Nitro

I agree he's good with a player like D-Will, Kidd or Billups, who won't out-quick him and like to play with physicality. But with more athletic PG's it's a problem, including in PnR situations (that's why the Kings almost beat the Lakers in 2002, Bibby killed him in the PnR). Even though I'm reluctant to use opponent counterpart stats, he got roasted last year defensively stat-wise, letting up 51.4% EFG. Impressive feat considering how good the team's defense was all last season. Utah fans would riot if he left LA

http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/67792/20100703/tony_soprano_stars_in_movie_lebron_watched_during_knick_presentation/ Sick. Although what a traitor, help bring him to NJ!

The thing is, often times the team wouldn't need to be put in those close-game situations if they had more production at the PG position in the first 45min. How many times did the Lakers waste big leads? Just take a look at their point differential last season. Fisher can't defend remotely athletic PG's, he makes horrible decisions with the pull-up 3, shot sub-40% from the field last season, and he's not a good passer. Blake is a smarter offensive player, can hold his own defensively, is a good passer, and shoots a better percentage from the field and from 3. I agree Fisher has some intangibles that Blake has yet to prove he has. But Blake is the better player, is 5 years younger and Fisher expects to be making MORE than Blake the next 2 seasons?!?

Fisher is vastly overrated in the clutch. According to 82games.com he shot only 32% from the field in clutch situations last season, and only 75% from the line. 95% of his shots were jumpers too. I'm sure if you give Blake as many open jumpers as Fisher gets he will knock 'em down, and he will also put a lot more pressure on teams by his ability to get to the rim. Fisher doesn't deserve $5M. I don't get why he expects the same pay as last year just because Jackson got it. Age doesn't matter while coaching, playing does.

Please tell me that's sarcasm. Anyway, it's a great idea, I love how Miami treats its players. The Haslem surprise birthday party, the websites, the county changing its name to Miami-Wade, now this.

That's a very reasonable contract for Salmons, especially considering all the horrible bloated contracts unworthy players have been receiving this offseason. I know it puts a strain on their future salary, but the next 2-3 years are likely going to be the best chance the Bucks have at making a big splash in the EC in a long time. Might as well seize the oppertunity, which they are doing this offseason.

Amare has too much of the OP...

Eh...I don't love the idea of a Rose/Wade backcourt. Add LBJ into the mix, and the Bulls will have absolutely no floor spacing.

$3M for a 2nd round draft pick? NBDL level player? Yes, a few hundred grand (if that) to intimidate and send a message to not only Knicks, but the entire NY/NJ area is a much smarter move. Look at how much attention it has recieved locally and nationally...that's huge for a team like the Nets.

Great signing. Tough, consistent, can shoot the 3, can pass, can defend, is a veteran...exactly what the Lakers needed. If they can get Bell too, that bench will be so much better than what they had last season.

Yeah, but that's just dumb. Paying a lot less for something that intimidates Knicks employees and brings a ton of attention to the Nets is a brilliant marketing plan.

They really aren't just trying to 1 up the Knicks...they ARE 1 upping the Knicks. They have been for years, and now they have a pair of the best owners in the league, a brand new beautiful arena in Newark, and an even better arena in 2 years in Brooklyn.

If it is intimidating Knicks employees as Dolan said, it more than served its purpose and was completely worth every penny.

Yes...much muchhhhh better. Paul had a DOWN year last season due to injury and still averaged 19PPG/11APG/4RPG/2SPG and shot 49% from the field, 41% from 3 and 85% from the FT line. Take a look at the major difference in numbers for Chandler and West pre and post-Paul. He was 2nd in MVP voting in 2008 and led the Hornets to one game away from the WCF with very little help. If the Bucks ever had the oppertunity to get Paul, they would pull the trigger in a second.

He shot over 50% from the field last year, 48% from 3, and also grabbed over 6 boards and dished out 4 assists. He's not a star player, but he's just what the doctor ordered for the Lakers bench. He can do a little bit of everything, and can shoot the lights out (even though the lights are already out at Staples). Would be a perfect fit for the Lakers.

Hahaha Bosh is just eating this free agency up...

