Possible FA targets?

[MaNu4Tres]

WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski
Spurs, Pistons keeping close check on Chris Kaman, but Clippers won't move him until resolution on restricted free agent DeAndre Jordan.

[TD 21]

I'd be downright shocked if this happened. I just can't imagine the Clippers not signing either Butler or Prince or the Spurs having Duncan consistently guard PF's. But it's good to know they're thinking bigger than a guy like Johnson, literally and figuratively. He's solid, but not good enough to change their fortunes and is signed for four more years.

Even though there's been no rumors of them being interested in or pursuing Jefferson yet, I think he's more likely than Kaman. He's younger, better and would be a better fit.

[objective]

No team needs Jefferson for anything. If anyone actually wants him, they know they can wait until he's amnestied, this year or in the future.

[Seventyniner]

Well, I meant that a player like Josh Howard might be willing to take a smaller salary to start on a good team as opposed to being on the bench or playing for a bad team.

[TD 21]

While Hill himself has said the chances are good that he'll return to Phoenix, he has narrowed his list down to the Suns, Knicks, Bulls and Spurs with the Warriors, Celtics and Clippers trailing. The Knicks would seem unlikely, however, as sources have said New York is offering only one-year deals in order to preserve salary cap space for next summer when the likes of Paul, Howard and New Jersey point guard Deron Williams might be available as free agents. SI.com


Battier's list still includes Miami, San Antonio, Indiana, Toronto, Memphis, Boston and his former Memphis team. Oklahoma City has also had discussions with either Battier or his camp. The team-to-player conversations might matter more with players like these than with so many others, as a clear understanding of roles, goals and -- of course -- financial incentive will come into play. SI.com

[MaNu4Tres]

I'd be downright shocked if this happened. I just can't imagine the Clippers not signing either Butler or Prince

I beg to differ.

I somewhat can understand why Clippers would pull off a DeJuan Blair/Jefferson for Kaman trade.

Kaman is expendable to them (they don't intend on resigning him after this year anyway) and at the same time, netting Jefferson/Blair to fill in Kaman's spot in the salary cap gives the Clippers more flexibility personnel wise.
What I mean by that is, Clippers would fill in two glaring holes (back-up PF/ Starting SF) without taking up any current cap space (Clippers would still have 13-14 million in cap space to use in other areas; giving them more flexibility).

Another reason why I somewhat understand why Clippers would agree to such a trade is because nothing is guaranteed during the free agency period. Sure Prince and Butler seem like great fits, but it's unlikely everything will be as smooth-sailing as you're implying. Maybe Clippers believe its best to pull the trigger on a guaranteed net gain of two players that fit two desperate needs instead of gambling in the Free Agency market where they could potentially whiff on everything.

And if you're worried about the Clippers future with R.J's contract, look more closely. Clippers will have roughly 34-35 million on the books for the 12/13 season (a year before RJ's contract becomes expiring; push that to roughly 42 million whenever DeAndre Jordan is extended). That being said, even with RJ and Blair, Clippers would still be major players the next 2-3 free agency periods.

[DPG21920]

Kaman has a trade kicker, but I'm not quite sure how it would work or the amounts. I know it says "15% or 4M whichever is less", but I'm not sure what the 15% is calculated off of; his final remaining owed amount or the total initial contract.

[TimmehC]

Wait, they've actually contacted Battier? Thank , for a minute there I thought they were going to insist on fitting a square peg(RJ, Butler) into a round hole(Spurs system SF).

[DJ Mbenga]

the clips would trade with the intention of saving their cap room for next year.

[objective]

Eric Gordon is up for an extension, that could impact the Clippers in a big way financially if they commit to him.

Would I love a trade of RJ? Of course. Even for other trash like Hedo. I'm not thrilled with Kaman, but he's not RJ, so that's good.

But I'm highly dubious of Clipper interest in RJ. They have Gordon up for an extension that could be cutting into their caproom next summer, DeAndre Jordan being overpaid, Aminu still there to be groomed at SF, and they have the unprotected Timberwolves pick this summer to draft a SF or PG and spend money on. I could see a scenario where if they had RJ and Blair, extended Gordon, signed Jordan to market value which should be more than MLE, and sign their 1st rounders, they wouldn't have room for a MAX player.

