Player Movement Thread (Was Free Agency Thread)

[tk76-]

Knicks and Duhon agree to two year deal...in principle

Do you think Duhon is the starter in NYC this season or does he backup Crawford or Marbury?

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/53396/20080705/marburys_knick_career_at_its_end/

[TheGuiltyParty]

Well, I guess that answers that question. I could see Marbury signing in Miami then again.... who knows? Maybe he does as he said he world do... go play in Italy.

[Skates]

Marty Burns from Si sums up the Sixers first choices pretty well:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/marty_burns/07/03/sixers/index.html

[southjersey]

Hey guys, Im switching to here because I can't take  it on the other board any longer.

Quick thought, what if the sixers dont land Smith. Why hasnt Okafor's name come up? Couldnt he have signed with the Bobcats already? I know that they will probably match anything, but on paper, he looks like a good fit in Philly.

Someone brought up the PG situation. This bothers me. Unless Ed truly believes that Lou is our PG of the future, he should start acting quickly on this. Is Felton available now with Augustine in there?

Man am I hyped for July 9th tocome around. Why does the NBAhave to do this? July 1st, July 9th, what the hell is the start of FA?

[tk76-]

Hey guys, Im switching to here because I can't take  it on the other board any longer.

Welcome, just don't bring along your nemesis.

Quick thought, what if the sixers dont land Smith. Why hasnt Okafor's name come up? Couldnt he have signed with the Bobcats already? I know that they will probably match anything, but on paper, he looks like a good fit in Philly.

Okafor would be a good replacement for Sam, but he is only 18 months younger.  I'm not convinced having either Okafor or Sam play PF would work, and it would undermine the type of running, trapping, athletic team they are trying to build.  I conceed it would make them imposing in the paint...

Someone brought up the PG situation. This bothers me. Unless Ed truly believes that Lou is our PG of the future, he should start acting quickly on this. Is Felton available now with Augustine in there?

They can't sign Iguodala or Lou without reducing their cap sapce.  They have to sign someone else 1st.  Even more concerning is that their cap sapce takes a big hit if either RFA signs an offer sheet with someone else.  If Lou signs a MLE offer sheet the Sixers can match, but it would reduce their cap space by nearly 5M, leaving them with not much more than what the MLE would have provided.  Talk about worst case scenario...

Man am I hyped for July 9th tocome around. Why does the NBAhave to do this? July 1st, July 9th, what the hell is the start of FA?

It takes a week for them to count their money 

[jemagee]

One writer in Northern California makes the case for Andre Miller being a great fit in the warriors system

http://www.ibabuzz.com/warriors/2008/07/05/philly-wants-beans/

[tk76-]

One writer in Northern California makes the case for Andre Miller being a great fit in the warriors system

http://www.ibabuzz.com/warriors/2008/07/05/philly-wants-beans/

I doubt GS gives up Biedrins or Ellis now that they are flush with cash.

I do think Ellis/Miller would work well for GS, but I don't know if Nellie would be a Miller guy- Millers strengths don't necessarily match with what Nellie wants (shooting.)

If GS was interested in Miller, it might be a good way to clear some cap space so that the Sixers can land Smith + a primissing young PG.

[anklebreaker]

http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/53409/20080706/heat_dangling_marion_for_elite_point_guard/

Miami dangling Marion for elite point guard.  Mentions Miller, Hinrich, and Ellis as potential targets. 

[jemagee]

I so love mis-leading headlines

[Skates]

I read both of the Miller stories earlier today and both the GS and Miami stuff just seems like a writer postulating.  It is worth keeping track of much buzz builds around the league for teams wanting Miller.  It may be that as FA and the summer in general move along there will be more teams focusing on Miller as a PG solution.  It was a weak PG draft and an even weaker crop of FA PG's that might or have moved.  If your team needs a PG and your FA choices are Tinsley or Starbury (once they are bought out), then the group of Hinrich, Miller and the Memphis guys becomes way more attractive.

[TheGuiltyParty]

If Miami does in fact want to move Marion for a PG, I think we're in good shape. Aside from lucking into the #1 pick in this year's draft, what has John Paxson done as a GM that makes ANYONE think he's capable of pulling off a trade that makes sense?? (see: obtaining Larry Hughes, signing Ben Wallace, trading Tyson Chandler, giving away JR Smith, trading LaMarcus Aldridge). I'm not worried about the Bulls. The Warriors on the other hand... well they concern me a little bit. Then again, the Warriors don't really have a PG at all and if they move Ellis for Marion, well... now they're really screwed. It would seem to me that a move with the Sixers makes sense except for the part where Ed Stefanski has fallen into the trap of loving, Loving, LOVING Andre Miller even though he's walking away for nothing next season.

