I've been quick to shoot down the idea about having either one of these guys on the roster, but after a little reading, I've found something intresting to say the least. Ford: The Great Clippers Exodus By Chad Ford NBA Insider Send an Email to Chad Ford Monday, July 14 Updated: July 14 10:06 AM ET Two weeks ago, we wrote that Clippers owner Donald Sterling would be the real power broker this summer. With five prominent free agents up for bid, four of them restricted, the rest of the league huddled in war rooms wondering the same things -- will the Clips match? For the past two weeks, the Clippers have told every NBA team flirting with Elton Brand, Corey Maggette or Lamar Odom that they will, indeed, match any offer. They've also been beating the war drums of late that they'll hold onto Andre Miller, even with young point guards Marko Jaric and Keyon Dooling in place. And as for Michael Olowokandi, the team's only unrestricted free agent, they may hold the cards to his future as well -- via sign-and-trade. Now, with the signing period just two days away, several owners are ready to call Sterling's bluff. Corey Maggette Guard-Forward Los Angeles Clippers Profile 2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT% 64 16.8 5.0 1.9 .444 .802 Over the weekend, Miller and Maggette both received offers from both the Nuggets and Jazz. But in a bizarre twist, Miller is set to sign a six-year, $55 million offer sheet with Denver, and Maggette is ready to sign a six-year deal with the Jazz for something above the $42 million the Nuggets offered him on Friday. Huh? Wasn't Utah the No. 1 team on Miller's list? And didn't Maggette claim the Nuggets were his top choice? Here's how things went down this weekend: On Friday, the Nuggets put a six-year, $42 million offer on the table for Maggette, two league sources told Insider. Both sources, who were familiar with Maggette's thinking, expected his to agree to Denver's offer sheet for three big reasons: 1) The Nuggets were offering more money than any other team; 2) Maggette preferred playing for Denver over the Jazz; and 3) he told them he would. Andre Miller Point Guard Los Angeles Clippers Profile 2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT% 80 13.6 4.0 6.7 .406 .795 Visits to both teams had gone well, but Maggette felt more comfortable with his role on the team and the talent that would surround him in Denver -- there was a clear opening at shooting guard, and he'd get to play with Carmelo Anthony and either Miller or Gilbert Arenas. However, things began to change on Saturday, after Miller decided to commit to the Nuggets, as well. The writing was on the wall on Friday, one source within the Jazz told Insider. During a meeting with Jazz owner Larry Miller on Thursday, Andre Miller's agent, Lon Babby, repeatedly voiced concerns about his client having to fill the shoes of John Stockton. Babby was afraid that, with Stockton and Karl Malone both gone, the Jazz would inevitably lose a step or two this season. After the nightmare season Andre Miller endured in L.A., Babby didn't want his client to take the brunt of the criticism if the Jazz missed the playoffs for the first time in two decades. The money between the two clubs was the same, and ultimately the point guard felt Denver might be a better situation for him. When he reportedly committed to the Nuggets on Saturday, the Jazz were stunned. Owner Miller, along with many in the organization, felt ultimately the Clippers' guard would choose Utah over Denver. When he didn't, according to several sources, the Jazz went into damage-control mode, offering Maggette a deal on Saturday that trumped the money in the Nuggets' offer. Maggette's agent, Rob Pelinka, told the Rocky Mountain News on Sunday evening that Maggette would accept the Jazz's offer. Maggette, however, still seemed on the fence. He also spoke with the Rocky Mountain News on Sunday and confirmed Insider's report on Friday that he had, indeed, received an offer from the Nuggets. As to which one he'll actually sign, he wouldn't commit. "I'll know that probably Wednesday," Maggette said. "As of now, nothing is finalized. ... Denver is a really nice place, and I'd love to play there, but I'm keeping my options open until Wednesday." However, as of Sunday night, it appeared unlikely the Nuggets would be able to match Utah's offer. Denver had thought it would be able to sign Maggette, a point guard such as Miller or Gilbert Arenas, and Olowokandi, who is scheduled to meet with Nuggets owner Stan Kronke today. Olowokandi is expecting an offer. "I would think there would be an offer if I'm meeting with the owner," said Olowokandi, who has indicated the Nuggets are at the top of his list. "I would be surprised if there isn't an offer." Their thinking was that if they paid Miller a starting salary of $7 million a season and Maggette a starting salary of $5.5 a season, they would have had been able to offer Olowokandi a deal starting at $6 million a season (assuming a $42 million salary cap). However, with the Jazz upping the ante for Maggette, the Nuggets likely will have to choose whether to remain in the bidding for him or give up and focus only on Olowokandi. If the Nuggets don't come through, the Grizzlies reportedly are ready to work out a sign-and-trade that would bring Olowokandi to Memphis in return for Wesley