Chicago Bulls Salaries
Contracts above $5 million
Luol Deng has four years left on his increasing contract while Kirk Hinrich has only two seasons left on his decreasing deal. Derrick Rose will be entering the third season of his rookie contract.
These three players total $25.9 million.
Rest Of Team’s Salaries
I read this trade proposal by verbatim over on Raptors Republic earlier
After the latest loss, I feel an unreasonable amount of pessimism. If BC made the following trade I would be happy:
Banks (or Evans), Belinelli, Calderon, Johnson, Weems
for
McGradyI do not think Houston would do it. It would be a great way for us to rebuild though, by giving us lots of capspace and a major player in the 2010 market. Plus we get to keep DeRozan who has shown flashes of promise.
As the team stands now, can Bosh and Bargnani play solid team defence? No. Is Calderon the right pointguard for a team with weak interior defence? No. Maybe there are personnel issues here, not just better coaching and line shakeups needing.
I wrote a response or two in the comments section … in summary saying that Read the rest of this entry »
Minnesota Timberwolves Salaries
Contracts above $5 million
Big Al is the only large contract on the Wolves’ books and he has three years left on his contract.
Rest Of Team’s Salaries
Oklahoma City Thunder Salaries
Contracts above $5 million
All three players are entering the final year of their respective contracts.
They combine to make $18.23 million.
Rest Of Team’s Salaries
Miami Heat Salaries
Contracts above $5 million
Rest Of Team’s Salaries
Mario Chalmers has a non-guaranteed contract but at that salary he’s a lock to be picked up so I included him here. Chalmers will be in the final year of his contract. Read the rest of this entry »
New Jersey Nets Salaries
Contracts above $5 million
Devin Harris is the only contract above $5 million on the Nets books at the moment. He has three more years left on his contract.
Rest Of Team’s Salaries
Yahoo Sports reports
Without a clear-cut suitor emerging to sign him, All-Star guard Allen Iverson announced his retirement on Wednesday.
“I would like to announce my plans to retire from the National Basketball Association,” Iverson said in a statement released to Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Stephen A. Smith, who first announced Iverson’s decision on his personal web site. “I always thought that when I left the game, it would be because I couldn’t help my team the way that I was accustomed to. However, that is not the case. Read the rest of this entry »
New York Knicks Salaries
Contracts above $5 million
Both hold player options for the 2010/11 season and are locks to pick up those options. They will be entering the final year of their contracts.
They total $18.16 million. Read the rest of this entry »
Marco Belinelli is one of the worst rebounding guards in the NBA.
How bad is he?
Well, if we run a search on Basketball-Reference.com and look for all guards (point guards + shooting guards) who played 500+ minutes last season we find 140 players. Now, let’s rank these players according to their rebounding rate.
Out of 140 guards, Marco Belinelli ranks 130th in rebounding rate.
This list includes 13 players who are six feet are shorter + 67 players who are 6 foot 3 or shorter. Again, this is list of all guards, point guards and shooting guards, and Marco Belinelli ranks 130th out of 140. Read the rest of this entry »
Very good article in the New York Times on the prevalence of the pick and roll in today’s game
With the basketball in his hands, Orlando’s Jameer Nelson performs the two-man two-step that the Magic and the entire N.B.A. have sought to perfect.
His eyes dart, his mind absorbs, his feet react as his teammate Dwight Howard sets a pick and rolls to the basket, initiating a chain reaction designed to produce defensive mayhem.
No other play in the N.B.A. creates such havoc, no other play is used as often.
The basic pick-and-roll is the bread and butter of the N.B.A., with two teammates working in conjunction on offense, with one player dribbling the ball and the other standing still and trying to block the path of the ball handler’s defender. As all hoopsters know, once the pick, or screen, is carried out, the ball handler can pursue several options: pass the ball to his teammate who set the pick and is now rolling toward the basket or another space on the floor; take a shot himself; drive to the basket; or pass the ball to another teammate who may be open. Read the rest of this entry »
How old are the contenders?
Okay, today we’re going to be looking at how old each of the contenders are.
I have chosen five legitimate contenders and one additional possible contender. Three in each conference. Those teams are:
I’ll be looking at each team individually and checking these categories:
NBA.com reports
The Wizards (3-9) have lost eight of nine games. Against San Antonio they shot a season-worst 33 percent. Perhaps more embarrassingly, they had just as many turnovers as assists (nine) heading into the fourth quarter before finishing with 12 assists to nine turnovers by the end of the game.
Arenas goes off
Gilbert Arenas said players on the team had “hidden agendas,” noting that eight players on the team are free agents following the season.
“I guess when you start losing everyone wants to start pointing fingers everywhere else,” Arenas said. “I converted my game to try to get people involved, but at the end of the day, to be honest, this is the same team since three years ago. We added a couple of pieces, but everybody else is basically the same player.
“I’m sitting here thinking ‘Do I have to go in attack mode like I was two years ago to get us over this hump?’ I hope not. I hope we’re strong enough mentally that we can get over this.”
Arenas leads the team in total points and assists. But heading into Saturday’s game he had taken 55 more shots than the next player. Read the rest of this entry »
LA Times article on Pau
As the 108-93 victory over the Bulls reinforced, Gasol could be cited as the team’s Most Vital Player, or at least its Most Victorious Player.
It should be no surprise that, breathless and straining and struggling to find his legs, Gasol still put together a season opener of 24 points,13 rebounds, and defensive leadership that made the young Bulls look old.
It should also be no surprise that this 9-3 team suddenly looks like a potential champion again. Read the rest of this entry »
Contra Costa Times reports
The Warriors learned Monday that swingman Kelenna Azubuike is out for the season and that guard C.J. Watson tested positive for swine flu.
According to a team source, an MRI on Monday showed the injury Azubuike sustained Saturday at Milwaukee will require surgery, which means the patellar tendon was torn in his left knee. The surgery will be scheduled this week. Recovery time for this type of surgery usually is five to six months.
That’s very bad news for the Warriors. Read the rest of this entry »
NBA Fanhouse reports
This is where good depth can really come in handy.
Veteran Jason Williams, the point guard on Miami’s NBA Championship team of 2006, will become a starter once again with a serious contender. The Orlando Magic announced Tuesday that All-Star Jameer Nelson will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks. Read the rest of this entry »
Kate Fagan reports
It’s not a 100 percent, but if you read between the lines, it seems probable that Sixers coach Eddie Jordan might go with a different starting lineup on Wednesday night against the Charlotte Bobcats. And it seems power forward Elton Brand will be out of the lineup. There are a few options for who might be in (all speculation, really, on what the changed lineup might be).
But we just spoke to Jordan. When the Sixers lifted the curtain on practice, they were running through 5-on-0 sets and Brand was working with the second team, Jason Smith with the first team. Rodney Carney was also with the first team, Willie Green with the second. It’s tough to tell exactly what this stuff means because it might have been the first time all practice Brand was with the second team, so we had to ask Brand and Jordan. Read the rest of this entry »
The Oregonian reports
Trail Blazers forward Travis Outlaw has a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal in his left foot, suffered in the first quarter of the Blazers game at Charlotte.
Outlaw, who played only 50 seconds, suffered the injury 20 seconds after he checked into the game. Television replays show that Outlaw apparently suffered the injury when he tried to close the distance between himself and Charlotte forward Gerald Wallace. When Wallace started to drive, Outlaw put on the brakes, and the force of the stop caused the injury. Wallace drove past Outlaw for a layin.
X-Rays revealed a stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal – the small bone on top of the foot near the small toe. It is the same injury, to the same foot, that teammate Martell Webster endured last season. Read the rest of this entry »
I haven’t been watching the Lakers play much here in the early goings (not the prettiest basketball around with Gasol is out) … I was watching the fourth quarter of the Rockets-Lakers game last night and I was surprised to hear what type of numbers Bynum has been producing.
The Hawks have 8 wins and 2 losses in their first 10 games with a margin of victory of eight points per game.
The Hawks early success in the regular season is a bad sign for any teams who were hoping to tempt Joe Johnson away from Atlanta next summer. The Hawks are looking like a 55+ win team right now and they still have enough youth/potential to improve further. It will be hard for teams to offer a better situation than the one Atlanta is offering.
Secondly, with Atlanta winning the Hawks front office will reluctant to let Joe leave. Questions over whether a player is max contract worthy, or how many years you want to commit to a player, those questions have a habit of dying down when teams are winning. Read the rest of this entry »
Wandering thoughts on various things on the Hornets + their players.
Chris Paul Off The Court
The Hornets have looked lost whenever Chris Paul has been off the court. Even worse than last year. At least last season the team had an idea of what it was trying to do while he was sitting down. Now they just look aimless out there.
Bobby Brown
I have no idea why Byron Scott was playing Bobby Brown ahead of Darren Collison. Brown is a poor player who was playing terrible basketball while Collison is a good-to-excellent backup point guard with an all-round game + NBA ready game. Read the rest of this entry »
The Houston Chronicle reports
With a pair of moves Friday made for very different reasons, one surprising and one expected, the undersized Rockets trimmed two big men from their roster, sending center Joey Dorsey to the NBA Development League and waiving forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu.
The reason for the move
Mensah-Bonsu, however, had played well enough in the preseason to move past Dorsey, and had played 13 minutes in four of the Rockets’ eight games. The Rockets wanted the roster spot open should they need a fill-in, a concern that became more obvious when Aaron Brooks turned his ankle on Tuesday even though Brooks did not miss any playing time. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article in the San Antonio Express on Bogans
It is a general truism that every NBA player possesses at least one NBA skill. It didn’t take long for Keith Bogans to discover his.
He’s built a career on his uncanny ability to be the most annoying guy in the room.
“I want to annoy guys,” said Bogans, the Spurs’ latest starter at shooting guard. “I want guys to know when I’m guarding them, it’s going to be a tough night. I don’t want anybody to think it’s going to be a walk in the park. See me, and put a smile on your face? No, that’s not me.”
An afterthought for much of the preseason, Bogans has emerged as perhaps the biggest early-season surprise for the Spurs. His defensive prowess earned him a spot in the starting lineup three games ago, and he has done little to relinquish it. Read the rest of this entry »
A stats heavy post
Some stats courtesy of 82games.com
| 2009/10 (Heat) | 2008/09 (Heat) | 2008/09 (Raptors) | 2006/07 (Pacers) | 2005/06 (Pacers) | 2004/05 (Pacers) | 2003/04 (Pacers) | |
| eFG% Inside Shots | 56.1% | 41.4% | 39.7% | 37.2% | 38.1% | 40.4% | 37.8% |
| eFG% Jump Shots | 70% | 59.8% | 62% | 57.7% | 66.4% | 57.4% | 58.9% |
Notes
Raptors.com reports
The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday they have released guard Quincy Douby. Douby had been on the inactive list since October 28 and did not appear in any regular season games. He averaged 3.0 points, 1.7 assists and 10.5 minutes in six preseason outings.
About bloody time. There was absolutely no point to Douby remaining on the roster.
Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack have all of the point guard minutes locked up on the Raptors team. Then there’s Marcus Banks who will be stuck on the Raptors for another season past this one due to his contract. That’s three point guards combining to earn $17.8 million this season who are filling the starting point guard slot, the primary backup guard (and sixth man) slot, and the third string point guard role.
There was absolutely no need to waste a roster spot on another point guard. Read the rest of this entry »
This is from about a week ago … the NY Post reports
The unsigned Szczerbiak told The Post yesterday he underwent knee surgery three weeks ago at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan and is seriously considering retiring in the coming weeks.
The surgeons have told the Cold Spring Harbor product another knee injury could affect his ability to lead a normal life because he lacks enough cartilage in the knee after three surgeries.
A source said the decision’s been all but made to retire because he wants to be able to play with his kids. But Szczerbiak said yesterday an official decision hasn’t been reached. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
Sacramento Kings leading scorer Kevin Martin underwent surgery on his injured left wrist.
The team says Martin had the procedure to repair a hairline fracture in his left wrist on Monday at the UC Davis Medical Center. Martin will be released from the hospital later in the day.
Martin is expected to miss at least eight weeks with the injury. He is averaging 30.6 points a game for the Kings.
Sacramento has won both games since Martin was sidelined. Rookie Tyreke Evans is averaging 27.5 points per game in those contests. Read the rest of this entry »
Nice article in the Houston Chronicle on Chuck Hayes
Chuck Hayes is the most remarkable player on the NBA’s most remarkable team. How’s that for an opening sentence? Good one, huh?
Don’t believe me? Let’s check in at Toyota Center and run it past some people who should know.
“Luis Scola and I were talking in the weight room this morning,” Shane Battier said, “and we both agreed Chuck Hayes is our favorite player in the NBA.”
How so?
“It’s pretty amazing what he does,” Battier said. “He’s a huge reason we’ve been one of the best defensive teams in the league the last few years.”
How about you, Carl Landry? Do you love Hayes as much as the rest of us?
“He’s the perfect player,” Landry said. “He rebounds, plays defense, takes charges, gets steals. He does the dirty work.” Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s the link … and some of Oakley’s thoughts:
On Butch Carter, former Raptors coach
“Butch is probably one of the best coaches, as far as Xs and Os, that I’ve been around. I’d put him up there with Pat Riley. He knows the game. Unfortunately, some things happened. But I think he can come back in this league and be a great coach. People learn from their mistakes. That’s what the NBA needs … they need coaches like Butch Carter. He had game plans. He’d be great for Cleveland. LeBron, if he’s a 10 now, his game would go up two or three levels. Look what Butch did for Vince Carter.”
On Vince Carter’s early success in Toronto
“It was all Butch. Butch got in his ear and told him, `Do you know what you have with you? You’ve got some guys who care for you and are going to look out for you.’ Me, Antonio (Davis), Kevin (Willis), we said, `Hey, Vince, we got your back.’ Vince would have never excelled the way he did if it wasn’t for Butch and some of the guys on the team, because we kept pushing him. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article on Mlive.com
The immediate reaction to Pistons losses against Oklahoma City and Milwaukee was the fact that the Pistons relied primarily on one-on-one basketball.
The stats showed it, as they had 20 assists in the win over Memphis and just 29 combined in the next two games, which also just so happened to be without Rip Hamilton.
The article continues
But is one player enough to make the assist total go down that much? According to last season, yes.
Hamilton missed 15 games a season ago. When he was on the court, the Pistons averaged 21.3 assists per game. When he was out, the averaged 17.4 per game. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article by Jason Quick in the Oregonian
I like the analogy made by Coach Nate McMillan near the start of the article, so let’s start there:
Less than 12 hours after the Blazers’ defense had been sliced and diced for 111 points in Houston, leading some players to question the effort of the team, coach Nate McMillan talked to the Blazers about a simple concept: family.
“Would you allow your brother to continue to do something he shouldn’t be doing? Or would you say something to him?” McMillan remembers telling his team. “And that’s what it is all about. They are brothers out there, this is a family, and if we are not playing defense or you are not covering your man, say something to him. It’s not personal. It’s holding each other accountable.”
The article goes on to talk about Greg Oden’s vocal presence defensively against the Thunder Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN’s Daily Dime
Currently, there are 433 players in the NBA and 225 are 6-8 or taller (58.9 percent).
The tallest player is Houston’s Yao Ming at 7-6. There are two players listed at 7-3: Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Hasheem Thabeet.
The average NBA player is currently 6-7 (actually 6-feet, 7.3 inches). The shortest player in the NBA is Nate Robinson at 5-9.
Some fun stats on the average height for NBA players + almost 60% of the league is 6 foot 8 or bigger, wow! Read the rest of this entry »
The LA Times reports
Lakers forward Pau Gasol underwent a sonogram that showed a possible tear in his right hamstring, and he is not expected to play on the team’s upcoming two-game road trip, the team said.
Gasol also had a more complex MRI exam today on his hamstring, and those results will be known by Tuesday.
There was another article on this about a half hour later
No results yet, but that’s the big news from practice Monday in El Segundo, ahead of the Lakers’ first road trip of the season. Phil Jackson used the word “tear” speaking to the media and a sonogram on Gasol’s hamstring may indicate that possibility. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports that Michael Redd is having trouble with the knee he had surgery on last season
Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks will miss at least two weeks after experiencing soreness in his surgically repaired left knee.
Redd underwent surgery in March to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and he left Saturday night’s game against Detroit during the third quarter because of discomfort in the knee. He underwent an MRI on the knee on Sunday.
Let’s hope this is only a two week rest-bite and not something that ends up ruining his season.
No Michael Redd, no Bucks’ run for a playoff spot. Read the rest of this entry »
Yahoo Sports reports
The Boston Celtics and Rajon Rondo have reached an agreement in principle on a contract extension, Rondo’s agent, Bill Duffy, said early Monday.
League sources said the extension is for five years and guarantees Rondo at least $55 million. With the two sides facing a Monday deadline to get a deal done, Duffy said he called Celtics president Danny Ainge on Sunday to inform him Rondo was prepared to play out his contract and become a restricted free agent next summer because they weren’t satisfied with the team’s previous offers. Ainge, however, surprised Duffy by responding that Rondo’s contract hopes would be met.
“As much as we were willing to wait his contract out, the Celtics stepped up to the plate to meet the original request,” Duffy said by phone. “This is a really fair contract. We wanted him to be paid like one of the top five point guards around. It also allows the Celtics to maintain continuity to continue to be one of the best teams at this time.” Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
The Denver Nuggets have signed backup Renaldo Balkman to a contract extension and also exercised the fourth-year option on guard Arron Afflalo, who was acquired from Detroit last summer.Known for his hustle and ability to slip through defenses for easy baskets, Balkman averaged a career-best five points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting a career-high 55.8 percent in 53 games with Denver last season.
Terms of Balkman’s deal were not disclosed. Read the rest of this entry »
Yahoo Sports reports
After drafting forward Joe Alexander with the eighth overall choice in the 2008 NBA draft, the Milwaukee Bucks will make him the highest pick ever to have his rookie contract option declined, league sources told Yahoo! Sports on Friday.
For Milwaukee general manager John Hammond, the rejection of Alexander’s 2010-11 contract option is a sobering admission that his organization made a major misjudgment with the first pick of its regime. The Bucks have until Monday to pick up the $2.7 million option or allow Alexander to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Read the rest of this entry »
#1 Hedo Turkoglu
If Hedo Turkoglu isn’t allowed to control the basketball and run the offense then he’s only a role player. You’ll get the contribution we saw from him during his time in Sacramento, San Antonio and in Orlando pre-Stan Van Gundy.
Turkoglu is only a high end player when he’s given large amounts of time on the ball + a huge amount of freedom to do as he pleases + is a key playmaker (creator) for your team.
So far, Toronto isn’t giving him those opportunities. If the Raptors continue down this path then (1) The team is going to be significantly worse than it should be (2) his $50 million contract is going to become an albatross (3) The team won’t be able to trade him until the final two years of his contract and will stuck with his overpaid under-productive self.
The Raptors (coach + point guards) have done a very poor job of getting Hedo Turkoglu enough opportunities in the first two games. Read the rest of this entry »
I was reading Tim W’s latest article on his website The Picket Fence and I noticed an interesting comment by Mike G
“Yes, I’m hard on him, but when you have the kind of talent he has, it’s a shame to waste it.”
Can’t a guy just have a bad game. Bargnani will never be a defensive monster but has a unique skill set that will allow him to impact most of the games he’ll play in.
Rashard Lewis and Lemarcus Aldridge are also below average rebounders but I never see anybody complaining about their sub-standard defence to this extent.
I started to write a response in the comments section but next thing you know I had over 700 words written … so I decided to post my thoughts on the topic here instead of clogging up Tim’s comment box. Read the rest of this entry »
Not a game log, just a few thoughts on the game.
San Antonio Spurs Thoughts
Starting Lineup
Can we please get Timmy more help on the backboards? He’s the only above average rebounder in the lineup. Read the rest of this entry »
I wrote this earlier in the comments section
Shaq was terrible last night. He can’t come anywhere close to defending a shooter of Bargnani’s caliber in the high pick and roll, and he can’t defend the ball-handler either. That’s a very nice flaw for the Raptors opposing team to have … one they can pummel the opposition with over and over and over again.
Andrea Bargnani did a very good job defending Shaquille O’Neal in the low post too. His post defense was good-to-very good last season … hopefully he can take another leap defensively in that area again this season too.
Andrea Bargnani had a very good game. Offensively he was brilliantly and defensively he was good (very good one-on-one, particularly in the post). Read the rest of this entry »
RealGM has the press release
The New Jersey Nets have exercised third year contract options on Courtney Lee and Brook Lopez, and a fourth year contract option on Yi Jianlian, while declining to pick up the fourth year contract option on Sean Williams, Nets President Rod Thorn announced today.Lee, Lopez and Yi are now signed through the 2010-11 season. Read the rest of this entry »
In a couple of days time I’m going to begin looking at the teams who have substantial cap space heading into next summer.
Here is a quick list of the teams that I’ll be looking at:
RealGM reports
The Oklahoma City Thunder have signed guard Thabo Sefolosha to a multi-year contract extension, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Sam Presti. Per team policy, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“We are excited that we were able to reach an agreement that will keep Thabo a part of our core group moving forward,” said Presti.
“Thabo represents many of the qualities that we look for in our players, great competitiveness, a team first mentality, and a strong work ethic. We believe Thabo’s best basketball is ahead of him, and his desire to remain a part of the Thunder family allowed for us to make this happen.” Read the rest of this entry »
JSOnline.com reports
Ready or not, rookie Brandon Jennings will be in the Milwaukee Bucks’ starting lineup on opening night Friday in Philadelphia.Bucks coach Scott Skiles confirmed after Tuesday’s practice that Jennings would start and veteran Luke Ridnour would be the primary backup.
“I felt like both guys played really well in the preseason in most of their minutes,” Skiles said. “It’s just my call. Even when I talked to Luke, it’s not like I could give Luke five set reasons.
“It’s something I’m electing to do, start him (Jennings) from opening night and see what happens. It will then depend on how he plays, how we play, all those issues.” Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
Haslem is out of Miami’s starting lineup for the first time in six years, paving the way for Michael Beasley to open at power forward. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra announced the starters Wednesday: NBA scoring champion Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers at guard, Jermaine O’Neal at center, Quentin Richardson at small forward and Beasley.
Spoelstra called it a “difficult and uncomfortable” decision. Read the rest of this entry »
The Salt Lake Tribune reports
As Kyle Korver prepares to undergo surgery today in New York to remove a bone spur from his left knee, the Jazz could be without the three-point shooting guard for the season’s first six weeks.
The Jazz have yet to set a timetable for his return, but Korver is believed to be operating under the assumption that he will be out for that long.
If Korver were to miss six weeks, the Jazz likely would be without both him and C.J. Miles (thumb surgery) for all of November. Read the rest of this entry »
Ric Bucher reports that the talks have resumed … but only one piece of the article really interests me, and, here it is:
Duffy said he is looking for a deal that would make Rondo one of the NBA’s top five highest-paid point guards. According to Duffy, the Celtics “feel differently,” Yahoo! Sports reported.
An unnamed source told Boston sports radio station WEEI that the Celtics offered Rondo a five-year, $45 million extension (an average of $9 million per year), but Rondo is seeking a five-year deal worth between $55 million and $60 million (an average of $11 million to $12 million per year). Read the rest of this entry »
WEII.com reports
According to an NBA source, Celtics forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis underwent successful surgery on his right hand on Tuesday, and will now be out 6-8 weeks.
In an interview with The Big Show, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck confirmed that Davis suffered a broken thumb. Though he did not give a specific timetable for the forward’s return, he did suggest that such injuries “are usually not season-threatening. … It’s a broken thumb. I don’t think it’s going to be that long.”
Grousbeck did say that the team expected to “suspend or fine” Davis. Read the rest of this entry »
RealGM reports
Los Angeles Clippers’ rookie forward Blake Griffin may miss up to six weeks with a stress fracture of his left patella suffered during the Clippers’ last preseason game vs. the New Orleans Hornets on Friday, October 23rd.
Do the Clippers fold while Griffin are out? Or do keep their new-found energy + excitement and handle business without him?
I think the Clips will play better than last season but will be a poor squad (27-33 win type squad) while without Griffin. I think the loss offensively, and the overall loss of talent, will hurt them pretty badly. Read the rest of this entry »
The power rankings on this site will be made at five different points in the season – Preseason, First Quarter, Halfway, Third Quarter, prior to the Playoffs.
Teams under these Power Rankings are being judged when at full capacity (healthy), and judged on where they stand within the league when at full capacity rather than through their current form. So teams that are losing because of injuries will not suffer, and teams who are top squads but are not playing to their usual high standards and lose 7 of 9 will not be downgraded because of it.
This is the final power rankings prior to the commencement of the 2009/10 season.
Eastern Conference
#1 Boston Celtics
They’re the frontrunner until someone proves they can knock off a healthy Celtics team.
Kevin Garnett looks primed for another brilliant season. Read the rest of this entry »
Nola.com reports
After watching hours of film from last season’s first-round playoff disaster against the Denver Nuggets, New Orleans Hornets Coach Byron Scott accepted the need to make changes in his offensive strategy.
