NBA Off-Season...

[Karizma]

Heat want Malik Allen to go instead of Caron, which would make the Heat 10x better, and give them a good run at the top of East.Wade, Jones, Butler, Walker/Haslem/whoever, Shaq.That team would be atleast top 3, maybe top 2 in the East, definately playoff contenders instantly.

Heat are my favourite team, don't ask why, but that would be wicked if they got Shaq for that.

[livid]

Heat want Malik Allen to go instead of Caron, which would make the Heat 10x better, and give them a good run at the top of East.Wade, Jones, Butler, Walker/Haslem/whoever, Shaq.That team would be atleast top 3, maybe top 2 in the East, definately playoff contenders instantly.

Heat are my favourite team, don't ask why, but that would be wicked if they got Shaq for that.

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Something tells me that the Lakers wouldn't want to make that deal, if Caron was to not be apart of it.

[sahyder1]

If Shaq doesn't lead the league in scoring next year, something is definitely wrong. He should have little trouble getting 35 a night in the East.

[punky]

I really don't like this deal for Miami because all they will have now is Shaq, Jones & Wade to go with a bunch of rookies. They had a solid core with Grant, Odom, Bultler, Jones & Wade with alot of role players on the bench and I think THAT team would have a better shot than with Shaq.

Let's face it, Shaq is on the downswing of his career and even though he's a force, the Pistons prove if you let him get his shots/points and shut down everyone else, Shaq isn't a factor anymore.

[thuganomic]

Who wins a championship first, Kobe or Shaq?

Or will they win one, period?

[Miami Vice]

Even tough I am a huge Raptors fan, i would like to see Shaq in Miami. Miami is my second favorit team and we (The Raptors) just signed there starting PG. If Miami gets Shaq they are easily one of the top two teams in the East.

[thuganomic]

Even tough I am a huge Raptors fan, i would like to see Shaq in Miami. Miami is my second favorit team and we (The Raptors) just signed there starting PG. If Miami gets Shaq they are easily one of the top two teams in the East.

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I disagree.

Pistons and Pacers are still forces to be reckoned with. We haven't seen Shaq win anything in the last 2 years without a supporting cast, and Eddie Jones and Dwayne Wade, no matter how talented they are, are no Kobe, Malone, and Payton.

Pacers are only getting better, and throw in the defending champs in there, nothing's absolute in the East.

[thatshortguy]

Miami finishes third behind Detroit & Indiana, unless a team like Orlando finally comes together with Francis/Mobley/Hill. Kobe will take a title before Shaq will, for the simple fact that the east is still the lesser of the conferences...however, the gap is closing.

[Slimg]

Orlando finally comes together with Francis/Mobley/Hill.

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Don't forget Emek-- oh thats right... they went with the pick that isn't as good as Emeka is currently and while Emeka is getting better he will just be getting as good as Emeka is in 2004... too bad they have to wait a few years before they have a chance at a playoff spot.

Edited July 11, 2004 by Slimg

[Guest bukkake bandit]

Fascinating rumor.

Knicks eye Ilgauskas

Cavs asking about Kurt

BY FRANK ISOLA.

DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland's 7-2 center, has been subject of trade talks between Knicks and Cavs. 

Call it the Shaquille O'Neal trickle-down effect. With O'Neal close to being traded to the Miami Heat, Isiah Thomas could have an opportunity to add an All-Star center of his own.

The Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers have held preliminary talks about a deal for 7-2 Zydrunas Ilgauskas, according to a league source. Cleveland initiated the conversations and has expressed interest in power forward Kurt Thomas after the Cavs were burned by Carlos Boozer, the restricted free agent who verbally agreed on a deal to re-sign with Cleveland but instead signed an offer sheet with the Utah Jazz.

The Knicks would have to include at least one more player, perhaps Dikembe Mutombo or Nazr Mohammed, in the trade to satisfy the salary cap rules. The Knicks have an abundance of power forwards to trade and are confident that Michael Sweetney, last year's No. 1 pick, is ready to be a full-time player - if not a starter.

Thomas, who revamped nearly half the roster after taking over as team president last December, is still in talks with the Chicago Bulls about a deal for restricted free-agent guard Jamal Crawford.

Chicago GM John Paxson is debating several packages presented by the Knicks. A potential snag is Paxson's insistence that the Knicks take Eddie Robinson and Jerome Williams in the trade.

For the Knicks to assume the contracts of both Robinson and Williams, they want Chicago to take Moochie Norris off their hands rather than Frank Williams. Paxson, though, has little interest in Norris.

It is unclear if the Knicks would pursue a trade for Ilgauskas if they are unable to pull off a trade with the Bulls. Thomas wants to add more scoring and is in ongoing talks with the Dallas Mavericks regarding power forward Antoine Walker. A deal for Walker would have to include Kurt Thomas, the former Mavs player who is a favorite of team owner Mark Cuban.

Ilgauskas is arguably the best center in the Eastern Conference - at least until Shaq arrives - and would significantly upgrade the Knicks' front line. Ilgauskas has averaged 14 points and eight rebounds in six seasons. He has also missed two full years with foot problems but has enjoyed two straight healthy seasons.

The 29-year-old Ilgauskas would give the Knicks a formidable low post scoring threat who would excel in the pick-and-roll game with Stephon Marbury. Any deal for Ilgauskas could take weeks to finalize because Cleveland still has a chance, albeit a small one, to match the offer for Boozer.

Originally published on July 12, 2004

That would be a stupid trade for the Cavs.

[thuganomic]

Should the Shaquille O'Neal trade to Miami go through, as expected, you can safely expect Gary Payton to seek his own escape from the Lakers.

