http://www.yardbarker.com/content/player/4773 Recent articles about Delonte West en-us At the beginning of the off season, Sam Cassell was planning to return to the Celtics this season as a player/ assistant coach in training and then join Doc's staff next season. With the resigning of House and Allen and Danny's expectations that Pruitt will contribute more this season, it seems that Sam will need to find employment elsewhere. After signing Giddens, the team has 2 spots left. Hopefully one goes to Bill Walker and the other would go to either a veteran back up small forward or center and not to a back up point guard. Rumor is that Sam will sign with Denver and fullfil his plans to play one more year as a player at the veteran's minimum and get some coaching training under his former Milwaukee coach George Karl. In spite of being mentioned in rumors tied to several teams, Shaun Livingston still hasn't been picked up by a team. He is still working hard on rehab, but in spite of 18 months of hard work, he is still unable to play five-on-five despite extensive rehabilitation. Teams are going to wait until they know for sure that he will be able to play. Livingston has a ton of potential as a 6'7" point guard, but injuries have derailed his career and teams are going to wait to see if he can play again before offering a contract. Delonte West has proved that he can play in the league but he has also been plagued with assorted injuries in his career. I mean, how many players get sidelined with a toe infection? Much of what fuels his injuries is his way of playing all out all the time as he throws his body into bigger players. He is a tough player and deserves better than what teams have done with him. He was key to getting Ray Allen in Boston, but the Sonics didn't give Delonte a chance. Then he finally got a chance to play in Cleveland and did so admirably, but they have pretty much thrown him by the wayside, giving their back up point guard a bigger contract than they offered him. Delonte should take the qualifying offer and see what he can get next season on the open market. I would love to see the Celtics bring him back. Another former Celtic (although very briefly), Luke Jackson has been working out for the Blazers and reports are that he will sign with them and become the 15th player on their roster going into training camp. Jackson can score and is good from beyond the arc, but he is a defensive liability. Still he would be good for a team that needs instant offense off the bench. With Alonzo Mourning still rehabbing and his situation uncertain and Mark Blount as their main option at center (better them than us), the Heat are looking for some help at the center position. Jamaal Magloire is scheduled for a Wednesday visit in Miami. Magloire has averaged 8.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in his career but played in just 31 games last season, joining Dallas after New Jersey cut him in February. But if you're Miami, anyone has to look better than Skippy (I'll get the rebound if I don't have to work for it) Blount. The Knicks' first round draft pick, Danilo Gallinari, is still hurting. Gallinari played in just one summer-league game, injuring his back in his only outing. He has now withdrawn from the Italian National Team, which begins its Eurobasket Qualifier tournament vs. Serbia today. The Knicks are hopeful that Gallinari will be healthy and ready to play by their training camp, but questions still remain as to whether he will be sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of playing in the NBA. Yesterday, the Nets had 14 players in their practice facility working out and preparing for the upcoming season. They are getting an early start at building chemistry with so many new faces on the roster. As reported previously, the Wolves have 9 players working out on a regular basis. Last season it was the Celtics all in Boston early and working out together. But this season, Paul Pierce is still celebrating. KG hasn't been heard from but is probably workout out somewhere and Ray Allen is getting married. Only a few of the young players have been in Boston working on their game. Other teams are working hard to try to jump past Boston and if the Celtics think in the least that they can rest on their laurels, they are going to be very much surprised by these other teams who have the hunger that we saw in the Celtics last season. Team USA was back in action this morning in a rather chippy game against Australia that got pretty rough at times. Although the Australians stayed with the Americans early, Team USA pulled ahead for an easy 116-85 win to pull within 2 wins of their goal of winning the gold. Kobe lead 6 players in double figures with 25 points. They will face the winner of the game between Argentina and Greece in the semi-finals. Beating either team would give the American team some degree of satisfaction and revenge. Croatian guard Gordan Giricek, who has averaged nearly 10 points per game since joining the NBA in 2002, has become the latest player to leave the league for a bigger payday. Giricek finished last season as a member of the Phoenix Suns. On Tuesday, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard signed a two-year contract -- with an option to return to the NBA next summer -- with Turkey's premier club, Fenerbahce. He passed on an offer from the Spurs that was much less than he will earn with the Turkish club. Goran Dragic is another step closer to signing a contract with the Suns as he passed his physical Tuesday, but has to go back home without signing a contract because he still needs to work out the formal details of his buyout and obtains a work visa to return to the USA. The Suns offered Dragic a contract that is usually reserved for lottery picks instead of second-rounders but most of the money he'll make this year (about $1.4 million) is going toward securing his release from his Spanish club. His goal this season is not to become rich, but to prove that he can play in the NBA. The Suns certainly are keeping their fingers crossed that he can. Their last attempt at finding Steve Nash's back up and eventual successor didn't work out so well as Marcus Banks ended up a bust. But then again, the Celtics could have told them that and saved them the trouble. And they must still be kicking themselves for passing Rondo on to the Celtics. Dragic will get plenty of opportunity to prove he belongs as he will be Nash's main backup and will get plenty of minutes as they try to keep Nash fresh for the playoffs. With the sudden departure of Dragic, Tau Ceramica is looking at former Knicks guard Fred Jones as a replacement. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:50:22 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/309554 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/309554 After the Cleveland Cavaliers landed point guard Mo Williams, from the Milwaukee Bucks, rumors surfaced that that the Cavs were interested in a Knicks big man. Zach Randolph was nearly traded to the Bucks at the trade deadline last the season and Donnie Walsh had discussions with the Los Angles Clippers about Zebo earlier this off-season. Mike Brown is a defensive minded coach and Randolph is not known for his defense. However, he is a legit low-post scorer and has averaged 20 points-10 rebounds in a season. The Cavs averaged only 96.4 points per game, which ranked 24th in the NBA. Walsh feels Randolph (and his max contract) would be better on another team. With LeBron James running the show in Cleveland, the hope would be Randolph would fall in line and re-energize the player who looked lazy for the Knicks at the end of last season The Cavs traded former first overall pick Joe Smith in the Mo Williams deal. Smith played a key role averaging 20 minutes per game during their playoff run. The Cavs need a scoring option at the four and Zebo is a clear upgrade over Anderson Varejo in the post. Center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas is 33-years old and Ben Wallace is turning 34 during the season. Randolph is just 27-years old year and has averaged 16 points and 8 rebounds for his career. However, it has been difficult moving Zebo because of his contract that has three years left on at $48 million (owed $14.6 in 2008-2009) Three players on the Cavs roster who the Knicks could seemingly get in return would be: Delonte West, New York native Wally Szczerbiak and Ben Wallace. Although, Wally and Ben are more favorable trade options because of their current contracts. Delonte West: Looks to be the odd man out with the acquisition of Mo Williams. West is a restricted free agent and is looking for $5 million dollars a year. The Cavs have offered $4 million and could be packaged in a sign-and-trade. The 6'3" guard averaged 11 points and played 38 minutes per game for the Cavs in the conference semi-finals. With Stephon Marbury's contract up after this season, the 25-year old could be his replacement. Wally Szczerbiak: Head Coach Mike D'Antoni favors shooters and Wally has the ability to light it up. Wally has only played 80 or more games three times in his career but has averaged 15 points for his career while draining 521 shots from downtown. The 10-year veteran has made 40% of his three-pointers and scored a career best 20.1 points in 05-06. He has one year left on his deal valued at $13 million. Ben Wallace: A player Former GM/Coach Isiah Thomas has coveted in the past. Big Ben is owed $14.5 million this season and $14 mill the year after. From the Cavs standpoint, the player they would most want to deal due to the emergence of of 2008 first round pick J.J. Hickson in the Las Vegas Summer League. The 6?9?, Hickson averaged 19.4 points, pulled down nearly eight boards and shot 53% from the field in Vegas. The Cavs also have second round pick Darnell Jackson who they obtained from the Miami Heat on draft night. Wallace's salary expires just in time for the free agent frenzy in the summer of 2010. The former four time defensive player of the year's skills are declining as his rebounds, steals, and blocks have gone down in each of the last three seasons. He has battled injuries the past two seasons and his playoff numbers have declined drastically. With the Detroit Pistons he had playoff averages of 14 and 16 rebounds per game while blocking two-three shots per game. Even though Wallace will not reach those totals again he could still provide the Knicks with interior defense, toughness and rebounding. Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:00:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/309042 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/309042 It appears that the Phoenix Suns' back up point guard drama is about to be solved. Goran Dragic said he wouldn't leave his European club to join the Suns and the Suns they felt they could get him to Phoenix anyway. It appears that the Suns won out as Dragic reached a buyout agreement with Spanish club Tau Ceramica and is en route to Phoenix to sign a contract to play for the Suns this season. Dragic has been pegged 34 year old Steve Nash's back up this season and the Suns see him as the franchise's point guard of the future. Although he was their second round pick, they had considered taking him with the 15th pick and they had him ranked as the 2nd best point guard in the draft, right behind Derrick Rose. The Suns feel they have something very special in Dragic. He is a lefthander who is 6 feet 4 and 181 pounds with a 37 1/2-inch vertical leap and a 6-foot-7 wingspan. His reported 4 year deal is expected to start at nearly $2 million, using part of the Suns' midlevel exception. The Suns' payroll now exceeds the luxury-tax threshold, something they have been trying to avoid for the past few years and the reason they were eager to give up the draft pick that became Rajon Rondo. The US Women's team beat New Zealand 96-60 on Sunday to stay perfect in the Olympic games. They have been absolutely dominant, winning their five pool play games by an average of 43.0 points. The elimination rounds begin on Tuesday night with a matchup against South Korea, who finished fourth in Group A with a 2-3 record. After that, the U.S. will likely face Becky Hammon and Russia, who are 4-1 after pool play, in the semifinals on Thursday. And if the U.S. gets through Russia, they should face Australia, the only other unbeaten team in the competition, in the gold medal game on Saturday, Aug. 23. It's official. The Philadelphia 76ers re-signed Andre Iguodala on Sunday to a six-year contract worth a reported $80 million. The Sixers will be greatly improved this season with Elton Brand to play alongside Iguodala. The Atlantic division won't be a pushover any more as every team the Celtics will face in their division, except maybe the New Jersey Nets have greatly improved. There has been quite a bit of interest in the 7-foot-2 center on the Iranian National team named Hamed Ehadadi. In response, the league office has sent a letter to its 30 teams instructing that they are forbidden to even discuss a contract with Ehadadi. The NBA is applying to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control for a license that would allow teams to negotiate with the Iranian center but until then, no franchise is allowed to do so. When asked if he had been in contact with NBA teams Ehadadi said that he had talked to two or three. One team believed to be interested is the Memphis Grizzlies. In Iran's four losses in Pool B in Olympic play, Ehadadi has averaged 16.5 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. The Iranian basketball federation wants him to go to a team where he will play and not sit on the bench. They feel that those conditions would be very important for Iranian basketball and also for Khadadi. Sounds like the conditions that were put on teams wanting to draft Yi last year. There are several rumors floating around that the Cavs could be talking to the Knicks about a big man. We know that the Knicks are trying to jettison Zach Randolph, but at almost $15 million this season and 3 years left on his contract, he may be too much money for the Cavs who already committed to a big salary to Mo Williams and are balking at giving Delonte $5 million. I'm not sure who else the Knicks would want to give up that the Cavs would want. Personally, I would love to have David Lee. I love his hustle, but the Knicks would be pretty dumb to give him up. If, as I suspect, the Knicks are trying to sever all ties with Isiah Thomas and the team he built, they may consider it. There is a lot of talk about Ricky Rubio. He has been impressive in the Olympics, in spite of his team's trouncing by Team USA. Many expect Rubio to be a top 5 pick in next year's draft. He is also being compared by some to Pete Maravich because of his style of play. In my opinion he has a long, long way to go to be anywhere near Pistol Pete. Pete was one of a kind and I don't see anyone, including Rubio, coming close to his abilities any time soon. Now this is funny. Good article in the Deseret News about Dwyane Wade visiting the Great Wall. Here's a portion of it: There's chaos atop the Great Wall of China, and it's all Dwyane Wade's fault. Well, maybe not all his fault. But the Heat's international superstar is among the more impatient in his group as a painfully slow line for the final segment of the tour — a dicey toboggan ride that certainly wouldn't pass Disney safety standards — is threatening to turn a once-in-a-lifetime afternoon into a near-torturous experience. Wade tries a diversion tactic to slip his way to the front of the pack. "Look, it's Kobe!" No dice. Not even a mention of China's adopted basketball hero Kobe Bryant could budge this pack. It's hopeless. Unless, of course, the trusty celebrity card works at this high an altitude. Has it ever failed? Within moments, Wade and his entire crew, which includes fellow Team USA members Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets and Deron Williams of the Utah Jazz, are being ushered to the side entrance. Apparently even the Mutianyu portion of the Great Wall has a VIP section. Commence chaos. The troop of nearly 20 has to avoid incoming chairlifts, trust rickety equipment and withstand pushy employees who are trying to get this covert operation completed as quickly as possible. Only, there's no way to keep it a secret, so the crowd that was once begging for pictures with Wade is now actually booing him. Kind of loudly. Wade tries to diffuse the situation by doing his best Arnold Schwarzenegger impression — "Do it now! Get in the chopper!" — until finally a petrified publicist, Lisa Joseph, kicks off the Great exodus by screaming her way down the mountain. It's a priceless Olympic moment for Wade, who is actually enjoying these Games — the second for the 26-year-old — and enjoying a personal renaissance following a tumultuous last 18 months..... Back at the bottom, autograph and photo seekers appear to be multiplying, but it doesn't keep Wade from bartering for better prices on a Chinese peasant hat and an "I climbed the Great Wall" T-shirt. Wade's celebrity gets him no special treatment down here, where people making a living pleading for fair prices from tourists. Not even from an older woman trying to sell him a bottle of Gatorade with Wade's likeness on the bottle. "Hey, that's me," he says, sounding very much like his fans on the Wall when they first saw him. Then his tone changes when the woman quotes him a price: 10 yuan. "For a Gatorade? This is me on this. I can get this." He can also afford it. So 10 yuan it is (about $1.53). Reminds me of Larry Bird talking about his Olympic experience in his book. He would sneak out of the hotel and go to cheer for the USA baseball team. He just fit in with the crowd and was one of the guy's and had the time of his life. He also balked at paying what they asked for a beer there. Larry was always the frugal one. The long awaited announcement of Oklahoma City's team nickname, colors and logos is expected before the end of the month. The team doesn't want to officially introduce their new players at a press conference until it has jerseys for each player to hold up so none of the players they have acquired in trades, Desmond Mason, Joe Smith and Kyle Weaver, have been introduced in a press conference yet. It is all but certain that their nickname will be the Thunder as it has slipped several times, but the colors and uniforms have been kept under wraps until the official unveiling. Starting today, the Timberwolves will have nine of their top players, including Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Kevin Love, Randy Foye, Ryan Gomes, Corey Brewer, Chris Richard and Mike Miller, all working out every day at Target Center. They will be around until Labor Day, take 10 days off, then resume workouts out until training camp opens. The Wolves haven't decided whether to sign free agent Kirk Snyder but it seems unlikely that they will bring him back at this time. This is the kind of work ethic and enthusiasm that the Celtics had last season and part of what won the title. I think that is one of the hurdles to repeating as champions. Teams don't have the drive and the urgency once they get that ring. I would love to see them all back in Boston and working out. Big Baby has been there all summer so far. Rondo is going to be there this week, as will rookie JR Giddens. Bill Walker, although not signed as yet, has been there all summer. Hopefully the other players will be in town soon and will get serious about trying to repeat as champs. Team USA completed preliminary play by soundly beat Germany 106-57 this morning. They have won each of their games by an average of over 32 points. LeBron James had a monster dunk over Chris Kaman that had to have rocked the stadium and he finished with 18 points. Dwight Howard led Team USA with 22 points and 10 rebounds. On hand to return the support that the US Men's team showed him by cheering him on to his 8th gold was Michael Phelps who was cheering and having fun watching the game. Kobe Bryant mania has reached another level in China. The Herald reports that he has been virtually a shut in because everywhere he goes, he causes a near riot. Bryant takes plenty of ribbing as a one-man Jonas Brothers sighting. USA guard Jason Kidd says he hates traveling with Bryant. USA power forward Carlos Boozer said they can't take Bryant anywhere. "Yeah they do leave me," Bryant said. "We go to the village and I look up and they're nowhere to be found while I'm standing in the middle of a crowd of people." I guess there is no accounting for taste. It's definitely because he is the best player on the USA team, either. Maybe Kobe should consider playing in China next season instead of Italy. All those adoring young female fans has to be tempting for him. Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:30:28 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/307912 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/307912 After watching Team USA dismantle the Spanish team today, I had this thought that while everyone will be going after LeBron in 2010, the player I would go after is Dwyane Wade. He was amazing as he seemed to be doing a bit of everything on the court. He finished with 16 points on 8-12 shooting with 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals. He can opt out after the 2009-2010 season but he would have to leave 17 million on the table and so I am not sure if he will opt out or finish out his contract and become a free agent in 2011. But, he would be the one I would go after if he does opt out. My second choice would be Chris Bosh. Ray Allen's contract is up after the 2010 season as is Scal's (finally!) and I have to believe that Danny will make some kind of move in that very rich free agent class. Hoopsworld is reporting that for the past 3 weeks Patrick O'Bryant has been working with Clifford Ray at his summer program, the Clifford Ray and Robert Parish Big Man Camp in Bradenton, Florida. So, O'Bryant is learning from 2 of the best. HOOPSWORLD's Steve Kyler reported that Ray has been preaching the importance of hustle, energy, and conditioning to O'Bryant. He lacks the post moves of a traditional big man but his offensive repertoire does include a nice shooting touch and sky hook. O'Bryant's style is best suited for a fast pace system, so if he wants to stick in Boston he will have to maximize his physical tools with commitment and a sense of urgency. Scott Souza reports that Big Baby has stayed in Boston this off season and instead of celebrating like many of his teammates, he has been maturing and working and trimming down. I mentioned the other day that we have seen him doing a lot of PR around town and I guess it is because he is the only one still hanging around. Besides, he has a lot of personality for public appearances. We may see some good things from Big Baby this season as hopefully all this hard work will pay off. Another thing we know is that somewhere, Leon Powe is working very hard. The kid doesn't know how to take it easy. The Boston Globe reports that Stephon Marbury's days as a Knick are over according to a league source. This has been expected for some time. The question now is when are they going to release him. There were rumors that the Celtics might be interested but now that they have signed both Eddie House and Tony Allen, I don't see where he would fit. The Celtics need a back up small forward the most and after that, possibly a veteran center. If they sign Bill Walker, which I really hope they do, they will have just one spot left and I just don't see it going to a troubled point guard, no matter how well he gets along with KG. Marbury may end up in Europe quicker than he thought. Delonte West could have trouble finding a spot in Cleveland now that they have traded for Mo Williams. Without a doubt, he is no longer the Cavs' starting point guard. There was talk about moving him to shooting guard but he will have to beat out another former Celtic, Wally Szczerbiak and Sasha Pavlovic for the spot and that won't be easy. Delonte's best bet right now is to sign the qualifying offer and play his best this season wherever they play him, and then go on the market as an unrestricted free agent next off season. I'd love to see him come back to the Celtics. Can you imagine the Delonte-Big Baby comedy hour? The Timberwolves will unveil their new uniforms, their first new ones since 1996, Monday over the lunch hour at the IDS Crystal Court. If find thatyou just have to run out and buy the new Sebastian Telfair jerseyso you'll be ready for the Sebastian Telfair night at the Target Center, The Wolves also on Monday are launching an online store to allow you to be first on the block to own one, at www.ShopWolves.com. Here's a preview of what the new unis will look like. Personally I am not impressed. Michael Finley has decided to re-sign with the San Antonio Spurs in spite of receiving interest from other teams including the Boston Celtics. Sources say Finley's decision came down to a choice between staying with the Spurs or joining the Boston Celtics as the reigning champs' replacement for James Posey. He also had strong interest from the Hornets and Cavs. Now we know that Danny is still looking for a back up small forward. Sean Kemp has been trying to relaunch his career with several NBA teams over the last couple of years and word is this week that the 39 year old former Sonic legend has signed a contract with the Italian team of Premiata Montegranaro. Even the old players are going to Europe. And finally, Michael Phelps did it. He won 8 golds in Beijing. And if you read my report from yesterday, you know that he is not only a great athlete, but a team player. And, his teammates came through for him in the 2 relays he needed to break Mark Spitz's record. In particular, Jason Lezak, one of the older swimmers on the team, pulled out the final leg of both of the relays. Exciting stuff out of the Olympics. USA Basketball, both men and women, seem to be steam rolling everyone along with the record breaking action in the pool. Next up for the men's team is Dirk Nowitski and Germany, who lost to Yao and China in their last game. The women are just getting ready to play New Zealand. If you watched USA vs Spain, you saw Kobe knock Pau Gasol on his backside with an elbow to the head. He was not so subtly telling his Laker teammate that they aren't teammates now and that this is war. Now that was fun to watch! Even Kobe knows that Gasol is soft. Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:47:30 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/307481 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/307481 ...Until yesterday, the Cavs had a shaky ball-handler at the point and scoring guards who could barely score for themselves and never involved teammates in the process. Delonte West didn't fit well at the 1, surely not worth starter's money as he needed to be replaced by a "pure point", or at least somebody who could handle a trap. Now it's all changed. Suddenly Delonte fits in perfectly. If he's not our starter, he's 6th man of the year. Now, the Cavs can spring Lebron like a jack-in-a-Box. He'll leap out with a big smile, scary good, and make you jump even though you know he's coming.... Fri, 15 Aug 2008 10:30:47 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/306615 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/306615 The rumored trade that would send Mo Williams to Cleveland is now reality. In a 3 team trade, Cleveland will send shooting guard Damon Jones to Milwaukee and forward Joe Smith to Oklahoma City. Milwaukee also will get point guard Luke Ridnour and forward Adrian Griffin from Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City also gets Desmond Mason, the athletic small forward, from the Bucks and the Cavs get point guard Mo Williams. The trade was basically a salary dump for the Bucks to avoid having to play the luxury tax. The 6-foot-1 Williams averaged 17.2 points and a team-high 6.3 assists for the Bucks last season. This should take some of the scoring pressure off of LeBron James. Williams will likely be the starting point guard and Daniel Gibson, who they signed to a 5 year contract will likely be the back up. This leaves Delonte West hanging. Sources said the Cavs still want to bring West back and feel that he could be their starting shooting guard and play next to Williams. Delonte could take the qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he can't get what he feels he deserves in a contract from the Cavs now. Mo Williams wasn't the only point guard on the move on Wednesday. The Atlanta Hawks signed Flip Murray, a 6 year veteran who can play both guard spots. Murray has averaged 9.3 points, 2.4 assists and 2.0 rebounds in his career with Milwaukee, Seattle, Cleveland, Detroit and Indiana. He is expected to back up both Mike Bibby at point guard and Joe Johnson at the shooting guard spot. The USA Women's team absolutely crushed Mali on Wednesday with a 97-41 win to move to a perfect 3-0 in Olympic play. They got off to a slow start as Mali actually led at 8-7 but they sure made up for it once they got going. Lisa Leslie led all scorers with 16 points, to go along with four boards and three blocks, on a perfect 7-for-7 from the field. The USA women's team has now won its three games in Beijing by an average of 47.0 points. Simply amazing. In spite of the controversy over