West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Sports & Entertainment => Topic started by: SO PRUP on July 24, 2008, 11:20:34 PM
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July 25, 2008
Lakers reserve guard Sasha Vujacic, a restricted free agent, is prepared to leave the team and accept an offer from a European team in the next few days if the Lakers don’t make him an offer he deems fair, according to a source in the Vujacic camp who spoke only on the condition of anonymity.
The source said Vujacic is seeking a multiyear deal from the Lakers averaging about $5 million a year. Vujacic was hoping for a six-year deal, but anticipated it could be a shorter contract.
Vujacic, who earned $1.76 million last season, was given a $2.6-million qualifying offer by the Lakers after the season to make him a restricted free agent.
He has not received an offer sheet from another NBA team. Teams were hesitant to make Vujacic an offer because they anticipate the Lakers would match it, the source said.
The Lakers made a qualifying offer to another of their free agents, forward Ronny Turiaf, but when Turiaf received a four-year, $17-million offer sheet from the Golden State Warriors, the Lakers declined to match it.
Because the Lakers are over the luxury tax, they would be assessed an amount equal to any sum they spend over it.
Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak has been negotiating with Vujacic’s agent, Rob Pelinka.
"We are very aware of the global market as it has changed over the years. It was our desire to bring Sasha and Ronny back. It continues to be our desire to bring Sasha back," Kupchak said Thursday after hearing of Vujacic’s ultimatum. "However, with the ever-changing marketplace that Europe has become, a player, in order to cover his bases, can negotiate with his NBA team and, at the same time, have a plan that allows him to have the possibility of going overseas."
Jumping from the NBA to Europe has become a viable option for several players, the latest being Josh Childress, who Wednesday revealed that he is leaving the Atlanta Hawks to play for Olympiakos, a Greek club, for a three-year deal worth about $20 million after taxes.
The 24-year-old Vujacic, a native of Maribor, Slovenia, just completed his fourth and best season with the Lakers. Vujacic averaged 8.8 points in 17.2 minutes this past season, shooting 45.4% from the floor, including 43.7% from three-point range. In the postseason, Vujacic averaged 21.7 minutes, 8.1 points and shot 39.9% from the floor, including 39.2% from beyond the three-point arc.
Kupchak, while refusing to discuss numbers, said of the negotiations with Pelinka, "It’s our intention to have a happy ending."
Kupchak agrees that the situation should be resolved in the next few days.
"When the free agency period rolled around," he said, "Sasha needed to get a feel of what the market would be like. After 20-something days, he’s had enough time to get a feel. It’s time this came to a conclusion."
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The Clippers lost a chance to bolster their backcourt Thursday when the Warriors matched their three-year, $9-million deal for restricted free agent Kelenna Azubuike. Azubuike, 24, has played two seasons for the Warriors. Last year, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 8.5 points and four rebounds in 81 games.
The London-born Azubuike, who played for Kentucky, joined the Warriors after playing in the NBA Development League. "He’s a young and talented player who has continued to improve during his two seasons with our team. His versatility, athleticism and ability to shoot the three-pointer certainly fit our style of play," said Chris Mullin, the Warriors’ executive vice president of basketball operations.
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you know what? FUCK EUROPE.
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lol at sasha and 5
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you know what? FUCK EUROPE.
I told ya.. Euroleague is gonna be big this year.
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I see the cba and salary caps flying out of the window real soon.
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^Yeah rigggght...
Sasha wont go to Europe...he'll end up signing with LA for 3-4 million. Or at least I hope so.
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first this off season it became somewhat of a trend in NHL to head to europe (Jagr, Emery, etc) and now the NBA is even bigger, wow (Childress, Delfino, Garbajosa, etc.) and possibly Vujacic and Carl Landry, wow.
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first this off season it became somewhat of a trend in NHL to head to europe (Jagr, Emery, etc) and now the NBA is even bigger, wow (Childress, Delfino, Garbajosa, etc.) and possibly Vujacic and Carl Landry, wow.
Juan Carlos Navarro, Nenad Krstic, Bostjan Nachbar, Sasha Jasikevicius, Brandon Jennings, Primo Brezec...shit is getting crazy.
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first this off season it became somewhat of a trend in NHL to head to europe (Jagr, Emery, etc) and now the NBA is even bigger, wow (Childress, Delfino, Garbajosa, etc.) and possibly Vujacic and Carl Landry, wow.
