Beaneball

Just a quick bit from the Sonics mess:

The NBA claimed in its motion to intervene that the transfer of the franchise to a court-appointed receiver and a subsequent transfer back to Schultz would both be prohibited by the league's constitution.

The league also claimed in the motion that if a court-appointed receiver were to be appointed, the NBA's constitution allows for the league's owners to put that team "under the management and control" of Stern."

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Basketball at 23:55 | |

That's right, Sasha Vujacic is back. This is good news, even if you can't really be happy with the Lakers having to pay $5 million a year for Vujacic's services. The Press-Enterprise says that the deal is a compromise between a 3-year, $12 million offer from the Lakers and a 4-year $24 million request from the Lakers.

Reed at Forum Blue and Gold posted on Sasha earlier today, before this news came out, and he made some interesting points. First, guys like Daniel Gibson, Jason Kapono, and Mickael Pietrus have been getting 4- and 5-year deals despite lower PER's than Sasha's. Second, and this may be a bit of a surprise, the single most efficient offensive unit in basketball last year was Farmar + Sasha + Kobe + Lamar + Pau. Not only did that unit score 1.37 points per possession, but it only allowed .99. That means that every five Laker possessions with that squad on the floor was resulting in a four-point lead. That's preposterous. So you can see why it was important for the Lakers to resign Vujacic.

On the flip side, as Reed also points out, Jerry Buss has a limited budget. Basically, the signing of Vujacic means the end of spending for the Lakers. With eleven guys under contract, and Coby Karl presumably being #12, the Lakers still have one or two (probably two) spots to fill. L.A. is probably still short a big man, given that Chris Mihm, while professing his health, has too long an injury history to be fully trusted. But that big man and the 14th spot will have to be filled by spending the veteran's minimum, most likely, which probably means DJ Mbenga or maybe someone like Randolph Morris, but probably not Carl Landry, Adonal Foyle, or Francisco Elson. Maybe this bodes well for Joe Crawford, though, who might now make the team while spending the year in the D-League and inactive on the L.A. roster.

And what about Sun Yue? If Mitch Kupchak wants to bring him over, will Buss let him given the state of the payroll? Presumably Yue isn't coming for Karl-type money, especially when it's Karl-type money to play in the D-League.

So I've updated the free agent watch list below, but I've added a new marker -- I've put italics around any players I think are probably out of L.A.'s reach, price-wise. I guess we should also recognize that the 14th spot is likely to be filled with a guy not on this list, someone we've never heard of, perhaps one of the bigs who played either the Lakers' Vegas League team or someone else's team.

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in L.A. Lakers at 19:45 | |

I never really though The Birdman would fly to L.A., but it was kinda fun to dream, wasn't it? It looks like he'll sign a one-year deal with the Nuggets, though, returning to place where he made his name. Updated free agent watch list after the jump.

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Basketball at 14:11 | |

Bostjan Nachbar is the latest guy to decide to head back overseas: he's going to Russia, where he'll make nine million Euros (ESPN calls this $14.3 million, which is probably about right) over three years and have the opportunity for buyouts after each year in case American money comes calling again. Nachbar apparently has his eyes on the 2010 summer, when there will be tons of money floating around and a lot of disappointed suitors of guys like LeBron James and Chris Bosh.

Nachbar's a guy I thought could help the Lakers as a bench shooter if Sasha Vujacic walked, but he's off the table now.

The updated free agent target list:

