Monday Insider

[Admin]

In reply to:

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Who says trading an overweight, under-producing kool-aid addict is impossible? It looks like the Sonics are now just hours away from making a bold move that could eventually change the entire face of the franchise.

Two league sources confirmed to Insider late Sunday night that the Celtics and Sonics had reached a deal that will send Vin Baker and Shammond Williams to Boston in return for Kenny Anderson, Vitaly Potapenko and Joe Forte. The teams are expected to submit the paperwork to the league sometime this morning. An announcement could come as early as this afternoon. The Seattle Post Intelligencer and the Boston Globe are also reporting that the deal should be finalized today.

Sonics fans are dancing in the streets in downtown Seattle this morning. The team would have traded Baker away for Shawn Bradley and some Chex mix just to get the disappointing Baker out of the clubhouse. With this trade, the team will be able to clear another nine million in cap room next summer. They'd love to throw all of that Jason Kidd's way when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Moving Baker was considered priority one in the Sonics' rebuilding plan this summer. Priority two, re-signing Rashard Lewis, is going much slower. The Tacoma News Tribune reported Sunday that the Sonics are trying to get Lewis to sign a seven-year, $49 million deal. Lewis was furious that the Sonics have offered him only a starting salary that is $500,000 more than what backup center Jerome James got and about $40 million less than the deal he was seeking. Lewis is so disappointed with the team's offer that he's considering signing a three-year contract for the mid-level exception with another team. The News Tribune reported in today's editions that the Mavericks have contacted Lewis. The Rockets, Bulls, Raptors, Nets, Knicks and Sixers also have interest in Lewis with their mid-level exceptions.

"If Rashard wants to go to another team, there is nothing I can do about that," Sonics GM Rick Sund told the News Tribune.

The Sonics also put the kibosh on Gary Payton's contract extension demands late last week, Insider learned. The team has decided that it won't give Payton an extension and wait to see how the market plays out in 2003. Now that the Sonics have moved his best friend, Baker, and brought in another starting-caliber point guard in Anderson, you can expect Payton to start lighting a few trade fires of his own. The Warriors, Knicks, Heat, T-Wolves and Bucks all have interest in Payton.

"He's not happy," a source in Seattle told Insider. "We'll wait to see what happens with Rashard before we decide what to do with Gary. Neither he nor Kenny are going to be happy with the situation. Something has to give."

The team also found out Sunday that it will likely lose the services of backup power forward Olumide Oyedeji and point guard Earl Watson. Oyedeji signed a one-year deal with the Magic Sunday. Watson, a restricted free agent, signed a three-year, $4 million offer sheet with the Grizzlies. Sund said Saturday that it's "highly unlikely" that the Sonics will match the offer.

Deal to send Sonics' Baker to Boston nearly done

Danny O'Neil / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Unloading Vin sets table for next summer

Art Thiel / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Lewis annoyed by Sonics' latest attempt to sign him

Frank Hughes / Tacoma News Tribune

Mavericks come courting Lewis

Frank Hughes / Tacoma News Tribune

Like Magic, the Sonics' Oyedeji is gone

Percy Allen / Seattle Times

Who will play point guard for the Celtics?

Facing the loss of Rodney Rogers, a key free agent, this summer due to luxury tax issues, the Celtics did the unthinkable this weekend -- they traded away Kenny Anderson for a has-been power forward and a backup point guard.

For the Celtics, the trade culminates a strange series of moves in Boston. In the last six months the team has dealt away two 2001 first-round picks, Joe Johnson and Joe Forte, its 2002 first-rounder and its starting point guard for Vin Baker, Shammond Williams and Tony Delk.

Anderson is coming off, perhaps, his best season as a pro as the Celtics made their way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Anderson's trade value may never have been higher. He was in the last year of his contract and was finally living up to the huge expectations he's been saddled with his entire career. While, at 32, he didn't have a long-term future in Boston, the move will likely set the Celtics back a step in the pursuit of the Eastern Conference Championship.

The Celtics also entertained offers from the Pacers and tried to work out a deal with the Heat, but in the end decided that Baker was their man.

"He give us a strong rebounder and someone who can play play both the four and the five," a Celtics source told Insider. "We think with a change of scenery, and in the right offense, he's still got the potential to be an All-Star again."

The Celtics clearly see something others around the league don't. Although the move leaves the Celtics a little stronger in the frontcourt, there's a gaping hole at point guard.

"I don't understand it," one team executive told Insider. "Baker was moved out of Milwaukee because he couldn't coexist with Glenn Robinson and Ray Allen. And back then, he was an All-Star. For Baker to be effective, you have to feed him a lot in the post. Will [Paul] Pierce and [Antoine] Walker be OK with that? And who is going to play point for them. Anderson was a big, big part of their success last year. I just don't get it."

