Here's a Crazy Rumor

by Steve Perrin on Jun 28, 2008 7:32 PM PDT Comment 18 comments

EuroBasket.com has the following rumor on their Greek page:

Panathinaikos is very close to agree terms with an NBA legend, a transfer which considers being even bigger name than the one of Dominique Wilkins (204-F-60, college: Georgia Tech) 12 years ago. The player is 32 years of age and has 10 active and productive seasons in the NBA with double digits in points and rebounds. Eurobasket.com, will give its readers more information very soon.

OK, so if we take them at their word, they pretty much have to talking about Antawn Jamison. He's a 10 year vet, he's 32, he averaged double figures in points and rebounds last season. No one else drafted in 1998 comes close to fitting the description, and even Jamison isn't really in the same class as Dominique (although Jamison is younger and would still command a huge salary in the NBA).

I can't believe this is true, but Panathinaikos and Olympiacos are both loading up, even more than usual, in their annual battle for Greek league supremacy. I hope they don't just let this drop. I can't wait to see what the story is. Probably Jamison is using it as a ploy to drive up his price, since it's unlikely any teams are going to make him a big offer and he'll be a the mercy of the Wizards at that point. Stay tuned.

UPDATE 6/30/08: A couple of things. First of all, even though this post was hijacked in the comments with a discussion of Clipper point guard targets, I thought I should provide some more information on the Jamison rumor. The tidbit above is no longer on the EuroBasket site (which is interesting, since generally they just let posts run down the page blog style, but this one was removed). Instead, they have this post about Panathanaikos:

According to the official Panathinaikos Athens announcement, through its manager Mr. Manos Papadopoulos , there is not any specific target at this stage for the Green team. As he stated to a couple of Greek newspapers Panathinaikos Athens has the best feasible roster, and at the same time the most expensive ones, we do not wait for any messiahs. Whatever is announced from the Media people is a myth! The team has a specific plan and its management together with the Coaching staff has put their plans on table from the very next day of the fifth game against Olympiakos.

I read all of this to mean, "crazy media rumor, no one ever said anything about signing a 32 year old NBA star." So we can close the book on Jamison to Greece.

Second thing - I PROMISE I'll have a point guard overview in the near future. The grad school app is due today, and after that it's top of the list. (Along with Brand and Maggette's ETO's and Livingston's QO which are all due today.)

0 recs | Comment 18 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

There goes any chance I had of sleeping well tonight.

(Frantically looks for another 32 year old with a better pedigree)

Bullets Forever: Where fancy numbers and YouTube come together.

by JakeTheSnake on Jun 28, 2008 8:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Wait a minute

Wilkins went to Georgia, not Georgia Tech.

You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.

by Mike Prada on Jun 29, 2008 7:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Speaking of rumors

Just went through the Hoopshype rumor page. Maybe it’s just me, but the departure of AT3 and scrub status of Abrams at the LAT leaves the Clippers with not just little or nothing in the way of news, but also nobody in their corner. During a time out like this when nobody knows anything, virtually every team has somebody speculating on favorable scenarios on their behalf. Instead, with the Clips, you get everybody else’s projection of what the Clips have that might benefit their own team.

The result is that you find speculation, in a newspaper, that Chicago might get Elton Brand for Hinrich and Drew Gooden, although they might be asked to add a future first round pick-and they should definitely do that to make the deal. This is in the “Arlington Heights Daily Herald,” but it really should be a dismissable message board post. But the question is, where are the “rumors” (made up stuff) that benefits the Clips? Where is the story about how now that the Clippers have drafted Gordon, they’re shopping Mobley, and speculation about the Mobley for Hinrich deal? Instead, everybody is speculating about getting not just Maggette but also Brand, and sooner rather than later. There’s not one story, anywhere, saying that if the Clippers resign their players (which they show every intention of trying to do, and even doing), they are a competent PG (Udrih or better) away from being a deep, strong, competitive team. There’s no one speculating that if Maggs opt out the Clips might take the money and make an big offer to Calderon that Toronto would have to match, then go back to Maggette and sign him. But for every other team that needs a PG, starting with the Knicks and Miami, there’s a long list of free agent PGs that they’ll go after-and the Knicks have Marbury and Miami just got Chalmers.