• Ronny Turiaf -- four years, $17 million, Golden State
• James Posey -- Hornets, four years, $25 million
• DJ Mbenga -- waiting for the phone to ring, I'm sure
• Corey Maggette -- five years, $50 million, Golden State
• Sun Yue -- Kupchak wants to bring him over, but no word yet on a deal
• Kurt Thomas -- Spurs are his first choice? Lakers?
• Brent Barry -- two years, $3.9 million, Houston
• Craig Smith -- two-year deal to return to Minnesota
• Carl Landry -- qualifying offer extended by Houston
• Walter Herrmann -- big European money on the table? back to Detroit?
• Randolph Morris -- Atlanta?
• Kwame Brown -- Bucks, Heat, Hawks apparently interested
• Eduardo Najera -- undisclosed deal with the Nets
• Juwan Howard -- ?
• Robert Horry -- not retiring; Spurs or Rockets?
• Francisco Elson -- Denver, New Jersey, Seattle, Charlotte, Lakers; Miami?
• Theo Ratliff -- back to Detroit?
• Adonal Foyle -- back to Orlando?
• Quinton Ross -- with Brand gone, maybe the Clippers bring him back, but everyone is interested, including Phoenix, Orlando, New Jersey?
• Bostjan Nachbar -- Russia, three years, nine million Euros
• Dorell Wright -- qualifying offer from Miami
• Sasha Vujacic -- qualifying offer from the Lakers
• Patrick O'Bryant -- two years, $3 million, Celtics
• David Harrison -- Denver?
• Chris Andersen -- probably not Boston after signing O'Bryant; Cleveland? back to the Nuggets?
• Primoz Brezec -- Virtus Roma, Euroleague
• Jorge Garbajosa -- back to Europe?

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Basketball at 13:05 | |

So: this. Shawne Williams is rolling with this friend and gets pulled over. The cop writes up Williams for window tint and seatbelt violations. Shawne's friend, in the passenger seat, is found with a small amount of marijuana and is arrested. It's a small enough amount that the only charge is a misdemeanor. Larry Bird's response to this? "While Shawne Williams was not involved in any arrest or any criminal wrongdoing, we are extremely upset and hugely disappointed he once again has put himself in a position that jeopardizes Shawne's future as a member of the Indiana Pacers."

Thus:

Dear Larry Bird,

Don't be a huge dick.

Your player, the only guy in this whole incident (if it even rises to the level of the word "incident") who you can concern yourself with, did nothing wrong besides jeopardize his own safety by not having his seat belt on. The seat belt thing is worth talking to him about because you've made an investment in his career and you don't want him going all Jay Williams on you. I guess even the window tint might be worth talking to him about because you don't want him pissing off the cops. (And when the cops in Indianapolis see a black dude in an expensive car with too much tint, you can bet your ass they're pulling him over.)

But you know what? I get the feeling that this "jeopardizes [his] future" business isn't referring to window tint or a seat belt. No, I think you're concerned about Shawne's friend with the joint. Which, I have to tell you, Larry, strikes me as a tad silly. We're not talking Brad Miller or Jeremy Giambi or Damon Stoudamire here. We're talking about a guy whose friend had some weed. A guy whose friend had little enough weed that a middle-of-the-country red state could only charge him with a misdemeanor. I mean, my god, what would have happened to you, Larry Bird, if you'd had a friend who smoked weed? You probably would have ... um ... well, you probably would have been a Hall of Fame basketball player for the Celtics, famous for hustle, sweet shooting, a perm and some tight-ass shorts. Which you'll notice is exactly what you did become. You see what I did there, Larry? I used a cheap device to make the argument that if you'd had a friend with weed, it wouldn't have affected you in the slightest. And my argument extends by analogy to your buddy Shawne Williams.

Look, if you want to set the kid straight, you should teach him how to rebound. But this weed thing? Just leave it alone. Really.

Yours,

Jason Wojciechowski

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Basketball at 02:40 | |

I don't understand how Google decides what sites are worthy of inclusion in Google News and what are not. I found, for instance, this post on Google News today, advocating a trade of Lamar Odom for Tayshaun Prince. The claim is that it would be ideal because the Lakers get the SF defender they want while the Pistons get a scorer/creator. Now, I've always loved Prince, but you know why I love him? Because he's an awesome player, a guy who can shoot the three, rebound, pass the ball, play both tough, smart defense and make hustle plays, a guy who doesn't demand the ball but could do a lot of things if he were the primary playmaker. And he hasn't missed a game in five years! He makes $9.5, $10, and $11 million the next three years. This isn't a trade asset, this is a guy you build your team around (and based on the fact that his name never seems to come up in credible trade rumors, Joe Dumars knows this).

