in the ears of Cavs fans—like those of a cellular phone in a movie theater that goes unanswered.

Every loss will be magnified and every win will be more relief than glory.

The good news for Clevelanders is that after Friday night's game with the Knicks, the Cavs have four days off to prepare for a road game with another top team—the Orlando Magic.

Lose that game and the whispers of their demise and LeBron's imminent departure will become more resonant.

Win that game and you might shut some people up.

At least for a couple days.

Andrew Ungvari is a senior writer and featured columnist for Bleacher Report as well as co-lead blogger for the basketball website, SirCharlesInCharge.com .

For up to the minute news on all things basketball and occasionally brilliant thoughts and observations, follow him on Twitter .

Could LeBron James Be a Laker Next Year?

Andrew Ungvari — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:15:39 -0500

Now I've never been one to spread gossip, but this particular item deserved a little attention.

Sam Smith of Bulls.com wrote an article today speculating that LeBron James could be headed to the Lakers next summer.

Smith acknowledges that the Lakers, owners of the NBA's highest payroll, do not have the sufficient cap space to sign LeBron outright. His rationale is that if LeBron has his heart set on going to the Lakers then the Cavs would have no choice but to accommodate his majesty, or risk getting nothing for him in return.

To make matters even more complicated, Smith writes "I’ve heard this scenario from some NBA people, though I’ve heard every other one as well..."

Well, that last part I agree with. If James did plan on leaving town the Cavs would be much better off at least getting one building block for him.

Here's what Smith writes about the particulars of the deal:

"If [the Cavs] don’t accommodate him, he’s going to New York or Miami and they get nothing. But if they do in a sign-and-trade to save the franchise, they get a young, potential All-Star center in Andrew Bynum. Maybe Lamar Odom as well or Ron Artest. Draft picks, some pieces like Jordan Farmar."

Now I don't know if Smith knows this, but Farmar is going to be a free agent next summer. And while I don't think the Lakers would hesitate to pull the trigger on either a Bynum and Odom or a Bynum and Artest for LeBron trade, Lakers first-round draft picks are useless when you consider that for at least the next four years they are not going to be that much better than second-round picks.

So here's the question, if you're a Cavs fan and you know LeBron is leaving, is Bynum the type of centerpiece you'd be looking to get back in a trade for James?

Odom has two more guaranteed years after this one on his current deal (with a team option for a fourth year) and Artest is signed for four more years.

Bynum is under contract for two more years after this one with a team option for a third.

If you're a Lakers fan, do you make either trade and give up on the promising Bynum while he's still healthy and you've got the chance?

I should let you all know that Smith is a bit of rumor-monger who has been throwing out hypothetical trades long before ESPN's Trade Machine and RealGM's TradeChecker™ came into existence.

I don't take anything he says that serious so I suggest neither should you.

If you asked me today where I thought James would go next summer I would tell you that I think he's going to re-sign with the Cavs for three years. James turns 25 in December and will still be 28 if he does as I suspect.

I just don't think that the teams that will have cap space next summer have enough, even with James, to be any better than the squad James is currently on. Not the Knicks, the Nets, or even the Heat with Dwyane Wade.

The lone exception would be the Bulls.

But if Smith, who lives in Chicago, doesn't seem to think the Bulls are an option, then why should I?

Smith kind of contradicts himself a little when he first writes "The general consensus seems to be LeBron stays in Cleveland given you can be a star from anywhere...," yet he follows that later saying "James has often talked about expanding his empire, and lately has been involved with books and movies. So where else but in L.A. would you want to be to be involved in the entertainment industry?"

So let me get this straight: You can be a star from anywhere, but you can only write books and make movies in L.A.?

I'd give the Lakers less than a five-percent chance of landing LeBron next summer? I'd give him a 50/50 shot in 2013 if he only signs with the Cavs for three more years.

Until then, get used to these types of articles from guys like Smith because there's going to be another just like it popping up every week until July 1, 2010.

Andrew Ungvari is a senior writer and featured columnist for Bleacher Report as well as co-lead blogger for the basketball website, SirCharlesInCharge.com.

For up to the minute news on all things basketball and occasionally brilliant thoughts and observations, follow him on Twitter.

Will the Los Angeles Lakers Add to Their Frontcourt Before the Playoffs?

Andrew Ungvari — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:14:10 -0400

One of the greatest misconceptions about this Lakers team is that they have incredible depth.

I don't know if it's because people forget that they made two-for-ones trades like Maurice Evans and Brian Cook for Trevor Ariza or Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton for Pau Gasol or that they traded Chris Mihm to the Grizzlies last February for just a conditional second-round pick.

The Lakers did add to their bench last season when they made a one-for-two trade—moving Vladimir Radmanovic to the Charlotte Bobacts for Shannon Brown and Adam Morrison.

But because Morrison probably won't factor into the Lakers rotation without an unforeseen injury, you can consider that one a one-for-one trade.

Since the Ariza trade back in Nov. 2007, the Lakers have increased the quality of their starting lineup at the expense of their bench.

Sure they have a Sixth Man of the Year candidate in Lamar Odom, but the rest of their bench is a bit suspect.

Sasha Vujacic is not the same player who scored 20 points in Game Three of the 2008 NBA Finals against Boston.

Luke Walton is a great system guy who did an admirable job guarding Carmelo Anthony in last season's Western Conference Finals, but he's still commits way too many turnovers and can't really be counted on offensively.

Jordan Farmar hasn't really been the same player for the past year and it's becoming more and more obvious that his game would be much better suited for an up-tempo style of offense (preferably on a team that doesn't care too much about defense).

While the Lakers starting frontcourt is the best in the league (along with the Celtics), Tuesday's opener against the Clippers exposed its lack of depth. With Pau Gasol nursing a sore hamstring, Phil Jackson had to turn to DJ Mbenga and Josh Powell who combined for four points and five rebounds in 18 minutes.

The Lakers currently have the minimum of 13 players on their roster. With two available roster spots nobody should be surprised if the team decides to add another big man to their roster before the playoffs next April.

While the pickings are rather slim on the free agent front, there are a few names they could acquire either in free agency or via trade that would better equip them to withstand the loss of one of their big men to an unfortunate injury.

Kurt Thomas

No doubt Thomas might be the prize of available free agents who could get bought out in time to sign on with a contender.

Thomas, who the Milwaukee Bucks acquired in the Richard Jefferson trade, is on a team that is so bad that the NBA tried to hide them by not scheduling their first regular season game until the fourth day of the season.

Thomas is in his 15th season and has yet to win a ring despite having played on the Knicks team that made the NBA Finals in 1999 and on talented Suns and Spurs teams this decade.

Thomas is in the final year of a contract that pays him $3.8 million. If the Lakers hope to acquire Thomas in a trade it will be a lot more complicated than their fans hope since they don't really have a salary that matches up evenly. As a result, they'd have to make a two-for-one trade with the Bucks to get Thomas—thus further depleting their depth.

Even a two-for-one trade is complex because the Bucks are trying to trim their payroll for a potential sale so they would have no interest in acquiring Adam Morrison's $5.25 million contract without the Lakers taking back another player's salary in return.

If the Lakers were willing to take on two more years of Charlie Bell's contract they could move Morrison and Farmar (both restricted free agents at season's end) for Bell and Thomas.

Bell makes close to $4 million a year for each of the next two seasons but would cost the Lakers double with the luxury tax. But Bell would provide insurance in case Shannon Brown decides to exercise his option for next season and become a free agent in the summer.

Bell can play both guard positions even though he's more of a shooting guard—just like Brown.

With the additions of Carlos Delfino, Roko Ukic, and Brandon Jennings the Bucks cannot only afford to move Bell but might jump at the chance to do it.

The Lakers could always cross their fingers and hope that the Bucks just buy Thomas out so he can sign on with a contender. The problem is that they would have to compete with all the other playoff teams—whereas trading for him would eliminate the risk of missing out on him and watching him sign on with the Spurs, Nuggets, Celtics, or Cavs.

Francisco Elson

Thomas isn't the only big man on the Bucks who is on an expiring contract. His teammate, Francisco Elson, is another.

While Elson isn't much more talented than Mbenga or Powell, he wouldn't require nearly as much in a trade as Thomas. Elson is making $1.7 million in the final season of a two-year deal he signed with Milwaukee in the summer of 2008.

Elson is a veteran and a hard worker—traits that would endear him to Phil Jackson. He's also a former Denver Nugget who could provide a little intel as to how to best stop their offense should the two teams meet again in the playoffs.

The Lakers could easily swap Farmar for Elson but that's only if the Bucks hope to re-sign Farmar next summer. Otherwise the Bucks would have no use for him and a trade for him would make little sense.

The Lakers could always sweeten the deal by including a draft pick.

The Lakers don't have a first-round pick in next June's draft because it was sent to Memphis in the Gasol trade. What they do have, though, is Memphis' second-round pick—which could end up being just four or five picks later than the pick they traded away to Memphis.

Jeff Foster

Yes, he's still in the league. It's hard to believe that Foster was a member of the Pacers team that played the Lakers in the 2000 NBA Finals.

Foster has one more year after this one on a contract that pays him $6 million this year and about $6.65 million next season.

The Lakers could swap Adam Morrison for Foster straight up. This would clear his salary off of the Pacers cap for next season when Morrison's contract expires.

The Lakers might not be so opposed to taking on Foster's salary for next season when you consider that Mbenga and Powell will both be free agents next season.

But there is a more appealing deal for the Lakers and that would be swapping Vujacic for Foster. Both Vujacic and Foster have one season left on their deals after this one but Vujacic makes $1.65 million less next season.

Should TJ Ford decide to opt out of the final year of his contract next summer, that $1.65 million could give the Pacers a little more money to spend on the open market to either retain Ford or bring in someone else.

With recent draft picks Roy Hibbert and Tyler Hansbrough in the fold, Foster has never been more expendable.

While Foster's contract does seem a bit rich, with Morrison's contract expiring he wouldn't add much to next season's payroll at all.

Tony Battie

Battie is a lot like Foster in that he also makes over $6 million. The Nets aren't willing to take on anything in salary beyond this season because they want to maximize their available cap space.

So Vujacic is out of the question, but Morrison is definitely an option.

But, as is the case with the Bucks, where's the incentive for the Nets to make that deal unless the Lakers can include a draft pick?

I fully expect the Nets to buy out Battie so he can latch on with a contender and save them some money in the process.

If that were the case, the Lakers would probably have to battle it out with Orlando, Cleveland, and Boston for his services—three teams that Battie has already played for in his 13-year NBA career.

Free Agents

There are a number of veteran free agents that have yet to sign with teams that the Lakers could probably sign whenever they want. But unless there's an injury they will most likely wait until after the trade deadline so they can save some money.

While the names aren't going to impress anybody there are some players that bring their own individual intangibles to the table.

Chris Mihm is familiar with the triangle offense and would probably jump at the chance to rejoin the Lakers.

Raef LaFrentz, Lorenzen Wright, Stromile Swift, Rob Kurz, and Melvin Ely are also sitting around waiting for the phone to ring.

Regardless, it's not a question of whether or not the Lakers should sign another big man to their roster but when and who it will be.

After an offseason in which the Cavs upgraded it's frontcourt depth by replacing Ben Wallace with Shaq and moving Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the bench, and the Celtics bench upgraded from Mikki Moore to Rasheed Wallace, the Lakers might have to act quickly to protect themselves in case Gasol's hamstring becomes an ongoing issue or Bynum's knees become annual malady.

How Realistic Is 70 Wins For The Lakers?

Andrew Ungvari — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:42:50 -0400

Nobody hates it when writers and fans talk about teams winning 70 games before January more than I do.

To be perfectly honest, it really doesn't make sense to talk about a team's chances of winning 70 games until the All-Star break.

So before any of you call me a hypocrite just understand that this isn't my attempt at making a case for the Lakers winning 70 games as much as it is a primer for what all of you Lakers haters and homers need to pay attention to before you start broaching the subject.

History

The 1995-96 Chicago Bulls were the only team in the NBA's history to win 70 games. By the end of 1995 they had amassed an incredible record of 25-3. By the All-Star break they had improved their record to an even more impressive 42-5—thanks to an 18-game winning streak.

The Bulls finished with a post-break record of 30-5 record.

In addition to the 18-game streak, the Bulls also had a 13-game winning streak as well as seven other winning streaks of five games or more.

Of their 10 losses that year, only two of them came back-to-back.

The most impressive fact about the 1995-96 Bulls is that between Nov. 27 and Feb. 4 they went 31-1.

Misconceptions

One of the only criticisms about that amazing team was that they were aided by the NBA expanding into Canada—giving the Bulls six easy wins against the newly-formed Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies.

I understand that those six games would have probably presented greater challenges had they been against teams that were already in existence.

But nobody seems to remember that one of the Bulls 10 losses came against the Raptors. Sure it's only one loss but it's one loss out of only 10 they had all season.

Considering how great that Bulls team was, there was a great chance that they would have gone 5-1 against any random six opponents.

The Hard Part

There's no denying that the roughest part of the NBA schedule comes in the form of back-to-back games. I find it funny that today's players complain about back-to-backs when it wasn't that long ago teams would play in San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas on three consecutive nights.

Since this Lakers team has all but two players returning from last season's squad (and that's if you count Sun Yue) it wouldn't be crazy to see how they fared on the second night of back-to-back games last season as an indicator of how they might do this season.

Last year's world champs, who finished the season with a 65-17 record, went a remarkable 14-5 on the second night of back-to-backs, including road wins over the Hornets (twice), Spurs, and Celtics.

This year the Lakers have 20 sets of back-to-backs, including a stretch in December that sees them playing three consecutive back-to-backs in only 10 days. Of those six games, only the first one is at home.

Of their 20 sets of back-to-backs, their games on the second night are on the road an eye-catching 18 times—including games at Houston (twice), Denver, Utah, Detroit, Dallas (twice), and Portland.

There are also games in Sacramento (twice), Indiana, and Charlotte—three teams that not only beat the Lakers in their home buildings last season but always seem to give the Lakers fits in front of their hometown fans—regardless of their won-loss records.

The Easy Part

Much has been made of the fact that the Lakers play 17 of their first 21 game at home this year. That's probably why I chose to write this article in the first place. Should the Lakers find a way to get through those 21 games with a record of 19-2 or better there is no question that there will be plenty of talk about them winning 70 games.

Of the the four road games during that stretch, three of them are against the Warriors, Thunder, and Rockets—three teams that will most likely either miss the playoffs or finish seventh or eighth in the conference.

The fourth game, against the Nuggets in Denver on Nov. 13 is on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Importance of Luck

You can't underestimate the importance of luck when it comes to attempting to win 70 games.

For starters, you don't want to have too big a lead in the standings because it's important for those final few games in the season to mean something.

Of the Lakers seven games in April, four of them are against teams expected to be playoff locks (Utah, San Antonio, Denver, and Portland) and a fifth is against the Clippers—a team expected to fight for one of the last few playoff spots.

If the Lakers have a comfortable lead over the other teams fighting for homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs, there's a chance that players with nagging injuries could sit out and try to get healthy before the start of the playoffs.

And that brings me to other big issue related to luck and that's health.

Michael Jordan played in all 82 games for the Bulls in 1995-96 at 32. At 31, it isn't far-fetched to believe that Kobe Bryant could play in all 82 games but when you consider that he hasn't missed a game—regular season, playoff, or international—in over two years, the Lakers would need a lot of luck if they hope he can get through another 82 without missing a game.

Besides Jordan, Scottie Pippen only missed five games, Toni Kukoc only missed one game, Ron Harper missed only two, and Steve Kerr didn't miss any.

Dennis Rodman missed 18 games and Luc Longley missed 20—but back-up center Bill Wennington, who missed 11 games, was healthy for all 20 that Longley missed.

This year's Lakers team is as equipped to withstand the loss of one starter at any position as any team in the history of the NBA.

The flexibility of four of the Lakers top six players enables them to plug Lamar Odom into their lineup for any injured starter.

If Andrew Bynum gets hurt then Pau Gasol can play center with Odom moving into the starting power forward spot.

If Gasol is hurt, as he was in the season opener, then Odom can fill in for him.

If Ron Artest is hurt then Odom can start as small forward.

If Kobe Bryant is out then Artest can play shooting guard and Odom can play small forward.

If Derek Fisher gets hurt then Phil Jackson would most likely move either Jordan Farmar or Shannon Brown into the starting lineup but he has the luxury of starting Bryant and Artest in the backcourt and playing Artest at small forward if he so desires.

Is It Going to Happen?

My short answer to whether or not the Lakers are going to win 70 games this year is no. They definitely have the talent to do so but their schedule says otherwise. With 18 of their 20 games on the second night of back-to-backs coming on the road, as well as 16 of their 28 games after the All-Star break being on the road, it's hard to imagine them only losing 12 games all season.

I'd be more inclined to give them a shot if they'd had a single winning streak in the double-digits last season. They had one winning streak of nine games and two of seven games.

They had the league's best road record last season at 29-12 but they would have to improve on that since they could only lose 12 total games if they hoped to win 70.

In the meantime, don't even bring the subject up unless it's Jan. 1, 2010 and the Lakers are 27-4 or better.

Andrew Ungvari is a senior writer and featured columnist for Bleacher Report as well as co-lead blogger for the basketball website, SirCharlesInCharge.com .

For up to the minute news on all things basketball and occasionally brilliant thoughts and observations, follow him on Twitter .

Ten NBA Players Who Could Be Moved by the Trade Deadline

Andrew Ungvari — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:59:44 -0400

If the title of this article looks familiar it's probably because I wrote an article with the same title just before the 2008-09 NBA season started.

Just a few days after my article was posted, Chad Ford of ESPN.com wrote his own article with his own list.

I'm proud to say that my list turned out to be more accurate than that of an ESPN expert. Of the ten players that I listed, five were traded either by the deadline (Allen Iverson, Shawn Marion, and Chris Wilcox) or during the off-season (Jamal Crawford and Darko Milicic) and another was bought out of his contract and released (Antoine Walker).

While last year's list was mostly made up of upcoming free agents like Iverson and Marion, there were also guys on the list like Kirk Hinrich that I felt could be traded because it seemed as if the team had already drafted his replacement.

This year's list has it's share of upcoming free agents but there are also players on the list who could be traded either because they don't fit on their existing squads, their team is trying to free up more cap space for next summer's free agent bonanza, or because the down economy has forced some teams to shed salaries—even if the player(s) coming back don't equal what the team is giving up.

So here's this year's version of what looks like what will become an annual event.

1) Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Ilgauskas is heading into his 14th season as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Along with Kobe Bryant, there isn't another player in the league who has been on his current team as long as they have.

Big Z is in the final season of a contract that pays him $11.5 million and could be used to net the Cavs the final piece to not only make a run at a title this year but also to keep LeBron James from fleeing to another team next summer.

But there's a catch.

The only deal that I can envision the Cavs making is the type of deal where the team that trades for Ilgauskas buys him out immediately, making him an unrestricted free agent—free to re-sign with the Cavs just like Brent Barry did in 2008 when he was traded to Seattle for Kurt Thomas and re-signed with the Spurs after sitting out the mandatory 30 days.

The rumor that has floated around for the past few weeks had Ilgauskas headed to Golden State for guard/forward Stephen Jackson.

While this deal makes a lot of sense for all parties involved, the only way that the Warriors would buy out Ilgauskas would be if the trade was made close enough to the deadline so that Golden State wouldn't have the time to either see if Ilgauskas fit in with the current squad or to see if they could flip Ilgauskas again before the February 18 deadline.

2) Stephen Jackson

Jackson has made no secret that he wants to be traded out of Golden State. After crying about wanting an extension last season, despite having two seasons left on his current deal, Jackson has now asked the Warriors to move him to either the Cavs or one of the three Texas teams.

The problem is that Jackson's three-year, $28 million extension doesn't begin until next season. Teams interested in Jackson would only be willing to do so if it meant they could give up substantially less talent in return or an unwanted contract.

Jackson doesn't seem to understand that the more he keeps his name in the media for the wrong reasons the harder it will be for the Warriors to grant him his wish.

In a perfect world, the Warriors would love to get one or two expiring contracts and another player on a rookie contract in exchange for Jackson. That way they would at least have something more than salary relief to show for the trade after this season.

Even if the Warriors traded Jackson for expiring contracts they would still be over the salary cap next season. So there's no sense in just trading him for expiring contracts.

3) Andre Miller

I can't say with certainty whether or not Miller will be traded before the deadline. What I can say is that there's almost no chance that Miller plays out the maximum three years on the $21 million contract he signed with the Blazers in July.

Miller has already expressed his unhappiness with having to compete with Steve Blake to be the team's starting point guard. He claims he was misled by general manager Kevin Pritchard and head coach Nate McMillan when he signed his contract.

Make no mistake, the Blazers didn't want Andre Miller in June and they don't want him now. After striking out on Hedo Turkoglu, Paul Millsap, David Lee, and Lamar Odom, the Blazers were forced to use their available cap space or they would have lost it next season when the extensions for Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge kicked in.

Only the first two seasons of Miller's contract are guaranteed while the third year is a team option.

The Blazers will move Miller to bring in the player that they really need—the only question is whether or not it happens in 2010 or 2011.

4) Michael Redd

The Bucks insist they have no intention of trading Redd but I don't believe them for a second. As great as Redd is when he's healthy, he's not the type of player who can sell tickets on a team as bad as the Bucks are projected to be this season.

The team's owner, Sen. Herb Kohl, has already stated that he'd be willing to listen to offers for his team. It's no secret that the team would be much easier to sell without the $18 million Redd is due to make next season when he exercises the option on his contract's final year.

The Bucks currently have just under $19 million guaranteed to three players for the 2011-12 season. By cutting next season's payroll down the next owner of the team would have attractive lottery picks in the next two drafts as well as plenty of cap space with which to put a competitive team in place in only two years.

First things first, the Bucks need Redd to stay healthy and show no ill-effects from the ACL and MCL tears he suffered last January.

5) Allen Iverson

Iverson is one of only two players I have on both last year's list as well as this year's. I don't know if he's going to get traded but I do know he won't be on the Grizzlies when the season ends.

