Monthly Archives: August 2009
Via Jerry Zgoda:
“News just broke tonight that Ricky Rubio is poised to sign with Barcelona, but is that really it?
Might the Wolves be about to deal the Spanish point guard, perhaps to the New York Knicks, which Rubio’s parents and representatives have wanted all along?
Or at least is that what Rubio’s agent is trying to facilitate?
A league source tells me there’s plenty of talk floating that the Knicks again are pushing hard to deal for Rubio — probably with an assist from agent Dan Fegan — and there’s word of a Rubio for restricted free agent David Lee, Nate Robinson and a No. 1 pick deal.
That’d give the Wolves three power forward types, wouldn’t it? But with David Kahn, anything could be possible.
Of course, the Wolves would have to give back some sizable salaries to make the deal work (with the Knicks signing and then trading Lee), but they do have Brian Cardinal and Mark Blount, to name two contracts that total $14 million plus.
The Rubio-to-Barcelona thing still may be just the latest threat to get Rubio to a market where endorsements presumably will pay most of that big buyout.
Stayed tuned.”
Doubt it, it’s like every Knicks beat writer has a conspiracy theory about Rubio and the Knicks. I don’t think there is any use of overanalyzing; Rubio is going back to Spain. Maybe Kahn looks into trading him in two years, but not know.
“…The Minnesota Timberwolves and the NBA will have to wait until 2011 for Ricky Rubio(notes) to leave Europe, a high-level source told Yahoo! Sports on Monday night.
Regal of Barcelona has agreed to a six-year contract with Rubio after working out a buyout package with DKV Jovenut of Spain on Monday.
After weeks of haggling, Minnesota Timberwolves GM David Kahn was unable to facilitate a buyout that would’ve brought the fifth pick in the 2009 draft to the NBA this season…”
Again, I’ve stayed away from commenting on this because I would have bet Kahn would have dealt Rubio for some young, cheap pieces or a pick instead of being left at the alter.
Should he stay in Spain for two years and should the Wolves get nothing out of his services, then drafting Rubio would have to be one of the most brainless moves by an executive not named Isiah Thomas in recent memory.
Now let me preface this as not to upset anyone who is allergic to speculation. But I have 
a feeling there is something in the works regarding the Knicks roster. I’ve poked around and heard from several places that there is zero trade market for Nate Robinson, and along with the sign and trades that Donnie Walsh is mulling, I still firmly believe that this isn’t the roster the team will head into camp with.
Sure, Walsh has to be careful, and we know he’s patient, I just have a feeling that something is brewing.
Why? Well, call it a hunch. Let’s forget about the having to deal a player in order to bring in Ramon Sessions, the fact that the Knicks haven’t pulled the trigger on a one-year back up point guard option like Carlos Arroyo, Jamal Tinsley, Jason Williams or even Allen Iverson (even though we’ve been through that), I just feel a move coming.
Big or small, I don’t know, but it just seems like this team is prepping to light a fire under it’s fanbase as training camp nears and it has options that are being withheld. Remember, most trades happen when the media least expects them. (more…)
ESPN.com contributors voted on where the top four free agents of 2010 (Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudamire, and Chris Bosh) will land. Just more speculation, really, but ESPN’s prognostications are obviously going to be more accurate than everybody else’s, right?Out of 52 voters, 35 said he would stay in Cleveland (how shocking?) and the Knicks came in second with 8 votes. Miami got 3, New Jersey got 2, and Boston got 1.
“Despite the cards Cleveland holds, some still see New York as King James’ destiny. And they might have a leg to stand on, thanks to LeBron himself, as he has become the master of the mixed message. That was heard again most recently in his interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, in which he avoided the opportunity to express loyalty to Cleveland and pointedly said his heart was in his hometown of Akron:
“My loyalty is to Akron. I’m looking forward to this upcoming season, but I’m looking forward to the summer of 2010, too, to see what may happen. No matter what happens that summer, I’m still here. I’ve got a nice big house here that I’m always coming back to. I love this city and I’ll always give back to this city no matter what my profession, if it takes me somewhere else.”
So if that leaves the door open for an exit to another team, how could Knicks president Donnie Walsh pull off his miracle play?
First, he’ll try to move Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries to create enough cap space for LeBron and another free agent to leap directly to New York; that’s been Plan A since Walsh arrived. Short of that — and moving those two contracts will be exceedingly difficult — he’ll try to work out a sign-and-trade, perhaps involving David Lee, to bring in a second star such as Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire as a teammate for LeBron. And no matter what, he’ll tell LeBron all about the potential cap room the Knicks will have in 2011, at which time Walsh will be able to round out what could become a championship roster.
The other cards in Walsh’s deck are pretty obvious as he makes his pitch to LeBron: Come to so-called Basketball Mecca and we’ll build championship teams around you in the World’s Greatest Arena, paving the way to greater glory, riches and Global Icon status. And oh, by the way, you’ll be playing for Mike D’Antoni, the guy who won about 60 games a year in Phoenix, who helped mastermind the success of your Olympic gold medal-winning team and who will set you free in the open court to run up and down in the up-tempo offense you’ve always dreamed of.” (more…)
According to a report on ESPN, Wolves GM David Kahn has stepped up his efforts in an attempt to put an end to the Ricky Rubio saga and bring the PG stateside once and for all:
“David Kahn spent the weekend in Spain in his latest attempt to bring Ricky Rubio to the NBA.
“There was no official word on whether progress was being made in talks with Rubio’s current team, DKV Joventut, but a source briefed on the talks said Kahn’s continued presence in Spain could be taken as an indication that the odds of Rubio coming to the Wolves next season had improved.