Oh well. Yoga time. Maybe Stuckey will be there. Except I read that he’s going to be playing on the team that will play against team USA. Exciting.

by citizen zhiv on Jun 29, 2008 9:48 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

yup

Agreed. Nobody is writing pro clipper rumors. Even today, I was reading something on hoopsworld about how Maggette might take the MLE to play for the hornets. That doesn’t make any sense. That’s the type of thing players do at the end of their careers, not at the prime like Maggette is. He’d be leaving about 4-5 million behind.

I think most of us assume that Elton Brand will be back in a clippers uniform for at least one more year. As far as Corey Maggette goes, most of the posts I’ve read on clipsnation seem to agree that he’s an ideal piece to a sign and trade for a point guard, however we know that Sterling has nixed other trades in the past and all indications are that Maggette will be in a clippers uniform next year as well.

Obviously the clippers biggest weakness is at the point. Maybe some of you all can post who you think the clippers can reasonably target with the mid level that might really help the clips next year (I know there aren’t that many that aren’t restricted, but still).

Here’s a few of the players I think the Clippers should target:

Beno Udrih: I didn’t get a chance to see the kings play much last season but from what I’ve read he played pretty well in the time Mike Bibby went down with an injury, and after he was traded. The real question is can we lure him away from the kings. I took a look over at the Sactown Royalty blog on SB nation and the overall gist of what I’ve read is that Kings fans don’t want to offer him more that the mid level for three years. They see themselves as a team that’s good enough to keep themselves out of the bottom 10 picks in the draft but bad enough to not make the playoffs.

Jannero Pargo: I used to not be that much of a fan of his game, but he played really well when I was watching the playoffs. He’s a quick 6’1" guard that can shoot from 3. He’s an energy guy, not a starter but can take a team out of a scoring slump and I really don’t want to go through another season where we’re watching the clippers go through a four or five minute drought. Maybe 2 years at 4 million (I think that’s what we paid Brevin knight).

Chris Duhon: He didn’t exactly have the best season last year as he averaged a career low of 5.8 ppg and 4 assists in 22 minutes. He’s not really a shooter, he only shot 38% last year and 34% from three. However, not might be the time to get him on the cheap. Nobody knows what the bulls are going to do with captain Kirk and Rose. I don’t think they’re in a rush to make a deal unless they need the space to sign deng and Gordon. Duhon isn’t really the piece the clippers need but he’s bigger than brevin knight.

I’m not a basketball guru like a lot of you people are, so you all probably have better ideas. I was looking for a post on point guard free agents by CS but I didn’t come across one.

by cantthinkofagoodname on Jun 29, 2008 12:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't love this

But Tinsley isn’t an awful bandaid.

He isnt the answer, but he could hold down the fort for a minute if needed.

by John R on Jun 29, 2008 12:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

ctoagn calls out Clipper Steve

Look at that last paragraph—nicely played. “I was looking for a post on point guard free agents by CS but I didn’t come across one.” Umm, me too.

But all you have to do is go to HHRumors and look at the exhaustive coverage of the possibilities for the Knicks and the Heat, and there might be another team in there that, by the way, is not going to be as good as the Clips if they get a good PG.

Studying it again, a little more carefully, and speculating wildly in the way that other teams do, my own preference for a starting point would be a Baron Davis deal. I know there are complicated issues with that, but it would make the Clips contenders and a force to be reckoned with. It’s a “big boy” deal, and not a half-measure, and it’s the kind of thing that would grab attention and make EB see that the Clips are serious. It would be interesting just to see what the pundits would make of it, with BD demanding serious attention for the franchise.

If the Clips show money at Calderon, possibly over paying by 5-8 million over the course of the contract, just enough to make the Raptors think twice (think of Nash going to Phoenix, or pick a better comparison), they might want to do the same thing with Monta Ellis. He’s not really the PG the Clips need, but could he play with Gordon? He could definitely play with Livingston, but that’s a different story. Highly unlikely, but again, an aggresive approach that might be tried at least.

