LeBron James is partying at the thought of all the NBA players available in 2009

Even with all the big name free agents in 2010, with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh in the group, the year 2009 could still be the year of the free agent.

Try this out for 2009.

Some of the Restricted Free Agents: Andrew Bynum, Marvin Williams, Jason Maxiell

Some of the players that can opt out of contracts: Kobe Bryant, Carlos Boozer, Rip Hamilton, Hedo Turkoglu

True Free Agents: Shawn Marion, Andre Miller, Rasheed Wallace

So what about money?
Some teams are loaded depending on what happens.

Thunder 25 – 30 million
Trail Blazers 15 – 32 million
Grizzlies 18 – 24 million
Pacers 11 million
Heat 10 million
Bobcats 10 million

Plain and Simple, there will be lots of player movement in 2009 in the NBA.

story source espn

Photo source newscom

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Man, oh man. What is Isiah thinking now? He talks about winning championships in New York. He talks about staying and winning with some of the guys he has now.

What is he thinking?

Now as a long time Piston fan there is a soft spot in my heart for Isiah. He came to the Pistons as a small guard leaving Indiana early. He talked about winning championships. Isiah won championships.

Almost immediately he made the team better back then. He was full of fire and felt unstoppable. Every year he added something to his game.

As better players surrounded him, he played even better and took over the leadership role of the team backed by Bill Laimbeer.

Now with the New York Knicks, Isiah is still talking Championships.

I believe in (the team) and I believe that this is also the time that you can make serious mistakes with your roster that could set you back another three, four years,” Thomas said. “We have good talent, we have good players, we have young players.

“We have a good nucleus and we just (need) them to play well together. It’s not about breaking them up or tearing them down, it’s about getting them to play better as a team.” source

Do we believe him?

Thrown out

Remember, the Pistons Bill Davidson, the owner, threw him out. Later his backcourt mate, Joe Dumars got the GM job of the Pistons and turned them back into a powerhouse.

Remember that arch rival Larry Bird threw him out. Larry is the GM of Indiana and Isiah was the coach.

How can James Dolan, the GM at New York not throw him out.

Train wreck

Isiah has consistently picked up overrated selfish players, including my all time favorite Stephon Marbury, who admits he plays for the money! Then he overpays them!

The team is a wreck heading for a bigger wreck.

But do we believe him?

That must be the question that haunts James Dolan, because Isiah is still there. Still going at it.

To hear Isiah is the hear the same contagious confidence he displayed in Indiana and in Detroit.

Plenty of New Yorkers would disagree. Fans routinely chant for Thomas to be fired during Knicks games, and last month a group held a giant pink slip during a rally to express those wishes.

But Thomas said he wants to be remembered in New York as he is in Detroit, where he led the Pistons to two NBA championships during a Hall of Fame playing career.

“I don’t necessarily just want to win a championship. I want to leave something that’s going to stand for a long time. I want to leave a legacy, I want to leave tradition,” Thomas said. “I want to leave an imprint, a blueprint in terms of how people play, and how they coach and how they respond when they put on the Knick uniform.

But do we believe him?

NBA Basketball Fan Question How is Isiah keeping his job?

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Hmm, Kobe ponders where to play?

Summer of 2009.

Mark it on your calendar. Well, don’t mark the whole dang summer. It was just an expression.

Anyway, Summer of 2009 is when Kobe can walk out of LA as a Free (Agent) man.

Where oh Where will Kobe go? Sounds like a start to a good poem.

5 top reporters were polled on the possibility of the Lakers trading him first. Where would he go? (Must be they forgot about me, huh?)

The reporters are J.A. Adande, ESPN.com, Chris Broussard, ESPN The Mag, Ric Bucher, ESPN The Mag, Chris Sheridan, ESPN.com, and Marc Stein, ESPN.com.

Wait a minute; those are 5 ESPN reporters, which is why yours truly was not asked.

To get on with the story, Adande said Kobe would go to the Bulls.

The Bulls have a wealth of talented, smart young players. But the Lakers have to hold out for Luol Deng and/or Ben Gordon. They can’t make the same mistake they made the last time they dealt a superstar, when they sent Shaquille O’Neal to Miami and didn’t get a single all-star in return. source

The Bulls, of course, are dreaming it would be the second coming of MJ with the only problem in that scenario being that there is only one Michael Jordan.

Broussard has Kobe going to maybe Chicago, maybe Dallas, but not Phoenix. Geez, make up your mind.

I think Dallas will be in the hunt (if I were the Mavs, I’d trade Dirk for Kobe straight up). Forget the Knicks, and I don’t see how Phoenix can get it done without breaking up its duo of Nash and Stoudemire.

Hmm, Dirk on the Lakers? Why would they do that? Kobe shoots enough without having a 7 foot outside gunner. No knock on Dirk as he is a perfect fit for the shoot before you blink Dallas team.

Bucher thinks Dallas or Chicago and ponders the Celtics.

