So I was at the summer league in Vegas the other day and had a chance to speak to a few people. I saw Mark Warkentien and broke the ice by saying... "Why couldn't you just trade Camby to the Nets!"... he smiled and said that "Don't worry, just wait a little, we got something else cooking... something big". My eyes obviously glared at him and asked that if it had to do with the Nets. He was vague but finished by saying... "Stay tuned, the other shoe is about to drop". He also said being a GM is a great and easy job. Joked to Dave Babcock and thanked him for stealing RJ from us. That obviously boosted his ego. He shared insight on the headache (as it seemed to me when he talked about it) that goes on by having Yi and dealing with the Chinese government. He did say that he will be a very good player though. And said he was happy to get an All Star like RJ.... and I didnt feel like correcting him. Then I talked with Rod Thorn's assistant Maury. Congratulated him on the draft. He said the RJ trade was made for one obvious reason. And that while it may not be a great trade now, "it will be worth it, if we get number 23". We talked about Najera a bit. I then asked him if the Nocioni rumors were true. I assumed it was a closed chapter after signing Najera. He grinned and said... "we're still working on things. we aren't done yet". He could have meant the recent Dooling deal, but his grin at Noc got me curious. I decided I wouldn't press him on it. He also mentioned that a lot of people on his team read Netsdaily. Vegas in July isn't all too nice either. Very, very hot.
Good stuff. How did you manage to talk to Wark and not ask, if he was pissed about having Kiki's giant mistake on the books?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan @ Jul 20 2008, 12:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Good stuff. How did you manage to talk to Wark and not ask, if he was pissed about having Kiki's giant mistake on the books?</div> Haha... well I tried being cordial with these guys. Afterall, I had alterior motives here. *ahem* networking FYI, Kevin Pritchard is one funny and laid back guy. Some fan from from Chicago came up and asked, "Could you please trade Aldridge back to us for Thomas" and before he could finish... Pritchard loudly said, "pass!". He also joked that agents are actually Sith Lords from Star Wars and they comprise the dark side.
Very interesting stuff. For a second there I thought you were talking about Pete Babcock and I actually wondered aloud, "how the hell does this guy keep finding work?"
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ghoti @ Jul 20 2008, 02:08 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>You rule. I doubt I could coherently approach one of these guys. Is Melo coming to the Nets??</div> lol. Or the return of K-Mart? The Nets are stockpiling bigs with no regard for human life and Kiki loves him some ex-recruits.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan @ Jul 20 2008, 02:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Good stuff. How did you manage to talk to Wark and not ask, if he was pissed about having Kiki's giant mistake on the books?</div> Which one of his "giant mistakes" are we talking about? A couple are gone, but there are a few still left. I am not a big fan of Kiki.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (infinet @ Jul 20 2008, 02:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan @ Jul 20 2008, 12:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Good stuff. How did you manage to talk to Wark and not ask, if he was pissed about having Kiki's giant mistake on the books?</div> Haha... well I tried being cordial with these guys. Afterall, I had alterior motives here. *ahem* networking FYI, Kevin Pritchard is one funny and laid back guy. Some fan from from Chicago came up and asked, "Could you please trade Aldridge back to us for Thomas" and before he could finish... Pritchard loudly said, "pass!". He also joked that agents are actually Sith Lords from Star Wars and they comprise the dark side. </div> These are the days I should be checking ESPN hourly for Mark Stein updates. He has the earliest read on the big deals anymore. Love the Sith Lords reference.
Hmmm. Maybe we should combine this thread with the one about J.R. Smith not receiving any offers beyond the Nuggets. Remember the rumors about the Nets being interested in him. I could see a sign and trade involving KVH's contract and either Sean Williams or Josh Boone and Marcus. What does Denver need? A shot blocking presence to replace Camby and a young point guard. Karl hates Smith. Smith is 22 years old. Giving him a contract on the level of the MLE over four years could be encouraging to Lebron or the other free agents. Smith SEEMS to be getting his act together on and off the court...and he has always modeled his game after VC's. (And if JR became VC, it would make VC all the easier to deal down the road) And we know from two of the beat writers that JR WAS being targeted by the Nets.
