NBA Free Agency

[Unknownn]

Miami Heat

Status: Buyer, but only to a certain point
Team Weaknesses: Depth, point guard play, outside shooting
Projected 2010 cap room: $41 million
Untouchables: Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley
Potentially on the block: Nobody
Expiring Contracts: Jermaine O'Neal ($23 million), Quentin Richardson ($8.7 million), Udonis Haslem ($7.1 million), Dorrell Wright ($2.9 million).
Prospects: Daequan Cook, Mario Chalmers
Good trade partners: Chicago, Houston, New Jersey, New York
Possible targets: Anyone with a pulse that has an expiring contract

Miami's likely going to wait until the summer, when they have more cap space than anyone and can woo any big free agent with the unbeatable great weather/no state income tax/great nightlife/Dwyane Wade package. If they make a move, they'll be sure to make it a swap for expiring contracts only.

Actually, Miami's probably a good candidate for buyout guys after the trade deadline. They already acquired Rafer Alston this way, and there will likely be a lot more candidates, because there will be a lot of veteran expiring contracts on bad teams that don't get traded. Miami can take these guys on without a heavy financial commitment, so I'd guess they'll go this route instead of a trade

 

[Unknownn]

Golden State Wariors

Status: Unclear
Team Weaknesses: Perimeter defense, interior defense, passing, rebounding, team chemistry
Projected 2010 cap room: $1 million
Untouchables: Stephen Curry
Potentially on the block: Monta Ellis ($11 million this year, four more years left, fourth year a player option), Corey Maggette ($9 million this year, three more years left)
Expiring Contracts: Raja Bell ($5.25 million), Speedy Claxton ($5.3 million), Devean George ($1.6 million
Prospects: Anthony Randolph, Anthony Morrow, C.J. Watson
Good trade partners: Boston, Orlando, Phoenix, Sacramento.
Possible targets: Amare Stoudemire, Ray Allen's expiring contract

The Warriors make no sense. Two months ago, it appeared Monta Ellis was as good as gone. Now, he's probably close to untouchable status unless the Celtics really get desperate and offer Ray Allen's massive expiring contract for Ellis and, say, a healthy Raja Bell. Nobody wants Corey Maggette, and they won't just give Anthony Randolph and Anthony Morrow away now that they're nowhere near the playoffs. They have the pieces to make a move for Amare Stoudemire, but who knows if they'll do it.

It's funny - looking at Golden State's profile, they are built more like a team that needs the deadline to be a buyer. They have over $12 million in expiring contracts (though it is deadweight because all those guys are injured or terrible), and they have prospects they're willing to move. The problem is that the Warriors also have bad contracts they might want to move, and they stink. So ... I give up.

 

[Unknownn]

New Jersey Nets

Status: Buyer
Team weaknesses: Everything
Projected 2010 cap room (assuming a $53 million salary cap and $67 luxury tax): $30 million
Untouchables: Brook Lopez
Potentially on the block: Devin Harris ($8.4 million this year, three more years left)
Expiring Contracts: Bobby Simmons ($11.2 million), Tony Battie ($6.6 million), Trenton Hassell ($4.4 million), Jarvis Hayes ($2.1 million)
Prospects: Yi Jianlian, Courtney Lee, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Terrence Williams
Good trade partners: Memphis, Phoenix, Sacramento, Utah
Possible targets: Rudy Gay, Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Kevin Martin

Yes, the Nets are buyers, despite potentially being historically bad. Trust me, it's not for a playoff push.

 

[Unknownn]

San Antonio Spurs

Status: Buyer
Team Weaknesses: Perimeter defense, interior depth
Projected 2010 cap room: $-3 million ($11 million under the luxury tax)
Untouchables: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, DeJuan Blair
Potentially on the block: Richard Jefferson ($14.2 million this year, one more year left)
Expiring Contracts: Manu Ginobili ($10.7 million), Roger Mason ($3.8 million), Matt Bonner ($3.3 million), Michael Finley ($2.5 million)
Prospects: George Hill, Ian Mahimini
Good trade partners: Detroit, Golden State, Indiana, LA Clippers, Milwaukee, New York, Phoenix, Sacramento, Washington
Possible targets: Amare Stoudemire, Marcus Camby, Kurt Thomas, Jared Jeffries

I'm surprised we haven't heard the Spurs be more involved in trade rumors. They need a spark badly, and they have some assets to get it done. One such asset is Manu Ginobili's expiring contract, though, and the Spurs will naturally give pause before parting with that. I'm not surprised they thought about Amare Stoudemire, because he's one of the few guys for whom I could see the Spurs trading Ginobili.

