- Steve Nash is headed... to LA?! The Lakers and Suns have agreed to a sign-and-trade that will send the 2-time MVP to the Lakers in exchange for 4 draft picks with 2 first-rounders ('13 and '15) and 2 second-rounders ('13 and '14) headed to Phoenix. Nash will sign a 3-year, $27 million deal with the Lakers and LA will absorb that contract into the trade exception they received when they jettisoned Lamar Odom before last season. This is huge news in the Western Conference since LA immediately jumps back into legit contender status with the addition of Nash, and he provides them with outside shooting and a facilitator that they badly needed. I'm thoroughly interested to see how he and Kobe (who reportedly begged him to come) play together, and that'll be must-see TV. The Lakers still desperately need an athletic wing who can guard, but for today, they are better. Phoenix knew they'd be losing Nash either way, and this is a reasonable haul for him without taking back any contracts, although the first-rounders will likely be pretty low (at least the one in 2013 will be).
- Speaking of the Suns (transition), they signed two players yesterday. First, Goran Dragic was inked to a 4-year, $34 million deal to replace Nash, and then Michael Beasley was given 3 years and $18 million to give them a wing scorer. I like the Dragic move a lot, as that is perfectly reasonable money for him, he knows the Alvin Gentry system, and he's pretty similar to Nash in a lot of respects. The Beasley move... not so much. He's a one-dimensional scorer who doesn't provide much value elsewhere, but with that said, in this system he could easily average 20 points a game. I think the Suns will be pretty bad, but you can do worse than Dragic and Gortat at the point and center spots.
- Jason Terry to Boston? This deal has reportedly been "agreed to" but Terry will receive $5 million a year for 3 years from the C's to likely replace Ray Allen. The Terry/Avery Bradley combo would be pretty nice at the wing, and Terry is at least comparable (if not better at this point) than a hobbled Ray Allen. He provides them with the shooter they need alongside Rondo, and I like the fit for the most part. Dallas is said to be coveting financial flexibility, so they're unlikely to step up with a bigger offer before the July 11th signing deadline.
- Spencer Hawes is staying in Philly for 2 years and $13 million. I'm unmoved by this one. It's decent money for a decent center, and Philly appears to like what they have despite what I perceive as a pretty low ceiling. They're the new Hawks.
- And one more for the road... Oklahoma City and former #2 pick Hasheem Thabeet have agreed to a 2-year deal. I'm wildly interested to see how people cover this one. I actually think it's a reasonable flyer on a guy who has exactly one skill (shot-blocking), but he's been really, really bad in his NBA career and if most teams signed him, they'd be killed for it. There are a handful of teams who seem to have immunity on this type of move, and OKC (and namely, Sam Presti) is one of them.
Elsewhere...
- Cubs 5, Braves 1 - The lowly Cubs have taken 2 of the first 3 against the Braves thanks to 3 home runs last night off of Delgado and Venters. Delgado threw a "quality start" of 6 innings and 3 earned runs, and gave the Braves a chance to win, but the bats went silent against Braves-killer Paul Maholm. Maholm now has a 1.34 ERA in 7 career starts against Atlanta despite a 4.39 ERA total, and the Braves couldn't solve him. Not a great sign when you're battling for a series split with the least favorable pitching matchup of the series on Thursday.
- The Miami Marlins have acquired Carlos Lee. Houston got 2 minor-leaguers from Miami in the deal, although Houston agreed to pay the entire $9 million that Lee had remaining. I'm indifferent of the move for Miami as they add another middling first-baseman to go along with Sanchez and Morrison, but Lee can hit rolling out of bed, so at worst, he'll be league-average.
What to watch for on Thursday...
- MLB - Cubs @ Braves - 7:10 SportSouth - Garza vs. Minor - Could really use the "good" Mike Minor tonight...
- MLB - Giants @ Nats - 7:10 MLB - Cain vs. Detwiler - Matt Cain to the national audience. Can't go wrong.
- Wimbledon - Starting at 8:00 am on ESPN - Things are heating up on the grass courts. Tune in.
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment