Uncontested Shots: The Latest on LeBron, Robinson and Lee, the Nets Going Russian

With NBA training camps nearing I’m hoping that we’re close to having enough material with which to write more than once a week. In the meantime, free agents are getting plucked like leftovers the Friday after Thanksgiving and most NBA beat writers are getting back into the flow.

So as always, here are this week’s Uncontested Shots, or should I say, things I was thinking about while counting my dough from winning my first ever fantasy baseball league (long live the Beavers!).

Lee and Robinson Appear on the Verge of Signing…Again

Alan Hahn of Newsday reported on Monday that David Lee and Nate Robinson were on the verge of finally signing one-year contracts with the Knicks.

According to Hahn, Lee will sign for more than the qualifying offer of $2.6 million and Robinson might sign for his qualifying offer of $2.9 million.

While handshake/wink-wink deals are prohibited in the NBA (just ask the Timberwolves) I would be shocked if either wasn’t re-signed to a long-term deal next summer—buying the Knicks another year to find a taker for either Eddy Curry or Jared Jeffries.

If Knicks GM Donnie Walsh can’t move either guy then the Knicks would almost certainly have to let either Lee or Robinson go next summer to have enough money to sign a top-tier free agent and still have enough cap space to fill out an entire roster with better-than-minimum type players.

The fact that Walsh was able to scare off teams from signing either guy to an offer sheet should be considered one of the best moves (or non-moves) in free agency. I’m not sure if teams were afraid of going after Lee because they thought the Knicks would match or if they’re hoping that LeBron leaves Cleveland next year and give the Knicks the best chance of making that happen.

Either way, Walsh deserves recognition for not making any moves that compromise the Knicks ability to spend big next summer.

The New Jersey сеть?

NetsDaily is reporting that Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is “in serious negotiations with the Nets to finance Barclays Center and gain control of the team.”

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone given that current owner Bruce Ratner has made no secret of the financial difficulties involved with moving the team to Brooklyn and financing the construction of the team’s new arena.

The only question left to be answered is whether or not Prokhorov will receive approval from the other NBA owners. You can bet that teams with big name players on the verge of free agency would be reluctant to approve an owner willing to spend (and lose) big money in this economy.

From The Wow Department

Dime Magazine brings up a fascinating statistic regarding LeBron James. Even though LeBron has only played six seasons he has already surpassed a number of veteran stars who have played 10 seasons or more.

LeBron’s 12,993 points is more than Jason Terry (10 seasons), Elton Brand (10), Chauncey Billups (12), Peja Stojakovic (12), Andre Miller (10), Antonio McDyess (13), and Baron Davis (10).

While I wasn’t really surprised about Brand or McDyess because both have missed a ton of games due to injury, I was shocked to see that he’s already passed both Terry and Stojakovic.

Even though Terry has spent much of his career coming off the bench and Stojakovic has missed a lot of games because of injury himself, the fact that LeBron has surpassed both despite playing four fewer years than Terry and six fewer years than Stojakovic is what makes that  really impressive.

The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, scored 14,211 points in his first six seasons—1,218 more than LeBron. But Kareem was 28 years old at the time his sixth season ended compared to James who was 24.

Kareem only scored over 2,100 points twice in his career after his sixth season after accomplishing the feat in five of his first six seasons—the same as LeBron.

So what am I getting at?

That there’s a realer than real chance that LeBron could surpass Kareem as the NBA’s greatest scorer even if he doesn’t play as many seasons as Kareem did (21).

He’s Making a List, Checking it Twice (Unlike Last Year)

When there’s nothing else to write about, it’s always good to make a list. It’s the easiest way to promote discussion and give an article legs. Nothing will tick somebody off more than seeing someone they respect ranked lower on a list than someone they despise.

For the second year in a row, Suns broadcaster Eddie Johnson has used his blog on HoopsHype to comprise his list of the NBA’s top-25 players.

Last year, Johnson left Dirk Nowitzki off the list before quickly adding him at number 12. This year Johnson has Nowitzki at seven.

Rarely does Johnson say anything that I agree with. Anybody who has ever heard him broadcast a Suns game knows how much he loves his Suns.

But rather than give away who Johnson considers to be the top-five players in the league, I’ll throw him a bone and just provide the link.

Even more entertaining than Johnson’s list and his reasons why are the comments that follow.

Slim Pickings

Just in case you’re wondering, there are a few recognizable names still available in free agency. The Spurs recently scooped up Milwaukee Bucks free agent Keith Bogans—not a bad addition considering the we’re in late September.

Luke Byrnes of HoopsWorld did his own list of who is still out there late last week. Some of the names include Wally Szczerbiak, Flip Murray, Jerry Stackhouse, Jamaal Tinsley, and Stephon Marbury as well as a couple restricted free agents.

Uncontested Shots will debut every Tuesday and Friday from now until at least the start of the season. For up to the minute updates on all free agent happenings and random brilliant thoughts and observations follow Andrew Ungvari on Twitter.