But my favorite part of the post is the complete whiff on the salary-matching. The poster recognizes that another salary would have to come with Prince for Odom to make the deal work under the cap rules, so he suggests the Pistons sign-and-trade Kwame Brown. Uh, last I checked, that wasn't allowed. As Larry Coon says, "Under no circumstances can a team sign and then trade another team's free agent." That is, the Lakers could sign-and-trade DJ Mbenga, but they could not pull a sign-and-trade involving Robert Horry.

I really shouldn't bash, I know. It's just a blogger. But it was on Google News! It would come up if you searched for "Lakers Tayshaun Artest dynamic".

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in L.A. Lakers at 16:26 | |

What'd I say about those European dollars? Primoz Brezec is headed to Rome to play in Euroleague with Virtus Roma after playing for seven years in the NBA. Brezec wasn't, to my knowledge, ever talked about as a Laker target, but I'd put him on this list because I thought he could be a solid backup big for the team if he could come cheaply enough. The story linked above doesn't mention money, so it's hard to tell what kind of offers he might have turned down in the U.S. from the teams I'd seen him linked to: Seattle, Chicago, and Miami.

The updated free agent target list:

• Ronny Turiaf -- four years, $17 million, Golden State
• James Posey -- Hornets, four years, $25 million
• DJ Mbenga -- waiting for the phone to ring, I'm sure
• Corey Maggette -- five years, $50 million, Golden State
• Sun Yue -- Kupchak wants to bring him over, but no word yet on a deal
• Kurt Thomas -- Spurs are his first choice? Lakers?
• Brent Barry -- two years, $3.9 million, Houston
• Craig Smith -- two-year deal to return to Minnesota
• Carl Landry -- qualifying offer extended by Houston
• Walter Herrmann -- big European money on the table? back to Detroit?
• Randolph Morris -- Atlanta?
• Kwame Brown -- Bucks, Heat, Hawks apparently interested
• Eduardo Najera -- undisclosed deal with the Nets
• Juwan Howard -- ?
• Robert Horry -- not retiring; Spurs or Rockets?
• Francisco Elson -- Denver, New Jersey, Seattle, Charlotte, Lakers; Miami?
• Theo Ratliff -- back to Detroit?
• Adonal Foyle -- back to Orlando?
• Quinton Ross -- with Brand gone, maybe the Clippers bring him back, but everyone is interested, including Phoenix, Orlando, New Jersey?
• Bostjan Nachbar -- Detroit? With the Nets adding Najera and Jarvis Hayes, does that mean no room for Nachbar?
• Dorell Wright -- qualifying offer from Miami
• Sasha Vujacic -- qualifying offer from the Lakers
• Patrick O'Bryant -- two years, $3 million, Celtics
• David Harrison -- Denver?
• Chris Andersen -- probably not Boston after signing O'Bryant; Cleveland? back to the Nuggets?
• Primoz Brezec -- Virtus Roma, Euroleague
• Jorge Garbajosa -- back to Europe?

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Basketball at 16:03 | |

Marc Stein mentions that there's major European interest in Jorge Garbajosa, including from his hometown team and from the Russian team that just signed Carlos Delfino. He also quotes someone referring to Delfino's 3 million Euro deal being something like a $9 million deal stateside, partially because of the exchange rate, but also because the European money is coming tax-free. (It's not clear why the money is tax-free, but there it is.) According to XE.com, it would take about $4.75 million to equal to the 3 million Euros Delfino got. I don't know if Delfino loses 50% of his money in taxes -- he'll lose the max 35% to the federal government, and then, supposing he'd signed with Detroit, Michigan income tax is structured as a percentage of the federal tax paid, so Delfino would pay 3.9% of the federal tax liability. (Link.) That works out to only about 1.4% of Delfino's actual income. (And of course, he gets to deduct the amount he pays in state tax from his income for federal tax purposes.)

Of course, Delfino played last year in Toronto, so he was subject to Canadian taxes instead of American ones, and those may well be higher, but I'm not exactly prepared to go looking into that at the moment. In any case, I think equating Delfino's deal to a $9 million deal strikes me as exaggeration. It seems to me to be closer to about $7.5 million or so. (Adding a little cushion for things like Social Security, etc.)

