Free agency

[Born2Fish]

Tweet from Adam Schefter:

Adam_Schefter

RT @Ian_OConnor: reading body language here at Knicks presser in Garden, Mike D'Antoni is pretty much resigned to defeat on LeBron front.

[Windy City Walleye Hunter]

Again, it comes down to whether Lebron wants multiple rings and a huge image or just wants the big bucks and continue to lose in Cleveland. Big fish in a little pond. I can not see why he would want to stay in Clevland, they had him last year and did not get it done and nothing has changed there. He could go to Knicks and try with Amare but they have NOTHING else other than those two. I think if he goes to Miami that will be a train wreck, three superstars and only one basketball!

Not trying to be biased here but Chicago is his best option. Will still get the max deal, will get the big city love and if he starts winning will be on the train that Michael rode!

All Aboard!

[ozzie]

MIAMI here comes Lebron!!!!!!!! After reading a bunch on this [PoorWordUsage] I am convinced tonight he will choose Miami........especially with the extra 2 million in salary cap space for next year......they will get some vets on the last legs of their careers to join them and they will coast to an NBA championship!!

[B. Amish]

this is the future of the nba. all stars moving to the same team to win rings. the twolves are doomed forever......

[toughguy]

Isn't already that way? Only 8 teams in the last 30 yrs have won an NBA title. Compare that to the NFL 15 teams and MLB 18. The NBA has been broken for years.

[Scott M]

Lots of things to digest here.

* Cleveland's fans got murdered on national television. That team doesn't even make the playoffs; their best player is Antawn Jamison. Can you imagine the fans, the city, the owners, the teammates?

* We don't get to see the best of LeBron, Wade, or Bosh since they will have to take their foot off the gas to share the ball.

* Was this all decided two years ago after the Olympics? Is Chris Paul coming over next? I get the feeling everyone was getting strung along all along.

* Which free agents will take the league minimum to play with these guys? This will be interesting to watch. I'm sure lots of guys will try to jump on the bandwagon.

* Can you imagine being a Knicks fan? They've peed away how many first round picks and created all this cap space for the summer of 2010, and they don't get their man? It's like wasting 10 years in a war and then losing. Now they have Amare, do they attempt to retain fan favorite David Lee who plays the same position?

* Windy was right. The Bulls were the best fit, a better rounded out cast that would be a better team. I think these guys could have all colluded to the Bulls if not for the fact that the max. money wouldn't have worked there for the three. Wade knew he had to stay in South Beach to get his money. And the injury concerns for him are legit...he could be in bad shape in a few years; he's a little bit older than Bosh and LeBron.

* Miami was just lucky that Wade had to stay and that Florida has no income tax. They won an NBA championship in 2006 and within a couple years they couldn't fill half the arena. There is no basketball history in Miami. They are unba-freaking-leavable lucky.

I'm going to watch the Heat next year because basketball fans have never seen anything like this. However, I am going to root for the Thunder (young guys, shrewd GM, Durant signed a contract extension without a TV special and little more than a Tweet) or a team that plays the opposite of Miami...pound it out a la early 1990's New York Knicks, bang them inside since Bosh is a poor defender and everyone else is on the perimeter.

[Scott M]

Nevermind, David Lee to the Warriors in a sign and trade for Randolph, Turiaf, Azubuike.

[Scott M]

Beasley to the Wolves to open cap space. This could be decent for Minny.

[jwmiller33]

He could go to Knicks and try with Amare but they have NOTHING else other than those two. I think if he goes to Miami that will be a train wreck, three superstars and only one basketball!

Not trying to be biased here but Chicago is his best option. Will still get the max deal, will get the big city love and if he starts winning will be on the train that Michael rode!

All Aboard!

windy city, i laugh at your "not enough ball to go around" argument for miami.. you were just saying the other day in another thread, when there were alleged rumors going around about bosh and lebron going to chicago, about how awesome of a trio that was going to be... and now, when you heard it was going to be lebron and bosh were teaming up with dwayne wade instead of rose, all you talk about is how there is "only one ball" to go around.. well, there was only going to be one ball to go around in chicago too. and in chicago it was lebron, bosh and rose, and it was the greatest thing since sliced bread in your eyes, but now, subtract rose and add dwayne wade and all of a sudden there isnt enough ball to go around? you chicago bias is clouding your vision, and your arguments

[Windy City Walleye Hunter]

JW,

I stand by my statement. I would not compare D Rose and Noah to D Wade. D Wade is a me first guy that needs the ball, so is Lebron. Bosh can fit into either team nicely. I guess my arguement would be that D Rose would have fit much nicer in the equation that D Wade who is known to be a ball hog. I still maintain that when you put D Wade and Lebron together you will get less than if they were seperate. Chicago would have been the perfect spot with D Rose setting the table, Lebron being the go to guy and Bosh and Noah cleaning up the dishes! I will laugh when the Bulls finish ahead of Miami next year and watch all the pundits yap about how Wade and Lebron can not play together. Also, D Rose is much younger than D Wade, I guarantee that the third fourth and fifth year on his contract will be a dissapointment to Heat fans, he will be past his prime while still raking in a max contract (call it the Alphonso Sorriano complex!) Ask Geno the Cubbie lover about that one!

[Scott M]

Wolves dealt Hollins and Sessions for Delone West and Telfair. West will be waived next week to the tune of half a million and Telfair will also likely be released. It's just to even out minutes for everyone.

[Scott K]

Quote:

Jonny Flynn's hip injury will require surgery that will keep him out for three to four months.