Both Williams and Delk are really combo guards and neither is a starting-caliber point guard. Rookie J.R. Bremer has been impressive, but he too is really more of hybrid point. The trade will cut the Celtics' payroll by one million dollars, but the team, trying desperately to get under the luxury-tax threshold, may not even be able to use those dollars. While the Celtics may be able to convince a solid point guard to accept a one-year deal at the league minimum (like the Magic did with Jacque Vaughn), they won't be able to replace Anderson.

Celtics and Sonics set to close the deal

Shira Springer / Boston Globe

Question for Gaston - Is it really worth it?

Peter May / Boston Globe

Pacers still trying to move Croshere

Donnie Walsh is still trying to pawn off Austin Croshere on the highest bidder. The Pacers hoped to send Croshere to the Celtics in return for Kenny Anderson, but now that Anderson's on the verge of being shipped to the Sonics, he's looking for other takers.

Walsh is hoping to ship Croshere off in return for a player, like Anderson, who is in the last year of his contract. Right now, it's slow going.

"The climate is not good," Walsh told the Indianapolis Star. "People are afraid to take on long-term contracts when they do a deal.

"The question has to be, is Austin better than one of the free agents who might be available next year? A lot of teams don't think he is, but that might be a mistake. They might wake up next year and realize they aren't going to be able to sign one of the free agents they want. They could have had a better player in Austin."

Pacers know what they want

Mark Montieth / Indianapolis Star

Big Dog, Big Trouble

Maybe Glen Robinson wanted to stay in Milwaukee after all. Robinson became the latest in a series of high-profile athletes Saturday (we're still not through with Allen Iverson) to be arrested on charges of domestic battery, assault and unlawful possession of a firearm.

There was no question that the Bucks were already trying to deal Robinson before the incident. The latest incident should only convince them that their instincts were right on. The question is how much will this already hurt his dwindling trade value?

The N.Y. Post is already blaring that a Spree-Robinson trade is now dead because of Robinson's arrest. Of course, Bucks sources still maintain that it was never alive to begin with.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, an intoxicated Robinson told his ex-fiancee during a domestic dispute that he was "ready to die and we're both going to die," an Illinois prosecutor said Sunday during a bond hearing for the Bucks forward.

Ability to trade Robinson now in question

Michael Hunt / Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Arrest Nixes Big Dog Deal

Marc Berman / New York Post

Robinson said he was 'ready to die'

Michael Hunt and Jessica Hansen / Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

IN and OUT: Dajuan Wager lights up the Rocky Mountain Revue

The summer league saw a few top draft picks like Dajuan Wagner, Drew Gooden, Marcus Haislip and Amare Stoudemire have stellar debuts, but for the most part, the NBA rookies struggled to get into an early rhythm. Instead, it was the second-year players like Richard Jefferson, Kedrick Brown, Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph who were stealing headlines in Week 2 of the NBA summer leagues.

IN

Richard Jefferson, Nets

Jefferson was, by far, the best player at Shaw's last week. His athleticism, court savvy and improving outside shot were all on display. He led all scorers at Shaw's with 22 points per game and added 5.8 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game while shooting 50 percent from the field. The Nets are considering moving Jefferson to the two guard position this year, but it was his ball handling and ability to play point forward (the Nets didn't have a strong point guard on their team) that impressed NBA execs. Said one GM, "He's the total package. He's going to be a star."

Dajuan Wagner and DeSagana Diop, Cavs

Wagner had a sweet opening night with 15 points and three assists but exploded in the second game of his career. His 35 points on 14 of 26 shooting was a thing to behold. The kid is coming as advertised. He connected on four three-pointers, and showed surprising acumen from the outside. What is even better news for the Cavs is the early play of Diop. Considered a huge first-round bust last season, Diop has shown some definite improvement, especially on the defensive end. On Saturday, Diop pulled down 14 boards and blocked a whopping 11 shots versus the Raptors. He completely outplayed veteran Michael Stewart.

Dion Glover, Hawks

Glover had an advantage over most players at Shaw's. He's had two full years of experience in the NBA and it showed. Glover was named the MVP at Shaw's. He averaged 17.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 3.5 apg on 48 percent shooting while leading the Hawks to a perfect 6-0 record. Glover clearly outplayed teammate DerMarr Johnson, which should lead to an interesting camp battle this fall. Johnson has the size and the pedigree, but it's Glover that keeps producing.

Steven Jackson, Spurs

Jackson didn't see many minutes in San Antonio last season, but that may change. He was consistently one of the most explosive scorers in camp. For the tournament, Jackson averaged 15 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 2.4 spg. His athleticism is off the charts and he seemed very smooth out there. The Spurs were impressed and that should lead to more playing time behind Bruce Bowen this year.

