2012 NBA Off-Season Thread

[Juggernaut]

Shannon brown gets 2 years 7 mill and AK gets 2 years 20 mill?

One of them is going to be a starter, while the other is going to be a backup.
One of them is coming off a mvp/dpoy season in euroleague, while the other had a decent at best nba season.
One of them is going to be provide something crucial, while the other something replaceable.

That being said, 2 years 7 million is a massive underpay. Seeing how Dragic and Lin got pay days based on potential, I'd expect him to get a deal closer to 4-5 years with around 4-5 per.

[A Tasty Burgerr]

I don't even think 3.5 mil. is really underpaying for Brown, its not like there were a lot of offers on the table for him. He is a solid 3rd guard in the rotation but he certainly isn't starter material. He's not even comparable in the slightest to AK47 lol.

If there was a player with a similar skillset as Kirilenko in the open market the Wolves could have gone after for cheaper they may have, but there's no one even close. He's an extremely active defender on a team in desperate need of perimeter defense and he won't take away possessions from Love or Pek. They wanted Batum but lost out, this was the best move they could have made to complete their rotation to be the best it could be for this next season.

[Umfer]

T-Wolves will be playoff bound next year, Guaranteed!

[EmpireWF]

Hornets give up nothing for Lopez, basically.

[TheImmortalGoud]

That trade is now done.

Rotoworld

As part of a three-team trade, the Hornets acquired C Robin Lopez, F Hakim Warrick and cash, the Suns acquired G/F Wesley Johnson, a future first-round pick, Jerome Dyson and Brad Miller, and the Timberwolves acquired two future second-round picks.

Lopez is expected to receive a three-year deal with the Hornets for approximately $15 million and could immediately become the starter at center. Lopez has career averages of 5.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.8 blocks, but he's never averaged more than 20 minutes per game in a single season.

Raptors sign G John Lucas III.

John Lucas III averaged a career-best 7.5 points, 2.2 assists and 1.6 rebounds in just under 15 minutes per game as a third-string PG in Chicago last season and was able to parlay that into a two-year, $3 million contract from Toronto. JL3 will be third string again for the Raptors behind Kyle Lowry and Jose Calderon, but Calderon may be moved before the season starts. It will be extremely unlikely for Lucas III to emerge with fantasy value this year.

[A Tasty Burgerr]

The Bulls bench looks really shitty all of the sudden.

[TheImmortalGoud]

Rotoworld

The Hawks sent Willie Green to the Clippers via sign-and-trade on Monday, getting back Greek center Sofoklis Schortsanitis and a trade exception equal to Green's first-year salary.

Schortsanitis was drafted by the Clippers way back in 2003 and he just inked a three-year deal in Greece, so don't expect to see him in a Hawks jersey. The move gives L.A. some additional backcourt depth, important should Chris Paul or Chauncey Billups get hurt, while Hawks GM Danny Ferry continues to build a reserve of young talent, draft picks and salary cap flexibility.

The Bulls and FA Nate Robinson have agreed to terms on a contract, according to multiple sources.

Derrick Rose might not return until March, and rookie Marquis Teague probably isn't ready for heavy minutes, meaning Nate should see plenty of action backing up Kirk Hinrich at PG for a few months. In 23 minutes per game last season, he averaged 11.2 points, 1.3 threes, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals.

The Warriors and Carl Landry have reportedly agreed on a two-year, $8 million contract.

The second year is a player option, giving Landry another season to inflate his market value before potentially opting for free agency. As the probable backup for David Lee, Landry doesn't have much fantasy appeal -- he averaged a respectable 24 minutes per game last year, but only returned 17th-round value in nine-cat leagues.

[ralaw]

The Clippers are serious about contending (keeping Chris Paul).

[Rudi]

New NBA trade rumors have the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers possibly pulling off a deal. The current chatter suggests that the Timberwolves could send Derrick Williams and Luke Ridnour to the Cavaliers as part of the deal. In exchange, the Timberwolves would acquire Anderson Varejao, someone who could give the team a very nice low post presence off the bench.

A year ago, this would not have seemed like enough to pry Williams away. He came into the league as a prized pick of the 2011 NBA Draft out of Arizona, but has simply not fulfilled on his promise of becoming a great player. That doesn't mean he won't eventually get to that level though, so maybe the Timberwolves are giving up on him a bit too early.

As for Varejao, he can play forward and center, so he could help out any team trying to contend for the playoffs. If things stayed the same, he would likely come off the bench for the Timberwolves, giving the team some great rebounding with the second unit. This is definitely an intriguing trade for both sides, but it seems like the Cavaliers would be coming away with the long-term upside and another top pick from that draft.

What do you think of these new NBA trade rumors? Would a Derrick Williams trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers be exactly what he needs to step up his game?

This is pretty crazy...I guess Minnesota is already considering giving up on D-Will. Not sure why you would do that. #2 overall pick that has played 1 lockout shortened season. It'd be awesome if the Cavs are able to get this done tho.

[JimLeavy59]

D-Will will never be more than a role player.

[Rudi]

[JimLeavy59]

Thanks for showing highlights against one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA. Thats like bragging about going off on the Warriors everybody goes off on the Warriors.

[ralaw]

Williams can be a good player, but he needs to get out of playing behind Love. I don't and never thought he'd progress into a star, because he doesn't do anything particularly great, but in the right situation he should be able to put together some solid to good seasons.

[A Tasty Burgerr]

Can he really play the four effectively though? If he is successful, and I still think he's capable of being very good, I think he need to keep developing his perimeter game to try to fit in there, I don't know if he's meant to be able to play the 4 in the NBA.

[FedEx227]

Depends what you want out of your four. If you're in the mindset that he has to be a post guy, back to the basket, etc. then no Williams will never be an effective four but if you think of him in the Chris Bosh mold then there's no reason he can't eventually be successful.