So Bosh is heading to Miami with Wade. Check one more destination off of Carlos Boozer's list. That means we could be hearing a decision from him shortly with Bosh and Stoudemire off the table.
Chicago becomes the logical choice now as they can sign him outright. There could still be a sign and trade if Boozer can convince the Bulls FO to do so. I don't see them giving up much though just so they can give him an extra year and more money.
Of course we're going to have to wait until the LeBron James circus dies down on Thursday as Chicago could be one of his destinations. I realize that he's donating the money from sponsorships to the Boys and Girls club, but somewhere, deep inside, I'm hoping that Charles Oakley and Karl Malone surprise him in a WWF-style surprise beat-down for this.
What to watch for today is if Bosh signs outright with Miami or gets dealt in a sign and trade for Beasley. If that's the case then it opens the door for LeBron to head there too.
There's still a chance Boozer goes to Orlando in a sign and trade. New Jersey looks like it's missing out so maybe there's something there. The poor Knicks though seem to be the biggest losers unless LeBron signs there.
Still catching up on summer league games. Hopefully I'll have a post up soon on the first two or three. A quick recap of what I've seen though:
First, like most have said here, we're going to be fine with Hayward. Like I have said from the beginning, most of our frustration about the pick wasn't directed at Hayward, it was at who we didn't get. We may still end up regretting not picking Paul George or Xavier Henry, bit it's not going to be because Hayward is a bust though, it's going to be because those two are just going to be better.
I still would like to see him shoot it more, but he's been very effective when he has. Walt Perrin was on Locke yesterday and he said that they were a bit concerned that he hadn't shot the ball more. From what I've seen, the other players are taking a lot of the shots as they fight to get noticed. We may see more now in game three as The other thing I was impressed about was some of Hayward's lateral quickness in defending guards.
Second, the KOOF had a decent game yesterday, especially on the glass. I still don't see much improvement in his offensive game though and his hook shots are still awkward and off-balanced.
Finally, Jeremy Evans is a lot of fun to watch. I find myself following him when he's on the court, waiting for a block or dunk.
So are you looking forward to 2012 for the DWill/Chris Paul sweepstakes? I'm sick thinking about it. That said, doesn't it benefit both of them to sign extensions next season before the lockout/strike? Who knows what the CBA will be like then. Who knows if they're going to be able to make as much money then. The owners may get their way and get non-guaranteed contracts for new deals. Any reasons why they wouldn't want a long-term deal right now other than it ties them down to their current teams?
I thought the Amar'e deal essentially sealed Boozer's fate as far as not playing NY. ESPN reports though,
The New York Knicks have had exploratory talks with Carlos Boozer, a source close to the situation told ESPNNewYork.com.
It's unclear how Boozer would fit with a team that just gave a five-year, $100 million deal to another power forward, Amare Stoudemire, but the source said a meeting between the Knicks and Boozer is "possible."
So they would want to put two of the biggest defensive sieves on the same front court? Would they move Amar'e to center? Maybe position doesn't matter much in the D'Antoni offense but this would shock me if he signs with New York now.
Open ended poll: If you were Karl Malone, what WWF move would you put on LeBron in tomorrow night's special? A chair? The sleeper? Headlock? A 2X4?