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Now the Clippers are waiting on Elton Brand, who was offered a max contract by the Warriors, but wants to stay with the Clippers. Usually guys take the money in this situation but I would find it hard to believe that Elton Brand wouldn't love to team up with Baron Davis next season. The Clippers would be a dangerous team built around Davis, Brand, Chris Kaman, Al Thorton, and Eric Gordon. Definitely a player out West and certainly in the playoff mix. However, a bidding war for Brand could be on the verge because it looks like the 76ers will make an offer to Brand as well.
That's not all the Clippers news for the week as Clippers guard Corey Maggette is also a free agent and is one of the hottest free agents on the market. Maggette has supposedly seen heavy interest from both the Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs. He also has drawn interest from Utah, Orlando, and Miami. It's possible Philadelphia could even jump in on Maggette if they don't get Josh Smith, who they have a very strong interest in.
I'm not surprised the Spurs are going after Maggette because I had mentioned in the past that the Spurs would be wise to try and upgrade their team by signing him after they lost to the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals:
I really think the Spurs need to find someone off the bench next season who can be instant offense for them. Both Michael Finley and Brent Barry are free agents next season and I expect both of them to be gone. If Corey Maggette opt out of his contract with the Clippers, he would be someone the Spurs should look at. He is instant offense and could come off the bench at the 2-guard position or he could even start since Ginobili doesn't mind coming off the bench. Another player they could look at is Ben Gordon, who would be deadly if he was getting wide open looks for the Spurs.
It's unlikely that Maggette would return to the Clippers and it looks as though the Spurs are the frontrunners to sign him, but who would have thought the Clippers would be the talk of the NBA in the offseason?
Boston Celtics: I was pretty surprised to learn that the Celtics were interested in Corey Maggette but I was even more surprised to see on TV a rumor that they might be trading Ray Allen in favor of Maggette. Maggette is 4 years younger and they would have him signed to a contract for a longer period of time but I can't see the Celtics making that move fresh off of Ray Allen's monster NBA Finals, where he broke the record for most three-pointers. I'm skeptical of this happening and some think the Celtics are just playing hard ball with free agent James Posey, who Maggette would most likely replace if Posey left. I also heard a rumor that Ray Allen might retire but that one sounds even more far fetched.
As for Boston's own free agents, apparently they want them all back, except for Tony Allen who they did not extend an offer to, but it's still possible he may return:
No matter who the C’s ultimately picked last night, Doc Rivers admitted that the team faced a much larger goal - signing impending free agents James Posey, Eddie House, P.J. Brown, Sam Cassell and Tony Allen.“We would like to bring our whole team back,” Rivers said. “Pose we love. With P.J. we just don’t know. I talked to him right after the season and he just didn’t know. But I told him that he had to go home and think about it. I would like to have P.J. back - our goal is to bring everyone back - but he’s going to need some time.“Sam just didn’t have long enough (to learn the system), but we want him back, too,” Rivers added. “All of these are guys we have to talk to, but we do have to try and pay all of these other guys off.“I’d be happy with trying to bring them all back. The problem will be trying to do it.”Though saving money is always an issue, the team appears to be resigned to paying a heavy luxury tax fee for the decision to continue fielding this team.“Whatever it takes,” managing partner Wyc Grousbeck said of the luxury tax issue. (Boston Herald)
I don't think Cassell will be back next season as the backup point guard but you never know.
Here are who the Celtics are looking at to bring in as a possible backup point guard to replace Cassell:
The Celtics hope to sign a veteran backup point guard to a one-year, veteran minimum contract, an NBA source said. Candidates include Eddie House, who would return for a second season with Boston, Dallas's Tyronn Lue, Orlando's Keyon Dooling, Miami's Jason Williams, and Chicago's Chris Duhon. Lue, a 10-year veteran, played for Rivers in Orlando and is good friends with Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, but he said he hasn't contacted either since the offer was made to his agent, Andy Miller (Boston Herald)
I'm not sure if Chris Duhon would accept a one year, veteran minimum contract but his defensive ability and 4 to 1 assists to turnover ratio would fit in perfectly with the Celtics.
James Posey, as expected, is Boston's main target among their own free agents but there are several other teams interested in Posey's services, including the Lakers, Wizards, Hornets, Cavs, and Nets.
Meanwhile, two former Celtics who were traded for Kevin Garnett are in the news as well. Ryan Gomes has the Utah Jazz interested in signing him and Gerald Green signed a 1 year deal with the Dallas Mavericks. Gomes is a restricted free agent and the Timberwolves can match any deal that the Jazz or another team makes. They have already made a qualifying offer to Gomes and all indications point to Gomes wanting to stay in Minnesota.