In all likelihood, Iverson will be bought out by the Grizzlies in time to sign on with a contender for the remainder of the season and be eligible for the playoffs.

While there are still 25 teams that won't touch Iverson, there are teams who would be much more attracted to him if they lose one of their primary scorers to an injury or if the team has such a veteran presence that there's little risk of Iverson going rogue.

If the Celtics were willing to take a chance on Stephon Marbury, why wouldn't they take a chance on Iverson?

6) Wilson Chandler

Relax, Knicks fans, just hear me out. Chandler is one of the most underrated players in the NBA and, unlike 80 percent of their current roster, looks like he's going to be a part of their future.

While the Knicks will have the cap space next summer to make a run at one significant free agent they won't have the freedom to sign two without moving either Eddy Curry or Jared Jeffries first.

The reason Chandler is on the list is because, without a first-round pick in next year's draft, he's the Knicks most attractive asset. If they hope to shed either Curry or Jeffries before next summer they will most likely have to include Chandler since last season's first-round pick, Danilo Ganillari is coming off of back surgery and this year's lottery pick, Jordan Hill, looks like a long-term project.

Both Curry and Jeffries are signed through 2011. There's no scenario in which I can envision another team trading a contract that expires at season's end for nothing but the right to overpay Jeffries or Curry next season.

7) Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic

The World Champs already have the league's highest payroll and that doesn't include the $12 million they're paying for head coach Phil Jackson. They have five players, Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Adam Morrison, DJ Mbenga, and Josh Powell, entering the final year of their contracts and a sixth, Shannon Brown, who has a player option for next season.

Fisher, Farmar, and Brown are the team's only point guards. If the Lakers had the opportunity to move Farmar and either Morrison's expiring contract or the two remaining years on Vujacic's contract for a franchise point guard they might jump at the chance to do it.

By moving Vujacic and allowing Morrison and Brown to leave after the season they could add that point guard without increasing next year's payroll by much.

If they moved Farmar and Morrison, instead of Farmar and Vujacic, they would still be on the hook for one more year of Vujacic's contract.

Considering that the Lakers are high above the luxury tax, the incoming player would cost them double with the luxury tax next season—making a trade with Farmar and Morrison less likely to happen than one with Farmar and Vujacic but not out of the realm of possibility.

8) Kirk Hinrich

Hinrich is the only other player besides Iverson who also appeared on last year's list. While there is a chance that Hinrich gets moved before the deadline there's a much greater chance that he gets moved during the off-season.

The main reason is that the Bulls have a legitimate shot at signing Chicago-native Dwyane Wade next summer. There is a chance that the Bulls could have a sufficient amount of cap space to sign Wade just by renouncing their rights to Tyrus Thomas and keeping Hinrich, but they would have very little cap space to finish filling out the remainder of their roster.

Due to the presence of the NBA's reigning Rookie of the Year, Derrick Rose, Hinrich is now primarily a shooting guard but he could still be an upgrade at point guard for nearly half the league.

If the Bulls could move Hinrich for a big man that makes a little bit less money, then they could use their available cap space to make a serious run at Wade.

9) Kenny Thomas and Andres Nocioni

Yes, Kenny Thomas is still in the league. It's hard to believe that Thomas, who the Kings acquired from Philadelphia in the Chris Webber trade, is still playing out the horrible contract that Larry Brown fought so hard for him to get back in 2003.

While the Kings would prefer to move Beno Udrih there's a zero chance that anyone would be willing to take on that contract any time soon.

The Kings could choose to just let Thomas' contract expire and use some of their cap space in next summer's free agent market, but I don't see any of the significant free agents signing to play in Sacramento.

That being the case, the Kings might be better off moving Thomas to a team looking for a big expiring contract and getting a player who probably wouldn't sign with them in free agency.

Nocioni still has two more years and a player option for a third year after this coming season. He turns 30 in November and probably isn't happy about spending his last few productive seasons on a team that's starting from scratch.

Nocioni could be attractive to a few of the contending teams because his contract decreases in each of the next two seasons.

There's also the chance that the Kings decide to move Kevin Martin if they can find someone to take him. Martin is a great scorer but he's too often injured and could stunt the progress of fourth-overall pick, Tyreke Evans.

10) Jermaine O'Neal

I would say that O'Neal has less of a chance at getting traded than any player on this list. The only reason he is on the list is because Pat Riley might not have a choice but to find a team that is willing to take him off his hands.

There's a real possibility that the Heat will miss the playoffs and scare Dwyane Wade into thinking that he might be better off spending his prime years somewhere else.

Sure the Heat will have a lot of cap space next summer but if Wade doesn't think that his younger teammates can ever be supporting players on a championship team than he could flee to New York or Chicago when he gets the chance.

If the Heat get off to a bad start then Riley might have to sacrifice some of that cap space by moving O'Neal's expiring contract for two or three players just to make the playoffs and keep Wade optimistic.

Honorable Mention: Amare Stoudemire

Stoudemire has an option on his contract for next season that he's sure to exercise. The Suns run the risk of losing Stoudemire for nothing at season's end or trying to trade him for something beforehand.

That's at least what most prognosticators are saying. What they fail to realize is that with such a rich free agent class the Suns wouldn't necessarily be letting him go for nothing.

Stoudemire is scheduled to make just a tad under $18 million next season. Freeing up that much money from their cap would enable them to make a legitimate run at either a top-tier free agent or two guys from the next tier.

If Stoudemire decides to stay then the Suns could be the biggest players in free agency in 2011 when both Stoudemire and Jason Richardson's contracts expire.

I don't really think that Stoudemire will get traded but you'll probably see his name on similar lists. I just wanted to explain why I didn't include before someone brings his name up

Uncontested Shots: Latest on the NBA GM Survey, the Decade's Best, and More

Andrew Ungvari — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:00:24 -0400

The NBA preseason is just about a week old, which means we're one fewer week away from opening night. Preseason performances are just a notch above summer league performances when it comes to impressing me.

I’m not saying it isn’t nice to see a rookie or an undrafted free agent playing well in the preseason. What I’m saying is that it has no bearing on whether or not that player will be effective when the games start counting—it just means they’ll have the opportunity to try and prove it.

So before I waste anymore of your time, I bring you my latest edition of "Uncontested Shots," or should I say, things I was thinking about while wondering if we’ve hopefully seen the last of Stephen A. Smith.

Poll Positions

NBA.com came out with its annual GM Survey. While there were a bunch of results that weren’t the least bit surprising, there were a few that came as a bit of a shock.

For example, 25 percent of the league’s GMs thought Vince Carter was the free agent acquisition who will make the biggest impact while Ron Artest, Richard Jefferson, Rasheed Wallace, and Shaquille O’Neal all tied for second with 14.3 percent of the vote.

The other big shocker was that Kobe Bryant finished second to Chauncey Billups when it came to which player was the league’s best leader—ahead of Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Chris Paul.

It’s definitely worth checking out all of the results.

Casey The Whistle Blower

Casey Jacobsen, the former Stanford stand-out who never really made a name for himself in the NBA, is now playing pro ball in Germany and is writing a blog for Slam.

In his latest post, Jacobsen writes about AAU basketball and the effects it had on some of his contemporaries. He writes about the shopping sprees, cars, and money that were given to many of the nation’s best prep guys and how it corrupted them.

While Jacobsen hated the writers who kept him off of the top-25 lists that seem to pop up everywhere, he credits his name being omitted from those lists as the reason for why he’s succeeded while many of those who were praised fizzled.

Jacobsen brings up Schea Cotton as an example of a kid who was labeled a can’t-miss prospect and the next Michael Jordan, but never panned out. I’m only a few years older than Jacobsen, so I remember the hype surrounding Cotton—especially because he was supposed to attend UCLA, but couldn’t qualify academically.

Jacobsen blames a lot of the corruption on Nike and Adidas and wonders how much worse it is these days for prep stars.

I hated Jacobsen while he was at Stanford—mainly because he went undefeated in his four years at Pauley Pavilion against UCLA.

But the more I read from him the more I started to like him. He seems like a really bright and articulate guy who genuinely cares about the future of prep basketball and allowing kids to be kids for as long as they can.

I recommend the piece to everybody and I look forward to reading more of his posts.

Another Top 10 List

Yahoo!’s Kelly Dwyer decided to write his top-10 list of the decade’s best players and, as you can tell by the number of comments (almost 2,000), there are a lot of people who disagree.

For starters, Dwyer has Allen Iverson ranked 10th, below Tracy McGrady (No. 9) and Dwyane Wade (No. 8). He also ranks Kevin Garnett second, ahead of Kobe Bryant (No. 3) and Shaquille O’Neal (No. 6). As if that wasn’t bad enough, he’s got Dirk Nowitzki ranked ahead of Shaq and LeBron James (No. 4).

While I agree with the 10 players that Dwyer chose to list, I don’t think my list would compare to his at all—with the exception of Tim Duncan at the top of the list.

Here’s my list:

Tim Duncan
Shaquille O’Neal
Kobe Bryant
Kevin Garnett
Allen Iverson
Jason Kidd
Dirk Nowitzki
LeBron James
Dwyane Wade
Tracy McGrady

Why do I have James and Wade so low, you ask? Because those two guys came into the league in 2003. In my opinion, what Iverson, Kidd, and Nowitzki were able to accomplish in those seasons where James and Wade weren’t in the league was enough to put them ahead of those two guys. Had they entered the league in 2001, I’d more than likely put them ahead of at least Iverson.

But my biggest issue with Dwyer’s list was in putting KG ahead of both Shaq and Kobe, and here’s why: Garnett is entering his 15th NBA season and his teams have made it past the first round of the playoffs only three times; one of those three happened last season while Garnett was in street clothes.

In the two other seasons in which his teams advanced past the first round, he needed the help of two other superstars to do so. In fact, he was practically a non-factor in the majority of the Celtics-Lakers 2008 NBA Finals.

I get that KG was on some pretty bad teams in Minnesota. But I’m talking about him not being second-best player of the decade—I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve to be in the top five. I know he led the league in rebounding a number of times.

But it’s easy to lead the league in rebounding when you’re fighting with Marc Jackson, Dean Garrett, Gary Trent, Ervin Johnson, Mark Madsen, and Rasho Nesterovic for boards.

If you wanna put Nowitzki ahead of Kidd, that’s fine with me. I also have no problem taking out McGrady and putting Paul Pierce in the top 10.

2K10 or NBA Live?

The latest editions of both of the NBA’s most popular video game titles were released on Tuesday. After much debate, I opted for 2K10 with Kobe on the cover over EA Sports NBA Live 2010 with Dwight Howard on the cover. I was just too afraid the one with Dwight Howard would disappear in June.

My Bad

I forgot to post last Friday's "Uncontested Shots." If you wanna catch up and hear my thoughts on LeBron's new movie, Tim Duncan retiring, the Sacramento Kings possibly moving, and more, you can read it on Sir Charles in Charge, an NBA blog.

Uncontested Shots will debut every Tuesday and Friday on SirCharlesInCharge.com from now until at least the start of the season and repost on BleacherReport.com on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

For up to the minute updates on all free agent happenings and random brilliant thoughts and observations follow Andrew Ungvari on Twitter.

Uncontested Shots: The Latest on Delonte, KG, Rondo, Oden, and Monta

Andrew Ungvari — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 12:57:42 -0400

This article originally appeared on the all-new basketball website SirCharlesInCharge. Uncontested Shots will debut on SCIC every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the NBA season, then re-post in its entirety on BleacherReport.com the next day.

In case you haven’t noticed, the unofficial start of the basketball season is finally upon us. An offseason that saw a shotgun wedding, a shotgun arrest, and the Big Diesel now sitting shotgun in Cleveland, is finally over.

If you close your eyes you can almost smell the full grain leather.

Expect the content here at SCIC to increase dramatically both in quality and quantity. There’s finally stuff to write about. No more speculating about whether Shaq and LeBron can coexist, no more guesses on whether Kevin Garnett is healthy, no more wondering how Trevor Ariza will look in the Rockets new alternative jerseys.

The wait is over.

So without any further hesitation, I bring you my latest round of Uncontested Shots, or should I say, things I was thinking about while wondering if the Angels dousing the late Nick Adenhart’s uniform in beer and champagne was one of the greatest celebrations I’ve ever seen in sports.

Reason For Concern In Cleveland Already

Less than a month ago the Cavs’ Delonte West was arrested for carrying three loaded weapons while riding his motorcycle.

While West’s history with depression has been well-chronicled, the latest out of the Cavs training camp in Independence, Ohio, is that West didn’t show up for the team’s first practice on Tuesday—and his absence was unexcused.

I won’t try to sit here and say that his mental health isn’t more important than a game because it is. But this can’t be the type of start the Cavs were hoping for going into LeBron’s contract year.

With the Celtics, Wizards, and Magic all better teams on paper, the team that comes out with the top spot in the Eastern Conference could end up being the team that gets off to the best start.

Did you know the last 16 games between the Cavs and Celtics were won by the home team? The Cavs can still win without West but there’s no denying they are a better team when he’s in their lineup.

Don’t be surprised if the next thing we hear out of Independence is that West is going to take a leave of absence from the team. Let’s all hope that whatever he’s dealing with gets resolved—regardless of what team you root for.

KG Says He’s Okay

The good news out of the Celtics’ camp in Waltham, Mass. is that Kevin Garnett claims he’s close to 100 percent recovered from the knee surgery he underwent last season to remove bone spurs from his right knee.

The only concern now is whether the ultra-competitive Garnett is exaggerating his progress because he’s itching to get back on the court. With most knee injuries there’s always the risk that Garnett injures the left knee while overcompensating for the surgically repaired one.

The Celtics are saying they’ve also turned their attention to trying to reach an agreement on an extension with Rajon Rondo before the Oct. 31 deadline.

I’ve mentioned before that the Rondo situation is worth monitoring since he would become a restricted free agent next summer should the two sides fail to reach an agreement.

With so many teams having cap space next summer, it’s in the Celtics best interest to sign Rondo now since he’ll be plan B or plan C for a lot of teams should they strike out on one of the top-tier free agents like LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, or possibly Amare Stoudemire (if he decides to opt out).

The Celtics would most likely match any offer sheet that Rondo signs but there’s the risk that a team with ample cap space would overpay Rondo—forcing the Celtics to match. The Celtics already have about $55 million committed to just Garnett, Paul Pierce, Kendrick Perkins, Rasheed Wallace, and Glen Davis.

With Ray Allen, Eddie House, and Marquis Daniels also entering the final year of their respective contracts there’s a chance that the Celtics might have to choose between keeping either Rondo or Allen or risk chartering into $100 million range with the luxury tax.

Whether or not the Celtics are willing to bring back both Rondo and Allen might depend on how far the team goes this season. If they were forced to choose I’d guess they’d go with Rondo since point guards are much more difficult to replace.

And Rondo, Davis, and Perkins are the only players on the team who play major minutes and have yet to enter their respective primes.

Eddy Curry Ready to Contribute

The New York Times’ Howard Beck has a story today about the new and improved Eddy Curry. After a forgettable season filled with lawsuits, personal tragedy, and injury, the Knicks’ center has shed 40 pounds and is on his way to getting back into basketball shape and getting his once-promising career back on track.

This has to come as good news for Knicks fans since any hope the Knicks have of being able to recruit more than one impact free agent next summer hinges on the front office’s ability to trade either Curry or Jared Jeffries—both of whom have two years remaining on their respective deals.

Even if the Knicks are unable to move Curry it would bode well for them in free agency just by having a serviceable big man.

So much of the Knicks' promise is based on recent draft picks Wilson Chandler, Danilo Ganillari, Jordan Hill, and Toney Douglas.

But having a couple veterans like Curry and David Lee would definitely make the Knicks a more attractive destination for free agents hoping to compete for championships immediately rather than being part of a rebuilding plan.

If Curry can get anywhere close to the 19.5 points and seven rebounds per game he averaged in 2006-07 (when he only missed one game) then Al Harrington might be right in saying that a healthy Curry and Gallinari could be the difference between the 32 games the Knicks won last season and winning 40-plus this season.

Will the Real Greg Oden Please Stand Up?

Joe Freeman has a piece in Monday’s Oregonian about Greg Oden’s improvements both physically and mentally heading into camp after two seasons beset by injury.

Oden seems like a great kid and I really hope that he can finally prove that he’s a player deserving of being the first player picked in the draft.

But Freeman’s article felt like something I’ve read 10 times before. Maybe it’s time for the Blazers and the beat writers who cover the team to stop setting this kid up for failure by raising expectations.

Instead of telling us who everybody thinks Oden will be why not just let him play and prove it to us on the court?

Freeman has another story about LaMarcus Aldridge and the Blazers slow movement on reaching an agreement on an extension after the team and Brandon Roy were able to do so earlier this summer.

Aldridge is understandably disappointed, but he’s also being unrealistic about what he feels he’s worth. While many around the league think highly of him the Blazers know that Aldridge, unlike Roy, would never receive a max-type offer on the open market.

He’s a small forward with power forward height who has yet to prove he’s much more than a guy who can knock down open jump shots. Aldridge finished 28th in the league last season in rebounding, averaging 7.5 per game—below Brad Miller, Mehmet Okur, and Gerald Wallace.

The Blazers, unlike the Celtics with Rondo, would be wise not to sign Aldridge to an extension before the Oct. 31 deadline and allow him to become a restricted free agent next summer.

In declining to extend him they’d not only let the market prove to Aldridge what he’s really worth but it would also light a fire under Aldridge for all of next season that would probably get him playing the best basketball of his life.

If he proves that he is, in fact, a max-type player then they would still have the ability to match any offer thrown his way and would have no problem matching it.

Big Trouble in Golden St.

It wasn’t bad enough for the Warriors that captain Stephen Jackson went public with a trade request just a couple weeks before training camp started. Now The New York Times’ Jonathan Abrams is reporting (via Twitter) that Monta Ellis will be the next to ask to be traded.

Tim Kawakami of the The San Jose Mercury News has an interesting article on his blog today about Jackson and Ellis.

While Warriors fans should be upset that two of their favorites have picked the worst possible time to ask for trades, this might be the best possible scenario for the long-term future of the franchise.

This could end with Chris Cohan (aka “Donald Sterling North”) selling the team.

While I don’t have a problem with Ellis wanting out, I do take issue with Jackson’s request. It was Jackson who cried about his extension last season despite the fact that he still had two remaining years on his existing contract.

He got his extension and now, not only does he want to be traded, but he thinks he can dictate which teams he can be traded to.

What happened between when you asked for the extension and now that led you believe that anything would change with that joke of a franchise?

Jackson used the threat of his unhappiness as a tool to get his extension and now he wants out. What Jackson probably doesn’t realize is that it’s that same extension that will make him virtually impossible to trade.

He made his bed. Now he needs to lie in it.

As for Ellis, if he proves he’s healthy, he should have no problem finding suitors. The Warriors, with rookie Stephen Curry, should have no problem trying to move Ellis for an expiring contract and a young prospect.

Don’t be surprised if things get so ugly with Jackson that the Warriors go “Jamaal Tinsley” on him and ban him from the team indefinitely while continuing to pay him.

HoopsHype summed it up best on their Twitter page: “Somewhere, Chris Mullin is smiling.”

One Last Thing

Last Saturday's Uncontested Shots was the 100th article I've written for Bleacher Report since December of 2007. I started writing for B/R during the Writer's Guild of America strike as a way to keep writing without crossing the picket line.

In the almost two years that have passed, I've had the opportunity to write a weekly column for FoxSports.com, had a number of articles featured on CBSSports.com, attracted a number of loyal readers, and even made a few friends/associates who are better people than they are writers and they're damn good writers.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the B/R guys for all of the support and opportunities they have given me. A special shout out to Zander Freund, Aron Glatzer, Erick Blasco, Mike Whittenberg, and Robert Kleeman.

I even want to thank guys like Gaz V., Steven Resnick, Brandon Ribak, and (I'm not kidding) Daniel Barber (aka Hotnuke). Even though I've repeatedly butted heads with those guys on issues they've forced me to step my game up and have engaged me in great debates.

I'm looking forward to another great NBA season and I thank all of you who have read and edited everything I've written—even you losers who hide behind fake accounts in your failed attempts to either embarrass me or tick me off. Here's to hoping you can one day move out of mom's basement!

Uncontested Shots will debut every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the season. For up to the minute updates on all free agent happenings and random brilliant thoughts and observations follow Andrew Ungvari on Twitter.

Uncontested Shots: The Latest on the Rockets, Nets, Nuggets and More

Andrew Ungvari — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:21:00 -0400

We’re less than six days away from the NBA’s first pre-season game between the Jazz and Nuggets. While most sports fans are still basking in the afterglow of the NFL and college football seasons getting underway, I couldn’t be more pumped about watching turnover-filled exhibition basketball games featuring 20-man rosters and 32 percent combined shooting efforts.

One of the least mentioned by-products of having your team make a deep run in the playoffs is that it cuts your off-season in half.

If you’re a fan of the Washington Wizards, you haven’t seen your team play since Tax Day. But if you’re a fan of the Lakers or Magic, then you’ve only had to wait since June 14.

A couple more free agents, Rashad McCants and Flip Murray, have found homes. A couple of restricted free agents, Nate Robinson and David Lee, have officially re-signed for one more year in New York.

It looks like the days of struggling to find NBA material to write about are officially over.

Without further ado, here is my latest round of Uncontested Shots, or should I say, things I was thinking about while wondering how a guy can shoot only himself and get two years in jail while another kills somebody while driving drunk and high and he only gets 24 days.

He’s Got the Power

When he’s not tweeting about Manchester City soccer or boring us with stories about 1980s Cal State Fullerton basketball, Marc Stein likes to amuse us with his weekly Power Rankings. Stein debuted his first Power Rankings of the season.

No surprise that he’s got the Lakers and Magic at the top. I am a little surprised that he’s got the Phoenix Suns at No. 10.

Regardless of how you feel about Stein, it’s better to have him around and disagree with him on everything than it is to not have him around. The return of Stein means the return of the NBA.

