2008 NBA Draft/ Offseason Thread..

[bulletsponge]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

But maybe this will be the time Kwame "gets it"!!!!

if "it" is 8 million, then yes he will "get it"

[Pumpy Tudors]

Even though Kwame Brown only spent about 20 minutes in Memphis, as a Grizzlies fan, I want to kill myself just because he put on my favorite team's uniform.

Edit: That's saying a lot, considering that just being a Grizzlies fan is enough to make people want to kill themselves.

[molson]

15 months prison for Donaghy.

I love how the sports media still tries to soften what happened as "taking money for inside tips".

[Karlifornia]

I'm lovin' the name "Oklahoma City Wind". I hope the mascot is an electric fan.

[rkmsuf]

"The Wind blew that game."


BOOYEAH!

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

"The Wind blew that game."


BOOYEAH!

This really has potential. Post-game interview with Kevin Durant:

"So, Kevin, what led to the Chicago's 33% shooting and 25 turnovers?"

"It must have been......THE WIND!"

[rkmsuf]

Wizards Break Wind During 2nd Half Rally

[Bad-example]

We all know
The Wind will blow

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

I'm lovin' the name "Oklahoma City Wind". I hope the mascot is an electric fan.

ALL OF THE FANS IN THAT ARENA ARE GONNA BE ELECTRIC!!! OKLAHOMA CITY BASKETBALL FEVER!!!!!!!

[miami_fan]

Ron Artest has been traded to the Rockets for Bobby Jackson, the Rockets' 2009 first rounder and eventually Donte Greene. Good move by the Rockets.

[miami_fan]

Dola, good move if Artest does not have a breakdown.

[JeeberD]

WOW. I'm not quite sure what to think of this. I guess it was a move for right now, 'cause Greene looked solid in the summer league.

Off to ClutchFans.net to read the reaction...

[Izulde]

I can't believe Artest got traded to the Rockets.

Nice pickup by Houston.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

WOW. I'm not quite sure what to think of this. I guess it was a move for right now, 'cause Greene looked solid in the summer league.

Off to ClutchFans.net to read the reaction...

Well the concern with Artest has always been his lunatic ways. Evidently he likes playing for Rick Adelman so that is a plus. It is put up or shut up time for McGraddy and to a lesser extent Yao. This is a very deep team.

[JeeberD]

Very true. The core of a 55 win team is intact (if we do indeed re-sign Carl Landry) while adding Brent Barry and Ron Artest (and that idiot Joey Dorsey ). As long as Ron can handle being the third option, this team can go places...

[Lathum]

Great pick up by the Rockets. As long as Artest doesn't turn into Artest and the big 2 stay healthy they will be really dangerous

[Lathum]

dola- and Dorsey is gonna be a stud

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by Lathum

dola- and Dorsey is gonna be a stud

If, you know, he learns how not to foul out of every game and how to shoot free throws...

He fouled out facing Victor Rahmalo, for gods sake! What's he going to do against post players that are actually better than sucky?!?!

[Groundhog]

To be fair, every player fouled out in the summer league at least 9 times. (slight exaggeration)

Learning not to foul is something all post players need to work on when they come in to the pros. I was actually very surprised at how well Kevin Love did at not only staying out of foul trouble, but also doing it while actually playing some D, albeit against D-Leaguers.

[JeeberD]

I'm talking about an extremely mediocre college player, Groundhog. Victor Rahmalo isn't good enough to even sniff the summer leagues...

[Lathum]

It will take Dorsey a while but he will be good, plus, it isn't like they need him to come in and make an impact

[MikeVic]

Heh:
ESPN - Report: Artest replies to Yao, seeks 'commitment' from Rockets - NBA

Looking forward to some shenanigans from Artest.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Lathum

As long as Artest doesn't turn into Artest

Prophetic much?

Looks like he might not have even waited until he arrived in Houston to turn back into Artest.

[Groundhog]

Well, the Cavs just turned Joe Smith and Damon Jones in to Mo Williams.

Cavs get Mo Williams
Oklahoma gets Desmond Mason, Joe Smith
Milwaukee gets Damon Jones, Luke Ridnour, Adrian Griffin

The best player in the deal is Mo Williams, so the Cavs did OK. I'm not really a huge fan of Mo Williams though... He is gun happy, which was a disaster when teamed with gun happy Michael Redd, but the Cavs need scoring and Mo can do that.

[stevew]

Mo Williams
WTF

I guess he's still 25, seems like he's been playing forever.

I actually liked Smith.

I guess now that we have Mo we won't have to see him go off on us 5 times a year.

Delonte West apparently gets the shaft. Which is a shame cause I thought he was their 2nd best player most nights.

Big man depth is now pretty pathetic though, I can only count 3 that can actually play, and the 2 with afros are horrible on offense.

I wouldn't be suprised to see some deal with the Knicks now for Randolph and a shooting guard(Crawford?) Whatever the hell gets Szcerbiak off the squad.

[TazFTW]

FOX Sports on MSN - NBA - Knicks acquire Ewing Jr. from Rockets

Frederic Weis? WTF?!?

[Fidatelo]

Frederic Weis, aka Dick Bruiseface

[miami_fan]

ESPN - Hall of Famer Baylor out as Clippers VP in favor of Dunleavy - NBA

LOS ANGELES -- Elgin Baylor is out as vice president of basketball operations with the Los Angeles Clippers, and coach Mike Dunleavy will assume his responsibilities as general manager.

While Dunleavy said Baylor had decided to resign after spending 22 years as an executive with the team, Baylor painted a little different picture when reached by The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.

"There is a dispute, and on the advice of my attorney they did not want me to discuss it," Baylor said, according to the newspaper. "That's all I can say."

Clippers owner and chairman of the board Donald T. Sterling issued a statement on Tuesday.

