A New Hope: NBA2K11 and Beyond.

[RMJH4]

Nets granted permission to relocate to Seattle.

Nets granted permission to relocate to Seattle.

March 27th, 2010.

On the eve of a road game vs the Bulls, the New Jersey Nets franchise has announced that they have been approved to relocate by the NBA owners' relocation committee. They have also set a date to announce its name and team colours.

Seattle has a rich basketball tradition with the Sonics having played there from 1967-2008. In 2008 the controversial sale of the Sonics to Clay Bennett led to the franchise’s relocation to Oklahoma City. Bennett is currently the chairman of the NBA’ s relocation committee and its believed he helped push the deal through.

Nets owner Schultz cares deeply about his community and ever since the Sonics left there has been letters, emails, blogs, public demonstration and an award winning documentary that have kept the loss of the Sonics in the spotlight and Howard Schultz has finally set things in motion to get a team back in Seattle, where professional basketball belongs.

The franchise said today that it would unveil the name and color’s simultaneously on its Web site and at a downtown event on June 25th, a few days after the NBA finals.

Schultz has recently signed a year long lease deal to rent the KeyArena, which is currently undergoing a major revamp.

The lack of city funding cost Seattle one franchise, and Schultz is anxious not to let it happen a second time. Schultz has one very prominent Seattle business man in his ownership team, Steve Ballmer. Ballmer could be the silent majority owner but Schultz has been the face of the bid to the public so far. Schultz and Ballmer have just signed off on the construction of a downtown Seattle arena, which will be completed in time for the 2012-13 season.

If the Nets complete their relocation from New Jersey to Seattle, it would be the fourth time this decade that an NBA team has pulled up stakes.

Other franchises to relocate in the last three decades:

2008 Sonics Seattle - Oklahoma City
2002 Hornets Charlotte - New Orleans
2001 Grizzlies Vancouver - Memphis
1985 Kings Kansas City - Sacramento
1984 Clippers San Diego - Los Angeles
1979 Jazz New Orleans - Salt Lake City
1978 Clippers Buffalo - San Diego

[RMJH4]

Games 73 - 76 Nets reach 11 wins, avoid NBA's worst season record.

Games 73 - 76 Nets reach 11 wins, avoid NBA's worst season record.



Yi Jianlian has been on a tear recently, averaging 18.5 ppg and 8.2 rpg.

April 3rd, 2010 | by NETS.COM

The New Jersey Nets have had an awful season to date. So bad they were within touching distance of the all time worst win-loss record. But they have dug deep the past week and pulled off some vital victories. Last week two wins over the Kings and Pistons brought them equal to the record with 9 wins. Despite the Kings and Pistons missing players, the Nets found a little bit of momentum led by Brook Lopez and Devin Harris.

And then some terrible news for Nets fans broke, owner Howard Schultz announcing that the Nets would be leaving for Seattle after the season ends. Suddenly the wind was taken out of their sails and they slumped to another defeat on the road in Chicago that night. The players regrouped and headed back to the Izod center with the prevalent thought in the players mind that they only had a few games in New Jersey remaining. The San Antonio Spurs came to town and were turned over, a monumental victory for the Nets, and the tenth of their season.

The party started and went late into the next day as the players rejoiced to avoid the worst record. A little hungover the Phoenix Suns rode into town and sucked the air of the building once more with a 116 - 105 victory. Just when you think things can't get any tougher, Chris Paul and his Hornets came into IZOD. But Devin Harris led the charge as the Nets upped their performance for their home fans once more to grab win no 11 for the season.

Score Recaps:

New Jersey Nets 83 - 106 Chicago Bulls.

San Antonio Spurs 84 - 94 New Jersey Nets.

Phoenix Suns 116 - 105 New Jersey Nets.

New Orleans Hornets 87 - 115 New Jersey Nets.

[RMJH4]

Over and Out, New Jersey Nets set franchise losses record, finish 12-70.

Over and Out, New Jersey Nets set franchise losses record, finish 12-70.

April 14th, 2010.

After reaching the 11 win mark the Nets again collapsed and went on a 1-5 run to end the season. The only highlight was the double overtime win vs the Bulls in which Lopez again showed he one of the best young centers in the league scoring 26 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. That was only the second last home game for the Nets. It would have been nice if that had been the last game, but instead we got a loss to the Charlotte Bobcats to remind us of the New Jersey Nets.

