Below is a look at the free agent class for 2008. There a handful of valuable restricted free agents, however, those players rarely end up with other teams. The remaining players are all fringe-NBA end-of-the-bench type players.
Here is a breakdown of the upcoming free agents:
Opt-out Stars (Early Termination Option)
Allen Iverson
Baron Davis
Elton Brand
Jermaine O'Neal
Ron Artest
Shawn Marion
Other Opt-out Players (Early Termination Option)
Corey Maggette
Kenny Thomas
Raef Lafrentz
Stephon Marbury
Unrestricted Starter
Antawn Jamison
Fringe Unrestricted Starters
Beno Udrih
Chris Webber
DeSagana Diop
Jason Williams
Veteran Role Players
Bonzi Wells
Bostjan Nachbar
Carlos Arroyo
Chris Duhon
Eddie House
Eduardo Najera
Flip Murray
Gerald Green
Ira Newble
Jamaal Magliore
Jarvis Hayes
Keyon Dooling
Kurt Thomas
Kwame Brown
Lindsey Hunter
Matt Barnes
Maurice Evans
Mickael Pietrus
Ricky Davis
Tyrone Lue
Player Options to Become Unrestricted Free Agent
Adonal Foyle
Calvin Booth
Chris Mihm
Eddie Jones
Grant Hill
Jacque Vaughn
James Jones
James Posey
Jannero Pargo
Jason Hart
Keith Bogans
Melvin Ely
Rasho Nesterovic
Smush Parker
Steve Francis
Stromile Swift
Trevor Ariza
Free Agents Likely to Retire
Alonzo Mourning
Brent Barry
Damon Stoudamire
Darrell Armstrong
Darrick Martin
Dikembe Mutombo
Eric Piatkowski
Juwan Howard
Kevin Ollie
Michael Finley
Robert Horry
Sam Cassell
Showing posts with label Allen Iverson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Allen Iverson. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Thoughts from Last Night's NBA Games
Last night I watched the Bulls go on the road to play the Nets on my big TV with the Cavs-Mavericks and then Nuggets-Sonics on my small TV. Unlike the previous night with the Rockets-Lakers game, these games certainly had a first night feel to them.
My Observations:
-The Bulls certainly did not come out in the first half ready to play last night against the Nets. Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson were running all over the Bulls and they were showing very little resistance. The most disappointing thing about it was all the dunks and layups the Nets were getting.
-It seems like each time the Bulls play the Nets, not only do they lose, but they let one of their players outside of their big three score a handful of points. In the past it had been mediocre big men like Mikki Moore and last night it was Antoine Wright scoring 21 points.
-I think I was wrong about Josh Boone. I thought he would come in and bring a lot defensively and on the glass to the Nets. Instead, he looks lost and even airballed a free throw in last nights game.
-If the Bulls are going to have success with the team as currently orchestrated, they are going to need to get more from the power forward position. Tyrus Thomas and Joe Smith's combined line:
45 minutes, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 5 fouls, 10 points
-Thomas and Smith at the power forward position need to bring at least double the amount of points and more blocked shots and rebounds for the Bulls to really have this power forward-by-committee thing really work effectively.
-The Sonics are going to be a bad team this year. Damien Wilkins is a nice scorer and could be a sixth or seventh man on a championship team, but if he is your leading scorer, then you will be ending the season with a ton of lottery balls.
-It's interesting to see how quickly Luke Ridnour has fallen in Seattle's organization. Not long ago, he was a member of the U.S. National team. Last night, he got a "DNP-Coaches Decision". The team clearly played a lot better when Delonte West was in the game than when Earl Watson was directing the offense. West is a bigger guard who can do more things on the court than Watson. I would say that it won't be too much longer before West is playing the majority of the minutes at point guard for Seattle.
-Hubie Brown made a point about Chris Wilcox last night that he could be a 20-and-10 guy this year. Though this is probably a stretch, he did average 13.5 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game last season. With a lack of talent and competition in Seattle, Wilcox should put up career highs this season.
