well, i would be if i was traded for a bag of chips, oh oh wait a second, Nuggets did not even get a bag of chips. except a 10 mil salary space http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/16/camby-insulted-trade/ After blocking 1,126 shots in six seasons with the Nuggets, center Marcus Camby took a few Wednesday. Still trying to come to grips with his trade from Denver to the Los Angeles Clippers, Camby talked candidly about his disappointment in the hours after his abrupt departure. "Blindsided, distraught, disrespected. All those adjectives. I definitely feel insulted," he said in a telephone interview with the Rocky Mountain News. "When I first heard about the trade, I felt like I was the scapegoat after all our past first-round exits and failures and lack of defense. I felt it was them telling me that I was no longer wanted and I was the cause of everything that went wrong the last couple years on this team. "I'm still in disbelief. I'm still in shock. I still can't believe this happened." As part of a cost-cutting move, the Nuggets sent Camby and his $10 million salary-cap figure to the Clippers in exchange for the right to swap second-round picks in the 2010 draft. News of the deal reached Camby through his agent, Rick Kaplan, on Tuesday night. Twenty-four hours earlier, Camby had been around Nuggets officials at the NBA summer league in Las Vegas. "Obviously, the Nuggets don't owe me any explanation," Camby said. "I understand that this is definitely a business, but I felt that the six years of service that I put in on the court and off the court, they at least could have given me a heads-up on what was going on. I feel very disrespected on that aspect." During his time in Denver, Camby enjoyed some of the best statistical seasons of his career and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for 2006-07. In addition, he was active in the community and often faced the media when many of his teammates ran for cover. "I'm definitely frustrated because I felt that I gave it my all," he said. "There were years when I was the only (healthy) big guy on the team when all the big guys around me were hurt. I would still play hurt and do my all for this team. I didn't realize my salary was that much compared to everyone else's. They basically dumped mine and got nothing in return." The trade came less than a week after backup forward Eduardo Najera signed a free-agent contract with the New Jersey Nets. Like Camby, Najera was best known for his defense. "The team and the organization always talked about the need to play good defense, but they traded away a pretty good defender," Camby said. "From that aspect, I really don't understand the move. They obviously feel confident with the team they have assembled right now to get some things done."
And people dissed Boozer and Brand for doing what they think is right for themselves. Organizations have no loyalty, why should the players? DD
he has every right to feel that way. it seems like he is taking the trade pretty good and it's not like he was insulting the clippers. isn't camby like a 12 year vet? that's a pretty crappy way to treat a veteran player. oh well it just shows how worthless they are as an organization.
well after the way the Nuggets had said they would be getting better defensively during the off season, you would think they will cut other players instead of losing their best 2 defensive players in Najera and Camby I understand about the money, but i think they should have traded or let Kenyon Martin go who makes a lil bit more than Carmelo who produces less than Camby. When you have defensive tragedies like Carmelo and Iverson, it would help to have some players who are remotely willing to act as if they might play defense. Camby is right, he is the scape goat, although i think Martin should have been,
Not to have the Boozer argument again, but what Boozer did on the one hand and what Brand and the Nuggets did on the other are two wholly different things. When Brand and Camby signed their contracts, everyone knew what the deal was. Brand was free to opt out when he did and he was free to sign elsewhere. There was nothing wrong with what he did. Likewise, Camby knew he could be traded at any time for anything the team thought acceptable, and knows the standard practice is to give no warning. Boozer, on the other hand, made a promise to elicit a favor from his team and then, once the favor was secured, broke his promise. Boozer broke a promise, whereas the Nuggets and Brand did not.
I agree, I just think Boozer was slammed by the Jazz offer and it was simply too good to be true, and he had to take it. In my opinion, Cleveland made a HORRID business decision by trying to lock him up for a reasonable contract, and they lost out. I don't blame Boozer one bit for taking the extra $30 million, in a career that can end with a simple knee injury, you have to make as much as possible as quickly as possible.... I understand Cleveland is pissed with him, but he probably sleeps ok knowing that...and so would I. DD
If you really think they did the wrong thing, be prepared when the same thing will happen to us. As long as we have Morey as our GM, I don't think there will be many occasions when we will think 'We could have gotten him for a cheaper price'. Morey seems pretty intent on paying as little as possible and not giving in to anyone's demands. We are yet to see how the Landry situation turns out.
