NBA off-season action

Mavs will pick Sagana Diop back up with their mid-level exception. I like the move. Better interior defense and more consistent play than with Dampier. Makes the Kidd trade more expensive financially, but less expensive in terms of talent given up. Not sure that there was going to be a better interior choice out there in free agency.

Not going to be the whole answer, but all-in-all it makes them better I think.

Originally Posted by Mark from Plano

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Mavs will pick Sagana Diop back up with their mid-level exception. I like the move. Better interior defense and more consistent play than with Dampier. Makes the Kidd trade more expensive financially, but less expensive in terms of talent given up. Not sure that there was going to be a better interior choice out there in free agency.

Not going to be the whole answer, but all-in-all it makes them better I think.

Yeah, but they do need more than just Diop. It's a shame Dampier mentally/emotionally retired after signing with the Mavs. What a disappointment; the guy had some potential.

Chris Kaman's now a German citizen, thus eligible to play for Germany in Olys

Just like soccer. Funny stuff.

Originally Posted by rolex

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I think it was a good trade. The Raps had to do something to protect/support CB4 in the paint. Time will tell.

I agree. Addition by subtraction with Ford out (not saying he isn't good, just that there wasn't ultimately room for him and Calderon) and even if O'Neal turns out to be a bust, there will be big-time cap-space cleared in a couple of years.

The problem for the Raps is that their wing play remains weak.

Originally Posted by thinman

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Yeah, but they do need more than just Diop. It's a shame Dampier mentally/emotionally retired after signing with the Mavs. What a disappointment; the guy had some potential.

Waitwaitwait... this guy was once the second best center in the league, right?

Originally Posted by Odd Morsel

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Waitwaitwait... this guy was once the second best center in the league, right?
Dampier was....in his own mind.

wtf, i cant believe the wizards have paid arenas 111 million dollars.

everyone in washington is painting him as a saint bc he didnt take the 127 mil offered. god i cant stand him.

Originally Posted by Omar1223

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wtf, i cant believe the wizards have paid arenas 111 million dollars.

everyone in washington is painting him as a saint bc he didnt take the 127 mil offered. god i cant stand him.

Sadly, I think it has more to do with the fact that he has more personality in his toenail than Jamison and Butler combined. But while Jamison/Butler are capable of getting the Wiz into the playoffs themselves, Arenas isn't the one to deliver a championship. Talent-wise, I think they could have spent the money more wisely this off-season or next, but there's no denying the popularity of Gil.

Arenas is going to sell tickets for a lot of years, and the Wiz will be good, but not contenders in that conference. This was probably preferable to the Wiz's GM to rebuilding from scratch, without a guarantee of anything down the line. It's disappointing from a "championship or nothing" point of view but they're still providing an entertaining product to their fans and the team won't be terrible. Once the Celtics and Pistons get old, the Magic and whoever Lebron is playing for are probably going to dominate the conference anyway.

i mean it just bothers me so much that so many teams are content with a "yea we made it to the playoffs attitude" especially the wizards, they have no desire at all to become a championship team.

but yea i odd morsal and brain i know what you guys mean and its true, he does sell tickets.

I had a big post or two awhile back about the same thing. Nothing irritates me more than when teams do that. Look at teams like the blazers, sonics, bulls post mj, sixers, and others. Sometimes you gotta blow it up. Overpaying your own players, signing aging vets to just hang around, and not cutting bad contracts really kill futures. I hope the wizards enjoy being a 4-8 seed the next 5 years.

I think the clippers will be relevant but nothing spectacular. I don't think they have a prayer, save a really lucky run, of winning the finals. I doubt they'll even be a top 4 seed.

The Clippers just can't win!

Reports are that Elton Brand is coming to the Sixers.

Originally Posted by eg1

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I agree. Addition by subtraction with Ford out (not saying he isn't good, just that there wasn't ultimately room for him and Calderon) and even if O'Neal turns out to be a bust, there will be big-time cap-space cleared in a couple of years.

The problem for the Raps is that their wing play remains weak.

Totally agree.

Poor Clippers. Now they'll be under a ton of pressure to sign Josh Smith.

And Maggette to the Warriors according to new reports. Excellent fit for him, though playing for Nellie can have a downside.