By Jason Jones
Happy NBA Draft Day to all of you reading this - yes, the rumor is true - I suddenly realized that this blog thing still works and has been waiting for me to get back into the groove.
So with that, I am going to give you a few quick/random thoughts on tonight's NBA draft - just the 1st three picks and a thought or two on the Cleveland Cavaliers. I think it is a classic 'no-brainer' that the Chicago Bulls will select Memphis PG Derrick Rose. This has all the makings of a great story - the hometown kid gets selected by the hometown pro-team and leads the franchise back to glory. The Bulls are coming off of what has to be regarded as a tremendously disappointing 2007-08 season. Lots of hopes and expectations went down the drain and in a hurry as far as the Bulls are concerned.
Give Rose some time - it takes AT LEAST 1-2 seasons for an NBA point guard to develop and become something extraordinary. This 19-year-old has all the tools, gifts and talents to give the Bulls something they desperately need - leadership and hope.
With the second pick of the NBA draft, the Miami Heat select... who? TONS of speculation regarding the selection (or non-selection) of Michael Beasley. Don't buy into what you are hearing - Pat Riley WILL draft Michael Beasley. Now, will he KEEP Beasley or trade him away? That's the question you should be asking.
As for the third pick in the draft, it doesn't get better than OJ Mayo. In my opinion, he is the best at what's left in the NBA draft. Athletic, great size and great ability, I think he may be the most NBA ready player in the draft lottery. The alleged USC violations aside, Mayo has the best chance to make the biggest impact in my opinion.
The Timberwolves would be wise to select Mayo and build a team with him as their cornerstone.
Looking down the draft to the Cavaliers... I think the two most immediate needs for the team are at shooting guard and at a big man. Ilgauskas is an NBA veteran and I am not too sure how many quality years he has left in the tank.
It is odd to make this statement after seeing 'Z' come off what I consider to be one of his finest seasons as a pro. Looking at the power forward spot - I like Joe Smith - but he is a veteran backup that can deliver a quality 15-20 minutes a night. Ben Wallace is a fraud. He has his big money contract and it is apparent (at least to me) why the Chicago Bulls fans hated him with a passion.
He 'got paid' and now is doing the least amount of work as possible to stay in the league. Anderson Varejao? I don't plan on seeing him too much longer in a Cavaliers uniform. How these two needs get addressed will be interesting to watch... GM Danny Ferry can go free agency or via the draft, but at #19, finding a player that can address one of the two needs immediately will be difficult. That leaves free agency... Michael Redd is on the fan's (and Cavaliers') radar but I don't see it happening.
Here's hoping I am wrong.
Don't forget the FDH/DRAFTOLOGY/STN NBA Draft Guide is available for immediate download via this link - http://www.fantasydrafthelp.com/2008HoopsDraftologyGuide.pdf - it's all you need to follow and understand tonight's draft.
Finally, sportstalkNETWORK.com will have complete LIVE coverage of tonight's NBA Draft starting at 7p Eastern featuring Ben Chew, Rick Morris, Jason Joes, Tony Mazur and Paul Belfi.
Showing posts with label Derrick Rose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Derrick Rose. Show all posts
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Is the Sun setting on Shaq?
By Rick Morris
Today's press conference announcing the Shaq trade to Phoenix cemented in everyone's mind the new state of the Western Conference (by the way, was anyone else wondering whether we were actually watching Shaq today or Aries Spears doing his imitation?). Dallas and San Antonio were already cemented as perennial powers still at the top -- then the Lakers acquired Pao Gasol seemingly out of nowhere in a blatant steal from Memphis to make themselves relevant for the first time since they traded Shaq for the figurative pitcher of warm spit -- now, Phoenix brings Shaq back out West to claim the final spot on the upper tier. New Orleans and Utah are also at a very high level purely in terms of their records, but neither has the combination of talent and proven records over the last couple of years to make anyone believe they are threats to make the Finals.
Give new Phoenix GM Steve Kerr credit. It took a lot of guts to shake up the Suns' roster and force changes on a squad used to playing at such a radical up-tempo pace. And the loss of Shawn Marion will really be felt (Marcus Banks not so much). For Phoenix, the Alpha and Omega of this deal comes down to the question of whether they have acquired a center who can even come close to resembling the Shaq of old. My guess? Given the high level he still managed late last season, the Suns will get enough of his production to take them far. The Suns have finally put an end to their longtime finesse image, but they've been down this road before with acquiring a superstar who they thought could take them over the top -- and Charles Barkley still has as many rings as I do. But if the Suns win a title with Shaq at any point in his remaining contract, he will have won titles for three different teams and will be on a very, very short list of the greatest players ever.
As for Miami, with Shaq on the shelf, they were in perfect position to win the Michael Beasley sweepstakes. Now, they're still going to be horrible enough to qualify for a top pick in the draft anyway and it's going to be so very deep in franchise player talent at the top and my colleague Jason Jones correctly points out that Derrick Rose would be just the point guard the Heat needs. But just to be on the safe side, now that Miami has replaced an injured Shaq with a healthy Marion, now would be a very good time for D-Wade to "suddenly" discover that his shoulder needs to be rested for the remainder of the season.
