Late trades punctuate crazy trade deadline Posted by John Paulsen (02/24/2011 @ 4:40 pm) The trade deadline ended at 3 PM ET Thursday, but that doesn’t mean the news of just-completed trades is going to stop coming in. Here are a few deadline deals that broke just before or after the league cutoff. Blazers acquire Gerald Wallace. (Ken Berger, CBSSports.com) The Bobcats get Dante Cunningham, Joel Przybilla and two first round picks. Since Przybilla’s deal is expiring, this is a salary dump for Charlotte. They’ll come away with Cunningham and two first rounders out of the deal. Wallace can play either forward spot, so he could play alongside LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum if the Blazers want to play small ball. Nate Robinson and Kendrick Perkins to OKC for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. (Adrian Wojnarowski, Y! Sports) Interesting trade for the Thunder, who are going to have trouble shooting the ball if they start Perkins, Serge Ibaka and Thabo Sefolosha. They’ll have plenty of size down low and appear to be gearing up for a potential matchup with the Lakers and/or Spurs. Perkins is widely regarded as one of the best defensive centers in the league and Ibaka is no slouch either. The C’s must feel like they have plenty of size with Shaq and Glen Davis, who usually finishes games for Doc Rivers. Green will back up Paul Pierce and/or Kevin Garnett. Krstic is a serviceable center as well, and there are rumors that Boston will be looking to add Troy Murphy if he clears waivers. Aaron Brooks to Phoenix for Goran Dragic. (Marc Stein, ESPN) Brooks was thought to be a cornerstone of Houston’s youth movement, but one temper tantrum and one suspension later and he’s on his way to the Suns for Dragic, who was thought to be the point guard of the future in Phoenix once Steve Nash moved on. But Dragic’s three-point shot has disappeared (28% this year after 39% last season) and his numbers are down as a result. If he gets back to form, the 24-year-old could be a steal — and the Rockets got a first round pick to boot. Rockets send Shane Battier to Memphis for Hasheem Thabeet. (Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports) The Rockets get another first round pick as part of this deal. Thabeet isn’t ready for prime time, but maybe the Rockets still see potential in him. Battier’s contract is expiring and he obviously wasn’t in Houston’s long-term plans so they got what they could for him. The first round pick should be useful, even if Thabeet is not. In another trade that “almost-was,” O.J. Mayo was going to be moved to the Pacers for Josh McRoberts and a first round pick, but the NBA didn’t receive the fax in time, so the trade was nullified. Insert Michael Heisley joke here. Posted in: Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip Tags: Aaron Brooks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Bobcats, Gerald Wallace, Goran Dragic, Hasheem Thabeet, Houston Rockets, Jeff Green, Kendrick Perkins, O.J. Mayo, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Shane Battier
2009 NBA Mock Draft Version 3.0 + Updated Consensus Posted by John Paulsen (06/22/2009 @ 2:30 pm)
The draft is just a few days away, so it’s a good time to take one final stab at mocking the first round of this draft. I’ll continue to update the consensus draft this week, but this will be my last attempt at predicting what will happen this Thursday. First, let’s take a look at the most recent consensus. Chad Ford released the most recent version of his mock draft today, NBADraft.net also updated today, while DraftExpress updated their mock yesterday. Now I’ll go, pick by pick, through the first round, taking the consensus into account while also throwing in my $0.02 here and there. #1 CLIPPERS The Clips have shown no signs of trading away their opportunity to draft Blake Griffin. There is much fluidity with the next few picks, but the Oklahoma product is pretty much guaranteed to be the first pick. The Clippers will then (reportedly) try to move Zach Randolph or Chris Kaman, though it might be wise to move forward with Kaman and Griffin in the front court, Baron Davis at the point, and Eric Gordon and Al Thornton on the wing. Randolph is going to be tough to move. (I still can’t believe that Mike Dunleavy traded for him last season.) Pick: Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma #2 GRIZZLIES The consensus says that Hasheem Thabeet will be the pick and I don’t disagree, even though he just pulled