All I will say is Dwight Howard is signed by Adidas, see anything wrong with that?
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
NBA Free Agents: As of July 1
Topping the list:
Gilbert "I Get Buckets" Arenas, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Baron "Fear the Beard" Davis, Beno Udrih (Yes, Beno Udrih), James "The New Horry" Posey, Andre Igoudala, Josh Smith, Emeka Okafor, Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Monta Ellis
Ideally, Baron will be moved to create space to resign Monta and other young talent. How about sign-and-trade to Knicks for Starbury, take his contract hit, and dump him in offseason. That gives Monta time to develop at point while Starbury can play run and gun which he thrived in Phoenix (before Nash/Kidd).
Brand will probably get the best deal, he will slip and go to a good team like Detroit since he is coming off ACL surgery and teams might not be willing to dish out max money.
"I Get Buckets" will stay put. Having a "Small 3" like Butler, Jamison, and Agent Zero gives the Wizards a good core to compete in the East. Plus, the Wizards are the only team to beat the defending Champs 3-1 in the regular season this year and Agent Zero predicted it.
Posey to Heat. Why not have a starting five of Chalmers, Wade, Posey, Beasley, Haslem in the East? That is pretty nice if you ask me.
If Atlanta is stupid, they will let one of the best young talents slip through their hands for pennies on the dollar in Josh Smith.
Atlanta Hawks
Restricted: Josh Childress, Jeremy Richardson, Josh Smith, Salim Stoudamire, Mario West
Unrestricted: None
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston Celtics
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Tony Allen, P.J. Brown, Sam Cassell, Eddie House, Scot Pollard, James Posey
Limited Salary Protection: Leon Powe (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/15/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlotte Bobcats
Restricted: Ryan Hollins, Emeka Okafor
Unrestricted: Derek Anderson, Earl Boykins, Othella Harrington
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago Bulls
Restricted: Luol Deng, Demetris Nichols, Ben Gordon
Unrestricted: Shannon Brown, Chris Duhon
Limited Salary Protection: JamesOn Curry (salary protection of $100,000 will increase to $250,000 if not waived on or before 7/31/08 and to full if not waived on or before 10/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland Cavaliers
Restricted: Daniel Gibson, Delonte West
Unrestricted: Devin Brown, Dwayne Jones
Limited Salary Protection: Lance Allred (no salary protection), Billy Thomas (no salary protection)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dallas Mavericks
Restricted: Jose Juan Barea
Unrestricted: Malik Allen, Devean George, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, Jamaal Magloire, Antoine Wright
Limited Salary Protection: Brandon Bass (no salary protection if waived on or before 10/1/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Denver Nuggets
Restricted: J.R. Smith
Unrestricted: Anthony Carter, Yakhouba Diawara, Eduardo Najera
Limited Salary Protection: Bobby Jones (no salary protection if waived on or before 8/15/08, therafter full), Taurean Green (no salary protection if waived on or before 8/1/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Detroit Pistons
Restricted: Alex Acker, Walter Herrmann
Unrestricted: Juan Dixon, Jarvis Hayes, Lindsey Hunter, Theo Ratliff
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Golden State Warriors
Restricted: Kelenna Azubuike, Andris Biedrins, Monta Ellis
Unrestricted: Matt Barnes, Austin Croshere, Baron Davis, Patrick O'Bryant, Mickael Pietrus
Limited Salary Protection: C.J. Watson (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/25/08, thereafter will increase to $100,000)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Houston Rockets
Restricted: Carl Landry
Unrestricted: Dikembe Mutombo
Limited Salary Protection: Mike Harris (no salary protection), Loren Woods (no salary protection, but will increase to $166,400 if not waived prior to 8/15/08 and to $312,800 if not waived on or before 8/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indiana Pacers
Restricted: David Harrison, Andre Owens
Unrestricted: Flip Murray, Kareem Rush
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Clippers
Restricted: Nick Fazekas, Marcus Williams
Unrestricted: Elton Brand, Paul Davis, Dan Dickau, Shaun Livingston, Corey Maggette, Smush Parker, Quinton Ross,
