Inside The NBA- Wednesday
Hornets Desperate To Go Below Luxury Tax
The New Orleans Hornets are trying their hardest to remain in the playoff picture, but their financial situation is definitely dire this season. At $3.3 million above the league’s luxury tax, they would have to pay the league twice that in July if their cap number doesn’t go down, which is extremely important for a franchise with very little money.
That explains why the Hornets tried extremely hard to trade Devin Brown, one of their starters, to Minnesota for backup Jason Hart, who would have been released by the team just to save $1.1 million. (Marc Stein’s column on TrueHoop on this topic is excellent) But since the Wolves didn’t want to pay for the 10 percent trade kicker in Brown’s contract, the deal fell through and the Hornets now continue to search for answers. Hart was traded yesterday to Phoenix for former Wisconsin star Alando Tucker, a second round pick and cash. Hart does fit into the Suns’ plans, but will probably be let go as well.
This leaves New Orleans in a bad situation, where they really want to get rid of a big contract like Emeka Okafor’s, Peja Stojakovic’s, Mo Peterson’s or even the contract of star David West, which would really ruin the franchise because it would anger Chris Paul, who would have every reason and every opportunity to bail in two years. It’s a bad situation in New Orleans and will not get better unless they get under the luxury tax before the end of this season.
Tuesday Night In Review
-Atlanta was held to 10 fourth quarter points and 33 in the second half in a 95-84 loss to Cleveland, the fifth straight win for the surging Cavaliers. Mo Williams led the team with 20, but LeBron James had 14 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and five steals. Jamal Crawford led all scorers with 26 for the Hawks.
-Oklahoma City shot 54 percent from the field and Kevin Durant had 35 points and 10 rebounds as the Thunder downed the Wizards 110-98 for their fourth straight win and Washington’s third consecutive defeat. Antawn Jamison had 28 and Gilbert Arenas had 24 in the loss.
-The Knicks shot 51 percent and the Pistons lost their eighth straight game, 104-87 Tuesday in Auburn Hills. David Lee led all scorers with 30 points and 12 rebounds and Ben Gordon led Detroit with 17.
-Make it seven straight losses for Indiana without Danny Granger. Derrick Rose scored a game high 28 on 11-20 shooting as Chicago defeated the Pacers 104-95. Roy Hibbert led Indiana with 17 as the team shot just 41 percent from the field.
-Houston went on a 34-18 fourth quarter run to defeat New Orleans at home 108-100 behind 27 from Aaron Brooks and 20 from Shane Battier. David West had 44 and 12 in the loss for the Hornets, and Chris Paul had a 16 point, 11 rebound 10 assist triple-double.
-The Spurs are quietly coming back into the west’s elite with their third straight win, 117-99 over Minnesota with six San Antonio players in double figures. Richard Jefferson led all scorers with 24, Roger Mason had 18 off the bench and tim Duncan had 17 and 10. Al Jefferson led the Wolves with 20 points.
-Kobe Bryant hit all 16 of his free throws and shot 13-27 for a 44 point, 10 assist night and offset a 55 percent shooting night from the Warriors to beat Golden State 124-118 at Staples Center. Corey Maggette led six Warriors in double figures with 25 and Monta Ellis had 22 in the loss.
Aron Jacobowitz’s Three Point Play
1) Boston and LA looking a bit vulnerable this week. With the Celtics losing back-to-back nights to the Clippers and Warriors and Lakers embarrassed by the Suns.
2) Sactown Kings may sneak into the playoffs with a healthy Kevin Martin and Tyreke Evans. They took both LAL and CLE to OT, and then beat the Nuggets without their rookie leader Evans.
3) T-Mac to NY? Golden State? T-Mac is on the block, but Houston is only willing to trade him for talent, raw or developed. Some have him going to GS for Anthony Randolph as the main piece.
Robert Frost Report
Fire
Cleveland Cavaliers- They knocked off the Lakers last week and put on a defensive show against Atlanta and have won five straight. They’re creeping up on LA and Boston for the top record in the league.
Oklahoma City Thunder- Kevin Durant is a scoring machine at just 21 years old and the Thunder are on a four game winning streak and are a really exciting young team. They’re one of three teams within 2.5 games of Northwest leader Denver.
Toronto Raptors- Toronto has really improved their offense over their four game winning streak and are comfortably in the Eastern playoffs right now at two games under .500.
San Antonio Spurs- The Spurs are on a three game winning streak and could give Dallas a run in the Southwest. If they can get Richard Jefferson and Roger Mason to play well consistently, their great depth could again return to the scene.
Miami Heat- Their complimentary players is why they’re on a three game winning streak. If Jermaine O’Neal and Michael Beasley could step up, maybe Miami will get by without a reliable point guard next to D-Wade.
