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SeanB Rookie

SeanB

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Why would the Magic trade Francis to the Sonics? After trading T-Mac they'd have Mobley and that would just leave them with 2 Great SG's.

Actually Mobley is more of a PG then a SG. If you can remember back to his rookie season in 1999(Lockout Year), he played the point and didn't move to the 2 until Francis was drafted which I believe was the following year. I'm sure if Francis was traded to Seattle Mobley could fill the Point nicely for Orlando.

But anyways I don't see why Francis doesn't want to go to Orlando.

I sort of don't see why Francis doesn't want to go to Orlando. He has some good things working for him.

1. His buddy Cuttino Mobley will be joining him.

2. Playing in Orlando allows him to be more of a scoring PG, which he is more comfortable with.

3. Orlando has the number one draft pick, they should select Okafor who can come in and make an impact immediately.

4. Playing in the East>Playing In The West(East is more guard dominated while the West is filled with big men.)

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Guest StreetzHopin

Guest StreetzHopin

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actually some NBA analysts think Mobley & Francis need to be splitted up after a few years of playing together. Francis has become a very selfish player....

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Guest StreetzHopin

Guest StreetzHopin

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Trade With Bobcats

Akron Beacon Journal (registration required): "The Charlotte Bobcats took swingman Jason Kapono in the expansion draft, but the Cavaliers made a side deal with Charlotte to replace him. In a trade that is expected to be announced today, the Cavaliers traded a future first-round draft pick for the Utah Jazz's Aleksandar 'Sasha' Pavlovic, whom the Bobcats also drafted."

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POSSIBLE BLOCKBUSTER TRADE!

The Bulls and the Boston Celtics have discussed a trade that would send three-time all-star Paul Pierce to the Bulls for Tyson Chandler, the No. 3 pick in Thursday's NBA draft and another player to even out salaries, according to a source close to the Bulls.

If such a trade occurs, Scottie Pippen, Eddie Robinson and Jerome Williams would all work as the additional player. One theory has Boston eyeing Connecticut guard Ben Gordon with the third pick.

Neither Bulls general manager John Paxson nor Boston GM Danny Ainge returned calls requesting comment.

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Houston, We Have A Problem?

Florida Today: "The Tracy McGrady trade saga churned ahead Tuesday with apparently little resolution following a day of talks between the Orlando Magic and the agent for Houston guard Steve Francis. And it appears now that the Magic, seemingly determined to deal McGrady but unwilling to accept an offer from the Rockets, have reopened trade talks around the league because they are wondering if they can get a better deal."

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Hawks still eyeing pick #1...

Atlanta Journal-Constitution (registration required): "Undeterred that his attempt to seize the No. 2 pick -- and possibly local high school phenom Dwight Howard -- fell through, Knight said Tuesday that he has had trade talks with the Orlando Magic for the No. 1 pick. However, the Magic, already on the verge of parting ways with star player Tracy McGrady, seems unwilling to give up the top spot in Thursday's draft."

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Suns May Go After McGrady.

Arizona Republic (registration required): "Trade talks that would bring four-time All-Star and NBA scoring champion Tracy McGrady to Phoenix grew stronger Tuesday as Orlando's proposal to deal the guard to Houston faltered. Phoenix is discussing a package that would include Shawn Marion, the No. 7 pick in Thursday's draft and possibly another player, according to a person familiar with the negotiations."

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Bulls Still Very Busy.

Chicago Tribune (registration required): "The Bulls still might be able to swing a deal with Indiana for Al Harrington, although they won't do so for only the No. 3 pick. They also have contacted Atlanta, which owns picks Nos. 6 and 17, about interest in the third pick. t has been well documented that big-name players such as Dallas' Michael Finley and Boston's Paul Pierce can be had for the right price."
Edited by StreetzHopin
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SeanB Rookie

SeanB

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I also agree that Ben Gordon will be the steal of this draft. I'm shocked that in some of the scouting reports I've read through that people weren't that excited about this guy. The teams who pass on Gordon will get burned just like the teams that passed on Paul Pierce in his draft, and last year with Wade. There was no way Wade should have dropped to 9th last year, but it worked out better for him because he had the longest season out of any of the Top 10 Draft Picks(Excluding Darko, but what the hell did he do?)

If Gordon doesn't get drafted in the top 7, something is wrong.

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naiwf World Champion

naiwf

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I don't think it's fair to compare Gordon to Wade. He's not as strong and his ball handling isn't as good, but he might be a better shooter in the long run. If they'd come out in the same year Gordon would definitely have been picked well after Wade in my opinion. Having said that, he still has a chance to be a big star in THIS draft since it is pretty thin.

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sahyder1 Main Eventer

sahyder1

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Mavericks trade Antawn Jamison to the Wizards for the 5th overall pick in the NBA Draft, HUGE!