Limited Salary Protection: Josh Powell (no salary protection if waived prior to 7/31/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Lakers
Restricted: Ronny Turiaf, Sasha Vujacic
Unrestricted: DJ Mbenga, Ira Newble
Limited Salary Protection: Coby Karl (no salary protection, but will increase to $100,000 if not waived prior to the day before the first day of the 2008-09 season)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memphis Grizzlies
Restricted: Juan Carlos Navarro
Unrestricted: Andre Brown, Kwame Brown, Casey Jacobsen
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miami Heat
Restricted: Chris Quinn, Kasib Powell, Dorell Wright
Unrestricted: Blake Ahearn, Earl Barron, Ricky Davis, Alonzo Mourning, Jason Williams
Limited Salary Protection: Joel Anthony (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/25/08, thereafter full), Stephane Lasme (salary protection of $100,000 will increase to $300,000 if not waived on or before 7/22/08, to $400,000 if not waived on or before 9/16/08 and to full if not waived on or before 10/26/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Milwaukee Bucks
Restricted: Ersan Ilyasova, Awvee Storey (T)
Unrestricted: Royal Ivey, Michael Ruffin, Jake Voskuhl
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minnesota Timberwolves
Restricted: Ryan Gomes, Craig Smith, Chris Richard
Unrestricted: Michael Doleac, Kirk Snyder, Sebastian Telfair
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Jersey Nets
Restricted: Nenad Krstic
Unrestricted: Darrell Armstrong, DeSagana Diop, Bostjan Nachbar
Limited Salary Protection: Keith Van Horn (no salary protection)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Orleans Hornets
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Chris Andersen, Ryan Bowen, Jannero Pargo, Bonzi Wells
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York Knicks
Restricted: Randolph Morris
Unrestricted: Fred Jones
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orlando Magic
Restricted: James Augustine
Unrestricted: Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, Maurice Evans, Adonal Foyle, Pat Garrity
Limited Salary Protection: Marcin Gortat (salary protection for $177,879 will increase to full if not waived on or before 7/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philadelphia 76ers
Restricted: Andre Iguodala, Louis Williams
Unrestricted: Louis Amundson, Herbert Hill, Kevin Ollie, Shavlik Randolph
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phoenix Suns
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Gordan Giricek, Linton Johnson, Sean Marks, Eric Piatkowski, Brian Skinner
Limited Salary Protection: D.J. Strawberry (no salary protection, but will increase to $200,000 if not waived on or before 10/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portland Trail Blazers
Restricted: Von Wafer
Unrestricted: James Jones
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sacramento Kings
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Beno Udrih, Anthony Johnson, Lorenzen Wright
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Antonio Spurs
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Brent Barry, Michael Finley, Robert Horry, DerMarr Johnson, Damon Stoudamire, Kurt Thomas
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seattle SuperSonics
Restricted: Robert Swift
Unrestricted: Ronald Dupree, Francisco Elson, Mickael Gelabale
Limited Salary Protection: Adrian Griffin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toronto Raptors
Restricted: Jose Calderon, Carlos Delfino
Unrestricted: Primoz Brezec
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utah Jazz
Restricted: C.J. Miles
Unrestricted: None
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Wizards
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Gilbert Arenas, Roger Mason
Limited Salary Protection: None
Gilbert "I Get Buckets" Arenas, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Baron "Fear the Beard" Davis, Beno Udrih (Yes, Beno Udrih), James "The New Horry" Posey, Andre Igoudala, Josh Smith, Emeka Okafor, Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Monta Ellis
Ideally, Baron will be moved to create space to resign Monta and other young talent. How about sign-and-trade to Knicks for Starbury, take his contract hit, and dump him in offseason. That gives Monta time to develop at point while Starbury can play run and gun which he thrived in Phoenix (before Nash/Kidd).
Brand will probably get the best deal, he will slip and go to a good team like Detroit since he is coming off ACL surgery and teams might not be willing to dish out max money.
