Rumors from the Ass

Past Rumors (06/22/2000):

sorry bout the mass mails, boys, but i got more info for ya. this summer, there's a large selection of free agents out there. granted, most will stay with their teams, but there are a few out there that will jump ship and may possibly change the face of basketball forever. the most notable free agents for this summer are:

1. Tim Duncan, San Antonio - Center

My Take - I don't see him going anywhere. The big-whigs in SA have won a championship riding his back, and they've seen what his absence will do to the team (take this year's playoff 'run', all one round of it). they'll shell out the big bucks for him and give him anything he wants. including his demand that they sign an unknown power forward from saskatchewan name pat telfer (who is this kid?? he's amazing!)

2. Grant Hill, Detroit - Small Forward

My Take - he's outta there. the front office in detroit rock city has made only one move to rebuild the pistons into champions again, and that was for stackhouse. they let houston slip through their fingers a couple years ago and ghill remembers this. hill sees no future in the motor city and will shop his talents around. although any team would be happy with this perennial all-star, the only takers (so far) seem to be san antonio. head west, young man, head west (and kinda south too).

3. Ron Mercer, Orlando - Shooting Guard

My Take - he's been with three teams in his three year tenure in the league - boston, denver (albeit it was only about a week) and now orlando. and, wait, i'm getting a vision, he'll be in another city in the fall. with the possible addition of tracy mcgrady, he should shop his talents elsewhere. a possible fit for him could be the mavs. i know, the mavs suck, but they've got a new owner who is player friendly who's also got some coin backing him. that would make dallas a formadable team with finley, mercer and shawn bradley. wait, bradley sucks ass.

4. Joe Smith, Minnesota - Power Forward

My Take - he's a solid player who gets the job done. unfortunatley, he gets no exposure with garnett on his team, but from what i hear, that doesn't bother him. he resigned with the t-wolves last year for a 1 year contract, look for him to sign a long term deal with them this summer.

5. Tracy McGrady, Toronto - Point Forward (ala Scottie Pippen)

My Take - i'm gonna go out on a limb and say that he stays in TO. with lenny wilkens signing yesterday, i see BIG things for TMac in TO. the only problem will be how tracy feels about being the pippen to vince's jordan. tracy is good enough to be a star on any team, but being in vince's shadow might hurt TO's chances. if he does decide to move, orlando is the main place. although, the trail blazers are interested, too. they could give up a bonzi wells or possibly a rasheed wallace for tmac in a sign and trade deal.

6. Toni Kukoc, Philadelphia - Forward

My Take - he'll stay. no questions.

7. Isaiah Rider, Atlanta - Shooting Guard

My Take - any team that'll take this nut ball for more than the minimum, is stupid. he's a loose cannon that can only bring a team down. just look @ what happend to the hawks. they went from contenders to the clippers on the east coast. i see him being a free agent for many years to come. so long dental plan (lisa needs braces)!

8. Antonio Daniels, San Antonio - Point/Shooting Guard

My Take - remember him?? the man with enough 'potential' for the griz to take him 4th overall a couple years back. well, apparently, he's showing that potential again, but he would be minor signing. if he's smart, he'll stay in SA and ride the coat tails of ghill and duncan to another ring.

9. Glen Rice, LA Lakers - Small Forward

My Take - i see a team with some money and no go-to guy taking him. the question is, which team fits that category?? sonics?? possibly. true, the sonics have GP, one of the best go-to guys in the league (if not THE best), but they need a shooter, and the glove ain't a shooter. ever since they let big smooth go, they haven't been able to recover. also, they're looking @ unloading vin baker. look for a sign and trade deal for vin or possibly rashard lewis.

10. Maurice Taylor, LA Clippers - Power Forward

My Take - well, he's spent his time in hell. done his tour of duty. filled all his obligations. now he's ready to win more than 20 games in one season. his only problem is that power forwards are a dime a dozen in this draft (see fizer, marcus; martin, kenyon; and swift, stromile) and the teams that may be interested in him might just take one of those boys. the sonics would be a good fit for him b/c he can run the court similar to shawn kemp and the sonics could go back to their trapping style that they had to lose with the trade that brought vin. the bucks may be willing to give him a try as he would be a good fit with the big dogg, ray allen and sam cassel. detroit is another possibility b/c taylor is from michigan (if i'm not mistaken) and he played his college ball at the university of michigan.

11. Gheorge Muresan, New Jersey - Center

My Take - i would say the most coveted player in this year's free agent field. wait, no, that's not right. anyway,i say the nets wil sign him. rumour has it that williams is retiring and they might select martin #1, but a rook can only last so long in the post in th NBA. a back-up like muresan would ensure that there is at least a post presence in jersey.

THE GLOVE TO BE MOVING???? that's right. GP may be on the move, but not yet. word has that the raptors (that's right) and the knicks are interested in the point guard, but so far, the sonics gm has said that he will not be moving him and he's not even shopping him around. the glove hasn't asked for a trade, but if baker sticks around and has another lack-lustre season, come trading deadline, GP might be wearing purple and black or blue and orange. personally, i think he'd look better in the purple. it brings out his eyes. and an alley-oop to vince would look nicer than an alley-oop to kurt thomas or patrick ewing or chris dudley. but don't tell bill walton i said that about dudley, after all, he is the only player in the NBA to have diabetes (but bill, look at his free throw percentage, and well, his overall game).

well, that's the news from the NBA. keep it glued to, well, hotmail for more updates.

pat