The NBA Thread

[Drew D]

Wow, Greggulator is right on the money for quality mid-major stars....and I watched Lillard for similar late-night reasons, I think I picked Montana as an upset pick in my march pool based only on their ability to beat Weber St/Lillard in the Big Sky tourn!  He is no joke...

-I guess besides those three my sleepers right now would be Jeff Taylor, Darius Miller, Jae Crowder and his teamate Darius Johnson-Odom.

-The SG posiition is real weird early on, I dont see Rivers going that high, but falling to 18 I doubt too.  Unless Lamb or Waiters falls big time, the Wolves best bet would be a 2-3 tweener like Terrence Ross or that Fournier guy.  John Jenkins is a sleeper at that spot, he is strictly a shooter, but boy can he shoot.

[Greggulator]

Austin Rivers stinks. That's probably overstating things but the kid weighs about 115 pounds and wasn't all that great this year. He's also a total d-bag. Hopefully his dad will whip him into shape but he's a total nightmare -- really big on shaking his head when his teammates miss a shot, already mastering the D-Wade stare at the ref, etc.

John Jenkins ruled this year. That dude can play. He has Gary Neal-esque potential.  I also love Jae Crowder.

Who the hell is this Bradley Beal kid from Florida shooting up the ranks? An inefficient shooting guard who can't play defense going Top 5? Yikes.

I think Thomas Robinson and Kidd-Gilchrest are studs. K-G, I think, has a ridiculous amount of potential. He has everything you'd want in a small forward and also has a motor. If he gets on a good team then I think he'll be a star.

One of the keys to rookie success is ending up on a franchise that actually matters or wants to matter. Anthony Davis is going into the right place with New Orleans -- committed new ownership, a not-that-bad core, good coach, etc. I hope David Stern rigged the draft because whoever the Bobcats draft second is going to just waste away his career in that nightmare.  It's the same with Washington and Sacramento.

The Cavs actually have a decent shot at becoming relevant again. They have the #4 pick and if they can get another guy to go with Kyrie Irving then they're in decent shape. I'd also be bullish on Portland who rooked the Nets pick for Gerald Wallace but their history isn't so great.

Speaking of that trade -- I completely forgot that happened. WTF were the Nets thinking? There's no way they're getting either Deron Williams or Dwight Howard. I feel awful for Gerald Wallace. He's one of my favorite players in the league and deserves to play on a good team as opposed to some punchline.

[Drew D]

Portland cleaned up with that Nets pick, and the pick they gave up is top 12 protected for several years:

• Portland acquires New Jersey's 2012 first round pick (top-3 protected) as part of Gerald Wallace trade
  • Portland trades a 2013 first round pick (top 12 protected in 2013-2015) to Charlotte as part of the Gerald Wallace/Joel Przybilla trade.
• Portland trades a 2013 second round pick to Denver as part of the Raymond Felton/Andre Miller trade.

-M K-G's motor is top notch.  Sometimes that's what really separates a lottery pick from the rest, not just physical speed, but the instincts to react quickly, since the NBA is a gear or more faster than most college teams.  Blake Griffin had that at Oklahoma, he just looked a step faster than every player guarding him, and he reacted faster too.

-Yea, I dont know about Beal yet.  He must be working out well, he's supposed to be a 3 point specialist but had sub-par 3% last year.  SO maybe he's shooting lights out at these workouts, I dont know.  He seems like a really good kid, and rebounds very well for a 2.

[buffcoat]

I'm a UNC grad, so take this with as large a grain of salt as you need to.

Austin Rivers is a small trainwreck waiting to damage some NBA team.  As for his dad whipping him into shape, who do you think whipped him into the shape he's in?

Decent skills, moderate athleticism.  Hit one big shot this year (which is still more than some people I suppose).  Terrible teammate.  His saving grace is that he may not be good enough to do that much ego-related damage, but it's happened before with players who have less skill.

I've said what I had to say about Harrison Barnes.  I think Kendall Marshall will be a steal at a low enough draft point.  Great intangibles and great intelligence.  Backup all the way, but a good backup PG can really help out a team.  Henson is a project for the NBA.  If you need a great natural defender (only) he's worth taking.  I don't know if his offense is ever going to get there.

I think Zeller will be the most long-term impactful pro of the bunch, which is not saying a tremendous amount.

[Gilly]

Rivers isn't a star, but if he can land on a team with two star players and stay happy being the 3rd option I think not only will he make a good team great, but he'll be able to develop into an all-star. If he lands on a team where he's asked to be a star or a backup, I think he'll be a bust or if his attitude is ok, a decent role player. I really think the Wolves are the perfect fit for him, Celtics would probably be a good fit as well. I just don't think he'll last to their picks.

