The free agent carousel

There are 10 big free agents (Bosh, LeBron, Wade, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Nowitzki, Amare, Boozer, Ray Allen and David Lee) on the market tonight at 12:01 am. All these guys will command probably atleast 13 million a year contracts. No one can sign till July 8 so there will be 8 crazy days of rumors and uncertainty. I have a feeling that most of the guys will declare where they will sign before July 8 and all of these 10 will sign somewhere on July 8th. Without further ado, here go my predictions (please excuse my bulls homerism):

Lebron: Bron is obviously the prize of this summer but he can only end up one place. I think Bron will be back in a Cavs uni next year. He will talk to all the teams and im sure he will even entertain signing somewhere else with bosh or wade. But at the end of the day, someone made the best argument and most convincing argument on why Bron will stay. The greats are the greats (Jordan, Kobe, Magic, Bird, etc) because they won with their team. Doesn't everyone have a lesser view of Shaq because he jumped to so many different teams? He is not included with those greats because he did move around. Lebron wants to be included with the Jordans and Kobes and the only way he will be is if he wins multiple championships with the Cavs. He is staying where he is.

Wade: I actually think there is a 50% chance that Dwade will leave Miami which is higher than i have seen other people say. Once he figures out that Bron will not be coming to South Beach, the question will be can he lure someone else. I think he will end up staying but he will have to listen to other teams pitches because it becomes questionable with Bron in cleveland if the heat can beat the Cavs. He will listen to offers but stay in South Beach.

Bosh: Bosh is for sure out of Toronto. He doesnt get enough publicity for how good he is and he doesnt make the ad money that he would make in a big US city. The big question is whether he is tied to Bron or not? I dont think he although im not sure he wants to be the clear #1 on a team. Bosh has exactly the type of game that compliments Noah. The bulls would be the best place for him because he gets to play along a center that plays defense and does the dirty work. Plus, while Bosh is certainly really good, he will only be better with a good PG getting him the ball like Rose. I believe his decision will come down to the Bulls and Knicks. I calling him a bull on July 8th.

Joe Johnson: He is a very good player but he isnt a franchise player like the above 3 guys. He can be a great #2 guy on a good team and i think he knows that. A post presence will only make him better. I think he will only sign after he sees where the power forwards go. But he is known to like the big city and i think his decision will come down to the bulls or knicks. Call him a bull on July 8th to form a great team of rose, him, deng, bosh, and noah.

Dirk Nowitzki: Dirk may listen to offers but he isnt leaving the Mavs. He just opted out so he can get more money and a longer contract. He might listen to offers but he will say with the mavs. Not much to talk about here.

Amare: He is an interesting case because he is pretty much on the same par as Boozer. Both of those guys will probably not sign until after bosh makes up his mind. Amare is a very talented offensive player and will sell some seats. I'm not sure winning is his main concern as much as money is. I think there is a good chance he could go to the highest bidder (he can actually make more money than Bron/Bosh/Wade because he had a higher salary last year). I can see him in New York, New Jersey or in Miami. Let's call it NY because his old coach is there and they are willing to pay to get some stars.

Boozer: I think he wants to come to the bulls or the heat. He wants to win and will be ok with being a #2 player on a team. He has a good post up game but isnt a great defender so playing next to a center who will do the dirty work would definitely be a plus for carlos. Depending on what bosh does, i think the boozer is the bulls' backup plan and will sign with them if bosh doesnt. Otherwise i believe he is in Miami with Dwade.

Paul Pierce: I think he might be the most interesting free agent on the market because i dont think the celtics will give him a max contract. He is old and probably only has 2 to 3 seasons left as a main scoring option on a team. So, will some team like the knicks, nets, or clippers give him 4 or 5 years to get him in the door to improve their team in the near future? I could definitely see it happening. I think he is gone from the celtics and will end up in New York because he will win you games in the near future and they love to give long term contracts.

Ray Allen: His departure will really signal the end of the Celtics run. I think it will take him a while to sign with a team because im not sure what he wants. Does he want money and years or does he want a chance to win? I could see him going for the money and going to the Nets or Knicks or he could be a backup option for teams that whiff on Joe Johnson like the Hawks. I think he will be Hawk at the end of the day.

David Lee: If i was this guy, i would go with whoever bids the highest. He is a good player but playing in D'Antoni's system and on a terrible team has really inflated his numbers. I think he either stays with the Knicks or jumps ship to the Nets. The Nets need players and Lee would look good along side Brook Lopez. Show him the money new jersey.

