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| The Wizards offically inked first-round draft pick forward JaVale McGee to a contract today, according to the Baltimore Sun. |
Our View: The deal guarantees McGee approximately $2.4 million for two seasons under the NBA's rookie salary scale. The 7-foot center who left Nevada after his sophomore season was the 18th-overall pick in last month's draft.
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| The Denver Post reports that Anthony Carter and his management team decided the guard will re-join the Nuggets next season. Carter will sign for the league minimum of $1.2 million. |
Our View: The free agent, who turned 33 last month, has targeted a spot with the Nuggets for most of the offseason, but he wanted to see if any other organizations would show interest.
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| Gilbert Arenas, who has not been on a basketball court since his team was eliminated from the NBA playoffs in May, won't touch a basketball until August according to ESPN.com. "After the last two seasons, I never really had time to recover. My knee is about 95 percent -- it's got to get stronger."
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Our View: Can someone, anyone, please explain how Arenas managed to sign a six-year $111 million deal this offseason? After being widely regarded as a top-5 pick in last fall's fantasy drafts, we would like to caution owners against selecting Arenas in the top 20 picks at this point. His health will be one of the most closely monitored storylines in training camp.
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| As expected, Chris Duhon officially signed with the New York Knicks on Wednesday, according to azcentral.com. |
Our View: If Marbury is bought out, traded, or waived, there is speculation that Duhon will step in to run Mike D'Antoni's offense. That will be a drastic change from Steve Nash, who regularly shoots over 50% from the field. Duhon has shot under 39% for his career. In his 18 starts last season he averaged just 6.5 points and 5.7 assists to go with 32% shooting. Duhon should still be avoided in fantasy leagues.
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| As expected, Beno Udrih has re-signed with the Kings, according to the AP. He inked a five-year deal, but financial terms were not disclosed. |
Our View: He won two championships with the Spurs, and averaged 12.8 points and 4.3 assists per game with the Kings in 2007-08. As a starter over 51 games, he averaged 14.4 points, and should rank as a sleeper for next season.
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| DeSagana Diop has inked a deal with the Mavericks, according to the AP. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. |
Our View: He provides a big body to the Mavs at 7-0 280 pounds, but has been a bust since being selected as a lottery pick by Cleveland back in 2001, and isn't likely to break out in Dallas.
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| The Raptors have re-signed Jose Calderon to a multi-year deal, according to the AP. Exact terms of the deal were not disclosed. GM Bryan Colangelo said, "We couldn’t be happier for Jose to be in a position to sign a long-term contract and lead this team as its starting point guard."
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Our View: He scored a career-best 11.2 points per game last season while sharing the point guard role with TJ Ford. Calderon is still improving and should be "fantasy worthy" next season as he will have the starting point guard gig all to himself with Ford departed to Indiana. Calderon could realistically challenge the league lead in assists, as he finished fifth last season with 8.3 per contest.
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| Jerryd Bayless is now officially a member of the Blazers, according to the Star Tribune. Portland also acquired Ike Diogu, and sent Brandon Rush, Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and cash to the Pacers.
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Our View: Bayless is expected to make the Blazers' backcourt more athletic, and the team likes his scoring ability and tenacious competitive nature.
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| The Pacers have acquired rookie center Roy Hibbert's (Georgetown) draft rights from Toronto in the multi-player deal headlined by Jermaine O'Neal, according to TSN. |
Our View: Hibbert has potential to develop into a strong starter in the NBA, but will compete with Jeff Foster, David Harrison and Rasho Nesterovic (who was also part of the trade) for playing time as a rookie.
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| Rasho Nesterovic has officially been traded to the Pacers in the multi-player package that sent Jermaine O'Neal to the Raptors, according to TSN. |
Our View: Indiana has a surplus of talented big men on the roster, so Nesterovic's minutes should be limited, but he is still considered a quality addition to the team.
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| T.J. Ford is officially a member of the Pacers, according to TSN. The Pacers also acquire Rasho Nesterovic in the multi-player deal that shipped Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto. |
Our View: Ford is not going to be a heavy scorer in Indiana, but displays strong passing skills and should hold down the role as the starting point guard.
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| The Raptors have officially acquired Jermaine O'Neal from the Pacers, according to TSN. The Pacers received TJ Ford and Rasho Nesterovic in the deal. The Raptors also acquire the draft rights to forward Nathan Jawai and the Pacers gets Maceo Baston and the draft rights to Roy Hibbert. |
Our View: O'Neal averaged 18.6 points and 9.6 rebounds a game over eight seasons with Indiana. But he only averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 boards over an injury spoiled 2007-08 campaign. He should benefit from a fresh start in Toronto.
