The Sports Look

2009-10-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

My friend Mike Bahr made a great point in his recent blog about how the Pac-10 will become the Pac-12. The area he thought that the Pac would pull from was from the WAC. I'd have to say thought that the MWC is the place where 2 teams will come from to join the Pac-10/12. It has been rumored and talked about a lot here in Utah that the teams that will leave the conference are Utah and Colorado.

The reason for this is that the Pac 10 chairman has said that if they bring teams into the conference it has to raise the income/TV market by 20% of what they currently make.

Colorado State is the largest TV market team out of the MWC and the WAC. While you can say BYU is because of their Mormon/LDS connection around the country, they are looking for that market in the West alone. That leaves Colorado State at the top.

The other team that makes sense to grab is Utah, which is the biggest drawing rated team in Utah as well as proving they can hang with the BCS group.

Now if that happens it leaves a huge void in the MWC with one of it's top 3 teams (BYU/TCU up there with Utah) and Colorado state now out of the conference.

Would the MWC then look to take teams from the WAC to fill those spots? Would BYU be close behind them and leave for a larger conference as well? The Big 12 has been linked to BYU before this season. If Utah and Colorado left for the WAC, BYU would surely follow a year or two later.

Would it be Colorado leaving the MWC because of the ratings and Boise State from the WAC to be the strong team that they want? Would the Pac-10 want Boise Stare or Utah more?

I find it most interesting that the MWC is an offshoot of the WAC and yet has far succeeded the WAC since it's formation in advancing teams that can actually win BCS games as well as raising it's respect level nationally above the WAC's.

The real question comes down to who does the Pac-10 really want. Do they want teams from the WAC or MWC?

The MWC chairman is constantly blasted in Utah for his lack of pushing the conference forward despite the solid play of it's top three teams over the past five years. The fact that the MWC has one of the worst TV deals in the history of sports is one of the biggest problems. The fact that those TV stations are still not in HD is another big issue for those of us trying to view a game that looks as if it was shot on a handheld picked up from Best Buy circa 1998. BYU and Utah are both rumored to not be happy with this situation and want out soon as possible.

The most likely scenario is that Utah and Colorado both leave for the Pac-10/12, leaving two spots that need to be filled, one of which comes from Boise State. The other spot could be left open for a future team to fill or taken by a team such as Utah State, a team that is up and coming in football and is hoping to start a rivalry with BYU on the same level as Utah's rivalry. If this scenario happens, it is almost guaranteed that BYU will bolt for the Big-12 soon as they open their doors to BYU.

That leaves the WAC with two open spots that will need to be filled. The WAC should be able to pick up teams to fill these two spots but they might be outside of the West just as Louisiana State is currently. The conferences that the WAC would most likely pull are Conference USA and the Sun Belt Conference. The Big Sky Conference could also add some possibilities.

These three conferences could also be areas that the Mountain West pulls from if they are unable to pull who they want from the WAC.

Whatever the scenario, teams will be moving over the next year or two and it will be interesting to watch the pieces fall.

NBA Top 20 for the week of July 28th

2008-07-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

NBA top 20 Free Agents for the week of July 28th. You can see Scott's other sports coverage in the sports section at www.Nutzworld.com.

1: Emeka Okafor it appears that Okafor doesn’t want to stay and the Bobcats are looking for a sign and trade. They are far off on contract negotiations and Okafor could eventually take the one year tender offer and become a free agent next season.

2: Josh Smith appears to be heading out of Atlanta. Two teams are in the running for a sign and trade for him. This would be the wrong move for Atlanta, they need to re-sign him and if that means they have to overpay for him, they need to do it. After losing Josh Childress for nothing, they need some form of PR bump and bringing Smith back is what they need at this time.

3: Andre Iguodala would be hire but because of his restricted status, he's staying here. It looks like Philly will do everything they can to re-sign him.

4: Loul Deng is also one of the players that should have taken the contract that was offered last year. He had an off year this past season and needs to prove that he will rebound from it before any team is going to spend big money on him. He will either reach a deal with the Bulls this summer or take the qualifying offer.

5: Ben Gordon has to feel like an idiot right now. Because of bad advice last year, he turned down a $50 million deal that was way above market value. He will be lucky to get a full midlevel and will most likely take the 1 year tender and stay with the Bulls or be included in a sign and trade.

6: Nenad Krstic would be much higher on this list except for a knee injury that really derailed him and made him look very ineffective when he returned. He has a good offensive feel and should take the one year tender with the Nets so that he can get fully healthy and work himself back into a bigger deal next season. The 76ers are rumored to be interested in him.

7: Jannero Pargo had an excellent run with the Hornets this past season and will try to cash in. The problem is that teams know that he's instant offense off the bench but not much else. It would be smart for him and extent his career if he stays in New Orleans where he can backup Chris Paul even if he has to take less money.

8: Louis Williams had an excellent year with the 76ers and should get a look from some teams but his restricted status could scare a few people away. Look for him to sign a decent deal with Philadelphia.

9: Kwame Brown will find someone to pay him. He has size and he can play defense but his offense is atrocious. He has been linked to the Jazz and Heat this off-season where he could come off the bench to provide inside defense for 20 minutes a night. Look for someone to give him part of their mid-level exception.

10: Ricky Davis is another player that some teams will just stay away from. While he has tried hard to change the league feeling of him being a head case, not every team is buying it. The Heat have been rumored to be willing to take him back at the veteran minimum, if he can find a bigger deal anywhere, look for him to take it.

11: Carlos Arroyo isn’t very well respected around the league but put together a good year as a backup in Orlando and that should land him with a team this season.

12: JR Smith would be higher on the list if he had matured some while in the league. He is an amazing 3 point shooter and is instant offense off the bench but gets burnt on the defensive end. He is a head case though and can be a distraction in the locker-room.

