Dolphins deal Taylor to skins for picks

The Miami Dolphins have been in rebuilding mode after last season's 1-15 disaster. They wanted to get a fresh start and clear house of the past. Wayne Huizenga, Owner of the Dolphins started in the front office by hiring Bill Parcells as a Special Assitant, Jeff Ireland as a new GM, and Tony Sparano as the new head coach. With the front office changes, the 'Fins decided to make a few changes on the field as well. The Dolphins splurged in Free Agency and got rid of a few cogs of teams from the past like linebacker Zach Thomas. (He has since signed a one year deal with the Cowboys). However the Dolphins still hd Jason Taylor, who despite still remaining productive, was an off field distraction and not a long term solution for the 'Fins. So after numerous failed attempts to trade Taylor in the offseason to the likes of Green Bay, New York, and Minnesota, The Dolphins finally found a trade partner. The Dolphins dealt Jason Taylor to the Washington Redskins for a second round pick in this year's draft and a sixth in next year's draft. Overrall this was a good move on both sides. First for Washington, they needed a pass rusher in the worst way. The Redskins lost two defensive ends (Phillip Daniels and Alex Buzbee) for the season in the first couple days of practice, and didn't think that a Free Agent would help them out in the run. Meanwhile the Dolphins were looking to deal Taylor all offseason who had become more and more of a distraction to the team's new regime. Enter an 11th hour bid from the 'Skins and they land the All-Pro End. Taylor will play for at least two more years (When his contract expires) but after that who knows how long he'll lace em up. Meanwhile the Dolphins get two picks to build around for the future. After a string of terrible drafts, the Dolphins put a very good draft together in April selecting college stars like Jake Long, Phillip Merling, Chad Henne, and Kendall Langford

A's deal again: Blanton to Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Phillies missed out on Rich Harden and CC Sabathia. Manager Charlie Manuel lobbied the front office to land his team another pitcher to throw into the rotation, and they added one on Thursday in acquiring Joe Blanton from Oakland. The Athletics have been looking to move Blanton and almost swung a deal to move him to the Reds. (The Reds offered Homer Bailey, but the A's wanted Johnny Cueto) However the Phillies seem like they will end up big losers in this deal and were in panic mode. The pitching market was razor thin since the 2 big names (Harden & Sabathia) were traded and the names out there were not as appealing (AJ Burnett, Greg Maddux, Zach Duke, Randy Wolf). The Phillies appear to have seriously overpaid for Blanton who is just 5-12 with a 4.96 ERA. Blanton is a workhorse and will throw at least 6 innings a game but he has been lit up by the AL  opponents this year. The NL is a weaker hitting league but Blanton will be a free agent after this year and could very well be a rent a player and leave for more money elsewhere. Billy Beane who seemed to get the short end of the stick in the Rich Harden deal absolutely milked the Phillies in this one. Coming over from Philly are 2B Adrian Cardenas (2nd best prospect in the Phillies system .309 4 HR and 23 RBI's at High A Clearwater), SP Josh Outman (4th best prospect in the Phillies System 5-4 3.20 ERA 1 SV 66 SO 70.1 INN at AA Reading), and OF Matt Spencer (.249 6 HR 41 RBI at High A Clearwater). Cardenas has been compared to Chase Utley with even fielding. Outman can be a solid starter and Spencer probably was the throw in in this deal. Cardenas will probably be sent to High A Stockton or AA Midland, Outman is likely headed for AA Midland and Spencer will most likely go to HIgh A Stockton

  

Posey headed to the Big Easy

The New Orleans Hornets were beaten by the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semi's due to the lack of big game experience in Game 7. That all changed on Wednesday when they acquired James Posey from the Boston Celtics. The Hornets signed Posey for 4 years $25 million and immediatley get a big game player. Posey has won 2 NBA Championships in 3 years and was a vital part to Boston's championship run is a clutch shooter and a very good defender out on the wing and will help the Hornets, who have one of the worst benches. The Celtics wanted to keep Posey but ran into certain problems. Posey and his agent Mark Bertelsen wanted a 4th year but the Celtics only would give him 3 and the Celtics were cash strapped due to the big contracts of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett and could only offer the Mid Level Exception. The Hornets however gave Posey that 4th year and the MLE plus another million bucks, and they nab a vital piece to a team which will already be a strong contender out West. Besides Boston, Cleveland and San Antonio were rumored to be interested in Posey's services.