"We greatly appreciate Elgin's efforts during his time with the Clippers, and we wish him the very best," it said.

The 74-year-old Baylor became vice president of basketball operations with the Clippers in 1986 after an outstanding 14-year playing career with the Lakers and a brief stint as coach of the New Orleans Jazz.

He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976, chosen as one of the NBA's 50 greatest players during the league's 50th anniversary celebration in 1997, and named the NBA executive of the year following the 2005-06 season.

The Clippers have been one of the NBA's least successful franchises over the years, but they beat Denver in the first round of the playoffs following the 2005-06 season and extended the Phoenix Suns to a seventh game in the second round before being eliminated.

The Clippers also announced that Neil Oshley, the team's director of player personnel, will be elevated to the position of assistant general manager.

"In Mike and Neil, we're fortunate to already have talented people in place to make this transition a seamless one," Clippers president Andy Roeser said. "Going forward, we have high expectations for our team. From a basketball standpoint, these are the people we're counting on to make those expectations a reality."

Dunleavy, about to start his sixth season as coach of the Clippers, has manned dual roles before; he was the coach and vice president of basketball operations with the Milwaukee Bucks from 1992-96.

"About a week or 10 days ago, I was approached by the team about being named the general manager," Dunleavy told The Associated Press. "The sense was there was a chance that Elgin might resign. Basically, they were trying to figure it out as soon as possible. They had made Elgin a couple different offers about going forward, and he had until Monday to make a decision on it.

"Today, Andy Roeser came to me and said they were going to go forward with this, that Elgin had resigned, and they were going to name me the general manager and Neil Oshley the assistant general manager."

Dunleavy said he hadn't seen Baylor for nearly a month, since the funeral of longtime Clippers physician Dr. Anthony F. Daly, who died Sept. 5.

"I enjoyed my time working with Elgin, it was a good working relationship," Dunleavy said. "I wish him all the best. The way we've done business the last couple of years, we've all worked together to go forward with whatever made the best sense for us, and we'll continue to move forward."

The Clippers have 10 new players under contract this season, led by Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, Ricky Davis and first-round draft pick Eric Gordon. They will join holdovers Chris Kaman, Cuttino Mobley and Al Thornton.

"I think we've got a really good group and they'll play well together," said Dunleavy, whose team was beset by numerous injuries last season, finishing with a 23-59 record. Elton Brand later signed with the Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent, and Corey Maggette joined the Golden State Warriors.

The Clippers were eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the 2006-07 season, finishing with a 40-42 record.

Information from The Associated Press was used

22 YEARS? Has another GM stayed on so long with so little success?

[Wolfpack]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

ESPN - Hall of Famer Baylor out as Clippers VP in favor of Dunleavy - NBA



22 YEARS? Has another GM stayed on so long with so little success?

Matt Millen, if you're measuring in dog years (which I'm sure most Lion fans aged as quickly as that in his tenure).

[Neuqua]

Houston Rockets rookie dance off on Yahoo! Video

[stevew]

Man, how the hell did I miss out on Weis getting traded?

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

ESPN - Hall of Famer Baylor out as Clippers VP in favor of Dunleavy - NBA



22 YEARS? Has another GM stayed on so long with so little success?

No support? It's a shame that his tenure as Clips GM probably has overshadowed his accomplishments were as a player. One of the best of all time

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by Neuqua

Houston Rockets rookie dance off on Yahoo! Video

Hah, good stuff...

[Karlifornia]

Warriors suspend Monta Ellis for 30 games without pay

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors are punishing Monta Ellis not long after they rewarded him.


Ellis
The Warriors suspended the injured guard for 30 games without pay Saturday for violating his lucrative new contract by getting into a moped accident.

Ellis, who agreed to a six-year deal worth $66 million in July, severely sprained his ankle in a low-speed crash in late August. The suspension will cost the guard slightly less than $3 million.

The Warriors counted four preseason games in the suspension's length, which means Ellis can't return to the club until after Golden State's 26th regular-season game, against Indiana on Dec. 17.

Ellis, who recently underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament, was unlikely to return before then anyway, but the suspension means the guard won't be paid during his absence. Ellis' agent, Jeff Fried, met with Golden State officials during the week to settle Ellis' punishment.

Ellis compounded his mistake by initially lying to the Warriors about the accident. He told Chris Mullin, the Warriors' top basketball executive, that he hurt himself playing pickup ball in his native Mississippi, but came clean about the accident several days later.

The guard will be allowed to spend time at the Warriors' training complex for rehabilitation during his suspension, but Golden State president Robert Rowell is taking a risk of possibly alienating the player expected to be the centerpiece of coach Don Nelson's up-tempo offense after Baron Davis' defection to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Ellis was the second-leading scorer for the NBA's highest-scoring team last season, averaging 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists.

When the Warriors opened training camp last month, both Mullin and Nelson seemed to be leaning toward Ellis remaining with the team without punishment. Rowell apparently didn't agree.

"The cooperation that we received from Jeff Fried enabled us to be very diligent in collecting all of the facts surrounding the incident," Rowell said. "This 30-game suspension is a result of that. From this point forward, it is the complete focus of everyone involved to provide Monta with all the support he needs to have a successful rehabilitation, and to get him back on the court as an integral part of this team."

The Warriors cited Ellis' violation of Paragraph 12 of the NBA's uniform player contract, which prohibits a player from engaging "in any activity that a reasonable person would recognize as involving or exposing the participant to a substantial risk of bodily injury," including "driving or riding a motorcycle or moped."

Ellis rejoined his teammates in Oakland in late September. A few hours after facing the Oklahoma City Thunder in an exhibition game Saturday night, Golden State's remaining players and coaches will be off on a 17-hour flight to China for preseason games in Beijing and Guangzhou.