13: Devean George is the best unrestricted SF on the market and falls to the third tier SF behind Corey Maggette and James Posey. He provides defense and can hit threes at times. He has slowed down a lot but could still be a good reserve defensive stopper off the bench.

14: Jason Williams can still run a team but his minutes should be limited and he must avoid injury. He would be a perfect fit as a backup PG on a veteran team like Phoenix or San Antonio.

15: Michael Finley is most likely going to be retained by the Spurs but might have to look elsewhere if the Spurs decide to go for a younger player. Finley can still hit 3’s and is a great veteran to have during the playoffs.

16: Shaun Livingston could be a steal for a team willing to take a risk on him coming back healthy. It’s a big risk, high reward sort of situation because if he blooms, he could really help a team.

17: Sam Cassell is likely to sign with a team like the Suns or Nuggets. He is a coach on the floor but can kill an offense from his constant dribbling at the top of the key. His minutes should be limited but is a nice insurance policy.

18: Devin Brown is an experienced SG that is an instant offence type of player off of the bench. He has been around the league and knows how to fit in with teams.

19: PJ Brown is most likely going to retire but could be picked up mid way through the season just as he did with the Celtics this past season. He is still an asset to a team in limited minutes.

20: Alonzo Mourning is still saying he is going to play this season. He is out for another 4-6 months but hopes to make it back around the All-Star break. If healthy, Mourning can help any team he is on. He is still a great defensive stopper and can score inside. Miami appears to be the place he wants to be and would be a great lift for the Heat for the final stretch of the season.

Top 5 by position

PG
1. Jannero Pargo
2. Louis Williams
3. Carlos Arroyo
4. Jason Williams
5. Shaun Livingston

SG
1. Ben Gordon
2. Ricky Davis
3. JR Smith
4. Michael Finley
5. Devin Brown

SF
1. Andre Iguodala
2. Loul Deng
3. Devean George
4. Dorell Wright
5. Ryan Gomes

PF
1. Josh Smith
2. PJ Brown
3. Carl Landry
4. Walter Herrmann
5. Robert Horry

C
1. Emeka Okafor
2. Nenad Krstic
3. Kwame Brown
4. Alonzo Mourning
5. Francisco Elson

Recently signed players:
Antawn Jamison re-signed with the Wizards
Baron Davis signed with the Clippers
Gilbert Arenas re-signed with the Wizards
Jose Calderon re-signed with the Raptors
DeSagana Diop re-signed with the Mavericks
Beno Udrih re-signed with the Kings
Chris Duhon signed with the Knicks
Gerald Green signed with the Mavericks
Elton Brand signed with the 76ers
Corey Maggette signed with the Warriors
Mickael Pietrus singed with the Magic
James Jones signed with the Heat
Ronnie Turiaf signed with the Warriors
Roger Mason signed with the Spurs
Brent Barry has signed with the Rockets
Patrick O’Bryant has singed with the Celtics
Jarvis Hays has signed with the Nets
Antoine Wright, Keith McLeod and James Singleton all signed with the Mavericks
Dee Brown signed with the Wizards
Eduardo Najera signed with the Nets
James Posey singed with the Hornets
Tyrone Lue singed with the Bucks
Daniel Gibson re-signed with the Cavs
Kelena Azubuike had had his offer sheet matched by the Warriors
Craig Smith has re-singed with the Timberwolves
CJ Miles has singed an offer sheet with the Thunder, the Jazz have 7 days to match.
Keyon Dooling was signed and traded to the Nets
Rodney White signed with Maccebi Elite and joins former NBA players Marcus Fizer and Esteban Batista there.
Juan Carlos Navarro signed with Barcelona
Carlos Delfino signed with Khimki BC in Russia
Jorge Garbajosa signed with Khimki BC in Russia
Malik Allen signed with the Bucks
Boston Nachbar signed with Dynamo Moscow in Russia
Matt Barnes signed with the Suns
Tony Allen and Eddie House resigned with the Suns
Primoz Brezec signed with Virtus Roma in Rome
Josh Childress singed with Olympiakos in Greece
Kurt Thomas resigned with the Spurs
Sebastan Telfair resigned with the Timberwolves
Maurice Evans singed with the Hawks
Loren Woods signed with Zalgiris Kaunas of Euroleague
Royal Ivey signed with the 76ers
Chris Anderson signed with the Nuggets
Monta Ellis resigned with the Warriors
Dahntay Jones signed with Denver
Andris Biendrins resigned with the Warriors
Sasha Vujacic resigned with the Lakers
Ryan Hollins resigned with the Bobcats

Scott Church has been an NBA freelance writer for more than six years. He resides in Utah and you can contact him at Scottshoops@yahoo.com.

NBA Top 20 July 16th

2008-07-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

The Top 20 is updated each Wednesday and look for free agency news and stories every Friday. You can now find Scott’s sports look on www.Nutzworld.net in the sports section.

1: Emeka Okafor is a beast on the boards and defensive end. The problem is he has been in Charlotte on a very bad team where he has often had to carry the load. If he could go to a team like the Jazz where he could concentrate on Defense and Rebounding, you would see his numbers increase and he would have the best year of his career. It's a good bet that he takes the one year tender to be un-restricted next year, otherwise he could get himself locked into the Bobcats organization for the next few years.

2: Josh Smith is a hugely talented player that hopefully one day will be able to maximize that ability. I don't know if it's because he has been in Atlanta and not had the best coach or what, but this guy is a bit of a head case and that needs to be reeled in for him to become the player that many want him to be. Philadelphia is the most likely suitor besides Atlanta. Look for the 76ers to offer him a deal with it loaded up front so that the Hawks will be less likely to match.

