Keeping Up With NBA News And Rumors
by Tom Lewis on Jul 1, 2009 9:55 PM EDT
in Indiana Pacers News
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PrintDay one of the NBA free agent signing period has spawned tons of news and rumors around the league. Already, Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva are reported to be joining the Detroit Pistons. As dbcb posted earlier today, the Pacers have reportedly shown interest in Fabricio Oberto and Marcin Gortat.
Oberto wouldn't excite me much and would have to join the group of bridge players since, considering his age, signing him for more than two years wouldn't be wise. Gortat has more of a game the Pacers are looking for in their effort to add a reasonably priced front court contributor. The Pacers don't have the money to get into a bidding war, though and with Houston and New York appearing very interested, Gortat's price tag will likely exceed the Pacers budget.
One thing we should expect is plenty more report on the Pacers showing interest in various free agents. Just check out Bird's comments on free agency via Bruno today:
"We've got $8 million and, the way I look at it, three holes to fill," said team President Larry Bird. "I think we're going to have the opportunity to pick up a pretty good player for a lot less money than he would've gotten if the economy was a lot better.
"There's what, 100 free agents this year? There's going to be a lot of them looking for jobs, and some pretty good players, too – for minimums. It won't be top names but they will be some pretty good players."
The Pacers will probably show a little love to a big swath of free agents and then narrow their focus as the market fleshes itself out. Until then we'll likely hear plenty of stories about the team's varied level of interest in different players. At some point, that $8 million will be put to use. I also remain convinced that a trade or two will pop up before the summer is over.
So with the fluid situation and information flying from tons of different outlets, I'm looking to the faithful Indy Cornrows' readers to help keep us all informed. Huge thanks to dbcb for posting those links today. That is exactly the type of help I'm looking for to keep our growing community informed. We've added a lot of new members over the past few weeks and I couldn't be more happy with the growing core group of commenters who continually offer smart and diverse opinions on everything related to the Pacers. That is the ultimate goal of this site.
I want to make sure when news breaks you can stop here to offer your reactions and read the thoughts of others. Sean and I will do our best to post breaking news about any Pacers' signings or trades, but life can get in the way. If you hear about something and see nothing posted here, PLEASE put up a FanPost with a link verifying the information so others can begin commenting on the news.
Now let's just hope the Pacers offer up plenty of news for us to analyze.
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Laying back and waiting for bargains is the correct strategy IMO
The economy sucks and for some reason, everyone in the NBA thinks they have a chance of signing Lebron and Wade so they aren’t spending money. Their will be PLENTY of bargains.
Plus, waiting is a lot better than running out and wasting money (detroit… blazers???).
Any chance we make a run at Marvin Williams or Hakim Warrick? Those are 2 guys that interest me.
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
Hakim Plays No D
But I would love to swap Jack and Ford for Teague and Williams in a sign and trade.
What I would do and what I think Larry will do.
What I’d do – I love Marvin Williams so my step one would be to kick the tires on him. Possibly a sign and trade with ATL. I’d send Ford and even Jack since he is a hometown boy in the ATL, since they are losing Bibby and need a PG, as well and all other parts that would be needed for Teague and Marvin.
I would then use the remaining space, which would be considerable since we get out from under Ford’s deal, to look at Raymond Felton, Andre Miller, and Mike Bibby for someone who can teach Teague a thing or two before he is ready to start. I would then try to look for some cheap upside guys that fill needed roles, which I imagine Bird will do. Also, I love Ersan Ilyasova for an upside guy that could be a relatively cheap RFA. I would also work out Robert Swift and see if he still has any of the upside he showed pre injury. Lastly I would sign a couple of true SG type players that can defend, i.e. Dahtay Jones, Juan Dixon, or Carlos Defino.
My Roster
Starting 5
PG – FA Vet
SG – Williams
SF – Granger
PF – Murphy
C- Foster
Bench
PG – Teague, Diener
SG – Rush,
SF – Dunleavy,
PF – Hansbrough, Ilyasova
C – Hibbert
I feel like Marvin WIlliams and Danny Granger can share the 2 and 3 spots with Dunleavy and Rush coming off the bench. They would give us length in the frontcourt and all play above average D except Dunleavy. Granger and Williams also do most of their work near the hoop on offense but can step out and hit shots when Hibbert and Tyler are on the floor. And the paint will be pretty clear for them with Murphy at the 4 playing on the perimeter. Rush would be my first guy off the bench.
Guys I feel like Bird will target :
Von Wafer – Fits in the system and can really stroke the 3. Will be relatively cheap and is young.
Leon Powe/Sheldon Williams/Sean May/Wilcox/Cedrick Simmons – Even with the addition of Hansbrough we could still use some depth at this position. These are some young, decently priced, UFAs that could give us that.
Rodney Carney – Will prolly be available for near league minimum and the guy could get much better still as he is relatively young. No reason he couldn’t give us more than Daniels gave us last year at a great value.
Othyus Jeffers – 6’3 Defensive Stopper at the Point and 2 guard. Can’t shoot but I would love him at the league minimum.
Matt Barnes – He fits our system as well and could fill in Daniels role decently well at a good price.
SIGN LEON POWE. THIS IS NOT JUST MY CAL FANDOM SPEAKING. LEON IS A MONSTER. ACL INJURY BE DAMNED.
All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!
by rollonubears on Jul 1, 2009 11:35 PM EDT up reply actions
He is my fav out of the cheap PF
I also like Sean May and Cedrick Simmons. There is some value to be had, I think…
Here are the FAs I like for the Pacers in no particular order...
Paul Millsap – Probably not financially viable, but Utah has a lot of money tied up and may not match an offer. Last time I checked we could use a young PF who puts up 14 and 9 every night.
Marcin Gortat – Only if he’s not crazy expensive (which is doubtful). Dude’s got great low post moves.
Rashad McCants – Not the greatest shooter, but he can score, will probably come cheap, and would add great depth at 2.
Matt Barnes – I just love this guy and would love him to the team a bit of edge backing up Granger. Probably a bit too “street” for the Pacers though.
Damon Jones – Could be had for NOTHING and can still shoot the 3.
Linas Kleiza – The most unnoticed guy in Denver and the one who never makes bonehead plays.
Nate Robinson – He may be 5’ 9", but he put up 41, 8, and 3 against us. I’ve loved him since his college days and he went to my rival’s school.
David Lee – His points may have been a bit inflated last year, but he’s basically been averaging a double-double for 3 straight years now.
Sean May – Super cheap post play. Will he be that good? Probably not, but he won’t be horrible.
Leon Powe – Coming off an injury, but that will probably help his price and he’s got real possibility for growth. Could be a total steal a few years down the road.
Wally Szczerbiak – I just don’t think this team is white enough. Oh wait…
By the way, how awful are the Pistons 2 signings? I mean they're good players but come on.
They are spending $95 million to lock up a starting 5 of Stuckey, Gordon, Prince, Villanueva, and Kwame Brown. Does that marginally scare anybody? Is that even a top 4 team in the East? (The answer is “no.”)
The Pistons will
regret those signings for years to come. I think you’re right, I don’t see how that team even gets home-court advantage in the East and for that amount of money, you better be landing in the top 4 if you’re the Pistons. Weird signings.
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