Score Recap:

New Jersey Nets 99 - 109 Washington Wizards

New Jersey Nets 89 - 108 Milwaukee Bucks

Chicago Bulls 116 - 127 New Jersey Nets (20T)

New Jersey Nets 102 - 115 Indiana Pacers

Charlotte Bobcats 105 - 95 New Jersey Nets

New Jersey Nets 86 - Miami Heat 94

2009-10 Recap

Let's start with the good news: The only place they can go is up. Or Seattle. Well at least they are doing one of those anyway.

Beset by injuries that exposed a multiyear plague of terrible personnel decisions, New Jersey set a league record by losing its first 18 games and had to rally in the final weeks to avoid setting the mark for the worst record in history.

New Jersey's 12-win squad was awful in a great many respects, but the worst was its simple inability to score points. New Jersey finished last in offensive efficiency, shooting percentage, 2-point shooting percentage, and TS percentage (see chart). By comparison, the Nets were downright frisky on defense, where they managed to beat out five teams in the efficiency tables.

Offensive Efficiency, 2009-10's Worst

Look at the roster and it's not a big surprise. The Nets had two decent offensive players -- Devin Harris and Brook Lopez -- courtesy, it should be said, of the only two moves in the last half-decade that worked out well for the Nets.

Outside of that pair, they were tragicomic. New Jersey's forwards, in particular, may have been the worst in the history of basketball. Yi Jianlian, Bobby Simmons, Trenton Hassell and Jarvis Hayes all were key members of the Nets' forward rotation last season; of the four, only Yi will manage to remain in the league for 2010-11; he'll serve as a backup for another bad team (although this didn't stop the Nets from freezing out Lopez to get Yi more touches ... brilliant). Rookie Terrence Williams was even worse for much of the season before rallying late, keeping hope alive that the Nets will salvage something from their 2009 first-round pick.

They certainly won't salvage anything from their picks in 2003-07: Antoine Wright, Marcus Williams, Josh Boone and Zoran Planinic. Those and a few dreadful contract decisions from earlier in the decade -- most notably a six-year, $84 million deal for Richard Jefferson -- started the Nets down the road to nowhere.

What finished it off, however, was the disastrous ownership reign of Bruce Ratner. He initiated the process of moving the team to Brooklyn but didn't have the dough to see it through; in between, he had the Nets cutting every financial corner they could find in order to make ends meet. This had the predictable outcome of making bad fan support even worse, engendering a vicious cycle of declining revenue and further cost cuts.

Ratner's sale of the team to Seattle businessman Howard Schultz at least brings some deep pockets back into ownership. New Jersey will not see the benefit of that though. Ground has been broken on a new arena in Seattle and Seattle are acting more like a real NBA franchise in funding the operation than the New Jersey version of the team did.

It could now start sugar-plum visions of an overnight renaissance in Seattle built on the back of free-agent-to-be LeBron James. But despite the oft-cited connection between James and Nets part-owner Jay-Z, the Nets never appeared to be a serious player for his services. It is pretty certain with Jay-Z also exiting stage right this link is no longer there.

Schultz as we know has run a basketball team before (out of town) in owning the Supersonics, but in interviews he has not gone into detail about how the new Seattle franchise might go about winning. This didn't stop him from bravely announcing a five-year window for the Seattle team to win a championship, one that certainly would be lightning-quick compared to the current 34-year window.

He has already made some bizarre moves along the way, offhandedly telling media that general manager and head coach Kiki Vandeweghe wouldn't return (something he might have mentioned to Vandeweghe first) and promoting interim GM Ronnie Shields to a permanent position.

Worst Defensive Rebound Rate, 2009-10

In short, while the new Seattle management has deeper pockets, we can't say with any confidence yet that it'll prove more adept at running the team. As for Schultz's ill advised proclamation about winning a title, the fly in the ointment is that he needs some talent. The Nets had two unusually good players for such a bad team -- Harris made the All-Star team in 2009 and Lopez very well may in 2011 -- but otherwise the cupboard is fairly bare. Wings Williams and Courtney Lee were the only other rotation-caliber players on last season's roster.