Person (in the last year of his deal) and a future first-round pick. And let's not forget about Brand. The Jazz have told him they'll give him a six-year max deal if he wants it. But the Spurs spent a big chunk of the weekend negotiating with Brand's agent, David Falk, about a deal that would bring Brand to San Antonio. All of the weekend wrangling will leave Sterling & Co. with some tough decisions. Miller, Maggette and Brand can't sign until Wednesday, at which point Clippers will have 15 days to match. No one knows what they'll do. But because of minimum payroll requirements, they have to spend at least $31.5 million on players' salaries (assuming that the salary cap is set at $42 million). Right now, L.A. has only six players under contract and $11.7 million in committed salaries. They're going to have to make up the additional $20 million somehow. Even if the team paid Brand's maximum salary, it would still have roughly $10 million in cap space to fill. That's why many believe that, ultimately, the team will match any offer Brand, Maggette or Odom. Under the rules, they have to pay someone. Odom, who appears unlikely to get an offer worth signing, likely will accept the Clippers' $4.7 million one-year qualifying offer rather than risk the team matching a longer-term offer sheet from another club. It also explains why Maggette had to stiff-arm his first choice, the Nuggets, for his second choice, the Jazz. There was a strong likelihood that the Clippers would've matched a Maggette offer that started at $5.5 million a season. Maggette is hoping the extra money the Jazz are offering will be enough to scare L.A. away. Even at the bigger number, though, the Clips still might match. The mandatory minimum payroll also why a sign-and-trade with the Grizzlies makes some sense. If they have to spend money anyway, shipping Olowokandi to the Grizzlies and taking back a one-year deal worth $7.7 million (Wesley Person) helps them get to the minimum salary without making a long-term commitment. But let's not get too carried away. If Brand, Miller, Maggette are all matched, Sterling would be committing $180 million in guaranteed money to three players. Regardless of minimum payrolls and lots of chest thumping out in L.A., we'll believe that when we see it. Around the league What kinda of interseting is the part about having to pay players something. Unlike baseball, basketball has a basement floor in which a team has to spend instead of keeping all the revenue. The clipps are 20m under the salary expenditure limit and as stated even if they matched Corey and Miller, they still have like 8m to spend on players. Now before everyone gets excited, I'm looking at this with caution. If West is offering Person and his 1 yr for a sign and traded Kandi, could the Rockets put together something similar using Rice contract and maybe griffin for Brand or Odom? Would Rice and his 9m plus Griffin and his 3m be enough to get one or the other?
Glad you brought this up. I was thinking the exact same thing. If Person (7 million per) in a sign and trade can get you Kandi then when can we get for Rice (9 million per)? Could we make the same deal and then make it a 3 way trade, send Kandi somwhere else and get someone good for ourselves?
Both good ideas, but the best scenario would be the Rice/Grif for Brand swap. Of course that would leave the Rockets with 3 eventual max deals??? Plus Mo's big contract. Would Les go down that road?
I don't think that Sterling can hedge. Presumably, Brand wants to win. If Sterling pulls the trigger on the kandi/Person deal, that definitely sends the wrong message. If you couple that with a Griffin/Rice for Odom deal, the wrong message is not being sent in a bottle, it's shot out of a cannon right at Brand (and Dunleavy). The question that Sterling must answer first is does he want to keep Brand. If yes, then he might be able to do the Kandi deal, but he has to keep Odom and either Miller or Maguette. I'd bet on the latter b/c Jaric and Dooling are there. If the answer is no, then Dunleavy got screwed and all bets are off (or on, from the point of view of the rest of the league.) The Rox should be packaging everything under the sun to do a SNT for Brand, and also be offering a package to muck up Odom's return to Clipland. The more I think about it, the more I think it's possible that we get Brand plus filler for Cuttino, Griffin, Cato and Rice. Sterling can sell this to the fans because they get three starters for one. Odom and Cuttino would be happy to play together ("It's over").
Crap, forget about Brand and Odom because it is a pipe dream. What do we have to give up for Person if Kandi can get him and a draft pick.
That all sounds good, but.. Are the Rockets THAT good at keeping secrets that we would not be hearing ANYTHING about any of this stuff? Ollie? the other lil SA scrubby? I mean there is nada, NOTHING, out there that I can find, not even sniffs of rumors with the Rox's name attached.. It just seems that if we were involved somehow, they could not keep it from leaking at least a little.. But dere ain't nuttin, honey. I'll put it this way - if we DO manage to make such a 'big splash', then the Rockets should win the award for 'Best Impersonation of a Super-Secret Covert Operation', cuz they will have snuck up on EVERYBODY. Sigh. When does November get here?