Scott saw how the Nuggets’ guards easily hemmed Chris Paul to one side of the floor because of the Hornets’ predictable offensive attack that featured Paul and David West, or some other big man, on the pick and roll.
Paul handled the ball at the start of possessions a majority of the time, allowing Denver to stack the middle with the defenders, keep the lanes sealed and force the ball out of his hands with traps.
It eventually wore down Paul and rendered the Hornets’ offense ineffective. Read the rest of this entry »
Nice article on ESPN’s Celtics Blog
Ray Allen has been called a sniper before because of his accurate shooting from the perimeter. But the Celtics 14th-year guard actually studied up on snipers a few years back to improve on his free-throw shooting.
Asked about trying to better his already sterling free-throw percentage this season, Allen talked about how reading a book on snipers a few years back helped him start raising that number.
“I’m raising the bar so high, it has to continue to improve over the years,” joked Allen. “I’ve understood free-throw shooting more and understanding my heart rhythms and trying to relax. Read the rest of this entry »
This post is just some notes on stats that jumped out me during the preseason.
#1 — Michael Beasley
Similar problems for Beasley in preseason as in last season. He puts up a lot of shots but scores with very poor shooting efficiency and his rebounding is very poor for a big man. Combine this with his poor-to-very poor defense.
It doesn’t look good for fans hoping to see Beasley breakout this season. Read the rest of this entry »
The Boston Globe reports
In the early morning hours of July 16, two Douglas County sheriff’s deputies were combing through the crowds around the gaming tables at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe casino in Stateline, Nev., trying to find a certain high-roller, a sort-of celebrity, a wanted man. They carried a snapshot with them, just to be sure they arrested the right guy.
It wasn’t a face they knew well, but we do.
It was Antoine Walker. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article on Pistons.com about Rodney Stuckey
Like his mentor Larry Brown, John Kuester doesn’t look at statistics – and especially not point totals – in assessing the play of his point guard.So ask Kuester to assess the performance of third-year point guard Rodney Stuckey through the first three weeks of training camp and the preseason and he evokes Brown in saying, “He is going to go through parts of this season where he might not score a point and have a great game. That’s one of the things – not only him, but the entire team – understanding we have to make certain sacrifices in order for us to be a complete team. He understands his role is important to us from a defensive and offensive standpoint and I expect big things out of Rodney Stuckey.” Read the rest of this entry »
The San Antonio Express reports
You get a new rookie, the tendency is to want to coach him up right away. You look at all he can’t do, and you want to start making corrections and fiddling with his game.
When it comes to first-year forward DeJuan Blair, the Spurs coaching staff is fighting that temptation for now.
They aren’t remaking his shooting form. They aren’t in his ear constantly about playing defense. They aren’t trying to teach him post moves he doesn’t have. They aren’t trying to make him Mark Price at the foul line, or Dikembe Mutombo at the rim.
For the time being, they are just letting Blair be. Read the rest of this entry »
Dave D’Alessandro reports
A coach’s prime directive is to put his five best players on the floor whenever practical, and since it has become apparent that three of the Nets’ top five guys all play the wing position, Lawrence Frank has a dilemma to wrestle with.Is there a legitimate way to play Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams for stretches together – along with point guard Devin Harris, and Brook Lopez as the only big man in the quintet? Read the rest of this entry »
RealGM reports
Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that forward Antawn Jamison’s right shoulder has been re-evaluated and that the findings were consistent with the original diagnosis of a subluxation.He is expected to miss from four to six weeks from the date of the injury (Jamison sustained the injury in the Wizards’ 109-104 win in Cleveland on Oct. 14). Read the rest of this entry »
The Sacramento Bee reports
Bobby Jackson will announce his retirement from the NBA on Friday.”You’re sad because every player hates for this day to come,” Jackson, 36, said Thursday. “But also, you look ahead to the future and you see that you can walk away from the game when you wanted to walk away. Everything is intact. My family is happy.”
That’s too bad. Bobby Jackson could have helped somebody this season. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
The Portland Trail Blazers have verbally agreed in principle to a contract extension with forward LaMarcus Aldridge, a source close to the process told ESPN.com on Wednesday.
The extension is for five years and $65 milliion and will go into effect next season, the source said. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article in the Memphis Commercial
The 6-3 guard has never deferred to anyone in his basketball life. But Mayo now cheerfully operates as the guy most tuned into what it’s going to take for the Grizzlies to be successful this season.
He has brought a pass-first, do-the-little-things mindset to training camp in hopes of accomplishing a few things. Read the rest of this entry »
Hat Tip to Khandor
ESPN reports
Charlotte Bobcats starting shooting guard Raja Bell has a partially torn ligament in his left wrist and will soon decide whether to have surgery which would sideline him up to four months.The severity of Bell’s injury, announced after he sat out Charlotte’s 94-87 exhibition win over Milwaukee on Tuesday, is a major blow for the Bobcats, who could be without their best defensive player and team leader.
Bell was injured when his wrist bent awkwardly as he tried to grab a loose ball in Sunday’s game against Utah.
“The way I understand it, surgery would be 6-8 [weeks] in a cast with pins and then 6-8 [weeks] worth of rehab,” Bell said. Read the rest of this entry »
The Indy Star reports
The way Brandon Rush finished last season is the way the Indiana Pacers think he’s capable of starting this one.
Slated to start at shooting guard, Rush finished an up-and-down rookie season on a tear.
In his final 13 games, Rush averaged 16.9 points and missed scoring in double figures only once.”If he plays like he did that last month, we’ll be a very, very good basketball team,” said All-Star forward Danny Granger, the Pacers’ leading scorer last season. “He was scoring the ball. He was defending. He was playing very, very well.” Read the rest of this entry »
Interesting headline over at RealGM and the Denver Post
Though Denver is expected to be one of the best teams in the NBA this season, Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien said the organization would not be hesitant to make a deal to improve the team if the circumstances warrant doing so.
“We’ll see where we’re at,” Warkentien said. “I think one thing, and history’s proven it, if we indeed have slipped and we get to that analysis, I think our group has proven that we’ll take the driver out and give it a big swing.” Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
For $25,000, you can watch the New Jersey Nets from courtside — and have a player stop by your son’s birthday party.In a tough economy, it’s the Nets’ latest marketing effort to sell its pricey courtside seats. It’s called ‘Your Ticket to a Player.’
For $25,000, the Nets are offering four courtside tickets for 10 games, parking, access to a private lounge at the Izod Center with free food and beverages and something more — a one-hour appearance by a Nets player of your choice at your home, office, school or party.
“It will be interesting to have an NBA player come to your birthday party or come to your Bar Mitzvah or even just coming to your house for dinner for an hour when your friends are over,” Nets chief executive Brett Yormark said. “That’s a terrific thing and it’s tough to put a price tag on it.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Desert News reports
“That’s not really in my hands right now,” Brewer said of the call on whether or not he’ll come to agreement on an extension of his rookie contract with the Jazz, which is something that must be decided by the end of the month.
“If it happens it happens,” added Brewer, who apparently wants it to happen — but would become a restricted free agent if no agreement is reached soon. “I mean, I just feel like it’s a great opportunity. I enjoy playing (in Utah). But my focus is on just getting better this year, and helping this team out.”
Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor has vowed to talk this week with Brewer’s agent about a possible extension — up to five new seasons can be added — but he’s unwilling to characterize the likelihood of a deal. Read the rest of this entry »
Good quotes and article in the Boston Globe on Rondo’s defense
By his own admission, Rajon Rondo would roll the dice more than a few times a night. He’d let the point guard get by him, then swipe at the ball from behind, trying to poke out a steal, or “back-tipping’’ as he put it.
“I used to be good for four, five, six of those a game,’’ Rondo said.
Sometimes they turned into highlights. Sometimes they turned into buckets the other way. This preseason, they have been scaled back. And that alone, said coach Doc Rivers, is what could be the next step in improving a point guard who already was second-team all-defense a year ago.
“I think he’s a better defender this year than he was last year by far because he’s doing more team things,’’ Rivers said. “He’s not gambling as much, he’s staying in front of the ball, he’s doing a fantastic job of getting over pick-and-rolls. That was one of his weak points last year. He would reach on pick-and-rolls instead of getting in front of the ball and squaring it up.’’ Read the rest of this entry »
The Arizona Republic reports
The distinctive, effort-laden play that has made Dudley a popular reserve with Suns fans is modeled after Bowen, the retired San Antonio enemy.
“For me to play a long career, I have to defend like that and shoot the ball,” Dudley said. “I’m not someone who will take you off the dribble. For me to play 10-12 years, I have to do that and knock down 3s. I can come off the bench and stretch the floor. Defensively, I get after you. At the end of the game, you never know, if I’m doing good on LeBron (James), Coach will say, ‘Hey, keep him in.’ That’s my strategy.” Read the rest of this entry »
NY Post reports
Agreed, it’s hard to imagine Larry Bird walking away from a multi-million contract that has one year remaining after this one. Nevertheless, two NBA management sources, one inside the Pacers organization and one former employee whose initials are not D.W., contend the team president will call it quits at the season’s conclusion — citing health and lack-of-enjoyment issues. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve heard this story three times already in preseason and will surely hear it countless times again during the season … but it is an interesting story so here it is:
Given that confluence of events, it’s easy to see why Hickson, 21, is looking forward to showcasing his skills this year.
”Last year, I would say I was playing on eggshells with [coach] Mike Brown and his defense, but this year, I’m a lot more comfortable with the defense and I know a lot more,” he said. ”I know the ins and outs of the defense and the offense. I’m playing real comfortable right now.”
During this preseason, Hickson’s play has been an eye-opener to coaches and fans. He’s averaging 12.8 points, 4.3 rebounds in 21 minutes per game.
What accounts for his improvement? Hickson will tell you the reason, first and foremost, is being healthy.
”The back is at 110 percent right now,” he said. ”I did a lot of rehab over the summer and I’m ready to go in the season.”
He rested for much of the summer, then began hitting the weights. The result: Hickson looks stronger, plays with aggression and a lot more confidence. Where the power came from is obvious. The confidence? He got a little help from LeBron James, who took him under his wing the second half of the summer.
”Everywhere I went I had him with me because I knew the potential he had,” James said. ”And he’s definitely implementing everything he learned this summer from myself and himself.”
Hickson said they worked on his low-post game and shooting form. The results can be seen in his improved mid-range jump shot.
The article continues
”Before teams would dare him to shoot, and now he is shooting a lot better,” center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said.
The learning hasn’t stopped for Hickson either. With Shaquille O’Neal in a Cavs uniform, it’s only gotten more intense. O’Neal has stressed to Hickson the need for him to be consistent in his play.
”He’s a young kid who has a lot of raw talent. The good thing about him is he’s got a lot of good players to work with him,” O’Neal said. ”I was telling him you have to watch the so-called greats.
”You have to watch your so-called favorites and do what they do. Add a little bit of your own, then become the first J.J.”
More on the LeBron connection
”The maturity level has gone up in J.J. on the floor and off the floor to a certain degree,” Brown said. ”That’s not to say he was a kid last year.
”Yes, he was a young fellow and he did act his age, but just being around LeBron, who is a professional, helps anybody at that stage in their career.”
Hickson has been wise in taking James’ counsel. Given the way James came into the league and handled all the expectations and attention like a wily veteran, his advice is invaluable.
”When you’re a young guy, it’s about disciplining yourself,” James said. ”You come into the league and you’re so excited to be in the league, but you don’t know what it takes to be really good and what it takes to be outstanding on the court.”
James stressed to Hickson that he needs to be a professional at all times.
”You have to carry that attitude with you wherever you are,” James said. ”It’s more than just basketball and once he figures that out, basketball comes easy. It took him a year, but he’s back in focus and I think he realizes what it’s going to take for him to get on the court.”
Hickson sounds like he gets it.
”I’m just going to try to play. Whatever coach wants me to do, I’m with it,” he said. ”If I don’t play, I don’t play. I’m going to be a good teammate.”
It just goes to show you how much confidence LeBron James has in JJ Hickson’s ability.
Looking forward to seeing more from Hickson this season.
ESPN reports
Minnesota forward Kevin Love fractured a bone in his left hand during the Timberwolves’ 94-90 preseason loss to the Chicago Bulls on Friday night and will likely miss about six weeks.
Love banged his hand against teammate Oleksiy Pecherov’s elbow trying to go for a rebound on a missed free throw late in the third quarter and fractured the fourth metacarpal. The injury is to his non-shooting hand and he hopes to return at the end of November or early December. Read the rest of this entry »
The Denver Post reports
Joey Graham is holding out hope of making the Nuggets roster.
He shouldn’t have to worry. It’s all but certain.
Graham, 27, has impressed Nuggets coach George Karl so much that Karl has already talked about fitting the 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward in the rotation during J.R. Smith’s seven-game suspension when the season starts.
Those decisions are still to be determined, but what is clear is how much Karl likes the hard- working, rough-and-tumble Graham.
“There’s a ‘how we played’ last year that I don’t think any of us want to change,” Karl said. “Joey has that Dahntay Jones personality. They are different players, going to do it in different ways. But from the standpoint of courage and toughness and the desire to defend, Joey has those personalities.” Read the rest of this entry »
Jodie Meeks has played three preseason games now and so far we’ve seen a recurring theme
|
|
Minutes |
Points |
Rebounds |
Assists |
Steals |
Blocks |
|
Chicago |
14 |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Houston |
19 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Chicago |
24 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Notes
Okay, we’ll come back to this at the end … but for now … I want to show Meeks problems in the past in these non-scoring before talking more about this. Read the rest of this entry »
Ben Gordon as a point guard … is he able to play at the position or not?
Yes, I think he can.
Ben Gordon, The Point Guard
I think Ben Gordon is as much of a point guard as Mo Williams is. This means that he can succeed as a point guard so long as his duties as a creative playmaker are minimized.
This can be done in a couple of ways:
Option One – Key Passers/Playmakers
The easiest way to make this work is to put a Mo Williams or a Ben Gordon alongside a playmaking wing like a LeBron James or a Brandon Roy. Someone who can help with the ball handling and playmaking duties in a major way, a player who can be a lead playmaker for a team. Read the rest of this entry »
The San Francisco Chronicle reports
Stephen Jackson, fresh off a two-game suspension for “conduct detrimental to the team,” met with coach Don Nelson and general manager Larry Riley on Tuesday, practiced with the team and addressed the media. The headline of the 10-minute interview was Jackson’s request to have his captain duties removed.
“I don’t want these young guys to try to follow me,” Jackson said. “I can’t be a role model to guys who make the same amount of money as me. We’re all in the NBA. I don’t want to be a role model.
“Control your own game and what you do. Anytime I say something or get suspended, I don’t blame it on coaches or teammates. I man up, take it and am responsible. Read the rest of this entry »
There are two ways to watch the movie:
I haven’t watched the entire documentary yet, but the parts that I have seen were excellent. It looks like a fantastic in depth look at how Seattle was robbed of their Sonics team. So for anyone who wants to know more about that situation, this documentary is a must-watch for you.
Links: to Sonigsgate.org and their page on Vimeo
Update: I finished watching the documentary awhile ago, and, it’s very good. Interesting throughout and full of information.
I’ve got to watch the Cavs, Celtics, Lakers and Magic play two pre-season games apiece now and one Spurs game (they’ve been resting their main players more than the rest).
The Best Team
The team that has impressed me the most is the Celtics. They’ve been far and away the best team here in pre-season.
That’s not altogether unexpected though. The other teams are all dealing with larger offseason changes – Vince Carter & Co. in Orlando + Artest in LA + Shaq & Co. in Cleveland + RJ in San Antonio – while the Celtics are bringing back all of their main players and only adding a pair of key bench players. Their additions haven’t impacted their style of play much. Read the rest of this entry »
The Detroit Free Press reports
Don’t be surprised if center Kwame Brown and forward Ben Wallace begin the year as starters for Pistons coach John Kuester.
“We still have a lot more preseason to go — we’ve got two weeks,” Kuester said Sunday. “There are a number of challenges ahead of us to see how this all plays out. There are so many guys deserving of time, so it’s been challenging that way.”
Kuester acknowledged that Brown and Wallace “set a tone defensively for you.”
The coach wants people who understand “what it’s going to take for us to be successful defensively.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Sacramento Bee reports
Kings forward Francisco Garcia fractured his right forearm during a weight-lifting session this morning before practice. He will undergo surgery Saturday.
Garcia started the first two preseason games at small forward. His injury would seem to guarantee a roster spot for Desmond Mason, who signed a non-guaranteed contract last month and would have started the first preseason game if not for back spasms. Read the rest of this entry »
The Washington Times reports
Haywood dedicated himself this offseason to returning in the best possible shape and having another career year. He had no shortage of motivation. In addition to making up for lost time, he wanted to see his Wizards back in the playoffs, where they had become a fixture the previous four seasons. And this time he wanted to go further. Additionally, Haywood is entering the final season of a five-year, $25 million contract.
But Haywood – who is the longest-tenured Wizards player and said he wants to finish his career with Washington – said a big payday is the last thing on his mind as the Wizards prepare for their redemption tour.
“My biggest thing is winning. If we come out here and win, first of all everybody looks good. Second of all, I feel like I’m going to have a big part in it,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
For those that haven’t read the blog in the past – some information — I don’t watch college basketball so this is based entirely on what I have read/heard about the players over the past few months and from what I have seen during some of the summer league games I managed to watch during the summer.
Okay, so, the following are my expectations for each of the rookies taken in the first round as we head into the regular season. It’ll give you an idea of how much I expect each player to contribute to their team.
#1 — Blake Griffin
A near All-Star caliber season that sees Blake Griffin put up 18-21 points and grab 9-10 rebounds while being the best or second best player (depending on Baron’s performance) on the Clippers roster. Read the rest of this entry »
The AP is reporting
Memphis Grizzlies guard Allen Iverson could miss three weeks after an MRI revealed a partial tear in his left hamstring.The Grizzlies made the announcement before Wednesday night’s exhibition game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. If the timetable is correct, Iverson would miss all of preseason Read the rest of this entry »
Introduction
I think Blake Griffin is going to have an excellent rookie season. I feel like he’s got a good shot at putting up 18-21 points per game while shooting a decent-to-good percentage from the field, and while also grabbing 9-10 rebounds a night.
But just how good are those numbers? How do they stack up against the top rookies from the last 10-15 years? How do they compare to the top big men from that time period?
Well, let’s have a look … Read the rest of this entry »
2009/10 GM Surveys
Which teams and players are leading the GM’s predictions this year?
Lineups
Mike D’Antoni has been experimenting with a load of different lineups during training camp.
I didn’t pay much attention to the Suns following Amare’s injury so I missed most of their second half of the season games. As a result, I missed Dragic’s improved play.
Actually I had no idea that he played better in the second half of the season until I saw it written somewhere … I think it was a John Hollinger chat? I don’t know, I’m not sure. Read the rest of this entry »
Media Day Interviews
There’s a great article on Hornets 24/7 by Niall Doherty full of video interviews from media day. Niall talked to several of the players as well as the Hornets GM Jeff Bower. A lot of good stuff there. Well worth checking out.
Also, a follow up report from Niall Doherty with video interviews with Byron Scott and Chris Paul. Byron Scott sounds very happy with the team’s improved depth, and seems to have a lot of confidence in the new players that have been brought in. Chris Paul feels this is the deepest bench he’s had there in New Orleans. Read the rest of this entry »
Fisher’s Minutes
Phil Jackson wants to keep Derek Fisher down to around 22 minutes a night next season. He also said that he wants somebody else to step up and claim those other minutes, meaning Jordan Farmer or Shannon Brown needs to step up their game and make those minutes their own.
I vaguely remember Phil wanting to lower Fisher’s minutes at the start of last season, but that, as the season wore on and as Farmer firstly got injured and secondly failed to perform at a reasonable level post injury … Phil ended up playing Fisher more than he wanted to.
In fact, Fisher’s 29.8 minutes a game where the fifth highest minutes per game of his thirteen year career, and the third highest in total minutes. Read the rest of this entry »
Felton Turned Down Contract
Rick Bonnell writes
I’ve been told by someone who should know that Felton turned down a long-term contract from the Bobcats that would have paid him about $7million a season.
Barring a huge improvement in his performance, I don’t know that anyone will offer him more than that next summer. More pertinent, I find it a reach that the Bobcats would offer him more next summer
A $7 million a season offer would be around $35 million over five years. Read the rest of this entry »
Some good quotes from Mike D’Antoni in a NY Post article
Yesterday, D’Antoni clarified last week’s grand statement in which he called Gallinari “the best shooter I’ve ever seen.” D’Antoni explained he is not calling Gallinari a great scorer, but a great spot-up 3-point marksman, admitting he still cannot create his own shot.
Big difference, and a big problem when the Knicks need a big shot in the big moments. Read the rest of this entry »
Phily Burbs reports
New Sixers’ sharpshooter Jason Kapono is wearing No. 72 for a reason.
Since he couldn’t get 24 – Bobby Jones’ jersey is retired – and he’s known for his 3-point shooting, Kapono simply multiplied 24 by three.
I have never seen a player wear this number before, so I became curious and looked up basketball-reference.com to find out how many previous players have worn the #72 jersey. The answer is none. Jason Kapono will be the first player in NBA History to suit up with that number on his back.
Jason Kapono = groundbreaker
The Phily Burbs reports
Willie Green’s detractors claimed he was too small and shot too much to start at shooting guard in the NBA.
Yet Green, a career 9.5-point scorer, found a way to start 171 games at the “two” position over the past three seasons.
While he’s unlikely to continue in that role, now that new coach Eddie Jordan seems intent on using Andre Iguodala in the backcourt opposite Lou Williams, Green has been the backup point guard during training camp at St. Joseph’s University. Read the rest of this entry »
The Memphis Commercial reports
Marc Gasol insists he couldn’t be more ready to patrol the paint for the Grizzlies. Why wouldn’t the 7-footer be, following his summer workout program?Forget for a second that Gasol played a lot of basketball this offseason, helping his national team capture the European Championship.
He tackled something much bigger than tournament games in preparation for his second NBA season.
“Collseroz By Tibidabo,” Gasol said, naming the mountain in Spain that he regularly ran for eight miles to shed 25-30 pounds. “It was great because when you get to the top you can see all of Barcelona.
“But it’s not easy getting there.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports
Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson said he will not sign a contract extension with the Hawks and will play out the final year of his contract this season.
Johnson will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
The Hawks extended a four-year, $60-plus million contract offer to Johnson this summer. But Johnson said he decided not to sign the extension after mulling it over during the offseason. Read the rest of this entry »
Sekou Smith reports
Like all the other free-agent invitees in the Hawks’ training camp, Othello Hunter has designs on securing one of the open roster spots that are available.
But unlike most of them, he has extensive experience in coach Mike Woodson’s system. He knows the ins and outs of the offense and what Woodson is looking for on defense.
He also knows that the key to making the right impression is playing at a breakneck pace on both ends of the floor at all times, courtesy of spending his rookie season with the Hawks last year.
“I just feel like I have to play like that all the time,” Hunter said. “It doesn’t matter if I was already signed here [to a guaranteed contract] or not. Read the rest of this entry »
Yahoo Sports reports
Golden State Warriors forward Brandan Wright suffered a left shoulder injury Friday that could require surgery and keep him out four to six months, an NBA source told Yahoo! Sports.Wright suffered the injury when a defender slapped his left arm hard during a shot attempt in Friday’s evening practice. He is being evaluated over the weekend by the Warriors’ medical staff and will have an MRI on Monday. Read the rest of this entry »
Projo.com has a very good article on Glen Davis
Davis said he will take this opportunity to learn from Boston’s veteran All-Star big men and hopefully help the Celtics win their second NBA title in three years.
“I’m just trying to help my team,” Davis said. “[Playing less] would be a problem if I hadn’t already established myself in the NBA. It would be tough, like, ‘Man, I haven’t really gotten a chance to really play and show what I can do,’ but last year, having the opportunity to [show] what I can do in the league, it’s like, ‘You can play the game, so don’t worry about it if you don’t play as much.’
“Everybody knows I can play. Everybody knows I can hit big shots. My focus is still there, so it’s not about proving myself anymore. It used to always be about proving. I’ve got to prove myself to the coaches. I’ve got to prove myself to the world that I can play. Now it’s about becoming the best player I can be. I think this year is going to help me build that base of becoming that great player.” Read the rest of this entry »
Luther Head
It looks like Luther Head will get some minutes in the wing rotation while Mike Dunleavy is out injured at the start of the season.
The competition is fairly weak for the backup point guard minutes — Earl Watson + Travis Diener — Head should have a shot of earning some minutes there once Dunleavy returns. Having a good jump shooting point guard (not Earl Watson) is useful in that gun-slinging Pacers offense … Deiner and Head should battle that one out … although I expect the minutes are unfortunately going to be handed to Watson.