Also, Rudy Gay is a free agent and i think he will end up with the Twolves who actually have some talent but desperately need a wing scorer.

What this means is that im predicting bosh and joe johnson to the bulls. If not bosh, then definitely boozer. I hope im right.

More Free agents.....

Reports say Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki have both opted out of their contracts with their respective teams. Add their names to the long list of guys who might/should get max contracts this free agency period. While they may not be on par with the Bron, Bosh, Wade trio, both Pierce and Nowitzki are franchise players and they can add an interesting wrinkle on free agency. More to come soon.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/paul-pierce-to-become-free-agent-opt-out-of-contract-062910

http://sports.espn.go.com/dallas/nba/news/story?id=5339661

What a sad story Prior has turned into

He is attempting another comeback. At 29, he is throwing for MLB scouts today in attempt to get a contract. Mark, I wish you the best but i think you need to hang them up. Saddest stat in this little article about him. He won 18 games for the cubs in 2003. He has only won 18 games since. Mark, if you put a hit out on Dusty Baker i think the world would understand.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicagocubs/post/_/id/1325/report-prior-attempting-another-comeback

Pending the Free Agent Bonzana

Look everyone has been awaiting the summer of 2010 for the last 2 years in the NBA and now its 2 days away. This blog will be following it closely and will be bulls heavy here for the next 10 days or so. So, everyone strap in and enjoy the ride.

There are rumors running wild about what will happen with the big 3, wade, bosh and Lebron. It sounds like wade is staying in Miami and bosh will go wherever bron does. So will it be to the bulls? i dont know. i'd put it at a 33% chance between the bulls and the heat and some other wildcard. There is no question that bosh and bron will be the bulls #1 targets and they are the best talents in free agency. But if the bulls whiff on those 2 which i say there will be 66% chance of that happening, who should the bulls look to next?

According to the link below, the bulls already have scheduled a meeting with carlos boozer. He would be a great fit for the bulls. He would not command the max salary which would save the bulls some money. He gives them a post presence and plays good defense. Also, rose would still be the superstar on the team. The bulls also are reported to have a meeting set up with joe johnson. He also is a great fit with the bulls. He is a shooter/score in the ben gordon mode who spaces the floor for Drose. He also isnt a superstar that would take the ball out of drose's hands. He probably doesnt command a max salary either. Bron and bosh are better players no doubt but boozer and johnson would be better fits for the bulls and allow Drose into the superstar that i think everyone believes he can become. Missing out on bron and bosh may not be the worst thing in the world. We will see what happens in 2 days.

http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/nba/news/story?id=5337879

Time to blow up the cubs!

Yep, after last night i have given up on the team this year. This team just can't win. They are too far back and havent shown that they have the right make up to win. I have given up on getting to the playoffs this year. Its time to decide who can help you win next year and get what you can for people that dont fall into that category. Because i do think this team with some tweaks could win next year.

(Note - I wrote this before Z's blow up this weekend. more to come on that)

1. D-Lee. I love him as a cubs player but he is about the best trade bait you have. Plus, the cubs have guys they could plug in at 1b, be it soriano, vitters or Aram. Lee is a free agent this year and the cubs shouldnt want to lock him up longer term. He has a great glove and a good team leader but his slow starts have killed the cubs in 2 out of the last 3 seasons and he cant carry a team offensively. He is a good player but he is presence in the lineup is not irreplaceable. See what you can get for him and pull the trigger.

2. Fukudome. He has to go. Not only is he overpaid but the cubs have better players that need to play over him. He has this year and next year left on his contract at $12 million. Yes, he is overpaid but he can help a team in contention with defense and OBP. Colvin needs to play everyday and the cubs wont be sitting the 18 million man or byrd.

3. Carlos Silva. Yes he has been the cubs best pitcher which is why he needs to go. No other cubs pitcher has a higher trade value and im not sure anyone believes that Silva can pitch like this past this year(he is signed through next year). Plus if you trade him whatever you get back is just another bonus from trading Milton Bradley. A contender would love a groundball innnings eater like Silva.

4. Small parts - Xavier Nady could be a good pitch hitter/4th outfielder on a contending team. John Grabow could maybe be a lefty arm out of a bullpen. Teams are always looking for lefties.

Ryan Theriot - He is a solid baseball player and my favorite cub but if you can get something for him the cubs have a few middle infielders in the minors. Randy Wells - He is still young but he will never be better than a 4th starter and there are a lot of those guys. If you can get value, pull the trigger.

