McDonald: Trade Talk Travels On Spurs' Trip

[duncan228]

Trade talk travels on Spurs' trip (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Trade_talk_travels_on_Spurs_trip.html)
Jeff McDonald

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — A product of the digital age, Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr., is familiar with the World Wide Web. He knows how to locate Hoopshype.com, a repository of rumors and rumblings from across the NBA.

So, yes, Mason has heard that his name has been on the trading block, recently linked to a rumored proposal that would bring Vince Carter from New Jersey to San Antonio.

“I haven't heard anything officially from anyone,” Mason said. “But you do see it out there.”

Mason's preferred trade destination, of course, is nowhere.

“I'd like to play here for a long time,” he said.

With the trade deadline fast approaching, it appears likely Mason — and any other Spurs who would like to remain Spurs — are going to get their wish.

Teams have until 3 p.m. Eastern today to consummate all trades. The prevailing belief across the league seems to be that the Spurs' quest for reinforcements will ultimately go unfulfilled, though not from lack of trying.

Mason's name surfaced in recent days in reports of a complicated deal that would send him, Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and George Hill to New Jersey for Carter, an eight-time All-Star.

Yet that deal appeared dead Wednesday afternoon, as league sources indicated the Nets were no longer engaged in talks with the Spurs.

The Spurs also made a pitch for Sacramento's John Salmons, dangling Bowen and Ime Udoka. That deal also disintegrated Wednesday, when the Kings sent Salmons to Chicago as part of a massive seven-player swap.

The Spurs are believed to still harbor interest in trying to pry Richard Jefferson from Milwaukee. Any deal there would likely involve using Robert Horry as sign-and-trade bait, which would push the Spurs into luxury-tax territory.

That idea, too, is probably a non-starter. With the tax threshold expected to drop next season for the first time in history, the Spurs — like other small-market teams — are wary of absorbing big, multi-year contracts.

“I don't think you're going to find us doing something that's going to put us way over the (luxury tax) cap right now,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who is more heavily involved in player-personnel decisions than many NBA coaches. “We'll just go with what we have.”

Still, anything could change at any moment. And the Spurs might be more motivated buyers once the extent of Manu Ginobili's right ankle injury is fully known.

Amid swirling trade winds, the Spurs go on with their rodeo trip, which makes a stop in Detroit tonight.

It can be a difficult task for a player to go about his business when he isn't sure what city he will call home tomorrow. Mason has ridden the trade rollercoaster before, having been dealt from Chicago to Toronto in December 2003.

He is philosophical when it comes to his latest involvement in Hoopshype-fueled trade hysteria.

“In this economy, a lot of people are worried about losing their jobs,” said Mason, who is in the first year of a two-year contract with the Spurs. “So I can't complain.”

Still, if Mason's previous dalliances with the trade market taught him anything, it's to be prepared.

“You always have a suitcase packed, just in case,” he said.

Spurs forward/center Kurt Thomas has also spent time on the trade-rumor Tilt-A-Whirl. He heard talk he might be dealt in advance of last season's deadline, and he was — from Seattle to San Antonio.

“You just block it out,” Thomas said. “You block it out and do your job. You have no control over it.”

If Mason has his druthers, he'll still be a Spur when tonight's game tips off.

“I guess we'll know soon,” he said.

[Spursfan092120]

Trade talk travels on Spurs' trip (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Trade_talk_travels_on_Spurs_trip.html)
Jeff McDonald

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — A product of the digital age, Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr., is familiar with the World Wide Web. He knows how to locate Hoopshype.com, a repository of rumors and rumblings from across the NBA.

So, yes, Mason has heard that his name has been on the trading block, recently linked to a rumored proposal that would bring Vince Carter from New Jersey to San Antonio.

“I haven't heard anything officially from anyone,” Mason said. “But you do see it out there.”

Mason's preferred trade destination, of course, is nowhere.

“I'd like to play here for a long time,” he said.

With the trade deadline fast approaching, it appears likely Mason — and any other Spurs who would like to remain Spurs — are going to get their wish.

Teams have until 3 p.m. Eastern today to consummate all trades. The prevailing belief across the league seems to be that the Spurs' quest for reinforcements will ultimately go unfulfilled, though not from lack of trying.

