J.R. Smith has literally been shanghaied away for the foreshortened 2011-2012 NBA season: rolling ILH sandbox thread

i do not deny it.

and you still have to contend w/the fact that the guys on the heat who actually take all the shot dont shoot the three well

also it should be pointed out to all the miller apologists that even when hes been healthy over the last five or so years his usage rate has been laughably low, he either cant get open, doesnt want to shoot or more likely some combo of the two

i stand by my point that if the heat get billups the nba might as well not even play this season

i'm sure eddy curry has a ways to go no matter what -- and maybe he's washed-up beyond repair -- but he looks much better than the last time i saw pictures of him. anyway, good for him, whether or not he can resume his nba career.

houston clearing space

WojYahooNBA -- Rockets will have changes to their part of proposed 3-way deal, league sources tell Y! Sports. They'd be sending more players to Hornets.

going a little crazy, Richard Jefferson still on the spurs, mcdyess looks like he's gonna retire but he ain't said shit, and outside of duncan and splitter, our best dude over 6'10" is made of pastrami sandwiches

jeff green will be a celtic again, though only on a one-year deal (thank god)

But very well compensated for that year.

wut is this all abt guys / freaking out over here https://twitter.com/#!/RajonRondo/status/145662381362642944

http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/paul-flannery/2011/12/09/rajon-rondo-wins-first-day-training-camp

ah!

so are the new NYNets going to be dwight -- nene -- dwill?

Who knows? Coulda been talking about the UK game, could be sayin' they're gonna win because of David West, could be sayin' he's out the door, could be that his team won the scrimmage. Or he won in 2K12. Who knows?

xpost

rondo knows

I have a feeling nene is going to houston still, after the gasol deal

Maybe he'll tweet it's meaning and you'll be okay.

guys this billups stuff is hilarious

I hope he retires and throws away money. Principles are important.

JoshuaBRobbins Josh Robbins
Dwight: "Just because I've asked to be traded doesn't mean I don't like where I'm at."
14 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply

dwight howard zen koans

j0e, tweet to rondo, demanding an answer! this is outrageous.

*_*

done xp

should Billups really be worried that some random lottery team is going to snap up his 13m salary this season?

pretty sure you're gonna be a free agent, chaunce

why take a chaunce

they don't have to pay it all! The high bidder - which could be for the vet's minimum - gets his services. The Knicks pick up the difference between the bid and his guarantee.

ohhh that's right sorry

he's a UK guy, right? thinkin' he's talking about the wildcat loss today.

he = rondo

and yeah, high bidder gets billups, but high bidder has to pay something toward his old salary. so if billups makes clear he'll retire if chosen by a below-cap team, it could give him leverage (the below-cap teams don't want to throw money away).

maybe rondo just lost to gordon hayward at starcraft

man he still hasnt responded to my tweet how inconsiderate

But there is a salary floor, and they have to pay someone to reach it. Could see a team take a flyer on Chauncey for a few million if it brought them to that level, hoping to convince him to help their youngsters. Maybe they could promise to cut him before the deadline for signing on with a contender.

no; billups made clear that's exactly what he doesn't want.

more likely, i'd say, is a below-cap team will choose him for spite or to trade him to the team of billups' choice.

either way, i think billups is creating leverage for himself.

and as i say, i think it's a fascinating new front in this war between owerns and players over player-movement. if the cba was supposed to settle these issues, it hasn't happened, and the compressed nature of this preseason (and the impending free-agent class of next year) is exposing the ugliness in owner/player relations.

tr: love this.

twitter abuzz with insightful speculation about rajon rondo. for instance:

LETS DO A DRILL.BANG @phyliis_brown -- Who ever likes rajon rondo is a goofie !

@DraftExpress
Jonathan Givony Strange twist to this Chris Paul saga. I'm told by a NBA source that the Lakers have just elected to pull out of the trade.

ESPNSteinLine Marc Stein
Sources say Lakers will instead trade Lamar Odom to Dallas into Mavericks' new trade exception
2 minutes ago

im confused

wojo tweets that the CP3 trade has totally fallen apart.

I guess LAL can't keep Odom after what's happened. Seems like a disaster for LA

incredible

HPbasketball Hardwood Paroxysm
Cuban blocks the CP3 trade, then uses it to get Lamar Odom, which allows the Lakers to get Dwight Howard after the Mavs traded their center
3 minutes ago

idgi

I guess LA could use the trade exception for something, but obviously dallas thought odom was worth the exception, so . . . Seems like LA just loses here.

That tweet is crazy. For other reasons, it's now been reported that Howard doesn't want LA (as much as he wants the Nets, at least).

But who knows? Maybe now LA can revive their trade talks with the Magic.

ChrisMannixSI Chris Mannix
Two rival GM's say they believe Boston will get back in it. "They have to sell Dell on Rondo," one GM says.
4 minutes ago

I don't see the positives in burning the reigning sixth man of the year for a TPE.

ESPNSteinLine Marc Stein
Sources say Lakers will receive unspecified draft considerations from Dallas for the rights to Odom, who slots in Mavs' new trade exception
56 seconds ago

WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski
Says one Western Conference executive: "The Lakers are shifting toward trying to make a Dwight Howard deal."
1 minute ago