their inappropriate team photo, the Spanish men's team keeps playing good basketball. Thursday, Spain defeated Germany 72-59. Team members have apologized for the photo, saying it was meant to be funny and in no way did they mean it to be offensive. Unfortunately for them, almost no one saw the humor in it. The USA got the monkey off their back and beat Greece 92-69. Greece was the team that defeated them in the world championships two years ago. Next up for the United States will be a clash with Spain, who should provide one of the toughest matchups for Team USA in their quest for the Gold. The Spanish team has more NBA players than any team other than Team USA. Spain and the United States are both undefeated and this will be a big test for both teams. The game will be televised live on NBA at 10:15 eastern time on Saturday. The on again, off again deal between the Sixers and Andre Iguodala is apparently on again. Philly Daily News reports that the deal for six seasons and $80 million, including an additional $5 million in incentive clauses and an opt-out clause after the fifth season was agreed to yesterday and should be signed and finalized next week. There are thoughts around the league are that the Sixers overpaid to keep Iguodala. But, with Elton Brand, Iguodala, Dalembert, Miller, and the team that they have built this off season, the Sixers are going to be a force to be reckoned with this season. With the injury to Jason Smith, the Sixers are looking for another big man to fill out their roster and it has been reported that they have offered a contract for the veteran's minimum to former Celtic Theo Ratliff, better known for his contract than his play with the Celtics. He played only 2 games but his contract was instrumental in bringing KG to Boston. Ratliff reportedly has other offers for more than the minimum, but is interested in returning to Philadelphia where he played from 1997 through 2001. The Portland Trailblazers announced Wednesday that guard Brandon Roy will have arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The tear was found in an MRI on Tuesday. He is expected to be healed and ready for training camp. This is another of those what might have been players. The Celtics traded the draft pick that became Brandon Roy to the Blazers for Telfair and Ratliff. While Roy is a very, very good player and would have been a difference maker for the Celtics, Telfair and Ratliff were instrumental in bringing KG to Boston so it worked out ok in the end. It seems sad that former Celtic and current Cavalier, Wally Szczerbiak has been reduced to being talked about as an expiring contract. In spite of his scoring ability, knee and ankle injuries have severely limited him over the past several years and now, his value is mostly what his expiring contract can bring them at the deadline. The latest in the Phoenix Suns' point guard search is that a Slovenian court has settled a dispute between two European teams over how much of Goran Dragic's potential buyout agreement each would receive. In spite of the fact that Dragic has said on several occasions that he will stay in Europe, the Suns are still hoping that he will negotiate a buyout and play for the Suns this season. But the Suns are ready to use a portion of their mid-level expectation to sign Dragic to a multi-year contract that will allow him to negotiate a buyout a year early and become the full-time backup to Steve Nash this season. Dwyane Wade is playing at a very high level in the Olympics and this gives hope to Heat fans. With Wade back 100% and Shawn Marion on the team along with a very impressive rookie in Michael Beasley, Heat fans have to be excited for this season. Alonzo Mourning has said that he hopes to be back at 100% by December if not before. Mourning sees Wade as an MVP candidate next season and also feels that Pat Riley isn't finished yet. The Heat is yet another team that has improved itself this off season and will provide a challenge to the Celtics in their quest to repeat as champions. We reported that Chris Kaman has gotten some flak from both the Clippers and his dad for playing on Germany's Olympic team. Now, it appears Kobe Bryant has joined in those giving him a hard time. When Kobe heard that Chris was playing for the German team he went up to him and asked Kaman to give him just one word in German and he couldn't do it. But Kaman isn't the only one playing for a team that he has very loose ties with. The Georgian beach volleyball team is composed of Brazilian ringers awarded Georgian citizenship in anticipation of the Olympics. After the Georgian team beat the team from Russia, there were some hard feelings from the Russians. On her way out of the arena, Russia's Natalya Uryadova doubted that either opponent could name the Georgia president. Now, she bitterly pointed out the absurdity their triumph. "If they were Georgian, they would certainly be an influence," she said. "But in fact, they are not." Offended and mostly embarrassed, Saka promptly tried to diffuse the situation, giving much credit to the Russians. And then this actually came out of her mouth: "I don't want this to be a war between us." The Georgian team even have assumed names for the Olympics. Then there is Becky Hammon, who grew up in South Dakota, and is playing for the Russian team. Pittsburgh native and former Bucknell star J.R. Holden is playing for the Russian team. It is safe to say that the Olympics aren't what they used to be. They have a certain mercenary feel to them these days. This picture has nothing to do with anything, but after seeing it on Perkisabeast, I just thought it strangely fascinating. Might explain a lot about the Lakers, though. Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:16:24 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305885 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305885 The Cleveland Cavaliers finally pull off a trade to bring in another offensive threat to compliment LeBron James. First off, welcome back Brian Windhorst! Seriously, this is how you come back and make a splash. BW is reporting that the Cavaliers are set to complete a 3 way trade that will bring in Mo Williams from the Milwaukee Bucks. The most important part of this trade is that it does not involve Delonte West.... Wed, 13 Aug 2008 18:29:45 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305572 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305572 There are mixed messages being reported about Andre Iguodala having signed a big new contract. ESPN has reported that Andre Iguodala will return to the Sixers with a six-year, $80 million contract. Reports are that after weeks of negotiations, Iguodala was ready to take the qualifying offer and become a free agent next season and the Sixers quickly upped their offer so as to keep their young and talented forward. However, the Philly Daily News is reporting that they're still negotiating and there's no deal yet. So, it is up in the air whether Iguodala has a nice big new contract or not. More details to come, I am sure. Whether Iguodala gets the big contract that has been reported or signs the qualifying offer and becomes a free agent next summer, don't sleep on the Sixers as they are going to be tough this season with the addition of Elton Brand along with Iguodala, Andre Miller, Samuel Dalembert, Thaddeus Young and Louis Williams and should be right there at the top of the Eastern conference this season. There are more mixed messages coming from the valley of the Suns. The Suns' back up point guard position is still very much in the air. Draft pick Goran Dragic has said that he definitely is staying in Europe to finish out his contract but Steve Kerr is saying that he still expects Dragic to be the Suns back up point guard this season. Talk about dueling articles. One says he is definitely staying in Italy and the next says Kerr feels that he will be with the Suns. Their second choice, should Dragic not be convinced to leave Tau, seems to be Jannero Pargo. Pargo reportedly has an offer from the Spurs of their $1.9 million bi-annual exception that he is considering and the Suns could offer all or part of their MLE to try to land him but it may mean edging over the Luxury Tax threshold. Shaun Livingston is still coming back from his injury and the Clippers aren't going to bring him back and would probably sign for the minimum for a chance to prove himself. Damon Stoudamire is still out there and, if all else fails, there is always Sam Cassell, who at this point would probably play for peanuts and a bag of potato chips if he could. Yet another NBA player is making the jump to Europe as Italy's Avellino announced on Tuesday that they have signed former Celtic Dan Dickau. Dickau's stay in Boston was not very successful as early in the season he tore his Achilles tendon and spent the rest of the season rehabbing. He was signed by the Clippers last season where he averaged 5.3 points and 2.6 assists in 67 games. For the second season in a row, James Posey will get to play in Europe in the preseason as the New Orleans Hornets will be playing 2 of their preseason games in Europe. They will take on the Washington Wizards on October 14 at the O2 World in Berlin, Germany and they will close out NBA Europe Live on October 17 at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain. The D-League has released its schedule for the 2008-09 season. The Celtics will once again be affiliated with the Utah Flash which will be one of 6 teams playing in the D-League's Western division. Gabe Pruitt spent considerable time with the Flash last season and this year is expected to be a part of the rotation. If both Giddens and Walker are signed, I expect one or possibly both to spend some time with the Flash this season depending on how they do in training camp. The Cavs are