Category: NBA Draft (Page 43 of 55)

Some guys just shouldn’t own a NBA team…

June 4, 2008 / John Paulsen

…and Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley is one of those guys.

In a Yahoo Sports article, Heisley discusses the trade his team made with the Lakers that sent Pau Gasol (and a second round pick) to L.A. for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Marc Gasol and two first round picks. Without the trade, or “donation” as Kobe Bryant calls it, the Lakers would not be in the Finals.

The mere mention of suspicions over Memphis’ motives gets the Grizzlies owner’s voice rising on the telephone, gets him going on the gossip that suggests something unseemly happened on the way to a Lakers renaissance.
Michael Heisley starts to ask, well, who is ripping Minnesota for the Kevin Garnett trade?

Some did rip the Timberwolves for the trade that sent KG to Boston, though I think Kevin McHale did pretty well for himself (and that’s not something I say often). Let’s see, McHale got 23 year-old forward/center Al Jefferson, who averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds in his first season in Minnesota. Jefferson looks like a career double-double guy and a future All-Star. Can Heisley say that about any of the guys he got in the Gasol trade? McHale also got Ryan Gomes (who looks like a solid rotation guy), salary cap flexibility in the form of Theo Ratliff’s expiring contract and two first round picks.

Keep in mind that as part of the Gasol deal, the Grizzlies have to send the Lakers their second round pick in 2010, so in essence, with the Lakers looking strong and the Grizzlies looking weak, Memphis will just move up a few spots from the early second round to the late first round in 2010. That virtually eliminates one of those first round picks they got for Gasol.

How about Seattle and Ray Allen?

For Ray Allen, Sam Presti (the Seattle GM) got Wally Szczerbiak, Delonte West and the #5 pick (Jeff Green). Szczerbiak is overpaid and fading, but West is a starter-caliber player and Jeff Green averaged 11 points and five boards in his rookie season. Not bad. Presti later traded away Szczerbiak and West, and gave himself a ton of cap flexibility in the process. So the Sonics essentially got Jeff Green in return for getting rid of Ray Allen, his degrading game and his huge contract.

The difference here is that the Sonics are rebuilding, but they traded away a 32 year-old shooting guard who was overpaid, not a skilled, 27 year-old seven-footer who has a reasonable contract.

This begs the question – why can’t you build around a 27 year-old player? With Gasol and Rudy Gay, the Grizzlies would have had a nice core to build around.

“Is anybody jumping on Popovich in San Antonio because he traded that center to Houston for virtually nothing?” Heisley wondered.

“That center”? He’s talking about Luis Scola, who is usually lost defensively, but scores and rebounds well enough to get minutes. The main problem here is that an owner of a NBA team doesn’t even know the name of player about whom he’s trying to make a point. This is wrong on so many levels.

For the first time, even Heisley wondered whether his general manager, Chris Wallace, blew it by caving so soon to the Lakers.
“I don’t know if I got the most value,” Heisley confessed. “Maybe our people should’ve shopped (Gasol) more and maybe we would’ve gotten more, done a better deal. Maybe Chris did call every team in the league. I don’t think he did, but maybe he should’ve…”

Heisley is either loyal as hell to his employees or completely clueless about what it takes to run a NBA franchise. He thinks that “maybe” Wallace should have called every team in the league? Maybe?

One source with knowledge of the process said the Bulls had made the most credible offer. For Gasol and Memphis’ Hakim Warrick, the Bulls were willing to part with Andres Nocioni, Tyrus Thomas, Joakim Noah, Thabo Sefolosha, possibly Adrian Griffin and draft picks.

I’d hate to be a Memphis fan after reading that. I can hear the phone conversation now:

Wallace: A proven forward (Nocioni) plus three promising prospects and draft picks? No, no, wait… Sorry, John. I’ve got Mitch Kupchak on the other line and I think he wants to offer up Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton.

“Chicago wouldn’t offer us any of their good, core players,” he said. “Our people told me that we weren’t able to get equal trade value for Gasol and that we needed to do a deal that would give us cap space and draft picks. It was no secret in the league that we were considering offers for him, but the Lakers were the one team that stepped up.”

I’ve got news for you – the Lakers didn’t offer you any of the their good, core players either.

“I have no buyer’s remorse,” Heisley said. “Listen, I can’t tell you how many people would tell me, wherever I went in Memphis, ‘Get rid of Gasol. …Trade Gasol.’ And then some of the same people are booing us because we traded him. But I don’t mind that. I’m a big boy. I can take it.”

I think those people that wanted you to trade Gasol were hoping that you’d actually get something in return. And why is a owner of a NBA team making personnel decisions based on what some schmo on the street is telling him?

This is absolutely mind-boggling.

Will somebody please buy the team from this guy?