Either way, though, the bottom line is clear: Carlos Delfino wasn't getting $7.5 million from anybody in the NBA. The same thing could end up happening with Garbajosa, since I can't imagine the Lakers or anyone else ponying up a deal that would dissuade him (money-wise, at least) from heading overseas to take, say, 1.5 or 2 million Euros. Is he really a $3.75 or $5 million player in the U.S.?

While this quandary obviously highlights the difficulty the U.S. teams face because of globalization and the various factors that have caused America's economy to be in such deep trouble, it's also interesting because of the NBA's salary cap. A cap/luxury tax obviously only works if all competitors for the relevant good are subject to it, or at least all relevant competitors. Until recently, I don't think anyone thought the European teams were relevant -- whether it's because of the money or the level of competition or otherwise, it seems like players like Carlos Delfino preferred to come to the U.S. to sit on the bench (or players like Paul Shirley preferred to stay in the U.S. to sit on the bench) than take (relatively) big money to be starters, or even stars, in Europe. But with an unlevel playing floor between European and U.S. clubs, who's to say that the Delfinos and Garbajosas won't ever even see the light of day in the NBA anymore? What if Brandon Jennings really likes Europe and decides he'd rather not take the risk of coming here for less money? (Although if he's as good as they say he is, he won't have to worry about the money because he'll get a fat three-year deal after being a first-round pick.) I don't think this would be devastating for the league. I don't think Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett are going to play in Russia or Spain instead of the U.S anytime soon.

But obviously the depth of talent can be affected -- the question is whether the effect will be great enough to actually be noticeable by fans watching the games. Is having a guy who's clearly talented enough to be in the NBA like Carlos Delfino defect, and thus be replaced by a lesser player (Player #451 on the list), going to cause sloppier play, worse shooting, and so forth? I don't think it's a big deal -- the numbers are just too small. Even if we're dipping all the way down to have only the 1000th best player in the world as the last man on Memphis's bench, that guy is still so good that we're just not going to notice. Especially since he's only getting five minutes of run every two weeks.

The updated free agent target list:

• Ronny Turiaf -- four years, $17 million, Golden State
• James Posey -- Hornets, four years, $25 million
• DJ Mbenga -- waiting for the phone to ring, I'm sure
• Corey Maggette -- five years, $50 million, Golden State
• Sun Yue -- Kupchak wants to bring him over, but no word yet on a deal
• Kurt Thomas -- Spurs are his first choice? Lakers?
• Brent Barry -- two years, $3.9 million, Houston
• Craig Smith -- two-year deal to return to Minnesota
• Carl Landry -- qualifying offer extended by Houston
• Walter Herrmann -- big European money on the table? back to Detroit?
• Randolph Morris -- Atlanta?
• Kwame Brown -- Bucks, Heat, Hawks apparently interested
• Eduardo Najera -- undisclosed deal with the Nets
• Juwan Howard -- ?
• Robert Horry -- not retiring; Spurs or Rockets?
• Francisco Elson -- Denver, New Jersey, Seattle, Charlotte, Lakers; Miami?
• Theo Ratliff -- back to Detroit?
• Adonal Foyle -- back to Orlando?
• Quinton Ross -- with Brand gone, maybe the Clippers bring him back, but everyone is interested, including Phoenix, Orlando, New Jersey?
• Bostjan Nachbar -- Detroit? With the Nets adding Najera and Jarvis Hayes, does that mean no room for Nachbar?
• Dorell Wright -- qualifying offer from Miami
• Sasha Vujacic -- qualifying offer from the Lakers
• Patrick O'Bryant -- two years, $3 million, Celtics
• David Harrison -- Denver?
• Chris Andersen -- probably not Boston after signing O'Bryant; Cleveland? back to the Nuggets?
• Primoz Brezec -- Seattle, Chicago, Miami?
• Jorge Garbajosa -- back to Europe?

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Basketball at 12:41 | |

Well, it's official: goodbye, Ronny. Thanks for the memories.

Thomas Lee thinks this was a bad move because Turiaf brings energy and hustle. My favorite line: "I know that the Warriors offered him more than the Lakers can afford, but why didn't the Lakers offer him something sooner? Why did the Lakers just sit and do nothing?" I'm curious who Thomas's inside sources are that told him the Lakers had no talks with Ronny and made him no offers.