But if they're that dumb and I'm wrong, I'll be happy.

[TD 21]

I beg to differ.

I somewhat can understand why Clippers would pull off a DeJuan Blair/Jefferson for Kaman trade.

Kaman is expendable to them (they don't intend on resigning him after this year anyway) and at the same time, netting Jefferson/Blair to fill in Kaman's spot in the salary cap gives the Clippers more flexibility personnel wise.
What I mean by that is, Clippers would fill in two glaring holes (back-up PF/ Starting SF) without taking up any current cap space (Clippers would still have 13-14 million in cap space to use in other areas; giving them more flexibility).

Another reason why I somewhat understand why Clippers would agree to such a trade is because nothing is guaranteed during the free agency period. Sure Prince and Butler seem like great fits, but it's unlikely everything will be as smooth-sailing as you're implying. Maybe Clippers believe its best to pull the trigger on a guaranteed net gain of two players that fit two desperate needs instead of gambling in the Free Agency market where they could potentially whiff on everything.

And if you're worried about the Clippers future with R.J's contract, look more closely. Clippers will have roughly 34-35 million on the books for the 12/13 season (a year before RJ's contract becomes expiring; push that to roughly 42 million whenever DeAndre Jordan is extended). That being said, even with RJ and Blair, Clippers would still be major players the next 2-3 free agency periods.

Kaman is expendable, but they can probably do better than what the Spurs can offer. Just look at how many teams are chasing centers. They're not all going to end up with one and when they don't, Kaman's value, which is already good, will only improve.

Backup PF is not a glaring hole. Griffin is going to play roughly 38 mpg. Thompkins is talented enough to be the long term backup. In the short term, they have Gomes, Aminu and Cook, to handle the leftover minutes. Starting SF is a glaring hole, but if they want either Butler or Prince badly enough, they'll get them, it's as simple as that.

[Big P]

Saw this on sportsillustrated

• Of all the free agency conversations to eavesdrop on during this fluid time, I'd pick the ones between Shane Battier, Grant Hill and their respective suitors. Both players are as bright as they come in this league, and you can bet they had plenty of poignant and pressing questions as they talked to team officials today.

Both small forwards are well-respected veterans with plenty left to offer prospective teams, and sources close to both players say they have yet to make up their minds regarding their future. While Hill himself has said the chances are good that he'll return to Phoenix, he has narrowed his list down to the Suns, Knicks, Bulls and Spurs with the Warriors, Celtics and Clippers trailing. The Knicks would seem unlikely, however, as sources have said New York is offering only one-year deals in order to preserve salary cap space for next summer when the likes of Paul, Howard and New Jersey point guard Deron Williams might be available as free agents.

Battier's list still includes Miami, San Antonio, Indiana, Toronto, Memphis, Boston and his former Memphis team. Oklahoma City has also had discussions with either Battier or his camp. The team-to-player conversations might matter more with players like these than with so many others, as a clear understanding of roles, goals and -- of course -- financial incentive will come into play.

Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/201...#ixzz1finQ7jl2

[MaNu4Tres]

Eric Gordon is up for an extension, that could impact the Clippers in a big way financially if they commit to him.

Would I love a trade of RJ? Of course. Even for other trash like Hedo. I'm not thrilled with Kaman, but he's not RJ, so that's good.

But I'm highly dubious of Clipper interest in RJ. They have Gordon up for an extension that could be cutting into their caproom next summer, DeAndre Jordan being overpaid, Aminu still there to be groomed at SF, and they have the unprotected Timberwolves pick this summer to draft a SF or PG and spend money on. I could see a scenario where if they had RJ and Blair, extended Gordon, signed Jordan to market value which should be more than MLE, and sign their 1st rounders, they wouldn't have room for a MAX player.

But if they're that dumb and I'm wrong, I'll be happy.

I already took into account Jefferson, Blair, Jordan, Aminu and next years 1st rounder.

As for Gordon, he will likely receive the qualifying offer (unless some outside team immensely overpays and Clippers are forced to match; which I don't see; although I could be wrong). Thinking worse case scenario, if Clippers are forced to match, Gordon's deal will most likely be back-loaded-- meaning his salary won't necessarily be drastically different the first year or two of his new deal ( maybe 3-5 million more than what he's due next year). Therefore, Clippers would still be significant players in the free agent market for Howard or Paul (especially if their deal is back-loaded; which it is 95% of the time).

