Monday Water Cooler – June 28th, 2010
Here we go with today’s sports water cooler talk. Here, you won’t just find the straight news; you’ll find the stuff everyone is talking about – the ice breakers, the Twitter Sports Picks and topics…well, basically all the stuff you discuss at the water cooler.
Enjoy!
With the NBA and NHL drafts both complete for 2010, the rumor mongering in the daily news is absolutely out of control as July 1 approaches.
NBA news: Jay-Z recruiting LeBron? Bosh to Miami? Miller to Boston? Phil Jackson’s return influenced by George Karl?
Rumors, rumors, rumors! We’ll start with the man garnering the most attention: LeBron James.
LeBron reportedly will invite six different teams to meet with him over the first three days of free agency: the Nets, Knicks, Bulls, Clippers, Heat and Cavaliers. First up is New Jersey. The Nets will send an All-Star recruiting team of Jay-Z himself, new head coach Avery Johnson, madman Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov and departing general manager Rod Thorn to woo King James.
The latest Chris Bosh rumor ties him to Miami. Bosh recently called the Heat organization first-class and signing with the Heat would undoubtedly increase Dwyane Wade’s odds of returning. Or is it vise-versa? If both players end up in Miami uniforms next year, the Heat will probably announce the signing simultaneously, as neither player would likely sign unless he knew the other was confirmed as his teammate.
Are the Boston Celtics courting Brad Miller? They won’t pursue a max-salary free agent but they’d like to retain Ray Allen and retiring Rasheed Wallace frees up $13 million to spend. Sources suggest Boston will pursue center Brad Miller aggressively; the move makes sense given Kendrick Perkins’ knee injury.
Phil Jackson hasn’t decided on whether or not he’ll coach the Lakers and go for a 12th NBA title in 2010-11. He’s apparently influenced by George Karl’s health. Jackson, who has battled through heart problems and two hip replacements, wants to avoid a similar situation to Denver’s last year, in which Karl’s cancer forced him to leave the team partway through the season. Jackson is consulting doctors, eager to determine whether or not his body can handle another full season (and presumably a lengthy playoff run).
NHL news: Kovalchuk, Nabokov, Savard drawing interest
After a fairly uneventful NHL draft, general managers have shifted their focus to free agency and/or trading. Ilya Kovalchuk’s name has become extremely popular over the last few days. The Los Angeles Kings make a ton of sense. They need a front-line winger to upgrade over Alexander Frolov and La-La land is reportedly one of the only destinations Kovalchuk prefers to the KHL.
That’s a problem for the New Jersey Devils, who want to deal Kovie’s exclusive negotiating rights before free agency starts on July 1. If the Kings are the only team with a realistic shot at landing him and they know that, where’s the motivation to trade anything for his rights?
The Flyers hope the Sharks are cursed and not specifically Evgeni Nabokov. They acquired his rights over the weekend and hope to bang out a deal with the goaltender before Thursday.
Shifty center Marc Savard is far from a soon-to-be unrestricted free agent – he’s locked up for seven years – but Boston is eager to move him after drafting Tyler Seguin second overall on Friday. Savard will waive his no-trade clause for Ottawa or Toronto, as he has kids in Ontario. The Leafs are in hot pursuit but only if the Bruins will take someone other than Tomas Kaberle in a trade. Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin keep popping up on rumor lists.
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