Celtics Only Interested In Chris Kaman If He's Bought Out

by Jeff Clark

The Celtics got a needed boost at center with Chris Wilcox last night, but they are still kind of thin at the position. So it would only make sense to look at Chris Kaman, who has been officially been put on the trading block by the NBA err, New Orleans Hornets. Gary Washburn reports that the Celtics are interested, to a point. Celtics will pursue Chris Kaman if he is bought out by the #hornets but not by trade

Is there a chance that he could be bought out instead of traded? It wouldn't seem as likely, but the Hornets are backing themselves into a corner by shutting him down until he's traded. New Orleans Hornets center-forward Chris Kaman not with team.

New Orleans Hornets backup center-forward Chris Kaman is not with the team right now because of an organizational decision, team officials said Friday night. The Hornets are expected to pursue trade offers for Kaman, who has an expiring contract that pays him about $14 million this season.

Also, it seems that the league offices running the Hornets are going to drive the same kind of hard bargaining that they pulled with the Chris Paul trade.


As NBA/Hornets survey trade market for Chris Kaman, Rockets, Pacers, Jazz, Spurs are a few teams with interest, sources tell me.

To be clear, Jazz checked on Kaman some time ago but doesn't make sense now. Detroit likes him, needs center. Most teams have found Hornets asking price for Kaman too high. "They were asking for draft picks, cap space and a young player," one executive says.

That's way to steep a price for the Celtics right now and it sounds like it might be too high for anyone. So there's a chance they could find no offers and decide to waive him, though not likely before the trade deadline. So don't hold your breath for it any time soon. And even then we'd have to compete with the Heat and other contenders looking for a short term solution at center.


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Makes sense to me. We may be thin up front but Kaman isn't someone I would go after terribly hard either. There really isn't anyone on our current roster I would want to move in favor of him and the asking price really is way too high. Too high of a long-term cost for a short-term backup.

Kaman will be 30 in April. He still has a bunch of years left in him.

He should have been an all-star a year or two ago but got passed over because he's a Clipper. Bynum got his slot even though he barely played due to injury.

At 7'0" 265# he's what we're looking for, height and beef.

He's not particularly athletic, doesn't run well, not a great shooter and isn't known for his IQ.

If NO cuts him and he'll sign here for the vet minimum, I guess we'd have to be crazy not to sign him but that's about all I'd do for him. I sure as hell wouldn't trade +/- $14M dollars worth of players to get him.

bob

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REPORT: C'S WON'T PURSUE KAMAN IN TRADE
By: Alex Speier


9 Comments
According to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (via twitter), while the Celtics would not consider adding Hornets center Chris Kaman through a trade, they would have interest in him if he was bought out of his contract and became available as a free agent. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via twitter) that the Rockets, Pacers and Jazz have expressed interest in the 29-year-old, but that asking teams have been told that New Orleans wants "draft picks, cap space and a young player," Wojnarowski quotes an executive as saying.

The seven-footer out of Central Michigan is averaging 9.2 points and 6.6 rebounds in just under 23 minutes a contest. He is also averaging 1.2 blocks a night, primarily as a bench player for the Hornets. Kaman, whom the Hornets acquired in the deal that sent Chris Paul to the Clippers, has been excused from the Hornets while the team pursues a trade that would send him elsewhere, GM Dell Demps confirmed to the Associated Press.

The Hornets/NBA are paying Kaman a zillion dollars a game. So they "excuse" him from playing? Is there any sense in that?

They must have so much cash in the league office that it doesn't even occur to them to get their money's worth out of the player. Isn't the idea to win games because by winning you put fans in the seats? And, on second thought, they wouldn't have cash in a safe like in Nixon's CREEP - it'd be a rock solid line of credit with Wall St. banks, based not on anything they did, but on the immense popularity of the American game.

Wouldn't the Hornets/NBA be better off showcasing Kaman and working a deal behind the scenes? Sure, there's a risk of injury, but you can get injured anywhere. Auctioning him to the highest bidder is bush league. Red quietly would have picked out a GM who had no clue but a team with salable talent and wooed him until he screwed him. But Red got his MBA at the School of Hard Knocks.

UPDATE

Celtics have interest in Kaman, if bought out

By Gary Washburn, Globe Staff

As team president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has maintained for years, he is always looking to improve the roster and the Celtics are keeping its eyes open when it comes to New Orleans center Chris Kaman, who is being offered for trade by Hornets general manager Dell Demps.

According to an NBA source, the Celtics would be interested in Kaman if the impending free agent is bought out of his contract. The Hornets have told Kaman, 29, to stay home while they try to orchestrate a trade. They acquired Kaman in the trade for Chris Paul last month but have decided to go with younger players.

Kaman has averaged 9.2 points and 6.7 rebounds in 22 minutes per game before the Hornets decided to put him on the block. The Celtics only have the veteran's minimum to offer so Kaman would have to agree to a buyout for the portion of the $14 million he is owed this season and then he would have to agree to a deal for the prorated minimum.

The Hornets want a return for Kaman, so it's unlikely he will be bought out unless Demps can't find an adequate deal. The Celtics only have draft picks to offer unless they wanted to part with $14 million in salaries, which is highly unlikely.

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rickdavisakaspike wrote:The Hornets/NBA are paying Kaman a zillion dollars a game. So they "excuse" him from playing? Is there any sense in that?

They must have so much cash in the league office that it doesn't even occur to them to get their money's worth out of the player. Isn't the idea to win games because by winning you put fans in the seats? And, on second thought, they wouldn't have cash in a safe like in Nixon's CREEP - it'd be a rock solid line of credit with Wall St. banks, based not on anything they did, but on the immense popularity of the American game.

Wouldn't the Hornets/NBA be better off showcasing Kaman and working a deal behind the scenes? Sure, there's a risk of injury, but you can get injured anywhere. Auctioning him to the highest bidder is bush league. Red quietly would have picked out a GM who had no clue but a team with salable talent and wooed him until he screwed him. But Red got his MBA at the School of Hard Knocks.

The Hornets are not playing Kaman because they don't want him to get injured.
Not sure why getting the highest amount of assets for him is considered bush league...???
That is what you should do with assets you want to trade.

I like Chris Kaman. Not in a "Oh my God, we need to get this guy" type of way, but in a "he's a solid player with size and beef and some skills" type of way.

While he has had some nagging injuries, ankle and knee sprains (especially his left leg), he hasn't had any serious ones requiring surgery that I'm aware of. Unless there's a minor sprain NO isn't making public, and that they think/hope will be better by the time he's traded and gets his physical, I don't understand why the Hornets are treating him like he's made of glass.

TJ's right. You're supposed to get maximum value for your assets. Considering who his bosses are (Mr. Potato Head and the rest of the ownership) I wouldn't be surprised if they don't/can't trade them because nobody will give NO what they want for him. The simple fact is: Chris Kaman is not worth $14M/year.

Will the league eat Kaman's salary? I don't expect it. That would be a de facto admission that the Chris Paul trade wasn't that good and, considering they could have had a better deal with the other LA team, that'd look pretty incompetent.

If he is waived, and is willing to work for the vet's minimum, I'd be happy to see him in green. Have fun in Maine,JJJ. You weren't playing in Boston anyway, at least you'll get lots of minutes there and have the time to lift weights and put on some bulk.

bob

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