Today's press conference announcing the Shaq trade to Phoenix cemented in everyone's mind the new state of the Western Conference (by the way, was anyone else wondering whether we were actually watching Shaq today or Aries Spears doing his imitation?). Dallas and San Antonio were already cemented as perennial powers still at the top -- then the Lakers acquired Pao Gasol seemingly out of nowhere in a blatant steal from Memphis to make themselves relevant for the first time since they traded Shaq for the figurative pitcher of warm spit -- now, Phoenix brings Shaq back out West to claim the final spot on the upper tier. New Orleans and Utah are also at a very high level purely in terms of their records, but neither has the combination of talent and proven records over the last couple of years to make anyone believe they are threats to make the Finals.
Give new Phoenix GM Steve Kerr credit. It took a lot of guts to shake up the Suns' roster and force changes on a squad used to playing at such a radical up-tempo pace. And the loss of Shawn Marion will really be felt (Marcus Banks not so much). For Phoenix, the Alpha and Omega of this deal comes down to the question of whether they have acquired a center who can even come close to resembling the Shaq of old. My guess? Given the high level he still managed late last season, the Suns will get enough of his production to take them far. The Suns have finally put an end to their longtime finesse image, but they've been down this road before with acquiring a superstar who they thought could take them over the top -- and Charles Barkley still has as many rings as I do. But if the Suns win a title with Shaq at any point in his remaining contract, he will have won titles for three different teams and will be on a very, very short list of the greatest players ever.
As for Miami, with Shaq on the shelf, they were in perfect position to win the Michael Beasley sweepstakes. Now, they're still going to be horrible enough to qualify for a top pick in the draft anyway and it's going to be so very deep in franchise player talent at the top and my colleague Jason Jones correctly points out that Derrick Rose would be just the point guard the Heat needs. But just to be on the safe side, now that Miami has replaced an injured Shaq with a healthy Marion, now would be a very good time for D-Wade to "suddenly" discover that his shoulder needs to be rested for the remainder of the season.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Gasol To The Lakers
by Jason Jones
Kobe
ESPN has reported that the Grizzlies have had enough and are sending Pao Gasol and a second round pick to the Lakers in exchange for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittendon, Aaron McKie, Marc Gasol, the 2008 first round pick, and the 2010 first round pick.
Lakers Get…
Pao Gasol
Future 2nd Round Pick
Grizzlies Get…
Kwame Brown (9.7 Mil expiring contract)
Javaris Crittendon (prob. a throw in, they do have Conley Jr)
Aaron McKie (a sign and trade for a guy who is retiring)
Marc Gasol (one of the only keepers of this deal)
2008 1st Round Pick
2010 1st Round Pick
Too bad the Lakers couldn’t have flipped the 2008 1st round pick. If they could’ve finagled getting the Grizzlies 1st round pick, they could reasonably move up to get Derrick Rose to be the point guard of the future. Oh well, can’t ask for everything.
Clearly the Grizzlies are priming themselves for a serious move down the line. I mentioned this approach with the earlier Jason Kidd post. There are only two ways to trade an All-Star player. One, equal or close to equal value and two, a large bag of crap that adds up to the All-Star player when said bag of crap has expiring contracts. It seems obvious that the Grizzlies are doing the latter. I don’t understand the Javaris Crittendon inclusion unless it was necessary to match dollars. Damon Stoudamire has been waived, but regardless this leaves the Grizzlies with basically 3 rookie point guards. Kyle Lowry is a second year player who is seeing the most minutes thus far at 24 per game. Mike Conley Jr., who IS the franchise PG of the future, hasn’t averaged much more than Lowry as a rookie. Javaris Crittendon is also a rookie who is averaging 7.8 minutes a game. If the season ended today, the Grizzlies would have the 4th and 24th overall pick. Ignoring PG and SF (Conley Jr. and Rudy Gay), they should concentrate on big men and maybe a serious scoring SG. On the high end, if they are willing to trade up, they could look at Michael Beasley, even though it will take getting to the #1 pick. Otherwise, Eric Gordon, OJ Mayo (truly a Gilbert Arenas-style PG), then they could look at reaching for Roy Hibbert or even Kevin Love. The 24th pick at this point is as much a crap shoot as the entire 2nd round. The real value of this draft is in the top 20 picks. Another reason to try to trade up with their #4 and #24 and parlay it into a top 3 pick, specifically the top pick. Problem is,
As for the Lakers, this is as good a move that either the Lakers or Kobe Bryant could realistically hope to land. Jason Kidd is out due to the inability to trade Andrew Bynum. There just aren’t many blue chip players are the trading block. Arenas could be available next year, but that doesn’t sound like it would work anyway. When you look at the Lakers starting 5 on paper, they should find themselves in the top 4 of the playoff teams in the West.
PG-Derek Fisher
SG-Kobe Bryant
SF-Lamar Odom
PF-Pao Gasol
C-Andrew Bynum
(when healthy)
Maybe now we stop hearing about how
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