As for Beal, I think he looks like an amazing player if you watch him play, but on paper it says otherwise. Stats don't lie.

[buffcoat]

...and stay happy being the 3rd option.

This will not happen.  Inevitably people will ask Doc about it, Doc will try not to say anything, it will be awful... if you like Austin Rivers or whatever team he's on.  Otherwise it will be hilarious.

[Drew D]

As a lifelong Duke-hater, yea, I can't stand Rivers.....BUT, he may find work as a good combo guard off the bench, a second unit guy who handles the ball and gives some quick scoring.  I think he's overrated though.
-I also agree that Zeller may end up having the longest career of the UNC guys....May end up starting sooner rather than later, but as the 5th best guy in the starting lineup.

[Drew D]

T-Wolves trade #18 for Chase Budinger...insert Kahn/SF stock-piling joke here?

-Rockets now have 14, 16, 18 picks.  Might flip them for Bobcats #2, to use to get to D-Howard, or just to take a lottery guy...

[Greggulator]

The Bobcats GM Richard Cho is at least somewhat competent, coming from OKC and running Portland for a year before being dismissed in mysterious fashion. If I were him, I'd trade the #2 pick ASAP. The only reason for this is to prevent MJ from overruling him and getting Harrison Barnes.

It's a shame Daryl Morey's good at his job. If they had a healthy Yao Ming for his run, they'd do some damage (like they did the year Artest was on the team). But they suffered from injuries but haven't been bad enough to get a decent enough draft pick ala OKC. I don't think Morey's humble enough to blow up the team for a few years, though, which is what he should do if he can't land Dwight Howard or a good lotto pick.

[Drew D]

-Pray..for..Rich..Cho...

-Yea, Rockets might need to get worse before they can better...latest is they want to send #14/#16/Lowry to Sac for #5/Tyreke Evans

[gravy boat]

Knicks and Nets can't really look to the draft.  For Knicks, I hope they let JR Smith walk away and pick up Randy Foye instead--Foye seems to be flying under the radar for eligible free agents.

I think all the recent press about Deron Williams favoring the Nets (working out with them, inviting Avery to his birthday party) is clever negotiating to get the Mavs to open up Cuban's wallet wider. I can't see Deron staying--hope I'm wrong.

Back to Portugal--Spain...

[Drew D]

Wow, yea, didn't realize how both Knicks/Nets are out in the cold on this one.  We need to wait until pick 48 to hear those classic boos and catcalls, hope they trade up!  Also, that Deron Happy Birthday truck trailer photo is killing me..

Rockets making more moves:

-"The Houston Rockets have traded center Samuel Dalembert and the 14th pick in Thursday's NBA draft to the Milwaukee Bucks for the 12th pick and three players. In addition to the 12th pick, the Rockets will receive guard Shaun Livingston and forwards Jon Leuer and Jon Brockman."

-Also, new rumors of OKC trying to move up to a top pick to take Beal.  Harden or Ibaka in rumors. 

[Gilly]

I kind of like getting Budinger. Everybody who looked like a decent fit for the Wolves has had their stock rise in the workouts. I kind of figured that would happen considering how few teams have a decent 2 guard and how many 2 guards there were in the draft. The Wolves desperately needed a guy who hit the kickout 3 and Budinger fits that role perfectly. He's not going to be a star but I think Adelman's going to be playing him a lot so I think he'll be better than the 10 points he's averaged in his 3 year career. I'd say he gets around 15 a game, but the biggest thing is that those won't be garbage points that anybody could get, those are going to be points that the Wolves lost last year because nobody could consistently hit an open 3 and that's going to make a HUGE difference.

Also, they have a little more salary cap room now, I just don't know who they'll be able to bring in. For so many years now they've given themselves salary flexibility only to see players decline their offers. However, hopefully that will be different now that there's some hope and people might want to play with Rubio and Love. I didn't realize until a few days ago that Rubio is going to be out the first couple months of the season, I was under the impression that he'd be back for the whole thing. Hopefully they can bring in players to stay competitive until Rubio comes back.

[Andy]

Talk around here is the possibility of trading Harden for the bobcats first round pick.

[Greggulator]

Talk around here is the possibility of trading Harden for the bobcats first round pick.

This is a salary cap move. I've predicted that the troubles with their ownership is going to hurt OKC in a big way. Blame Aubrey McClendon, one of the bigger scumbags alive today.