Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Where oh Where will LeBron Be?


The terrifying possibility of a LeBron-Wade-Bosh triumvirate in Miami inches closer to becoming a reality
msnbc.com
UPDATE 11:12 am: The Miami Herald and other sources are reporting that this summit did not happen in Miami. Turns out Wade spent last weekend in his hometown of Chicago. Although ESPN's sources say they were all together in Miami.

Whatever. See, there is this fancy new technology called the telephone where the three of them could have had a conversation from wherever they were in the world. Amazing, I know. So to recap, a summit may have happened, but maybe not face-to-face one in Miami. And it may all not matter because they could talk any time they want.

10:24 am: Call it a summit, a book club, or whatever you'd like, but LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh have met to determine the league's future over a nice game of Parcheesi. What an ominous yet delightful development!

The particular endgame the three are discussing is a future in which James, Wade, and Bosh all play for the Heat. Miami doesn't have the cap space for such an unprecedented move as of yet, but they'll continue trying to clear as much cap as possible to keep this dream alive. They just have to move Michael Beasley's deal, and Pat Riley has been on the phones begging other GMs to do just that. Our own Ira Winderman reported he may have found a landing place, but nothing has been made official yet.

Reports have LeBron James as being the non-committed one to this idea. The man wants to be courted, he wants the teams to come to him and tell him how much they love him. Then he will decide, and Miami may now be a front runner. But first, he wants to be wooed.

The thought of the three biggest prizes of the 2010 free agent class all ending up in Miami is...frightening, to say the least. Supposing the Heat do end up moving Beasley, then Mario Chalmers and second round selections Dexter Pittman and Justin Varnado would be the only locks for the roster. The rest would need to be picked up using cap exceptions and minimum contracts. However, given the drawing power of the triumvirate, I'm sure a few capable veterans could be persuaded to sign for a discount.

If the three are to ever team up, it would require sacrifice. The price of converting three incredible, distinct talents into a supergroup would be substantial, particularly for their individual résumés. Initially, someone would have to sacrifice money; even if the Heat shed Beasley's contract in order to have a realistic chance of signing all three free agents, they won't have enough cap space for three max contracts.

Then, all three would likely have to sacrifice in usage. James, Wade, and Bosh are all high-usage superstars, and while their combined presence would open up easier scoring opportunities for all, it would also decrease their general frequency. It seems unlikely that any of the three players would be able to maintain their current statistical excellence if they were sharing a ball. Stats don't mean everything, but they do factor into current evaluations of their game, All-NBA selections, Hall of Fame chances, and eventually help to determine their place among the all-time greats. After all, how often are numbers used for historical comparison, regardless of context?

If the thought of neo-Miami's core is remarkable, it's made even more so by the level of subjugation required to obtain it. This would be more than three superstars in their prime wanting to play together; James, Wade, and Bosh would all have to surrender their egos, their touches, their production, and their excuses at the door. If they fell short of an NBA title, there would be no wiggle room, as each would finally have at least two teammates worthy of their own impressive skills. That may not be an issue, though. The sheer force of James, Wade, and Bosh alone would incite an all-out panic across the league, and there's a distinct possibility that they could rule the NBA with an iron fist.

But only if they decide that it's really worth it. Only if they conclude that recognition of their work as a collective is enough to sustain them for the next few seasons. Only if three guys who have played up this summer's market, promoted themselves, and been showered with attention suddenly determine that they don't need all eyes on them and them alone. Only if they sacrifice the money, their places in the record books, and surely some individual awards along the way. Only then can we start reserving trophies for the new-and-improved hypothetical Miami Heat, the team that would somehow act as a caricature of the superstar system while defying it.





How Knicks will lure LeBron
I think if Isiah Thomas is pleading for LeBron, then the knicks have lost all hope!!!!

si.com
When the Knicks meet with LeBron James on Thursday, they'll be offering the free agent a vision as bold as New York itself: Create your own dynasty.
A league source with understanding of New York's plans told SI.com that the Knicks will recruit the Cavaliers' two-time MVP with a grandiose vision of surrounding him with Hawks shooting guard Joe Johnson as well as an elite power forward -- Chris Bosh of the Raptors or Amar'e Stoudemire of the Suns -- to form a starring trio capable of contending for championships for years to come.
A similar plan has been discussed this week involving a proposed move by James and Bosh to Miami to join with Heat guard Dwyane Wade.
The Knicks have decided to target Johnson instead of Wade because of concerns that Wade and James are too similar in style and could clash over control of the ball, according to the source. Though 6-foot-7 Johnson is a four-time All-Star who has led Atlanta to 100 wins over the last two seasons, he is viewed as a complementary player who is capable of joining with James and other stars in a constructive way.
Johnson's importance to this three-headed plan is underlined by the Knicks' decision to visit him first on Thursday in Los Angeles before circling back to Akron, Ohio, for their scheduled meeting with James.
The proposal of bringing three stars to New York marks a breakthrough in strategy for the Knicks, who have been seen as outsiders in the race for James. With an estimated $34.5 million in cap space, it has been assumed they would offer max contracts to James and another player -- with the veiled understanding that two stars probably wouldn't be enough to drive the Knicks past contenders like the Celtics and Magic, who have knocked James' Cavs out of the playoffs over the last two years, or the Lakers, who have won the last two championships.
By dividing its cap space equally among three elite recruits -- another idea floated on behalf of Miami -- the Knicks would pay starting base salaries of $11.5 million each to James, Johnson and the power forward. That amounts to a salary cut of $5.3 million per year compared to the max salary each player could receive from another market.
Including bonuses, each can player can earn an average salary of $15.7 million over a five-year contract, the source said.
The Knicks will enhance the offer by pointing out the numerous off-court opportunities available to star athletes in the world's largest media market, enabling the players to ultimately make more money in New York than each could on a max contract in other NBA cities.
The source emphasized that the financial offer will be dwarfed by its prestige: If James and his two fellow stars bring success of the highest order to New York, which hasn't won an NBA championship since 1973, they will become the league's most lauded players since Michael Jordan left Chicago.
Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston have realized enormous success as large markets, James will be told, but nothing will compare to the opportunities that could be waiting for James and his teammates if they were to win championships in New York.
While Miami can put together a similar offer, the Knicks believe the three stars will be more comfortable in the larger setting of New York, where the Yankees have congregated large numbers of stars for decades.
The three new Knicks would be joined by an existing second unit of young shooting forwards, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, and second-year point guard Toney Douglas, leaving New York to round out the rotation by signing three or four contributing role players to veteran-minimum contracts for next season.
The Knicks' key recruiter Thursday will be coach Mike D'Antoni, who has been an assistant coach to James on the USA Basketball teams that have played in the Olympics and World Championships in recent years. Presentations will also be made by Knicks owner James Dolan and president Donnie Walsh.
Altogether, they plan to raise two additional points during their presentation: Next summer they will promise to use the cap space created by Eddy Curry's $11.3 million expiring salary to make a run at a fourth free agent, whether it's Carmelo Anthony or another star. This enhanced flexibility is something James won't find in another market, he will be told.
In addition, the Knicks can warn James that if he doesn't want to join them, then he should consider how he'll feel competing against Johnson, Bosh or Stoudemire and one or two more stars by 2011-12. As they'll tell James Thursday, they have no choice but to build a championship team -- with or without him. They will encourage him to decide quickly, in order to help them recruit a big winner.
It is very much a long-shot that the Knicks will be able to convince three stars to accept less money up front than they'll be able to negotiate elsewhere. It's also obvious they're targeting Johnson as the key element -- if they earn his blessing on the Big Three arrangement, then they can go to James in hope that he'll sign on too and help them bring in Bosh or Stoudemire.
Will this be enough to bring James to the Knicks? By appealing to his sense of destiny and the promise of commanding the world's largest stage as NBA champion, they believe they've come up with a dynastic plan as audacious as the city they hope he'll adopt when contracts can be signed July 8.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Lebron James Latest News and Cavs Updates


Top 20 NBA Free Agents
si.com
Before the 2009-10 season even began, teams were salivating over the thought of acquiring LeBron James, the 25-year-old with unearthly athleticism and skill who managed to turn the ever-struggling Cavaliers into contenders.
His impending free agency was the story of the year, and now, his future could reside with any team with an open wallet.
But James isn't the only star who could find a new home this summer. This year holds one of deepest free-agent classes in history, with the likes of Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson and Amar'e Stoudemire all eligible to test the market. Here's a look at the top 40 prospective free agents, some of whom could ultimately decline free agency and remain with their current teams by exercising player options or rejecting early termination options.

Note: Free-agent negotiations begin July 1 and players can begin signing contracts July 8. Check back for updates to this best available list throughout free agency.

1 LeBron James
Age: 25 | 2009-10 Team: Cavaliers | Position: SF
'09-10 Stats: 29.7 ppg, 50.3% FG, 7.3 rpg, 8.6 apg, 1.6 spg
Status: Unrestricted -- player option for $17.1 million
The two-time MVP is at the top of every team's wish list, with the unique ability to turn middling franchises (such as the Knicks and Clippers) into instant contenders. Few players have ever possessed the blend of size, skill and speed of James, who still could be a few years away from reaching his prime. Wooing James will be complicated -- a hefty contract and perhaps signing some of his free-agent buddies to fill out the roster are among the requisites -- but if a team has the money, it will make the sacrifices.


2 Dwyane Wade
Age: 28 | 2009-10 Team: Heat | Position: SG
'09-10 Stats: 26.6 ppg, 47.6% FG, 4.8 rpg, 6.5 apg, 1.8 spg
Status: Unrestricted -- player option for $17.1 million
Wade's place on this list may be only nominal, with few GMs believing he's eager to leave Miami. Indeed, Wade has said he prefers to remain on South Beach -- so long as the Heat use their near-$24 million in estimated cap space to sign or deal for another high-level star. Signing Wade does come with risks: Wade's injury history and relentless attacking style make it likely he will miss significant time at some point while under his next contract. Still, Wade is a legitimate franchise player and the top shooting guard on the market.

3 Chris Bosh
Age: 26 | 2009-10 Team: Raptors | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 24.0 ppg, 51.8% FG, 10.8 rpg
Status: Unrestricted -- player option for $17.1 million
There are some questions as to whether Bosh is capable of carrying a team. Fortunately, only one team that's after the five-time All-Star wants him to do so. Houston would love to pair Bosh next to Yao Ming, Chicago envisions a Bosh/Joakim Noah frontcourt (with Derrick Rose running the show) and Miami will recruit Bosh to be Wade's sidekick. Only the Raptors want Bosh to be the face of the franchise. But in a secondary role, Bosh, who averaged career highs in scoring, rebounding and shooting percentage last season, should thrive.

4 Amar'e Stoudemire
Age: 27 | 2009-10 Team: Suns | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 23.1 ppg, 55.7% FG, 8.9 rpg
Status: Unrestricted -- early termination option ('10-11 salary is $17.7 million)
Stoudemire's stock went up after a superb postseason stretch in which he keyed Phoenix's surprising run to the conference finals. Questions about Stoudemire's surgically repaired knees and eye injury have been answered; he is poised to command a max-level, five- or six-year contract. His ability to play two positions will also increase his value with teams with a hole at either power forward or center.

5 Dirk Nowitzki
Age: 32 | 2009-10 Team: Mavericks | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 25.0 ppg, 48.1% FG, 42.1% 3PT, 7.7 rpg
Status: Unrestricted -- early termination option ('10-11 salary is $21.5 million)
Don't blame Dirk for the Mavs' first-round flameout: He averaged 26.7 points on 54.7 percent shooting against San Antonio. Nowitzki is the Mavericks, and if he looks elsewhere, he will likely take a pay cut. Dallas can offer Nowitzki a four-year maximum contract worth $96.2 million and a no-trade clause. Like Wade with Miami, Nowitzki may want to see what moves the Mavericks make (particularly with Erick Dampier's non-guaranteed $13 million contract) before re-signing.