Cuban on Prokhorov

Tuesday, I mentioned that Russia’s wealthiest man, Mikhail Prokhorov, was going to buy a controlling interest in the New Jersey Nets. DallasBasketball.com has Mark Cuban’s take on the NBA’s newest potential owner:

“I love it. I think he will bring fresh ideas and viewpoints, and hopefully this will be the start of a trend toward international investors. Plus, I took Russian in high school, so it will give me a chance to refresh.”

Personally, I’m for anybody who wants to feed $200 million in outside money into our economy. Now if Prokhorov decides to change the name of the team to Dynamo New Jersey or the Hammer and Sickles and change the team’s main color to Red and Yellow, then you’ll hear from me.

But until then, welcome, Mikhail!

McCants Finds a Home

Rashad McCants has signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Houston Rockets. The former UNC standout will compete for a roster spot on a team that seems to be making a habit out of giving underachievers second (and sometimes third) chances. Last year, the Rockets traded Rafer Alston for Kyle Lowry and Brian Cook.

The Rockets also announced they have re-signed general manager Daryl Morey. While Morey has done a nice job of putting together a group of young role players, I’m still not a fan of GMs who haven’t played the game.

Morey might have all kinds of charts and graphs and secret software, but this isn’t fantasy basketball. It's the real thing. Just because you know which players are bargains doesn’t mean they will bring home a championship.

There are only three players on the Rockets current roster in their 30s, Shane Battier (31), Tracy McGrady (30), and Brent Barry (37). They should have some cap space to make a big move next summer when McGrady’s contract expires.

They will probably miss the playoffs this year so they’ll have another lottery pick to add another quality rookie in next year’s draft.

The biggest problem with the Rockets is that Yao Ming has only one more year on his contract after this upcoming season (which he’ll miss due to injury).

If the Rockets sign Yao to an extension that continues to take up more than a quarter of their available cap space, then they’re running the risk that his salary would cripple the team when guys like Trevor Ariza, Aaron Brooks, Carl Landry, and Lowry are entering the respective primes.

I know that I didn’t play the game professionally, either. But if I’m Morey, I let Yao walk. Sure he’s the second-best center in the league. But how many good centers are there in the league when the Mavs are talking about starting Drew Gooden?

If Australian David Andersen turns out to be above-average at center while filling in for Yao, I say let Yao go rather than take the risk that he re-injures his foot permanently.

Bobcats Making Moves

The Charlotte Bobcats added another player to their roster and, much to my surprise, it wasn’t an underachieving center (see Tyson Chandler, DeSagana Diop, and Nazr Mohammed).

The Bobcats added journeyman swingman Ronald Murray.

Larry Brown's squad now looks a lot like the type of team that Brown took to the NBA Finals against the Lakers in 2002. It’s a roster filled with role players.

The only glaring difference is that those Sixers had a future Hall of Famer in Allen Iverson while the closest thing this Charlotte team has to an All-Star is Gerald Wallace.

I’m not exactly sure what Brown and Michael Jordan are doing in Charlotte, but I do think the Bobcats will make the playoffs this year. The combination of Brown with a veteran roster should be savvy enough to put together a 42-40 record and squeak in.

No Love For George

The Denver Post is reporting that the Nuggets have yet to offer a contract extension to head coach George Karl.

Considering that you could count the number of really good NBA coaches on one hand, I’m surprised that the Nuggets would allow him to start the season as a lame duck and run the risk that Karl opts not to sign an extension and test the market next summer.

With so many big-name free agents available next summer and so few good coaches, we could see a case where a free agent tells a potential suitor that they don’t want to play for the team’s existing coach, but if Karl were the coach they might reconsider.

I’m pretty sure that Karl and the Nuggets will come to some type of agreement before the season starts.

But I wouldn’t be surprised if Karl made the Nuggets pay for not taking care of him earlier in the off-season after taking the team to the Western Conference Finals.

Quick Hits

Here’s a cool story from the New Republic about Ron Artest helping to raise money for a Jewish organization at the last minute.
Really interesting five-part series in the Washington Post about retired athletes and whether money has bought them happiness or not.
Bizarre story in the Philadelphia Daily News involving former NBA point guard Pooh Richardson’s involvement in the conviction of a police detective who tried to prevent Richardson’s sister from getting arrested in a police raid involving her drug dealer boyfriend.

A Quick Thank You

I just wanted to give a quick thanks to Mike Horn, Jack Roberts, and Paul Stern over at CRN who gave me the chance earlier this week to fill in for Joe Rosenson on his radio show. I had an absolute blast.

I would have mentioned something in advance about my appearance but I was afraid I was going to suck and I didn’t want to embarrass myself. I will definitely alert everyone if I get the chance again.

Uncontested Shots: The Latest on LeBron, Lee, Robinson, and the Nets

Andrew Ungvari — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:28:57 -0400

With NBA training camps nearing I’m hoping that we’re close to having enough material with which to write more than once a week. In the meantime, free agents are getting plucked like leftovers the Friday after Thanksgiving, and most NBA beat writers are getting back into the flow.

So as always, here are this week’s Uncontested Shots, or should I say, things I was thinking about while counting my dough from winning my first ever fantasy baseball league (long live the Beavers!).

Lee and Robinson Appear on the Verge of Signing…Again

Alan Hahn of Newsday reported on Monday that David Lee and Nate Robinson were on the verge of finally signing one-year contracts with the Knicks.

According to Hahn, Lee will sign for more than the qualifying offer of $2.6 million and Robinson might sign for his qualifying offer of $2.9 million.

While handshake/wink-wink deals are prohibited in the NBA (just ask the Timberwolves), I would be shocked if either wasn’t re-signed to a long-term deal next summer—buying the Knicks another year to find a taker for either Eddy Curry or Jared Jeffries.

If Knicks GM Donnie Walsh can’t move either guy then the Knicks would almost certainly have to let either Lee or Robinson go next summer to have enough money to sign a top-tier free agent and still have enough cap space to fill out an entire roster with better-than-minimum type players.

The fact that Walsh was able to scare off teams from signing either guy to an offer sheet should be considered one of the best moves (or non-moves) in free agency. I’m not sure if teams were afraid of going after Lee because they thought the Knicks would match or if they’re hoping that LeBron leaves Cleveland next year and give the Knicks the best chance of making that happen.

Either way, Walsh deserves recognition for not making any moves that compromise the Knicks ability to spend big next summer.

The New Jersey сеть?

NetsDaily is reporting that Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is “in serious negotiations with the Nets to finance Barclays Center and gain control of the team.”

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone given that current owner Bruce Ratner has made no secret of the financial difficulties involved with moving the team to Brooklyn and financing the construction of the team’s new arena.

The only question left to be answered is whether or not Prokhorov will receive approval from the other NBA owners. You can bet that owners with big name players on the verge of free agency would be reluctant to approve an owner willing to spend (and lose) big money in this economy.

From The "Wow" Department

Dime Magazine brings up a fascinating statistic regarding LeBron James. Even though LeBron has only played six seasons, he has already surpassed a number of veteran stars who have played 10 seasons or more.

LeBron’s 12,993 points is more than Jason Terry (10 seasons), Elton Brand (10), Chauncey Billups (12), Peja Stojakovic (12), Andre Miller (10), Antonio McDyess (13), and Baron Davis (10).

While I wasn’t really surprised about Brand or McDyess because both have missed a ton of games due to injury, I was shocked to see that he’s already passed both Terry and Stojakovic.

Even though Terry has spent much of his career coming off the bench and Stojakovic has missed a lot of games because of injury himself, the fact that LeBron has surpassed both despite playing four fewer years than Terry and six fewer years than Stojakovic is what makes that really impressive.

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, scored 14,211 points in his first six seasons—1,218 more than LeBron. But Kareem was 28 years old at the time his sixth season ended compared to James who was 24.

Kareem only scored over 2,100 points twice in his career after his sixth season after accomplishing the feat in five of his first six seasons—the same as LeBron.

So what am I getting at?

That there’s a realer than real chance that LeBron could surpass Kareem as the NBA’s greatest scorer even if he doesn’t play as many seasons as Kareem did (21).

He’s Making a List, Checking it Twice (Unlike Last Year)

When there’s nothing else to write about, it’s always good to make a list. It’s the easiest way to promote discussion and give an article legs. Nothing will tick somebody off more than seeing someone they respect ranked lower on a list than someone they despise.

For the second year in a row, Suns broadcaster Eddie Johnson has used his blog on HoopsHype to comprise his list of the NBA’s top-25 players.

Last year, Johnson left Dirk Nowitzki off the list before quickly adding him at number 12. This year Johnson has Nowitzki at seven.

Rarely does Johnson say anything that I agree with. Anybody who has ever heard him broadcast a Suns game knows how much he loves his Suns.

But rather than give away who Johnson considers to be the top-five players in the league, I’ll throw him a bone and just provide the link.

Even more entertaining than Johnson’s list and his reasons why are the comments that follow.

Slim Pickings

Just in case you’re wondering, there are a few recognizable names still available in free agency. The Spurs recently scooped up Milwaukee Bucks free agent Keith Bogans—not a bad addition considering that we’re in late September.

Luke Byrnes of HoopsWorld did his own list of who is still out there late last week. Some of the names include Wally Sczerbiak, Flip Murray, Jerry Stackhouse, Jamaal Tinsley, and Stephon Marbury, as well as a couple restricted free agents.

Uncontested Shots: The Latest on MJ, Ostertag, & the Heat's Money Woes

Andrew Ungvari — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:57:27 -0400

We’re still a few weeks from the start of training camp. The start of the NFL season has done enough to hold us over until then but that doesn’t make me any less excited and antsy for players to report to training camp.

Not much of anything has happened in the NBA of late. Ricky Rubio’s situation got resolved. Ramon Sessions got more print in the last few months than he’ll get over the duration of his four-year contract he signed with Minnesota, Allen Iverson signed with the Memphis Grizzlies until he gets bought out in March and signs on with a contender (I’m betting Boston).

There.

You’re officially caught up.

Without further ado, here are today’s Uncontested Shots, or should I say, things I was thinking about while wondering how many more celebrities will die before the end of the year.

Feeling the Economic Heat in Miami

Ira Winderman has an interesting article in today’s South Florida Sun Sentinel about the Miami Heat asking Pat Riley and members of their coaching staff, including head coach Eric Spoelstra, to take a pay cut for this upcoming season.

You know things are bad financially when your team is desperate to shed coaches salaries. It makes you wonder how a team that finished 18th in attendance percentage last year (yet fifth on the road) will be able to attract big name free agents despite being in such a large media market.

It’s not that Miami isn’t a great place for players to live. But where’s the assurance that the team will be able to remain competitive if the team under-performs and starts losing millions of dollars again? Is owner Micky Arison willing to continue hemorrhaging money for a team that will never be the most popular in town?

The only question left to be answered is whether Spoelstra will get the money he’s giving up when Riley fires him next year and takes over the team? I guess we’ll never know since Spoelstra will tell us he wants to spend more time with his family and be forced to keep his mouth shut if he wants to get the rest of his money.

Even though Riley is also taking a pay cut I can’t imagine it will affect him that greatly since he’s part owner of the team. If Arison ever decides to sell the team or Riley decides to sell his interest he’ll more than compensate for the six-figure amount he’s reportedly losing next season.

Speaking of Winderman, the guy deserves a lot of credit for his hard work over the off-season. He’s done an admirable job of coming up with stuff to write about despite the fact that the Heat have done nothing this off-season outside of trading for Quentin Richardson.

The Heat kicked the tires on a couple of free agents this offseason like Lamar Odom and Allen Iverson but it didn’t seem like they were really serious about either of them. They reminded me of a dad that tells his kids that they were going to stay at the cool hotel with the water slide but they were “sold out” so instead they have to stay at the Comfort Inn.

I get what the Heat are doing. I know that they’ll have bigger fish to fry next summer. The problem is that all four teams that finished above them in the Eastern Conference last season got better, as did Washington, Toronto, Charlotte, Indiana, and possibly Chicago.

If the Heat get swept in the first-round or, even worse, miss the playoffs, it’s going to be hard for them to not only go after top-tier free agents, but it will also be difficult to convince Dwyane Wade that the first half of his prime won’t be dedicated to continuing to rebuild—especially when you consider that his mother and his kids live in Chicago and the Bulls can make a substantial offer if they choose to renounce Tyrus Thomas.

I’m going to go ahead and debut what I’ll call the Wade/Heat Index. On a scale of 1-10, I’d say that it’s a six that Wade stays in Miami after this season. This is just my opinion so take it for what that’s worth. I just feel that the only things that Miami has in it’s favor right now are quality of life related and not that much when it comes to basketball.

Greg Ostertag Wants Back In

The Lawrence Journal is reporting that 36-year-old Greg Ostertag is trying to make a comeback and that the Portland Trailblazers have expressed interest.

I have a hard time believing that any team will take a chance on Ostertag, who admits he hasn’t picked up a basketball in years. Frankly, I don’t think any team would express interest in Ostertag if he was 32 and hadn’t picked up a ball in three minutes.

I seriously doubt that teams would be intimidated by the Greg OdenTag combo at center, especially when Ostertag’s best statistical season was in 1996-97.

While Ostertag has been a punching bag ever since he came into the league (both literally and figuratively, right Shaq?), he does deserve credit for donating a kidney to his sister, Amy, back in 2002.

Pioneer Day

Props to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! for his story on the lack of knowledge today’s players have regarding the history of the NBA, especially that of Earl Lloyd, Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton, and Chuck Cooper—the first three black players to break the color barrier 59 years ago.

I’ve always believed that the history of integration in basketball seemed like a chapter from The Big Book of Sports that somebody tore out so we have to rely on others to tell us.

I’ve been trying to turn John Christgau’s Tricksters in the Madhouse into a movie project for the last few years. It’s the true story of a game in 1948 between the Harlem Globetrotters and Minneapolis that led to integration.

There’s a great book and documentary called The Harlem Globetrotters: That Team That Changed The World that’s also worth checking out. There’s also a movie in production about Sweetwater.

Perhaps I’ll have an easier chance of getting the movie made once the stink from historical sports movies like The Greatest Game Ever Played, The Game Of Their Lives, and Glory Road finally wears off.

MJ’s Speech

J.A. Adande has an interesting take on ESPN.com about the speech Michael Jordan gave during his induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Adande argues that Jordan should get a pass because he was honest and spoke from the heart.

I see where Adande is coming from. We all know the story about MJ telling reporters that he doesn’t talk publicly about politics because Republicans buy sneakers too. MJ was always criticized for never taking a stand on any issue and using his fame with which to promote a cause.

For the first time we actually got “unscripted” MJ and everybody is quick to bash him for being too honest.

While I don’t think that MJ chose the right avenue with which to speak from it’s his party and he cry if he wants to.

It’s interesting to compare Adande’s take to that of Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojanarowski. Even if you disagree with Woj’s take that Jordan was classless and petty, it’s really an outstanding piece of writing and you should check it out.

Uncontested Shots: Latest on Rubio, LaMarcus Aldridge, & Captain Jack

Andrew Ungvari — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:37:16 -0400

While most of the talk coming from the NBA over the last few days has been about Ricky Rubio and his shunning of the Wolves to stay in Spain for at least two more seasons, there are a few other stories floating around the league worth mentioning. As always, here are today’s Uncontested Shots—or should I say, things I was thinking about while wondering if we’ll ever see a better trio inducted from the same Hall of Fame class as Michael Jordan, John Stockton, and David Robinson.

Deadline Looming for 2006 NBA Draft Class

NBA training camps are about a month away from opening and there are still a few names who remained unsigned. In addition to guys like Allen Iverson, Wally Szczerbiak, Desmond Mason, and Flip Murray, there are also players from the 2006 Draft who are eligible for contract extensions that will go into effect in the 2010-11 season.

While Brandon Roy and Andrea Bargnani have already received extensions, it is highly unlikely that we’ll see more than a few more 2006 draftees sign extensions before the Oct. 31 deadline. One reason is that the draft as a whole has turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, but more likely it’s because of the economy and the looming expiration of the league’s current collective bargaining agreement in 2011.

With the league’s salary cap expected to continuously decline, teams have the upper hand in negotiations, and waiting until next summer while allowing those players to become restricted free agents will probably work in the owners’ favor since the maximum those players will be allowed to make will decline with the cap.

The only player who is almost certain to receive an extension by the deadline is the Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldrige—the second player picked in the 2006 Draft.

Other players from the 2006 draft who are eligible for extensions are the Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay, the Bulls’ Tyrus Thomas, the Celtics’ Rajon Rondo, and the Hornets’ Hilton Armstrong.

It should be noted that those owners who don’t extend their players might be playing a high-stakes game of Risk by allowing those player to test the open market—even as restricted free agents. With so many teams clearing cap space for next summer, there is always the chance teams that fail in their attempts to sign LeBron James or Dwyane Wade could be willing to overpay for someone like Gay and especially someone like Rondo.

Ray Allen is entering the final season of his current deal. Paul Pierce has a player option next summer for $21.5 million that he could choose to opt out of. Pierce may want to get a long-term deal next summer since he will be 32 and it will be the last summer before the current CBA expires.

Kendrick Perkins, whose contract expires in 2011, will be eligible for an extension with one season left on his deal and will no doubt want a heavy increase from the $4.4 million he’s scheduled to make in 2010-11.

In other words, the Rondo situation is something worth paying attention to as we approach Halloween.

Oh, Ricky!

If you’re a Minnesota Timberwolves fan, try not to read Chris Sheridan’s article on ESPN.com today about how it’s more likely that Rubio will stay in Spain until 2012, rather than 2011 when his current contract with FC Barcelona expires.

According to Sheridan, NBA rookies are only bound to the league’s rookie scale for three years after they’re drafted—meaning that Rubio would be better off staying in Spain until 2012 when he won’t be “boxed into the rookie scale” and can make as much as Minnesota’s cap space would allow.

To say that Wolves’ GM David Kahn’s drafting of Rubio was a blunder would be the understatement of the year. In addition to taking on horrible contracts and giving away Mike Miller and Randy Foye, Kahn and the Wolves will constantly be haunted by Stephen Curry for the next three years—the player they could have and should have drafted with the No. 5 pick.

The only question now is whether or not Kahn will still be in Minnesota when Rubio decides he’s ready for the NBA.

Considering the about-faces pulled by Spain’s Fran Vazquez, Juan Carlos Navarro, and now Rubio, will NBA teams be reluctant to draft Spanish players in the future?

There is one thing Kahn did that, had it worked out, would have deserved major recognition. Since the most teams are allowed to contribute to buying out players overseas is $500,000, Kahn drafted Rubio’s DKV Joventut teammate, Henk Norel, in the second round with the sole purpose of having an additional chip to work out a buy-out. Having the additional player would have allowed the Wolves to pay $1 million to DKV Joventut for Rubio and Norel with no intention of keeping the latter.

Also worth reading is Peter May’s critique of the spin coming out of Minnesota regarding Rubio. It seems that Wolves’ owner Glen Taylor is slowly realizing what the rest of us have suspected all along—that Kahn is in way over his head.

Oh Captain, Why Captain?!

Stephen Jackson wants out of Golden State, and you can count the number of people who are surprised on one nose. Jackson wants to be traded to a contender and doesn’t feel like the Warriors have the potential to compete for a championship for the foreseeable future.

Isn’t it funny that Jackson played the disrespect card in getting the Warriors to give him an extension with two remaining years left on his deal, and now has no problem disrespecting the Warriors by publicly proclaiming his desire to be traded to either Cleveland or any of the three Texas teams?

Don’t get me wrong. The Warriors should have never given Jackson the extension in the first place. The only reasonable explanation is that an unhappy Captain Jack is a potentially combustible Captain Jack. But now that all seems to have backfired since Jackson will have to be traded for the same reason. The difference is that he’ll be traded for expiring contracts since the Warriors won’t be able to get anything of substance for a guy with Jackson’s checkered past.

Memo to all NBA players seeking a trade: going public with your trade demands does nothing to help you get traded—that goes for every one of you.

Check out Tim Kawakami’s article from the San Jose Mercury News about the Jackson situation. I know a lot of people in the Bay Area can’t stand Kawakami’s constant criticism of the Warriors (and the Giants for that matter). But if they took the time to realize that Kawakami is absolutely right and got behind him instead of defending the Warriors then there might actually be some change with the team.

Quick Hits

NetsDaily has a great FAQ on the Nets' potential sale and all of the probabilities and likelihoods surrounding it.
Dime Magazine’s list of cities that deserve an NBA team (including Mexico City!)
Dan LeBatard’s great story on Tim James' journey from the NBA to Iraq.

In Memoriam

This week’s Uncontested Shots was written with a heavy heart. For the second time this summer I lost a friend. This time it was Adam Goldstein, also known as DJ AM.

While many might only know Adam as a celebrity DJ, I knew Adam for the better part of the last 15 years—before he was featured on the covers of tabloids for his relationships with Nicole Richie and Mandy Moore, or the plane crash last September that he miraculously survived.

While Adam and I didn’t stay in contact much over the past six years, when we did see each other we always seemed to pick up where we last left off. He was one of the greatest people I’d ever met—the guy I couldn’t believe I hadn’t met earlier in life because of all the mutual friends and passions we shared.

I don’t know anybody who knew more people than Adam and perhaps that’s why his death made national news.

Back before the Internet was what it is today, Adam and I used to try to one-up each other in discovering breaks—the songs that became samples for hip-hop tracks. Since a lot of samples weren’t cleared by record companies (so they wouldn’t have to pay royalties for them) you wouldn’t see them in liner notes. DJs and music aficionados would either have to dig through record crates to find breaks or rely on either word-of-mouth or unmarked records called White Labels to find samples.

Every couple of weeks I would head over to Adam’s apartment and we would play each other tapes (yes, I said tapes) of the breaks that we’d found. I’ll never forget the look on Adam’s face when I played him Buster Williams’ “The Hump”—the original break used on a rare song from A Tribe Called Quest called “Mr. Incognito”.

