Vancouver Grizzlies - 1998/99 (2nd year)

YouTube · by **jyap18** on Fri Aug 03, 2012 3:46 pm

Who can explain to me the rules in trading in Dynasty? I want to have my trade but it said that there is no salary cap space. Please explain to me carefully and very detailed. Tnx

by **SuperHueyNewton** on Sat Aug 04, 2012 11:33 am

Shareef is gonna be tired after the break lol

by **tsmoha** on Sun Aug 05, 2012 8:29 pm

@SuperHuey: Yeah, he will

Let's hope he will get some minutes in All-Star game though..

@jyap: Ahm... yes.. wrong thread

@megarover: Shaq is currently injured, so that's the reason for him missing.. Only one Pacer is definitely a surprise, yes and Damon Stoudamire of course (but Stockton is injured as well).. and as promised, I got you some more '00-Kings trading cards:

by **megarover** on Mon Aug 06, 2012 8:42 am

Its about time your superstar got himself a card and there isn't a better time to get it then after making his first ASG (Y)

by **SuperHueyNewton** on Mon Aug 06, 2012 1:00 pm

Whooooo... shiny

by **tsmoha** on Mon Aug 06, 2012 10:56 pm

@megarover: Agreed!

@SuperHuey: Isn't it?

@all: Here's a rather short recap of the All-Star game, as I got some weird result, low scoring..

Jordan named MVP, as East wins in New York - East 91, West 83

All-Star game in New York: spectacular as always?! Wait.. not really. The fans saw some poor offense and good defense, mixing for one of the lowest total points amount in NBA All-Star game history. A new trend? We will see next year.. there's still some notes worth to mention:

Grizzlies-star Shareef Abdur-Rahim had his All-Star debut and played as a starter instead of Tim Duncan, who is day-to-day since his 29 points and MVP-performance in the Rookie-Sophomore's match two days ago! Abdur-Rahim ended up as Team West's second-best scorer, notching 11 points.. MVP-contender Mitch Richmond led the West with 16 points, as this two were the only West players in double figures..

"Give it to Michael and get out of the way," explained Larry Bird, the Eastern Conference coach, of his team's strategy. "That is the way it usually happens." And so it happened tonight: Michael Jordan had 22 points, 8 rebounds and was named the game's MVP, his 3rd All-Star game MVP-award.. East teammate Chris Webber had 20 points, 11 rebounds, while Antoine Walker had 11 points in his All-Star debut.

by **SuperHueyNewton** on Tue Aug 07, 2012 1:40 pm

Shareef is lookin' cool in the West uni's

by **megarover** on Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:22 am

Not one team could even crack the 100 point mark :lol:

by **tsmoha** on Sun Aug 12, 2012 6:29 pm

@megarover: Yeah, pretty poor performance

@SuperHuey: He looks cool and felt good

Thanks!

@all: Sorry for the lack of updates, but my girlfriend is moving and I had to help the last 10 days, so had no time to continue here.. so, for the moment, I will just go and release my trading cards

Stay tuned and this story ist still tbc!

by **tsmoha** on Mon Aug 13, 2012 5:19 am

Updated the 1st post! With new headers and a new "small portraits-style" roster instead of a more detailed. Tell me what you think

by **SuperHueyNewton** on Mon Aug 13, 2012 11:16 am

One prolonged word: NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICEE!!!

by **megarover** on Mon Aug 13, 2012 12:09 pm

The headers are a very nice touch but didn't much care about the new portrait style.

Cool cards as usual. Marbury and Garnett deserved those cards. Used to love Marbury in his Sun's days.

by **tsmoha** on Fri Aug 17, 2012 11:27 pm

@megarover: Thanks, man! I'm still a fan of Marbury, I don't know why

@SuperHuey: Thanks

Glad you like the new layout.

February 1998 - Results

Grizzlies record: 13-45

5 wins for the Grizzlies in February, the team's best month this season. A surprising win against the league-leading Pacers was the the team's highlight, while Shareef Abdur-Rahim made his first appearance in the All Star-Game.. the goal of reaching 18 wins is within reach for Vancouver, especially as some other franchises may prepare for both playoffs or lottery picks.

