<a href="http://www.foxsports.com/columns/stories/ko0522y2ko_olbermann1.sml">Keith Olbermann article</a> --------------------------------- Apparently, Grant Hill's going to Disney World. It is not a "done deal," even though that was the exact phrase used by the front office man, but Grant Hill will be leaving the Detroit Pistons not, as those still suffering post-Jordan depression hope, to join the Chicago Bulls. He's going to sign with the Orlando Magic nearly as soon as he legally can, so a source directly involved in the contact between the two parties has told me for my commentaries running Monday on affiliates of the WinStar Radio Network. Last week The New York Post reported that Hill was not waiting for the summer negotiating period to begin to conduct virtual site surveys of potential new NBA homes. The paper reported Hill had been in phone contact with key players on several prominent teams in hopes of assessing their true upsides for the thing he wants far more than money: an NBA championship. Hill is capped off at an $85 million-contract, which would presumably start at $9 million a season, a figure he can get virtually anywhere. Whether or not he'd pull a Ken Griffey and sign with the Magic for less than his market value (to insure they can sign another top-shelf free agent like Tracy McGrady, or, less realistically, Tim Duncan), is unclear. ------------------ NOTHING BUT .NET CLUTCHCITY.NET
Bad news for Rockets dreamcasters, but good news for people of Orlando. I'm glad to see Grant moving on to greener pastures. Detroit had their chances to surround this marqee player with a decent supporting cast, and they squandered it. Doc Rivers is a good guy, a very good coach. I look forward to seeing what he can do with that team next year. ------------------ - hoopjunkie "when you come in da HOOD... things change."
This absolutely does not make any sense since Orlanda does not have the supporting cast either...unless they can land a big man on the draft like Marting or Swift... ------------------
They have a solid point guard, lottery picks, cap room, role players that play with alot of heart, and a very good coach. ------------------ - hoopjunkie "when you come in da HOOD... things change."
Orlando wasn't too far behind Detroit this year even without Grant Hill. With their picks and another free agent or two, they will be a pretty good team in the East. ------------------
The thing that most surprises me here, is although I think Grant is a great player, I see him a more of a complimentery offensive player than the main offensive threat. I really expected him to go to a team like San Antonio where he could still be a star, be on a good team, but not have to carry the offensive load. Either way, I do agree with hoopjunkie that Detroit had tons of time to put talent around him but never did it. As a side question, what would Orlando be able to offer Duncan as well? I thought I read somewhere that Chicago and/or Orlando had enough cap space to sign both of these guys. ------------------
I think this is actually good news for the Rockets. There were speculation that Orlando may pick Miles ahead of the Rockets, but since they have Hill, I doubt that they will draft Miles.
Clutch, this isn't directed towards you, but Keith Olberman... I really doubt that anything he said is true, since it would be tampering by both Orlando and Grant Hill, if it were true. They are not allowed to discuss contracts and such for another couple of months. If the league was to find out they had been discussing any of these, they both would be fined and so on. I really think this is just another sportscaster, like Vecsey, Smith, and so on trying to get the glory on saying they broke the story. I am not saying that I am so nieve, that people don't break the rules, but lets be real.. Had, he broke this story in July.. I might buy it... This is just my belief on the whole thing..
Grant Hill's agent says this is total speculation. He even gets a chuckle from it. Here: http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf?/pistons/stories/20000522knfl23.html Hill might end up in Orlando (getting Duncan and him on the same team would be lethal), but I don't think he's made up his mind yet. ------------------
This is good news for the Rockets on a couple of other fronts too. 1) we want movement of the franchise FAs in general. This helps secure mid-range FA to their current team as it reduces the pot of available--in our case this means making sure Mobley's best deal is with us. Additionally, next year this reduces our competition for the primo free agents (e.g., Webber, Finley). 2) Grant Hill isn't one of the FA we most want anyway. He is a great player, but he isn't that young and doesn't strengthen our interior defense very much. By having Grant Hill and players like him moving first, this increases our chances (slightly) for Duncan, Grant or T-Mac to be acquired via trade if they become disgruntled as they have a more limited free agent market. ------------------
I don't realy think it is a done deal but it may be. I am just basing this on the info Olberman has relayed in the past. Remember when the Roger Clemens Fiasco trade tals were going on-Olberman along with Fox Sports Net. reported he was a Ranger-done deal, then 2 or 3 day later it was a done deal again, he was an Astro. This happened a few times. Seems to happen alot with them. We'll just have to wait and see. ------------------
Yes it is...which is what makes it newsworthy. We need to get the Magic "front office man" in trouble. seriously though, believe this is you want. But, it is completely against NBA policy. I'm telling you; teams leak this crap to snare inside informants. When is the last time you have seen Murphy or Feigan write ANYTHING about illegal negotiations, much less legal trades before they happen. They don't, because they must protect their sources. They want the exclusive, but not at the expense of losing all their contacts. Guys like Lawrence, Oblerman, and Vescey choose to lie, because people eat it up.
<a href="http://orlandosentinel.com/automagic/sports/2000-07-04/SPTmagic04070400.html">Orlando Sentinel: Two NBA sources say Hill to sign with Magic</a> Oh boy, how smart does Keith Olbermann look right about now? And does anyone else want to hear the Orlando Magic organization b**** again about tampering like they did in 1996? ------------------ NOTHING BUT .NET CLUTCHCITY.NET
Clutch, So many teams throw the accusation of tampering around so much... what would happen if a team were to be actually found guilty of tampering? Notta? A fine? ------------------ no fat chicks
Achebe-And loss of pick(s). Fine is usually in the millions,. ------------------ The more lefties on your team, the better. Collier is Seven Foot and Left Handed. How can you go wrong? Trade or bench Kenny Thomas.
hang on, what exactly is the rule, i though teams could negotiate with FA players after July 1 but cannot sign anyone until after August 1. So unless Hill has signed what have they done wrong????? ------------------ Stuff BBS, the Rockets and you guys It's all Clippers these days, come join the bandwagon and visit http://www.ClippersCity.net
SmeggySmeg, I think the fact that everyone knew that the two would be in Orlando this weekend is the center of concern in regards to tampering. How did they contact Hill and Duncan about going to Orlando before Saturday? I think it constitutes tampering. ------------------ Just because you're white and play basketball doesn't mean you're a Matt Bullard clone, despite idiotic accusations to the contrary. visit www.swirve.com [This message has been edited by Rocketman95 (edited July 04, 2000).]