Nets sign Hayes & Najera

Apparently the New Jersey Nets are fans of Extreme Makeover. Just 9 months removed from starting the season to see if the big three of Richard Jefferson,  Jason Kidd, and Vince Carter could deliver postseason glory, Kidd (Dallas), and Jefferson (Milwaukee) are gone and the Nets have a whole new look. The Nets added their sixth and seventh new player(s) (Eduardo Najera & Jarvis Hayes) in 3 weeks with these signings. Najera, who had offers from Dallas, Denver, New Orleans, and San Antonio, signed for 4 years $12 million. Najera the former Oklahoma star is most noted for his hustle and tough defense which seemed to go to waste on the "shoot first play defense later" Denver Nuggets. He'll also provide veteran leadership to a team which will have most of their players aged under 25. Najera averaged 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds in 21.3 minutes for Denver last year. As for Hayes the former All-American at Georgia he joins the Nets after saving his career in Detroit. Originally drafted by Washington with the 10th pick in the 2003 Draft, Hayes went to Detroit and thrived playing backup to Tayshaun Prince. Hayes averaged 6.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 15.7 minutes a game. Hayes is expected to compete for a starters role at small forward along with the newly acquired Bobby Simmons who came over from Milwaukee along with Yi Jianlian for Richard Jefferson

NEW JERSEY NETS ROSTER

Maurice Ager

Ryan Anderson*

Josh Boone

Vince Carter

Chris Douglas-Roberts*

Devin Harris

Trenton Hassell

Jarvis Hayes*

Brook Lopez*

Eduardo Najera*

Bobby Simmons*

Stromile Swift

Marcus Williams

Sean Williams

Yi Jianlian*

*Newly acquired in 2008 Offseason

Camby to the Clippers

Marcus Camby will now be joining the Los Angeles Clippers. The Denver Nuggets traded their center to the Clippers for a second round pick and a $10 million trade exception. For Los Angeles it looks like they were in panic mode. After losing Elton Brand to Philadelphia, not coming close to getting anything done with Josh Smith of Atlanta or Emeka Okafor of Charlotte, and having the Knicks reject the Clips offer for Zach Randolph, they went after Camby. The Clippers clogged their cap with this move, but it is a very underrated one as well. The Clippers are getting a proven veteran who is a very good defender, rebounder, and can even score a little. Even better for the Clippers his contract comes off the books in 2010, the summer of Lebron, DWade, and Bosh. It may not be the big time guy Baron Davis wanted to play with but still it is a very solid pickup for the Clippers. As for the Nuggets you have to wonder why the heck did they make this trade. Camby was the last player on the Nuggets who actually played defense (Eduardo Najera was the other but he signed with the Nets). The Nuggets are trading a defensive player of the year who is also a huge contributor on offense to a contending team out west. I understand the financial aspects because the Nuggets are screwed in Luxury Tax, they needed cap relief an wanted a spot for Linas Kleiza, but this all but guarantees the Nuggets will be heading home early this spring. The Nuggets get screwed here and if they don't get a valuable player with that $10 million trade exception, they will end up with nothing but a D-League player, and a team which can't outscore the other because they gave their defensive assets away. Clearly the Nuggets don't think that "defense wins championships"

DENVER NUGGETS PROJECTED LINEUP FOR 2008-2009

C: Steven Hunter

PF: Linas Kleiza/Kenyon Martin

SF: Carmelo Anthony

SG: Allen Iverson

PG: Chucky Atkins/Anthony Carter/Taurean Green

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS PROJECTED LINEUP

C: Marcus Camby

PF: Chris Kaman

SF: Al Thornton

SG: Cuttino Mobley 

PG: Baron Davis

Sixers clear cap to land Brand

In order to afford Elton Brand, the Philadelphia 76ers have traded Rodney Carney, Calvin Booth, and a future first round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for a future second round pick. Carney was the team's first round selection in 2006 and in Philadelphia averaged 6 ponts 2 boards and an assist off the bench for the sixers this year and is only 24 and has a bright future with his freakish athleticism. Booth, who was a reserve who rarely played will probably see the same treatment in Minnesota. Both players have one year left on their deals.