February Part #3: Some impressions

Abdur-Rahim helped the Grizzlies beat the Rockets two times within 17 days: 32 points in first, 42 points in second match-up for Vancouver's first All-Star ever! He once again proved his strength and scoring abilities.. Bryant Reeves had two double-doubles (15/10 and 19/11) and Sam Mack scored 20+ in both nights (25 and 21)..

Jeff Hornacek led the Jazz past the Grizzlies (once again): the shooting guard had 26 points, while Howard Eisley (19) and Karl Malone (17) were in double figures, too.. Vancouver's best were Abdur-Rahim (19 pts while shooting 5-15 FG) and Reeves (17 pts, 4 blocks).

Even though Stephon Marbury had 28 pts and 11 assists, the Grizzlies managed to win against Minnesota, 104-94.. it seems like Vancouver is improving their defense with every game played..

by **megarover** on Sat Aug 18, 2012 9:14 am

Speaking of Marbury it looks like he torched you.....I'm real impressed against the win vs Indy again though.

Kept their high powered offense to 71 points.......that's that lock-down defense right there (Y)

by **tsmoha** on Thu Aug 23, 2012 2:51 am

Daugherty's out for 8 weeks - Vancouver signs center Marc Jackson

Brad Daugherty, the five-time All-Star center (aged 32), will be out for 8 weeks with a broken jaw. It's his second serious injury this season and the question is, if he still feels comfortable with his comeback (from retirement because of back-injuries). Daugherty did a good job as Bryant Reeves' back-up, scoring 9ppg and leading the young Grizzlies-bench. Anyway, it's unlikely that he will return to play for Vancouver, as this season is nearing it's end and his contract expiring. "It's a tragedy", said teammate Bryant Reeves: "He came back from retirement. He wanted to help us young guys and gave us so much. I hope he will stay with us, but this injury is a huge setback".

The Grizzlies were left without a back-up center, so they signed 23 years old Marc Jackson (the 3rd Jackson on Grizzlies-roster with Bobby and Stephen). After attending college at Temple University, Marc Jackson was drafted in the second round (37th overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, but didn't play with them and became a free agent a few weeks ago.

He signed a contract for the remainder of the season, but Vancouver holds a team-option on his 473,000$ contract.

by **tsmoha** on Sat Aug 25, 2012 3:12 am

And two more trading cards: two living legends

And as Brad Daugherty is out with an injury, I thought I dedicate a card to him!

by **tsmoha** on Sat Aug 25, 2012 7:18 pm

And two more.. this year's MVP-contender Richmond plus this year's All-Star Game-debutant Stoudamire (two of my favourite cards, what do you think?):

by **megarover** on Sun Aug 26, 2012 12:41 pm

I really like the Drexler Card. The card looks real clean but its strange how he looks in that Denver Nuggets Jersey..,.,. in a good way (Y)

Its about time you had a Stoudamire and Richmond card. Especially with how good they playing this year.

Daughtberty card is eh. Aint nobody wanna see a bigman trying to lay up fool

by **tsmoha** on Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:59 pm

@megarover: Thanks for the detailed feedback, man! All of those previous cards are favourites of mine, Daugherty included

I've never seen him trying to dunk in my season, so that's why he'S a bigman trying to lay up instead

Glad you like the cards though.

@all: As the season's almost done, I will try to fasten things up a little bit, as I think, the most interesting parts for Vancouver will take place in off-season, right?!

March 1998 - Results

Grizzlies record: 18-54

Remember this year's goal for the Grizzlies? 17+ wins. Otherwise Vancouver would have set a new record for the worst 4 consecutive seasons (set by Dallas in early 90's). And with the last game in March, the Grizzlies got their 18th win in 1997-98, with another win against the Houston Rockets (28-44).. 5 wins for Vancouver in March, it seems like the team found a way to compete with the league. Still, the Grizzlies retain the NBA's 30th place this season and it's all about hoping for the NBA draft, right?!

March Part #1: Some impressions

Mitch Richmond scored 36 points (11-21 FG's) in the Kings' close 104-103 win over Vancouver.. Shareef Abdur-Rahim (26 points) and Bryant Reeves (17) were the only Grizzlies in double figures.