Alas, much more work remains to be done, and an odd 2010 offseason didn't put them much closer to achieving those goals.

[Scuzz]

Re: Over and Out, New Jersey Nets set franchise losses record, finish 12-70.

Wow, moving to Seattle! I liked the NJ Nets branding, so I'll miss it here, but Seattle should be a really fun move.

Happy to get that season out of the way.

[kibaxx7]

Re: A New Hope: NBA2K11 and Beyond.

Can't say no to a Seattle story.

[RMJH4]

Re: A New Hope: NBA2K11 and Beyond.

Wow, moving to Seattle! I liked the NJ Nets branding, so I'll miss it here, but Seattle should be a really fun move.

Happy to get that season out of the way.

Yes it's a relief really, awful roster, full rebuild coming this summer! Love the Nets and Sonics branding, it's almost a shame I had to lose them, but they are the best team to rebuild.

Can't say no to a Seattle story.

Thanks dude! Yep at long last I am getting around to it.

[RMJH4]

2009-10 Season Review.

2009-10 Season Review - Lakers vanquish Celtics in 7.

June 17th, 2010.

While LeBron James gripped writers, fans and teams throughout the season with his pending free agency, the Lakers marched along on their quest for a second straight title. But the road was hardly clear. Surviving a first-round scare against the upstart Oklahoma City Thunder, they trekked to The Finals to face another juggernaut.

After a slow regular-season finish, the Boston Celtics surprised the basketball world by waking up in the postseason. Though they finished with 50 wins, pundits hardly expected the Celtics to run through the Eastern Conference playoffs, ousting the LeBron-led Cavaliers and Dwight Howard-led Magic in consecutive rounds. Up 3-2 against the Lakers in The Finals, they could not close it out, losing two consecutive games -- including a tight defensive battle in Game 7 -- and giving viewers a classic series in the process.

Afterward when asked about how much the fifth title meant to him, Kobe Bryant replied, "Just one more than Shaq. You can take that to the bank. You know how I am. I don't forget anything."

PLAYOFFS.

Eastern Conference first round.
Atlanta defeated Milwaukee (4-3)
Boston defeated Miami (4-1)
Cleveland defeated Chicago (4-1)
Orlando defeated Charlotte (4-0)

Western Conference first round.
L.A. Lakers defeated Oklahoma City (4-2)
Phoenix defeated Portland (4-2)
San Antonio defeated Dallas (4-2)
Utah defeated Denver (4-2)

Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Boston defeated Cleveland (4-2)
Orlando defeated Atlanta (4-0)

Western Conference Semifinals.
L.A. Lakers defeated Utah (4-0)
Phoenix defeated San Antonio (4-0)

Eastern Conference Finals.
Boston defeated Orlando (4-2)

Western Conference Finals.
L.A. Lakers defeated Phoenix (4-2)

NBA Finals.
L.A. Lakers defeated Boston (4-3)

SEASON LEADERS.

Points -- Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City (30.1)
Assists -- Steve Nash, Phoenix (11.0)
Rebounds -- Dwight Howard, Orlando (13.2)
Steals -- Rajon Rondo, Boston (2.3)
Blocks -- Dwight Howard, Orlando (2.8)
FG% -- Dwight Howard, Orlando (61.2)
FT% -- Steve Nash, Phoenix (93.8)
3PT% -- Kyle Korver, Utah Jazz (53.6)

AWARD WINNERS.

Most Valuable Player -- LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers
Rookie of the Year -- Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings
Defensive Player of the Year -- Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
Most Improved Player -- Aaron Brooks, Houston Rockets
Sixth Man of the Year -- Jamal Crawford, Atlanta Hawks
Coach of the Year -- Scott Brooks, Oklahoma City Thunder
All-Star Game MVP -- Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
Finals MVP -- Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers

[RMJH4]

Back with a Boom! A Sonic Boom! Seattle SuperSonics return to NBA.

Back with a Boom! A Sonic Boom! Seattle SuperSonics return.

June 18th, 2010.

Seattle gets its second attempt at hosting an NBA franchise. Lets hope this time it proves to be more successful in holding onto it. (See Thunder, Oklahoma).

After announcing that the New Jersey Nets would up sticks and relocate to Seattle, the debate began to rage over what logo and colours the franchise would use. New owner Howard Schultz announced in a statement that he had secured the purchase of the Nets franchise. Later in the week he also concluded negotiations with the KeyArena in Seattle.