Ex Cane Jones is returning home

James Jones is a native Floridian who grew up their, played college in his homestate (for the University of Miami), and now he'll be playing for his favorite NBA team, the Miami Heat. The Heat and Jones have agreed to a five year deal worth up to 23 million dollars which allows the native Floridian to reurn home, despite having other offers from teams like Detroit. "For me, it's like coming full circle," Jones said. "I'm from the city. I spend all my time here and when the Heat hurt, even when I'm on another team, I still feel that pain. ... So for me, the interest from my hometown team superseded and outweighed all the other positives and pluses of the different cities, especially Detroit, that were looking for my services." Jones shot a career high 44 percent from 3 point land this year for Portland, and knows that he'll be counted on in Miami's offense which hasn't had a 3-point specalist since Jason Kapono left for Toronto in 2006. "If that means coming off the bench, if that means starting, if that means taking 10 shots, if that means taking one shot, for me, it's about being efficient and winning games," Jones said. "Coming here, I don't have any expectations about what position or which role I'll play. All I'm looking for is the opportunity to compete." In Jones's NBA career he has played with Portland, Phoenix, and Indiana. Even with this deal, the Heat still can have the most cap room for the summer of 2010 when free agents like Chris Bosh, LeBron James, Deron Williams, and even one of the Heat's own Dwayne Wade are avalaible

PROJECTED 2008-2009 MIAMI HEAT LINEUP

C: Mark Blount

PF: Michael Beasley

SF: Shawn Marion

SG: Dwayne Wade

PG: Jason Williams

BENCH:

Udonis Haslem

Mario Chalmers

Daequan Cook

Marcus Banks

Stephane Lasme

James Jones

Alexander Johnson

Pietrus to Orlando

Mickael Pietrus finally got his wish and has signed with another team. The Orlando Magic have officially signed Pietrus, 26 to a 3-year deal under the MLE with an option for a fourth year. This signing is not at all a bad one for Orlando. Orlando's biggest weakness was at the 2 and with the signing of Pietrus and also the drafting of Western Kentucky star Courtney Lee, the Magic have made a significant upgrade at the spot. The signing of Pietrus likely spells the end of Keyon Dooling's career in Orlando. This past year Pietrus averaged 7.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and .7 assists in 19.9 minutes of play. His best year came in 2006-2007 when he averaged 27 minutes of playing time averaging 11 points and 4.5 rebounds while playing for the Warrior team which knocked off the #1 seed Dallas Mavericks as an 8 seed.

Uh-Oh-Maggete-Oh: Maggette signs with Golden State

The Los Angeles Clippers had bad news strike twice on Tuesday first losing Elton Brand to the 76ers and then losing Corey Maggette to the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors have been looking for revenge against the Clippers since they stole Baron Davis from them and I guess this is their way of getting it, but make it clear this was not their first way in doing so. The Warriors wanted to steal Elton Brand away from the Clips, but he appeared to have no desire to play for the Warriors even though he was offered $90 million. As for Maggette, he must feel rewarded. He made $7 million this year and on the FA Market he was getting nothing more than mid and max level exceptions from teams like Boston and San Antonio. However "Team Tween" decided to go ahead and give Maggette what he wanted and offered the 28 year old 5 years for $50 million. Overall this was not the best money the Warriors could have spent. The Warriors are already loaded with Tweeners like Stephen Jackson, Marco Bellinelli, Al Harrington, and Brandan Wright, and by adding Maggette just adds more mess to the playing time and scoring. Plus the Warriors still do not have a point guard. Monta Ellis is a RFA as well as Andris Biedrins. However both are expected to sign with the team since every other team does not have significant cap room like Golden State. However Maggette will help out the Warriors and provide scoring and veteran leadership, one that needs it since B-Diddy left for Clipper land. Also Maggette leaves Los Angeles without any bad blood or sour taste about his departure, unlike a former teammate of his.

PROJECTED 2008-2009 LINEUP FOR THE GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

C: Andris Biedrins* (RFA)

PF: Al Harrington

SF: Corey Maggette

SG: Stephen Jackson

PG: Monta Ellis* (RFA)

BENCH:

Brandan Wright

Anthony Randolph

CJ Watson

Marco Bellinelli

Kellena Azubuike *(FA)

Richard Hendrix

A Brand name is headed to Philly!

