Cavs New Point Guard?

LUKE RIDNOUR
2006-07: He was supposed to have a breakout season, especially after a contract extension. After a series of inconsistencies and bouts with insecurity, however, Ridnour did not give the organization any security about his future as a starting point guard. He averaged fewer points, assists and steals than last season and his numbers declined badly after the All-Star break, resulting in a disappointing season for the one-time cornerstone. Ridnour is unhappy with his role and it seems like something has to change.
Staying or leaving? The club will try to trade him and the remaining three years on his deal and acquire a frontline point guard with size and experience. Seattle Post-Intelligencer

This is intriguing as hell to me. I like Ridnour. He's young, energetic and he's a true point guard. Exactly what we need. Maybe a Damon Jones for Ridnour deal could be in our future?

Magic Courting Chauncey?

This is intriguing as hell to me. Chauncey in Orlando kills 3 birds with 1 stone. First, Orlando gets the veteran leadership they'll need when Battie is no longer starting, and Grant Hill finally faces the music and retires. Second, the Magic get the solid shooting stroke and extra scoring punch provided by one of the best pure shooters in the league (maybe the best clutch shooter in the business). Third, the Magic get one of the best point guards in the league, and then have a great trading chip in the expendable Jam Nelson (who becomes worthless with the arrival of Billups). The Magic were feeling gun shy about giving Nelson a fat extension based on his inconsistent play, this way they can let him walk, or sign & trade him for another piece. Now supposedly this would all cost the Magic Darko, but I don't see why. No way Detroit is after Darko, so what're they gonna do, just let him walk? For the 6-8 mil range, I feel like Darko's a steal. So they give Howard 85 mil, they give Chauncey 3 or 4 years at 14 per. They really oughta have money left for Darko at 7 per. Now tell me there's a more evil starting line than Darko, Dwight, Chauncey, Hedo and ________ (insert name here). They would cut a bloody swathe through the Eastern Conference.

Weak End at Bernie's

Bernie Bickerstaff will not be returning as the head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats. Read the whole story here, from Yahoo! Sports.
Much like the firing of Dwayne Casey earlier this year, I'm not crazy about this move. Bick has been, in my opinion, one of the best GMs in the league over the last couple seasons, putting together the hottest looking young core of 1st round picks in the league. He's done it while maintaining an almost impossibly low payroll. To put it in perspective; the Bobcats pay Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor, Ray Felton, Sean May, Primoz Brezec, Matt Carroll, Brevin Knight, Adam Morrison less in combined salary, than the Knicks pay for just Franchise and Starbury. Who would you rather have? Granted there are a lot of rookie contracts in there, and the reason they have so many good rookies is that they're so perennially awful that they always have a high 1st round pick. Still, Okafor and Wallace should both have been All Stars this year, Felton and May could both become major contributors, and the other guys have bright futures as role players. Bickerstaff is the one who put the team in position to sign both Vinsanity and Rashard Lewis this off season. They're the only team in the league that can literally outbid anyone. If they play their cards right, they could be in the hunt for Lewis, Carter, Garnett, Gasol, Billups, and anyone else who might hit the market this summer. As a coach, I also like what Bickerstaff has done with a constant injury epidemic. His team could be a lot worse, with Okafor and Wallace always down, and the young guys having no vets to look up to, Charlotte is a piece or two away from the playoffs. They've got 22 million in contracts coming off the books as soon as the season ends. They have to consider giving Wallace fat money to keep him, but it's not a necessity, as they'll also be walking into the best draft since '03 with yet another top 5 pick. I feel like this is the wrong time to announce this. They're already deep enough in the hole that they don't need to "play for the draft." Meaning they could go 15-5 to finish the year (massively unlikely) and still end up with a top 5 pick. So why completely undermine the rest of Bick's tenure by announcing his lame duck status? The Cats are in a unique position to really start getting creative and juggling lines. They have 20 games that don't matter at all, maybe they should spend them getting to know just how good Brezec, Carroll and Hollins are? Now's the time. Okafor's injured, again, might as well deactivate him for the homestretch, let him rest up and give the "younger" guys a chance to show what they've got. On top of that, is the fact that they're either gonna re-sign Wallace, sign-and-trade him, or let him go. Regardless of the situation, now's the time to showcase him. If they want to use him to get Pau, they'll need to up his dollar. Wallace, a Bickerstaff favorite, is less likely to be amenable to... anything, with Bernie gone. Jordan's saying Bickerstaff will remain in the organization, but as what GM? Cheerleader? By being shadowy, Jordan gives me the sneaking suspicion he's about to get his hands dirty and his feet wet. Can you say coach Jordan? I know the fans of Charlotte can...

UPDATE: This just occurred to me, but can you think of a better fit to replace Bickerstaff than Paul Silas?? Oh man, that'd be flawless casting by Jordan...

Vlad Rad: Owned!

Daaaaaaaaaaaammmmmnnnnnn! 500K for a snowboarding snafu. Vlad Rad will damn sure think twice before the next time he gets the X-trifling sports bug. From the LA Times (via HoopsHype):

The Lakers fined forward Vladimir Radmanovic $500,000 — about 10% of his salary this season — for a contract violation stemming from a snowboarding crash during the NBA All-Star break. Radmanovic, out until mid- to late-April because of a separated right shoulder sustained in the accident, said he would not appeal the fine. Los Angeles Times

Actually, he got off pretty light. I think technically the Lakers could have attempted to void his contract. The way he's been playing, I'm kinda surprised they didn't. Especially with Rashard Lewis, who gives everything Vlad does and then some, hitting the market this summer. You'd think the Lakers would want to recover the money they throw at Radman and offer it up for Shard. When you think about it, Vlad's missing more than a 10th of the season over this stupidity, so he should be charged more than a 10th of his salary. The Cap'n thinks he got off easy.