A Daily Babble Production

Or at least as ideal a manner as possible, given the circumstances.

It looks all but certain at this point that Corey Maggette is headed to Oakland (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3479117) to become a Warrior, which of course means that he won't be a member of your defending NBA champion Boston Celtics (mmmm....'defending champs' has a sweet ring to it). more...

For those that can follow the math... (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3479183)



The NBA salaray cap for the 2008-09 season will be $58.68 million, ESPN.com has learned.





The figure was arrived at after daylong consultations between lawyers for the NBA and the players' union.





The

luxury tax threshold will be $71.15 million, and the value of the more...

ESPN reports (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3479117)



The Golden State Warriors on Tuesday conceded defeat in the chase for Elton Brand's

signature by quickly moving on to new targets and reaching a

faster-than-expected verbal agreement to sign unrestricted free agent Corey Maggette, according to NBA front-office sources. more...

It is looking more and more like Elton Brand will be headed East to join the 76ers. That unexpected move could knock down a number of dominos and open doors that looked closed just a few days ago. Some off the top of my head:

Sixers become contenders in the East. Will compete with the Celtics on the court and off (for win-now trades and free agents over the next few years). more...

A few things to report as we tick down the hours till free agents can sign. I'll try to update this as news becomes available. Feel free to add links and news items in the comments.

Sixers clear room (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ArM7fn2m_tvtRNoPv5sDdSM5nYcB?slug=aw-phil lytrade070608 prov=yhoo type=lgns) for Brand offer (Kelly Dwyer is unimpressed (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Philly-makes-a-small-move-w ants-to-make-a-big-m?urn=nba,92683)) more...

There's not a lot more that can be said with any certainty until the ball drops on Wednesday. I'm sure there's plenty of maneuvering going on behind the scenes, but there are no significant news stories to report. So we'll just take this moment to make wild assumptions and nutty predictions.

I predict that the Celtics will bring back exactly zero of their free agents. Posey will follow the money, House may look for more consistant playing time, Tony Allen just got drafted out of a job, PJ Brown is retiring, and Sam Cassell is just not in the team's plans. more...

Herald Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose set for 1st meeting as professionals (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=11053 98 format=text)

Mario Chalmers hits the NBA with plenty to prove (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=11054 19 format=text) more...

No new news yet today, but I found a link that made me think (and yes, that rhymes). Just so you know it is not as simple as should we sign Posey or Maggette, I present to you one person's idea of what could happen out in Clipper land. Bear with me here; though it be madness, there be method in it. From Clips Nation (http://www.clipsnation.com/2008/7/3/564375/getting-greedy-aka-phase-2): more...

A Daily Babble Production

As late as the end of the 2006 calendar year, it looked as though the New Jersey Nets were finding themselves a power forward who would be a key building block for the future.

It also looked as though a young Serbian import was going to be set to earn himself a sizable chunk of change in the summer of 2008. more...

Herald Paul Pierce pushes for James Posey (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1105603 format=text)

FBI to look at Celtics fan death (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/celtics/view.bg?articleid=1105632 format=text)

Round 1 to Michael Beasley: His Heat top Derrick Rose’s Bulls (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=11056 37 format=text) more...

Drock has a touching look (http://www.derok.net/boston-celtics/kevin-garnett-championship) at the Kevin Garnett postgame shout out to TWolves fans. (hat tip to Red's Army (http://redsarmy.wordpress.com/2008/07/07/this-is-for-sota/)):



This is for Sota!



With those four words, Kevin Garnett changed everything. Suddenly the more...

A year ago nobody was talking about James Posey in Boston. It was assumed that he'd get more money in Miami or elsewhere. He took less for a chance to play in Boston for a year or two and a chance to cash in later. Now it is later and it is time for James to cash in and all we can talk about is James Posey. more...

Celtics.com reports: (http://www.nba.com/celtics/playoffs2008/playoffs-postups.html)



BOSTON - Paul Pierce talked to a few reporters on Monday at his

annual summer basketball camp at Basketball City just around the corner

from the TD Banknorth Garden on Monday, and said that he'll be getting

an MRI on his knee but doesn't expect to have to undergo surgery. more...

A Daily Babble Production

Since the Bulls made Memphis point guard Derrick Rose the first pick in the 2008 draft a week and a half ago, there has been more than a bit of theorizing from observers across the Association that the end of Kirk Hinrich's days in Chicago are near.

Hinrich is on the books for an onerous $36.5 million between now and 2012. He's also a point guard but no longer the franchise point guard. Thus, shipping him rather than paying quite a chunk of change to a back-up seems logical enough. more...

TrueHoop has this link to Matt Steinmetz of Examiner.com (http://www.examiner.com/x-441-Golden-State-Warriors-Examiner%7Ey2008m7d7-If-the -Warriors-are-pursuing-Corey-Maggette-its-not-good-news?cid=exrss-Golden-State-W arriors-Examiner)



First off, Maggette is injury prone. He's been in

the league nine seasons and has played 70 or more games just four times more...