6 Joe Johnson
Age: 29 | 2009-10 Team: Hawks | Position: SG
'09-10 Stats: 21.3 ppg, 45.8% FG, 36.9% 3PT, 4.6 rpg, 4.9 apg
Status: Unrestricted
Johnson and Bosh are co-leaders in the most-likely-to-move category. Johnson blossomed into a bona fide superstar in Atlanta, but the Hawks' uncertain future -- can Larry Drew coach? Will ownership open its wallet for free-agent help? -- will have the four-time All-Star's eye wandering. Wade is the marquee shooting guard on the market, but Johnson's exceptional inside-out game and durability -- he played 82 games for five of his nine seasons in the league and appeared in no fewer than 76 games in each of his last three seasons -- make him a solid second choice.

7 Yao Ming
Age: 29 | 2009-10 Team: Rockets | Position: C
'09-10 Stats: Did not play because of injury
Status: Unrestricted -- early termination option ('10-11 salary is $17.7 million)
Yao is unlikely to opt out after missing the season while recovering from foot surgery, but he will at least consider it to try to take advantage of the salary guidelines of the current collective bargaining agreement. (The CBA expires after next season and owners are expected to attempt to reduce player salaries in the new agreement.) A healthy Yao would be a sought-after commodity in a league devoid of many true pivots. An unhealthy Yao? Not so much.

8 Carlos Boozer
Age: 28 | 2009-10 Team: Jazz | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 19.5 ppg, 56.2% FG, 11.2 rpg, 3.2 apg
Status: Unrestricted
A year ago, Boozer was coming off an injury-plagued and inconsistent season and staring at an uncertain future. But after proving himself to be both durable (78 games last season) and productive, Boozer is suddenly a hot name again. Utah's big financial commitment to fellow power forward Paul Millsap (three years left on his four-year, $32 million deal) might preclude a substantial offer, but Boozer will be a solid fallback for teams (New York, Chicago, Miami) that lose out on the LeBron/Wade/Bosh/Johnson sweepstakes. The Knicks, who run a heavy pick-and-roll offense, look like a natural fit.

9 Rudy Gay
Age: 23 | 2009-10 Team: Grizzlies | Position: SF
'09-10 Stats: 19.6 ppg, 46.6% FG, 5.9 rpg
Status: Restricted -- $4.4 million qualifying offer
Like Boozer, Gay's current team may not be willing to break the bank to keep him. Gay is a prolific scorer who has only scratched the surface of his potential. The question is, How much will a team be willing to pay a player who has proved he can score but not much else? Gay will be looking for max-level money and there may be teams willing to give it to him: the Clippers and Nets. The Clippers have a gaping hole at small forward while New Jersey will be looking to make a big splash under new owner Mikhail Prokhorov.

10 Paul Pierce
Age: 32 | 2009-10 Team: Celtics | Position: SF
'09-10 Stats: 18.3 ppg, 47.2% FG, 41.4% 3PT, 4.4 rpg, 3.1 apg
Status: Unrestricted -- early termination option ('10-11 salary is $21.5 million)
Pierce is another player who may be looking to cash in before the collective bargaining agreement expires. His status with the Celtics -- expect his number to be the next one raised to the rafters -- will put pressure on them to keep him. Pierce isn't as explosive offensively as he once was, but he is still a capable scorer who gets to the line frequently.

11 Ray Allen
Age: 34 | 2009-10 Team: Celtics | Position: SG
'09-10 Stats: 16.3 ppg, 47.7% FG, 36.3% 3PT
Status: Unrestricted
One GM believes Allen will be looking for a five-year, $75 million deal. The 34-year-old likely won't find that type of offer, but his super conditioning, professionalism and shooting ability will have teams lining up. A return to Boston is the best fit, but don't count out New York or Miami should either team have cap space left over after making a run at one of the big-name free agents.

12 David Lee
Age: 27 | 2009-10 Team: Knicks | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 20.2 ppg, 54.5% FG, 11.7 rpg, 3.6 apg
Status: Unrestricted
Last summer, Lee struggled to create a market, with most teams thinking the Knicks would match any offer for the restricted free agent. The Knicks no longer have that leverage. Lee's jump shot has improved over the last two seasons and he is one of the most active rebounders in the league. Teams will be a little wary, though, about committing top dollar to anyone who played in Mike D'Antoni's offense-happy system, and Lee's preference to play in a big market limits his options.

13 Luis Scola
Age: 30 | 2009-10 Team: Rockets | Position: F-C
'09-10 Stats: 16.2 ppg, 51.4% FG, 8.6 rpg
Status: Restricted -- $4.1 million qualifying offer
With Yao out, Scola was featured more in the Rockets' offense. And he delivered. A polished post game and soft touch from the perimeter make Scola a valuable commodity for the right price. Expect Houston -- which will try to work its way into the mix for Bosh -- to dangle Scola in sign-and-trade scenarios.

14 John Salmons
Age: 30 | 2009-10 Team: Bulls/Bucks | Position: SG
'09-10 Stats: 15.4 ppg, 44.1% FG, 38.2% 3PT
Status: Unrestricted -- early termination option ('10-11 salary is $5.8 million)
Salmons is the ultimate mercenary. Two seasons ago, he averaged 18.3 points for Chicago and helped it make the playoffs after being acquired from Sacramento at the trade deadline. In 2010, he was dealt again, this time to Milwaukee, where his scoring average spiked more than seven points (12.7 to 19.9) during the Bucks' playoff push. Salmons is a pure scorer but one better served playing for a team with an established No. 1 option.

15 Brendan Haywood
Age: 30 | 2009-10 Team: Wizards/Mavericks | Position: C
'09-10 Stats: 9.1 ppg, 56.2% FG, 9.3 rpg, 2.0 bpg
Status: Unrestricted
Haywood is a rare in-his-prime pure center who is a consistent double-double threat. His mediocre postseason (6.0 points, 6.2 rebounds) won't help his résumé, but if the Mavericks unload Dampier, they might be inclined to spend on a pivot they know fits well into their system.

16 Josh Childress
Age: 27 | 2009-10 Team: Olympiakos (Greece) | Position: SF
'09-10 Euroleage Stats: 15.2 ppg, 52.3% FG, 4.8 rpg
Status: Restricted (Hawks) -- $4.8 million qualifying offer
Olympiakos' financial issues, likely changes in Greek tax laws and one-too-many unruly fans have Childress primed for a return to the U.S. (his deadline to opt out is July 15). Lots of teams will be in the market for a versatile swingman who can defend and provide instant energy off the bench. The Hawks, who have retained Childress' rights, are one of them. Atlanta could bring back Childress in a reserve role or sign him to potentially replace Joe Johnson.

17 Tyrus Thomas
Age: 23 | 2009-10 Team: Bulls/Bobcats | Position: PF
'09-10 Stats: 9.4 ppg, 46.2% FG, 6.2 rpg, 1.6 bpg
Status: Restricted -- $6.2 million qualifying offer
Thomas was solid for Charlotte after coming over from Chicago in a deadline deal, and his superior athleticism makes him a prototypical power forward in Larry Brown's system. A full season away from the Bulls -- where the atmosphere had become poisonous for both sides -- should help Thomas to continue to develop, likely for the 'Cats.

18 Shaquille O'Neal
Age: 38 | 2009-10 Team: Cavaliers | Position: C
'09-10 Stats: 12.0 ppg, 56.6% FG, 6.7 rpg, 1.2 bpg
Status: Unrestricted
The Big Mercenary has a big decision: Does he latch on to another contender and hope to pick up one more ring, or does he go for the biggest paycheck out there, even if it means toiling with a struggling team at the end of his career? O'Neal has said he would like to play for three more years, but no team is likely to offer him that kind of guarantee. Would Boston take a flier on him? Would Chicago? Maybe Dallas, where O'Neal would finally be united with Mark Cuban?

19 Raymond Felton
Age: 26 | 2009-10 Team: Bobcats | Position: PG
'09-10 Stats: 12.1 ppg, 45.9% FG, 38.5% 3PG, 5.6 apg
Status: Unrestricted
Felton, who averaged career highs in field-goal and three-point percentages, has leverage with the Bobcats, who are reluctant to hand the team over to D.J. Augustin. Felton is one of a handful of established starting playmakers on the market, but with a likely salary demand of more than $6 million per year, he may price himself out of Charlotte.

20 J.J. Redick
Age: 26 | 2009-10 Team: Magic | Position: SG
'09-'10 Stats: 9.6 ppg, 43.9% FG, 40.5% 3PT, 86.0% FT
Status: Restricted -- $3.9 million qualifying offer
Redick is fresh off the most productive season of his four-year career, having firmly established himself in Orlando's rotation. As Vince Carter and Matt Barnes struggled during the postseason, Redick was frequently on the floor for the Magic in the fourth quarter. Redick could be in line for a deal that starts at more than his qualifying offer.






The 'Big O' key in courting the King
marc stein espn.com
It's the reason the New Jersey Nets, fresh off a 12-win season, are getting the first opportunity to sit down with the most coveted free agent in the history of American sport.
It's the reason the Miami Heat, for all the questions about LeBron James and Dwyane Wade successfully sharing one ball if they ever end up on the same team, have been mentioned all season as a top contender in the LeBron Sweepstakes.
It's the reason the Dallas Mavericks, without even a hint of salary-cap space, seem certain to make the short list of teams that get an invite to James' northeast Ohio base to make their recruiting pitch.
It's also a big reason you've gradually heard less and less about the New York Knicks stealing James away from his hometown team … and it's why the Los Angeles Clippers' pitch is ultimately doomed no matter how many surprisingly good things they can say about the setup in Clipperland … and why the Chicago Bulls can't yet allow themselves to believe all the chatter circulating leaguewide about a LeBron-and-Chris Bosh "done deal."
It's the "O" variable in James' decision of a lifetime.
Ownership.
Or in the broader sense: Organizations.

