Kelenna Azubuike

[LakerHater]

He just signed an offer sheet with the Clippers!!

So much for him being a Spur :bang

[Taking it to the Hole]

Wasn't going to happen anyway? No huge loss.

[ChumpDumper]

Interesting font choice.

[TheMadHatter]

3 years $10 million.

[Findog]

He just signed an offer sheet with the Clippers!!

So much for him being a Spur :bang

Deauxma is a Spurs fan?

[ChumpDumper]

GS would be pretty stupid not to match, especially after losing their franchise player to them.

[benefactor]

GSW will most likely match. 3.25mil a year is not really overpaying for him.

[ChumpDumper]

I assume they didn't have to renounce him.

[MannyIsGod]

I assume they didn't have to renounce him.

If they had renounced him he wouldn't be a RFA and wouldn't be signing a n offer sheet.

[TheMadHatter]

Hmm I thought he was a UFA?

[sprrs]

Warriors trying to clean out the Clips.

[ChumpDumper]

If they had renounced him he wouldn't be a RFA and wouldn't be signing a n offer sheet.I hadn't read any actual report.

One thread just said he signed.

[Twisted_Dawg]

Deauxma is a Spurs fan?

You know Deauxma?

[SPURSGOAT]

He just signed an offer sheet with the Clippers!!

So much for him being a Spur :bang

He was not going to join us; we could not land him with only LLE kind of money...

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

3 years $10 million.

:cry

[Gino2882]

:cry

Nothing to cry about yet. I expect the Warriors are planning to match the offer. At least I think they would.

If they don't match then that would be a blow to the Spurs. Kelenna is a much better player than Roger Mason IMO.

[xtremesteven33]

Nothing to cry about yet. I expect the Warriors are planning to match the offer. At least I think they would.

If they don't match then that would be a blow to the Spurs. Kelenna is a much better player than Roger Mason IMO.



i disagree. i honestly think the spurs may have gotten a really good team player in Roger Mason.

Azubuike is a good talent but i feel Mason has the basketball IQ and teamwork mentallity that the spurs like in role players. dont sleep on Mason when it comes to his talent and IQ. i think hes going to be a solid pick up.

[Spurtacus]

Warriors would be dumb not to match.

I wish there was a way we could get Mason and Azubuike.

[angelbelow]

warriors match for sure, however... it is possible the warriors are only interested in overpaid players and if so.. and the clippers figured this out, then the clippers FO are the true GOAT.

[Spurs Brazil]

Sources: Clips, swingman Azubuike agree to multi-year offer sheet
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
(Archive)
Updated: July 17, 2008, 6:14 PM ET
Comment
Email
Print
LAS VEGAS -- The Los Angeles Clippers have identified the latest target in their recovery from the free-agent loss of Elton Brand by agreeing to terms on an offer sheet with restricted free agent Kelenna Azubuike of the Golden State Warriors.




Azuibuike

NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com that the Clippers have extended a multi-year offer using their estimated $3 million in salary-cap space left over after completing a trade Tuesday with the Denver Nuggets to acquire center Marcus Camby as their primary Brand replacement.

The Warriors will have seven days to match the offer when the deal is completed, but the Clippers would appear to have a good chance of emerging from that wait with Azubuike. Although the England-born swingman was beginning to blossom under coach Don Nelson in Oakland, Golden State has Monta Ellis, Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson ahead of Azubuike in Nelson's rotation as well as 2007 first-round pick Marco Belinelli.

Azubuike is still developing after just two seasons in the league but has shown flashes of the ability to score from the wing that the Clippers need after Maggette signed a five-year deal worth an estimated $50 million with Golden State last week. Going to Los Angeles would reunite Azubuike with new Clippers guard Baron Davis after they spent the bulk of the past two seasons together with the Warriors.

Golden State, meanwhile, will learn Friday whether it can finally add Los Angeles Lakers restricted free agent Ronny Turiaf to its roster. The Lakers are widely expected not to match the Warriors' four-year, $17 million offer sheet to the energetic power forward with promising center Andrew Bynum scheduled to rejoin the team in training camp and partner with Pau Gasol on L.A.'s front line.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. To e-mail him, click here.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3494107

[Marcus Bryant]

:cry

Which will be matched in seven days.

[midgetonadonkey]

Dude that old lady in your sig is disgusting.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Nothing to cry about yet. I expect the Warriors are planning to match the offer. At least I think they would.