3: Andre Iguodala would be hire but because of his restricted status, he's staying here. It looks like Philly will do everything they can to re-sign him.

4: Andris Biedrins fits with almost any team in the league, being able to provide energy around the basket. Look for the Warriors to match any deal and for him to take the one year tender. With the Warriors now having more cap room with Davis leaving, look for them to lock him up long term as long as he doesn't overestimate his value.

5: Monta Ellis is one of the most exciting young PG/SG in the league but at the same time might be pricing himself out of a contract, thinking he is better than he actually is. He wants 10 Mil a year which is ridiculous for someone that can't even run a team full time. The Warriors should lock him up now with Baron gone but can Monta even run the team?

6: James Posey is going to cash in off of his championship runs with the Celtics and Heat. He is now known as that defensive stopper off the bench that has great leadership abilities. Look for someone to give him a full midlevel exception with the Pistons likely to get him.

7: Loul Deng is also one of the players that should have taken the contract that was offered last year. He had an off year this past season and needs to prove that he will rebound from it before any team is going to spend big money on him. He will either reach a deal with the Bulls this summer or take the qualifying offer.

8: Ben Gordon has to feel like an idiot right now. Because of bad advice last year, he turned down a $50 million deal that was way above market value. He will be lucky to get a full midlevel and will most likely take the 1 year tender and stay with the Bulls or be included in a sign and trade.

9: Nenad Krstic would be much higher on this list except for a knee injury that really derailed him and made him look very ineffective when he returned. He has a good offensive feel and should take the one year tender with the Nets so that he can get fully healthy and work himself back into a bigger deal next season. The 76ers are rumored to be interested in him.

10: Kurt Thomas is an excellent pickup for any team needing a tough inside presence. He will most likely re-sign with the Spurs.

11: Josh Childress is an excellent sixth man and will most likely return to the Hawks but would be an amazing fit for the Jazz or Suns. He will have to wait till his Hawks teammate Josh Smith finds a home before someone starts looking at him seriously.

12: Jannero Pargo had an excellent run with the Hornets this past season and will try to cash in. The problem is that teams know that he's instant offense off the bench but not much else. It would be smart for him and extent his career if he stays in New Orleans where he can backup Chris Paul even if he has to take less money.

13: Louis Williams had an excellent year with the 76ers and should get a look from some teams but his restricted status could scare a few people away. Look for him to sign a decent deal with Philadelphia.

14: Kwame Brown will find someone to pay him. He has size and he can play defense but his offense is atrocious. He has been linked to the Jazz and Heat this off-season where he could come off the bench to provide inside defense for 20 minutes a night. Look for someone to give him part of their mid-level exception.

15: Ricky Davis is another player that some teams will just stay away from. While he has tried hard to change the league feeling of him being a head case, not every team is buying it. The Heat have been rumored to be willing to take him back at the veteran minimum, if he can find a bigger deal anywhere, look for him to take it.

16: Tyrone Lue should make his decisions between the Celtics and the Suns sometime before the end of the week. He could also go with the Heat because of the draw of south beach. Miami is rumored to be going after Jason Williams though.

17: Daniel Gibson is going to re-sign with the Cavs even if it’s just for the one year tender. He is looking for a big contract but there isn’t anyone that is going to give him one right now knowing that the Cavs will match.

18: Keyon Dooling is a great combo guard that looks to land in Miami or back with the Magic. He can start or come off the bench and will be a great addition to whatever team he joins.

19: Carlos Arroyo isn’t very well respected around the league but put together a good year as a backup in Orlando and that should land him with a team this season.

20: Boston Nachbar wants to stay with the Cavs and is a good shooter off of the bench. Other teams might give him a strong look as there aren’t many shooters let in free agency.

Top 5 by position

PG
1. Monta Ellis
2. Jannero Pargo
3. Louis Williams
4. Tyron Lue
5. Daniel Gibson

SG
1. Ben Gordon
2. Ricky Davis
3. Keyon Dooling
4. Sasha Vujacic
5. Carlos Delfino

SF
1. Andre Iguodala
2. James Posey
3. Loul Deng
4. Josh Childress
5. Boston Nachbar

PF
1. Josh Smith
2. Craig Smith
3. Carl Landry
4. Walter Herrrmann
5. Robert Horry

C
1. Emeka Okafor
2. Andris Biendrins
3. Nenad Krstic
4. Kurt Thomas
5. Kwame Brown

Recently signed players:
Antawn Jamison re-signed with the Wizards
Baron Davis signed with the Clippers
Gilbert Arenas re-signed with the Wizards
Jose Calderon re-signed with the Raptors
DeSagana Diop re-signed with the Mavericks
Beno Udrih re-signed with the Kings
Chris Duhon signed with the Knicks
Gerald Green signed with the Mavericks
Elton Brand signed with the 76ers
Corey Maggette signed with the Warriors
Mickael Pietrus singed with the Magic
James Jones signed with the Heat
Ronnie Turiaf signed an offer sheet with the Warriors, the Lakers have 7 days to match
Roger Mason signed with the Spurs
Brent Barry has signed with the Rockets
Patrick O’Bryant has singed with the Celtics
Jarvis Hays has signed with the Nets
Antoine Wright, Keith McLeod and James Singleton all signed with the Mavericks
Dee Brown signed with the Wizards
Eduardo Najera signed with the Nets

The NBA look for July 9th

2008-07-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

With the official kickoff to NBA signing day, the 76ers steel the best player available and land Elton Brand. Brand is the perfect PF to fit with that team and make them instant contenders in the East.