As lifelong LeBron-watcher Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer expertly conveyed in the latest edition of the Free Agency Dime, James' choice to either re-sign with the Cavaliers or leave the Cavs after seven ringless seasons will essentially be made by a committee of one. History says James will weigh all the input from his various advisers, including William "Worldwide Wes" Wesley and best friend/business manager Maverick Carter, and then head in the direction he's picked out.
And then let all of us know that he was in total control.
But what is LeBron looking for?
That's where the O factor comes in.
History also says that LeBron, from his years studying uber-successful mentors Warren Buffett and Jay-Z, is big on the word "partnership." Sources with a pipeline to his inner circle say that James has been schooled to approach his long-awaited foray into free agency as a search for a business partner who can help cement the legacy of the LeBron brand as opposed to a strict hunt for the on-the-court sidekicks who can help him win the multiple championships he needs to get anywhere near Global Icon status.
Trite as this stuff might sound, those who know James best say that it's not just marketing blather he splashes on the company website. Not to him, anyway. LeBron truly believes in his business mantra. He's known for frequently saying that he wants to be partner, not a mere vendor.
Example: LeBron was offered more money from Reebok and lavish promises from adidas back when he was a sneaker free agent, which might be the closest applicable comparison to the situation he's in now. Yet he wound up signing with Nike largely because of Nike's proven closeness with star endorser Michael Jordan and the vibe he got from Nike basketball chief Lynn Merritt.
So …
Should he apply the same logic to his NBA future, as you'd expect, owners and/or organizations rank as an oft-overlooked but undeniably huge factor in James' thinking.
If history is a trusty guide, James won't be fixated on the Nets' glamourless image or the two looming seasons in Newark before the team finally moves to Brooklyn during Thursday's opening face-to-face. The appeal of New Jersey, beyond going to a team that has quality building blocks at point guard (Devin Harris) and center (Brook Lopez), is the allure of teaming up with mysterious, new billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov, who happens to count the aforementioned Jay-Z as a handy/legendary minority owner.
Miami's big hook to supplement the enticing prospect of making James' Team USA partnership with Wade full-time also starts in the ownership suite, but for different reasons. Heat majority owner Micky Arison's willingness to consistently provide the resources to contend while staying in the background gives title-tested (and famously persuasive) team president Pat Riley uncommon freedom to run the show.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, were always going to get on LeBron's radar -- with or without cap space -- because of Mark Cuban. Sources close to the situation say that the Mavs' player-friendly owner is well-respected by James' gang. It also doesn't hurt that Jerry Jones, owner of LeBron's favorite football team, is an unofficial Mavs partner.
James relishes interaction with the likes of Jones and is known to have made it a point to get to know several owners from around the NBA in recent years. Two more examples: LeBron has a long-standing friendship with the Maloof brothers in Sacramento and met a handful of owners in 2009 at a major media conference in Sun Valley, Idaho.
The same principle, then, is likely to work in reverse with the owners who don't have good reputations.
Which is why the steady stream of LeBron-to-New York rumblings we've heard since the arrival of Donnie Walsh as team president and Mike D'Antoni as the Knicks' LeBron-endorsed coach have been drowned out by more persistent rumblings that James -- on top of concerns about the Knicks' thin roster and unwelcome smothering from the New York tabloid media -- does not want to attach himself to habitually unsmooth Knicks owner James Dolan. No matter how much cash Dolan has splashed around in his tenure.
The Clippers? Doesn't matter how good they might look on paper to James, with a foursome of quality teammates (Chris Kaman, Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and Baron Davis) ready to surround him. Proximity to off-the-court business opportunities only Hollywood can provide, as sexy as that sounds, just isn't going to persuade James to put his legacy in the hands of bumbling Clippers owner Donald Sterling, who has presided over two winning seasons in a 26-season run in Los Angeles. Not unless Sterling, as detailed here a few weeks back, violates his own decades-old vow to never sell anything and cedes majority control of the franchise to entertainment mogul David Geffen.
The O factor is also what the Bulls presumably can blame if the impressive complementary core they've assembled (Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah) and all the cap space they've cleared (to go after Bosh or Joe Johnson in addition to James) ultimately fail -- amid all this "done deal" talk -- to lure James to the Cavs' most hated rival.
The Bulls were routinely bashed from an organizational standpoint even when they were winning championships, thanks to Jordan's openly dim view of then-GM Jerry Krause. This season, though, criticism of Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and his front-office tag team of John Paxson and Gar Forman reached new levels, prompted by Chicago's mistreatment of since-fired coach Vinny Del Negro and most recently disseminated in a well-publicized critique from Wade about how Chicago treats ex-Bulls.
Even if Wade's criticism was a thinly veiled attempt to enhance the Heat's case in free agency, Chicago knows it has some image issues. Reinsdorf's reputation as a reluctant spender? Another issue.
Maybe none of that will matter in the end, because the Bulls are otherwise set up so well. It's also true that Wesley has maintained a good working relationship with Reinsdorf for years and is believed to be lobbying hardest for the Bulls, which is where much of the LeBron-and-Bosh-to-Chicago chatter originates. Yet you still hear well-connected folks around the league asking -- louder than the many questions Jordan's longtime agent David Falk has raised about James going to the Bulls in recent interviews with Sports Illustrated and CBS Sports -- whether LeBron is indeed prepared to commit to Reinsdorf.
Ditto for Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and the increasingly nerve-shredding campaign to persuade James to stay right where he is. LeBron associates continue to say that for all the grandiose visions of what might be in Chicago and Miami, turning his back on his sports-tortured home state will be tougher for a proud Ohioan than outsiders will ever realize. The humbling manner of Cleveland's second-round exit only made it tougher, too, because leaving the Cavs now is the one outcome that will keep that surreal playoff unraveling on James' résumé forever.
But staying with the Cavs -- when they lack the cap flexibility or the trade assets to significantly remake a roster badly in need of upgrades -- would be the ultimate show of faith in Cavs ownership. Although it's true that Gilbert has shown an unmatched willingness to take on extra payroll in today's cost-conscious NBA and cater to LeBron's every whim from a nonroster standpoint, there's also no escaping what Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told The New York Times earlier this month: "I think you do have to have two players that have extraordinary abilities at this stage of the season -- I really do."
Does LeBron have faith that Gilbert can quickly manufacture an extraordinary No. 2 when so many LeBron suitors can do that so easily this summer? Or has he lost faith in Gilbert, as was routinely whispered during Cleveland's unsuccessful bid to pry Tom Izzo away from Michigan State?
The reality is that he's not going to win anything that gets him to the Global Icon zip code unless he's flanked by the right teammates, so all of the above is only one clue to help us forecast the outcome of this Summer of LeBron. But know this: It's a biggie.
The prediction here is that ownership will be cited as one of the major reasons James cites when he has that historic news conference to explain why he chose what he chose.
The O factor.
The Big O, if you will.









Lakers assistant Shaw meets with Cavs about coaching vacancy
CLEVELAND -- The Cavaliers could be getting close to a major signing.
No, not that one.
The team's 5-week-old coaching search took another turn on Tuesday as Los Angeles Lakers assistant Brian Shaw met in Cleveland with owner Dan Gilbert and front-office members about the Cavaliers' coaching vacancy.
The visit comes just a few days before free agency opens with the Cavs hoping they can convince superstar LeBron James to re-sign and come back for an eighth season - and more. Cleveland would like to have a coach in place by July 1 to settle what has so far been a tumultuous offseason.
It is not yet known if the club has offered its coaching position to Shaw, who is also expected to be in town on Tuesday.
The 43-year-old Shaw has spent five seasons on Phil Jackson's staff in Los Angeles. A 14-year NBA veteran, he has no head coaching experience but is considered a strong candidate to replace Jackson if the 11-time champion retires. Jackson, who has health concerns, is expected to announce his plans later this week.
The Cavaliers have been looking for a coach since firing Mike Brown on May 24 in the aftermath of their second-round playoff loss to Boston. The team was previously turned down by Tom Izzo, who rejected a reported $30 million offer to stay at Michigan State.
Former New Orleans coach Byron Scott is still believed to be the Cavs' preferred choice to replace Brown. Scott, though, is presumed to be an option for the Lakers if Jackson steps down and may want to wait until the situation is clarified in L.A. before making a move.
Scott has had several talks with the Cavs and met with Gilbert, general manager Chris Grant and other members of Cleveland's ownership group on Father's Day in Michigan. However, he was not offered the job as the meeting was mostly a get-to-know-you affair.
Gilbert has said it would be ideal to have a coach in place by the opening of free agency, but Grant, who took over when Danny Ferry resigned, said last week that the team would not speed up its process.
The team has also had talks with Milwaukee assistant Kelvin Sampson and former Atlanta coach Mike Woodson.
Drafted by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 1988 draft, Shaw retired as a player in 2003. He won three league titles as a guard with the Lakers (2000-02) before becoming the team's assistant scouting director.
The Cavs have said they would prefer a defensive-minded coach. However, the club is intrigued by Shaw's knowledge of Jackson's triangle offense, a system that could entice James to stay with Cleveland.

Monday, June 28, 2010

USA Soccer Review and LeBron Watch





U.S. can draw some positives from World Cup learning experience
si.com
We've had a day to digest the bitter aftertaste of opportunities lost, so it's time to add a quart of perspective to what really was a roller coaster of a World Cup experience from the United States perspective.
The table may never again be arranged with such promise, a real lollipop of a draw and then a bracket blown wide open, a dangling carrot in easy grasp. Back home, the U.S. public at large went "all in" for World Cup soccer, hooked by a side that played with passion and pride, once backed into a corner, anyway.
Alas, the bottom line is that the United States was a side ill equipped to exploit the gap, thin of depth and still not sufficiently wise to cope with this level.
The team did make a suddenly interested country proud, rediscovering a never-quit spirit and a battling resolve, a determination that had seemed to vanish four years ago as the United States went out rather meekly, a first round to forget.
That needs to be the take away from South Africa 2010. Because the U.S. program had surely lost the plot a bit, drawn into a misguided overestimation of its true ability. A talent pool that's been steadily on the rise had everyone bamboozled, fooled into thinking we were farther along. This creeping infiltration suggested that skill and silky soccer might be the way forward. Now, we know better; everyone around U.S. program should understand that anything less than full laser-lock focus, anything less than determination suggesting that your very life depends on it simply isn't good enough. So in that regard, lesson learned. And memorably so. Michael Bradley's late, dramatic goal against Slovenia and Landon Donovan's magic moment against Algeria will long be remembered by an indebted and growing legion of U.S Soccer supporters. It allowed the United States to not just advance, but to win the group historically over heralded England, and that's a massive improvement over the humbling stumble through Germany 2006.
The U.S. team that fell to Ghana in the Round of 16 was only in that situation because team chemistry was perfect, because players believed in one another and were willing to fight for the next guy over right to the end.
Because, the glistening opportunity of a wide open bracket aside, did anybody really think three weeks ago this was a team hell bent for the World Cup quarterfinals?
This was always a collection that was desperate for a AAA-rated striker, someone to complement Donovan's speed and ideas. There was a flagging element of creativity. It was always a team with middling back line depth; Bob Bradley's dependence on a center back that had not played competitively for eight months says it all there. It was never a team with a settled midfield; Michael Bradley was strong in his two-way role, but having four different partners alongside side him at various points suggested that he never really had one proper central collaborator.
And if anybody is truly surprised that this team kept giving up leads in South Africa, that it had serial issues with meager starts, a simple review of final-round qualifying would have spelled it out in careful detail.
Having said all that, it's all still a tough pill to swallow. Donovan admitted that players feel the cruel wrench of opportunity lost, too.
"Obviously we're very disappointed," Donovan said. "I think the way we went out is frustrating because we played a pretty good game, but made a couple of mistakes and got punished for it. It's a tough lesson to learn when you don't get a chance to redeem yourself. I guess the warning signs were there, getting scored on early, and it came back to bite us."

Still, there's five things to take away from all of this:

Will the USSF keep Bob Bradley as coach?
There will be abundant speculation about Bradley's status until U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati offers a contract extension or, tellingly, allows the current deal to quietly expire in December.
Bradley's strength also turned into his weakness here. For four years he created a predictable structure for players, and then stocked the shelves with professional attitudes and scrappy spirits. Bradley deserves a lot of credit there, because getting the mix right is more art than science and far trickier than you might think. See bungling France in 2010, rudderless England in 2010, the hopelessly cloddish United States in 1998, the mercurial Dutch in many years past, etc.
Bradley made mistakes with his lineups
But the coach's insistence on keeping too much of the structure in place, even when it looked like so much hammering of square pegs into round holes, probably crimped effort in spots. In all four games Clint Dempsey started as a midfielder and then moved up to forward. All four! Would it really have been such a corruption of the structure to start a game that way, getting better players on the field as a result?
Nor did Bradley assist his case with some curious starting choices against Ghana. Wouldn't we all like to know what might have been if the American night had started as it played in Saturday's second half? Benny Feilhaber and Maurice Edu were in for the ineffective Robbie Findley and the nervous Ricardo Clark, with Dempsey playing further up the field to useful effect.
We might be talking about a huge quarterfinal date with Uruguay right now. Neither Clark nor Findley had a done a thing in South Africa to justify their selections as starters, and yet there they were.
By the time Bradley made his changes, not only were the Americans behind, but early substitutions hamstrung the coach in regards to further, late changes. Would Stuart Holden, DaMarcus Beasley or Edson Buddle off the bench had made a difference to a team that was looking exhausted? We'll never know. So clearly, there are consequences if personnel and tactics aren't right from the start. The coach must accept some of the blame.
Still, this team was so clearly more than the sum of its parts. And a lot of that is to Bradley's credit, for he managed to squeeze a lot of juice from imperfect fruit. Getting into the second round was always the U.S. goal -- lost opportunities aside. It wasn't Bradley's fault that the United States lacked depth at certain spots.