If the Lakers would accept a Paul Pierce package, he’d happily go play with KG and Ray Allen. Would the Lakers accept a Suns package that didn’t include Nash or Amare? He’d go there, too.

My guess is that Chicago remains the only logical choice for both Kobe and the Lakers, because it puts him in the East, far from L.A. — as well as San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix, if you can smell what I’m steppin’ in. He does have a no-trade clause, so he won’t go just anywhere and he won’t go to a team stripped of contention by the deal.

Hey, this Chicago/Dallas thing is getting old. Kobe has a no trade clause and these are the only two teams on his short list with Phoenix on the long list.

Sheridan also has Kobe going to the Bulls and amuses us with the number of players needed in return to match salaries. Another interesting notion he gives us is the Knicks.

But no one has deeper pockets than Dolan, who would be more than willing to pay Kobe’s full trade kicker and give him an extension that would make even Allan Houston jealous.

Still, there’s always the question of whether the Lakers would accept anything offered by New York, which would try to overwhelm the Lakers with some voluminous combination of Jamal Crawford plus young talent on rookie contracts (David Lee, Renaldo Balkman, Nate Robinson, Randolph Morris), plus Malik Rose or Quentin Richardson for salary cap purposes.

What is that smell? Is it David Stern thinking of reviving the Chicago market or better yet jump starting the New York market?

Sheridan also toys with the idea of a New Jersey trade of Vince Carter. Unfortunately, Vince is no Kobe.

Stein brings up the point that Kobe Bryant has the only no trade clause in the NBA. The only one in the NBA (that beared repeating). How stupid is Jerry Buss?

The only teams on Kobe’s list are Chicago, Phoenix (not going to happen), and Dallas.

So what does your NBA Hit and Run Obsessed author think? How funny it would be to trade him to Miami! Actually, it is easy to say Chicago, but if Kobe allowed it, the Nets, Celtics, Cavs, and Pacers all have possibilities.

We will have to keep tabs on how this unfolds.

But the handwriting is on the wall. Kobe will not be a Laker for much longer.

NBA Basketball Fan Question What city do you have Kobe going to?

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Whatever happened to the Isiah we all loved as a Piston.

He was fiery and focused and always found a way to beat you.

Now Isiah is not just a bad General Manager, he has elevated his game to a bad person.

 And still he gets off.

Post from: NBA Obsessed

It is time to play four quarters of basketball.

Pre-Game – Isiah is in court for sexual harassment.

Keys for the game:

• How did it come to this?
• How did Isiah Thomas get there?

1st Quarter – Isiah Thomas has been to the mountain.

His college team, Indianapolis University, wins the NCAA tournament with Isiah as the star point guard playing for the always rough and tumble Bobby Knight.

Isiah leaves after his sophomore year to join the Pistons. Many teams are doubtful because of his size. In the Early Years, it is all Isiah and Kelly Tripucka.

2nd Quarter – Chuck Daly comes in to coach and Jack McCloskey is added as General Manager. The talent level grows with each new addition by Trader Jack, while Chuck applies his masterful system of keeping the players hungry and happy.

The Pistons win two titles. Isiah is the team leader; the heart and soul of the team. He uses Bill Lambeer as his enforcer in the locker room.

Half Time – Isiah once scores 25 points in a playoff game against the Lakers in one quarter! More astonishing, he does it on a severely sprained ankle.

Thomas makes the list of 50 All Time players in the NBA.

3rd Quarter – Isiah retires from the Pistons and owner Bill Davidson has a fight with him and kicks him out of the organization.

Isiah does a poor job of coaching the Pacers and GM Larry Bird kicks him out of the organization.

4th Quarter - Isiah becomes the worst GM in history (until Matt Millen of the Lions) for the New York Knicks. He continuously signs selfish players for too much money. He has a great eye for talent and a lousy eye for teammates that sacrifice for one and other.

For whatever reason, the Knicks do not kick him out.

Post Game: Isiah goes to court for sexual harassment.

He said an incident in which he allegedly dragged the plaintiff by the arm and accosted her after a loss to the Jazz never happened. In fact, according to Thomas, he spoke with Garden president Steve Mills after that game and didn’t even raise his voice. Browne Sanders might or might not have been present, Thomas said.

Thomas’ testimony began on Tuesday afternoon and will resume on Wednesday, when he is expected to continue to deny that he sexually harassed Browne Sanders.

Isiah has reached rock bottom.

He said – She said

Browne Sanders testified that Thomas subjected her to a hostile work environment by lacing conversations with profanities and treating her harshly during his first year on the job, before reversing tactics and smothering her with inappropriate sexual advances in his second year.

Thomas testified that Browne Sanders made his job more difficult and got in his way by trying to undermine his authority. He said he always treated her with respect and never directed any profanities at her. source

Rock Bottom.

NBA Basketball Fan Question – Did you see this coming?  What has happened to Isiah?

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Post from: NBA Obsessed