Teams still trying to get Bonzi (merged)

jay dubb

G-League
http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060727/SPORTS/607270347/1006


article says that six teams want Bonzi's service and it has more on a sign & trade through the Kings.


Bonzi Wells waiting for NBA contract


By PHIL BEEBE
pbeebe@muncie.gannett.com



MUNCIE -- Bonzi Wells is taking care of himself and helping take care of about 100 Muncie kids this week.
While waiting for a new NBA contract that could land him in his fourth NBA city, Wells is taking part in the third annual Bonzi Wells Youth Basketball Camp that concludes today. He's careful not to turn an ankle or otherwise diminish his value to prospective employers.
"I just want to get it done so I can start playing again," Wells said of the contract situation that has played out since the free-agency period started July 1. Teams could negotiate with players July 1-11, and contracts could be signed beginning July 12.
The former Central High School and Ball State University star played for the Sacramento Kings last year after being traded there from Memphis in the offseason.
Wells's agent, William Phillips, said Wednesday that six teams are still in the mix. He declined to name all six teams, but he said the Indiana Pacers are still among them.
Wells, 29, likes the idea of playing in his home state and doesn't think being so close to family and friends would be a distraction.
"I'd love to come home," he said. "When I was younger, I would have told you it wouldn't have been a problem, but I would have been lying. Now, I'm older, more mature. I understand who my friends are, and at this point in my life it would be fine."
Wells and Phillips said money is the main factor holding up negotiations, which could include a sign-and-trade deal that would allow the Kings to get something in return for their free-agent guard.
"That is the scenario that would be most beneficial to Bonzi," Phillips said. "Bonzi has handled this well. He was clear to me from the beginning with where he wanted to be (salary-wise). He wants to play in an opportunity that has a chance to win, but salary is an important factor."
The Kings had hoped to re-sign Wells, who seemed to boost his free-agent status during a six-game playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs. He led the league in offensive rebounds (4.2) and total rebounds (12.0), the first guard in NBA history to do that. He also shot 61 percent from the field and averaged 23.2 points per game during the six games. For the season, Wells averaged 13.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game for the Kings, his seventh season in the NBA.
But Sacramento on Tuesday signed free agent John Salmons. The Sacramento Bee reported that Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie spent money he was reserving for Wells on Salmons, and the Bee also reported that a sign-and-trade was unlikely because it would put the Kings over the league's luxury tax threshold.
Wells's youth camp is actually in its seventh year, but organizers call 2006 the third annual because the format was changed in 2004. Wells says he has enjoyed seeing Muncie children improve as basketball players.
"Some of these kids have come to all seven camps," he said. "You can see their game get better."
And he hopes the camp plays a role in improving the lives of the participating kids.
"You see so many adults in the community, my father, Carl Malone, they've done a great job of keeping them focused on life and away from the streets, drugs."

Contact sports editor Phil Beebe at 213-5810.
 
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"Wells's agent, William Phillips, said Wednesday that six teams are still in the mix."

That source may be a little biased. And likely full of hooey.
 
The Kings were smart not to throw so much cash at Bonzi, but if they could get Jeff Foster from Indiana in a S&T, that would round out their frontcourt and give them a legitimate rebounder. I wouldn't mind Magloire either, but they can't be stupid and take on Kandi or Lorenzen Wright.
 
Well glad to see reporters are still taking Philips calls. probably not a grain of truth in any of this obvious sales piece. Yeah it would be great to land a S&T for a decent big man but I have a feeling in the end Kings will be forced to pick up a bargan basement deal for a guy a lot like Kandi or Wright.
 
He was clear to me from the beginning with where he wanted to be (salary-wise). He wants to play in an opportunity that has a chance to win, but salary is an important factor."


Gee. That's a freekin SHOCKER!

