NBA Weekly

Elton Brand: Somehow, someway the Los Angeles Clippers are staying in the news this offseason. After just recently signing Baron Davis away from the Golden State Warriors last week, the Clippers have now lost Elton Brand to the Phildelphia 76ers. Brand agreed to a 5 year, $80 million dollar contract spurning the LA Clippers to join an up and coming 76ers team in the East.

Now I don't claim to be a prophet of any sort but here is what I had to say about the 76ers after their second round postseason loss to the Detroit Pistons:

Philadelphia is Gone Fishin' but they should be congratulated for having such a good season, which was not expected of them. Hopefully, they will be able to build upon this season and continue to improve for next season. They probably should look at maybe signing a free agent like Elton Brand if they want to be able to get out of the first round of the playoffs.

The key here is that I said they should sign Elton Brand if they want to get out of the first round of the playoffs. There is no guarantee they would make it out of the second round with Brand, even though some experts are asking the question of whether or not the 76ers can compete with the Celtics next season. I find that highly unlikely because as good as Brand is, he is no Kevin Garnett and as good as Andre Iguodala is, he is no Paul Pierce and they certainly don't have a sharp shooter like Ray Allen on their team.

I think Philly will be a solid team in the East and they could finish anywhere from 2nd to 5th in the conference. Detroit, Orlando, and Cleveland could all possibly be better than the 76ers still but Philly should be right up there with them all season. Toronto and Washington have to be the big losers here because I think Philly is clearly better than both of them now and if the Hawks keep their squad together then they will be right there in the mix too for the last three playoff spots. It should be an interesting season in the East and I'm looking forward to it already. Don't forget about Miami either, with a healthy Dwayne Wade, Shawn Marion, and Michaeal Beasley.

In order to sign Elton Brand, the 76ers had to clear some cap space by trading Rodney Carney and Calvin Booth to Minnesota. Minnesota also picks up a first round draft pick that the 76ers had acquired from the Utah Jazz in the Kyle Korver trade.

Corey Maggette: In other Clipper related news, it looks like Corey Maggette will sign a 5 year-$50 million dollar deal with the Golden State Warriors. I thought for sure Maggette would go to a proven winner like San Antonio and they were after him hard but apparently Maggette would rather waste away in mediocrity with the Warriors. I don't really think this is a good move for the Warriors either because they should be focusing on re-signing Monta Ellis and they already have a similar player to Maggette in Stephen Jackson. A scoring swingman is not a major need for the Warriors to me, they should be focusing on point guard and a low post presence in my eyes.

To top it off the Golden State Warriors Examiner gives us some more reasons why it would be a bad move for the Warriors to sign Corey Maggette to such a big contract:

If the Warriors give Maggette more than three years at more than $6 million per, they're going to regret the move. And here’s why: First off, Maggette is injury prone. He’s been in the league nine seasons and has played 70 or more games just four times in his career. Maggette’s body says Iron Man; his stats say Tin Man. Maggette is a great sub, the kind of aggressive scorer you love coming off the bench. He has a shoot first mentality and is a mediocre defender at best. In other words, as a sixth man he’s great, as a starter he’s not. Maggette has made it clear he wants to start and be a primary offensive option. But he’s the type of high-maintenance player who doesn’t make teammates better. In fact, because he doesn’t create much, there tends to be a lot of standing around when he’s got the ball on the perimeter. Maggette has never played for a winner. His teams have missed the playoffs in eight of the nine seasons he’s been in the league. The one year a Maggette team made the playoffs was in 2006, when the Clippers made it to the postseason. That year Maggette played 32 games. (Golden State Warriors Examiner)

Ouch, sounds like Maggette will not be welcomed by the fans if he comes to Golden State. I don't think the move is as bad as the Examiner makes it out to be but it still is probably not the best move the team could make. Josh Smith in fact would look a lot better on this team that Maggette but maybe the Warriors have another free agent they will be targeting. There are also rumors they could be looking at Kurt Hinrich.

Josh Smith: Since the Clippers lost both Elton Brand and Corey Maggette. it is possible that they will know throw a boatload of money at Hawks free agent Josh Smith. The Hawks can match any offer to Smith and with the 76ers using their cap space on Elton Brand, the Clippers are one of the few teams who can afford to give Josh Smith a big contract. Hopefully, the Hawks will do the right thing and match any offers for Smith, so that they can keep their young nucleus together. The Clippers have also been looking at Charlotte Bobcats free agent Emeka Okafor.

Lamar Odom for Ron Artest: That is the latest trade rumor that has been floating around. I think that would be a bad move for the Lakers. Sure, Artest is a great defensive player and he gives Paul Pierce a ton of trouble but does anyone really think Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant can co-exist on the same team? I could almost bet these two would get into a fist fight during the season. Despite disappearing at times in the Finals, Odom really played well for the Lakers last season and he is definitely a team player who can co-exist and complement Kobe Bryant and I'm not so sure Artest can do that.

Andrew Bogut: The Millwaukee Bucks have extended Andrew Bogut with a 5 year, $73 million dollar contract. Bogut is a borderline All-Star, averaging 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds a game last season. He did come on strong at the end of the season, so maybe the Bucks feel he is going to breakout soon and wanted to lock him up now. I'm not sure I would committ $70 million to him just yet but don't be surprised if Bogut has a big season this year, especially with some added talent around him.

Other free agent news and trade rumors:

- Chris Duhon signed a 2 year deal with the Knicks. I like this move for the Knicks because Duhon is underrated and has a 4 to 1 assist to turnover ratio, which is impressive.

- Mickael Pietrus signed with the Orlando Magic. Another good move for the Magic. Why do I have the feeling that Orlando will be better than Detroit next season? Just a hunch on my part.

- Ronny Turiaf was offered a 4 year deal from the Golden State Warriors for $17 million. It is now up the Lakers to match the offer. If they don't bring back Turiaf, there are rumors they will go after Kurt Thomas.

- James Jones signed a 3-year deal with the Miami Heat.

- The Clippers renounced the rights to Shaun Livingston: According to the NBA collective bargaining agreement, a renounced player no longer counts toward team salary, so teams use renouncement to gain additional cap room. A team can still re-sign such a player, but the team must either have enough salary cap room to fit the salary, or sign the player using the minimum salary exception. After renouncing a player, a team also can trade him in a sign-and-trade agreement. (CBS Sportsline)

- The latest rumor is that the Bulls will part with Ben Gordon and keep Kurt Hinrich. This actually might not be that bad of a move for the Bulls because Derrick Rose probably needs a year under his belt before he makes an impact on their team.

- Raymond Felton could have considerable trade value if the Bobcats decide to go that route.

- The Spurs reportedly have a deal with Wizards guard Roger Mason, Jr.

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