| | Sorry I haven't written in a while. Here's who's won and lost during the offseason:
|  | | Grant Hill sees lots of Magic in his future, and hopefully some more victories. |
The Big Winner
San Antonio: Spurs got Duncan back. Nothing else matters.
Other Winners
Indiana: The Pacers had to pay through the nose to get Jalen Rose and
Austin Croshere re-signed, but they did it. Sam Perkins re-upped for the
$2.25 million exception. And it looks like Indiana will retain Reggie
Miller, Rik Smits and Mark Jackson. Well, maybe. The Pacers are offering
one-year deals to each, and Miller wants three. The idea from Indiana's
standpoint is to have cap room again next season if the Pacers don't win it
all in 2000-01.
Miami: The Heat got its man in Eddie Jones and may have gotten a steal in
third-year forward Ricky Davis, who'd worn out his welcome in Charlotte. The
combustible Anthony Mason's sojourn on South Beach (wait 'till he gets a
load of the folks hanging around Versace's house) will likely only last one
year, or less. The real reason Miami is in the pink is because Riles has
positioned the Heat to have big cap room next summer -- when, I suspect, Chris
Webber will be the primary target.
Milwaukee. The Bucks kept Tim Thomas and had a solid draft, adding center
Joel Pryzbilla and guard Michael Redd. Now, will Sam Cassell be a happy
camper with Thomas pulling down $67 mil? Check back during training camp.
Orlando. The Magic's year-long cap gymnastics netted Grant Hill and Tracy
McGrady, and maybe Maurice Taylor, and that's an accomplishment. (Although
it does indeed look like George Karl was right, and a lot of the guys that
helped Orlando get to .500 last season will be gone.) But the prime
objective was to land Duncan, and that didn't happen. Which is why Orlando
is also....
Losers
Orlando. Didn't get Duncan. Nothing else matters.
Chicago. Call me crazy, but I don't think the goal of having $19
million in cap room was to get Ron Mercer. It amuses me to hear Windy City
folk talk about how players are too chicken to come there and help restore
the greatness of the franchise. Um, were free agents dropping everything to
play with David Greenwood and Granny Waiters back in the early '80s? The
Bulls' arrogance is finally coming back to haunt them.
Lakers. They have not (yet) been able to address what is now a gaping hole
at power forward. P.J. Brown, Christian Laettner, Lorenzen Wright have all
slipped through their fingers. Charles Oakley still a possibility. But who
am I kidding? They've still got Shaq and Kobe.
Toronto. The Raptors really believed they'd be able to keep McGrady, all
evidence coming from his camp to the contrary. They haven't been able to convince
anyone to take their cap room, from Croshere to Thomas to Cuttino Mobley.
The future of one V. Carter has to have the Jurassics ill at ease.
News & Notes
Allen Iverson was real close to being a Piston on Monday. The four-team
rumored trade earlier in the month between the Sixers, Pistons, Lakers and
Hornets couldn't work under the cap. But it was rejiggered last weekend.
Mason and Toni Kukoc were taken out of the deal to ease the Lakers'
disinterest in Mase and Kukoc's base-year compensation issues. Among the
multiple players involved, Laettner would have gone to the Lakers. Jones
would have gone to the Sixers. Iverson would have gone to the Pistons. Jerry
Stackhouse would have gone to the Hornets.
But the deal didn't work for one reason: Matt Geiger would have also
gone to Detroit. And Geiger has a trade kicker in his contract that would
have counted against the cap. And that put the Pistons $1.2 million over the
cap. So the deal didn't work.
That leaves the very real problem of Iverson and Larry Brown. Iverson
met with Philly management on Monday and admitted he has to improve his
punctuality to practices and games. But he also said he's sick of Brown's
public carping about his problems. The chances of either man changing his
ways approximates Blutarsky's grade point average at Faber College...
The Pacers lost their $4.3 million trade exception, which expired on
Wednesday, after Maurice Taylor, despite lobbying from fellow Michigan
Wolverine Jalen Rose, rejected a seven-year, $41 million sign-and-trade
offer from Indiana. The Clippers would have gotten a future first from the
Pacers. Taylor is still hoping the Magic can clear enough cap room (by dealing
Matt Harpring to Detroit along with Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins in a sign-and-trade for Hill, and sending Pat Garrity to Toronto in a sign-and-trade
for McGrady) to offer him $4.5 million in the first year of a seven-year
deal.
The Rockets now have the league's largest exception ($4.4 million), which
they have to use by October. But like Indiana, Houston isn't going to use
the exception unless it can get a big-time power forward. Rockets plan to be
under the cap next summer, once Hakeem Olajuwon's $14 million comes off the
books. Rockets also think they've got a sleeper in forward Dan Langhi, who
lit up the Rocky Mountain Revue summer league.
I was told, quite seriously,
that the Timberwolves had at least talked amongst themselves about bringing
Isaiah Rider back for a second tour of duty in the wake of Malik Sealy's
death. Not so, says coach Flip Saunders. "We've made this a better team over
the last few years by putting a premium on having guys with high character,"
Saunders said. Point taken.
Mark Cuban is once again going insane, flying
as many of his coaches and families as could fit on a plane to
Hawaii.
The Clippers will have to improve on their $1.2 million per year offer
if they're going to get Del Harris out of Dallas. The Clips were willing to pay
more for Bob Huggins, and, word is, John Calipari.
Greg Anthony was scheduled
for ankle surgery this week, but is still hoping to re-sign with Blazers. If
Portland's not interested, Anthony will look at the Hawks and Clippers.
Until the Knicks put Allan Houston or Latrell Sprewell in any deal, they will not be
able to move Marcus Camby. If they put Houston in a deal, he'll opt out of
his contract after next season. Otherwise, he's probably a Knick for life.
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