Don't forget to mention YOUR cut, Phillips.
 
the whole "six teams" bit from philips is getting tiresome. there were "six teams" interested in bonzi when this thing started.

personally, i'm confused. if petrie had actually said that a sign and trade was completely off the table, then bonzi would have a home by now, because he'd be signing somewhere for the MLE. given that philips is still holding out for a sign and trade, i gotta believe that petrie hasn't ruled out the possibility of a sign and trade. the maloofs have probably told geoff that they will only go over the luxury tax threshold if a sign and trade for bonzi is worth their while. but that also seems strange to say, because if they were willing to go over the tax threshold in the first place, why didn't they just re-sign bonzi outright? or was he really asking for an unreasonable $12 million plus? or did the maloofs just not want to invest in a 30 year old SG? it's tough to say. really i'd just like to see bonzi signed somewhere so we don't have to hear the bull**** from philips anymore.
 
or did the maloofs just not want to invest in a 30 year old SG?


ding ding ding ding ding!!!!

I think this is the answer. Bonzi's volativity had to be something of an x-factor too. Good performance and citizenship in a contract year doesn't prove he's actually rehabilitated from his jailblazer days.

I wanted the Kings to give him up to 5/42 or maybe even 4/40, but it wasn't to be and I can respect the King's front office for deciding to go with youth.

It was fun having the "tough badass" team for a while there anyway.
 
I'd hope to be able to get something for Bonzi, AND sign a guy like Cato/Wright/Olowokandi. Who are decent and would help the front-court in what we are lacking.
 
the whole "six teams" bit from philips is getting tiresome. there were "six teams" interested in bonzi when this thing started.

personally, i'm confused. if petrie had actually said that a sign and trade was completely off the table, then bonzi would have a home by now, because he'd be signing somewhere for the MLE. given that philips is still holding out for a sign and trade, i gotta believe that petrie hasn't ruled out the possibility of a sign and trade. the maloofs have probably told geoff that they will only go over the luxury tax threshold if a sign and trade for bonzi is worth their while. but that also seems strange to say, because if they were willing to go over the tax threshold in the first place, why didn't they just re-sign bonzi outright? or was he really asking for an unreasonable $12 million plus? or did the maloofs just not want to invest in a 30 year old SG? it's tough to say. really i'd just like to see bonzi signed somewhere so we don't have to hear the bull**** from philips anymore.

First off, I think Phillips is full of it. I don't think there was ever much out there in the S&T market (and obviously nothing that benefited us more than overpaying Salmons) and now its virtually impossible. Secondly, there may be some teams interested, but at this point I doubt there's anyone that's ready to give the full mid-level for 5 years. I think Phillips realized he screwed up, and he's just trying to throw out the words S&T to get teams to up their MLE offer from 2-3 years to the full 5.
 
If there was a S&T that was worth it than it would have been done. Bonzi is gone. The reign of K-Mart is at hand!
 
Previously Bonzi held all the cards in a S&T since he could refuse to sign unless he liked the trade. Now he gets to choose between liking the team and liking his contract so a S&T is still an outside possibility if the right deal comes along.
 
The Kings were smart not to throw so much cash at Bonzi, but if they could get Jeff Foster from Indiana in a S&T, that would round out their frontcourt and give them a legitimate rebounder. I wouldn't mind Magloire either, but they can't be stupid and take on Kandi or Lorenzen Wright.


Yeah but I'd say not waiting to see if Bonzi would take the original offer wasn't that smart. They were willing to pay him something, they could have at leasted waited to see if he would come back to take Sac's offer after he sat out to dry for a while.
 
I am not thinking Kandi and Musselman could co-exist, so I throw him out of the mix. LWright played under Muss in Memphis and so there may be a relationship there. For the LLE, I would take Wright. Anything more than that and I think the Kings would have to pass.
 
Indeed, Wright/Muss were in Memphis for two seasons. Along with Petrie wanting him last summer in the Bonzi trade. The Wolves are targetting him, and they already used their MLE as well. Anything more than the LLE and we couldn't get him. I have a bit of a feeling the Nets or Rockets could well get him.

Cato's a good option as well.

Edit: I'd say forget the Nets for Wright, they got Collins/Moore/Krstic at the bigs. Then you got Josh Boone coming back in 2-3 months or so, and was supposed to back-up Collins. So, they'll need room for him as well.
 