Ice
New Jersey Nets- 10 straight losses gets them to 2-29 on the season. I won’t go on any further.
Detroit Pistons- Joe Dumars held onto his core for too long, and now they’ve lost eight straight and are just and old, bad team who can’t score the basketball. If Dumars has the opportunity to stay, this needs to be blown up.
Indiana Pacers- Without Danny Granger, this team is full of unathletic white guys and it’s showing with seven straight losses that has taken them to the Central Division basement.
Milwaukee Bucks- Milwaukee hasn’t really been the same since Brandon Jennings’ 55 point game, and Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut were benched in their most recent loss, their third straight. Can Scott Skiles fix this?
Washington Wizards- A team I thought would reach the Eastern Conference finals is 10-20. I picked Gilbert Arenas to win the league MVP and he has been the least valuable player in the league with the worst contract in history. In short, the Wizards are a huge failure in a season where their ownership is in transition with the death of Abe Polin. This team is a train wreck. Good thing they traded Ricky Rubio’s rights for a bunch of washed up, veteran crap. They could have used him in 2011 when all their other guys besides Arenas would be gone.
Denver Nuggets- Denver has failed to rise to the occasion against teams like Portland and Dallas and are now in danger of falling quite far in the Northwest Division if this thing isn’t turned around quickly.
Hot Stove Evening Update 12/29
6:35 p.m. Eastern
-The Mets are close to signing C Bengie Molina to a two-year deal, accoridng to 1050 ESPN Radio in New York and in this MetsBlog link.
-ESPN’s Buster Olney says that Scott Boras is going to teams for a second time regarding Matt Holliday with the asking price at $18 million a season.
-The Diamondbacks are close to signing 2B Kelly Johnson to a contract, says the Arizona Republic. More on Johnson here.
-Boston is still talking with 3B Adrian Beltre, says Gordon Edes.
Bay and Beyond; What the Mets’ Next Move Should Be- baseballman33
This afternoon, the Mets came to an agreement on a 4 year $66 million deal (vesting option for a 5th year) with LF Jason Bay. Bay comes to Queens to bolster a lineup that struggled hitting the ball out of the park last year, and with his presence the team will hopefully start hitting more homers. He’s only had an OPS below .894 once in his career, and is a very patient hitter who is willing to draw a walk. Another positive of this signing is that Bay has been a great hitter with RISP (.360 avg, 82 RBI), something which has hindered the Mets in the past few year.
Even with the addition of Bay, the Mets are far from a playoff team. Looking around the NL East, the Mets as constructed are probably a third place team. Here are a few moves that need to be made for the Mets to make the playoffs:
1) Sign a starting catcher to a one year deal- I have no problem with the Mets wanted Bengie Molina. He would be a solid addition to the lineup in terms of power, and he is a very gifted defensive catcher. The problem I have with him is that he is 35, had a career year last year, and he has no clue what a walk is (only 13 walks in 491 at bats in 2009). To sign him to the three year deal he desires or even to a two year deal would be a big mistake. If he is willing to take a one year deal, and hold the spot in the major leagues until Josh Thole (I am a big believer in his offensive ability) gets a little more comfortable behind the plate, I’m all for it. If he’s not willing to take a one year deal, move onto Rod Barajas who might accept a one year deal or just stick with a combo of Omir Santos and Henry Blanco for the season.
2) Sign at least one starting pitcher- The Mets pitching rotation was atrocious last season besides for Johan Santana. Maybe the infield of Alex Cora and Luis Castillo hurt Mike Pelfrey last year, maybe Oliver Perez will bounce back next year (ha), maybe John Maine will be healthy and pitch like he did in 2007. If you couldn’t tell there are a lot of question marks surrounding the Mets rotation, not to mention Santana is coming off surgery himself. If the Mets want to compete with their division rivals, they need to add at least one, preferably two more starting pitchers. The player who I think would be a good risk is Ben Sheets. The guy has major health problems over his career, but to sign him to a one year deal would be low risk, high reward and a smart move for the Mets. That being said the Mets still need a pitcher who will be reliable to make his starts and pitch well (not like Livan Hernandez). Joel Pinero could be the type of pitcher the Mets are looking for. The thing that worries me is that he had a career year working under the best pitching coach in baseball (Dave Duncan), and he probably will not be able to replicate the success he had in 2009. Unless he is willing to sign a two year deal, I would try and avoid him. This is why I think the best move would be to sign Sheet to a one year deal and pair him up with a guy like John Garland who can eat up innings and still be an effective starter. Some other guys id like to see the Mets to sign to minor league deals are Shawn Hill, Noah Lowry and offer a major league deal to Chien-Ming Wang.
