Monthly Archives: July 2009
With the deadline for contracts to become guaranteed tomorrow, one name that was cut that I found intriguing was Mike Taylor of the LA 
Clippers. The 23 year old guard made history last year for being the first player drafted out of the D League.
The Clippers have been rumored to be interested in Ramon Sessions. There also has been a rumor that the Clippers are looking at every possible combo guard available. I am curious to see if there is a follow-up move to come with this release.
I read Clippersblog.com to find out more, and it appears that a poor showing in the summer league (really?) did in the young PG. Plenty of fans were sad to see him go because of his hustle and his energy.
For those of you that do not remember this guy, he did this against the Knicks last year.
The Lakers also waived Sun Yue today. I have never seen Sun play, but he is supposed to be pretty much a 6’9 point forward.
I am surprised that the Clippers cut Taylor, but something might be brewing out there in LA. To cut a player that performed last year as a rookie simply because of a poor summer league outing makes no sense. I hope they do not intensify their efforts for Sessions. Like the Knicks, the Clippers can use a shooting guard to play behind Eric Gordon. There were rumors swirling around that the Clippers were most heavily intersted in Allen Iverson and Ramon Sessions, two names linked to the Knicks (especially Sessions). However, can Nate Robinson be a fit out there in LA? Nate is a star in this league (in part for the novelty of his game), and he would shine under the bright lights of Hollywood. Unlike Iverson, Nate Robinson is younger and is used to a bench role.
Anyway, I wonder if Walsh will show any interest in Mike Taylor or Sun Yue.
Update: The Bucks have released Bruce Bowen according to insidehoops.com…
Update: A source close to the situation tells me that Warrick chose the Bucks over the Cavs, who offered the former Syracuse star a $2 million dollar contract. Not sure how much the deal with Milwaukee is as of yet, but you’d have to assume it is more and the trade with Malik Allen shouldn’t affect the offer sheet for Sessions, which as we told you, wasn’t coming today.
Ken Berger is reportingthat the Knicks may want to negotiate with Jason Williams BEFORE offering Sessions, in a deal that makes no sense to me whatsoever.
“…Before getting involved with Sessions, the Knicks are focusing on Jason Williams and have been granted an exclusive, five-day window to negotiate a deal with the unretired point guard, Yahoo! Sports reported. Williams, 33, must navigate a minefield of beaurocracy after filing retirement papers last September, only a month after signing a one-year deal with the Clippers. L.A. relinquished its exclusive rights to negotiate with Williams last week. Any team wanting to acquire those rights would have to claim Williams off waivers first…
A play that Walsh thinks the Bucks will match??
Stay tuned…
The Bucks have dealt forward Malik Allen to the Nuggets for Sonny Weems and Walter Sharpe. From the Milwaukee Journal:
“The Bucks made the trade to clear a roster spot and achieve some financial savings, thought to be about $500,000.”
I am not sure if $500,000 is going to be the type of financial savings that the Bucks needed to keep Sessions in the mix. I could be wrong though, but 1/2 million savings for one year just does not seem like the sticking point for the Bucks and Sessions.
As for Warrick, Cleveland apparently offered their bi-annual exception, but Warrick still signed with the Bucks. Because of that, I am assuming that he got somewhere above $2 million.
Stay tuned for the Sessions situation…
Update 1:54pm: Tommy Dee says: Warrick to the Bucks is a done deal. No offer for Sessions yet and may not come today according to a source with knowledge of the situation. It’s coming though, and, of course, the Warrick signing is huge.
Via Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel:
“Hakim Warrick, an athletic 6-foot-9 forward who played the past four seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, has reached agreement with the Bucks on a one-year deal, sources indicated Friday.
Warrick averaged 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds while appearing in all 82 games for the Grizzlies last season, primarily in a bench role.
The Grizzlies withdrew their qualifying offer to Warrick last week, making him an unrestricted free agent. A number of teams showed interest in Warrick, including the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and Charlotte Bobcats.”