Shawn Kemp dominated the boards (37 points, 9 reb) in Cleveland's 110-106 win against Vancouver, who missed their chance for the 18th win this year.. Vancouver's best were Abdur-Rahim (24 pts while shooting poor 7-23 FG), Reeves (21 pts) and new back-up center Marc Jackson, who had 9 pts in 14 minutes.

And finally the Grizzlies got their win #18! Abdur-Rahim led Vancouver past the Rockets, scoring 33 pts (11-19 FG's). Reeves (12 pts, 8 reb), Mack (16 pts) and John Rillie (10 pts in 13 minutes) were in double figures as well, while Bobby Jackson (picture) had 7 dishes...

by **megarover** on Mon Aug 27, 2012 5:42 am

There was a point earlier in the season where I thought that the Grizzlies winning at least 17 games was just a crazy dream of yours but eh guess I'm not as smart as I think (Y)

Richmond is a very bad man.......

by **tsmoha** on Tue Aug 28, 2012 5:43 pm

@megarover: You wasn't the only to one to think so

We definitely played some better ball in 2nd half of the season. Unfortunately I decided to sim the last 10 games, which made our team winning a bit "too much"! I will post an update on final standings later today. But first, I want to realease 5 new trading cards:

by **hova-** on Tue Aug 28, 2012 9:49 pm

This one is really lookin good (Y)

by **SuperHueyNewton** on Wed Aug 29, 2012 7:13 am

So just one month left? Dang, I missed a lot

by **tsmoha** on Thu Aug 30, 2012 1:49 am

@hova: Thanks, man! Glad you like it!

@SuperHuey: Yeah, it's been a while since you've been here

But you won't miss the most interesting part of the season (at least most interesting for the Grizzlies), which will start right now!

@all: As I've mentioned before, I simmed most of the 10 remaining matches, so I will jump right to final standings and statistics. As you may notice, the simming made Vancouver win some more games, unfortunatelly I was too tired to "restart" that simming, so the Raptors made the 30th spot in NBA

Well, maybe the draft lottery will look different though.

NBA Standings - 1997/98

Vancouver Grizzlies - Player's stats

by **megarover** on Thu Aug 30, 2012 11:37 am

That Jason Kidd card is on point (Y)

and the Suns are blazing right now.

I guess it was only a matter of time before the Kings came back down to Earth though.......

Ray Allen and them Bucks look like they just snuck into that 8th seed

. Where they come from?

by **SuperHueyNewton** on Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:29 am

Ayyyyee! 7+ Not bad for an expansion team

by **tsmoha** on Fri Nov 09, 2012 10:55 pm

YouTube · by **Thierry •** on Sat Nov 10, 2012 11:20 am

Someone explain me how I missed this story all this time! Superb job man, can't wait for your return.

by **tsmoha** on Sat Nov 10, 2012 8:24 pm

Thanks for the kind words, Thierry! Don't know how you missed it though

Hope you'll enjoy this!

Here's a bunch of some trading cards of 1997-98 season, which I hadn't released yet. There will be some more of this season.. I will then (re)start posting some season-recaps like awards and playoffs..

by **tsmoha** on Sat Nov 10, 2012 9:39 pm

MVP: Michael Jordan - 31.1pts, 5.7reb, 2.3ass, 1.7stl, 0.5blk, .489 FG, .778 FT, .212 3P

Rookie: Tim Duncan - 21.3pts, 8.6reb, 2.2ass, 0.4stl, 1.3blk, .510 FG, .681 FT, .000 3P

Sixth: Allan Houston - 17.6pts, 2.4reb, 1.7ass, 0.5stl, 0.3blk, .455 FG, .857 FT, .403 3P

Defensive: Marcus Camby - 12.8pts, 8.1reb, 0.8ass, 1.2stl, 1.7blk, .383 FG, .582 FT, .000 3P

by **SuperHueyNewton** on Sat Nov 10, 2012 11:47 pm

Not sure why, but some of your photos aren't working. I'd like to get a look at those trading cards

by **tsmoha** on Sun Nov 11, 2012 3:11 am

SuperHueyNewton wrote:Not sure why, but some of your photos aren't working. I'd like to get a look at those trading cards

