MichaelProcton

So there go a few pieces of the Felton puzzle. First, with a stud PG like Miller on board, it seems to me Portland wouldn't go after Felton. However, could this open room to let Philly go after him? Lou Williams would be their starter at the moment, and some have expressed their concerns about him as a true PG. Then again, some of those questions are certainly evident with Felton. Also, this is further proof that Felton's efforts to net a long-term deal at $7-8 mil a year are totally misguided. Portland was said to have netted Miller with an offer that was only a slight improvement over Philly's offer of $6 million for 1 year.

Derrick Brown gets some recognition as a member of the Draft Express All-Rookie Summer League Third Team. Here's the complete list: First Team Blake Griffin Tyler Hansbrough Chase Budinger James Harden Tyreke Evans Second Team Dante Cunningham DaJuan Summers Austin Daye DeMar DeRozan Jodie Meeks Third Team DeJuan Blair Derrick Brown Marcus Thornton Rodrigue Beaubois Darren Collison

r3 had asked about Panthers players on twitter. The above link provides the pages for four players currently twittering: Everette Brown, Jon Beason, Jonathan Stewart, and Rhys Lloyd. A KOS is an interesting guy to keep a twitter, but remember, he's a free agent at the end of this year, and no publicity is bad publicity.

"Coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski promises the Bucs will be an aggressive, run-first offense this season. 'We will be a successful team running the ball, I promise you that,' said Jags. 'We are going to be a one-cut, downhill, physical football team.' It's a sea change in philosophy from Jon Gruden, who never ran more than 46 percent of the time. With the uncertainty at quarterback, the offense will revolve around the young drive-blocking line and backs Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham." Well, some are concerned about our run defense? If the Buccaneers have their way, it will be tested regularly over the next few years.

So, another potential PF target gone. $12 mil over two years ain't cheap, but I bet we could have managed that. I guess the front office has decided they're content with the roster core and are gonna give a chance to the Linton Johnsons and Andre Browns of the world again.

This is an article out of San Francisco about the Warriors' summer league team, and it's interesting/notable for the fact that that team features two former Bobcats. Cartier Martin had a great stint out in Las Vegas, averaging nearly 20 PPG with 4 RPG to boot. Here's what they had to say: "Jackpot Cartier Martin: Made enough noise to get, at the very least, an NBA training camp invitation." On the other end of the spectrum, however, Jermareo Davidson really struggled, going 2-2 while only earning 10 MPG. His best game was his first, where he scored 4 and picked up 4 boards in 15 minutes. Here was the recap about him: "Lost shirt Jermareo Davidson: Fell behind Connor Atchley and Jamal Sampson."

So it might not mean much because it's just summer league, but Adam Morrison is back to his 20 PPG days and seems to have improved health and confidence (in both his knee and his game.) His time had obviously passed here, but I certainly hope he can make a career for himself in the league.

Remember how some people (myself included) were a little down or concerned about the fact that Marcus Monk didn't play on a practice squad last year? Well, it seems that some of that may have been his choice. After being cut by the Bears (who had drafted him in the 7th round) at the September 1st cut and a one-week stint on the Giants practice squad, Monk chose to go back to school at Arkansas, starting work on a second degree while also using his fifth year of NCAA eligibility in basketball, much as Greg Paulus is doing at Syracuse. He had dabbled in basketball in his freshman year, averaging 1 PPG and 2 RPG in about 8 MPG over 10 games. Last year, though, he made a more significant impact, playing 16 MPG over 8 games, averaging 5-3 with a steal a game tossed in to boot. That impact included being one of the stars of a 96-88 midseason upset of #4 Oklahoma. In that game, he scored 8 second-half points and did his part in "holding" NBA #1 draft pick Blake Griffin to 21 points. So, for all the talk about athletes like Julius Peppers and his exploits on the basketball court, it looks like we might just have another member for a good pickup b-ball team.

Prior to the FA period, I advocated letting Peppers walk. Often, people asked me who I'd replace him with. My typical answer was Terrell Suggs of the Ravens, who was also hitting the FA market. He's younger, nearly as talented and versatile, comes without the headaches, and, I surmised, would be much cheaper. As it turned out, they both got franchised and it was a moot point. Still, though, if Peppers is truly wanting to go up to $15 mil a year, I hope people will see that that demand is just plain ridiculous after the recent $12 mil a year deal of Jared Allen and this most recent signing.

So Matt Cassell just got $63 million over 6 years. Yes, a guy who's started exactly one season since he was 18 years old and who was good, but not even great in it while playing in an exceptional system with some of the best talent under one of the best offensive coaches in football. Does Jake's $8 mil a year really look so bad?

So it looks like another FA target is out the window. Contract numbers aren't out yet, but it's not tough to guess the Bobbies were outbid for this quality young player. Sadly enough, it looks like we'll probably be turning to Juwan Howard, Sean May, or another player of their caliber (or lack of caliber, really) to fill our gaping frontcourt backup needs.

Andy Marte, for whom we managed to somehow snag Edgar Renteria from the Red Sox (who turned into Jair Jurrjens and Gorkys Hernandez, part of the package for McLouth), just won the IL PoW award for the week for the second week in a row. He's actually the first player to do so since '06 (Cole Hamels), and with a .320/.362/.541 line plus 11 homers and 46 RBIs to boot through 67 games, he's having his best season since we traded him (and maybe ever.) He's been a disappointment thus far, but maybe he'll turn out to be something after all.

The Panthers have waived Mike Juergens and Brit Miller, a pair of UFA rookies. With no other reason to cut them at this stage, one would assume the team is close on negotiations with a couple of rookies for whom roster space is being made. Perhaps Duke Robinson and Corvey Irvin? That would leave just the two second-rounders left.

Apparently, Carlos Beltran's knee is not getting any better, and the only option to try and relieve his pain could be microfracture. I don't know if there are any big-time baseball players who have had the procedure done, but it would certainly be a difficult road back to excellence. Too bad for Carlos if this comes to pass, but it's certainly not a bad thing for the Bravos if the Mets are stuck paying a guy big money to either not play or be a shadow of his former self.

Rick Bonnell reports that the Bobcats have moved their D-League affiliate from Sioux Falls, SD to Portland, ME. The distance is somewhat shorter, but still well off the NBA beaten path. Sean Singletary and Alexis Ajinca both saw D-League time last season, and it's not outside the realm of possibility that Derrick Brown could do the same this year.

It appears MJ isn't the only person interested in bailing us out from the disaster that's been Bob Johnson as the majority owner. George Postolos, a Harvard-educated Houston businessman, has recently visited the city to check out the Bobcats' facilities and to inspect the financial status of the team. He has experience not only as the CEO and President of the Houston Rockets, but also as a special assistant to NBA commissioner David Stern, a role in which he dealt with CBA, TV rights, and marketing issues. For the Rockets, he was heavily involved in financing the Toyota Center as well as the negotiations with China to allow Yao Ming to play in the NBA.

Apparently, Jordan Gross was told in negotiating his long-term deal that if an agreement had not been reached, he would have received the franchise tag for a second consecutive year. The reasons included the lower price and the difficulty in replacing a stud LT on this years FA market relative to a DE. Boy, that sure would have shaken up the offseason, and probably prevented a lot of headaches.