Utah a Possible Destination for Ben Gordon?
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Depending on what he would cost the Jazz, the addition of Gordon would be a good one. He would certainly add defense-stretching shooting range to a team that, despite the presence of Memo Okur, Kyle Korver, C.J. Miles and Williams, could use more. It certainly looks like Gordon will not play again in Chicago, but, in my opinion, several things would have to happen for the Jazz to acquire him. The Bulls and Gordon would have to agree to a contract and sign-and-trade arrangement. The Jazz would also have to decide he was worth a long-term investment. I don't think Gordon or his agent would lose any leverage they have by agreeing to a one- or two-year deal just to get out of Chicago. Step No. 2: If Jazz vice president of basketball operations Kevin O'Connor and coach Jerry Sloan liked the idea of having Gordon on their team, they would have to come up with a deal that would intrigue the Bulls. Certainly, Andrei Kirilenko is Utah's most logical bargaining chip, and Chicago might be interested in him, although he plays a lot like Deng and Nocioni. It's possible the Bulls might feel they were duplicating talent by adding Kirilenko.

Chicago might consider throwing a young big man into a deal with Gordon, but neither Tyrus Thomas or Joakim Noah have proven themselves. I'm not sure the Jazz would have keen interest in either one.

On the other side of things, who would the Jazz have to give up, besides Kirilenko? I don't know if Ronnie Brewer would be enough to seal any Kirilenko-Gordon deal, and the same thing goes for Matt Harpring or Miles. I'm also guessing the Jazz would not include Carlos Boozer or Okur in any deal with Chicago. If they did, the Bulls would have to include several players from the group I already mentioned, most likely Hinrich and Thomas or Noah. If that happened, you would be getting into "blockbuster" territory, and I think the Jazz are in a tweak-and-grow mode with their current roster.

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takyo said:
damn first it's ellis then kobe??? wtf!

those are 2 of my favorite players and i was hoping that i could draft them come FL season...

mas ok naman na sa simula ng season sila magpa-surgery... para mid-season makabalik na sila sa line-up... at least kung dehado team nila may pag-asa pang bumawi...

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Bobcats to Look Into Acquiring Sheed?
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Joe Dumars made it clear after last season that he would entertain offers for any of his star players. I think it's safe to say that he probably even initiated a few calls involving Billups or Prince. But I never got the impression from talking to GMs around the league that Dumars was actively shopping those guys. I still think Rasheed Wallace is likely to be traded sometime this season, maybe to Charlotte where he can hook up with Larry Brown and all those former fellow Tar Heels. But I also could see a scenario where Dumars decides to keep the core together for one more run.

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another guard for the lakers...

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/basketball/nba/08/27/bc.bkn.lakers.crawford.ap/index.html?eref=si_nba

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buti nakayanan pa ni Kobe maglaro sa Olympics bago siya magpa-opera...

all-star pa rin ang LAL, di naman sila siguro mangungulelat kahit wala si Kobe sa start ng season...

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Finally, I'm a LEGEND...
33 DAYS TO GO BEFORE CHRISTMAS

aw di pa nag uumpisa nba season injured na agad monta ellis 4 3months

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by zaltik...

on Kobe, i don't think he'd miss many games. hell, i don't even he'd miss a game at all if he goes with that pinky surgery. he still has enough time to heal and get ready for the opening of the regular season.

on the rumored Jazz-Bulls trade, AK for Gordon doesn't sum up. if Utah is really shopping AK, they could get someone better than Deng. and i don't think the Jazz GM are ready to break the core the team, not just yet. maybe before the trading deadline.

on Sheed possibly reuniting with former coach Brown in Charlotte, well, that could happen but not until Feb. i believe JD would like to see how would this core do early in the season and perhaps if he'd like what he would see, he'd opt to keep all of them at least for this season.

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Not with my opinion pareng wenong..i really think the Jazz would love to have Gordon if they would be given a chance..not because they love Gordon's game, but because they would love to unload AK whom last year said he's unhappy with his role with the Jazz..

