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2011 NBA Draft and Offseason Blog

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
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2011 NBA Free Agency Signings Analysis - Dec. 9

Los Angeles Clippers sign SF Caron Butler to 3-year, $24 million contract
It was no secret that the Clippers were looking for an upgrade at small forward, and they found their man in Butler. He ruptured the patellar tendon in his right knee and is coming off major surgery, but that happened nearly a year ago, so he should be back to full strength. Butler will provide Los Angeles with another perimeter to scorer to complement Eric Gordon on the wing and Blake Griffin inside.

Miami Heat sign SF Shane Battier
This is a huge addition for a Miami team needing to upgrade their talent off the bench and find players willing to succeed in their complementary roles to LeBron, Wade and Bosh. Battier is the consummate glue guy and will provide the Heat with a defender, winner, three-point shooter and terrific locker-room presence. Miami's goal is to win the NBA Title this season and signing Battier takes them one step closer to accomplishing that feat.

Detroit Pistons re-sign SF Tayshaun Prince to 4-year, $27 million contract
I thought for sure Prince was going to move on in his career and not want to return to a Pistons team that seems to be in rebuilding mode. Financially, this was probably the best deal he was going to get as other teams were reportedly offering him a shorter deal. Prince must be happy in Detroit; otherwise he wouldn't have signed this deal rather than taking less money from a contender.

Detroit Pistons re-sign F Jonas Jerebko to 4-year, $16 million contract
Jerebko missed all of last season with injury but showed enough in his rookie season to warrant this type of contract extension. He is an energy player who can do multiple things on the floor and is worth the investment for Detroit.

Phoenix Suns sign SG Shannon Brown to 1-year, $3.5 million contract
The Suns were looking for a shooting guard since declining the option on Vince Carter's contract and found a cheap, 1-year deal with Brown. Brown will compete for playing time with Josh Childress and Mickael Pietrus and could end up winning a starting spot. With Aaron Brooks trapped in China, Brown will also be able to serve as the backup point guard to Steve Nash.

Portland Blazers re-sign C Greg Oden to 1-year, $8.9 million contract
This is Oden ultimately opting to accept the qualifying offer on the final year of his rookie contract, and is not surprising at all. It was doubtful that any team was going to try and steal him away with a long-term deal since the big man has been riddled with injury since arriving in the league. Oden now has one year to prove he is healthy and be a contributor in Portland.

Atlanta Hawks sign G/F Tracy McGrady to 1-year deal worth league minimum
For a Hawks team that is massively over the cap and losing their sixth man, Jamal Crawford, this deal makes a lot of sense. McGrady had a rejuvenation of his career last season, showing he was healthy and still had some gas left in the tank. He will ultimately replace Crawford as the team's top reserve on the wing and comes at a cheap rate.

Milwaukee Bucks sign SF Mike Dunleavy to 2-year, $7.5 million contract
In trading Corey Maggette and having Chris Douglas-Roberts and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute as free agents, the Bucks were searching for a veteran small forward. Dunleavy is still a serviceable player at this point of his career, but injuries are always a concern, since he has only played more than 70 games once in the past five seasons. Dunleavy will likely serve as Carlos Delfino's backup until first-round pick Tobias Harris is ready to be a contributor at the NBA level.

MaliceAtThePalace 03-09-2012 01:38 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.201 (total posts: 1)

Stephen Jackson is a phenomenal teammate. Just ask Ron Artest back in '04.

Sean Shearier 03-09-2012 12:27 am xxx.xxx.xxx.117 (total posts: 1)

133

great site lots of information. Please check out www.walloffamesports.com

Mike again 12-25-2011 02:01 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.237 (total posts: 2)

Lakers got Mavs first rounder this year for odom

mike 12-25-2011 01:56 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.237 (total posts: 2)

you still have the clippers owning the twolves pick

Joe 12-23-2011 11:05 am xxx.xxx.xxx.204 (total posts: 1)

Walt, I dont think you understand what the Amnesty Clause does. The contract doesnt count against the payroll, but you still have to pay the player. You dont just get out of the contract for free. There was no point in using it on Rashard Lewis, because he can still at least play. Even if you are paying him a ton of money, he can still give you decent minutes. Plus, next year, he is a huge expiring that can be used as a trade chip.

