Roundball Mining Company: “The luxury tax limit was $71.15 million this season and might drop down to around $68 or $69 million next season. Denver has cut a lot of salary over the previous ten months or so, but looking ahead at next season, they are going to have to slash more payroll in order to avoid the tax. Right now the Nuggets are over $68 million with only Kenyon Martin, Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Nene, J.R. Smith, Steven Hunter, Renaldo Balkman and the money they owe Antonio McDyess. That is only seven players. Chris Andersen has been a Godsend playing as well as he has for the minimum. He is going to get a significant raise next season and I doubt the Nuggets will be able to afford to bring him back. It is also highly unlikely that they can bring in a player who will play anywhere near Birdman’s level for such a pittance. They will need to add a backup point guard and even they bring Anthony Carter back it will cost them roughly another million against the cap. The qualifying offers for Linas Kleiza and Johan Petro add up to over $5.5 million combined. Needless to say the Nuggets are likely to be in some financial straits again next season.”
Brew Hoop: “OK, so let me put on my optimist’s hat and give you the positive spin on the Bucks’ inability to make a deal happen by this afternoon’s trade deadline: by not shipping Richard Jefferson (and possibly Luke Ridnour) to Portland for Raef LaFrentz and mostly filler, the Bucks would seem to have a decent shot at hanging on to the eighth and final playoff spot. And given how things have gone the past couple years, that’d be a pretty impressive accomplishment, even if it means getting toasted in the first round. Now here’s the bad side. Looking at the Bucks’ $64.4 million in committed salary next season, I can’t really figure out a legitimate way that they can keep Charlie Villanueva unless they’re willing to go over the luxury tax–something we keep hearing that they won’t do. All this we thought would be a problem for a while, but now it’s even more acute considering Chad Ford’s report of a league-wide memo advising teams that the luxury tax could very well fall below $70 million.”
Raptors Republic: “Looking at our salary situation we have $45.75M in guaranteed contracts for 2009-10 and that includes Joey Graham’s $3,441,104 qualifying offer which I’m assuming is going to be more than enough to keep him. The salary cap which was $58.68M for this year is expected to go down and even if it shrinks to say, $55M, we’ll still have enough to absorb a salary in a trade before we resign Marion (if we choose to do so). The absolute worst thing that can happen for us is if we let Marion walk and are unable to sign a free agent of at least the caliber of Marvin Williams. Even if we address the SF position through Marion or Williams, we’ll still need to address the backup big situation and nothing short of a true, hardcore rebounder like Anderson Varejao should be accepted by the fan base. For the last two years we’ve been asking players to play beyond their ability and at some point we’ll have to sign proven talent and not long-shots.”
Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: “The most significant piece is the 6-6 Salmons, who averaged 18.3 points for a bad Sacramento team this season. He could be an effective sixth man or insurance if Gordon doesn’t come back. ‘We did not give away a starter,’ general manager John Paxson said. ‘We added some components we think can make our team better right now and also looking toward the future for flexibility.’ How much will these moves help the Bulls in the future? The team already figured to be on the upswing, if only because Derrick Rose is bound to keep improving. But with these trades, the Bulls clearly have high hopes for the vaunted 2010 free-agent class. As it stands today, they have $34.83 in salary commitments for the 2010-11 season, which is well below this year’s salary cap of $58.68 million.”
Greg Johnson of MLive.com: “Joe Dumars and the Detroit Pistons didn’t make any deals before the trade deadline passed Thursday, but the president of basketball operations promised some action come summer.’Given the fact we have to play a season next year, I think I need to use that money,’ Dumars said of the expected $20 million or more the Pistons are expected to have available under the NBA salary cap. ‘If we weren’t going to play next year I probably wouldn’t do anything with it, but I think we’re going to tip it off next year so I’m going to try and put a (good) team on the floor.’ Dumars said options will be plenty in the summer, and that could mean a trade or trades. He laughed when asked if he might wait for the much-ballyhooed free-agent class of 2010. ‘You can’t wait,’ he said. ‘You can’t sit here and two years down the road hope we get somebody. You have no idea what could happen. We’re not going to shut down. We’re going to keep going.’”
Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: “Lowry was the 24th pick of the 2006 draft, but lost his starting job to Mike Conley since Lionel Hollins took over as Grizzlies coach. ‘There were lots of teams trying to get him,’ Morey said. ‘We feel he’ll help us now and be a huge part of our future.’ He’s a 25 percent shooter from 3-point land, and is at 41.2 percent overall. From a shooting standpoint, he might not be a significant upgrade over Alston. But his ability to penetrate is a skill the Rockets have sought for a couple of years. ‘His strength is attacking off the dribble and finding shooters,’ Morey said. ‘He’s a great transition player.’ In Daryl Morey we trust. He has been on the job less than two years and upgraded the Rockets with the additions of Scola, Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks, etc. As Morey was selling his trade, Rick Adelman and his staff were working on a new rotation and trying to figure out whether Lowry or Brooks would start.”
Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: “The 6-foot-2 Alston is averaging 11.5 points and 5.4 assists this season and has had 24 assists in Houston’s last two games, both wins. What makes Alston an even better fit is that he played for Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy when Van Gundy was in Miami. Who would have ever thought Smith could pull off this coup at such a late date? When Nelson comes back next season, the Magic will actually have depth at point guard and arguably boast one of best tandems in the league. Of course there are no guarantees, but at least Smith was willing to make a move aimed at improving the team right now. Most of the other deals made before the trade deadline were salary-cap dumps aimed at freeing cap space for future seasons.”
Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: “With the market favoring teams willing to take on money, the Cavs were aggressive in the final 24 hours of league-wide talks to see if they could pull a coup with their checkbook. But their suitors, which included the Phoenix Suns and Shaquille O’Neal, either pulled back or demanded some of the players the Cavs deemed untouchable. Ultimately, the Cavs stuck with their position of not wanting to alter their chemistry or hamstring their financial flexibility for the future. But now the second transaction season begins. Over the next week, there are expected to be a number of players who seek their release or buyouts of their contract to join teams trying to make championship runs. Players released before March 1 are eligible to sign with another team and play in the playoffs. There is no deadline to sign the players once they clear waivers. The Cavs would mostly be in the market for a backup big man, and already some options are developing.”
Clips Nation: Only Former Clippers Were Traded this Deadline
The Biz of Basketball: TNT Reports More than 44 Million Fans Watched NBA All-Star Coverage Across TV, Internet
Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: “In various fits and starts, Radmanovic, 28, is becoming that serious craftsman his father raised him to be. There have been missteps along the way, particularly a snowboarding accident that could have cost him tens of millions and perhaps his NBA career. But the trade from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Bobcats pointed him toward practicing his gifts on a higher plane. ‘Whether any of us want to admit it or not, we all have egos,’ Radmanovic said. ‘If you don’t have an opportunity to express yourself – no matter what you do – you feel useless.’ That’s how it felt those final two months as a Laker. He’d drifted from starter to spare part. Along the way, coach Phil Jackson mocked him to the media. Jackson called him a ‘space cadet’ or his ‘favorite Martian.’ Public sarcasm is Jackson’s way. It motivates some. It frustrated and baffled Radmanovic.”
Sactown Royalty: “Martin’s two-point field goal percentage, however, is painful. He’s at 42% there, the worst clip since his rookie season. It’s not a matter of not getting foul calls — his FTA/game are higher than ever. It’s a combination of settling for the attempt to simply draw contact in the act of shooting too often, and of not finishing. The latter can be partly attributed to the spell when his ankle looked worse; the first part — settling too often for a chance at a whistle — needs to be fixed. Still, his True Shooting percentage is on the cusp of 60%; if he manages that, he’d be one of the few to maintain such an efficient clip for four straight seasons. (It’s unheard of for a top scorer.) His turnovers have increased this season. The most blatant change in this regard as been the propensity to travel when trying to blow by a defender on the perimeter. Not fun. But this has been limited recently; it appears he has figured out the problem and nipped it. All told, he has a low turnover rate for a high-usage player. But it used to be lower, and it’d help the team greatly were it lower again.”
Bright Side of the Sun: “So, when we talk about going back to the running days of the Suns do we mean back to the 04-06 teams that pushed the ball at a break neck speed and literally ran teams off the court? Or are we really just talking about going back to last year’s D’Antoni-led Suns that were slower but still reliant on having the ball in Nash’s hands to create the majority of the offense? This is a critical question that hasn’t been answered. It is very evident however, that the speed at which the Suns played the last two games against the Clippers which was far more reminiscent of the 7 Second or Less Suns is not sustainable for Shaquille O’Neal. He simply will not be able to run up and down the floor for 30 minutes per game and expect to be of any value at all. Against the Clippers he tried but was clearly frustrated on several trips from defense to offense to find himself arriving at the three point line just in time for a shot to be launched forcing him to turn back and run back to the other end on defense.”
Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com: “Contrary to popular belief, Tim Duncan is actually a pretty interesting, talkative guy. It’s just a matter of catching him at the right time and bringing up the right subject. And if the subject is classic cars, Duncan — who collects them and plans to collect more — is a virtual motormouth. The Spurs’ shootaround had just ended, and Madison Square Garden was virtually empty Tuesday morning when ESPN.com asked Duncan to name his Fave Five classic cars — and not necessarily the ones he owns. Duncan thought so long and hard before choosing his top 5, he actually listed them in descending order while also acknowledging that he is an occasional reader of Hemmings Motor News, the parts bible for classic car collectors.”
Sarah Rothschild of the Miami Herald: “Jamario Moon’s seven-year basketball odyssey saw him play for such teams as the Rome (Ga.) Gladiators of the World Basketball Association and the Harlem Globetrotters. He bounced from NBA mini-camps and summer-league teams to the minor leagues. During some of his stops, teams paid him late. Moon lived out of a hotel and a suitcase, always prepared to pick up and move to keep pursuing his NBA dream. Moon now is on his 16th team after being traded to Miami a week ago from the Toronto Raptors. This time, he did not have his belongings. He had flown to Alabama to be with his wife, Tamara, and their 1 ½-month-old daughter, Taylin, during the All-Star break, and he learned of the trade through congratulatory text messages while speaking at his nephew’s school. Moon thought that perhaps he had won an award. Then Moon’s agent called and told him: `You just hit the lottery. You just got traded to Miami.’”
Brad Rock of the Deseret News: “The Jazz polished off their two-game run against the NBA’s best teams, Thursday night, by beating the Celtics 90-85. Combined with their Feb. 11 win over the Lakers, that makes for some nice momentum. Good for them. Maybe they should put on some bright yellow celebration pants right now and call it a season. Were they good? Depends on when you were looking. They shot 20 percent for most of the first half. Did they look like they could beat any team on the planet? Not really. They just looked like they could beat a team missing its best player all of the second half. Besides, it was on national TV, where they’re now 4-0. That’s the thing about the Jazz — they know how to present themselves. Give them time to put on their makeup and they’re pretty darn impressive. In that way, they’re a lot like the rest of us. They clean up pretty nicely when necessary, but other times, when nobody’s looking, they’re plain old sloppy.”
Andrew Perna of RealGM: “They are 4-9 against the NBA’s five best teams (the Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers, Magic and Nuggets) this season, and have exactly the same number of wins against the league’s five worst teams (the Kings, Wizards, Clippers, Raptors and Thunder.) You truly have no idea what team is going to step out onto the floor prior to each game. Will they appear locked in, execute down the stretch and show flashes of a true postseason contender? Or will they appear like a team void of chemistry, stumble in the fourth quarter and move closer to a high pick in May’s NBA Draft Lottery? Your guess is as good as mine, or anyone else’s for that matter. The only thing that is certain about the 2008-09 edition of the Indiana Pacers is that it’ll take a moderate miracle for them to be playing basketball past their April 15 season finale.”
Eric Musselman’s Basketball Notebook: 26 Winning Basketball Principles
Basketball-Reference.com: Justin Kubatko’s Playoff Probabilities Report
Kyle Hightower of the Orlando Sentinel: “Teams still are in search of dominant centers like Orlando’s Dwight Howard. But with zone defenses legal now, 3 has evolved from an ABA-borrowed gimmick to a fundamental strategy. ‘When the ABA brought that shot [in 1967], it wasn’t a staple of strategy and was used just to play catch-up,’ said TNT NBA analyst Doug Collins. ‘I don’t think anyone heard about spacing the floor until the shot came out … I look at teams today like the Magic with Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu — it’s an incredible weapon for them.’ Last season nearly 45,000 3-pointers were attempted in NBA games, an average of 36 per game. That’s nearly 40,000 more 3-pointers than in the inaugural ‘79-80 season.”
Charley Rosen of FOXSports.com: “Dumping salary to get under the cap — or lessen the luxury tax — has become more important than the winning or losing of five-or-so more games that a strictly financially-oriented trade might produce. In most cases, a journeyman with an expiring contract is more valuable than a genuine, game-dominating, Hall-of-Fame bound All-Star whose high-priced paychecks are guaranteed for several seasons. Blame the usual suspects — the Wall Street bozos, the investment tycoons, and the greedy bankers. But also blame the players and their agents for demanding sky-high compensation. And blame the foolish financially strapped owners for bidding against themselves even as they eagerly shelled out double-digit million-dollar contracts. What might be the eventual result of this desperate cost cutting? More and more teams will try to limit their payrolls by paying humongous salaries to only their top six or seven players. The rest of the roster will be filled with relatively low-priced scrubs, undrafted free agents, and almost washed-up veterans who are unable to attract more lucrative contracts from foreign teams. In the NBA, this will inevitably lead to a diminishment of the overall talent level, and increasingly sloppy and incompetent play.”