Solomon Jones
On another note, Solomon Jones has been impressing the Pacers coaching staff with his athleticism and activity. They’re loving his shot blocking ability. He started the first pre-season game tonight and could be threat for substantial minutes this year. Read the rest of this entry »
The LA Times is reporting
I t certainly feels like a stretch making such a claim about anybody at the ripe old age of 22 (rounding up). But while Andrew Bynum clearly has plenty of maturing ahead of him, it appears that he’s reached a “big boy” milestone of sorts. The Times and the Daily News are reporting that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’swork with Bynum will be scaled back this season. Ditto Cap’s involvement with the team. Read the rest of this entry »
Nice description of Bulls rookie James Johnson in the Chicago Sun Times
”He’s very skilled, can make plays off the dribble, has a good feel for the game and has good versatility, but he’s young and he’s gonna make mistakes,” coach Vinny Del Negro said. ”He has to work through it, but he does some things you can’t teach. He loves to play; he’s a tough kid. He’ll give us versatility at the three [small forward] and the four [power forward], but time will tell.”
Before the draft, Johnson was listed as a power forward, and he has the size (6-9, 245) to play there. But the Bulls always saw him as someone capable of playing both forward positions. That’s how Johnson sees himself. Read the rest of this entry »
A quote from Memphis Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley
“I know I’m going to be held a lot more accountable,” Heisley told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I don’t want to downgrade (general manager) Chris Wallace or (coach) Lionel (Hollins). Allen Iverson is here because of me and Zach Randolph is here because of me. O.J. Mayo is here because of me and Chris because I don’t think that was what the majority of people in the room were talking about doing (in 2008). I’m the guy who is going to take the heat on (No. 2 overall pick) Hasheem Thabeet. I don’t have any problem with that. The reality is if we start winning then people will be happy.” Read the rest of this entry »
Another knee injury for young Bill Walker
Doc says meniscus tear for Bill Walker and he’ll have surgery within a week. Expected out at least 6-8 weeks.
Great report from Michael Grange
But for all the changes the Toronto Raptors have made in the off-season, the addition of the 6-foot-8, 245-pound chainsaw has paid the earliest dividends, sticking out for all the right reasons on a team built around finesse and skill.
He had his first impact before training camp even started in an informal scrimmage last week at the Air Canada Centre when he gave Bargnani a dose of mid-season nasty. Bargnani took note and came back a day later with a sense of purpose to the delight of those who watched.
“They went at it pretty hard,” said Raptors president Bryan Colangelo, who acquired Evans from the Philadelphia 76ers for Jason Kapono in June. “The first day . . . by the end of it [Bargnani] was like a punch-drunk prize fighter. He looked like he was exhausted. It was fighting on the glass; it was trying to exert more energy on the offensive end because he had someone defending him – whether it was at the three-point line or inside – with physical force.
“I saw him come back the next day with a little different approach and he was more prepared for it. I said wow, if that’s any indication of how Reggie is going to make others on the floor better, it happened in 24 hours.” Read the rest of this entry »
Very good article in the NY Times
Danilo Gallinari’s scouting report came to life Tuesday night, with dunks, deft passes and fluid moves. From the sideline, Mike D’Antoni could only smile and try not to get carried away.
It was just one training-camp scrimmage, the Knicks’ first of 2009. But watching a healthy, energetic Gallinari run the floor and make plays underlined what D’Antoni, the Knicks’ coach, has been saying all along: the kid can play.
“I’m excited,” D’Antoni said. “I’ll try to tone it down. But you see that he knows how to play.” Read the rest of this entry »
NY Times reports
Peja Stojakovic’s summer on the beaches of Greece wasn’t all about relaxation.
”You think I was sitting over there drinking cocktails? Yeah, I was doing that, too, but I had to jump in the water once a day to refresh myself. It’s too hot,” joked Stojakovic, a native of Serbia who makes his offseason home in the Greek city of Thessaloniki.
Of course you weren’t just sitting on the beach partying and drinking tequila Peja … so what was he doing out there?
When the New Orleans Hornets’ sharpshooter waded into the Mediterranean Sea, he did so with a purpose — conducting a series of low-impact exercises while immersed in salt water he believes can be therapeutic. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ll be using this post here to keep track of players who have lost or gained a substantial amount of weight this offseason. It’ll be interesting to see how many players, and specifically which players, benefit from drastically changing their physique over the summer.
This is only an early draft, and I’ll be adding more names as I come across them over the next few days. If there’s anybody I should be aware, please point them out in the comments!
*********************************************
Which players are losing or gaining a lot of weight this offseason?
Losing Weight
Big Names
Yahoo Sports reports
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ Delonte West skipped a second consecutive training camp practice Tuesday night and the front office is unsure when the troubled shooting guard will return to the team, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Beyond the fact that he’s in his Cleveland apartment, one associate said, the reason for West’s absence is still a source of speculation for Cavs general manager Danny Ferry and coach Mike Brown.
Two consecutive practices? What the heck? Read the rest of this entry »
Toronto Sun reports
The happiest day of the year (media day) came and went yesterday with an optimistic Colangelo announcing that not only does he expect the Raptors to qualify for the playoff this season, he expects his rebuilt squad to actually make a run in the post-season.
“And that means probably putting yourself in a position (to be) the fourth or fifth seed (in the Eastern Conference),” the always-dapper GM said, while adding that the Raptors likely will have to win more games than the previous club record of 47 to accomplish that goal. “Are (we) shooting for a target of 50 games? Yeah, I think that’s what we should be realistically looking at.” Read the rest of this entry »
Great article on MyFoxHouston
Olajuwon said Bryant reached out to him for help with his moves in the post.
“He gave me the biggest compliment,” Olajuwon said. “(He said) You are the best (at the) mid-post and post move.
“He wanted me to show my moves to him.”
Olajuwon said his style of play in the paint is really suited for a guy like Bryant.
“In my mind most of my moves for a guy (with) that agility can use it better than the big guy,” Olajuwon said. “Because my moves are not really for the big guy.
“It’s for the guards and small forwards. So he would benefit most on the post because of his agility. Read the rest of this entry »
Nice article by Tim Povtak over at NBA Fanhouse
Ever since he was traded to the Orlando Magic almost three months ago, Vince Carter has said all the right things. He’s talked endlessly about fitting in with a team that reached the NBA Finals last season, about altering his game to fit with center Dwight Howard, and about being happy to change the way he has played his entire career.
On Friday, coach Stan Van Gundy finally asked him to stop. Read the rest of this entry »
RealGM reports
The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have waived guard Jack McClinton.The 6-1, 185-pound, McClinton was drafted by San Antonio in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft, 51st overall. Read the rest of this entry »
I made this comment over at Raptors Republic a short while ago
The one thing that makes me quite nervous about the Raptors going .500 or slightly over is the number of other teams who have similar hopes.
There’s about five teams generally agreed upon as having a shot at the #7 and #8 seed — Phily, Miami, Toronto, Detroit, Charlotte — and even if you beyond that, to Indy, Milwaukee and NY, you have three teams that if they’re healthy (Dunleavy, Redd + Bogut, Gallinari) that are capable of winning 35+ games. That’s 14 teams …
There’s going to be no easy games in the East next year. Read the rest of this entry »
Beware The Career Year
Last season Flip Murray had a career year in scoring efficiency. It wasn’t just his best season to date, it was by far his best season, unlike anything he’d ever produced before.
Check it out:
|
Year |
eFG% |
TS% |
|
2003-04 |
46.2% |
49.7% |
|
2004-05 |
39.4% |
43.3% |
|
2005-06 |
44.2% |
48.7% |
|
2006-07 |
43.2% |
There’s a very good interview on Cavs.com with Anthony Parker discussing his experiences playing in Europe.
Talk about the social-political aspect of playing in Tel Aviv? You were exposed to the violence right away. What was that like, living with that threat while trying to focus on basketball?
Parker: That was an interesting story, because two weeks after we got there the whole second Intifada started. Ariel Sharon went to the Temple Mount and basically the whole situation blew up. And the conflict was essentially 45 minutes from our doorstep.
But when you’re in Israel and you’re in the country, you don’t feel it. People are going to the mall, people are going out to eat. Kids are going to school. Life is normal. But you know that 45 minutes away, there’s a war going on. Read the rest of this entry »
I am going to compare Bargnani to made up player.
Introducing Player X
Player X is a set of general characteristics — average defender + average rebounder while being a slightly below average scorer with poor scoring efficiency.
Also, let’s assume Bargnani and Player X are equal as passers + screeners + turnovers per minute. To avoid overly complicating things. Read the rest of this entry »
The Boston Globe reports
The Celtics are looking forward to the return of Kevin Garnett. And Garnett is progressing in his recovery from knee surgery, according to president of basketball operations Danny Ainge.
“Kevin looks good, he’s in here working out every day,” Ainge said today from the team’s practice facility in Waltham. “He’s doing his training but he’s not playing fullcourt basketball, yet. Read the rest of this entry »
Let’s wind our memories back to Andrea Bargnani’s rookie season.
Andrea Bargnani improved consistently throughout his rookie year. He got off to a rocky start in November, but improved considerably in December and January, and then took his game up to another notch in February. Unfortunately the young Bargnani would suffer an injury, one that would disrupt his strong finish to the season.
Chuck Swirsky was convinced that Bargnani’s strong play from February onwards would have continued, and he even felt that Bargnani may improve on his performances. I mention this because I agree with Chuck, not with the rookie of the year vote, but that Andrea Bargnani was rolling and only likely to get better before the season ended.
So let’s have a look see at how Bargnani was performing back then. Read the rest of this entry »
The Washington Times reports
And now, less than two weeks before the Wizards start training camp, Arenas and Mr. Grover say the guard is at full strength and better than ever – a claim that, if true, makes his decision to finally work with Mr. Grover look brilliant and, perhaps, career-saving.
“Nobody could guard me before, and can’t nobody guard me now,” Arenas, 27, told The Washington Times last week, breaking a silence he maintained since departing for Chicago in July. “If I hadn’t come up here, I’d be starting off the season with a 95 percent chance that I’d be sitting out more games. … [Mr. Grover] saved my career.” Read the rest of this entry »
Bargnani’s 2009 Stats
I’m always ball parking Bargnani’s stats from New Year’s until the end of the season. Well, I’ve finally had enough, and took ten minutes to scribble down his stats for that period.
Firstly, the games
|
Month |
Games |
Minutes |
|
January |
16 |
569 |
|
February |
12 |
441 |
|
March |
12 |
399 |
|
April |
6 |
201 |
|
Total |
46 |
1610 |
Late off-season power rankings — A quick check up to see how teams who’ve made major changes fare after their moves.
There will be another power rankings edition near the the end of training camp just before the regular season starts.
Eastern Conference
#1 Boston Celtics
A 65+ win team that could win 70 games.
They’re the team to beat until somebody proves otherwise.
#2 Orlando Magic
The Magic have an unbelievably talented roster right now.
They have the dominant interior presence, the dynamic go-to guy on the perimeter, the combo-forward third scoring option, and an All-Star quality point guard. Read the rest of this entry »
At long last, the Suns have bought out Sasha Pavlovic
The wait on the expected release of Sasha Pavlovic turned out to be worth it for the Suns.
The Suns and Pavlovic, acquired from Cleveland in June in the Shaquille O’Neal trade, agreed to a buyout that would save $500,000 more than the Suns stood to save by simply waiving the guard.
Phoenix made the O’Neal deal for Pavlovic and Ben Wallace with the savings in mind. Wallace stood to make $14 million this season but took a $10 million buyout and signed with Detroit. Pavlovic had only $1.5 million of his $4.95 million salary guaranteed but accepted a $1.25 million buyout, giving the Suns an extra $250,000 savings in salary and another $250,000 saved from the luxury tax it would have cost. Read the rest of this entry »
AJC.com reports the following [quote from Josh Smith]
“I wanted to work more on my decision-making than anything. I handle the ball so much on the fast break and in transition that I wanted to make sure I’m thinking the game the way I need to be. I also worked on my handles and knocking down that mid-range jumper. I’m really not worried about the 3-point ball right now. We have so many guys on this team that can make that shot.
“I don’t have any business being out there this season with Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby, Jamal Crawford, Marvin, Mo and [Jeff] Teague all doing work out there. Read the rest of this entry »
The Boston Globe reports
Ray Allen said Friday night that he would like to negotiate a contract extension with the Celtics beyond this season. Allen, who turned 34 in July, is entering the final year of a five-year, $85 million deal he signed with the team formally known as the Seattle SuperSonics. Allen will earn $19.7 million this season.
“Of course, but it will be dealt with in its time,” said Allen, when asked whether he would like to play more years in Boston. “My job doesn’t change. I gotta go out and do the same things. We get paid to play basketball. We’re all in a great situation so we can’t look past this year.” Read the rest of this entry »
NBA Fanhouse reports
But some of that might be out of his hands. Harpring said he will have his Jazz physical on Monday, and doctors will have a say in whether he can continue to play.
“We’ll see once I get up there,” Harpring said from his offseason home in Atlanta about going to Salt Lake City. “We’ll have some MRIs and I’ll talk to (doctors)… There’s been talk over the past couple of years of whether I’m going to play (the next season).” Read the rest of this entry »
Sekou Smith from AJC.com reports
One of the favorite punching bags around here, Randolph Morris has done his fair share of work this summer as well. In fact, I’d argue that no [Hawks] player has undergone a more radical physical transformation this summer than Morris, who has shed some 60 pounds from his 6-11 frame in an effort to break into the playing rotation in his second season with the team. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on Ersan Ilyasova
Forward Ersan Ilyasova might not be recognizable to Milwaukee fans who last saw him at the end of the 2006-’07 season, when he played for a Bucks team coached by Larry Krystkowiak.
That’s the opinion of Bucks assistant coach Bill Peterson, who was in Turkey for a clinic recently and had a chance to watch Ilyasova during a practice session with his Turkish national team. Ilyasova will compete for Turkey in the EuroBasket tournament, beginning Monday in Poland.
“He’s improved greatly from when he played here for the Bucks,” Peterson said. “I think he will be a great fit in Scott’s (coach Scott Skiles) system. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
After helping the San Antonio Spurs win three championships and establishing himself as perhaps the premier perimeter defender of his generation, Bruce Bowen is retiring at 38.
Bowen told ESPN.com that he will formally announce his retirement at a Thursday afternoon news conference and said he would elaborate more on his decision then. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
Ricky Rubio won’t be coming to the NBA until 2011 at the earliest, sources told ESPN.com Monday.
Rubio and the Minnesota Timberwolves were informed late Monday night in Spain that Rubio’s former club, DKV Joventut, had agreed to trade his rights to FC Barcelona.
Rubio will be able to get out of his Barcelona contract in the summer of 2011, when the fifth pick of last June’s draft will be free to join Minnesota.
The news broke two days ago … and it’s terribly disappointing. Ricky Rubio is one of the most exciting players in world basketball and he would have been delight to watch in the NBA over the next two years. But alas, we’ll have to wait until 2011. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s a two part interview with Joe Dumars by Keith Langois on Pistons.com — links to part one and part two — that’s worth checking out.
Here’s a snippet — Why Dumars decided to split his cap space the way he did
KL: This is probably an oversimplification, but when you look, a year later, what the Chauncey trade achieved was to allow you to shrink and make as painless as possible the transition period. Now that you’ve used the cap space, did you envision being able to get as much done with it as you did? Read the rest of this entry »
Very good interview (oh, and part two is here) by TSN’s Tim Chrisholm with Jay Triano. I fully recommend all interested in the Raptors to read the whole thing.
There were a couple of sections which stood out for me though, and I’d like to note them down:
First Area Of Interest
The rookie and the starting two guard position
I don’t know if we really looked at the style of play so much because when you look at us you ask ‘are we a running team?’ No, but we are a transition team.
I don’t think with this starting lineup we’re going to outsprint anyone down the floor, but we’re going to be moving the ball and we’re going to be wise in how we attack. We get guys like (Hedo) Turkoglu, who can make plays, Jose, who can make plays. We added (DeMar) DeRozen, who’s going to be our athlete in that group to run and then we’ve got those toughness guys that I talked about. Then it’s going to come down to Chris and Andrea (Bargnani) being able to defend and play in the low-post area. Read the rest of this entry »
I was reading Raptors HQ a few days ago and came across an interesting comment by Tinmann near the bottom of an Andrea Bargnani article
I will always go back to that ESPN poll with NBA GM’s prior to Bargnani’s draft. The main thing I remember is a question asked
“who would be the best players five years from now” and Bargnani was the first choice of a substantial number of the GM’s.
Another commentator, Assistant GM, recalled the same article + result, except remembered the article was on NBA.com. I had no recollection of the survey myself, but I was intrigued and wanted to see exactly how many GM’s did pick Bargnani as the best player from the draft in five year’s time.
So, I tracked down the article and here are the results: Read the rest of this entry »
Mike Wells of the Indy Star reports
Injured Indiana Pacers shooting guard Mike Dunleavy might be back sooner than expected, his coach said today.
“Our medical people are very pleased with his progression,” Pacers head coach Jim O’Brien said. “I’ve changed my view point to a pessimistic one from a standpoint of him being ready in the middle of the season to one that I’m hoping he’ll be ready to go for game one.” Read the rest of this entry »
Doug Thonas reports
While I was at summer league all the talk of James Johnson was wonderous and hopeful. I overheard one Bulls staffer telling someone James Johnson was the second best player in the draft. However, with the media gone, the news leaking out to me hasn’t quite so positive.
The Bulls are privately concerned about his work ethic and attitude which was the one area I had some concerns with myself. Read the rest of this entry »
Okay, this feels like a pointless exercise … since Colangelo is settled, or close to, on his roster for the start of training camp … but I can’t help it so here we go.
I think the Raptors could benefit from making a couple more small moves — losing some of the dead weight on the end of their roster, and then signing a couple of solid minimum contract players who’ll provide more impact for the Raptors.
Here’s a few small moves Toronto could make to flesh out their bench
Dead Weight
Toronto have 14 players on their roster currently. They can only depend on 10 of those players, and I think one of those 10 guys isn’t good enough to be a rotation worthy player on a team with solid depth.
The guys who I consider to be dead weight are — Marcus Banks, Roko Ukic, Quincy Douby and Patrick O’Bryant. Read the rest of this entry »
Who blocks more shots? Korver or Boozer?
Last Season
Carlos Boozer blocked an abysmal seven shots in 37 games, or better said, 7 shots in 1197 minutes. That averages out to 0.189 blocks per game, or 0.58 blocks per 100 minutes.
Kyle Korver blocked 30 shots in 78 games, in 1874 minutes. That averages out to 0.47 blocks per game, or 1.6 blocks per 100 minutes
So, Korver got roughly three times as many blocks as Boozer did on a per minute basis. Read the rest of this entry »
A small quote from the bottom of an Andre Miller article
The Sixers have been searching for four players to fill out their roster on 1-year contracts, the same way they added Kareem Rush, Royal Ivey, Donyell Marshall and Theo Ratliff last summer. In a touch of irony, two of the guards in whom they have shown interest, Sacramento unrestricted free agent Bobby Jackson and Orlando unrestricted free agent Tyronn Lue, are also represented by Andre Miller.
I thought it was interesting to hear the Sixers were looking for four more, likely minimum contract, players to round out their rotation + roster. Read the rest of this entry »
Good roundup of the Bulls roster by Sam Smith
“The roster (is set) as of now,” said Bulls general manager Gar Forman, who is here with coach Vinny Del Negro to watch Rose’s play in the USA Basketball mini-camp. “We talk to a lot of teams to see if we can make ourselves better. Outside of a major type trade, I really don’t see us doing anything. We would anticipate we will carry 13 players. We have a qualifying offer out to Aaron Gray and all indications are that he will sign it and return. I like our roster. We like our young core and where we’re at. We feel pretty good going into the season.”
Roster
Guards — Derrick Rose, Kirk Hinrich, Jannero Pargo and Lindsey Hunter
Wings — Luol Deng, John Salmons, James Johnson
Big Men — Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas, Brad Miller, Taj Gibson, Aaron Gray, Jerome James
Read the rest of this entry »
Good interview with Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf in the Chicago Sun Times from a few days ago. Well worth a read. Read the rest of this entry »
The main issue with the Raptors remaining summer spending isn’t this year’s luxury tax threshold, but the 2010/11 mark. That is due to three main issues (1) Bargnani’s extension (2) Pay increases for top earners (3) The likelihood of the luxury tax line falling in a large way.
So, let’s have a quick look at the Raptors payroll for this coming season and the 2010/11 season … and try to figure out just how close the Raptors are to the luxury tax in both seasons, and how much they can spend
2009/10
The Raptors salaries
ESPN reports
After receiving an improved offer last week and taking a few more days to deliberate, two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash notified the Phoenix Suns over the weekend that he is accepting their two-year extension offer worth $22 million.
Nash’s agent, Bill Duffy, has confirmed that his client will formally sign the extension as early as Tuesday after ESPN.com reported the deal earlier Monday. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
Houston Rockets center Yao Ming has elected to have extensive surgery on his fractured left foot that almost certainly eliminates his chances of playing next season but offers hope that he can resume his NBA career and not fracture the foot a career-ending third time.
After consultation with a battery of doctors, Yao, 28, has decided to undergo a bone graft to heal the existing fracture and have his arch surgically lowered to reduce the stress on his foot.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas also went through this surgery, and he’s recovered brilliantly in terms of both good health and in maintaining his previous performance levels. Yao actually talked to Big Z about the surgery before deciding.
What’s the timetable for Yao’s return? Read the rest of this entry »
Thoughts On The Mavs
#1 Assets
What assets do the Mavs have?
So, the Mavs only realistic opportunity to add an elite talent is either through a Dampier trade or a free agent signing in 2010.
#2 Nowitzki At Center
The Mavericks don’t have enough assets to be able to acquire a high quality center, and to add an elite star to play alongside Dirk. I think they’ll only be able to acquire one or the other, and that elite star player is far more valuable to the Mavericks than the new center will be.
Ergo, the Mavs are hugely unlikely to be able to find a highly talented center and would instead have to settle for a mediocre body up front. I think the Mavericks have far better options by moving Dirk to center, and then signing more talented power forwards or keeping Marion at the four and signing more talented wings for their money, rather than the mediocre center they’re likely to get with the MLE. Read the rest of this entry »
This is an update to a previous post, to account for Detroit’s signings of Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, in order to find out how much cap space the Pistons have left
Detroit Pistons Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Pistons’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $41.95 million spread across five players. Read the rest of this entry »
Brandon Bass Will Be Joining Forces With Vinsanity Next Season
NBA.com’s David Aldridge reports
The Orlando Magic are trying to keep up in the arms race in the competitive Eastern Conference, agreeing to terms on Friday with free agent forward Brandon Bass on a four-year deal believed to be worth $18 million.
The 23-year-old Bass was one of the most coveted big men in this year’s free agency class, having been a valuable role player off the bench for the Mavericks the past two seasons. He played in 81 games for Dallas last year, averaging 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19 minutes a night. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
The Utah Jazz and center Mehmet Okur have agreed in principle to a two-year contract extension worth just under $21 million, according to NBA front-office sources.
Okur could have been a free agent this summer but elected on June 30 to complete the final season on his current contract with the Jazz at $9 million.
Sources told ESPN.com that Okur and the Jazz have quickly reached terms to extend the contract by two more seasons at $20.8 million starting in 2010-11.
Nice deal for Memo, and a decent deal for Utah. The length of the contract is a nice bonus for Utah, it’s a fairly short deal, and it spans the best remaining years (30 years old) of Okur’s career.
A frightening memo from the NBA
The NBA’s ballyhooed free-agent summer of 2010 might have quietly taken another hit late Tuesday night.
In a memo announcing next season’s salary cap and luxury-tax threshold, sent out shortly before the league’s annual July moratorium on signings and trades was lifted at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, NBA teams also received tentative projections from the league warning that the cap is estimated to drop to somewhere between $50.4 million and $53.6 million for the 2010-11 season.
Why?
The official league memorandum, obtained by ESPN.com, forecasts a dip in basketball-related income in the 2009-10 season of 2.5 percent to 5 percent Read the rest of this entry »
Andrea Bargnani
ESPN reports
Hedo Turkoglu is on the way and it appears that Andrea Bargnani will also soon have his long-term future secured with the Toronto Raptors.
Bargnani’s agent, Leon Rose, told ESPN.com on Tuesday night that the Raptors — who later this week will officially sign Turkoglu away from Orlando — have reached an agreement in principle on a contract extension for the 7-foot Italian, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Raptors in the 2006 draft.
The deal, according to NBA front-office sources, would span five seasons starting in 2010-11 and earn Bargnani an estimated $50 million. Read the rest of this entry »
RealGM has the press release
The National Basketball Association today announced that the Salary Cap for the 2009-10 season will be $57.7 million. The tax level for the 2009-10 season has been set at $69.92 million. Any team whose team salary exceeds that figure will pay a $1 tax for each $1 by which it exceeds $69.92 million.The 2008-09 Salary Cap was $58.68 million and the tax level was $71.15 million. Although league-wide revenue increased 2.5% this past season, the decrease in the Salary Cap and tax level for the 2009-10 season is the result of the formula used to set the Cap and tax under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
The new Salary Cap and tax level go into effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 8, when the league’s “moratorium period” ends and teams can begin signing free agents and making trades. Read the rest of this entry »
How should Danny Ainge organize his roster?