Also, a lot of reports have the Bulls liking Hinrich at the 2 and Ben Gordon being the guy who gets moved. If that's true, I would probably move Miller (and filler) to Miami for Marion and then go after either one of Memphis' PGs or Marcus Williams up in NJ. I could see Ed telling Lou Williams' agent that he will be given the starting PG role on this team next year either way.

L. Williams
Iguodala
Young
Marion
Dalembert

That team competes but probably doesn't get above being a 7th seed. That said, we would enter next summer with over $20MIL in cap space.

[southjersey]

Heinrich at the 2? Not to be ignorant, but is he really athletic enough to play that position? Paxson is a fool who sounds professional when he talks, but has made more bad decisions then anyone not named Isiah Thomas. I agree with TGP, Paxson doesnt have enough sense to pull offf a Marion trade.

[TheGuiltyParty]

I don't know how effective he'll be as the starting 2 but the Bulls did start Duhon next to Hinrich for a portion of the season last year. The other side to this is that Gordon has supposedly been working with Rose so perhaps a growing comfort between the 2 is what bumps Hinrich from the team. The only way Gordon and Hinrich are Bulls next year is if Gordon signs a 1 year deal.

[johnny broad-street]

WOAH! What happened at REALGM over the holiday? It's like everybody went crazy and started sniping at eachother! I think I may be done over there after all of that. I jumped in just looking for some rumors or updates and couldn't really find anything in the mess.

Anybody care to bring me up to speed?

Hope you guys had a great weekend!

[Skates]

Sixers related items via HoopsHype today:

S.F. Chronicle -

If nothing happens between Elton Brand and the Warriors, which is still the likeliest scenario, don't expect Golden State to turn around and hand out another huge offer to an outside free agent. As one team source told me, the plan is to "take our time" sorting through the rest of the market.

Josh Smith? Sources inside and outside the organization say he's not on the Warriors' radar.

Corey Maggette? The Warriors like him, but not at much more than the mid-level exception.

Andre Iguodala? Even if the Warriors went after him, (which I'm not sure they will), his restricted status is a big hurdle.

That's going to be the common problem this summer, in fact, as the best of the remaining free agents (aside from Maggette) are all restricted. Luol Deng, Emeka Okafor, Iguodala, Smith -- any actual offer the Warriors make can be matched the players' original teams. And almost all those teams have vowed to do so, just like Warriors have vowed to keep Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins at whatever cost.

I'm just not getting the sense that the Warriors are keen on giving serious chase and having their money tied up for the seven days that teams have to match offers.

(In a roundabout way, that's also why their overtures to Brand are likely to come with an expiration date, regardless of when Brand makes his decision official. It's too much money to leave blocked out).

My best guess is that the contract situations of Ellis and Biedrins will be resolved before the Warriors make any big splashes.

Newark Star Ledger -

Notes: Nenad Krstic has wandered onto Philly's radar. Sixers president Ed Stefanski has more than $12 million in cap space burning a hole in his pocket, and he will consider putting Krstic on his shopping list if Elton Brand and Josh Smith prove elusive. ... Krstic gave an interview to a Serbian sports periodical this week, and while his clear preference is to stay in New Jersey, he added, "Maybe it's time to change everything." Translations are often tricky, however, and his agent was not available to elucidate....

ESPN -

Maggette knows his career with the Clippers is over unless Brand stuns the league and goes to Golden State. The high-scoring swingman has no shortage of suitors offering him a multi-year deal starting at the midlevel exception, which is expected to approach $6 million for next season, but Maggette hasn't abandoned hope that a team with salary-cap space (Philadelphia or Golden State) will come after him.

The obstacles?

No. 1: Maggette and Sixers restricted free agent Andre Iguodala share the same representative, which could make negotiating deals for two players who play essentially the same position with one team rather complicated for agent Rob Pelinka.

No. 2: There's a strong sense that the Warriors would prefer to chase restricted free agents Josh Smith (Atlanta) and Luol Deng (Chicago) with the money they threw at Brand, although Maggette's status as an unrestricted free agent -- who thus doesn't have to sign an offer sheet that could tie up a team's money for seven days -- makes him easier to pursue.

Philadelphia is still waiting to find out whether it might even have more than its estimated $11 million in salary-cap space once the league officially announces next season's cap ceiling for all teams. All signs continue to point to the Sixers signing Smith to a lucrative offer sheet as early as Wednesday. The Atlanta Hawks would then have seven days to match and continue to insist privately that they'll match any offer Smith gets.

It is widely presumed that Chicago will soon trade guard Kirk Hinrich now that the Bulls have drafted Derrick Rose with the No. 1 overall pick, with Golden State likewise assumed to be atop the list of Hinrich suitors given the void created in the Warriors' backcourt by Davis' departure. But NBA front-office sources insist that there is some sentiment in the Bulls' organization to keep Hinrich -- a favorite of Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf -- and play him at shooting guard alongside Rose while trying to move restricted free agent Ben Gordon in a sign-and-trade to fill another Chicago need.