Here’s something a little bit different. The NY Daily News says that if the Knicks find a PG, Marbury will be released. Is there any value to targeting the Marbury buyout early as a possibility for the Clips, kind of the way that Simmons did with Cassell—which didn’t really work out btw, and ended up as overkill. (Is Garnett happy for Sam or does he just slightly resent his old buddy’s bonus?) Getting a motivated Marbury for almost no money would be a neat trick. Another gamble.

Anyway, here’s a list of PGs the Knicks might target: Mike Conley, Kyle Lowery, Chris Duhon, Tyronn Lue, Keyon Dooling, Sebastian Telfair.

Then there’s this list, arranged in order of PER: Jordan Farmar, Lowery, Raymond Felton, Chris Quinn, Roger Mason, Beno Udrih, Kirk Hinrich, Anthony Carter, Jason Williams, Jamaal Tinsley, Steve Blake, Janerro Pargo, Luke Ridnour, Marcus Williams.

In considering any signing or deal, it’s worth remembering the Maggette possibilities and also the expiring contracts of Mobley and Thomas in 2010—The Year of Lebron. I’m kind of in favor of holding onto those guys to put the Clips in position to sign their own free agent in 2010, but the value of those deals is significant, especially with NY and Brooklyn ready to go all out.

In the end, if it’s a small run at Hinrich with Mobley and finishes up with Udrih I’ll be happy, but anything can happen.

by citizen zhiv on Jun 29, 2008 12:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

sometimes words sound worse written…

I wasn’t calling out clippersteve, I was just pointing out that I didn’t see a recent post that specifically dealt with the point guards for sale and how well they would fit in with the clippers. That’s not to say that the information isn’t there, I just didn’t find it. I like CS and he does a fantastic job. In all honesty, with all the lack of clipper press coverage, I’d like to see him get press access to the team. Since sports blogs are the future of sports coverage, maybe if we all wrote in to the clippers on CS behalf…

by cantthinkofagoodname on Jun 29, 2008 1:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

No Worries

Just a playful shot on my part at CS, ctoagn. Your words didn’t sound bad at all. I really liked your post.

CS has been doing a solid enough, no frills job recently, and he was due for a break, not to mention his full-time family duties and the transition of the ClipperWidow to the ClipperWife during the offseason. But with the end of AT3’s 10-year run and CS’ journalism school aspirations, you raise an interesting question. Is there any reason CS should have press access? Would he even want press access?

Back to your post: Udrih had a very good season at SAC last year, and he’s the odds-on candidate to be the Clips’ PG. You make a good mention of Pargo, who raised his stock considerably during the playoffs. He probably should have gotten the ball into CP3’s hands at crunchtime, rather than trying to win it on his own, but you have to give him credit—that player wasn’t the same guy as any Janerro Pargo I had ever seen before. If we’re in Duhon land, the Clips are in trouble I think, and they would need good news and good play from Livingston. Duhon is a solid backup who can play combo minutes, bringing Ben Gordon off the bench for instant offense, but it would mean that the Bulls see Hinrich playing alongside Derrick Rose and the Clips lose out in that scenario.

Anybody else on the list that you like? I happen to be fond of the fact that Jordan Farmar was high on the list of players that the Knicks might get. It’s funny to think of the Clippers as arrogantly targeting Farmar as if they should just deserve to have him somehow, perhaps to relieve the Lakers of the burden of signing both him and injured Bynum to extensions. Funny.

by citizen zhiv on Jun 29, 2008 2:24 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

good points

You make valid points. I’m relatively new to clipsnation. I’ve come to this site for a little over a year now (I think) and I admittedly know nothing about CS. I assume this is his part time hobby. I was simply making the offer to CS that I would gladly call or write the clippers for him. However, if he were to get press access, it wouldn’t just be for him, it would be for all of us fans as well. The great thing about clipsnation is that when I read it, I don’t feel like it’s some AP story or Clippers PR. I like the fact the he puts a lot of work into his blog and always comes out with crazy stats and analysis.