The U.S. still lacks a star striker
The biggest hole of them all, the lack of quality strikers, still needs to be addressed by the establishment. No one playing striker has scored a World Cup for the United States since 2002. Teams without a world class frontrunner can and do tiptoe into the elimination rounds, but they'll rarely be a threat to move beyond quarterfinal stage.
"We feel like in all positions we have talent," Bradley said. "But when you get to the World Cup level and everything gets challenged at the ultimate level, I think we still know we need to get better, and forward would certainly be one of those areas."

Landon Donovan showed up big
Beyond the conversations that will certainly rage on regarding upper management, this "Landycakes" business is surely dead now. That's a pejorative nickname given to Donovan by people who don't know a quality player when they see one.
Simply put, the United States doesn't make the second round in South Africa without Donovan. His ideas and speed of play weren't consistently tip-top, but they were always lurking. And truly, the United States' attack was frequently an empty calorie exercise otherwise. His two magic moments alone, the critical goals against Slovenia and Algeria (never mind keeping his nerve on Saturday's penalty kick), should be enough to quash any lingering anti-Donovan sentiment. He's now the country's all-time leader in scoring, World Cup scoring and World Cup appearances. And he's probably got one more tournament to go.

The U.S. talent pool continues to grow
There is talent in the waiting. The likes of big L.A. Galaxy center back Omar Gonzalez and fresh, young attackers like Andy Najar will be Donovan's support cast going forward. Otherwise, Edu, Feilhaber, Findley, Holden, Jose Torres, Jozy Altidore, Jonathan Bornstein, Michael Bradley, Brad Guzan and Jonathan Spector will still be under 30 as teams land in Brazil in the summer of 2014.
So will Robbie Rogers, Sacha Kljestan, Chad Marshall and others who were paddling around in the shallow end of the player pool during qualifying. There are promising young players that we know about (Gonzalez, for instance). And believe it, there will be somebody in Brazil in four years that none of us are thinking about right now. So, there's talent in the pipeline.
And there's obviously heart in the effort -- but putting it all together will never be easy. There's such a slim margin for error at the World Cup, and that volley of reiteration may be the most important lesson of all at South Africa 2010.


LBJ Watch: To Chicago a DONE Deal?!?

You watched the draft day moves by the Chicago Bulls, saw they freed up almost enough room for two max guys to go along side Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah, and you thought, "That is where LeBron is going to go."

You are not alone.

According to one NBA executive who spoke with the New York Times, LeBron is ChiTown bound.


The executive, who did not want to be identified discussing a player who is not yet a free agent, said he had gathered from discussions with his fellow N.B.A. executives that James was strongly leaning toward joining the Bulls in tandem with another free agent, Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors.

"I think it's a done deal," the executive said....

But their proposals will be without the flair and drama of a free-agent tour, because James has decided to have everyone come to him. Various teams, like the Knicks, had lined up chefs and celebrities to help attract James, but with the meetings in Ohio, the discussion will be about rosters, not restaurants.

"He is going to make a basketball decision, so all that is unnecessary," the executive said. "He just saved a lot of people a lot of money."


What we've learned: That NBA executives are thinking just like you. But until we get real word from LeBron and his inner circle, we don't know.

Still, I'd rather be Chicago than just about any other team right now. Even Cleveland.

Friday, June 25, 2010

2010 NBA Draft Grades

Prayers are with Giants Rookie Chad Jones!!!!!



I thought the talent in this years draft was horrible. I don't think there are any major impact players that were drafted in the first round. I hope John W and Evan T prove me wrong, but I just don't see it and I am a major Buckeye. (sorry Evan)

2010 NBA Draft Team Grades

C+ Atlanta Hawks
A draft-day deal with New Jersey yielded Jordan Crawford, an explosive scorer who fascinated more than a few GMs before the draft. Crawford has 20-point potential but he doesn't get to the line much and tends to play out of control. Still, Crawford is extremely talented and as athletic as they come. Senegal's Pape Sy -- a complete unknown leading up to the draft -- was a bit of a peculiar pick, especially with proven talents like Willie Warren and Stanley Robinson still on the board.

B- Boston Celtics
Danny Ainge has had a bit of a man-crush on Avery Bradley for weeks, hoping the explosive combo guard would get to the Celtics at No. 19. While most believed Ainge was targeting a big man to fill in for the injured Kendrick Perkins or the just-retired Rasheed Wallace, Ainge was always after the best player available. Bradley was it. Bradley can back up Rajon Rondo and his slashing ability gives Boston a much-needed punch on what will likely be a revamped bench. Luke Harangody was an overachiever in college, but if he turns out to be a good practice player, Boston will keep him around.

Inc. Charlotte Bobcats
No picks for the Bobcats, and maybe that's a good thing for a team that has either whiffed (Adam Morrison, Alexis Ajinca) or barely put the ball in play (Gerald Henderson, D.J. Augustin) in recent drafts.

Inc. Chicago Bulls
The Bulls made one pick -- Kevin Seraphin -- and are sending him to Washington along with Kirk Hinrich in a deal that will expand their available cap space to close to $30 million this summer. If one of the big free agents signs, it's a great decision. If not, they wasted a pick in a pretty deep draft.

Inc. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs were burning up the phones trying to get into this draft but couldn't make a deal. They have better things to worry about anyway. Like finding a coach. And re-signing LeBron James.


B+ Dallas Mavericks
The Mavs searched for weeks for a first-round pick to buy. When they got one, they spent it on Dominique Jones, a prolific scorer from South Florida who will have to fight for minutes behind Jason Terry and Roddy Beaubois. The Mavs also dealt second-round center Solomon Alabi to Toronto for future considerations. With Erick Dampier likely gone and Brendan Haywood a free agent, wouldn't it have made sense to hold on to someone like that?

Inc. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets tried -- and failed -- to trade their way into the second round to grab one of the available big men (five of the 12 players Denver worked out went in the second round). It was disappointing, as Denver badly needed an infusion of youth in the frontcourt.

B+ Detroit Pistons
Greg Monroe fell into the center-less Pistons' lap at No. 7, and they pounced. Monroe is a terrific passer with burgeoning offensive skills and should instantly upgrade a Detroit lineup that was forced to give an aging Ben Wallace extended minutes last season. In time, Monroe could develop into a front-of-the-line starting center. Second-rounder Terrico White is a superb athlete who can play limited minutes at both guard positions. If he makes the team, White could provide added protection should the Pistons part ways with Richard Hamilton.

C Golden State Warriors
Ekpe Udoh is a 6-foot-10, 240-pound pseudo-center who isn't especially tough and isn't especially strong. The Warriors have plenty of those with Anthony Randolph, Brandan Wright and Andris Biedrins on the roster. Udoh possesses some offensive moves (he averaged 13.9 points last season at Baylor) and has a decent touch from the perimeter. But a more traditional big man like Greg Monroe might have been a better fit.

B- Houston Rockets
Patrick Patterson has an NBA body and is an above-average scorer in the post, so if he sticks in Houston, he should be a nice addition off the bench. But with the Rockets looking to be players in free agency, don't be surprised to see Patterson dangled in a deal that could recoup a top veteran like Amar'e Stoudemire or Chris Bosh.

B- Indiana Pacers
The Pacers had hoped to lock up a point guard (the Nets' Devin Harris) and a power forward (Derrick Favors) in one fell swoop when they dangled Danny Granger and the No. 10 pick to Jersey. The Nets didn't bite, though, and Indy was left with Paul George, a late bloomer (he didn't play AAU ball until his senior year of high school) out of Fresno State who compares himself to Tracy McGrady. He's a good transition player who can shoot the three, a must in Jim O'Brien's offense. Indy took a flyer on Lance Stephenson, a good-sized two-guard who lacks many offensive skills, in the second round.

A- Los Angeles Clippers
They are holding out the slim hope that LeBron fills their vacant small forward spot, but Al-Farouq Aminu isn't a bad placeholder. Something about his game -- versatile, good rebounder, finishes well at the rim -- screams Luol Deng, a player the Clips would be perfectly content with. Aminu's a bit of a tweener who doesn't shoot the three well (27.3 percent last season), but by all accounts he's a coachable player with a big upside. Second-rounder Willie Warren is a first-round talent with a third-round head but perhaps a change of scenery will make him see the light. And in L.A., Warren will be reunited with college teammate Blake Griffin.

B Los Angeles Lakers
Devin Ebanks is a solid wing defender with limited offensive skills but the real find could be Derek Caracter. He had a nightmarish two seasons at Louisville but appeared to turn around his career at UTEP, becoming (at least on the surface) a model citizen and a pretty good post player. He's a solid rebounder, too, and could become a quality backup to Pau Gasol.

B- Memphis Grizzlies
Rudy Gay might want to think about putting his house on the market. Xavier Henry doesn't have the size or athletic ability of Gay, but he's a lights-out shooter who, if combined with Ronnie Brewer, could form a decent replacement on the wing. Ideally, Memphis brings back Gay and adds Henry's punch to a lackluster bench. The Grizzlies sold a strong scorer in Dominique Jones to the Mavericks and picked up a so-so bench player in Greivis Vazquez, who won the unofficial Most Excited To Be Drafted award after he bear-hugged David Stern.

B Miami Heat
The Heat are another team trying to create flexibility, and following Thursday's draft, they opened up more salary-cap space than any team in the league. It all started on Wednesday when they dumped Daequan Cook and the No. 18 pick on Oklahoma City. Then they used the draft to take a few flyers on some big men. Dexter Pittman is a 300-plus-pound center who has potential if he can lose a few (or 30) pounds. Jarvis Varnado is a strong shot-blocker and Da'Sean Butler is a first-round talent who will be out the first few months of the season while he recovers from a torn ACL. Little risk for Miami, which can now offer Dwyane Wade about $127 million to stay and reel in a another max free agent (LeBron, Bosh, Stoudemire) and even then add additional talent.

B Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee's makeover continues. After acquiring a pair of wing scorers in Corey Maggette and Chris Douglas-Roberts in trades prior to draft day, the Bucks shored up the frontcourt with Larry Sanders, a skinny power forward with great defensive skills. He'll need to bulk up, but he could be a Kurt Thomas-type defensive stopper. Darington Hobson, Jerome Jordan and Keith "Tiny" Gallon are quality picks in the second round and if one can make the team, the Bucks will be happy.

