The Portland Trail Blazers have agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Hornets to acquire the 27th pick in Thursday’s NBA draft for cash considerations, a Blazers source told ESPN.com.
The deal was agreed to verbally between the two teams on Tuesday night, according to the source. The teams have scheduled a trade call with the league in the morning to make the deal official.
Why does a young team like the Hornets decide to sell off a late first round pick? They aren’t in luxury tax territory and they won’t be well over the cap until the 2010 season and even then, they’ll be able to look forward to the following summer when Peja Stojakovic’s monster salary comes off the books. The team has Morris Peterson starting at the two and Peja at the three – don’t they realize they need another young wing to complement Julian Wright in a couple of years? I would understand selling the pick if they were in dire need of a big man, but they need a wing and there are always gems available at that position late in the first round.
Chris Douglas-Roberts was the leading scorer on one of the best teams in the nation and for the last month or so, he was projected to be the Hornets’ pick. He’s a dynamic scorer, but the word is that he’s not impressing in workouts. But since he’s such a crafty scorer, his game won’t translate well to workouts. He’s not going to wow anyone with the form on his jumper, but he’ll drop 20 on you in a cocaine heartbeat.
There are several other prospects that could be available at #27 – Donte Greene, Nicolas Batum, Jamont Gordon, Courtney Lee, Bill Walker, Kyle Weaver and Gary Forbes.
As long as there have been barstools, there have been men sitting on those barstools arguing about sports. This week, John Paulsen and Anthony Stalter debate the worst #1 pick in the NBA’s modern era. Is it the Wizards’ pick of Kwame Brown or the Clippers’ pick of Michael Olowokandi? They’re both bad, but which is the worst?
John: This is a tough call, but I’m going to have to go with Kwame Brown as the worst #1 pick in the modern era of the NBA. In his seven seasons, he has averaged 7.5 points and 5.7 rebounds, while shooting 48.4% from the field, which is pretty pathetic for a guy his size (6’11”). He has turned himself into a decent defender, but he has only averaged 0.7 blocks per game, so he’s at best a backup center in this league. Michael Olowokandi was a truly awful pick, but his numbers (8.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks) are a little better. (Boy, his shooting percentage – 43.5% – is even worse than Kwame’s!) Anyway, the Kandi Man managed a couple of decent seasons with the Clippers. He averaged 12.3 points and 9.1 rebounds in the 2002-03 season.
Anthony: I think what makes the case for Olowokandi being the worst No. 1 pick in the modern era is whom he was taken ahead of. When you see the names Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison and Rashard Lewis, it just makes you shake your head at how bad of a pick the “The Kandi Man” was for the Clippers in 1998. He was taken before four All-Stars and even worse, Nazr Mohammed (the last pick in the first round) arguably had a better career.
John: Not to get off topic, but Rashard Lewis does have one All-Star nod to his credit, so the Kandi Man was actually drafted ahead of five All-Stars. Kwame was drafted ahead of four (Pau Gasol, Joe Johnson, Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas) as well as Tyson Chandler, Jason Richardson, Shane Battier, Richard Jefferson, Zach Randolph and Gerald Wallace, who are all good players in their own right. What makes Kwame the worst #1 pick is the fact that when the Clippers took Olowokandi, there was only one other “big guy” in the top 5 – Raef LaFrentz – and he was more of a face up shooter. The Clippers were desperate for a post presence so they reached for the Kandi Man. The Wizards’ pick of Kwame Brown was followed by the 7’ Tyson Chandler, the 7’1” Pau Gasol and the 6’11” Eddy Curry. The Wizards had four true centers to choose from and they ended up with the one guy who wasn’t going to turn into a player.
Anthony: But wasn’t Olowokandi off everyone’s radar in 1998 until the draft eased closer? If I remember correctly, he kind of worked his way into being a top 5 pick, but wasn’t always viewed as “the guy” of that draft. I don’t know if this helps or hurts my argument, but I read somewhere that Olowokandi picked up the game of basketball just six years before he was drafted. So it appears that the Clippers reached big time on a player whose draft stock was better than his overall potential. My point being, the warning signs on the Kandi Man were pretty obvious, yet the Clippers still reached and wound up with one of the worst No. 1 picks in NBA Draft history.