If they don't match then that would be a blow to the Spurs. Kelenna is a much better player than Roger Mason IMO.

I know it will be matched, I'm not sad about that.

Mason better live up to the expectations of Pop and R.C., because I think Kelenna's the better player and that an offer at or close to the MLE right when all the Davis stuff broke could have gotten him away from GS.

[honestfool84]

He just signed an offer sheet with the Clippers!!

So much for him being a Spur :bang


that girl..
those boobs..
:wow:nope

[Sherlock Holmes]

The Spurs couldn't have offered something more enticing than 3 years 10 million, even with signing Roger Mason Jr.

[T Park]

I know it will be matched, I'm not sad about that.

Mason better live up to the expectations of Pop and R.C., because I think Kelenna's the better player and that an offer at or close to the MLE right when all the Davis stuff broke could have gotten him away from GS.

Got any proof to back that up?

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Got any proof to back that up?

Which part?

[timvp]

If the Spurs wanted Azubuike, looks like they could have had him. For whatever reasons, Mason genuinely appeared to have been the Maggette fallback option. Why, exactly? I'm not sure but hopefully the Spurs are right about this one. Giving Azubuike something like a two-year, $10M would have been almost impossible for the Warriors to match.

If Azubuike ends up a much better player than Mason, I'm sure Spurs fans won't let RC live that one down.

[GSH]

He was not going to join us; we could not land him with only LLE kind of money...


What if he was promised Barry's spots in the HEB commercials? Maybe he'd like being a mango.

[dastrey]

If Azubuike ends up a much better player than Mason, I'm sure Spurs fans won't let RC live that one down.

If a 2 year MLE contract would have sealed the deal, I will have officially lost faith in the Spurs F.O.. I still think the Warriors would match just because he would make a contender even better.

[Mr. Body]

If Azubuike ends up a much better player than Mason, I'm sure Spurs fans won't let RC live that one down.

The guy drafted Ginobili and Parker years ago. He deserves to be blameless for everything thereafter. Give him a break.

[TJastal]

The guy drafted Ginobili and Parker years ago. He deserves to be blameless for everything thereafter. Give him a break.

:lol

It really sucks spurs didn't use their MLE to snag this guy, Kelenna is a future all-star caliber small forward and would have solved the spurs' swingman dilemna. He's a ferocious rebounder and has a knack for scoring around the rim with putbacks, drives, and slam dunks. Tremendously athletic.

I'd have felt 100x better going into this next season had they signed Kelenna, and drafted Chalmers as a backup to Parker rather than Hill

[K-State Spur]

Nothing to cry about yet. I expect the Warriors are planning to match the offer. At least I think they would.

If they don't match then that would be a blow to the Spurs. Kelenna is a much better player than Roger Mason IMO.

kelenna has a better upside, but he's actually proven less on the court than mason to date.

[TJastal]

kelenna has a better upside, but he's actually proven less on the court than mason to date.

The numbers from last year are very similar.. the advantage Mason gives you is better ballhandling, assists, and 3pt shooting% / FT%.. but Kelenna almost doubled his ft attempts which makes up for that, and more than doubles his rebounds per game.

They have both "proven" about the same IMO, but your right - both have upside, but Kelenna's ceiling is higher

G GS MPG FG% 3p% FT% OFF DEF RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPG
RM 80 9 21.4 0.443 0.398 0.873 0.2 1.4 1.6 1.7 0.5 0.2 0.86 1.80 9.1
KA 81 17 21.4 0.445 0.364 0.717 1.3 2.7 4.0 0.9 0.6 0.4 0.72 2.00 8.5

[ambchang]

I thought Azubuike is as good on defense as Bowen on offense.

[Bartleby]

Kelenna is a future all-star caliber small forward

Wow! he's getting better by the post. If he's that good, it seems a safe bet the Warriors will match the offer.

I like Azubuike's game, but I'm glad the Spurs didn't tie up their MLE money to try and sign him.

[VaSpursFan]

azbuike is nice but he's comparable to mason and mason is a better defender which will always win over pop.

[TJastal]

azbuike is nice but he's comparable to mason and mason is a better defender which will always win over pop.

Its hard to compare the two.. they both bring different things in terms of defense. All in all I think they are pretty equal.