The question is what the teams that lost out on Brand are going to do. Corey Maggette saw the writing on the wall before Brand even announced his intentions and took a deal from the Warriors to play there at 5 years for 50 Mil. WHAT?! 50 Mil for 5 years for Maggette. Really?!

Maggette is a good player but not anywhere near that level. On top of that, who were the Warriors kidding offering him that much money? The only teams that had any cap room this off-season were the Clippers, Warriors, 76ers and Grizzlies. Maggette didn’t want to go back to the Clippers because he and the coach didn’t get along. The 76ers got Brand and the Grizzlies look they aren’t going to spend any of their money (which really isn’t that bad of an idea). The Warriors could have offered him a contract between 7.5-8 mil a year and it would have been the best thing he would have been offered all off-season. Instead the Warriors are paying him around 2-2.5 mil a year more than they should.

On top of that the Warriors use more of their remaining cap room to go after restricted free agent Ronnie Turiaf. WHAT?! Who is running the Warriors right now? They could have offered a minimum contract to a handful of big men and gotten what they will out of Turiaf. The contract is 4 million a year for 4 years. That is insane. It appears the reason they offered such a big deal is so that the Lakers don’t match the deal and who could blame them. That is way too much money for a backup PF/C that won’t give you anything but hustle off the bench that almost any big man in the NBDL could give them with a minimum contract.
Bad moves there Warriors, you’ll be regretting those when you could have landed Josh Smith or Emeka Okafor.

Basically after Brand, Baron Davis, Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas there isn’t one player that should receive more than 10 mil in free agency this year.

Emeka Okafor and Josh Smith would be the closest to 10 mil but are both restricted and would almost need to get 10 mil a year for their previous teams not to match and keep them.

So after the Warriors and 76ers have spent most of their money already, leaving the Clippers and Grizzlies with anything more than the midlevel exception to spend on free agents.

The Clippers are now being linked to both Smith and Okafor with Smith having the best chance of being picked up. The Clippers could technically pick up both of them if they structure their contracts correctly. But that would be a bit redundant. Smith is more of a PF/SF and Okafor is more of a PF/C. They overlap a bit, so it is doubtful that they will go for both.

The bad part is the player that doesn’t get picked is missing out on the big dollars and might not get it from their current team even. This would be a hard situation to be in and so both players should be willing to work with the Clippers to get signed.

The Grizzlies appear to be sitting around waiting to see what happens and will just continue to work on developing their own players and waiting till next season to spend some cash.

It is truly amazing to see how teams that have money are willing to throw it away just because they have the money available. Can you imagine if NBA GMs were buyers on eBay and how much money sellers would profit off of them. Even if something is only decent, NBA GMs will overpay for it.

A smart GM would make offers when they should be made, like the 76ers with Elton Brand. Bad GMs make offers higher than market value for players that aren’t necessarily going to move your team into playoff contention.

Sometimes it’s better to sit it out and wait for a superstar instead of paying a good players superstar type money.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the Warriors give into Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins and give them both 10 million a year.

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In the most underrated move of the off-season, the Magic have gotten Mickael Pietrus to sign with the team. Pietrus is a great wing defender and 3 point shooter. He is also freakishly athletic and will be a great upgrade for the Magic at the 2 spot. Finally giving the team a wing defender and another 3 point threat. Look for the Magic to pick up another free agent big man and PG this summer.

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The Heat have made an offer at 4 million a year to James Jones. This is a deal that Jones should not pass up. That’s the best offer that Jones is going to get and he will be able to go to the Heat and come off the bench and not have to be the man. That’s a role that he excels at.

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With Brand signing with the 76ers, look for Andre Iguodala to sign a long term contract with the team shortly. The 76ers will have a good nuclease for some time with Iguodala and Brand at the forward spots.

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The hot talk around Utah is that Carlos Boozer is going to opt out of his contract next season and bolt for the Heat. While that’s a disaster for the Jazz, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. With the Heat just drafting Michael Beasley and Udonis Haslem still on the roster, the Heat currently has 2 starting PF quality players on the roster. For Boozer to go to the Heat, it would set Beasley back and the team would have to get rid of Haslem. Unless Beasley is an utter bust, (which he isn’t and an article will be posted on this issue soon) there is no reason for Boozer to be heading to South Beach. Boozer will most likely opt out of his contract next season but should be re-signing with the Jazz on a new long term deal.

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Kurt Thomas is expected to resign with the Spurs though he is open to seeing what else is available for him.

Brent Barry is being pursued by the Suns but also could return to the Spurs. Look for him to receive the veteran minimum wherever he goes.

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Eduardo Najera is rumored to be returning to the Nuggets but word is that the freshly moved Oklahoma (insert team nickname here) will be making a move for him.

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With all the bigger name free agents having agreed to sign with teams look for many restricted free agents to become targets and for a player like James Posey to now find his spot. Every team that was pursing Maggette will now turn their attention towards Posey. He is clearly the next best unrestricted player on the market. The thing that scares off some teams is his age. He should be able to secure a 3 year contract from most teams but any team that is willing to pay him years 4 or 5 are really pushing it, though that is probably what he is looking for in a deal.

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Look for many of the second tier unrestricted players to start finding homes over the next few weeks. With James Jones and Mickael Pietrus already settling in, James Posey, Ricky Davis, Brent Barry, Kurt Thomas, Jannero Pargo, Kwame Brown, Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Keyon Dooling all should find homes quickly as the big dominos have already dropped.

2008-07-07T08:46:00.000-07:00

The top 20 is updated as well as player info depending on if there was any news involving the player over the past week.