out of a workout with Memphis due to a shoulder injury. DraftExpress thinks that Memphis will go with James Harden and move O.J. Mayo to the point, which they say is his natural position. I don’t know that they’ve given up on Mike Conley yet, so I think they will go big with this pick. Their biggest need is at power forward, so trading down and drafting Jordan Hill is a possibility. But if they stand pat, Thabeet could very well be the pick, even though he doesn’t seem to want to play in Memphis. Pick: Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: NBA, NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip Tags: 2009 Mock Drafts, 2009 NBA Draft, 2009 NBA mock draft, Austin Daye, Austin Daye draft, B.J. Mullins, B.J. Mullins draft, Blake Griffin, Blake Griffin draft, Brandon Jennings, Brandon Jennings draft, Chase Budinger, Chase Budinger draft, consensus mock draft, DaJuan Summers, DaJuan Summers draft, Darren Collison, Darren Collison draft, DeJuan Blair, DeJuan Blair draft, DeMar DeRozan, DeMar DeRozan draft, Earl Clark, Earl Clark draft, Eric Maynor, Eric Maynor draft, Gani Lawal, Gani Lawal draft, Gerald Henderson, Gerald Henderson draft, Hasheem Thabeet, Hasheem Thabeet draft, James Harden, James Harden draft, James Johnson, James Johnson draft, Jeff Teague, Jeff Teague draft, John Paulsen, Jonny Flynn, Jonny Flynn draft, Jordan Hill, Jordan Hill draft, Jrue Holliday, Jrue Holliday draft, Marcus Thornton, Marcus Thornton draft, NBA Draft, NBA mock draft, Nick Calathes, Nick Calathes draft, Patrick Mills, Patrick Mills draft, Ricky Rubio, Ricky Rubio draft, Sam Young, Sam Young draft, Terrence Williams, Terrence Williams draft, Ty Lawson, Ty Lawson draft, Tyler Hansbrough, Tyler Hansbrough draft, Tyreke Evans, Tyreke Evans draft, Wayne Ellington, Wayne Ellington draft
NBA Rumors: Grizzlies’ quandary, Blazers want Hinrich, and more Posted by John Paulsen (06/22/2009 @ 12:00 pm) Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard has been actively working the phones, as usual. The Blazers have been making inquiries all over the first round. Their main target has been Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, a burly power forward who plays with a toughness the Blazers lack and coach Nate McMillan would appreciate. However, Sunday night, there was talk Pritchard has even grander plans. With point guard Ricky Rubio possibly slipping out of the top four, the Blazers are talking to the Wizards about acquiring the No. 5 pick. There’s no question Pritchard also is trying to figure out a way to get maximum cap room this summer to use for a free agent or in a trade. The Magic’s Hedo Turkoglu gets the most mention, but sources say Portland’s real target is Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich.
Portland drafted Jerryd Bayless last year, but he didn’t have a very good rookie season, and head coach Nate McMillan would like Pritchard to steer clear of drafting another rookie. Hinrich would be a great fit. He’s relatively cheap (three years, $26.5 million remaining), experienced, and is a good defender. Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: NBA Draft, News, Rumors & Gossip Tags: 2009 NBA Draft, Hasheem Thabeet, James Harden, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA Draft, NBA rumors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Ricky Rubio, Tyreke Evans
2009 NBA Mock Draft Version 2.0 Posted by John Paulsen (06/04/2009 @ 4:30 pm)
It has been about two weeks since I published my first mock draft, so it’s a good time to check back in with all the news and rumors and take another stab. Like I said in the intro of my first mock, it’s tough for me to make predictions about what teams will do because I’m constantly thinking about what they should do. These are obviously two very different things. For this go-around, I’m going to try something a little different. I’ve compiled the picks for four mock drafts from sites that I respect — ESPN (Chad Ford), Dime Magazine, DraftExpress and NBADraft.net — and then I’ll provide my own picks taking their picks into account, to form some sort of consensus. Let’s get on with it… Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: NBA, NBA Draft, Rumors & Gossip Tags: 2009 Mock Drafts, 2009 NBA Draft, 2009 NBA mock draft, Austin Daye, Austin Daye draft, B.J. Mullins, B.J. Mullins draft, Blake Griffin, Blake Griffin draft, Brandon Jennings, Brandon Jennings draft, Chase Budinger, Chase Budinger draft, consensus mock draft, DaJuan