Wednesday, June 23, 2004

By Marc Stein

ESPN.com

The Dallas Mavericks, while still hoping to convince the Los Angeles Lakers to send them Shaquille O'Neal, look to have completed another major trade on the eve of the NBA draft, ESPN.com has learned.

The Mavericks, according to league sources, have acquired the No. 5 overall pick in Thursday's draft from Washington as part of a package that features Antawn Jamison, the newly minted Sixth Man of the Year, as the prize catch for the Wizards.

The other players involved in the deal were not immediately known. Sources, however, say the Mavericks hope to use the No. 5 pick -- or possibly another player or players acquired in the deal -- to sweeten the package they can offer the Lakers in exchange for the disgruntled O'Neal. It is also possible, sources say, that the Mavericks will pursue additional trades with the other pieces they land from Washington.

ESPN.com reported late Tuesday that, according to Lakers sources, L.A. refuses to deal O'Neal to their Western Conference rival unless Dallas makes Dirk Nowitzki available. Mavericks sources maintain that Nowitzki remains off-limits, but the prospect of adding the No. 5 pick to a package that could include point guard Steve Nash (via sign-and-trade), Antoine Walker (who has just one year left on his contract) and promising rookie Josh Howard should at least get the Lakers' attention.

If the Lakers do eventually consent to trade O'Neal, in the wake of Shaq's demand for a trade last week, their goal would be injecting their roster with quality youth and depth to surround Kobe Bryant.

If the Mavericks can't swing a subsequent deal for the No. 5 pick, they will undoubtedly weigh the merits of drafting Pavel Podkolzine, the 7-foot-5 center from Russia.

Jamison's appeal to the Wizards is obvious. Instead of gambling on more youth at No. 5 with an inexperienced roster already, Washington gets an established frontcourt scorer who should contend for an All-Star spot in the East after accepting a bench role without complaint in Dallas.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.

wasn't expecting this one. I hope they find a way to get rid of Walker somehow.

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sahyder1 Main Eventer

sahyder1

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By Chad Ford

ESPN Insider

Tracy McGrady may be wearing new colors next season, but don't put him in a Rockets uniform just yet.

Magic general manager John Weisbrod said Wednesday that Orlando is still in the process of fielding trade offers for McGrady and hasn't ruled out the All-Star's return to the team next season. Weisbrod said Orlando is weighing offers from no fewer than seven different teams for McGrady.

"I know because of the magnitude of the deal and the magnitude of him as a player it is a big rush to people to try and conclude where he is going to be, but all those options are still open," Weisbrod said Wednesday. "He could still be here, and obviously he could be traded. I would say there are at least seven teams that are still under consideration.

"There are plenty of deals out there right now if we wanted to do a deal for Tracy," he added. "There are plenty of deals out there right now obviously if we wanted to do a deal for the No. 1 pick. ... These are the two biggest chips that we have to use to improve a team that was a pretty bad team last year. There's no time pressure."

According to multiple reports Monday, the Rockets and Magic were close to finalizing a McGrady-for-Steve Francis deal that included multiple players, but two issues have popped up over the past few days that may have led the Magic to assess other options.

Francis, who has no veto power over a trade, said he doesn't want to play in Orlando.

Other teams interested in acquiring McGrady have sweetened their offers.

Nothing is settled, and Weisbrod said a McGrady trade is unlikely to happen before the draft.

"We certainly would have a good idea as to what our options are, what we could conceivably do with Tracy before we go into the draft, but there are a lot of pieces that go into it," he said.

"I don't really read the papers or follow the media, but I've just heard because of all the GMs that are calling in that it has been reported or the assumption is out there that it is done, or Houston is the team. That is certainly not the case. We are still weighing all of our options."

A source in Houston confirmed on Wednesday that the Rockets no longer are the only team involved. In fact, multiple league sources say that Orlando's hottest talks on Tuesday were with the Suns.

The Magic are trying to pry Shawn Marion, Joe Johnson and the No. 7 pick in the draft away from the Suns. According to sources and reports, the Magic believe the Suns have the most to offer. However, Phoenix wants to keep Johnson and is reluctant to put him in the mix, preferring instead to deal Marion, Casey Jacobsen and the No. 7 for McGrady.

The stumbling block to making that deal happen may not be Johnson or Jacobsen, however. McGrady is still insisting he'll only sign a long-term contract extension with the Rockets. Because McGrady can opt out of his contract at the end of this season, teams are insisting that he waive his opt-out clause or sign an extension before trading for him.

If the Magic and Rockets consummate a deal, the official announcement might be held up depending on which players are included. Since Francis' contract extension went into effect this year, he is considered a base-year player, meaning the Rockets can take back only 50 percent of his contract value in trade until June 30.