still in discussions with the Bucks and Oklahoma City on a 3 way trade that would bring Mo Williams to Cleveland, Joe Smith to OKC and Luke Ridnour to the Bucks. Delonte West may also be involved in a sign and trade. It is rather puzzling that the Cavs are balking at giving Delonte West $5 or $6 million but they are considering taking on Williams' contract that will run them almost 9 million a year. But, reports are that it is Williams' contract that is stalling the talks right now with both OKC and Milwaukee ready to go ahead with the deal. Rockets point guard Rafer Alston is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday after he was arrested and charged with a DUI last week. A year ago, he was charged with misdemeanor assault and public intoxication. A few weeks later, he was arrested on felony assault charges in New York after a nightclub altercation. There are all the signs that Alston is not headed in a good direction. I think of Vin Baker and wonder if things would have been different later in his career if someone had stopped him earlier and gotten him help. Maybe Alston isn't at that point, but the signs are there. This year's Rookie of the Year might not be one of this year's draft picks. In spite of promising players in this year's draft class such as Michael Beasley, Derek Rose, and Kevin Love, the leader for Rookie of the Year honors has to be last year's number one pick, Greg Oden. He has spent a year rehabbing from knee surgery and reports are that he looks very good after a public practice with some of his Blazer teammates. Chris Kaman is the only US born basketball player who is playing for a team other than USA and he has taken a lot of flack for doing so. He and his parents were born in the USA but his grandparents were German and so he is playing for the German National Team. The Clippers didn't want him to play and tried to talk him out of it, but the worst opposition came from his dad who told him that he is an American and not German and that he hoped that the US would beat Germany. His mother, however is cheering for him and Germany. Makes for some tense moments in the Kaman home, I would think. I do like his short haircut. That long stringy hair wasn't a good look at all. The OC Register is coming around to Paul Pierce's view of things. With a headline of "Maybe Paul Pierce is the Best Player in the World," they have this to say about Kobe Bryant: Today, mighty Angola couldn't match Team USA, but they handled Kobe Bryant like he was an NBA bench-warmer. Bryant made four of 13 shots from the floor and clanked all eight of his three-point attempts. He finished with eight points, four rebounds and two assists. Even more significant, Bryant did not shoot a free throw. Over two Olympic games, Kobe is 1-for-15 from three. Against China, Bryant made six of 14 shots from the floor, and he's now shooting a whopping 37 percent from the floor in the Olympics. Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:42:31 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305189 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/305189 The Phoenix Suns are still in the hunt for a point guard to back up Steve Nash. Since passing Rajon Rondo on to the Celtics, they haven't been very successful in their search for Nash's backup. Marcus Banks obviously didn't work out. They were hoping that Slovenian guard Goran Dragic would be the answer and have been holding out hope that he would agree to play for them this season. But, word is that Dragic is planning to stay in Europe and finish out his contract there. In order to entice him to the NBA this season, they would have to give him a contract much higher than the minimum in order to pay for his $1.5 million buyout and that would put the Suns over the luxury tax level which they are trying to avoid. There are a few point guards left on the free agent market including Sam Cassell, Flip Murray, Dan Dickau, Darrell Armstrong, Jannero Pargo, Shaun Livingston, and Damon Stoudamire. How they must be wishing they had never let Rondo go to the Celtics. The Detroit Pistons re-signed 6'9" forward Walter Herrmann on Monday. Herrmann played six seasons in his native Argentina and four seasons in Spain before being signed as an undrafted free agent by Charlotte. He played in 28 games for the Pistons last season averaging 3 points and 1.3 rebounds in 7.1 minutes per game. Oklahoma City (formerly known as the Seattle Supersonics and soon to be named the Thunder) traded New Jersey's 2009 second round pick to the Charlotte Bobcats for 6'6" rookie guard Kyle Weaver out of Washington State. With Josh Smith safely back in the fold, the Hawks are making moves to fill out their roster and have signed Othello Hunter and Thomas Gardner. Both Hunter and Gardner played on Atlanta's summer league team at the Rocky Mountain Revue and made an impression that earned them another look with the team. Hunter is a rookie power forward out of Ohio State who played in the national title game with Greg Oden and Mike Conley. Gardner is a 6'5" guard Gardner out of Missouri, and has a reputation as a scorer. We reported last week that the Lakers have signed the Sun Yue, known as "The Chinese Magic Johnson," to a contract. It would appear that his height of 6'9" has more to do with this nickname than his play. a veteran NBA executive, who has scouted hundreds of players both internationally and in the United States has this to say about him: "He has a nice feel for the game (and) he's a decent passer, with good size. However, he lacks quickness and toughness and doesn't shoot the ball well, with range. He is a below-average athlete." According to this NBA source, Sun is not a NBA-caliber player at this juncture and would not figure to be much of a factor with the Lakers this season, if he were to make the team. The Lakers plan to move him from point guard to shooting guard where he will compete with Coby Karl, Dwayne Mitchell and Joe Crawford for minutes off the bench at that position. The speculation has begun as to how the Jazz can resign both Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur and still keep Andrei Kirilenko and still stay below the luxury tax threshold as they seem determined to do. The answer appears to be that they can't and Kirilenko appears to be the odd man out. AK47 may be hard to trade though because he has three years and $49.35 million remaining on his contract with the Jazz. Next season, not many teams will want to take a contract that will put them on the hook for $17.82 million in 2010-11 as everyone seems to want to clear cap space for the big free agent class that off season. Boozer and Okur can both opt out of their contracts next year and may do so, not necessarily to leave the Jazz but to get a bigger payday. I don't like Kirilenko for the Celtics. He has complained a lot about his role in the offense and I don't see him as a candidate for ubuntu. Speaking of Kirilenko, he scored a team-high 18 points to lead four in double figures for Russia, but his team dropped its first Olympics pool game Tuesday to undefeated Croatia, 85-78. Russia, now 1-1, next faces Australia on Thursday. Spain with its many NBA stars topped Yao and the Spanish team in an 85-75 overtime thriller. This morning, Team USA played Angola and after allowing them to stay fairly close in the first half, they pulled away to win 97-76 to go 2-0 in group play. Next for Team USA: A grudge match with Greece on Thursday morning. Alan Houston is still working on his comeback and would like to return to the Knicks but I am sure he would take a contract with any other team that offers him one if the Knicks don't. Isn't he Danny's kind of player? Retired and looking for a comeback? Houston played in the Nike Pro City league at Hunter and apparently held his own. He put up 25 points in a loss to Ron Artest's squad and showed some flashes of his previous form, according to the report. Speaking of Ron Artest, in 3 days the Rockets will be free to make the deal that will bring Ron Ron to Houston for better or worse. You have to love this one from the Washington Post. I quote it here because rephrasing wouldn't do it justice: The Olympics are just four days old, but the best quote of the Games has already been uttered, and there is a 0.000000 chance that it will be topped. This from colleague Michael Abramowitz's Style Section story about the Bush Fam this morning. Meeting Team USA with Bush 43 before the game, Bush 41 gave a warm hug to Lakers star Kobe Bryant and received an affectionate greeting from Cavaliers hero LeBron James: "What's up, pops?" the massive James asked. One way for a 23-year old pro basketball player to greet a former President might be "Hello, Mr. President." Another might be "What's up, pops." I'm done making fun of LeBron for the crying and the scowling and the wide-eyed disbelief. Anyone who breaks out the "What's up pops?" line is ok by me. The Cavs' puzzling unwillingness to sign Delonte West to a new deal continues. He is their starting point guard and is looking for a multi-year deal that would be better than the five-year $21 million deal that their back up point guard got. It seems reasonable that the starter should get more than the back up, but apparently not to the Cavs. There have been rumors that the Cavs are looking to do a sign and trade with the Bucks for Mo Williams and this makes sense for the Cavs because it would give them an established point rather than one still developing. But, it doesn't make much sense for the Bucks are are obviously in win now mode with the trade for Richard Jefferson as they try to add stars around their star, Michael Redd, to try to find some of the luck the Celtics had with this strategy. Delonte is leaning toward taking the one-year, $2.8 million qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. If he