- Ric Bucher of ESPN included this tidbit in his report on Kaman's extension: "It was believed a number of teams were considering offering Kaman a maximum contract next summer if he became a free agent." Um, no. If it were remotely true, I don't think Kaman and Pelinka would have left a potential $30M on the table, do you?. Besides given the fact that only one team (Charlotte) will have max cap space next summer, for any other team to consider it, they'd have to first figure out how to trade for expiring contracts, so it would be a pretty complicated consideration. Then again, Bucher did say 'a number' and technically, one is 'a number.'
- ESPN the Mag had this screed of negativity in their Clippers preview from the 11/6 issue (on newstands now):
...Coach of the Year Candidate Mike Dunleavy? No extension. And coveted center Chris Kaman? A lowball offer. So, although the party has barely started, these guys are staring at a last dance.
Now Kaman is signed for all of 5% more than the original offer, so I'm thinking that it wasn't too 'lowball' after all, and though Dunleavy seems genuinely unconcerned about his contract situation, it's entirely possible it will be resolved before the season starts now that Kaman is signed. Which means that everything the Mag said could be wrong BEFORE the date on the cover.
- And while we're bashing, back in August John Hollinger reported that Kaman and the Clippers were 'miles apart' (this was based on the famous 'word on the street'). Based on the ease and all around pleasantness of the actual Kaman signing, it seems unlikely that they were ever very far apart.
- In a related though non-Clipper story, Tony Mejia reported on Oct. 17 that the Mavs were low-balling Josh Howard, with an offer of 5/$25M. Yesterday he signed for 4/$40M+, double the per year Mejia reported. Did Howard's agent get Cuban to double the offer in 10 days, or was Mejia flat wrong? What do you think?
I could list about 100 more examples of things that simply aren't true, where the author knew it wasn't true when he wrote it. These guys have column space to fill every week, and they like to say things that are provocative, and they like to say them with authority. But a lot of the time, they're just making stuff up.
Look, I post about 20 times a week on this blog. I like to say crazy stuff too. But if it's just my opinion, I'll make that clear. I won't attribute bull poop rumors to 'the word on the street' or use namby-pamby phrases like 'it is believed that...' If I actually HAD any sources, I wouldn't want to abuse the privilege by spreading ridiculous rumors.