I dont know if any GM would be excited to dump Melo or Smith And at the same time, they cant spend any money, so.....wtf was he talking about? Iverson?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (infinet @ Jul 20 2008, 09:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>So I was at the summer league in Vegas the other day and had a chance to speak to a few people. I saw Mark Warkentien and broke the ice by saying... "Why couldn't you just trade Camby to the Nets!"... he smiled and said that "Don't worry, just wait a little, we got something else cooking... something big". My eyes obviously glared at him and asked that if it had to do with the Nets. He was vague but finished by saying... "Stay tuned, the other shoe is about to drop". He also said being a GM is a great and easy job. Joked to Dave Babcock and thanked him for stealing RJ from us. That obviously boosted his ego. He shared insight on the headache (as it seemed to me when he talked about it) that goes on by having Yi and dealing with the Chinese government. He did say that he will be a very good player though. And said he was happy to get an All Star like RJ.... and I didnt feel like correcting him. Then I talked with Rod Thorn's assistant Maury. Congratulated him on the draft. He said the RJ trade was made for one obvious reason. And that while it may not be a great trade now, "it will be worth it, if we get number 23". We talked about Najera a bit. I then asked him if the Nocioni rumors were true. I assumed it was a closed chapter after signing Najera. He grinned and said... "we're still working on things. we aren't done yet". He could have meant the recent Dooling deal, but his grin at Noc got me curious. I decided I wouldn't press him on it. He also mentioned that a lot of people on his team read Netsdaily. Vegas in July isn't all too nice either. Very, very hot.</div> That's incredible. I wish I had an opportunity like that...do those guys talk with just about anyone who goes up to them?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MarionBarberThe4th @ Jul 20 2008, 09:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I dont know if any GM would be excited to dump Melo or Smith And at the same time, they cant spend any money, so.....wtf was he talking about? Iverson?</div> Maybe they don't have the money for Smith. KVH has a $4.26 million contract. The two Williams combined give you $3 million. Lots of permutations here. There's always Krstic too. Karl hates Smith. Keep reminding yourself of that. And they are desperate for a pass first point guard so they can free Iverson for shooting guard. Paying Smith big bucks when Iverson is your shooting guard doesn't make much sense.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (infinet @ Jul 20 2008, 03:03 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan @ Jul 20 2008, 12:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Good stuff. How did you manage to talk to Wark and not ask, if he was pissed about having Kiki's giant mistake on the books?</div> Haha... well I tried being cordial with these guys. Afterall, I had alterior motives here. *ahem* networking FYI, Kevin Pritchard is one funny and laid back guy. Some fan from from Chicago came up and asked, "Could you please trade Aldridge back to us for Thomas" and before he could finish... Pritchard loudly said, "pass!". He also joked that agents are actually Sith Lords from Star Wars and they comprise the dark side. </div> Wow. Is there anything bad about Kevin Pritchard?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Maybe they don't have the money for Smith. KVH has a $4.26 million contract. The two Williams combined give you $3 million. Lots of permutations here. There's always Krstic too. Karl hates Smith. Keep reminding yourself of that. And they are desperate for a pass first point guard so they can free Iverson for shooting guard. Paying Smith big bucks when Iverson is your shooting guard doesn't make much sense.</div> yea, but he made it seem like he had a sweet deal in the works, I dont see him getting excited about dumping Smith for KVH's contract. Smith doe make a lot of sense bc he is immediate help, and he can be signed long term bc he fits w/ lebron I would give up KVH, Marcus(If denver wants PG that cant run?) Sean or Boone. and a pick(not the mavs pick)
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MarionBarberThe4th @ Jul 20 2008, 09:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Maybe they don't have the money for Smith. KVH has a $4.26 million contract. The two Williams combined give you $3 million. Lots of permutations here. There's always Krstic too. Karl hates Smith. Keep reminding yourself of that. And they are desperate for a pass first point guard so they can free Iverson for shooting guard. Paying Smith big bucks when Iverson is your shooting guard doesn't make much sense.</div> yea, but he made it seem like he had a sweet deal in the works, I dont see him getting excited about dumping Smith for KVH's contract. Smith doe make a lot of sense bc he is immediate help, and he can be signed long term bc he fits w/ lebron I would give up KVH, Marcus(If denver wants PG that cant run?) Sean or Boone. and a pick(not the mavs pick) </div> Think "other shoe" meaning the replacement for Camby. And I think a summer in which you pick up JR Smith and Yi Jianlian, ages 22 and 20, is not a bad summer if youre rebuilding. Rebuilding also involves a lot of risks on young players and draft picks. I also dont think the Nets believe Sean Williams is a good fit for them.
NI, the thing you are overlooking is that the three headed monster in the Nuggets front office loves JR. They have had many discussions with Karl about how he misuses him and how he treats him. Camby being dumped and Najera not getting an offer are clear signa that they aren't listening to Karl right now.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NetIncome @ Jul 20 2008, 10:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>And they are desperate for a pass first point guard so they can free Iverson for shooting guard. Paying Smith big bucks when Iverson is your shooting guard doesn't make much sense.</div> AI is in the final season of his contract. Keeping JR (one of Melo's buddies) to move into the starters role for 2009-2010 makes a lot of sense. As far as PG, the Nuggets want someone that can space the floor more than they want a pass first guy. Even at SG, AI is going to dominate the ball and they need someone that can make open shots.