B+ Minnesota Timberwolves
Here's all you need to know about Wesley Johnson: He enjoys playing in the triangle. Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that he felt very comfortable playing in the complex offense. And why shouldn't he? Johnson is a terrific shooter who should get a few open looks playing off Al Jefferson, assuming Jefferson is still a Timberwolf when the season opens. Johnson has star written all over him: He's efficient, a promising defender -- you don't know for sure with guys who played zone at Syracuse -- and a terrific rebounder at his position. Minnesota swapped the rights to Luke Babbitt to Portland for Martell Webster, a good deep shooter who could blossom outside of the Pacific Northwest. They also picked up Lazar Hayward, a limited player who will have trouble adjusting to playing small forward in the NBA.

D- New Jersey Nets
It would be one thing if New Jersey loved Derrick Favors and envisioned him as its power forward of the future. But the Nets entertained offers -- including a blockbuster from Indiana -- right up until they made the pick, and still could plug Favors into a megadeal. No one knows what Favors is going to be; he has a great body and tremendous defensive instincts, but he lacks polish and it's hard to project what kind of post player he's going to become. Jersey also acquired Damion James, a good transition player who comes up with a lot of hustle points. But it passed on Quincy Pondexter, a more accomplished scorer who can finish and knock down the pull-up jump shot.

B- New Orleans Hornets
There were a few "here we go again" moments when the Hornets traded the rights to Cole Aldrich (along with Morris Peterson's contract) to Oklahoma City for two late first-round picks. But New Orleans landed two potential quality role players in power forward Craig Brackins, a solid inside-out player, and Quincy Pondexter, a terrific athlete who developed into a capable scorer in four years at Washington. Worth Aldrich? Yes, and possibly more.

C New York Knicks
Second-round picks Andy Rautins and Landry Fields are one-dimensional shooter/scorers, but the bigger point is this: The Knicks got killed by Chicago and Miami. Donnie Walsh and Co. maintained their position of clearing cap space, but predraft trades left the Bulls and Heat in prime position to land not one, but two max free agents. Plus, they have support already in place (Bulls) or have enough left over to find help (Heat) in addition to signing two stars. With July 1 now a week away, the Knicks took a major step back.

B+ Oklahoma City Thunder
At some point in the next few years, Sam Presti is going to own all 30 picks in the draft. Oklahoma City's young, enterprising GM was wheeling and dealing on Thursday, sneaking into the lottery to pick up a potential starting center (Cole Aldrich), a solid veteran two-guard (Morris Peterson), a bruising power forward in Ryan Reid and a young center in German 7-foot-1 Tibor Pleiss, whom the Thunder will stash overseas for a few years. In addition, Oklahoma City got back Latavious Williams, a D-Leaguer who played for the Thunder's affiliate in Tulsa last season. Presti also secured a future first-round pick from the Clippers when he shipped Eric Bledsoe to L.A. He maybe should have kept the dynamic Bledsoe, but overall a strong night from one of the NBA's top GMs.

A Orlando Magic
Terrific picks. Daniel Orton was a big-time slider in the days before the draft. Clearly he needs coaching. Enter Stan Van Gundy, one of the best teachers in the game. He needs role models, too. Hello Dwight Howard and Patrick Ewing. Playing behind Howard and under Ewing's tutelage should accelerate the development of a young player with tremendous physical tools. And if the Magic like what they see of Orton, Marcin Gortat suddenly becomes a trade chip. As far as Stanley Robinson -- I watched most of the draft with ex-UConn star Donyell Marshall, who grumbled every time someone passed on Robinson. Marshall contends that Robinson's game is better suited for the NBA than college. If Robinson can polish his offensive game, Marshall could be proved right.

B+ Philadelphia 76ers
Is Evan Turner going to be a good player? No question. Was he the consensus No. 2 pick? Absolutely. Is he going to be better than Wesley Johnson in three years? Ehhhhh. Turner was a no-brainer: He's polished, mature and a natural two-guard who, along with Jrue Holiday, gives Philly a dynamic backcourt that will be entrenched on Broad St. for the next decade. But Johnson was the high-riser in the 2010 draft, with every team -- including the Sixers -- gushing over his workouts. Philadelphia was after another late first-, early second-round pick most of the night but struck out, a result it may regret if Daniel Orton or Hassan Whiteside turn out to be players.

B Phoenix Suns
One of Steve Kerr's last acts as Suns GM could be a good one. Gani Lawal didn't get a lot of press at Georgia Tech playing next to acclaimed freshman Derrick Favors, but he has excellent hands and what some scouts believe to be a burgeoning post game. If he develops, he could be a real steal in the second round. Dwayne Collins was a decent athlete at Miami but don't expect him to get much further than training camp.

B Portland Trail Blazers
Kevin Pritchard -- who was fired as the Blazers' GM an hour before the draft but remained involved in the decision-making process -- could have stuck it to his old bosses by mailing it in this draft. Instead, Pritchard helped orchestrate a deal that swapped Martell Webster for a crafty scorer in Luke Babbitt and a solid veteran in Ryan Gomes. Portland stole Elliot Williams, a potential point guard of the future, late in the first round and grabbed an intriguing prospect in Armon Johnson in the second round. As finales go, this one was pretty good.

B- Sacramento Kings
After acquiring the disgruntled Samuel Dalembert from Philly, the Kings drafted another disgruntled big man: DeMarcus Cousins. Hard to argue with Cousins' potential -- 6-foot-10 without shoes, with a gigantic 7-6 wingspan and a standing reach of 9-5 -- but he earned a reputation as a sulker with a questionable attitude at Kentucky. Will he mature in the NBA? If he does, he has scary talent and could blossom into an elite center. The Kings got a great value pick in the second round in Marshall's Hassan Whiteside, the NCAA's leading shot-blocker (5.35 swats per game last season) who was projected in some early mock drafts as a lottery pick.

A- San Antonio Spurs
James Anderson is a vintage Spurs pick. He didn't wow anyone in workouts but he was a consistent scorer in college (22.3 points last season) who has an NBA-ready jump shot. He'll probably contribute early to a Spurs bench that has needed an infusion of youth. English center Ryan Richards is a bit of an unknown, but when it comes to finding top overseas talent, the Spurs are second to none.

A- Toronto Raptors
It's easy to draft in the NBA when good picks slide right into your lap. Ed Davis was earmarked for Detroit before Greg Monroe became available, leaving the UNC power forward on the board for the Raptors to scoop up at No. 13. With Chris Bosh likely out the door, Toronto badly needed frontcourt help and Davis was one of the best options. Solomon Alabi slid more than most scouts expected, but athletic 7-foot-1 centers don't grow on trees and Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo was smart to acquire him from Dallas in the second round. Two picks, two pretty good ones.

B- Utah Jazz
Gordon Hayward is simply a risk. He's a 6-foot-9, 207-pound toothpick who parlayed a strong sophomore season and a fantastic NCAA tournament into a lottery selection. But for all the praise heaped on Hayward for his shooting, he knocked down only 29.4 percent of his threes last year. Still, he's going to the right system. He's smart, tough and should thrive -- and get a whole lot of open looks -- in Jerry Sloan's offense. He can't go one-on-one, but how many of Sloan's players can say they can? Second-round pick Jeremy Evans is athletic ... but not much else.

B+ Washington Wizards
The Wizards scored perhaps the draft's only franchise player when they nabbed John Wall with the No. 1 pick. Whether Gilbert Arenas is on the opening-day roster or not, this is now Wall's team and Flip Saunders will shape the offense in his image. That means you can expect a more up-tempo offense in D.C. this year. The agreed-upon acquisition of Kirk Hinrich -- who comes with a $17 million price tag over the next two seasons -- was a little puzzling, especially considering that as part of the deal the Wizards are getting Kevin Seraphin, a raw rebounder/shot-blocker from France with zero offensive game. The Wizards did manage to land Trevor Booker, a rugged, undersized power forward with above-average athleticism for his position.







And ... action: Draft Diary XIV
great article from Bill Simmons on the NBA Draft

One night before the 2010 NBA draft, I was reading mock drafts and Googling various prospects when the Sports Gal casually asked, "You care if I pay-per-view something?"
Before I knew it, she was ordering Robert Pattinson's movie "Remember Me." She loves Pattinson. So does my daughter, who brings a "Twilight" lunchbox to school every day with his face on it. My house is all Pattinson all the time. When I'm away, my wife and daughter lie in bed and fall asleep to "Twilight" every night. I stay out of it. I'm in six fantasy leagues; it's not like I can make fun of someone else's obsessions.
Just know that I'd never seen Pattinson act until "Remember Me." He's like a cross between Keanu Reeves, Tommy Wiseau and every athlete who ever made an "Entourage" cameo. He's fantastically, historically, mesmerizingly bad. He's so bad at acting that I couldn't stop watching the movie. I found myself rooting for him. Come on, Pattinson, you can pull this off -- just give us one scene. When the movie mercifully ended, I had the following exchange with my wife.
-- Me: "You realize how terrible an actor he is, right?"
-- Her: "He's young. He'll get better. He has potential. He's like one of your NBA picks."
Not a far-fetched analogy. According to her logic, Pattinson is like Derrick Favors: young, raw, all the physical tools, no polish at all. I see him more like Wesley Johnson: a fourth-year junior who can't get much better than he already is. Only one of us is right. You don't know for sure. You can't know for sure. That's the beauty of the NBA draft. If only she had said that Pattinson had tremendous upside. Without further ado, Draft Diary XIV.
4:30 p.m. PT: We're coming to you live from the New and Improved Man Cave. I'm joined by my pooch Rufus, a bottle of SmartWater and a bag of stale Baked Lays. My favorite moment from the pregame show with Stu Scott, Jon Barry, Jeff Van Gundy and Jay Bilas: Bilas ran down his "Best 15 Available Players" in the following order: 5, 4, 3, 2, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 15, 14, 13, 12, 11. I'm still confused. Also confusing: ESPN using Michael Buble's romantic swing music as the theme for tonight's telecast. I can't tell if we're drafting players or trying to roofie them.
4:31: Our first four GMs on the clock: Ernie Grunfeld (Washington), Ed Stefanski (Philly), Rod Thorn (Jersey), David Kahn (Minnesota) … or, as they're better known, "Mount Duncemore." Here's how the picks should go: John Wall, Evan Turner, Derrick Favors, DeMarcus Cousins. We'll see. Kahn is the wild card. The man fell out of the comedy sky. I'm excited about another draft with him. Titillated, even.
4:32: David Stern is booed by the New York crowd, calls the fans unruly, then cups his ears for boos after reminding everyone that the Lakers won the 2010 Finals by beating the Celtics. He's slowly morphing into the Mr. McMahon of the NBA. I love it. We might see him make a catty "By the way, I hope LeBron signs with Chicago" joke before the night's over.
4:34: ESPN whets Washington fans' excitement for their No. 1 pick by showing highlights of the Kwame Brown pick in 2001. That was downright cruel. Speaking of cruel, Portland fired GM Kevin Pritchard an hour before the draft. Hey, he's only a top-seven GM -- there are plenty of those. Does anyone else think Al Davis died a year ago and took over Paul Allen's body?
It's safe to say John Wall has already done more for the Wizards than Kwame Brown did in four seasons.4:37: Our No. 1 pick for Washington: John Wall. On the "Coming Into The League Can't-Miss Point Guard" Scale, I have Wall ranked behind '94 Jason Kidd and '08 Derrick Rose, but ahead of '05 Deron Williams, who's really good. As you know. Stern's handshake with him has a "Please, please, don't play cards on the team charter with Gilbert, I beg you" feel to it.
4:37: Bilas uses the word "tremendous" three times in a minute. I think he likes Wall. I'm almost positive. By the way, Washington's draft room had so many people in it that they may have had to hire a bouncer.
4:40: Mark Jones asks Wall what it means to be the first Kentucky player picked No. 1 overall. Um, I'm pretty sure it means nothing. He was there for eight months. We've had "Bachelor" relationships last longer than John Wall lasted at Kentucky.
4:43: The Sixers are on their fifth coach in five years (a guy who hasn't coached a playoff game since 1997); they never fired the GM who gave Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand a combined $160 million; they don't have a single trade chip; they won't have cap space for three more years; and the last time they picked second in an NBA draft they took Keith Van Horn. Needless to say, their fans are pumped. They take … Evan Turner. Phew. Smart pick. Not as much potential as Favors or Cousins, but he'll be better in the pros than people realize because he can play multiple positions. He even wore a gray suit with a bright red tie that goes nicely with his blue and red Sixers hat. I like him.
4:45: Stern's microphone is being left on when he greets every draft pick. Who else is hoping for a "mike stays on when he takes a leak" moment, a la Leslie Nielsen in "The Naked Gun"? Would that be the funniest moment in NBA draft history?
(The answer? No. It's still when Darius Miles gave Stern a full-body, belt-to-belt, genitals-to-genitals hug during the 2000 draft. That's the funniest draft moment ever. And also the funniest moment ever.)
4:49: Our first draft for Mutant Russian Mark Cuban and the Nyets! They grab Derrick Favors, the Georgia Tech freshman who might be the best 2010 rookie when everything's said and done. (Think Antonio McDyess pre-ACL surgery.) He played for a poorly coached team with bad guards, he's ambidextrous (or, as Mike Tyson would say, "amphibious") and as the 2010 Finals just showed, you need size to win titles. Favors and Brook Lopez are a nice start. My big concern: Does anyone else worry that Avery Johnson could single-handedly turn Favors into Kwame Brown 2.0 just by screaming at him in a squeaky voice for eight straight months?
4:49: Hold on, Josh Howard and Devin Harris are still nodding intently.
4:50: Mark Jones asks Favors about his "mentorship/pupil" relationship with Chris Bosh. This could be a long night.
4:53: On the clock: Our featured speaker for "Atrocious GM Summit II" next February, the one, the only, David Kahn! He's giving a lecture titled "How To Drive A Potential Franchise Guy To Europe For Three Years, Pass On Stephen Curry For An Undersized Point Guard Who Can't Guard Anyone, Then Convince Your Fans That Everything's Fine." We're delighted to have him.