For me they work fine, but I will have a look at it later. Maybe something went wrong there

by **tsmoha** on Sun Nov 11, 2012 8:56 pm

NBA Playoffs 1997-98

No "3-peat" for the Bulls.. what's next? - The Bulls came off a solid 55-27 regular season, as 2nd best team behind the Pacers. Michael Jordan grabbed another MVP-title with 31ppg and no one expected this Bulls to NOT reach the finals again.. BUT.. It took six games against the Bucks to see all the dreams of a second "3-peat" fading. The question is, what's next for this Bulls? Nearly the entire team is without contract for 1998/99: Jordan (will he retire?), Pippen, Kukoc, Rodman, as well as bench-players like Luce Longley or Ron Harper. Will this aging team go for another deep run in 1999? Is Jordan going to stay for another re-build, if Pippen and Kukoc will leave? Phil Jackson may be the key factor in this considerations..

Duncan vs Shaq 1.0 - Lakers vs Spurs.. It's time for "Rookie of the year" Tim Duncan to question the supremacy of Shaq O'Neal.. The Lakers continued to struggle in the playoffs, they never found a way to make their early-season addition Hakeem Olajuwon fit into the rotation, which would have been so important against the Spurs' twin-towers Duncan/David Robinson. It's unlikely that LA will add too much depth to their roster in off-season. They simply have to find a way to make Kobe, Shaq and an aging Hakeem work together.. As for Duncan and the Spurs: a promising season, a promising future. Duncan will be dominant within the next 2 years at least.

Is this it, Pacers? - The best team in regular season (59 wins) never found to it's game in playoffs. 4-3 over the 8th seeded Hornets and then 3-4 against a Knicks-team, that sometimes struggled in regular season (47-35). Yes, no one really expected this Pacers to win the finals, especially with the East being that competitive (7 teams with 47 or more wins). But of course it's the right time to question, wether this 30+ aged-Pacers (Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Rik Smits) can repeat their success or not?! All of their All-Stars will stay in 1998 (as long as they won't be traded), so if Barkley will return in shape for next season, there's still a chance for a another try.

The Finals 1998 - Preview

by **tsmoha** on Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:02 pm

Seattle SuperSonics vs New York Knicks

Game 1: Sonics - Knicks 118-88
Game 2: Sonics - Knicks 99-66
Game 3: Knicks - Sonics 79-89
Game 4: Knicks - Sonics 98-63
Game 5: Sonics - Knicks 93 - 101
Game 6: Knicks - Sonics 85-94
(Seattle wins series by 4-2)

Sonics take the NBA championships 1998, beating the Knicks in six

The Seattle SuperSonics win their second NBA championship (the first in 1979)! Gary Payton was named the Final's MVP, he averaged 21.4points, 5.5rebounds and 6.3assists in the playoffs, while shooting 46% from 3-point-range and adding 1.8steals as well. It's the first NBA title for 30 years old Payton, who plays for Seattle since 1990. Vin Baker, who joined the Sonics prior to the season (in a trade, that sent Shawn Kemp to Cleveland), was Seattle's best scorer in the playoffs, while veterans like Schrempf and Haywkins added both 10+ in ppg.. The Knicks, who surprisingly made the finals, had simply too less offensive efficiency. In Game 2 of the finals, the team managed to score only 15 points in second half. They took revenge for that blow-out loss though, with Seattle only scoring 63 in Game 4. But in the end, the Knicks (with Patrick Ewing as the best scorer with 19ppg) missed an outstanding performer like Payton, who takes the MVP-honour well deserved.

YouTube · by **Povilas3** on Mon Nov 12, 2012 11:50 pm

It was interesting season i gotta say , didin't expect to see Sonics win championship , but really surprised by the series where Bulls lost for Bucks Wow.... Hope VANC will get lucky in draft

YouTube · by **Thierry •** on Tue Nov 13, 2012 10:14 am

Lamrock will be happy :wink:

Looking forward to the new season!

by **tsmoha** on Thu Nov 22, 2012 6:50 am

@Povilas3: Thanks! Bulls were quite surprising, yes. So were the Sonics, but they played great ball the whole season.