"I Get Buckets" will stay put. Having a "Small 3" like Butler, Jamison, and Agent Zero gives the Wizards a good core to compete in the East. Plus, the Wizards are the only team to beat the defending Champs 3-1 in the regular season this year and Agent Zero predicted it.
Posey to Heat. Why not have a starting five of Chalmers, Wade, Posey, Beasley, Haslem in the East? That is pretty nice if you ask me.
If Atlanta is stupid, they will let one of the best young talents slip through their hands for pennies on the dollar in Josh Smith.
Atlanta Hawks
Restricted: Josh Childress, Jeremy Richardson, Josh Smith, Salim Stoudamire, Mario West
Unrestricted: None
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston Celtics
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Tony Allen, P.J. Brown, Sam Cassell, Eddie House, Scot Pollard, James Posey
Limited Salary Protection: Leon Powe (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/15/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charlotte Bobcats
Restricted: Ryan Hollins, Emeka Okafor
Unrestricted: Derek Anderson, Earl Boykins, Othella Harrington
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chicago Bulls
Restricted: Luol Deng, Demetris Nichols, Ben Gordon
Unrestricted: Shannon Brown, Chris Duhon
Limited Salary Protection: JamesOn Curry (salary protection of $100,000 will increase to $250,000 if not waived on or before 7/31/08 and to full if not waived on or before 10/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cleveland Cavaliers
Restricted: Daniel Gibson, Delonte West
Unrestricted: Devin Brown, Dwayne Jones
Limited Salary Protection: Lance Allred (no salary protection), Billy Thomas (no salary protection)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dallas Mavericks
Restricted: Jose Juan Barea
Unrestricted: Malik Allen, Devean George, Juwan Howard, Tyronn Lue, Jamaal Magloire, Antoine Wright
Limited Salary Protection: Brandon Bass (no salary protection if waived on or before 10/1/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Denver Nuggets
Restricted: J.R. Smith
Unrestricted: Anthony Carter, Yakhouba Diawara, Eduardo Najera
Limited Salary Protection: Bobby Jones (no salary protection if waived on or before 8/15/08, therafter full), Taurean Green (no salary protection if waived on or before 8/1/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Detroit Pistons
Restricted: Alex Acker, Walter Herrmann
Unrestricted: Juan Dixon, Jarvis Hayes, Lindsey Hunter, Theo Ratliff
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Golden State Warriors
Restricted: Kelenna Azubuike, Andris Biedrins, Monta Ellis
Unrestricted: Matt Barnes, Austin Croshere, Baron Davis, Patrick O'Bryant, Mickael Pietrus
Limited Salary Protection: C.J. Watson (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/25/08, thereafter will increase to $100,000)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Houston Rockets
Restricted: Carl Landry
Unrestricted: Dikembe Mutombo
Limited Salary Protection: Mike Harris (no salary protection), Loren Woods (no salary protection, but will increase to $166,400 if not waived prior to 8/15/08 and to $312,800 if not waived on or before 8/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indiana Pacers
Restricted: David Harrison, Andre Owens
Unrestricted: Flip Murray, Kareem Rush
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Clippers
Restricted: Nick Fazekas, Marcus Williams
Unrestricted: Elton Brand, Paul Davis, Dan Dickau, Shaun Livingston, Corey Maggette, Smush Parker, Quinton Ross,
Limited Salary Protection: Josh Powell (no salary protection if waived prior to 7/31/08, thereafter full)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Lakers
Restricted: Ronny Turiaf, Sasha Vujacic
Unrestricted: DJ Mbenga, Ira Newble
Limited Salary Protection: Coby Karl (no salary protection, but will increase to $100,000 if not waived prior to the day before the first day of the 2008-09 season)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memphis Grizzlies
Restricted: Juan Carlos Navarro
Unrestricted: Andre Brown, Kwame Brown, Casey Jacobsen
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miami Heat
Restricted: Chris Quinn, Kasib Powell, Dorell Wright
Unrestricted: Blake Ahearn, Earl Barron, Ricky Davis, Alonzo Mourning, Jason Williams
Limited Salary Protection: Joel Anthony (no salary protection if waived on or before 7/25/08, thereafter full), Stephane Lasme (salary protection of $100,000 will increase to $300,000 if not waived on or before 7/22/08, to $400,000 if not waived on or before 9/16/08 and to full if not waived on or before 10/26/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Milwaukee Bucks