Lee also suggests a classic "bunch of trash for all your good stuff" trade: Odom + Walton + Radman for Marion + Haslem + 2d round pick. Walton's contract looks pretty horrible right now (it's the longest contract on the Lakers, shockingly), Radman is a one-dimensional player 75% of the time (although is occasional sweeping drives to the hoop and pinpoint passes are pretty, they're much too occasional to be worth much), and in return the Lakers get a defensive player of Marion's caliber, a really useful banger inside, and a pick? For basically Odom plus salaries? No, I don't think Miami's ready to do that deal.

Also, Walter Herrmann might still be an option to return to Detroit

The updated free agent target list:

• Ronny Turiaf -- four years, $17 million, Golden State
• James Posey -- Hornets, four years, $25 million
• DJ Mbenga -- waiting for the phone to ring, I'm sure
• Corey Maggette -- five years, $50 million, Golden State
• Sun Yue -- Kupchak wants to bring him over, but no word yet on a deal
• Kurt Thomas -- Spurs are his first choice? Lakers?
• Brent Barry -- two years, $3.9 million, Houston
• Craig Smith -- two-year deal to return to Minnesota
• Carl Landry -- qualifying offer extended by Houston
• Walter Herrmann -- big European money on the table? back to Detroit?
• Randolph Morris -- Atlanta?
• Kwame Brown -- Bucks, Heat, Hawks apparently interested
• Eduardo Najera -- undisclosed deal with the Nets
• Juwan Howard -- ?
• Robert Horry -- not retiring; Spurs or Rockets?
• Francisco Elson -- Denver, New Jersey, Seattle, Charlotte, Lakers; Miami?
• Theo Ratliff -- back to Detroit?
• Adonal Foyle -- back to Orlando?
• Quinton Ross -- with Brand gone, maybe the Clippers bring him back, but everyone is interested, including Phoenix, Orlando, New Jersey?
• Bostjan Nachbar -- Detroit? With the Nets adding Najera and Jarvis Hayes, does that mean no room for Nachbar?
• Dorell Wright -- qualifying offer from Miami
• Sasha Vujacic -- qualifying offer from the Lakers
• Patrick O'Bryant -- two years, $3 million, Celtics
• David Harrison -- Denver?
• Chris Andersen -- probably not Boston after signing O'Bryant; Cleveland? back to the Nuggets?
• Primoz Brezec -- Seattle, Chicago, Miami?
• Jorge Garbajosa

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in L.A. Lakers at 11:19 | |

Check out Laker Nation for the newest Odom rumor: Artest, Shelden Williams, Quincy Douby. Not as horrible as Kenny Thomas, but the non-Artest guys are still worthless. Douby's no Jordan Farmar, and I think I'd even rather have Coby Karl off the bench than him. I'll take him over Joe Crawford, though. And Williams? He's better than Thomas, but he's still no Mikki Moore. The advantage is that both guys expire after this year, instead of after 2010, like Thomas. The question remains: do you give up a gifted rebounder, a mismatch nightmare, a guy who gets inside almost at will, a player who doesn't just know his role as a third option/playmaker but actually relishes that role, for a volume shooter who can't stay healthy and might smack his wife around the day after the trade? I don't, not if you're not getting back additional guys who can play (Moore) instead of just salary ballast (Thomas, Williams, Douby, who my iPhone always wants to change to Doubt).

All that said, the good recent news from Marc Stein is that the Lakers are " reluctant" to give up Odom in an Artest swap. I guess they're trying to get the deal done with Vlad Rad and Luke Walton or something, which doesn't strike me as a viable move for Sacto, but would be a relatively unobjectionable type of deal from my standpoint. Pretty much any Artest deal that kept Odom in LA is fine with me, even if it involves giving up a good player like Jordan Farmar to get it done. There's just no reason to rashly trade Odom.

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in L.A. Lakers at 18:18 | |

Here's a Francisco Elson update: link. The teams in play are Denver, Seattle (I'm not calling them OKC. I'm just not. It's like Anaheim instead of Los Angeles for the Angels. Ok, it's a little different from that. But still. I'm basically going to just pretend they still play in Seattle for at least the next year.), Charlotte, and New Jersey. Oddly, the story lists those teams plus the Lakers, but the writer says "and possibly the Lakers." No qualifier is used for any of the other teams. I guess that means L.A. is a longshot (which is kind of too bad, because you can certainly do worse for an inexpensive interior defender).

