Coast to Coast: 9/26/08

Let’s push the ball up the court as we go from coast to coast with the stories from around the league.

• AP is reporting that the Kings have agrred to a multiyear deal with Francisco Garcia.  He was eligible to become a free agent at the end of this season.  Good move by Sacramento as Garcia is a good two way player that they desperately need.
• AP is reporting that no punishment has been decided for point guard Monta Ellis.  It turned out his injury occurred in a moped accident after signing a 6-year, $66 million deal in the offseason.  This is a tough situation for an organization.  You don’t want to create any friction between the organization and your centerpieces of the franchise.  However, something needs to be done to assure that Ellis has learned his lesson.
• AP is reporting that the Rockets have matches the Bobcats’ offer sheet for restricted free agent Carl Landry.  It is an offer sheet of 3 years and $9 million.  This is an absolute must for Houston.  I thought Landry and Luis Scola really played hard and gave them great energy down low.  You also cannot afford to lose his size with the injury concern of Yao Ming.
• AP is reporting that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert is not pleased with all the talk of LeBron eventually leaving Cleveland in free agency.  ”It’s kind of an insult to the city of Cleveland in my opinion — an insult to the Midwest,” said Gilbert.  It is also a bit of an insult to continue to be unable to give James a good supporting cast in Cleveland.  Playing with Larry Hughes will make a lot of people want to leave places.
• AP is reporting that after signing free agent Elton Brand, the 76ers and the city of Philadelphia are expecting some big things.  So am I.  The 76ers are my sleeper team to contend for an Eastern Conference title.
• AP is reporting that Sun Yue, the newest Laker, has mononucleosis and will miss the beginning of training camp.  The real problem for Yue will be finding playing time in the crowded backcourt for LA.
• AP is reporting that guard Chucky Atkins of the Denver Nuggets will miss six weeks after undergoing surgery on his right knee.
• The Rocky Mountain News speculates on the future of Allen Iverson.  AI is in the final year of his contract worth just over $20 million.  They seem to believe he is a strong candidate to be dealt before the regular season trading deadline.  I agree since it is doubtful the Nuggets will contend this year or be willing to give Iverson a long term deal.
• Newsday is reporting that our New York Knicks are trying to convince fatso Jerome James to retire.  Worst free agent signing in NBA history.  Period.

Coast to Coast: 9/2/08

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend.  Let’s go coast to coast.

• The Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that the 76ers are to sign free agent Donyell Marshall.  The contract is likely to be for the veterans’ minimum.  The team was in need of bolstering their outside shooting so Marshall seems to be a good fit for coming off the bench.
• The Ben Gordon saga appears to be far from over.  The Arlington Daily News is reporting that the Bulls are offering a 6-year, $59 million deal.  Gordon reportedly wants around $12 million a year.  Gordon has also stated that he expects a sign and trade soon.  However, league sources claim that there is not one credible rumor of a team that is seriously interested.  He also claims he’d rather play in Greece for one year at $10 million than stay for one awkward season with the Bulls.
• The Palm Beach Post is reporting that the Miami Heat will sign free agent Jamaal Magloire.  The Heat are in desperate need of some help at center and don’t have much cap room to spend.  But Jamaal Magloire won’t exactly help much.
• ESPN has come out with some of their preseason predictions.  You can see them here.  For the awards they are predicting LeBron James to win MVP, Michael Beasley to win Rookie of the Year, Elton Brand to be the best newcomer, and Baron Davis and Jermaine O’Neal to be the worst newcomers.
• ESPN has also released predictions for how they think the Eastern Conference will shake out.  According to them the playoff teams from the East will be Boston, Detroit, Cleveland, Orlando, Philadelphia, Toronto, Washington, and Miami.
• They have also come out with their predictions for the Western Conference.  The predicted playoff teams are Los Angeles, New Orleans, Houston, Utah, San Antonio, Phoenix, Dallas, and Portland.
• There are pictures flying around the internet of what the logos and uniforms of the Oklahoma City franchise will be.  It is expected that they will be named the Thunder but nothing has been official.  Everything is supposed to be announced this week.  But it can’t hurt to look at what the uniforms and logos are rumored to be.
• The USA Today is reporting that the Phoenix Suns and head coach Terry Porter are planning on limiting Steve Nash’s minutes in the regular season to make sure that he is fresh for the playoffs.  I’m not sure if this matters much.  Their championship window appears to have closed especially with how much the Western Conference has improved over the last couple years.
• Slow news day around the league.  Over the next couple months I’ll be posting my breakdown of each of the divisions in the NBA as well as my preseason power rankings.  So stay tuned.

NBA Top Story: Sixers Ink Iguodola

The big news of the weekend is that the Philadelphia 76ers have signed restricted free agent Andre Iguodola to a six-year deal worth $80 million.  After Allan Iverson had been shiiped to Denver, Iguodola has emerged as the leader of the team and helped lead them to the post-season last season.  Iguodola is a very versatile player who can fill all columns of the stat sheet.  Last year he averaged 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.1 steals. 

This was a big move for the franchise to hold onto Andre after making the big offseason move of signing free agent Elton Brand.  With the trio of Iguodola, Brand, and point guard Andre Miller, you can expect this team to make it back to the playoffs and maybe even do some damage in the Eastern Conference this year.