Summers, DaJuan Summers draft, Darren Collison, Darren Collison draft, DeJuan Blair, DeJuan Blair draft, DeMar DeRozan, DeMar DeRozan draft, Earl Clark, Earl Clark draft, Eric Maynor, Eric Maynor draft, Gani Lawal, Gani Lawal draft, Gerald Henderson, Gerald Henderson draft, Hasheem Thabeet, Hasheem Thabeet draft, James Harden, James Harden draft, James Johnson, James Johnson draft, Jeff Teague, Jeff Teague draft, John Paulsen, Jonny Flynn, Jonny Flynn draft, Jordan Hill, Jordan Hill draft, Jrue Holliday, Jrue Holliday draft, Marcus Thornton, Marcus Thornton draft, NBA Draft, NBA mock draft, Nick Calathes, Nick Calathes draft, Patrick Mills, Patrick Mills draft, Ricky Rubio, Ricky Rubio draft, Sam Young, Sam Young draft, Terrence Williams, Terrence Williams draft, Ty Lawson, Ty Lawson draft, Tyler Hansbrough, Tyler Hansbrough draft, Tyreke Evans, Tyreke Evans draft, Wayne Ellington, Wayne Ellington draft
2009 NBA Mock Draft Version 1.0 Posted by John Paulsen (05/21/2009 @ 3:50 pm)
With the NBA Draft Lottery behind us, we now know the exact order of the first 14 picks. The Los Angeles Clippers hit paydirt when they won the right to draft Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin with the first overall pick. The Grizzlies moved up from #6 to #2, and the Thunder moved up one spot to pick #3. The big losers Tuesday night were Sacramento and Washington, who had the best and second-best shot at the top pick, but instead fell to #4 and #5, respectively. Mock drafts are tough for me because I’m usually thinking about what teams should do instead of trying to predict what they will do. This mock will be more predictive, but if I disagree with a selection, I’ll say so. Over the next few weeks, I’ll update this mock to jive with the latest news from around the league. It’s still very early in the process so things are very fluid. One mock has a player going #11 while another may have him going #29. I’m just going to make picks for the first fourteen slots on the first go-round and then provide the picks of a few different mocks that I respect for #15-#30, along with a short writeup for each team. #1 LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS Even Mike Dunleavy can’t screw this one up. Barring something obscenely out of the blue, Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin will be the first overall pick. The Clippers could use a power forward to replace Elton Brand, and Griffin is the only “sure thing” in this draft. He’s strong, skilled and athletic, and he has an improving offensive game. He has star written all over him. Pick: Griffin, PF #2 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES The Grizzlies were reportedly one of the few teams more interested in UConn’s 7’3” center Hasheem Thabeet than they were in Blake Griffin. The Grizzlies already have 7’1” Marc Gasol, so Thabeet wouldn’t fill a need like Jordan Hill, Ricky Rubio or Brandon Jennings would (assuming the team isn’t sold on Hakim Warrick or Mike Conley), but Thabeet has the potential to become a dominant defensive center along the lines of Dikembe Mutombo. But will he be willing to put the work in to become an effective post player? Pick: Thabeet, C Read the rest of this entry » Posted in: College Basketball, MLB, NBA, NBA Draft, Rumors & Gossip Tags: 2009 Mock Drafts, 2009 NBA Draft, 2009 NBA mock draft, Austin Daye, Austin Daye draft, B.J. Mullins, B.J. Mullins draft, Blake Griffin, Blake Griffin draft, Brandon Jennings, Brandon Jennings draft, Chase Budinger, Chase Budinger draft, DaJuan Summers, DaJuan Summers draft, Darren Collison, Darren Collison draft, DeJuan Blair, DeJuan Blair draft, DeMar DeRozan, DeMar DeRozan draft, Earl Clark, Earl Clark draft, Eric Maynor, Eric Maynor draft, Gani Lawal, Gani Lawal draft, Gerald Henderson, Gerald Henderson draft, Hasheem Thabeet, Hasheem Thabeet draft, James Harden, James Harden draft, James Johnson, James Johnson draft, Jeff Teague, Jeff Teague draft, John Paulsen, Jonny Flynn, Jonny Flynn draft, Jordan Hill, Jordan Hill draft, Jrue Holliday, Jrue Holliday draft, Marcus Thornton, Marcus Thornton draft, NBA Draft, NBA mock draft, Nick Calathes, Nick Calathes draft, Patrick Mills, Patrick Mills draft, Ricky Rubio, Ricky Rubio draft, Sam Young, Sam Young draft, Terrence Williams, Terrence Williams draft, Ty Lawson, Ty Lawson draft, Tyler Hansbrough, Tyler Hansbrough draft, Tyreke Evans, Tyreke Evans draft, Wayne Ellington, Wayne Ellington draft
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