I used to joke with Adam about how all of the weathermen in Los Angeles had names that sounded like Wu-Tang Clan aliases. If you don’t know, L.A. has weathermen named Fritz Coleman, Johnny Mountain, and Dallas Raines (for real!). Every time I saw Adam he would do my imitation of Method Man calling out L.A. weathermen as if they were members of Wu-Tang.

I remember when Adam got Serato Scratch Live, the software that every DJ in the world now uses on their laptops so they no longer have to carry around crates of records to perform. He was so excited to show me how it worked because it re-ignited his passion for DJing—practically made it new again.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I want people to know that Adam Goldstein wasn’t just a guy who pushed a couple of buttons and was lucky to date famous women. He was a guy who was passionate about everything he loved—whether that was music, sneakers, his friends, his hometown of Philadelphia, or the Lakers.

I looked up to Adam. He was a guy who was pulling in models even when he weighed 300 pounds and before he was famous. He was the most honest person I’d ever met. Whether that came to dealing with his own personal demons or family tragedies he laid it all out on the table. It made it easier to open up to him about your own problems.

I am one of the tens of thousands who will never forget Adam Goldstein. A phenomenal DJ and an even better human being.

RIP AMG

Uncontested Shots will run every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the season. For up to the minute updates on all free agent happenings and random brilliant thoughts and observations follow Andrew Ungvari on Twitter.

Uncontested Shots: The Latest on Amare Stoudemire Leaving Phoenix and More

Andrew Ungvari — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 13:48:51 -0400

There hasn’t been any player movement of late but there have been a number of stories recently surrounding the NBA.

Without further ado, I bring you my latest edition of Uncontested Shots, or should I say, things I was thinking about while wondering if there’s anything worse than the stomach virus I recently had in 90-plus degree weather.

And You Will Know Him By the Trail of Hatred

As if anyone hasn’t noticed, Shaquille O’Neal has burned every bridge with every one of his former employers since he first left Orlando in the summer of 1996.

While Shaq has always had a reputation as a coach-killer, the latest story out of Phoenix proves that his charm and charisma have done wonders in making us forget that he’s not the gentle giant he wants to be perceived as.

The latest “Good Riddance” piece comes courtesy of Dan Binkley of the Arizona Republic.

Binkley writes, “Shaquille O’Neal is no longer Superman. He’s a guy riding on someone else’s cape, stealing someone else’s idea, taking someone else’s credit. Along the way, he’s playing the country for a bunch of fools.”

This comes on the heels of Hannah Karp’s story in The Wall Street Journal and Paola Boivin’s story in last week’s Arizona Republic about why Steve Nash’s name appears as an executive producer in the credits of Shaq’s new show, Shaq Vs. It turns out that Shaq stole the idea from his former teammate.

Nash took the high road when asked to comment. He wouldn’t comment when asked to and wished the show nothing but success.

Todd Gallagher, author of Andy Roddick Beat Me With a Frying Pan, might also pursue legal action against O’Neal for stealing his idea.

Should be interesting.

I watched the show. Had I not recorded it and had the ability to fast-forward through the 54 minutes of clutter, I would have turned it off about 13 minutes in.

Keep your eye on how the ratings perform in week two. By then we’ll find out if the show will stay on the ABC schedule or get canceled before the show ends its run.

Here’s the piece I wrote for Bleacher Report at the time of Shaq’s trade to Phoenix in 2008, entitled “Shaq Fallout: Trader’s Remorse for Phoenix?”. Anybody in L.A. could tell you the truth about Shaq. Here’s what I wrote:

“So what exactly are the Suns expecting O’Neal to bring?

"They think he’ll be able to ease the leadership burden on Nash. What does that mean? Are we forgetting that this is the same guy who had four coaches fired in his last three stops? (If I’m Larry Brown, I’m already looking for houses in the Phoenix area).

"Isn’t this the same guy who felt threatened by a 21-year-old Kobe Bryant and chose to divide the locker room instead of uniting it?

"The same guy who demanded a trade because he didn’t get a contract extension and then sat in silence as the media pretended that Kobe had him traded?

"Leaders don’t show up to training camp out of shape and use the regular season to get into shape. Leaders don’t postpone off-season surgery until September and reason that you should be able to rehab on company time since you got hurt on company time.

"Leaders don’t threaten to not play defense unless your teammates pass you the ball on offense.

"I wouldn’t want him leading me in the Pledge of Allegiance.”

Farewell, Phoenix?

Amare Stoudemire took to his Twitter account to let the world know that this coming season could be Sun Tzu’s last in the Valley of the Sun.

He wrote, “This Might Be My Farewell Tour here in PHX. Fans I love the way you guys stand up for me. I love all my faithful fans.Thanks 1 love Sun Tzu!“.

Here’s what Stoudemire told Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! last week:

“I was really looking forward to my entire career being in [Arizona]. It kind of put a hold on a few of my decision-making things…I don’t know if I’m sure if I want to play one more year here, or be gone, or sign an extension and play here for another six years or so.”

If Stoudemire is smart, he’ll exercise the $17.7 million option for 2010-11 and become the prize of the free agent class of 2011.

One of the other big names, Carmelo Anthony, appears intent on staying in Denver, although a lot can change between now and then. With Kenyon Martin’s contract expiring that same summer, the Nuggets should be able to spend big also.

It’s just that no team will be able to offer Stoudemire anything close to that much money next summer, including the Suns.

Instead, he should keep his eye on what’s happening with the Knicks’ Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries.

Both have player options for 2010 that they will no doubt exercise—thus limiting the Knicks spending for the summer of 2010.

The Knicks will have enough money to make a run at one big-name free agent next summer but will have plenty of cheddar to spend on adding another piece in 2011 with Curry and Jeffries off the books.

If Stoudemire wasn’t three months shy of 27, I would tell him to opt out and get that long-term deal. But he’ll only be 29 in 2011 so he won’t have a problem getting a five-year deal from somebody.

The only reason Stoudemire would have to opt out would be if he’s afraid that the league’s next collective bargaining agreement will greatly decrease the amount of money players can make.

If that’s the case, then the Suns should trade Stoudemire to a team willing to extend him.

If I had to guess, I’d say that Stoudemire isn’t a member of the Suns after the trade deadline.

If they appear headed for the seventh or eighth seed, or missing the playoffs altogether, there’s no reason for Suns owner Robert Sarver not to cut the cord and begin rebuilding immediately.

Just Keep on Using Me…Until You Use Me Up

Despite the fact that Memphis Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace won’t confirm it, it appears that Memphis has offered Allen Iverson a contract for next season.

The Grizzlies are using Iverson to drum up interest in a nonexistent fan-base while Iverson is using the Grizzlies to further his career. This move makes sense for Iverson but makes absolutely no sense for the long-term future of the Grizzlies.

Memphians aren’t staying away from Grizzlies games because they lack star-power. They’re staying away because the Grizzlies suck.

Put a team on the court that plays hard (especially at home) and wins half their home games and the fans will return—especially while the University of Memphis is in the midst of scandal.

I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. Iverson will average 20-plus points per game for a team that will be lucky to have 18 wins by the All-Star break.

Some time in March, the Grizzlies will release him so he can sign on with a contender. As a result, the Grizzlies will spend the final two months of the season doing what they should have been doing the first two months of the season.

Quick Hits

Here are some links to stories that are definitely worth checking out if you have the time:

Adam Lauridsent’s post on his Fast Break Warriors Blog titled “Miserabilia: Memories From the Cohan Era” about being a W’s fan since owner Chris Cohan purchased the team.
Cool video of The New York Times William C. Rhoden taking NBA commish David Stern to a Harlem barber shop to talk hoops amongst the people. This should be a weekly reality show on NBA TV.
Tommy Craggs of Deadspin wrote a story on the shady tactics of NBA statisticians comparing home and road averages. (courtesy of KSPN’s Andrew Siciliano).
Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! lists the 10 worst free agent contracts of the decade. Hard to argue with it.

Uncontested Shots: The Latest on Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, and Shaq

Andrew Ungvari — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:44:03 -0400

This article originally appeared on the all new basketball website SirCharlesInCharge. Uncontested Shots will debut on SCIC every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the NBA season, then re-post in its entirety on BleacherReport.com the next day.

Free agency seems to have come to a screeching halt but there are still a couple of things worth mentioning as we get closer to the opening of training camps in October.

As always, here are Tuesday’s Uncontested Shots, or should I say, things I was thinking about while waiting for Brett Favre to go away (I’m not holding my breath).

Are We Sure This Wasn’t an NBDL Trade?

The Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors made a four-player trade that became official on Tuesday. The Bucks have acquired backup point guard Roko Ukic as well as Carlos Delfino from the Raptors for Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems.

Both Johnson and Weems are free agents at season’s end so it should clear another few million for the Raptors to continue to rebuild next summer.

Delfino, a native of Argentina, spent last season playing with BC Khimky Moscow in Russia.

This move doesn’t make either team any better. Delfino, who also played for the Pistons, should see significant playing time in Milwaukee.

St. Vincent

Vince Carter should get props for opening up the Vince Carter Sanctuary in Flagler County, Florida—a substance abuse facility about 20 miles outside of Orlando.

“It’s been my pleasure to be part of this and have my hands in this. You know a lot of people donate because they feel like they have to, I donate because I want to. I enjoy helping people,” said Carter.

Carter gets a lot of negative flak for being perceived as a prima donna but this is a really great thing that I felt needed some recognition.

Speaking of Saints

NBA.com has a great video tribute to the world’s most generous athlete, Dikembe Mutombo. While athletes are routinely demonized for outlandish behavior and various legal infractions, not enough publicity is given to guys like Mutombo who have actually changed the world for the better.

Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Get the Falk Out of Here

The Washington Times has an article today about former super agent David Falk—the man who helped turn Michael Jordan into the global marketing one-man-industry he has become.

Falk reminisces on the early days of his relationship with MJ and talked about what the future holds for him at this stage in his career.

Speaking of MJ

Richard Sandomir has an excellent piece in today’s New York Times about the commercialization and marketing whoring involved with the Michael Jordan’s pending induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Instead of the exhibit being a shrine to Jordan, it’s really just a living commercial to MJ and the Jordan Brand. Even the championship rings on display are replicas of Jordan’s.

Shaq Baq in L.A.?

Kurt Helin of KNBC in Los Angeles is reporting that Shaq wants to return to the Lakers next season. While promoting his new television show, Shaq Vs., the former Laker hasn’t ruled out the possibility of returning to the team where he enjoyed the greatest success of his storied career.

Unfortunately for Shaq, the feeling most likely isn’t mutual. I can’t imagine, under any circumstance, that the Lakers want to revisit the old days—especially since they don’t need him.

Brendan’s Backtrack

Kevin Arnovitz of TrueHoops shares his thoughts on Brendan Haywood’s calling Stephon Marbury gay. Arnovitz, who is gay, talks about what’s it like being gay in an arena still filled with homophobia.

It’s worth checking out.

When He's Had His Phil

J.A. Adande of ESPN.com wrote a story on who might succeed Phil Jackson as head coach of the Lakers and why so few of Jackson's past assistants have had success elsewhere.

Some of the names Adande mentions are of no surprise but there are one or two names that might surprise some people.

They Got the Power

NBA.com has their first power rankings for next season up—71 days before the season starts. To nobody’s surprise, the Lakers are ranked at the top. It’s the rest of their top five that’s a little bit interesting.

Uncontested Shots: The Latest On J.R. Smith, Kurt Rambis, Q-Rich, & More

Andrew Ungvari — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 11:23:47 -0400

Still not a lot of movement on the free agent front. The Nuggets, as expected, reached an agreement with point guard Anthony Carter on a one-year, $1.35 million contract.

However, some interesting things have been coming out in recent days that are worth mentioning and commenting on. So, as always, here are this week’s Uncontested Shots, or should I say, things I was thinking about while waiting for my Stouffer’s french bread pizza to cool down so it doesn’t destroy the roof of my mouth.

Waiting in Line

Ramona Shelburne of the Long Beach Press-Telegram wrote a cool little piece on what's it like for those assistant coaches who are waiting for head coaching opportunities—most notably, newly-instilled Timberwolves head coach, Kurt Rambis.

Adding to the speculation that Jackson could be coaching beyond just the next season, girlfriend Jeannie Buss went on KSPN’s Mason and Ireland Show earlier this week and said that Jackson has been feeling much better of late—so much so that he’s back on his motorcycle.

Rambis’ wife (and Jeannie’s best friend), Linda, is still employed by the Lakers. She will stay in Los Angeles while their daughter finishes her senior year of high school.

It’s funny to me how the media perceives things sometimes. While some look at Rambis in Minnesota as an indication that the Lakers have given up on him as a potential successor, I think it’s just the opposite.

I look at it more as Rambis’ opportunity to prove to the Lakers that he can be a legitimate head coach on the NBA level, and make them forget about his stint as head coach back in the strike-shortened 1999 season.

Quentin on the Move (This is not a re-print)

Quentin Richardson was traded for the fourth time this off-season. This time, the Timberwolves traded him to the Miami Heat for center Mark Blount. The move saves the Wolves a little bit of money. They are expected to waive Blount.

For the Heat, all it does is give Dwyane Wade a friend. Richardson is a one-dimensional shooter, and his better days are behind him. Last season, Richardson started 51 games and averaged only 10.2 points in Mike D’Antoni’s high octane offense in New York.

Don’t be surprised if he gets traded again before February’s deadline to get Wade some help down the stretch.

Even if he doesn’t get moved again, Richardson has already become the first athlete traded more times than his trading card has.

New Marketing Low

I always thought it was funny when the Clippers would buy local advertising in Los Angeles during Lakers playoff games. Mostly because it reminded everybody how far behind the Clippers were in terms of appeal and success.

Well, the New Jersey Nets may have topped the Clippers in the promotion department. The Nets are offering a ticket promotion where fans get five reversible jerseys if they pony up for two 10-game packages for next season.

On one side are the jerseys of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade, and Kevin Garnett. On the other side are the jersey of Devin Harris, Jarvis Hayes, Brook Lopez, Yi Jianlian, and Courtney Lee.

Here’s the pathetic part: according to CNBC’s Darren Rovell, “Tickets for the plan range from $350 to $4,850 each—so fans who want the jerseys have to spend a minimum of $700.”

Needless to say, Nets fans will at least have a jersey-styled bib to wear when eating nachos during the game.

Not Exactly a Ringing Endorsement

Bulls rookie, James Johnson, hasn’t left the greatest impression since leaving school. According to Doug Thonus of Bulls Confidential:

“The Bulls are privately concerned about his work ethic and attitude, which was the one area I had some concerns with myself. With Johnson, the talent is obviously there, but the fact that he gained so much body fat after his college season ended prior to the official NBA pre-draft workouts planted a red flag on him.”

While Thonus makes sure to mention he was happy with the Bulls drafting of Johnson, he adds:

“One source within the organization said he expects forgotten man Taj Gibson to have a bigger impact than Johnson in their rookie years. There seemed to be an air of pessimism in general over what Johnson will provide out of the gates, especially among those working out with him.”

Considering that the Bulls still haven’t had a consistent, dominant low-post presence since they traded Elton Brand for Tyson Chandler, this can’t be the greatest news to Bulls fans.

Quick Hits

Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski wrote a story on J.R. Smith’s trying off-season, and the drama that hasn’t stopped following him.

Doug Glanville’s awesome essay in The New York Times about life after professional sports.

J.A. Adande’s interview with Magic Johnson on ESPN.com about turning 50, and his impact on the community and the NBA.

John Hollinger, also on ESPN.com, grading the Eastern Conference based on the off-season.

Uncontested Shots: Latest on Reggie Miller, Leon Powe, Linas Kleiza, and More

Andrew Ungvari — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:23:39 -0400

I took last Friday off again because of the lack of activity. Free agency right now reminds me of this Shoe Warehouse in Van Nuys that went out of business about six months ago. I went to eat at a restaurant next door and noticed they had a giant “Going Out of Business” sign.

When I walked in, there were maybe 150 boxes of shoes left. 30 of them were Nike Cortez in colors which a clown would be too embarrassed to wear and the rest were shoes that I’d wear, but either they didn’t have my size (13) or had some sort of deformity.

There were a few deals that either have gone down in the last few days or are tentative that are worth writing about. So here goes today’s Uncontested Shots, or should I say “Things I was thinking about while avoiding text messages from Reggie Miller."

Miller Time

This whole Reggie Miller thing is actually pretty funny to me. I find it funny that most of the reports mention that Miller sent Ali Kay 53 text messages in less than four hours, but they don’t mention that Kay most likely responded to each and every one of them. This isn’t like Mikey in Swingers repeatedly leaving answering machine messages for an ex. The two were engaged in some sort of flirtatious dialogue.

In case you don’t know, Kay is engaged to Alex Von Furstenberg, son of fashion designer Diane Von Furstenberg. Over the weekend, Von Furstenberg paid for a banner to fly over Southern California beaches that read “Reggie Miller Stop Pursuing Married Women.”

Someone needs to tell Von Furstenberg that his issue shouldn’t be with Miller, but with Kay. There are new reports that Kay sent some bikini-clad photos of herself to Miller.

I’m curious if Miller will respond in some way with his own banner.

Stay tuned.

Big Baby Finds A Crib

I wrote a couple weeks back that I felt the Celtics were the second-best team in the Eastern Conference heading into the season behind only the Orlando Magic, but that I would put them on top if they found a way to keep Glen “Big Baby” Davis.

Not only did they keep him, but they convinced him to sign for two years and only $6.3 million total, without a player option for the 2010-11 season. They also included weight clauses that could potentially add $500k to Davis’ contract.

Great job by Danny Ainge. He scared away potential suitors by leading them to believe that the Celtics would match any offer for Davis, but did it in a way that didn’t offend Davis. Teams were too afraid to lose the seven days the Celtics would have had to decide whether or not to match the offer.

By locking up Davis for two years, the Celtics can allow Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine to leave after next season and only have to worry about re-signing Ray Allen and possibly Eddie House.

Allen will surely take a pay cut from the $19.77 million he’ll be making in the last year of his current contract. Ainge might also convince Paul Pierce to opt out of the final season of his deal in exchange for a longer deal that pays him less money than he would be making if he chose to exercise his option for next season.

It’s not like Ainge accomplishing just those two things will make the Celtics big players in free agency next season. What it could do is enable them to re-sign Rajon Rondo without going too much over the luxury tax limit and give them the financial flexibility to add another free agent with their mid-level to make another run at a title with their current nucleus.

Leon In Cleveland

This is what I wrote in this space last week about Leon Powe:

“While I would never advise any team to sign an injured player, I’d make an exception with Powe because he’s probably desperate and can be had on the cheap. Why not offer him $1.3 million for next year with a team option for $1.5 million for 2010-11?

If he fully recovers, you’ve got a fully serviceable low-post scorer who is content with any role you give him. If he doesn’t, then you cut him loose in a year and all it costs you was the $1.3.”

Well, it appears that the Cleveland Cavaliers are on the verge of doing just as I suggested.

While Powe might not return to action until February of next season, the move gives the Cavs a potentially great addition at almost no risk.

The signings of Anthony Parker and Leon Powe were two of the best moves of the offseason and Danny Ferry gets the credit for both of them.

Once again Ferry made a move without compromising the freedom to add a big piece next offseason. Don’t forget that Ferry still has the expiring $11.5 million contract of Zydrunas Ilgauskas to use in a trade in the type of deal that would see Big Z immediately get bought out by his new team and return to the Cavs 30 days later.

Something tells me I’ll be cutting and pasting that last paragraph into an article sometime next February.

Kleiza and Wafer Off to Greece

Linas Kleiza and Von Wafer are both set to sign respective two-year deals with Greek powerhouse, Olympiakos. The Nuggets felt they could try to play the same game with Kleiza that the Celtics ran on Big Baby, and they got burnt in the process.

While Aron Afflalo is a nice replacement for the Indiana-bound Dahntay Jones, the Nuggets are now looking at Wally Szczerbiak to replace Kleiza.

You know who would have been the perfect replacement for Kleiza?

Von Wafer.

Wafer, who played for the Nuggets during the 2007-08 season, would have given the Nuggets an additional scorer off the bench who could hit the 3-pointer.

Anthony Carter remains unsigned also. So, the only guards currently on the Nuggets bench are rookie Ty Lawson and Afflalo.

The Nuggets were lucky to have made it to the Western Conference Finals last year when you consider the Spurs were missing Manu Ginobili.

Now the team that came within two wins of playing in the NBA Finals had a pretty bad offseason. They overpaid to keep sixth-man Chris Andersen from leaving (five years and $26 million for a guy with zero offensive skills). They lost Jones, Kleiza, Steven Hunter, and potentially Carter and replaced them with Afflalo, Malik Allen, and Lawson.

Perhaps the Hunter trade will free up the money for the Nuggets to make a run at another free agent guard.

You know who makes a lot of sense for the Nuggets right about now?

Allen Iverson. Yeah, I said it. That’s assuming that Iverson is willing to come off the bench and back up J.R. Smith. He’s familiar with the system and enjoyed his time there, regardless of how unsuccessful it was. With Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups in the fold, Iverson knows he won’t be asked to be a leader.

If the comments made by the Nuggets’ front-office after they traded Iverson away were true, then they shouldn’t have a problem welcoming him back into the fold.

Considering the alternatives currently out there, it might not be that bad of a move for a team that still has aspirations of contending for a title.

Another NBA Lockout?: Where That Probably Isn't the Best Idea Happens

Andrew Ungvari — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 12:02:16 -0400

CBSSports.com Senior Writer Ken Berger reported on Tuesday that the NBA and its players union began talks on a new collective bargaining agreement that will start when the current one expires after the 2010-11 season.

According to Berger, "No formal proposals were exchanged, given that this was only a preliminary step in a two-year process aimed at ratifying a new agreement without enduring a damaging lockout like the one that hampered the NBA in 1998-99."

Even players union president, Derek Fisher, acknowledges that changes are inevitable.

Berger adds, "Under the current CBA, players are guaranteed 57 percent of league revenues, with any overage getting refunded to the teams through the players' escrow fund. The owners are believed to be pushing for closer to a 50-50 split."