Sources have told ESPN.com that the base-year compensation concerns about Francis are overblown. There are workable combinations of players that would make Francis tradable immediately if the Magic choose to pull the trigger. Some combinations of players and salaries would require the Rockets to wait until after June 30 for Francis' base-year status to expire. In that scenario, the trade could not be completed until after July 15 because of the NBA's moratorium on player movement from July 1-15.

The original deal with Houston, first reported on Monday, also had Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines heading to Houston while Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato went to the Magic.

McGrady would not comment Tuesday on any potential trades.

"I don't know what you're talking about," McGrady said when questioned by the Orlando Sentinel.

The Rockets are still McGrady's first and most likely choice. However, that deal still may hinge on Francis. The Magic spoke with Francis' agent, Jeff Fried, on Tuesday and Wednesday in an effort to smooth things over.

"Steve's preference is to not go to Orlando," Fried said. "Steve's tasted the playoffs. [The Rockets] got a series under their belts. He was looking forward to going further with the same Rockets team but with another year of experience together. This is certainly not his preference. He loves Houston."

Weisbrod says he understands Francis' initial reaction.

"He doesn't have any aversion to coming to Orlando, from what I understand," Weisbrod said. "He has an aversion to leaving Houston, based on everything he has been through with them and some of his commitments and understanding as to what they told him his future was there. ... It was unfortunate that the kid was put in that position because he is asked all these questions as if there was some deal immediately pending and that he was in it, and that wasn't fair to him. That certainly wasn't the case."

All of this trade talk is creating enormous confusion around the league as the draft approaches. The Magic hold the No. 1 pick and claim that they still haven't decided whether to take Emeka Okafor or Dwight Howard.

"We have not made up our mind," Weisbrod said. "One of the reasons why we pushed to have the answers for ourselves in terms of at least what our options were, and where the Tracy thing could conceivably end up, was because you want to weigh that information into your pick."

"We love both of those kids. We would be comfortable drafting either of those kids, and now it comes down to how the rest of the pieces are going to fit and how do you see the dominos going down throughout the rest of summer."

Sources told ESPN.com Insider on Tuesday that the Magic were leaning toward taking Howard with the No. 1 pick if they make the trade with the Rockets. But if they instead decide to make another trade, there are scenarios where Okafor appears to make more sense to Orlando.

Edited by sahyder1
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sahyder1 Main Eventer

sahyder1

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ESPN.com news services

UConn center Emeka Okafor will be invited to fill the final roster spot on this summer's US Olympic basketball team, league sources tell ESPN.com's Marc Stein.

U.S. men's basketball team

As of June 23:

Forward Carmelo Anthony

Forward Carlos Boozer

Forward/center Tim Duncan*

Guard Allen Iverson*

Guard/forward LeBron James

Forward Richard Jefferson*

Guard Stephon Marbury

Forward Shawn Marion

Forward Lamar Odom

Center Emeka Okafor

Forward/center Amare Stoudemire

Guard Dwyane Wade

*Members of U.S. Olympic qualifying team

Okafor is expected to formally accept the invitation shortly, which would complete USA Basketball's season-long odyssey to finalize a 12-man contingent for Athens after numerous pullouts and rebuffed invitations.

USAB's selection committee opted to fill its final roster spot with a power player instead of a perimeter specialist such as Milwaukee's Michael Redd.

Team USA coach Larry Brown had recently pushed for the inclusion of a top shooter like Redd or Rip Hamilton, but Hamilton and Detroit Pistons teammate Ben Wallace declined invitations.

It was believed that Redd was next in line, but the selection committee reversed its position on Denver rookie Carmelo Anthony and invited Anthony to join the squad Tuesday. As ESPN.com reported Tuesday night, Anthony, who had criticized the selection process earlier this month, eagerly accepted.

San Antonio's Tim Duncan and Philadelphia's Allen Iverson are the only original members from Team USA's "core" group of nine players still on the roster. Five players were officially named in the first wave of replacements: Cleveland's LeBron James, New York's Stephon Marbury, New Jersey's Richard Jefferson, and the Phoenix tandem of Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire.

Okafor and Anthony join Cleveland's Carlos Boozer and the Miami tandem of Dwyane Wade and Lamar Odom in the second wave of replacements.

Sacramento's Mike Bibby, Orlando's Tracy McGrady, Indiana's Jermaine O'Neal and the Lakers' Karl Malone are "core" members of the original roster who have formally pulled out for various reasons, be it injury or security fears or simply a desire for offseason rest.

The Lakers' Kobe Bryant, New Jersey's Jason Kidd and Seattle's Ray Allen were earlier withdrawals from the core group, which was assembled during the 2002-03 season in hopes of establishing continuity before heading to Athens.

Shaquille O'Neal, Minnesota's Kevin Garnett, Toronto's Vince Carter, New Jersey's Kenyon Martin and the Clippers' Elton Brand also have declined invitations, with reasons ranging from injuries (Kidd and Brand) to weddings (Garnett and Carter) to childbirth (Allen's fiancee).

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com.

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