Pete 12-23-2011 01:45 am xxx.xxx.xxx.167 (total posts: 1)

Dude Wizards don't amnesty Lewis because if they did, they would be significantly below the salary cap floor imposed on teams, forcing them to spend a bunch of money on an extremely weak free agent class. Makes sense that they wouldn't amnesty him because of that.

Walter 12-23-2011 12:11 am xxx.xxx.xxx4.88 (total posts: 10)

142

Ugh, what page is that on? Editing at 3 am apparently isn't a good idea.

Oh, and I'm always up this late during football season. My Russian gypsy neighbors are surprisingly quiet.

Peter 12-22-2011 04:25 pm xxx.xxx.xxx0.62 (total posts: 1)

Walter - Aren't you an English major? Or should I say, Engrish major?

"However, if Davis plays with a chip on his shoulder, he provides the Knicks with a much-needed veteran experience in the backcourt, and unlike Mike Bibby, can still productive in the downside of his career."

All kidding aside, you're doing a great job with this website.

BTW, what are you doing up at 2:55 AM? Are the Russians keeping you up? Or are you trying to spy on the hot neighbor next door?

Walter 12-22-2011 02:55 am xxx.xxx.xxx4.88 (total posts: 10)

Sorry about that. It was my fault (editing error). I posted the wrong logo. It's fixed.

Fitz 12-20-2011 08:03 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.242 (total posts: 2)

Dude can you please correct that Davis for Bass trade. Bass plays for Orlando, not Dallas. It is the most annoying thing seeing that big of a mistake on an otherwise good website

Fitz 12-19-2011 02:58 am xxx.xxx.xxx.242 (total posts: 2)

Bass plays for Orlando. Therefore Glen Davis is going to Orlando. Can you please correct this already

Bro 12-16-2011 10:44 pm xxx.xxx.xxx0.89 (total posts: 1)

The Pistons bought out Rip Hamilton's contract so they could still use their amnesty on Ben Gordon. I was hoping that the Pistons wouldnt resign Tayshaun Prince so we could land the first pick of the draft and get a stud to join our young core of Greg Monroe, Austin Daye and Brandon Knight. But, the Pistons are stupid so they will rely on bums like Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon to win us out of a good draft pick and stay mediocre.

Also... 12-16-2011 11:10 am xxx.xxx.xxx6.44 (total posts: 4)

The Pistons bought out Rip's contract, and didn't use their amnesty clause yet. God willing, Ben Gordon is next to go.

What an idiot 12-16-2011 11:08 am xxx.xxx.xxx6.44 (total posts: 4)

Way to keep on your trades, Paul and Dave!

Brandon Bass has been with the Magic for awhile now, kinda shocking Walt would let someone so in-ept write for his site.

rossfelhofer 12-16-2011 01:16 am xxx.xxx.xxx4.43 (total posts: 1)

the clippers are not done in free agency yet, they are going to have to sign another big man

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2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 22

2014 NBA Mock Draft - April 25

2013 NBA Draft Prospect Rankings: C | PF | COMBO-F | SF | COMBO-G | SG | PG

2011 NBA Mock Draft - June 23

2011 NBA Mock Draft - Walt's (June 21)

2011 NBA Mock Re-Draft

2010 NBA Mock Re-Draft

2009 NBA Mock Re-Draft

2011 NBA Draft Scouting Reports

2010-11 NBA Season Previews

2009 NBA Draft Grades

2013 Fantasy Football Rankings - May 25

2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 22

2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 21

Charlie's 2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 20

NFL Picks - Feb. 3

2011 NBA Draft and Offseason Blog

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