Peja Stojakovic to sign with the Hornets!

[-Young Buck-]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2507013

says right there, wow!

[Amphatoast]

poor pacers, time to trade JO and rebuild

[Axel]

Wow, if this goes through the Hornets will be a tough team next year. They had a great draft, and one of their weaknesses was scoring enough points to win. With Peja and some of the players they picked up in the draft, they're definetly a playoff team next year. The west continues to get stronger...

[Scotty]

five-year deal in the $60 million range

wow i honestly dont think he's worth that much. If they lose him(which they will according to this) then what a waste of a trade Artest was by the Pacers, now they have neither

[cyanide]

Damn, and I was hoping the Raptors could lure him. Ah well, maybe they'll be able to nab another SF... or stick to what the Raptors have already.

[-Young Buck-]

"The Hornets are expected to reach an agreement tonight with Indiana Pacers free agent forward Peja Stojakovic," writes Darnell Mayberry of THE OKLAHOMAN. "Stojakovic, 29, averaged 19.5 points and 6.2 rebounds in 40 games with the Pacers after a mid-season trade from Sacramento on Jan. 25."

http://www.newsok.com/article/1882165/? ... =home/main



i was hoping he would sign with the bulls.

[breems]

this is a very active offseason

[Ruff Ryder]

Wow good pick up for the Hornets, although I think they paid too much for him. Anyway, Chris Paul's numbers should go up even further, don't be surprised to see him average around 10 assists per game just from penetrate and dish and a guy that can knock down open Js.

[Indy]

Hah. I was hoping Bird wouldn't overpay by offering 8-10 mil a year to Peja. Yet the Hornets give him 12?

That's hilarious, for that type of money I say good riddance, and cheers to Larry and Donnie for not matching that offer. I'm glad they were able to let him go and not make a stupid offer just to "get something for Ron Artest."

I have a feeling we might get Al Harrington, but I'm not sure how I feel about that...

[Jing]

wow.. and i was just getting used to his look in a pacers jersey

[Silas]

Maybe this will open up enough cap space for the Pacers to sign Harrington back.... He can play SF.

[Matt]

Overpayed.....not a good move for Hornets.

[kingtrobe807]

might make the hornets win 13 more games.........with Peja now...

[iKe7in]

Nope, even without Peja they're still at $62 million, and if they resign Fred Jones, they won't have any cap room next year either.

They really need to find someone to take JO now, his contract is murder for a rebuilding team. Even if they did add Harrington somehow, they still are lacking a capable point guard and a perimeter scorer. Unfortunately almost every contract they have is overpriced and too long. Tinsley, Jackson and Foster are all overpaid and are handicapping their ability to find a second and third option for O'Neal.

Larry Bird is gonna have to get pretty creative now, and they better draft well.

[noodle]

I don't think the signing is bad. Peja's only 29. He's on the decline but he'll help a young Hornets squad get deep into the playoffs.

[Andrew]

Peja became a free agent in an effort to get a better deal and it looks like he's got it. Even though the Pacers don't have anything to show for the Artest deal and it's a blow anytime you lose a key player without compensation, I must agree with Indy; paying Peja in the range of $12 million per year would hardly have been a fantastic move either.

As it stands, it's not a perfect deal for the Hornets since it's a lot of money to spend on a player who's a great shooter and effective scorer but is at best average defensively and has disappeared in the Playoffs before as well as has possessing questionable leadership abilities. That said, he's still a good acquisition despite the price tag and it seems less of a risk for the Hornets to shell out that kind of money than it does for the Pacers. New Orleans is on the rise again while Indiana is in a position where they might have to re-tool and they hardly need contracts that are difficult to move.

[iKe7in]

I know it would have been overpaying, but when you are in the cap situation that Indy is in, they needed to retain Peja. They don't have the option of going out and signing a replacement, because there isn't one, and if there was, you wouldn't get him for just the MLE.

I can't see how the Pacers are going to retool, although its obvious they need to. Their situation looks a lot like the Raptors the year they resigned Carter, Davis, the two Williams and brought in Olajuwon. After a year of injuries and another disappointing year, it was obvious that the team needed to rebuild, but had several long term bug money contracts. Of course that led to the Rose/Marshall-Davis/Williams deal and the subsequent dissent of VC, which you could easily see Jermaine O'Neal taking that same route now. Their best case scenario would be to almsot compeltely tank it next year and get a high pick, and then maybe package the pick with one of their bad contracts (Tinsley/Foster/Jackson) and find a legitimate point guard to play with JO. Otherwise the alternate would be to find someone willing to take on JO, and based on his health, his value isn't as high as it could be right now.

[Andrew]

True, they can't go out and sign a replacement but they do have a promising young player at that position in Danny Granger who, in addition to having a lot of potential, is already putting up some good numbers playing around 23 minutes per game.

[Fitzy]

wow peja at the hornets? didnt see that

[[Q]]

this is a great move for the Hornets... gives them the 3pt shooter/scorer that they needed to go along with the bigs they got from the draft... they're definitely making the playoffs this year.

how their lineup looks now...
PJ/Hilton
DWest/Simmons
Peja/Butler?
DMase/Snyder
CP/Speedy?/Moochie

[Fenix]

i was hoping he would sign with the bulls.

You bastard. I don't want that overpaid loser anywhere near the Bulls.

[beau_boy04]

The Charlotte ended with a 26-56 record last season and with the inclusion of Peja they'll def get a better record than NY in 2007. Oh well I guess NY again with the worst record in the EAst.

[Pross]

The Charlotte ended with a 26-56 record last season and with the inclusion of Peja they'll def get a better record than NY in 2007. Oh well I guess NY again with the worst record in the EAst.

Ahh the Hornets are now in NO/OKC! not Charlotte dude LMFAO

[funk99]

lol for peja this is only for the money

[nets4life]

pacers shouldnt look to sign anyone at SF e.g. Harrington. They should start Granger and develop him