Mason's name surfaced in recent days in reports of a complicated deal that would send him, Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and George Hill to New Jersey for Carter, an eight-time All-Star.

Yet that deal appeared dead Wednesday afternoon, as league sources indicated the Nets were no longer engaged in talks with the Spurs.

The Spurs also made a pitch for Sacramento's John Salmons, dangling Bowen and Ime Udoka. That deal also disintegrated Wednesday, when the Kings sent Salmons to Chicago as part of a massive seven-player swap.

The Spurs are believed to still harbor interest in trying to pry Richard Jefferson from Milwaukee. Any deal there would likely involve using Robert Horry as sign-and-trade bait, which would push the Spurs into luxury-tax territory.

That idea, too, is probably a non-starter. With the tax threshold expected to drop next season for the first time in history, the Spurs — like other small-market teams — are wary of absorbing big, multi-year contracts.

“I don't think you're going to find us doing something that's going to put us way over the (luxury tax) cap right now,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who is more heavily involved in player-personnel decisions than many NBA coaches. “We'll just go with what we have.”

Still, anything could change at any moment. And the Spurs might be more motivated buyers once the extent of Manu Ginobili's right ankle injury is fully known.

Amid swirling trade winds, the Spurs go on with their rodeo trip, which makes a stop in Detroit tonight.

It can be a difficult task for a player to go about his business when he isn't sure what city he will call home tomorrow. Mason has ridden the trade rollercoaster before, having been dealt from Chicago to Toronto in December 2003.

He is philosophical when it comes to his latest involvement in Hoopshype-fueled trade hysteria.

“In this economy, a lot of people are worried about losing their jobs,” said Mason, who is in the first year of a two-year contract with the Spurs. “So I can't complain.”

Still, if Mason's previous dalliances with the trade market taught him anything, it's to be prepared.

“You always have a suitcase packed, just in case,” he said.

Spurs forward/center Kurt Thomas has also spent time on the trade-rumor Tilt-A-Whirl. He heard talk he might be dealt in advance of last season's deadline, and he was — from Seattle to San Antonio.

“You just block it out,” Thomas said. “You block it out and do your job. You have no control over it.”

If Mason has his druthers, he'll still be a Spur when tonight's game tips off.

“I guess we'll know soon,” he said.

I do hope he remains here, unless it involves bringing in a team changing big man. But at the same time, we can't afford to lose him if Manu's going to be out for a while. That would really hurt.

[Holt's Cat]

So the front office is trying to make deals for big contracts, but nothing will happen because the front office is trying to avoid the lux tax?

[Duncan2177]

I smell BS.

[Spur|n|Austin]

So the front office is trying to make deals for big contracts, but nothing will happen because the front office is trying to avoid the lux tax?

Trying to avoid going "way over" the luxury tax.

[Baseline]

It would be amazing if we left Detroit with Rasheed Wallace on our roster.

With all this talk about Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson, the guy who makes the most sense for us is Rasheed.

[Spur|n|Austin]

It would be amazing if we left Detroit with Rasheed Wallace on our roster.

With all this talk about Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson, the guy who makes the most sense for us is Rasheed.

word.

[Allanon]

Roger Mason and George Hill are the most logical trade pieces outside the Big 3.

If the Spurs do end up making a trade, those guys will be involved. Magic are pretty much done this season and they need a backup PG. Hill for Gortat looks good. Or Roger Mason + Hill + Filler for Rasheed. Or OKC could use Mason for Joe Smith.

[holcs50]

agree about rasheed. Really sounds like no moves (as I thought) will be made. We're going to have to hope we are fully healthy going into the playoffs to have a chance. Still think the lakers have too much height for us-odom,pau, ariza and bynum compared to our old farts-can't believe we didn't push harder for a DECENT big guy. Maybe they can get someone b4 deadline, wouldn't count on it tho.

[HarlemHeat37]

I won't cry over it, if we don't make any trades..we'll go into the playoffs as underdogs, Lakers will be favored..just hope our guys get hot..upsets happen all the time, it isn't out of the question..just hope we're healthy, and if we fail, fuck it..we have next year..we should have a matured Hill, Hairston, Gist, Mahinmi, and a high interest in Rasheed..it's not the end of the world..

[timvp]

Still, anything could change at any moment. And the Spurs might be more motivated buyers once the extent of Manu Ginobili's right ankle injury is fully known.
I don't like this line . . .

