The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Sekou Smith) blogs the following report: “Josh Smith is being targeted by Philadelphia with their $11 million-plus in available cap space. I know there is a small segment of people out there that think the Sixers might be using all this hype as a smokescreen and really be interested in making a sneak attack for Corey Maggette or even Elton Brand (if he does indeed opt out of his deal, we’ll know later today if he does or not). But Smith is the guy. And if the offer to Smith is frontloaded (think of the structure of the Hawks’ offer to Joe Johnson three years ago), things will get really complicated. The worst part is the Hawks had a 6-7, 235-pound cautionary tale on the roster in Johnson the last three years and still ignored it so they could dip their toes into the shark-infested waters this summer. It’s crazy.”
Day: June 30, 2008
Chris Douglas-Roberts got bad draft advice
The Detroit News (Chris McCosky) reports: “Chris Douglas-Roberts was never an option for the Pistons, and the fact that he fell to No. 40 in the draft was like a reality check from the basketball gods. The Pistons were the first team to call him. Even before official workouts began, the Pistons asked Douglas-Roberts, a kid from Detroit, if he wanted to begin his workouts with them. He refused. They asked him again the Monday of draft week if he wanted to conclude his workouts with the Pistons. He refused again. Douglas-Roberts got some bad advice. He thought he would be picked a lot higher than No. 29. Instead, by refusing to work out for the last 10 teams in the draft, he cost himself first-round guaranteed money.”
Business booming for Magic Johnson
The Los Angeles Times (Mike Bresnahan and Greg Johnson) reports: His Beverly Hills-based Magic Johnson Enterprises now has AMC Magic Johnson Theatres in four cities, 116 Starbucks in 14 states and Washington, 31 Burger King restaurants in the Southeast, and 13 24-Hour Fitness/Magic Johnson Sport health clubs. He also owns a nearly 5% share of the Lakers. Johnson consistently has declined to release financial data for his privately held businesses or himself. But a business associate, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak by Johnson, estimated the value of the former NBA star’s various holdings at $700 million. This associate estimated Johnson’s personal net worth at nearly $500 million… Canyon-Johnson, formed in 1998, has financed 31 real estate developments in 13 states and Washington. It launched its third and biggest investment fund in April — and in a matter of weeks drew $1 billion from pension funds and others with deep pockets.
Glance at Suns roster space
The Arizona Republic (Paul Coro) reports: “First-round draft pick Robin Lopez gives the Suns 10 players. If second-round pick Goran Dragic can’t break his contract in Spain this year, the Suns would need to add at least three players. That likely would be done with one-year, minimum-salary deals to two veterans and a free-agent rookie who could come out of a summer team coached by new assistant coaches Dan Majerle and Igor Kokoskov. At minimum, the Suns’ payroll figures to exceed the projected luxury-tax threshold by $3 million to $5 million. Teams must pay a tax based on how much they have surpassed that threshold in February. The Suns have a mid-level exception but are unlikely to use it. Fewer teams are using the exception, which allows teams over the salary cap to spend up to $5.8 million on a free agent. The Suns do not have a biennial exception because they signed forward Grant Hill with it last year.”
Several Sixers become unrestricted
The Philadelphia Daily News (Phil Jasner) reports: “Because the Sixers did not make qualifying offers, forwards Shavlik Randolph, Louis Amundson and Herbert Hill have become unrestricted free agents, joining guard Kevin Ollie. Backup center Calvin Booth exercised his player option to return for about $1.1 million . . . Published reports indicate that the Sixers have invited former Saint Joseph’s University shooter Pat Carroll and Arizona guard Jawaan McClellan to join their summer league team in Las Vegas. The Sixers will open a rookie camp out there on Sunday . . . As expected, Samuel Dalembert was named to Canada’s national team that will compete in an Olympic qualifying tournament in Greece, July 14-20.”