We know he has penchant for rolling the dice on low risk high reward players at the end of his roster, how many can he afford to have? How many reliable bench players would one like to see before he starts going with projects?
My Preferences
First Preference
Guards — Rondo, House and Pruitt
Wings — Pierce, Ray, first wing off the bench, second wing off the bench
Big Men — KG, Perk, Sheed, fourth big, Scalabrine
That’s 12 players who I am happy to rely on in their roles. With the final three roster spots, I’d like to see Giddens, Walker and Powe. Read the rest of this entry »
The San Antonio Express reports
The Pistons waived Fabricio Oberto this afternoon, returning the former Spurs big man to the free agent pool.
Traded last week in the deal that brought Richard Jefferson from Milwaukee, and then promptly shipped to Detroit, Oberto would have to wait a league-mandated 20 days to re-sign with the Spurs.
It remains to be seen how hard the Spurs will pursue him. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article in the Boston Herald
The Celtics, already strapped for roster space as they delve into the free agent market, have decided to part ways with Leon Powe.
That, at least, is the impression left with the 25-year-old forward following a conversation with President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge yesterday.
Powe, who is recovering from his third knee surgery, did not receive a qualifying offer from the Celtics by the Monday night deadline. As a result, Powe became an unrestricted free agent.
Powe continued
“Of course I was disappointed, because I want to come back,” Powe said today. “I love the fans. It was just a wonderful place to play.”
Powe walked away from his conversation believing that his time as a Celtic was finished.
“I wasn’t feeling a vibe like that,” he said Read the rest of this entry »
This is an update to a previous post following the trade of Shaquille O’Neal.
Phoenix Suns’ Salaries
Alright, let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Suns’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $50.31 million for four players. Read the rest of this entry »
This is an update for a previous Utah post since Boozer, Okur and Korver all decided not to use their ETO’s, and stayed with Utah as a result. How do those decisions effect the Jazz?
Utah Jazz Payroll
Alright, let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Jazz’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $56.87 million for five players. Read the rest of this entry »
Philadelphia 76ers Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
These four contracts combine to make $45.4 million.
Read the rest of this entry »
New York Knicks Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
These seven contracts combine to make $62.93 million. Read the rest of this entry »
Miami Heat Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
These four contracts combine to make $53.87 million. Read the rest of this entry »
New Jersey Nets Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
These four contracts combine to make $31.18 million. Read the rest of this entry »
Indiana Pacers Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
I wrote two posts on two separate sections within the NBA
Now, it’s time to round it out with the remainder of the NBA:
Los Angeles Clippers Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
These four contracts combine to make $48.15 million. Read the rest of this entry »
Dallas Mavericks Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
These four contracts combine to make $51.97 million. Read the rest of this entry »
Cleveland Cavaliers Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
These four contracts combine to make $57.18 million. Read the rest of this entry »
Adrian Wojnarowski has the story
As the NBA draft approached, the grim truth about Yao Ming’s(notes) broken left foot hung like an anvil over the Houston Rockets. The fear isn’t that he’s just lost for next season, but longer.
The Rockets and Yao’s reps are frightened over his future, and the concern is the most base of all: Does Yao Ming ever play again?
“The realization has hit them that this is grave,” one NBA general manager said.
Wojnarowski continues
For now, the Rockets have privately told league peers it could be a full season before Yao might be able to return to basketball. Multiple league executives, officials close to Yao and two doctors with knowledge of the diagnoses are describing a troubling, re-fracture of his navicular bone. Three pins were inserted a year ago, but the foot cracked in the playoffs and isn’t healing.
“It sounds like he’s missing most of next season, if not the entire 82 games,” one league executive who has had recent discussions with the Houston front office told Yahoo! Sports. “That’s all that [the Rockets] will concede quietly, but they know it’s probably much worse.” Read the rest of this entry »
Houston Rockets Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
These three contracts combine to make $45.72 million.
Shane Battier and Yao Ming both have two years left on their contracts, although Yao Ming does hold an early termination option on his deal. Tracy McGrady is an expiring contract. Read the rest of this entry »
Golden State Warriors Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
These five contracts combine to make $41.8 million. Read the rest of this entry »
Charlotte Bobcats Salaries
Alright, we’ll split the contracts into two sections, above and below $5 million, let’s start with the above $5 million crowd.
These seven contracts combine to make $53.22 million. Read the rest of this entry »
This is an old report, from two weeks ago, from the Memphis Commercial:
Former highly touted NBA lottery pick Nikoloz Tskitishvili’s response was concise when a Grizzlies free-agent camp came to his attention.
“Why not?” said the 7-foot Georgian forward.
The feeling was mutual.
I came across this article awhile back but I didn’t get around to pointing it out until now. I found it very interesting to hear Skita’s name once again, and find out what he’s been up to over the last few years.
The Grizzlies explained their camp
Why does taking a look at Tskitishvili make sense for the Grizzlies?
The answer is simple.
“We figured why not take a shot?” Griz general manager Chris Wallace said after watching the session in FedExForum. “Maybe there’s something there.” Read the rest of this entry »
Danny Ainge gave an interview recently on WEII and touched on Kevin Garnett and how his recovery was going.
Here is an excerpt from the WEII interview transcript:
Kevin, it was amazing. His entire countenance over the last six weeks of the season, he was just kind of down and grumpy and uncomfortable. I think he felt pressure to try to come back and he had all this pain in his knee.
Right after the surgery – I mean three days after the surgery – a smile on his face, he can bend his knee all the way. He can straighten it out all the way. He just went back to the West Coast the other day. Before he left, I saw him doing full weight workouts. He was doing squats – one-legged squats, two-legged squats – he was doing most of his whole routine again. His spirit is returned: his enthusiasm for the upcoming season, his hope. Read the rest of this entry »
This post is an update to the previous Magic cap concerns article. A new post was written to take into account the acquisition of Vince Carter and to assess how that changes things for Orlando.
Orlando Magic Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on Orlando’s’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $62.33 million for five players.
Rashard Lewis, Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson all have four years remaining on their contracts. Pietrus has three years with the final year being a player option. Their new addition, Vince Carter, has three years left on his contract with the final year only being partially guaranteed. Read the rest of this entry »
This is an update to an earlier post following the acquisition of Richard Jefferson.
San Antonio Spurs’ Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Spurs’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $59.71 million for four players. Read the rest of this entry »
A brief team-by-team look at what each squad will be trying to do over the summer
Eastern Conference
Western Conference Read the rest of this entry »
Golden State Warriors
Very hard to figure out what these guys will do next
Los Angeles Clippers
Denver Nuggets
Minnesota Timberwolves
David Kahn will be very active and I don’t know what he’ll do. Read the rest of this entry »
Dallas Mavericks
Houston Rockets
Very good article by Ian Thomsen for Sports Illustrated.
He picks the best #1 pick of all-time right through to the best #30 pick of all time. It makes for an interesting read.
Atlanta Hawks
Charlotte Bobcats
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers
Boston Celtics
The Celtics are going to try to do a couple of things
New Jersey Nets
Los Angeles Lakers Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on Lakers books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $44.26 million for five players. Read the rest of this entry »
There is an updated edition of this article following the acquisition of Vince Carter. Click here for that.
Orlando Magic Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on Orlando’s’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $52.5 million for five players. Read the rest of this entry »
Boston Celtics Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Celtics’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $56.03 million for three players. Read the rest of this entry »
Chicago Bulls Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Bulls’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $56.69 million for seven players. Read the rest of this entry »
There is an update to this article — after Boozer, Memo and Korver all decided to stay, and looking at what changes that would have for Utah’s summer decisions.
Utah Jazz Payroll
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Jazz’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $30.21 million for two players.
Andrei Kirilenko has another year to run on his deal after next season, while Deron will be just beginning his five year extension. Read the rest of this entry »
Washington Wizards Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Wizards’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $57.68 million for six players.
Etan Thomas has an early termination release clause but he definitely will not use it. Mike James has a player option and he will definitely use it. Both players are entering the last year of their contracts, as is Brendan Haywood.
Gilbert Arenas has four more years after next season, Jamison has two more, and Butler has one more.
I want to separate this number for a moment just to make a quick point on how valuable Caron’s and Antawn’s contracts are. Read the rest of this entry »
End of season power rankings. Which teams finished the season well and set themselves up nicely for next season?
Eastern Conference
#1 Boston Celtics
Nobody has knocked off a full strength Celtics yet.
If Kevin Garnett was healthy last spring, this team would have beaten the Orlando Magic and likely the Cavs too.
Good signs coming out of Boston from Danny Ainge on his intent to fill the bench with more proven talent next season.
#2 Cleveland Cavaliers
Not much to say here. I’d be surprised if they make major changes this summer, because those changes would likely come at the expense of their 2010 opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »
Update from the previous post, to take into account the Jason Kapono-Reggie Evans trade and a better knowledge of what slot the Raptors will draft at this summer.
Toronto Raptors Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Raptors books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $30.6 million spread across four players. Bargnani will be entering the final year of his contract in 2009, while Bosh has a player option following the 2009/10 season and is expected to opt out. Kapono has another season following the next one, and Calderon has four years left on his deal. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article in the Phily Burbs
With the Sixers looking to upgrade at shooting guard, it’s possible that Kapono, a 6-foot-8 swingman, could start opposite Andre Iguodala on the wing.
“That’d be Eddie (Jordan’s) call in the preseason,” said Sixers president Ed Stefanski during Wednesday’s conference call. “Eddie’s thing is he can play both (shooting) guard and swing forward. We’re just happy to get a shooter of his ilk.”
Some of the Sixers best players — Iggy, Young and Brand — are all very happy with the acquisition
Stefanski also said he received an upbeat text message from Elton Brand and similar reactions from Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young.”I guess (Iguodala) feels (Kapono) will clear lanes for him,” Stefanski said. “This is the kind of guy who helps us. We’ve been sorely missing a player like this. Read the rest of this entry »
The Portland Tribune is reporting
The Blazers have team options on guard Steve Blake ($4.0 million salary next season) and forward Travis Outlaw ($3.6 million) that can be exercised on July 1, but it sounds as if both will remain with the club – unless a trade is made, of course.“I don’t see a scenario where we don’t pick up their options,” Pritchard says. “They’ve both been terrific for us. We like those guys way too much.”
ESPN reports
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ crushing defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic Saturday may not have been their only loss. Ben Wallace, their enforcer and starting center for most of the season, said after the game that he may retire.”I’m going to sit down and talk with my family, weigh my options and come up with a decision,” the 34-year-old Wallace said after Cleveland’s 103-90 loss. “Nothing’s definite, but there’s a strong possibility that this was my last season.”
The article continues
“I haven’t talked to Ben at all about his future,” said general manager Danny Ferry, who was surprised to hear about Wallace’s comments.
Wallace, a veteran of 13 seasons, sighted his declining health as a major reason he may hang up his sneakers. He missed 25 games due to injury this season, sitting out with a right forearm laceration, a fractured right fibula, a bruised left knee and a strained left patella tendon. Read the rest of this entry »
Starting Power Forwards
Excellent 10 minute video clip on ESPN by Outisde The Lines on Cuttino Mobley’s life threatening heart condition.
Go check it out, great recap on Mobley’s situation.
Here’s a list of the starting centers around the league and their individual rebounding rates:
This is an outdated post, there is an update following the acquisition of Richard Jefferson. Please click here for that post.
Spurs Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Spurs’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $45.57 million for three players.
Manu Ginobili will be entering the final year of his deal, while Parker has two more to go, and Duncan three years to play on his contract. Read the rest of this entry »
USA Today reports
The Minnesota Timberwolves hired former Indiana Pacers executive David Kahn to run their basketball operations, four days after being rejected by Portland assistant general manager Tom Penn.
The move was confirmed to the Associated Press by a person with knowledge of the hire. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement wasn’t planned until Friday.
Wow … that’s an underwhelming signing.
It’ll be interesting to see whether he’s the head honcho, or just the cap specialist.
Past Wolves GM Posts
Three posts:
This is old news but it’s worth repeating …. 48 Minutes of Hell (Spurs site) does a great job breaking down the story
During the course of the aforementioned thread something else is suggested that should catch your attention. A board member named Bruno, a SpursTalk regular and trusted friend of this writer, cites section Article VIII, Section 2 of the CBA and notes that the Spurs are capable of signing Splitter for an amount greater than the rookie scale beginning next summer (2010). The section in question reads: Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN is reporting
Make that three candidates to withdraw from the Minnesota Timberwolves’ search for a new head of basketball operations.
Portland Trail Blazers assistant general manager Tom Penn on Monday took his name out of the running for the position after receiving a promotion from the Blazers.
Penn’s pullout, on the eve of the NBA draft lottery, follows the withdrawals of initial top candidate Dennis Lindsey of the San Antonio Spurs and former Miami Heat general manager Randy Pfund. Read the rest of this entry »
Pre All Star Break
Eddie House played 17.4 minutes a game in 54 contests. He averaged 8.4ppg and shot 43.7% from the field and 42.1% from three point range, for an eFG% of 56.6%.
Post All Star Break
Eddie House played 20 minutes a night in 27 contests. He averaged 8.9ppg, and shot 46% from the field and 49% from three point range, for an eFG% of 60.6%.
Thoughts
The All-Star break is a rough seperation Read the rest of this entry »
The Mercury News reports
I’ve checked around and the word is that Riley got a 3-year deal, worth about $700-800k annually.
I think Chris Mullin as exec VP, was making about $1.5M.
Before Riley’s short-shrift deal, the lowest-paid GM was believed to be Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti, at somewhere below $900k.
Presti definitely was a hot commodity at the time, and is even more so now, so you’d imagine he took the low money because he got full power.
Anyway, Riley’s low salary is probably lower than a few No. 2 basketball ops guys in the league.
If I have my numbers right, Riley’s probably making about half as much as the league average for GM/VP-types (whatever you want to call the No. 1 basketball decision-maker), which was somewhere above $1.5M per annum.
Lowest Salary — $700-800k
Average Salary — $1.5mil
Highest Salary — ? — Donnie Walsh?
Press release via RealGM
The Golden State Warriors announced today that the club has elected not to renew the contract of Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin. In a related move, the team has named Larry Riley as the club’s new General Manager.
“It’s never an easy decision to make a change,” said Warriors’ President Robert Rowell. “This case is compounded by the fact it involves Chris Mullin — someone who has provided Bay Area fans with many great memories over the years, as both a player and executive. He’s a class individual who will always be remembered for his accomplishments with the Warriors organization.” Read the rest of this entry »
This is an update to a previous post
So where do we stand now?
Nuggets Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Nuggets’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $59.51 million for five players.
Kenyon Martin and JR Smith will have one more season on the books following the 09/10 campaign, while the other three have two more seasons to go after next year. Billups’ final year is only partially guaranteed … and Nene + Martin + Melo have early termination options on their final year. Read the rest of this entry »
It will be challenging for the Heat to upgrade significantly this summer because it is up against the luxury-tax threshold and wants big 2010 salary-cap space to re-sign Dwyane Wade and another free agent (potentially Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire).
But owner Micky Arison said this week the Heat is willing to expedite the process this summer if the opportunity arises. ”If a player you would be targeting became available in 2009, why wouldn’t you do it?” Arison said of possibly trading for a 2010 free agent. “. . . We have not historically been a very patient organization. We’re an organization that moves quickly. If the opportunity came along, we would consider it. But we’re doing it under certain restraints.” Read the rest of this entry »
Update: Now looking unlikely as Minnesota continues to interview other candidates — likely they were unimpressed with Kahn by the end of the day.
Jerry Zgoda reports
Sounds like we’re finally closing in on a new Wolves GM.
I’m hearing this morning that the Wolves have offered the job to David Kahn, the former Indiana GM who since leaving the Pacers in 2002 has owned NBA Development League franchises and worked to bring the Expos and major league baseball to Portland. I’m also hearing the only sticking point might be whether his wife will move from Portland to Minny. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article in the Boston Globe with a few quotes from the teacher on his students, who are battling head-to-head in the Second Round of the Playoffs
The article starts off with some background on Howard and Perkins, how Dwight was #1 overall pick and how Perkins was on the bubble for the first round, yet how they share many similarities as brute force centers who arrived to the league directly out of high school.
Howard, of course, developed into the Defensive Player of the Year and a player the Magic could practically pencil in for a double-double. Perkins became an NBA champion and progressed into one of the league’s best interior defenders.
When asked about the potential he saw in the two, Ray said, “I saw what I’m seeing right now.”
None of this surprised Ray. Read the rest of this entry »
Slam reports
SLAM contributor J. Gamble [making his debut with us next issue] hears from a close personal friend of Rasheed Wallace’s that unless Sheed gets $8 million to play next year, he’s going to retire. If that’s true, we’ve probably seen the last of Sheed in the NBA.
I have no problem believing that Sheed is one of those players who’ll only play in the NBA so long as the money is right. The last few years, the grind looks like it’s been wearing him down mentally. Now whether that line is drawn at $8mil or not, is very much up for questioning, but the overall message here seems on point. Read the rest of this entry »
Q&A of the day
Question: I’m going to put you on the spot here. Will Lamar Odom re-sign with the Lakers? And what about Trevor Ariza? I would surely like both of them to return, as I feel they play key roles.
–Javier Cossio
Answer: Hey, I’m supposed to be the one putting people on the spot. But I’ll play along this time.
I’d be surprised if both Ariza and Odom return to the Lakers. The Lakers have already earmarked $74 million for only eight players next season.
If the two free-agent forwards command, say, $15 million a year in combined salaries, the Lakers would be pushed pretty deep into the luxury-tax stratosphere, where nobody seems to want to be in this economy. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article on Pistons.com on the season and Joe’s perspective looking back on it.
One section in particular caught my attention
The brief engagement with Iverson didn’t produce the desired results on the court. But that disappointment might offer Dumars something more valuable than another 50-win season, something he could use this summer – an affirmation of faith in the values that made the Pistons NBA champions.
“I think, first and foremost, I think I’ve always prided us on being a team that whenever we stepped on the floor every single night we were going to battle to win and going through this transition this year that wasn’t the case and that bothered the hell out of me,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Skipping Team Meetings
Sports Illustrated reports
Andre Miller and Theo Ratliff have skipped the final Philadelphia 76ers’ team meeting a day after they were eliminated from the playoffs.
Miller and Ratliff were both absent from Friday’s meeting. Neither player offered team president Ed Stefanski an excuse. Stefanski says he has not been in touch with either player. Miller and Ratliff are both unrestricted free agents. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
The presumed favorite in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ quiet search for a new head of basketball operations has pulled out of the running.
San Antonio Spurs assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey, widely billed as the Wolves’ No. 1 target, has withdrawn from consideration, according to sources with knowledge of Minnesota’s search. Read the rest of this entry »
Sorry to spoil another rumor with the truth.
Contrary to published reports out of Cleveland, Rasheed Wallace never approached Joe Dumars about a buyout.
Could you imagine? Here’s Wallace, struggling most of the season, missing 11 games with a calf injury, coming into Dumars’ office and saying, “Joe, I need you to buy me out so I can finish the season with the Cavs. You know, help LeBron get that ’ship.”
Wallace, as Dumars confirmed through e-mail Tuesday, wouldn’t be that bold, or stupid. Read the rest of this entry »
The Detroit free press reports
If it was his last game as a Piston, Antonio McDyess went out with guns blazing.
With his team falling further and further behind, he kept hitting shots and grabbing rebounds.
The Cleveland Cavaliers finished their first-round sweep of the Pistons, 99-78, Sunday at the Palace, but McDyess left it all on the court as he tied a career playoff high with 26 points.
He added 10 rebounds, another part of the highlight tape teams around the league will watch when they decide whether to make a pitch for the unrestricted free agent. Read the rest of this entry »
Regular Season Standings
Regular Season Matchups
Introduction
This will be a short series preview because, quite frankly, I’m struggling for things to say about this matchup. Read the rest of this entry »
Regular Season Standings
Regular Season Matchups
A quick look at the two player’s main statistics
|
|
MPG |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
|
Ray Allen |
36.4 |
18.2 |
3.5 |
2.8 |
|
Ben Gordon |
36.6 |
20.7 |
3.5 |
3.4 |
Wow, I was shocked when I saw how close the two’s stat lines are. Very interesting to see. Read the rest of this entry »
The Defending Champion Boston Celtics have finished the season with a record of 62 wins and 20 losses. That’s hugely impressive.
How impressive? Let’s have a look at every defending Champ from the past 30 years.
Follow up post to some interesting Head-to-Head stats.
Two interesting team based statistics
The First One
The New Orleans Hornets average 19.6 assists a night (28th in the league, third worst). Their opponents average 20.1 assists. Despite having Chris Paul, who’s about to lead the league in assists for the second straight season, New Orleans regularly get out-done by their opponents.
In contrast, the Utah Jazz obliterate their opponents on assist different by a whopping five dimes a night. They average 24.7 assists (league leaders) versus 19.7 assists for their opponents. Read the rest of this entry »
Nice argument put forth by Yi’s agent, Dan Fegan, where Fegan blames the Nets over his client’s lack of development this saying, proclaiming that the Nets are holding Yi back.
Great introduction given by Dave D’Alessandro
Dan Fegan, a superb negotiator who prepares for every discussion about a client like he’s on his way to a rumble, wants numbers to explain it all. And if that sounds counterintuitive — why go there with a stagnated 21-year-old, who averages 8.8 points and 5.4 rebounds in 23 minutes? — the agent has his reasons.
Fegan begins
“In the 10 games Yi has played 30-plus minutes and taken 10 or more shots, he has averaged 17.5 points, shot 47 percent, 40 from 3-point line, and 7.3 rebounds,” Read the rest of this entry »
Nice quote from Don Nelson on the Warriors needs this summer
Coach Don Nelson said a few weeks ago that with Monta Ellis proving that he can return to his old form, the Warriors need two things to become a “decent” team again: A good draft pick, and “a move or trade to pick up another need guy.”
Nelson listed rebounding, defense and passing as the Warriors’ biggest holes – “Put them in any order you want,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Nice snapshot of the Williams-Paul head-to-head matchups from the Desert Morning News
After Utah’s most-recent outing, Sunday’s victory at New Orleans – and with thanks to Derek Garduno with Jazz p.r., and the Elias Sports Bureau – here’s where things stand for games in which both have played:
• Williams averages 16.5 points, Paul 15.9;
• Paul averages 8.9 assists, Williams 8.2;
• Williams shoots 55.2 percent, including 44.4 percent from 3-point range, while Paul shoots 42 percent, including 24.1 percent from 3-point range;
• Williams is 11-2 all-time, Paul is 2-11; Read the rest of this entry »
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Buck’s books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
The Indy Star has an update on Dunleavy’s surgery and expected rehab
Dunleavy had surgery to remove a bone spur from his right patellar tendon and then had the tendon repaired last month in Colorado. He said there is no timetable on his return.
Wait, a timetable is being mentioned
One thing O’Brien believes, though, is swingman Mike Dunleavy will be out until at least January as he rehabilitates his injured right knee.
“Nothing that I’ve heard has Michael coming back anytime before January,” O’Brien said. “It’s not even on my radar, Michael Dunleavy coming back. I have to approach next year like he’s not coming back because you have to build a team.” Read the rest of this entry »
A very interesting article from Tom Ziller at NBA Fanhouse where he shows statistically how many more fouls Utah are called for on the road versus at home
Does the whistle explain Utah’s home court advantage?
In a word, yes … but not necessarily in the way you think. Utah doesn’t really get more whistles at home — the Jazz earn 0.35 FTAs per FGA at home, and 0.34 FTAs per FGA on the road. That’s a minor discrepancy. Read the rest of this entry »
I absolutely loved reading this news
Taylor also said the team will have a general manager-type to head up basketball operations, ending the committee-style approach it has used in recent seasons.
“We’re going to have one person that will be at the top,” Taylor said. “We’ve interviewed quite a few people.”
Yes! At long last! Glen Taylor is finally abandoning this leadership structure. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s an interesting article on Foxsports, written by Randy Hill, where they briefly look at all of the NCAA Tournament MVP’s for the past twenty years and assess how they did in the NBA.
OK, scouts often sound crabby and this year’s anticipated draft crop may inspire even less optimism than we’ve noticed in a while. But the notion of a Final Four MOP not translating to NBA glory is far from rare.
According to my unofficial research, half of the last 20 MOPs can be considered NBA washouts.
Check out the list, it’s an interesting group of names. Good article by Randy Hill.
RealGM has the press release
The San Antonio Spurs today announced that guard Manu Ginobili will miss the remainder of the 2008-09 regular season as well as the 2009 NBA Playoffs. Read the rest of this entry »
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Hornets’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
RealGM reports
On Sunday, the Cavaliers released veteran guard Eric Snow for medical purposes.
