NBA Free Agent Predictions

Can the Rockets afford to let Artest go??

Ron Artest- Rockets
With rumors of T-Mac on the block and Yao on crutches Rockets have to keep Artest around. He was a leader for the team in the playoffs and seems to have put his behavioral problems behind him.

Carlos Boozer- Pistons
Really have lost their inside game over the last few years, Carlos Boozer immediately gives them a legit threat inside the paint. With Mcdyss, Wallace, and Iverson coming off the books they have plenty of money to spend.

Shawn Marion- Jazz
Jazz will want to replace Boozer and Shawn Marion could fit it nicely at power forward. He will be a cheaper option than Boozer and may be able to put up the same type of production.

Ben Gordon- Sixers
Sixers are set with Brand and Iquodala but could use an explosive player in the back court.

Allen Iverson- Bucks
Really nothing else going for the franchise, why not sign Iverson to a one year deal. He will put people in the seats and hopefully if allowed to play his game, put some points on the board.

Hedo Turkoglu- Suns
I believe it’s about time the Suns actually add to their once exciting franchise instead of taking it apart piece by piece. Turkoglu, Nash and Amare may actually give Suns fans something to look forward to, even if it will only last one year.

Antonio Mcdyss- Rockets

Lamar Odom- Lakers
Lakers are going to have to make a choice between Odom and Ariza and I believe Ariza is going to get a lot more lucrative offers than Odom.

Trevor Ariza- Cavaliers

Charlie Villanueva- Pistons
Pistons as of right now have the second lowest payroll in the NBA. They have the cash to really add some pieces, whether they want to do that now or next summer is the only question.

Jason Kidd- Knicks
It would be fun to see Kidd in NY and at worst he could be used as a valuable expiring contract at the trade deadline. At best Kidd shows he can still play and be used as bait to bring in more free agents in 2010. Remember Kidd and D’Antoni made plenty of friends during the Olympics.

Grant Hill- Boston

Rasheed Wallace- Spurs
Spurs lost some big man depth with bringing in Richard Jefferson, why not bring in a versatile big man with some gas left in the tank and a proven winner. A starting five of Duncan, Parker, Manu, Wallace and Jefferson sounds like a championship contender to me.

NHL Free Agent Predictions

And...TWINS??!?!

Niedermayer, Scott – Ducks
I have to believe while Scott took his sweet time thinking of returning to hockey, he was also thinking of returning to the Ducks. He’ll resign with the franchise along with his less talented but more physical brother.

SEDIN TWINS- Canucks
I just don’t see any team making room for two players of this price tag. Signing the Sedin twins can only happen if the Canucks are content with Ohlund leaving and Sundin is content with taking a paycut.

Sundin, Mats – Canucks

Cammalleri, Mike – Wild
Wild have the cap space and are looking to take a more offensive approach to the game with the departure of coach Lemaire. They are going to need a sniper to replace the oft injured Marian Gaborik.

Bertuzzi, Todd -Flames

Cole, Erik – Hurricanes
I’m praying Erik Cole realizes this is where he fits and where he is an impact player. The situation reminds me of Anson Carter a few years back. He finally found his scoring touch again with the Sedin twins, only to test UFA waters thus killing his NHL career. Money is nice, but sometimes the situation has to outweigh the cash money.

Khabibulin, Nikolai – Russia
Khabibulin proved he can still play at a high level; translation, he won’t come cheap. Russia will probably put up the most money for the 36 year old.

Havlat, Martin- Blackhawks
Rumor is Havlat loves Chicago and the young core of players that all seem to be developing at the same time. They’ll have a chunk of change from Bulin wall leaving as well.

Zubov, Sergei - Stars

Lehtinen, Jere - Stars

Hossa, Marian – Senators
We know Hossa can fit in Ottawa already and his two way game will be welcomed back with his first team. Interestingly enough it will take Heatley to be traded in order for this signing to happen.

Roloson, Dwayne - Oilers

Bouwmeester, Jay- Flames
They gave up a valuable pick to begin the negotiating process early. A deal with Bouwmeester will stack their defense, but it will also leave them rather cap strapped. But they made the deal for a reason.

Gaborik, Marian – Kings
There is talk of the Kings wanting a top line player and the ultra talented Gaborik will fit in nicely with Brown, Frolov, Kopitar, and Justin Williams.

Schneider, Mathieu - Canadians

Tanguay, Alex – Canadians
Habs seem to be content with letting many UFA’s go in order to keep Tanguay.

Koivu, Saku – Wild
Saku wants to stay with The Canadians, but if the Wild throw some cash at Saku he may change his mind and may want to play with his younger brother.