Everyone knew this day was coming. The NBA is back in Seattle and as expected the SuperSonics name and colors have been brought back. The question was, do they return to the 00's colors, which were worn by the Sonics up until their sale, the mid 90's colors or green, yellow and red or do they go all out and have a new beginning?

In the end, Schultz, a diehard Sonics fan all those years, decided that they would bring back the colors from the 2008 season. Picking up where they left off. “I wanted to have a logo, a uniform, which not only was familiar to the people of Seattle, but gives us something to root for, a chance for redemption, continuing on for this season only in the old colors.” Schultz chuckles.

At first look the roster and the new Sonics don't exactly have a solid core to build around. Devin Harris is one of the quickest young point guards in the league, which is a very good starting point. Brook Lopez is a promising young center who could develop into an All Star Center this season. The New Jersey Nets reached the second round of the playoffs in 06-07, they have not reached the playoffs since then. Last season they finished with a 12 -70 record and almost set the league record for losses. The new Sonics need major retooling, and not just some new uniforms and a relocation. GM Ronnie Shields needs to add some talent, coupled with their veterans experience and the Sonics could be chasing a playoff spot once again in a transitional Western Conference.

The NBA will shortly announce a new divisional realignment structure for next season. With the Nets franchise originally based in the Atlantic Division, some other franchise will have to move division and conference. The Sonics are expected to be placed in the North West Divison, with the Oklahoma City Thunder favoured to move to the Southwest Division. If so we are not set to see the New Sonics face the Old Sonics in the same divison unfortunately.

[RMJH4]

Episode 3: A New Coach.

Episode 3: A New Coach.

June 19th, 2010.

So finally with most of the front office in place a coaching search meeting was held with myself, assistant GM Josh Murray, and the owner Howard Schultz.

We headed into the KeyArena through the tunnel, which was being re-painted and decorated. Man I cannot wait to get the Sonics color scheme set up for our guys. I really love the green, white and gold. Not just because I'm Irish, but those colors really pop. Bright, vibrant and it means business.

We sat down in Mr Schultz's office in the next room.

I was relatively quiet throughout the meeting because I already knew who I wanted to hire.

Nonetheless, Josh and Mr. Schultz bickered back and forth for a good 20 minutes over the pluses and minuses of each coach they were interested in hiring. I would give a short opinion every once in a while, but besides that, I just sat back and listened.

Finally, Mr. Schultz turned to me and asked my opinion.

I responded by saying, "I want to hire Gary Payton."

They both fell silent and just looked over at me. He's barely even been an Assistant Coach for a season. Do you really think he's ready? Over seasoned pro's like Vinny Del Negro, Monty Williams and Paul Silas?"

"Of course I do. Think about it. Payton joined the Heat' coaching staff in 2008, after playing eighteen seasons in the NBA. As you know his playing career included stints with the Sonics, Bucks, Lakers, Celtics and Heat. He's been around the league, and he's been learning from some of the best coaches for the last few seasons. Coach George Karl in Seattle and Milwaukee, Phil Jackson in Los Angeles. The legend Pat Riley in Miami too.

I've watched him in the Summer league with Miami and I know he's ready. I want us to get out ahead of the pack here, and hire him first. I mean who else know's what it mean to be a Sonic more than Gary?!

He's holds everybody accountable just like Riley and Jackson did. He has a different approach to it, but you get the same feeling. He knows what he's talking about. My impression of him has always been good, but what's more significant to me is that I used to hear George Karl and Hubie Brown talk to the other coaches about him. So, it's not so much what I've observed, it's the comments from those guys.

That's the sign of a great coach... And that's exactly the type of coach we need with our strategy of signing players in hopes of building for the future."

"And finally, he's only 42 years old. Let's say he accepts the offer, we get the talent in place. Hell, we could have him as our coach for at least the next 20 years. And we'd have a damn good coach too."

After stating my case for Payton, Schultz and Josh were sold.

"Call up Gary and see if he's interested. If so, see when you can meet face to face and strike up a contract. I'm glad it's you that suggested this hire Ronnie, otherwise people would accuse me of giving jobs to ex Sonics players too.