“We appreciate all that Eric has done for the Cavaliers both on the basketball court and in the community,” general manager Danny Ferry said. “Eric is a tremendous competitor. He had a very successful playing career and I look forward to watching his broadcasting and coaching careers unfold.”
Snow suffered a left knee injury just before the start of the 2007-08 season and was limited to only 22 games that season. Read the rest of this entry »
There is an update to this post following the trade of Shaquille O’Neal.
Phoenix Suns Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Suns’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
Originally two short Pistons notes, but two updates where added at the bottom of the post — Dice quote + Iverson shut down
Nice article in the Detroit News by Chris McCosky.
The First Note
The first note is an important one — Michael Curry describing the bench role that Iverson will play for the Pistons.
“Only thing I would have to remind him of is if I wavered on what I told him,” Curry said. “He’s coming off the bench as the backup two (shooting guard). He might get more minutes some nights when we can play Rip (Hamilton) at the three (small forward). But for the most part he’s backing up Rip because we really like how Will Bynum has played backing up Rodney Stuckey.” Read the rest of this entry »
Last month I looked at all the teams who figure to have substantial cap space heading into this summer, detailing how much cap flexibility they had and pondering on how they may use it in free agency.
However, those teams are not the only ones who are facing major financial decisions this summer. Now, I’ll switch my attention to teams who are over the luxury tax line, near the tax line, or who have players looking for large extensions which could put them over their limit. Teams who are facing major financial pressures, and consequently may be forced to make changes. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article — Howard’s return could be catalyst for Dallas Mavericks – in the Dallas Morning News about the soon to be returning Josh Howard
Josh Howard’s season is about to resume, probably Tuesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Teammates have indicated Howard has looked sharp in recent practices, but Jason Terry offered the clearest sign of Howard’s imminent return after Monday’s practice at the Target Center.
“He looked great,” Terry said. “Even last week, he was good in our last hard practice. He looked confident.
Eddie Sefko, the author of the article, continues Read the rest of this entry »
Nice information in the San Antonio Express
Barring something unforeseen and potentially disastrous for the Spurs, Tony Parker should become the fourth player in franchise history to reach the 10,000-point plateau tonight in New Orleans.
Parker, 26 years old and in his eighth season, needs just seven points to hit that milestone.
George Gervin, David Robinson and Tim Duncan are the only other Spurs enshrined in the 10,000-point club. Read the rest of this entry »
The Standings
Minnesota and Oklahoma City will be both be in the bottom half of the lottery this summer.
The three other teams — Denver, Utah and Portland — are all vying for the division title. Read the rest of this entry »
Andres Nocioni said the following in a recent interview with a Spanish paper named Olé — Spanish paper roughly translated into English by Google:
“This is the worst season of my career, no doubt. Not played well all year and I realize,” says the eaves of entry, chat with Olé.
- But the worst of your career or the NBA?
- In my career, without doubt. Neither Racing, with 15 years, played well (laughs). It was a season to run the garbage and I switched over to Sacramento …
- What are the reasons for the poor campaign?
- The knee-right (laughs). Bothered me all year and I could never play with my physical and usually do. When I have a lot of minutes, I had to loosen the knee. It is not an excuse but a reality. Read the rest of this entry »
Nice to hear that Ime Udoka wants to remain in San Antonio
Udoka signed a two-year deal worth over $2 million with San Antonio in the summer of 2007.
“Definitely,” Udoka said of wanting to remain with the Spurs. “I’ve had a great two years here. Just the comfort level you get from playing with these guys, and knowing the type of team we have, it’s great to be here.” Read the rest of this entry »
Does ESPN’s box score have the starting lineups correct?
Anyone want to take a guess at who is backing up those players?
Paul Pierce’s minutes on the season
This is when things start to get hectic
Basically, Paul Pierce, has been playing 40 minutes a night for the last 25 games. Read the rest of this entry »
Let’s have a look at our playoff hopefuls
Top Three Seeds
A few days ago, I had a look at the top three seeds and how they were likely to play out. It’s a near certainty that Cleveland holds onto the top seed, while Boston and Orlando battle it out for the second seed with Boston favoured to win it outright.
#1 Cleveland Cavaliers
#2 Boston Celtics
#3 Orlando Magic
The Fourth Seed
The Atlanta Hawks have locked up the fourth seed after a terrific home-stand which saw them sweep all seven home games. They Hawks currently have 42 wins against only 29 losses and are on track for a 48-49 win season. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article in Charlotte Observer on Raymond Felton — worth reading.
I’m not going to go through the whole article, just one or two quotes which interested me:
The new coach started out with misgivings about just what Felton was. Now he’s Felton’s biggest advocate. Read the rest of this entry »
The Sun Sentinel reports
The Heat isn’t likely to have many more practice sessions with 13 games during the final 22 days of the regular season.
When the Heat does practice, don’t expect Dwyane Wade to participate in much more than noncontact work as the Heat tries to keep its star healthy. Read the rest of this entry »
Ken Berger (CBS Sports) thinks so
The NBA regular season is too long. It’s time to shorten it.
Not by a lot. Not by 20 or 30 games. But reducing the schedule from 82 games to, say, 76 or 78, might alleviate some of these problems. Not all of them, but some.
I’m not overreacting. While the evidence seems to show that injuries are on the rise — just look at the lengthy list of big-name players who’ve missed significant time this season — I’m not one to advocate massive change based on a one-year trend. But the idea that the NBA regular season dragged on with too many insignificant games has been mentioned for years as a reason to tighten things up. There’s never been a better climate to fix the problem than now. Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s an interesting section to a Hoopsworld article written by Jason Fleming.
Can Cleveland Match Boston? Did you think when this season begin we might be talking about the 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers being as good as the 1985-86 Boston Celtics? Nope, me neither. Still, those Celtics posted the best home winning percentage in NBA history at 40-1, and the Cavaliers have a chance to match that. After last night’s 97-92 win over the Portland Trail Blazers the Cavaliers are 31-1 at home. (Not bad to be playing nine of your final 14 games at home to get ready for the playoffs, is it?)
So can they do it? Read the rest of this entry »
This is from two days ago — Doc Rivers concedes home court advantage to the Cavs
“We’ve earned the record that we have right now,” he said. “We’re not going to catch Cleveland, but we still have a chance to hold onto the second part of that.
The bottom line is these are not injuries where guys are not going to come back – they are going to come back – and we have time to put the pieces together. We know the picture of the puzzle, we just don’t have the pieces in place. We’ll get them together, it’s just going to take time.” Read the rest of this entry »
Detroit Pistons Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Pistons’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $26.95 million spread across three players. Maxiell will be begining a four year extension, while Rip will also have one year plus his three year extension to go. Tayshaun meanwhile will have two years to go on his contract. Read the rest of this entry »
Nice piece by John Hollinger in ESPN’s daily dime on Clippers forward Steve Novak
If you haven’t been watching Clippers games lately, I can’t say I blame you. But you’re missing out on a 3-point explosion for the ages.
L.A.’s Steve Novak went 6-for-10 from downtown Wednesday night and now is 21-for-34 over his past four games — including the game-winner at the buzzer against New Jersey on Sunday. The past 11 times he’s played at least 20 minutes, he’s made two or more 3s. Since Jan. 19, only Cleveland’s Mo Williams has made more 3-pointers than Novak, which is pretty amazing, considering Novak has played only 21 minutes a game in that span. Read the rest of this entry »
Sacramento Kings Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Kings’ books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $37.8 million spread across five players. Kenny Thomas will be entering the final year of his contract, and will come of the books the following summer. However, three of the other four are on the books for four more years, and Garcia is on the books for five more seasons. Read the rest of this entry »
Oklahoma City Thunder Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Thunder’s books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $18.11 million spread across three players. Both Collison and Watson are entering the final year of their contracts, while Krstic has two more years on his deal. Read the rest of this entry »
This is a top 30 list of player’s minutes per game. We’ll start off with the top 10:
Teams under these Power Rankings are being judged when at full capacity (healthy), and judged on where they stand within the league when at full capacity rather than through their current form. So teams that are losing because of injuries will not suffer, and teams who are top squads but lose 7 of 9 will not be downgraded because of it.
Eastern Conference
#1 Boston Celtics
The C’s started the season off with 27 wins and 2 losses. However, since that date they’ve fallen to 22 wins and 14 losses which is good for eleventh best in the league since Christmas Day.
Which is the true picture of the Celtics’ talent? Neither one, but the first is a lot closer to the mark. The C’s are still the class of the East and their recent win over the Cavs without KG was very impressive.
Check out the monthly splits for Boston’s guard Rajon Rondo
Nice work Rondo!
Rajon Rondo continues to have a spectacular season for the Celtics
Carl Landry was very lucky to survive a shooting in downtown Houston last night
Houston Rockets forward Carl Landry suffered a gunshot wound to his lower leg early this morning in a possible drive-by shooting or failed robbery near downtown, police said.
Landry, 25, was released after treatment at Memorial Hermann Hospital. A team spokesman said he suffered a flesh wound and is expected to be out of the lineup for one to two weeks. Read the rest of this entry »
Gary Dzen reports
Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva sent a “tweet” during halftime of Sunday’s Celtics-Bucks game, an act the PR in Sports blog says could be the first instance of a professional athlete using the increasingly popular Twitter service during a game.
Villanueva, whose Twitter ID is “CV31″, sent this tweet from the locker room as his Bucks and Celtics were tied at 41:
“In da locker room, snuck to post with my twitt. We’re playing the Celtics, tie ball game at da half. Coach wants more toughness. I gotta step up.”
Unbelievable …. Read the rest of this entry »
Yertu Damkule brought up a great point in a recent comment — saying how closely matched Andrea Bargnani and LaMarcus Aldridge’s numbers are when you compare them against one another — I thought it was worth further examination so let’s get straight down to it:
For this first comparison, I’m going to use Bargnani’s numbers as a starter on the season, which is taken from a sample of just under 50 games. Read the rest of this entry »
Check out Rip Hamilton’s games during the month of March
I wrote a post earlier in the day listing the top 20 scorers under the age of 25 years old. I organized then organized them by points per game, position and age.
This post will now take a different view of these high quality young scorers, and it will do so by asking one question — Well we know they can score, but who on this list helps their team in additional ways outside of scoring?
The question will have three sub sections — Who’s a good defender? A good rebounder? A good passer/playmaker? — which we’ll use to help figure out who the exceptional talents truly are. Read the rest of this entry »
How many players under the age of 25 are currently scoring 17+ points per game?
The answer is twenty, and here is the list (in descending order according to ppg):
The San Antonio Express reports that Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich is close being worried about Manu’s recovery from a recent injury. Here’s why:
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says he isn’t yet concerned at the relatively slow nature of Manu Ginobili’s rehabilitation from his latest ankle injury.
Popovich, however, does have a timetable for becoming concerned.
“This coming Thursday will be four weeks since he’s off the crutches,” Popovich said before Saturday’s game against the Rockets. “At that point, we hope that he’s on the floor working out. If he’s not, we’ll be concerned. Read the rest of this entry »
Nice graph in a recent John Hollinger PER Diem listing the top 10 records since Christmas Day
Best records since Dec. 25
Team W L L.A. Lakers 28 8 Cleveland 26 9 San Antonio 25 10 Orlando 25 11 Utah 24 11 Dallas 24 14 Portland 22 13 Houston 23 14 Denver 23 14 New Orleans 24 15 Boston 22 14
Great stuff from Hollinger Read the rest of this entry »
The Washington Post is reporting that both Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood, are unsuprisingly, not expected to suit up before the season is over
With each passing day, it’s becoming increasingly unlikely that Wizards fans are going to see Gilbert Arenas and/or Brendan Haywood in uniform before the regular season ends April 15 at Boston. Read the rest of this entry »
The NY Post is reporting an odd Steve Nash rumour
The unraveling of the Suns could benefit the Knicks. Suns owner Robert Sarver, during the Cavaliers-Suns national telecast Thursday night, admitted he could break up the team in the offseason.
There’s speculation the Suns, expected to miss the playoffs, could use an early termination clause to release point guard Steve Nash this summer and save $7 million on his 2009-2010 wage. Nash would have to play for the $5.9 million mid-level exception but wants to come to New York. Read the rest of this entry »
Memphis Grizzlies Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Grizzlies books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $14.64 million spread across two players. Next season is the final year of Darko’s deal, but Jaric has another year on his contract beyond that worth $7.65mil. Read the rest of this entry »
A very good article in the Memphis Commerical Appeal detailing a recent meeting between Grizzlies Owner Michael Heisley and some of the club’s season ticket holders.
Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley met with some of the team’s most loyal fans Saturday night, and reiterated his commitment to a three-year plan and keeping ticket prices in line with the product.
Refuting a notion that it is a civic obligation to support the Grizzlies, Heisley repeated his mantra of the past several seasons.
“We have to earn the fans’ support,” he said.
There were a bunch of interesting statements made by Heisley, but only one of which was of major importance to me and that was views on how the club would approach free agency this summer, and how they may spend their cap space Read the rest of this entry »
Nice story in the San Fransisco Chronicle today telling us all how Stephen Jackson’s weight lifting has helped his strength and in turn improved his performances
Stephen Jackson says he’s bigger and stronger than ever after adding 10 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-8 frame and tipping the scales at 235 pounds.
How has it effected his performances?
The proof is in the numbers, and Jackson’s have been bulging for the last several weeks. Read the rest of this entry »
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports
No one came out and said it.
They didn’t have to for everyone start talking about it. But everyone wants to know, is Marvin Williams done for the season? Is the lower back injury that the cost him Monday’s game against New Orleans going to cost him the rest of his season?
We were told he will be out “indefinitely,” with more opinions from specialists being sought. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article in the San Antonio Express about Drew Gooden and why he choose to sign with the Spurs
He chose the Spurs as the place to continue his career, he said, because he believes San Antonio could be the basketball home he has been trying to find since he was the fourth overall pick of the 2002 draft after a standout career at the University of Kansas. The Spurs will be the sixth team for which he has played in six-plus seasons, an odyssey he compared to being a player in a fantasy league.
“I’m ready to find a home,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
The Indianapolis Star reports
Indiana Pacers president Larry Bird said during the team’s West Coast trip he wants to keep Jarrett Jack long term.
Wahoo! Wait, what? Why? Read the rest of this entry »
It’s difficult finding a good player comparison for Greg Oden because of his youth. There has only really been one center in recent years who entered the NBA at a comparable age, and a comparable talent level — Dwight Howard.
So, I thought it would be interesting to compare Oden against Howard’s rookie season and see how he stacks up against the man who is currently one of the NBA’s elite big men. Read the rest of this entry »
Not unexpected news this far into the season, but if you had of said this six months ago I’d have thought you’re crazy
The Warriors are in the process of waiving seldom-used point guard Marcus Williams, but the paperwork wasn’t completed by the end of the day.The Warriors acquired Williams for a first-round draft pick in July, but he played in only nine games for a total of 54 minutes.
When asked what didn’t work with Williams, Nelson replied: “Everything.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Indiana Pacers record with Danny Granger in the lineup — 19 wins and 33 losses for a winning percentage of .365
The Indiana Pacers record without Danny Granger in the lineup — 9 wins and 4 losses for a winning percentage of .692
Nice series of quotes from Shaquille O’Neal below …. these barrage of insults aimed at SVG came after Van Gundy accused Shaq of flopping
Now, here is O’Neal with some more profane moments retracted:
“He (Howard) came with the same old, stale Patrick Ewing move so I tried to stand there and take the charge. The new rules say if you come through, you fall. But as I fell, I realized that it was a flop and it reminded me of Coach Van Gundy’s whole coaching career. The one thing I despise is a frontrunner. First of all, none of his players like him. When it gets tough, he will become the master of panic like he did before and he will quit like he did before. Read the rest of this entry »
There is an update to this post — to take into account the Jason Kapono-Reggie Evans trade and a better knowledge of what slot the Raptors will draft at this summer.
Toronto Raptors
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Raptors books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
David Aldridge is reporting
Last-minute negotiations before tonight’s midnight deadline will result in veteran big men Joe Smith and Drew Gooden being bought out by Oklahoma City and Sacramento, respectively, according to a league source. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN is reporting
The veteran forward and the Oklahoma City Thunder reached agreement on a buyout of his contract, sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher on Sunday. The Clevaland Plain Dealer reported that the Cavaliers will try to sign him immediately after he clears waivers. Read the rest of this entry »
Detroit News writer Terry Foster wrote a commentary article on the Pistons the other day. It caught my attention because he has some extreme ideas on how to fix the recently downtrodden Pistons:
We are watching a full-blown meltdown of the Detroit Pistons. And the blame should rest with team president Joe Dumars.
Rasheed Wallace throws a towel at a referee. Rip Hamilton is chirping up, saying he should be starting again. Allen Iverson is out with a back injury and rookie coach Michael Curry has no idea what is going on. And did I mention that the Pistons have lost eight games in a row and there is no help in sight? Read the rest of this entry »
The Detroit Free Press reported this yesterday, prior to the Orlando game
ORLANDO — Allen Iverson will miss tonight ’s game with a back injury, but when he returns to the Pistons, he will be coming off the bench.
Pistons coach Michael Curry announced this morning that Rip Hamilton will be back in the starting lineup, playing alongside Rodney Stuckey, in an effort to jumpstart a team in the midst of an eight-game losing streak. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
Veteran guard Jason Williams’ request to be immediately reinstated to the NBA after his voluntary retirement before the season has been denied, ESPN.com has learned.
League bylaws state that players wishing to return from the voluntary retirement list need unanimous approval from all 30 teams to avoid a one-year mandatory waiting period. According to ballot results obtained Friday, Williams’ request was denied by a vote of 24-6. Read the rest of this entry »
Atlanta Hawks Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Hawks books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That is a total of just below $30 million. Both Speedy Claxton and Joe Johnson will be entering the final year of their contracts, while Josh Smith will have three more years past 2009/10 to go on his deal.
The rest of Atlanta’s contracts
Minnesota Timberwolves Salaries
Let’s start off by looking at who is currently on the Wolves books for next season.
Here are the contracts over five million dollars
That totals $28.63 million. Both Mike Miller and Brian Cardinal will be entering the final year of those contracts, and thus coming off the books in 2010.
Now let’s have a look at the rest of their contracts
Over the next week or so I’ll be looking at each one of the above teams individually to see
Okay, so let’s get to it and have a look at each one of those teams Read the rest of this entry »
AP reports
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Ben Wallace will miss four to six weeks after breaking his right leg in Thursday’s 93-74 loss to Houston.
Wallace said Yao Ming kicked him as the two were running down the court in the second quarter. The 6-foot-9 Wallace managed to play midway into the third quarter before leaving for good with 6:19 left.
“I thought it was like a calf bruise or something, that would probably let up eventually,” Wallace said. “But it didn’t. It was one of those freak accidents that happen in basketball.”
Wallace saw the X-rays taken at the Toyota Center that showed the broken fibula.
“I know what that little white line means,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »
Michigan Live is reporting the following
Detroit remains an option, but the team’s struggles may lead to McDyess choose to play elsewhere.
“I hate to sell myself short of anything at this point in my career,” McDyess said. “So I have to keep all my options open.”
Also
If the right changes are made with Detroit’s roster this summer, McDyess said he would consider signing a deal that would allow him to finish his playing career with the Pistons.
“I just have to see how everything is going to go in the summer with this team, and kind of go from there,” McDyess said. “But like I said, it’s flattering that there are some teams that still think I can help them win. I definitely feel I have some options.” Read the rest of this entry »
Marc Spears reports
Mikki Moore, the free-agent center who has been pursued by a handful of teams since he was waived by the Sacramento Kings Thursday, has decided to sign with the Celtics, according to his agent, Mark Bartelstein. Read the rest of this entry »
Chicago Sun Times reports
General manager John Paxson has left the door open for Ben Gordon to remain with the Bulls.
Gordon, who will be an unrestricted free agent July 1, turned down two long-term contract extensions. He rejected a five-year, $50 million offer in October 2007, and a six-year, $58million offer last October. He signed a one-year qualifying offer of $6.4 million.
“In our minds, we have not ruled out keeping Ben Gordon at all,” Paxson said. “There may have to be another move in the summer that makes sense. Even though the last two years we’ve tried to hammer out deals and it hasn’t worked, I understand his value in what we are trying to do and his ability to score. That is important. But that’s down the road. There’s nothing we can do today to definitively know what may happen. But I respect and value Ben.” Read the rest of this entry »
The other day Joe Smith said he wasn’t seeking a buyout. But what is he saying today?
What is Joe Smith’s agent up to? Joe says he doesn’t know
The prime target remains Joe Smith. And while he’s said he’s not looking for a buyout from Oklahoma City, there are different rumblings behind the scene. Word is strong that, after being sent to New Orleans in a deal that was ultimately reversed last week, he could be on the move.
“I don’t know too much right now,” Smith told the Herald. “This week has been a crazy week all around, as far as being traded and the trade being rescinded. I don’t have too many answers right now about what’s going on in the office or what’s going on with my agent and talks with the team. Read the rest of this entry »
A quick note here, a quote from John Hollinger from a few days ago, detailing the Pistons recent record
Detroit’s home loss to the Hawks last night was its sixth in the past seven games at the Palace; the Pistons are 5-12 in their past 17 games and have exactly one double-figure win since New Year’s Day.
They’ve only won 5 of their last 17 games? Detroit? Really? Wow.
I knew they were in a rough patch but I was surprised to see their record was that poor.
The Oklahoman reports
Smith: ‘I’m not seeking a buyout’
One day after watching the trading deadline pass without seeing his name attached to a deal, Thunder forward Joe Smith said he is not seeking a buyout of his contract, contrary to media reports.
“What for?” Smith asked before Friday night’s game against Phoenix. “I’ve been here all year. Why would I want to do that now? I’m (not) seeking it.” Read the rest of this entry »
Some unfortunate news for the Blazers
Trail Blazers forward Martell Webster will likely miss the rest of the regular season recovering from a left foot injury, according to the team’s athletic trainer.
“If he has a shot at playing, it will be the playoffs,” said Jay Jensen, the team’s athletic trainer. “We’ll have to see how he does. But considering where we are in the season, and his past history with the foot, I think it would be a fair statement to say it’s unlikely he will play in the regular season.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Pacers two leading scorers and players, Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger, are injured.
Firstly, the news on Dunleavy
The Indiana Pacers announced Friday that guard Mike Dunleavy will be out indefinitely. Under the direction of the team, he will get other medical opinions regarding his sore right knee.
Once that process is completed, Dunleavy and the Pacers’ medical staff will make a determination on the direction of treatment for the knee. Read the rest of this entry »
Update below
ESPN is reporting
A day after deciding to let the trade deadline pass without making a major money-saving move, the inactivity seemingly has turned incredibly costly for the Phoenix Suns.
The beleaguered Suns announced Friday that Amare Stoudemire was forced to undergo eye surgery to repair a partially detached retina suffered in a Wednesday night rout of the Los Angeles Clippers. It is Stoudemire’s second eye injury since October and the All-Star forward could miss the rest of the regular season.
Stoudemire’s return to physical activity has been estimated at eight weeks by the Suns. He underwent surgery Friday morning, although the club said in a statement that “recovery varies on a case-by-case basis.” Read the rest of this entry »
[Update: KG out 2-3 weeks with a posterior muscle strain, scroll down for more on the injury]
The Boston Herald reports on the injury — how it happened in the game and KG’s attempts to return.
Kevin Garnett missed the game’s last 25:08 after straining his right knee, and the Celts just couldn’t make the key plays down the stretch. Utah scored five straight points in crunch time to take a 90-85 triumph.
Garnett appeared to injure the knee while jumping to convert Paul Pierce’s alley-oop pass late in the first half. He hobbled off the floor with trainer Ed Lacerte for treatment. Garnett came out for halftime warmups and tried to make some moves with Lacerte watching closely. After a few moments, he left for the night.
“He wanted to run and I just said no,” said C’s coach Doc Rivers. “Listen, we’ve got a long season. I’m not taking the risk of putting him out on the floor. We would have loved to have him, obviously. He probably would have made a difference tonight.” Read the rest of this entry »
A few days ago a source told ESPN that Raef LaFrentz was more valuable as a trade asset than Amare Stoudemire.Yet the Blazers couldn’t manage to find a decent trade with that expiring deal.
We’ve also heard how valuable Wally Szczerbiak was as a trade asset because of his trade asset, and again the Cavs struck out.
Frankly, and I have been from the start, I’m skeptical about all the pessimism that you’re seeing in various writers reports.
We’re seeing doomsday reports from overly pessimistic NBA sources who like to read themselves in the papers. This is nothing new, we see this every so often in many different avenues of life.
All I’m saying is, don’t take it too seriously until real information becomes available. Read the rest of this entry »
The Houston Chronicle is reporting that Tracy McGrady will be out for the rest of the season, and have micro fracture surgery on his left knee
Rockets guard Tracy McGrady said he will miss the remainder of the season to undergo microfracture surgery on his left knee, ESPN reported late Tuesday.