Kovalev, Alexei – Canadians
Always a volatile relationship, Canadians just can’t get enough of Kovalev. My guess he’ll sign a 3-4 year deal and retire with the habs, a deal that probably should be reserved for Saku.

Lang, Robert – Devils
Devils will essentially replace Gionta with Lang which the team needs more, a talented center. Lang can center a line with Elias and Rolston.

Sullivan, Steve – Penguins
Word is Nashville is willing to walk away from most of their UFA’s unless their prices come down. With the Pens losing Sykora, Satan and Fedotenko, I could see them looking for cheap/proven wingers to compliment their franchise centers.

Gionta, Brian – Rangers

Sather will sign Gionta with the prayer he has finally found someone to play with his picky Mexican franchise center. Both of their career high's in points came on a same line together.

Madden, John – Capitals
Checking line center to compliment their scoring forwards.

Shanahan, Brendan- Devils

Shanahan looked great in a checking role and seemed to enjoy his stay in Jersey. With Holik, Rupp, Madden gone, Devils could use him for the bottom 6.

Oduya, Johnny - Devils

It's going to be expensive, but the Devils can't afford to lose anymore d-men.

Clemmensen, Scott - Stars

Morris, Derek – Panthers
Florida is losing quite a bit of depth from their defensive corps and will be in a position to overpay to fill the void.

Antropov, Nik – Canadians
They will need a center to replace Lang and Koivu.

Ohlund, Mattias – Lightning

Comrie, Mike – Islanders

Islanders will sign Comrie will the full intention of dealing him once again around the deadline.

Neil, Chris- Red Wings

Biron, Martin - Avalanche

Knuble, Mike - Flyers

Very curious to see if SJ jumps into the mix with Knuble's proven chemistry with Thornton. If they want, Glen Murray isn't doing anything either..HMMMM.

Guerin, Bill – Penguins
Really found a nice chemistry with the captain, Penguins should give him a two year deal. His legs looked great in the postseason and even if he slows down, he will still be effective on the powerplay.

Sykora, Petr - Oilers

Fedotenko, Ruslan - Thrashers

Gill, Hal - Penguins

Recchi, Mark- Boston Bruins
One of these years the team that trades for Recchi will keep him. He can still play and get 60 points.

Blake, Rob- Sharks

Last Week In Sports!

NHL

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins on their Stanley Cup victory over the Detroit Red Wings. The NHL really got their dream matchup for the second year in a row and hopefully the ratings can reflect the quality of play these two teams displayed on the ice. I believe Marian Hossa should be put on suicide watch until he signs with another cup contender.


As for the whole Sidney Crosby handshake snub, I’m on the fence about it. My old school approach tells me it was wrong and Sid obviously knows his responsibility as the captain to maintain a well known tradition throughout sports. On the other hand, he did make it into the handshake line late which makes me believe he didn’t snub Lidstrom on purpose.


NBA

While I’m handing out the blogging congratulations, a job well done must be sent out to the LA Lakers. Unfortunately for the NBA, David Stern didn’t get his dream matchup of Lebron and Kobe. Things may change next year with the potential of a Shaquille O'neal trade to the Cavs.


Could you imagine a NBA final’s showdown with Lebron vs. Kobe with a Kobe/Shaq story to spice things up? A ratings dream for Stern, but first the trade has to go through and the Lakers have some signings to make with Kobe, Odom, and Ariza set to become UFA. Look for Odom to take a small pay cut to keep the team together.


MLB


So K-Rod and Brian Bruney won’t be best friends anytime soon. After Yankees’ RP Brian Bruney explained to the media that Mets’ closer K-Rod had a tired act and K-Rod told the media Bruney is a nobody, K-Rod decided to kick the ever loving shit out of Bruney before the final game of the subway series.


Bruney is about 50 pounds heavier and 4 inches taller, but K-Rod proved he is as passionate about closing out games as he is picking fights with white people. Thank God for Jose Veras and Mike Pelfrey for splitting the two up, undoubtedly the most useful action either man has done for their teams this season. Screw pitching effectively; just keep the peace in the bullpen.
Honestly, Bruney should have kept his mouth shut especially with Joba on his team. As for K-Rod he should expect the criticism since it’s not the first time he’s heard it and it’s not the last.



I’ve always said for excessive celebrating, if you don’t want the guy to do it…don’t give him a chance, beat him.


Keep an eye out for Johan Santana’s sudden loss of velocity on his fastball. Knowing the Mets it is probably an injury they are handling incorrectly.

Boxing


Floyd Mayweather Jr., set to come out of retirement to fight Juan Manuel Marquez on July 18 in Las Vegas, suffered a rib injury in training last week, forcing him to postpone the welterweight fight.