"No, I don't doubt you are making the best decision here sir. Any limit on the salary?" I asked as I pulled out my phone.

"There is $5.26 million in the budget for a head coach, but I don't think you need to think about spending all of that on Gary. Get thinking about assistants. See who Gary would like too." Mr. Schultz responded.

[ZSmit88]

Re: Episode 3: A New Coach.

No one better than The Glove to head up the new look Sonics. Love that idea.

This was such a great era in the NBA. Hopefully we get a Kobe-Bron finals somewhere along the line.

Looking great so far.

[studbucket]

Re: Episode 3: A New Coach.

Putting Payton in at head coach is sure to generate even more excitement amongst fans in Seattle.

[RMJH4]

Seattle Supersonics hire "The Glove" as Head Coach.

Seattle Supersonics hire "The Glove" as Head Coach.

Starbucks billionaire Howard Schultz has his first NBA coach in the franchises return to Seattle: Mr Sonic: Gary Payton.

After breaking into the coaching business under Stan Van Gundy in Miami and interviewing with New Orleans and Atlanta in recent weeks, Payton on Wednesday struck a verbal agreement to coach Schultz's Sonics.

"His leadership qualities, knowledge of the game and ability to motivate are all talents we will be calling upon as we move forward," Schultz said. "This is the beginning of what I hope will be many more exciting announcements to come before the start of the season."

Although the sides might need the rest of the week to finalize what sources close to the situation say will be a three-year contract, Payton confirmed the agreement in a Wednesday afternoon interview with ESPN's Hannah Storm.

"We're excited about it," Payton told Storm. "We've come to a verbal agreement and hopefully the Sonics will have an official announcement tomorrow. But, yes, I am headed home to Seattle again, like my beloved Supersonics."

Supersonics president and GM Ronnie Shields announced the agreement Thursday.

"Thinking long and hard about it, I just felt that Gary was a good fit for us," Shields said in a conference call. "I felt if we were going to go down the path to try to sign Gary, we better get moving because there were other teams with interest and my feeling was I didn't want to lose him if he were really interested in doing it, and I decided to act."

Schultz understandably wanted to make the biggest possible splash with his first hire and ultimately sanctioned the selection of Payton, who is only two seasons removed from retirement.

In Seattle, Payton will take over a team that flirted with the league's worst all-time record before finishing 12-70. Yet it can be argued that the Sonics' job was the most attractive on the board, after factoring in Schultz's presumed willingness to spend, Seattle's salary-cap space this summer to sign top top-tier free agents and its possession of the No. 3 overall pick in the draft later this month to pair with promising young center Brook Lopez and point guard Devin Harris.

"You look at a team that won 12 games, so the sky's the limit," Payton said of the Sonics' future during his ESPN interview. "... There's so many great possibilities and so much potential here."

Shields, though, was apparently drawn to Payton's forceful nature, hoping that the Glove -- as Payton was affectionately known during his playing days in Seattle -- can be a steadying force for such a young team.

How dramatically Seattle's roster changes in free agency remains to be seen. During a recent analyst appearance on ESPN, Payton insisted that the best option for Cleveland's LeBron James is signing with the Sonics, but he was careful to avoid any potential tampering violations when Storm asked him about James.

"No comment now," Payton said, laughing. "Who are you talking about?"

Pressed on free agency in general, Payton added: "If I'm a free agent, Seattle would be the place that I would want to go, he has an opportunity to kickstart a fantastic franchise from day one."

Storm then asked Payton, 42, if he can deliver the championship Schultz says he hopes to win with the Sonics in five years or less.

"Yes," Payton said. "That's why I took the job."

[RMJH4]

Cream of the Crop: The 2010 NBA Free Agent Class

Cream of the Crop: The 2010 NBA Free Agent Class….

In case you haven’t heard, the 2010 NBA free agent class is pretty good. OK, it’s probably the best in league history.

Trust me. There’s a reason teams spent the 2009-10 season trading for expiring contracts — cough, cough (the New York Knicks) — or failed to resign most of its roster. That’s you, Miami.

With the speculation of which team will land which player(s) already in full force, I decided to offer my predictions on where the top 10 free agents will end up. Keep in mind though that my predictions might be about as far off as Dwight Howard’s shot attempts in game 1 against the Boston Celtics.

