Fantasy Basketball Daily

Just wanted to let you guys know I’m taking a couple of days to head to the beach before the kids start school.  It has been a really interesting month with the draft on June 26 and all the free agency dealings after July 1st but it looks like all the big news is over for awhile, so might as well enjoy the dead time. 

See you guys next week.

Allen

Get all the day’s news headlines and blog posts from around the web in THE NEWSROOM at Fantasy Basketball Daily.

The Los Angeles Clippers traded Brevin Knight to the Utah Jazz for Jason Hart.  Neither of them figure to have much fantasy value this season playing behind Baron Davis in LA and Deron Williams in Utah.

The Sacramento Kings have reportedly agreed to terms with Bobby Brown on a guaranteed contract.  Brown had also received several offers from overseas teams.  How many times do you think Kings fans will have to hear ‘My Prerogative’ this season over the PA system?

LeBron James will miss Friday’s exhibition game against Canada with a mild ankle sprain.  James said he could play if it were the actual Olympics, but it sounds like Team USA is being very cautious with him.

Good article this morning by Henry Abbott of TrueHoop on the Josh Childress decision to play overseas.

Chris Andersen will sign a one year deal with the Denver Nuggets for about $1 million.  Andersen served a 2 year suspension for violating the leagues anti-drug policy.  It will be interesting to see what kind of shape Andersen is in, but a million bucks is a nice payday for someone who got kicked out of the league for drugs. 

Josh Childress has decided to make the jump overseas to play for Greek club Olympiakos.   Childress accepted a deal that will pay him a guaranteed $20 million over three years - after taxes.  It’s the largest current deal for any player in the Euroleague.  The Atlanta Hawks have no right to match the offer even though Childress is a restricted free agent.  The Hawks now have a huge hole to fill since Childress was their best bench player and sixth man and if Josh Smith somehow escapes, you can pretty much write off the Hawks this season.

Childress isn’t the first NBA player to leave the NBA for a big contract overseas.  Carlos Delfino, Juan Carlos Navarro, Bostjan Nachbar and Primoz Brezec have also taken big money to play Euroleague.  Brandon Jennings signed a contract to play overseas to get around the NBA’s rule prohibiting players from jumping to the league straight out of high school.  Has the league made things worse for itself with some of these limiting rules?  Too many rules can never be a good thing, especially when those rules aim at the heart of a free market. 

The real questions I have surrounding this precedent setting move by Childress are these:  What is this going to do to the prices of NBA players?  Are we getting into a bidding war with the rest of the basketball playing world?  Are players going to use this as a bargaining tool in all of their future contract dealings?  Is the weak dollar hurting the NBA?  It should be interesting to see how this develops and what rules the NBA adopts to deal with this situation. 

Jimmy Buffett put on a great show in Pittsburgh last night and the crowd was huge, which is why the news is late getting posted this morning.  After spending 30+ years Alabama Gulf coast, I never miss the chance to see Buffett play up here in Pittsburgh or anywhere else nearby.  Makes me feel like I’m back home on the beach.  Only complaints I had were the $8.00 beer and few too many of the newer Buffett hits and not enough of the old classics, but overall it was an awesome 3 hour show.  If he plays anywhere near you, definitely make plans to catch the show.

Kurt Thomas signed with the Spurs for at least two years.  Terms of the deal were not released.

LeBron James suffered a mild ankle sprain last night in a scrimmage when he landed on Kevin Durant’s foot.  He will be examined again today and I’m sure more details will arise.

The Nets traded Marcus Williams to Golden State for a future draft pick.  The arrival of Keyon Dooling in New Jersey made Williams expendable.

Phoenix signed Matt Barnes to a one year contract.  Barnes is a great source of fantasy 3’s, but doesn’t see enough minutes to be worthy of a draft pick.

Henry Abbott of TrueHoop has an interesting article about the new Nike ads.

Josh Childress is considering playing for Greek powerhouse Olympiakos who have offered him more than $20 million for three years.   Seems like things may not be going too well in Atlanta these days or this may just be a bargaining ploy.  There is some known friction between Josh Smith and Mike Woodson and Smith doesn’t appear to be happy about staying in Atlanta either.  Too bad for the Hawks, as they finally looked to be getting a nice program together.

The Celtics signed Tony Allen and Eddie House.  Both players signed 2 year contracts and are expected to make around $2million per year each.

Dwight Howard is healthy and ready to go for the Olympics.  Howard says the sternum injury has healed and he feels a little winded, but overall pretty good.  Tyson Chandler isn’t so lucky and will not be playing with the team USA due to an injured toe.

Detroit signed Will Bynum to a two year deal, with the team option for the second.  Bynum played overseas last season and will assume a backup point guard spot.  I only got to see one of his summer league games, but the guy is extremely quick and can shoot.  He reminds me a little of Rafer Alston, without the attitude. Bynum makes a nice bench player, but probably has no fantasy value.  The Pistons are also working on getting Walter Sharpe signed.