As the post said..AK-Ben won't work not unless both parties involve 1 or 2 players...if i'm the Jazz GM i'd throw something like this AK-Brewer for Gordon-Noah..1 front court player and 1 backcourt player for each of the team..i guess that would be fair..

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Memphis Signs Hamed Haddadi
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The Memphis Grizzlies signed free-agent center Hamed Haddadi, who led all 2008 Olympians in rebounding and blocks, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Ahvaz, Iran native recently participated in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, where he was the only player to average a double-double (16.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks) in Olympic competition while playing five games for the Iranian National Team. The 7-2, 254-pound center had his best performance came against eventual bronze medal winner Argentina when he had a team-high 21 points and game-high 16 rebounds on Aug. 16. “We are pleased to sign Hamed,” said Wallace. “He is a young center who was very productive as a rebounder, shotblocker and scorer at the Rocky Mountain Revue Summer League in Salt Lake City, Utah, the 2008 Olympics and the FIBA Diamond Ball Tournament in Nanjing, China prior to the Olympics. Our coaching staff is eager to begin working with Hamed.”

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^^^wow! the Griz wasted no time to sign the Iranian center. with Hamed and Marc inked for next season, Darko's days as a Griz maybe numbered as there are alreay rumors about the possible Memphis-NY deal that would include Z-Bo and Darko in the mix.

pareng korn, if Utah's goal is just to unload AK's big contract which is more likely for them to resign CBooz to a long contract come 2010, then they could do just that and have better players from other teams than the Bulls. IMO, the Jazz should wait a little longer before dealing AK.

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wenong said:
pareng korn, if Utah's goal is just to unload AK's big contract which is more likely for them to resign CBooz to a long contract come 2010, then they could do just that and have better players from other teams than the Bulls. IMO, the Jazz should wait a little longer before dealing AK.

The problem pare is, no other team has interest with AK because of his big contract and his not so improving type of play..so the Jazz management might as well pick the first team that would give them signs of wanting to acquire Kirilenko..there is a high possibility that if they don't, then baka wala ng magkinteres pang iba kay AK...baka wala pa silang makuhang ibang kapalit na ka-value ni AK pag nagkataon..

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^^^you got a valid point there pareng korn. AK-Brewer for Gordon-Noah seems fair enough. Noah could be an insurance for the Jazz just in case CBooz won't resign with them. but still, there's no reason to rush things. let's see how this would develop.

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Spurs' Ginobili says he needs surgery on heel
08/29/2008 | 11:17 PM

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili says he needs arthroscopic surgery to repair a ligament injury in his left heel after playing for Argentina in the Beijing Olympics.

"They're going to operate on me," Ginobili was quoted as saying by Argentina's La Nacion newspaper Friday.

Ginobili, who helped lead Argentina to a bronze medal in Beijing, said a subsequent MRI exam of his injured ankle showed no improvement.

"It's the same as it was two months ago, when they did the first exam," he said. "It's not worse, which is important. Now, the thing is, it's not better either, and it seems like the only way to repair it completely is arthroscopic surgery."

Ginobili first hurt the ankle during the NBA playoffs, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had urged his player not to compete in the Olympics unless the injury improved. Ginobili had to sit out the bronze-medal match against Lithuania after feeling pain during the semifinals against the United States.

Ginobili, 31, said he doesn't know what doctor will perform the surgery or when.

"Aside from this situation, I'm comfortable with the situation," he said. "My plan was to be part of the Olympic games, and I knew that if I suffered from pain they would have to operate. This isn't something that took me by surprise." - AP

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Healthy Andrew Bynum makes L.A. Lakers a favourite in 2008-09

Today’s NBA news mixed with analysis ...

News:

Lakers center Andrew Bynum might not be quite ready to start playing NBA basketball just yet. But the 7-footer looks bigger and stronger than ever, and is able to run with no apparent effects from the knee injury that wiped out his season last January.