does, the Cavs could not trade him without his consent and he'd have a year to establish his value and make himself more valuable on the free agent market next off season. I really wouldn't mind having Delonte back in Boston. He is a tough gritty player who leaves it all on the court. Tue, 12 Aug 2008 11:13:05 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304451 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/304451 In a report from The News-Herald in Northern Ohio, point guard Maurice Williams might be heading to the in a 3-way deal involving Cleveland, Milwaukee and Oklahoma City. The News-Herald also reports that Delonte West is "strongly considering" the $2.8 million qualifying offer from the Cavs, but if Williams is to come in as their new starter, current starter West is most likely to be shipped out to Milwaukee. There's no word on how the Oklahoma City Thunder fit into the trade and they don't need a point guard. They're already loaded with Earl Watson, Luke Ridnour and #4 overall draft pick Russell Westbrook. Plus they shipped West to the Cavs last year. The way I see it, if Cleveland gets Mo Williams, they're going to ship out Eric Snow to Oklahoma City and West to Milwaukee. West will compete against Ramon Sessions for the starting spot. OKC will get cap relief next year if they ship Ridnour out to Milwaukee while letting Snow play out his last year of the contract. If this trade goes through, LeBron James will be nothing less than excited after trying to land Mike Bibby and Jason Kidd. Williams is definitely an upgrade from West who the Cavs will have for 4 years. Not only will he provide scoring relief for James, Williams is a quality point guard that LeBron has wanted for a long time. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 10:10:40 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303943 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303943 Let's start with a couple of Olympic notes. Team USA opened their quest for a gold medal with a 101-70 win over Yao Ming, Yi Jinlian and the Chinese team. USA was up just 12 points at the half but took over in the second half for the 31 point win. It was nice that Yao opened the scoring with a 3. He deserved to have his home fans get excited and cheer him on. Just an observation, but Yi looked pretty bad. If I were the Nets, I'd be a bit worried about now. Next up for the US men's team will be Angola on Tuesday. The USA Women's team won their 27th straight Olympic game as they easily dominated China 108-63 I really like Lisa Leslie. She is a class act all the way. One of the Chinese players went down and it was Lisa Leslie who went to her and helped her up and off the court. The US woman's team is so dominant that it is hard to see them losing even one game. This has nothing to do with basketball but it was so thrilling to watch the men's 400 meter swim relay last night. The French team was the favorite to win and the US team was a serious underdog. One of the French swimmers said the Americans weren't goint to win and the the reason they came to Beijing was to crush the American team. Watching the race, the French swimmer was ahead down the final stretch but Jason Lezak came on strong and passed him to touch just hundreds of a second before him to win the gold. It was so close they had to watch the results board before knowing who won. It was pretty exciting to watch. The race was so fast that even the 4th and 5th place swimmers who didn't medal beat the existing world record. This gives Michael Phelps 8 career gold medals and a chance to make history in these olympics. One more medal and he will surpass Mark Spitz for the most career golds in his career and he still has 6 more races to compete in. He has a chance to win a record 8 gold medals in these olympics. I'm pulling for him. Exciting stuff. Thanks to our friends at one of my very favorite Celtics' blogs, Lex Nihil Novi, I was able to find this 5 DVD set from the Celtics' 17th championship run. According to the photo, it has 5 DVD's with the 4 wins in the finals along with the incredible game 7 against LeBron and the Cavs. Amazon is offering it on a pre-order basis with release promised for October 28. A league source reports that the Cavs might be pursuing Bucks point guard Mo Williams. All the details aren't known, but the Cavs, Bucks and Oklahoma City are reportedly involved in what could be a 3 team trade. The Cavs have long coveted Michael Redd, but the Bucks have made it clear that he is not available. The speculation is that Delonte West will be included with a sign and trade as the Cavs haven't been able to come to terms with him and it wouldn't make sense to have both Delonte and Mo on the same team as both would expect to be starters. I think the Cavs have been unfair to Delonte. He is their starter and they aren't offering him as much as they gave their back up. I wouldn't mind seeing him take the qualifying offer from the Cavs and come back to the Celtics next season. There were rumors that Danny had made an offer for him this season. Whatever happens, I hope he ends up in a good situation because he is a good kid and a good player. Jorge Garbajosa returned to the court playing for Spain in the Olympics. It was 2 years ago when Celtics fans witnessed the then Raptor going down with a horrible leg and ankle injury that could have been career ending. That was a bad year for the Celtics fans as they also witnessed their own Tony Allen go down with a season ending injury. But Garbajosa's injury looked so bad, it could have ended not just his season, but his career. His 13 minute stint for Spain marked the end of a gruelling period that included thousands of hours of rehabilitation and two surgeries. I am glad to see him back on the court. The Celtics have no players in the Olympics but there are plenty of other NBA teams with players competing. Here is a list of the players who are competing for teams other than the US team. Argentina has 5 including Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs), Andres Nocioni (Chicago Bulls), Fabricio Oberto (San Antonio Spurs), Luis Scola (Houston Rockets) and Carlos Delfino (Toronto Raptors). Australia has Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee Bucks). China has Yao Ming (Houston Rockets) and Yi Jianlian (New Jersey Nets). Croatia has Roko-Leni Ukic (Toronto Raptors). Germany has Chris Kaman (Los Angeles Clippers) and Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks). Lithuania includes Linas Kleiza (Denver Nuggets) and Sarunas Jasikevicius (Golden State Warriors). Russia has Andrei Kirilenko (Utah Jazz). Spain has 6 players including Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers), Rudy Fernandez (Portland Trail Blazers), Jose-Manuel Calderon (Toronto Raptors), Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies) Juan Carlos Navarro (Memphis Grizzlies) and Jorge Garbajosa (Toronto Raptors). Thanks to Tom Halzak of the Connecticut Post for pointing out this comment from the Chris McCosky of the Detroit News: Think back to the Boston series. The Pistons, focused on stopping Kevin Garnett, wound up getting punched in the gut by Kendrick Perkins. Neither Rasheed Wallace nor Antonio McDyess could handle his athleticism, and Jason Maxiell, at 6-7, couldn't handle his size. Perk gets some well deserved props from the Detroit media. Detroit signed Kwame Brown with the express purpose of trying to match up with Perk. I still see people questioning Perk's effectiveness. Perk does everything that is asked of him by his coaches and that makes him very valuable. He is willing to do the dirty work without getting a lot of the glory. He does so much that doesn't show up in the box score. He may not get the rebound, but he boxes out so his teammate can. He may not score the basket, but he sets the pick so his teammate can. His value to the team can be most clearly seen in game 5 of the Finals. In games 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are basically ineffectual and aren't a factor. But in game 5 when Perk wasn't in there, they became unstoppable forces. Perk deserves a lot of kudos and it is nice to see him getting some. Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:32:26 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303934 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/303934 Back from a few much needed days off. While I was gone, Paul Pierce hit the news for his non-DUI stop in Vegas. I'd say that he's had enough celebrating and should get down to getting ready to defend the title. After every season, win or lose, Larry Bird would be training the very next week. It will be very hard to repeat if Pierce is still celebrating his ring up until training camp. He's had his fun and run at celebrity and being the best player in the world. Time to get to work. #17 was great, but #18 would be even better. Time to get serious and work on conditioning and your game Paul. The schedule was also released and the Celtics will raise banner #17 to the rafters along with getting their rings on October 28 with LeBron James looking on. Talk about giving LeBron incentive. He has to stand there and watch the Celtics getting their rings while he knows that with a little help he could be getting a ring as well. The Cavs have until 2010 to improve and give LeBron that shot at a ring or he could be going elsewhere. We all have watched with interest the teams such as the Knicks and Nets clearing cap space for the summer of 2010 to make a run at the LeBron sweepstakes. The Cavs have let it be known that they won't let him go without a fight as well. Now, it may all be for nothing as a couple of European teams have contacted James with possible offers of $50 million a year or more. And, LeBron has said that he would consider going to Europe for that kind of money. He