Category: NBA Draft (Page 49 of 55)

Kevin Garnett seemingly put the kibosh on a potential trade to the Celtics when he told the team he didn’t want to play in Boston. KG doesn’t have a no-trade clause, but he can opt out of his contract after next season, so any team attempting to trade for him better be damn sure he wants to play there. If he doesn’t he’ll become a free agent next summer and go sign somewhere else.

The funny thing is, Boston would actually be a pretty good spot for KG. Paul Pierce is still effective and they have loads of young talent (Tony Allen, Delonte West, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Rajon Rondo, etc.), so the C’s would be instant contenders in the East. But after watching LeBron and the Cavs get unceremoniously swept in the Finals, it’s possible that, to Garnett, being “instant contenders in the East” doesn’t sound all that attractive.

He has now insinuated that he’d like to play for a warm weather contender, which has only fueled speculation of a trade to the Suns. Phoenix has been quietly exploring trades for Shawn Marion, who seems perennially unhappy and can also opt out after next season. Unfortunately for the Suns, Marion has made it clear that he doesn’t want to play in Minnesota or Boston, which has made a Garnett deal less likely.

It seems the Timberwolves want Amare Stoudemire as part of the deal (with some reports also including the Suns’ unprotected pick from the Hawks) before they’ll be willing to make a swap. The 24 year-old made a terrific comeback from microfracture surgery in both knees, averaging 20.4 points and 9.6 rebounds en route to 1st All-NBA team honors.

Free advice for the Suns: don’t make this deal.

I like KG as much as the next guy, and would love to see him jump the ever-sinking ship that is the Minnesota Timberolves (thanks Captain McHale!), but the Suns don’t need him. Let’s not forget, if not for Game 6 suspensions to Stoudemire and Boris Diaw, it might have been the Suns celebrating their first title a few weeks ago. They were heading home for Game 6, up 3-2 after winning Game 5 in San Antonio. They had the Spurs on the ropes, and almost beat them in Phoenix without Stoudemire and Diaw.

For any team that comes up short, there is pressure to make a move. Any move. It’s true, Garnett could make the Suns slightly better in the short term, but you’re talking about trading away a 24 year-old 1st team All-NBA player with a reasonable contract for a 31 year-old who is set to make $46 M over the next two years. Besides, the main reason for acquiring Garnett (his defense on Tim Duncan) isn’t that strong. Stoudemire’s defense is improving and he did a nice job on TD in the conference semis.

The Suns have to think long term. Sure, Nash’s window is closing, but what happens if they acquire Garnett? In three to five years when both players retire, the Suns suddenly become irrelevant. Keeping Stoudemire ensures that they’ll have a star to build around once Nash hangs ‘em up.

I know the thought of Garnett in a Suns uniform is tempting, but you just can’t trade Stoudemire away.

The NBA Draft is almost upon us. After a lackluster regular season and an anticlimactic Finals, the league needs a shot in the arm and the 2007 Draft just might do the trick. Considered the deepest draft since 2003 (when LeBron, D-Wade, ‘Melo and Chris Bosh hit the scene), this year’s version promises to have a huge impact on the future of the league. It features two “can’t miss” stars in big man Greg Oden and the sharp shooting Kevin Durant, along with a bevy of young players who have the potential to be stars or superstars in the NBA.

At the NBA Lottery, fortunes smiled on the Trailblazers and Supersonics, and barring a trade, those two lucky franchises will end up with Oden and Durant. But who goes first, and what about the rest of the first round? We’ve put together a Mock Draft that’s a little different than other mock drafts you might have seen. We don’t try to predict which player a team will draft; we try to determine which player a team should draft. Each pick includes the team’s salary cap situation, player comparisons and an offseason blueprint. To gain a larger perspective, don’t miss our list of The Best and Worst Drafts in NBA History. There’s also a compilation of the 11 Biggest Draft Day Blunders of the modern era of the NBA, which breaks down the very worst draft day decisions (and proves just how important the draft is to the future of a franchise). Finally, we’ve identified a few Draft Sleepers in this year’s draft and updated Second to None, our list of the best second-round picks in draft history.

So sit back and enjoy the read. It should be an interesting week.

