Category: NBA (Page 351 of 595)

      Curry, Lawson and Ellington enter loaded pool of guard talent in NBA Draft

      April 25, 2009 /

      Stephen Curry

      As all eyes turn to today’s NFL Draft, why not take a moment for a little speculating about June’s NBA Draft.

      Three significant underclassmen guards announced their entry into the NBA Draft this week – Davidson’s Stephen Curry and North Carolina’s Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson – joining a talent pool already loaded with guards.

      Here are list of a few more who figure to be in the running to be top 20 picks in this year’s draft:

      Ricky Rubio, Spain

      James Harden, Arizona State

      Tyreke Evans, Memphis

      Brandon Jennings, Italy

      DeMar DeRozan, USC

      Eric Maynor, VCU

      Gerald Henderson, Duke

      Jrue Holliday, UCLA

      Terrence Williams, Louisville

      Jonny Flynn, Syracuse

      Jeff Teague, Wake Forest

      Patrick Mills, St. Mary’s

      The question is, where are these three newcomers going to go? ESPN’s Chad Ford doesn’t even have Ellington in his top 30 available prospects, and while he did come up big in the Tar Heels’ championship run this season, he had to withdraw from the draft last year because of a lack of interest from NBA teams.

      Lawson’s stock is up this year, and he has the reputation of being one of the fastest end-to-end point guard prospects in the draft. But will NBA GMs side with him over the just-as-quick and better-shooting Jonny Flynn, Eric Maynor or Jeff Teague?

      Same goes for Curry. From a production standpoint, he’s light years ahead of everybody on this list except perhaps Lawson or James Harden. But he would likely enter the NBA as the league’s skinniest player, and given teams’ tendencies to let workouts and physical potential rule the day, it may be tough for them to take Curry over say, a DeMar DeRozan, Tyreke Evans or even a Jrue Holliday – all players with NBA-ready bodies and major upside.

      College Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft

      There’s a CBA storm brewing

      April 24, 2009 /

      Whenever I see the acronym “CBA,” I still think of the Continental Basketball Association, which is apparently still around, but only had four teams to start the season — the Albany Patroons, the East Kentucky Miners, the Lawton-Fort Sill Calvary and the Minot Skyrockets. Seriously.

      CBA also stands for the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, which is essentially the agreement between the league, owners and its players regarding salary cap structure, trades, length/size of contracts, etc. Commissioner David Stern wants a major overhaul to account for the number of franchises in financial straits, but Billy Hunter, executive director of the NBA Player’s Association says the current system is just fine.

      “One of the principle issues is that some owners are having a hard time with cash flow,” Hunter said. “I don’t see why that automatically means more give-backs from the players. It seems to me a new revenue-sharing plan among the owners is one of the things they have to look at. Then you wouldn’t be looking to the players every time there’s a shortfall.”

      The current labor pact, signed in July, 2005, will expire in June, 2011. No substantive talks with the league on a subsequent deal will begin until after July 1, Hunter said, because union president Derek Fisher and other board members are involved in the playoffs. The current system guarantees the players 57 percent of basketball-related revenue (BRI).

      Hunter declined to outline what the players might be seeking in the new deal, but a source said repealing the age limit, reducing the amount of player salaries held in escrow, loosening rules concerning restricted free agents and changing the league’s disciplinary system top the list.

      The biggest points of contention are likely to be the age limit and the disciplinary system. The current deal requires a player to be 19 — and one year removed from high school in the U.S. — before he is draft-eligible. There has been talk that the league would like to raise the limit by another year, but one union source said “90 percent” of the current players are against it now.

      Hunter’s logic is interesting…

      Continue reading »

      NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Couch Potato Alert: 4/24

      April 24, 2009 /

      The Detroit Lions are now on the clock.

      Well, they have been on the clock since the first week of preseason. The unofficial kickoff to the upcoming football season is here, as the 2009 NFL Draft will be the highlight event of the weekend. Your mock draft is due prior to the start of the draft. So be sure to cram in every player’s 40 yard time and wonderlic score during an all-night study session tonight. And if you want to play a good drinking game on Saturday, take a sip when Mel Kiper says “that was a value pick” or “he was the best player available.” I guarantee you will pass out halfway through the first round.

