Atlanta Hawks

 

8/11    Officially Sign Zaza Pachulia after Milwaukee declines to match offer sheet

 

As we mentioned last time, Pachulia is young and low-cost so what's not to like here?  Hawks fans can now turn the attention to the Joe Johnson/Steve Belkin drama (as if they weren't already).  It looks like Belkin is about to be bounced from the NBA board of governors and the Johnson deal will go through.  The in-fighting harkens back to the famous days of the Nets' "Secaucus Seven," the ownership group that frequently squabbled while owning the Nets.  Like the Belkin problem, Stern often had to intercede and resolve the differences between the Nets owners.  The bottom line is that a fractured ownership group cannot last and it's in everyone's best interests to get Belkin out.

 

Of course, many observers theorize that Belkin is trying to "encourage" his partners to buy him out by making the franchise look bad publicly and by paralyzing them in the transaction department.  We all know how Billy Knight feels on this subject (is this a great photo or what?).  Bottom line is that the Belkin controversy is only a matter of dollars now.  Though it does seem that his window to get a good buyout is limited because his only real hammer against his partners is his ability to sit on the board of governors, a hammer which Stern is about to take away.  What's lost in all this is whether the Johnson deal is actually any good.  I'll leave my detailed thoughts on this for when the deal is officially done but let's just say that I'm not to keen on trading a bunch of young players and salary flexibility for a slightly above-average two guard.

 

Chicago Bulls

 

8/9    Sign Eddie Basden

 

Basden is a rookie out of North Carolina-Charlotte.  The 6'5 guard was a solid college player who put up 15 ppg, 8 rpg, 4 apg, and 3 spg.  He doesn't look like a star but certainly has a chance to make a team as a backup/role player.  The other thing going for him was a strong showing in the Bulls' Las Vegas summer league where he led the team in points (14 pg) and rebounds (5 rpg).

 

Houston Rockets

 

8/11    Re-sign Jon Barry

 

At age 36, you have to think that Barry doesn't have too much left.  Still, he played quite well for Houston (7 ppg and .447% shooting and .454% 3-shooting in 23 mpg).  Basically, his numbers on Houston last year were very much in line with Barry's solid work in Detroit and Sacramento.  Even Barry's steals (which are a nice indicator of a player's athleticism) are not down from a few years ago.  Given all this, Barry may be able to hang around as a shooter as long as he wants a la Steve Kerr.  At the very least, he should be okay for Houston in 2005-06.

 

Indiana Pacers

 

8/11    Sign Sarunas Jasikevicius

 

The coveted Lithuanian has arrived.  Jasikevicius was one of the foreign stars to make a name for himself in the 2004 Olympics.  Unlike Ibrahim Kutluay, who completely washed out in Seattle last year, Jasikevicius should have some impact.  Jasikevicius has been one of the better players in Europe for awhile now and was pretty good in college for Maryland.  Like a few other Euros, Jasikevicius is not fleet afoot and will have the typical problems (defense and creating shots on the perimeter).  Still, Jasikevicius is a talented player and someone the Pacers could use off the bench.  I expect him to be a better version of Gordan Giricek, which is a pretty good player.

 

Los Angeles Clippers

 

8/12    Re-sign Marko Jaric and trade him, along with Lionel Chalmers, to Minnesota for Sam Cassell and a lottery-protected first-round pick

 

I didn't see this one coming.  The Clipps finally have a real point guard for the first time since Mark Jackson in the early 1990s.  They've had decent guys for spurts but nothing too great.  Hell, the best Clipper point guard of All-Time is probably Gary Grant.  But that's just my knee-jerk reaction.  For fun, let's look at the Clipps' year-by-year point guards and see the answer to this question:

 