Kobe Bryant met Lakers’ owner Jerry Buss in Barcelona recently and reiterated his wish to be traded. A video has also surfaced which shows Bryant badmouthing the Lakers, GM Mitch Kupchak and even center Andrew Bynum in a profanity-laced tirade.

This situation has gone from bad to worse. Apparently, the team is trying to go through back channels to see if there is any way to repair the relationship with the disgruntled superstar. It doesn’t appear that they are having much luck.

So what do the Lakers do? Many pundits don’t believe that they’ll trade him, but there seems to be a growing feeling amongst GMs that they might. If the team refuses to move him, Kobe has the ability to make life hell for the foreseeable future.

For a while, it looked like Kobe just wanted the team to acquire some help. There are two personnel moves that keep popping up:

The first is a trade for Jermaine O’Neal. Reportedly, the talks with the Pacers have stalled because the Lakers do not want to give up Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and Kwame Brown for O’Neal and Troy Murphy. Some reports also have the Lakers including the #19 pick in this year’s draft. This move would put the Lakers’ payroll at $61 M in 2007-08 and at $66 M in 2008-09 (not accounting for re-signing Luke Walton, which will probably cost around $5-$6 M per year).

They would be able to use their mid-level exception on someone like Morris Peterson or Matt Barnes, but their best bet would be Charlie Bell, a good defender and shooter that, as a point guard, doesn’t need the rock in his hands to be effective.

This would give them a lineup of Bell, Bryant, Walton, Murphy and O’Neal with Jordan Farmar, Maurice Evans, Vladimir Radmanovic, Brian Cook and Sasha Vujacic as the team’s main reserves. That’s not the most athletic starting lineup, but the Lakers play a methodical style, so it could work. Still, it’s doubtful that that group would reach the Finals.

The second name that keeps popping up is Kevin Garnett. For the first time, the Timberwolves have started to listen to offers for KG because they know he can opt out of his contract next summer and, by keeping him another season, they run the risk of letting him get away without any compensation. They aren’t going to go for an Odom/Bynum deal, so the Lakers only real hope is to work out a three-way trade or wait until next summer and hope that KG does indeed opt out. Assuming the salary cap rises 7% each of the next two seasons (as it did last summer), as their roster stands, they’d have a payroll of about $45 M, leaving around $16 M to sign Garnett. This would give the team a starting lineup of Farmar, Bryant, Odom, KG and Bynum. Farmar probably isn’t the right guy to lead that group, but with Bryant and Garnett on board, I’d bet that Baron Davis or Jason Kidd (both with player options next summer) would be tripping over each other for the chance to sign a mid-level deal and make a run at a ring.

But that’s the best-case scenario, Laker fans. For that plan to work, four things must happen:

1) Minnesota doesn’t trade Garnett to another team before the trade deadline
2) Kobe agrees to stay with the Lakers for another (mediocre) year
3) Garnett opts out of his contract next summer
4) Garnett agrees to join the Lakers

Based on Bryant’s actions the last few weeks, I think #2 is in serious jeopardy. Kobe holds the leverage because he has a no-trade clause in his contract, so the Lakers can’t just ship him anywhere. He has three destinations in mind: Chicago, Dallas and Phoenix. (The Knicks are another possibility because they’re in New York, the only spotlight as bright as Los Angeles.) The Lakers definitely don’t want to send Bryant to a Western Conference team, especially a division foe like Phoenix, so the Chicago deal seems most likely. But would a deal including Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and the #9 pick be enough? (The Bulls would need to send another $10 M in salary to make the trade work, likely in the form of a re-signed P.J. Brown.) It seems like the Lakers need a “star” in return and that Deng doesn’t qualify, though that might be the best offer the Lakers will get.

A couple of other rumors have Bryant heading to the Bulls in a three-way deal involving either Boston or Washington, resulting in Paul Pierce or Gilbert Arenas heading to the Lakers. I like Arenas, but at this point I’d rather have the Deng/Gordon/pick package than Pierce.

Considering all the big names potentially on the move, it should be a very interesting summer. Considering how boring (and poorly-received) the Finals were, at least there is something entertaining going on in the NBA.

So who’s it going to be: Greg Oden or Kevin Durant? In my latest column, I pit the Ohio State center against the Texas swingman to figure out who the Portland Trailblazers should select #1 overall. So who came out on top? Well, it wasn’t an easy choice.