      All times ET…

      NFL
      Sat, 4 PM: 2009 NFL Draft (ESPN/ESPN2/NFL Network)
      Sun, 10 AM: 2009 NFL Draft (ESPN/NFL Network)

      NBA Playoffs
      Fri, 7 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Detroit Pistons (ESPN)
      Fri, 8 PM: Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers (ESPN2)
      Fri, 9:30 PM: Portland Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets (ESPN)
      Sat, 1 PM: Denver Nuggets @ New Orleans Hornets (ESPN)
      Sat, 4 PM: San Antonio Spurs @ Dallas Mavericks (TNT)
      Sat, 6:30 PM: Atlanta Hawks @ Miami Heat (TNT)
      Sat, 9 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Utah Jazz (ESPN)
      Sun, 1 PM: Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls (ABC)
      Sun, 3:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Detroit Pistons (ABC)
      Sun, 6:30 PM: Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers (TNT)
      Sun, 9 PM: Portland Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets (TNT)

      NHL Playoffs
      Fri, 7 PM: New York Rangers @ Washington Capitals (Versus)
      Sat, 1 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Philadelphia Flyers (NBC)
      Sat, 10 PM: Anaheim Ducks @ San Jose Sharks (Versus)
      Sun, 2 PM: Washington Capitals @ New York Rangers*if necessary (NBC)
      Sun, TBD: New Jersey Devils @ Carolina Hurricanes (Versus)

      MLB
      Sat, 4:10PM: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox (Fox)
      Sun., 12 PM: Philadelphia Phillies @ Florida Marlins (TBS)
      Sun., 8 PM: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox (ESPN)

      Couch Potato Alert, MLB, NBA, NFL, NFL Draft, NHL, Television

      Lakers upended in Salt Lake City

      April 24, 2009 /

      The Jazz rode a great performance by Carlos Boozer (23 points, 22 rebounds) en route to an 88-86 win over the Lakers. Los Angeles leads the series, 2-1, and has struggled in Utah in recent playoffs. Kobe was just 5 of 24 from the field, but still finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the loss.

      Be sure to check out Boozer’s dunk on Pau Gasol at about the 2:00 mark.

      Sick.

      In other series, the Mavs blew out the Spurs and the Celtics beat the Bulls by 21 in Chicago.

      NBA, NBA Finals, Video

      The NBA’s Top 10 Franchise Players

      April 23, 2009 /

      Every so often, I’ll be sitting at a bar, throwing back a few adult beverages with a buddy or two and I’ll pose the following question:

      If you could have one current NBA player to build your franchise around, with the goal of winning a NBA title in the next five years – who would it be?

      Since the 2009 NBA Playoffs are in their infancy, it seems to be as good of a time as any to kick around this question. My criteria are simple – a franchise player has to be able to carry his team, while being reasonably young and injury-free.

      We’ll count down from #10 to #1. My top nine guys were pretty easy to list, but #10 was a bitch. Maybe you can help me decide. Feel free to provide your own top 10.

      HONORABLE MENTION

      Yao Ming, Rockets (28 years-old)
      I love Yao’s post up game, and he is a skilled passer, but the chances are only 60/40 that he’ll be healthy for any given playoffs and those odds are only going to decrease as time wears on. He’s like Robert Downey, Jr. — he’s great at what he does, but you just don’t know if he’s going to be there when you need him.

      Chauncey Billups, Nuggets (32)
      He seems to be more responsible than ‘Melo for the Nuggets’ great play this season, but he’s 32 years old. Still, his effectiveness depends more on strength, steady play and good shooting than it does his (somewhat limited) athleticism, so he should be able to play into his late thirties.

      Al Jefferson, Timberwolves (24)
      Jefferson is one of the few young, back-to-the-basket post players in the league. He averaged 23/11 on a bad team, which leads me to believe he could post 19/10 on a playoff team, and should only get better with age.

      Amare Stoudemire, Suns (26)
      He’s four years younger than our next guy, but he’s already had two serious injuries in his career so one wonders if this is a trend. He also seems to be a little bit on the selfish side and has a rep for being a bad defensive player.

      Continue reading »

      NBA

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