Rockets spokesman Nelson Luis said the team would not comment on the report. McGrady could not be immediately reached.
Some words from Rockets owner Les Alexander
“I always thought he was injured and has problems,” Alexander said. “There will be more news coming out in the next couple days. He’s a great player when he’s healthy and a great competitor.” Read the rest of this entry »
Terrible news for the Boston Celtics
Celtics president Danny Ainge said that guard Tony Allen is slated to have left thumb surgery tomorrow and he is hopeful he wil return to action by the playoffs.
The injury-plagued Allen suffered the injury on Feb. 8 versus San Antonio and has already missed 15 games this season to ankle and thumb injuries. Allen is averaging 7.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.21 steals in 19.1 minutes per game. The 6-foot-4, 213-pounder’s injury opens the door for more playing time for guard Gabe Pruitt.
“I hope he’s ready for the playoffs,” Ainge said. Read the rest of this entry »
John Hollinger added this at the end of his article on All-Star Saturday
Finally, let me share a juicy tip from a league source on the state of the salary cap: Basically, it’s going to be worse than a lot of people expect, and the luxury tax level next year is going to be even lower than several teams are planning for now; the implications are going to be huge as we head into next year.
Here’s the more interesting part of what I was told — it may just be the tip of the iceberg. The salary cap (and thus the tax level) could potentially drop massively in 2010; my source used the term “bloodbath.” Read the rest of this entry »
This is bloody brilliant, congratulations to Pat Riley for putting his team in an optimum position to take advantage of free agency in 2010.
The Contracts
Let’s have a look at what contracts are on the books:
Technically, that’s all they have to have on their team. They have a few other contracts but they’re team options and non-guaranteed deals so they can be jettisoned for maximum cap flexibility. Read the rest of this entry »
The Shawn Marion trade has opened some possibilities for the 2009 free agency period, this post intends to look at that situation.
I also made a post on the 2010 situation, for more on that click here.
The Raptors Salary Situation
Firstly, let’s start off with the Raptors contracts and find out how much money they may have to spend next season:
That is a total of $46.3mil for a total of eight players. Read the rest of this entry »
This an update to a previous post describing the Raps cap situation in the summer of 2010. This update is a response to the acquisition of Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks, which change the picture significantly.
I’d also like to remind everyone I’m not a cap expert, this is merely my best understanding of the situation.
Let’s start of with an assumption of a salary cap of $62mil. Let’s also work under the assumption that Bryan Colangelo does not add any contracts to the books between now and the summer of 2010.
Okay, the big salaries
The excellent annual article from Bill Simmons listing the top 40 players in the NBA by their trade value. I’d recommend everyone to read the article, it’s a great read and very enjoyable.
The article also has links to all previous years dating back to 2002, anyone feeling nostalgic? They’re as good now as they were back then.
I look forward to this article every year, great stuff, thank you Bill Simmons.
Here’s the link
Rockets guard Tracy McGrady could miss the remainder of the season, according to sources close to Local 2 sports. An MRI revealed missing cartilage in his left knee, which may require microfracture surgery to repair.
The possibility remains, however, that McGrady will try to finish the season. Dr. James Andrews, generally regarded as the premier orthopaedic surgeon in the country for this type of injury, will review the MRI before a final decision is made. Andrews advised those close to McGrady, that a microfracture surgery should only be used in a career saving situation.
McGrady and the Rockets will discuss options in
a meeting at Toyota Center prior to tonight’s game against Sacramento. At this point, the Rockets have no comment on the situation.
This is potentially season-ending news for the Houston Rockets.
I’m sure we’ll find out more about this injury situation over the next few days.
Congratulations to Mo Williams being selected as an All-Star as a replacement for the injured Chris Bosh.
Cavaliers coach Mike Brown woke him up from his nap Tuesday afternoon and told him he’d be over in five seconds.
“It was literally five seconds,” a grinning Williams said.
Brown had planned to make Williams stew a bit, but the coach could not contain himself. Instead, he blurted out the news that Williams had been named to replace the injured Chris Bosh on the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Read the rest of this entry »
These are Paul Millsap’s latest five games:
Over the past five games Millsap has only averaged 9 points and 6 rebounds in his 31 minutes of game time. That’s terrible by his lofty standards.
As a starter Millsap was averaging 16.4ppg and 10.4rpg. It wasn’t just the incredible quality Millsap was displaying, but the outstanding consistency that came with it. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
Elton Brand’s first season in Philadelphia is coming to an abrupt ending.
Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com on Thursday afternoon that Brand will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery Monday after a failed attempt to play through the injury. The Sixers’ marquee summer signing has averaged a mere 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in less than 20 minutes per game in six outings since Dec. 17. He sat out 16 games after dislocating his shoulder in a home game against the Milwaukee Bucks. The former All-Star, who turns 30 on March 11, managed to play nearly nine minutes in Tuesday’s one-point loss to the Boston Celtics, sitting out the entire second half.
Terrible news for Philadelphia
Awhile ago, I mentioned and briefly talked about the possibility of Philadelphia trading Elton Brand — well this injury has just ruled that out because nobody is going to try and acquire Brand prior to the deadline now. Read the rest of this entry »
Derek Rose’s assists have been rising each month
Nice work!
Oh, terrible news for the Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks General Manager John Hammond announced today that center Andrew Bogut (7-0, 260) has an incomplete stress fracture in his lower back. Bogut went through a series of tests and evaluations earlier this week that revealed the injury. He will be sidelined for a minimum of eight weeks at which time he will be re-evaluated. In the meantime, he will rehabilitate the injury with strengthening exercises and rest.
The Bucks are already without Michael Redd, and now they lose Andrew Bogut on top of that. That’s painful. A minimum of two months out likely rules Bogut out for the season.
The Bucks were one of the league’s best defensive + rebounding teams while Bogut was healthy, that strong backbone to the team gave them a good chance of making the playoffs.
They might have been able to make the playoffs without Michael Redd, but I don’t think they can make the playoffs without Bogut, nevermind without both.
It’s a sad day for the Bucks.
Side Note: The bad news just keeps getting worse and worse for the Bucks. Today the Bucks starting point guard Luke Ridnour broke his thumb during practice and will be out for a month.
The San Antonio Spurs Ian Mahinmi is out for the season:
Ian Mahinmi, the star-crossed Spurs center who has not played in a game this season due to injuries, underwent successful surgery to remove a small piece of avulsed bone in his right ankle Friday.
The surgery will keep Mahinmi out 6 to 10 weeks, more or less sapping any faint hope of the second-year player contributing to the Spurs this season.
This has been a longstanding problem for Mahinmi this season, a problem which the Spurs doctors have found very difficult to find
Mahinmi originally injured the ankle in a pre-training camp workout on Aug. 4. When swelling refused to subside in a reasonable amount of time, the team comissioned as many as eight MRI tests on the ankle to determine the problem, coach Gregg Popovich said before Saturday’s game against New Orleans.
The bone spur, Popovich said, “showed up on none.” Read the rest of this entry »
Sports Illustrated reports
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson could miss the rest of the season for the Orlando Magic because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder.
An MRI exam revealed the injury Tuesday, the team announced.
Nelson will decide over the next week whether he will have surgery or attempt rehabilitation. If surgery is the option, his season is likely over. If he passes on the surgery, he’ll likely miss several weeks.
“At some point in time, he’s going to have to have surgery. That’s a given. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it,” Magic general manager Otis Smith said Tuesday.
Tragic news for Orlando and Jameer Nelson. You have to feel for Nelson, he was playing the best basketball of his life, helping to lead his squad to one of the best records in the league, about to play in his first All-Star Game and his team has a legitimate shot at the title. Most of that, perhaps all of that, has been taken from him because of this injury. Read the rest of this entry »
Andrew Bynum has been diagnosed with a torn MCL. The likely date for his return has been ruled at two to three months which is sometime in April, with the playoffs starting in mid-April. For more on the injury please click this link.
So what does this mean for (a) the Los Angeles Lakers? (b) the Western Conference? (c) the entire NBA?
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers should work under the assumption that they’ll have to play the rest of the regular season without Andrew Bynum.
Obviously, the Lakers are going to react by replacing Andrew Bynum with Lamar Odom in the starting lineup. However, I’d also like to see them make a second change to the starting unit, to replace Luke Walton with Trevor Ariza for the following two reasons:
This post will be updated as new information becomes available, the updates will be at the bottom of the post.
The Final verdict is in, Bynum will be out for 2-3 months, go to the bottom of this post for more information.
This just happened a short while ago out in Memphis:
So, is everyone’s worst fears flooding the gates right now? His teammates looked very worried. The knock on effects from a Bynum injury are massive, it would be a huge detriment to LA, as well as opening up the West for the rest of the pack. Read the rest of this entry »
Steve Adamek reports
The Knicks’ appeal to get a disabled player salary-cap exception for Cuttino Mobley was denied by the NBA late Friday, team president Donnie Walsh said Saturday morning.
It would not only have given them a nearly $4.5 million cap slot immediately to use either in a deal or to sign another player not only now, but into next season, but also get his salary (for this season and next) off their cap and enable them to take him off their roster, .
The league, Walsh said, essentially determined that Mobley’s heart condition, which forced him to retire shortly after the Knicks acquired him from the Clippers on Nov. 21, but with which he had played before that this season, was a pre-existing condition.
The Knicks, who discovered it in what was a more extensive physical than Mobley said he got from the Clippers, argued that it wasn’t, saying they were the ones to discover its extent after the trade.
So no $4.5mil exception for the Knicks. That would have been a very useful asset to have.
It’ll be interesting to see whether NY buyout Mobley, or keep him on the roster up until 2010 in case a trade opportunity rears it’s head.
I posted a couple of quotes from Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge in the comments section of a recent post, the All-Star reserves announcement, quotes where Doc and Danny displayed their disappointment with Ray Allen not getting the All-Star spot they felt Ray deserved.
Here’s Danny’s words:
“Now that he’s having the best season of his career – the most efficient season of his career – this happens?” the Celtics [team stats] executive director of basketball operations asked.
“Ray is the most efficient scorer in the league. He’s one of the best wing players in the conference and arguably our best offensive player.
“I think it’s an interesting thing because the coaches vote on this, and they’re always preaching that you should sacrifice so your team can win. And then they go and pick other players.
Anyway, I felt these quotes deserved a follow up post so here it is.
50 — 40 — 90
I’m sure everybody has seen those numbers before, they’re the holy grail, the holy grail for jump shooting excellence. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s a good article in the Detroit Free Press today, written by Drew Sharpe, titled “Pistons Don’t Measure Up To Elite Teams Anymore”
Boston tonight. Cleveland on Sunday.
It’s being promoted as a big weekend — an opportunity for the Pistons to measure themselves against the top competition in the Eastern Conference. But the Pistons could go 2-0 or 0-2 and it won’t change a thing.
The Pistons, in their disjointed state, could not beat the Celtics or the Cavaliers in a best-of-seven playoff series.
These Pistons simply aren’t good enough, and it’s time to accept that truth. There are no moves to be made that could alter the fading illusion of the Pistons as championship contenders.
Sharpe feels time has finally caught up with the Pistons
The Pistons aren’t returning to the Eastern Conference finals for a seventh straight year. They’d be lucky to escape the first round considering the best seeding they can hope for is a No. 4.
Their decline isn’t because of a trade they shouldn’t have made or a head coach they shouldn’t have hired.
They’re declining because it’s their time. Why is that so hard to accept?
The rest of the article mostly talks about how Rasheed/Iverson are too valuable as expiring contracts, so they can’t trade them while looking for a quick fix, and that the key to their future is Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire but they’re not available for 12-18 more months. It’s a good read.
————————————
I agree with the premise of the article, I do not think the Pistons are one of the East’s elite anymore. I think they are, however, the East’s fourth best team and they have enough talent there to be a spoiler team.
Good article over at ESPN by Chris Sheridan ranking some of the best trade assets in the NBA today. I’d recommend checking out the article in full.
The one area of most interest to me was the final one, the trade exceptions, because I always lose track of them
ASSET No. 12: Expiring trade exceptions
OWNERS: Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver NuggetsA trade exception allows the acquiring team to take on a player making an equal or lesser amount of salary without the trade having to conform to the 125 percent rule. There are six trade exceptions that expire Feb. 23, the largest of which belongs to the Bulls: a $5.205 million exception from the deal that sent Joe Smith to Cleveland last year. The Cavs have a $1.63 million exception from including Cedric Simmons in that deal, and the Thunder have a $1.89 million exception from the Delonte West end of that same trade. Two of the Rockets’ six trade exceptions (Bonzi Wells, $2.284M, and Kirk Snyder, $917K) expire Feb. 23, and the Nuggets have an expiring $771K exception from last year’s Von Wafer deal.
The article also details some of the most valuable future draft picks which have been traded, and which teams hold them. Well worth checking out.
The Clippers have signed guard Fred Jones.
The Clippers signed Fred Jones for the remainder of the season.
His second 10-day contract was due to expire after Wednesday’s game, and he was given the good news by Dunleavy in the hallway beforehand.
Congratulations to Freddie Jones for surviving the first cut in early January, then the first 10 day contract, and a second 10 day contract, until he finally won a place on the squad for the remainder of the season.
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Mike Dunleavy says that he has no interest in trading any of his three big men prior to the trading deadline
Healthy or not, Clippers coach and general manager Mike Dunleavy said he won’t consider dealing any of them before the Feb. 19 trade deadline.
“No plans at all,” Dunleavy said before the game. “We want to see how they play together. We think they can be one of the best front lines in basketball
Dunleavy also believes that the trio can play alongside one another effectively
I think they can work well together; I just haven’t seen it happen yet.”
Randolph arrived in a trade from New York on Nov. 21, but he has been out since Dec. 28.
“Kaman and Randolph haven’t played together, but I don’t see that being much of an issue because it’s pretty much like Kaman and (Elton) Brand playing together,” Dunleavy said. “Thirty-two minutes apiece is not a bad number for guys who have been injured and banged up.”
There are currently a lot of rumours floating about, with several teams looking to acquire one or two of the Clippers big men. It’ll be interesting to see if anything pops up that tempts Dunleavy into changing his mind.
Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski has the information:
Firstly, the Western Conference
Shaquille O’Neal will make his return to the NBA’s All-Star Game on Feb. 15 in Phoenix, multiple front office sources told Yahoo! Sports on Thursday afternoon.
O’Neal, 36, was one of seven Western reserves chosen by the NBA’s coaches, and will play in the All-Star Game for the hometown Suns. O’Neal had played in 14 consecutive All-Star Games until missing out in 2008.
Yahoo! Sports obtained the rosters, and the West reserves also include the Los Angeles Lakers’ Pau Gasol, New Orleans Hornets’ David West, Dallas Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki, San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker, Denver Nuggets’ Chauncey Billups and Portland Trail Blazers’ Brandon Roy. Read the rest of this entry »
Desmond Mason will miss the rest of the season after hyperextending his right knee
Oklahoma City Thunder Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Sam Presti announced today that guard Desmond Mason will miss the remainder of the season after hyper extending his right knee.
“We are disappointed to lose Desmond for the remainder of the season,” said Presti. “He is a valuable part of our efforts on and off the court. We will support Desmond and work with him throughout the rehabilitation process. Unfortunately, the timing of the injury does not allow Desmond to return this season.”
Mason suffered a hyper extended right knee at 4:02 in the third quarter of last night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies. He underwent an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) exam this morning that revealed bruising to his right femur and tibia. Team physicians will perform arthroscopic surgery to remove debris caused by the hyper extension.
Unlucky news for Mason and the Thunder. Read the rest of this entry »
RealGM reports:
Firstly the Sophomore Team
Forward Jeff Green, Durant’s teammate in Oklahoma City, joins him on the Sophomore team, which also includes Atlanta Hawks forward/center Al Horford, Los Angeles Clippers forward Al Thornton, Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Young, New York Knicks forward Wilson Chandler, Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey and a pair of teammates from the Houston Rockets – guard Aaron Brooks and forward Luis Scola.
And the Rookie Team
Joining Rose on the Rookie team are two sets of teammates – guard O.J. Mayo and center Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies and center Greg Oden and guard Rudy Fernandez from the Portland Trail Blazers. Thunder guard Russell Westbrook, Clippers’ guard Eric Gordon, Heat forward Michael Beasley, and New Jersey Nets’ center Brook Lopez round out the Rookie team.
Any major snubs jump out at anyone?
Troy Murphy is having one heck of a season for the Indiana Pacers.
Let’s start off by talking about his rebounding:
Is this superb rebounding something new from Murphy? Well, sort of, but not really.
RealGM has the press release:
The Memphis Grizzlies have reassigned Kevin O’Neill to the new role of special assistant to the general manager, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
“Kevin O’Neill was instrumental in our draft preparations last year, which resulted in bringing O.J. Mayo and Darrell Arthur to the Grizzlies,” Wallace said. “Kevin is a very valuable resource for us. He has the rare combination of college coaching experience, as he was recently a head collegiate coach for a NCAA Tournament-caliber team, and he has a perspective of a NBA coach. We are eager to have Kevin’s input in our draft evaluation process again this year.”
Is everything what it seems?
RealGM has the press release
The Memphis Grizzlies reached a buyout agreement and waived guard Steve Francis, Grizzlies’ General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.
The 6-3, 210-pound guard has not appeared in a game with the Grizzlies or Houston Rockets this season after he was acquired from Houston on Dec. 24, 2008 along with Memphis’ own 2009 second round draft pick and cash considerations in exchange for a conditional 2011 second round draft pick.
No surprises here.
It’ll be interesting to see which playoff teams show interest in Francis.
It’s still far too early to get a firm grip on what Andrea Bargnani can earn on his next contract because far too much has to happen between now, and then, and that period will play a huge role in deciding how much he’s going to get paid. So there’s a lot that we don’t know, but there’s also a good bit of information that we do know, so perhaps we can create some type of ball park figure to create at least some level of understanding of what Bargnani’s next contract may be worth.
So what’s the ball park on Andrea Bargnani’s next contract?
There are a couple of different angles that one could look at this from, but there are two main points of view that seem most prevalent at this point in time so let’s have a look at them.
First Option
This option works under the assumption that Andrea’s recent brilliance is nothing more than an aberration and that he will return to his previous levels of performance in the near future.
Andrea Bargnani is a former first pick of the NBA draft who is averaging around thirteen points per game and five rebounds per game. He has shown glimpses of amazing talent but has underperformed with regularity and failed to fulfill his potential. He is also a legit seven footer. Read the rest of this entry »
Devin Harris got off to a fantastic start this season dropping 26 points and even leading the league in scoring in away games, but he’s been falling off since then.
Big Men Under The Age Of 24
How many big men under the age of 24 are scoring more than eleven points per game? Read the rest of this entry »
Michael Redd has torn his MCL and ACL and will be out for the rest of the season.
MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Bucks star guard Michael Redd will miss the rest of the season with two torn ligaments in his left knee.
Redd was injured in the third quarter of Milwaukee’s victory over Sacramento on Saturday night. Bucks general manager John Hammond said Sunday that an MRI exam on Redd’s knee revealed a torn ACL and MCL.
Surgery to repair the injury has not been scheduled.
Redd leads the team with 21.2 points per game and is fifth on the franchise’s career scoring list. He said in a statement issued by the team that he is “deeply disappointed, but everything in life happens for a reason and this is God’s plan for me.”
This is terrible news for Michael Redd and the Milwaukee Bucks.
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I had been warming up to the Milwaukee Bucks over the past month too, and was starting to like their chances of winning one of those final playoff seeds out in the East. Read the rest of this entry »
Good information on ESPN’s weekend dime:
This week’s 10-day signings — Anthony Tolliver to New Orleans, and Courtney Sims to Phoenix — mean that there are 15 unclaimed roster spots in the league.
The Suns, Nuggets and Raptors are carrying 13-man rosters with two spots open, but Phoenix is over the $71.15 million luxury-tax threshold while Denver and Toronto only recently dropped below the tax line.
The nine teams with one roster spot open are the Bobcats, Bulls, Pistons, Rockets, Lakers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks and Sixers.
Point guard Dee Brown, who has played with Washington and Phoenix this season and briefly occupied the Suns’ roster spot that went to Sims, left the country this week to sign with Israeli hoops institution Maccabi Tel-Aviv.
There are 12 reserve spots for each conference. The coaches must choose two guards, two forwards, one center, and then have two random picks.
With that in mind, here are the players I’d like to see selected.
Eastern Conference
Two Guards
Two Forwards
One Center
Two Wild Spots
Honourable Mentions: Danny Granger, Rajon Rondo, Devin Harris, Rodney Stuckey, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, Andre Iguodala, Read the rest of this entry »
In this post I’m going to look at some of their key players and what their on court/off court defensive efficiency numbers are:
Shaquille O’Neal
Amare Stoudemire
Steve Nash
Leandro Barbosa
The two players of particular interest are the following; Grant Hill and Matt Barnes: Read the rest of this entry »
RealGM reports
Western Conference
Tim Duncan
Amare Stoudemire
Yao Ming
Kobe Bryant
Chris PaulEastern Conference
Kevin Garnett
LeBron James
Dwight Howard
Allen Iverson
Dwyane Wade Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
So it’s official: Mourning’s calling it quits. He’ll do chores and play with his two kids and work on his golf game and promote his charitable causes. But after 15 seasons and countless career comebacks, he’s done chasing championships.
The seven-time All-Star center said Thursday he won’t return from a devastating leg injury Dec. 19, 2007 — the fourth anniversary of his life-saving kidney transplant. He had been working out at the Miami Heat complex and said he’s running and jumping again, but he feared another leg injury if he returned. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m not an expert on the salary cap but this is my best understanding of the situation.
This is a follow up to today’s earlier explanation of Bargnani’s cap holds coming off his rookie contract.
So, where does that leave the Raptors in 2010? How much congestion does it truly cause?
Let’s start with the definite salaries …. also for this example let’s assume a cap of $62mil.
Andrea Bargnani is going to be a huge issue for the Toronto Raptors in the summer of 2010. His rookie contract will be ending, and he will be a restricted free agent. With his array of skills, and considerable potential, and physical size he’ll be able to command a sizable chunk of money in free agency.
It’s impossible to guess how much because he’s still close to two seasons away from that date, and he’s clearly improving so the player that he is now isn’t necessarily the one who’s there in 2010. The Raptors could be talking about a max contract, maybe a 6 year $60mil contract, maybe a 5 year $40mil contract … hard to imagine it being less than that.
Anyway, there is another huge Bargnani related issue on the horizon for Toronto’s 2010 free agency hopes and that’s how much he counts against the Raptors cap while unsigned. Read the rest of this entry »
This is just a short post scribbling down some of Andrea’s impressive stats over this past hot streak. The numbers cover the 13 games Bargnani has played since taking over in the starting lineup after Jermaine went down against GSW.
Okay, I’m going to break this period of 13 games into four different periods
Well it looks like we have our ending to the question of who will come of the Pistons bench … Who is the one who will sacrifice himself for the greater good?
“A lot of people have made a lot of things about this,” Hamilton said. “Regardless, you want to win games. Me and Allen both know that. They told me I was coming off the bench, that it was something MC (Curry) wanted and I said, ‘Fine, cool.’
“The bottom line is you want to win games. If this is the best way we can win a championship, then I am all for it. The thing is, we have two great scorers, me and A.I. We have to figure out how both of us can be our best.”
Curry gave several reasons for the change, and for taking so long to make the decision.
“We’ve been talking about this,” said Curry, whose team won eight of 10 games with a bigger lineup when Hamilton was out because of a groin injury. They lost five straight when he came back.
“We were 5-3 with the small lineup before Rip got hurt and I thought it was fair to give him an opportunity to see how it went when he came back. But we just weren’t good enough, especially starting off games.”
On defense, we never set the tone and we were playing catch-up from a defense and rebounding standpoint.” Read the rest of this entry »
Teams under these Power Rankings are being judged when at full capacity (healthy), and judged on where they stand within the league when at full capacity rather than through their current form. So teams that are losing because of injuries will not suffer, and teams who are top squads but lose 7 of 9 will not be downgraded because of it.
Eastern Conference
#1 Boston Celtics
Still the class of the East
The Celtics endured a rough patch to their season shortly after their magnificent wining streak, but they’re still on track as the East’s best team.
#2 Cleveland Cavaliers
They’ve done just about everything they can do to prove their stature this season … but the real tests lie ahead.
If the Cavs can get past Boston and Orlando, they look a mighty proposition for Western Conference teams.
#3 Orlando Magic
Is Orlando the second best or third best team in the East?
I desperately want to see the Orlando Magic play the Cavaliers. I thought they owned the Cavs last season and presented huge matchup problems for Cleveland. Is that still true? Have Cleveland developed their all round game enough to cancel that?
For now I’m going to hold them back in third place because of Cleveland’s established prowess in the postseason.
Orlando are currently playing the best basketball in the league. The next three teams are established powers though, and it’ll be tough for them to climb ahead of them. Read the rest of this entry »
Who are the leading rebounders out of players who come off the bench?