Clippers fans feel betrayed right now, just like their counterparts across the bay in Oakland when the Clippers stole Baron Davis away. Elton Brand, the face of the Clipper franchise for the past 7-8 years has left LA for Philly. Clipper fans they never saw this one coming. First of all Brand was hurt for 74 games this year and he was expected to not opt out of his contract. However that all changed when Brand attended an NBA Finals game at the Staples Center. Brand became mesmerized by the Boston Celtics and how they embraced "team play." Brand decided to opt out of his contract but not to see how much money he'd command but for the Clippers to add another star to help Brand and hopefully he'd embrace the "team play." Brand even told the team he intended to re-sign with the club and for a short while it looked like Brand's dream would become a reality. On the first day of Free Agency negotiations, the Clippers reached a verbal agreement with Baron Davis, who like Brand opted out of his deal, to play alongside Brand. The Clipper nation became giddy at the thought of Baron Davis playing alongside Brand and having role guys like Cuttino Mobley, Chris Kaman, and Tim Thomas have bigger roles with young guns Al Thornton and Eric Gordon leading the future. However that all changed. The Warriors wanted to get back at the Clippers for taking away their star away, and offered Brand a 5-year deal worth about $90 million. Brand wasn't very interested in playing for Golden State, but their was one team lurking in the shadows waiting to pry him away from the Clippers. The Philadelphia 76ers had known Brand wanted to be there since April when he said he was interested in playing for Philly on a radio station. The '6ers one of the few teams who actually had cap room this summer were not huge players in the beginning and seemed more interested in Josh Smith of the Hawks then of Brand, but then things changed. Elton Brand became contacted with the Sixers, they wined and dined and pretty soon they had a contract offer. Meanwhile no one had a clue about this. Baron Davis and the rest of Clipper nation were waiting on Brand to take the Clipper offer of 5 years 74-81 million but Brand's agent stopped contacting the Clippers on July 3rd. Then Philly broke the ice and got Brand to agree to a 5-year $82 million contract, making Philly a perennial player in the East, and breaking the hearts of Clipper nation. However the Clipper fans should have seen this one coming. Back in 2003 Elton Brand was also a free agent and had he not have been a restricted free agent he would have been a member of the Miami Heat. Elton always wanted out of Clipper nation even though he never told anyone. What's worse is that know the Clippers might not even get Baron Davis. Davis's signing was basically a package deal and well now that Brand is in Philly, Davis could be looking elsewhere. The Clippers still have a boatload of money and are looking into pursuing RFA's such as Josh Smith of the Hawks and Emeka Okafor of the Bobcats. But make one thing clear, neither of them is Elton Brand. The Clipper nation had been brought back to respectability by Brand and brought back down by him too. But in the end, Brand didn't care about "team play." He just took the money and ran.

PROJECTED PHILADELPHIA 76ERS STARTING LINEUP

C: Samuel Dalembert

PF: Elton Brand

SF: Thaddeus Young

SG: Andre Igoudala* (RFA still not resigned)

PG: Andre Miller* (FA)

BENCH:

Reggie Evans

Willie Green

Jason Smith

Mareese Speights

Louis Williams* (RFA)

Projected LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS LINEUP

C: Chris Kaman

PF: Al Thornton or Emeka Okafor * (If signed from Bobcats)

SF: Josh Smith * (If signed from Hawks) or Al Thornton

SG: Cuttino Mobley

PG: Baron Davis * (If he stays true to his word)

Bench:

Tim Thomas

Josh Powell

Shaun Livingston *FA

Eric Gordon

Brevin Knight

DeAndre Jordan

Cat and Mouse: Cubs land Harden

One day after the Milwaukee Brewers pulled off a trade for Cy Young Award Winner CC Sabathia, the Chicago Cubs made a deal of their own. In a trade with the Oakland Athletics, the Cubs landed pitchers Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin for Outfielders Eric Patterson and Matt Murton, Pitcher Sean Gallagher, and catcher Josh Donaldson. Cubs GM Jim Hendry said that this deal had nothing to do with the Brewers landing Sabathia...ok right. Hendry started pursuing Harden after talks between the Brewers and Indians heated up. Hendry knew that the Brewers had just grown stronger with the addition of Sabathia, and that they posed a big threat to overtake the Cubs in the division, and the way the St. Louis Cardinals are playing, it would even tougher to get the wild card. The Cubs had to do something and something they did. Acquiring Harden is one heck of a move. When healthy Harden is one of the most dominant pitchers in all of baseball, but health is a big if. Harden has visited the DL frequently throughout his career and spent a month on it this year. So far Harden is 5-1 with a 2.31 ERA. Team him up with Ryan Dempster and Carlos Zambrano and that is as good a 1-2-3 as the Brewers combo of Ben Sheets, CC Sabathia, and Manny Parra. Also the addition of Chad Gaudin is a very underrated move. Gaudin can be a 4th or 5th starter and provides nice long relief help. He's a hard thrower and he'll make an impact on the overused Cubs bullpen. As for the A's this deal did not make too much sense. The A's are only 5 games out in the AL West and 3.5 in the wild card. Dealing Harden and Gaudin leaves the with only one bonafide pitcher in Justin Duchschrer, and the players the A's got back are very questionable. Eric Patterson is 26 and while he did show some promise at the big league level the A's have a crowded outfield and he'll be playing at AAA Sacramento. Matt Murton has never been the same since he got beaned in the head by Dontrelle Willis in 2005, Sean Gallagher lost his spot in the starting rotation and Josh Donaldson is 23 and hasn't caught past A ball and is hitting a measly .213 at Peoria. The A's clearly seem to have just given up on this season. Billy Beane has been known to get the best out of his deals like when he traded Mark Mulder to St. Louis and Dan Haren to Arizona, but the Cubs got away with robbery here. Basically the Cubs gave away mid level prospects for an Ace of staff and a solid reliever. Watch out Milwaukee, the Cubs are coming

Sabathia deal reaction

Does Mark Shapiro know what he's doing? He could have gotten Matt Gamel or Alciedes Escobar and ended up with Rob Bryson and Zach Jackson. Bryson has some potential at least. At A level West Virginia he's 3-2 with a 4.56 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 55 innings. Not too bad but he lacks experience. Meanwhile Jackson is a questionable acqusition At one time he was a top prospect of the Blue Jays and a big part of the Lyle Overbay deal but he never reached his promise with Milwaukee and at AAA Nashville he went 1-5 with a 7.85 ERA, Now that's a guy I want in my Rotation. Overall Cleveland could and should have done much better in this deal. LaPorta will help but either than that this deal is looking like Cleveland got shortchanged. Cleveland also acquired a player to be named later.

Sabathia is a Brewer!

Well the Cleveland Indians have officially begun rebuilding today by trading former ace CC Sabathia to the Milwaukee Brewers. Coming back from Milwaukee are a package of prospects headlined by outfielder Matt LaPorta, the seventh overall pick in last year's draftwho plays for the Huntsville Stars (AA Milwaukee) and what looks like 3 lower level prospects. For the present this looks like an absolute steal for Milwaukee. The Brewers knew that they would have to give up one top prospect and they gave up their most expendable prospect (LaPorta) and they did not have to give up Alcides Escobar, Matt Gamel, or Angel Salome. However, this deal could haunt the Brewers in the long run. Sabathia is a free agent and he and his representatives have stated that he will not negotiate any type of contract until the offseason and he is looking for a Johan Santana type deal (not bad for a 6-8 record). If the Brewers do not make the playoffs, they will most likely lose him and possibly Ben Sheets. The Brewers would have 5 draft picks within the first 32 selections, but is that really the message they want to send to their fan base? Meanwhile LaPorta was hitting .288 with 20 homers and 66 RBI's for Huntsville and he joins a powerstarved Cleveland team who desperatly needs him in their outfield (outside of Grady Sizemore can you really depend on Shin Soo Choo, Franklin Gutierrez, or Ben Francisco?). He'll probably join the Indians AA farm team in Akron and will see time at AAA Buffalo and possibly Cleveland in late September. So if LaPorta becomes the power hitting prospect he's slated to be, and if one of the two lower level guys develops and the Brewers don't qualify for the playoffs and lose Sabathia how will this turn out for Cleveland. I'll give credit to Brewers GM Doug Melvin for making the move which could potentially vault the Brewers into the playoffs but Indians GM Mark Shapiro has a history of trading all-star pitchers and getting great value for them (See the Bartolo Colon trade to Montreal in 2002). I like how the Brewers are putting themselves into contention for the playoffs, but this deal could hurt the Brewers more than actually help