Recently signed players:
Antawn Jamison re-signed with the Wizards
Baron Davis signed with the Clippers
Gilbert Arenas re-signed with the Wizards
Jose Calderon re-signed with the Raptors
DeSagana Diop re-signed with the Mavericks
Beno Udrih re-signed with the Kings
Chris Duhon signed with the Knicks
Gerald Green signed with the Mavericks

If there is one thing apparent by this off-season is that there is a plethora of SF but a lack of depth at almost every other position. The other problem is that so many of the good free agents are restricted free agents, slowing the off-season down to a crawl after it’s initial bang. The other trend is for teams to offer starters money for average PGs. With B. Davis, Arenas, Calderon, Udrih and Duhon off the market, the next wave of PGs are all young and inexperienced or near the end of their careers. But teams are still going to overpay for someone they like.

1: Elton Brand: Brand sits with an offer from the Clippers and Warriors on the table. He will re-sign with the Warriors but is taking his time so that it doesn’t look so much like he and Baron Davis had this planned out for some time.

2: Emeka Okafor: This guy is a beast on the boards and defensive end. The problem is he has been in Charlotte on a very bad team where he has often had to carry the load. If he could go to a team like the Jazz where he could concentrate on Defense and Rebounding, you would see his numbers increase and he would have the best year of his career. It’s a good bet that he takes the one year tender to be un-restricted next year, otherwise he could get himself locked into the Bobcats organization for the next few years.

3: Josh Smith is a hugely talented player that hopefully one day will be able to maximize that ability. I don’t know if it’s because he has been in Atlanta and not had the best coach or what, but this guy is a bit of a head case and that needs to be reeled in for him to become the player that many want him to be. Philadelphia is the most likely suitor besides Atlanta. Look for the 76ers to offer him a deal with it loaded up front so that the Hawks will be less likely to match.

4: Corey Maggette: Maggette has offers on the table but will go with the Spurs. He knows that he would fit perfectly with them, offering offence at the SF position and boosting a team that looks like it is getting older and giving it some athleticism.

5: Andre Iguodala would be hire but because of his restricted status, he’s staying here. It looks like Philly will do everything they can to re-sign him.

6: Andris Biedrins fits with almost any team in the league, being able to provide energy around the basket. Look for the Warriors to match any deal and for him to take the one year tender. With the Warriors now having more cap room with Davis leaving, look for them to lock him up long term as long as he doesn’t overestimate his value.

7: Monta Ellis is one of the most exciting young PG/SG in the league but at the same time might be pricing himself out of a contract, thinking he is better than he actually is. He wants 10 Mil a year which is ridiculous for someone that can’t even run a team full time. The Warriors should lock him up now with Baron gone but can Monta even run the team?

8: James Posey is going to cash in off of his championship runs with the Celtics and Heat. He is now known as that defensive stopper off the bench that has great leadership abilities. Look for someone to give him a full midlevel exception with the Pistons likely to get him.

9: Loul Deng is also one of the players that should have taken the contract that was offered last year. He had an off year this past season and needs to prove that he will rebound from it before any team is going to spend big money on him. He will either reach a deal with the Bulls this summer or take the qualifying offer.

10: Ben Gordon has to feel like an idiot right now. Because of bad advice last year, he turned down a $50 million deal that was way above market value. He will be lucky to get a full midlevel and will most likely take the 1 year tender and stay with the Bulls or be included in a sign and trade.

11: Nenad Krstic would be much higher on this list except for a knee injury that really derailed him and made him look very ineffective when he returned. He has a good offensive feel and should take the one year tender with the Nets so that he can get fully healthy and work himself back into a bigger deal next season. The 76ers are rumored to be interested in him.

12: Kurt Thomas is an excellent pickup for any team needing a tough inside presence. He will most likely re-sign with the Spurs.

13: Josh Childress is an excellent sixth man and will most likely return to the Hawks but would be an amazing fit for the Jazz or Suns. He will have to wait till his Hawks teammate Josh Smith finds a home before someone starts looking at him seriously.

14: Mickael Pietrus will be a steal for whoever gets him because it’s most likely he won’t get a full midlevel. Some teams knowing they don’t have the money to go after the bigger free agents should try to get him on their team. Another excellent addition to either the Suns, Spurs or Jazz.

15: Brent Barry might be getting up there in age but like he showed in the playoffs, he can still hit the three and can get a team back into a game through his efforts. Look for the Spurs to re-sign him.

16: James Jones had an excellent year with the Blazers coming off the bench at both SF and PF. He is an excellent 3 point shooter and was used in a role that best suits his style of play. The Pistons are taking a long look at him and it is unlikely that he returns to an already stacked Blazers team.

17: Jannero Pargo had an excellent run with the Hornets this past season and will try to cash in. The problem is that teams know that he’s instant offense off the bench but not much else. It would be smart for him and extent his career if he stays in New Orleans where he can backup Chris Paul even if he has to take less money.

18: Louis Williams had an excellent year with the 76ers and should get a look from some teams but his restricted status could scare a few people away. Look for him to sign a decent deal with Philadelphia.

19: Kwame Brown will find someone to pay him. He has size and he can play defense but his offense is atrocious. He has been linked to the Jazz this off-season where he could come off the bench to provide inside defense for 20 minutes a night. Look for someone to give him part of their mid-level exception.

20: Ricky Davis is another player that some teams will just stay away from. While he has tried hard to change the league feeling of him being a head case, not every team is buying it. The Heat have been rumored to be willing to take him back at the veteran minimum, if he can find a bigger deal anywhere, look for him to take it.