The fact that Fisher and NBPA executive director Billy Hunter are at least willing to acknowledge that the current system isn't working is a step in the right direction as far as starting points are concerned.

Both the players union and the owners are fully aware of the consequences involved should there be another work stoppage, since neither side is expected to win the people's vote in another squabble between billionaires and millionaires.

Over the last 15 years, we've seen work stoppages in three of the four major sports and the consequences from each are still reverberating.

The TV ratings for the series-clinching game in the 1991 World Series, the last one that involved two American teams before the 1994 strike, was a 32.2.

No World Series game since then has had a rating higher than a 24.5, despite the fact that the New York Yankees, baseball's most popular team and in it's largest market, have participated in five of them.

By comparison, last year's series-clinching Game Five between the Phillies and Rays drew a 9.6.

Major League Baseball seemed to have recovered from the cancellation of the 1994 World Series in 1998 when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chased the ghost of Roger Maris in their battle for home run supremacy.

In hindsight, the public now feels duped by two men who (allegedly) cheated and whose records are now tainted.

The National Hockey League still hasn't recovered from the 2004-05 lockout. If you don't believe me, ask a hundred random sports fans what channel Versus is on their television sets and let me know how many answered correctly.

The NBA's lockout in 1998 wasn't so much felt in TV ratings as it was in interest among the casual sports fan. The delay to the start of the season caused the league's most popular and marketable star, Michael Jordan, to retire (he would eventually return in 2001) and deprived his Chicago Bulls the opportunity to chase a fourth consecutive championship, something that handn't been accomplished since the Boston Celtics did it in 1962 on their way to eight consecutive titles.

Much of the reason why TV ratings have gone down across the board is due to the competition that comes with so many more networks on our televisions in 2009 than there were even 12 or 15 years ago.

But that's the point.

The NBA needs to realize that for every day that operations cease another 1,000 casual fans discover something else they enjoy just as much, if not more than basketball, and realize that their lives aren't devoid of anything without the NBA.

Contending teams won't struggle to see their fan bases return so much as the bottom ten teams and those fifteen teams in the middle will.

For example, Dallas Mavericks fans have been pining for a championship since the early part of the decade. A work stoppage would just give the casual fan the perspective to realize that their team has no chance. But in the midst of a run in which they defeated an injury-depleted Spurs team in last season's playoffs and had a busy summer they think they are actually contenders this year.

While it's no surprise that big changes are in the works in light of the state of the economy, there are a number of issues that I believe should be on the table for discussion in an effort to amend the flaws in the current agreement.

Recent history would suggest that some of these are pipe dreams on my part, but what's the harm in bringing them up for discussion?

Another Amnesty Provision

Back in 2005 the NBA instituted a one-time Amnesty Provision, also known as the Allan Houston Rule, that allowed teams to waive one player without being responsible for paying the luxury tax on that player's contract—although teams were still responsible for paying out the remainder of those contracts.

It would make an awful lot of sense for the NBA to bring back the provision. It would make even more sense for them to bring it back before the current CBA expires.

Players like Samuel Dalembert, Jared Jeffries, Peja Stojakovic, and Andrei Kirilenko would top the list of overpaid players who could save their current teams an awful lot of scratch given the chance to waive them without having to pay double their salaries with the luxury tax.

But even mid-level salaried players such as Luke Walton, James Posey, and Matt Carroll would ease the burden on teams if they were only required to pay out the contracts.

The NBPA wouldn't care because their guys would still get paid and those who are released could essentially double-dip when signing contracts with their next team.

The only opposition might come from those owners like Donald Sterling who are continuously under the luxury tax and enjoy collecting their share of the luxury tax money from the tax-paying teams.

Opt Out of Opt-Outs

This one is definitely a long-shot but it's time for the NBA to do away with player options. How often do player's exercise options where the outcome is positive for the team?

There are only a few instances I can think of.

Last summer Trevor Ariza exercised his option to stay with the Lakers, but that was mainly due to the fact that there were only a couple of teams with cap space and he had missed a lot of games due to a stress fracture in his foot that sidelined him for most of the second-half of the season and the first three rounds of the playoffs.

But most of the time player options are a Catch-22 for teams. Either the player exercises his option to stay because he knows he doesn't deserve the money he's due and he will never get a better offer somewhere else (Eddy Curry), or he'll opt out because he feels he deserves more years and more money and the team can't afford to let him walk away (Gilbert Arenas).

In one instance the teams is stuck with an overpaid stiff and in the other instance they find themselves outbidding themselves for the right to keep a player they've already invested time and money in and don't want to risk losing that player and watching him realize his potential elsewhere.

The way the league is currently constructed leaves very little margin for error. It's not often that a team decides to let a lottery pick leave after his rookie deal expires.

The bad teams end up extending their lottery picks every year and are left with nothing but their mid-level exception with which to improve their rosters.

Because they are bad teams, they have to overpay lower-tiered free agents like Jerome James, Jared Jeffries, Beno Udrih, and Jason Kapono in order to get anyone to sign with them.

So what teams are left with is two or three lottery picks making too much money for the next four or five years and a couple free agent stiffs who nobody will take in a trade until their contracts are in their final years.

Eliminating player options would at least give teams the power with which to better mold their rosters every year or two and provide incentive for players to earn their next contract instead of playing like they know their money is guaranteed.

Compare the NBA's current model with those of MLB and the NFL. Since baseball has no salary cap teams can spend money freely to improve. In football, a team like the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals can turn their franchise around with a couple good drafts and a few notable free agents. It also doesn't hurt that contracts in the NFL are non-guaranteed.

In the NBA one bad contract can haunt you for half a decade.

Small Market vs. Big Market

One of the key issues that will be discussed throughout negotiations will be how the teams in the larger markets can help to subsidize the teams in smaller markets with more than just the luxury tax.

The NBA's dirty little secret is the unfair advantage given to big market teams when it comes to retaining free agents and paying the luxury tax.

While the licensing and network television money is dispersed evenly amongst all 30 teams, things like local TV and radio deals as well as ticket prices and luxury suite revenues go to the individual owners.

The Lakers have local TV and radio deals not just in California but also in Nevada and Hawaii, states without professional sports teams. Los Angeles is the nation's second largest television market and has 16 Fortune 500 companies based in or around it to buy up those expensive luxury suites. The average ticket price for a Lakers game last season was a league-leading $93.25.

Compare that with Memphis, the country's 38th largest TV market with only three Fortune 500 companies. The average cost of a ticket to a Grizzlies home game last season was $24.11.

A naming rights deal or the amount of money teams get for arena signage from sponsors will always be greater in larger markets than smaller ones. Perhaps it's time for a greater percentage of that money to be shared and factored into the Basketball Related Income (BRI) totals that determine the league's salary cap.

The problem is that the NBA will never discourage it's larger market teams from having an unfair advantage because it wants it's larger market teams to do well. That's no secret but you'll never get anyone from the league office to say it on record.

Take a look at the eight teams who have won the last 31 championships and where they rank in terms of television market size, according to RabbitEars.info:

Los Angeles (2)
Chicago (3)
Philadelphia (5)
Boston (8)
Miami (9)
Detroit (10)
Houston (11)
San Antonio (28)

San Antonio is the exception to the rule—the lone team from outside the top-11 in size. It should come as no surprise that those teams who benefit from increased market size would be more likely to retain their own players and pursue free agents.

According to Berger, the owners have already agreed on the framework for an enhanced revenue sharing model that would help funnel revenue from the larger market teams to the smaller ones.

That should come as good news to the players because it will enhance the likelihood of teams retaining their own free agents, as well as increase the number of potential suitors.

The details of that framework have yet to be announced, but if the owners have already agreed to it then that's a good thing as far as avoiding a work stoppage is concerned.

Eliminate Loopholes

For the sake of the fans, the NBA needs to eliminate a couple of loopholes currently being used to circumvent the salary cap.

The Lakers and Mavericks were able to pull off trades for Pau Gasol and Jason Kidd by re-signing semi-retired free agents who they hadn't renounced and who hadn't officially retired.

While both teams deserve credit for being creative, the NBA should figure something out to prevent the establishment of dangerous precedents that ruin fair competition. The last thing fans want is to witness more questionable activity in their already paranoid minds.

The same goes for teams who trade players away, watch them receive buy-outs from their new teams, only to return to their old teams after sitting out 30 days.

A player who is traded should not be allowed to return to his old team until the conclusion of that season.

The NBA should also look into putting an end to it's unofficial second free agency period that happens every March. This is the time when veterans on bad teams are waived so they can sign on with contenders.

Tweaking the Minimum Age Requirement

This is a touchy subject since the majority of fans believe that a kid who is old enough to serve his country in times of war should have the right to make a living straight out of high school.

The NBA instituted a requirement that all potential draft picks must be either 19 years old or one year removed from graduating high school.

Due to the current state of the economy, most teams will only carry the minimum of 13 players on their rosters next season—thus eliminating approximately 50 jobs from last season. Most of those left without jobs will be veterans nearing the end of their careers and second-round draft picks on non-guaranteed contracts.

It's long been believed that the NBA would like to increase the minimum age requirement to 20, and this might be their only chance to do so. The players might not have a problem with it since it would increase the likelihood that those veteran cast-offs get one more year to make money before they retire, whereas a 20 year old has ample time with which to establish himself and make a living.

The NBA is second only to the NFL in terms of fair competition. The rules in place are designed to give teams the advantage in re-signing their own free agents and discourage a constant carousel of player movement.

Derek Fisher has gone on record saying that the players are fully aware that they'll have to give something back to the owners with the next CBA. What he wants to make sure is that rules are put in place so that when the economy turns itself around the players benefit as well.

The fact that both sides are entering into negotiations with an understanding of how the fans feel and the catastrophic consequences of a work stoppage is a great starting point.

We can only hope that things continue to go as smoothly.

Uncontested Shots: Latest on Iverson, Big Baby, Powe and the Wizards

Andrew Ungvari — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:13:23 -0400

Another slow few days in the NBA’s offseason resulted in me taking this past Friday off in the hopes that there would be something to write about by Tuesday.

As always, here are today’s Uncontested Shots, or should I say, things I was thinking about while reminiscing about the Sun Yue era and it’s premature ending.

LO to stay in LA

I guess it wasn’t really that slow while I was off. The Lakers and Lamar Odom finally came to an agreement that should see Odom finish his career as a Laker (or at least the remaining quality years of it).

According to TrueHoop, Odom’s deal is for a guaranteed $27 million over three years, and $32.8 million should the Lakers exercise the fourth-year option on the deal.

Definitely a win-win for both sides, but especially for the Lakers. Keep in mind that Odom’s cap number for last season was around $14 million. His salary was closer to $12.5 million because of a trade kicker in Odom’s contract with the Miami Heat that counted against his final season’s salary.

With Odom now scheduled to make $7.5 million next year, his cap number is just a half a million dollars more than half of what it was last season. Considering the contracts signed by the likes of Hedo Turkoglu, Anderson Varejao, and Charlie Villanueva, the Lakers made out like bandits.

With Odom in the fold, the Lakers have their top five scorers and top four rebounders from last season returning. Their sixth-highest scorer and fifth-highest rebounder, Trevor Ariza, was replaced by a better scorer and rebounder in Ron Artest.

Is there anyone who hasn’t received an offer from Olimpiakos?

The latest big name to be associated with an offer from Greek powerhouse Olimpiakos is Allen Iverson. A Lithuanian0based website, Basketworld.lt, is reporting that Iverson was offered two years and $10 million to play in Greece.

I have a hard time believing a single report from a website based in Lithuania with regards to a story about a Greek team and an American player. I have a much harder time believing that Iverson would ever consider finishing his career in Greece.

Iverson just finished playing out a six-year, $71-million contract that he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s made enough money in basketball and through endorsements that he’d feel the need to uproot his family overseas for $5 million per year.

I really see this Iverson situation playing out in one of two ways. Either Iverson sits out the start of the season and waits for the perfect situation—perhaps a devastating injury to a team’s top-scorer creating an opening. Or Iverson pulls a Latrell Sprewell and disappears quietly into the sunset rather than be insulted by the prospect of coming off the bench or playing for less than he feels he’s worth.

This Week’s Trip Down Memory Lane

It was about five-and-a-half years ago this week when Duke University and the University of North Carolina engaged in one of the best games in the rivalries storied history.

The Blue Devils defeated the Tar Heels 83-81 in overtime. One of the stars of that game was Duke’s then-center Shelden Williams, who had 22 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks.

Williams's counterpart, Sean May, led Carolina with 15 points and 21 rebounds.

May would be the 13th pick in that summer’s draft by the Charlotte Bobcats while Williams would get picked fifth overall in the 2006 draft by the Atlanta Hawks.

On Monday, it was announced officially that May was signing with the Sacramento Kings for $884,881, while Williams signed a contract with the Boston Celtics that will pay him $1.306 million. Both will be making about half of what they made as rookies in a last-ditch attempt to save their respective careers.

In fact, it hasn’t been a great summer for any of the players involved in that game who are now in the NBA.

Luol Deng had to sit out the Bulls playoff series with the Celtics because of a stress fracture in his right leg. He also won’t be able to compete for the British national team in their bid to qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London.

J.J. Redick lost in the NBA Finals while Chris Duhon has had to hear all summer long about the Knicks' infatuation with Choco Blanco and Ramon Sessions. Rashad McCants is a free agent who hasn’t received any interest, it seems, from anybody.

Raymond Felton, a restricted free agent, hasn’t received much attention either and he and the Charlotte Bobcats don’t seem at all close on an extension.

Don’t Forget About Leon

While it’s no secret that Celtics restricted free agent Glen “Big Baby” Davis has received little attention on the open market, most just assume he’ll end up accepting the qualifying offer from the Celtics and hitting free agency again next summer. But one name we haven’t heard much about is Leon Powe.

Mainly that’s because Powe underwent surgery to repair an ACL that Powe had already torn twice. Powe isn’t expected to be ready to play when the season starts, but he presents a great opportunity for a team to sign him on the cheap, not just for whatever part of this season he plays, but also for 2010-11.

Because Powe was drafted in the second round of the 2007 draft, he has only made about $1.2 million in his first two seasons. Factor in agent commissions and Uncle Sam, and he’s probably pocketed somewhere in the neighborhood of $400K.

While I would never advise any team to sign an injured player, I’d make an exception with Powe because he’s probably desperate and can be had on the cheap. Why not offer him $1.3 million for next year with a team option for $1.5 million for 2010-11?

If he fully recovers, you’ve got a fully serviceable low-post scorer who is content with any role you give him. If he doesn’t, then you cut him loose in a year, and all it costs you was the $1.3 million.

The Cavs are reportedly interested but I’m curious what kind of deal they offer considering how desperate Powe might be at this point.

DeShawnstradamus

The always-entertaining DeShawn Stevenson sat down for a story with the Washington Post’s Michael Lee about his rehabilitation from a herniated disk that ended his season early last year.

Lee followed up his story on Monday with some more quotes from Stevenson, including this one:

“If Gilbert (Arenas) is 70 percent, we’re going win a lot of games. If Gilbert is 80 percent, we’re going to be No. 1 in the East. If he’s 100 percent, we might win a championship.”

While I don’t believe that the Wizards have any shot at winning a championship, I agree with Stevenson that the Wizards are going to be good. I think they are good enough, that if healthy, they can pass the Hawks for the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference and pose a mild threat to the top-seeded team in the second round of the playoffs—especially if that team is Cleveland.

As of right now, here’s how I see the East seeds for the 2010 NBA Playoffs:

Orlando
Boston
Cleveland
Washington
Toronto
Chicago
Atlanta
Miami

A lot of this is contingent on how the rest of free agency plays out. If Boston retains Big Baby, then I move them past Orlando and in to the top spot. If Cleveland can somehow find a way to make one more move, then I might be tempted to move them up to two or even one.

Uncontested Shots: The Latest on Miller, Barnes, Jack, Moon, and Odom

Andrew Ungvari — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 11:51:53 -0400

This article originally appeared on the all new basketball website SirCharlesInCharge. Uncontested Shots will debut on SCIC every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the NBA season then re-post in it's entirety on BleacherReport.com the next day.

Andre Legacy

Philadelphia Sixers free agent point guard Andre Miller has finally received some attention from the Portland Trailblazers. According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Miller will be in Vegas and New York to meet with representatives from both the Blazers and the Knicks.

The Knicks have long been believed to be interested in signing Miller to a one-year deal using the mid-level exemption, the same as the Sixers, while the Blazers can offer more years and more money.

Miller, 33, was hoping to get an offer from the Sixers for three years and $30 million but that seems unlikely now that the Sixers have Louis Williams and the recently drafted Jrue Holiday on their roster.

The Blazers would be smart to sign Miller since he's the best available free agent. With franchise cornerstones Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge eligible for extensions this will be the last summer the Blazers will have cap space for a while and they would be wise to use it to acquire an asset that can help them down the road.

With Steve Blake and Jerryd Bayless, Miller would give the Blazers the flexibility to move one of them in a future deal to acquire whatever it is they feel they need to complete their roster after missing out on Hedo Turkoglu and Paul Millsap.

The Knicks are also believed to be interested in Milwaukee Bucks restricted free agent, Ramon Sessions.

Shawn Marion Opts for Zero

Last week Shawn Marion took to Twitter to ask fans to help him choose a new jersey number since his usual 31 belongs to Jason Terry.

Yesterday Marion announced on his website that he was going to wear 0. While he didn't provide any explanation I'm going to assume it's in honor of the number of weeks that Ron Artest's "My World" spent at number one on the Billboard chart.

FYI - If you were following me on Twitter you would have heard that joke from me yesterday. Not too late.

All Seems Quiet on the Free Agent Front

While not much has happened in recent days amongst those free agents who still remain available, there are a couple of players who have found new homes.

As always, here are today’s Uncontested Shots. Or should I say “Things I was thinking about while tripping off the fact that Drake is Jewish and was Bar Mitzvah’d”?

The Toronto Raptors have landed restricted free agent point guard Jarret Jack for a reported four years and a little more than $20 million to back up the talented yet oft-injured Jose Calderon.

This is a great move for the Raptors because he not only provides them with depth at point guard but in reuniting Jack with his college teammate Chris Bosh they’ve proven to Bosh that they will do what it takes to turn the franchise around and make him feel better about sticking around when he can test the free agent market next summer.

So far this offseason, the Raptors have acquired Hedo Turkoglu, Reggie Evans, and Jarrett Jack and drafted DeMar DeRozan at the expense of losing Jason Kapono, Shawn Marion, Anthony Parker, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

The Raptors still have the chance to re-sign free agent Joey Graham or perhaps bring Carlos Delfino back from Europe as well. All in all it hasn’t been a horrible offseason for a team that if healthy should be right back in contention for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Welcome Matt

The Orlando Magic have continued retooling for a possible return trip to the NBA Finals by reaching an agreement with Phoenix Suns free agent Matt Barnes on a two-year deal. While details of the deal have not been announced yet I’m going to predict that the second year of Barnes’ deal has a player option.

While many expected Barnes to cash in after his impressive performance in the 2007 Playoffs while a member of the Warriors, Barnes has yet to get that long-term deal that he’s been searching for.

As he enters his seventh season the Magic will be Barnes seventh stop on his NBA journey. This is a great signing for the Magic because Barnes is extremely versatile. He’s an above-average three-point shooter coming off his best season as a pro.

While I wasn’t completely blown over by what the Magic did early on free agency I think the recent signings of Bass, Gortat, and Barnes make them easily the deepest team in the Eastern Conference, and quite possibly the NBA.

The Magic’s next target appears to be Golden St. Warriors restricted free agent guard, C.J. Watson.

Over the Moon

Between Michael Jackson’s death (the moonwalk), the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, and now the Cavs' recent signing of Jamario Moon to an offer sheet, the moon has had a pretty good month of publicity.

The Cavs offer is either for the remaining $3.2 million of their mid-level exemption or for their $2 million biannual exemption. Either way, it’s unlikely the Heat will match the offer.

Moon is nothing more than a high-flyer who can dunk off an alley-oop. He won’t hurt you because he takes smart shots but he isn’t going to be a difference-maker for anybody. He doesn’t make the Cavs any better than they were five days ago.

The No. 1 sign that the free agent your team just signed isn’t really a game-changer is when nobody knew that he was even a free agent until he signed his offer sheet.

The news of the Moon landing was followed by the news that Shaquille O’Neal will be participating in a new television show called Shaq Vs. which will pit O’Neal against the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Michael Phelps, and Albert Pujols in their respective sports.

I’m not so sure that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is all that excited about his 37-year-old, $20 million center overextending himself before the start of next season. I’m guessing Gilbert is much more interested in Shaq vs. Orlando, Shaq vs. Boston, and Shaq vs. the Lakers.

Latest On Lamar Odom

Roger Lodge (yes, the one who hosted Blind Date) reported on his radio show on KLAA this morning that he’s heard from a source that Lamar Odom and the Lakers have reached an agreement on a four-year, $40 million deal.

While it’s hard to take Lodge serious as a source there is reason to believe that Jerry Buss might have been willing to guarantee the fourth year of the deal.

As was previously reported, the hold-up for Odom was that he wanted a guaranteed fourth year considering what Hedo Turkoglu and Anderson Varejao received this summer but Buss was only offering a team option for the fourth year.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the deal contains some type of incentive in the third year that would guarantee the fourth year based either on games or minutes played.

Quentin Richardson On The Move…Again

Quentin Richardson was traded for the third time this offseason when the Clippers sent him to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Sebasitan Telfair, Craig Smith, and Mark Madsen.

Richardson was first traded from the Knicks to the Grizzlies for Darko Milicic. Then the Grizzlies traded him to the Clippers for Zach Randolph. And now comes the deal to Minnesota.

This probably won’t be the last time Richardson is traded before the February deadline. I’m guessing Wolves GM David Kahn realizes that he has a much better chance of moving one player with a $9.35 million expiring contract to a team looking to shed payroll than trying to move the three guys he gave up to get him.