[GSH]

I do hope he remains here, unless it involves bringing in a team changing big man. But at the same time, we can't afford to lose him if Manu's going to be out for a while. That would really hurt.


Yep. And Phoenix just scored 282 points in back-to-back games. Since we're not exactly locking teams down on the defensive end, we're going to have to score a few points somewhere.

[crc21209]

Blazers up ante for Carter

As the market dries up on Vince Carter’s expensive contract, the Portland Trail Blazers have raised the price on the New Jersey Nets to complete a trade. Portland now wants a first-round draft pick, a league executive familiar with the talks said Wednesday night.

The Blazers and Nets have discussed several scenarios centering on Carter, including one that would send the eight-time All-Star guard, Maurice Ager and Chris Douglas-Roberts to the Blazers for Raef LaFrentz, Travis Outlaw and Sergio Rodriguez. So far, the source said, the Nets are balking, but the Blazers are counting on the fact that the several Carter suitors – including San Antonio, Dallas and Houston – just don’t have the comparable assets to make a deal.

“I know they are desperate to trade Vince and teams know that,” the source said. “And now teams are looking to rob them.”

Teams are dubious of the Blazers’ claims that LaFrentz’s expiring contract has drawn league-wide interest. Portland is considering using LaFrentz’s expiring contract on multiple deals, including Milwaukee’s Richard Jefferson.

Jefferson on the move?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have talked to the Bucks about acquiring Jefferson, two league executives said Wednesday afternoon.

Cleveland is dangling the expiring contract of Wally Szczerbiak for Jefferson, who has two years and $29.2 million left on his contract. The Cavaliers have been active in seeking talent to surround LeBron James for a title run.

The Bucks have been engaged in talks with the Trail Blazers about a package that would include Jefferson for Travis Outlaw and LaFrentz’s expiring contract.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=AiUaOR6RwjOrmanwXoPjbN.8vLYF?slug=aw-tradebuzz021709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Maybe the Spurs can swoop in and get VC for spare parts since theyre saying ppl are in the mode of robbing NJ now, or even pickup Sheed by some miracle, or Wilcox or Smith.

[Spork KIller]

No trades for you, cheap ass mofos!

[crc21209]

No trades for you, cheap ass mofos!


"My name is Spork the troll, my team is falling apart." gtfo jackass.

[Spork KIller]

Yep. And Phoenix just scored 282 points in back-to-back games. Since we're not exactly locking teams down on the defensive end, we're going to have to score a few points somewhere.

Be afraid bitches be very afraid!

[crc21209]

282 points on a depleted possibly worst team in the league isnt shit!

[Spork KIller]

and the spurms "magical" lead over Portland is now 2.5 games, 3.0 over New Orleans and Houston, 3.5 over Dallas.

Ouch!

At this pace, the spurms fall will be a tough one to swallow for spurm fans! :lol

[crc21209]

With trade deadline looming, New Jersey Nets believed to be trying to 'give Carter away'

by Dave D'Alessandro/The Star-Ledger Thursday February 19, 2009, 12:53 AM

DALLAS -- As the trade deadline enters its final hours Thursday, there are numerous factors working against the Nets' bid to shed Vince Carter's salary -- which has become their primary objective, because they can't actually find a deal that will improve their roster.

The greatest factor is perception: Every GM in the league ended their business day Wednesday believing that Rod Thorn has no other choice but to go into dump mode, and that he'll be willing to take back virtually nothing but expiring contracts in exchange for Carter.

An ESPN report even quoted two of these executives, each of whom stated that the Nets are trying to "give Carter away."

Remarkably, Thorn didn't exactly deny it when asked to comment on that perception, but he gave it his own spin.

"I've always said you do trades for two reasons," the Nets president said Wednesday night before the Nets faced the Mavericks. "You do them for the present, or you do them for what's best moving forward. Those are the only two reasons, as far as I'm concerned."

In other words, you can dump salary, for the sake of putting the franchise on more solid financial footing and in a better situation to compete in the 2010 free-agent market.

"You could look at trades in a different light," Thorn said. "But with anything we're trying to do, we're looking at what's in the best long-term interests of our team."

At the same time, Thorn does not want to give his peers the impression that there is a fire sale going on, so that he can get a better return for a 32-year-old who has $33 million in guaranteed salary the next two seasons.

