ESPN is saying Jamison resigned with the Wizards for 4 years/$50 million. This is doubled what any other team would have offered. It was either take the money, or take a 50% pay cut and sign the MLE with a title contender.

Gilbert Arenas
Most likely going to sign somewhere in the 6 years/$100 million range with Washington. Definitely the most coveted FA on the market, but I think they will regret making this guy their long term franchise guy. I dont think he can lead a team to a title.

Corey Maggette
Reports are he wants to leave the Clippers, but with not many teams having more than the MLE, he will most likely leave via sign and trade. Hornets are interested but dont have many assets to give back. A Magette/Barbosa swap has also been rumored.

Beno Udrih
Played well in place of Bibby last season with the Kings. Rumors are the Kings arent going to resign the unrestricted FA though, and the Clippers seem like the most likely suitor. Either way, he will most likely get the full MLE from some team.

James Posey
Showed what he can provide to a title contender last season. The C's would be smart to resign him for a couple more years. If not, I think the Lakers, Spurs, Hornets, and Suns should all give him a call. He would instantly upgrade any of those benches significantly.

Andre Iguodala
Turned down an extension last summer, but it doesnt look like any team will have the money to offer him that Philly does. It would be a big surprise if he signed anywhere except with Philly.

Josh Smith
Reports are that the Hawks would let him leave if the price is too high. Philly and the Clippers could make a run at him, though the Clips only have about $10 million in room right now and that probably wouldnt be enough. If the Bobcats let go of Emeka, there was talk about him going there because they would possibly have enough room to sign him, but the idea of him and Gerald Wallace playing on the same team is amusing and confusing.

Jose Calderon
The 5th best PG in the league last season according to PER, which Nas will tell you is an accurate reflection that he is indeed the 5th best PG in the league. While I wouldnt quite go that far, he played like an All Star last season, and I think will make at least a couple in the next 7-10 years. Im positive Toronto will match any offer given to Calderon.

Luol Deng and Ben Gordon
Im sure both will be signed by the Bulls, with Gordon very possibly being S&T'ed away. I'd be shocked if Deng isnt in a Bulls uniform next season. Deng might get the $57M he turned down last season, but I doubt Ben Gordon gets more than $50M.

Emeka Okefor
Turned down a 4 year/$50 million extension last season, and much like Gordon, may come to regret it. A solid, young Center, but he has trouble staying on the court and doesnt seem to have much upside left. Doubtful he will ever become an All Star. Still, the 76ers dont need him with Dalembert, but the Grizzlies could use a young, big guy and will probably send him some type of offer. He is restricted however, and the Bobcats will likely match any offer.

Other notable FA's...

Unrestricted
Desagana Diop
Kurt Thomas
Michael Pietrus
Ricky Davis
Shaun Livingston
Jason Williams
Sebastian Telfair

Restricted
Monta Ellis
Andris Biedrins
Josh Childress
Nenad Kristic
Louis Williams
Sasha Vujacic
Daniel Gibson
Carl Landry
Delonte West
JR Smith

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Elton Brand and Baron Davis have opted out of their contracts tonight.

_________________
Fuck Edwards and Zobrist

Was just about to post this. I wouldnt be surprised if either resigned though. I would look for Philly to go hard at Elton Brand. Im not sure where else Baron can go. Memphis doesnt need a PG, they already have three young ones. Charlotte already has Felton and a lottery pick in Augustin, plus might resign Emeka anyway.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Baron keeps saying he wants to play for the Knicks for some strange reason. I'm guessing they would have to clear some cap room first. FF, any chance of the Bulls landing Brand? Maybe a sign and trade? I know he was on with Silvy and Waddel last week, and made a comment about owing Chicago alot more wins.

_________________
Fuck Edwards and Zobrist

Thats been a rumor, but I think mostly among fans. I dont know how many at the top of the organization are looking to make it happen. They dont necessarily need Deng, our most coveted player, because Al Thronton looked really impressive as the season progressed. I've heard they are interested in Gordon, and they need a PG really badly too. If they dont sign Udrih, perhaps we could talk them into something along the lines of Kirk, Gooden's expiring contract, and a first round pick or different piece for Brand. It would help if Brand said he didnt want to back to the Clippers, but he indicated he wouldnt have a problem doing that.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I would think if Brand is available the Bulls would have to atleast look into trying to get him. A lineup of Rose, Hughes, Deng, Brand and Noah would look pretty good to me.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I agree except for Hughes. He's one of the worst players on our roster. I would bury him on the bench untill his contract becomes a valuable trading asset a year from now, Thablo averaged like 14 ppg, 6 rpg, apg, and 2 spg when starting last season. I think he can be a shooting guard version of Tayshaun Prince if given the right opportunity to develop. I would play him alot next season, along with Gordon, if on the team, coming in for the 30 minutes a game off the bench.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I like Thabo and would have no problem with him taking that role.

However, the way I see it as long as Hughes is on the team he will start the year as the starting SG and you just hope that with Rose around it will make him better and you can get some quality minutes from him. If you bury him on the bench you might as well forget him for the whole year because he will give you absolutely nothing. He will not handle a bench role well.