Fair enough. It's your thread, and I don't want to spend pages arguing things that we'll just end up agreeing to disagree on. For the most part you did a tremendous, VERY thorough job. I was just shocked with the Sonics grade primarily because of Durant and how much he has already done for the franchise, and how much he will continue to do in the future. But I see you did lighten up a bit on their grade, so nice job But the one thing I'll say about Green is his shooting from 3 last year is a bit misleading IMO. He shot 39% from 3 in 2008-2009, and in February/March last season shot 43% from downtown. The dude can shoot well enough to warrant playing SF.

W-O-W. He has some potential but he's been in the league for 5 seasons and played over 62 games only once, never played 18MPG and never averaged 7PPG or 5RPG. That's just ridiculous. I mean even Darko has produced and proven more at the NBA level, has potential, and will be making around $1.5M less per year on a shorter contract. Gooden is a proven NBA vet that can produce, even though his contract is also bloated. How Johnson and Gooden will be making more than Frye is kinda crazy too.

I'm really, really starting to believe my prediction that the Nets will land him will come true. They have a terrific cast of young players and the ownership blows away the competition for a guy like LeBron. If he is playing just 20min from me next season I'm gonna

-I don't think the fact that Durant was an obvious pick at #2 should hinder their grading. There's plenty of drafts in NBA history where a player was a lock with a high draft pick that turned out to be a major bust. I mean, since 2005, there have only been 3 players in the NBA Draft that I believe to be of superstar quality...D-Will, CP3 and Durant (Rose is arguable, but I don't think he'll ever be on their level). The NBA is a league dominated by superstars, just take a look at MJ/Shaq/Kobe/Duncan/Hakeem dominating the championship scene the last 20 years. Durant has an oppertunity to be one of those players you could actually build a championship team around. -Davis is a nice player, but is getting grossly overrated because of some big performances in the playoffs. He's extremely inconsistent, way moreso than Green. And again, I just don't see Green as being an NBA PF, he just doesn't have that size. He has the body and athleticism of a SF. How does he not shoot well? He shot 39% from 3 in '08-'09, and shot about the same over the last 3 months of last season after a slow start. From the field he shot better than Davis each of the last 2 seasons, despite being about 70lbs less and similarly undersized. -I agree about the Landry thing, that was a bad move. But I really don't think the Allen trade was that bad. The Sonics wanted to rebuild and get rid of Allen's massive contract, and they did so. The Sonics/Thunder ended up saving a ton of money in that trade, and the youth movement has proven to be an amazing success.

It's a steep price, but honestly I don't think it's that bad of a move. He's a VERY good rebounder, can score/finish, and he will certainly give the Bucks depth. It's a tough contract to swallow, but as another member mentioned, teams like Milwaukee will never win over any star players in free agency. I do think they could have scooped Gooden up for less, but he's a very solid player.

I really don't think it'll happen. I'd say Miller certainly has a spot on the roster...the Lakers have nothing at the wing positions on the bench. They need a shooter and a player who's unselfish, and Miller fits that mold perfectly. I do agree that they still desperately need a backup PG, but the absolute worst case scenario is they make a deal toward the trade deadline. Vujacic will be an expiring contract I believe worth about $5M, and they will have a few draft picks to dangle out there as well. In the meantime, I guess Earl Watson wouldn't be a horrible, cheap backup.

I'm not really sure how you put the Sonics so low. I mean yeah, they gave up Landry, but Green is a better player than Davis IMO. He's a SF that has to play PF, so he's at a disadvantage there. But still, each of the last 2 seasons he's shot better from both the floor and free throw line than Davis, and in the last 3 months of last season he shot nearly 40% from 3. He's also a solid rebounder and defender. Not to mention he's averaged 80 games played in his career to Davis' 66. I agree that he's still raw, but he has a lot more upside than Davis and has been a better player his first 3 seasons. But more importantly, even though they lost Allen and didn't get much value back (well, they did get rid of his huge contract which is a plus), they got a legit SUPERSTAR in Kevin Durant, who is still only 21. There are only about 6-7 true superstars in the league, and he's one of them who isn't anywhere near his prime yet. He alone should give the Sonics at least a B IMO.

Verrrrrry interesting, although not a huge surprise. Amare loves attention, and he'll get more of that than he can imagine in NY. If true, Knicks fans should be thrilled. Not all that much better than David Lee, but Amare is still a tremendous player.

From Chris Bosh's Twitter... Read more: http://realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/67722/20100702/bosh_impressed_with_nets_ability_to_sell_a_franchise/#ixzz0sUlxezIO \