Following Darius Miles’ 10th appearance the other night, his contract has now been re-inserted onto the Blazers salary cap … so I felt it worth a look to find out what this means for Portland. Read the rest of this entry »
Will Solomon has now played eight games as the starting point guard for the Toronto Raptors. Here’s how he’s done:
This post will be having a look at four players – Josh Smith, Al Horford, Marvin Williams and Acie Law – and briefly touch over the end of the bench youngsters.
Josh Smith
I find Josh Smith to be one of the most frustrating talents in the NBA. Smith is the perfect example of an NBA player who possesses an incomplete level of knowledge on his own strengths as a player, and how that lack of understanding continually limits his impact on the floor. The catalogue of mistakes this young man makes on the court is something else …. but so are the great contributions that he does make which help his team.
Alright, let’s start by having a look at his basic per game stats Read the rest of this entry »
Okay, before we head into this I want to dial it back to when the Jermaine O’Neal deal was struck. At the time I said that if the Raptors wanted to make this move a success and worthwhile for them, then they would have to make consequential moves such as:
I thought Paul Pierce had turned a corner. He was looking so much more comfortable against LeBron, in knowing how to attack him and score against James.
Pierce’s last four games against LeBron:
A basic stats comparison between the two players:
|
‘08-09 |
MPG |
PPG |
RPG |
APG |
BPG |
FG% |
TS% |
|
Nesterovic |
22.1 |
9.2 |
4.4 |
2.2 |
0.7 |
52.8% |
54.0% |
|
O’Neal |
29.5 |
14.0 |
7.3 |
1.6 |
1.9 |
47.5% |
52.1% |
Jermaine gets a larger bump in his overall shooting efficiency when you include the free throws, where he hits 80% of his attempts at makes it to the line 4 times a night versus 82% and just less than one a game for Rasho.
There’s a substantial difference in minutes so let’s even it out and look at per 36 numbers Read the rest of this entry »
There’s an article in the East Valley Tribune today talking about Steve Kerr’s draft picks
Remember how Suns general manager Steve Kerr raved about his draft picks last June?
Robin Lopez was going to play 15 to 18 minutes a game as Shaquille O’Neal’s backup and give the Suns the defensive-minded big man they so desperately needed. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article in the Arizona Republic, it’s about a week old but it raises a good question, does Shaquille O’Neal deserve to go to the All-Star game?
A year ago, the thought of O’Neal being an All-Star again seemed as far-fetched as the Suns trading for him. O’Neal was passed in voting by Dwight Howard in 2007. His record-tying streak of 14 consecutive All-Star appearances ended last year when fans and coaches passed on him.
This season, Shaquille has felt a renaissance Read the rest of this entry »
Good article by Adrian Wojnarowski for Yahoo Sports today which states that the preseason games that Darius Miles played with the Boston Celtics count against the 10 game mark he has to achieve in order for his salary to be put back on Portland’s salary cap. In other words, he has not played only 2 games, he has played 8 games and needs to play only two more. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
The Nuggets All-Star guard will miss at least three weeks after breaking a bone in his shooting hand in a victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night.
He’s been told by doctors he’ll be out three to four weeks. Surgery would’ve sidelined him much longer.
“Hopefully the healing process will be a lot quicker,” Anthony said after returning to the Pepsi Center following his visit with a hand specialist.
I haven’t watched any of Minnesota’s recent games, but I’ve been keeping an eye on their box scores and Kevin Love is currently on an impressive streak. He’s had three excellent games, one more good game, and one below par game in his last five.
I’ll be keeping a running log over the next week on players who have been waived during this period. I’ll also offer a few thoughts on whether or not those players can help some other team.
Late Addition: At the bottom of the page I’ll give links to reports of players who are save from being cut. I made an earlier post citing ESPN’s list of players who are in danger of being cut over the next few days.
So far we have four players:
Further players who have been waived
Short note here on Parker’s surprisingly low field goal percentage.
Here’s his marks from his first two seasons: Read the rest of this entry »
As expected entering the season, the Celtics have gone with a 9 man rotation.
That rotation consists of the five starters
Good section on ESPN’s weekend dime listing the 25 players who’s contracts will become guaranteed on January 10th.
All contracts are guaranteed for the rest of the season if a player is on a roster as of Jan. 10 or has not cleared waivers before 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan 9.
Teams will thus be required to shed any player deemed surplus to requirements by 6 p.m. Wednesday.
The 25 players facing the greatest risk over the next few days, all of whom are working on minimum deals: Read the rest of this entry »
Darius Miles’ 10 game suspension is over, and now he’s able to suit up and play for the Memphis Grizzlies. Here’s the report
Griz fans may or may not see what kind of groove Miles is in this afternoon when the team hosts the Dallas Mavericks. Today marks the first game Miles is eligible to play after serving a 10-game suspension for violating the NBA’s drug policy.
Griz coach Marc Iavaroni was noncommittal as to whether Miles would be granted time. Read the rest of this entry »
ESPN reports
CLEVELAND — Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas could miss up to a month after suffering a small fracture when he twisted his left ankle last month.
Ilgauskas sprained his ankle during a Dec. 10 game at Philadelphia. He missed only three games but has been bothered by pain and stiffness since returning. An MRI taken Friday revealed that Ilgauskas, who missed nearly two full seasons earlier in his career with foot problems, chipped the talus bone in his ankle. Read the rest of this entry »
For all those NBA teams – the New Orleans Hornets included – who were hoping for yet another comeback by veteran forward P.J. Brown, there’s no good news in the New Year.
Brown said Wednesday he’s officially retired.
“My career ended June 17,” Brown said of the day he became a world champion when the Boston Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2008 NBA title. Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s a few stats to get us started: Read the rest of this entry »
I was watching the Clippers-Raptors game last night and I was delighted to see Jordan get some playing time due to the absences of Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman.
Jordan had a good game, one where his energy and hustle sparked a Clippers rally and helped give them a chance at winning at the game. He finished with 8 points on 5 shot attempts, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in 29 minutes. Jordan played some solid defense but had those rookie stretches where he was, as expected, eaten alive, especially late in the game by Bosh. Read the rest of this entry »
RealGM reports
The Golden State Warriors were reportedly considering buying out Marcus Williams, but instead waived forward Richard Hendrix to make room for Monta Ellis.
Ellis had been on the suspended list and is now on their inactive list.
Golden State’s roster now is at 15
Young big man with talent just entered the market. Any team that needs an energetic hustling rebounding power forward please stand up and claim your prize.
This man deserves an opportunity, and whoever gives him one will likely be well rewarded.
I hadn’t considered the Mavs possibilities for their future since their playoff loss last season. There was no real reason to re-think the situation, nothing had changed after a fairly pedestrian summer. Instead I focused on now and how Carlisle’s changes where effecting their team.
But after a question in the comments section from Travis on whether or not the Mavs should trade Dirk in a comment on another post, I found myself pondering what possibilities where available to a Dirk led Mavs squad …. so I had to re-check over previous facts. In the course of doing so I came across a new piece of information, well not new in fact it’s five years old, but new to me because I didn’t know of it until now and that is Erick Dampier’s contract. The final season on Erick Dampier’s contract is non-guaranteed. Read the rest of this entry »
In the last four games Joey Graham has played 100 minutes after playing only 200 minutes in his first 15 games. In those 100 minutes, Graham has grabbed 10 rebounds. In contrast, Graham snared 43 rebounds in the previous 200 minutes. That’s less than half the rate of rebounding he was fielding earlier this season.
Graham has gone from a player who grabs a rebound every 4.65 minutes (which is excellent) to one who grabs a rebound every 10 minutes (which is awful). In other words he’s gone from being one of the best rebounding small forwards in the league to being Jason Kapono.
Normally I wouldn’t care about this. Just one of those periods in a season when a player does less than average in one (or more) facets of their game … but in this instance the timing is weird. This happens when Joey Graham starts to get large consistent minutes and in a time when he’s having his best scoring run of the season. Read the rest of this entry »
RealGM has the press release
New York Knicks’ guard Cuttino Mobley has informed the team that he will retire from professional basketball following extensive medical evaluations.
It has been determined that Mobley has a heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that has progressed to the point where he can no longer play.
“The specialists I have seen made it clear that my heart condition has gotten worse, and I cannot continue to play professional basketball without putting my health and life in serious danger,” Mobley said. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on LBJ’s interest on becoming an elite defender
Coach Mike Brown is loving it, too. He thinks James’ defensive mentality was honed during the Olympics last summer, when James helped the Americans win the gold medal.
“People need to consider looking at ‘Bron for that all-defensive team,” Brown said. “The things that he does are a carryover from the Olympic team. I thought he did a nice job there defensively and he’s done a nice job for us so far. He takes pride in that.
“Not only has he done a nice job guarding the guys, but there are a lot of things that the fans can’t see. His communication is just off the charts for us. He’s like the quarterback of our defense. He sits back there and tells guys what to do and what’s going on.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Minnesota Timberwolves have lost 15 of their first 19 games. They are 24th in defensive efficiency and to my continued dismay they rank 25th in offensive efficiency.
The T’Wolves have a lineup that I badly want to see together. That lineup is:
ESPN’s Chris Sheridan reports
NEW YORK — Kwame Brown is out of a job.
Not unemployed, mind you, but out of the Detroit Pistons’ starting lineup, and probably out of their rotation altogether, too.
Detroit coach Michael Curry delivered that news Sunday following another inexplicably lackluster effort (well, maybe there was an explanation, as many of Curry’s players were out late Saturday night in Manhattan watching Oscar De la Hoya get beat up by Manny Pacquiao) as the Pistons fell behind by 29 in the second quarter and ultimately dropped a 104-92 decision to the New York Knicks.
Curry sounded as though he was leaning toward moving Rodney Stuckey into the starting five in the backcourt alongside Allen Iverson, shifting Richard Hamilton to small forward, Tayshaun Prince to the four spot and Rasheed Wallace to center. Read the rest of this entry »
Matt Bonner’s shooting has been incredible for the Spurs, check out these numbers
Warning: This is one of those posts that asks more questions than it answers
I’m going to split up the first 8 games and then the next 10 games
First 8 games
The Raptors played – @Philadelphia, Golden State, @Milwaukee, Detroit, @Atlanta, @Charlotte, @Boston, Philadelphia
At this point in the season they had a defensive efficiency of 106.6
Next 10 Games
The Raptors played – Miami, @Orlando, Miami, New Jersey, Boston, Charlotte, Atlanta, @ LA Lakers, @Denver, @Utah.
The defensive efficiency over this period was 111.7 Read the rest of this entry »
Mike Wells keeps churning out good articles over at the Indianapolis Star. The latest is an article chock full of praise from Danny Granger from near and afar.
Great opening to the article by Wells
Three years ago during a predraft workout at Conseco Fieldhouse, one player stood out among the blur of activity.
Rick Carlisle remembers. The former Indiana Pacers coach couldn’t take his eyes off him. Team president Larry Bird, without mentioning names, later acknowledged the Pacers had found their guy.
Oh, they found much more than that.
Danny Granger has blossomed into the face of the franchise and one of the NBA’s premier scorers. Read the rest of this entry »
Good article in the Commerical-Appeal about Grizzlies guard Quinton Ross as he gets ready to face his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers
Ross has been injured for the past 2 and a half games with plantar fascitis
The Griz, losers in 11 of their past 12 games, are hoping for a shot in the arm with Ross’ return. He has effectively guarded every perimeter position, which has been sorely missed, as the Griz are allowing opponents an excess of dribble penetration and scores at the rim.
In short, Ross has provided the Griz with the most consistent and unyielding effort without the basketball. Read the rest of this entry »
The LA Times reports the following quotes from Phil
He wasn’t being critical when he said the Lakers (15-2) wouldn’t do it this season. Nor was he throwing in the towel by conceding it wouldn’t happen.
It didn’t even seem like he was inspiring the team with a publicly delivered “us-against-them” tactic. He might have just been telling the truth, at least from his perspective.
“I don’t think there’s any chance that we’re going to get anywhere close to 70 wins,” he said. “I’m not going to say that we can’t win 60, but I don’t think that there’s a chance [at 70] — and that’s if everything goes well health-wise. Traveling in the West is just too difficult. Changing time zones, it just makes it very difficult to be consistent night in and night out on the road.” Read the rest of this entry »
I think we’d all agree that Bargnani has looked much more comfortable attacking his man this season, both off the dribble and in the post. So I was wondering, how many more baskets is he getting in the paint as a result of this?
Good article in the Indianapolis Star by Mike Wells discussing the Pacers lack of free throw attempts this season, including some good quotes from Jim O’Brien.
Indiana Pacers coach Jim O’Brien’s offense is built around off-the-ball movement. Cuts to the basket that result in layups, fouls or open jump shots are the desired result.
The Pacers are shooting a lot of jump shots and getting their share of layup attempts. What they aren’t getting, however, is a lot of free throw attempts.
The Pacers have attempted 110 fewer free throws than their opponents this season. Read the rest of this entry »
RealGM has the press release
The San Antonio Spurs today assigned rookie center Anthony Tolliver to the team’s NBA Development League affiliate Austin Toros. Additionally, the Spurs recalled second year center Ian Mahinmi to San Antonio following his two-week assignment in Austin. Tolliver becomes the NBA Development League’s ninth player to be assigned during the 2008-09 season.
Mahinmi appeared in one game during his assignment in Austin, scoring 4 points in 21 minutes. He was originally assigned on Nov. 14 to rehab an ankle injury.
This is not a small move. This is not an insignificant. This is a move of importance. Read the rest of this entry »
Tracy McGrady continues to have problems with his left knee. Here’s an update on the situation from the Chronicle
With guard Tracy McGrady limping his way through the season, he and the Rockets decided to find a second opinion
McGrady, 29, missed Saturday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs and will be out tonight at Denver before flying to Birmingham, Ala., to meet with Dr. James Andrews on Monday.
“I think it’s a smart decision,” McGrady said. “I’m just not ready to play. With the limping and everything, I’m not healthy enough to play anymore. It’s good that I’m going to see the doctor on Monday and get a second opinion, and then we’ll make a decision on the future.” Read the rest of this entry »
The quote, Q&A really, is a comparison between JJ Redick and Steve Kerr and it comes from a Fox Sports article on why Eddie Jordan didn’t deserve to be fired.
J.J. Redick is continuously cited as lacking the athletic ability to play in the NBA despite his stellar shooting ability. Why is it that a comparable player such as Steve Kerr has been successful and Redick might find himself out of the league in the near future? — Kevin, Hampton, VA Read the rest of this entry »
A huge blow last night for the Minnesota Timberwolves
Minnesota Timberwolves small forward Corey Brewer will miss the remainder of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, coach Randy Wittman said today.
Brewer, in his second year out of Florida, suffered the injury Saturday night during the second half of the Wolves’ 106-97 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
Wittman said Ryan Gomes would continue to start at small forward with the possibility of Mike Miller seeing more time at the position. Read the rest of this entry »
There is a great story in the LA Times about Rockets GM Daryl Morey using NBA Live as a scouting tool. He uses it to simulate situations, to get an idea how about possible acquisitions would fit in with his Rockets players and Head Coach
Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey doesn’t play video games for fun or fantasy.
Morey uses the EA Sports NBA game for professional reasons. He uses it to help evaluate talent. Morey says he is a statistical junky, an admirer of Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane and a mathematical nerd. “I’ve always loved numbers,” Morey said. “I don’t play EA Sports as a game. I use it as a tool.”
“Say if you’re thinking about acquiring Ron Artest,” Morey said from Hawaii, where he was evaluating talent in person at the Maui Classic college tournament.
“On the game, you can see how adding Artest can change the dynamic of your team. You can program it to run offensive sets with Artest and any combination of your players.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Oklahoman reports
Role change IIBrooks said moving Earl Watson to the bench was more about evaluating Russell Westbrook as a starter than not being satisfied with Watson.
“I love what Earl brings,” Brooks said. “He’s a tough defender, a team leader and he’s going to be put in a role in which we need that spark and leadership off the bench right now.”
Some further thoughts from Brooks on the move
MEMPHIS — Scott Brooks has inserted rookie point guard Russell Westbrook into the starting lineup tonight in place of Earl Watson, marking the No. 4 overall pick’s first career start. Read the rest of this entry »
After a virtually injury free year (except for Battie) last season, the Magic are already suffering from the injury bug this year. Their starting backcourt – Jameer Nelson and Mickael Pietrus – are out injured, and their 6th man Keith Bogans was already out injured.
Firstly, let’s have a quick review of the injuries and when the Magic’s key role players will return from action. Then we’ll have a short look at the silver lining to all of this.
Keith Bogans
Here’s the report given by the Florida Times
With Keith Bogans expected to miss four to six weeks with an avulsion fracture in his left thumb
This report was about a week ago, so Bogans has 3-5 weeks to wait until his return Read the rest of this entry »
Celtics Try To Beat Last Season’s High Win Streak
The Boston Celtics are currently on a eight game winning streak. Last season, en route to a 66-16 record, the Celtics had win streaks of 10 games, twice having 9 game win streaks and one 8 game win streak.
So can this 2008-09 Celtics team break last season’s win streak mark?
The next few games for Boston are: Read the rest of this entry »
Rudy Fernandez impressively ranks fourth in the entire NBA in three pointers made with 37 makes, just two makes off of first place. He does this while averaging the lowest minutes per game, points per game, lowest shot attempts, lowest three point attempts in the top 8 for three point field goals. Very impressive.
Let’s have a further look at Rudy’s shooting Read the rest of this entry »
A few stats for context
Carmelo Anthony is currently matching his lowest points per game mark of his career and averaging a career low field goal percentage. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve been watching the last few Spurs games to see (1) How they’re surviving without Manu+Parker (2) How Manu looks now that he’s come back from injury … and each time I’ve watched them I’ve come away praising rookie point guard George Hill. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve been thinking about this for some time, since the 9-10 game mark for the Raptors, that team should consider dropping Jamario Moon from his starting spot and possibily the rotation. However at that point, the situation changed with Andrea Bargnani moving into the starting lineup as a small forward. The new lineup coincided with a couple of quality performances off the bench from Moon, so I let the thought move to stand by.
The recent short term injury to Jermaine O’Neal has seen the Raptors revert back to Moon as the starting lineup, and after another lackluster performance it seems time to revisit the initial thought.
Is it time to drop Jamario Moon from the starting lineup?
Scott Brooks wasted no time in changing the Thunder’s lineup, the biggest change of all has been shifting star player Kevin Durant from shooting guard to small forward.
Say goodbye to Kevin Durant the guard.
The Thunder’s reigning Rookie of the Year is now a small forward, finally playing the position many NBA minds think best fits his gangly 6-foot-10 frame and versatile skill set.
In his first move as Thunder interim coach, Scott Brooks shifted Durant from shooting guard to small forward, bringing an end to a 92-game experiment designed to protect the rail thin Durant against bigger, stronger opponents. Read the rest of this entry »
Very good Dave D’Alessandro article the other day with a bunch of excellent quotes from teammates praising Brook Lopez
….. courtesy of Keyon Dooling.
“Don’t be surprised if Brook Lopez is one of the top five centers in the league by the end of the year,” the Nets’ reserve guard said Friday.
Okay, go with that.
“Just don’t be surprised,” Dooling continued. “This kid has barely scratched the surface of what he can be. He’s a legit 7-footer, he has a knack for rebounding and blocking shots, and what separates him from most centers is that he’s got an extremely soft touch.” Read the rest of this entry »
The Thunder players have been getting booed at their home games by their own fans
Here’s some reaction (20th Nov) from Thunder players and their now ex-coach
Joe Smith
“We didn’t give them too much to cheer about after the first half. It kind of surprised us a little bit, but at the same time it’s something that we deserved a little bit because, like I said, after the first half we didn’t give them too much to cheer about. They made their run and we made a run in the second half. But for the most part in the second half I think we kind of deserved it a little bit. Read the rest of this entry »
A Few Stats
Josh Smith related numbers
First five games vs Last four games
Hawks Defensive Efficiency Last Season
A few interesting statistics
First Five Games
Next Five Games
So which one is the truth?
Likely neither one is, the truth lies somewhere in between both the first five games and second five games. The total per game average of 8.8rpg in 30.3mpg is the most accurate number, but that’s likely a tad high too. Read the rest of this entry »
McGrady injury
McGrady left the game in the opening minute of the second half after aggravating his left knee, which was operated on this offseason to have loose bodies removed. He didn’t return.
“Tonight I went back to square one, even before surgery, is how my knee is feeling right now,” McGrady said. Read the rest of this entry »
Wow …. I was amazed when I saw these stats
Hedo Turkoglu – 38% from the field and 28% from three
Rashard Lewis – 39% from the field and 27% from three
These are two excellent shooters and Orlando’s second and third best scorers, that’s rough, having both in a shooting slump at the same time.
The Magic also have Jameer Nelson shooting just 25% from downtown after hitting 42% from behind the arc last season, and both Anthony Johnson and Courtney Lee are struggling from the field too.
Orlando have done well to go 7-3 in the first 10 games with two of their big guns struggling like this.
John Denton reports
Saying somewhat disgustedly that he feels that ”I’m in the same position that I’ve been in,” shooting guard J.J. Redick fears that he’s once again out of the Orlando Magic rotation for good. Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s the quote
“Nothing is missing; guys have just got to take pride in what they’re doing,” Jamison fumed. “I can take guys playing hard for 48 minutes and the other team finding a way to get it done, but we’ve got to have some pride. To let them play as physical as they did and outrebound us the way they did … that’s not what this team is all about.
“So, nothing is missing – guys just aren’t doing it. Nothing is missing at all – and that comes not from the coaches, not from the front office. I have to get these guys to play night in and night out.” Read the rest of this entry »
A recent report says that he may be able to return in 12 weeks
Denver Nuggets center Steven Hunter was expected to be sidelined at least 12 weeks after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Friday.
Hunter had the surgery at the Steadman-Hawkins Clinic in Vail.
Hunter has had a chronic knee problem that was aggravated in training camp.
This is very different to the earlier report in the Rocky Mountain News which discussed the possibility of injury induced retirement Read the rest of this entry »
Tony Allen has scored 84 points in his first 11 games playing a shade under 19 minutes a night. But outside of that one spectacular night in Detroit where he scored 23 points, Allen has been irritatingly inconsistent:
Here’s a quick glance at the other 10 contests
Tony Allen is overall both:
Allen’s lack of consistency with his scoring has hurt both the stability and dependability in the Celtics’ second unit.
A quick glance at how he’s started the season versus his previous three campaigns
| Season | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | BPG | FG% | 3FG% | TS% |
| Rookie Year | 25.1 | 11.6 | 3.9 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 42.7% | 37.3% | 54.6% |
| Second Season | 23.9 | 10.2 | 3.7 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 38.6% | 34.5% | 49.5% |
| Third Season | 22.5 | 9.4 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 53.6% | 50% | 63% |
Bargnani’s numbers are fairly consistent over the three years which is worrying. He’s been shooting the ball extremely well to start this season but it would be some achievement for Bargnani to keep that up throughout the year so expect to see a drop there. Read the rest of this entry »
Detroit News reports
Pistons coach Michael Curry, during an interview on the Stoney & Wojo show on WDFN-1130 a.m., said he is altering the starting lineup.
He said he would start Kwame Brown in place of Amir Johnson. His rationale being that he thinks Rasheed Wallace will be more productive playing alongside the bigger Brown.
That Amir Johnson experiment didn’t last long, all of 7 games. Read the rest of this entry »
Duncan watched a patched-together crew of no-name rookies and creaky-kneed old-timers make the wrong cuts, miss the open man and fumble away entry passes.
And then?
Coach Tim made a few adjustments.
Gregg Popovich did his share of tinkering, too, but even he admitted he can’t do as much with his words as Duncan can. Popovich said Duncan is “the biggest reason we’ve got a comfort level out there,” and the fact that the Spurs have any kind of a comfort level at all without Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili is a story in itself.
Some of Duncan’s actions Read the rest of this entry »
Some Noteable Individual Stats
Other Rookies
A Worrying Stat line
The Detroit News has the story
As the Pistons try to reinvent themselves with Allen Iverson and without a true point guard, the guy they might turn to for stability, once again, is Tayshaun Prince.
Among the modifications coach Michael Curry is making to his offense is using Prince in the role of a point forward, initiating the offense, while Iverson and Richard Hamilton work on the wings.
Head Coach Michael Curry adding some thoughts
“Tay is going to facilitate some of our offense,” Curry said after the Pistons’ two-hour practice at Arco Arena Monday. “He will get into it with Allen handing it off to Tay. And there are other sets that Tay will start himself.”
Curry is worried about it negatively affecting Tayshaun’s assertiveness
Curry worries, though, about tampering at all with Prince’s role. He has averaged 23 points the last three games.
“We are just getting Tay into a mode where he’s aggressive all the time and I don’t want to take that away,” Curry said. “I would rather figure out the other stuff out first. Because at the end of the day, we are going to need Tay to be aggressive, especially in the playoffs when he’s going against the elite three-men in the game.”
