http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E90%7E2845180,00.html (Keep him out of the ASG, but bring him to H-Town!) Notebook "Birdman" might leave Hornets' nest By Marc J. Spears Denver Post Staff Writer The Birdman will fly around this summer to check out his free-agent options. New Orleans Hornets forward-center Chris "The Birdman" Andersen said Friday he will opt out of his $1.76 million contract for next season to become an unrestricted free agent. Andersen, who earned his nickname while playing for the Nuggets from 2001-04, averaged 7.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.49 blocks this season. "I finally got a chance to prove what I can do," Anderson said. "I believe I'm worth more than what's on paper. To do what is best for myself and my family, I have to (become a free agent) because it's a business. "When I got the minutes, I produced. That's a main fact why my stock is going to go up. I can give a team some energy off the bench." Andersen had become popular in New Orleans. The Hornets have several billboards around the city displaying his picture. New Orleans coach Byron Scott has said he hopes the franchise re-signs him if he opts out of his contract. Anderson, who went to high school in Texas, considers New Orleans his top option. "My fan base is real big down here," Anderson said. "I love the city. It's the South, where I grew up. I love it. New Orleans gave me a chance. They let me play." If New Orleans doesn't re-sign Andersen, he wouldn't mind returning to Denver. He still has several close friends here and his girlfriend is a Denver native. "Going back to Denver would be pretty cool just from the fact I've been there for three years," he said. Footnotes The Charlotte Bobcats could have a chance to draft their pick of stars from the national champion North Carolina team. Forward Marvin Williams, center Sean May, swingman Rashad McCants and guard Raymond Felton have declared for the NBA draft. Wake Forest guard Chris Paul has, too. But the Bobcats have said they will select the best player available and not fall victim to pressure to draft a local player. ... The NBA reprimanded Miami Heat guard Damon Jones for wearing sunglasses after Game 1 of the series with New Jersey and Nuggets center Marcus Camby for wearing a hat after Game 1 against San Antonio during postgame news conferences. The NBA doesn't want players to wear any head wear during postgame news conferences. ... Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe said the possibility of having the 2007 All-Star Game in Las Vegas, a non-NBA city, was a positive.
Where's the poster with the signature that has the Bill Simmons quote about "Birdman's" time to fly? We gotta get that quote in here; this thread wouldn't be complete without it.
7 pts 6 boards is better than anyone we have healthy -- but Juwan's numbers are better than that. I hope we do much better.
Andersen would be nice, if we can't get into Chandler/Swift/SAR/Marshall sweepstakes. Imagine the shotblocking with him and Yao/Deke I don't necessarily feel we have to get a star PF this summer. If we can add some defense/rebounding to that position we'll be fine. Evans would be good as well and propably available for MLE.
I'd love to have "b1tchin camaro" on our team. It would mean less playing time for Scott "Two Beers" Padgett though.
We should give him a try. Chris "The Birdman" Andersen is a white man who can fly, although his performance in dunk contest was unwatchable, his rebounding and shot block ability are decent. Image he could come from bench and back up Juwon Howard, assume he will be healthy next season, it will be nice.
No thanks on Andersen. He's not a good man defender by any stretch, and has no offensive game 5 ft away from the basket. I don't see how he solves our problems...he even says he's an energy guy off the bench.
Dude, what is with your man crush on this guy? You must have 10-15 posts talking about how much you like his game. Yeah, he's athletic, but he's also very inconsistent, and not very good at basketball...
We don't have Mutombo under contract for next year IIRC. Somebody else is paying most of his money this year; but, we couldn't possibly pay him what he is making this year next year. That doesn't mean he won't sign for less, but its going to have to be A LOT less! That means we may very well need a center as well as a PF. You da contract man. Vin Baker is will be on player option next year. Can we not buy him out (not to come back). Would that count against the cap?
To answer your last question, yes. Not that it matters, we're not in capspace territory anyway. Uh, of course Mutombo is going to sign for a lot less. He was bought out by the Nets (the bulk of the 17 or however many mill he's getting). He then signed a 2 year ~9 mill deal (off the top of my head) with New York. We're still paying him 4-5 mill this year. That's about the going rate for quality backup Cs. We can offer Mutombo around that same amount next year without dipping into any exceptions (the caveat being the deal must be for 2+ years). Signing Andersen either means trading assets (via S/T) or dipping into our MLE, eliminating the ability to acquire a top level MLE player.
