The Free Throw Line

Los Angeles Lakers - Off-season & Financial Moves

Robert Smith — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:53:02 +0000

Of all the teams in the NBA, covering the off-season moves of the Lakers was the easiest – because they barely did anything. They are the Western Conference Champs and they have their entire rotation safely under contract, at least for another year. Very quickly – they tendered qualifying offers to restricted free agents Sasha [...]

Los Angeles Clippers - Off-season & Financial Moves

Robert Smith — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:53:04 +0000

At first glance, one could look at the Clippers’ off-season and get the initial reaction that: Elton Brand and Corey Maggette are gone – ergo – the Clippers are in trouble. Not so fast. When you take a closer look at their moves as a whole, you find that they may not be so bad off [...]

Golden State Warriors - Off-season & Financial Moves

Robert Smith — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:22:36 +0000

Wow, where do you begin? This was one busy team this off-season. And it all started with Baron Davis. He turned down his player option for next year in hopes of landing a longer term extension with the team. But the Warriors were hesitant to go long term with Davis, fearing his age and history [...]

San Antonio Spurs - Off-season & Financial Moves

Robert Smith — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:36:11 +0000

The biggest news in the Spurs’ off-season was Manu Ginobili’s left ankle. He underwent surgery to repair a posterior impingement on September 3rd and will miss 2-3 months of action. This is a ligament injury that originated during the playoffs and obviously hobbled him in the Conference finals against the Lakers. Then in the Olympic [...]

New Orleans Hornets - Off-season & Financial Moves

Robert Smith — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 14:55:33 +0000

The Hornets went into the off-season with the bitter taste of their game 7 loss at home to the Spurs still lingering on their taste buds. With the series tied at 3 games apiece, and the home team winning all 6 games; the Hornets looked primed to move into the Western Conference finals against the [...]

Memphis Grizzlies - Off-season & Financial Moves

Robert Smith — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:49:51 +0000

If last year’s Pau Gasol trade didn’t make it obvious enough, their off-season moves should clear it up – Memphis is rebuilding. They won 22 games both of the last two years, and have no hope of winning more than 25 games this year. Their goal this off-season was to get younger, faster, and more [...]

Houston Rockets - Off-season & Financial Moves

Robert Smith — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:07:00 +0000

Houston Rockets The Rockets pulled off one of the real blockbusters this off-season getting Ron Artest in a trade with Sacramento. No player has had his name thrown around more in trade talks in the past year than Artest. Rumors had him going everywhere from LA to the Lakers, Denver, Utah, New York, Dallas, Phoenix, etc. [...]

Dallas Mavericks - Off-season and Financial Moves

Robert Smith — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:13:04 +0000

51 wins and a playoff appearance would be considered a successful season for most franchises. For Dallas, it was a total disaster. The big (and very expensive) mid-season trade for Jason Kidd didn’t have the desired effect. And the 4-1 first round playoff exit at the hands of the young New Orleans Hornets was embarrassing. [...]

Oklahoma City Thunder - Off-season & Financial Moves

Robert Smith — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:13:32 +0000

Obviously almost all of the news surrounding this franchise during the off-season centered on their move from Seattle to Oklahoma. I tried to follow all of the in court and out of court wrangling between the new owners, old owners, and the city of Seattle. But to be honest, it just wasn’t interesting enough to [...]

Utah Jazz - Off-season & Financial Moves

Robert Smith — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:15:55 +0000

The Jazz had only one thing they absolutely needed to take care of this off-season. They had to get Deron Williams inked long-term, which they quickly did with a 4-year, $70 million deal. Williams would have been a restricted free agent at the end of this season. Obviously, the Jazz weren’t about to let other [...]