NBA, NBA Draft, NBA Finals, Rumors & Gossip

Michael Beasley vs. Kevin Love, by the numbers

June 3, 2008 / John Paulsen

I’m not advocating anyone taking Kevin Love over Michael Beasley, but take a look at these measurements from the draft combine:

Michael Beasley, Kansas State
Height: 6’7″ (6’8 1/2″ in shoes)
Wingspan: 7’0 1/4″
Standing Reach: 8’11”
Body Fat: 7.7%
Vertical Jump (no step): 30″
Vertical Jump (max): 35″
Bench Press: 19
Lane Agility: 11.06
3/4 Court Sprint: 3.24

Kevin Love, UCLA
Height: 6’7 3/4″ (6’9 1/2″)
Wingspan: 6’11 1/4″
Standing Reach: 8’10”
Body Fat: 12.9%
Vertical Jump (no step): 29.5″
Vertical Jump (max): 35″
Bench Press: 18
Lane Agility: 11.17
3/4 Court Sprint: 3.22

Here’s what Chad Ford had to say about their combine workouts:

Beasley
While other workouts were going on, we all watched in awe as Beasley drained NBA 3-pointer after NBA 3-pointer. That continued in the workouts, in which Beasley shot as well as any prospect here. Deep or midrange, Beasley can shoot the lights out.

Love
Kevin Love tested better than you’d think in just about every category. He’s by no means a great athlete, but he’s not a bad one either.

He continues to slim down, and a number of scouts mentioned that he’s in as good shape as they’ve ever seen him. Although Love doesn’t run the floor the way some of the other top athletes do, he hustled up and down the floor and showed good athleticism.

Just as important, Love shot the ball very well in the workouts. At times, he looked like a guard out there. Love also did well in the strength training, bench-pressing the 185-pound bar 18 times.

First things first, I was surprised to hear that Beasley measured out the way he did. There were rumors going around that he’s actually 6’7″, but his standing reach (which is more important) is 8’11”, just an inch shorter than the supposed ideal for a power forward. The other thing that jumped out at me was Ford’s description of Beasley’s range. If he already has three-point range, he’s going to be a dangerous scorer right out of the gate.

Kevin Love has a 35″vertical?!? I posted a video of his workout a few weeks ago and he definitely looked slimmer and more agile, but 35″? Not only that, but when compared to Beasley, Love did pretty well in every other category. Given all of his intangibles, I wouldn’t blame anyone for taking him after Rose and Beasley. I’d still give Beasley the nod, due to his terrific scoring ability.

Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, Rumors & Gossip

Hoopsworld credits Kobe for the Laker turnaround

June 3, 2008 / John Paulsen

Now that the Lakers have made the Finals, a number of Kobe Believers are stepping forward and saying that he’s the one responsible for the turnaround. Bill Ingram is apparently one of these Believers. A good portion of my latest column was dedicated to debunking this theory.

Let me take Ingram’s points one-by-one.

The truth is that Kupchak attempted to trade Kobe numerous times. Deals were discussed with a number of teams, the most notable being the Chicago Bulls, but each time Kobe shot them down. It could be, in fact, that Kobe never wanted to be traded.

It’s true that could be the case, but Kobe’s frustrations last summer were real and I believe that if there had been a deal in place that wouldn’t have gutted his new team, he probably would have approved it. Every deal that was floated (through the media, anyway) would have left Kobe’s new team decimated, so what’s the point of making the trade?

Kobe forced the Lakers to be all they could be. His remarks about his lackluster supporting cast pushed those players to raise their collective games to a higher level. Sasha Vujacic, Luke Walton, Ronny Turiaf, and Andrew Bynum (pre-injury) all turned their games up a notch.

So Ingram’s premise is that all of those young players he mentioned – Vujacic, Walton, Turiaf and Bynum – were just going about their own business last summer and then suddenly decided, after Kobe’s media tantrum, that they were going to become good players. (By the way, I wouldn’t include Walton in a list of players that “turned their games up a notch.” And why did Ingram snub Jordan Farmar? Other than Bynum, Farmar probably stepped up his game the most, despite his playoff struggles.) Most young players improve year-to-year. That’s what they do. There was an article about Bynum in ESPN The Magazine which discussed the personal trainer he hired and rigorous training program he adopted well before Kobe’s outburst. Bynum implied that there were times that Kobe’s harsh words…

“Andrew Bynum? Are you f—ing kidding me? Andrew Bynum? F—ing ship his ass out. We’re talking about Jason Kidd …”

…helped him push through a difficult workout, but the truth is that the regimen was already in place.

Back to Ingram…

Kupchak stepped up his game by trading away a bunch of nothing to land All-Star Pau Gasol…

This is the line that really kills me. Does Ingram honestly believe that if Kobe hadn’t thrown a fit the previous summer that Kupchak would have passed on the Gasol deal? Any GM with an owner willing to take on Gasol’s contract would have made that deal, with or without their star player throwing a hissy fit.

At the end of the day, though, it was Kobe Bryant who pushed the Lakers to the NBA Finals. He did it with his play on the court, and he did it with the pressure he exerted on his franchise off the court.

I’ll agree that Kobe had a terrific season. But he has had terrific seasons before and his team didn’t get out of the first round. It’s the improvement of those young players (whom Kupchak drafted) and the addition of Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher (whom Kupchak acquired) that make up the difference between the one-and-done 2007 Lakers and the Finals-favorite 2008 Lakers. Kupchak deserves most of the credit, with big assists from Memphis’ GM Chris Wallace for giving away Gasol and the Jazz for being so generous with Fisher’s situation.