This story also conflicts with wherever I read before that Elson would not be returning to Seattle. Newer stories take precedence, though, so they're back on the list.

The updated free agent target list:

• Ronny Turiaf -- four years, $17 million, front-loaded, Golden State (Lakers can match, but shouldn't)
• James Posey -- Hornets, four years, $25 million
• DJ Mbenga -- waiting for the phone to ring, I'm sure
• Corey Maggette -- five years, $50 million, Golden State
• Sun Yue -- Kupchak wants to bring him over, but no word yet on a deal
• Kurt Thomas -- Spurs are his first choice? Lakers?
• Brent Barry -- two years, $3.9 million, Houston
• Craig Smith -- two-year deal to return to Minnesota
• Carl Landry -- qualifying offer extended by Houston
• Walter Herrmann -- big European money on the table?
• Randolph Morris -- Atlanta?
• Kwame Brown -- Bucks, Heat, Hawks apparently interested
• Eduardo Najera -- undisclosed deal with the Nets
• Juwan Howard -- ?
• Robert Horry -- not retiring; Spurs or Rockets?
• Francisco Elson -- Denver, New Jersey, Seattle, Charlotte, Lakers; Miami?
• Theo Ratliff -- back to Detroit?
• Adonal Foyle -- back to Orlando?
• Quinton Ross -- with Brand gone, maybe the Clippers bring him back, but everyone is interested, including Phoenix, Orlando, New Jersey?
• Bostjan Nachbar -- Detroit? With the Nets adding Najera and Jarvis Hayes, does that mean no room for Nachbar?
• Dorell Wright -- qualifying offer from Miami
• Sasha Vujacic -- qualifying offer from the Lakers
• Patrick O'Bryant -- two years, $3 million, Celtics
• David Harrison -- Denver?
• Chris Andersen -- probably not Boston after signing O'Bryant; Cleveland? back to the Nuggets?
• Primoz Brezec -- Seattle, Chicago, Miami?
• Jorge Garbajosa

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Basketball at 22:23 | |

Craig Smith is off the market, having resigned with Minnesota. The Lakers were never linked to him in any reports I saw, and he's a restricted free agent, so I didn't really think anything was going to happen, but from the little I know of him, he might've been a nice fit.

The updated free agent target list:

• Ronny Turiaf -- four years, $17 million, front-loaded, Golden State (Lakers can match, but shouldn't)
• James Posey -- Hornets, four years, $25 million
• DJ Mbenga -- waiting for the phone to ring, I'm sure
• Corey Maggette -- five years, $50 million, Golden State
• Sun Yue -- Kupchak wants to bring him over, but no word yet on a deal
• Kurt Thomas -- Spurs are his first choice? Lakers?
• Brent Barry -- two years, $3.9 million, Houston
• Craig Smith -- two-year deal to return to Minnesota
• Carl Landry -- qualifying offer extended by Houston
• Walter Herrmann -- big European money on the table?
• Randolph Morris -- Atlanta?
• Kwame Brown -- Bucks, Heat, Hawks apparently interested
• Eduardo Najera -- undisclosed deal with the Nets
• Juwan Howard -- ?
• Robert Horry -- not retiring; Spurs or Rockets?
• Francisco Elson -- not going back to Seattle; Miami?
• Theo Ratliff -- back to Detroit?
• Adonal Foyle -- back to Orlando?
• Quinton Ross -- with Brand gone, maybe the Clippers bring him back, but everyone is interested, including Phoenix, Orlando, New Jersey?
• Bostjan Nachbar -- Detroit? With the Nets adding Najera and Jarvis Hayes, does that mean no room for Nachbar?
• Dorell Wright -- qualifying offer from Miami
• Sasha Vujacic -- qualifying offer from the Lakers
• Patrick O'Bryant -- two years, $3 million, Celtics
• David Harrison -- Denver?
• Chris Andersen -- probably not Boston after signing O'Bryant; Cleveland? back to the Nuggets?
• Primoz Brezec -- Seattle, Chicago, Miami?
• Jorge Garbajosa