Business is business.....these players IMO are individual contractors....they need to look out for number 1..... And the club is also in the same position.....looking out in the best interests of the club. Landry is restricted, and that fact will not go away...Morey should have locked him up to a 2 year deal with a team option but poor play in the summer league led them to offer only a 1 year guaranteed contract. I expect them to work it out......business is business. In my line of work, I have had several employees come to me and say they got a better offer and they did not want to leave, but could I match it.... Sometimes I can match it, other times, it is so far out of wack that I have to tell them...they need to take that offer.....and if it doesn't work out come on back. It hurts to let quality people go, but you have to be honest with your people, and honestly if someone is going to double your salary, and if I match it screws up the rest of my payroll, I have no choice but to shake hands and wish them luck. But, I am happy for the person, and sad for my company, but....Business is business. DD
Stop bringing this up again DD. Boozer got slammed for LYING. No one said they wouldn't jump at the sign of millions of extra dollars or 'doing what's right for his family' or whatever other argument you to try to redirect to. The criticism is for LYING, plain and simple. I have no problem with what Brand or the Clippers did.
Hmmmm....lying....... I see your point, he probably did reach an under the table agreement (which is illegal to do by the Cavs btw), and then when he got offered such a much larger deal, imo, he had to take it. I guess what I am saying is that since lying is part of the deal by the club too, I have no problem with the player doing it as well. DD
I don't blame him for feeling insulted. In the situation you proposed DD you said that you told them to take the offer. In this case he's being handled like property and wasn't told by his employers before the press, making it clearly an insult to him. There is no way he shouldn't have found out from his agent before the story broke that he was going to the clippers. It would have given him time to come to terms with it before he was hounded by questions from the press. Edit: Rereading... they did tell his agent. Well then he shouldn't feel so insulted. It's a business this is just the ugly side of it. Ignore my little rant above
Boozer was slammed for lying....about agreeing to an illegial contract? Yeah, shame on him for that. The team has no right to be upset. The Canby situation is just another example of how players are a piece of property. No one has an issue when a player is shipped off even if he is producing, so I have no issue when one sits out (and doesn't get paid) to look out for their best interests. Yeah, there is risk involved that you can be shipped out but there is also risk involved that the team can lock you in and then stop trying to really put a competitive team on the field. It goes both ways....
well, uhhhhgg!!! It's called opportunity. Last Summer the Spurs needed some financial flexibility. And the Rockets stepped up to the podium and said "sure, we'll take your crap salary, but you throw in that scrappy old power foward ya'll have in Europe", Genius!!! HA HA!!! Smart GM's put themselves in situations they can kick a$$ in. Ultimatley the Clippers have done well this off season. They've lost Maggette, Brand, and I think Livingston. But the Clippers have gained Davis and Camby. Brand has kept on getting hurt season after season. Camby and Kaman are going to be an excellent front court. Then they have Davis as the point guard. And you put Cuttino Mobley next to him. Good for the Clips. You lose some and you win some!
I understand the issue is duplicitous and I'm not totally absolving the Cavs either. But in essence both Boozer and the Cavs agreed to 'lie' to the NBA about their deal. Ultimately Boozer and the Cavs made a promise to each other, in which Boozer lied. I guess in this case you have no problem with a player trying to lure a team into an agreement and then running off? If the Cavs ended up voluntarily not resigning Boozer after their agreement I would hold them just as accountable as I do Boozer now. I'm sure everyone would be slamming the Cavs if they did that (as well they should). I don't know why people feel that either players or teams should get more leeway.
I seriously wonder if some of the people in this thread have watched Marcus Camby play basketball. Ever.
Is he overrated as a defender and in general? Yes. Are the Nuggets significantly worse off without him? Yes. As to the silly "Is Camby worth $20 million" quote - Camby's due to make $8 million next year. The Nuggets would have been slightly less than that over the Lux Tax threshold ($76M total, $71 LTT) and would have paid $5M or $6M. Given that Camby would represent just over 10% of the total payroll, it's unfair to assign all the luxury tax on him. You could do that with Melo, AI, Nene, or Martin too. Camby's hardly the worst contract they've handed out. Finding a reliable 11 and 11 guy in this league, overrated, underrated, whatever, for less than $10M a year and on a short contract is a steal. If the Nuggets are going to have a frontcourt of just Martin and Hilario, they're going to be out of playoff contention by January. Evan
http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-player-salaries/team/Nuggets/ Marcus Camby: $11,250,000 Team Salary: $79,540,117
