As for James, if we did put a claim on Bernard James, it would likely mean the end to either

Center like Jeremy Tyler

or

PF/C like Kmart

I really like Kmart because I think he already has a chemistry thing going for the team and he did not look his age while he played for us in the late season
It surely didn't hurt him that he was able to keep his body fresh and play very little games and still get injured though *although Woodson overused him with over multiple 30+ min games considering he wasn't in NBA shape

I think Kmart saved our season and we would have even had a better record than the 54 win season we had last year if Woodson would have played *around Jan/Feb* Copeland along with Camby *when he had no big men and even used Melo at Center*

Kmart does in fact deserve more than the vet min, I think he deserves a 2 year 4m total deal, with a TEAM option *partial guarantees on 2nd year*
I have a hard time picking the other big but I would have to say a legit 7footer Center, not sure which one yet, and we have till training camp before totally committing on one

With the 4-5 positions left, I would pick a PF/C and a C, along with 2 PG/Combo guards though, and cut CJ Leslie for another SF instead *unless CJ shows much improvement/potential in training camp

Problem is UFA's might be gone like James Johnson *as Brewer's role* /Stephen Jackson *solid SF/PF to spread the floor and add toughness* /Shawnee Williams/Raja Bell
and undrafted FA's like Jamelle Hagins, Dwayne Davis, and CDR

Centers
===================

Bernard James *probably should put him in the PF/C list instead*

Jeremy Tyler

Cole Aldrich

Hamed Haddadi

Jerome Jordan

Greg Oden??? *Pelicans willing to offer 3m so probably off our list*

Hassam Whiteside/Marcus Cousins

PF/C/ F/PF
==================

Kmart/Jared Jeffries

undrafted rookies in Jack Cooley, Jamelle Hagins, Jackie Carmichael, Brandon Davies

Ivan Johnson/Anthony Tolliver

Jujuan Johnson

Tyrus Thomas

Jackie Carmichael/Brandon Davies

I wonder if The Heat would trade us the rights to Justin Hamilton who BRIGG's really liked last year as a player comparable with Kaman but with a much better 17 footer/extended to even the 3pt line if open
Byron Mullen's just signed with The Clippers for NOTHING, 2m for 2 years, and at the cost with his skillset/size/versatility/athleticism/speed as a stretch PF/C is very cost efficient/low risk and high reward

smackeddog wrote:

RonRon wrote:I could be wrong but I believe we are eligible to claim Bernard James with Ronnie Brewer's trade exemption, however, with our record, it remains highly unlikely that he will fall all the way to us, even if we wanted him with our limited roster spots available

I don't think we even need to use the Brewer trade exemption, according to an article:

Per the collective bargaining agreement, with James being a minimum salary player, any team has the ability to claim him.

http://espn.go.com/dallas/nba/story/_/id/9494961/sources-dallas-mavericks-waive-bernard-james

So any team can claim, and the priority is given to the team with the worst record. So don't hold your breath!

it is unlikely that he reaches to us, I just wanted to point out that we do have the ability to sign him regardless
However, we couldn't pick up Greg Stimensa when Twolves let him go, since his salary is 2.5m (I am not sure if he were able to do so if we had our MLE *3.2m mini MLE*)
I mean it would make sense to claim as much salaries as we could, so we could use in the future to trade for players, and Stimensa would easily be out best shot blocker and could even contend with Tyson Chandler's job at a fraction of his price, about 5x to under 6x the salary

The minimum for a 2nd year player is actually $762,195 vs Bernard James salary of under 900k
What makes it interesting is since James was selected as an early 2nd round pick, he has a 3 year team option/non guaranteed deal which would last after the FA of 2015 summer

RonRon wrote:Bernard James clear's waivers, making him a UFA, and all teams passed on the ability to add a role player for an additional 2 years of salary at roughly 1m per year

Yeah I think his deal would be guaranteed if he was picked up. I hope the Knicks make a run at Aldrich. Best guy out there in my opinion. Also, I am a bit worried about KMart. I assume that a contract is there for him if he is willing to take the vet mini. My worry is that he stays in Texas for the same money without state income tax and to be with his family.

RonRon wrote:Bernard James clear's waivers, making him a UFA, and all teams passed on the ability to add a role player for an additional 2 years of salary at roughly 1m per year

Crazy- can't believe every team would pass on him.

I also see the Beaubois is a FA now. He could add depth to the team. He can score as long as he is healthy.