Yardbarker: Anthony Roberson

Rumors and Free Agent Updates - Lots of Signings Edition

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:16:08 -0500

Former Celtic Sebastian Telfair isn't the only player who plays with guns. Hornets' guard Rasual Butler was arrested June 23 after witnesses told Miami Beach police a man holding a firearm had made threats. Based on the arrest report, when police arrived at the scene, Butler was seated in the back seat of a sport utility vehicle. When officers asked Butler if he had any weapons, he told them he didn't, but that his gun was in the car. The police found an automatic weapon that was cocked and had a bullet in the chamber on the floor of the car. Butler was scheduled to enter a plea on Wednesday, but the hearing was reset for Aug. 4. First, the Clippers signed Baron Davis away from the Warriors. Then, the Warriors signed Corey Maggette away from the Clippers. But the Warriors were not about to let the Clippers get another of their players if they could help it. They have matched the offer that the Clippers made last week to Kelenna Azubuike. The Warriors also signed Ronny Turiaf away from the Lakers, who chose not to match the offer, and they signed their second round draft pick, forward Richard Hendrix. The Warriors then completed a very busy day by re-signing their free agent guard Monta Ellis to a six-year, $67 million contract. Ellis got quite a raise in that as the 40th player selected in the 2005 draft, Ellis was paid just $770,610 last season. He will earn $11 million in 2008-2009. Ellis was the Warriors' shooting guard last season, playing next to Baron Davis, but with Davis' departure, he is expected to move to point guard this season. By keeping Azubuike, the Warriors will no longer pursue free agent swingman Maurice Evans who was reported to have signed with the Warriors. But, a Warriors source told Bay Area News Group that Evans spurned their three-year, $6.4 million looking for more money, and so the Warriors changed direction and matched the Azubuike offer. There have been rumors that the Celtics have contacted Evans and it seems that he would be a nice fit for the Celtics who could use an athletic swingman like Evans who's known as a solid defender and good three-point shooter (sound like anyone the Celtics just lost?). The Warriors still have unfinished business though as they haven't re-signed free agent Andris Biedrins. Biedrins' top choice is to stay with the Warriors. He is looking for a salary somewhere in the ballpark of the five-year, $50-plus million. With the other signings for the Warriors, it looks like that kind of a deal is out for Biedrins, however. He could reject any Warriors' offer and accept the $3.6 million qualifying offer and become an unrestricted free agent next offseason or he could accept any of several lucrative contracts being offered by European teams. Just hours after bringing former Nugget Chris Anderson back to the team, the Denver Nuggets agreed to a one-year deal with free agent guard Dahntay Jones. Jones was drafted by Boston in 2003 but sent to Memphis in the trade that brought Kendrick Perkins and Marcus Banks to Botson. Jones was also given a look by the Celtics last season in training camp. After a good showing in Summer League, the Nuggets gave Jones a one-year fully guaranteed deal for the NBA minimum of $926,678. Some money details are coming out on a couple of big deals. The Express News reports that The deal that the Spurs gave Kurt Thomas was for a total of $8 million — $4.2 million next season and $3.8 in 2009-10. The Spurs have also signed Anthony Tolliver, who impressed on the Spurs' summer league squad, to a partially guaranteed contract. This is similar to the contract the Celtics signed Brandon Wallace to after his impressive summer league last season. Details on Josh Childress' contract with Olympiakos have emerged. His contract is worth $32.5- million over 3 years. The Hawks had offered five years at $33 million but it wasn't enough to keep Childress from jumping the NBA ship for Europe. After landing the big free agent of the offseason in luring James Posey away from Boston, the Hornets are trying to re-sign their own free agents. They are hoping to resign Jannero Pargo who wants a three-year deal but they lost Chris Andersen to the Nuggets. Word is that they are going to let Bonzi Wells walk but may make an offer to try to keep Ryan Bowen. With the official signing of Anthony Roberson on Wednesday, the Knicks now officially have 16 contracts which is one more than the NBA max and their league high payroll is once again over $100 million at $100,161,287. They need to do something and odds are that with a crowded backcourt, Marbury and his $21.9 million contract may be the one to go. other options may be Malik Rose, or one of the other smaller contracts like Balkman or Collins who have a team option for the 2009-2010 season. Sebastian Telfair's three-year deal with the Wolves is worth $7.5 million with $2.3 million this coming season and an option to stick with the Wolves in 2010-2011 for $2.7 million. Reports are that the Wolves appear to be getting closer to re-signing Ryan Gomes. Their offer will probably be in the $3 million a year range. There aren't many teams who can offer much more than that left in the hunt for free agents. After losing one of their free agents, the Lakers are still trying to come to an agreement with their other free agent, Sasha Vujacic. Vujacic is seeking a multiyear deal from the Lakers averaging about $5 million a year. Vujacic was hoping for a six-year deal, but anticipated it could be a shorter contract. However, word from Vujacic is that he is prepared to leave the team and accept an offer from a European team in the next few days if the Lakers don't make him an offer he considers to be fair. East Valley Tribune suggests that the flexibility that Matt Barnes will give the Suns makes Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa expendable and might open the door for them to go after Kirk Hinrich who they have been interested for some time. I still think that Barnes would have been a great pick up for the Celtics, especially since he signed for a minimum contract. It seems as though the Blazers will spare nothing to try to dissuade teams from signing Darius Miles and thus put his $9 million in salary back on their club. First there was the leaking of the details of his suspension to the median. Now, Blazers GM is giving out details of Miles' injury that could land him in hot water. From the Sports Tribune: "Two doctors said Darius had the worst microfracture injury they had ever seen," Pritchard said on an Oregonlive.com blog this week. "They would never have him play basketball and the odds of having knee replacement surgery is high. I hear that, and as a general manager, I didn't want it on my conscience – that I had a kid have to go through a knee replacement surgery. That's a pretty major surgery. They saw (two bones) and replace (the knee). It's a bad deal." In a story posted April 14 on the Portland Tribune's Web site, Pritchard said, "The doctors had actually said, 'If you were my son, I'd never have you pick up a basketball again.' I'm the kind of GM (that) I wouldn't want that on my head that he ever had to have knee replacement." By revealing the specific details of Miles' injury, Prichard is in violation of the privacy provisions in the Health Insurance Portability and Availability Act of 1996. All of the underhanded activity by the Warriors in trying to prevent teams from giving Miles a chance make me really hoping the kid gets his comeback. Besides, I still am angry over the league not giving the Celtics any relief when Reggie Lewis died. I really hope Miles comes back and sticks it to the Warriors. Josh Childress has opened the flood gates for NBA players considering jumping to Europe for lucrative deals when they can't get what they feel they are worth in the NBA. The latest to consider the jump is former Celtic Delonte West. Russian basketball team Dynamo Moscow is discussing a two-year, $10 million offer with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Delonte West, according to source close to West. Delonte is a restricted free agent and he could sign a $2.76 million qualifying offer for the 2008-09 season and become an unrestricted free agent next year if he chooses to stay in the NBA and doesn't feel that the Cavs are offering enough. Delonte has been plagued with various injuries throughout his career so far and so taking the qualifying offer is risky if he is unable to stay healthy and earn a bigger payday next season.

