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Could The Hornets' Interest in Glen Davis Lead To Something Bigger?

McDyess headed to San Antonio.Wallace officially signs.Andersen re-signs with Denver for five years.I love Glen Davis. No, wait -- I LOVE Glen Davis. And apparently, so do the Hornets. New Orleans is reportedly keen on the restricted free agent, but is tied up with money issues which push them further behind in the race for (Big) Baby.From Marc Spears:According to an NBA source this morning, Davis is receiving interest from Boston, San Antonio, Detroit and New Orleans. San Antonio and Detroit are pursuing Detroit free-agent forward Antonio McDyess. The team left without McDyess could immediately turn its attention to Davis. While the Hornets are very interested, financial concerns limit them to only a possible sign-and-trade deal for Davis. Now who on the Hornets could we possibly be interested in? Well, here's a not-so-subtle hint from one of the first commentators who offered thoughts on the Spears article:"Sign and deal for...

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Cavs, Anderson Varejao Agree on Six-Year, $42.5 Million Deal; Also Add Guard Anthony Parker

The dollar amount per year (about $7 million per) makes sense. But six years?That's the length of the deal agreed upon between Varejao, who once said that he'll never play for the Cavs again the last time he was a free agent, and GM Danny Ferry. Incentives can push the deal to about $50 million over the life of the contract.And as is the custom with Ferry's negotiations, the last year of the deal for the 2014-15 season (yeah, you're going to be seeing Andy for that much longer) is only partially guaranteed.This signing came on the same day that the Cavs reportedly agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent guard Anthony Parker, as detailed by Smooth earlier. Parker, at 6'6", gives the team a tall body on the perimeter and exceptional backcourt depth behind Mo Williams and Delonte West.The Cavs had said since Day 1 of free agency that...

Read more  |  5 Comments  |  Tags: Anderson Varejao, Anthony Parker, Ben Wallace, Channing Frye, Cleveland Cavaliers, Darnell Jackson, Delonte West, J.J. Hickson, Mo Williams, New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Sasha Pavlovic, Shaquille O'Neal, Wally Szczerbiak, Zydrunas Ilgauskas

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D-E-S-I-R-E

The Herald is reporting that Grant Hill may simply be attempting to leverage a better deal in Phoenix. "Grant is a very complex individual," a source told the Herald. "Complex" might not be the word I'd choose. Confused, perhaps, not complex. So we have Grant Hill going back to Phoenix or moving to New York and Stephon Marbury going to play for the Wiz. Looking back, I guess Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, and Charles Barkley deserve more credit than I thought. At least they had the desire to win a championship....

Read more  |  2 Comments  |  Tags: Boston Celtics, Charles Barkley, Gary Payton, Grant Hill, Karl Malone, New York Knicks, Patrick Ewing, Phoenix Suns

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Everybody Loves Slam Dunks!

With all this depressing talk today of people stealing tapes, me pimping out my own writings, and salary caps and economic woes destroying the memories of millions of fans, I figured I'd pass along this video from Ethan Jaynes at NESW Sports. It's the Top 10 Slam Dunks of the past year. Here are my thoughts on each and every dunk (I know you were dying for them):10. Westbrook alley-oop off the backboard from Earl WatsonIf you're a European player, DON'T EVER STAND UNDER THE BASKET EVER! Someone is going to try to embarrass you. 9. Dahntay Jones yaks on Erick DampierI'm pretty sure Erick Dampier was reclassified as European five years ago.8. Tracy McGrady dunks on Tyrus ThomasTo borrow a line from Doc Holliday in Tombstone for T-Mac, "the tales of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." Okay, no they haven't but that was still nice to see from...

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Here's Some Self-Promotion (Like Always)

I don't know if you know who I am but I'm kind of a small deal. I recently started spewing my usual basketball nonsense over at one of the greatest basketball websites ever created -- Hardwood Paroxysm. I know what you're thinking, "What blackmail-type evidence do I have over Matt Moore?" Wouldn't you like to know?!?ANYWAY, I had my first article posted on the old HP on June 29th and Matt Moore gave me this introduction: Zach Harper is the author of TalkHoops.net and Cowbell Kingdom. He has difficulty (as most people do) with how fast I speak in real life. He's a former male gymnast who won gold at the 1994 Bel-Air gymnastics tournament. That last part is a lie. He's our newest contributor to Hardwood Paroxysm. That part is not a lie. Revel in him. He opens with a discussion of hoops junkiehood, and the joys of young...