Should the Clippers give CS press access if he wants it? YES!

Does he want it? I would guess not for the reasons you mentioned (spending time with his family) and it would probably be way more work for the little amount of info he’d receive in return.

Are the clippers likely to give it to him anyway? Probably not because as an organization, the Clippers don’t seem to like publicity.

Back to the clippers stuff. I like John R’s point about tinsley. From what I’ve read the pacers don’t want much in return. As far as Farmar goes, I don’t think I can see the lakers giving him up anytime soon. I expect him to sign an extension. A Marbury buyout would be interesting. He obviously has skill, but he has some serious issues. He might be ready to prove everyone wrong and be a star again. He might be dangerous for the clippers only for the fact that Sterling doesn’t do buyouts too often. It possible that if things went south, we’d be stuck with him all season. Lastly, I have a feeling if we want a Memphis point guard, we’ll have to take one of those bad long contracts they just picked up from the Wolves too. We could possibly trade mobley for conely and a bad contract, but I don’t like that idea because if we don’t like mobleys contract, the one we get from Memphis is going to be worse.

I also like Daniel Gibson. He’s a 3 point threat. I don’t know how much of a ball handler he is however. The only problem is that he’s restricted and someone James likes, so I expect the cavs to resign him.

by cantthinkofagoodname on Jun 29, 2008 3:38 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I personally would

stay away from Tinsley, and go after Felton if that is route the organization is taking. I think the best fit for the Clips, in order, would go something like BDavis, Hinrich, Udrih, Felton, Farmar, Pargo, Tinsley. I am also surprised Arenas is getting NO burn on this blog. Granted, he costs a lot, but no one else can afford him. I am not saying he is the solution to all the Clippers problems, but if they were to sign him, that is a CLEAR message to EB that they mean business…and NOW.

by Clip Show on Jun 29, 2008 4:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

udrih

Sucks. Let’s be honest here, he got cut by the spurs and then couldn’t break minnesota’s rotation. This is the classic case of a pg playing well for a short period of time in a perfect situation, also known as the “chris child’s” situation. I mean, even Derrick Martin put up decent stats for a few games for our Clips back in the day, doesn’t mean he was any good. I had nba league pass last year and my roommate was a diehard kings fan, so i watched a lot of those games, and udrih would have 15ish ppg but would give up 18-19. The guy couldn’t guard the chair i’m sitting on. There’s a reason king’s fans (including my roommate) don’t want to resign this guy.

Pargo – also sucks. He’s a backup undersized scorer posing as a pg. He’s a clone of eddie house, which isn’t awful, but it isn’t the answer either.

Farmar – He’s a solid player when he has solid players around him, but I really think this guy is overrated. I watched him a ton at ucla and with the lakers, and he was a 1st round draft pick only b/c that draft was so weak. I’m not sold.

If we can’t get BD/Arenas/Ellis (throw a TON of their way. Even if it doesn’t work out ideally, we at least put a face on the franchise), I actually like the Tinsley band-aid idea. He’s proven he’s a true pg, no other team wants to touch him, and we could get him for 20 cents on the dollar. Of course I would prefer Hinrich or Felton first, but I don’t think we could get them without giving up Maggette, and we would obviously be the losers based on pure talent in those deals.

Another guy no one is really talking about here, but was getting thrown around a little bit is Barbosa. I know he’s not a pg, but he’s a proven scorer, and he didn’t play PG that badly over the years when nash/marbury were injured. I don’t know, just a thought. Last thought on this rambling post, we should really be calling Chris Wallace every day to try and get a deal done for one of their pgs (maggette for conley, or pieces for lowry or crittenton). I mean, he dealt Gasol for Kwame and a 2 for 1 coupon for a big mac to mcdonald’s, we could probably get Gay + conley for maggette + TThomas. Okay, the last sentence was a joke (kinda), but i’m sure we could pry away lowry for cheap. What do yall think.

