Top Free Agent Power Forwards

Brazilian star Nene, who can also play at center, looks to be the leading power forward on the market as the NBA prepares for a short but intense free agency period. Those looking for NBA betting tips may want to note this.

Originally drafted by the New York Knicks with the seventh overall pick in the 2002, Nene was immediately traded to Denver along with Marcus Camby and Mark Jackson for Antonio McDyess and two draft picks. After eight seasons with the Nuggets, the 6’11 forward who turned 29 during the lockout is expected to see considerable interest from teams with significant space under the proposed cap such as the Sacramento Kings, New Jersey Nets and Indiana Pacers. Denver are also expected to pursue Nene despite their inability to sign him to a contract extension last year.

Former Xavier Musketeer David West, who like Nene can be pushed into playing the five should it be needed, opted out of his contract prior to the lockout despite tearing his anterior cruciate ligament three months earlier. While players can come back from such an injury in six months it normally takes 18 months for a player to regain their previous playing level and as such the market for the former New Orleans Hornet may be limited. Carl Landry is another Hornet who will take a look at the free agent market. The expectation is that either West or Landry will be brought back to New Orleans, but not both.

Those who Bet on basketball will be familiar with Boston’s Jeff Green, who plays both at small and power forward, as a restricted free agent who is expected to re-sign with the Celtics. Originally drafted fifth overall by Boston out of Georgetown in 2007, Green was traded to the Seattle Supersonics in a blockbuster deal that brought Ray Allen and ultimately a championship to beantown. Green came full circle last year when Boston gave up Kendrick Perkins to the now Oklahoma City Thunder to pick up the 25-year old.

Derek Fisher to Continue Labour Talks

After days of deliberation, Players Association president Derek Fisher has flown to New York to take part in the latest round labour talks as the two parties resume negotiations on Friday, positive news to those who want to Bet on basketball again.

The union have included a number of high profile figures in their team for the latest round of talks and may only add to the league’s claims that the union is a ‘sham’ and is only looking for publicity. Despite these claims, Fisher says the chance of the NBA ending its lockout inspired him to fly to the Big Apple and he is hoping to have a positive influence on the talks.

Following a number of players filing antitrust suits against the league, the two parties are now looking to force through a deal which would see any possible legal action withdrawn and Fisher’s appearance could make a major difference.

The latest round of talks are thought to be the league’s final chance to save the season and they’re looking at this set of negotiations as ‘do or die’ as they look to get fixtures underway around Christmas in a shorted 66 game campaign .

However, the NBA are unlikely to be so welcoming to Fisher and chairman Daniel stern believes its just another move to give the player’ extra leverage in the negotiations.

The new agreement still hinges on a number of key issues with players looking for a 50-50 split while the owners seem unlikely to budge on their 53-47 proposal. The owners also want a hard salary cap to limit players’ additional earnings from appearance fees and other contract terms and if these issued are not resolved this weekend, it could mean we won't be following the NBA online as the whole season is cancelled.

Kobe Bryant sends L.A Lakers back to NBA finals

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are in the NBA finals for the second straight year and record 30th time overall. LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers will need to win two more games to join them. Otherwise, it will be Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic on the league's biggest stage. Bryant and the Lakers dispatched Carmelo Anthony and the pesky Denver Nuggets with a 119-92 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals Friday night in Denver. A 27-point victory over what had been the toughest and grittiest of opponents for five Western Conference Finals games was quite an emphatic way for L.A. to get back to the NBA Finals for the 30th time in franchise history. "We saved our best game for last here, or maybe we caught our opponent a little bit off stride," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who gets a shot at his record 10th title. Bryant had 35 points and 10 assists and got plenty of scoring help from Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom as the Lakers shot 57.3 percent from the field to avoid having to play a Game 7 back at the Staples Center. Now the men in yellow will be trying to go a step further than what they did last year and capture their 15th title. Way to go Kobe........

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