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| Jeff Green has averaged 24.5 points per game thru two days of the Orlando Pro Summer League. |
Our View: It's good to see Green be more aggressive. He passed up too many opportunities as a rookie and will need to be more assertive for his team to have any success this season.
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| Kevin Durant laced up his sneakers to participate in Day 2 of the Orlando Pro Summer League. In 27 minutes he scored 22 points and pulled down five rebounds. |
Our View: You have to like this from the young millionaire. He insisted on coming so that he could mingle with his teammates, then he insisted on playing. He was at the draft lottery, then the actual draft. After the Orlando League, he will participate in practices with Team USA as they prepare for the Olympics. Durant's priorities are in line. He's a basketball player that LOVES the game.
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| Mario Chalmers has looked better than advertised in his first two summer league games. Game one saw him tally 11 points, four steals, and six assists against Derrick Rose. In game two, he poured in 19 points to go with nine assists ans three steals |
Our View: It's only summer league, but Chalmers is on his way to quality minutes unless the Heat can land another point guard this summer. Currently, the well-traveled Marcus Banks is the only PG ahead of him on the depth chart.
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| Brook Lopez scored 18 points on 10 shots while pulling down seven rebounds in his second game of the Orlando summer league. Lopez scored 10 points in his first game. |
Our View: Although he is only a rookie, Lopez may be counted on as the primary source of offense on the post. Yi Jianlian is far more comfortable facing the basket and it is not yet known if Nenad Kristic will ever recover from his knee surgery. Sean Williams and Josh Boone are both inept on the offensive end.
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| ESPN.com reports that Russell Westbrook has been the best player in Orlando over the first two days. Game 1 saw him score 18 points, dish out five assists and commit just one turnover. Day 2, he got to play with Kevin Durant and impressed. He converted eight of 10 shots, and came up with three steals and three assists. |
Our View: "I knew [Westbrook] was a good defensive player and really athletic, but I didn't know he was this good," Durant gushed. "He's shown me a lot and I'm already excited about playing with him."
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| James Jones has landed with the Heat, as he signed a five-year deal on Wednesday, according to the AP. Terms were not fully disclosed, but it is reported he will make $4 million next season. |
Our View: He is a South Florida native and played at Miami University, so signing with the Heat is a homecoming for him. He will provide the Heat with a dangerous weapon from long-range as he hit 44.4% of his attempts with Portland last season.
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| Andrew Bogut's agent (David Bauman) stated that his client is expected to ink a new five-year deal with the Bucks worth $72.5 million, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. |
Our View: The $72.5 million is about $13 million less than the maximum contract allowed under NBA salary stipulations. Bogut, who was the number one overall pick in the 2005 draft, averaged 14.3 points, 9.8 boards, and 1.7 blocks per game in 2007-08.
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| According to the Star-Telegram, Gerald Green sounds like he may be turning the corner in a mostly disappointing career. "I feel like I just didn't take advantage of my opportunities," Green said after a Dallas Mavericks summer league team workout. "I blame myself; I don’t blame nobody else. I've changed, and now I'm a new guy ready to work and ready to get at it."
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Our View: Green recently signed a one-year deal with the Mavericks and will compete with aging guards Jerry Stackhouse and Eddie Jones for playing time.
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| The Miami Herald reports that the New Orleans Hornets have signed star point guard Chris Paul to a contract extension on Wednesday. |
Our View: The deal is believed to be in the four year $68 million range. Paul certainly earned it last year as he finished seconf in MVP voting.
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| The Charlotte Observer reports that the Clippers could pursue Emeka Okafor. The departure of Elton Brand freed up a lot of money under the salary cap, but he left a void at power forward. |
Our View: If the Clippers don't land Okafor, Josh Smith of the Hawks' is also said to be on their radar. Okafor is a restricted free agent, so the Bobcats would have a chance to match any offer he may get from Los Angeles.
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| Ronny Turiaf has reportedly signed an offer sheet with the Warriors for four years and worth $17 million, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise. The Lakers have seven days to match the Warriors' offer.
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Our View: Turiaf, who played a reserve role with the Lakers, would get more playing time if he joins the Warriors. He would even have a shot to start at power forward.
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| Derrick Rose was forced to leave Tuesday's summer league game due to discomfort in his right knee, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The Bulls' prized rookie said, "It's fine. I jammed it. When I made my last layup, I jump-stopped a little bit and I landed a little hard. But I should be all right by Wednesday. I would like to play all the games. They'd have to sit me out."
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Our View: He expects to be fine, but the club may want him to back off a bit to recover from the ailment.
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