Restricted: Ersan Ilyasova, Awvee Storey (T)
Unrestricted: Royal Ivey, Michael Ruffin, Jake Voskuhl
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Minnesota Timberwolves
Restricted: Ryan Gomes, Craig Smith, Chris Richard
Unrestricted: Michael Doleac, Kirk Snyder, Sebastian Telfair
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Jersey Nets
Restricted: Nenad Krstic
Unrestricted: Darrell Armstrong, DeSagana Diop, Bostjan Nachbar
Limited Salary Protection: Keith Van Horn (no salary protection)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Orleans Hornets
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Chris Andersen, Ryan Bowen, Jannero Pargo, Bonzi Wells
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New York Knicks
Restricted: Randolph Morris
Unrestricted: Fred Jones
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Orlando Magic
Restricted: James Augustine
Unrestricted: Carlos Arroyo, Keyon Dooling, Maurice Evans, Adonal Foyle, Pat Garrity
Limited Salary Protection: Marcin Gortat (salary protection for $177,879 will increase to full if not waived on or before 7/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Philadelphia 76ers
Restricted: Andre Iguodala, Louis Williams
Unrestricted: Louis Amundson, Herbert Hill, Kevin Ollie, Shavlik Randolph
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phoenix Suns
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Gordan Giricek, Linton Johnson, Sean Marks, Eric Piatkowski, Brian Skinner
Limited Salary Protection: D.J. Strawberry (no salary protection, but will increase to $200,000 if not waived on or before 10/31/08)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Portland Trail Blazers
Restricted: Von Wafer
Unrestricted: James Jones
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sacramento Kings
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Beno Udrih, Anthony Johnson, Lorenzen Wright
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
San Antonio Spurs
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Brent Barry, Michael Finley, Robert Horry, DerMarr Johnson, Damon Stoudamire, Kurt Thomas
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seattle SuperSonics
Restricted: Robert Swift
Unrestricted: Ronald Dupree, Francisco Elson, Mickael Gelabale
Limited Salary Protection: Adrian Griffin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Toronto Raptors
Restricted: Jose Calderon, Carlos Delfino
Unrestricted: Primoz Brezec
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Utah Jazz
Restricted: C.J. Miles
Unrestricted: None
Limited Salary Protection: None
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Wizards
Restricted: None
Unrestricted: Gilbert Arenas, Roger Mason
Limited Salary Protection: None
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Iphone Buyers Beware
Seven iPhone Disappointments
The Cost
Those crafty phone companies! Yes, at $199, the new iPhone is cheaper up-front than the original, which first went on sale starting at $499 last year. It is not, however, less expensive to own. Do the math and you find out the iPhone will cost $160 more over two years than the original iPhone because AT&T put together a pricier data plan for the phone to help it subsidize the up-front cost of the handset. The gadget fiends at Gizmodo called that "a small price to play," but Bits, the technology blog at The New York Times, called it "a step backwards for consumers."
No Flash
The iPhone is a surprisingly capable Web browser. Its wide, high-resolution screen and the ability to bop around the Web by tapping links with a fingertip has turned mobile Web surfing from a chore into a pleasure. The biggest hitch: the iPhone still doesn't support Adobe's Flash technology, which means many multimedia-rich sites remain off limits. While Adobe is working hard to make its technology iPhone-friendly, don't hold your breath.
No Replaceable Batteries
Hardcore road warriors don't have time to stop and recharge their phones. Instead they carry their batteries with them, clicking them into their BlackBerrys in the backs of cabs, or, if they're lucky, in a coffee shop. By contrast, there's no easy way to crack open the new iPhone's sleek case to pop in a battery, disappointing bloggers. And while kits are available for do-it-yourselfers, we wouldn't recommend trying it in between bites of your bagel.