Gilbert Arenas: The Washington Wizards were able to re-sign forward Antawn Jamison and are now talking to Gilbert Arenas about a possible max-deal that would be for $125 million over 6 years. Here is what I had to say about Gilbert Arenas possibly receiving a max-deal just a few weeks ago:
Gilbert Arenas opted out of his contract this week and became a free agent but expect him to sign back with the Wizards even if it means he gets a max contract. Now I love Gilbert Arenas and everything he brings to the table but is it really a smart idea to sign a guy to a max contract who just missed almost a full season because of a knee injury? I'm not so sure Gilbert Arenas is even a max contract type of player without coming off of a knee injury. Sure he can score in bunches but I don't think he makes as much impact on a game as someone like Chris Paul and Deron Williams does. To me if you sign a player to a max contract then he needs to be someone who can lead your team to a championship like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, etc. and as much as I love to watch Gilbert play, I just don't think he is one of those guys.
Now the flip side of this is that Gilbert has star power and puts a lot of butts in the seats at Wizards games and truth be told, there really isn't a good cheap alternative to Arenas on the free agent market. If there was then the Wizards would be best served going that route and spending that $125 million on 2 or 3 other players who would help the Wizards put butts in the seats by winning more games.
The Golden State Warriors have also offered a contract to Gilbert Arenas for around 5 years - $100 million but it appears he will stay in Washington.
Chris Duhon: For someone who didn't play much at times in Chicago, Chris Duhon sure is a hot commodity on the free agent market:
After meeting with the Knicks today, Bulls free-agent point guard Chris Duhon is on to Orlando to meet with the Magic tomorrow. He was contacted by five teams on the first day of free agency: Cleveland, Sacramento, New York, Orlando and, in a bit of a surprise, Boston. The re-signing of Udrih should eliminate the Kings. Keep an eye on Duhon's dinner plans -- he could be meeting up with some current Magic players tomorrow. Players only get involved in free-agent recruitment when teams are truly serious about signing them. (Sporting News)
It looks like New York and Orlando might be the favorites to sign Duhon.
Monta Ellis: Now that they have lost Baron Davis to the Clippers, the Golden State Warriors can focus on re-signing dynamic guard Monta Ellis but there are also the possibility of a sign and trade involving Ellis:
The Warriors will meet with Ellis' representatives today to formally open negotiations on a new contract, according to a league source, and what happens in Oakland could have extreme ramifications on Golden State's future. Ellis was perhaps the Warriors' best player by the end of last season, and is looking for a huge payday after making only the league minimum for the last three years. Golden State vice-president Chris Mullin has the right to match any offer Ellis receives and has vowed to do so. But if the Warriors come in with an initial offer that Ellis' camp deems too low, then they risk creating a sticky situation similar to that of Davis. Few teams can offer Ellis an outright deal worth more than the mid-level exception, but Ellis can push for a sign-and-trade to a team willing to pay him significantly more, which is what Davis was seeking before the Clippers unexpectedly found themselves with cap space. Possible suitors include the Cavaliers, who could use a dynamic guard to pair with LeBron James, or the Heat, who could offer Shawn Marion in a trade. (SF Gate)
Lebron James: I've touched on the topic of Lebron James possibly heading to the Nets in a few years before but this week Lebron added fuel to that fire with his comments about Brooklyn being his favorite borough in New York City. Brooklyn just happens to be the birth place of his good friend Jay-Z and the borough that the Nets are planning to move to in a few years. Ironically, there was a rumor that the Nets contacted the Cavs about their interest in Vince Carter.
Other offseason news:
- Kurt Hinrich is definitely on the trading block and there has been speculation recently in: Denver as well as Golden State now that Baron Davis is gone.
- Chris Paul is expected to sign extension with New Orleans.
- Fresh off their trade of T.J. Ford for Jermaine O'Neal, the Toronto Raptors did what was expected and re-signed point guard Jose Calderon.
- Chris Douglas-Roberts sounds pretty motivated after slipping to the second round of the draft.
- Beno Udrih re-signed with the Sacramento Kings. The Clippers were the other team rumored to be interested in Udrih but they were able to land Baron Davis instead
- The Detroit Pistons are targeting these three players: James Jones of Portland; C.J. Miles of Utah or Mickael Pietrus of Golden State.
More: NBA Weekly
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