Zach Randolph, Blazers

If only the summer league lasted all year long. Randolph, one of the stars of last year's Rocky Mountain Revue, picked up right where he left off last season. Randolph scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on opening night versus Utah and followed it up Sunday with a 28-point, 14-rebound performance. The Blazers were shopping him hard before the draft and another strong performance here may get the Blazers some takers.

OUT

Kwame Brown and Jared Jeffries, Wizards

The Wizards will tell you that both players played well, but their impact on the summer league team was disappointing. Kwame missed the first three games with a groin injury and averaged just 10 points and six rebounds in the games he did play. Though his injury may have been legitimate, the lack of aggressiveness is what really concerns the Wizards. As for Jeffries, he did a nice job of handling the ball (he averaged 3.3 assists), but his outside jumper is very suspect. He looked much more comfortable in the post, but that's not where the Wizards need and want him to play. For the tournament he averaged just 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds per game on 42 percent shooting from the field.

Caron Butler, Heat

It took until Sunday for Butler to have a breakout game (23 points) but even then it came on just 6 of 17 shooting. The rest of the time he's been chucking up brinks and handing out turnovers at a miserable rate. Butler's slow start is probably due to an injury he suffered in camp, but still, the Heat can't be happy with the slow start.

DerMarr Johnson, Hawks

His numbers were OK (13.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg) but they weren't the dominant numbers the team expected from their third-year swingman. Johnson was passive much of the time he was on the floor and got stuck shooting a lot of threes. For a guy who started a number of games for the Hawks last season, he didn't show anything special.

Andrei Kirilenko, DeShawn Stevenson, Curtis Borchardt, Jazz

This isn't what the Jazz expected when they came into the Revue. Kirilenko has looked terrible. He's averaging just four points and one rebound a game on 25 percent shooting. Stevenson has looked a bit better, but not much. He's averaging 11 ppg on 33 percent shooting. Borchardt has looked the worst of all. News that he has a broken bone in the same foot he injured at Stanford comes as a huge blow to the Jazz. It no longer looks like he was the draft night steal we all thought he was.

Ryan Humphrey, Magic

He had some nice games in Orlando, but really seemed to slip a bit at Shaw's. His numbers weren't impressive (8.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg) and for the most part, Humphrey looked like the tweener many scouts thought he would be. He still doesn't have the outside game to play the three and was often overmatched down low. The bad news just keeps rolling in for the Magic.

ASSORTED TIDBITS AND BAUBLES

Dan Dickau's numbers didn't show it, but his play steadily improved each day at Shaw's. He ended up finishing second in assists for the tournament. While his outside shot wasn't falling, the team isn't worried about it. Dickau was able to use his quickness to create his own shot. He just needs to slow things down another notch and he should be fine.

The Bucks are thrilled with the play of their draft picks so far. Ronald Murray has been a scoring machine and shown that he can handle so duties at the point. Dan Gadzuric finished second at Shaw's in rebounding at 8.2 a game and Marcus Haislip showed remarkable range from beyond the arc. Barring an unforeseen move, expect all three rookies to be on the Bucks' opening night roster.

The Nets already have 11 guaranteed roster slots and still need to add a point guard, but second-round pick Tamar Slay made a strong bid for a guaranteed contract. Slay averaged 14 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals for the Nets while shooting 53 percent from the field. "He's a guy who, two years ago, if he'd come out, he'd have been a first-round draft pick," Rod Thorn, the Nets' president and general manager, said. "The last two years, his stock has dropped. Those kind of guys, normally there is a lot of pressure on them to prove that they're good players. He just plays. I like him."

The T-Wolves got strong play from several of the prospects. Loren Woods averaged 11.3 ppg and 7.5 rpg, Quincy Lewis (12.3 ppg) showed a nice scoring touch and a slimmed down Khalid El-Amin (11.5 ppg, 3.5 apg) made a strong big to make the team as backup point guard.

Boston got a so-so performance from Kedrick Brown but it was J.R. Bremer's play that stole the show. The undrafted Bremer not only played Omar Cook out of a job, he may have played himself into a significant role with the team. With Kenny Anderson on his way to Seattle, the Celtics won't have much in the way of point guard next season.

The Wizards learned that Juan Dixon can score in the pros just like he scored in college, but can he run the point? He averaged more turnovers than assists in Boston. His 40 percent shooting from the field didn't help things either. The good news is that Etan Thomas looked healthy and ready to contribute. He led all rebounders at Shaw's with 9.8 boards per game.