Guys who shouldnt be traded

Starlin Castro - the future, Ryan Dempster - great cub and man, heart of the team, Geo Soto - his a young catcher who is having a comeback year, hard to find, Alfonso Soriano - who would take his salary?, Marlon Byrd - Hard nosed player who is needed to win, Carlos Marmol - he has the best stuff in the majors not named Stratsburg, Sean Marshall - is there anything situation in which this guy cant pitch?, Ted Lilly - I know he is a free agent but he is a winner and the cubs need to resign him to win next year, Aramis Ramirez - Here's why you keep him and not DLee. He plays a tougher position to find a good player, 3B. He also could be moved to 1B very easily. The cubs also dont have any 3b in the pipeline besides Vitters and he is atleast a year away.

If the cubs can move these guys, they would free up money and hopefully get some value/prospects back. This could set up the cubs for a winning year next year by getting some young guys experience and let them sign some players in the offseason.

Reason 899 to hate Farve and the Vikings.......

So, the vikings were wondering why their best player wasnt at the voluntary offseason workouts last weekend. Well, he wasnt resting his just operated on ankle because their best player isnt named Brett Farve. But that is why Farve wasnt at the offseason workouts and because he "hasnt made up his mind about retiring yet/i just dont want to go to training camp". Their best player, Adrian Peterson, the arguably the best RB in the NFL was at a parade. Yep, his hometown was having a parade and party in the town to celebrate Peterson so he went to that. I mean why would he think that he has to show up to mini-camp?? If brett doesnt, why should he? And what is Brad Childress going to say to AP if he brings that up? Brett plays by rules and they dont apply to you! This is the problem with letting Brett Farve do whatever he wants to. Suddenly, the coach loses all his authority. He says its ok to his team to treat players differently which players will start to take advantage of. I understand that star players get treated different to a certain degree but the Farve treatment is on a whole different level. I think this is very clearly the beginning of unrest on the vikings and the reason why they will be a worst team this year. How can you win with a coach that the player's dont respect his authority. They cant which is great for Bears fans!!!

Interview about Lebron's impact on Chicago

Great interview and great sources. A good watch.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=166723

Definitely not Vinny

The bulls have a new coach. His name is Tom Thibodeau. I will take to take to calling him Thbow because he is cooler than tim tebow and his last name is too long. Thbow was the hot coaching candidate of this offseason. He has 30 some years of assistant coaching in basketball, most of it in the NBA. I mean this guy is the anti-Vinny. He doesnt have any head coaching experience but he is known around the nba as a defensive guru and hopefully creative on offense. People know him around the nba and respect him which is more than could be said for Vinny when he came in and probably when he left too. This is a very solid hire and one respected around the league.

I'm happy with the hire because there was no one i really wanted to coach the bulls. There were no big name coaches out there available. No D'Antoi or other proven nba head coaches. Plus unless you have Phil Jackson or someone, in the nba, i dont think a coach makes much of a difference to the players or on the scoreboard. thbow would seem to be a solid coach already who can maybe improve into an elite coach in this league that does make a difference. but still players and talent wins in the nba. thats the bottom line.

so,the big question remains tho: does thbow bring lebron to chicago? The answer is no. i dont think the coach really matters to lebron. i think lebron will go where he thinks he will have the best chance to win a championship. And talent wins championship. If he comes to chicago, its because he believes that the talent of the bulls (rose, noah and crew) can win a championship with him. Thbow wont help bring bron to the bulls and wont stop bron coming either. good start to the offseason, pax and gar. now bring the talent so we can win.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bulls/post/_/id/1003/thibodeau-brings-experience-respect

Trade Winds a blowing...

The trib is reporting that the cubs have had talks with the angels about DLee or Nady. The angels have a huge hole at 1B after the Morales disaster (so glad i kept him in my other fantasy league and built my team around him). Both DLee and Nady will be free agents after this year which is exactly the short term solution that the Angels would be looking for at 1b. The question is which one do the cubs trade? The cubs have too many OFs including Nady and he doesnt really take away from their current team. In fact, it might help the team because Colvin could get more playing time. But, the return on Nady is probably minimal. DLee is another story. He has historically gotten hot beginning in June and is a proven slugger in the middle of the lineup. He would bring more in return from the angels as well. But trading DLee would be giving up on this year. The cubs dont have another 1B or more importantly someone who can hit 3rd in their lineup. The fact that DLee is even being discussed is interesting and may signal that the cubs' management thinks this team cant get it done. Watch closely......

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-0603-around-town--20100602,0,803615.column