-With Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson playing at their best, nobody can stop the Nuggets. Yakhouba Diawara also complements the duo well because of his size and defensive abilities. With two of the top scorers in the league in the backcourt there is no need for any scoring punch from the guy next to them. Therefore, Diawara is a great fit and could be a key compenent to Denver's success.
-With the Bulls game on, I wasn't able to focus much on the Cavaliers-Mavericks game, but from what I did see, the Cavaliers may really struggle at the start of the season. They looked completely lost on offense and LeBron James did not score in the first half. They played a little better in the third quarter, but by that point the game was already decided. Perhaps they miss the energy of Anderson Varejo, who is still in a contract dispute with the team. Sasha Pavlovic also did not play last night because he just signed his new contract. However, I doubt either of these teams will be the solution to Cleveland's offensive woes.
-I like the idea of playing Jason Terry as their sixth man, but I don't know long-term how realistic it is. At some point in the season, I would expect Jerry Stackhouse (32) and Eddie Jones (36) to show their age and begin to deteriorate. At that point, Terry would have to move back into the starting lineup.
My Observations:
-The Bulls certainly did not come out in the first half ready to play last night against the Nets. Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson were running all over the Bulls and they were showing very little resistance. The most disappointing thing about it was all the dunks and layups the Nets were getting.
-It seems like each time the Bulls play the Nets, not only do they lose, but they let one of their players outside of their big three score a handful of points. In the past it had been mediocre big men like Mikki Moore and last night it was Antoine Wright scoring 21 points.
-I think I was wrong about Josh Boone. I thought he would come in and bring a lot defensively and on the glass to the Nets. Instead, he looks lost and even airballed a free throw in last nights game.
-If the Bulls are going to have success with the team as currently orchestrated, they are going to need to get more from the power forward position. Tyrus Thomas and Joe Smith's combined line:
45 minutes, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 5 fouls, 10 points
-Thomas and Smith at the power forward position need to bring at least double the amount of points and more blocked shots and rebounds for the Bulls to really have this power forward-by-committee thing really work effectively.
-The Sonics are going to be a bad team this year. Damien Wilkins is a nice scorer and could be a sixth or seventh man on a championship team, but if he is your leading scorer, then you will be ending the season with a ton of lottery balls.
-It's interesting to see how quickly Luke Ridnour has fallen in Seattle's organization. Not long ago, he was a member of the U.S. National team. Last night, he got a "DNP-Coaches Decision". The team clearly played a lot better when Delonte West was in the game than when Earl Watson was directing the offense. West is a bigger guard who can do more things on the court than Watson. I would say that it won't be too much longer before West is playing the majority of the minutes at point guard for Seattle.
-Hubie Brown made a point about Chris Wilcox last night that he could be a 20-and-10 guy this year. Though this is probably a stretch, he did average 13.5 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game last season. With a lack of talent and competition in Seattle, Wilcox should put up career highs this season.
-With Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson playing at their best, nobody can stop the Nuggets. Yakhouba Diawara also complements the duo well because of his size and defensive abilities. With two of the top scorers in the league in the backcourt there is no need for any scoring punch from the guy next to them. Therefore, Diawara is a great fit and could be a key compenent to Denver's success.
-With the Bulls game on, I wasn't able to focus much on the Cavaliers-Mavericks game, but from what I did see, the Cavaliers may really struggle at the start of the season. They looked completely lost on offense and LeBron James did not score in the first half. They played a little better in the third quarter, but by that point the game was already decided. Perhaps they miss the energy of Anderson Varejo, who is still in a contract dispute with the team. Sasha Pavlovic also did not play last night because he just signed his new contract. However, I doubt either of these teams will be the solution to Cleveland's offensive woes.
-I like the idea of playing Jason Terry as their sixth man, but I don't know long-term how realistic it is. At some point in the season, I would expect Jerry Stackhouse (32) and Eddie Jones (36) to show their age and begin to deteriorate. At that point, Terry would have to move back into the starting lineup.