could play a year or two and then come back to the US and sign with a contender since money won't be an issue any longer. Something interesting to watch, for sure. Whatever LeBron decides to do, there will be several teams with a lot of cap room to make a splash on the free agent market. Not only is LeBron talking Europe but now, Kobe Bryant has said that he would probably leave the NBA to play in Italy if they offered him in the area of $50 million a year. Kobe spent a large part of his childhood growing up in Italy while his father played professional basketball there and speaks fluent Italian. In 1999, he also acquired a 50 percent ownership of the Olimpia Milano of the Italian Professional Basketball League. Does that mean that he could offer himself a contract? Anyway, he would love to play in Italy and no NBA team could match that kind of money. Kobe has the rings and so it may be about the money and a new challenge at that point. He proved last off season that he doesn't have much loyalty to the Lakers organization so if he gets an offer from an Italian team he may just go. Besides the basketball, there is a whole new country of women for him to go after who may not have heard about his sordid past in the US. The signings have slowed down, but the Clippers are still at it as they acquired Steve Novak, a forward who will give them some perimeter scoring, in a deal with the Houston Rockets. In return, the Rockets will have the option to exchange second-round picks with the Clippers in the 2011 NBA draft. Don't you love all these teams getting players for next to nothing? Must be nice to have all that cap space. The Clippers also signed free agent point guard Jason Williams on Thursday. He joins former Heat teammate, Ricky Davis, on the team. There had been some rumors that the Celtics were looking at Williams before House was re-signed. The Clippers had been looking to re-sign Shaun Livingston but the Williams signing closes the door on that. Livingston is an intriguing point guard at 6'7" but still hasn't been cleared for basketball after the knee injury he suffered last season. This gives the Clippers 10 new players for the upcoming season and 14 total under contract. The Celtics started last season with 9 new players and they didn't have any chemistry problems, but then again, they had Kevin Garnett and just the right mix of players. The question for the Clippers may be which Ricky Davis shows up. You also have to question how much 2 players from a roster that produced 15 wins will help. At a time where head coaches often don't last more than one season, it is simply amazing that Jerry Sloan is about to celebrate 20 years as head coach of the Utah Jazz. The Dec. 9 anniversary game for the longest-tenured coach in American pro sport will be played against the Timberwolves in Minnesota. Sloan will begin the season with 995 victories as the Jazz head coach. No coach in NBA history has won 1,000 games with one team and Sloan can make history as he will definitely eclipse that mark early in this season. The NBA's Web site all but confirmed Thunder would be the nickname of Oklahoma City's NBA team when they released the schedule on Wednesday morning. At first, NBA.com linked to a page that listed the "Oklahoma City Thunder schedule" but by Wednesday afternoon, all mentions of Thunder were removed. Now that the cat's out of the bag, it's about time they make the announcement and make it official. Allan Houston is planning to make another comeback attempt and it is possible that he could get a second try with the Knicks. The 37-year-old Houston told Newsday Tuesday that his agent has been in touch with a few teams and is in preliminary discussions about a training camp tryout. Houston tried to make a comeback last pre-season when he showed at Knicks training camp, but lasted only a week. Houston played 6 minutes of garbage time in a preseason game against the Celtics but put an end to his comeback shortly thereafter. The Heat signed Denver Nuggets' free agent Yakhouba Diawara. He will give them some experience and scoring from the wing. The Cavs have signed former Grizzlies' guard Terrance Kinsey to give them backcourt depth. They still haven't come to terms with Delonte West. It may come down to Delonte accepting the qualifying offer and becoming an unrestricted free agent next year. I'd really love to have him back with the Celtics for both his toughness and play and his sense of humor. Who can forget the Wire Hanger or the Valentine's Day bits? I miss Delonte. The Lakers and Chinese point guard Sun Yue have agreed to terms on a two-season contract, the team confirmed Thursday. Sun is known as the Chinese Magic Johnson because of his eye-catching playmaking ability and will face his future teammate Kobe Bryant when China plays the United States on Sunday in Team USA's opening game. Sun will compete with starting point guard Derek Fisher and backup PG Jordan Farmar for playing time and can also play some shooting guard. Both Fisher and Farmar were ineffective against the Celtics in the playoffs. The Lakers are hoping that Sun Yue's size will give them an advantage. Reports are that the Bucks have reached a verbal agreement with former Spurs and Sonics' free agent center, Francisco Elson. If they do sign him, he will give the Bucks good depth behind Andrew Bogut at the center position. Some early reports had him headed for Boston, but you wonder how that would work out after Elson called KG gay when he was a rookie with the Nuggets. Word is that the Spurs are one of three teams believed to have offered Pargo a deal that would start at $2 million next season. The other teams in the Pargo sweepstakes remain unclear, though it is presumed the Denver Nuggets might be one of them. The Hornets appear willing to let him go and aren't reported to be in the mix for Pargo's services. He is instant offense off the bench and a very good 3 point shooter and would replace what they lost in Brent Barry when he went to the Rockets. I would say that the Heat desperately need help at the point guard spot since after Jason Williams signed with the Clippers, Marcus Banks is their only PG. The Suns thought that he would be the answer to back up Steve Nash and passed on Rajon Rondo because of it. They soon found out that his speed isn't everything. If he would ever get the right attitude, he would be a decent point guard, but so far, he still hasn't gotten his head straight. With Williams gone and Banks as the only PG, it could open the door for a return by restricted free agent Chris Quinn, who finished last season as the Heat's starting point guard. Of course, much of the buzz these next couple of weeks will be about the Olympics as Team USA finally has the chance to redeem themselves and bring home the gold. Games start on Sunday when they face China. The game will be televised at 10:15 am on NBC tv. The women tip off on Saturday as they face the Czech republic. Go USA!!! Fri, 08 Aug 2008 09:14:16 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302972 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302972 Over the past few weeks, the exodus to Europe has begun with borderline NBA players jumping to make the big colorful multi-sized bucks in Europe instead of struggling with an undervalued NBA contract.  Josh Childress spurred the Hawks to go Greek and play for Olympiakos, Delonte West has played with the idea of heading to [...] Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:13:42 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302056 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/302056 The Cavaliers were interested in Sixers free agent Louis Williams but on Thursday, Williams signed a 5 year contract that is worth a reported $25 million with the Sixers. Williams has come a long way since he was picked No. 45 overall pick in the 2005 draft as he became the first high school player selected by the Sixers since they chose Darryl Dawkins at No. 5 in 1975. Jason Williams is talking to several NBA Teams but Maccabi Tel Aviv has reportedly offered him a contract to play overseas that he is seriously considering accepting. But word out of Israel from at least one source familiar with Tel Aviv's negotiations is that Williams is seeking a deal with an annual salary of at least $3 million. The Israeli team is thinking closer to $1.5, which is similar to what any NBA suitor might offer. Former Celtic, Sam Vincent, had a very short lived coaching job with the Charlotte Bobcats as he coached just one year before being replaced by the vagabond Coach Larry Brown. Less than three months after Vincent was dismissed by Jordan, who has a history of sticking with coaches for just one season, Vincent was named the new head coach of the D-League Anaheim Arsenal. The new Oklahoma City team is still making news as it was announced that they will become the 3rd NBA team to own their own D-League team. The Oklahoma City team is in the process of purchasing the Tulsa 66ers. Clay Bennett, the majority owner of the Oklahoma City team, said that by purchasing the D-League team, Oklahoma City will be able to better develop Oklahoma City's younger players who are sent there. Lakers center Andrew Bynum's continues his rehabilitation with a lot of running, lifting weights and jumping. He hasn't yet been cleared for any contact drills, so he is not allowed to play in any pickup basketball games. He hasn't played any basketball for 6 months now, but Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak is hopeful that Bynum will be 100% by training camp. The Lakers are counting on a front court of Bynum, Gasol and Odom will be dominant and lead them to a championship. I am not so certain. It may be enough to conquer the West, but even when Bynum was healthy and playing, Kendrick Perkins totally owned him. The legal