REVIEW: EVAN TURNER
I asked Mark Titus (Evan Turner's former OSU teammate, creator of the Club Trillion blog and a recent Globetrotters pick) to review Turner's draft night performance. Here's what he wrote:
Heading into last night's NBA draft, I was certain of two things about my former teammate: He has by far the best nickname of anyone in the draft (The Villain), and he is an avid fan of Lady Gaga. Knowing this made me uncontrollably excited about what he might wear, because a great nickname always comes with a little bit of swagger and any serious Lady Gaga fan just might be crazy enough to try to dress like her. Then I realized there was virtually no chance of Evan going over the top with his wardrobe, because pretty much nothing about Evan could be described as "flashy." On the court, the bread and butter of his game is his midrange jump shot (unexciting yet effective). Off the court, he's a well-mannered and respectful kid who can be found reading books, watching film, or working on his game in the gym on weekend nights. This substance-over-style attitude was reflected last night in demeanor and dress.

Evan only got flashy with his watch and custom Ohio State cufflinks, but virtually nobody saw them because his long sleeves and suit jacket covered them. He pushed the Ohio State theme by wearing a gray suit with a scarlet red tie, but to all non-Ohio State fans, it looked boring compared to Wesley Johnson's suit. While Al-Farouq Aminu regrettably wore glasses that made him look like Squints from "The Sandlot," Evan wore the same prescription glasses that he's worn for years. These glasses paired with this year's atrocious draft hats made Evan quite possibly the first top 2 pick in NBA history to also look like the draft's biggest dweeb. Sure it wasn't the Gaga-esque look I was hoping for, but Evan will probably tell you that he dressed that way because he didn't want to try to make the draft about him. One thing's for sure: He's come a long way from the hot-headed college freshman who, when told to wear dress clothes to team events, would show up in Jordans and blue jeans.
4:54: Minnesota's pick: Wesley Johnson, the Syracuse star and owner of tonight's best look (a blue blazer with checkered pants). The good news: He fills a need for the Wolves (a small forward who can rebound, shoot 3s and play right away) and puts every Syracuse fan on the sparsely filled Minnesota bandwagon (since they have Jonny Flynn as well). The bad news: For a team that's rebuilding and playing the "We're waiting for Rubio" card, he turns 23 in July and averaged just 16 points a game as a 22-year-old junior. He will never, ever make an All-Star team. So I don't know. You're telling me that Cousins (age 19) isn't going to be a better player in 2014 than Johnson is right now? Safe pick. A little too safe.
4:56: Highlight of the draft so far:
-- Mark Jones: "What did [Jonny Flynn] tell you about Minnesota?"
-- Johnson: "I mean, he loved it."
(Translation: "He loved running the triangle offense on a 17-win team that has no direction and plays in freezing cold weather! He kept telling me, 'I wish it were colder and we were winning even less!'")
5:00: The case for Cousins dropping to No. 5: He's so immature that (A) he's been most compared to Rasheed Wallace and Derrick Coleman; (B) Cousins and Minnesota would have been a worse match than Cisco Adler and Mischa Barton; and (C) John Thompson defended him as a top-five pick by saying, "You can calm down a fool before you can resurrect a corpse." Any time someone uses the word "fool" as he's defending you, there are probably some major red flags.
The case for Cousins haunting Philly, Jersey and especially Minnesota: He's the draft's most polished big man and a guaranteed 20/10 guy in the pros if his head's right. And also, in 2010: (A) Zach Randolph made an All-Star team; (B) Lamar Odom won his second straight title; and (C) Ron Artest made the biggest shot in Game 7 of the Finals. If there was ever a year to roll the dice with Cousins, it's 2010. We have a crapload of head-case momentum right now.
5:00: The Kings smartly grab him at No. 5. Cousins and Tyreke Evans in back-to-back drafts? Yikes. Major talent haul for a small-market team. I wish the Stern/Cousins handshake could have lasted for 25 minutes. Stern sized him up the way a lion looks at a potentially troublesome cub. That was great.
5:02: ESPN's graphics guy gives Cousins "MUST IMPROVE: MATURITY." Knew that was coming and it still made me laugh. That was like giving Ben Roethlisberger "MUST IMPROVE: OFF-FIELD CONDUCT."
5:04: John Calipari tries to claim with a straight face that, since Kentucky might have five first-round picks, it's the biggest day in the history of Kentucky basketball. Yeah, I'm sure it beats winning the title in 1996 or 1998. Go away.
5:05: Cousins on the general public's biggest misconception about him: "They think I'm a monster off the floor, I'm nothing like that. I'm just a kid that likes to have fun." I mean, he does have the nickname "Boogie." He might be right. By the way, I love whenever someone defends a head case (like we've seen with Cousins this past year) with the "He doesn't drink or do drugs" defense. Oh, even better … so he's NATURALLY a head case?
5:06: Van Gundy sums up the Cousins conundrum perfectly: "You need to rebound the ball, you need an interior presence to win in this league. … You can get a guy in shape. If he loves the game, he'll get in shape. If he loves to play, he'll be a good teammate. And you can't find guys who can rebound the ball like this guy does." Translation: In the right situation, with the right coach and supporting cast, this guy could be a monster. Maybe Minnesota passing on him was a blessing.
(PS: Sorry to spend so much time on Cousins, but he's the most important 2010 rookie. If he makes it -- a big if, but IF he makes it -- that's the home run pick. I like John Wall, but you can count the impact under-30 bigs like Cousins on one hand. And you wouldn't need to use all five fingers. I mean, Andrew Bogut made an All-NBA team last season. So … yeah.)
5:07: Golden State grabs Baylor shot-blocker Ekpe Udoh. It's going to be fun when Don Nelson plays him for three weeks, Udoh puts up huge rebounding/blocks stats, there's a fantasy hoops stampede for him and then Nellie inexplicably benches him for the next three months.
5:09: Just found out that Rasheed Wallace is definitely retiring. Gotta say, I respect Sheed for knowing when to call it quits … and then waiting two more years, getting two more paychecks, and finally calling it quits.
(Follow-up note: Apparently he's doing one last noble act, not filing his retirement papers right away so the Celtics can trade his cap figure for another player … which, ironically, gives him real value to teams looking to dump payroll and/or get under the tax. This reminds me of a dying Darth Vader being nice to Luke Skywalker at the end of "Return of the Jedi." I don't know where this is coming from, but thank you, Darth!)
5:12: Nice pick at No. 7: Georgetown's Greg Monroe (a quality passing big man) to Detroit (which desperately needed a power forward). Match.com made that pick. That's followed by a Flip Saunders interview that almost made me flatline. We're on pace for the most boring draft I can remember. Can you give me a drunk dad, a bad suit, a pithy Stern comment … anything???
5:18: Here come the Clippers at No. 8! Whose ACL is getting blown out this year??? And it's … Al-Farouq Aminu, the Wake Forest forward who kinda looks like Urkel. He sure seems happy for someone who's about to end up in a full-body cast. Nice pick for the Clips; they could use energy legs off the bench. As long as they're not dangling in the air over a hospital bed. And yes, if you're talking about the No. 7 pick in a draft being "a good energy guy off the bench," it's a pretty good bet that the draft sucks.
5:19: E-mail exchange with my buddy JackO:
-- Me: Did you know Al-Farouq Aminu means "the chief has arrived" in Nigerian?
-- JackO: "I'm screaming 'Al-Farouq Aminu!!!' during my next 25 orgasms."
We predict Gordon Hayward will make more Utah women swoon than Donny Osmond in his prime.5:24: Utah picks NCAA near-legend Gordon Hayward ninth. He was two inches away from being the real Jimmy Chitwood. I loved everything about that pick: Made sense for the Jazz (they needed a perimeter scorer); I can make Utah/white guy jokes about it (what's better than Utah stealing the best available white guy from Indiana?); and, by the way, if you don't think Hayward is going to cause a riot among Utah women, you don't know Utah well enough. They may as well have drafted Zac Efron and converted him to Mormonism.
5:26: Bilas says Hayward reminds him of "Luke Jackson coming out a couple of years ago." According to my Jay Bilas Thesaurus, that means "I think he'll be out of the league in three years."
5:31: I present two athletic perimeter guys for you, both freshmen:
• Xavier Henry (born March 1991), 2-guard: a top-3 college recruit in 2009, started on the No. 1 college team (regular season), averaged 13.4 ppg (27.5 mpg), shot 45.5 percent and 41.8 percent on 3s, didn't get a ton of touches on a veteran team, did everything he could to fit in.
• Paul George (born May 1990), small forward: not a top-100 college recruit, best player on a 15-18 team in the WAC, averaged 16.8 ppg (33.2 mpg), shot 42 percent and 35 percent on 3s, played inferior competition.
Whom did the Pacers take? Naturally, George. Did I mention that their best player (Danny Granger) is a small forward? I love the NBA.
5:32: Bilas just mentioned that George was 6-foot-8 with a 6-11 wingspan. According to the Google search I just did, the human wingspan is normally 1.07 times a person's height. So if George is 80 inches, and his wingspan is 83 inches, actually, that's a wingspan about 2½ inches smaller than it should be. I'm glad I'm here.
5:36: New Orleans picks Kansas center Cole Aldrich at No. 11, then deals him to Oklahoma City (our first trade!) with Mo Peterson's expiring contract for the No. 21 and No. 26 picks. I would have loved that move for OKC if Aldrich didn't measure 6-9 in street clothes during the combines; that triples the potential that he's just a shorter Joel Przybilla. On the bright side, he can bang the boards, set some picks, make a jump hook and give you six fouls. I know, I know … try to contain your excitement. Even the trades are boring in this draft. The fans are so zoned out they can't even remember to boo David Stern anymore.
5:42: First funny line of the night from Van Gundy (after Aldrich's interview): "[The Hornets] needed to trade him, he just compared Sherron Collins to Chris Paul."
5:44: Memphis happily takes Henry at No. 12. That was like last year's Hasheem Thabeet pick, only the complete opposite. Heather Cox quickly interviews Henry's dad under the NBA's little-known "If any lottery pick has a dad at the draft, you have to interview him" rule. By the way, Memphis is close to realizing a dream of mine: They could start three lefties next season (Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and Henry). I've always wanted to see an all-lefty crunch-time five; we're 60 percent there.
5:45: Forgot to mention, it's an emotional day: the 25th anniversary of Karl Malone's draft-day outfit!