The order of my top free agents is based on several factors: age, potential, recent performance and injuries are just a few of them

1. LeBron James, SF

The draft lottery really screwed up the chest for the Seattle Supersonics. All the talk of LeBron playing with John Wall and for new owner Howard Schultz probably ended when the Supersonics received the No. 3 pick. If the Supersonics are out as a potential LeBron suitor, there are only a few options for King James: Cleveland, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles (Clippers) and New York.

I’m a firm believer that anyone who wants to see a LeBron-Wade combo in Miami would be even more disappointed with the results than the Raptors after signing Hedo Turkoglu. As John Hollinger notes on ESPN.com, LeBron is No. 2 on the list of players who control the ball the most. Take a wild guess who No. 1 is.

Yep, it’s Dwyane Wade. Call me crazy, but I just can’t see that working.

At only 25 years old and already with two MVP trophies under his belt, LeBron’s best years may still be ahead. Scary thought, I know. But just because he’s the biggest star in the sport doesn’t mean he has to go to the biggest city, a.k.a New York or Los Angeles. Let’s cross the Clippers off the list — LeBron isn’t playing second fiddle to Kobe in L.A., even if it is just for a few years.

And although the Knicks have the potential to sign two max contract players, the team’s roster is too depleted and too talentless to entice LeBron. New York may provide him with the best opportunity to turn LeBron the man into LeBron “The Global Icon,” but he isn’t winning a championship anytime soon in the Big Apple.

Most recent reports are saying that LeBron is leaning toward signing with the Chicago Bulls because he sees the Windy City as the Winning City. But let’s think about it this way. Do you think LeBron wants to go to Chicago where the Michael Jordan comparisons will only put more pressure on the King? Do you think LeBron wants to live in the shadow of the greatest player in NBA history? Do you think Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah — who all of a sudden has went from “guy with funny hair” to “bait to lure LeBron” — are good enough sidekicks to win an NBA title?

I don’t.

Many NBA analysts say that LeBron wants to build a legacy and be remembered as one of the greatest players of all-time. He’s not building his own legacy in Chicago — he’ll be drowning in Jordan’s. He’s not winning championships in Chicago — Noah is not the third best player on a championship caliber team.

So when it comes down to his possible destinations, LeBron won’t choose fame (L.A. and N.Y.) or being the second-best Bull ever, something tells me he’ll listen to his heart and stay in Cleveland. Of course, the Cavs can pay him the most too.

The Landing Spot: Cleveland Cavaliers

2. Dwyane Wade, SG

After LeBron, Wade is hands down the No. 2 free agent in the 2010 class. For all we know, he could be the best player in the class, but his career has been riddled by injuries. At 28 years old, he’s still in the prime of his career, but many wonder how his body will hold up once he reaches 30. Even so, his proneness to injury isn’t going to scare any team away and teams that miss out on LeBron won’t look past him.

Much like LeBron, Wade will get hard looks from New York and his hometown Chicago Bulls. Much like LeBron, I think he’ll politely stay put. The Miami Heat have the potential to sign two max contract players (Wade and free agent A) and can even sign three if the team finds a suitor for Michael Beasley, which won’t be terribly easy but can happen.

If Wade can be assured that the Heat land Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire, Wade will likely finish his career in Miami. Come on, there are worse things than being a multi-millionaire, starring in commercials with Charles Barkley and living in South Beach — like playing on a team where Quentin Richardson is your second best player.

Wade loves Miami. Miami loves Wade. The Heat will sign another max contract player. The Heat will sign Wade.

The Landing Spot: Miami Heat

3. Chris Bosh, PF

Chris Bosh has left his fate up to Twitter, but his real fate may actually rely on two other top free agents: Wade and Stoudemire. Wade has made it perfectly clear that he needs a formidable sidekick in Miami and with LeBron out of the mix, his best two options are Bosh and Stoudemire. The Heat aren’t signing both of these guys, but it’s no secret they’ll push hard for both of them anyway. I think Stoudemire has plans elsewhere (I’ll get to that next) and Bosh will head to South Beach to form one of the league’s best duos.