battle between Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and former coach Don Nelson is finally over. Nelson, a Celtics legend, as well as current Golden State coach, won about $6.3 million Thursday in his arbitration case against Cuban. The suit centered on Nelson's claim that the Mavericks owed him more than $6 million in deferred salary from when Ross Perot Jr. owned the team. Things got even nastier between the two when Cuban filed a counterclaim in 2007 alleging that Nelson used inside information to lead Golden State past the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs. Gee, I wonder what excuse Cuban used last year? Several teams, including the Pistons, Bulls and Jazz have said that they are no longer looking at free agents but that they would consider a trade. This may leave some good free agents looking for the minimum salary at the end of the off season. We may also see some interesting trades with possible big names changing teams. The Los Angeles Clippers signed free agent forward Brian Skinner on Thursday. Skinner was originally selected by the Clippers as the 22nd pick in the 1998 draft. He played last season with the Suns. He gives them both size and depth in the middle," The Bulls are still reported to be far apart on negotiations with Ben Gordon on a new contract. Gordon wants more than Deng is getting since he has been the Bulls leading scorer for the past several seasons. The Bulls are offering him much less. According to sources, the Bulls are offering an average salary around $8 million while Gordon is looking for something in the $12 million range which would be slightly more than Deng's deal that averages $11.8 million. The Bulls are seriously looking at trades and Andres Nocioni has been mentioned in trade talks. On Thursday, they also released JamesOn Curry, who spent most of last season in the D-League. Celtics got a look at their second round draft pick on Thursday as Team USA played the Turkish National Team with starting center Semih Erden. He looked pretty good in spite of shooting just 1-7 from the field. He finished with 5 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and just 1 turnover. Danny Ainge said in today's Globe that he may sign another free agent late in the summer if someone doesn't get what he wants but he is not chasing anyone. So, it looks like the excitement for Celtics' fans is pretty much over for this summer. Danny still needs to sign the assistant coaches and the two draft picks but the team may be pretty much set for now. But then again, there was that bit that Danny was offering a sign and trade for Delonte. You never know. Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:35:54 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299224 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/299224 It's the dog days of summer for Celtics fans. Too early to think about training camp and nothing is going on with the team. There were no new basketball articles in the Globe and the Herald just had one about Deng's new contract and Artest's trade. I still think Danny has something up his sleeve. We get little tidbits like Boston offered a sign and trade for Delonte but nothing definite. Makes you wonder who Danny was including in the trade from the Celtics. Personally I think the Cavs need a glue guy like Scal. It seems like a long time till training camp. The schedule is due out next week and that may give us something to talk about for awhile. There will be the Olympics and speaking of the Olympics, the Celtics 2nd round draft pick didn't look too bad on the Turkish national team against team USA. We can look forward to seeing him with the Celtics in a year or two. Another observation: D Wade is one of those players who just doesn't look right bald. NBA front-office sources are reporting that the Lakers were very disappointed not to land Artest. But, L.A. was reluctant to part with Lamar Odom and were even more reluctant to take Kenny Thomas along with Artest. Sacramento ultimately relented on its insistence that any team acquiring Artest take Kenny Thomas, as well, dropping that condition and agreeing to Houston's offer because the Kings are essentially coming away with two first-round picks for Artest. Artest for his part is thrilled to be rejoining Rick Adelman who was his coach when he first arriced in Sacramento. Yao is a bit concerned about the Rockets' new acquisition and had this to say about it: "We worry about the new attitude to the team. We are adding talent to the team and we need that, but building team chemistry is important. This is not bad. I don't mean he is not welcome to Houston. But a new player always needs some time. "Also, he was the biggest part of a team in Sacramento. He was a star player. We need more chemistry and more communication." "There's worry. Obviously, yes," said Yao. "We will think about it, of course. Hopefully, he's not fighting anymore and going after a guy in the stands. I'd say that Yao has good reason to be concerned. Artest has caused problems everywhere he has gone, both on and off the court. He has been charged with domestic abuse and animal cruelty. He has charged into the stands and attacked a fan. He has decided to take time off from playing to promote his rap CD. And, he has caused chemistry problems in both Indiana and Sacramento. However, he did seem to behave when he was playing for Rick Adelman so maybe Yao can relax a little, hopeful of his coach's ability to control the loose cannon that is Ron Artest. The Bulls finalized a six-year, $71 million contract with Luol Deng on Wednesday and the new deal includes incentives that could increase the total value to $80 million. With new contract in hand, Deng is scheduled to leave for the European Championships, where he will play for the British team. The Bulls remain far apart in negotiations with Ben Gordon. Gordon's agent has told the Bulls that Gordon should be the highest-paid player on the team because he has led the team in scoring each of the last three seasons. Deng got the big contract in spite of his declining from 18.8 points per game to 17 in an injury plagued season last year. The Bulls aren't expected to guarantee up to $80 million over a maximum six years for Gordon, so if negotiations continue to stall, the sides might pursue a sign-and-trade deal. Gordon would have to approve such a move. Gordon also has strongly considered signing the team's qualifying offer of $6.4 million for next season, after which he would be an unrestricted free agent. Along with signing Deng and negotiating with Gordon, the Bulls have been busy pursuing trades as well. They were very interested in trying to acquire Nenad Krstic before he decided to go to Europe. They have also had discussions with Sacramento about center Brad Miller according to a league source. Reportedly, the Bulls are offering Nocioni as trade bait. The Bulls also had some interest from teams wanting guard Larry Hughes, as long as they're willing to take a big contract back in return. Since the Bulls need to thin out their backcourt rumors are that the possibilities include Joel Przybilla, Jared Jeffries, Erick Dampier or Kenyon Martin. The Denver Nuggets announced on Wednesday that they have signed Dahntay Jones to a contract. Jones was a former first-round pick by the Boston Celtics in 2003. He was sent to the Grizzlies in the trade that brought Marcus Banks and Kendrick Perkins to the Celtics and he played his first three seasons in the NBA with the Memphis Grizzlies. The Clippers have been making news by signing players and losing players and now they have waived one. On Wednesday, the Clippers announced that they had waived 6'9" forward Josh Powell. Powell averaged 5.5 PPG, 5.20 RPG and 0.7 APG in 19 mpg last season. The Clippers got a real deal when they signed Ricky Davis for $2.3 million a year. I really like Ricky and hope he can finally shake off all the negativity that has in most cases followed him. The Clippers are also trying to re-sign free agent point guard Shaun Livingston. He is an intriguing prospect. If he can stay healthy he could be something very special. Former Cavs guard J.R. Bremer is the latest NBA player to jump to Europe. Bremer has signed a two-year, $5 million deal with Moscow Dynamo Triumph. He will join former New Jersey center Nenad Krstic on the Triumph roster. Krstic signed a two-year deal worth $3 million euros (about $9 million U.S., when figuring in taxes). There have been rumors from the Suns that both Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa are on the trading block. The Cavs have been rumored to be interested in Barbosa but now, an NBA source said the Suns may not be making him available after all. However, the source said that Boris Diaw might be available to be traded. The Suns are still looking for a point guard to back up Steve Nash. They have to keep going back to the 2007 draft and kicking themselves for giving away Rajon Rondo to the Celtics. The Lakers have confirmed that they have invited Robert "Tractor" Traylor in for a private workout to be conducted Thursday. Traylor has not played in the NBA since the 2004-2005 season, when he averaged 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 74 games with the Cavs. If the workout goes well, Traylor likely would be signed to a non-guaranteed contract and invited to training camp. Traylor was the 6th pick in the 1998 draft and has never come close to fulfilling the expectations for him. He has the distinction of having been picked before both Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce and we all know how both of those players worked out. Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:05:46 -0500 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298612 http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article/298612