 

[Unknownn]

Chicago Bulls

Status: Seller
Team Weaknesses: Outside shooting, perimeter scoring
Projected 2010 cap room: $15.5 million
Untouchables: Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah
Potentially on the block: Luol Deng ($10.3 million this year, four more years), Kirk Hinrich ($9.5 million this year, two more years), John Salmons ($6.4 million this year, one more year with a player option)
Expiring Contracts: Brad Miller ($12.5 million), Jerome James ($6 million), Tyrus Thomas ($4.7 million)
Prospects: Taj Gibson, James Johnson
Good trade partners: Boston, Houston, LA Lakers, Miami, Minnesota, New York, Phoenix, Portland, San Antonio
Possible targets: Amare Stoudemire, Al Harrington, expiring contracts of any kind

For all the talk about the Bulls being a major 2010 player, we forget that they actually can't guarantee themselves maximum cap room unless John Salmons opts out of the final year of his contract, which is hardly a certainty considering how much he's sucked this year. That's why there's a lot of noise surrounding Kirk Hinrich, who has a long-term contract and is intriguing to several teams.

Trading Hinrich would probably hurt the Bulls this year, because Hinrich's presence in the starting lineup has helped everyone, but you'd think that the Bulls would want to commit fully to the 2010 plan. Problem is, their actions sort of indicate otherwise. They've already turned down a Hinrich for "spare parts" trade from Boston, and those "spare parts" presumably were Celtic expiring contracts. The Lakers also talked to the Bulls about Hinrich, and they also have expiring contracts to offer. I know the Bulls would prefer to move Salmons, but with him playing so poorly, does anyone want him? It's almost as if Hinrich has some mysterious pull within the Bulls organization that makes them decide having him and a first-round playoff exit is more important than putting yourself in the position to grab LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and others.

Chicago's also in the mix for Amare Stoudemire, though they have even less to offer Phoenix than they did last year. They could also make another upgrade for the playoff push, like they did last year with the John Salmons-Brad Miller trade. What they should do, though, is trade Hinrich. Who knows if they actually will.

 

[Unknownn]

Portland Trail Blazers

Status: Buyer
Team Weaknesses: Interior play, frontcourt depth, post scoring
Projected 2010 cap room: $-4 million ($10 million under the luxury tax)
Untouchables: Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge (unless for something better)
Potentially on the block: Nobody
Expiring Contracts: Steve Blake ($4 million), Travis Outlaw ($3.6 million)
Prospects: Rudy Fernandez, Jerryd Bayless, Nicholas Batum, Jeff Pendergraph, Dante Cunningham
Good trade partners: Charlotte, LA Clippers, Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia, Washington
Possible targets: Nazr Mohammad, Tyson Chandler, Chris Kaman, Samuel Dalembert, Brendan Haywood

The Trail Blazers badly need a big man that has an expiring contract, with the season-ending injuries to Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla. This makes Washington's Brendan Haywood a perfect fit. The problem is that Portland is reluctant to part with anything of real value (i.e. their youngsters) for a guy that could just be a 25-game rental. The Wizards tried to pry both Rudy Fernandez and Nicholas Batum from Portland for Haywood, which the Blazers laughed off, but the Wizards really want Fernandez and could hold out for him.

If not Haywood, the Blazers could look elsewhere, but most other centers have longer contracts. The Blazers also don't have a ton of urgency because they were unlikely to make much noise anyway because of their injuries. They could decide to hold their assets and make a run next year when everyone gets healthy.


Sacramento Kings

Status: Buyer
Team Weaknesses: Interior defense, rebounding, post scoring
Projected 2010 cap room: $12.5 million
Untouchables: Tyreke Evans, Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes
Potentially on the block: Kevin Martin ($9.7 million this year, three more years left), Andres Nocioni ($7.5 million this year, three more years left, third year a team option), Beno Udrih ($6 million, three years let, third year a player option)
Expiring Contracts: Kenny Thomas ($8.7 million)
Prospects: Omri Casspi, Donte Greene, Sergio Rodriguez, Hilton Armstron
Good trade partners: Charlotte, Golden State, Minnesota, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Washington
Possible targets: Samuel Dalembert, Andris Biedrins, Brendan Haywood, Emeka Okafor, Boris Diaw, DeSagana Diop, Nazr Mohammad, Tyson Chandler

The great Tom Ziller from SB Nation's Sactown Royalty says the Kings need another big guy. That's why you see all the bigs on their possible targets. I'd guess Samuel Dalembert is the best target, because he's only got one more year left, but is still young enough to help. Brendan Haywood's not there for the long haul, and guys like Biedrins and Okafor are too expensive.