Oh, i lied about the last thought thing above. What about portland’s glut of pg? They still have Steve blake and Sergio Rodriguez right? They just lost James jones potentially, so mobley might actually be a good fit on that team. We should at least inquire about their 3rd and 4th string pgs, but honestly any conversation involving baylor and pritchard kind of scares me.

by BtheKUTA on Jun 29, 2008 5:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Steve Francis?

Has anyone heard about Steve Francis lately? He barley played for Houston because of an injury but he only has 1 year left on his contract for 3 million (I don’t think he’s opting out???). Houston lacks some depth in the front court with Mutumbo’s future up in the air. Maybe they’re interested in a project like DeAndre Jordan and someone else with a small contract to match salary.

Assuming he’s healthy this would be a high risk high reward trade just based on his personality, but on the bright side it’s only a 1 year deal and we wouldn’t lose any core players at all.

by cantthinkofagoodname on Jun 29, 2008 8:47 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Some other rumors from HH

Tinsley will be bought out if a trade is not found. Clips could have him for real cheap then.
Marbury is in the same boat as Tinsley…is this who the Clippers want running the team?
Another player that I have not heard in any rumors is Carlos Arroyo…the guy only played 20 min. per game this year for Orlando, but he is a servicable pg from what I remember. Does anyone have any other info on this guy? Was/is he hurt?...he is a unrestricted FA, so again, he could come cheap…

by Clip Show on Jun 29, 2008 9:12 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

All of them are band-aids

Except for BDavis, Arenas (good point to include him in the discussion), and Hinrich. I like Udrih only because he seems to be the best of the band-aids. Udrih getting some baskets and not turning the ball over but giving up points on the defensive end for SAC isn’t so bad for the Clips. The needs are different for Sac last year than they are for a Clips team with Brand, Kaman, Thornton, Maggette, Gordon, Mobley, etc. The Clips can do well with somebody who is solid but not spectacular, and see how the big time guys (Brand, Kaman, etc.) fare when they’re out on the court together. They could be a little scary with somebody like BDavis, but if they just keep their guys and put a pretty good “band-aid” pg out there they’ll be a force.

None of these guys play defense (Udrih, Felton, Tinsley, etc.), but that can be helped with good team defense.

by citizen zhiv on Jun 29, 2008 10:42 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I like udrih as well as a bandaid

He was great for me on my fantasy team lol

Seriously though, I think he will be fine on Defense. You folks have to remember that we have Kaman and Brand protecting the paint. Sam cassel had no lateral quickness what-so-ever on that little playoff run. Udrih may not have the killer instinct on O like cassel but he does have better lateral movement.

+1 for beno as the top bandaid

by xtian on Jun 30, 2008 1:01 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Jamison???

If it is Jamison that they speak of in this article, then doesn’t that make it easier to get Arenas? Wasn’t Arenas quoted as saying, “I will return to the Wizards, as long as they re-sign Jamison”????

by CLiPPz WeRD 42 on Jun 30, 2008 1:16 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

sadly, it looks like udrih is our best option right now. think about it, if we trade maggette for either felton or hinrich, we’re getting the short end of the stick on that one talent-wise, and neither of those teams is gonna throw in a first rounder. although at this point we might just have to pull the trigger if either of those is available.

arenas is gonna stay with the wiz, and BDiddy is most likely gonna stay in gstate because he won’t get that kinda money anywhere if he opts out (davis for maggette? the numbers don’t balance out though).

pargo is a bench player, albeit a good one, and as much of a sg as a pg.

second best option? tinsley, but ONLY if he’s bought out and comes to us cheap.

we should be going after conley or lowry from the grizz, but we don’t have much to offer them (expiring brevin knight contract and first rounder for conley??)

by clipped on Jun 30, 2008 1:48 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Arenas

has purportedly been offered a 6 year deal by the Wiz at over $100mil….so, doesn’t look like the Clips will make that sort of offer, unless Brand is for sure back. I would LOVE to get one of Memphis’ young point guards, but at this point, I am not sure if they are going to part with Conley or Lowry. Who knows, their GM is in the business of making bad deals for his team, so I may be wrong.

by Clip Show on Jun 30, 2008 8:31 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs