* Offiical NBA Off-Season Thread: I'll give one of my damn kidney's for these Melo rumors to stop *

From LeBatard's Twitter: "When Riley arrived at lebrons, did he ask spoelstra to wait in the car?"

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Originally Posted by cleansneaksonly21

man i cant read this crap anymore... these fake twitter acct nonsense... just sign on the dotted line people

Teams handing out contracts like theyre candy
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Thats the problem though.  We ask for it, but when we get it and its used to toy with us then we feel betrayed and angered.

It's "our" fault. 
 
So the Suns are gonna compensate for Amare leaving by overpaying Channing Frye and Hakim Warrick?
 
http://[h3]
[h3]Cleveland's play for Amar'e, Bosh[/h3]
11:33AM ET

[h5]Cleveland Cavaliers [/h5]


We hear a lot of talk about how the likes of the Nets, Heat, Bulls and Knicks could sign two big-name free agents in the coming days.

But is it possible the Cavs could land Chris Bosh or Amar'e Stoudemire to pair with LeBron James?

From Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "While James is clearly their No. 1 priority, the Cavs have other missions in the free agency period that began Thursday. The team is expected to contact high-profile free agents Amar'e Stoudemire, whom they attempted to trade for in February, and Chris Bosh. Both options would require sign-and-trades and neither is likely unless James elects to re-sign with the team first."

So while most think Cleveland's roster can't be significantly improved because they're over the cap, it appears the Cavs could explore a sign-and-trade for arguably the two biggest power-forward free agents on the market currently.

abbott_henry_30.jpg
[h5]TrueHoop's Henry Abbott[/h5]
If you're going to lose a player, might as well sign-and-trade
"If you run a team like, say, the Raptors, Cavaliers, or Suns, and you think you're going to lose Chris Bosh, LeBron James or Amare Stoudemire, the strategic move is to sign that guy and trade him. By any rational analysis, that's 100 percent the best thing for team's long-term basketball future. Even if it's just for the NBA's ultimate consolation prize -- a second-round draft pick that is protected from slots 31-55 -- that trade benefits your team immensely, because at the very least it gives you a valuable trade exception. Ask Daryl Morey, ask Tom Penn, ask anyone with a sense of the NBA salary cap. If you're going to lose a player, do yourself a favor and lose him like the then-Sonics lost Rashard Lewis to the Magic -- through a lopsided sign-and-trade."
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http://[h3]How Paul becomes a Cavalier[/h3]
10:52AM ET

[h5]Chris Paul | Hornets [/h5]


Let's connect some dots here.

As we noted Thursday, the Hornets considered shipping Chris Paul to the Blazers last week. And there's still a chance he could get traded before the season begins.

Paul is a fan of Byron Scott, his old coach in New Orleans, and now the new head coach of the Cavs.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Worldwide Wes has told teams that if they trade for Paul, they "will dramatically increase their chances" of landing LeBron James.

Paul and James are friends.

So putting all this together, and stressing that this is largely speculative, here's how a possible Paul-to-the-Cavs trade could work.

Delonte West's non-guaranteed contract could be dealt (a rumored trade chip), along with Mo Williams (the Cavs have tested his trade market) and Anderson Varejao for Paul and Emeka Okafor.

It works in ESPN's Trade Machine and it saves the Hornets a considerable amount of cash -- something they wouldn't mind.

Again, we'll stress that there aren't many, if any, whispers on this now.

But Cleveland weighs heavy on LeBron's heart. Having Paul as his new teammate might be enough enticement for him to stay.

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[h5]TrueHoop's Henry Abbott on Twitter[/h5]
Don't count out a Paul trade
"When a player of Chris Paul's caliber talks trade, it usually happens eventually -- or the team does something dramatic to get help."
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[/h3]
 
So who exactly is an "asset" on the Cavs roster that would be enticing or would actually work in a S&T?
 
Originally Posted by DoubleJs07

So who exactly is an "asset" on the Cavs roster that would be enticing or would actually work in a S&T?
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Delonte West?

$4.6M contract, but I believe only $500K is guarantee if he is released sometime before August.
 
[h1]Celtics, Pierce Reach Agreement[/h1]
Jul 02, 2010 9:08 AM EST

Pierce_Paul_bos.jpg
The Celtics have reached an agreement with captain Paul Pierce to keep him in Boston, according to sources.

The new contract is said to be four years and $61M in length, with only three of the seasons fully guaranteed.

Pierce opted out of the final year of his contract earlier this week. He was set to make $21.5 million in 2010-11.

The financial figures of the deal are not yet available, but he is expected to make significantly less than the $21.5 million he was going to make.

Read more: http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_a...celtics_pierce_reach_agreement/#ixzz0sXbn4I47

Good move by Pierce (both opting out & resigning)
 
http://[h3]
[h3]The Bulls' pitch to LBJ[/h3]
12:59PM ET

[h5]LeBron James | Cavaliers [/h5]


UPDATE: As the Bulls' meeting with LeBron approaches on Saturday, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune adds a little more detail on their pitch Friday.