[objective]

Kaman has a trade kicker, but I'm not quite sure how it would work or the amounts. I know it says "15% or 4M whichever is less", but I'm not sure what the 15% is calculated off of; his final remaining owed amount or the total initial contract.

according to Shamsports:

having a percentage listed means that's the percentage of their remaining salary that they will additionally get with the bonus.

So the Spurs would have to pay an additional 1.9 million.

Also, if the new CBA is like the last one, it would make getting Kamna harder, and likely have to include the scrubs on the roster like D. Butler or Green.

Because they're over the tax, the Spurs would be limited like the old CBA: they could only take back in salary up to 125% plus 100k. And Kaman's trade kicker counts as incoming salary: so Kaman's incoming salary would be 14.6 million.

It would take RJ + Blair + Green + Butler.

I don't think McDyess would be an option for cost savings with his buyout. The Spurs only delayed the decision on his buyout to the first day of the next player free agency period. That means that if the Clippers are as described by media reports to be waiting to make sure they have Jordan under contract before dealing Kaman, the deadline for McDyess to be used as cost savings due to his buyout would have already past.

[DPG21920]

Thanks Objective.

[MaNu4Tres]

Backup PF is not a glaring hole. Griffin is going to play roughly 38 mpg. Thompkins is talented enough to be the long term backup. In the short term, they have Gomes, Aminu and Cook, to handle the leftover minutes. Starting SF is a glaring hole, but if they want either Butler or Prince badly enough, they'll get them, it's as simple as that.

Thompkins is unproven in this league and he's their only PF outside of Griffin on the current roster. There is a hole there and not only would Blair fill that hole but he could also play some back-up 5 as he did here.

[TD 21]

Thompkins is unproven in this league and he's their only PF outside of Griffin on the current roster. There is a hole there and not only would Blair fill that hole but he could also play some back-up 5 as well as he did here.

Every rookie is unproven. You know how you get proven? By being given an opportunity. If not for questions about his motivation, Thompkins more than likely would have been a 1st round pick. He played 3 years in college, so he's not some raw rookie. Plus, we're talking about roughly 10 mpg, for at best a 7th or 8th seed. I think he could handle that. But that's probably moot, because Gomes and Cook, will probably split the backup duties anyway. When you have a superstar in the making at any position, a quality backup is a luxury, not a necessity.

[MaNu4Tres]

. When you have a superstar in the making at any position, a quality backup is a luxury, not a necessity.

When you're a team trying to reach playoff contention you want to attain the best pieces possible. In this case, every player/position in the assumed 9-10 man rotation is more relevant than you're implying (even if the position/player is only responsible for a limited 10-15 minutes a night). IMO

[TD 21]

When you're a team trying to reach playoff contention you want to attain the best pieces possible. In this case, every position in the assumed 9-10 man rotation is more relevant than you're implying. IMO

Fair enough. I'm just not convinced that this would make them better or that they couldn't do better on both fronts (trading Kaman, starting SF).

[MaNu4Tres]

Fair enough. I'm just not convinced that this would make them better or that they couldn't do better on both fronts (trading Kaman, starting SF).

Getting a starting SF via FA is a gamble and at the same time, making two separate moves (attaining SF via FA and trading Kaman) is more detrimental for their cap space in the near future than the presented Spurs trade (unless they trade Kaman for expirings; which is highly unlikely).

[Obstructed_View]

Holy . Is there a player so far who hasn't claimed to have San Antonio interested?

[5in10]

Si reporting battier and grant hill considering spurs.

[bigdog]

Seriously. I can't remember this many FA's that have the Spurs "on their radar".

[ace3g]

I wonder if Spurs rumored interest in Butler and Howard (who I'd gladly take over RJ any day) is to possibly conceal their actual interest in Battier and Hill (less risk, not coming off major injuries).

[Spursfanfromafar]

IMO the worst time to be a Spurs fan is this free agent season. we are saddled with a hump in Jefferson whom nobody wants and who by no means deserves any "amnesty". Isn't there any hump of a GM anywhere who would be beguiled to take this idiot?