Tayshaun doesn’t think that’s an issue
Prince doesn’t think Curry needs to worry about that.
“It’s not going take away my aggressiveness,” Prince said of playing the point. “The only way it would is if I keep feeding AI and Rip and they get hot. Then I would be just feeding them and feeding them. But that’s all for the better if that happened.”
Tayshaun likes playing the point forward and wants to do it more
If Prince had his way, he would run the point more often than he has thus far.
“Just having me with the opportunity to run the offense, I can see over top of the defense,” he said. “I can see what’s going on and read how they are playing Rip and AI. I would definitely like to have that opportunity.”
Using Prince at the point was just one of the modifications Curry is contemplating. On Monday, he simplified a lot of the offensive sets
Curry on some of the differences between Iverson and Billups
“As good as Chauncey Billups is, he and Allen are two different players,” Curry said.
“We had to run things to get movement and get into the paint with Chauncey. Now we don’t have to do that as much. We can keep it simple.”
Where plays might in the past have called for an extra screen or an extra cut, now they can just get the ball to Iverson in space and let him penetrate and create.
“It’s just rhythm and playing,” Iverson said. “It’s understanding how we want to play, at what tempo we want to play at and what plays we need to get into. It’s just about getting into a rhythm with the team.
Jamison’s on his locker room
“Yeah,” Jamison said, “but I’m sick of seeing this.”
The constant repetition is becoming a tired act for Jamison, who said he was frustrated with the team’s lack of desperation against the Magic.
“The makeup of the locker room, the environment of the locker room needs to change,” Jamison said. “I’m not saying that it’s almost like acceptable, but guys are not upset. Guys are not hurting. This is your job. It’s all about representing what’s on your chest and doing it the right way. When you don’t do your job and don’t represent the right way, it should hurt.”
We’ve been seeing quotes like this from Jamison for close to a year now. He hasn’t been happy with the youth, hasn’t been happy with the bench, doesn’t think his locker room is professional enough.
Butler is saying something along the same lines
The knockdown left Butler with a severe headache after the game, and he’s also growing increasingly impatient.
“I’m willing to do whatever it takes, whether it’s go get 20, 30 rebounds, whether it’s put up the points or be a playmaker for the most part,” Butler said. “But my blood pressure’s building, and it’s only so much longer I can wait. You don’t want to take too much on yourself, but at the same time, you want the results.”
I wrote this at the end of halftime of the Pistons-Celtics game
Stuckey was struggling at halftime … didn’t make it to the locker room. He crumpled over in half at midcourt, then sat on the bench for 5-10 minutes while they took his pulse and other such. No word on what’s wrong or if it’s serious or if he’ll be back. I hope he’s alright.
It was a worrying sight to witness
I’ll try to keep this post updated with news on how Stuckey is doing and whether it’s anything serious or not.
Here are two reports, the first from Detroit News:
Rodney Stuckey did not return for the second half Sunday.
He doubled over at the end of the first half and had to be helped into the tunnel.
Pistons released a statement saying Stuckey experienced symptoms of dizziness and that he felt light-headed.
While the doctors were working on him, Stuckey made a fluttering motion with his hand in front of his heart, like it was beating real fast. The emergency medical team took an EKG machine into the locker room, presumably to run it on Stuckey.
No other information was released.
Stuckey had no previous history of heart trouble. There was some speculation that he was having a reaction to allergy medication, but that was not confirmed.
ESPN has this report, including a reassuring quote from Pistons physical trainer Arnie Kander
Stuckey squatted with discomfort in the final seconds of the second quarter, then stood up with his hands on his knees. Later, Stuckey patted his chest rapidly while talking to strength coach Arnie Kander.
After slowly walking off the court, Stuckey sat on a chair outside the officials’ locker room and looked woozy.
“He’s fine,” Kander said.
Both reports were posted/updated in the last 15 minutes or so – roughly 21:15 ET
Update: ESPN has a small update to the above link. I didn’t notice it at first because it’s only one sentence. It was made about an hour later
After the game, Pistons coach Michael Curry said he hoped Stuckey would join the team for a practice Monday before playing on the road Tuesday night against Sacramento.
I took that response from Curry as a good sign but it could be nothing.
Update: Stuckey has not made the trip with his teammates. He has stayed behind for further tests. Team officials have said that they hope he can join the squad later on in the trip. No further information on the problems he suffered from yet.
Update: Here’s an update from Detroit News mostly confirming my previous update
Backup point guard Rodney Stuckey did not accompany the team on its flight to Sacramento. The Pistons’ medical staff decided to keep him back and run more tests to determine the source of the dizziness and light-headedness that forced him to leave the game Sunday against Boston.
“From everything I’ve been told, he’s day to day,” Curry said.
Curry didn’t know when Stuckey would be joining the team, though he did expect him at some point.
The Pistons called the tests precautionary and would not specify what they entailed.
Update: Stuckey cleared to return
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Detroit Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey will rejoin the team on Wednesday after missing the first game of a West Coast road trip to undergo tests for being lightheaded and dizzy.
Stuckey remained in Detroit after experiencing the symptoms in Sunday’s loss to Boston. After undergoing tests on Tuesday, Stuckey was cleared to return and was scheduled to fly to the Bay Area on Wednesday.
Depending on when Stuckey arrives, he could practice Wednesday and play Thursday against Golden State, coach Michael Curry said.
“He was upbeat,” Curry said before playing the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday in the first game of the road trip. “He was looking forward to getting out here. We’ll see him in the morning.”
The report doesn’t say what was wrong with Stuckey, what caused the situation.
It does say that he’s been cleared to return so that’s great news.
Update: Another report with a pair of Stuckey quotes
“I am going to take one more day, get back into some running and try to get my legs back under me,” said Stuckey, who had a dizzy spell Sunday during the Pistons’ loss to the Celtics.
He underwent a series of tests in Detroit Monday — all of which came out negative — and then flew out to meet the team in San Francisco Wednesday. His flight from Detroit arrived too late for Stuckey to practice.
“I am fine,” Stuckey said. “It was just a reaction that happened, a freak accident. It ain’t my heart. I am good.”
Stuckey expects to play Friday against the Lakers
ESPN reports
Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich needs surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb and will miss up to three months.
The injury occurred during Chicago’s 100-83 victory over Phoenix on Friday.
Hinrich, making his first start, was injured in the third quarter and left the game with five points, five assists and five steals. The Bulls initially called it a sprain, but an exam before Saturday night’s game against Cleveland revealed a torn ulnar collateral ligament.
The surgery is scheduled for Tuesday.
Bad news for Kirk Hinrich
It does sort out the Bulls backcourt some more though. Ben Gordon and Thabo Sefelosha should see increased minutes.
NBA.com tells
CHICAGO (AP) — Phoenix Suns center Shaquille O’Neal got the night off against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night, part of a plan to rest him periodically throughout the season.
“The thought process, in some of our back-to-backs is try to give him some kind of rest,” Suns coach Terry Porter said.
Porter said it took some convincing to get O’Neal to go along with the plan.
“He is very proud and obviously he has had a great resume and so he wants to be on the floor with his teammates and help his teammates out,” Porter said. “And in that respect, we have to kind of convince him and tell him to look at the big picture as opposed to looking at the small part of this journey.”
I hate the sounds of this plan. I’m amazed that they went through with it.
Phoenix got what they deserved – a blow out loss to Chicago – a result which need not have happened.
Throwing away these games is a dangerous game for the Suns, the Western playoff picture is suddenly crowded and someone is going to be going home early … you do your best to make sure it’s not you. Phoenix didn’t do that yesterday.
The Warriors have fired their assistant GM Pete D’Alessandro.
The Warriors’ front office shake-up has begun, and assistant general manager Pete D’Alessandro is taking the first hit.
D’Alessandro was Chris Mullin’s top aide and was promoted by Mullin following the departure of Rod Higgins to the Charlotte Bobcats.
The in-house fighting between GM Chris Mullin and team president Robert Rowell
It’s a sudden move that undoubtedly antagonizes Mullin, whose own job is in jeopardy after a series of high-profile disagreements with Rowell since the summer.
The Warriors’ top two executives have clashed over the would-be extension for Baron Davis, the looming-extension for Stephen Jackson and the punishment for Monta Ellis over the last few months.
In each case, Rowell, who runs the team for owner Chris Cohan, has had the ultimate say and over-ridden Mullin’s input.
In D’Alessandro’s place, Rowell has signed Larry Riley. Here’s the press release from RealGM
The Golden State Warriors have named Larry Riley assistant general manager, announced today by President Robert Rowell.
In a related move, Pete D’Alessandro has been relieved of his duties as assistant general manager.
Riley, 64, has spent the last two-plus seasons as an assistant coach on Don Nelson’s staff with the Warriors. He has accumulated over 20 years of NBA experience, including stops in Golden State, Dallas, Vancouver, and Milwaukee. Overall, Riley has amassed 37 years of basketball experience in various coaching and administrative positions.
Riley, who will cease his duties on the coaching staff, will report directly to Mullin and assist in the overall day-to-day dealings in the Warriors’ Basketball Operations Department.
Riley is a long time confidante of Don Nelson so this further strengthen’s the ties between Nellie and ownership.
The story of Al Harrington’s trade demand has gotten much press … even more interesting than that is that Warriors GM Chris Mullin is not handling the trade negotiations
A league source informed Alan Hahn of Newsday that Warriors executive Chris Mullin received a call from Donnie Walsh a week ago regarding to Al Harrington, and Mullin told Walsh he’d get back to him.
Warriors’ president Robert Rowell is handling the Harrington situation, however, and Rowell has not gotten back to the Knicks about what he would want in return for Harrington.
This is not surprising since Mullin was left out of the contract extension negotations with Don Nelson also.
I’m not sure if he’s involved, or not, in the Stephen Jackson negotiations
Jenny Hu further reporting on the D’Alessandro firing
Rowell isn’t ready to fire Mullin — yet — given the PR nightmare that would ensue. But it sure looks like he’s going to try and force Mullin to quit.
Unless something miraculous happens, Mullin is done here — if not before the end of the season, then as soon as his contract expires.
Nellie gets a seat in the front office, as Riley is his longtime confidante.
As we keep saying, the story of the Warriors this season is off-the-court, not on it .
Bruce Jenkins from the San Francisco Chronicle wrote a highly negative article on Rowell’s behaviour and ill-treatment of Chris Mullin.
It’s not easy to be as mysterious as Chris Cohan, the Warriors’ invisible owner, but Robert Rowell comes pretty close. All we really know about him is that he runs the show, and he’s ruthless, and he’s about to run a good man out the door.
It takes a particularly vicious nature to stage a personal vendetta against Chris Mullin, but Rowell has managed. He’s on a big-time power trip, spinning wildly beyond all reason. And so we stand today in defense of Mullin – not as a front-office genius, but someone who at least deserves respect.
If Rowell really wants someone else in Mullin’s seat as executive vice president of basketball operations – and that is now painfully obvious – he could have shown some class, quietly letting Mullin’s contract expire at season’s end. He could talk about “a new direction” or “philosophical differences” and let Mullin walk away with some dignity.
What option did Rowell choose?
Instead, Rowell has chosen to portray Mullin as a clown. In announcing punishment for Monta Ellis, Rowell made sure to publicly ridicule Mullin’s stance – which was the correct one, by the way (to show some compassion toward Ellis and maintain his good relationship with the club). He overruled Mullin in the Baron Davis negotiations, and appears to have done so again in offering Stephen Jackson a contract extension. Now he has fired Mullin’s right-hand man, assistant general manager Pete D’Alessandro, and replaced him with Don Nelson’s closest confidant in the organization, assistant coach Larry Riley.
Rowell’s effect on the Warriors
What Rowell has done, though – aside from giving himself a full-page photo on page 5 of the Warriors’ media guide – is create the public perception that the Warriors’ front office is in complete turmoil
Jenkins goes on to list a few of Mullin’s many mistakes, then adds – He’ll go down as the executive who pulled Golden State out of the doldrums after 13 years of disgrace – which is spot on.
The Mercury News is reporting the following
According to one of the sources, D’Alessandro was fired for insubordination. “Pete had the best interest of the agents and Mully as opposed to the organization and management,” one of the sources said
Nobody else is picking this up or verifying this so I have no idea if it’s true or not.
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On a lighter note, here’s Nellie’s reaction to losing his assistant coach to the front office
“It’s not hard to replace Larry,” Nelson said. “It’s just his friendship. He’s the only old guy who would hang with me. Now I’m going to be in the bar alone. Nobody else wants to hang out with old guys.”
Mercury News reporting
Nelson said Thursday’s practice was one of the best he’s seen from his team this season. He was particularly pleased with guard Marcus Williams, who has been showing up an hour before practice each day to get more work in.Williams has yet to play in a regular-season game and was placed on the inactive list before Monday’s game at Memphis.
“I have not given up on Williams. I’ve watched him closely, and it makes me feel good when he has a good practice like this. It encourages me,” Nelson said. “He’s got to get down to where I want him (pounds-wise) before I’m going to activate him, but he’s working hard at it.”
The Warriors did not to pick up the $2.1 million option for Williams last week, meaning the third-year guard will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
Here’s a quote from Popovich
Then, Popovich got on a rant about the importance of international competition.
“Notice,” he said, “I didn’t say world championship. There’s no such thing for these teams, although many haven’t figured that out yet.
“Did any of us who won a championship play anybody in Spain or Russia or Italy, or any other country, other than the United States?
“I don’t know why it’s called the (baseball) World Series, and I don’t know why they call (the NBA title) the World Championship. I never have gotten it. I still don’t get it, but people continue to do it. One would think either stubbornness, or hubris, or something like that had something to do with it. But in these days, when things are so obvious, it’s remarkable to me that people still can’t figure that out.”
Sorry Pop, the NBA is the world championship. It has the highest caliber of players and teams.
The NBA is the pinnacle of basketball; International ball is not, European ball is not. The World Championship is the NBA title. Everything other basketball title is secondary to it.
Zgoda touching on some of the problems Randy Foye is going through to start the season
Timberwolves starting point guard Randy Foye searched for words to describe how his third professional season has started and came up empty Sunday night after he missed all 10 shots he attempted from the field and committed five turnovers in a loss at Oklahoma City.
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know.”
“My confidence level is there,” said Foye, who also had six assists. “I just can’t make a shot. It’s just tough right now, but I’ll get through it.”
Foye has struggled to run the offense, and to double up on that pain he’s struggling to find his own offense too
With Sebastian Telfair suspended for the season’s first three games, Wolves coach Randy Wittman has turned to veteran Kevin Ollie at times to run the team at important junctures while Foye has been unable to get the team’s offense humming and has shot 3-for-24 in games Saturday against Dallas and on Sunday.
Wittman adding
“The kid is struggling,” Wittman said. “He’s struggling right now. He’s got to continue to work at it. He’s got to play his way through this. Players go through these things. He’s going through it at the start.”
Foye is a solid player and a decent prospect, but I’ve yet to be convinced that he can function as a starting point guard in the NBA. Early signs on this season are much the same as in previous seasons, the team lacks offensive rhythm and ball/player movement while Foye is at the helm. It’s a worrying sign for Minnesota.
It’s too early to jump to any conclusions or hasty decisions. Wolves Head Coach Wittman needs to keep Foye as his starting point for a longer period, he needs to find out for sure whether or not Foye can play the point because it will effect every decision the Wolves make regarding player personnel over the next two-three years. The indecision over Foye’s best role has gone on too long, first it was the the rookie season, then the injury which ruined his second season and even that was hard to judge because the team was in transition and lacked talent …. it’s time. The Wolves need to find an end to this searching of the best way to use Randy Foye. He has a lot of weapons around him on the offensive end of the court, it’s a great opportunity to judge his credentials as a starting point.
It’s also imperative to this season because Foye clearly is one of their most talented players and they need to put him in his best position to succeed and also in a position where his teammates can succeed too. They may not have a final decision but you have to think in about 20 more games they’ll have a pretty good idea about Foye’s capabilities.
On the bright side Sebastian Telfair is about to come back from his league suspension, that should give the Wolves an added option at the point … and allow Foye to play some of his time at the two guard which will surely help him.
ESPN had a good section on the luxury tax/roster spots in their weekend dime which had a graph detailing each team’s position in relation to the luxury tax, which I thought was very interesting.
Here’s the great graph they had in their story Read the rest of this entry »
The NBA season is about to begin and the dreams of many are on the line, yes we’re talking about training camp and who survives the cut. Players are due to report to their teams no later than 11am on the 29th and camp will commence on the 30th. Preseason begins on the 5th of October.
This post is going to cover the who’s and where’s …. what players have been invited and by what teams. Maybe you want find out who your team is working out and if they have any hope of making the roster? Perhaps there’s a specific player you followed in college that’s getting his shot? Maybe someone you’ve seen in Europe or a past NBA season? Someone you’re pulling for and hoping they make an NBA roster?
Or maybe you’re cruel and like sparing a moment to have a chuckle at an old washed up vet who won’t let his past go? But seriously when is Allan Houston stop kidding himself? At least Penny Hardaway got the message last season.
Don’t sleep on training camp invites either. There’s a lot of players that have entered the NBA undrafted. Who do you think is going to join that list this season?
Are there any players that stand out beyond that, that could not only make a roster but perhaps the rotation? A hidden gem if you will? Someone who’s going to surprise the league? Is there another Jamario Moon?
Or another Bruce Bowen? How about Ben Wallace? Brad Miller? Or a Stephen Jackson? Maybe another Avery Johnson or David Wesley? Perhaps a Matt Carroll?
Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks have brought in at least two players for camp
The Hawks added to their roster by signing two free agents that participated in the team’s minicamp and summer league.
Thomas Gardner, a 6-foot-5 guard, and Othello Hunter, a 6-8 forward, signed non-guaranteed contracts on Monday.
There are also reports of Von Wafer training with several Hawks players through the summer and playing very well …. although I haven’t seen any reports of him being signed or invited to camp yet. Perhaps in a day or two.
The Hawks currently have 12 contracts on the books so they need to sign at least one more player to reach the league minimum of 13 bodies. Their roster has good depth at the point, on the wings and at center but I think they could do with another power forward.
Update: Von Wafer will not be in Atlanta’s training camp, and will instead report to Houston’s camp
Update: Official announcement of the training camp roster …. There are a few additional names – Olumide Oyedeji (6-10, 240, tough big, limited skill wise), Frank Robinson (rookie 6-4 guard), Marcus Hubbard (another big).
Update: The Hawks have waived Oyedeji, the roster now stands at 17
Reserve big man Olumide Oyedeji was the first player cut from the Hawks’ roster. He was released after Saturday’s workout, and the move leaves the Hawks with 17 players.
Update: Atlanta waive Hubbard and Robinson
The Atlanta Hawks today requested waivers on Marcus Hubbard and Frank Robinson, according to Executive Vice President and General Manager Rick Sund.
The Hawks roster is now down to 15 bodies. I count 12 certainties to be on their roster, plus Mario West who is very likely to be #13. That leaves the final two – Othello Hunter and Thomas Gardner – trying to prove they’re worthy of a paycheck. Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s a link to an interview (translated from Polish to English) pasted onto an Orlando Magic forum. It’s an excellent interview that’s worth checking out in full.
“At the beginning I was out of rotation in Orlando. I felt coaches don’t have confidence in me. But I played with many teammates in summer league and preseason and I wasn’t that bad against them. So I didn’t lose my faith in myself. OK, maybe in the middle of the season I was on the verge of breaking down. I trained 5 times a day and I was good and during games I sat down in suit behind the bench. I had a feeling 20 thousand people was looking at me sitting in that suit. It wasn’t easy but I waited it through. Almost every rookie has to experience it.
Gortat felt he was physically ill prepared for the rigors of NBA basketball
The reason I didn’t play was insufficient physical preparation. I played every day against Dwight Howard I after one hour I had enough. His dominance and energy was too much for me. So I committed to working out at the gym. I trained vary hard 4 times a week. Sometimes after gym session I felt like going home but I have to stay for another part of the training. I was at the facility at 8:30 – one hour at the gym with different trainer to each exercise then almost an hour of individual training of moves in the paint and shooting and finally regular work out with the team. Sometimes a swimming pool too.
Gortat bulked up considerably during the season
Very helpful in gaining the weight was my mom’s two months stay in Orlando. She cooked me a couple of meals daily, I gained 5 kg (11 pounds). But I wasn’t fatter, just stronger. My fat level is 3,9%.
Thanks to bigger strength I looked better during tranings. Dwight had sometimes problems with me, he had to hustle more. I also overpowerd Adonal Foyle who I outplayed only with quickness before. 12 kg (26 pounds) I gained during the season gave me so much.
The pranksters were at him
I had a few funny stories. Before our first preseason game Jameer Nelson and Dwight told me to go out first from the locker and go to the floor. I did and they held the rest of the team in the corridor. So I ran out to the middle of the floor alone. 18 thousand people cheered and the guys were rolling from laughter. I had a red face but I felt I was part of the team.
From debuting in March, to only playing 6 regular season games, and next thing he’s in the playoffs
Suddenly I started playing regularly. Only a few minutes but almost in every game. In the last game I had more time. I had 12 points and 10 rebounds, I showed I can play. I didn’t count on playing in the play-offs though. I only wanted to be in the active roster. But I started playing! I was excited but also ready for everything. I wasn’t afraid. What could have happened to me? The worst – playing against Dwight – I had in my own team. Nobody jumps higher, nobody is stronger, nobody is so dominating. There’s no such other player in the world.
I had a hard time playing against Rasheed Wallace from Detroit Pistons. He shoots, he plays back and front to the basket, he’s aggressive and also very ****y. Although he disregarded me and I scored some points on him. It dramatically improved my position in the team.
I knew my chance were those three minutes when I entered the floor for Dwight. I was to jump, run, defend, fight to death. The coach told me: rebound, block, disturb the rival. Try to keep the score without Dwight. I had defensive duties.
I could try to play in the offense but not at any price. But when I got the ball on my positions there were no possibility not to take advantage of it. I practiced those moves for 8 months so I tried to do that during the game.
Some background on Dwight’s response to the Magic’s disappointing loss in the playoffs to Detroit …. and how he’s helped Gortat on and off the court
Detroit destroyed us in the Conference semifinals. It showed we had too short bench and Dwight limited himself. It wasn’t about Pistons knowledge how to play against him. Dwight sent us all text messages later taking the blame for losing the season. But it wasn’t the whole truth.
Dwight is 23, he regularly scores 20 points and rebounds, he didn’t have a break last 4 years and he dominates in every game. He’s the only player in the world to do such things but you can’t expect that he suddenly will take over a whole planet by himself. He needs a group of talented people around him.
Dwight is my mentor, but outside the floor. During practice it happens that it’s me who has more remarks about his play then he about mine. But he can give me self confidence. I admire the man he is. He earns millions of dollars, you can see his face everywhere – from the beverage bottles to the biggest billboards in the city. He has a few cars, bodyguards but there’s no gangsta feel around it, no gold chains and stuff. He’s very nice man. You can talk with him about family, girls, computer games, cars. i heard different stories about Kobe Bryant, LeBron James or Kevin Garnett and there’s really a huge difference between them and Dwight. Thanks to him we feel so much better in the team. He calls you back, send text messages, helps his teammates. He’s not into partying and girls every day. Only thing he takes an interest in is basketball, maybe computer games.
Hedo has been a big help too
Dwight’s younger than me but in some sense he’s like my older brother. Or maybe not, he’s rather like cousin. Hedo Turkoglu is like my brother. I talk with him in Serbian on some serious issues. He takes care of me during the day and when we are on the road. Sometimes he tells me on the floor: “Today I’m exhausted. Look out, I will be passing you the ball”. Dwight would never say that. After Poland’s game with Italy when I scored 28 points he texed me: “Were the opponents blind?”
His long term goals
On the other hand I realize I’ll have to leave Orlando. I simply have no intention of being Dwight’s substitute for the rest of my career. And I’m never gonna get in front of him in the rotation.
One of my dreams is to become the best Polish player ever. The closer dreams are to gain a strong position as a backup in Orlando, medal at European Championship then a spot in the starting lineup in the NBA. It’s plenty hard work.
The interview is quite long and has several other interesting segments, worth checking out in full.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of Gortat next season. He looked an interesting young backup big during the playoffs last season.
Hmmm …
Name Points Rebounds Assists Steals Blocks FG % FT % 3PT % Williams 17.2 3.5 6.3 1.18 .15 .480 .856 .385 Billups 17.0 2.7 6.8 1.29 .22 .448 .918 .401
That’s gotta bring a smile to your face.
The quote is from an article on BrewHoop, the article wasn’t about Mo Williams or a comparison to Billups (so I didn’t link to it), just a short point on how productive Williams was and that the new starter (likely Ridnour, maybe Sessions) will have a hard time supplying that production. The only reason I’m quoting this specific part, the stats, is because I found it delightful.
It’s amazing just how close the two players are in each category.