That means he's out for at least the start of the season, and maybe closer to Christmas depending on how his rehab goes. Luke Ridnour is officially the starting point guard for the Wolves, and he may not give up the job easily once Flynn is healthy.

Its a good thing we picked up a couple more point guards yesterday! A team can never have enough point guards.

[ozzie]

What really has me confused is now Flynn is out until Christmas, we traded Sessions and we will drop West and Telfair, besides Ridnour, who is our other PG's on the roster?

[bisonthunder]

Im confused why we gave up a 2nd round pick to help rid Cleveland of baggage...

[ozzie]

that got me confused also.....maybe they had to to make it work.....

[Born2Fish]

Sounds like they might hold onto Telfair....

[CJH]

From the Pioneer Press:

A big part of the Timberwolves' building process is expected to take part next February before the NBA's trade deadline, when teams make some high-priced players available.

"We have positioned ourselves financially so if some team wants to unload a player because of salary, we don't have any restrictions anymore," Wolves owner Glen Taylor said. "We can do now (financially) what many teams can't. We're not done."

[ozzie]

So basically if we can't sign a free agent we will force them to come by being the dumping ground for a team with a player they don't want to pay or on their team.....sounds like a great move.....haha

[Scott K]

The better the players we get, the easier it will be for us to sign good players. This will be a big year for the Wolves, if we can be a contender, even if we fall short of making the playoffs (which we will) with Rubio coming next year, we can maybe add a star or two, and we could easily have a good team, for many years.

I see, and understand the direction they are going, lets just hope it works!

[Scott M]

I mostly agree with the optimism 4WE, but if the league goes into a lockout it could all be for naught.

Sounds like Shaq to the Celts. The Celts could continue to be a force as a black and blue, slow it down type of team. That's how to beat Miami, take it to them inside. It's hard to beat the Lakers at that game with Gasol and Bynum, but at least they could have a shot at the Finals.

[Coach1310]

I can't argue with a lot of what the Wolves are doing. We are still going to struggle, but hopefully some of the moves will pan out and by adding a star or two we can be relavant again in the next 3 years or so...

My biggest worry is the teams on top keep getting better and widening the gap with those of us less fortunate!!

[Scott M]

Phoenix Suns sign guard Matt Janning

by Paul Coro, Arizona Republic

The Phoenix Suns signed Northeastern guard Matt Janning to a two-year, minimum-salary contract with a small guarantee Wednesday.

Janning will be in the Suns training camp to compete for a roster spot. Rather than one of the remaining additions being simply a third point guard, Janning would give the Suns a fifth guard with combo guard skills in a 6-foot-5 frame.

The Suns were the most interested team in Janning after his four-year career at Northeastern but he did not even get invited to the Portsmouth Invitational, a rookie combine of mostly second-round and free agent rookie types. Janning played for Boston in the Orlando summer league and the Celtics tried to get him to not keep a pledge to play for Phoenix's summer team in Las Vegas but he kept his word because of the Suns' early interest.

Suns Director of Player Personnel Todd Quinter likens Janning's situation to when Jeff Hornacek was a Suns rookie of little acclaim. He said Janning has an outstanding feel for the game like Hornacek did. But also like Hornacek at that stage, Janning needs to make some tweaks to his shot and improve his strength to match up with NBA guards. He weighed 193 pounds at his Suns draft workout.

Boston and other teams were interested in getting Janning into their camps but the Suns outrecruited them to get a player they feel like has a chance to make the roster.

"As he becomes a better shooter, his game will improve and he's got a great feel," Quinter said. "The things he needs to improve are consistently shooting his long-range shot and physically being able to defend."

Janning is athletic (34 1/2-inch vertical leap) and uses a 6-9 wingspan with good hands to anticipate well, according to Quinter.

"With his great feel for the game and his size, he can play two positions and come off screens and shoot and dump to screeners," Quinter said.

Janning will have to compete for a job with a guarantee that does not go beyond the preseason. Two-time summer league Suns point guard Zabian Dowdell could be in Suns camp in San Diego vying for that same fifth guard spot.

Janning averaged 15.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists for Northeastern as a senior. He shot 41 percent from the field and 33 percent on 3-pointers, numbers that turned off most teams even though he was trying to carry a heavy load for his team. Janning averaged 12.6 points and 5.8 rebounds for the summer Suns in five starts at off-guard and shot 43 percent from the field.

Janning you'll recall played for AA Watertown-Mayer

[Scott K]

I am sure it wouldnt happen, but what do you think? I think he could fit in here?

Quote:

The Nuggets are interested in trading Carmelo Anthony to the Nets, Kings, or Timberwolves, according to a report on NBA.com.

The Nets are probably the only team in that group that Melo would be interested in joining -- they may soon move to Brooklyn, the owner has deep pockets, and they have a promising core of young players. The Kings are also an improving young team, but Denver might request so much in return that it would doom the franchise to mediocrity. And it seems obvious that Melo wants no part of the Wolves.

[abcnerdd]

If Carmelo will resign, then HECK YEAH, BUT if it's a one year thing so he'll end up somewhere, no.

Maybe, we could offer Flynn, Beasley, Brewer/Webster and Memphis/Utah first? Sign Marc Gasol or Noah next year.

Rubio/Ridnour

Wes/(Brewer/Webster)/Ellington

Carmelo/(Brewer/Webster)/Hayward

Love/Pekovic

Noah/Darko

[mrklean]

we dont need some guy for one year we need guys that will help us long term

[Scott K]

I wouldnt do it for a year either, he would have to agree to a long term contract, and that there is the deal breaker, and the reason, it would never happen.