Mason has good lateral quickness, he is going to be able to keep in front of
most point guards and shooting guards fairly well while Azubuike is bigger and would most likely end up on the larger 2's and 3's where his length and hops would aid him more than quick feet. Mason's quickness and fast hands will help him get steals and force turnovers, while Azubuike's length and hops will help rebound the ball and block shots.

The question to ask is not "Which dude is better"? But, "Which type of defender do the spurs need on their team"? I think you could make a case for either one at this point, especially if Hill doesn't pan out as Parker's backup.

[VaSpursFan]

Its hard to compare the two.. they both bring different things in terms of defense. All in all I think they are pretty equal.

Mason has good lateral quickness, he is going to be able to keep in front of
most point guards and shooting guards fairly well while Azubuike is bigger and would most likely end up on the larger 2's and 3's where his length and hops would aid him more than quick feet. Mason's quickness and fast hands will help him get steals and force turnovers, while Azubuike's length and hops will help rebound the ball and block shots.

The question to ask is not "Which dude is better"? But, "Which type of defender do the spurs need on their team"? I think you could make a case for either one at this point, especially if Hill doesn't pan out as Parker's backup.

mason is better for the spurs defensive scheme which is all about staying in front of your man and/or funneling him into the bigs. good defense is not solely about getting steals and blocking shots. good d is what bowen does, stay in front of your man and make him take tough, contested shots without fouling. given this, i think mason's defense is better for the spurs.

it's a moot point anyway since mason is signed and kelenna is on his way to the clippers :lol

[timvp]

So since the Warriors matched the offersheet, does that mean the Spurs made the right decision not to go after him?

[honestfool84]

So since the Warriors matched the offersheet, does that mean the Spurs made the right decision not to go after him?

yes, it does mean they made the correct decision.

[Buddy Holly]

The Warriors match!?

Wow.

They are overly stockpiled at the 2/3. There has to be a trade happening.

Spurs need to try and get Jax back!

Wait, are they still signing Evans?

[Buddy Holly]

So since the Warriors matched the offersheet, does that mean the Spurs made the right decision not to go after him?

Smart move by the Spurs. Maybe they knew they'd match.

[Findog]

The Warriors match!?

Wow.

They are overly stockpiled at the 2/3. There has to be a trade happening.

Spurs need to try and get Jax back!

Wait, are they still signing Evans?

Evans might be going back on the market. He never actually signed, it was an oral agreement. Too bad Big Nellie and Cubes are on such bad terms. The Mavs have a gaping hole the size of Jenna Jameson's vagina at the two-guard spot.

[Indazone]

Just sign JR Smith. He's got more upside anyways.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

So since the Warriors matched the offersheet, does that mean the Spurs made the right decision not to go after him?

I said when we were talking about him as a potential signing that we'd have to pay him the full MLE to get him. Hard to say how that would have turned out, it's more than what LA offered...

[ducks]

I said when we were talking about him as a potential signing that we'd have to pay him the full MLE to get him. Hard to say how that would have turned out, it's more than what LA offered...

REALLY

[roycrikside]

If the Spurs wanted Azubuike, looks like they could have had him. For whatever reasons, Mason genuinely appeared to have been the Maggette fallback option. Why, exactly? I'm not sure but hopefully the Spurs are right about this one. Giving Azubuike something like a two-year, $10M would have been almost impossible for the Warriors to match.

If Azubuike ends up a much better player than Mason, I'm sure Spurs fans won't let RC live that one down.

Damn Fucking Skippy Dude.

[angelbelow]

spurs needed to offer at least 4.5 to get kelena.

[T Park]

I said when we were talking about him as a potential signing that we'd have to pay him the full MLE to get him. Hard to say how that would have turned out, it's more than what LA offered...

Chris Mullin gave Derek Fisher his gigantic contract.


Let that sink in folks, and then reask the above question, and you know your answer.

[Gino2882]

Well, no one knows for sure what the Warriors would or wouldn't have matched. Had the Spurs made an offer ( and Kelenna is not worth the full MLE) and the Warriors took the 7 days to match they could have lost out on Mason.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Chris Mullin gave Derek Fisher his gigantic contract.


Let that sink in folks, and then reask the above question, and you know your answer.

Yeah but after he did that management slapped his hand. We'll never know what would have happened had we tendered him an MLE contract, but I'm sure he sent the Clips a thank you card for such a cheap contract.

[urunobili]

what it would take to go for Jax? Manu? :depressed