Video Recording
Apple's computers come preloaded with iMovie, a slick little application that makes video editing easy and fun. Apple's iPods, with the exception of the Shuffle, have evolved into snappy little video viewing machines. But if you want to record video, you'd better talk to Sony. Despite its built-in two-megapixel camera, Apple isn't building the ability to take video into its new phone, a feature even many low-end so-called "feature phones" include.
No Cut-And-Paste
The inability to copy a chunk of text and paste it into another application has baffled geeks since the iPhone's introduction last year. It's a simple tool that would make blogging and zapping bits of text to friends via e-mail a breeze. And, yes, it can be done without screwing up the phone's interface.
No Multimedia Messaging Service
This might be the most interesting example of what makes the iPhone quirky: There are some things dirt-cheap phones cranked out by the tens of millions can do that the vaunted iPhone cannot. Forbes.com's David Ewalt sees the lack of support for Multimedia Messaging Service as one of the most maddening. Want to open an image sent to you via MMS by a friend from her (dirt-cheap) mobile phone? No dice.
Bonus: No Voice Dialing
No blogger we've seen has complained about this yet. Maybe that's because all the geeks who might whine about how tough it is to dial the iPhone died in fiery auto wrecks first, seeing as the iPhone doesn't have the voice-recognition smarts to let users dial verbally--the one feature makes the BlackBerry, with its nubby little plastic keyboard, usable on the road.
The Cost
Those crafty phone companies! Yes, at $199, the new iPhone is cheaper up-front than the original, which first went on sale starting at $499 last year. It is not, however, less expensive to own. Do the math and you find out the iPhone will cost $160 more over two years than the original iPhone because AT&T put together a pricier data plan for the phone to help it subsidize the up-front cost of the handset. The gadget fiends at Gizmodo called that "a small price to play," but Bits, the technology blog at The New York Times, called it "a step backwards for consumers."
No Flash
The iPhone is a surprisingly capable Web browser. Its wide, high-resolution screen and the ability to bop around the Web by tapping links with a fingertip has turned mobile Web surfing from a chore into a pleasure. The biggest hitch: the iPhone still doesn't support Adobe's Flash technology, which means many multimedia-rich sites remain off limits. While Adobe is working hard to make its technology iPhone-friendly, don't hold your breath.
No Replaceable Batteries
Hardcore road warriors don't have time to stop and recharge their phones. Instead they carry their batteries with them, clicking them into their BlackBerrys in the backs of cabs, or, if they're lucky, in a coffee shop. By contrast, there's no easy way to crack open the new iPhone's sleek case to pop in a battery, disappointing bloggers. And while kits are available for do-it-yourselfers, we wouldn't recommend trying it in between bites of your bagel.
Video Recording
Apple's computers come preloaded with iMovie, a slick little application that makes video editing easy and fun. Apple's iPods, with the exception of the Shuffle, have evolved into snappy little video viewing machines. But if you want to record video, you'd better talk to Sony. Despite its built-in two-megapixel camera, Apple isn't building the ability to take video into its new phone, a feature even many low-end so-called "feature phones" include.
No Cut-And-Paste
The inability to copy a chunk of text and paste it into another application has baffled geeks since the iPhone's introduction last year. It's a simple tool that would make blogging and zapping bits of text to friends via e-mail a breeze. And, yes, it can be done without screwing up the phone's interface.
No Multimedia Messaging Service
This might be the most interesting example of what makes the iPhone quirky: There are some things dirt-cheap phones cranked out by the tens of millions can do that the vaunted iPhone cannot. Forbes.com's David Ewalt sees the lack of support for Multimedia Messaging Service as one of the most maddening. Want to open an image sent to you via MMS by a friend from her (dirt-cheap) mobile phone? No dice.
Bonus: No Voice Dialing
No blogger we've seen has complained about this yet. Maybe that's because all the geeks who might whine about how tough it is to dial the iPhone died in fiery auto wrecks first, seeing as the iPhone doesn't have the voice-recognition smarts to let users dial verbally--the one feature makes the BlackBerry, with its nubby little plastic keyboard, usable on the road.
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