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By Brian Windhorst
Beacon Journal sportswriter
POSTED: 07:42 p.m. EST, Jan 05, 2008
TORONTO: Friday night was the only scheduled appearance for Mike Bibby at Quicken Loans Arena this season. He spent it wearing a suit at the end of the Sacramento Kings' bench and being noncommittal in talking with the media about his future.
At this moment, there is nothing serious going on between the Cavaliers and Kings, but make no mistake, there probably will be. Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry has made at least three serious attempts within the last year to acquire Bibby. And the signs are there that he soon might be trying again.
He made a serious pitch before the trade deadline last season but couldn't get a third team involved that would satisfy what the Kings wanted. A three-way deal between the Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Cavs was in place in July to bring Bibby and Luis Scola to the Cavs before it unexpectedly fell through at the last moment. Then in late November, the Kings and Cavs got involved in sign-and-trade talks, involving Bibby and Anderson Varejao, although it never was close to being done.
It's not clear just why the Cavs are so enamored with Bibby. They are in desperate need of a true point guard, and Bibby certainly is one. He is, however, not a good defender, a Cavs priority, and his offensive stats, especially his shooting percentages, have been falling off in recent years. He hasn't played a game this year while recovering from a thumb injury, though he should be back in the next week. As the Kings have started rebuilding, there have been whispers around the league that Bibby has become a problem in the locker room.
Again, not a trait the Cavs desire. The Cavs, though, think that they have some special ties and information on Bibby. Ferry and Bibby share an agent, David Falk, and no doubt there has been indirect information sharing. Cavs coach Mike Brown never has coached Bibby but has some close friends who are close with Bibby and his friends and family. They've done their homework.
Some members of the Cavs organization think the thumb injury has slowed him down for two years. Now that it's fixed, some think that he has a lot left in the tank. They also look at how strongly he played in the playoffs and coexisted on a roster that had other stars when the Kings were in their glory years with Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic. Also, Bibby is on a maximum contract, but he is only signed through next season, which would allow the Cavs to retain flexibility if a Bibby/LeBron James marriage didn't work.
A year ago, Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie was determined to get back a starter-quality point guard if he traded Bibby. That was the problem — the Cavs didn't have one to trade and couldn't find one in a three-way deal that Petrie wanted. That has changed somewhat with newcomer Beno Udrih showing promise with the Kings in Bibby's absence. Petrie has also made it known since then that his goal is to clear salary-cap space for the summer of 2009.
All of which brings the Cavs back into the game without the need of a third team. Nearly the Cavs' entire roster has contracts that will be up after next season, giving them all sorts of trading pieces if the Kings make that a priority. The Kings would be interested in moving a player signed past 2009 in addition to Bibby. Most likely it would be Kenny Thomas, who is signed for two more seasons and can't get off the bench.
If the Cavs want Bibby bad enough, they do have the ammunition to give the Kings what they want. It would take a package that would probably involved a talented big man such as Drew Gooden, a prospect such as Shannon Brown or a draft pick and contracts expiring in 2009. The Cavs have numerous ones, especially Eric Snow, Damon Jones or even both.
It might not seem like a lot for a player such as Bibby, but it would free the Kings of millions in salary commitments, get them a bonafide starting power forward and set them up for rebuilding.
You can be sure it will be discussed before the Feb. 21 deadline, especially if Bibby plays well after returning from injury.
Dribbles
• ESPN.com ran a column this week that listed Brown as one of the coaches on the hot seat this season, even listing his odds of being fired at 12-1. Everything is fluid in the NBA, but at the moment, the odds are really much closer to 100-1. By percentage, Brown is actually the winningest coach in team history and has the full support of Ferry and owner Dan Gilbert. There are times, of course, when James gets annoyed by his coach. But James' feelings about the team almost always mirror Brown's, especially when it comes to defense. Unless you start hearing different messages, you can assume Brown has James' support.
However, it is interesting that the Cavs elected not to sign Brown to a contract extension or even give him a raise after he led the Cavs to the NBA Finals. Brown, whose base salary this season is a little more than $2 million, is the third-lowest paid coach in the Eastern Conference, ahead of only Sam Vincent of the Charlotte Bobcats and Larry Krystkowiak of the Milwaukee Bucks. Coaches with lesser resumes such as Sam Mitchell of the Toronto Raptors and Lawrence Frank of the New Jersey Nets got new deals last summer that pay them double what Brown makes. Next year is the last year of Brown's deal, a $2.5 million option that the Cavs picked up after his first season.
• In the interest of giving playing time to rookie Mike Conley, the Memphis Grizzlies have deactivated veteran point guard Damon Stoudamire and put him on the trade block. As everyone knows, the Cavs are in need of a point guard, but Stoudamire is not on their list. Brown prefers bigger guards, and Stoudamire is 5-foot-10. Sources said they already turned down a sign-and-trade offer for Stoudamire when the Grizzlies showed interest in signing Sasha Pavlovic.