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The Salary Cap Hates Your Team

Remember how the attendance was supposedly on par for NBA teams and the impending financial apocalypse of the NBA small market teams was not as dire as the crazy media made it out to be? Remember how everyone was overreacting and the NBA was going to be just fine? Well, maybe we should take a look at this report from ESPN.com: In a memo announcing next season's salary cap and luxury-tax threshold, sent out shortly before the league's annual July moratorium on signings and trades was lifted at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, NBA teams also received tentative projections from the league warning that the cap is estimated to drop to somewhere between $50.4 million and $53.6 million for the 2010-11 season.The official league memorandum, obtained by ESPN.com, forecasts a dip in basketball-related income in the 2009-10 season of 2.5 percent to 5 percent, which threatens to take the 2010-11 cap...

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LeBron James Steals Passes and Tapes

We all know how prolific LeBron James is at shooting the passing lanes with the closing speed of Deion Sanders to pluck the ball out of mid-air and turn it into a SportsCenter Top 10 clip. I mean, it's really quite incredible to watch the entire thing happen, almost in slow motion, while in real life it probably takes no more than three or four seconds before he punctuates the play with a tomahawk exclamation. But when he gets dunked on by a college player at a Nike Basketball Skills Camp that he's hosting, he's even better at stealing things. This comes from a Wizards Extreme Forum that was passed along through the Truth About It Twitter: On Monday night at the Nike LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio, NBA star Lebron James was dunked on huge by Xavier's Jordan Crawford with a vicious two-hander. Unfortunately you won't be...

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Analysis of Boston's Addition of Rasheed Wallace

As you all know, the Celtics negotiated with free agent forward Rasheed Wallace, who has verbally agreed to join the C's, and looks to sign a two-year deal for the full mid-level exception on Wednesday. The addition of Sheed will impact the team in a way I can't yet figure out. His off-court attitude will certainly be a problem, especially if he's going to be with us for two years (unless trades or injuries change that). But it's been said that teammates love him and guys think he's a winner. After all, Kevin Garnett did hunt him down. After the jump, analysis on the great Rasheed Wallace (kidding on the "great" part guys, no need to bash me... or is there?)....

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NBA Rumor Mill: Kidd May Be a Knick, Rubio Refuses to Play in Minnesota & Size Matters to Suns

There is every reason to believe that the 2009-2010 NBA season will be one of the most exciting of this decade, if not longer. While you try to predict who will challenge the incredibly stacked Los Angeles Lakers, we're going to hit you with the latest rumors circulating in what has been a fruitful free agency period for the big dogs of the NBA.Kidd Wants a Piece of the Big Apple?Jason Kidd may not be the best point guard in the league anymore but that isn't stopping teams from bidding on him with fury. The New York Knicks want the current Dallas Maverick to take over the reins and Kidd is reportedly considering it. He would have to take a $12 million pay cut to do so. The Mavericks are offering a reported three-year contract worth up to $30 million, while the Knicks are only offering $18 million, says the...Read more

Read more  |  Discuss  |  Tags: Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Ricky Rubio, Steve Nash

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NBA Rumor Mill: Kidd May Be a Knick, Rubio Refuses to Play in Minnesota & Size Matters to Suns

There is every reason to believe that the 2009-2010 NBA season will be one of the most exciting of this decade, if not longer. While you try to predict who will challenge the incredibly stacked Los Angeles Lakers, we're going to hit you with the latest rumors circulating in what has been a fruitful free agency period for the big dogs of the NBA.Kidd Wants a Piece of the Big Apple?Jason Kidd may not be the best point guard in the league anymore but that isn't stopping teams from bidding on him with fury. The New York Knicks want the current Dallas Maverick to take over the reins and Kidd is reportedly considering it. He would have to take a $12 million pay cut to do so. The Mavericks are offering a reported three-year contract worth up to $30 million, while the Knicks are only offering $18 million, says the...Read more

Read more  |  Discuss  |  Tags: Jason Kidd, LeBron James, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Ricky Rubio, Steve Nash

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NBA Outsider: Memphis Grizzlies Draft Follow Up

3 Shades of Blue tells how this years draft picks are not super stars but certainly upgrades.WHEN THE DRAFT GIVES YOU LEMONS..... The Memphis Grizzlies exercised all three of the picks with which they entered the 2009 NBA draft-nos. 2, 27, and 36, selecting Hasheem Thabeet, Demarre Carroll, and Sam Young. Sure, when the year 2020 comes around, the potential for this year's draft crop to be viewed as one of the best ever is pretty low-but as the title states, the draft might give you lemons...and sometimes the lemonade takes a bit longer to make and isn't quite as good as Grandma's on a 90-degree day, but it should still be pretty tasty. What Michael Heisley has stated many times is that he wants to field a more defensive-oriented team (a philosophy with which I heartily agree), and this draft bears his mark in bold ink. Thabeet, Carroll, and...Read more

