[A KiD Named MiLLy]

I'm not a big fan of the Lakers but them not re-signing Trevor Ariza makes me go

Ariza is so underrated and still a young quality player...

[Necro]

The Los Angeles Clippers opened a starting position for No. 1 pick Blake Griffin on Wednesday.

The team agreed to trade power forward Zach Randolph to the Memphis Grizzlies for swingman Quentin Richardson, sources told ESPN.com's Chad Ford. The deal was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

The trade can't be finalized until the league establishes the salary cap July 8 and lifts the moratorium on player movement.

The Clippers acquired Randolph from the Knicks last November to fill the void left by Elton Brand signing with the Sixers. Randolph averaged 20.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per contest in 39 games for Los Angeles. A knee injury cost him time, however, and the Clippers limped to the worst record in the league.

On draft night, the Knicks traded Richardson to the Grizzlies for center Darko Milicic. Richardson won't play a game for Memphis. The nine-year veteran averaged 10.2 points and 4.4 rebounds last season. He now returns to the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2000 draft.

Source: Espn

I'm sure Richardson is thrilled to back to the clippers.

[Twist of lEMOn]

Originally Posted by A KiD Named MiLLy

I'm not a big fan of the Lakers but them not re-signing Trevor Ariza makes me go

Ariza is so underrated and still a young quality player...

I'd say Ariza is more overrated now and days, hes not the sleeper he was a year or two ago. Everyone knows who he is now, hes a very good, if not great defender and a decent spot up shooter. Odom is much, much more important to what there doing right now, good defenders come and go, not every player can run the Triangle like Odom.

Personally I'm loving this Offseason now that the Pistons wasted all there cap room and left Portland and Toronto as the place players want to go. All the rumors about Ariza or Turk are good, Kleiza? even better depth, Rasho coming back for the vet min? sweet, Delfino coming back? awesome. Anthony Parker wants to infect the Celtics with his shitty play? fucking great.

Thank god for Cap space.

[Necro]

Artest going to Lakers

The newly minted NBA champions made what amounts to a daring trade Thursday night, shaking up the league's second day of free agency by essentially swapping out on-the-rise swingman Trevor Ariza for the versatile, physical and famously unpredictable Ron Artest.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Artest have struck an agreement in principal on a multiyear contract that, according to sources close to the process, will total roughly $18.7 million over three years or $33.5 million over five years, depending on which contract structure Artest ultimately prefers. But they had to let Ariza go to create the financial flexibility to do so.

It was Artest, not surprisingly, who was the first to announce his forthcoming partnership with Kobe Bryant and his long-awaited move to the glamour capital of the Western Conference, sharing the news with CBSSports.com and writing in a text message to ESPN.com: "I am happy to say I am goin' to L.A."

ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard reported late Thursday that the financial aspects of the deal have not been finalized, in part because Artest's camp wants more time to weigh its options. Wednesday is the first day players can sign new contracts for the 2009-10 season, after the league announces the new salary-cap ceiling and luxury-tax threshold.

A five-year contract, which Broussard reports would include a player option on the fifth season, would bring Artest added security in case of injury. The shorter three-year deal, though, would enable Artest to return to free agency at 32, with full Larry Bird rights and the potential to sign a more lucrative deal with the Lakers or another team.

Either way, L.A. has made a sudden and surprising splash, at a time when it was widely expected that the Lakers would merely try this offseason to re-sign Ariza and Lamar Odom. ESPN.com reported Wednesday that Ariza was growing frustrated by the Lakers' reluctance to start his new contract higher than the projected mid-level exception for next season of $5.8 million and giving strong thought to signing elsewhere. The Lakers responded not by trying to cool tensions with one of their most important role players but by moving aggressively in another direction to reach terms with Artest instead.

The potential benefits of Artest's arrival are obvious, given his reputation as one of the game's elite defenders whose offense must also be respected. The Lakers have been frequently chided for what they lack in physicality -- at least they were until winning the championship last month for the first time since 2002 -- but that shouldn't be a concern with Artest around.

The concern will be Artest's ability to operate as a role player and reign in his occasionally suspect shot selection alongside Pau Gasol, Odom and Bryant, even though he counts the latter two as two of his closest friends in the game. "Now that we'll have the same purple and gold on, it's going to be that much better," Artest said of his relationship with Bryant in an interview with SportsCenter Thursday night.