Friday, October 5, 2007
Review on "Wages of Wins"
I was reading The New Yorker's review on "The Wages of Wins" by David Berri from May 29, 2006 earlier today. I have not read the book and was interested in reading Malcolm Gladwell's review. Two sections of the review stoodout to me:
The first:
In “The Wages of Wins” (Stanford; $29.95), the economists David J. Berri, Martin B. Schmidt, and Stacey L. Brook set out to solve the Iverson problem. Weighing the relative value of fouls, rebounds, shots taken, turnovers, and the like, they’ve created an algorithm that, they argue, comes closer than any previous statistical measure to capturing the true value of a basketball player. The algorithm yields what they call a Win Score, because it expresses a player’s worth as the number of wins that his contributions bring to his team. According to their analysis, Iverson’s finest season was in 2004-05, when he was worth ten wins, which made him the thirty-sixth-best player in the league. In the season in which he won the Most Valuable Player award, he was the ninety-first-best player in the league. In his worst season (2003-04), he was the two-hundred-and-twenty-seventh-best player in the league. On average, for his career, he has ranked a hundred and sixteenth. In some years, Iverson has not even been the best player on his own team. Looking at the findings that Berri, Schmidt, and Brook present is enough to make one wonder what exactly basketball experts—coaches, managers, sportswriters—know about basketball.
The second:
Most egregious is the story of a young guard for the Chicago Bulls named Ben Gordon. Last season, Gordon finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting and was named the league’s top “sixth man”—that is, the best non-starter—because he averaged an impressive 15.1 points per game in limited playing time. But Gordon rebounds less than he should, turns over the ball frequently, and makes such a low percentage of his shots that, of the N.B.A.’s top thirty-three scorers—that is, players who score at least one point for every two minutes on the floor—Gordon’s Win Score ranked him dead last.
At some point, I would like to read this book and dive further into Berri's calculations and thoughts.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/05/29/060529crbo_books1?currentPage=1
The first:
In “The Wages of Wins” (Stanford; $29.95), the economists David J. Berri, Martin B. Schmidt, and Stacey L. Brook set out to solve the Iverson problem. Weighing the relative value of fouls, rebounds, shots taken, turnovers, and the like, they’ve created an algorithm that, they argue, comes closer than any previous statistical measure to capturing the true value of a basketball player. The algorithm yields what they call a Win Score, because it expresses a player’s worth as the number of wins that his contributions bring to his team. According to their analysis, Iverson’s finest season was in 2004-05, when he was worth ten wins, which made him the thirty-sixth-best player in the league. In the season in which he won the Most Valuable Player award, he was the ninety-first-best player in the league. In his worst season (2003-04), he was the two-hundred-and-twenty-seventh-best player in the league. On average, for his career, he has ranked a hundred and sixteenth. In some years, Iverson has not even been the best player on his own team. Looking at the findings that Berri, Schmidt, and Brook present is enough to make one wonder what exactly basketball experts—coaches, managers, sportswriters—know about basketball.
The second:
Most egregious is the story of a young guard for the Chicago Bulls named Ben Gordon. Last season, Gordon finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting and was named the league’s top “sixth man”—that is, the best non-starter—because he averaged an impressive 15.1 points per game in limited playing time. But Gordon rebounds less than he should, turns over the ball frequently, and makes such a low percentage of his shots that, of the N.B.A.’s top thirty-three scorers—that is, players who score at least one point for every two minutes on the floor—Gordon’s Win Score ranked him dead last.