@Thierry: Thanks! Looking forward to it, too!

Draft lottery 1998: Canadian teams with best chances for 1st pick

It's time for the 1998 NBA draft, held in Vancouver. And what could be better for Canada than bringing the two first picks to this beautiful country? Well.. better performances in regular season maybe, but now both Toronto and Vancouver have the chance to build competitives teams for the future. Here's the lottery's percentages, the draft order will be announced tomorrow!

by **tsmoha** on Thu Nov 22, 2012 9:15 pm

Draft Lottery 1998 - and the winner is.. the Warriors?!

The Lottery went very well for Golden State: entering the lottery with a predicted 7th and 9th pick, the Warriors were lucky enough to grab the 1st overall pick (as well as the 7th)! The two canadian teams fell onto 3rd (Grizzlies) and 4th (Raptors), while the Houston Rockets got the 2nd. A huge day for both Golden State and Houston; the latter traded away their All-Stars (Olajuwon, Barkley, Drexler) during the season and now have the chance to start their re-build with a 2nd and 11th pick! With the Warriors, Pistons and the Rockets holding two picks within Top-11, it could be a day of trades, too.

by **tsmoha** on Sat Nov 24, 2012 3:54 am

Round 1

# 1 |

| Golden State | Paul Pierce | SG | 20 yo | 6-6, 230

TRADE: Houston trades the 2nd pick and Bobby Hurley to New Jersey for Kerry Kittles and Keith Van Horn

# 2 |

| New Jersey | Dirk Nowitzki | PF | 20yo | 7-0, 237
# 3 |

| Vancouver | Vince Carter | SG | 21yo | 6-6, 215

ANALYSIS: The Grizzlies choose Carter with their first pick, 3rd overall. Carter brings high-flying excitement, he is arguably the most athletic player to come out of North Carolina since Jordan, and he might have more potential. If Carter could add some range to his shooting, his game could resemble Scottie Pippen's and the Grizzlies would like that very much.

# 4 |

| Toronto | Mike Bibby | PG | 20yo | 6-1, 190
# 5 |

| Boston | Jason Williams | PG | 22yo | 6-1, 190
# 6 |

| Charlotte Bobcats | Raef LaFrentz | C | 22yo | 6-11, 240

TRADE: The LA Clippers trade the 7th pick to Vancouver for Antonio Daniels and Vancouver's 2nd-round pick (33rd overall)

# 7 |

| Vancouver | Antawn Jamison | PF | 22yo | 6-8, 223

ANALYSIS: The Clippers were hoping for a point guard (either Bibby or Williams) and found one in last year's 4th pick Daniels (4.7ppg, 4.5apg as a rookie). The Grizzlies were expected to ship Daniels, who was replaced by Bobby Jackson as a starter.. Jamison is the ultimate tweener, but his athletic ability should carry him to some success. A good pick for Vancouver, where Abdur-Rahim's contract will expire after 1998/99 season.

# 8 |

| Golden State | Michael Dickerson | SG | 23yo | 6-5, 190
# 9 |

| Detroit | Larry Hughes | SG | 20yo | 6-5, 184
# 10 |

| Detroit | Bonzi Wells | SG | 21yo | 6-5, 210
# 11 |

| Houston | Michael Olowokandi | C
# 12 |

| New Jersey | Rashard Lewis | SF
# 13 |

| Philadelphia | Ricky Davis | SG

TRADE: Cleveland trades their 14th pick to the LA Clippers for Eric Piatkowski and Pooh Richardson

TRADE: The LA Clippers trade Cleveland's 14th pick and their 36th pick to Toronto for Chris Crawford and Marko Milic

