SportsNation Blog Archives
Carlos Boozer
- Rank 'Em: How do you size up this summer's NBA free agents?
- Vote: Would a Miami mega-trio be good? | Which team will sign LeBron?
- More from ESPN.com: Chad Ford breaks down likely destinations.
The long wait will be over at 12:01 a.m. ET Thursday, and we can officially, well, keep waiting at least another week. All right, so the official start of NBA free agency tonight may be a bit of a letdown, considering players can't actually sign contracts until July 8, but the wooing is what matters. Like college recruiting, only more legal and arguably less extravagant, teams will try everything short of general managers breaking out their best "Say Anything" John Cusack impersonations to win over players (and we're not putting Peter Gabriel past John Paxson).
Even now, reality appears to be setting in for some. A Nets fan once hopeful for the ultimate prize is looking at alternatives to LeBron, including a way of tweaking the Knicks that goes beyond just careful placement of billboards.
- "If the Nets miss out on LeBron and Wade and Bosh, I think it is almost definite that the Nets get David Lee. Lee gets to stay in the NY/NJ area, and the Nets finally get the strong PF they havent had since K-Mart left. After that, they would need to target SG, and they have expressed interest in Rudy Gay. He is the best SG for the money. Since Lee and Gay don't get the attention they deserve, they will probably come cheap, and the Nets could continue to be the scavengers of this free agency market." -- Read MdMaChOmAn's full post.
“The "fact" is that nobody knows how any of this is going down. From the average fan to the highest paid journalist; it's all speculation. Anybody saying anything different is fulla ...
” -- _mongo_slade_
“So if Bosh, Lebron, and Wade go to Miami who else can Miami afford to have on the roster? Can I play PG?
” -- danielmiller19
By the time the Lakers wrapped up their NBA title against the Magic, handing Phil Jackson championship No. 10 in his coaching career, we had all more or less agreed he was the greatest coach in the history of the known universe. Or something like that; we have been known to dabble in revisionist hyperbole.
But as it turns out, the best coach in the world isn't the coach SportsNation wants leading Team USA against the best the rest of the globe has to offer. Mike Krzyzewski is signing on for another run at international glory, including the 2010 World Championship in Turkey and the 2012 Olympics in London. Who should he take with him?
- More international titles for Coach K? Sure. More NCAA titles? Not so much.
- Kentucky thinks Coach K would be below-average NBA coach. Bitter much?
“Good move. the guys seemed to love playing for him and with each other, esp LBJ, Wade, Kobe, Melo, Bosh, Paul, DWill, Dwight. If those 8 come back, u can fill the rest of the roster with young guys and give them a chance to develop into our future national team. guys like Roy, Durant, Rose, Mayo, Griffin, Bynum, Aldridge.
” -- eyerah7
“Its good Coach K is sticking around, hopefully we take the World Championships seriously next year, we haven't won Gold in the World Championships since 1994.
” -- steel_reserve29
Two guys from Texas head to the Big Apple and a sports agent could be involved in the resolution. Now NBA free agency is ripping off "Friday Night Lights" for its plot lines. This is what happens when Carlos Boozer takes himself off the market in what was already a lean talent pool.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has followed Jason Kidd to New York in hopes of keeping the point guard from bolting to another team. And the Knicks, making do without Stephen Curry or Ricky Rubio, might be that team in an effort to layi the groundwork for wooing LeBron James next summer.
Actually, throw in Minka Kelly and we'd watch that.
- Fuss aside, SportsNation doesn't think Kidd is an elite PG anymore.
- Only one in five thinks having Kidd would help land LeBron in 2010.
- Boozer would have been SN's top free agent; now it's Hedo Turkoglu.
- Frequent SportsNation blogger kinglywarrior takes a look at some free-agent appetizers teams could use to tide them over until next summer.
“I don't think Cuban has any bargaining chips...the knicks need a good point guard and he loves the big city. also it's pretty clear this is a strategic move to lure Lebron, he has said it himself Jason Kidd was the biggest influence on him as a player in high school and "dreamed" of playing with him. This is pure strategy, and it's a good one too. Bring Kidd in, give him a year to get aclamated, make the knicks better (which he would), and make it a much more favorable deal for Lebron next year.
” -- amarebarkley
“Kidd needs to retire...it's not even fun watching him play anymore. No matter what the experts say, he doesn't have much left.
” -- adanperez
What a difference a few months make. Carlos "I'm opting out of my contract no matter what" Boozer has decided not to opt out of his contract after all, and will remain in a Jazz uniform. Why? Perhaps the cool $12.7 million he'll collect had something to do with it. But we're convinced it's because SportsNation told him to do so.
Whatever the case, Boozer will remain in Salt Lake City with another recent opt-inner, Mehmet Okur. What does this mean for the Utah Jazz next season? It's time you vote below and tell us.
Fan groups: Utah Jazz fans | NBA Where amazing happens | NBA Fanz Only
Ranker: Which players are worth the big bucks in this year's class of free agents? »
“This is great for the Jazz as they are now in complete control. If the Jazz want to trade, they can. This is MUCH better than those players walking and the Jazz being left with nothing. Now they have Korver, Miles, Boozer, AK, Millsap & you name it, the Jazz can trade it! And if no trades, great! The Jazz will finally get the chance to do what we thought they would last year until every starter got injured.
” -- halfhoosierhein
“The silver lining to this gray cloud of a recession we are in is watching greedy athletes have to 'settle' for less than their ego's are comfortable with.
” -- fathale
Frivolous spending is out. In tough economic times, there's no room in budgets for impulse buys and casual spending. Which leads to the question of whether players like Ben Gordon and Trevor Ariza are worthwhile investments or NBA free agency's version of the Snuggie?
NBA free agency is upon us, which may be more significant to many in the NBA as the one-year warning for a 2010 class that could include the likes of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and Travis Diener (or Steve Nash; take your pick on that last one).
At least a class headlined by Ariza, Jason Kidd and potentially Carlos Boozer is more compelling than this year's middling draft class.
- What would your NBA free-agent shopping list look like?
- If you want to know how unexciting this year's free agents are, consider that we're all hanging on a Boozer decision. With a one-year option worth $12.7 million remaining with the Jazz, Boozer must decide between safe money and the open market. Hopefully he's not as conflicted as SportsNation.
- Chat Tuesday: Chad Ford drops by at 1 p.m. ET to talk about this year's free agents
- Fan groups: Utah Jazz fans | NBA Where amazing happens | NBA Fanz Only
“Iverson has plenty left. in the right system and in the right lineup, he's still a very productive player if not a star in the league still. the only concern that i'd even have is his health. he's got a lot of hard miles and injuries on that body of his, but I think he has it in him to go to a team and contribute a lot. I agree, however, that it's not a great time to be a free agent, and based on that, I don't know how much he'll get on his contract this summer. something tells me he's going to sign with a contender at a discount price.
” -- teniskoala
“PLEASE BOOZER!!!!!! OPT OUT!!!!! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU RIDING OUR BENCH WITH A BRUISE NEXT SEASON.........
” -- gamenight5
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