Top 5 by position

PG
1. Monta Ellis
2. Jannero Pargo
3. Louis Williams
4. Anthony Johnson
5. Tyronn Lue

SG
1. Ben Gordon
2. Brent Barry
3. Ricky Davis
4. Keyon Dooling
5. Sasha Vujacic

SF
1. Corey Maggette
2. Andre Iguodala
3. James Posey
4. Loul Deng
5. Josh Childress

PF
1. Elton Brand
2. Josh Smith
3. James Jones
4. Eduardo Najera
5. Ronnie Turiaf

C
1. Emeka Okafor
2. Andris Biendrins
3. Nenad Krstic
4. Kurt Thomas
5. Kwame Brown

Free Agent Frenzy

2008-07-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

Within the last 48 hours, the free agent market has been burning up and already their have been some signings that have changed the landscape of the NBA.

First off the PG market has exploded with Jose Calderon resigning with the Raptors and Beno Udrih resigning with the Kings.
Baron Davis has made the biggest noise in free agency by opting out of his last year with the Warriors and going to the LA Clippers. This was obviously a move that he had talked to Elton Brand about as both unexpetedly opted out of the last year of their deals with their respected teams. This obviously was so that Davis would be able to sign with the Clippers as a free agent and then Brand would just resign with the team. This suddenly changes the landscape of both the Clippers and Warriors.

The Clippers are basically set now at PG/PF/C and will be looking to add depth now through veteran minimum singings, so they will continue to stay quite through the rest of free agency, just picking up leftover players when available. It's safe to say that Shaun Livingstons time in LA is done.

The Warriors now have a lot of cap room and can resign some of their own free agents. Monta Ellis is now a lock to return to the team and Andris Biendrins could get a long term deal. This also gives them a lot of money to go after any other free agent they may want to target on the market. Look for them to make one last run at Gilbert Arenas, but Arenas will most likely return to the Wizards.

This also is good for every other free agent PG on the market, instead of having a tier 1 then 2 and so forth of players, that tier is already moved to 2. Level 2 guys are you best chance now if you need a PG increasing the money they could receive as their could be more urgency there. In the mean time, most of the players left at PG are going to be backup PGs at best and so they should not get paid more than what they are worth. But this is the NBA and that happens more often than not.

Other News and Notes
Dallas has signed Gerald Green to a one year deal. He might not even make it to training camp with the team but he is at least worth the risk to see if he has worked on his game in the off season. It's rumored that they will also sign DeSagana Diop to a large 5 year deal using the full midlevel exception. Matt Barnes has been rumored to be heading to Dallas but if they use their full midlevel on Diop, it will be interesting to see if Barnes is happy taking the minimum to play.

Deron Williams doesn’t look like he is in a hurry to sign a new contract with the Jazz and that should really scare Jazz fans. Deron still has a chance of leaving the Jazz and that would destroy the franchise. It really depends on where the Jazz are at the end of next season and if Deron is happy with the results.

The next group of young PGs that teams are interested in include Chris Duhon (Linked to almost every team in the NBA with the Knicks most likely to sign him), Monta Ellis (a lock to get a long term deal from the Warriros), Shaun Livingston (a huge risk if he will return to pre-injury playing condition), Sebastian Telfair (Miami) and Jannero Pargo (Nuggets and a return to the Hornets).

There is also a group of veteran PGs that could also be part time starters incase of injury. This group includes Jason Williams (Magic), Damon Stoudamire, Sam Cassell (linked to Denver and a return to Boston), Tyronn Lue (Suns and Miami), Carlos Arroyo (Denver linked) and Anthony Johnson (Suns).

The Jazz are looking for backup Cs and wingmen. Ronny Turiaf and Kwame Brown have drawn interest as well as Devean George and James Posey. If the Jazz really want to swing for the fences and make a bold move, try to steal Omeka Okafor away from the Bobcats, offer him a big deal and see if they would match. He would be a perfect fit with the Jazz’s system, finally giving the team a big man that is willing to rebound and defend the paint. It would allow Okur to come off the bench and fit in at either PF when Boozer sits or C when Okafor is out.

The Suns have been linked to back up PGs like Lue and Johnson. Both would be a great boost to depth of the team. Also look for them to pick up a SF if one falls into their laps and a backup big. It is likely they will not spend their midlevel exception and will just be looking for minimum salary players.

Boston has made offers for both James Posey and Corey Maggette and are just waiting to see which one takes the offer. They have also had fan favorite Chris Anderson in. He could easily take the place of Scot Pollard on the end of the bench.

Top 20 NBA Free Agents

2008-04-29T21:56:00.001-07:00

Top 20 Free Agents:

1. Elton Brand: If you look at the list bellow of top 5 at each position, you see that PF has a complete lack of solid players after Brand and Josh Smith. Brand should be fully healthy this year and would be a great addition for any team. He doesn’t need the ball to be effective and is a beast on the defensive end. Teams like Miami and Philadelphia will be doing their best to get him away from the Clippers, though he claims he is just looking for a longer deal from the Clips. He is looking to get on a team that is looking to make a championship run. If this is the case, he should think about signing with the Pistons for a midlevel deal.

2. Baron Davis: Davis made a surprise move by voiding the last year of his deal with the Warriors. He is looking to get onto a team that is playoff ready team but could find himself with the Clippers, Wizards or back with the Warriors.

3. Gilbert Arenas: I only have Arenas bellow Davis because Arenas at times can hurt his team more than he helps them. If I’m a team, I do not give him close to a max deal if I’m looking to win a championship, in fact I don’t think he has the ability to win a championship because too often the story is too much about him. Look for the Clippers, Kings, Warriors or Wizards to end up with him in the end with a max deal.

4. Emeka Okafor gets my nod at number four even though he is a restricted free agent. This guy is a beast on the boards and defensive end. The problem is he has been in Charlotte on a very bad team where he has often had to carry the load. If he could go to a team like the Jazz where he could concentrate on Defense and Rebounding, you would see his numbers increase and he would have the best year of his career. It’s a good bet that he takes the one year tender to be un-restricted next year, otherwise he could get himself locked into the Bobcats organization for the next few years.