The Wolves will in all probability end up with another lottery pick in next year’s draft. They also have a conditional first-round pick from the Jazz that would become theirs if Utah finishes with one of the league’s top-13 records.

In addition to Richardson’s deal, the Wolves also have the expiring contracts of Etan Thomas ($7.35m) and Brian Cardinal ($6.75m) to help them make a big trade.

If the reports are true that the Milwaukee Bucks will soon be up for sale, it isn’t unthinkable to see the Wolves offer Richardson, Thomas, and a first-round pick to the Bucks for Michael Redd.

Maybe I’m giving Kahn too much credit. Perhaps he helps his old boss Donnie Walsh out by taking back Jared Jeffries or Eddy Curry for Thomas and Cardinal. The Knicks don’t have a first-round pick in next year’s draft. It belongs to the Utah Jazz.

Tweet of the Week

This week’s TotW comes courtesy of Lakers blog ForumBlueAndGold:

“LeBron wins ESPY for best NBA player. I’m sure Kobe slumped over his Finals MVP trophy and cried about that.“

Uncontested Shots will run every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the season. For up to the minute updates on all free agent happenings follow Andrew Ungvari on Twitter.

Uncontested Shots: The Latest on Sessions, Baby, Casspi, Wilcox and Odom

Andrew Ungvari — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:10:41 -0400

This article originally appeared on the all new basketball website SirCharlesInCharge. Uncontested Shots will debut on SCIC every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the NBA season then re-post in it's entirety on BleacherReport.com the next day.

Jazz Match Offer For Millsap

Paul Millsap is widely considered the next big shoe to drop before the rest of this summer’s free agency starts to take shape. The Portland Trailblazers signed Millsap to an offer sheet last Friday night and the Jazz matched the offer.

The Blazers now have to decide if they want to use their available cap space either to go after Lamar Odom or New York Knicks free agent David Lee.

While the Knicks have tried to create the impression that they’ll match any competitive offer for Lee, there is a growing contingent who think the Knicks are just trying to scare away potential suitors.

The Blazers could also use their available cap space to go after Glen "Big Baby" Davis as well as another of the many free agents, both restricted and unrestricted, still available.

Hindsight is 20/20

While the Lakers have taken their two offers to Odom off the table, things are becoming more clear as to what the Lakers have to work with if Odom decides to flee to Portland, Miami, or Dallas.

While I was under the assumption that the Lakers still had their biannual exemption The Los Angeles Times pointed out that the Lakers used it to re-sign Shannon Brown.

So all the Lakers would have left to work with to replace Odom with, excluding a trade, is a minimum contract.

In hindsight, the Lakers are probably wishing they’d worked out a sign-and-trade for Ron Artest instead of using their mid-level exemption. As a result, whatever leverage Odom has is a direct result of the Lakers limiting their options.

Had the Lakers retained their mid-level, they would have at least had the threat of offering a contract to Glen Davis or Chris Wilcox to hang over Odom’s head. Instead, Odom is using the threat of leaving to get more money.

Besides a minimum contract the Lakers would have the expiring contracts of Adam Morrison.

Update: Chris Wilcox has agreed to a contract with the Detroit Pistons that will be signed some time next week.

Baby Talk

Besides the Blazers, the Mavericks, and Pistons have also been mentioned in various reports as potential suitors for Big Baby Davis.

The Mavericks still have their mid-level exemption after missing out on Marcin Gortat. Owner Mark Cuban will surely have to do something to save face after losing Brandon Bass to the Magic as well.

While Cuban has admitted to reaching out to Odom’s agent, Jeff Schwartz, it’s highly unlikely that Odom would choose to sign a mid-level deal with the Mavericks over the Heat.

While some Mavs fans are excited about what the team has done despite missing out on Gortat, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram’s Jennifer Floyd Engel wrote a scathing article disputing that notion.

If you have a few minutes, it’s definitely worth checking out because she makes an awful lot of sense.

The more teams like the Mavs, Warriors, and Suns fool themselves into thinking they are just one or two pieces away from competing for a title the more you have to respect teams like Sacramento, Oklahoma City, and New Jersey for just blowing it up and saving their money for the perfect piece instead of spending money just to spend money.

Not Everybody Loves Ramon

It was widely believed after the Bucks chose not to give a qualifying offer to Charlie Villanueva that it was to free up the money to re-sign Ramon Sessions.

Yet there isn’t a top-25 free agent out there who has received less attention than the guard from Myrtle Beach, S.C.

It’s obvious the Bucks are waiting for the other 29 teams to wrap up their summer spending before opening up negotiations with Sessions.

But while the Bucks are playing the waiting game, the more appealing Sessions will become to teams like the Clippers who might turn their attention to Sessions if they can’t convince Allen Iverson to sign for their mid-level exemption and come off the bench.

Who Ordered the Kosher Pre-Game Meal?

Ailene Voisin wrote a cool little blog Q&A in the Sacramento Bee about Omri Casspi and the excitement in Sacramento and in Israel for Casspi being the first Israeli-born player in the NBA.

As a fellow Jew and the son of an Israeli father, I’m excited for Casspi. People in the United States have no idea how big the NBA is in Israel where die-hards wake up at the crack of dawn to watch NBA games on their satellite dishes.

While the Heat are owned by Israeli Micky Arison, other Israeli’s like Yotam Halperin and Lior Eliyahu and UCONN’s Nadav Henefeld and Doron Sheffer were all drafted, Casspi is the first to sign an NBA contract and make the jump.

Mazel Mazel, homey!

Howard Beck of the New York Times adds his own piece on Casspi and what his arrival means for Israelis as well as the hummus industry.

Bonus Babies

Dave D’Allesandro wrote one of the best pieces in a while in yesterday’s Newark Star-Ledger on contract incentives and bonus clauses in NBA contracts.

Here are a couple that couldn’t keep me straight-faced during negotiations even if you paid me:

Nick Collison gets $100,000 if he wins the MVP (not Summer League but the real one)
Adonal Foyle gets $500,000 if he wins MVP and another $500,000 if he wins Finals MVP
Luke Ridnour gets $1,500,000 if he wins Defensive Player of the Year

Those are only three. I suggest you give it a read if you’ve got a couple minutes.

Uncontested Shots will run every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the season. For up to the minute updates on all free agent happenings follow Andrew Ungvari on Twitter.

Uncontested Shots: The Latest on Iverson, Odom, Millsap and the Blazers

Andrew Ungvari — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:50:40 -0400

This article originally appeared on the all new basketball website SirCharlesInCharge. Uncontested Shots will debut on SCIC every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the NBA season then re-post in it's entirety on BleacherReport.com the next day.

Lakers and Odom Still Far Apart

It’s amazing how fast things can change during free agency. Just a couple days ago the Orange County Register was reporting that the Lakers and Lamar Odom were close to an agreement that would pay Odom north of $8 million for next season.

Now it seems that the two sides are further apart then ever. Lakers owner Jerry Buss has even gone so far as to take his latest two offers off the table. Buss gave Odom the choice between a three-year deal worth $10 million per year and a four-year deal worth $9 million per year and Odom (on the advice of his agent Jeff Schwartz) has declined both offers.

Buss is also offended that Odom and his representative are taking mid-level deal with the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat.

Odom is unlikely to take less money from either the Mavs or the Heat just to spite the Lakers, but the situation in Portland with Paul Millsap is the main hold-up. The Blazers are the only team with significant cap space who is willing to spend it, and they are waiting to see if the Jazz will match their offer sheet to Millsap.

The Jazz intend to match the front-loaded offer but would like to know they can find a taker for Carlos Boozer’s contract to better accommodate Millsap’s deal. What most writers and bloggers have failed to mention is that luxury tax payments are based on team salaries at the end of the season.

So the Jazz are in no rush to get a deal done immediately when they won’t have to move Boozer until the trade deadline if they are afraid of their luxury tax bill for next summer.

What’s funny is how Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace probably could have had Carlos Boozer for Quentin Richardson’s expiring contract if he had just waited a week before taking Zach Randolph from the Clippers for Richardson.

Should the Jazz match the offer sheet to Millsap the question then becomes who do they target next? They could go after New York Knicks restricted free agent David Lee but they could be sick and tired of restricted free agency and instead go after someone unrestricted like Odom who would be theirs if they decided he was the guy they wanted.

If I’m Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, I get on the phone with Aaron Goodwin, the agent for free agent forward Matt Barnes. While Barnes is no Odom, he would be a nice consolation prize if they could get him signed for the biannual exemption of $1.9 million.

The mere threat of the Lakers looking at other options might be enough to get Odom to accept their latest offer.

Other free agents the Lakers could target with their biannual exemption are Chris Wilcox, Drew Gooden, Joe Smith, and Fabricio Oberto, although both Wilcox and Gooden could probably sign for more elsewhere. Oberto was bought out by the Pistons, so he won’t be as expensive.

Another idea the Lakers might want to explore is the thought of trading Adam Morrison’s expiring contract and maybe Sasha Vujacic for the Knicks Jared Jeffries and a signed-and-traded Nate Robinson.

Robinson is currently a restricted free agent who hasn’t received a lot of attention from teams and has reportedly been contacted by Olympiakos in Greece.

Morrison has one more year left on his deal and Vujacic and Jeffries both have two years left on their respective deals.

Since Jeffries is due to make $1.4 million more than Vujacic in 2010-11 the Knicks would create an additional $1.4 million in cap space for next summer. Ideally the Knicks would prefer to move Jeffries for an expiring contract but that’s a pipe dream unless Jeffries can increase his value during the regular season.

Even still, Vujacic's $5.4 million deal for 2010-11 will much easier to move than Jeffries $6.8 million deal.

In paying Jeffries and Robinson, the Lakers would still be spending less money than they would for Odom, Morrison, and Vujacic. Jeffries deal would also expire the same summer that the Lakers would have to re-sign Pau Gasol.

Update: 97.1 The Ticket in Detroit is reporting that a Richard Hamilton for Carlos Boozer trade is in the works

Speaking of the Blazers

Jason Quick wrote a great piece last week on his blog in The Oregonian that I forgot to post about what a horrible summer this has been so far for the Blazers.

The Blazers were considered the best destination for free agents since they had the combination of an up-and-coming team with cap space as opposed to a rebuilding team with cap space.

With escalating salaries and a salary cap due to decrease even more next summer this will be the last summer the Blazers will have significant space and it would be a tragedy if they failed to use it.

Not only did the Blazers strike out on Hedo Turkoglu but rookie draft pick Patrick Mills broke his foot in a summer league game last Thursday. Now they are dealing with the issues surrounding contract extensions for Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Roy wants maximum years and maximum dollars but the Blazers are reluctant to offer him what he desires because they know that the max will go down next season and they can sign Roy for less. That’s the same exact reason why Roy wants to sign an extension now.

Whether or not they manage to snag Millsap away from Utah, the mere fact that they wanted him can’t make Aldridge happy when he feels he’s the power forward of the future.

Wolves Interested in Rambis

I think it’s hilarious that the Wolves are considering replacing Kevin McHale with Kurt Rambis. The only thing funnier would have been the Rockets or Lakers replacing Rudy Tomjanovich with Kermit Washington.

If Rambis does take the job it will be because Phil Jackson plans to stay beyond just the last season on his current contract or because the Lakers have told Rambis that either Byron Scott or Brian Shaw is more likely to succeed Jackson.

If Rambis knew he would be strongly considered next-in-line there would be no reason for him to even inquire about coaching vacancies.

Iverson to the Clippers?

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the Clippers are in ’serious discussions’ with Allen Iverson’s agent about signing Iverson to a one-year, mid-level deal.

Iverson would prefer to start so the Clippers would like assurances that he won’t have a problem backing up last season’s draft pick Eric Gordon.

I can’t see any type of happy ending with a Clippers-Iverson marriage. It would be a big win for the Clips because it would generate more interest in Los Angeles’ red-headed step-child and guarantee at least five more national television appearances with Iverson and top-pick Blake Griffin.

I know that Griffin dazzled in his Summer League debut but I could care less. While I have high hopes and expectations for Griffin I put absolutely zero credence in the Summer League. Jerryd Bayless was the MVP of last year’s Vegas Summer League.

He averaged close to 30 points per game then followed it up by averaging three during the regular season. Marco Belinelli scored 60 points in his first two games in Vegas two years ago and now he’s irrelevant.

Childress Not Exchanging His Drachmas Just Yet

Josh Childress will not be opting out of his deal with Olympiakos to return to the NBA. The good news for Childress is that he’ll make more money than any NBA team was willing to offer him. The bad news is that he’s still going to be a restricted free agent should he decide to return to the NBA next year.

Childress suffered an abdominal tear last season that kept him out of the Euroleague Top 16. Another year with more suitors in free agency next summer will probably help him to sign an offer sheet the Hawks won’t match.

The Biggest Loser - Vegas Edition

Sean May is in Las Vegas working out for NBA teams and trying to get a contract for next season. Part of me thinks that Mays’s agent is only scheduling the workouts because it’s the only way he can get his client to work out.

Eddy Curry is also in Vegas and reportedly looks like he’s in much better shape. Nothing says “time to get in shape” like upcoming free agency. Curry is still two seasons away from free agency but he’d be smarter getting in shape for this season.

No word yet on how Oliver Miller and Stanley Roberts have looked in Vegas. Most likely it’s because they’re still dining on $2 lobster at the Imperial Palace’s all-you-can-eat buffet.

Uncontested Shots will run every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the season. For up to the minute updates on all free agent happenings follow Andrew Ungvari on Twitter.

Uncontested Shots: The Latest on Millsap, Odom, Mavs, Nuggets, and More

Andrew Ungvari — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:26:38 -0400

The NBA free agent period is at it’s halfway point and while many of the top names are signed there are still a number of valuable names still available.

What better time for my latest round of Uncontested Shots? Without further ado, here goes:

Mavs Get Shawn Marion in four-way trade with Raptors, Magic, and Grizzlies

As expected the Dallas Mavericks acquired combo forward Shawn Marion in a sign-and-trade deal with the Raptors that the Grizzlies helped to facilitate.

The Mavericks get Marion as well as Nathan Jawai, Kris Humphries, and former Mav Greg Buckner from Memphis, the Raptors get Devean George and Antoine Wright from Dallas to go along with free-agent signee Hedo Turkoglu, and the Grizzlies get Jerry Stackhouse from the Mavs along with the cash that will be used to pay Stackhouse’s $2 million buy-out.

When you consider that the Mavs have acquired Marion, Quinton Ross, and Marcin Gortat (once the Magic officially decline to match the offer sheet he signed with Dallas) at the low cost of only having to give up George, Wright, and Stackhouse, this has been a great off-season for the Mavs. (Update: Brandon Bass has signed a four-year deal with Orlando so add him to the list of losses.)

Although I still don’t think that the Mavs are good enough to crack the top-three in the Western Conference. The Lakers and Spurs are still clearly better teams on paper but the Mavs still have a chance to pass the Nuggets should Denver fail to bring back Linas Kleiza after having already lost Dahntay Jones to the Pacers.

With Kleiza, the Nuggets get the edge because they have a better team one through eight. But without Kleiza the Nuggets top three bench players would be Chris Andersen, Renaldo Balkman, and rookie Ty Lawson versus the Mavs bench which boasts Jason Terry, J.J. Barea, and Erick Dampier.

If this was 2004 I’d say the Mavs were a better team but I give the Nuggets the edge since starters Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith, and Nene are all ascending players whereas Kidd, Nowitzki, and Marion have all seen better days and Josh Howard just can’t seem to stay healthy.

Anyone else think it’s weird that Chris Bosh wished Kris Humphries luck on his Twitter page but had nothing to say to Shawn Marion?

Speaking of Dahntay Jones

With the news that Dahntay Jones has signed with the Pacers for four years and $11 million the Nuggets have to ask themselves who on their team will get the defensive assignment when they play against the likes Kobe Bryant, Manu Ginobili, Brandon Roy, and the rest of the conference’s (and the league’s) best guards?

As of right now that assignment would fall on J.R. Smith. While Smith’s defense and work ethic seem to have improved dramatically he just doesn’t doesn’t have the chops or the demeanor to guard any of those guys for forty minutes a game.

Looking at the list of free agent guards that the Nuggets might be interested in to help shore up their defense we’re talking about guys like Desmond Mason and Marquis Daniels. Mason would be a great fit for the Nuggets should Oklahoma City fail in trying to re-sign him.

The Lakers have to be thrilled with what’s happened this off-season. They acquired Ron Artest to defend Carmelo Anthony so Kobe doesn’t have to and then watched as Dahntay Jones, aka “Jack Tripper”, fled to Indiana.

Update: The Nuggets appear to be in trade discussions with the Pistons for the defensive-minded Arron Afflalo.

Hill Stays in Phoenix

Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski (easily the MVP of journalists during this off-season) reports that the Suns and Grant Hill have agreed on a two-year, $3.8 million extension. Hill chose to stay in Phoenix instead of signing with either the Celtics or the Knicks.

I guess Hill is content finishing his career without ever making it to the second round of the playoffs. Would you believe that Hill has only played in 22 career playoff games? I know he was injured a lot but you’d think he’d at least made it past the first round once.

I heard Hill was going to borrow a page from Ron Artest’s playbook and wear No. 0 if he ended up in Boston or New York in honor of the number of weeks his wife Tamia’s albums have been No. 1 on the Billboard charts.

Odom Watch 2009

The Lakers and Lamar Odom still appear to be far apart on an extension. As is, the Lakers are already about $21 million over the projected luxury tax threshold for next season. Any contract Odom signs will count double with the luxury tax.

Sure the Lakers can afford to spend the kind of dough it would take to keep Odom around but people seem to forget that the Lakers also employ the highest-paid coach in professional sports. Phil Jackson’s salary for next season is an eye-popping $12 million.

Lakers fans need to be patient. The Blazers appear to be the only possibility to sign Odom for more than the luxury tax but all of the names that appear to be higher on the Blazers’ wish list are restricted free agents. So not only does Odom have to wait for the Blazers to sign one of their desired targets to an offer sheet but then he has to wait another week to see if those offer sheets get matched.

Update: The Blazers signed Paul Millsap to an offer sheet Friday night.

Update II: Janis Carr of the Orange County Register is reporting that the Lakers have upped their offer to Odom to $8 million and assistant GM Ronnie Lester expects a deal to be finalized next week.

If it’s any consolation to Lakers fans, HoopsWorld.com’s Eric Pincus (easily the Most Improved Player of b-ball writers this off-season) feels pretty good about the Lakers chances of bringing Odom back.

His rationale is that the Lakers could have worked out a sign-and-trade with the Rockets for Ron Artest that would have allowed them to maintain their mid-level exemption in case Odom chose to leave. By not doing so he believes the Lakers seem pretty confident.

To view this article in it's entirety, including the latest on the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, the Golden St. Warriors future, and the Minnesota Timberwolves click here.

Andrew Ungvari is a Senior Writer for BleacherReport.com and now a lead blogger for the all new SirCharlesInCharge, part of the FanSided Network.

Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

Uncontested Shots: Hill, Odom, McDyess, Davis and the Latest In Free Agency

Andrew Ungvari — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:59:11 -0400

San Antonio Rolling the Dyess?

After Rasheed Wallace told his agent Bill Strickland to cancel visits he had scheduled for San Antonio, Orlando, and Dallas because he’d decided to join the Boston Celtics, the Spurs had to turn their attention elsewhere.

It appears that GM R.C. Buford and head coach Gregg Popovich have turned their attention to Antonio McDyess.

According to Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs have emerged as the leader to land the services of the 14-year veteran from Mississippi.

Wojo reports that the Spurs, along with the Magic and Cavaliers, are the three teams prepared to make offers for McDyess.

What about the baby?

I’m guessing that if the Spurs can get McDyess to sign then they’ll no longer have any interest in Glen Davis.

The question then for Davis is whether or not the Cavs would be interested in making him the type of offer that the Celtics would resist matching after signing Wallace. Magic GM Otis Smith has already downplayed Orlando’s interest in Davis, which means the market is slowly drying up for Davis’ services.

It doesn’t appear that Oklahoma City or Portland have any interest in Davis which means the Celtics might end up retaining Davis next season for the qualifying offer (approximately $1.25 million), forcing Davis to re-enter the free agent market again next Summer.

In the meantime, the Celtics have turned their attention to veteran Grant Hill and are attempting to sign the former All-Star with their $1.9 million bi-annual exception. Right now it appears that the Knicks and Suns are the Celtics biggest threats for Hill.

Should the Celtics manage to sign Wallace and Hill and re-sign Davis for the qualifying offer, you can put them right up there with the big winners of the offseason—that doesn’t include Eddie House deciding not to opt-out of his deal and return to the Celtics for $2.9 million.

To view the rest of this article, including the latest on Lamar Odom, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Trevor Ariza, and Ron Artest click here.

For previous rounds of Uncontested Shots on SCIC, click on 6/25, 6/30, or 7/3.

Andrew Ungvari is a Senior Writer for BleacherReport.com and now a lead blogger for the all new SirCharlesInCharge, part of the FanSided Network.

Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

Uncontested Shots: NBA News, Notes, and Observations June 23, 2009

Andrew Ungvari — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:21:06 -0400

This article originally appeared on the all new basketball website SirCharlesInCharge.

Leading up to this Thursday's Draft, there are a number of trade rumors involving the likes of Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Vince Carter, and Amare Stoudemire.

This year's draft also has more question marks than any in recent memory—both in terms of where certain prospects will end up getting drafted and whether or not any of the teams with lottery picks will keep their picks or trade them for veterans.

The nation's economy has already forced the Milwaukee Bucks to give away Richard Jefferson for a bottle cap, a ball, a paddle, and some jacks. Don't be surprised if the Bucks turn around and buy out both Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas and both end up returning to the Alamo city.

Remember when Gregg Popovich suggested the NBA establish a trade committee that could veto lopsided trades in the aftermath of the Pau Gasol trade last year? Something tells me that Pop's changed his mind since then.

Without further ado, I bring you this week's news, notes, and observations, now known as Uncontested Shots.

Really, Bill?

