Here's the second convo (very short) with MJ they just played at the top. http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=C86C62052929F530 Crap.
Yep its official The Minnesota Timberwolves' willingness to make a four-year commitment to Mike James has landed them the best point guard still available on the free-agent market. NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that James on Tuesday agreed to sign a four-year contract with the Wolves worth an estimated $25 million. James also confirmed the agreement to ESPN790 in Houston on Tuesday. Wednesday is the first day free agents can officially sign contracts. James had narrowed his choice to Minnesota, Dallas and Houston -- where he maintains an offseason home -- and indicated over the weekend that the Mavericks had a slight edge, largely because of his relationship with Mavs coach Avery Johnson and their recent trip to the NBA Finals. But the Mavericks and Rockets, according to sources, wouldn't commit to more than a three-year offer to the 31-year-old. Minnesota's four-year pitch and the chance to team with Kevin Garnett won it for the Wolves, who have injected their backcourt with plenty of scoring potential by signing James and acquiring rookie Randy Foye on draft night. Signing James alleviates Minnesota's need to start Foye as a rookie. James would likely team with Ricky Davis as the Wolves' starters in the backcourt, with defensive stopper Trenton Hassell at small forward and Foye coming off the bench. If Foye can make an immediate impact and James can approach his production from last season's breakout performance in Toronto -- 20.3 points and 5.8 assists per game, as well as 44.2 percent shooting from 3-point range -- Garnett figures to be pleased. The Wolves have resisted all trade interest in Garnett, vowing to take one more stab at building around their 30-year-old franchise player by finding scorers to play off him.
Seeing as I didn't especially want James back in the first place, I can wish him the best of luck in Minnesota with no ill-will. I hope he continues to play well there -- I can even imagine the T-Wolves being decent next season. But the guy always talked out his ass and plays for himself. If he came, I was willing to root for the experiment to work, but I think we're better off without him, honestly. I think the chance of V-Span coming to America just went up.
i completely agree! cato? banks? ariza? seriously???? tell me one of these players that can knock down a shot from 15 ft out??? bonzi is our only option unless we make some trades.... halfway through the season when we can't knock down a shot because banks doesnt shoot well and cato allows us to play 4 on 5, then we will miss mike james! There is not one player outside of bonzi wells that is worth spending our mle on....at this point i would rather pick up vspan and jl3 and baxter....cheap substitutes but it won't matter because we won't be able to hit any outside shots except for mcgrady..... gluck on the rest of the offseason dawson
MJ is also the one that was looking forward to having his own PRESS CONFERENCE. He loves being the center of attention. I have never ever heard anyone look forward to having a press conference. There's definetly something not working right in his head.
Who the FCK is Banks? This sucks man. This offseason our goal was to get YOUNGER, MORE ATHLETIC, and DEEPER. We have done NONE OF THE ABOVE. We gave away a blue chip prospect, gave away our only semi-athletic guy (Swift), and now have Shane Battier to show for it. Now watch what will happen. We will jump into panic mode and go waste our MLE on someone who isn't worth it (Banks sounds right), which will keep us bogged down and crippled YET again with crappy contracts and a crappy team.
I'm actually really stoked we didn't get James, and the fact that he went to a team were his play will be insignificant is a bonus. Look for Ricky Davis to be traded somewhere this next year because I can't see the two coexisting. Hopefully this means we'll make a run at Banks and maybe even Ariza.
This maybe blessing in disguise. I don't think James is a good fit on this Roxkets team. I am glad Rox did not give him a long-term contract. It could be like Moochie all over again.
1) For those of you who are arithmatically challenged, James turned 31 on June 23rd. 2) At this point, I don't see Trevor Ariza as anything more than a taller Bogans. Nice athlete...can't shoot. 3) Marcus Banks is a nice player, but he not James. Maybe some day but not now. 4) It's going to be painful watching James abuse Alston 4X/year instead of just 2X. 5) Cheap. That's all I can say. Cheap. They saved $2M on Battier over Swift + Gay. Did I say "cheap"? 6) For those of you who are League Pass challenged? Kelvin Cato is a joke these days. 7) They better be fielding some pretty good offers for the TE. If not, "cheap" would be a good adjective. 8) Are there people here who actually think Van Gundy is going to bring anybody onboard who is under 25? Want to know Plan B? Get a list of FA Swingman complete with age and $Ball score. Sort by decreasing age and pick the highest $Ball rating. 9) Cheap. Nice way to lock in a 1st round exit.
I'd be totally fine with that under normal circumstances, cabbage. Except Mike didn't say it was about getting the better deal. "I would love to go straight from my home to the arena," James said. "If I can do that the rest of my career, that's what I want to do. Now, my main focus is coming back to H-Town." He said his main focus was coming home. That's a lie. His main focus was to play every team interested off each other in order to get the best deal possible. And no, I'm not saying the Rockets are innocent. I would've given the fourth year in a heartbeat. But that doesn't change the fact that he lied about his priorities, and I do think that impacted how the Rockets approached the offseason. If he would've been straight forward like most other free agents and said it was about getting the deal that was best for him financially, we might not have put all our eggs in that one basket. Instead, it appeared we fell for his line of BS, did just that, and got burned. Yes, management made a lot of mistakes here. But that doesn't change the fact that James lied like crazy on multiple occasions during this process. Maybe you're ok with that in the name of free agency and getting the best deal, but I'm not. That's all I'm saying.
Damn that lying b*stard. I was hoping it wouldnt come to this but had a feeling he was gonna end up playing us and joining another team. I'm really glad its not the Mavs, but still. Only reassurance we have is the revenge we can get on the Wolves next year. Rockets will hopefully rape them every game we play. I hope the team sucks even after getting Foye and James.
I'll make a $20 tip jar bet that Randy Foye is starting in Minnesota before March 1st. (4 years when you just drafted your Tweener of the future?)
Good news, I am happy for him. If the Rockets didn't get bit in the arse now and learned their lesson, it might be too late somewhere down the line. Mike James was smart not to give any 'hometown discounts' because nothing guarantees he would be a Rocket for the duration of his contract. The stupid Rockets' brass not only made the mistake of trading away MJ, but they also seemed to admit that mistake and made an effort to rectify it by going after Mike James for the second time around, only this time they didn't succeed. Good luck MJ, and congrats on your contract...
James goes to a team that has like 5 undersized guards. Dallas was smart just like Houston. They didn't offer more than 3 years or a trade kicker.