Interesting read.

Your knowledge on the CBA is very much appreciated

I always thought the Gay/Lee combo would be better than putting all our efforts towards LBJ or Wade.

First, Lee is the ideal PF to play alongside Lopez. He does all the dirty work, scores and boards, and most importantly doesn’t necessarily require post touches than Lopez does. Bosh/Boozer do need so many post up chances which limits Lopez.

Gay is the athletic wing scorer the team misses in Carter. A very good fit.

The other conundrum is the team’s inability to shoot the ball. Acquiring John Wall would set the team up perfectly for the future and make Devin Harris expendable. The deal I’d hope for would be a Harris for Ben Gordon swap, giving the Nets a late game scorer who craves big shots and shoots an excellent career percentage from 3 point range (41%). That deal would work under the CBA.

This roster would make me happy as a fan:

PG- John Wall
SG- Ben Gordon
SF- Rudy Gay
PF- David Lee
C – Brook Lopez

Dooling, Lee, T. Williams, Humphries off the bench with roster slots available for the other first round selection (Mavs’ pick) and the first pick of the second round. I feel Chris Douglas-Roberts is very expendable and his attitude is too aggressive for a young team without a real veteran leader. I’d suggest Courtney Lee as a much more viable option off the bench, a well better defender and shooter.

Dave D. is right as this is definitely the direction Rod is thinking now, especially since LeBron, Wade and probably Bosh are staying put for at least 1 more year.

Besides Lee and Gay are in the next tier anyway (Amare isn’t first tier due future surgery considerations).

Lets hear more about getting David Lee and the fact that you had believed Knicks wouldn’t try to sign him early on, even though he is a fan favorite??

Could Nets afford both DLee and someone like Gay? I think the $ mentioned are too low for these two, if they in fact are the best players available. Fortunately DLee missed All Star game or his agent could ask for well over 12 million and the Knicks would have no choice but to pay.

If Rudy is signed to a $60 million offer sheet with a significant amount of cash required upfront, the Grizz would sign that in a heartbeat.

1) Grizz owner is a billionaire. He spent like crazy in the early years & the Grizz were luxury tax payer. A poison pill wouldn’t scare the franchise off.

2) Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, & OJ Mayo will be up for new contracts soon, but unless Gasol & Randolph are signed to extensions next year, all three will be under the new Collective Bargaining Agreement. If that’s the case, their deals might be smaller than current deals, making overpaying Rudy Gay easier to swallow. In addition, Zach Randolph’s next deal may be for significantly less than the $17 mill+ he’s getting next season.

3) If Grizz continue with the great season and have success in the playoffs, Gay might be motivated to stay in Memphis. Gay is not a generational superstar, more like an upper middle class man’s Corey Maggette. The Grizz have amazing chemistry & Gay is not relied on to be the savior.

If Nets paid a signing bonus, would it count against the Nets salary cap for 2010? and therefore prevent signing another free agent?

Well, are the Grizz in bad financial shape or not? The Nets are in bad shape, but their new owner will absorb the debt.

The Grizz are in good financial shape. Their owner doesn’t like to throw away money, but with the team winning, he will likely be willing to invest more again. The team has made a number of moves in the past couple of years to get the books in order, preparing to be able to spend after rebuilding.

The Grizz are not in good financial shape, period. They have been for sale for two years with no takers. They have had to borrow from an NBA credit facility set up to help struggling franchises.

I am not speculating.

the grizz gave away pau gasol for that doofus kwame brown because he was a large expiring contract…why would they hold on to 7-time all star rudy gay for $60M?

You are only solidifying your demise as a franchise if you throw money at Rudy Gay. This is coming from a Grizzlies fan.

BTW, we’ll take CDR off your hands if he’s expendable.

Grizz got a credit line in 2001. So what?

The Grizz owner actively tried to sell the team 2004-06, but wants north of $300 mill, but lease is ironclad so it limits interest.

The Grizz owner signed Jason Williams to a $43 mill extension in 01, Micheal Dickerson to a $43 mill ext in 01, Mike Miller to a $48 mill ext in 03, Shane Battier to a $36 mill ext in 04, Pau Gasol to a $86 mill ext in 04, offered Stromile Swift $45 mill in 05 (which he declined, ended up with $25 mil from Houston), signed James Posey to a $25 mil deal in 03, Brian Cardinal to a $36 mill deal in 04, and Darko Milicic to a $21 mill deal and your evidence he wouldn’t re-sign Rudy Gay is cuz of the Pau trade (Which netted top 10 NBA center Marc Gasol & the cap room to trade for Zach Randolph, who earns as much as Pau.) If the Grizz re-sign Rudy, 2010-11 payroll is going to be really high, but 2011-12 dips because Marko Jaric & Zach Randolph drop from the books.

As far as the Grizz financial situation, attendance sucks (but you’re the NY market & your attendance sucks too), but the Grizz have good corporate support, and last year, had a very low payroll. The team earned millions from facilating deals, and with the low payroll, reported earned a profit last year. Making a profit off cost cutting is nothing to brag about, but its evidence that the Grizz aren’t as bad off as teams like Indiana, which supposed like tens of millions last year.

If this team is a playoff contender, it’ll be more likely the owner will keep the core together.

One more thing:

The Pau deal…

People away from Memphis don’t understand the bitterness in the market had for Pau. As talented as he is, he breaks under pressure, and was such a whiner that Griz fans hated him. Pau had to go. Fans wanted more from the trade, but it ended up working out.