At some point, I would like to read this book and dive further into Berri's calculations and thoughts.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/05/29/060529crbo_books1?currentPage=1
Monday, July 23, 2007
Lewis Joins the List of Maximum Contract Players
On July 11, Rashard Lewis signed a six-year contract worth more than $110,000,000 with the Orlando Magic. By doing so, he became the twenty-second player currently making maximum money. Here is the full, up-to-date list in order of team they currently play with:
Joe Johnson, Atlanta
Paul Pierce, Boston
LeBron James, Cleveland
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas
Carmelo Anthony, Denver
Allen Iverson, Denver
Baron Davis, Golden State
Tracy McGrady, Houston
Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana
Elton Brand, L.A. Clippers
Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers
Shaquille O’Neal, Miami
Dwyane Wade, Miami
Michael Redd, Milwaukee
Kevin Garnett, Minnesota
Jason Kidd, New Jersey
Stephon Marbury, New York
Rashard Lewis, Orlando
Shawn Marion, Phoenix
Tim Duncan, San Antonio
Chris Bosh, Toronto
Antawn Jamison, Washington
Joe Johnson, Atlanta
Paul Pierce, Boston
LeBron James, Cleveland
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas
Carmelo Anthony, Denver
Allen Iverson, Denver
Baron Davis, Golden State
Tracy McGrady, Houston
Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana
Elton Brand, L.A. Clippers
Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers
Shaquille O’Neal, Miami
Dwyane Wade, Miami
Michael Redd, Milwaukee
Kevin Garnett, Minnesota
Jason Kidd, New Jersey
Stephon Marbury, New York
Rashard Lewis, Orlando
Shawn Marion, Phoenix
Tim Duncan, San Antonio
Chris Bosh, Toronto
Antawn Jamison, Washington
Friday, July 6, 2007
Sam Presti Looks to Summer 2009 to Make a Big Splash
As new SuperSonics general manager, Sam Presti, begins to build his team, he clearly has an eye on the summer of 2009. With shooting guard, Jeff Green, and small forward, Kevin Durant, to build around, Presti will be looking to add to his squad.
Fortunately, at that time, he will have several major contracts coming off his payroll, including:
Wally Szczerbiak - $13,000,000
Chris Wilcox - $6,750,000
Robert Swift - $3,579,131
Delonte West - $2,762,828
At that time, only Luke Ridnour, Earl Watson, Nick Collison, Damien Wilkens, Saer Sene, Johan Petro, Durant, and Green will remain on the payroll. Those eight players total at $22,650,000.
So, if Presti wants to add some major talent at that time, what will be available? Well, if he’s looking for an all-star, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Chris Paul, Carlos Boozer, and Kevin Garnett may be on the market. If Presti is looking for an emerging star, he may have his choices of Andrew Bynum, Channing Frye, David Lee, Danny Granger, Gerald Green, Jason Maxiell, Marvin Williams, and Raymond Felton. If he thinks that he just needs to add a veteran to his squad to push them over the top, Andre Miller, Drew Gooden, Eddy Curry, and Lamar Odom could be options.
So along with acquiring two building blocks on this past draft night, Presti also set his team up to acquire more talent down the line. It may not be long until Presti has success in building Seattle into the Spurs of the northwest.
Fortunately, at that time, he will have several major contracts coming off his payroll, including:
Wally Szczerbiak - $13,000,000
Chris Wilcox - $6,750,000
Robert Swift - $3,579,131
Delonte West - $2,762,828
At that time, only Luke Ridnour, Earl Watson, Nick Collison, Damien Wilkens, Saer Sene, Johan Petro, Durant, and Green will remain on the payroll. Those eight players total at $22,650,000.
So, if Presti wants to add some major talent at that time, what will be available? Well, if he’s looking for an all-star, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Chris Paul, Carlos Boozer, and Kevin Garnett may be on the market. If Presti is looking for an emerging star, he may have his choices of Andrew Bynum, Channing Frye, David Lee, Danny Granger, Gerald Green, Jason Maxiell, Marvin Williams, and Raymond Felton. If he thinks that he just needs to add a veteran to his squad to push them over the top, Andre Miller, Drew Gooden, Eddy Curry, and Lamar Odom could be options.
So along with acquiring two building blocks on this past draft night, Presti also set his team up to acquire more talent down the line. It may not be long until Presti has success in building Seattle into the Spurs of the northwest.
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