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I'm pretty sure you are going to see Olowakandi as our back up center next year. Petrie had discussions with his agent during the summer league and they actually went out to dinner(his agent said this on the radio). I think once the Bonzi situation clears up(which I still say is waiting on the Harrington deal to go through.....if it ever does) we will see movement on the Bonzi front. My guess is that he goes to Houston or Atlanta.
 
Well, I'd be cool with getting him. He helps our front-court defensively as a big guy who can be a presence in the paint and around the basket.

Atlanta? They used their MLE on Claxton already, and already got Josh Smith/Childress/Joe Johnson/Marvin Williams.
 
I'm cool with Kandi too - now that his stock has dropped a bit and expectations are more realistic, he could be a real steal.
 
Yeah, I think it's set in that he's a bust.... as a #1 pick. That doesn't mean he's garbage or a useless stiff. From what I've seen over the last 3 years, he's actually a pretty solid defensive big man. I'll definitely take him over Vitaly Potapenko. He'd just be getting paid the LLE.
 
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I'm pretty sure you are going to see Olowakandi as our back up center next year. Petrie had discussions with his agent during the summer league and they actually went out to dinner(his agent said this on the radio). I think once the Bonzi situation clears up(which I still say is waiting on the Harrington deal to go through.....if it ever does) we will see movement on the Bonzi front. My guess is that he goes to Houston or Atlanta.

People who talk on the radio about private Petrie business are fools.
 
Say what you want about him, but he would help our interior defense, and would be cheap. Oh, and yeah, I'll definitely take Olowokandi over Vitaly Potapenko for our back-up center.
 
Ya know I can't even read Olowokandi's name with out thinking of the episode of My Name Is Earl where every time the cops hit him with the taser they paly Edie Grant's "Electric Avenue" as background music...

If Candyman had ever shown better production with his skill set he would be worth the risk but given his chronic and consistant underachiving there are better guys to be had for the same LLE money.
 
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latest word on some boards is that the spurs are now interested and thinking about pursuing bonzi. would be interesting if this is true. they certainly know how valuble he could be.
 
^interesting question. and i certainly don't pretend to know. this info is coming from a pretty shady hoopsworld article.

here is what it says:
On Friday we learned that the Spurs have thrown their hat in the race to sign the only remaining big-name free agent: Bonzi Wells. The Spurs know better than any other team what Bonzi's value is, as he was the reason some pundits began predicting a first-round loss for the Spurs. Bonzi was nothing short of a Spurs killer in the first round, averaging 23.2 points, shooting 61% from the field and grabbing 12 rebounds per game.

The Spurs are not the front-runners for Wells, but they are now officially on the radar. The question now becomes whether Wells would rather play with his buddy Jermaine O'Neal in Indiana, as was originally planned, or play for a title in San Antonio, Miami, or Detroit.

The Kings are open to a sign-and-trade, meaning the Spurs could unload some of their redundant talent. Brent Barry's name has been mentioned in almost every trade rumor involving the Spurs, but more recently Oberto and Beno Udrih have been on the table in discussions, as well.

One thing's for sure - the Spurs haven't yet made the deal that makes them better than division rival Dallas. The Mavericks have made some nice upgrades, locked Jason Terry in for the foreseeable future, and had a solid draft. They have not been content to stand pat. There is no question they have improved. It may be that Bonzi Wells is the only way left for the Spurs to keep pace with their Texas Triangle rivals.
http://www.hoopsworld.com/article_18276.shtml

i'm only reporting something i came across. not sure how much truth there is to it. so i am hesistant to put much into it until a more solid source confirms this. likely it won't happen, but interesting still the same.
 
Hoopsworld?

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Never mind.

:p

There's also one thing to consider. Petrie is most likely NOT going to be in a hurry to do anything to help the Spurs.
 
People who talk on the radio about private Petrie business are fools.

Well, his agent is Bill Duffy who is one of the most respected out there and certainly no fool. Should it be a secret that he had dinner with Geoff Petrie :confused: .

Kandi would be a nice back up for us regardless of what people think.
 
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