Top 10 free agents 1. Rasheed Wallace, F, Pistons The Pistons look like they will have him wrapped up by the weekend. five-year deal between $55-60 million. 2. Erick Dampier, C, Warriors 3. Stromile Swift, PF, Grizzlies ® The Warriors are asking for Swift in return for Erick Dampier in a sign-and-trade. 4. Jamal Crawford, G, Bulls ® The Bulls and Knicks have been talking about a sign-and-trade all week. The Bulls would send Jerome Williams, Eddie Robinson and Chris Jefferies to the Knicks and would get Shandon Anderson, Othella Harrington, Frank Williams, Cezary Trybanski and either Moochie Norris or Dikembe Mutombo in return. 5. Darius Miles, F, Blazers ® Miles was a breakout performer for the Blazers over the last two months of the season, averaging 12.6 points and 4.5 rebounds after being acquired from Cleveland. 6. Andres Nocioni, G/F, Tau Ceramica Nocioni, a native of Argentina, is widely considered the best player not currently in the NBA. The 25-year-old, 6-foot-6 swingman is a strong, athletic and aggressive player who has shined on the Argentine national team and in Europe. He's averaging 13.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg in 25 minutes per game for Tau. 7. Vlade Divac, C, Kings The Kings want to re-sign Divac but at a huge discount. With several teams, including the Lakers and Suns, in hot pursuit, they may not get their wish. 8. Fabrico Oberto, C, Parmesa Valencia Oberto is widely considered the best established center playing in Europe. He's a native of Argentina, and at 29, he has plenty of experience. 9. Trenton Hassell, G, Timberwolves Hassell was the starting two guard on a team that reached the Western Conference Finals. Nuggets are in hot persuit of him. 10. Greg Ostertag, C, Jazz Ostertag may be the very definition of a big, giant stiff, but in a market devoid of centers, someone is going to pay him. Other good unrestricted free agents: Karl Malone, F, Lakers; Eric Williams, G/F, Cavs; Keon Clark, F, Suns; Jon Barry, G, Nuggets; Rodney White, G/F, Nuggets; Slava Medvedenko, C, Lakers; Toni Kukoc, F, Bucks; Bob Sura, G, Hawks; Marcus Fizer, F, Bobcats; Ron Mercer, G, Spurs; Joel Przybilla, C, Hawks; Keyon Dooling, G, Clippers; Zeljko Rebraca, C, Hawks Restricted Free Agents Mo Peterson, F, Raptors; DeShawn Stevenson, G, Magic; Jake Tsakalidis, C, Grizzlies; Chris Mihm, PF, Celtics; Courtney Alexander, G, Hornets International free agents: Arvydas Macijauskas, G, Tau Ceramica; ; Sarunas Jasikevicius, PG, Maccabi Tel Aviv; Ognjen Askrabic, F, FMP Zeleznik; Demos Dikoudis, PF, AEK (Greece); Walter Hermann, PF, Argentina; Nikola Vujcic, PF/C, Croatia.
I would like D-miles actually, but we've wasted the MLE and we can't offer more without going over the cap for a player of Darius Miles' capabilities (shotblocking, improved midrange game, defense, versatility and ballhandling). I'm still high on Joel Przybilla, Eric Williams, Mo Pete, John Barry, Keon Clark, and Zelly. I"ll have to do some research on some of the international players to even know what those guys are like. All I know is I love all things defensive (shotblocking, reading an offense, positioning, steals, pressure defense, team defense) Defense + hustle = Scoring Runs (most of the time)
Yeah, essentially now without the MLE and over the cap, we're left with the Million Dollar Exception (worth about 1.7 million this year.) Most of the guys listed up above would be out of our league. We can also sign players for the minimum, but we only really have one roster spot left, I think. Our only other avenue to look for is trades.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Zhone:</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, essentially now without the MLE and over the cap, we're left with the Million Dollar Exception (worth about 1.7 million this year.) Most of the guys listed up above would be out of our league. We can also sign players for the minimum, but we only really have one roster spot left, I think. Our only other avenue to look for is trades.</div> And you know a trade is going down. Hopefully its for a big center and not another guard or power forward (unless its better than Cliff as backup or Murphy as starter). We really need to secure the middle though. That is the bottom line.... unless of course we get a proven superstar who can bring the pain to the other team night in and night out. I'm hoping Paul Pierce. I pray its Paul Pierce. Will Ainge start dealing though?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting custodianrules2:</div><div class="quote_post">And you know a trade is going down.</div> Since a trade is almost inevitable at this point, when do you guys think it's going to happen? Will Mullin rush to unveil his super secret master plan or bide his time, allowing every message board junkie to keep speculating for weeks to come?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting mStuck:</div><div class="quote_post">Since a trade is almost inevitable at this point, when do you guys think it's going to happen? Will Mullin rush to unveil his super secret master plan or bide his time, allowing every message board junkie to keep speculating for weeks to come?</div>If I were Mullin I'd try something with Atlanta first and foremost. But the problem is they got all that cap space that if they wanted Dampier they could just sign him right off the bat. All I know is I want Pryzbilla or Rebraca despite their propensity to get injured. I'm that high on their ability to defend in the low post. The other partner is Dallas. I don't know if the Dallas trade is a good idea unless we could get young cheap talent (I'm hoping Devin Harris). I'm not a fan of taking short contracts even if the names of the players happened to be Walker or Latener (which will most likely compensate for Dampier's sign and trade). The rookie center that is 7 and half feet tall I'm not so high on. Plus Don Nelson could have been hyping that ogre in the press in hopes of landing Dampier or another veteran center in a trade for him. The other potential trading partner is Indiana. Indiana can offer us some possible breakout talent like Jonathan Bender or proven defensiveman Ron Artest. It all depends on whether they are convinced Dampier can be consistent and willing to accept himself as a 3rd option on that Indiana team. O'neil will always be one and Bender or Artest will always be the second. But if this whole thing is about landing top 10 talent. I'd try my luck with D-miles. I think the kid will be a stud with the right mentors. Did Eric Williams ever work for this guy?