"Sources said the Bulls are considering bringing local business leaders from Fortune 500 companies to the meeting to appeal to James' business sense," he wrote. "At the very least, ideas on how to market James globally via local businesses will be pitched. But the biggest sales points -- to James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh -- center on basketball, the city, the Bulls' rich history and worldwide brand recognition and a ready-to-win core featuring Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah."
---

Even though we noted earlier Wednesday that the Bulls could try and lock up Chris Bosh as an enticement to lure LeBron James, the team, of course, also has its ducks in a row for how it will go about pitching to LeBron.

K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune has the details.

"League sources said the Bulls' traveling party to Ohio is expected to include team Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, Senior Vice President John Paxson, general manager Gar Forman and possibly [new coach Tom] Thibodeau," he wrote. "Those sources did indicate the Bulls plan to discuss global business and marketing opportunities off the court with James, who calls business titans such as Warren Buffet friends. In this manner, the meeting will be about basketball and business."

Though James' camp called off his free agency tour because he apparently wanted it to be about basketball, marketing and business are obviously still important to him, so the Bulls are wise to play both cards here.

Additionally, ESPN's Marc Stein wrote Monday that ownership is important to LeBron, and Reinsdorf has had a reputation of being rather frugal at times.

We noted earlier this week that Reinsdorf has said he'll pay the luxury tax if its an "intelligent expenditure," so it may be important for Reinsdorf to be there and let LeBron know that face-to-face.

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[h5]ESPN's Marc Stein[/h5]
Front office not always a strong suit for Bulls
"The O factor is also what the Bulls presumably can blame if the impressive complementary core they've assembled (Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah) and all the cap space they've cleared (to go after Bosh or Joe Johnson in addition to James) ultimately fail -- amid all this 'done deal' talk -- to lure James to the Cavs' most hated rival. The Bulls were routinely bashed from an organizational standpoint even when they were winning championships, thanks to Michael Jordan's openly dim view of then-GM Jerry Krause. This season, though, criticism of Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and his front-office tag team of John Paxson and Gar Forman reached new levels, prompted by Chicago's mistreatment of since-fired coach Vinny Del Negro and most recently disseminated in a well-publicized critique from Wade about how Chicago treats ex-Bulls. Even if Wade's criticism was a thinly veiled attempt to enhance the Heat's case in free agency, Chicago knows it has some image issues. Reinsdorf's reputation as a reluctant spender? Another issue. Maybe none of that will matter in the end, because the Bulls are otherwise set up so well. It's also true that [William] Wesley has maintained a good working relationship with Reinsdorf for years and is believed to be lobbying hardest for the Bulls, which is where much of LeBron-and-Bosh-to-Chicago chatter originates. Yet you still hear well-connected folks around the league asking -- louder than the many questions Jordan's longtime agent David Falk has raised about James going to the Bulls in recent interviews with Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports -- whether LeBron is indeed prepared to commit to Reinsdorf."
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[/h3]

http://[h3]Childress' rising stock[/h3]
12:36PM ET

[h5]Josh Childress [/h5]


Back on June 21, we noted an Atlanta Journal Constitution report that surmised Josh Childress was angling for a return to the NBA after his stint in Greece with Olympiakos.

The paper reported that Childress was looking to head to another team besides the Hawks, who extended him a qualifying offer last week.

The idea was that if the Hawks tie up Joe Johnson in a long-term contract for considerable cash, they'd likely be unable to match another offer for Childress and he could play elsewhere.

And with Johnson likely to take the six-year, $119 million deal currently on the table from Atlanta, and Rudy Gay now off the market as he'll be back with the Grizzlies, Childress' stock as a swingman is on the rise.

Writes Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports: "Childress is a restricted free agent who no longer has to worry about his team matching an offer sheet." "The Hawks are close to investing $119 million over six seasons with Johnson, and the value of small forwards on the market is rising with re-signings like Rudy Gay in Memphis. As Atlanta closes its check book and elite small forwards don't change in free agency, theres a perfect storm starting to develop for Childress. A versatile 6-foot-8 forward, Childress could find himself courted by the Knicks, Nets and Clippers and multiple more teams. He could command as much as $7 million-$8 million annually in a contract."

As we noted in a report on the Wizards on Friday morning, Childress has reported interest from around eight teams.

http://[h3]Rodriguez off the board[/h3]
12:08PM ET

[h5]Sergio Rodriguez | Knicks [/h5]


There have been rumblings about this since the regular season ended, and now it looks official: According to Sportando, Sergio Rodriguez has decided to leave the NBA to play in Spain for Real Madrid next season.

Jordan Farmar, Raymond Felton, Steve Blake and Luke Ridnour are usually the first point guards named in free agency, but Rodriguez could have also drawn some interest this summer -- perhaps even re-signing with the Knicks -- had he decided to stay in the league.

http://[h3]Lockout talk persists[/h3]
11:59AM ET

[h5]League Issues [/h5]

[color=#999999][img]http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2007/0720/nba_logo_65.jpg[/img][/color]
UPDATE: ESPN's J.A. Adande is also hearing word of a lockout.