I don’t dislike Bill Simmons. I won’t deny that he has a passion for the game of basketball and it’s history and without him I probably wouldn’t have this space with which to share my own opinion. I would say that I tend to agree with him on 60 percent of his opinions on the NBA.

I just so happened to take issue with his postscript on this year’s NBA Finals mainly because of his attempt at trying frame the nation’s perception of this year’s Lakers team and provide outlandish talking points to the 90 percent of NBA fans who detest the Lakers. This is the same guy who posted “If I told you two NBA players just exploded after a homoerotic Sprite-like chestbump, wouldn’t your response be, 'Vujacic & Farmar?” on his Twitter page.

My biggest beef in general with Simmons is his refusal to allow comments to be posted on his articles and his constant proclamation that he doesn’t Google himself or read things that others write about him. The former is an act of cowardice while the latter is an outright lie considering his inflated ego (he calls himself “The Sports Guy” for crying out loud).

If you’d read Simmons’ writings from throughout these playoffs you’d notice his inconsistencies and constant contradictions. As if he would have truly believed that the Celtics/Bulls series in the first round would have been nearly as legendary had someone other than his Celtics participated.

Don’t get me wrong. It was a fantastic series. But a few overtime games in a first-round series between a two-seed and a seven-seed does not make for a legendary series—especially when the victor loses a seventh game at home in the next round.

The best response to Simmons’ piece was called Deconstructing Kobe and it came from Reed at Lakers Blog Forum Blue and Gold. I would recommend anybody read it because he points out not only the inaccuracies with this particular column but also mentions some of the other ridiculous comments Simmons’ made throughout the playoffs that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

In my opinion, the best point Reed makes is in response to Simmons stating that Kobe is no better a teammate now than he was in the past. He had this theory that Kobe somehow regretted sharing his workout regimen with his teammates on the Redeem Team because it forced them to change their practice habits and elevate their own game.

Reed writes:

“If Kobe proved so powerful in transforming superstars on the Olympic Team, then why don’t we believe he has had a similar impact on his Laker teammates over time?”

I agree wholeheartedly. Don’t you think his work ethic would have a much greater chance on rubbing off on teammates he hangs around with nine months out of the year as opposed to six weeks?

Ian Thomsen’s cover story in Sports Illustrated is also really well-done in that it describes Bryant as the type of leader who demanded his teammates play hard or they would find themselves on a different team.

Compare what Thomsen writes with what Simmons wrote:

“So many of his teammates are successful creations of this new, older Kobe Bryant. Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza—none of them was viewed as anything like a championship contender until each began to play with Bryant. In turn, Bryant had to learn to see things their way, to help each of them develop as Bryant himself has matured in the seven years since he and Shaquille O’Neal drank the last of their champagne together.”

Simmons likes to point out that the 1986 Celtics were the greatest basketball team ever. He regrets that the defending champion Lakers didn’t hold up their end of the bargain when they lost in the Conference Finals to the Rockets—denying the Celtics the chance to avenge their loss from the previous season.

This year it was the Celtics who stood in the way of the Lakers chance at redemption. Simmons has no problem giving Ariza credit for the job he did in this year’s Finals but fails to mention whether or not it would have made a difference had it been Ariza guarding Paul Pierce in last year’s Finals instead of Vladimir Radmanovic.

But somehow he’s still convinced a healthy Celtics team would have repeated.

I’ll never forget what Simmons wrote after the Celtics won their title last season:

“Of the 10 best guys on this particular Boston team, seven of them weren’t Celtics during last season’s despicable tank job, and two of them weren’t Celtics as recently as January. As much as I like the new guys and everything they brought to the team, I still feel like I’m getting to know them. Posey, House, and Brown were hired guns. Garnett belongs to Minnesota. Allen belongs to Milwaukee and Seattle. Powe, Rondo, and Big Baby just got here. This season was like having a great fantasy team—the guys were thrown together and made some magic happen, but, still, they were thrown together.”

Perhaps that’s why Simmons is so bitter towards the Lakers winning it all this year. Not just because Kobe Bryant now has one more ring than his beloved Larry Bird but because the Celtics championship was a rental compared to how the Lakers bounced back from humiliation in 2008 to become World Champions in 2009—just three season removed from missing the playoffs.

One Last Note on the Lakers

If you don’t know who Larry Coon is it’s time to get familiar. Coon is the authority on the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. He has his own NBA Salary Cap FAQ site and he is also a contributor to RealGM. Coon wrote a really descriptive article on Kobe Bryant’s options regarding his contract and possibly opting out.

Coon paints three scenarios:

Option 1: Opt out now and become a free agent in 2009: Sign a six-year deal for $135,070,031.

Option 2: Opt out next year and become a free agent in 2010: Sign a six-year deal for $135,015,989.

Option 3: Sign a three-year extension on top of the remaining two years for a total of $127,654,734 over five years.

It seems that the best-case scenario for the Lakers would be Kobe opting out and signing a five-year extension now because his starting salary in 2009-10 would actually save the Lakers money as opposed to him declining to opt-out. Even though the difference in salary is only about $800,000 it would actually save the Lakers $1.6 million when you factor in the luxury tax.

What About Boston?

Disregard anything you hear regarding the Celtics attempting to trade Rajon Rondo.

First off, Rondo is eligible for a contract extension this year that would go into effect in 2010-11. Why in the world would an aging team trade a starter on a rookie contract who is one of only two building blocks for the post-Garnett-Pierce-Allen era (the other being Kendrick Perkins)?

If the Celtics decide not to extend Rondo then they risk having Rondo enter the market next summer as a restricted free agent and being forced to match an offer sheet. As good as the free agent class of 2010 is there will be a number of teams with cap space to burn who won’t land one of the prime free agents. Many of those teams will be forced to resort to overpaying B-level and C-level free agents and the Celtics don’t want to be forced to have to match an offer like that.

Now you know why the Lakers were so willing to extend Andrew Bynum despite the fact he was coming off of knee surgery. Had Bynum had the bounce-back year it seemed he was having before he got injured then the Lakers would have been forced to match an offer from a team like Detroit, Memphis, or Oklahoma City with plenty of cap space and money to throw at him.

The Celtics will and should explore trading Ray Allen, though. With Garnett, Pierce, and Allen scheduled to make almost all of the Celtics pre-luxury tax cap space and extensions due for Rondo, Glen Davis, Eddie House, Stephon Marbury, and Leon Powe, it would be in the Celtics best interest to trade a much-desired expiring contract for two players and possibly a draft pick instead of having to worry about re-signing Allen next summer when he’s 35, or worse, watching him walk for nothing and with no cap space to replace him.

To view the rest of this article, click here.

Andrew Ungvari is a Senior Writer for BleacherReport.com and now a lead blogger for the all new SirCharlesInCharge, part of the FanSided Network.

Follow him on Twitter by clicking here.

NBA News, Notes, and Observations: Finals Edition

Andrew Ungvari — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:38:48 -0400

I know I vowed to do an NNO after each of the Finals games but unfortunately I tragically lost a friend last Thursday, so I've been a little preoccupied.

I'm going to dedicate this column to him.

Maxy-Lev, you were a true original and you will be incredibly missed by those who loved you.

I know this might not be the time or place, but sometimes it takes a tragedy to remind us to tell those we love that we love them, because we may never get the chance to do it again.

Now onto my news, notes, and observations...

Experience Matters

Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy was asked during the post-game press conference if experience played a part in the Magic's Game Four loss on Thursday night.

Here was Van Gundy's response:

"That has nothing to do with any of it. We've played enough basketball games. It's basketball. These guys have been in hundreds of games, thousands of them. Most of these guys have been in huge games.

"It's just too cliche to say it's all about Finals experience and that we're all of a sudden playing with 11-foot baskets and a smaller court. I just don't buy it."

I found Van Gundy's comments to be especially hilarious since he spent the entire press conference second-guessing everything his team did down the stretch.

Experience is what gave Phil Jackson the idea to take the ball out from three-quarters length instead of half-court. Lack of experience is what caused Jameer Nelson to give Derek Fisher so much space for him to tie the game with a three-pointer.

Here's the question you have to ask of SVG:

If you have a chance to replay the last 11 seconds of the game, do you do anything differently?

If the answer to that question is yes, then experience is huge.

Instead, Van Gundy chose to throw Jameer Nelson under the bus.

Speaking of Nelson, I still find it curious that Van Gundy decided to give Nelson so many meaningful minutes after missing four months of action after shoulder surgery. I guess Van Gundy thought that the more minutes he gave him early in the series, the better Nelson would play at the end of it.

At this rate, Nelson should be back to his old self by Game Eight or Nine.

Foreshadowing Anyone?

Last month I wrote an article about Carmelo Anthony before the Nuggets series with the Lakers got under way. Derek Fisher was in the midst of a terrible playoff run. Here's what I wrote in response to a comment left by Erick Blasco:

"It's tough to see the Nuggets winning the series when they can outplay an opponent and still lose. But that's why teams, for the most part, have had to fail first before learning how to win. Experience in this series is huge.

Derek Fisher could be 0-for-9 from downtown and J.R. Smith could be 4-for-7 and I'd still rather have Fisher take a meaningful shot in a playoff game because of his experience."

For the record, Fisher was 0-for-5 from downtown before hitting those two huge three-pointers.

To read more on Derek Fisher, I urge you to read B/R colleague Robert Kleeman's article on Thursday night's game. I wrote in the comments section that his recap of the game was better than anything I've read in any of the local newspapers or national sports websites, and I mean that in all sincerity.

Kleeman's Korner

In response to my comment on his article, Robert asked me a series of questions and I promised, as a lifelong Lakers fan and 20-year season ticket holder, I would use this space to respond to each of them.

Kleeman Question: The (Lakers) have thus far only retired the jerseys of its Hall of Fame alumni. Given that Fisher has played an enormous role in what will soon be four championships this decade, but is nowhere close to the Hall (of Fame), how should the team celebrate him? Is just saying "thanks Derek" enough?

Ungvari Answer: I love Derek Fisher but his jersey doesn't belong on that wall any more than those of Michael Cooper, Byron Scott, or Robert Horry. Lakers fans will show their appreciation for Fisher by greeting him with a standing ovation every time he appears in public, and he shouldn't have to pay for another beer or meal again.

I'm sure that when Fish decides to hang up his sneakers, the Lakers will commemorate his career with a halftime ceremony, 10-minute video montage, and an equally long standing ovation.

KQ: Which player would be your free agent priority, Trevor Ariza or Lamar Odom? Do you think the Lakers will be able to retain both? Is there a way to pick one over the other in terms of value?

UA: This is the big question facing the Lakers this off-season. There are a couple different scenarios that could play out but neither of them involve the Lakers losing both.

If I had to choose between the two, I would pick Ariza for two reasons. First, Ariza is younger than Odom (he turns 24 on June 30), so his best days are still ahead of him.

Odom, who turns 30 in November, has probably reached his maximum potential. Ariza will probably command at least four years and somewhere between $30 and $35 million dollars, while Odom will probably require a three-year deal in the neighborhood of $8 million per year.

Second, Ariza can help prolong Kobe's career by helping to defend the opponent's best perimeter player. If the Lakers were playing the Cavs in this year's Finals, who would guard LeBron James?

Obviously, Bryant would spend the bulk of the game guarding him, but Bryant would surely be spent over the course of a seven-game series after playing three previous rounds.

Odom's current deal was for six years and $63 million, so unlike Ariza, he has already made his big money. The only teams that have the cap space to sign Odom this summer are Oklahoma City, Memphis, and Detroit. None of the three are the quintessential destinations for a veteran who wants to win a championship.

The good news for Lakers fans is that all three of those teams already have really good starting small forwards in Jeff Green, Rudy Gay, and Tayshaun Prince, respectively.

Toronto would also have cap space if they decide not to bring Shawn Marion back. If I had to guess, I'd say that the Raptors and Marion will end up agreeing on a one-year deal that will make Marion a free agent again next summer when many more teams will have cap space.

The Lakers have two contracts that expire after next season in Adam Morrison ($5.25 million) and Derek Fisher ($5 million). They also have team options on Josh Powell, DJ Mbenga, and Sun Yue for less than a million dollars each.

If Lakers owner Jerry Buss is willing to bite the bullet, then he can afford to bring both back for one more season, since he'll relieve the team's payroll of $10 million after next season.

The Lakers don't have a first-round pick in next year's draft but they do have Memphis' second-round pick. They have a first-round pick in this year's draft and two second-round picks (their own and Charlotte's).

With five picks in the next two drafts they could try to replace Morrison, Fisher, Powell, and Mbenga through the draft.

Buss need only look at what happened to the Celtics after losing both P.J. Brown and James Posey last year. With Posey, Paul Pierce wouldn't have had to play as many minutes and he probably wouldn't have run out of gas against Orlando.

With Brown, the Celtics would have been better prepared to deal with the losses of Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe.

The X-factor in all of this is Kobe Bryant and his ability to opt out at season's end and sign a new deal. Bryant can either sign for the max that he's eligible for or sign the type of deal that both Garnett and Tim Duncan signed where his salary dips down next season to somewhere between $16 and $18 million before going back up in 2010-11 to help accommodate the return of both Odom and Ariza.

KQ: What do you think Turkoglu will do? Will any team enter a serious bidding war with Orlando and snatch him away?

UA: Turkoglu will opt out. I would bet on it. We saw what happened in Thursday night's game when Rashard Lewis disappeared (six points on 2-of-10 shooting). The Magic are a missed Courtney Lee lay-up and a Derek Fisher 26-foot three-pointer away from being up 3-1 in this series with Game Five at home on Sunday.

Can they really afford to lose him?

Turkoglu will opt out because he knows the Magic can't afford to lose him. Don't forget that Gilbert Arenas opted out after missing most of last season with a knee injury.

Déjà Vu all over again?

This Finals series is very similar to last year's Finals in terms of the outcomes of each of the first four games are concerned.

In both series the home team won the first two games, both had a Game Three in which the team up 2-0 played their worst game of the series and still only lost by a few baskets, and both had a Game Four in which the home team choked away a double-digit lead.

Considering that the Lakers won Game Five when trailing 3-1 last season, expect the Magic to give their home crowd something a positive final game and win Sunday's game.

For those Magic fans who insist this series isn't over yet just know that the Lakers have yet to lose three games in a row since trading for Pau Gasol and that the team without home-court advantage in the 2-3-2 format has never won Game Six and Game Seven on the road.

Quote of the Week

Doc Rivers was on ESPN's Pardon The Interruption before Game Four. Co-host Michael Wilbon asked Rivers who he thought was going to win the series. Rivers' answer?

"I hope neither one wins."

Spoken like a true old head. Rivers followed that up by saying he thought the Lakers would win the series.

Song of the Week

Some guy named Ryan Parker wrote and performed one of the funniest songs I've ever heard. It's called "Phil Is Your Father". The basic premise is that Phil Jackson impregnated Gasol's mother on a trip to Spain back in 1979.

One of the funnier lines of the song:

"Phil went abroad on a vacation in '79,
It was a year when his career was on the decline,
He met a fine Senorita who answered his call,
And it was there where he conceived Pau Gasol."

The site has been getting a heavy stream of traffic since Jeannie Buss sent it out on Twitter. So be patient and if you can't get it the first time, try again later.

Genius of the Week

This winner of the Genius of the Week Award is Christopher James Carolan, a 22-year-old security guard who was hired to guard Spurs star Tony Parker's home while construction work was being done on Parker's home gym.

Carolan stole an autographed Michael Jordan jersey from Parker and tried to sell it on craigslist.

It gets better.

Carolan had an outstanding warrant for his arrest stemming from a separate burglary charge.

Self-Promotion Department

This is the section where I lose all sense of dignity and shame. For those of you on Twitter, you can follow me here throughout the rest of the Finals and into the off-season.

You can also hear me this Saturday night (or Sunday morning for you East Coasters) on Sports Overnight America on Sports Byline USA with host and Bleacher Report contributor Patrick Mauro. I'll be talking NBA Finals at around 10:10 PST.

Click here to see if there's an affiliate in your area. You can always stream the show online by going to their homepage and clicking on the listen live link.

Last but not least, I've been hired as the lead NBA blogger for a new basketball-related website called SirCharlesInCharge, part of the FanSided network. I will be blogging throughout the off-season on all NBA-related news.

Please bookmark the site and visit often. There are a number of extremely talented contributors who were all hand-picked from some of the more popular basketball websites throughout the world.

This doesn't mean that my days at Bleacher Report are over with. Not yet at least. It just means you'll have to head over there to read all of my content.

My first article should be up on Monday or Tuesday. It's a follow-up to a story I wrote in February 2008 on B/R.

NBA News, Notes, and Observations: June 2, 2009

Andrew Ungvari — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:40:26 -0400

It's been too long since my last round of NNOs.

No excuses.

Hopefully I'll be able to get back on track during these Finals. Last year I did one after each of the six Finals' games. I plan on doing the same thing this time around.

On with the show...

Props to the Magic

Any time a team makes it through their conference and into the NBA Finals it deserves recognition. But when a team beats foes like the Celtics and Cavs without having home court advantage in either series...it deserves extra recognition.

That's precisely what the Magic did on their way to this year's Finals. Should the Magic beat the Lakers and win the title without home court in any of the final three rounds, than I would have to say that it's one of the most impressive title runs of the past 20 years.

"Shaq, would you like some fries with that ass?"

No matter what happens in these Finals, one of Shaquille O'Neal's previous employers will prove that they can win a championship without him. In the case of Orlando, they would prove that they could do something without Shaq that they couldn't do with him.

In fact, by just winning one game in the Finals, they will have accomplished more than they ever did with him.

Shaq used his Twitter page to make his NBA Finals prediction. "I'm a go wit the lake show" is all he wrote.

LeBron, LeBron, LeBron...

I have no problem with LeBron refusing to shake hands and congratulate the Magic immediately after getting eliminated from the playoffs. This isn't AYSO soccer where teams huddle up and give each other "Two, four, six, eight...who do we appreciate?" cheers.

Sometimes it's better to cool off before pretending to be happy about someone else's triumphs at your own expense.

So, I'm not going to knock him for that.

Although I will knock him for dodging the media.

That was purely an act of cowardice and something that he should be skewered for. The media made him. They are the ones who labeled him "The Chosen One" while he was still in high school. They are the ones that have reported on every move he's made.

If you don't have the decency to answer questions for five minutes after a loss then maybe you should find another line of work—especially when you make your teammates have to do it for you.

So Long Big Ben?

Ben Wallace hinted after the game that he would sit down and discuss retirement with his family over the summer.

Wallace is scheduled to make $14 million in the final year of a contract he signed with the Chicago Bulls back in 2005.

Wallace says he would want to be bought out of the contract if he decided to retire, and I doubt the Cavs would have a problem with that since his contract wouldn't count against their luxury tax bill for next season.

If I had to guess I would say that Wallace is much more valuable to the Cavs as a trade asset than he would be as a bought-out contract. The Cavs would be much better off trading Wallace's contract for it's full value and then having his new squad buy him out.

This could potentially be huge for a team like the Phoenix Suns who might be willing to part with either Amar'e Stoudemire or Shaq. The Cavs don't really have the young big guns that the Suns would covet that other teams (say Atlanta's Josh Smith or even Detroit's Jason Maxiell) have.

So, I would count out the Cavs being able to obtain Stoudemire.

Shaq is definitely a possibility though.

The Cavs could probably get Shaq for Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic if Wallace was willing to take a buy-out. Pavlovic can also be bought out of the final year of his contract for $1 million.

So the Suns could potentially save themselves around $5 million dollars next season in salary but could also get back under the luxury tax, saving them an additional $10 million or so.

One Last Thing About the Cavs

Including the playoffs, the Cavs finished 0-8 on the road this season against the Magic, Lakers, and Celtics. When you finish 66-16 during the regular season and 39-2 at home, it's easy to forget they weren't that great of a road team—especially against the league's best teams.

Another Sad Story

Former Bulls guard Randy Brown was forced by a judge to auction off his three championship rings following a bankruptcy filing last year.

Brown was able to sell the rings to an anonymous bidder for $53,833.

Among the listed bidders was Estee Portnoy, Michael Jordan's long-time publicist.

According to Kevin Allen's story in the Chicago Sun Times, "Portnoy declined to say whether she was bidding on Jordan's behalf. Her final bid came Tuesday, topping out at $40,000."

So now we know why Brown chose "0" as his jersey number. Partly because it symbolized the three rings he would later have to auction off, and partly because it represented how many rings he would be left with afterward.

On the bright side for Brown, now that Del Harris is retired, there's a chance Brown could take Harris' old seat on Vinny Del Negro's staff.

M.I.A. From MIA?

One story that didn't get a lot of attention during the first couple rounds of the playoffs was Pat Riley's comments about trying to sign Dwyane Wade to a contract extension this summer.

It's a bit of a catch-22 for Wade, but it's doubtful he'll sign it. If Wade signs the extension then he's stuck on a team that has nobody else under contract for 2010-11.

If he doesn't sign it then it'll be hard to attract a big name free agent who doesn't want to sign unless Wade is committed.

In my opinion, this is a p.r. ploy on the part of Riley. There's no denying he wants Wade locked up, but he also needs to save face with the franchise after their disappointing first round loss to the Hawks.

Wade has given no indication he plans on leaving but a lot can change and it can change in a hurry. Just watch how happy LeBron and the Cavs were just three weeks ago.

Now we're right back to "Will he stay or will he go?".

Riley's problem is that he has very little wiggle room to make the Heat any better next year than they were this year. The team has no first-round pick in this year's draft and will be hard-pressed to find anyone who wants Jermaine O'Neal's contract in a trade.

The Heat also have an owner who is unwilling to go over the luxury tax. So Riley needs to maintain the flexibility to spend big in 2010 while also proving that the team is going places to his franchise player.

Since Riley is adamant about hanging onto the team's young players, the only tradable asset on the team is Udonis Haslem, and he's the second-most popular guy on the team and the best role model for the younger players.

Should be a very interesting summer in Miami.

Another Blemish For the Game's Most Disgraceful Franchise

If you haven't heard about Flunkster Gate then this will really crack you up.

