Re: Sam Smith On Upcoming Trades - Baker, Duncan

[Shailendra Mishra <shailendra_mishra@yahoo.com>]

To Sam Smith I would say dream on, which superstar would like to go to
a loser like Chicago specially when the money is not going to be any
different. Reading Sam Smiths articles, it appears it is he who is on
Marijuana. - Mishra

--- Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> Sam's still thinking those grandiose thoughts - says
> the Bulls are
> interested in signing Duncan and Grant Hill next
> season.  Of the
> proposed Baker trade, he says Chicago would get more
> draft picks,
> but Baker is leaning toward staying sleepless in
> Seattle, and Detroit
> had a wee bit of a weed problem....
> > 
> 
>             Chicago Tribune
>             Sam Smith/NBA Report
>             Run for cover: Trade winds starting to
> blow
> 
> 
> 
>             July 25, 1999 
>             SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- NBA teams once
> again can begin signing free 
>             agents and making trades starting Aug.
> 1.
>             Atlanta's Steve Smith, in Puerto Rico
> with the U.S. team for the 
>             Olympic qualifying tournament, looks
> like he'll have a new address.
>             "I don't know what's going on, but I've
> heard all the trade rumors," 
>             Smith said.
>             Smith, whose backcourt partner Mookie
> Blaylock was traded to Golden 
>             State in June, has been rumored to be
> going to Portland for perhaps 
>             Isaiah Rider and Kelvin Cato or Jim
> Jackson.
>             Players here also have been gossiping
> about a Mitch Richmond 
>             sign-and-trade deal to Seattle.
>             "It's not a wild rumor," insisted Gary
> Payton, who has lobbied for 
>             Richmond.
>             But it seems unlikely since the Sonics
> don't want to give up Horace 
>             Grant, whom the Wizards have talked
> about, and Seattle may sign 
>             Vernon Maxwell.
>             U.S. player Vin Baker of Seattle is a
> free agent and has talked 
>             about going to Boston. There have been
> rumors of a deal for Antoine 
>             Walker with a third team needed to
> facilitate the trade for salary 
>             cap reasons. It has been said to be the
> Bulls, who would get more 
>             draft picks. But Baker is believed to be
> leaning toward staying in 
>             Seattle while another top free agent,
> Minnesota's Terrell Brandon, 
>             has been negotiating with the
> Timberwolves to stay.
>             Meanwhile, Charles Barkley, aware of the
> uncertainty in Houston 
>             regarding Scottie Pippen and Hakeem
> Olajuwon, has contacted the 
>             Lakers, SuperSonics and Jazz about
> perhaps signing for the $2 
>             million salary cap exception.
>             The consensus seemed to be free agent
> Charles Oakley would sign with 
>             the Lakers, but the Hawks are making a
> big push after the one-time 
>             Bull.
>             The Hawks, through a trade with Detroit,
> have a $4.4 million salary 
>             cap exception in addition to their $2
> million exception. Meanwhile, 
>             Nets forward Jayson Williams is lobbying
> Oakley to sign with the 
>             Nets.
>             Big men appear most in demand as the
> Rockets are going after the 
>             Clippers' Rodney Rogers, and the Knicks
> are among several teams 
>             pursuing Washington's Otis Thorpe.
>             What about the Bulls? Chicago is pretty
> much out of the free agent 
>             market for the coming season. Which is
> not as bad as it seems.
>             The team won't be much better next
> season than it was last season. 
>             But which free agent from this crop was
> going to turn the team 
>             around? Baker, who couldn't make half
> his free throws last season? 
>             Hardaway, who has clashed with
> management and coaches and been 
>             injured in recent years? Brandon,
> injury-prone and less than 6 feet 
>             tall?
>             The Bulls would be better served to wait
> until next year when two 
>             superstars may be looking to relocate.
>             Detroit's Grant Hill has yet to get out
> of the first round of the 
>             playoffs, and there are questions
> whether the Pistons can even make 
>             the playoffs this season.
>             Now a Detroit newspaper has quoted
> several anonymous sources on the 
>             team saying a half-dozen Pistons used
> marijuana last season and four 
>             players did so during the first-round
> playoff loss to the Hawks. 
>             Team officials said they had no
> knowledge of drug use.
>             And then there's Tim Duncan. He is
> generally regarded as the best 
>             player in the NBA.
>             But it appears Spurs teammate Sean
> Elliott's career is over because 
>             of the need for a kidney transplant.
> David Robinson has had injury 
>             problems, is 34 and his contract expires
> after the 2000-01 season. 
>             He probably will retire then.
>             Plus, there are questions about the fate
> of the Spurs franchise with 
>             the need for a new arena and practice
> facility and suitors from 
>             other cities trying to buy the team.
>             All of that could send Duncan looking
> for a new team, and the 
>             Bulls--and only the Bulls--could be in
> position after next season to 
>             pay the maximum salary to both Hill and
> Duncan.
>             Which would make any team a contender
> instantly. With Elton Brand on 
>             board and another top draft pick after
> next season, the Bulls could 
>             make an impressive pitch to both. 
> 
>            

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