Sebastian Telfair will sign with Minnesota according to his agent, Andy Miller.  The deal could be announced today.

The Knicks have requested that Danilo Gallinari sit for the remainder of the summer which means he will not play in the European Championships.  A very smart move by an NBA team to limit the activity that these kids have to endure. 

The Warriors are believed to be interested in signing Louis Williams from the Philadelphia 76ers.  Williams is a restricted free agent, but it is believed that the Warriors could lure him away with a contract as large as 5 years, $26 million.

Matt Barnes will take a physical Monday and sign a one year deal with the Phoenix Suns worth $1.2 million.  Barnes has played for five different teams in the last five years, but could be a good fit with the Suns bench.  Barnes played for the Golden State Warriors last season putting up 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 19.3 minutes of action.

Jerryd Bayless was named Las Vegas Summer League MVP on Sunday.  Now he will step up and play on the US Select team and get a dose of what it is like to play against the best of the NBA, as the Select team helps the US National team get ready for the Beijing games.  His fantasy value is unclear at this point since Steve Blake is still in the mix.  Blake remains the starter in Portland and Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy Fernandez will also be fighting for minutes.  Bayless’ fantasy value probably won’t clear up until training camp.

Boki Nachbar, an unrestricted free agent, is reportedly about to sign an offer with Dynamo Moscow.  I think Nachbar has known this would be his destination for some time.  He will definitely be able to score a bigger payday overseas than in the NBA.

Slovenian media reports that Primoz Brezec will play for Lottomatica Roma next season.   Brezec bounced around the NBA for several seasons, never really getting back on track after several injuries. 

Oklahoma City is excited about the arrival of the Thunder with 16,000 fans already signing up for season tickets.  The NBA really needs this team to get off the ground quickly and get this whole matter smoothed over before the season starts.

Kevin Love was held out of Minnesota’s summer league game with an inflamed left achilles.  He is scheduled to practice with the US Select team on Sunday.

I wonder how long it will be before Larry Bird cuts ties with Shawne Williams.  Williams again found himself in a bad position with a passenger in his car being arrested for having marijuana.  Williams wasn’t arrested, but was ticketed for several minor violations.

NBC Sports reports that Oklahoma City will use the name “Thunder” for their franchise.  KOCO-TV said that the registrar for all the NBA’s internet domain names has registerd “okcthunderbasketball.com” and okcthunderbasketball.net”

Utah signed Deron Williams to a 3 year extension, with an option for a fourth year.  Total value of the contract could reach $70 million. 

It looks like any deal between Dallas and Sacramento for Ron Artest is dead.  Sacramento wants Josh Howard, but Dallas is only willing to offer Brandon Bass and Jerry Stackhouse.  Ron Artest doesn’t offer that much of an upgrade over Josh Howard, especially when you consider the headaches that come along with Artest.  At least Howard is man enough to admit his faults and mistakes, Artest just blames everyone else.

The Clippers signed Kalenna Azubuike to an offer sheet for a multiyear deal.  Golden State will have seven days to match the offer.

3 Shades of Blue has an excellent review of Memphis’ summer league action and player performances.

For all of today’s headlines and blog posts check out THE NEWSROOM at Fantasy Basketball Daily.

For all the gamers out there, take a look at this setup at the hospitality event for EA Sports’ NBA Live 09 party in Vegas.   $25,000 per night to rent the Hardwood Suite.  High Roller for sure.

Yao Ming was back in action yesterday, playing 12 minutes and picking up 11 points in an Olympics warmup against a Serbian squad.  It sure seems like China is putting alot of pressure on Ming to come back from that stress fracture in his foot.  I hope the Chinese have taken out an insurance policy on Yao.  And how angry are the Rockets going to be if he reinjures that foot trying to make the early comeback?

Good article from the New Orleans Times Picayune on James Posey and how he will fit in with the Hornets.  The Hornets have created a very flexible roster with quite a bit of depth.  Now that Posey is signed, New Orleans will turn their attention to getting Jannero Pargo under contract.  Pargo wants a three year deal.

J.E. Skeets of Ball Don’t Lie had an interesting interview with Greg Oden.  Sounds like Oden is going to be ready for the regular season and still has the laid back personality.  I can’t wait to see what he can do once he gets healthy.

Thankfully, the James Posey sweepstakes is over and New Orleans is the winner (well, maybe not).  I like Posey and I was happy to see him get a ring, but come on, $25 million for 4 years to a guy who is 31 years old and has averaged 9.2 points and 4.9 rebounds a game over his career.  If you take a look at the last three years, his stats are down across the board and he is sure to keep sliding down the age hill.  Does anyone think Posey would have gotten that kind of deal had he spent last year with anyone other than the Celtics?  Posey went 7.4 pt and 4.4 reb a game last season.  There are a ton of guys making near minimum with those kind of stats.  Yes, the media can make a star out of anyone and New Orleans took the bait.