Bosh would be a better signing for the Heat than Stoudemire. Though he and Bosh have similar production, Bosh is two years younger and not nearly as injury prone. Signing Bosh, however, could trigger some big changes in Miami, as the Heat don’t see Beasley as a small forward. They’d have to try and move him. If that happens, the Heat could go after another big star as well, but three stars on one team wouldn’t be the smartest decision chemistry-wise. Either way, I think Bosh is in, Beasley is out and the Heat sign another notable free agent — just not a max contract one.

The Landing Spot: Miami Heat

4. Amare Stoudemire, PF

Amare Stoudemire averaged 26 points and nine rebounds during the 2004-05 season for the Phoenix Suns. His coach? Mike D’Antoni. In case you’ve been sleeping the past few years, D’Antoni is the current coach of the New York Knicks. The starting power forward for D’Antoni in 2009 was David Lee who averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds. The theme? If you play power forward for D’Antoni, you’re going to put up inflated, I mean big, numbers.

And as much as LeBron wants to win an NBA championship, Stoudemire wants to put up big numbers and collect a big check. There’s no better place to do that than New York.

The Landing Spot: New York Knicks

5. Joe Johnson, SG

Joe Johnson ended his season the way no pending free agent wants to: with horrible production in a horrific playoff series loss. While Johnson may have lost out on the potential for a max contract, he is still one of the most coveted free agents of the 2010 class. At 29 years old, his best years may be behind him but he’s still a very good player who can score 22-25 points per game, dish out some assists and grab some rebounds.

Based on my predictions that LeBron and Wade will pass on going to Chicago, this prediction seems like a no-brainer (But retaining Vinny del Negro seemed like one also and Chicago cut him loose, so assuming the Bulls brass have any brains may be a brainless move on my part). After losing Ben Gordon in free agency and trading John Salmons, the one thing the Bulls needed most this season was a scorer.

That’s why they’ll pursue Wade/LeBron hard and throw big money their way. But with those two off the market, Johnson is a good consolation prize. He’ll take some of the pressure off Derrick Rose, and provide the Bulls with the scoring threat that kept this team from competing with the Cavs in this year’s playoffs.

The Landing Spot: Chicago Bulls

6. Rudy Gay, SF (Restricted)

Rudy Gay is a restricted free agent which makes his situation a bit trickier than others. Restricted free agents don’t switch teams very often, with Paul Millsap being a good example. But at only 23 years old and blessed with incredible athleticism, Gay might be the rare exception to the rule.

His current team, the Memphis Grizzlies, aren’t known for dishing out huge contracts to its best player. That’s partly why the Grizzlies basically gave away Pau Gasol in the most lopsided trade in recent memory. It’s almost as if the team said: “Hey, we don’t want to pay this guy. Why don’t you take him and bring another three or four championships to Los Angeles?” I could write a book on that, so let’s move on.

If the Grizzlies decide against paying Gay big money, the typical teams with cap space will jump all over Gay. On a whim though, I’ll throw a wildcard in the mix here. Remember that team that traded away most of its roster and had its star player suspended for a gun incident? Oh yeah, it’s the Washington Wizards.

After winning the draft lottery, the team could get right back on track this offseason. Any pick other than John Wall is a bad one. Take Wall first overall and sign Gay to an offer sheet that the Grizzlies won’t match. All of a sudden, the woeful Wizards will be making more magic than Harry Potter.

The Landing Spot: Washington Wizards

7. Dirk Nowitzki, PF

The Dallas Mavericks are trying to reach a contract extension with Dirk Nowitzki, who will make $21.5 million next year if he stays in Dallas. Dirk thinking he’s getting anything close to that on the open market is a dumber move than proposing to Cristal Taylor. Although Dirk has been a top ten player in the league for several years, he is 32 years old and he probably only has a few years left playing at an elite level, if that.

Just like Wade in Miami, Dirk and Dallas are made for each other. Mavericks fans don’t want to see him go and I don’t think he has any interest in leaving Dallas. The team’s core is old — I’m talking Betty White old — so losing its best player wouldn’t help anything, even if he’s pretty old too.

The Landing Spot: Dallas Mavericks

8. Carlos Boozer, PF

This is where making these predictions is starting to give me a headache. The main rumored destinations for Carlos Boozer have been Miami, New York, Seattle, Washington or a return to Utah. Boozer isn’t returning to Utah because the team’s backup power forward Paul Millsap just signed a big contract last year. Come on, why would a Boozer live in Utah anyway?