Crediting Kobe for the turnaround is a big stretch. It’s true that superstars can raise the level of their team, but that usually happens during the season in practices and games, not in a parking lot on a YouTube video.

Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, NBA Finals

Doug Collins headed to Chicago?

May 29, 2008 / John Paulsen

Even though GM John Paxson has said that no deal has been reached, a source told the Chicago Sun-Times that a deal bringing Doug Collins to Chicago is imminent.

Collins hasn’t coached since the 2002-03 season when he guided the Washington Wizards in the second of back-to-back 37-45 seasons. He has compiled a career record of 332-287 (.536), which includes two 50+ win seasons – the 1987-88 Bulls and the 1996-97 Pistons.

The Bulls have a good, young roster that features Luol Deng, Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon. They recently won the draft lottery, which means they have their choice of Kansas State’s Michael Beasley and Memphis’ Derrick Rose. Word on the street is that the Bulls are leaning towards taking Beasley, who would give them the post presence they have been lacking since their boneheaded decision to trade Elton Brand to the Clippers for the draft rights to Tyson Chandler. Obviously, winning the lottery didn’t hurt their chances of coaxing Collins out of retirement.

I wonder if Mike D’Antoni is regretting his decision to choose the Knicks over the Bulls…

NBA, NBA Draft, Rumors & Gossip

Who wants T.J. Ford?

May 29, 2008 / John Paulsen

In a recent post about Mike D’Antoni’s decision to take the Knicks job, I mentioned that the first order of business is to find a quick guard to push the ball up court and to make good decisions. T.J. Ford, the odd man out in Toronto with the emergence of Jose Calderon, would be a great guy for the Knicks to target. Now that Toronto is actually pursuing a trade, it made me wonder – other than the Knicks, which teams should be interested in Ford?

The answer is all about pace, which is a team’s average number of possessions per game. Ford is a great player in the open court where he can use his incredible speed and wonderful ball handling to make positive plays for his team. When the tempo slows, Ford’s weaknesses – size, lack of a consistent jumper – rise to the surface. His shot is a work in progress, but he is a good on-the-ball defender.

So, besides the Knicks, who should be interested?

Denver Nuggets
If the Nuggets find a taker for Allen Iverson, Ford would be a nice fit with Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith (or Linas Kleiza) on the wings. It might take Smith or Kleiza to get the Raptors to bite, though they might do the deal for the Nuggets #20 pick.

Indiana Pacers
Did you know that Indiana played at the third highest pace this season? It’s a shame that their point guard (Jamaal Tinsley) isn’t suited for an up tempo style. I like the idea of Ford feeding Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger on the wings. The Raptors might have interest in Shawne Williams, who played well in his first season, but the Pacers would have to add some salary to make a deal work. Other than maybe Marquis Daniels, they just don’t have any favorable contracts to move right now.

Miami Heat
I’m sure there are those that are wondering why the Heat are on this list, but we need to get out of the mindset that Miami has to be a grind-it-out team. Shaq is gone and the much more athletic Shawn Marion has taken his place. I’m hearing that the Bulls are going to take Michael Beasley, which would leave Derrick Rose for the Heat, but if it goes the other way, how nice would a core of Ford, Wade, Marion and Beasley look? It might take Dorrell Wright or Daequan Cook to make it happen.

Golden State Warriors
Sure, the Warriors already have two good point guards in Baron Davis and Monta Ellis, but Davis is looking for a big, long-term contract and the Warriors may not bite. If he opts-out of the final year of his deal, then the Warriors could work out a three-way trade involving Davis that would bring in Ford as their main ball handler. A Ford/Ellis backcourt would be small, but devastatingly quick. Who would the Raptors want in return? Brandan Wright seems like a big price to pay, but it might be worth it. Mickael Pietrus or Kelenna Azuibuike are also options.

Phoenix Suns
Nash is getting on in years and the Suns will need someone to take over once he’s gone. Why not acquire Ford to be Nash’s backup? It would allow the former MVP to rest more which should extend his career. This is all fine in theory, but with D’Antoni gone, the team will probably slow its pace, so it won’t need Ford.

Los Angeles Clippers
Apparently, Shaun Livingston is almost ready for contact drills, but the Clippers need stability at the point guard position and Ford would be great insurance if Livingston isn’t ready to go. The main problem with this move is that the Clippers aren’t built for an up tempo style. I’m guessing that Elton Brand will play out his final year to prove to teams that he’s ready to go. Brand and Chris Kaman aren’t built for an up tempo attack.

Atlanta Hawks
I’d love to see the Hawks acquire Ford. Mike Bibby helped them get to the playoffs, but he’s on the decline and is quite pricey for what he brings to the table. Imagine Ford pushing the ball up to Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams (or Josh Childress) and Josh Smith on the wings. That would be scary. The Raptors might be willing to trade Ford for Williams or Childress.