Juan Carlos Navarro, Nenad Krstic, Bostjan Nachbar, Sasha Jasikevicius, Brandon Jennings, Primo Brezec...shit is getting crazy.
I forgot about Navarro, Nachbar and Brezec - didn't even know about the other three, surprised Kristic went by w.o me hearin bout it. Wait, Jennings is the high school kid, right?
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first this off season it became somewhat of a trend in NHL to head to europe (Jagr, Emery, etc) and now the NBA is even bigger, wow (Childress, Delfino, Garbajosa, etc.) and possibly Vujacic and Carl Landry, wow.
Juan Carlos Navarro, Nenad Krstic, Bostjan Nachbar, Sasha Jasikevicius, Brandon Jennings, Primo Brezec...shit is getting crazy.
I forgot about Navarro, Nachbar and Brezec - didn't even know about the other three, surprised Kristic went by w.o me hearin bout it. Wait, Jennings is the high school kid, right?
yup
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All this noise is basically coming from Russia. And it's all about the benjamins. There is an unknown team called Khimki BC who has a lot of money to spend, and offered Carlos Delfino a 3 years $30 millions contract and they offered a 2 years $9-10 millions contract to Jorge Garbajosa. Since they won't even play in Euroleague, it's clear the reason why the two former NBA players accepted the deal. $$$$$$$$$$. Plus there's this other team from Moscow called Dinamo who offered Boštjan Nachbar a 3 years $14 millions contract, and they offered Delonte West a 2 years $10 millions contract too (i dunno if Delonte accepted, tho). Another unknown team with money to spend.
The other offers are "normal". I mean Rome is a big team, and acquired Brezec and Brandon Jennings. It's not an unknown team, so it's not a surprise. Barcelona, another superstar team, signed Juan Carlos Navarro back, to a 5 years contract. Again, not a big surprise. Olympiakos is one of the best european teams ever, and they signed Josh Childress to a 3 years $20 million tax-free contract. Big contract, but big team too. Real Madrid is proposing italian rookie Bellinelli a contract to return to Europe. Not a big surprise. Šarūnas Jasikevičius left the NBA to sign a 2 years $7 millions deal with Panathinaikos, a very very big and glorious team, no surprise. I mean, it's not a surprise those teams now have big money to spend. Every european player knows playing for teams like CSKA Moscow, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Siena, Rome, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Olympiakos, Panatinaikos means playing for the best teams in Europe, with 25-30.000 fans attending each game, big stadiums, big games, big money. Euroleague is better than ever, like i said. And big teams are starting to get (and spend) money.
The surprise, i repeat, is coming from them two Russian teams who are not elite clubs and who won't even play Euroleague.
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^First Chelsea and now this; the Russians are fucking sports up, word?
LOOL@Sasha seeking a 5 mil contract with LA.
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I see the cba and salary caps flying out of the window real soon.
The NBA is gonna have to lose some impact players before that happens.
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"Maybe" he'll learn how to play "defense" over there
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I hope he leaves.
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offered Boštjan Nachbar a 3 years $41 millions contract
:o :o :o
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Niggas gettin paid in Europe. This is why I think the NBA should expand Nationally.
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offered Boštjan Nachbar a 3 years $41 millions contract
:o :o :o
LOL, okay...that was wrong. It's 3 years/14 mill...that's more like it.
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That what happens when you are already WAY overpaying Walton and Radmanovic (basically Lamar too).. you cannot slighty overpay someone else .. yall can still laugh at Sasha but it was a key member this year ...
Lakers increase the price of the tickets every year and they are bitching about paying the luxury tax ? are u kidding me ? at the end of the day great team = a shitload of money
We will regret this poor decision ...
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I see the cba and salary caps flying out of the window real soon.
The NBA is gonna have to lose some impact players before that happens.
Yea for real. Most of these dudes leaving could easily be replaced.
Ima wait till hear about a "superstar" or even an all star leaving. Those leaving are jsut getting the money they wont be able to get here.
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Sasha just turned down a $4 mill per year contract from the Lakers...he woulda made $12 mill through 3 seasons, guaranteed. :grumpy:
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Sounds like he's not coming back...
Negotiations between the Lakers and restricted free-agent guard Sasha Vujacic have reached an impasse.