3) Sign another lefty for the bullpen- I really like what Omar Minaya has done with the bullpen this year. Instead of spending a ton of money on a guy to setup, he made low risk high reward signings on guys like Ryota Igarashi, Clint Everts, and Kelvim Escobar. I still think the Mets need a second lefty in the bullpen. Pedro Feliciano has been great as the primary lefty specialist in recent years, but when he pitches against guys like Ryan Howard and Chase Utley 18 times a season he loses his effectiveness. I think signing a guy like Will Ohman or Joe Beimel would be extremely beneficial to the team in the long run.
4) Find a guy who could platoon with Daniel Murphy at 1b- I do not want the Mets to re-sign Carlos Delgado. I am not convinced he is truly recovered from his surgery and I think the Mets need to go in another direction in terms of leadership. I still think Murphy can hit, and the Mets should let him play a lot this season to see what type of player he is and if he has a future with this team. Ike Davis will probably be ready by 2010, so there is no reason to sign a 1b to a long-term deal. Signing a guy like Ryan Garko would solidify the bench and platoon with Murphy at 1b.
5) Sign Orlando Hudson- I know this isn’t likely to happen, but I think it would really help improve the team. Castillo has been a great disappointment since his arrival to the team. His defense has gotten worse, and he has trouble hitting the ball out of the infield. Signing a guy like Hudson, who WANTS to play for the Mets and is a great clubhouse influence would really help change the persona of this team. Add his defense with Reyes and you have a great double play tandem who would help scoop up the ground balls that Pelfrey produces and Hudson has a lot more pop in his bat than Castillo. So I say sign Hudson, even if it means moving Castillo to the bench, and find a taker for Castillo later or and if there are none buyout his contract.
Mets Sign Jason Bay
WFAN reports that the Mets have reached agreement with Jason Bay on a four year contract worth $66 million. Mike Francessa on his radio show also said that the team and Bengie Molina were far apart in talks.
The physical has not been completed so the Mets are refusing to confirm the deal, but it was agreed on, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. He says that Boston may have been concerned about his shoulder and passing the physical is no guarantee. Jon Heyman also says that the physical is no guarantee and would be “a marathon”. The Red Sox found some “physical issues” with Bay that apparently the Mets are okay with. Heyman goes on saying that ”regarding physical issues, it’s thought to be the knees & shoulder. But bay did average 154 games his last 5 yrs.”
It’s certainly odd that Bay took this long to reach an agreement with the team, but he’s the corner outfield guy the Mets have been looking for to put in their lineup with Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes and David Wright. The Mets “feel Bay fits Citi- pulls in park they say ball jumps to left” according to Peter Gammons. There’s a vesting option for a 5th year that should be easily obtained, according to Joel Sherman. He’ll make $16.5 million per season. ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says that the vesting option could make the deal a five year, $80 million deal.
Bay batted .267/.384/.537 last year with 36 homers, 119 RBI’s, 29 doubles, three triples, 94 walks and 162 strikeouts with 13 steals. His defense left something to be desired last year, as did his strikeouts, but he’s definitely the power hitter New York lacked last season.
Inside The NBA- Tuesday
Kings Resign Petrie
While the Sacramento Kings are far from a contender in the Western Conference, the Maloof brothers seemed satisfied enough with their rebuilding process to give GM Geoff Petrie a three-year contract extension, according to the AP. The Kings are off to a solid 14-16 start (including 11-5 at Arco Arena) led by first year head coach Paul Westphal and dynamic rookie G Tyreke Evans, who is by leaps and bounds the early Rookie of the Year frontrunner. Though he has a few bad contracts to get rid of, he has a franchise player to build around and another dynamic scorer in Kevin Martin, along with big men like Spencer Hawes and John Brockman and young rising stars like Jason Thompson and Omri Casspi. Sacramento definitely has a bright future and Petrie was rewarded for it.
D-League Digest
-Check out the latest D-League call-up candidates, along with the Contra Costa Times saying that Golden State is looking at former Bobcat call-up and current Iowa Energy star Cartier Martin, who had 25 in Iowa’s 100-95 win over the Erie Bayhawks. Another call-up candidate Desmond Farmer scored 34 as the Tulsa 66ers defeated the Reno Bighorns. Albequerque Thunderbirds F Carlos Powell On Monday, former Georgia star and potential call-up Sundiata Gaines scored 31 and dished out seven assists but his Idaho Stampede fell 112-109 to the Utah Flash.
-Fomer Jazz reserve Morris Almond leads the league in scoring at 28 points per game. Assists are led by Erie’s Cliff Clinkscales and Iowa Energy and former Iowa State star Curtis Stinson, who each have 9.4 per game. Austin’s Dwayne Jones leads the league in rebounds with 14.8 followed by former Memphis star and current Houston Rockets send-down Joe Dorsey who has 13.6 per game for Rio Grande Valley.
