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NBA AM: 4-Team Deal Coming

By: Steve Kyler   Last Updated: 7/9/09 9:55 AM ET | 8989 times read
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The Deals Are Flying Now: As Day 2 of the official free agent signing period got underway yesterday, the transactions started flying. Here are today's notes.

Marion To Dallas: Early yesterday word leaked that Dallas and the Raptors were working on a three- or four-team trade involving Shawn Marion. Turns out it will be a four-team trade after all with the fourth team being the Orlando Magic. The deal likely gets consummated later today.

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The Mavericks will end up with Shawn Marion, Kris Humphries from Toronto and Greg Buckner from Memphis.

The Grizzlies end up with Jerry Stackhouse and Quincy Douby along with an expected $3 million in cash from Dallas.

The Raptors will get Hedo Turkoglu, Antoine Wright and Devean George.

The Magic will get a $7 million Traded Player Exception.

The deal nets Marion a five-year, $39 million contract in Dallas, while enabling Toronto to sign Hedo Turkoglu to his five-year, $53 million contract. The Raptors will retain their mid-level salary exception worth $5.8 million, and the ability to retain Carlos Delfino and still add other players.

Magic GM Otis Smith was fairly adamant he would not engage in a sign-and-trade with Turkoglu, however in this scenario Orlando did not have to take back any assets to make the deal happen, and now gain a $7 million chip and retain their full mid-level exception, as well.

Cavs Get One, Close To Another: The Cleveland Cavaliers reached an agreement with free agent Anderson Verjao on a six-year, $50 million deal to remain with the Cavs. The deal will become official at some point in the coming days. The Cavs are also closing in on a deal with Anthony Parker. The deal is not expected to be a major money deal, however the move likely means the Cavs will shut down talks with Wally Szczerbiak who they have had more than a few discussions with.

ZaZa Staying Put: Hawks' center ZaZa Pachulia got a four-year deal with the Hawks yesterday. His deal is expected to clock in at four years and just under $19 million, The Hawks also reached a deal with Mike Bibby this week on a three-year, $18 million deal that some executives in Orlando have called the "sanest" free agent signing in some time.

Iverson Adding Grizz To Meet: Free agent guard Allen Iverson is expected to meet with the Memphis Grizzlies about a one-year, $5 million offer. Reports from the region suggest that ownership wants to meet with Iverson face-to-face and lay out some ground rules to Iverson and make sure his goals are to help the Grizzlies win games. It is believed if both sides exit the meeting on the same page Iverson will ink a one-year deal this week. The HEAT and Bobcats have had talks with Iverson's camp, but neither was willing to offer major money and neither would offer long-term deals.

76ers and Miller At An Impasse: The Philadelphia 76ers are no closer to a deal with free agent Andre Miller than they were nine days ago. Both sides seem to have drawn the line in the sand and neither seems willing to budge.

"We're in a situation where we have a young nucleus of guys who have playoff experience, but we're going to grow with them," said Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski to Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "And to go long term on a contract with an older point guard, we don't see that as being a viable option."

"I'm disappointed by where we are at this point," said Miller's agent. "I think you can categorize my feelings as disappointment. I think there were better intentions during the year than there seem to be right now. I don't think there are ulterior motives, it's just with all things hitting right now. . . we're genuinely far apart and that's why I categorize it as disappointing.
Day 3 In Orlando: The Orlando Summer Pro League is a five-day affair featuring six teams, so after three days you have really seen everything you can see; however, three days in you really get a sense of who is ready and who is not. Here are some of the guys to keep an eye on:

Tyler Hansbrough: There is almost no doubt that Tyler is going to be a decent pro level player. Pacer sources said he'd play roughly 15 to 18 minutes per game initially, and those kinds of minutes won't yield amazing stats, but the way Tyler energizes a team and more important Roy Hibbert will pay dividends. Tyler is a better shooter than advertised and he was consistent in his shooting over the three days. He has a nose for the basket and almost every time he touched the ball he drew a foul, as opposing teams simply had no answers for him. Tyler won't be an all-NBA player but he is an easy player to like, he brings it hard every possession and he is active in leading his team and his teammates have responded well to him.

Russell Westbrook: Russell was a man among boys all week, and there is little doubt he was the best player of the League. He really could go anywhere he wanted to go, he drew fouls on virtually every player who guarded him and with James Harden on the wing with him, those two just picked teams apart. Russell has added a decent mid-range game, but his biggest knock is still the lack of a dependable deep ball; once he figures that one out he's rounding into an impressive player.

Marreese Speights: If you are a 76ers fan you need to be concerned. Speights has become the "black hole of basketball" - the ball goes in and it never comes out. For three days he's jacked up horrible shot after horrible shot and made no apologizes about shot selection. His teammates have soured on him, and joke about the volume of shots he's taking. It also seems Speights may be falling out of favor with new head coach Eddie Jordan who openly questioned his decision making and GM Ed Stefanski who said he needed to work on "full court conditioning." There is little doubt Marreese can be an explosive player, but he seems to be on his own page in summer league and that's not a good sign for the 76ers.