Because Vujacic rejected the Lakers' offer, the team is "aware" the 6-foot-7 guard has an offer from a European team he hopes to use as leverage.
The Lakers offered Vujacic a three-year deal worth about $12 million, a salary that would pay him $4 million per season.
Vujacic, 24, is seeking a deal that will pay him between $5 million and $6 million per season, similar to what Jason Kapono (four years, $24 million from Toronto), James Posey (four years, $25 million from New Orleans) and Mickael Pietrus (four years, $25.1 million from Orlando) got.
"If there is a deal to be made, the deal will be made," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in a phone interview. "If there is no deal to be made, there won't be a deal."
When contacted, Vujacic's agent, Rob Pelinka, declined to comment on the stalemate. He also declined comment on whether Vujacic might be leaving this weekend for Europe to sign a contract, or whether that team was in Spain or Italy
"We are aware of the global intricacies that our player and other players in the NBA have," Kupchak said. "We have negotiated and will continue to negotiate to get a deal done. We're also aware of the possibility that he may choose to leave in light of what goes on over there (in Europe).
"We're also looking at other scenarios just in case."
That would mean the Lakers are looking to acquire another shooter via trade or by free agency, something they are seriously looking into by working out two players today.
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offered Boštjan Nachbar a 3 years $41 millions contract
:o :o :o
Yeah, sorry about the typo. It's $ 14 millions, not 41. Plus a buyout clauses after each season to allow him to explore the option of returning to the NBA. Still a lot of money tho.
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P.S. Fuck Sasha Vujacic for turning down that offer. What a bitch.
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if all he worried about is money then fuck him and anyone that looks like him,not sayin LA cant use him but come on its not like hes irreplaceable.
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Yeah really fuck him. I mean I like the dude but I have a feeling he will pull a Luke Walton if we give him a big / long contract. 1 good year isn't reason enough for us to pamper him like that. If he wants to play hard ball lets bring in JR Smith.
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Lakers agree to terms with G Vujacic on 3-year, $15M deal
Associated Press
Updated: July 25, 2008, 8:08 PM ET
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LOS ANGELES -- Lakers restricted free agent guard Sasha Vujacic has agreed to a three-year, $15 million contract after emerging last season as a key member of the Western Conference champions.
"We felt Sasha made great progress in this past year, and our coach showed great confidence in playing him the second half of the season," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said Friday in confirming the agreement, first reported by the Riverside Press-Enterprise. "Assuming he continues to work as hard during the offseason as he has in the past, I don't see any reason that trend wouldn't continue."
The 24-year-old Vujacic averaged a career-high 8.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 72 games this season, and 8.1 points 2.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists while playing in all 21 playoff games.
Vujacic drew national attention June 10, scoring a career playoff high 20 points including a crucial 3-pointer with a little under two minutes remaining in the Lakers' 87-81 victory over the Celtics in Game 3 of the NBA finals.
The Lakers had made Vujacic a $2.6 million qualifying offer, and he reportedly was considering playing in Europe. Kupchak said he didn't know if that sped up negotiations.
"I think in this type of environment with restricted free agency, it could drag on and on," he said. "If anything, they needed to know where we stood. There is a real competitive environment outside of the NBA now, and it could be short-lived. We don't know. But we would not have done anything that we didn't think was a prudent business/basketball decision."
Josh Childress announced earlier this week he was leaving the Atlanta Hawks for Greek club Olympiacos, reversing the course of the many international stars who have signed with the NBA. Agent Jim Tanner said Childress was guaranteed about $20 million after taxes, and that Childress could opt out of the contract after each year.
The Lakers will hold a press conference Monday at team headquarters in suburban El Segundo to officially announce the signing.
The Lakers made Vujacic, a 6-foot-7, 205-pounder from Slovenia, the 27th overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft. Vujacic averaged 2.9 points in 35 games as a rookie, 3.9 points in 82 games in his second professional season, and 4.3 points in 73 games in 2006-07.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
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Well, he got his money, lets see if he can live up to it, now.
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lol, now when bynum gets his near-max contract, that buss nigga is gonna pay mad scrilla to the league or wherever that luxery tax money goes to
as for vujacic, who doubts he'll pull a luke walton?
