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I’m sure you heard about Shaq scouting Brian Chase for Pat Riley. Here’s how it happened, courtesy of the Miami Herald:

The way O’Neal tells it, he was at Wizards All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas’ charity event this summer, when Chase caught O’Neal’s attention.

”I saw a little man go at Gilbert Arenas like I’ve never seen anybody go at Gilbert Arenas,” O’Neal said.

So O’Neal approached Arenas.

‘I said, `Hey, who’s that?’ ” O’Neal said. “[Arenas] said, `He’s about to sign with the Wizards.’

‘I said, `No, he ain’t.’ And I made the call.”

Tags: Washington Wizards, Local Topics, Miami Heat, NBA, 2007 Offseason, News by Groves
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Here’s an update on some of the free agents Heat fans have been following.

Matt Barnes- Has switched agents, again, and will start negotiations with Golden State this week. Brett has a feeling that Barnes is a head case. I agree with him.

Austin Croshere - Truth be told, I might have been the only Heat fan that had a passing interest in seeing him playing in Miami. But it looks like the Warriors have some interest in him as well. Its being reported by the San Francisco Chronicle that he and the team are in negotiations.

Juan Carlos Navarro- One day left before his current team, FC Barcelona raises his buyout to $14 million essentially eliminating any real possibility of him landing with any NBA team. It also sounds like the only possibility for him is the Memphis Grizzlies since Washington has decided that they will not trade him to an Eastern Conference team.

Mickael Pietrus- He’s back in the rumor mill after it turned out that the news that he was going to resign with the Warriors last week was false. Now, it appears that Golden State and Cleveland may be trying to do a sign and trade together to bring Pietrus to the Cavs in exchange for Sasha Pavlovic.

Tags: Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, International Basketball, Teams, NBA, 2007 Offseason, News, Rumors, Ben Ellingsworth, Trades, Free Agency by Ben Ellingsworth
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Here’s a quick example of Why Gilbert Arenas is the most interesting personality in the NBA. From his “Agent Zero: The Blog File” page on NBA.com:

There Are No Such Thing as Shark Attacks

I know this is random, but I just want to clear this up for people out there.

There are these things called shark attacks, but there is no such thing as a shark attack. I have never seen a real shark attack.

I know you’re making a weird face as you’re reading this. OK people, a shark attack is not what we see on TV and what people portray it as.

We’re humans. We live on land.

Sharks live in water.

So if you’re swimming in the water and a shark bites you, that’s called trespassing. That is called trespassing. That is not a shark attack.

A shark attack is if you’re chilling at home, sitting on your couch, and a shark comes in and bites you; now that’s a shark attack. Now, if you’re chilling in the water, that is called invasion of space. So I have never heard of a shark attack.

When I see on the news where it’s like, “There have been 10 shark attacks,” I’m like, “Hey, for real?! They’re just running around? Sharks are walking now, huh! We live on the land, we don’t live underwater.”

Funny and true. Nice work Agent Zero.

Tags: Washington Wizards, NBA by Ben Ellingsworth
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Found it interesting that Rudy Fernandez has decided to stay in Europe rather then play with Greg Oden, for now anyway.  From ulebcup.com:

Rudy Fernandez will remain with his boyhood club. DKV Joventut Badalona, for the foreseeable future after the talented swingman signed a contract extension on Friday. (ed-Fri. 7/27/07)  More

Why do I care? Because it shows that some of the Euro leagues, especially in Spain, Greece, Italy, and Russia have gained enough legitimacy and even more importantly, revenue to be able to retain some of the high profile international prospects who don’t necessarily see the NBA as the only worthy career path for themselves. [Read more →]

Tags: Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, International Basketball, NBA, 2007 Offseason, Ben Ellingsworth, Trades, Rumors by Ben Ellingsworth
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The Juan Carlos Navarro watch is still on but apparantly, he’s unsterstandably nervous about his NBA future. By all accounts, his prefrence is to be traded from the Wizards to Miami since Washington’s backcourt is a little crowded right now. I would elaborate more on this article (See below) but I don’t speak JCN’s native tounge. [Read more →]

Tags: Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, International Basketball, NBA, 2007 Offseason, Ben Ellingsworth, Trades, Rumors by Ben Ellingsworth
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