“For Kahn, this is his third trip to Spain to negotiate for Rubio’s rights in the two months since the Wolves selected the 18-year-old with the fifth pick of the NBA draft.
“”I’m very proud that the Timberwolves came to Spain to get me,” Rubio said, according to El Mundo Deportivo, which reported that Kahn, agent Dan Fegan and Joventut president Jordi Villacampa had dinner together Saturday night.
“It doesn’t surprise me because they have been there all the time, and I always said that my priority was to go to the NBA. I know there was a meeting last night, and now there’s chances for both sides,” Rubio said, according to El Mundo Deportivo.”
If it is his priority to go to the NBA, why doesn’t he just do it? I mean, the buyout is not the hold up here, it’s Rubio’s willingness to sign a deal and commit to living and playing in Minnesota for the foreseeable future, is it not?
I’m not blaming to kid for his reluctancy, but the ball is pretty much in his hands if he wants it to be…
Whatever, just wake me up when he’s a Knick, will ya?
Mike Fisher of DallasBasketball.com hears that the Warriors might be looking to trade away PG Monta Ellis. With Stephen Jackson looking for a way out, Fisher believes that there might be potential for a tandem trade.
Last season, Ellis missed a lot of the season while recovering from an ankle injury. He averaged 19 ppg and only 3.7 apg. He is set to enter the second year of a 6 year, $66 million.
Last summer, Monta Ellis was a hot commodity on this site. Knicks fans salivated at the idea of Monta Ellis running circles around opponents in the Mike D’Antoni high-paced system. I was one of those fans.
However, I am no longer in that boat. Ellis is not a great three point shooter, and he is more of an undersized SG than a PG. At $11 million per season, Ellis is just simply not the player that the Knicks need.
Looking at the Warriors’ roster, it is not a surprise as to why they would look to trade away Ellis. As I noted above, his contract is brutal. Second, the team is loaded with guards. The team just drafted Stephen Curry (haven’t written that name in a while), traded for Speedy Claxron and Acie Law, and figures to bring back CJ Watson.
Ellis has the potential to be a stud in the NBA. I said that last summer and I will say it again now. However, his contract is hard to ignore. If he is available, he is not worth bringing here. The same goes for Stephen Jackson. He is a good player, and one that I would like to see on the Knicks. However, he has a bad contract and he is not going to lead the Knicks to a title. Pass.
An earlier report noted that the Blazers were sure that the Knicks would match any offer to Lee, hence why GM Kevin Pritchard decided not to attempt to sign Lee to an offer sheet, yet from what I’m hearing out in P-Town, that wasn’t the case. That said, a source confirms relative interest between both the Knicks and Blazers regarding a David Lee sign and trade.
In the beginning of the summer, the Blazers target was Andre Miller, an upgrade and veteran leader the team desperately lacked at the point guard position. That was until it appeared that Hedo Turkoglu could be had. My source tells me that the team felt Turkoglu, coming off an impressive playoff, became attractive because of his “perimeter length,” which has become a trend in the NBA these days.
Regarding Lee, the team was and is interested in a sign and trade, but was never interested in an offer sheet because, after Turkoglu headed north to Toronto, the team knew it could get Miller at a reasonable price. In fact, as much as Donnie Walsh is lauded for his patience, the Blazers feel that waiting out Miller was equally savvy business, feel they played their cards right and significantly upgraded at the point.
Which is to say the Blazers were never in a position to offer Lee and if they did, one would really have to wonder if the Knicks would have matched knowing what we know about 2010. (more…)
Via Hahn:
“The only holding out on David Lee‘s mind right now is mainly the hope that his contract status will be resolved fairly soon. In fact we’re hearing through a source tonight that there are “are a couple of sign-and-trades still being considered before a one-year deal is negotiated.”
We can’t tell you what these deals are because it is sensitive information that, if it were to go public would be detrimental to either happening.
In other words, we don’t really know the exact principles of either deal that has been discussed.
And why we don’t know is because our sources won’t tell us for the reasons stated above.
What we do know is that if neither deal is accepted by the Knicks — and we’re told that Donnie Walsh, despite wanting to keep Lee in the fold, is taking serious consideration into any reasonable S&T for Lee — then Lee and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, are prepared to negotiate a one-year deal to remain in New York for the 2009-10 season. He will then become an unrestricted free agent in next summer.”
Wow, Hahn, could you get any vaguer? Hahn mentions the Blazers as a potential partner, but their interest in Lee has been well-documented. I’m wondering if Walsh is contemplating settling for a sign and trade that doesn’t include Rudy Fernandez, when we all know that Fernandez is a player he has coveted for a while. If Lee does return for one year, chances are he leaves for nothing in 2010, and Walsh has to figure out if Lee’s contributions this year would be more beneficial to the team than what they would receive for him in a sign and trade.
This is courtesy of ESPN, who have compiled votes on several topics including what they 
call “Team Turmoil.”
The Pistons, who spent plenty of money during the off season on Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, finished tied for 1st with 8 votes along with Golden State.
The Knicks finished tied for 4th along with the Clippers and Timberwolves.
“…Talk about a team in limbo. Just check on the status of fan favorites David Lee and Nate Robinson, who are still waiting for deals. A likely shrinking salary cap in 2010-11 also threatens the possibility of LeBron James walking through the door in MSG. So the team now looks torn between shedding contracts for a diminished future, and spending half-heartedly to salvage its present dignity. This could get ugly…” (more…)
Jordan Hill
Toney Douglas
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