Either way, with Thabo or Hughes I like that starting 5.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Thats what I meant by bury. I dont want to see him on the court next year. I realize this is wishful thinking, cuz the moronic management of the Bulls will use the always-stupid logic of "Well if we dont play him, we cant justify him being the highest paid guy on our team." They cant justify it anyways, its a stupid contract and every bit as bad as Ben Wallace's. His attitude isnt much better either. It basically sucks we're stuck with him, I just hope they wise up and give Thablo the minutes he seemed to earn last year.

http://heylarryhughespleasestoptakingso ... shots.com/

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Does anyone expect the Bulls to do anything today in FA?

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Looks like I was right on. If Baron and Brand stay healthy next season, they have very nice complimentary players in kaman, Thornton and others to be competitive in the West.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Beno Udrih agreed to a 5 year/$33 million deal. Assuming Toronto was gonna retain Calderon at any price, he was the best PG left on the market. I dont think they overpaid, and this has a possibility of being a real bargain in a couple years if he can improve on his decent first season as a starter.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Boston and San Antonio have offered Magette the full MLE according to ESPN. He's clearly worth more than that, but Im not sure who is gonna offer him more.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I disagree. I would bury him for the next TWO years and just let his contract expire. They aren't going to compete next year, and the free agent class two years from now will be HUGE. If Rose is the real deal, they might have a guy with whom a free agent might actually want to play.

_________________
"Tubby? Oh yes, Tubby."

How many years into Baron's deal do you think the Clippers are going to regret that deal? I give him 2 more solid, productive years. Years 3, 4 and 5 should be interesting

I still don't think this vaults them into the elite in the West. Who are they going to replace in the top 8? Maybe Denver, maybe Houston. Even with Brand

If Baron and Brand are healthy all year I think they are better then Denver, Houston(Unless Yao is hurt ), and Dallas. I think if they are trying to contend right away they should trade Gordon for an upgrade at the 2. It might sound crazy, but maybe see if Golden State would deal Stephen Jackson since they are talking about going young. Baron is 29 now, and I'd be most worried about his injury history and the fact his best season came in a contract year. If he stays healthy, I would even give him a very good Year 3, but I agree the last couple years could be rough. At least Donald Sterling is trying.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

is it a forgone conclusion that Maggette is gone?
for a minute I thought you were talking about them trading for Ben Gordon

Actually now that I think about it more, maybe you're right. I forgot about Kaman. So assuming they keep Brand and lose Maggette, their lineup would be

PG- Baron
SG- Mobley / Gordon/ whoever
SF- Al Thornton
PF- Brand
C- Kaman

That is pretty solid. If they could upgrade at SG somehow, that looks like a nice lineup

Horrible long term move for the Clips, but unfortunately to get someone like baron there, they had to overpay.

interesting that the warriors offered brand more money

Bury Hughes? He's bad, don't get me wrong, but Prince can shoot and is longer than Thabo...Thabo is a great defender but he's undersized for small forward and his shot comes and goes...looks like a confidence issue at time...

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Thablo isnt a SF and even if he was 6'7'' isnt necessarily undersized for a SF. He's a long SG who has showed he can defend some of the best players in the game. He's a very good on the ball defender, as well as good at playing the passing lanes. He's a very good facilitator and his shot isnt that bad. Given starters minutes last year he produced at a pretty high level considering his lack of experience. It might be a confidence issue, but I wouldnt blame him. Hopefully Vinny stops fucking with the rotation like Boylan did and sets a solid 9 man rotation, something thats necessary for NBA teams.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Gotta love the Warriors- they lose Baron and then offer Brand a max deal

I hope/believe you would spend it better then the Wizards did.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

As much as I like Gilbert Arenas, and assuming he's healthy, isn't Washington locked into a 3 man team now with him, Jamison and Butler? If so, haven't we already seen that this team is not a threat to win anything?

Yep, and that is why it amazes me why teams cannot see this and realize it is time to tear it down and build it over again. Jamison and Arenas are good players, but it just aint working to so why not admit it and go in another direction before handcuffing your team with all these big contracts

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

If Chris Duhon doesn't accept the 2 year deal that apparently includes a starting job with the Knicks, he's insane. He could accept more money from Orlando, but he'd be playing only 15 minutes a night there. Just the fact that a team is willing to give him a starting job should make him jump....

washington is one of the worst defenses in the NBA...they just don't care to play it...if they ever got a few good defenders, they could go farther...

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

For the record, Chris Duhon has accepted the New York Knicks' 2 year offer and will officially sign it when NBA teams can officially dots the "i's" and cross the "t's" on free agent contracts come Wednesday. While teams can talk to prospective free agents this week, deals can NOT be signed on the dotted line until July 9th under terms of the league's collective bargaining agreement.

Did I just see that Duhon got the MLE from New York? Someone paying 6M a year for that?

Duhon - count them benjamins before they arrest you for stealing