However, sophomores Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington will declare for the NBA draft, but will not hire agents — leaving open the possibility of their return.
Hansbrough, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds. He led the Tar Heels (36-3) to the winningest season in school history and the Final Four while sweeping the major national player of the year awards. He already has qualified to become the eighth player in school history to have his jersey retired.
Hansbrough’s return wasn’t a big surprise considering he has long talked about his determination to win a national championship before he leaves school.
This isn’t a shock considering he isn’t playing basketball just to make a lot of money someday. It probably won’t hurt his draft stock much as scouts have had three years to pick him apart and they aren’t going to find much more to complain about if he stays in school another year. Obviously, his return makes North Carolina the favorite to win the ACC again. Duke should be better, but the Tar Heels still look like the class of the conference.
The Warriors got off to a great start in the first quarter, but as soon as the Nuggets switched to a zone, the momentum shifted and Denver coasted to a 114-105 win in Oakland. The win gives Denver a full game lead on the Warriors, but the Nuggets also own the head-to-head tiebraker, so they essentially have a two game lead with three games to play.
As I was reading up on the game today, I ran across a ton of commentary about how bad these two teams are defensively. It got me wondering, just how bad are they? Well, it’s true that these two teams allow the most points in the league, but they also play at a very high pace, so there are more possessions, which means their opponents have more chances to score. It’s not really fair to judge their defense without taking into account their pace, is it?
John Hollinger is ESPN’s numbers guy, and he keeps track of pace as well as offensive and defensive efficiency. The results are interesting. Unsurprisingly, Denver and Golden State are 1/2 in pace. The Nuggets play an average of 102.1 possessions per game while the Warriors play 101.2. Hollinger’s defensive efficiency number is simply the number of points a team allows divided by 100 possessions. Denver and Golden State are terrible, right? Wrong. While the Warriors are just on the edge of the bottom third (#20) the Nuggets finish a respectable 10th.
That means that possession for possession, the Nuggets do a fairly good job of playing defense. This conclusion is backed up by the fact that they are in the middle of the pack (13th) in defensive field goal percentage. (Golden State is a less-than-mediocre 22nd.)
So next time your buddy knocks the Nuggets, bet him that Denver is in the top half of the league in defensive efficiency and opponents’ field goal percentage. You’re bound to win some dough.
Derrick Rose had a wonderful NCAA tournament, but was less than spectacular against Kansas. He may have been bothered with a stomach ailment, but he just didn’t look like himself. In a recent column, ESPN’s Chad Ford discusses Rose’s draft stock:
NBA scouts and GMs say that, overall, Rose helped himself more than anyone else in the tournament. Considering he was already the consensus No. 2 pick in the draft, that’s saying something. More GMs than ever are starting to say that the No. 1 pick in the draft should be Rose, not fellow freshman Michael Beasley. While Rose didn’t put up Beasley’s numbers this year, his leadership, position and upside all suggest to some in the NBA that he could have an impact similar to Chris Paul’s in the league. That’s saying something.
We’ll keep monitoring this over the coming weeks. I’d estimate that about 65 percent of GMs I’ve spoken with still have Beasley atop their boards. But the trend is clearly tracking toward Rose.
I think this comes down to what the team with the #1 pick needs. The likely lottery winners are Miami, Seattle, Minnesota, New York and Memphis. I think the Grizzlies would take Beasley (since they already have Mike Conley), while the Sonics, Timberwolves and the Knicks would take Rose. The Heat could go either way depending on what they do with Shawn Marion and whether or not they want Dwyane Wade playing the point or off guard. Generally speaking, it’s tougher to find a game-changing point guard than it is to find a game-changing forward, so that favors Rose. Both guys are can’t-miss picks.
By the way, neither guy has declared for the draft… yet.
When the Grizzlies gave away Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown’s expiring contract, it proved just how valuable salary cap flexibility can be in the NBA. In my latest column, I identify several players with expiring contracts that could be moved before the trade deadline, perhaps for another Memphis player.
He’s been playing innocent for the last few weeks, but Jason Kidd has finally confirmed that he does indeed want to be traded.
The rumor mill says the Lakers, Mavs, Nuggets and Cavs are interested. In the video, Tim Legler is talking about a deal where the Mavs would send DeSagana Diop, Devean George and Jerry Stackhouse/Jason Terry, but that only adds up to salaries in the $11.1 to $12.8 million range, which doesn’t approach Kidd’s salary of $19.7 million. In most NBA trades, the salaries need to be within 20% in order for it to work under the rules of the salary cap. That deal is also rumored to include another Western Conference team, so the Nets may be getting more than those three. If the Mavs are able to acquire Kidd and only give up Diop, George and Stackhouse, it would be a coup.
If I’m running the Nets, I would try to pry Devin Harris away from the Mavs, or at the very least, Terry. The deal is rumored to include picks, but if we’re talking non-lottery teams, those late picks in the first round aren’t worth that much.
The Lakers were considering a deal for Kidd last season, but weren’t willing to give up Bynum when most “pundits” (including myself) thought they should. Now Bynum is a budding star, so the Lakers will certainly balk at any deal including their young center. They could offer up Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown, which would allow the Nets to shed some salary after this season. The Nets should try to get Jordan Farmar if possible. He has been extremely productive this season and should develop into a good starting point guard in the next couple of years.
The Cavs always come up when a star demands a trade because the thinking is that they are a very good player away from seriously contending. Kidd would give the Cavs a true point guard, but LeBron handles the ball so much, I wonder if Kidd’s talents would be wasted. Mike Brown would have to drastically alter the offense to utilize Kidd’s skills, but he (Brown) hasn’t proven to be very adept at making offensive adjustments. And whom would the Cavs give up? Does anyone want Larry Hughes and his $12 million salary? Drew Gooden and Anderson Varejao are possibilities up front, as is Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Daniel Gibson is their primary young bargaining chip in the backcourt.
The Nuggets are an interesting possibility because Kidd’s arrival would allow Allen Iverson to play exclusively at shooting guard. He’s another guy who has to have the ball to maximize his talents, but with Kidd running the show, the Nuggets would be pretty scary offensively. The problem is what the Nets would accept in return. Kenyon Martin? Doubtful. The injured Nene? Maybe. Marcus Camby is a distinct possibility, but does Denver want to trade away the reigning Defensive Player of the Year? Camby has a very affordable contract, which makes him that much more valuable.
Kidd wants to be traded to a contender, which means whatever draft picks the Nets can acquire are probably going to be late in the first round. However, it sounds as if getting out of New Jersey is his #1 priority.
The New York Post says that the Nets are going to have a tough time finding a suitable trade partner.
“They’re in a no-win situation,” said another GM. “No one out there is going to give them a piece to grow with. Maybe expiring contracts and draft picks, but the teams that will bid – say Dallas, Cleveland – don’t necessarily have that.”
It seems the best the Nets can hope for is a good, young prospect and/or a first round draft pick. They will also want to shed salary as quickly as possible so they can go about the business of rebuilding.