5:48: Our "draft capologist" Tom Penn (the former assistant Blazers GM) explains how New Orleans got under the cap by dumping Peterson's body. Er, contract. I'm pretty sure I could have been our draft capologist while doing this diary and wearing jogging pants in my house. Why wasn't this job posted by HR? I would have applied!
5:49: Power forwards for the past two picks: Ed Davis to Toronto (decent value this late) and Patrick Patterson to Houston (liked that one). Patterson needed only three years to graduate from Kentucky. As someone who barely graduated college in four years, I'm always impressed when someone does it in three. I see him trying to learn Chinese from Yao Ming on team charters and stuff. Always fun to have smart guys on a team.
6:01: Stern blesses Milwaukee's pick of Larry Sanders by saying "Larry is not here." Hey, now.
6:03: Just saw a shot of the Minnesota draft room. How much would you pay for a live feed of Portland's draft room? Do you think Kevin Pritchard looks like the two guys tied to the pipes in "Saw" by now?
6:05: The T-Wolves take a second forward (Nevada's Luke Babbitt) at No. 16. On the plus side: He was a 50-40-90 guy in college. On the minus side: They're already horrible defensively, and now they're taking someone who can't guard anyone and putting him in front of two undersized big guys who can't block shots or protect him. I'm feeling a trade. Kahn's been quiet. He's like an earthquake -- he hits when you least expect it.
6:09: So Chicago traded No. 17 to Washington with Kirk Hinrich in return for the cap space to pursue LeBron and Bosh. This was funny because just four months ago the Knicks traded Jordan Hill (last year's No. 8 pick) and their 2012 No. 1, and agreed to swap No. 1s with Houston in 2011 so the Rockets would take Jared Jeffries off their hands (who makes less money than Hinrich, by the way) so they could also pursue LeBron and Bosh. Might be time to take Donnie Walsh to the GM vet and put him down.
6:10: I had my "Fitting that his year's Token French First-Rounder (Kevin Seraphin) didn't show up for the draft during the same week France didn't show up for the World Cup" joke all ready to go, but he actually showed up (Chicago picked him for Washington). Too bad.
6:11: I can't tell if I should be writing down Stu's obscure statistics or not. Is there a quiz after the telecast? Let me know. By the way, you know this draft sucks because I'm now irrationally excited that the Celtics (picking 19th) might get either Eric Bledsoe (my favorite remaining prospect) or Avery Bradley (ESPNU's No. 1 college recruit just 12 months ago) as Rondo insurance. I thought we'd have dreck left in this spot. This almost makes up for blowing a double-digit lead in the second half of Game 7 of the 2010 Finals against the NBA team I hate the most. Oh, wait, it doesn't at all. Not even a little.
6:15: Somebody could splice a pretty nice compilation on YouTube of Van Gundy (clearly bored by the lack of excitement tonight, and I don't blame him even a little) staring vacantly at Stu or Jon Barry after every one of their points. It's my favorite running subplot. This should be a game show: "Say Something Interesting Enough During A Deadly Boring Draft To Get Jeff Van Gundy To Blink."
6:16: Bledsoe's off the board. Damn. OKC just took him. Typically smart move by them. I'm starting to hate Sam Presti. Make a mistake already, Sam. If there were 30 GMs like you, I'd have nothing to write about. Meanwhile, Ric Bucher reports on another deal: Martell Webster to Minnesota, Ryan Gomes and Luke Babbitt to Portland. I knew it! Gotta say, nice move by Kahn! I'm a Webster fan. Good character guy, good defender, type of guy Minnesota needed.
6:17: Did I just compliment a Chris Wallace pick and a David Kahn trade in the last 30 minutes? I think I need some coffee.
6:19: Come on Celtics … Avery Bradley … Avery Bradley … Avery Bradley.
6:20: YES! Good value. And by the way, if you're betting on a No. 1 overall high school prospect whose stock dropped a little after one college year, you want it to be for a reason like, "Yeah, he played at Texas for Rick Barnes, OF COURSE his stock dropped!"
6:22: Just called my Dad for his Bradley take. "Did you hear them say he was ranked higher than John Wall heading into college last year?" he asks. Dad and I are moving on. We're totally over that Game 7 loss. As far as you know.
6:30: Buch reports on another trade: OKC traded the rights to Bledsoe to the Clippers for a future No. 1 because of the "any time you can trade for a future No. 1 from the Clips, you have to do it" rule. It's just the rule. Perfect third guard for the Clips. I'm a fan. By the way, the biggest upset tonight: Andy Katz (a +600 underdog) used more hair gel tonight than Bucher.
6:33: Weird one for me: I've learned never to doubt San Antonio's picks, but they just took someone I had penciled in as a bust (Oklahoma State's James Anderson). This is awkward.
6:38: As if Portland fans weren't bummed out enough about their owner losing his mind and firing an excellent GM, the ESPN guys just had an extended "What the hell is happening in Portland?" and "Will Greg Oden ever be healthy?" conversation. This is why they don't allow me on studio shows -- because I absolutely would have made the "If the NBA doesn't work out for Oden, he can always go into porn … I mean, did you SEE that thing, Jeff?" joke, followed by an unblinking Van Gundy staring at me for 20 solid seconds.
6:43: Our past three picks: Craig Brackins to New Orleans (some slight Carl Landry sleeper potential); Elliot Williams to Portland (blah), Trevor Booker to Minnesota (our first senior!). Can't get over the fact that Pritchard -- fired earlier in the day -- is still running Portland's draft. If I were him, I'd be in Portland's war room loudly calling other GMs and saying things like, "I have an offer for you: I'll trade you our No. 23 pick, and in return, YOU HELP ME PULL THE F****** KNIFE OUT OF MY BACK!!!!! Do we have a deal????"
6:45: Atlanta takes Damion James, the Texas scorer who has a hygiene fetish and showers four times a day. (Not making that up.) He's the Bizarro Pau Gasol. In other news, I went 6-for-24 in my mock draft. Where's my Finals MVP trophy?
6:53: Just had our sixth commercial for "Knight And Day" in less than 2½ hours. Always funny when studios do that -- instead of convincing you to see the movie, they convince you to actively hate it.
7:00: Our past three picks: Dominique Jones (Memphis), Quincy Pondexter (OKC for New Orleans) and Jordan Crawford (picked by Nets and swapped to Atlanta for Damion James and No. 31). Crawford was my last "I think that guy could be in a nine-man rotation on a good team" pick. Really like him. Scorer, gamer, head case … I'll put up with the last one if I'm getting the first two. And now that he's off the board, I'd take the 6-foot-9 tennis player who just won a 70-68 fifth set at Wimbledon over any of the remaining guys on the board. I'm not even kidding.
Greivis Vasquez salvaged the first round for viewers ... and he even appears happy to go to Memphis!7:05: Memphis is picking 28th with the final piece it received from the Lakers in the infamous Pau Gasol trade. The pick? A very excited Greivis Vasquez, who pops out of the stands for a hug/handshake with Stern. Fun moment. So if you're scoring at home, Memphis ended up with Marc Gasol, Darrell Arthur and Vasquez for the second-best center in basketball and someone who helped the Lakers to three straight Finals and two titles. There hasn't been a deal that unfair since Paulie became a partner in Sonny's restaurant in "Goodfellas," stole all of Sonny's liquor, bankrupted it, then had Henry and Tommy set it on fire for the insurance money. Actually, even that wasn't as bad as the Gasol deal. I hate everything.
7:11: The Vasquez interview cheered me up. Unlike just about everyone we've seen, he was delighted/giddy/candid and basically reminded us that, yeah, it's a big freaking deal to get drafted in the first round of the NBA draft. Highlight of a fairly tedious night.
7:12: Orlando takes Daniel Orton 29th so Kentucky can break the "five guys in the first round" record. So if you're scoring at home, the Magic took Kentucky's second-string center to be their third-string center. Their scouts loved the way he applauded teammates, played in garbage time and handled layup lines.
7:18: With the last pick, the Wizards selected swingman Lazar Hayward … and, of course, traded him right to Minnesota. So after drafting three point guards in 2009, David Kahn upped the ante by adding small forwards (Wes Johnson, Martell Webster and Hayward) in 2010. I continue to be glad he's in the league.
Something I'm not as glad about: what's happening to the NBA draft. Safe suits, safe interviews, safe analysis, safe everything. I've been typing, pausing, rewinding and fast-forwarding for the past six hours and the only three things I can remember are the "Knight and Day" commercials, Vasquez coming out of the stands and poor Van Gundy struggling to stay excited. My four suggestions to spruce it up …
Suggestion No. 1: Have real NBA players conduct the interviews with the rookies after they get picked. I'd pick three of the league's most gregarious stars (I'm thinking Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant and Grant Hill) and have them do it for every pick, almost like an NBA version of "The View." Wouldn't that loosen up the rookies a little?
Suggestion No. 2: Have two funny NBA players (I'm thinking Jared Dudley and Chris Kaman) rate the outfits of each pick as the draft goes along. Yeah, like you'd change the channel.
Suggestion No. 3: A David Stern cam. Put a camera on his tie and let's see where he goes between picks. I've always wanted to know.
Suggestion No. 4: We don't need a real sideline reporter for the draft. We're not breaking real news here. So what about Ron Artest? You're telling me he wouldn't want to prowl the crowd and interview parents, fans and coaches? Who's a bigger attention hog than him? More importantly, didn't we learn from the 2010 Finals that you can never have enough of this formula: "Ron Artest + live microphone"?
Here's the thing: It's not 1993 anymore. It's not even 2003. All the things that used to make the draft so entertaining (uncertainty of picks, bad wardrobes, lack of hard information, embarrassing interviews) have been slowly beaten out of the draft by wily agents, enterprising Internet reporting, 24/7 news coverage and an acquired sophistication among prospects who watched the previous generation of prospects shatter the unintentional-comedy scale every June. We need to keep pushing the envelope. We need to create the comedy. We need to make this a fun night again. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Until next year.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

NBA Draft News and Updates


Teams, players to watch in draft5 Most intriguing teams
• Nets at No. 3 (and 27). Have they settled on Wes Johnson? Are they open to moving back in the lottery? The Nets need to turn this pick into some kind of valuable piece that can help attract a free agent. They already have center Brook Lopez and point guard Devin Harris; now add a starter (and they hope a potential star) with this pick to go with the max free agent they can bring in this summer. Altogether, this has the makings of an impressive starting lineup: Harris, shooting guard Courtney Lee, Johnson, power forward Carlos Boozer (a likely free-agent target next week) and Lopez.

