We are down to the bargain bin of free agency. Reduced for clearance! Everything must go! Up to 90 percent off! Yes, we know Mickael Pietrus and Derek Fisher aren’t exactly scrap heap material. Both were key players for playoff teams last season, as were Leandro Barbosa and Kenyon Martin. But most of what is left falls into three categories: Olympians, amnesty victims and veterans too proud to take minimum deals. There is some variety remaining at both forward spots and shooting guard but
Hamilton: Biggest Losers Among NBA Players This Summer
Commissioner David Stern wanted to level the economic playing field and curb overspending by the NBA’s bigger markets with the new CBA. Some very useful players got squeezed this summer, while some not so deserving players cashed in major checks. Some guys such as O.J. Mayo and D.J. Augustin did it to themselves. Others such as Devin Harris and Mickael Pietrus were victims of their own circumstances. But at the end of the day, a win is a win, and a loss
The top 20 remaining free agents
We are three-plus weeks into free agency, and the cupboard is not quite bare. There are still some good players out there, whose choices are narrowed to two primary options: (a) go for the money and play for a loser, or (b) pass on the money and play for a winner. More than two-thirds of NBA teams have no cap room remaining. The ones that do mostly are those in rebuilding mode – Sacramento, Charlotte, Cleveland, Houston, Toronto and Minnesota. There are
Hamilton: For Knicks, Linsanity May Be Too Expensive
Though Jeremy Lin may be Houston-bound, in New York City, the Linsanity continues. Earlier this month, news broke that Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets had reached agreement with Jeremy Lin on a four-year offer sheet that would pay Lin approximately $30 million. That offer called for Lin to earn approximately $5 million in each of the first two years and approximately $10 million in each of the final two. All along, the Knicks were expected to match any offer
Hamilton: Welcome To Free Agency Under The 2011 CBA
NEW YORK — Once the clock struck midnight on the East Coast and the calendar read July 11, NBA free agents were free to sign their deals and offer sheets. By the end of today, there will be a resolution to the Dwight Howard saga. “It’s all coming to a head (today),” a source close to the trade talks told SheridanHoops.com editor-in-chief Chris Sheridan. For everyone involved—the fans, press, players, agents, and owners—the past 11 days have been pretty exhausting. In all,
Hamilton: Knicks Overpaid for Camby
NEW YORK — Back in November 2007, a displeased David Stern said that the New York Knicks were “not a model of intelligent management.” Back then, Isiah Thomas was running the franchise into the ground and getting his employer, Madison Square Garden, sued in federal court. That was five years ago and since then, Donnie Walsh and Glen Grunwald have both done wonders for the credibility of the general manager’s office over at 2 Penn Plaza. But one thing that forever seems
Sources: Howard deal now includes fourth team, 12 or more players
// Significant progress was made over the weekend on a proposed trade that would send Dwight Howard to the Brooklyn Nets, but there was still work being done Monday to get a fourth team involved –a development that would increase the total number of players in the deal to 12 or more. Three league sources told SheridanHoops.com that there were “several moving pieces and parts” that were keeping the deal from being agreed to by all parties, but that the Cleveland
Hamilton: NBA Free Agency, Week 1 in Review; Week 2 Ahead
Deron Williams stayed. Jason Kidd left. Steve Nash was traded, and so was Kyle Lowry. Thus far, the NBA’s free agency season has been dominated by point guards, but as we count down the days to the end of the moratorium on July 11, there are plenty of other deals, signings, and trades being made. On Friday, the Celtics were dealt a crushing blow (exactly how crushing will be determined in part by Jason Terry) when Ray Allen decided to join the Miami Heat.