As Marc Stein noted the other day, Hakim Warrick had huge implications on the Ramon Sessions situation. It appeared that the Bucks were more concerned with using their money to sign Hakim Warrick as opposed to retaining Ramon Sessions. Now that they have actually done that, it appears even more unlikely that they would match an offer sheet from the Knicks. This also probably eliminates any sign and trade possibilities involving David Lee and Sessions, because the Bucks filled their void at power forward with Warrick. I expect the Knicks to simply make a flat out offer to Sessions, and I don’t see the Bucks matching it. Also, Gery Woelfel’s latest tweet: “Knicks waiting 4 Bowen trade – Bucks at $68.8M (Lux tax $69.9) – then make run at Ramon Sessions.” Wait, where did we hear that?
Frank Isola keeps bringing up Iverson. I am not in his head, but it appears that Isola is having visions of Iverson lighting up the Garden with his energy, his scoring ability, and his attitude. With the Knicks set to offer Ramon Sessions a deal, is Iverson really an option? I do not think so.
If I were to take a guess, I would say that the vast majority of Knicks fans want nothing to do with Iverson. Can I blame them? Iverson went to 
Detroit last year and the results were not pretty. To make matters worse, Chauncey Billups helped bring the Nuggets to the Western Conference finals, perhaps proving that Iverson’s brand of basketball does not win in the NBA. Last season was not a memorable one for Iverson. The lack of interest in the former MVP and scoring champ.
So again, is Iverson really an option? Let me play devil’s advocate for a second and present this scenario. Iverson was brought into Detroit to play the point, a position he is capable of playing, but not the position he is best at playing. He was brought to a veteran team that was well set in its ways. The incumbent roster was comfortable playing with each other. Taking out Billups and adding Iverson (two completely different players) ruined that comfort level. Iverson changed that gameplan.
The Knicks need to get Sessions in my opinion. I do not want to give him the full MLE, especially if Donnie finds himself competing against himself (LAC should not be an option for Sessions. LA would be a graveyard for his career. The only competition would be the Bucks matching at this point). Sessions is a PG… a young, talented PG. So what would Iverson bring to the table? Iverson is best suited at the SG spot. Iverson has been one of the premier shooting guards in the NBA ever since he stepped foot on the NBA hardwood. There is absolutely no denying that. On the bi-annual deal, does Iverson fit as our starting SG? Iverson wants to play for a coach that will understand his game. What exactly is his game? Quick shooting. High volume shooting. Speed. Energy. Running the fast break. Playmaking. Would D’Antoni understand how to utilize that kind of game? Iverson is not a great outside shooter, a major negative.
The Knicks need star power. The Knicks need to make the playoffs this year. We know both of those things. But is Iverson the Answer? With high volume shooters like Wilson Chandler (certain games), Al Harrington, and Larry Hughes (among others), I am not sure if Iverson fits the game plan here. Perhaps this summer has humbled Iverson. Perhaps Iverson now realizes that he cannot be the chucker that he has been for his entire career. In NY, Iverson would not be the man. He would start, but he would have to be a part of a team. If the Knicks bring back Nate Robinson, then forget about Iverson. They would play a similar role. But if we can only have either for one season, do you want Iverson or Nate? I might give Nate the edge because of his shooting ability, but my gut tells me that Iverson would help the Knicks win more games, if for nothing else than simply being a bigger presence on the floor.
Again, if I were to decide on Iverson, I am not sure what I would say. If this team was not stocked with one year mercenaries, I would say “absolutely not” to AI. But with the one year rentals, chemistry for the future is not the objective for the 2009-10 season. The Knicks right now lack a true identity. The Nuggets had Melo. The Pistons had their core. What do the Knicks have? The only big problem would be a possible negative effect on Gallo and Wilson. Iverson will take shots away from those two guys. But so will Nate.