5. Josh Smith is a hugely talented player that hopefully one day will be able to maximize that ability. I don’t know if it’s because he has been in Atlanta and not had the best coach or what, but this guy is a bit of a head case and that needs to be reeled in for him to become the player that many want him to be. Philadelphia is the most likely suitor besides Atlanta. A good bet is that he takes the one year tender to become unrestricted next year.

6. Corey Maggette just barely irks out this spot. Maggette would be an excellent fit in Utah and Phoenix where his offense would fit perfectly in the systems already in place. He is a good enough 3 point shooter to really fit into both teams. Miami and Orlando are also options with Orlando supposedly holding the edge at this moment.

7. Andre Iguodala would be hire but because of his restricted status, he’s staying here. It looks like Philly will do everything they can to re-sign him.

8. Jose Calderon is a lock to be re-signed by the Raptors

9. Andris Biedrins fits with almost any team in the league, being able to provide energy around the basket. Look for the Warriors to match any deal and for him to take the one year tender.

10. Monta Ellis is one of the most exciting young PG/SG in the league but at the same time might be pricing himself out of a contract, thinking he is better than he actually is. Look for the Warriors to lock him up for a long time unless Baron or Gilbert are signed.

11. DeSagana Diop would fit on so many teams but it appears that it’s a lock that he will be back with the Mavs.

12. Beno Udrih played himself into a contract and should get a full midlevel from someone. He is basically waiting for the dominos to fall with Baron, Monta and Gilbert before he finds a home. That is unless a team jumps right on him with a full midlevel and he takes it.

13. James Posey is going to cash in off of his championship runs with the Celtics and Heat. He is now known as that defensive stopper off the bench that has great leadership abilities. Look for someone to give him a full midlevel exception with the Pistons likely to get him.

14. Loul Deng is also one of the players that should have taken the contract that was offered them. He had an off year last year and needs to prove that he will rebound from it before any team is going to spend big money on him. He will either reach a deal with the Bulls this summer or take the qualifying offer.

15. Ben Gordon has to feel like an idiot right now. Because of bad advice last year, he turned down a $50 million deal that was way above market value. He will be lucky to get a full midlevel and will most likely take the 1 year tender and stay with the Bulls.

16. Nenad Krstic would be much higher on this list except for a knee injury that really derailed him and made him look very ineffective when he returned. He has a good offensive feel and should take the one year tender with the Nets so that he can get fully healthy and work himself back into a bigger deal next season.

17. Kurt Thomas is an excellent pickup for any team needing a tough inside presence. He will most likely re-sign with the Spurs.

18. Josh Childress is an excellent sixth man and will most likely return to the Hawks but would be an amazing fit for the Jazz or Suns.

19. Mickael Pietrus will be a steal for whoever gets him because it’s most likely he won’t get a full midlevel. Some teams knowing they don’t have the money to go after the bigger free agents should try to get him on their team. Another excellent addition to either the Suns or Jazz.

20. Brent Barry might be getting up there in age but like he showed in the playoffs, he can still hit the three and can get a team back into a game through his efforts. Look for the Spurs to re-sign him.

Top 5 by position

PG
1. Baron Davis
2. Jose Calderon
3. Monta Ellis
4. Beno Udrih
5. Chris Duhon

SG
1. Gilbert Arenas
2. Ben Gordon
3. Brent Barry
4. Ricky Davis
5. Keyon Dooling

SF
1. Corey Maggette
2. Andre Iguodala
3. James Posey
4. Loul Deng
5. Josh Childress

PF
1. Elton Brand
2. Josh Smith
3. James Jones
4. Eduardo Najera
5. Ronnie Turiaf

C
1. Emeka Okafor
2. Andris Biendrins
3. DeSagana Diop
4. Kurt Thomas
5. Nenad Krstic

Flash's beginning and fist two games

2007-12-05T08:16:00.000-08:00

The Flash get started in Utah.

To give a little background here, I’m a huge basketball fan. I’ve grown up a huge Phoenix Suns fan and have watched and played basketball since as long as I can remember. While in college I wrote for four years covering the Suns/Jazz/Rookies/Free Agents/Rocky Mountain Revue for Hoopsworld.com. I also wrote the cover article on Deron Williams for the magazine SWISH #3. The last bit of sports writing I did was for the Utah Jazz’s website about two years ago.
Basketball is just something I enjoy. Not many people can name you the roster for the 2000 Bucks and Clippers, but I can, go Keith Closs.

When I found out that we were getting an NBDL team in Utah County I was stoked. I bought my season tickets soon as they went on sale. I watched as info came in on the team. I bought tickets behind the visitors bench soon as tickets went on sale. I watched the draft with joy as Kevin Kruger fell into the Flash’s hands with the 10th pick and was thrilled that Boston had joined with the Jazz to be the Pro teams connected with the Flash.

That gives a total of 9 players that could join the Flash over the course of the season from the NBA. Of course the chance of all 9 being assigned to the Flash isn’t very good.

The Jazz have Morris Almond (R), Ronnie Brewer, Kyrylo Fesenko (R) and Paul Millsap as potential D-Leaguers. Brewer and Millsap are both intricate pieces of the Jazz’s current lineup so there is almost no chance they will join the team this season. Second Round pick Fesenko (Fez) is most likely to be on the team for the whole season. He’s a big 7’1 kid that is really raw but has tons of potential. He’s agile, big and quick with a feel for offense. This gives the Flash an inside presence. Morris Almond could join the team and probably should sometime in the year if he isn’t getting any time with the Jazz. With 3 players in front of him on the depth chart, he might as well get assigned to the Flash so he can get some game time.