Artest is coming off perhaps his best season of citizenship and production, having helped the Houston Rockets reach the second round of the playoffs even after Tracy McGrady was lost to a season-ending knee injury, but cynics dismissed Artest's compliance as a byproduct of the fact that he was in a contract year.

The Lakers, though, ultimately reached the conclusion that Artest's versatility and physical presence were worth gambling on in spite of the player's reputation and even at the expense of sacrificing the sticky defense and increasingly clutch play Ariza supplied throughout the playoffs at age 24. They'll be depending heavily on the presence of 10-ringed coach Phil Jackson on L.A.'s bench to manage Artest and try to get him to mesh as well as Ariza did.

In his text message to ESPN.com, Artest said that he verbally committed to the Lakers after a lunch meeting Thursday with Lakers owner Jerry Buss and speaking by phone to Jackson. Artest, 29, was also briefly pursued by the Cleveland Cavaliers to join LeBron James and Shaquille O'Neal but said that L.A. -- where Artest likes to spend the bulk of his offseason -- was always his preference.

"I am very excited to finally be going to L.A.," Artest said in a statement. "For years now, the Lakers have expressed interest in having me play for them, but we could never get the stars to align. I'm finally a Laker and I can't wait to get on the court with Kobe, Pau and the rest of the team, and play for Phil.

"The Lakers really made me feel wanted. . . . I look forward to helping the Lakers defend their championship, and it will be great to finally not get booed in the Staples Center.

Artest told ESPN he was disappointed that the Rockets were not more aggressive in their attempt to keep him and that he was happy with what he'll make as a Laker, despite the fact that he will be taking a pay cut after earning $7.4 million in his only season in Houston.

"I've made money over my time in the NBA, I lost money when David Stern suspended me [in 2006 for his role in the infamous Pacers-Pistons brawl]," Artest told ESPN. "I'm not playing for the money anymore."

Wow the Lakers are stacked as hell.

I'd say that was an upgrade.

[Dj1223]

yea they are. I know Lebron's probably is pissed. Only free agent out there that can match/top that is Turkolou, and I don't think they can sign him.

[Twist of lEMOn]

Originally Posted by Dj1223

yea they are. I know Lebron's probably is pissed. Only free agent out there that can match/top that is Turkolou, and I don't think they can sign him.

In terms of defense, Shawn Marion is still out there. Marion is underrated but his play at the end of the year stellar when Jose Calderon got him the ball in the open court. I don't know how much Cleveland runs and guns (not often judging from the Orlando series) but he'd be a solid 3 for them.

Oh also, Trevor Ariza turned down a 9mill offer from Toronto (according to his agent) to play in Houston for "Respect"

[Necro]

Ariza is going to a sinking ship.

[Twist of lEMOn]

Originally Posted by ESPN

Hedo Turkoglu has reached an agreement in principle to join the Portland Trail Blazers, according to sources.

Although a verbal commitment may be announced sooner, the terms of the contract cannot be finalized until Wednesday, after the NBA informs teams what next year's salary cap will be.


Turkoglu
The Orlando Magic's recent trade for Vince Carter, who has a large salary and plays small forward -- which is Turkoglu's position -- made it highly unlikely Turkoglu would be back in Orlando.

The Toronto Raptors expressed interest, but that was constrained by their other efforts to keep Shawn Marion and Carlos Delfino.

Turkoglu, a 6-10 forward from Turkey who played a prominent role in the Magic's recent trip to the NBA Finals, had been looking for a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $50 million.


NBA Rumor Central

ESPN Insider has the updated buzz from the National Basketball Association rumor mill.
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Experts believe the cap likely will be somewhere between $57 million and $59 million. If the cap number comes in at the high end, the Blazers can offer close to what Turkoglu is hoping for.

After having dinner with Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan in Florida on Wednesday, Turkoglu flew to Portland Thursday to visit the the team and see the city.

ESPN's Ric Bucher reported that the Turkish star remained in Portland on Friday, where he and the team were working on a deal.

The Blazers, one of the youngest teams in the NBA, had been intent on adding experienced players this offseason. They targeted the 30-year-old Turkoglu as a player who could take pressure off team leader Brandon Roy, who has carried the burden of creating most of the team's scoring opportunities.

suck my dick Kevin prichard!

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

[DD]

Supposedly it's between the Spurs and the Celtics for Rasheed Wallace.

[PY]

I heard AI is interested in Memphis? Blah, that should be fun.