Then, there's the Kevin Martin stuff. The Kings continue to hold him out of trade talks, but he continues to struggle playing with Tyreke Evans. If the Kings do make Martin available, the market for him will be big. Dallas is very, very interested in Martin. Minnesota needs a wing, as previously discussed, and if Boston is serious about moving Ray Allen's contract for someone who can still help them this year, Martin seems like the perfect fit. His situation bears watching as the deadline approaches.

 

[Unknownn]

Boston Celtics

Status: Buyer
Team Weaknesses: Athleticism, perimeter depth, point guard depth
Projected 2010 cap room: $-11 million ($3 million under luxury tax)
Untouchables: Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins
Potentially on the block: Glen Davis ($3 million this year, one more year)*,
Expiring Contracts: Ray Allen ($18.8 million), Brian Scalabrine ($3.4 million), Eddie House ($2.8 million), Tony Allen ($2.5 million), Marquis Daniels ($1.9 million)
Prospects: J.R. Giddens, Bill Walker
Good trade partners: Chicago, Detroit, Golden State, Milwaukee, New York, Philadelphia, Sacramento, Washington
Possible targets: Kirk Hinrich, John Salmons, Tayshaun Prince, Raja Bell, Monta Ellis, Luke Ridnour, Charlie Bell, Ramon Sessions, Kevin Martin, Andre Iguodala.

Ray Allen's expiring contract is officially on the market! This makes the Celtics a team that is a must-watch in the coming weeks. They've struggled so much recently that it appears Danny Ainge is resigned to the fact that the Celtics must get younger. Ainge is an extremely bold GM, so this is not just posturing. Don't believe him when he says there's nothing to this.

 

[Unknownn]

Cleveland Cavaliers

Status: Buyer
Team Weaknesses: A lack of a finesse power forward
Projected 2010 cap room: $19 million (without LeBron)
Untouchables: LeBron James, Mo Williams
Potentially on the block: Nobody
Expiring Contracts: Shaquille O'Neal ($21 million), Zydrunas Ilgauskas ($11.5 million)
Prospects: J.J. Hickson, Jawad Williams, Darnell Jackson
Good trade partners: Indiana, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento, Washington
Possible targets: Antawn Jamison, Troy Murphy, Andre Iguodala, Amare Stoudemire.

Cleveland's got a great chance to solidify their status as the league's best team. They have expiring contracts and a definite need for a power forward that can stretch the defense with his shooting and also get them easy points inside. They also have LeBron James in a contract year, so this might be their last chance to win a title with him. Last year, they decided the mix they had was good enough to win it all, and it wasn't. You'd think they wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Target A is Antawn Jamison. LeBron badly wants Jamison, and Jamison's an almost perfect fit. The Cavs are still haggling with particulars with the Wizards, which could derail this. The Wizards want more than cap relief (i.e. Zydrunas Ilgasukas' expiring contract), while the Cavaliers are worried about throwing young power forward J.J. Hickson into the mix. They also want the Wizards to cut Ilgauskas so they can sign him back to back up Shaquille O'Neal. The Wizards also seem reluctant to help out their rival, which would only make sense if this was 2006 and the Wizards were actually good. Either way, expect this talk to continue all the way until the deadline.

 

[Unknownn]

Phoenix Suns

Status: Major seller
Team Weaknesses: Interior defense, depth, perimeter scoring
Projected 2010 cap room: $13 million, without Amare Stoudemire
Untouchables: Steve Nash
Potentially on the block: Amare Stoudemire ($16.4 million this year, player option for next year), Jason Richardson ($13.3 million this year, one more year left), Leandro Barbosa ($6.6 million this year, two more years left, player option on second year)
Expiring Contracts: Stoudemire
Prospects: Goran Dragic, Jared Dudley, Robin Lopez, Earl Clark,
Good trade partners: Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Golden State, Houston, Memphis, Miami, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Antonio, Washington
Possible targets: Tyrus Thomas, Zydrunas Ilgauskas' contract, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Andris Biedrins, Tracy McGrady's contract, Rudy Gay, Yi Jianlian, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Martin, Manu Ginobili's contract, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison

The Amare Stoudemire stuff has been well-documented everywhere. Basically, the Suns don't seem willing to sign Amare to a contract extension, so they're looking to see if they can trade him for something instead of losing him for nothing. They're hoping that teams surrender key young players for Stoudemire now instead of trying to be one of the many teams likely to be interested in signing him outright during the offseason.