Boston has Glen Davis (R), Leon Powe, Gabe Pruitt (R), Rajon Rondo and Brandon Wallace (R) all elligble to be assigned to the Flash. Rondo and Davis are both seeing lots of time with the Celtics. Pruitt was assigned to the Flash for the first two games, had such good games that Boston called him back. Powe is seeing playing time in the NBA but could see some time in the D-League and Wallace was a training camp invitee that made the Celtics roster and then assigned to the Flash. There’s a good chance he will be on the team all year with Pruitt and Powe seeing time back and forth.

Now if you see anything missing from the D-League team is that lack of a PG. You have a Center in Fez, SG in Almond if he ever is assigned and same with Puitt and a SF in Wallace. So a PG is a top need and luckily the Flash filled that spot in the NBDL draft.

Kevin Kruger was taken with the 10th pick. He’s a rookie PG just out of UNLV. With him the Flash will have a good chance of winning just about all their games, without him, the team is in trouble as the players behind him are not on his level. He is probably the first player from the Flash that could be picked up by a NBA team.

Now that the history of the Flash is done, on to the games.

Tuesday Nov 27th – This is the home opener for the Flash. I can’t tell you how excited I was for the game. Basketball is a big thing in my life and I enjoy every aspect of it. I sit right behind the Visitors bench with a great view of everything going on at the games and what is happening on opponents bench. This is basically why I wanted these tickets. I like to see the interaction of the players and the coach. Watching players sitting on the bench is a great time, see what they are joking about, what dancer they are staring at or what songs get them dancing.

Opening night I got my wife to go with me, she later told me that she was up for one game a week and not the two that happen most weeks. So I’m going to have to go with a friend to half the games, which could be a lot of fun to hang out with guys I normally don’t get to see while enjoying some good basketball. I bought these tickets before we found out she was pregnant with out second kid, so after she found out exactly how much the tickets were, she wasn’t as happy about it as she was when I had the green light and we didn’t think any baby was on the way. Our son is 15 months and full of energy, he doesn’t sit. I don’t know if he can sit, he runs and walks all day, never sitting, just walking, he’s always got something to do or to get into, so trying to sit with a kid at one of these games would be a nightmare, luckily my Mom lives about 5 minutes from UVU so we dropped him off at her place.
It was important to me to get to the game ahead of tip-off because I wanted to see the crowd, feel the energy and see the players up close. See how they reacted to opening night and just get the feel.

The place was about 1/3 to 2/4 full. Not sold out by any means but what can you expect for a Tuesday night. Tons of families and kids, which is cool cause Conner (my son) will love it once he’s a little older. Lots of things to do for kids like the air jump areas and little basketball stands and such.

The Flash had already started their season going 1-1 before the home opener. Unfortunately, Boston has already pulled one of the two players that they have assigned to the Flash back to Boston. Gabe Pruitt was playing at a high level the first two games, Boston must have seen enough and pulled him up, since then, he’s only played sparingly on a team that is stacked in the NBA

Tonight is Dakota, which should be a good win for the Flash. The team doesn’t appear to have anyone that really stands out but the Flash start off really slow. At one point being down 22-11, which at that point I started to lose faith in the team, mostly because I thought the team might be outmatched for the rest of the season and we would continue to get blown out. Luckily the Flash went on a run and caught up and basically kept it close till the end.

Dakota was able to pull it out in the last few seconds while the crowd got into it. The sad part is that the home opener was spoiled but the Flash gave the crowd what they wanted. It was a lot of fun and I was really looking forward to the next game.

Thursday Nov 29 – Bakersfield is in town tonight. My wife was a no-go so I was trying to get my friend Scott to go, he finally got the okay from his wife later in the day and we were good to go. The bad thing is that Scott wouldn’t get off work till about half time, so I’d have to hang for the first half by myself.
This game started off a lot better, the game was close just about the whole time. Kruger didn’t play as much it seamed this game. Fez didn’t play as well this game as he did in the first home game. This might have been because Jerry Sloan and many other Jazz players were in the audience this night.

Bajio’s is one of the sponsors of the team, which means that they do a half time eating contest, where they provide a burrito and an energy drink and have two guys see who can finish both the quickest and then hit a lay-up. This fell flat on it’s face when the kids that came out to eat this were two skinny teens that both were wearing girl jeans. Neither guy looks like he can put down a burger, so they get started and by the time the half time 20 minutes was over, they still hadn’t finished the burrito. The announcer had already started talking about other things going on because of how boring these two kids were. The MC finally told them to put it in their jeans and first one to hit the shot won, so that’s what happened, so these kids had 20 minutes to finish off one of these burritos and still couldn’t do it. To capture how long it takes for someone like myself to finish, I usually can finish one of these in about 5 minutes while enjoying each bite.

Scott gets there and we get back to my seats and he’s blown away by how good they are. So we talk to the guy in front of us and he’s part of the company that owns the team. He’s a cool guy who’s there with his family, so it was cool talking to him about the team.

Scott played high school ball and understands the game well. He kept saying he wanted to get out on the court with some of the guys, saying he could take them. But then he kept saying that some of the players were so close to getting to the NBA, so it was funny, cause every guy feels that they could hang with a ‘pro’ player, but I somehow doubt it. I watched Casey Jacobsen for about two years in the Rocky Mountain Revue and I felt I could take him the whole time, I doubt I could now, but I thought I could at the time. Haha, the guys 6’6 and a whole lot bigger than me, but I can take him.

The game was once again close down to the end. The Flash were down and had a few seconds left to get a score, the ball went into the corner to Michael Cuffee and he hit a game winning three and got fouled in the process, giving the Flash a three point lead after the maid free throw. The crowd was going nuts.

Next home game is Friday the 7th and I’ll update the blog shortly after the game.