Month: June 2009 (Page 13 of 58)

      2009 NBA Consensus Mock Draft (6/24)

      June 24, 2009 /

      Chad Ford, DraftExpress and NBADraft.net all updated their mocks today, so it’s a good time to come up with another consensus. NBA.com has their own consensus, but it’s only updated through yesterday. (I expect they’ll update it today.) They’re using some old mocks and since I’m unfamiliar with a few of those sites, I can’t speak to their quality.

      (To see my most recent mock draft, click here.)

      A few random thoughts:

      – DraftExpress backed off their prediction that Harden would go #2. He’s a great fit in OKC and Russell Westbrook didn’t seem too thrilled with the idea of moving off the ball. I don’t think the Thunder will take a point guard.

      – Ford has Jennings going #19 to the Hawks. Atlanta would have to be thrilled to get him there, but I don’t think he lasts that long. On the whole, his workouts have reportedly been very good. Maybe he’s not polished but everyone seems to be saying that he has a ton of upside, maybe the most of any player in this draft. How does a guy like that slip into the late teens? In Ford’s defense, DE has him going #17 to the Sixers. Again, Philly would have to be thrilled to get him there.

      – DE has James Johnson going #9 to Toronto, which is a bit of a surprise. The Raptors and DeMar DeRozan have been linked for weeks now, but Jrue Holiday has impressed the franchise as well. Toronto already has Jose Calderon, so I doubt a point guard is high on their list of priorities, but that’s definitely the position of strength in this draft.

      – NBADraft.net has Holiday going #18. They’ve been down on him for this entire process, but considering that he’s working out for mainly lottery teams, I don’t see him falling that far. He was rumored to be a Sacramento favorite at #4 early on, but he has had some inconsistent workouts since then. I think he’ll probably go to the Knicks at #8 or the Bucks at #10 unless players slip that those teams can’t pass up (i.e. Curry for the Knicks and Hill for the Bucks).

      – There is a lot of fluidity in picks #4 through #8, which makes sense considering there are so many point guards jockeying for position. Rubio is the biggest unknown and has only worked out for Sacramento, Curry really saw his stock climb after the season and appears to be a favorite of Minnesota, Golden State and New York, Evans reportedly dominated in the Minnesota and Sacramento workouts, and Jennings has turned in a couple of great workouts for Golden State and New York.

      NBA, NBA Draft, News

      Is Matt Holliday the answer to the Giants’ offensive woes?

      June 24, 2009 /

      It’s been five years since the San Francisco Giants have made a postseason appearance, so you’ll have to pardon their fans if they’re overly optimistic about the chances of their club possibly making the playoffs this year despite a lineup that often employs Edgar Renteria as its two-hole hitter.

      The G-Men are currently 8.5 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West and with the PED Predator coming back from his suspension soon, L.A. is surely to stay well ahead of San Fran in the division. But the Giants are currently one game up on the Brewers for the NL Wild Card and if GM Brian Sabean could add a player or two before the July 31 trade deadline to help mask San Fran’s biggest flaw, then the five-year playoff drought could end.

      What’s the Giants’ biggest flaw you ask? Well if anyone can look at their lineup without doubling over in side-splitting laughter, then some kind of award is deserved.

      Continue reading »

      MLB

      Are the Pistons interested in Boozer?

      June 24, 2009 /

      Not so, at least according to Chad Ford.

      Over the past few months, we’ve assumed Carlos Boozer is their primary target, but that might not be the case. A league source told me Tuesday that the Pistons’ free-agent strategy likely would preclude a run at Boozer.

      The Pistons want to add several players to the roster and want to keep salaries at or less than $10 million per year. With Boozer likely demanding a deal in the $15 million to $16 million a year range, his contract demands are out of their league. Add in concerns about Boozer’s injury history, and I don’t think the Pistons will make a play for him.

      Instead, you can look for them to make a run at Ben Gordon, try to re-sign Antonio McDyess and find one or two other players they can sign for smaller salaries.

      That stance in Detroit could put Boozer in a tough position. If he opts out of his contract with the Jazz, he’s going to struggle to find any team far enough under the cap to offer him what he wants. And with the Jazz interested in keeping Paul Millsap, Boozer could be out of luck in Utah, too.

      Chad Ford contradicts himself in this piece. He says that the Pistons won’t be willing to pay Boozer’s asking price ($15-$16 million per season), but then says that the market won’t support what Boozer is asking for.

      With $23 million in cap space, why can’t the Pistons sign both Boozer and Gordon? I bet Boozer ultimately signs for $12-$13 million per season, while I think Gordon will sign for something in the $8-$9 million range (which may be tough to swallow, since he turned down a contract worth $10 million per season from the Bulls).

      Both players are flawed. Boozer is a great power forward, but he’s injury prone. Over the past five years he has only played in 67% of his team’s games. For that reason, he’s not worth a max contract, so I don’t expect him to get one this summer. Gordon is a great scorer, but his shot selection is suspect sometimes and he doesn’t have a reputation for being a good defender. Is he really worth $10-$11 million per season? I don’t think so.

      If the Pistons play their cards right, they could sign both players (assuming they want both players) and then move Rip Hamilton to a contender looking for some good outside shooting.

      In a smallish move yesterday, the Pistons agreed to trade Amir Johnson to the Bucks for Fabricio Oberto, who has a contract that is only partially guaranteed, potentially freeing up a little more cap space. Still, I don’t understand why the Pistons would give up on the 22 year-old Johnson when they clearly need to bolster their front line. If moving Johnson ultimately results in the signing of Boozer and Gordon, then it will have paid off.

      NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Jungmann, Texas beat LSU to tie CWS

      June 24, 2009 /

      Taylor Jungmann took it upon himself to ensure that Texas wasn’t going to lose the 2009 College World Series to LSU in two games. Jungmann threw his first complete game of his collegiate career, allowing just one unearned run on five hits to improve to 3-0 in the CWS. He also struck out nine.

      Offensively, Russell Moldenhauer led the Longhorns with a third inning solo blast to put Texas up 3-1. He entered the CWS without a dinger, but he’s now tied a record for homers in a single CWS with four.

      In 15 CWS appearances, this was the first time LSU has lost in the championship round in school history. Texas became the fourth team to force a deciding game in the seven years of the best-of-three CWS finals, with the last two teams also winning Game 3 (Oregon State in 2006, Fresno State in 2008.)

      The deciding game will be tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET.

      General Sports

      Jennings, Packers close to contract extension

      June 24, 2009 /

      The Packers and Greg Jennings are in the process of finalizing a three-year extension that would allow the receiver to make $27 million in new money and could be worth as much as $30 million if he plays at a Pro Bowl level.

      Jennings will earn slightly in excess of $16 million in guarantees, a source told ESPN.com’s Len Pasquarelli. The source also said that the structure of the contract is more front- than back-loaded.

      Though both sides have come to an agreement on the numbers, a couple things have to be worked out as far as the language of the contract. First, it must be approved by the NFL Management Council. Second, it has to be signed by both parties. The plan is to try to get the final draft ready in the next couple of days.

      Jennings will roughly earn $7.63 million per year, which is quite fair for a young receiver coming off an 80-catch, 1,292-yard season. Considering T.J. Houshmandzadeh will receive $8 mil a year in his new deal with Seattle, Packers GM Ted Thompson did well with Jennings’ contract.

      NFL

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