Disappointing news for anybody who was looking forward to the fight next month. There hasn’t been a timetable announced for his recover time or a new date for the fight. With rib injuries it wouldn’t surprise me if the fight is pushed back all the way to September/October. Either way I still got my money on “Money Mayweather”


NFL


The Atlanta Falcons finally released quarterback and dog torturer Michael Vick. The release will cost the team $7 million in cap space. Michael Vick has yet been granted permission to reenter the league which I believe he should be able to do after serving his time for the crime he committed. Besides those dogs had it coming to them anyway. Please send the hate mail to…


Once Vick is let back into the league it is only fitting that the Oakland Raiders bring him on board. The franchise is a joke as it is; why not bring in another joke that could actually help the team. Sign Michael Vick for quarterback, Plaxico Burress to play wide receiver and bring in Pacman Jones. That will put some asses in the seats!

Carlos Boozer weighing his OPTions

The summer of 2010 in the NBA will be filled with an astonishing array of unrestricted free agents. Dubbed the “Summer of Lebron”, next season may ultimately evolve into the countdown for King James to opt out of his contract. Lebron is hardly the only free agent available. Others include Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Tyson Chandler, Manu Ginobili, Yao Ming, Steve Nash, and Dirk Nowitzki.

Nobody knows the names on that list better than Carlos Boozer. More importantly than the names on the list are the impact those names have on his potential salary for what should be his last major contract in the NBA.

Carlos Boozer has an opt-out provision in his current deal with the Utah Jazz and has to make a decision in the next few weeks. Carlos Boozer was recently a guest on “Rome is Burning” with Jim Rome on ESPN.

"I want to make the best decision we can," Boozer said to Rome. "Do my homework, do my due diligence and on June 30th I'll decide either to opt in or opt out."

"I put the ball in their court… I told them I wanted to be there – and we'll see how they respond, and how they approach me… I think I let everybody know that I wanted to be there – and, at the same time, for me, let's see how they approach me, and then do what's best for me and my family."

That is quite the change of tune from what Carlos Boozer had stated at the beginning of the year. "I'm opting out. No matter what, I'm going to get a raise regardless," Boozer told ESPN.com in December.

Now?

Now after an injury laden season, Carlos Boozer realizes that in the summer of 2010 he will not be the most sought after free agent on the market. He may not even crack the top 10 of those available. Afterthoughts usually don’t receive max contracts. Make no mistake about it; Carlos Boozer wants to stay with the Utah Jazz. More accurately, Carlos Boozer wants the Utah Jazz to “approach” him with a contract extension worth the money he would be getting if the free agent market in 2010 wasn’t saturated with superstars.

Think about Boozer’s options. If he opts out this year, NOBODY will offer him a long term deal with names like Amare and Dirk and Lebron dangling in 2010. Every franchise in the NBA is clearing cap room for a spending spree, a spending spree that Carlos Boozer may not be fortunate enough to capitalize on. At the same time if Boozer decides to stay with Utah, he still becomes a free agent in 2010.

Carlos Boozer is waiting until June 30th simply because he wants the Utah Jazz to sweat it out, panic, and offer him a 4-5 year deal for around 15 million a year. That, or take his chances during the summer of Lebron.

Heatley Gone From Ottawa?

A possible sign of things to come, Dany Heatley has asked for a trade from the Ottawa Senators. A franchise destined for greatness could be at the genesis of it's disassemble.

TSN.ca reported that the 28-year old who signed a six-year, $45 million contract extension with the team in October of 2007 (that includes a no-movement clause) informed the team of his desire to play hockey for another club.

The veteran forward became unhappy with his role in Ottawa last season, especially after the Senators made a coaching change. Heatley discussed his concerns with head coach Cory Clouston in the Senators end of season meetings. However, both sides agreed some time away would help remedy the situation.

Apparently not.

In order to trade Heatley, the Senators would have to find a team with the room to take on the final five seasons of Heatley's contract that would count for $7.5 million per season against the salary cap. Teams will be hard pressed to find a more consistent sniper than Dany Heatley and obviously will be prepared to pay a hefty sum to Ottawa for his services.

The Senators have denied reports of being in a 'rebuilding' phase in spite of disappointing play since their exit from the 2007 Stanley Cup Final. If Bryan Murray is not rebuilding the most logical move in dealing Dany Heatley would be receiving two or three players to bring in some much needed depth to the franchise.

Another interesting possibility is trading Dany Heatley for valuable young talent and picks while reuniting with pending unrestricted free agent Marian Hossa.

"We signed [Heatley] to a long-term deal and we expect him to honor it," Murray said on Tuesday. "At this point in time he's a Senator."

Based on talent, Dany Heatley would be welcomed on any team in the NHL. With that long term contract attached to the talent, he may be a Senator well into the summer.