Get it, anyone?

Moving on, with Miami already signing Bosh and the Knicks signing Stoudemire, there’s no room for Boozer in either of those places. The Sonics will likely take Derrick Favors in the draft and already have Yi Jianlian, so there’s no fit there either. The Wizards don’t have the cap room to sign Boozer — that’s your fault, Gilbert Arenas.

Another rumor I’ve seen numerous times is Boozer going to Detroit in a sign-and-trade, which I assume would involve either Tayshaun Prince or Richard Hamilton. I don’t think this move would really turn any heads in Detroit or Utah, but at this point, it seems like the likeliest option. Because I really have no idea, Boozer winds up as a Piston.

The Landing Spot: Detroit Pistons

9. David Lee, PF

David Lee is the most underrated player on this list hands down. Yes, he did put up inflated numbers playing for D’Antoni, but he still produced, leading the league in double-doubles in 2008-2009. With the reunion of D’Antoni and Stoudemire in New York, that leaves Lee out of the Knicks picture. But Lee has a perfect fit waiting for him, though it may be hard to make the transition from the Big Apple to the Big Boring.

I’ll give you a hint where Lee fits best. It’s a team with an incredibly bright future and an incredibly talented player who just recently turned old enough to drink alcohol. If you don’t know by now, it is the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Toward the middle of the season, I said that the team was a veteran presence away from being a legit threat in the West. Though Lee doesn’t exactly have a lot of postseason experience, he’s a good enough player to help a very young Thunder team. Add Lee To Durant, Westbrook, Green and co. and this team is the real deal.

The Landing Spot: Oklahoma City Thunder

10. Ray Allen, SG

Ray Allen is 34 years old, but as timeless as they come. If you watched any of the Celtics playoffs game this season, you know he can still ball. After Boston’s ridiculous run this postseason, I think it only makes sense for Allen to return to the Celtics. But I could not rule out a sentimental return to Seattle, if and only if they can add some real talent to become a playoff team.

The Landing Spot: Boston Celtics

[studbucket]

Re: A New Hope: NBA2K11 and Beyond.

"You look at a team that won 12 games, so the sky's the limit," Payton said of the Sonics' future during his ESPN interview. "... There's so many great possibilities and so much potential here."

Coach Payton already knows how to spin things like he's a seasoned vet. 12 wins = "sky's the limit" is one way to look at it

I’m a firm believer that anyone who wants to see a LeBron-Wade combo in Miami would be even more disappointed with the results than the Raptors after signing Hedo Turkoglu. As John Hollinger notes on ESPN.com, LeBron is No. 2 on the list of players who control the ball the most. Take a wild guess who No. 1 is.

That's a ghost pepper-level hot take from Sekou!

[RMJH4]

Episode 4: Offseason Update.

Episode 4: Offseason Update 2010.

Headed into the most important offseason of my career. Its only my first one as Pres of Basketball Ops and GM, but I don't think I will ever have as much pressure as this one! With all the free agents in play, I need to get everything set in motion quickly. I don't know if we have enough to entice anyone to join us here after only grabbing the third overall pick in the draft, but I have to work the phones. Got to set up all the meetings, first one is LeBron, but I know Josh has set up a few more.

Mr Schultz wants to win quickly, so going all out in free agency could be the best way to go. My choice would be to build slowly with this young core. Let's see if I can land somewhere in the middle without completely mortgaging our future in one summer.

Staff Management:

Head Coach Lawrence Frank fired.
Head Coach Gary Payton hired.
Assistant GM Josh Murray hired.

Team / Player Options:

Brook Lopez - 2 Year Team - Accepted
Yi Jianlian - 1 Year Team - Accepted
Courtney Lee - 2 Year Team - Accepted

Players Waived:

Jarvis Hayes
Bobby Simmons
Trenton Hassell
Chris Quinn
Josh Boone
Tony Battie
Rafer Alston
Keyon Dooling - Bought Out
Sean Williams

Draft Assets:

#3 Pick
#27 Pick
#31 Pick

Finances:

Salary Cap 2010-11 - $58,000,000
Total Salary - $19, 854, 000
Cap Space - $38,146,000