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Will the Blazers dump Stoudamire?

by Chad Ford

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Also Below: Cavs regroup after losing out on Daniels | Bucks done making moves? | Will the Sonics agree to a sign-and-trade? | Remembering Chick Hearn | Peep Show

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It was only a matter of time. "Trader" Bob Whitsitt finally got the Blazers rolling Monday with a small trade that may have much bigger ramifications down the road. The Blazers shipped backup point guard Erick Barkley and Steve Kerr to the Spurs for point guard Antonio Daniels, two guard Charles Smith and forward Amal McCaskill.

While the players involved in the deal aren't marquee names, the addition of Daniels and Smith may have a profound impact on the make-up of the team. The Blazers have been trying to move starting point guard Damon Stoudamire for the last year or so and Whitsitt took a veiled shot at him in a press conference after the trade.

"We didn't have a true point guard last season. We're lucky that [scottie] Pippen, Barkley and [Derek] Anderson can all play time at that position, but we just got a guy who can play that position well. He's also a guy who wants to play. . .We know that we have a lot of guys who can play on our team. . .Contracts don't equate to playing time, so we'll have to see what the team looks like at the end of camp. We'll just look at who can play different positions and who works really hard."

Stoudamire started 71 games at point guard last season and led the team in assists with 6.5 per game. He was also close to a career low in turnovers, averaging just 1.9 per game. However, Stoudamire's shoot-first, ask-questions-later style and miserable 40 percent shooting percentage took their toll on rookie coach Mo Cheek's patience.

Whitsitt's comments, that the team didn't have a true point guard and was lucky Pippen, Barkley and Anderson could fill in, will sting. Insider reported last week that the team made a decision after last season to pursue a starting point guard, even if it couldn't move Stoudamire. The Blazers had been talking to Clippers free agent Jeff McInnis most of the summer, but surprisingly decided that Daniels was their guy. On paper, McInnis outplayed Daniels in every significant statistical category. In fact, it was Daniels' refusal to play point guard last season that led the emergence of Tony Parker in San Antonio. Is Daniels as a starting point guard really the answer?

Throw in Charles Smith to the mix and once again the Blazers have an extremely crowded backcourt. The team now has guards Stoudamire, Daniels, Anderson (who can also play the point) and Smith under contract. The Blazers' most talented guard, Bonzi Wells, is still talking with the team about a new contract, and a league source told Insider late Monday night that McInnis is still not out of the picture. What's going on?

Monday night, league sources told Insider that the Blazers will attempt to restart negotiations with the T-Wolves on a trade that could potentially send Stoudamire and Wells (via sign-and-trade) to the Wolves for Wally Szczerbiak, Terrell Brandon and Anthony Peeler. To make the numbers work and to avoid base-year compensation problems, Wells would have to agree to a contract with a starting salary of $5.5 million or less. Given the nature of the market right now, those numbers aren't too bad.

The move would clearly upgrade the Wolves' backcourt and clear up some chemistry issues that have been brewing the last two years between Wally and Kevin Garnett. With Brandon's future in doubt, the team has been looking for a starting point guard all summer. The team has also been searching for a more athletic two guard and has been talking with free agent Ricky Davis. Wells would obviously fit that need.

For the Blazers, the move would be addition by subtraction. Stoudamire hasn't taken demotions to the bench well in the past and Wells was a lightning rod for fan criticism last year. Szczerbiak would be the key to the deal for Portland. The team has been looking for a clutch shooter with three-point range. The Blazers also have the cash flow to give Szczerbiak the big extension he's been looking for. Brandon, if he's healthy, would give the Blazers that pass first point guard they've been looking for. If he isn't, not much will be lost.

Whether the talks will turn into an actual trade is still up in the air. The T-Wolves are hesitant to take on Stoudamire because of recent legal problems. Police found a bag of marijuana in Stoudamire's house in February and now he's facing a felony charge. He has pleaded innocent and was in court Monday arguing that the police search of his home was illegal.

If Minnesota balks at Stoudamire, the Blazers will have a difficult time finding any other takers. Stoudamire makes $13.5 million this year and still has three seasons remaining on his contract. The Blazers have had other talks with teams but nothing has turned serious. They have had some contact with the Sixers about Dikembe Mutombo and have also spoken with the Nuggets about a Marcus Camby and George McCloud for Derek Anderson and Zach Randolph swap, but nothing is imminent.

Blazers acquire Daniels

Jason Quick / The Oregonian

Bob Whitsitt Talks About Trade

Blazers.com

Spurs deal Daniels to Blazers

Glenn Rogers / San Antonio Express News

Cavs regroup after losing out on Daniels

More bad news for the Cavs. After trying for the last week to work out a trade with the Spurs that would bring Antonio Daniels back to Ohio, the Spurs pulled the rug out from under the Cavs and traded him to the Blazers.

The Spurs balked at the Cavs' offer of Lamond Murray for Daniels. Instead, they were trying to pry away big man Chris Mihm. With Daniels now out of the mix, the team will likely focus on free agency to fill the point guard hole left when the team sent Andre Miller to the Clippers.

At the top of the Cavs' list are Pistons free agent Damon Jones (who averaged 5.1 ppg and 2.1 apg in 16.2 mpg last season) and Celtics free agent Erick Strickland (who averaged 7.7 ppg and 2.3 apg in 20.8 mpg last season).

Or, the team may see if it can pry away a point guard with veteran Lamond Murray. Murray, who sent a fax to local media this weekend demanding a trade, was back at it again on Monday. His agent, Arn Tellem, met with Cavs GM Jim Paxson and reiterated Murray's trade request, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Murray, who was the Cavs' leading scorer last year, averaging 16.6 ppg and 5.2 rpg on 42 from the three-point line, has four years and about $22 million left on his contract.

Cavs going south? Murray wants west

Chris Tomasson / Akron Beacon Journal

Bucks done making moves?

It looks like the Bucks were willing to shake things up a bit, but not too much.

Bucks GM Ernie Grunfeld told Insider on Monday that the Bucks' shake-up was basically over. "We've got a lot of confidence in Tim Thomas. Adding Toni [Kukoc] to the mix gives us a guy who can really pass the ball, play multiple positions and become a real asset to to collective team environment."

With Thomas and Kukoc getting major minutes in the frontcourt, the Bucks will become a bigger and longer team. "I envision that our style of play will change a bit to fit the players we now have on the floor. Everyone will adjust."

While several league sources claim that point guard Sam Cassell is also on the trading block, Grunfeld told Insider that he wasn't looking to move his cantankerous point guard.

The Bucks saved some cash through the trade, but are still right up against the luxury-tax threshold. Right now their payroll stands roughly at $52.5 million. That number doesn't include restricted free agent Michael Redd's salary. Grunfeld reiterated that the team had every intention of matching any offer for Redd. However, it looks like the team will shy away from using its mid-level exception this year. Last season, after much hand wringing, the Bucks traded away Scott Williams and used their exception to sign Anthony Mason. This year, the Bucks plan to stick with what they have.

Currently, the team has nine players under contract for next season. Once Redd is re-signed and rookies Ronald Murray and Dan Gadzuric join the fold, the Bucks will be set. Grunfeld didn't rule out signing a veteran for the minimum, but it looks like yet another team is out of the free-agent race.

Will the Sonics agree to a sign-and-trade?

Negotiations between the Sonics and Rashard Lewis are on the back burner for the rest of the week as Lewis, along with many within the Sonics' organization, flies to Hawaii to attend Desmond Mason's wedding.

However, when the wedding is over and the two sides get back to business next week, it may be time for Lewis and the Sonics to begin talking about a sign-and-trade. Sonics president Wally Walker talked with Lewis' agent, Carl Poston, over the weekend and began discussing other possibilities, including the prospect of a sign-and-trade deal, the Seattle Post Intelligencer reported.

Right now, it appears that the team is unwilling to budge from its offer of seven years, $60 million. And Lewis isn't moving off his demands for considerably more than the current contract being offered by the Sonics. Lewis has threatened to sign a three-year, $15 million offer from the Mavs if the Sonics don't significantly up their offer.

Rather than lose Lewis without compensation, the Sonics may try to find a way to get Lewis the money he's looking for and get some top prospects in return. Complicating matters is a base-year compensation issue that would only allow the Sonics to take back half of Lewis' contract. The Bulls may be in the best position to facilitate some sort of trade because the team can make extra cap room to compensate for the salary differences.

Despite the apparent stalemate, re-signing Lewis is still a possibility. The Tacoma News Tribune reported today the agents for Gary Payton have said that Payton has called Lewis to express his desire for Lewis to return to Seattle.

Sonics, Lewis near impasse

Danny O'Neil / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Lewis, Sonics postpone negotiations for celebration

Frank Hughes / Tacoma News Tribune

Sonics courting trouble

Laura Vecsey / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Remembering Chick Hearn

He was referred to, at times, as simply the "Voice." Chick Hearn, the Lakers' play-by-play announcer died Monday from complications relating to a fall. Hearn was not only the voice of the Lakers, he coined many of the routine basketball phrases — "Slam dunk", "air ball", "throws up a prayer", "no harm, no foul", "hung him out to dry", "finger roll" — that have become part of the game. The sports world grieved and those who knew him best remembered a man who truly loved the game and his Lakers.