Year	Player	MPG	PPG	FG%	RPG	APG	TOPG	Eff.	Comments
1984-85	Norm Nixon	35.7	17.2	0.465	2.7	8.8	3.4	17.49
1985-86	Norm Nixon	31.9	14.6	0.438	2.7	8.6	2.8	16.16
1986-87	Darnell Valentine	27.1	11.2	0.411	2.3	6.9	2.6	13.06	split time with Drew
1987-88	Larry Drew	27.4	10.3	0.456	1.6	5.2	2.1	10.31	split time with Valentine
1988-89	Gary Grant	27.1	11.9	0.435	3.4	7.1	3.6	13.71
1989-90	Gary Grant	34.8	13.1	0.466	4.4	10.1	4.7	18.59	(played only 44 games)
1990-91	Gary Grant	31.1	8.7	0.451	3.1	8.6	3.1	13.91
1991-92	Doc Rivers	28.1	10.9	0.424	2.5	3.9	1.6	12.19	split time with Grant
1992-93	Mark Jackson	38.1	14.4	0.486	4.7	8.8	2.7	20.44
1993-94	Mark Jackson	34.3	10.9	0.452	4.4	8.6	2.8	16.96
1994-95	Pooh Richardson	35.8	10.9	0.394	3.3	7.9	2.1	14.36
1995-96	Pooh Richardson	32.1	11.7	0.423	2.5	5.4	1.5	12.97
1996-97	Darrick Martin	22.2	10.9	0.407	1.4	4.1	1.5	9.99
1997-98	Darrick Martin	28.1	10.3	0.377	2.1	4.1	1.9	9.55
1998-99	Sherman Douglas	28.1	8.2	0.438	1.9	4.1	2.1	8.11	split time with Martin
1999-00	Troy Hudson	25.7	8.8	0.377	2.4	3.9	1.7	8.31
2000-01	Jeff McInnis	35.1	12.9	0.463	2.7	5.5	1.4	14.21
2001-02	Jeff McInnis	37.4	14.6	0.413	2.6	6.2	1.8	13.89
2002-03	Andre Miller	36.4	13.6	0.406	4.1	6.7	2.6	15.18
2003-04	Marko Jaric	30.3	8.5	0.388	3.1	4.8	2.1	10.86	split time with Dooling
2004-05	Rick Brunson	24.3	5.5	0.376	2.3	5.1	1.6	8.81	split time with Jaric

 

Not a ton of great players.  Grant kind of wins the starting position by default because he was a regular or semi-regular for a long time.  But Jackson and Nixon were better when healthy (this excludes the Andre Miler experiment, which failed worse than anyone could've reasonable expected it to).  It's odd that the Clipps have so few good points when you consider that the Suns and Nets have been point guard rich but that's the way the it goes.

 

As for the 2005-06 Clipps, Cassell is a real player but and worth plugging in to help Shaun Livingston develop but I fear that at age 36 2004-05 was a representative of what we can expect from him in the future.  That is still better than what the Clippers offered in 2004-05 and this could be enough to make the Clipps a serious contender for the eight seed.  That's no great shakes but for the Clipps, that is well worth the effort.

 

Los Angeles Lakers

 

8/10    Waive Brian Grant

 

Jeez, that contract turned out bad.  The NBA's amnesty rule gave a merciful ending to the ugly obligation that Pat Riley entered into in the summer of 2000.  For his $86-million this is what Grant gave his teams:

 

Year        PPG    FG%    RPG

2000-01    15.2   .479        8.8

2001-02      9.3   .469        8.0

2002-03    10.3   .509      10.2

2003-04      8.7   .471        6.9

2004-05      3.8   .493        3.7

 

There were actually two years left on this deal too.  The deal was abysmal from the start and only got worse.  Grant, by all accounts, is a hard worker and classy guy but when he got a huge contract teams just couldn't abide the disparity between his cost and his productivity.  It'll be interesting to see what Grant will get on the open market now (I figure he's worth about $1-2 million per year for a year or two).

 

Miami Heat

 

8/8    Sign Earl Barron

 

Barron is a big seven-foot center out of Memphis.  Since leaving college in 2002-03, Barron has played abroad and with Huntsville of the NBDL.  He has not really put gaudy numbers in Europe, the NCAA, or the NBDL.  But Barron is competent and has a Duane Causewell-vibe, as a potentially solid backup big man.

 

Milwaukee Bucks

 

8/8    Sign Bobby Simmons

8/12  Re-sign Dan Gadzuric

 

On the one hand, Simmons is young and his career should be improving.  But $47 million and over $9 million per year average for five years?  With Desmon Mason already signed through his prime, I wonder how much upside Simmons really offers.  Let's compare Mason and Simmons in 2004-05:

 

Player        MPG    PPG    FG%    RPG    APG    TOPG    Eff.