John: I think what makes the Kwame Brown pick the worst in the modern era is that the guy who was responsible for the selection is regarded as the best player ever to step on the court… Michael Jordan. How could someone so good at basketball be so bad at judging a prospect? Let’s just say that these two guys tied for worst pick in the modern era and leave it at that. I don’t think I can dedicate any more time to Kwame Brown and/or the Kandi Man!
According to the Denver Post, Broncos’ wide receiver Brandon Marshall was arrested in March on a misdemeanor battery charge in Atlanta. That makes three arrests for Marshall since he’s been in the league, including two domestic violence charges. He now faces a potential suspension by the NFL.
Marshall could be suspended by the NFL under its Personal Conduct Policy because of multiple arrests and alleged incidents. He also was charged with driving under the influence in October 2007 and is set to go to trial in September on that charge. A previous domestic-violence charge, from an arrest in March 2007, has been dismissed.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello confirmed the league is looking into Marshall’s latest arrest but had no further comment Tuesday.
Marshall has drawn comparisons to T.O. given his size, speed and athletic ability. Of course none of that matters if he’s not on the field. What talent that’s been wasted.
EPIC CARNIVAL dishes out the top 11 players that should be traded by their respective MLB teams.
9. Ken Griffey Jr, OF, Cincinatti Reds. It’s Fire Sale Time in Cincy, with everything but the youngest SPs wearing a red tag. Griff has hit his 600th, so there’s no more attendance boost to get from him being around. With the team 13.5 games back, he’s a prime target to go to any team that thinks he’ll be rejuvenated by a pennant race. The only problem is that his .760 OPS might convince many that he’s already done.
6. Matt Holliday, OF, Colorado Rockies. The biggest hitter on the list is kind of like this year’s Mark Teixeria — a plus hitter from a hitter haven who’s actually still really good. The only thing keeping him in Colorado is the plummeting Diamnondbacks, who have kept every team in the division in the hunt; the Rockies might just hang on to everyone and see if the return of Troy Tulowitzki can get them back in the race. In another week or so, we’ll know if Holliday walks before his contract expires.
1. C.C. Sabathia, SP, Cleveland Indians. Don’t let the slow start fool you; he’s been very solid recently, and he’s an unrestricted free agent next year. With the Tribe 6.5 out and in fourth place in the Central, they are 1-2 weeks away from pulling the chutes on this deal and moving the big lefty for maximum benefit. Ceec is a horse, but he also eats like one, and that next contract is going to be costly.
If I’m making a semi-bold prediction right now, I say Sabathia winds up in a Cubs uniform before the season is over. I could see the front office in Chicago doing whatever they had to ensure that they make a World Series appearance this year and Sabathia might dominate NL hitters. I’d also like to see Griffey land on a contender and it’ll be interesting to see what the Rocks do with Holliday with his contract expiring.
– The Pirates crushed Darrell Rasner and the Yankees 12-5 on Tuesday, scoring runs in every inning except two. Jose Bautista and Ryan Doumit each homered for the Bucs.
– The Red Sox-Diamondback series has been outstanding thus far as Boston evened things up yesterday with a 5-4 win. Dustin Pedroia hit his seventh dinger of the year and Jonathan Papelbon earned his 22nd save.
– A.J. Burnett pitched eight innings of four-hit ball and also struck out seven in the Jays’ 14-1 dismantling of the Reds. Alex Rios went 4 for 6 with a homer, a RBI and three runs scored.
– The Cubs lost a rare home game, falling 7-5 to the Orioles. It was Baltimore’s first trip to Wrigley and the O’s got the win despite both Jim Edmonds and Kosuke Fukudome both leaving the yard.
Why does a young team like the Hornets decide to sell off a late first round pick? They aren’t in luxury tax territory and they won’t be well over the cap until the 2010 season and even then, they’ll be able to look forward to the following summer when Peja Stojakovic’s monster salary comes off the books. The team has Morris Peterson starting at the two and Peja at the three – don’t they realize they need another young wing to complement Julian Wright in a couple of years? I would understand selling the pick if they were in dire need of a big man, but they need a wing and there are always gems available at that position late in the first round.