"Chick Hearn is gone, and it's hard to even write the words. He was 85, he barely survived last season, the last time I saw him he was slowly moving through a New Jersey gym, his face pale, his hands clutching to a walker. Yet it's still as difficult to fathom as the idea of someone broadcasting 3,338 consecutive games. Chick Hearn is gone? The Jell-O has stopped jiggling? The butter is melting? The eggs are broke? His death Monday feels like a fire that razed that wonderfully creaky antique house on the corner. We didn't only lose a voice, we lost a little piece of our city that can never be rebuilt." — Bill Plashke, L.A. Times

"Nobody had to ask me what Chick was really like, because anybody who listened to his voice — for one yelp, one "dipsy-do . . . saaal-aaaam dunk!" — never doubted what kind of man was speaking to them. Be real, they say. Chick was real from way back. Old-school real. Here was a man who invented terms — slam dunk, finger roll, air ball — because the contemporary vocabulary was not adequate. Here was a man whose mere tone and inflection could impart to thousands whether the Lakers were ahead or behind and how well they were playing. Here was a man who, in a halftime ceremony to salute his 3,000th consecutive game, declared that the Lakers were "playing like dogs" and maybe he should "get some Alpo." — Tim Kawakami, San Jose Mercury News

"Chick's almost boyish enthusiasm and unwavering determination to keep on doing what he loved endeared him to his audience more than talent or craftsmanship alone ever could. No matter how much you cared about the Lakers, you couldn't possibly have cared more than Chick did. In my hometown of St. Louis this summer, we lost Jack Buck. In Detroit, Ernie Harwell, still spry at 84, leaves the Tiger booth at the end of the season. Voices like theirs (and Chick's) mean more to their audiences than just the game on any particular day. They were the last ongoing links to the game you grew up with. Their calls were bulletins and flashbacks at the same time?part of the soundtrack of your life." — Bob Costas, L.A. Times

"Hearn was a Lakers fan, and everyone knew it. But he was no homer. He sat courtside, but he sounded like the guy in the last row, in utter disbelief over 'that shot Kobe took' or demanding Shaq or Kareem or Wilt go to the basket strong. And when the Lakers won, as they often did with Hearn calling nine championships, he was as excited and enthusiastic as the guy jumping off his couch at home. But the most remarkable aspect of his life and broadcasting career, what made Hearn unique, what every man could understand and appreciate, was that he came to work every day. For 36 years straight." — Sam Smith, Chicago Tribune

Chick-isms

staff / San Jose Mercury News

We lost a friend as well as an icon

Bill Plaschke / Los Angeles Times

With Hearn at the microphone, Lakers games became happenings

Tim Kawakami / San Jose Mercury News

He Was One of the Last Links to the Fan

Bob Costas / Los Angeles Times

Voice of Lakers always had a ball

Sam Smith / Chicago Tribune

Peep Show

Jazz: One week after declaring it "doubtful" that Donyell Marshall would re-sign with the Jazz, his agent said Monday that he is now "cautiously optimistic" that a deal can be struck. "I'm not asking for a mountain of movement here," agent Dwight Manley told the Salt Lake Tribune. "The primary goal is to work out an agreement that is fair to Donyell and the Jazz. It seems as if things may be going in the right direction. . . . I wouldn't say [the chances of signing Marshall are] much better, but I would say [they are] better." Manley said he has found several teams interested in working out a sign-and-trade deal for Marshall — "which substantiates that other teams will pay more than the Jazz have offered."

Hornets: Center Elden Campbell will become a free agent at the end of next season, but said Monday through his Atlanta-based agent, Richard Howell, that he is interested in signing a contract extension. Bob Bass, the Hornets' executive vice president of basketball operations, said he wants to wait until after the upcoming season before issuing an offer. Two years ago we decided to really try and make a run with the present players on the team," Bass told the Times Picayune. "We want to see where we go with this team and how far we can go."

Wizards: Center Jahidi White has an injured left knee that could require surgery and sideline him for three months. "Surgery definitely could be a possibility," agent David Bauman told the Washington Post. "He's rested it for two months, as the team recommended, and he started doing some work last week and was feeling significant pain in the same spot in the same knee. If the season started today, he couldn't play. He couldn't jump. Right now it's fifty-fifty if he'll need surgery."

Pistons: The team bought out center Mikki Moore's contract Monday, making him an unrestricted free agent. "This is not an insult to Mikki or his playing ability," John Hammond, the Pistons' vice president of basketball operations told the Detroit News. "This is just about numbers. If you look at our roster, we have a lot of quality big men."

Knicks: The N.Y. Post is the latest paper to report that the Knicks are talking to the Mavs about a trade that would bring Nick Van Exel to New York.

Marshall Talks Take Positive Turn

Phil Miller / Salt Lake Tribune

Campbell, agent press Hornets to extend deal

John Reid / New Orleans Times-Picayune

Wizards' White Might Need Surgery

Steve Wyche / Washington Post

Pistons buy out Moore's contract

Chris McCosky / Detroit News

Knicks Renew Van Exel Bid

Marc Berman / New York Post