 

[DubbC415]

Kinda late report though...warriors already waived claxton, so that expiring contract would be gone...and i dont think the ray allen thing was ever gonna happen

 

[Unknownn]

I never believed the Ray Allen shit would crack off either, yes this is somewhat old. I stumbled across it last night. Since the trade deadline is coming up, I thought Id drop some shit off in a thread noone checks anymore

 

[Unknownn]

A league source confirmed to The Columbian on Thursday that the Portland Trail Blazers are highly interested in Chicago Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas.

The source said the Blazers' are intrigued by Thomas' youth and his shot-blocking abilities. In addition, Thomas would fit in well with Portland's timeline and current roster needs. Yahoo! Sports originally reported that the Blazers offered either Steve Blake or Travis Outlaw — both of whom have expiring contracts — and two future second-round draft picks for Thomas. The Bulls reportedly declined the deal, though, because they want more value in return.

 

[Unknownn]

The Rockets waived guard Antonio Anderson, forward Mike Harris, forward Alexander Johnson and guard Jerel McNeal on Monday.

 

[Unknownn]

Pacers picked up contracts of Hansbrough and Collison

 

[Unknownn]

The next team of Fabricio Oberto could be announced soon. The 35-year-old Argentinian forward, who played last season for the Washington Wizards, is considering offers from Portland Trail Blazers and Efes Pilsen, and would make a decision today or tomorrow.

The Blazers are looking for a big man after the injuries of Greg Oden, Joel Przybilla and Jeff Pendergraph. Meanwhile, the Turkish team is also looking for a new player for the frontcourt after the injury of Miroslav Raduljica. Efes Pilsen offered previously a temporary contract to Oberto, which was turned down by the player, and has now made a new proposal until the end of the season to the Argentinian center.

UPDATE: The GM of the Blazers, Rick Cho, confirmed contacts with Fabricio Oberto, but denied any formal contract offer to the player.

 

[Unknownn]

Bobcats waived Javaris Crittenton

 

[Unknownn]

Sacramento Kings waived Connor Atchley and Joe Crawford

 

[Black Widower]

I wish the Clippers would waive Blake Griffin so the Bulls could pick him up.

 

[Unknownn]

Uhmmm....? No

 

[Unknownn]

The New York Knicks have made significant progress in recent days in their efforts to acquire Carmelo Anthony from the Denver Nuggets, a source told ESPN.com Tuesday. ESPN.com
Rumors tagsDenver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Trade, Carmelo Anthony

After a period of dormancy following the collapse of a four-team trade late last month between New Jersey, Denver, Utah and Charlotte, the Knicks got back in on the bidding about two weeks ago after Anthony made it known to the Nuggets that he would not budge on his refusal to sign a three-year, $65 million contract extension with Denver. ESPN.com
Rumors tagsDenver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Trade, Carmelo Anthony

The offers the Knicks have proposed have always centered around packages including Anthony Randolph, the expiring contract of Eddy Curry and a first-round draft pick they would acquire from a third team, and New York has softened its stance on including forward Danilo Gallinari in a trade. The most recent obstacle, according to the source, was for the Knicks to use one of those assets, likely Randolph or Gallinari, to acquire a player from a third team that the Nuggets value more highly than either of the Knicks forwards. The source said that obstacle can now be overcome, with the Knicks confident they can get their hands on a player the Nuggets would prefer. ESPN.com
Rumors tagsDenver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Trade, Carmelo Anthony

More important to Stoudemire is this: the source also told Newsday that Denver is now starting to back off their defiant stance against dealing with the Knicks. Initially the Nuggets were making it clear the Knicks, undeniably Carmelo's choice team, didn't have the proper assets to interest Denver in a deal. Now, however, we're hearing that the Nuggets have had internal discussions comparing the value of Favors to Anthony Randolph. Newsday
Rumors tagsDenver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Trade, Carmelo Anthony
The Knicks according to a person with knowledge of the situation have had their own internal discussions about making an aggressive play for Carmelo now rather than wait for free agency and potentially risk losing him to the Nets or even the Chicago Bulls before they get to next summer. There is a franchise-wide determination to make the playoffs this season and the preseason has offered enough concerns that this very young team, as currently constructed, may not be good enough to get the job done. Newsday
Rumors tagsDenver Nuggets, New York Knicks, Trade, Carmelo Anthony
The source also cautioned that the Chicago Bulls remained in the Melo mix, although the contract extension Chicago reached earlier this month with Joakim Noah would preclude him from being included in any deal the Bulls would put together for Anthony. ESPN.com