Human-2000 was worse.
No argument there.
Saw Ish Smith in a summer league game, he is on pace to challenge Drew Gooden: 5 teams in three years!
The Clippers signed Byron Mullens for 2 years/$2 million. I expect he could’ve taken more money elsewhere, but that’s one of the perks of having such a strong team already assembled. Mike Miller still hasn’t signed and the Thunder and Nuggets are interested. I’ve read that he needs back surgery, so maybe he won’t sign anywhere just yet.
Well, you were right about that: Wizards, John Wall close on 5-year, $80M contract extension
Signing him to an extension now keeps him from hitting restricted free agency, and more importantly, makes it a 5-year deal instead of 4. Clearly, Washington believes in Wall as their cornerstone, and with the improvement he’s shown, it’s hard to argue. As long as his knees hold up.
Mike Miller signs with the Grizzlies for two years (terms not disclosed yet). Good move for Memphis since they desperately needed the shooting.
I’m happy Metta got to the Knicks. He’s from that area and I’m glad he went to a team somewhat in contention. Despite his craziness, I think he really fit in here with LA and talked longingly about how he wanted to retire here and help get more rings with Kobe. I’ll miss that nutjob
If they weren’t such cheapskates (or if they waited longer on a Rudy Gay trade to come together before working the Cavs trade to dump salary), they could’ve kept Wayne Ellington, who’s notably free of crippling ailments. If the Grizz get 40 games out of Miller, I’ll be stunned.
Indiana gets even more loaded by getting Luis Scola from Phoenix for Miles Plumlee, Gerald Green, and a first-round pick next year. It sounds like a sensible trade for Phoenix and a very nice pickup for Indiana.
The Bucks are looking to sign Gary Neal, whose rights were renounced by the Spurs. Brandon Jennings waits and waits.
So, the Pacers have lost Gerald Green, Tyler Hansbrough, Miles Plumlee, Jeff Pendergraph, and D.J. Augustin; and added Luis Scola, Chris Copeland, and C.J. Watson. Not too shabby! The second unit, with Watson-Granger-Copeland-Scola- Mahinmi, is about 200% better than last year’s bench*.
- If that is what they plan to do with Granger.
Gary Neal sure did love to shoot the ball.
So, who wants a 6’1" point guard who shoots 39% from the floor and 35% from 3 and plays subpar defense? Don’t everybody stand up at once, now!
Brandon Jennings is getting a 3 year/$24 million contract and going to Detroit in a sign and trade. It makes more sense for Detroit than Milwaukee, I guess, although I’m not sure what the Pistons are doing overall. With Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings they figure to miss a lot of shots.
I think Milwaukee didn’t want to be saddled with a disgruntled Brandon Jennings for a year, and they certainly didn’t want to extend him. I think they’re pretty lucky to get anything and I doubt they’ll be worse than they were last season.
I guess 3/24 isn’t terrible.
Detroit will shoot about 15% from 3 and end up as the seventh seed.
So much for the Bucks’ scintillating streak of playoff appearances! Then again it is the East, where the bottom of the bracket can get in sub 0.500
Better to go into tank mode anyway and try to start over. What’s the point of being a 7/8 seed with a 1st round loss every year?
The full trade is Jennings for Brandon Knight, Khris Middleton and Viacheslav Kravtsov.
One interesting aspect of the trade is that Detroit had given up on Knight as a point guard, and were starting him at the two. Milwaukee just signed OJ Mayo, a 2, and two combo guards: Gary Neal and Luke Ridnour. So does that mean the Bucks start Knight at point, start him at the two, or use him as a backup to Mayo, or as backup to Ridnour, or just an amorphous third guard? I’m curious to see how that plays out, the Bucks now rival New Orleans for the most muddled, redundant, crowded backcourt.
As for Detroit…I know Joe Dumars is old-school, but this is getting out of hand. They are rejecting the central tenets of modern basketball: spacing, shooting, and efficiency. While Greg Monroe, Josh Smith, and Andre Drummond are all nice players, none of them can shoot a lick. Opponents will be able to pack the paint and double anyone who gets the ball there, and the Pistons won’t be able to make them pay unless they can install and perfect an elite motion offense, which is a tall order. On the plus side, if they are able to make it work off of great cuts and interior passing, they’ll be a nice change of pace for a league being taken over by the spread pick and roll.
Detroit will probably have to position someone out of bounds on every offensive possession, just to make room.
After a surprisingly long period of interviews and consideration, Greg Oden signed with Miami. It’s a two-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, and the second year is a player option.