8.15.2007

Could Mike Bibby, J.R. Smith and Udonis Haslem be on the move?

The Mike Bibby to Miami rumors just won’t go away. An odds and ends report in the Miami Herald rekindles rumors that Sacramento Kings point guard Mike Bibby may be headed to the Miami Heat in exchange for Heat guard Jason Williams and power forward Udonis Haslem. The salary cap numbers seem to work, but the holdup remains the Heat’s reluctance to include Haslem in the deal.

This move makes sense for Miami, but we’re not sure how Sacramento makes itself better by getting Williams and Haslem back in return for one of the best pick-and-roll point guards in the NBA. Williams is better on the break than Mike Bibby, but is more of a liability on defense, is very erratic, inconsistent and injury prone, and isn’t nearly the clutch player that Bibby has been throughout his career. Haslem is a solid player, but what do you get from him other than a good locker room presence and a few more rebounds at the power forward position? And worst of all, this deal would leave Ron Artest as the Kings’ best player and leader, and the face of the Sacramento franchise. Seriously, nobody wants that.

We’ll post again soon on what we think the Kings should do with their current, disparate roster. So, stay tuned for that.

Among other NBA rumors, the Denver Nuggets apparently aren’t finished tweaking their roster. It seeems that they’re speaking with the Orlando Magic about sending shooting guard J.R. Smith and forward Reggie Evans for point guard Keyon Dooling and outside shooting forward Pat Garrity. Sure J.R. Smith was in Nuggets coach George Karl’s doghouse off and on for portions of the 2006-2007 season, but if this deal does happen it will be purely for salary cap reasons. The Nuggets may be looking for cap, and specifically luxury tax, relief by acquiring the expiring contracts of Dooling and Garrity.

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