Simmons     37.3      16.4    .466        5.9      2.7        1.8      17.09

Mason        36.2      17.2    .443        3.9      2.7        2.1      14.03

 

So Simmons was a bit better last year.  But...this is really the first time he's been any good and Mason is established to be a pretty solid player.  More worrisome is that Simmons' season is driven by hot shooting (.466% and .435 from three).  Simmons previously was not a great shooter in the NBA and never broke 37% from three in college.  Thus there is some worry that Simmons' improvement could be driven by a fluke hot shooting season.  This isn't to say that Simmons is a bad shooter but what if he's really only a 38% shooter from three or 43% overall, will he even be considered better than Mason?  It just seems like there is a lot of risk here.  Simmons is definitely worth taking a flier on but the issue is cost and the Bucks were a bit more generous than they probably had to be.

 

Minnesota Timberwolves

 

8/9    Re-sign Mark Madsen and sign Nikoloz Tskitishvili

8/12  Trade Sam Cassell and a lottery protected first-round pick to Los Angeles Clippers for Marko Jaric and Lionel Chalmers

 

Trading Cassell for Jaric is the big news.  As good as Cassell can be, it was pretty clear that he is done in Minnesota due to a combination of age, contract issues, and just a general sense of "doneness" in Minny.   So Cassell had to go.  The only question is whether Jaric is a good haul.  Jairc has improved each of his three seasons in the NBA, in particular as a passer:

 

Year        MPG     APG    TOPG

2002-03    20.9        2.9        1.6       

2003-04    30.3        4.8        2.0       

2004-05    33.2        6.1        2.0

 

Jaric is not a star but he could be a solid point/two guard for the Wolves.  Cassell, at age 36, isn't going to bring much better a package than a solid young player with a chance to develop.  Though I do wonder if trading Cassell at last year's deadline would've created a bit more of a bidding war.  But that's really conjecture.  What's really important was to dump Sam-I-Am for value, and that has been accomplished.

 

I suppose that this is a good time to pause and reflect whether the Cassell gambit was worthwhile for the Wolves.  Was Cassell's great 2003-04 season worth the headache of 2004-05?  Probably.  The Wolves had a pretty good shot of going to the Finals in 2003-04 and whatever the hangover, that's a chance worth taking, even if Cassell gave them problems in 2004-05.  (Whether Latrell Sprewell was worth it, however, is another matter...).

 

As for the other moves...in the spirit of Brian Scalabrine, Madsen was also thrown a five-year deal (for $10 million).  It's not a ton of cash but a little more certainty than you might want for a guy who is primarily a foul machine.  I do like, however, the Wolves taking a shot with Tsikitishvili.  I know the guy has shown absolutely nothing in his pro career but he'll only be 22 this season and he's been okay in the summer leagues.  He might not actually be anything as a player but this is the kind of riskless proposition with a chance of getting a free regular for nothing. 

 

New Jersey Nets

 

8/9    Rescind its trade with Portland for Shareef Abdur-Rahim

8/9    Acquire Marc Jackson from Philadelphia for a conditional second-round pick

8/11  Sign Jeff McInnis

 

Just when things were looking good, things fall apart.  Reef wouldn't have fixed all the Nets' frontcourt issues but he was clearly a major upgrade.  Now the Nets are forced to settle for the other Marc Jackson.  It's quite a comedown too.  Jackson can score a little (12.0 ppg in 24.4 mpg) but does little else, kind of a Juwan Howard light.  He is cheap, however, and Sixers are reportedly paying almost half the contract to facilitate the move.  I assume (and hope) that the Nets aren't done because Jackson is not really starter material on a good team. 

 

This is also a logical time to review the whole Shareef negotiations.  The Nets had been tracking Rahim since August 2003, when they flirted with the idea of trading for him for Kenyon Martin and/or Kerry Kittles.  That deal fell apart and when the Nets let Martin walk, it was logical to think the former Cal star to play with Jason Kidd.  They negotiated all summer before the Nets were finally able to get the Blazers to agree to a sign-and-trade.  Then Reef's physical came up bad due to a 1993 knee sprain (when Rahim was in high school). 