Jrue Holiday: If you have read this space this summer, then you know there is no bigger fan of Jrue Holiday than yours truly – but after three days of watching Jrue will other pro caliber players – my man can't finish. Jrue can do all of the other things - he handles himself decently on defense and he has good court awareness. However when he breaks guys down off the dribble and gets to the basket, it's simply not going in. Scouts and executives point to his age and say you have to be patient with him at 18 years of age. However my response is always the same: "If you put on the jersey you better be ready to play" and sadly Jrue doesn't seem ready for prime time yet, but how many 18-year-olds are? Holiday still shows signs of brilliance, and still looks like a star in the making, but not finishing the play is a concern.

Byron Mullen: Again, no one has been a bigger fan of Byron than yours truly and after three days, his offensive game is awfully pretty. His hands and foot work have been horrible. Thunder GM Sam Presti explained that getting Mullens where they got him (24th overall) that they felt there was too much there - pointing to his size and offensive talent and perseverance through adversity as things that really appealed to them. Presti acknowledged that Byron would be a bit of a project and after three days it's clear it may be a longer project than initially expected, so it's a good thing the Thunder are playing in both Orlando and Vegas.

Roy Hibbert: The Pacers are very pleased with the development of Roy Hibbert. He has looked much better this year in Summer League and is starting to look like a viable NBA center. Pacers' sources said the biggest improvements from Roy have come from his weight gain, especially in his upper body and that he is more in control of himself when he's on the floor. The attention Tyler Hansbrough has drawn has really opened things up for Roy who has had space to work and with Tyler in Roy's head, his energy level has been higher. Roy has never been a tenacious player, but Tyler seems to be bringing out the energy Roy lacked last season. If that rolls over into the regular season the Pacers could be much improved in the paint, mainly because of Hibbert.

Ryan Anderson: Ryan Anderson got out to a slow start in the first game of the League, since then he has been lights out. Anderson has done almost everything: blocking shots, hitting three-pointers, playing at the rim and rebounding. It's clear the Magic found a nice player in Anderson and while the New Jersey Nets were adamant that Courtney Lee had to be involved in the draft day Vince Carter trade, the Magic were equally adamant that Ryan was included in the deal on their end. After three days of Summer League it's clear Ryan could be a better addition for the Magic than Courtney was, and Lee was phenomenal as a rookie. Anderson at 6'10 is really going to solve some rotation problems for Orlando, and Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said he was really pleased with the effort he was seeing from his summer league guys, especially Ryan Anderson

Not Happy With The NBA: When the NBA released the final salary cap figures to it's teams, it included a note about the possibility of a radically reduced salary cap next season. The league hinted that the cap could fall anywhere from $53 million to $50 million next season. This had an instant impact on the free agent market as most teams considering four-year deals with middle tier players have backed away a bit. NBA Players' Association director Billy Hunter took exception to this news saying the he was unaware of anything catastrophic on the horizon that would cause the cap to go down so radically.

"The NBPA has no basis whatsoever to confirm the projections the NBA has released for the 2010-11 season," Hunter said to ESPN.com's Chris Broussard. "The NBA has not shared these forecasts or the basis for the projections with us. What we do know is that a large portion of next year's Basketball Related Income -- especially national and local broadcasting deals and many sponsorships -- is already committed and locked in with increases for next year."

"On various occasions the NBA has publicly speculated on revenue projections for the 2008-09 season that have since been proven inaccurate," Hunter said. "The salary cap and luxury tax projections for 2009-10 based on these revenue projections have thus likewise been proven inaccurate."

"A memo of this nature can have a chilling effect on the market for free-agent and rookie signings," Hunter said. "If it later turns out that the league did not have a good faith basis for making these projections, the NBPA will pursue all available legal remedies, including a treble damages claim for collusion."

This statement from Hunter comes on the heels of the league announcing that it would tap into the Player Escrow Account set up to insure players only receive 57% of revenue. Players contribute to this fund throughout the season and the fund now sits at $205 million according to the league salary cap memo. $194 million will be distributed to all 30 NBA teams on July 29 - meaning each team gets roughly $6.4 million back, or roughly 9% of all players salaries paid.

The NBA and the Players association are expected to start discussions towards a new collective bargaining agreement in the coming weeks, anyone want to take bets that these talks sour quickly?

NBA Chats: Senior NBA writer Joel Brigham will host his weekly NBA chat later today at 5pm EST. Drop your questions in for Joel now, as his chats do fill up fast. HOOPSWORLD Editor Jason Fleming will host his weekly NBA chat tonight at 8pm EST. The Portland Trail Blazers seem to be quiet on the free agent front; Jason will have the latest from the Rose Garden.

Twenty-one NBA teams will compete in this year's Las Vegas Summer League, including the defending NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, as well as top overall pick Blake Griffin. Sign up here to catch all the action live - or on demand - from Las Vegas!

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About the Author: STEVE KYLER
Steve Kyler is the Editor and Publisher of HOOPSWORLD. Steve is a life-long basketball fan that started covering the NBA from Orlando in 1998, but has been a huge follower of the game since the mid-80’s. Steve is also an on-air radio personality in Tampa for ESPN radio and appears on dozens of radio shows across the country each week. Steve is an active member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association and is passionately involved in the development of new writers and sports personalities. Steve does not have a favorite team per se, but does root for the underdog in almost every situation. You can reach Steve directly at skyler@hoopsworld.com



 
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