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lol, now when bynum gets his near-max contract, that buss nigga is gonna pay mad scrilla to the league or wherever that luxery tax money goes to
as for vujacic, who doubts he'll pull a luke walton?
:'(
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you know what? FUCK EUROPE.
I told ya.. Euroleague is gonna be big this year.
sorry man
nobody in the USA is giving a shit. that's where real basketball is played.
"if there was a Tim duncan or Kobe Bryant in Europe, we'd have heard of him by now"--Colin Cowherd
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you know what? FUCK EUROPE.
I told ya.. Euroleague is gonna be big this year.
sorry man
nobody in the USA is giving a shit. that's where real basketball is played.
"if there was a Tim duncan or Kobe Bryant in Europe, we'd have heard of him by now"--Colin Cowherd
the Herdddd!
Oh btw.....3 yrs/15 mill for Sasha? lol Wow...
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you know what? FUCK EUROPE.
I told ya.. Euroleague is gonna be big this year.
sorry man
nobody in the USA is giving a shit. that's where real basketball is played.
"if there was a Tim duncan or Kobe Bryant in Europe, we'd have heard of him by now"--Colin Cowherd
the Herdddd!
Oh btw.....3 yrs/15 mill for Sasha? lol Wow...
the Lakers should call his bluff. if he wants to go from playing on a historic team, in a premier court with winningest (tied for) coach of all time, and the league's MVP....to go play for some peice of crap Euro-team???? what the tell.
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man i'm only a year younger than sasha and probably a whole lot smarter than dude too, and i'mma be happy making 50,000 next year. dude's gonna get 5,000,000 for doing what i do at the gym, i'm tellin' yah, let that be me in that position.
right now, i have more respect for gilbert arenas than sasha. dude better bring home the game winning three in the finals next 3 years
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I think it is a good deal because it's only 3 years. That way the Lakers won't have a long contract on their hands like with Walton in case he screws up.
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I think it is a good deal because it's only 3 years. That way the Lakers won't have a long contract on their hands like with Walton in case he screws up.
exactly ... plus I do not understand why people are laughing so loud at him getting 5 mil a year ... Kapono , James Jones , Gibson and em got a contract in the same range .. it's the market price for a reliable shooter
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you know what? FUCK EUROPE.
I told ya.. Euroleague is gonna be big this year.
sorry man
nobody in the USA is giving a shit. that's where real basketball is played.
"if there was a Tim duncan or Kobe Bryant in Europe, we'd have heard of him by now"--Colin Cowherd
When did i say Euroleague is better than the NBA? ???
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The problem is we gave this contract to Walton and Radmanovic too.
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kobe- check
gasol-check
odom-check
bynum-check
sasha vujacic-check
fisher-check
we'll be in the finals again.
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The people who acting like 5 mill per year for only 3 seasons is way too huge a contract need to check themselves. He's not an amazing prospect, but for a guy who shoots 44% from three point range and can play defense, that is not terrible by a long shot.
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hopefully he doesn't fall off like luke and vlad after getting paid.
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I think it's a good move
you want to see a ridiculous contract, look at Gilbert Arenas
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you know what? FUCK EUROPE.
I told ya.. Euroleague is gonna be big this year.
sorry man
nobody in the USA is giving a shit. that's where real basketball is played.
"if there was a Tim duncan or Kobe Bryant in Europe, we'd have heard of him by now"--Colin Cowherd
When did i say Euroleague is better than the NBA? ???
you said it was gonna be "big"
"big" to who?
nobodys gonna be sayin "damn what times that euro league game on"
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you know what? FUCK EUROPE.
I told ya.. Euroleague is gonna be big this year.
sorry man
nobody in the USA is giving a shit. that's where real basketball is played.
"if there was a Tim duncan or Kobe Bryant in Europe, we'd have heard of him by now"--Colin Cowherd
When did i say Euroleague is better than the NBA? ???
you said it was gonna be "big"
"big" to who?
nobodys gonna be sayin "damn what times that euro league game on"
I'm European. I was talking from my point of view. Europeans who usually watch this competition are gonna say: "Damn, this year Euroleague is gonna be bigger than ever!".
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The people who acting like 5 mill per year for only 3 seasons is way too huge a contract need to check themselves. He's not an amazing prospect, but for a guy who shoots 44% from three point range and can play defense, that is not terrible by a long shot.
as long as he maintains that kind of play i'll be happy.