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NBA Crystal Ball: Ricky Rubio Will Not Be Hungry Like the Wolf Next Season

The 2009 NBA Draft was anything but predictable. However; instead of the Memphiz Grizzlies being the talk of the night it was the Minnesota Timberwolves who had people scratching their heads when they chose Ricky Rubio, the Spanish sensation, and Johnny Flynn, the explosive point guard out of Syracuse. When they chose Ty Lawson I couldn't help but think Matt Millen had commandeered the draft room in Minnesota and was having flashbacks to his drafting wide receivers days. The real joke seems to be on Ricky Rubio, only he isn't laughing. If you need proof you only need to notice that he didn't show up to the introductory news conference for the Timberwolves' draft picks. Timberwolves GM David Kahn is apologizing for him and saying that he believes a two point guart system can work. Too bad Ricky doesn't agree. We could be looking at the next Steve Francis situation,...Read more

Read more  |  6 Comments  |  Tags: Johnny Flynn, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Ricky Rubio

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NBA Outsider Mock Draft: New York Knicks Select Stephen Curry

NBA Outsider is hosting a 2009 NBA mock draft, where bloggers from all over come together in an attempt to project the draft results that will take place June 25th . 3 Shades of Blue  picks for the New York Knicks at No. 8. Is Stephen Curry pro ready? The New York Knicks are willing to take the chance with their first round pick Stephen Curry out of Davidson. Follow the mock draft here.Somehow the Knicks survived last year with Chris Duhon running the point but that won't last. Duhon is a solid PG along the lines of Steve Blake but fans are dreaming if they believe he will continue to fire away from long distance with that much effectiveness. The Knicks need a Steve Nash type PG who can  hit the deep shot and the tough pass. There just happens to be someone very close to that model left...Read more

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NBA Rumor Mill: Garnett isn't Out, D'Antoni Promises Roster Changes and Amare Knocks Porter

The regular season is over and a slate of fantastic first round match-ups are ready to get started. But while you're watching fourteen teams do their best to prevent the inevitable Lakers-Celtics match-up, we've got out ears to the street in an attempt to find the latest buzz around the league. So put on a headband and your best throwback jersey. It's time to give you the latest rumors in the NBA.Garnett isn't Out for the Playoffs?Doc Rivers announced that Boston Celtics forward is for all intents and purposes out of the playoffs. His strained popliteus tendon, which forced him to miss 25 games in the regular season, just isn't improving the way the Celtics had hoped. But is KG really done? SI.com went hunting to find a second, third, fourth and fifth opinion of NBA trainers. The verdict? Garnett may not be done for the season. In fact, all...Read more

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NBA Awards: The Best of the Best

With only two more days remaining in the NBA regular season, it's about time to hand out my awards for the best individual performances of the season...Rookie of the Year - Derrick Rose (Bulls)My Ballot:1. Rose2. O.J. Mayo3. Brook LopezThe rookie class of 2009 was incredibly deep, but Rose gets my vote for a number of reasons. As the number one overall pick in last year's draft, he shouldered a ton of pressure and responsibility as the Bulls' new starting point guard, and yet he managed to put up consistent production for a team that was in the playoff hunt all year long. He averaged over 16 points and six assists per game and shot better than 47 percent from the field.Mayo had a great first season as well, especially in the scoring department where he averaged 18.4 points and shot a decent 38 percent from downtown. But his team,...Read more

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NBA Great Debates: Reaching the Conference Finals

NBA Outsider's Adam Sweeney and Joe Boikess debate the issue: Who will be the final four playoff teams alive in the NBA conference finals?Adam Sweeney argues that the Magic and Rockets will join the Lakers and Cavaliers:As huge of a college hoops fans that I am, the Final Four was about as exciting as watching Fast and Furious (sorry if anybody liked that movie). In honor of the Final Four and merciless beat down the North Carolina Tar Heels gave the Michigan State Spartans, why don't we choose our own Final Four for the NBA playoffs? Are you up for that, old chap? Sorry Joe. I'll never call you old chap again.I think we can both agree that the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers are going to make it to their respective conference finals. L.A. has shown itself to be the elite team in the Western Conference and Cleveland...Read more

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