# 14 |

| Toronto | Cuttino Mobley | SG
# 15 |

| Minnesota | Fabricio Oberto | PF
# 16 |

| Sacramento | Brad Miller | C
# 17 |

| Charlotte Hornets | Zach Rose | G
# 18 |

| New York | Robert Traylor | PF
# 19 |

| Milwaukee | Al Harrington | F
# 20 |

| Atlanta | Keon Clark | C
# 21 |

| Miami | Rafer Alston | PG

TRADE: Portland trades their 22nd pick and Stacey Augmon to Denver for Clyde Drexler

# 22 |

| Denver| Earl Boykins | PG
# 23 |

| LA Lakers | Roshown McLeod | G
# 24 |

| Houston | Nazr Mohammed | C
# 25 |

| Orlando | Pat Garrity | F
# 26 |

| Utah| Damon Jones | SG
# 27 |

| Phoenix | Ruben Patterson | SF
# 28 |

| Chicago| Matt Harpring | F
# 29 |

| Indiana | Patrick O'Bryant | F
# 30 |

| Seattle | Felipe Lopez | SG

Round 2 (most notable picks only)

# 32 |

| Vancouver| Anthony Carter | PG

ANALYSIS: With Antonio Daniels being traded, Vancouver lacks a backing point guard. The Grizzlies are still expected to sign a veteran guard through free agency though, but 23 years old Carter may become helpful when Grizzlies guard-targets (like Damon Stoudamire) won't consider a contract with this team.

...
# 34 |

| Denver| Tyronn Lue | PG
...
# 45 |

| Philadelphia | Brian Skinner | F/C
...

TRADE: The Charlotte Hornets trade their 47th pick to Detroit for Joe Dumars

Warriors take Pierce with first pick - Grizzlies pick Vince Carter and trade for Jamison

The rumors about Paul Pierce's health issues and out-of-shape issues didn't prevent him from being picked as first in 1998's NBA draft! The talented shooting guard from Kansas will meet Latrell Sprewell in Golden State, as well as the 8th pick Dickerson, who's a shooting guard as well. Sprewell had a career-year with 30.4ppg, but is involved in trade talks every year. With Pierce arriving in town, those talks won't stop.. "German Wunderkind" Dirk Nowitzki was traded to New Jersey on draft night. Nowitzki is said to be a top prospect, but he has been called for a quick stint of military duty, leaving questions on whether he might stay in Europe for a few more years. If he plays in NBA next year, he will be a starter from the beginning. The re-building Rockets surprisingly gave away this 2nd pick, but got two promising players in return; Keith Van Horn and Kerry Kittles, as well as Houston's second pick, Michael Olowokandi (11th overall), will help this team immediately and still got some potential. Olowanki was expected to get picked higher and could become a real steal for the Rockets.. Vancouver got two lottery picks with high-flying Vince Carter and power forward Antawn Jamison, who was acquired via trade with the Clippers. If both Carter and Jamison will become as good as promised, this Grizzlies will be good even with Abdur-Rahim leaving next year (which is very possible, as Vancouver's top-scorer is expected to not extend his contract within first half of the new season).. Toronto added another promising point guard in Mike Bibby, questioning the future of sophomore-to-be Chauncey Billups.. Boston hopes to have found a perfect co-star for Antoine Walker, when they added point guard Jason Williams.

by **Dmastawwe** on Sat Nov 24, 2012 8:05 am

I dont think paul pierce should have the headband just yet. Also love the grizzlies picks man.

by **tsmoha** on Sat Nov 24, 2012 7:13 pm

Dmastawwe wrote:I dont think paul pierce should have the headband just yet.

You're right! I will tweak some of those faces, year-specific-wise. Thanks for the hint

by **megarover** on Sat Nov 24, 2012 7:27 pm

Oh wow looks like I've missed some things. I thinks its pretty obvious that the Sonics came out of nowhere to win the title but I'll move

Your lucky you got that 3rd pick. There wasn't much thinking to do but choose whoever was left from the Big 3.

by **Houndy** on Sun Nov 25, 2012 2:43 am

Just took a look at this association... love it dude! Keep it up

by **tsmoha** on Mon Nov 26, 2012 2:43 am

@megarover: Nice to see you back here

@Houndy: Nice to see you taking a look at this

Hope you'll enjoy!

