Looking ahead to 2010
I'm pretty sure the Jazz watched the moves New York made this week and muttered to themselves about why they couldn't have played the Knicks any time this season other than the second week of November.
Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph couldn't have looked any better than they did in the Knicks' 107-99 victory. Now they're playing on the West Coast, with New York having traded Crawford to Golden State and Randolph to the Clippers.
What the Knicks got in return were players in Al Harrington, Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas with contracts that expire after next season, valuable salary-cap commodities in today's NBA.
They could be in position to offer not one but two max contracts in the summer of 2010, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire all could become free agents.
We likely will be saying the same thing about several franchises hoping to change their fortunes. From a Jazz perspective, the Knicks' moves and the speculation about James' future could have a wide range of implications.
For starters, you have to wonder what the 2009 free agent market will look like with so many teams trying to get as far under the cap as possible. Between that and the economy, you have to expect that teams will be spending very, very cautiously.
Of course, the teams like Cleveland, Miami and Toronto hoping to hang onto their franchise cornerstones, as well as teams like Memphis and Oklahoma City trying to climb out of the cellar, will have dollars to spend.
The Jazz have several players who could become free agents after this season, chiefly Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Kyle Korver. All three could find it more attractive either to sign extensions with Utah or play out the final season on their contracts.
There undoubtedly will be teams come 2010 that lose out on James, Wade and the others who might offer a max contract to a player like Boozer as a fallback. Remember that Boozer would be opting out of $12.6 million for next season.
(Unless they trade Andrei Kirilenko, the Jazz are going to have too many salary commitments to be players on the free-agent market in 2010. Kirilenko's contract doesn't expire until after the 2010-11 season while Deron Williams has a minimum three-year extension starting next season.)
If the Knicks refuse to add payroll beyond the 2009-10 season, the Jazz also could benefit given the unprotected first-round draft pick they're owed from the Knicks in 2010.
But I think that pick looked a lot more promising last season with Isiah Thomas still running things in New York. The Knicks are going to be too competitive with Mike D'Antoni as coach - - they're 7-6 right now - - that the pick will be in the late lottery probably at best.
* * *
To Richard: Just to make sure you're having a little more well-rounded experience here at the Jazz blog, you can look forward to a review of The Killers' new album on Tuesday.
--Ross Siler
Jamal Crawford and Zach Randolph couldn't have looked any better than they did in the Knicks' 107-99 victory. Now they're playing on the West Coast, with New York having traded Crawford to Golden State and Randolph to the Clippers.
What the Knicks got in return were players in Al Harrington, Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas with contracts that expire after next season, valuable salary-cap commodities in today's NBA.
They could be in position to offer not one but two max contracts in the summer of 2010, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire all could become free agents.
We likely will be saying the same thing about several franchises hoping to change their fortunes. From a Jazz perspective, the Knicks' moves and the speculation about James' future could have a wide range of implications.
For starters, you have to wonder what the 2009 free agent market will look like with so many teams trying to get as far under the cap as possible. Between that and the economy, you have to expect that teams will be spending very, very cautiously.
Of course, the teams like Cleveland, Miami and Toronto hoping to hang onto their franchise cornerstones, as well as teams like Memphis and Oklahoma City trying to climb out of the cellar, will have dollars to spend.
The Jazz have several players who could become free agents after this season, chiefly Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Kyle Korver. All three could find it more attractive either to sign extensions with Utah or play out the final season on their contracts.
There undoubtedly will be teams come 2010 that lose out on James, Wade and the others who might offer a max contract to a player like Boozer as a fallback. Remember that Boozer would be opting out of $12.6 million for next season.
(Unless they trade Andrei Kirilenko, the Jazz are going to have too many salary commitments to be players on the free-agent market in 2010. Kirilenko's contract doesn't expire until after the 2010-11 season while Deron Williams has a minimum three-year extension starting next season.)
If the Knicks refuse to add payroll beyond the 2009-10 season, the Jazz also could benefit given the unprotected first-round draft pick they're owed from the Knicks in 2010.
But I think that pick looked a lot more promising last season with Isiah Thomas still running things in New York. The Knicks are going to be too competitive with Mike D'Antoni as coach - - they're 7-6 right now - - that the pick will be in the late lottery probably at best.
* * *
To Richard: Just to make sure you're having a little more well-rounded experience here at the Jazz blog, you can look forward to a review of The Killers' new album on Tuesday.
--Ross Siler
7:53 PM
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2 Comments:
HAHAHHA. Oh man, my whole office was looking at me here as I chuckled out loud. Touche Ross, touche.
Happy Thanksgiving from Los Angeles!!!
Ross, you can come to my house and play The Killer's trackpack on Rockband 2. I am soooooo downloading it tomorrow on XBOX Live. You can't go wrong with "Mr. Brightside," "Smile Like you Mean It" and "Spaceman." Woot.
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