League sources told ESPN.com on Sunday night that Payton will push this week for a buyout of his contract if the Lakers complete the proposed trade with the Heat that would bring Lamar Odom, Brian Grant, Caron Butler and a future first-round pick to Los Angeles.

Payton, sources said, has serious reservations about what the Lakers can achieve without a recognized power player joining them in O'Neal's place. Without O'Neal, sources added, Payton has lost the teammate who lured him to Los Angeles. Lakers sources, however, indicated that the club would be reluctant to let Payton go without getting something back in a trade.

Although the root of Payton's discontent in his first season as a Laker was Phil Jackson's triangle offense, there were also questions from the start about how he would mesh offensively with Kobe Bryant, because both Payton and Bryant like to dominate the ball.

The Lakers have a busy week ahead no matter what Payton does. First, they must complete the O'Neal trade, and then comes their foremost assignment of the summer -- getting Bryant officially re-signed. Wednesday is the first day free agents can sign new contracts and the Lakers hope that Jackson's exit and the forthcoming O'Neal deal will convince Bryant to promptly ink a new seven-year contract worth an estimated $130 million. Bryant's other option is bolting to the cross-town Clippers in a six-year deal.

Payton, who turns 36 on July 23, exercised an option for next season worth $5.4 million, realizing that his spotty playoff production made it dicey that he could command a similar salary in free agency. To get away from the Lakers now, Payton must ask to be waived -- a request that would require negotiations between player and team to determine how much of that $5.4 million he'd receive as a payoff.

Payton could also ask to be traded, as O'Neal did, but sources say he'd prefer the buyout scenario, which would then free him to sign with another team of his choosing. The Lakers, though, could rebuff Payton and elect to keep him as a trade asset, because his salary-cap number might be attractive to teams looking for players in their final year of their contracts.

Payton's season-long struggles to adapt to Jackson's offense deepened as the playoffs progressed. In the NBA Finals against Detroit, basically reduced to a spot-up shooter, Payton averaged just 4.2 points and missed 19 of 28 field-goal attempts.

Payton, though, did start in every game for the Lakers: 104 including his 22 playoff starts. He averaged 14.6 points and 5.5 assists during the regular season, and the Lakers were hoping for a rejuvenated Payton next season, after Jackson's departure and the arrival of Rudy Tomjanovich. Payton played for Tomjanovich at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and is said to be a big fan of the noted players' coach.

Credit:ESPN.com

[Guest Finisher123]

Z for kurt thomas and mutumbo? no thanks.

[Blitz]

Cleveland is one of the stupidest basketball franchises out there. First they get rid of Ricky Davis, then let Carlos Boozer get away from them, now Ilgauskas. Bleh, Cleveland sucks, they should have taken Darko .

[Guest bukkake bandit]

Speaking of the Cavs, they're now trying to persuade Boozer to sign a one year deal worth the MLE, and then offer him a fat contract thereafter...

Edit-And Boozer's agent has now apparently resigned his services to him.

Edited July 12, 2004 by Anthony

[GhostMachine]

If Shaq's reasons for wanting the Lakers have more to do with being lied to than Shaq's ego and his problems with Kobe, like he's claimed, that's fine.

If Shaq wanted out simply because of his overblown ego and the fact that he can't get along with Kobe, then I hope Miami has the worst record in the NBA every season he plays for them.

I see Rudy Tomjanovich as more of a transition coach than anything, but who knows? He might surprise me.

And I'm not surprised at what's happened with the Cavs. They're one of the worst run organizations in the NBA, in my opinion.

[Guest Hurricane]

Saturday, July 10, 2004

Updated: July 12, 4:36 PM ET

ESPN.com

Free agent forward Antonio McDyess agreed to a four-year contract Monday with the Detroit Pistons worth $23 million, league source told ESPN Insider Chad Ford.

A league source told Ford that an additional year would be guaranteed if McDyess plays a minimum of 60 games in the fourth year of the deal.

The contract cannot officially be signed until Wednesday.

McDyess finished last season with the Phoenix Suns after being part of the January trade that sent Stephon Marbury to the Knicks.

The Boston Celtics were among the serious suitors for McDyess, who would likely replace Mehmet Okur in the Pistons' rotation. Okur has agreed to a $50 million offer sheet from the Utah Jazz and the Pistons are unlikely to match it. Detroit is still hoping to re-sign free agent forward Rasheed Wallace, whose play in the second half of the season and playoffs helped the Pistons claim the NBA championship.

The 29-year-old McDyess was one of the league's premier young power forwards in the late '90s, averaging 21.2 points and 10.7 rebounds for the Denver Nuggets in the 1998-99 season. But a series of knee injuries have robbed McDyess of much of his explosiveness. He tore his left patella tendon in 2001, an injury that limited him to 10 games that season. He was traded to New York on draft night 2002 along with a draft pick and the rights to guard Frank Williams for Marcus Camby and forward Nene.

The Knicks penciled McDyess into their starting lineup and he looked as if he had fully recovered from the injury early in the 2002 preseason. But he fractured his left kneecap in a preseason game and missed the entire 2002-03 season. He came back last season and played in 18 games for New York before being dealt to Phoenix. For the season, McDyess played in 42 games and averaged 6.9 points and 6.1 rebounds.

Sounds good to me, but I think McDyess might be too old to make a big impact. But then again, he was an Allstar not too long ago, so you never know...

[edcq]

completely unrelated...but Hurricane, is that your own action figure in your sig?

[thuganomic]

How is he too old? He's 29

The only thing that worries me are his injuries.

[David Hassellhoff]

And especially a knee injury. Obviously a knee injury can take you from an all star player to a role player.(See Penny Hardaway)

[Quom]

I hope Detroit is still aiming to re-sign 'Sheed and they aren't thinking they can replace him with McDyess.