Person? Wesley Person! No, no, no. Please don't tell me yall actually want Person. That is r****dED! We already got The Cat at SG, and Rice, Boki, and presumably Posey at SF, Person would be a worthless addition.
No, no, I saw all that.. but as it turns out, the posting was not infallible after all, so it's clearly not a done deal. But I was referring more to the other side of it - the rumors, leaks, etc, the sort of stuff it seems like we would be hearing about if the Rockets were involved in talks with anyone about big-name players, whether Cat was involved or not.. It just seems that the deafening silence on the 'Big Splash' front may be more telling than we are all willing to admit.. but Gawd I hope I am wrong..
I was actually thinking that if this somehow this miracle was to happen, the Rockets would need to do a couple of other things. Give Taylor away. As harsh as it may sound, if somehow Brand was sent here, their would be no need to have a 8m a yr backup. A ideal suitor would be a team with 2 smaller contracts who need some size. Glacing around the league, it may not be as many as we think, but i think the key is contract legnth. I f the other scenerio happens, then Nachbar is the lamb to go. He's a little easier to move because he has a rookie contract. I'm not sure anything will happen, but the real thought of Sterling having to pay players is real interesting. Here is the scenrio i put together, but its almost like sleeping with the enemy. Just for a minute, Sterling has to pay up, but Brand doesn't like the idea of rolling solo. CD calls Baylor and says we will give you a expiring contract in Rice and a small contract in Griffin for Brand signed and traded at 11mill a season. Lets suppose and thats a big suppose, he bites on it. Now we're left with 20m in pf's. The same time this happens, CD is on the phone with McHale. McHale is really pissed of since Howard is choosing Orlando and he's desperate to field a team that can get out of the 1st rd. To make matters worse, Rasho is going to SA. CD is really on a roll and offers Taylor 8m and Cato 7m to Minny for Brandon 11m and Marc Jackson 4m. Brandon comes off the books in January and since Cato and Taylor are gone, Jackson can back up Ming and Brand at the price of 4m a season. Minny gets a pf in taylor to take some of the scoring burden and Cato a center since Rasho is gone. I hate making deals with a in conference and in division team, but i think all 3 teams would be happy with this. Tight wad Sterling meets payroll without tying up a bunch of money, we get the bruising 4 to help Ming and he can score and Minny gets help for Garnett so he doesn't bolt via free agency. In a perfect world , this would happen, but of course we're not in a perfect world.
A 6'6" guard/sf who has a career 42% 3pt percentage and only shot less than 40% twice in his career. Of course I want him. He is the shooter we need and I never said we would give up Cat for him.
Brand should not sign any offer sheet, period. Make the Clips sign the others first. IF they bring in good pieces, then maybe. Otherwise, tender offer only. Why be the first one signed? Get an insurance policy and take the tender only.
I like two deals - Odom for Cat and re-signed Posey, and Grif and Rice for SAR. SAR's contract expires in two years, so he has incentive to play well. Odom is the all-around talent perfect to match with Steve and Yao. I'd also like a Voshon Lenard at 2. Yao / Cato SAR / Taylor Odom / Boki Lenard / Hawkins Francis / Moochie Yao, SAR, Odom and Francis can all score on their man, Lenard can knock down the open shot. I haven't added any payroll besides Lenard, assuming we were going to re-sign Posey. Drop Cato in there to bang in the post as needed. On the flip side, they always have to guard a very good player who can slide between two spots for mismatches. Maybe a pipe dream, but not a bad one. It would be a fun team to watch score, a hard one to defend. That would be a big splash.
Pretty fair Hottoddie impersonation! That might work, although I still like the team we have if your trade idea never comes to pass.
It would be nice...but let's be honest..Brand and Odom are just not going to be possible with all that the Clips have going on..it just ain't gonna happen folks..
If we really want Brand....if we don't mind keeping Cat and EG in the West....then you know the Rox will talk with Sterling about Brand. Problem? "What about Mo?" Falk will ask, because Mo is another of his clients. "What'll happen to him? First thing he'll do is call me, complaining." Which makes me wish we would find Cato a new home (if possible). Miami? Minny? 'T'would be nice to have the cap space, and they might go for it if Rasho signs with SA and Kandi with Denver. Brand is a legit 6'8" and has those long arms. Alonzo Mourning, believe it or not, is a legit 6'8". So Brand could play some backup center, and also Mo. We have an MLE to use, too (Stepania?) Where IS Hottoddie?
let's stay on the subject of brand/odom rumors to houston not trading our players to miami or minnesota. There are plenty of "What If " trade threads