As of Wednesday night, he was failing in that bid.

Thorn will only admit to this much: He has nothing that he would consider promising, and still doesn't expect any deals to emerge before 3 p.m. Thursday.

"We have nothing at all happening -- just a lot of conversation," Thorn said. "I can't describe it in any way -- it's just normal talk for this time of year. A lot of chatter, and that's all it is."

But much of that chatter pertains to his team.

Thorn's peers claim that all the reported trade permutations of the last week are as archaic as the steam engine. The reason: Forced by their owners to slash payroll or face Draconian measures, GMs have taken another look at their long-range financial projections and have found religion.

And those projections have no place for Carter, who will make $16.1 million next season and $17.5 million in 2010-11.

The Nets themselves can no longer afford him, as long as the team is stuck in the lottery. Their arena doesn't generate enough revenue, Brooklyn is years away, the improvement is coming too slowly to satisfy the small fan base, and their own financial losses figure to be in the same $30-35 million range this season.

So even as Thorn asks teams to take Carter's salary, they are getting cheeky: In some cases, they're asking for draft picks to sweeten the package.

Even the most recent development didn't pan out, because everyone is looking to shed big salaries as soon as possible: Whereas the Nets thought they could send Carter to Portland for Raef LaFrentz and spare parts, they are only one of a dozen teams in play for that expiring contract.

The discussions they've had over the last few weeks are almost moot.
According to general managers who request anonymity because they don't want to speak ill of Carter, the Nets cannot get a valuable piece from anywhere.

To wit: Dallas, under no circumstances, will give the Nets Josh Howard. Houston, under no circumstances, will give the Nets Shane Battier.

The only thing Thorn has left, these GMs believe, is the nuclear option -- dumping Carter's salary for pennies on the dollar -- and hoping the fans understand that it's all about clearing cap space for 2010, when the Nets hope business will pick up.

Thorn, however, is a competitive man who isn't ready to do that. He could get Tracy McGrady, but that would constitute a salary dump. He could get Jerry Stackhouse and Erick Dampier, but that too would constitute a salary dump.

Unless owner Bruce Ratner directs him to do otherwise -- which some team officials fear could happen -- Thorn will resist that option until 3 p.m. Thursday.

http://www.nj.com/nets/index.ssf/2009/02/with_trade_deadline_looming_ne.html

[Spork KIller]

The spurms now trail LA by 8 games Ouch!!

[PuttPutt]

For the love of God...PLEASE go away spork killer.

[WalterBenitez]

I smell BS.

You know, how rodeo is ... :wakeup

[afireinside20]

The spurms now trail LA by 8 games Ouch!!


The Spurs are gonna catch them and beat them in the playoffs. Where are your stupid Suns at?

[crc21209]

In what has to be one of the stranger stories of the season, the deal that sent Tyson Chandler from the Hornets to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox is null and void this morning, after Chandler failed his physical on Wednesday. The teams heard about the news after their games Wednesday night, and Chris Paul, when speaking to reporters about it, said that the team” rejoiced” when they found out Chandler was heading back to New Orleans. So where does this leave the Thunder? Now that their deal for Chandler fell through, there is still thoughts that they may look for a last minute move for either Joe Smith or Chris Wilcox.


If you read today’s Newark Star-Ledger, then you will believe the Nets are going to trade Vince Carter today, and Nets fans may not be happy with what they get in return. Nets GM Rod Thorn is said to be in “dump mode”, and may be willing to take nothing but expiring contracts in return for giving up Vince. Carter, who is due 2 years and $33 million left on his current deal, is said to be almost expecting to get a phone call at any minute.

www.layupdrill.com

[ata]

You know, how rodeo is ... :wakeup

:lmao:lmao

[ploto]

“I don't think you're going to find us doing something that's going to put us way over the (luxury tax) cap right now,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who is more heavily involved in player-personnel decisions than many NBA coaches. “We'll just go with what we have.”

Definite trade looming...

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

well hopefully no playoff team in the west does anything........then it will be just business as usual for the remainder of the season :smokin

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Definite trade looming...

Pop trade deadline decoder :

"There won't be a trade" = There might be a trade;
"There might be a trade" = There will be a trade;
"There will be a trade" - never heard before