Uncontested Shots – NBA News, Notes, and Observations From a Self-Described B-Ball Geek

Who’s Calling So Late?

I always had this theory about how easy it would be for the police or the FBI to catch illegal sports bookies. All they’d have to do is see which cell phone numbers received the most phone calls in the 10 minutes leading up to Monday Night Football.

I guess we could apply that same strategy to finding out which NBA teams are the most eager to improve this off-season by checking the cell phone records of every NBA GM at 12:01 AM (EST) Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

I’m actually quite surprised the NBA hasn’t found a corporate sponsor yet for it’s off-season because I think Domino’s would be perfect.

I say that because every year leading up to the Summer of 2010 we keep hearing about how there’s no market for free agents and every year it only takes one guy to create a market.

Last year Ron Artest was so convinced there was no market for free agents that he chose not to opt out on the advice of his then-agent, Mark Stevens. Then Baron Davis opted out of his Warriors deal and the floodgates had opened.

Davis went to the Clippers.

Elton Brand went to Philly.

Corey Maggette and Ronny Turiaf went to Golden State.

Chris Andersen went to Denver.

James Posey went to New Orleans.

Now you get the Domino’s reference?

Quick side note to young rookies: Don’t ever sign with an agent who has no other clients. There’s a reason why Stevens is no longer Artest’s agent. Artest fired Stevens two weeks after he’d exercised his option to stay in Sacramento. Here’s the most up-to-date list of Stevens’ clients, courtesy of HoopsHype.com.

Something to Look Out for Today

Now that Kyle Korver’s decided to exercise his option to stay in Utah and become a free agent next summer it will be interesting to see what effect his decision has on Eddie House. Korver was expected to be the most highly-coveted shooter in this year’s free agent class but suddenly House could be that guy.

House has a $2.9 million option on his current deal with the Celtics and must decide today whether or not to exercise the option or hit the open market. House made 151 of 340 three-point attempts last season (44 percent) compared to Korver’s 103 of 267 (39 percent).

The Celtics have already made a qualifying offer to Big Baby Davis, making him a restricted free agent. If House decides to opt out the Celtics already-thin bench will become that much thinner. I don’t see the Celtics coughing up the dough to keep Davis and House and Davis is obviously their priority.

Charlie V. on the Move

Now that the Bucks have decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Charlie Villanueva, look for every team with limited cap space to throw their mid-level exemption at him. Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that the Cavs will target Villanueva since both Mo Williams and LeBron James have relationships with Villanueva.

Villanueva might be smart to sign a one-year deal and test the market again next year. Then again, it’s hard to turn down big money when it’s guaranteed. He would be the perfect fit for the Cavs.

The Spurs and the Celtics are also expected to make a run at Villanueva.

The guy you really need to pay attention to today though is Carlos Boozer. If Boozer decides to stay in Utah then the Pistons are sure to take a good look at Villanueva also.

The Wrath of Kahn

You’ve already heard my theory regarding agents who have no clients. Here’s another one of my rules that we see broken every year. This one’s for GMs: Don’t fire your coach unless you’ve already got his replacement in the on deck circle.

New Timberwolves GM, David Kahn, decided to part ways with interim coach/former GM Kevin McHale weeks ago. Then Kahn turned his attention, and rightfully so, to the NBA Draft.

Now we’re just hours away from free agency and the Wolves not only have no coach but don’t seem to be lining up interviews with any candidates.

The names that have been floated out there by the media are ABC/ESPN analyst Mark Jackson, former Rockets, Bucks, and Lakers head coach Del Harris, and Celtics defensive coordinator, Tom Thibodeau.

According to WEEI the Timberwolves have yet to ask the Celtics for permission to speak with Thibodeau about the job.

I’ve never been a fan of young coaches coaching young teams. In some instances, like with Vinny Del Negro, it works because the coach has a veteran assistant or two to help out as Del Negro with Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff in Chicago.

I like the idea of Harris coaching the Wolves because it’s not like this team is going to compete for a championship any time soon. Harris just turned 72. Let him work with these young cats for the next two seasons while he grooms one of his assistants to take over for him.

I always thought that Harris would have been a great college coach. I had the chance to see what Harris did up close with the Lakers from 1994-1999. There’s a long list of young players Harris turned into accomplished veterans during his stay with the Lakers—Kobe Bryant, Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel, Anthony Peeler, George Lynch, and Derek Fisher are just a few.

At this stage the Timberwolves don’t need a coach who gives lengthy pep talks and runs up and down the sideline screaming. They need a basketball nerd like Delmer to teach them everything they should have learned in college.

Endangered Species List Down to Two

With the news that Yao Ming may have played his last NBA game due to his broken foot it’s hard not to wonder what the hell happened to the center position?

As is the top three centers in the NBA were Dwight Howard, Yao, and Shaq. Ask 10 people who the fourth best center is and you’ll get 10 different answers. It was already pretty pathetic that the third best center in the league is 37. Now he’s the second-best center in the league (Tim Duncan and Pau Gasol are power forwards).

What happened to the big man? Look at the list of guys to choose from now. Now you know why Kwame Brown and Darko Milicic are still around.

I hope Yao gets back to at least leave the game on his own terms. He’s been a class-act every step of the way and he deserves at least that.

Uncontested Shots will run every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the season. Follow Andrew Ungvari on Twitter.