[Dre™]

Watch the Knicks shock everybody...if they run, which Isiah wants to do, they can make the playoffs. If they cannot make the playoffs, running, with Marbury, Francis, Crawford, Frye, Robinson, Q...come on.

[L]

Lebron accepts 5yr extension, saw it on espnnews, blah blah blah.

[edwardcyh]

Originally Posted by 2dumb2live

Lebron accepts 5yr extension, saw it on espnnews, blah blah blah.

LOL... were you not expecting that?

[L]

Originally Posted by edwardcyh

LOL... were you not expecting that?

hence the blah(because of the unexpectedness and i had to say it twice now...)

[edwardcyh]

The Pistons have narrowed their search for another wing scorer to Ronald Murray, Chucky Atkins and Tony Delk, according to the Detroit News ...

Pistons: Notebook

Making an impression

The flying elbow caught him between the eyes. A lesser man would have been knocked out.

Nik Caner-Medley , though, didn't come here to get knocked out. He took a few minutes to regain his equilibrium and then proceeded to score 10 points and grab just about every loose ball in the Pistons' 80-67 summer-league victory over the Wizards on Saturday.

"He's a tough kid, no doubt about that," said Don Zierden , a Pistons assistant coach who is running the team in Las Vegas. " A lot of guys wouldn't have gone back in."

Caner-Medley, undrafted after starting four years at Maryland, is making a bid to be in an NBA camp next fall, preferably the Pistons.

"I like him," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "He's a guy who's really, really aggressive, plays hard, has the ability to shoot and is a lot more athletic than people give him credit for. He's a guy that's definitely going to play in our league."

Caner-Medley is strongly-built at 6-foot-8, in the mold of Utah's Matt Harpring . His natural position is small forward but he can play shooting guard. He's big and strong enough to guard some power forwards. As he showed in his pro debut Saturday, he can beat people off the dribble and finish at the basket. Despite an awkward left-handed shooting stroke, he has nice touch from the perimeter.

The problem, at least for the Pistons, is that Caner-Medley might end up showing too much. The Pistons would love to bring him to training camp to fight for a backup position at small forward, but they expect other teams might get into the bidding.

Porter's here

The Pistons are still waiting for a commitment from former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Terry Porter . They have offered Porter an assistant-coaching position, and they expect he will accept. Porter, though, is part of group trying to buy the Portland Trail Blazers.

Although their bid appears to be short, Porter doesn't want to commit to the Pistons until the deal is dead. "I don't know how much longer it's going to take," Porter said. The Pistons appear to be willing to wait.

Free-agent front

The Pistons have narrowed their search for another wing scorer to three candidates -- Cleveland's Flip Murray , and former Pistons Chucky Atkins and Tony Delk . The Pistons are offering their bi-annual exception, which is a two-year deal worth $3.5 million.

In the event that all three options fall through, the Pistons also are contemplating acquiring Bobcats veteran point guard Brevin Knight . The Pistons likely would offer Dale Davis in a trade. Both players are in the final year of their contracts.

Contrary to some reports, the Pistons are not trying to land Atlanta's Al Harrington in a sign-and-trade deal. After Ben Wallace agreed to sign with the Bulls, the Pistons had pitched a deal to Harrington. But after they signed Nazr Mohammed, the Harrington offer was off the table.

Chris McCosky

[edwardcyh]

Some news with T-wolves and some possible FA moves.

Foye impressive

Timberwolves General Manager Jim Stack reports that top draft choice Randy Foye of Villanova has proved to be a tough kid who has been very impressive in the Las Vegas Summer League. The guard has averaged 26.5 points and 53.8 percent shooting in his first two games, showing an ability to drive to the basket and draw fouls, an option the team hasn't had in recent seasons.

"We're looking for him to maybe be a guy who can even expedite the learning curve and maybe be a contributor for us this year," Stack said. Others who have impressed enough to be invited to training camp, according to Stack, are Tyrone Ellis, who was the leading scorer in the European League two years ago and played in Turkey last year, and Jeremy Kelly, an undrafted point guard from Tennessee-Martin. Then there is 6-9, 260-pound center J.P. Batista of Gonzaga, who might get a invitation to camp, but Stack said he has a long way to go before he can play in the NBA.

As for free agents, Stack said the plan is not to make any moves until the Wolves find out whether they can sign point guard Mike James, who averaged 20.9 points for Toronto last season and is capable of making big shots. The Wolves have made an offer to James and believe they have a good chance of signing him. James has narrowed his choice to the Wolves, Rockets and Mavericks, and his agent, Bill Duffy, told the Houston Chronicle that James would make his decision today.