• Timberwolves at No. 4 (and Nos. 16 and 23). Say they can't get to Evan Turner (the likely No. 2 pick by Philadelphia) or Johnson. Do they take Derrick Favors as another power forward to go with Kevin Love and Al Jefferson, himself a power forward masked as a center? Unless they're convinced DeMarcus Cousins is an impending disaster, don't they have to select him as the best true center in the draft? And if they're not sold on Cousins or Favors, then don't the Timberwolves have to trade up or down from the No. 4 pick? The availability of Jefferson adds another variable to this complicated formula.

• Jazz at No. 9. They rarely have the opportunity to pick so high in the draft. Doesn't it figure they're trying to move up for a potential star, much as they did in 2005 when they traded up to pick Deron Williams? That move provided the Jazz with a franchise talent they couldn't acquire by trade or free agency. They need size up front, and maybe they believe Cousins could thrive in the structure of daily life with Jerry Sloan. Maybe it's Greg Monroe they covet. But they're surely investigating all available options before cashing out this Knicks pick they acquired from Phoenix as part of the Suns' Stephon Marbury trade to New York.

• Pacers at No. 10. They need a point guard and find themselves in a draft woefully short at that position. Team president Larry Bird has encouraged offers by declaring his willingness to trade the pick for a point guard -- rookie or veteran. Here's one possibility among many: Swap No. 10 for Oklahoma City's picks at Nos. 18 (which the Thunder acquired Wednesday in a salary dump by Miami) and No. 21, enabling Bird to use No. 18 on Avery Bradley as a deep-shooting point.

• Thunder at Nos. 18, 21 and 26. Each year GM Sam Presti is one of the most important people in the draft; he used to dominate the top of the lottery when he was making one or more top-five picks, and now that his team is in the playoffs he's controlling the back end of the first round with multiple picks. He is a must-call for teams hoping to deal up, move back or trade into the first round. If he doesn't like the offers, then he can hold on to the picks and supplement his talented young roster with cheap labor in a draft that is rich with role players throughout the first round.

5 Most intriguing players
• Wes Johnson.
Each year a hot player emerges at the top of the draft, and this time it's the Syracuse forward. The Timberwolves hope to get to him while the Nets consider him as the No. 3 pick, with questions about his defense receding amid plans to utilize his scoring and playmaking on the wing. He has a chance to be Rookie of the Year as a featured scorer for either team.

• DeMarcus Cousins. Any team that needs a center could be second-guessing itself for not making a run at Cousins. The Timberwolves are threatening to pass him by at No. 4, while the Pistons have been trying like mad to move up from No. 7 to draft him. He'll rebound and block shots and he has the potential to step up and make jump shots.

• Greg Monroe. A flexible team like the Kings or Warriors would deploy him as a playmaker at center, as Monroe is the silkiest frontcourt passer in this draft. He could go as high as No. 5 to Sacramento if Cousins is off the board, or he could slip all the way to No. 9 if the hard-to-predict Warriors use their pick at No. 6 on Epke Udoh.

Gordon Hayward. He's a popular name among teams picking Nos. 10-15 after he led Butler to the NCAA championship game. If he's sitting at No. 10 and Indiana can't move the pick for a point guard, do his hometown Pacers take him? Hayward's local popularity may be the tipping point in his favor.

Hassan Whiteside. Another big man sliding in this draft is Daniel Orton, but knee issues are part of the blame with him. Whiteside has no such excuse: With him the questions are based entirely on his attitude and maturity. It will be difficult for any team in the 20s to bypass his talent, as he has the physical makings of another Marcus Camby. It's best for him if he's picked by a well-structured organization like Oklahoma City, which can afford to take a risk in hopes that its young roster can corral Whiteside and bring out his best qualities.


Cavs positioning for draft presence?
CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Cavaliers don't currently have a coach, any draft picks or a clue if LeBron James is coming back.
But in this volatile summer, things are changing quickly.
The Cavs, who traded away their selections while chasing an NBA title, are trying to move back into Thursday's draft through a trade. The team has purchased second-round picks in each of the past two years, and could be positioning to do it again.
Cleveland has discussed deals with several teams, even listening to offers for point guard Mo Williams, who has drawn some interest. Williams has had two solid regular seasons with the Cavs, but he has been maddeningly inconsistent in the playoffs since joining Cleveland.
With trade rumors swirling, as they typically do before the draft, Williams pleaded on his Twitter account that he wants to stay with the Cavs.
"Please don't trade me, I'm not ready to go," Williams wrote. "I'm begging. My work ain't done yet. I'm on both knees. I'm serious."
The Cavs do not have any deals in place for Williams, but that could change once commissioner David Stern declares the draft underway. Owner Dan Gilbert has stated he would like to utilize the draft to improve Cleveland's roster, which has lost some of its luster following the team's second-round playoff loss to Boston.
In recent days, the Cavs have put their coaching search on the back burner to focus on the draft and they have identified as many as 10 players they would consider selecting. To get one of them, they would need to acquire a late first-round or second-round pick. They traded their first-round choice to Washington in February in the deal for Antawn Jamison and sent their second-round selection to Phoenix last summer in the package for Shaquille O'Neal.
Gilbert would like to upgrade his roster before free agency opens on July 1, when James can consider offers from other teams. It's unlikely the Cavs can pull off a blockbuster deal for a big-name player, but that doesn't mean Gilbert -- and new general manager Chris Grant -- won't try.
Another option for the Cavs is to trade guard Delonte West, who like Williams, was a major disappointment in the postseason. Although the team won't admit it publicly, West's legal and health issues were a distraction last season. West, who has acknowledged having a bipolar condition, will stand trial next month in Maryland on weapons charges.
West's contract could make him attractive. He has a $4.6 million deal, but only $500,000 is guaranteed if he's released by August.
And while they prepare for both the draft and James' free agency, the Cavs' coaching search remains in a holding pattern.
Cleveland has had talks with several candidates, including Byron Scott. But the former New Orleans coach is waiting to see what happens with Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers before he considers another job.
On Wednesday, Jackson said he is leaning toward retirement, but the 11-time NBA champion will wait until next week to make a final decision. The delay could effect the Cavs, who are believed to have had multiple conversations with Scott about replacing Mike Brown, fired after Cleveland's second-round flop.
Scott's dream has been to coach the Lakers, and he would be the favorite to succeed Jackson because of his ties to the team and strong relationships with superstar Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and owner Jerry Buss.
The Cavs have had second interviews with several other candidates, but none of them has a resume like Scott, who went to seven NBA finals as a player and coach. Last week, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo turned down a lucrative offer from Cleveland.






NBA Draft: PBT's draft sleepers
These are the guys that cause general managers the most grief (unless you drafted Kwame Brown No. 1 overall, then your grief is your own making). Five years from now your draft pick may turn out to be a solid role player, but every time someone talks about him they'll say "but he passed up on X."
It will happen again this year. Here are the guys you'll be ripping your GM about in a few years.

James Anderson: There are a ton of perimeter guys who can score in the Association, but not a lot that do it efficiently. Anderson is efficient. He is a guy who can score the rock any way you please -- at Oklahoma State pretty much every defense he faced was about stopping him and he still was the biggest force in the Big 12. He scored because he can shoot the spot up, off the dribble and get to rim (and draws fouls well). He is a fantastic athlete. Guy has the package. He can be the spark plug guy off the bench who puts up points starting this season. And if he can get focused on the defensive end he can be a whole lot more than that. --Kurt Helin

Jordan Crawford: Forget the dunked-on-LeBron biz. This kid averaged 29 points per game in three contests in the NCAA tournament, and comes from pure scorer blood. He's got good athleticism, and all of his faults are things that can be corrected with coaching and development. Crawford is a guy who if you watch him slip by you're going to ask "How did we not see that kid coming?" --Matt Moore

Paul George: George isn't your typical sleeper because he's still due to go in the mid-first round, but to me he's one of the few prospects outside of Wall-Favors-Cousins with real star potential. Paul has a smoothness to his game that you love to see from small school products, but his statistical résumé isn't exactly overwhelming. George could settle into a role as a middling player in the pros, but he has the potential to be far, far more. He's far from capped out, still very young, and has already made huge improvements to his game. How could a team not fall in love with George's incredible talent? It's not always easy for NBA small forwards to bust into stardom, but I'm backing Paul to make a decent run at the possibility. --Rob Mahoney

Hassan Whiteside: With his 7'7" wingspan and freakish athleticism, Whiteside definitely doesn't lack for talent. And thanks to his 5.5 blocks per game and status as one of the biggest head cases in the draft, Whiteside doesn't really lack for exposure. But if you define "sleeper" as "player with the best chance to perform better than his draft slot suggests he will," Whiteside looks like a good potential candidate.

I know the odds against Whiteside making the most of his talent are high. He didn't go to class, he doesn't want to be coached, he looked out of place on the court a lot more often than he should have, and he's way too in love with his jumper for a 58.8% free-throw shooter. All I'm saying is that unless Rita Repulsa is prominently involved, it's much more likely that Whiteside will change his attitude than a less gifted player will wake up with a 7-7 wingspan. --John Krolik





NBA Draft: PBT's draft busts
The list is long and infamous: Kwame Brown, Adam Morrison, Darko Milic, Nikoloz Tskitishvili.
There may not be any epic busts of that level in this draft, but there are going to be busts. Somebody is going to disappoint an excited fan base. Who? Here's who we think.

Cole Aldrich: I'm hesitant to put Aldrich on the list because his bust status is more perception than the realty. People around the NBA know what Aldrich is -- a big body, role-playing back up big who can take up space. Play him behind someone like Yao Ming for 18 minutes a night, expect 4 points and 6 boards, and you're fine.

But fans want more than four points a night from their new center, expectations are higher for a guy who led Kansas for so long. He has shown enough tempting flashes to excite. He could well come to a city where the fan base expects him to step in and be the man in the middle. Last year if he came out he would have been Top 10 and the hype would have been bigger, and somebody is going to buy into that again. It's not Aldrich's fault. He is what he is. But perception will be that he's a bust even if that is not the reality. --Kurt Helin

Gordon Hayward: What's the model here? Let's get past the race thing. Kid makes a run as part of a Cinderella team in the NCAA tournament from a small school, shows off a series of college elite moves while not displaying much of a pro game, and somehow finds himself in the lottery. When you're staring into the belly of the beast, do you want Justin Bieber on your side? --Matt Moore

Al-Faroq Aminu: I don't think there are any safe picks in this draft outside of the top two. I'll go with Al-Faroq Aminu as a guy I don't see doing much in the NBA. He's a great athlete, but he's a forward who shot 45% in college and isn't much of an outside shooter. He doesn't create plays well enough to be a 3, and he doesn't finish them well enough to be a four.
He'll be a nice enough energy player, but I'm not a fan of these quasi-stretch fours who think that having some perimeter skills is an excuse to drift outside of the paint on offense. If you're an NBA 4 or 5 and aren't a great shooter, get in the paint and stay there. There are likely at least 3 guys on the floor with you who are better playmakers and shooters. --John Krolik

Wesley Johnson: Wes is a skilled prospect, but is he really worthy of going in the top five? I have a feeling that if a team took Johnson in the late lottery or beyond, they'd be just fine with the player he turns out to be. Yet when a team inevitably stakes a substantial part of their future in selecting Wesley with one of the draft's top picks, I have a feeling they'll ultimately be a bit disappointed. He'll be a perfectly decent NBA player, but selecting him over Derrick Favors or DeMarcus Cousins -- regardless of fit -- is ridiculous. --Rob Mahoney