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Breaking down Jason Campbell’s trade suitors

After the Redskins traded for Donovan McNabb on Easter Sunday, the notion was that Jason Campbell would be dealt sometime before the end of next week’s draft. While he hasn’t garnered much attention the past two weeks, Campbell still remains likely to be traded either before or during the draft.

Here’s a breakdown of the teams that might be interested in Campbell and how he’d fit their offensive system. Ranked from most likely to least likely:

Raiders: If (and this is a big if) Al Davis is ready to cut his losses and move on from the failed JaMarcus Russell experiment, there’s no doubt that Campbell would be a fit for Oakland. He has the strong arm that Davis covets and throws a pretty deep ball. He wouldn’t be the answer to all the Raiders’ problems, but he would certainly be an upgrade over JaGarbage and incumbent Bruce Gradkowski. If they’re willing, the Raiders could probably acquire Campbell for as little as a fourth rounder. But they may go with a young QB like Jimmy Clausen in the draft, someone who should be available at No. 8 when Oakland is on the clock.

Bills: I would put Buffalo’s chances at acquiring Campbell on the same level as Oakland’s. The Bills are another candidate for Clausen in the draft but if they acquired Campbell, they could turn their attention towards their need at offensive tackle at No. 9. Campbell has a strong enough arm to play in the gusty winds at Ralph Wilson and would be an upgrade over Trent Edwards. While the Bills could stand to add another receiver, their running game is solid and assuming their young offensive line improves in its second year, Campbell could solidify the quarterback position and make Buffalo somewhat competitive next season.

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NBA’s 2010-11 cap number announced…

…and it’s quite a bit higher than originally projected.

The New York Knicks and other teams hoarding salary-cap space got some good news Friday when they were told at the league’s Board of Governors meeting that the projected 2010-11 salary cap will be $56.1 million.

That figure was $2 million to $3 million more than most teams had been expecting, and for the Knicks it ensures they have enough cap space this summer to sign two maximum-salary free agents.

Other teams that will be positively affected by Friday’s news include the Nets, Heat, Wizards, Bulls, Clippers and Timberwolves.

The NBA warned that the cap number might be as low as $50 million to $53 million, so this is good news for all the teams looking to cash in their cap space for a good free agent or two this summer. Check that — since they’re all way under the cap, it really doesn’t matter to those teams. It’s great news for the players, who will now find that there are now nine teams with at least $14 million in cap space heading into this summer. In essence, that’s an extra $22.5 million for just those nine teams. That list includes three playoff teams — Miami ($43.6 M, assuming Wade opts out), Chicago ($20.5 M) and Oklahoma City ($14.0 M).

This news may not matter much to big name free agents like LeBron or Dwyane Wade, who are going to get max contracts no matter where they go, but second-tier players like David Lee or Rudy Gay should definitely benefit from the extra available money that will be thrown around.


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Who will win the NBA Most Improved Player award?

When handicapping the NBA MIP award, I always like to look at the player’s original draft position. Here’s a table with the last 20 winners of the MIP award. Take a look:

Notice anything? Only one MIP winner in the last 16 years (Tracy McGrady) was drafted in the first 12 picks.

It appears that the voters don’t just look at overall improvement, they also take into account unexpected improvement.

Looking at TrueHoop’s list of MIP candidates that received more than one vote from a panel of voters, here are draft positions for each player: Kevin Durant (2), Andrew Bogut (1), Corey Brewer (7), Joakim Noah (9), Josh Smith (17), Russell Westbrook (4), Aaron Brooks (26), Anderson Varejao (30), Channing Frye (8), Al Horford (3), Andray Blatche (49) and Zach Randolph (19).

Can we safely cross Durant, Bogut, Noah, Westbrook, Frye and Horford off the list?

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Will a change of scenery do Ted Ginn Jr. good?

By trading for receiver Brandon Marshall earlier in the week, the Dolphins instantly made receiver Ted Ginn Jr. expendable. That’s why they shipped him to the 49ers on Friday in exchange for a fifth-round pick in next week’s draft.

There’s no question that Ginn vastly upgrades the 49ers’ weak return game. In 16 games last season, the former top 10 pick racked up 1,296 yards on 52 kickoffs, including two touchdowns in a win over the Jets. He almost single-handily won that game for the Dolphins with 100 and 101-yard kickoff returns for touchdowns in the second half.

But for all his playmaking ability as a returner, Ginn has failed to live up to expectations as a receiver. Ever since he was taken with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 draft, he has failed to make an impact as a receiver. Bigger, more physical corners abuse him at the line and can easily disrupt his route running. That often screws up the timing between him and his quarterback, thus limiting the opportunities he touches the ball in the passing game. He’s great in the open field, but getting the ball in his hands is often the problem.

That said, Ginn leaves a crowded receiver corps in Miami to a rail-thin situation in San Francisco. He can work opposite intriguing youngster Michael Crabtree in the 49ers’ offense, or perhaps out of the slot so that the Niners can attempt to match him up against linebackers and safeties. (A matchup that Ginn will no doubt win based on his speed.)

There have been plenty of players that blossomed with a change of scenery and Ginn could be one of them, although San Francisco will have to find a way to utilize him as a deep threat. If not, at least the Niners didn’t part with a high draft pick and he’ll, at the very least, be able to boost their production in the return game.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

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