I am up in the air on this situation. For the 1 year, bi-annual exception, would AI worth the risk? Right now, I am leaning towards NO. The reason is that Iverson does not bring this team closer to a championship, only to the playoffs. Iverson will not morph this team into an elite team in the East… I do not think at least. There is a big risk, if just for one season. But I can see the argument for why it’s worth trying. Again, I am not reading Isola’s mind, but I get the impression that he would want the guy. Others adamantly say no. As of right now, I say take care of Sessions. If Sessions does not come, then I might be more inclined to say yes to Iverson.
Your thoughts? Is Iverson really an option?
Last night Moose and I talked about the state of the Knicks, including my thoughts on Ramon Sessions, should Walsh divert from the 2010 plan, and will Nate Robinson and David Lee be on the roster this year.
“…There were strong indications Thursday night that the New York Knicks were assembling the final details of an offer sheet they believe will ultimately land Milwaukee Bucks restricted free agent Ramon Sessions.
Terms of the proposed deal were not immediately available, but NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that the Bucks were indeed bracing for the offer sheet and also more likely to pool the free-agent cash they’re prepared to spend this summer to try to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers to the signature of athletic power forward Hakim Warrick rather than matching what’s coming to Sessions from the Knicks.
One trusted source insists that the Knicks believe they can extend Sessions far enough to dissuade Milwaukee from matching but without affecting their well-chronicled strategy to leave enough salary-cap space to recruit one maximum-salaried free agent in the summer of 2010. An offer sheet to a restricted free agent must be for at least two years, but it remains unclear how much of New York’s $5.9 million mid-level exception Sessions would receive.
Committing the next two seasons (or more) to Sessions, after fruitless free-agent flirtations with Jason Kidd and Grant Hill earlier this month, becomes easier for the Knicks to stomach if restricted free agents David Lee and Nate Robinson indeed return on one-year contracts bumped into the $6 million range. Lee and Robinson would thus become unrestricted free agents next summer while helping the Knicks maintain maximum flexibility.
ESPN.com reported earlier Thursday evening that Warrick, who was transformed from a restricted free agent to an unrestricted free agent last week when the Grizzlies withdrew their qualifying offer, was deciding between Cleveland, Philadelphia and Milwaukee and preparing to choose his new team as early as Friday.
He averaged 11.6 points and 5.0 rebounds last season for the Grizz. If the Cavs could add Warrick to Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon — with their $2 million bi-annual exception to offer, as Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer helpfully reminds — that would be three interesting bargains to supplement their trade for Shaquille O’Neal and the pricey re-signing of Anderson Varejao.
Outbidding Cleveland for Warrick, though, would still be far cheaper for the Bucks than trying to win the Sessions game. Milwaukee would still have rookie Brandon Jennings and Luke Ridnour at point guard if the Warrick-over-Sessions signals prove true…”
There was a report yesterday that Walsh and Bucks GM John Hammond had talks that were apparently unproductive, It will be a risky play for Walsh, but it seems as if it’s a calculated one.
Just wanted to give the Gym Rats the heads up that I will be on with Marc 
Malusis once again tonight to talk about Sessions and the Knicks.
If you missed my last appearance with Tony Paige you can listen to it here.
Should be on during the overnight hours so I’ll have my coffee brewed up and ready to go.
The podcast will be up tomorrow am.
The wreck is the irony.
I wonder if “the devil” has GEICO?
finger point to Blazers Edge
ESPN.com is reporting that Lamar Odom is returning to the Lakers for 4 years and $33 million. The fourth year is a team option, and the first three years are for a guaranteed $25 million.
Millsap got 4 years and $32 million. Odom gets 4 years and $33 million. Can someone lend David Lee a pen?
Seriously though, Odom is a more established and probably a better player than Lee overall. Mark Bartelstein can wait all he wants, but Walsh is not going to move off of his contract numbers. With the Millsap and Odom deals, as well as with Jordan Hill and Al Harrington (possible short term solution) in the fold, Walsh is not going to give Lee the insane kind of money he is seeking.