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Basketball at 13:28 | |

James Posey is a New Orleans Hornet. This is pretty much as good as it gets for the Lakers. It had started to become clear that whoever stepped up with a four-year deal was going to get Posey. This meant that if the Lakers signed him, they'd lose because four years is simply too much for a 32-year-old role player who does exactly two things: play defense and hit threes. Now, granted, those two things are valuable, and Posey was a big part of his two championship teams, but is going to be hitting threes at a 38% clip when he's 34? Will he lose a step on defense and stop being able to stay in front of guys without fouling? Those are the risks you take when you sign old players. Even Gary Payton lost a step on defense as he got older, and James Posey is no Gary Payton.

Anyway, I'm glad the Hornets ended up with him even though this makes New Orleans a tougher West team for the next year or two. Why? Because I still don't see who scores for New Orleans off the bench, and this signing keeps Posey from going back to Boston.

The Celtic bench is now Big Baby Davis (7" vertical), JR Giddens (a rookie guard who was a volume shooter in college, a poor free-throw guy, and couldn't hit the college three ball), Leon Powe (motor, but what else?), Bill Walker (knee troubles), and Patrick O'Bryant (um). And I guess Gabe Pruitt? This is a bench that has to back up a starting lineup that includes two youngish guys (Rondo and Perkins are "young vets", but they definitely play young at times) and three guys with a lot of mileage on their bodies in Pierce, Garnett, and Allen. If Allen gets hurt, is your starting two-guard really JR Giddens or Gabe Pruitt? If Pierce goes down, is your small forward Bill Walker? Is this seriously a championship team?

Of course, this just means that Detroit will beat Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals, so that if the Lakers manage to push through New Orleans and San Antonio to have a shot at the championship themselves, they'll still face a tough team with an excellent mix of veteran talent and young gunners, a team that can beat you with starters or with bench guys, and a team that can win with offense or defense.

The updated free agent target list:

• Ronny Turiaf -- four years, $17 million, front-loaded, Golden State (Lakers can match, but shouldn't)
• James Posey -- Hornets, four years, $25 million
• DJ Mbenga -- waiting for the phone to ring, I'm sure
• Corey Maggette -- five years, $50 million, Golden State
• Sun Yue -- Kupchak wants to bring him over, but no word yet on a deal
• Kurt Thomas -- Spurs are his first choice? Lakers?
• Brent Barry -- two years, $3.9 million, Houston
• Craig Smith -- qualifying offer extended by Minnesota
• Carl Landry -- qualifying offer extended by Houston
• Walter Herrmann -- big European money on the table?
• Randolph Morris -- Atlanta?
• Kwame Brown -- Bucks, Heat, Hawks apparently interested
• Eduardo Najera -- undisclosed deal with the Nets
• Juwan Howard -- ?
• Robert Horry -- not retiring; Spurs or Rockets?
• Francisco Elson -- not going back to Seattle; Miami?
• Theo Ratliff -- back to Detroit?
• Adonal Foyle -- back to Orlando?
• Quinton Ross -- with Brand gone, maybe the Clippers bring him back, but everyone is interested, including Phoenix, Orlando, New Jersey?
• Bostjan Nachbar -- Detroit? With the Nets adding Najera and Jarvis Hayes, does that mean no room for Nachbar?
• Dorell Wright -- qualifying offer from Miami
• Sasha Vujacic -- qualifying offer from the Lakers
• Patrick O'Bryant -- two years, $3 million, Celtics
• David Harrison -- Denver?
• Chris Andersen -- probably not Boston after signing O'Bryant; Cleveland? back to the Nuggets?
• Primoz Brezec -- Seattle, Chicago, Miami?
• Jorge Garbajosa

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in L.A. Lakers at 17:22 | |

Sean Deveney at The Sporting News says that the Lakers have interest in Kurt Thomas, so I'll update the list below. He also says that the Hornets, Cavs, and Lakers are all Posey suitors along with the Celtics, but so far, none of them have been willing to bite on Posey's request for a four-year deal. This is smart on the part of all four teams, because Posey is 31 years old already, as I've mentioned before. Having him around at 34 and 35 isn't going to make anyone happy.