There was a silver lining to the Magic's summer league. After disappointing player from Steven Hunter, Rashard Griffith and Ryan Humphrey, the Magic did get a solid performance from last year's No. 1 pick, Jeryl Sasser. Sasser ended strong and had 13.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg and 3.0 apg.

Insider's Terry Brown is in Salt Lake right now. Check out his news and notes on our Rocky Mountain Revue page. Also, check out our Pro Summer League , Shaw's Pro Summer League, and Orlando Summer Pro League pages for rosters, leaders and box scores.

Glover lives up to title of MVP

Michael Lee / Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Nets' Pick Makes Strong Bid for Spot

Steve Popper / New York Times

Williams makes instant impact

K.C. Johnson / Chicago Tribune

Peep Show

Bucks: The team, in search of a veteran backup point guard ever since last season, has shown an interest in Bulls free agent Travis Best, the Milwauke Journal Sentinel reported. Best's agent, Forrest King, went so far as to say that there appeared to be a good chance that Best would be joining the Bucks next season. "That's a distinct possibility," King said. "That would be a perfect fit for us. But Milwaukee still has some things they haven't quite settled."

Hawks: Coach Lon Kruger said Theo Ratliff, who played the last two days of the summer league, looked "stronger than last October." On Sunday, Ratliff scored six points and blocked three shots. The game also served as a good physical test --- he got to bang inside with the Celtics' 300-plus-pound center, Oliver Miller. "The Big O is big," Ratliff said with a laugh. "I got in there and pushed around a bit. I just want to continue to increase my strength."

Nuggets: Owner Stan Kroenke interviewed Del Harris for the head coaching position, the Denver Post reported. "It went well from Del's perspective," said Agent Warren Legarie. "At this point, we're just waiting for them to get back."

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[jaywalker72]

It strikes me as funny the way a guy can finish in the top 10 in that league in scoring while being dominant defensively, and be called out for being "disappointing".

DerMarr did his job and then some in Boston, scoring over 13 a game, grabbing 4.5 rebounds, and being placed on the toughest defensive assignment in every game.

Glover gets the glory because, according to Musselman, he was the focal point of the offense, and Slim the defense.

Yet, Johnson STILL scored 13 and change a game while doing his damage on defense.

That kind of performance doesn't disappoint me at all.

[DJ_Money]

Are the Sonics just going to throw out everything and rebulid. Moving Baker was what they needed to do, but Payton and Lewis?

I can see letting Lewis leave, because it seems like he's going to be a pain in the a**. But, I doubt they can trade GP and get equal value for him. The only thing they can get is expiring contracts and hope they can come up big next summer.

That being said, Diesel get cracking on those Lewis trades.

The Celtics had better have another move in the works. They'll never get out of the East without a decent PG. You can't win in the West without a C, you can't win in the East without a PG.

Wagner will be ROY, enough said.

At least ESPN noticed Dickau's play...

Portland shopping Randolph. *drool*

[Guest]

I agree about Wagner.He takes alot of shots,but with the state of

the Cavs you know he will get them and he will put up monster

numbers on a terrible team.

I bet we go after Austin Croshere.Which if we offer Henderson or

Kukoc as the trade bait for Croshere I have NO problem with it.Just

as long as we don't give up anything with any value.

Lets get something done for Lewis.Lets email Babcock!Damn Babcock

Lewis is gunna leave and we could likely throw some short term

contracts for Lewis in a deal.For once in your whole damn existance

here do something right!

The Celtics are going to regret throwing Joe Forte away for nothing...

[capstone21]

Does that mean Walker is going to play SF which will move PP to SG. If that is the case I don't think it will work. PP could probably play the sg position (I think he should be there anyway) but Walker asa SF? The quicker guys are going to eat him alive.

[Admin]

Thats what I was wondering also. Will they put Baker at center and move Battie to the bench? Maybe they just figured that since Walker jacks up so many 3's that they may as well move him to a more traditional 3 pt shooting spot and also so that they can get more rebounds. Baker will help them a lot if Walker can handle playing SF.

[Guest Walter]

Even I think DJ got a little bit of a raw press deal here (though I don't recall anyone saying the offense "ran through DG", more like DG is the much more aggressive player on offense).

Still, if a Tamar Slay can come in cold from minor college play and equal if not better your numbers, that ain't good no matter how you slice it.

W

[Traceman]

DG IS The more aggressive offensive player but the Hawks did run the offense through him for most of the summer league as well. Nothing wrong with that, in fact, that's the way it should have been. He was the best offensive player on our summer league team and with the exception of Richard Jefferson, the best offensive player in the summer league period.

[jaywalker72]

That Dion was the focal point of the offense, and DerMarr the defense.

Slay scored a lot, no doubt....But let's not ignore the effort DerMarr had on both ends, because according to Eric, he made a huge impact on the success of the team.