NBA Free Agency: Who Stays and Who Goes?

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:08:38 -0500

Who is going and who is staying? More importantly, what sort of fantasy impact will the decisions made during NBA Free Agency have on fantasy GM's? Screaming Sports' Serena Hays takes a look at several early moves and answers those very questions.

Knicks Ink Anthony Roberson | Marbury a Goner?

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:15:18 -0500

The Knicks have addressed their backcourt needs in the off-season by signing point guard Chris Duhon and now have inked 6'2" combo guard Anthony Roberson to a two-year contract. Roberson, who played his college ball at Florida, excelled in his summer league debut on Monday for the Knicks, scoring 22 points, including three 3-pointers. Head Coach Mike D'Antoni has been raving about his skills, and it seems the team wanted to lock him up so another team could not invite the Michigan-born player to their training camp. Roberson has played overseas in Jerusalem, Istanbul and additionally had a stint in the NBDL. The third-year guard has played in 36 career NBA games for the Memphis Grizzles and Golden State Warriors. Even though he went undrafted he enjoyed success in college, being named SEC Freshman of the Year in 2003 and All-SEC 1st Team in 2004 and 2005. He was a McDonald's All-American in 2002 while playing for Saginaw High School. He will make the third-year minimum at $790,000 and the second year could be a team option. The New York Post reported that the signing of Roberson is another sign pointing towards the Knicks cutting ties with Stephon Marbury. Marbury is in last year of his contract and can be bought out for $21.9 million. By signing Roberson it gives the Knicks 16 players with guaranteed contracts, which is one over the limit. Waiving Marbury or oft-injured center Jerome James are possibilities. What I liked about Roberson's game is he is not afraid to shoot and can dominate a game when he gets hot. The 25 year-old attempted 19 shots against the Cavilers and showed quickness to the rim and impressive range. His confidence and ball handling ability also impressed me. Roberson needs to improve defensively, work on his ball distribution (zero assists in 30 minutes vs. Cleveland), and gain more experience to become a more complete NBA point guard. Agent Chris Lucci, who also represents second-year Knicks forward Wilson Chandler, compares Roberson's game to Jennaro Pargo or Eddie House.

You Know Your Career Has Gone South When...

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:51:29 -0500

...you're Stephon Marbury and you check out ESPN.com this morning, only to find the following headline: "Goodbye Marbury? Knicks to sign guard Roberson" Now it wouldn't be so bad if that headline read any of the following: "Goodbye Marbury? Knicks to sign guard Steve Nash" "Goodbye Marbury? Knicks to sign guard Chris Paul" or even "Goodbye Marbury? Knicks to sign guard Dan Dickau" But Roberson? Honestly, I didn't know who Roberson was - I assumed a "T" was missing in his name. Apparently not - his name is Anthony Roberson. He played 20 games last year and averaged 5.6 ppg and 0.5 apg. Yes, Mr. Starbury, you're being replaced by a guy who cracked 10 points in a game just once last year...it also happened to be the only game where he registered more than one assist. So there's your replacement, Stephon. In the meantime, you can cash in that $19 million per year paycheck, and reminisce about the days when you would pour in 20+ points a night, and dish out 8 or 9 dimes. A guy who should be in the D-League is running your team. How the mighty have fallen.

Separating the men from the boys

Thu, 04 Jan 2007 22:05:10 -0500

January 10 is the date where contracts become guaranteed, so if you have a favorite bench warmer (who doesn't make $45 million like Adonal Foyle) you might have to say goodbye to them. Already, UCLA alum Cedric Bozeman was cut from the Hawks. Scrubs like Anthony Roberson have to be on watch. Of course, many of these guys can sign a 10-day contract after this date, and I've read that Penny Hardaway is in shape and will probably be signed by a contender. Barkers, who's your favorite bench warmer that you pray the team will keep?

'06-'07 Previews: Golden State Warriors

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 23:12:26 -0500

This is part of my series of articles previewing all 30 NBA teams and the upcoming season. New coach, new system... same talent. Can then succeed and finally end the playoff drought? I think the Warriors are going to end it this season and sneak in under the radar of the bottom teams in the West. They need a few more seasons to contend and get some more talent involved, but this could be a good start in building.