 

The Nets asked Rahim to scale back the six-year deal to make only the first four years guaranteed and the last two would vest only if Rahim stayed healthy.  Rahim was peeved about this and stated that he hadn't really missed any time due to this injury and that there would be no give backs on the previously agreed upon contract.  So the Nets faced with a black-and-white choice, told Rahim no thanks.  You wonder how much of this was a battle of wills because both sides thought they had reasonable positions.  The Nets felt that they were only seeking a little insurance but Rahim thought they had an agreement.  With those to entrenched positions, it would take one of the sides blinking and giving in for a compromise to be made.  It's a tough situation but you could understand the positions on both sides.

 

Just looking at Rahim's career, it's tough to see any indication of a problem.  Last year was the only year he missed more than a few games.  Before 2004-05, Rahim never played fewer than 77 games in a full season.  But last year, Rahim missed 28 games with what was listed as elbow problems.  (Interestingly, Blazers GM John Nash did state that he was aware of these knee issues for as well).  It's also impossible to see whether the potential degenerative knee condition has manifested itself in a decline because Rahim's role has changed to a second fiddle since coming to Portland.  So, this really comes down to what the doctors told the Nets.  It appears that the experts told the Nets that there was too much risk here for this contract.  Only time will tell how this turns out.

 

Orlando Magic

 

8/11    Waive Doug Christie

 

The current Magic management is now cleaning up the mess that John Weisbrod left for them.  It's amazing how Weisbrod, in one fell swoop, was able to add age and money in a trade while losing offense and defense.  But that's what happened when he traded Cuttino Mobley for Christie.  Predictably, Mobley exercised a escape clause and left the Kings while Christie latched himself onto the Magic with his $8 million option for 2005-06 in tow.  It's an object lesson in why making knee-jerk trades in frustration is a very bad idea.  Fortunately, Weisbrod is gone but the Magic have quite a bit more cleaning to do.

 

Philadelphia 76ers

 

8/9    Trade Marc Jackson to New Jersey for a conditional second-round pick

8/12  Sign Steven Hunter, waive Aaron McKie

 

An odd bit of decision making in Philly.  Hunter is young and a decent player but five years and $16 million?  If you just paid Samuel Dalembert a truckload of cash to play center don't you think more speculative investing at that same position is of limited reward?  If all you need is a backup center, Jackson is actually cheaper and a better fit because he has an outside shot while Hunter is a poor man's Dalembert.  Also, the Sixers can't really hedge on the Dalembert deal.  The bottom line is if Dalembert doesn't develop, the Sixers are screwed.  I'm not saying that the Dalembert signing was bad but that is the deal that Sixers fans should watch becuase it will effect the team into the next decade, whether it's good or bad.

 

McKie's pink slip isn't that surprising.  It seems like that even in the best of times, McKie looked limping and injured.  This perception aside, McKie was a useful player up until last year and his descent into bench warmer may have been hastened by Jim O'Brien's whims about who he liked to play.  McKie's minutes per game were the lowest of his career and he's only 33.  If he goes to a team where the coach sees him as useful (New York?), McKie could be playing more next year.

 

Sacramento Kings

 

8/9    Sign Jamal Sampson

8/12  Sign Shareef Abdur-Rahim

 

The Nets' loss is the Kings gain.  Rahim signed with the Kings for the amount that the Nets would've lived with (five years and $29.3 million).  As noted above, Rahim was willing to compromise for the Kings because there wasn't the negotiation baggage there than he had with the Nets.  All the contract stuff aside, what will Rahim do for the Kings on the court?  It's tough to know but Rahim is likely an upgrade over a hobbled Chris Webber.  Even with Rahim, the Kings are no longer title contenders but they are improved.

 

Toronto Raptors

 

8/9    Sign Chris Duhon to an offer sheet; Re-sign Pape Sow              

 

Like souped up Milt Palacio, the Raptors seem enthralled by the chance to sign Duhon.  Duhon is a good defender who doesn't do much else.  He is young but he averages less than a free throw a game and shot 35% from the field (that is Palacio territory).  The tougher thing to understand is that the Raptors would sign Duhon and use up the only salary slot they have for free agent Matt Bonner, who likes like a much better player.  Fortunately for the Raptors, this is probably a moot point because the Bulls want to match Duhon's offer but it does offer us yet another piece of evidence that the Rob Babcock Era is still floundering.