At least that’s the report from Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, who traveled to Atlanta this week along with VP Jim Buss and Director of Scouting Bill Bertka to check in on his rehabilitating 20-year-old star.

"He looks to be in great shape. He looks ready to go," Kupchak said in a phone interview Thursday. "There’s no reason to believe he won’t be 100 percent for training camp." (CNNSI, Marty Burns)

Quick Analysis: Times have changed for Andrew Bynum. In August of 2007, he was downplaying Kobe Bryant’s cell phone rampage and trying to ignore those Jason Kidd rumours.

Today, he’s hailed as the missing link to the Lakers’ title hopes. After all, Bynum was the NBA’s best young post before sustaining a January knee injury, which sidelined him for the season. A healthy ‘manchild’ makes last year’s NBA Finals much more competitive.

So you can understand Mitch Kupchak’s check-up in Atlanta. Without Bynum, the Lakers are an elite team. With him, they’re the favourite in 2008-09.

Their starting unit is outstanding. Bryant is a superstar, Fisher is a solid point guard, and the frontcourt, with a healthy Bynum, is arguably the NBA’s best. The bench is ten, eleven deep; Coach Phil Jackson is an all-time great.

The pieces are there. And Bynum, if he returns to form, can come full circle and play hero.

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Kobe's a cool dude, says Sav
BY TIM KEEBLE
29/08/2008 900 AM

TAKE it from Australian Boomers forward Glen Saville - NBA superstar Kobe Bryant is "a good bloke".

Saville returned to Wollongong on Tuesday with fond memories of Beijing.

The two-time Olympian will fly to Adelaide today to join his Hawks team-mates for tomorrow night's pre-season trial against the 36ers.

Yesterday the Mercury caught up with Saville to find out what it was like to take on the NBA's best players.

While Bryant's USA team-mates didn't win many friends on the way to winning the gold medal at Beijing, Saville said the famous Los Angeles Lakers guard left a lasting impression for all the right reasons.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, Kobe carried himself way above every other person on that team," he said.

"I'd heard and read stuff about him in the past, but he was a class act all the way through, even going back to when we played them at the pre-Olympic tournament in Shanghai.

"Most of the other guys on that team just acted like prima donnas. They just carried on like pork chops," he added.

One of those Saville was referring to was Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade.

Matched against the Americans in the quarter-final, Saville lined up a three-pointer and was fouled hard by Wade when the gold medal favourites were comfortably ahead late in the game.

The pair exchanged words, with the Wollongong Hawks forward letting Wade know he wasn't happy about the unnecessary cheap shot.

"He didn't make a play at the ball, he just ran straight at my legs," the 32-year-old said.

"He said 'You got the foul', and I just asked him would he have liked it if I'd done the same thing to him.

"You kind of want to say more, but it's hard to talk trash when you're down 30."

Saville's defensive assignments didn't start and finish with Wade and Bryant in Australia's 31-point quarter-final loss to the eventual champs.

He also had the unenviable task of squaring off with Cleveland Cavaliers dynamo LeBron James.

"One time you come down the floor and you're guarding Kobe Bryant, the next time down you're guarding LeBron James," he said.

"It was awesome. Not many people get the opportunity to guard those guys in the same game, and I really enjoyed it.

"LeBron talks a lot of smack (sledging) and he was talking it to me when I shot a three over him. I might've said something back if the shot went down, but he just talks non-stop."

After seven years in the national side, Saville initially had believed he would step down from international duty after Beijing.

But he has left the door open.

"I thought maybe my body might not be up to it again, but I talked to Goorj (coach Brian Goorjian) and he told me not to jump the gun too early.

"I'll have a good think about it and wait and see what happens with the big revamp coming up for Australian basketball," Saville said.

"If I do retire from the Boomers, I get to do it on my own terms, and it's a really good way to finish.

"Our results were better than Athens and I came away with a lot of good memories.

"Now that the NBL season is close again, I'm just looking forward to putting the Hawks singlet on again," he added.

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