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
TORONTO: Friday night was the only scheduled appearance for Mike Bibby at Quicken Loans Arena this season. He spent it wearing a suit at the end of the Sacramento Kings' bench and being noncommittal in talking with the media about his future.
At this moment, there is nothing serious going on between the Cavaliers and Kings, but make no mistake, there probably will be. Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry has made at least three serious attempts within the last year to acquire Bibby. And the signs are there that he soon might be trying again.
He made a serious pitch before the trade deadline last season but couldn't get a third team involved that would satisfy what the Kings wanted. A three-way deal between the Kings, San Antonio Spurs and Cavs was in place in July to bring Bibby and Luis Scola to the Cavs before it unexpectedly fell through at the last moment. Then in late November, the Kings and Cavs got involved in sign-and-trade talks, involving Bibby and Anderson Varejao, although it never was close to being done.
It's not clear just why the Cavs are so enamored with Bibby. They are in desperate need of a true point guard, and Bibby certainly is one. He is, however, not a good defender, a Cavs priority, and his offensive stats, especially his shooting percentages, have been falling off in recent years. He hasn't played a game this year while recovering from a thumb injury, though he should be back in the next week. As the Kings have started rebuilding, there have been whispers around the league that Bibby has become a problem in the locker room.
Again, not a trait the Cavs desire. The Cavs, though, think that they have some special ties and information on Bibby. Ferry and Bibby share an agent, David Falk, and no doubt there has been indirect information sharing. Cavs coach Mike Brown never has coached Bibby but has some close friends who are close with Bibby and his friends and family. They've done their homework.
Some members of the Cavs organization think the thumb injury has slowed him down for two years. Now that it's fixed, some think that he has a lot left in the tank. They also look at how strongly he played in the playoffs and coexisted on a roster that had other stars when the Kings were in their glory years with Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic. Also, Bibby is on a maximum contract, but he is only signed through next season, which would allow the Cavs to retain flexibility if a Bibby/LeBron James marriage didn't work.
A year ago, Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie was determined to get back a starter-quality point guard if he traded Bibby. That was the problem — the Cavs didn't have one to trade and couldn't find one in a three-way deal that Petrie wanted. That has changed somewhat with newcomer Beno Udrih showing promise with the Kings in Bibby's absence. Petrie has also made it known since then that his goal is to clear salary-cap space for the summer of 2009.
All of which brings the Cavs back into the game without the need of a third team. Nearly the Cavs' entire roster has contracts that will be up after next season, giving them all sorts of trading pieces if the Kings make that a priority. The Kings would be interested in moving a player signed past 2009 in addition to Bibby. Most likely it would be Kenny Thomas, who is signed for two more seasons and can't get off the bench.
If the Cavs want Bibby bad enough, they do have the ammunition to give the Kings what they want. It would take a package that would probably involved a talented big man such as Drew Gooden, a prospect such as Shannon Brown or a draft pick and contracts expiring in 2009. The Cavs have numerous ones, especially Eric Snow, Damon Jones or even both.
It might not seem like a lot for a player such as Bibby, but it would free the Kings of millions in salary commitments, get them a bonafide starting power forward and set them up for rebuilding.
You can be sure it will be discussed before the Feb. 21 deadline, especially if Bibby plays well after returning from injury.
Dribbles
• ESPN.com ran a column this week that listed Brown as one of the coaches on the hot seat this season, even listing his odds of being fired at 12-1. Everything is fluid in the NBA, but at the moment, the odds are really much closer to 100-1. By percentage, Brown is actually the winningest coach in team history and has the full support of Ferry and owner Dan Gilbert. There are times, of course, when James gets annoyed by his coach. But James' feelings about the team almost always mirror Brown's, especially when it comes to defense. Unless you start hearing different messages, you can assume Brown has James' support.
However, it is interesting that the Cavs elected not to sign Brown to a contract extension or even give him a raise after he led the Cavs to the NBA Finals. Brown, whose base salary this season is a little more than $2 million, is the third-lowest paid coach in the Eastern Conference, ahead of only Sam Vincent of the Charlotte Bobcats and Larry Krystkowiak of the Milwaukee Bucks. Coaches with lesser resumes such as Sam Mitchell of the Toronto Raptors and Lawrence Frank of the New Jersey Nets got new deals last summer that pay them double what Brown makes. Next year is the last year of Brown's deal, a $2.5 million option that the Cavs picked up after his first season.
• In the interest of giving playing time to rookie Mike Conley, the Memphis Grizzlies have deactivated veteran point guard Damon Stoudamire and put him on the trade block. As everyone knows, the Cavs are in need of a point guard, but Stoudamire is not on their list. Brown prefers bigger guards, and Stoudamire is 5-foot-10. Sources said they already turned down a sign-and-trade offer for Stoudamire when the Grizzlies showed interest in signing Sasha Pavlovic.
Brian Windhorst can be reached at bwindhor@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/cavs/.
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