@all: Here's a short overview over how Grizzlies' roster looks right before the Free Agency begins..

by **tsmoha** on Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:29 pm

End of a journey - Pippen, Rodman and Kukoc leave Chicago/Jordan behind

It was the most discussed question prior to this off-season.. and it has been answered quickly: the Bulls as we knew them for years won't be no more! On first day of free agency, Scottie Pippen (5-time champion with the Bulls) announced a 2-year-contract (worth 21.45mm) with Cleveland, where he'll join Shawn Kemp.. Pippen played 11 seasons for Chicago, collecting 5 titles together with Jordan and was in All-NBA 1st-team for three times. He averaged 17.1ppg in 68 games last season, grabbing a career-low 4.6rpg. His decision maybe led to this Bulls, who failed to defend their NBA title this year, breaking in parts: Toni Kukoc (playing for the Bulls since 1993, averaging 11.1ppg and shooting .401 from 3-point-range last season) will join Timberwolves' young-guns Garnett/Marbury, while rebound-ace Dennis Rodman (9.3rpg, 2nd in NBA, last year) signed a one-year deal with Washington!

MVP Michael Jordan just re-signed a new contract extension with Chicago, but will now face an uncertain future with his team. Coach Phil Jackson will have to find a whole new strategy, as it's unlikely that the Bulls will find even-strong players as a replacement for this key-rotation. So what, MJ? "His airness" didn't comment on this news yesterday. Is there any good news in this? Well.. Cap-space for next year, maybe? And wait.. Steve Kerr re-signed with Chicago, too..

by **megarover** on Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:46 am

Wow so no retirement for Mike after 98 huh. Well I still think he has at least 3 more years in those legs.

Carter's OVR seems low to me though. Its not like Rookie Carter was a bad a player or anything.

by **tsmoha** on Tue Nov 27, 2012 9:58 am

@megarover: MJ may regret his decision to not retire

He signed a 2-year-contract, btw.

Carter's OVR is 76 (not 75, a typo), of course it looks a bit low. But I'm not a fan of rookies with an 80+ OVR, as they will hit the 90+ too easy/early then

He still has the skills to score (and fly) like he did irl, and I guess he will hit the 80 OVR during his rookie season.

by **tsmoha** on Wed Nov 28, 2012 3:10 am

Divac joins Rockets - Bulls add Weatherspoon/depths

The Houston Rockets keep rebuilding and they do very well: veteran center Vlade Divac (aged 31) signed a 4-year-contract (worth 58mm $) with the franchise. The rebuilt of the Rockets is one of the most interesting stories in 1997/98 campaign and with the off-season becoming a success for Houston, it seems like the plan of GM Carroll Dawson and coach Rudy Tomjanovich works fine: Keith Van Horn (17ppg as a rookie), Kerry Kittles (17ppg as a sophomore, both acquired via trade for 1998's 2nd pick Nowitzki), Divac (8rpg with the Hornets last year) and a possible draft steal (Michael Olowokandi) look like very strong additions - the Rockets are back!

And the Bulls? Probably not.. Losing Pippen, Kukoc and Rodman will be one tough challenge for Michael Jordan and "his" Bulls. The biggest fishes in Free Agency (Antonio McDyess, promising guard Steve Nash or center Elden Campbell) haven't announced a decision yet and even if they go for Chicago - there's no "fishes" like Pippen or Rodman on the market left.. At least, the Bulls were able to sign forward Clarence Weatherspoon (29 years old), who averaged 6.8rpg - but only 2.9points - for the Warriors last season. He'll join Chicago on a 4-years-deal (24mm) and is the most promising addition to the team, which also signed veteran guard Vinny Del Negro, Gary Trent, LaPhonso Ellis and Dennis Scott. No All-star-material though..

by **SC1211** on Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:19 am

Glad to see my Rockets are getting it together! Should have a fun season.

Great association by the way! Really enjoyed reading it.

by **tsmoha** on Wed Nov 28, 2012 7:03 pm

@SC1211: Thanks for the kind words! And yes, the Rockets did pretty well, didn't expect them to look that strong already in first season after Olajuwon-era. I will post the team's rosters right after the off-season is done. So stay tuned.

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