The Globe, meanwhile has Washington and Detroit in the running with Charlotte, Cleveland, and Boston, but doesn't mention L.A.

• Ronny Turiaf -- four years, $17 million, front-loaded, Golden State (Lakers can match, but shouldn't)
• James Posey -- Celtics, Lakers, Cavs, Hornets, Wizards, Pistons?
• DJ Mbenga -- waiting for the phone to ring, I'm sure
• Corey Maggette -- five years, $50 million, Golden State
• Sun Yue -- Kupchak wants to bring him over, but no word yet on a deal
• Kurt Thomas -- Spurs are his first choice? Lakers?
• Brent Barry -- two years, $3.9 million, Houston
• Craig Smith -- qualifying offer extended by Minnesota
• Carl Landry -- qualifying offer extended by Houston
• Walter Herrmann -- big European money on the table?
• Randolph Morris -- not welcome back in New York?
• Kwame Brown -- Bucks, Heat apparently interested
• Eduardo Najera -- undisclosed deal with the Nets
• Juwan Howard -- ?
• Robert Horry -- not retiring; Spurs or Rockets?
• Francisco Elson -- not going back to Seattle; Miami?
• Theo Ratliff -- back to Detroit?
• Adonal Foyle -- back to Orlando?
• Quinton Ross -- with Brand gone, maybe the Clippers bring him back, but everyone is interested, including Phoenix, Orlando, New Jersey?
• Bostjan Nachbar -- Detroit? With the Nets adding Najera and Jarvis Hayes, does that mean no room for Nachbar?
• Dorell Wright -- qualifying offer from Miami
• Sasha Vujacic -- qualifying offer from the Lakers
• Patrick O'Bryant -- two years, $3 million, Celtics
• David Harrison -- Denver?
• Chris Andersen -- probably not Boston after signing O'Bryant; Cleveland?
• Primoz Brezec -- Seattle, Chicago, Miami?
• Jorge Garbajosa

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in Basketball at 19:05 | |

Let me, really quickly, just throw in two more cents on Odom for Artest and Thomas. What's the stated reason for the Lakers doing the deal? The media reports are never about worries that Odom can't play the small forward position, while Artest's position is small forward. No, the reports are always about "toughness" and "getting punked" (as Marc Stein put it). This, not to put too fine a point on it, is stupid. The Lakers won the West last year. They rolled through the playoffs handily. Did you notice who they played in the playoffs? Utah and San Antonio (along with Denver). Those aren't teams that routinely test your toughness? Those aren't teams that hammer you inside? Yet nobody questioned the "toughness" of the Lakers all year, during the regular season or the playoffs, until Boston beat them. So is Boston really so super-awesome-tough that the Lakers just couldn't handle it, despite winning eight out of eleven games against Utah and San Antonio? Despite winning some of those games on the road? No, really, they're not. Boston was just better. Ray Allen shot like the Ray Allen of old, Paul Pierce played at the top of his game, and the role players all chipped in. Boston rebounded better than the Lakers, and they defended the paint against L.A.'s inside scoring (Pau, Kobe, and Lamar), but were they tougher? Or were Pau's rebounding weaknesses, Lamar's penchant to use his length instead of his strength, and Kobe's inability to go 1-on-5 (not to mention the wild inconsistency in defensive three seconds calls) the real reasons for Boston's interior dominance?

You know where I stand on this. Ron Artest is a perimeter player. He might bring "toughness", but he also brings mediocre jump shooting and a complete absence of rebounding. Sure, he can guard Paul Pierce, but the Lakers are only playing Paul Pierce twice next year. (Mark my words. Especially if they do this deal -- I don't think L.A. gets back to the Finals if Artest is on the team, and I don't think Boston gets back to the Finals at all, whether James Posey is back or not.) So why not keep the better player who's actually been on the team, knows the offensive and defensive schemes, and now has serious recent playoff experience. (The last time Artest was in the playoffs was 2006, and the only time he's been out of the first round was 2004. He's never been to the Finals.)

Posted by Jason Wojciechowski in L.A. Lakers at 12:35 | |