Ish Smith might be the talk of RFA. GMs are going back and forth on how to value and pay him, weighing his pros (skillset) against his cons (age and size). But then there's the most important factor: fresh blood GM of the Pistons who may be looking to make a splash and shake it up after absentee RunningBack15 was removed.
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Word out of Philadelphia is that while they hope to retain their RFA's, they have a strict dollar amount they'll pay each one. Anything above that, and they'll work to negotiate a trade. Philly GM Balls O' Hard was quoted as saying, 'I've won championships with groups way worse than this bunch, you think I give a shit who's on my team?'
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Patrick Patterson is about as raw as a sushi roll, but as we've seen in the past, GMs in RFA pay for potential, not production.
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Bucks GM Iamquailman does not have the cap room to bid on RFA's, but has decided to protest this ruling with the league office. WigNosy - The Commissioner - is considering the request provided the Bucks bid at least $15m on RFA Gary Neal. He is quoted as saying, 'MEOW GARY NEAL MEOW MEOW NAPTIME'
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Evan Turner was spotted back in Denver. We all know that both he and Nuggets GM Cate D. Thesyn are very close and that the GM values him at the same level as a player of Paul George's caliber.
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Every year an RFA gets PAID and then comes to camp out of shape. Word around the league is this year it's likely to be Jeff Adrien who may be exposed when he has to play out of the shadows of Joakim Noah.
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The Lakers drafted Joel Embiid and just aquired Thomas Robinson to set their front court. With Jonas and Bynum on the bench, many GMs are naming Derrick Favors as this year's most "gettable" RFA.
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Rockets GM Sven T. Ate vowed to match any and all offers for Lance Stephenson, but most recent reports indicate that he was recently seen experiencing some lux tax PTSD after looking at the Miami Heat's current cap situation. This itself may be an indication of the GM's claim being a bluff all along.
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With the newly implemented training system, expect contracts offered to potential reflect a future training. Many GMs are looking at the potentials of these players, seeing what they might become with a minor tweak, and offering contracts accordingly.
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A couple reputable sources report that to teams are shying away from Eric Bledsoe. Even with the new training system, many see him as a lost cause. Very possible the Grizzlies could get him back for cheap. He's a great fit next to Jimmy Butler, after all. #CCCCC
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Sources say one of the candidates for Media Point Distributor may have colluded with the Russians for a leg up in this close election race.
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Word out of the Stephenson camp is that he has not received a single offer meeting his demands. As one GM put it, "Lance is a fine player but have you seen his desired contract?"
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Evan Turner was just spotted at a Subway in Toronto. He was ordering a veggie sandwich, and halfway through the order, he smirked and said "Yanno what, Deluxe it. I'm Rich BIATCHHHHHHHH!"
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Sources indicate the Rockets are wanting to build off their hot start by offering to deal Bismack Biyombo and Sean Kilpatrick for upgrades in the starting lineup.
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Much has been made of the Matt Peck situation. Peck, a junior at San Diego State, is a projected top pick in the upcoming draft. He's dealing with some off the court issues as he's been suspended for a month. His father, former NBA player Wiley Peck (who played 628 minutes in 1980 for the Spurs) has been beside himself over this suspension. "This whole situation is bullshit. We already are receiving offers from companies on a shoe deal. I was blackballed by the NBA in small market like San Antonio. Michael Jordan, Shawn Kemp, Tracy Mcgrady, those <expletive deleted> are lucky they never had to go 1-on-1 with me. I told Matt he's just not going to play, and he won't appear on the court again until he is a Los Angeles Laker." Many around the league were shaken by these quotes, and some are wondering if Peck's attitude issues along with his unstable father will move him down draft boards.
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Oklahoma St. PG Ellison was asked - who was better, him or Texas A&M star Jeffrey Duran, he responded with ,"Im a team first guy not a who's better guy. Right now OK St is 7-0 and A&M is 5-0.. if he wants to take an L tell him to come to Stillwater. I'm sure he'll bounce back after.
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Matt Peck is coming off his suspension and should be good to go starting next game, a big boost for a struggling San Diego State team. Wiley Peck is back at it too making headlines: "We decided to let Matt play this season for San Diego State. We figured the Lakers would like to get a good look at the future of their franchise." When asked how Peck would feel playing for another team, Wiley replied, "My son will only play for the Lakers." Wiley also made news at a recent San Diego State game when he was asked who in the NBA is a good comparison for his son. "There really is no good comparison for Matt. I'll tell you what, he's better than Kevin Durant to me." With all that said, look for Matt Peck to make his season debut at Wyoming next sim.
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Sources indicate the results of the upcoming 'Fan Interest' poll have quite a few surprises. The most fervent fan base? The inhabitants of Memphis and Vancouver who love the idea of sharing their beloved Grizzlies. One fan wrote, "You'd really have to hate freedom to try to make the team choose between one city and the other."
New Orleans had the most lackluster support with fans citing 'Lack of a cohesive strategy' and 'Horrible GM'
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The Suns/Hornets trade has already been the source of a bit of controversy. Sources say the several teams have reached out to the Suns via PM in the last hour including one team which offered an asset in addition to 10 points.
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There have been some murmurs around the league that the Hawks are quietly sweating bullets entering tonight's sim. They are tied 2-2 with the Cavs but have been ourscored by 24 points through 4 games. This Cavs team gave the Hawks a lot of trouble last year and added Al Jefferson. Still, it would be an upset of historical proportions against a team considered the favorite to repeat. Expect some big changes for Wig in games 5 and 6.
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We're hearing the Pacers have not given up hope on coming back vs the Raptors. They believe they have the best player in the series and have outplayed Toronto thus far. According to some in thr Pacers office, they believe they would be up 3-1 if not for the free throw discrepancy. Indiana believes if they can keep their fouls down, they should be able to force a game 7. The Raptors have been cautiously optimistic and look to simply run Chris Bosh through the Pacers defense in game 5 as they look to close out.
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The Bulls and Wizards are tied 2-2 heading back to Chicago tonight. Although the Bulls are considered the better team, the GM is still relatively new, especially with regards to the playoffs. Meanwhile, he's taking on a veteran GM in the playoffs for the 15th time. One GM was quoted: "If Garbageman wants to become a great GM, and I think he has an opportunity to eventually become one, he has to start by winning a series like this. He's got the better team and homecourt against a good GM. This is a series he needs to win." The Wizards have been thrilled with their start. Their goal has been to force this to a game 7 where hopefully, they can out-gameplan a GM in just his second ever playoff series. This is a huge series because both teams believe they have a good chance to reach the Conference Finals should they win in Round 1.
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Sources say the Heat have been motivated by their doubters thus far this postseason. The Heat GM believes he has a top 4-5 team in the league and has been treated as the 5th-6th best team in the East. They've jumped out on the Bucks and consider themselves considerable favorites vs whoever comes out alive in the Bulls-Wizards series. And they consider themselves the favorites against every team in the league outside of the Hawks which they view as 50/50. So far, so good for Miami. The Bucks on the other hand have taken this series pretty hard thus far. They expected to have a top 5 team this season and have struggled in the regular season and playoffs thus far. They still quietly believe they have a chance against the Heat, but are preparing themselves for the worst: a game 5 defeat and a bitter end to a disappointing season.