The Golden State Warriors, the team with less playoff success over the past 20 years than the Clippers, are now involved in a scandal where team employees were posing as fans and leaving comments on message boards in order to spin public opinion on personnel moves that may have originally been perceived as unpopular.

Raymond Ridder, the team's PR Director, was leaving comments using the name "Flunkster Dude."

Check out Tim Kawakami's piece about the incident if you want to read more about it.

WarriorsWorld.net has a story today on Paul "We Believe" Wong who has decided to no longer renew his season seats despite being the best fan any team could hope for.

Check out the letter Wong wrote to Warriors' president Robert Rowell at the conclusion of the season.

He's yet to receive a response.

Based on the Warriors' track record over the past twenty years, this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

Who Wants Tickets to Game One?

Derek Fisher is auctioning off two tickets for Game One and a chance to meet him at the game on eBay to help raise money for his alma mater, the University of Arkansas—Little Rock.

Bidding is currently at $2,025. The auction ends at 12pm (PST) on Tuesday.

Twitter Alert

I'll be at Thursday's Game One. I'll be posting updates on Twitter if anyone cares.

You can follow me here.

Prediction

I'm not going to make a prediction on the Finals because I'm a lifelong Lakers fan, so it wouldn't mean anything anyway.

Although I will say that I wouldn't be surprised if either team won it all, but if the Lakers win the first two games then the series is over.

Only two teams in NBA Finals history with the middle three games at home have ever won all three games (2004 Detroit Pistons and 2006 Miami Heat).

In addition, since acquiring Pau Gasol in early February of 2008, the Lakers have yet to lose three consecutive games.

So, history says the Lakers will win one of the three middle games in Orlando.

But wait, there's more.

No team has ever won Games Six and Seven of the NBA Finals on the road.

So, I'm not saying the Lakers will win the series. I'm saying if they go up 2-0 then the Magic's chances are somewhere between slim and none.

Not only would they have to win four of the final five games to win the series, but if they lose either Game Three or Game Four then they'll not only be chasing the Lakers but chasing history as well.

They'll not only have to beat the Lakers three times in a row, but they'll also have to win Games Six and Seven on the road—two things which have never been done.

All I can hope for is that both teams stay healthy for the duration of the series.

I think it would also be great if Jameer Nelson came back since you never know if he'll ever get another chance to play in the NBA Finals.

It would suck if he missed his only shot.

Is It Finally Melo's Turn?

Andrew Ungvari — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:55:36 -0400

Carmelo Anthony was as accomplished a high school basketball player as any who preceded him.

He was a Parade All-American, a USA Today All-American, a Sprite Slam Jam Dunk Contest winner, a McDonald's All-American, a Wendy's, Arby's, Hardee's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell All-American.

You get the point.

Even out of high school, he could have been a top-two pick in the 2002 NBA Draft. Take a look at the top ten picks that year:

Yao Ming
Jay Williams
Mike Dunleavy, Jr.
Drew Gooden
Nikoloz Tskitishvili
Dajuan Wagner
Nene
Chris Wilcox
Amare Stoudemire
Caron Butler

Tell me that Melo wouldn't have gone ahead of everyone of those guys except maybe Yao Ming.

Jumping straight to the NBA was a possibility.

But Carmelo was willing to wait.

April 7, 2003

Anthony had the type of freshman season that most kids could only dream about. Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim gave him the keys to the car straight out high school.

With a little bit of help from teammates like Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara, Melo led the school to it's only national championship scoring 20 points, pulling down 10 rebounds, and dishing out seven assists in the 81-78 win over the Kansas Jayhawks.

He was on top of the world.

His decision not to enter the NBA straight out of high school had proved to be a smart one. His game had developed tremendously over the course of the season and his value increased.

June 27, 2003

It was a foregone conclusion that Melo's buddy LeBron James would be the top pick in the 2003 draft. The Detroit Pistons, already a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference, owned the rights to the Grizzlies pick thanks to a trade for Otis Thorpe that was made when the Grizzlies were still playing in Vancouver.

But the Pistons were dead-set on taking a Serbian forward/center named Darko Milicic who had impressed scouts while playing in Europe.

Melo didn't mind. He was willing to wait.

The Denver Nuggets took him with the third overall pick. He would be the franchise player on a team that was rebuilding from scratch. They had freed up cap space to sign Kenyon Martin and Andre Miller and traded Antonio McDyess to the Knicks for a Brazilian center/forward no one had ever heard of named Nene Hilario.

The Nuggets had even changed their uniforms to change the perception of a team that was mired in mediocrity.

Once again, Anthony was being counted to lead a team from the get-go and he seemed up for the challenge.

April 20, 2004

Anthony finishes a close second to James in the NBA's Rookie of the Year voting. He even received 40 of the 118 first-place votes. As good as James was that rookie season, people forget that more than 1/3 of the first-place votes went to Anthony.

But Melo was cool with it.

June 15, 2004

The Detroit Pistons close out the Los Angeles Lakers to win their first championship since 1990. The last man on the bench, Darko Milicic, wins an NBA title in his rookie season.

Melo could have been on that team.

But again he didn't care.

It didn't take long for terms like "not caring" and being "cool with it," which were once used as complimentary terms to describe his patience, to turn into criticisms.

Anthony was involved in numerous incidents, both on the floor and off, that made critics question his desire to live up to his potential.

It wasn't bad enough that Anthony had to watch as Dwyane Wade, the fifth player picked in the 2003 Draft, won an NBA Finals' MVP and James become a Finals' runner-up in 2007. He now had to deal with questions about his maturity and judgment.

October 21, 2004 - Anthony is busted with weed in his backpack. His friend takes the fall for him.

December 2, 2004 - Anthony is featured on a DVD entitled "Stop Snitching" that shows drug dealers explaining what happens to those who cooperate with the police.

December 20, 2006 - Anthony is suspended 15 games for sucker-punching Jared Jeffries in a game four days earlier.

April 14, 2008 - Anthony is arrested on suspicion of drunk driving on the eve of the playoffs.

April 28, 2008 - The Nuggets are swept by the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs.

Things got so bad that Anthony and his agent, Calvin Andrews, had requested a meeting with the Nuggets to discuss rumors that head coach George Karl wanted Anthony traded.

After five seasons in the league and two All-Star selections, the word "bust" was starting to follow him like the cloud that followed Schleprock in the old Flintstones cartoons.

Nobody thought that Anthony wasn't a great basketball player. It just seemed that way because of the expectations people had—especially when compared with James and Wade. Somewhere along the way, the expected James vs. Melo rivalry had turned into James vs. Wade.

The 2008-09 season has been much kinder to Melo.

It started with a gold medal Anthony helped bring back to the United States in Beijing. The Olympics forced him to forget about the previous season's failures and absorb as much as he could from the likes of James, Wade, Kobe Bryant, and Jason Kidd.

Gone are the trademark braids and mini boiler that seemed to stretch out over the elastic of his basketball shorts.

Anthony looks as if he's in the best physical shape of his life and surrounded by teammates who all seem to be fed up with their reputations for being knuckleheads.

The freakish back-up center who served a two-year suspension from violating the league's substance abuse policy now looks to be one of the biggest winners of this summer's free agent market.

The fifth-year shooting guard with limitless potential who amassed five driver's license suspensions in eight months and killed his best friend when he sped through a stop sign looks like he's finally taking responsibility for his life.

The former top pick in the 2000 NBA Draft who was suspended during the 2006 Playoffs for conduct detrimental to his team finally looks healthy after multiple knee surgeries.

The addition of Chauncey Billups has given the Nuggets their first legitimate shot at a championship since the days of Doug Moe and Alex English.

Denver is just four wins shy of putting Anthony back into the conversation as the best player from the 2003 Draft. While Nike and Vitamin Water have been doing their best to hype up a possible Kobe vs. LeBron match-up in the NBA Finals, Melo and the Nuggets will try their hand at bringing back the LeBron vs. Carmelo debate.

Sure Melo has a ways to go before surpassing James. But should Anthony win his first ring at the expense of denying James his, then Anthony will have finally proved all of the doubters wrong and put his career back on the Hall of Fame track.

There's an old saying that I like to throw out when I'm out to dinner with friends and everyone is tired of waiting for their food to arrive: "Starvation is the best sauce."

It might take Anthony six years to reach the mountain top, but you can be sure that it might taste better for Anthony than it would for James or even Kobe Bryant (should he return to the mountain top).

While Bryant's attitude and leadership ability have been questioned, he's never had to deal with questions about his talent, work ethic, or desire the way Melo has.

With eight more victories, Anthony can quiet all the critics and prove that it was all worth the wait...once and for all.

The 10 Upcoming NBA Free Agents Who've Helped Themselves Most in the Playoffs

Andrew Ungvari — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:28:17 -0400

Every year, it seems as if there's at least one free-agent-to-be who finds a way to shine in the playoffs and convince an NBA owner that he's worth throwing more money at him than he's probably worth.

Sometimes that player turns out to be a bargain and actually lives up to or exceeds the worth of that new contract.

Sometimes it's a veteran who proved he's got a little more left in the tank than we originally thought. Other times, it's that second-round pick who moves up the depth chart due to an injury and makes the most of an opportunity at the perfect time.

The 2009 NBA Playoffs are barely reaching the halfway point, and already a bunch of guys from the free agent class of 2009 are proving that it might be worth it for their current teams to keep them around—or for other teams to consider throwing some jack at them.

10. Antonio McDyess

Remember when McDyess was traded to the Nuggets along with Chauncey Billups and he decided he'd rather get bought out and return to Detroit than play for the Nuggets?

I doubt McDyess knew that the Nuggets would be playing in the Western Conference Finals come May, while the Pistons would be humiliated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in Round 1.

McDyess is as fierce of a competitor as they come. Make no mistake that he wants to win a championship before he hangs them up, and it would take a miracle for him to stay in Detroit. After playing in just 52 games from 2001-02 to 2003-04, McDyess has been unbelievably resilient for someone who will turn 35 in September.

Excluding the games he had to miss while waiting to re-sign in Detroit, McDyess missed fewer than 15 games in five seasons with the Pistons.

What stands out for McDyess in these playoffs is the 26 points and 10 rebounds he recorded in Detroit's elimination game against the Cavs. While the rest of the Pistons had seemingly packed it in and were daydreaming about their two-week stay at Atlantis, McDyess showed he wasn't going to go out a quitter.

Any team that adds McDyess this summer can call their offseason a successful one. It's not mentioned enough how important it is to have a veteran at the end of his career that the rest of the team wants to try to win a ring for.

Teams like the Spurs, Lakers, Celtics, Nuggets, and Cavs will all check in with Andy Miller, McDyess' agent, at midnight on July 1.

9. Dahntay Jones

You won't be able to tell how valuable Jones is by looking at his stats. He doesn't get paid to score points or rack up assists and rebounds.

Jones is paid to not just play defense, but to defend the other team's best perimeter player. The Nuggets have had a reputation of the last few years as being one of the league's worst defensive teams but Jones, Chauncey Billups, Chris Andersen, and Nene have changed the culture of the Nuggets into becoming one of the hardest-working defensive units to battle with.

Jones has developed the kind of reputation where opposing coaches try to complain about his physical play by calling him dirty, when he's really just playing hard every moment he's on the court.

Jones' defense against Chris Paul in the opening round was key to the Nuggets' quick disposal of the Hornets and his upcoming series, in which he'll likely match up with Kobe Bryant, will go a long way in determining his worth.

8. Marcin Gortat

Gortat is the league's only Polish-born player, and one of the few legitimate centers who will be on the open market this summer.

He's a very confident player who will likely flee Orlando because he feels he should be a starter in this league—and frankly, that's never going to happen with Dwight Howard on his team.

Gortat, 25, proved how good he could be when given enough minutes in the Magic's Game Six victory over the Sixers in the opening round.

Gortat had 11 points, 15 rebounds, and four steals in 40 minutes.

While there could be a few teams interested in his services, he's already let it be known that he's willing to return to Europe if it presents a better chance at playing time.

Suns fans might not want to read this sentence, but Gortat—just like Rajon Rondo, Rudy Fernandez, and Nate Robinson—was originally drafted by Phoenix before subsequently being traded to another team without ever playing a game for the Suns.

7. Brandon Bass

Bass, who just turned 24 last week, was one of biggest surprises in the first two rounds of the playoffs.

While he only averaged 8.5 points per game during the regular season, Bass had games of 14, 10, 16, 11, and 17 in just 10 playoff games.

It's unlikely that the Mavs will let Bass sign with another team, but there is a definite possibility that Mark Cuban could decide that available cap space is just too important in the summer of 2010 to commit to Bass long-term.

6. Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Anderson Varejao, and Joe Smith

I put these three guys together because whether or not they remain members of the Cavs next season is entirely up to LeBron James. With only one season left on James' deal until he can opt out, the Cavs will do whatever he asks of them to ensure he stays happy.

All three have made endless contributions to the teams amazing 8-0 performance through the first two rounds, but the biggest surprise has been Smith, who, like McDyess, has shown he's still got a lot to offer at 34.

Varejao is the one who could increase his value the most over the next two rounds because of his age. Like Ronny Turiaf last season, it's rare that teams regret offering longer term contracts to guys who play hard every night—even if it means overpaying by just a little.

Varejao is also the one from this trio that LeBron would most likely understand if the Cavs were unwilling to overpay, since the team is already over the luxury tax.

While it doesn't seem as if teams like Oklahoma City, Memphis, or Detroit would choose to spend their cap space on a player with limited offensive skills, a team like Toronto might throw some money at him to add some toughness to a team considered one of the league's softest.

As for Ilgauskas, he's already made his big money. It won't take much to bring him back, even if it means giving him just a one-year deal.

5. Eddie House

Eddie House is in his ninth season in the league and still hasn't passed the $10 million mark in total earnings.

He has an option on his contract for next season for less than $3 million, and he turns 31 on Thursday. House is sure to opt out, since this will be his last chance at a decent pay day.

House has made 18 of his 36 three-point attempts in these playoffs, and has never proven to be more valuable than now—including a 31-point game against the Magic and 16 points in the decisive Game Seven against the Bulls in the opening round.

House would provide instant offense off the bench for any team, and is likely to go with the highest bidder.

Will the cash-strapped Celtics venture even deeper into luxury tax territory with so many open roster spots heading into next season? Only time will tell.

What is known is that House might prove to be a much better option for teams than fellow free agent, Kyle Korver, who will probably ask for a longer contract and possibly more money per season.

4. Hedo Turkoglu

Turkoglu isn't exactly a free agent since he, like House, has an option on his contract for next season. Even though he's less likely than House to opt out, there's still a decent possibility he will.

Time and time again he's proven to be the Magic's go-to guy in crunch time. The question is whether or not he feels he can get more than the approximately $7.5 million he's scheduled to make next season.

Given these economic times, Turkoglu might decide it's best for him to play out the rest of his contract and retest the waters next summer when so many more teams will have cap space and money to throw at him.

There have been rumors about the Kings possibly trying to bring him back. Whether or not those rumors are true, it seems as if he'd be much more interested in playing for a contender than wasting the last couple years of his prime on the league's worst team.

3. Chris Andersen

Andersen is probably the league's best bargain in that he's making less than a million dollars this season.

After returning from a two-year ban for violating the league's substance abuse policy, Andersen has become the heart and soul of the Nuggets.

In only nine playoff games, Andersen already has 17 blocked shots and 55 rebounds. He's also made 70 percent of field goal attempts (21 of 30) and has only turned the ball over four times.

Nuggets GM Mark Warkentein did a tremendous job of making the team better while shedding salary. The Nuggets are below the luxury tax line with only three impact free agents to worry about in Jones, Andersen, and Anthony Carter.

The Nuggets will have plenty of competition for Andersen's services, but at least have the means to pay him without having to trade someone away.

2. Glen Davis

Davis is the single biggest reason why the Celtics are still alive in these playoffs. He's filled in admirably for Kevin Garnett and picked up the slack for the also-injured Leon Powe.

He's raised his shooting percentage five percent compared to the regular season, and his scoring and rebounding averages are up from seven and three during the regular season to almost 17 and six in the playoffs.

He's also proven to be clutch with his buzzer-beating 20-footer to keep the Celtics season alive in Game Four against Orlando.

Powe's knee injury increases the likelihood that Davis isn't going anywhere, since the Celts can't afford to lose both guys.

Davis is a restricted free agent who will probably test the free agent market and gauge the interest of other teams. He's proved that he's yet to even scratch the surface of his potential and will likely get a number of mid-level offers and the Celtics will have no choice but to match, even if it means paying double with the luxury tax.

What that also means is that House and Marbury likely will be playing elsewhere next season.

While this particular Celtics nucleus probably has another season or two left to compete for a championship, Davis and Rajon Rondo look like nice building blocks for the next generation.

1. Ben Gordon

It's not often that a player turns down a multi-year, multi-million dollar offer from a team without regretting it later on, but that's exactly what happened during these playoffs with Ben Gordon.

Gordon and the Bulls failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension over the last two summers and now Gordon is an unrestricted free agent coming off a seven-game series against the defending champs in which he averaged 24 points per game.

There are three scenarios that could go down involving Gordon this summer: 1) He re-signs with the Bulls for fair market value, 2) He leaves to sign on with another team with cap space such as Detroit, Oklahoma City, Memphis, or possibly Toronto, or 3) He agrees to a sign-and-trade where he gets more money than he would be eligible for in free agency, and the Bulls get something in return.

If the Bulls decide to keep him around, then it pretty much eliminates any chance they have of trying to bring Dwyane Wade back home next summer. Keep in mind that Wade is at home right now while Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant are all still competing for a championship.

Will Wade be able to go through this again next May and June on a team with almost zero wiggle room to improve this summer? That's why the Heat are trying to lock him up now.

Like Baron Davis last summer, Gordon might be the biggest domino to fall in player movement this summer. There's a chance that whatever it is he decides to do will set off the rest of the summer's activity.

Honorable Mention: Ron Artest

While Artest has been superb in these playoffs it's unlikely that he'll create much of a stir on the open market.

No team will ever commit to signing him for more than three years and the chances are slim that any team will offer him more than the Rockets will. Look for the Rockets to re-sign him for three more years and slightly more than the mid-level exception, which is all most teams will have to offer.

Artest didn't help himself so much as he didn't hurt himself.

Lakers vs. Rockets: Has the Tension Died Down?

Andrew Ungvari — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:38:15 -0400

There's an old Chris Rock joke about what it's like being a young black man in New York City. Rock says when he walks down the street he sees old white ladies looking at him through their windows dialing 9-1 on their telephones, with their finger on the 1-button, ready to call the police.

Now you know how Ron Artest feels on the basketball court.

Artest did nothing to deserve either of his ejections in the Rockets' series with the Lakers. It was probably just a case of the refs protecting Artest from escalating things.

In both instances, the games were pretty much decided at that point, so that might have also had something to do with the ejections—zebras just trying to act preemptively.

This is the NBA's version of "shoot first and ask questions later"; call it "eject first and downgrade later."

It's just the way things will be with Artest until his playing days over and he's lost the right to appeal.

So far we've seen a number of technical fouls, a few ejections, and a suspension, but it appears after Sunday's "Mother's Day Massacre" the series may have only just passed the halfway point.

This particular series has reminded many of the NBA's glory days of the 1980s—when every possession mattered. Not just in this series but in almost all of the series. It's nice to know that even in these times where the average NBA salary is more than $5.5 million that these guys still care.

While Game 4 didn't feature the chippy-ness of the first three games, the fact that the Rockets humiliated and demoralized the Lakers will only increase the intensity of Tuesday night's Game 5.

In the 48 hours before the next game, the Lakers will have to deal with another round of questions about their toughness and ability to win a championship.

Forget about the Lakers' run at the end of the game to make the score look like the game was closer than it really was. They were undoubtedly punched in their collective mouths.

Will they have the maturity and guile to counter within the rules of the game?

The Lakers don't really have an enforcer. Excluding the Kung-Fu master, DJ Mbenga, they don't have anyone you'd want to take with you into a street fight.

They do have plenty of guys that you might want to duet with at a karaoke bar though.

I'm not saying they're too soft. I'm saying they're too polite. There's nobody on this team other than Kobe Bryant that will grab a teammate by the collar and ask him "What the (expletive) were you thinking?"—let alone someone who would do it to an opponent.

Instead, they rely on irritants like Derek Fisher and Sasha Vujacic. If something does go down in this series, you can guarantee that Vujacic will probably be in the middle of it.

Kobe Bryant and Shane Battier are both smart enough to try something when the refs aren't looking in an attempt to bait the other into getting caught instead.

Early on in the series, it was looking like Von Wafer and Vujacic might throw down. But the referees have quickly taken control of the series.

Wafer, who will be a free agent at season's end, understands what's at stake for him. After his banishment in Game 2, he seems to have settled down.

Now that we're down to a best-of-three series, it will be interesting to see if there's a player on either team dumb enough to let his team down by throwing a punch or swinging an elbow.

But that might not be such a bad thing after all.

Three players have been suspended in these playoffs so far (Dwight Howard, Rafer Alston, and Derek Fisher) and in all three instances, their teams won without their missing player.

Make no mistake: the Lakers are still in control of the series. All they had to do was win one game in Houston to regain home court advantage and they did it. They were playing with house money.

The problem is they played like it.

And that's why people continuously question their mental toughness. They had a wounded dog in their midst and they allowed him to regain his footing.

They had a golden opportunity to prove that all of the talk about their unimpressive playoff showing up to this point isn't accurate.

We're watching what could be the beginnings of a great rivalry, but could also be just another case of all bark and no bite.

Compare this series to the Lakers and Kings from the earlier part of the decade and it isn't even close. Most people forget that things were so heated between the two teams that the incident involving Doug Christie and Rick Fox happened during a preseason game.

After Sunday's game the Lakers/Rockets series became a lot more interesting.

The big questions are whether or not it will be decided by the players or the guys with the whistles, and whether we've seen the last of the flying elbows, ejections, and suspensions?

All I know is that the Rockets have nothing to lose right now and they're playing like it, while the Lakers have everything to lose and they're playing like it as well.