Apparently the Los Angeles Lakers don't have any interest in signing free agent and former Wolves point guard Marcus Banks after spending their midlevel exception on Vladimir Radmanovic. Banks could be back in a Wolves uniform.

Other free agents the Wolves are considering include Reggie Evans, who was with the Seattle SuperSonics and Denver Nuggets last year; Lorenzen Wright, who was with the Memphis Grizzlies; and Darius Songaila, who was with the Chicago Bulls.

[edwardcyh]

Is it just me, or Songaila's name has been popping up a lot lately.

Aren't the Spurs interested in him also?

[SMDre]

I like what LeBron has done for this off-season. Wade and Bosh have decided to take the short deal. Melo at least thought about it. This will be the trend until the CBA is up.

[StackAttack]

Derek Fisher's on the Jazz now...I guess part of our Golden State troubles are over :P

I always thought he deserved to be an All-Star, at least once.

[The Future7]

Free agency in 3-4 years will be big. Wade, Bron, Bosh, Pierce. Damn. teams need to start getting ready for that.

[edwardcyh]

Hornets owner: New Orleans investors in the lead
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS -- A group of New Orleans-based investors are front-runners for gaining a minority share of the Hornets, team owner George Shinn said Wednesday.

Shinn did not reveal how many other competing investors there are, but said there remain people in Oklahoma City who are interested in buying into the Hornets, even after another Oklahoma group led by Clay Bennett bought the Seattle Supersonics on Tuesday.

Negotiations with New Orleans investors are "much more advanced than the other group," Shinn said after meeting with prospective minority owners at the team's headquarters in a downtown New Orleans high rise.

"If we were running a race, the group here is in front," Shinn said. "But I can't predict what's going to happen. We've got to sell sponsorships and the business community has got to step up and help us, but we think a lot of positive things are moving in our direction."

Bennett led a group that at one time was pushing seriously to buy a majority stake in the Hornets. Shinn, however, has refused to sell more than 49 percent, referring to his NBA franchise as "a family business" of which he intends to remain in charge.

Bennett has said he would not seek to move the Sonics for at least a year while he attempts to negotiate a deal with Seattle and the state of Washington for a new arena and a more favorable lease.

Shinn said the Sonics' sale had little impact on the Hornets' plans since he always intended to return the team to New Orleans, barring another natural disaster here.

"Our plan is to come back. I've said that from Day One," Shinn said. "That's the reason what's happened (in Seattle) hasn't affected me one bit."

Shinn said the New Orleans investor group is comprised of about a dozen people who are looking at buying 35 percent of the team. Shinn said he could not disclose how much investors would have to pay for such a share.

The group includes Crescent City Bank and Trust chief Gary Solomon, who so far is the only member to reveal his involvement publicly. A confidentiality agreement prevents those in the negotiations from disclosing any of the participants other than themselves.

Shinn said he could not predict when a sale of minority shares would take place and had not set a deadline.

Under an agreement approved by the state of Louisiana, which owns the New Orleans Arena, the Hornets will play 35 regular-season games and all playoff games in Oklahoma City during the 2006-07 season. They will play six regular season home games in New Orleans.

Shinn said he remains enthusiastic about the coming season in Oklahoma City, despite the fact that some fans there may be inclined to turn their attention toward the Sonics.

"Right now that market is in my estimation in love with the Hornets," Shinn said. "I'm pleased with Oklahoma. ... I think they've been great. And the deal was to stay there for two years and we've got one more year, and that's it."

[edwardcyh]

Boone surgery worries Nets
July 20, 2006
NY Post

Concerns about the Nets' depth and size surfaced again yesterday.

Rookie forward Josh Boone, one of the Nets' two first-round selections last month, underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder yesterday, the team announced.

"Josh experienced some discomfort in his shoulder during our recent summer league in Orlando," team president Rod Thorn said in a statement. "A subsequent MRI revealed the tear, and all parties involved felt that surgery was the most prudent option at this juncture. We expect him to make a full recovery and to be a contributor to the team during the season."

The 6-foot-10 Boone will be in a sling for two weeks and then begin rehabilitation. The team set no timetable for his return. Boone underwent the operation, performed by Dr. Riley Williams III, at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

The Nets are counting on Boone to help alleviate their serious depth and size issues. They were ecstatic drafting him No. 23 - one slot behind his UConn teammate Marcus Williams.

In Orlando, Boone averaged 10.6 points and a team-high 7.8 rebounds in five summer league games while shooting .615. But Boone was a nightmare at the foul line, shooting a dismal .278.

But the Nets aren't looking at his foul shooting. His size is what intrigues a team with power forward worries. Jason Collins was hampered by leg and knee ailments last season. Reserve Cliff Robinson will be 40 in December (plus, he'll sit the first two games under NBA suspension).