He writes on Friday: "It also strikes me how different the buzz and whispers about these two summers have been. While the destination and combinations of the top 2010 free agents continue to prompt different responses from every source I speak to, I have yet to hear a single team executive or player agent express the slightest doubt that there will be a lockout in 2011. So revel in this glorious uncertainty, frustrating though it might be."
---

We've mentioned on several occasions here that with a new collective bargaining agreement set for next summer, one that the players union and owners aren't seeing eye-to-eye on, it's possible a lockout is looming.

The owners want less money and less guaranteed years on contracts with the new CBA.

And with the free-agency period kicking off Thursday, there's more talk of a lockout.

From ESPN's Marc Stein: "The NBA Players Association, in a brief but sober memo circulated to player agents mere hours before the start of free agency, has issued its latest warning about a possible lockout in 2011.

"The memo, obtained by ESPN.com, advises agents who are worried about players who might have 'difficulty budgeting' over the next year in advance of a potential lockout 'can and should negotiate an 18- or 24-month payment schedule for [their] 2010-11 salary.'"

And with some questionably high contracts Thursday -- Darko Milicic, Joe Johnson and Rudy Gay chief among them -- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports added this on Twitter: "'So far today, there seems to be a lot of new ammo for Billy Hunter in CBA talks with league,' one front office executive texts Y! Sports."

Meaning this: If teams are giving out a lot of money, owners who claim they're losing money and aren't able to afford players at such a rate as reasons for their CBA proposal will have some explaining to do.

http://[h3]Johnson still listening, but leaning ATL[/h3]
11:49AM ET

[h5]Joe Johnson | Hawks [/h5]


The Hawks offered their free-agent shooting guard Joe Johnson a six-year, $119 million deal on Thursday morning.

Several outlets are reporting he's likely to take such an offer.

But that doesn't mean he isn't still listening to a few other pitches.

Thursday night, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports tweeted: "Joe Johnson is thinking through several scenarios before taking Hawks offer of $119 million, but sources insist Knicks unappealing to him. Everyone expects Johnson to take Hawks deal, but he wants to explore every option before committing to them. That offer isn't leaving table."

And Friday, he adds: "Joe Johnson still inching toward $119 million agreement with Hawks. 'Still logistical issues to resolve,' says one league source."

As ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard wrote on Thursday, it'll likely be hard for the Knicks to pry Johnson from Atlanta:

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[h5]ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard[/h5]
Knicks hopeful they can pry Johnson from Atlanta, but will be tough
"The meeting with Johnson went well. Although it may be hard for the Knicks to pry the Atlanta shooting guard away from a max contract offer from the Hawks, the Knicks left the meeting feeling confident that they are at least under consideration."
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[h1]Knicks near deal with Stoudemire[/h1]
By Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears, Yahoo! Sports 21 minutes ago

Amar’e Stoudemire(notes) and the New York Knicks are making progress in talks on a five-year maximum guaranteed contract and a deal could be completed as soon as Friday, league sources told Y! Sports.

The framework of a deal is in place and the two sides are expected to talk again soon, sources said.

As Yahoo! Sports first reported, Stoudemire’s departure from the Suns was all but clinched after the Phoenix Suns reached agreement with forward Hakim Warrick(notes) on a four-year, $18 million contract , league sources said.

The Suns moved forward with Warrick after negotiations with Stoudemire stalled. Stoudemire’s agent Happy Walters had a late-night conversation Thursday with Suns owner Robert Sarver, who insisted he couldn’t wait any longer on Stoudemire’s decision and would need to consider other options. Stoudemire was not ready to commit, sources said, because he wanted to see how the rest of the free-agent market played out and he believed he could get a better offer from the Knicks or another team.

The Suns made a last-ditch proposal to Stoudemire, offering him a five-year contract that guaranteed him $71 million, sources said. The first three seasons were fully guaranteed. The fourth season contained a 50 percent guarantee that could become fully guaranteed based on the number of minutes Stoudemire played in the first three seasons. The fifth season of the contract also could become guaranteed based on a minutes incentive.

The Suns put in the incentives because of concerns over Stoudemire’s past knee and eye injuries. Insurance won’t cover Stoudemire’s salary if he can’t play because of any additional problems to either of his knees or his right eye.

The Suns believed the Knicks were prepared to give Stoudemire a maximum offer with all five seasons guaranteed and weren’t prepared to go that high. The Heat expressed similar concern about Stoudemire’s previous injuries, but were preparing to make an offer if they don’t land Chris Bosh(notes). The Houston Rockets tried to deal for Stoudemire in February and also explored possible sign-and-trade scenarios with him in free agency.

Stoudemire has played all eight seasons of his NBA career with the Suns since they took him with the ninth pick in 2002.
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