NBA Draft Grades/Analysis If You Can Handle It

NBA Draft Grades/Analysis If You Can Handle It

1) Chi –

Actual pick- Derrick Rose

Mock Draft Pick: Beasley

Should have picked: Beasley

Grade: B

Kirk Heinrich had a bad year last year, but is still a solid pg, not a star, but solid. Ty Thomas meanwhile has proven nothing in this league and Drew Gooden has proven that he’s nothing more then a role player. You’ve needed inside scoring for the last two decades, and Michael Beasley had the best freshman season ever. He LEAD the country in rebounding last year and was third in the country in scoring. As amazing as Durant was last season Beasley left him in the dust, nevermind Rose. On top of that Gooden and Thomas have much easier deals to trade for another pg if you aren’t completely sold on Heinrich.

One Final thought Rose had 4.7 assists per game last year… in Conference USA. Chris Paul and Deron Williams both had more assists and better assist to turnover ratios in college then Rose. While Memphis’ system probably has a lot to do with that has Rose really shown he’s the next Paul or Williams? He’s absolutely going to be good, but better then Beasley? We shall see.

2)Mia

Actual pick- Beasley

Should have picked: Beasley

Grade: A+

No brainer, he’s by far and away better then anything else on the board. Shawn Marion is not a PF (at least on the offensive side) and Haslem is an average player at best. Marion and Beasley should complement each other well with Beasley handling the scoring inside and Marion defending guys Beasley struggles to defend. Wade will have another player to lighten his load, and they were able to pickup a first round quality pg in Chalmers too. Riles may have had his reservation, but he better thank his basketball people cause they talked him into a GREAT draft.

3) Min (traded to Memphis)

Actual pick- OJ Mayo

Should have picked – OJ Mayo

Grade B+

They got a nice outside shooter in Mike Miller which fills a big need for them, but now they have two PF’s who aren’t really tall enough/tough enough to be dominant inside defenders. The knicks tried that… it didn’t work very well. I like Love (no pun intended) but I’m just not sure he makes sense there.

4) Sea

Actual pick- Westbrook

Should have picked – Lopez, Bayless,

Grade- C+

They need guys who can defend and they need a pg I get that. But they also have pretty much no one up front so Lopez would have been a better option and Bayless is more talented so he would have been a better option as well. Westbrook should be solid, but I question the value here.

5) Mem (traded to Min)

Actual pick- Love

Should have picked – Love, Lopez

Grade B+

They were able to get a lottery type talent at PF in Arthur and were able to trade for arguably the third best prospect in the draft (Mayo). I assume they’ll put Mayo at SG aside Conley with Gay at SF, Arthur and Warrick at PF and Milicic and Gasol at C, not a bad lineup if you ask me. They did have to take back Jaric’s contract though… yuck.

6) NY

Actual pick- Danilo Gallinari

Should have picked – Jerryd Bayless, DJ Augustin

If there was ever a team in need of a PG it’s the Knicks. Bayless is a top talent sitting right there for you. Clearly I’ve never seen Gallinari play and he’s put up some good numbers in Europe, but passing up on Bayless and Augustin here? Haven’t knicks fans been through enough? If Gallinari doesn’t come in and contribute they’ll boo him off the court from day one.

7) LAC

Actual pick- Eric Gordon

Should have picked – Eric Gordon, Bayless, Augustin

Grade B+

Maggette is likely to opt out, and even if he doesn’t they need a dominant scorer from the backcourt. He’s as good a value as anyone else here on the board and while they could use a PG I can’t find any fault in taking Gordon here.

8) Mil-

Actual pick- Joe Alexander

Should have picked – Darell Arthur, Anthony Randolph

Grade- C-

You just traded for Richard Jefferson… who I want back by the way and now you’re drafting another SF? I get that they like him, but does this pick make any sense?

9) Cha

Actual pick- DJ Augustin

Should have picked – Lopez

Grade B

I can’t kill this pick since Augustin isn’t a bad value here, but they already have Felton who’s more then serviceable. Meanwhile Lopez would have been a great complement to Okefor up front.

10) NJ

Actual pick- Brook Lopez

Should have picked – Lopez

Grade A+

They needed inside scoring, and they have two guys they can put alongside him in Sean Williams and Josh Boone who will cover for any defensive deficiencies. Having traded away Jefferson and having an aging carter they’re probably not going to be running much anyway so he should help them in the half court. Couldn’t have realistically hoped for a better pick; unless of course they got Alexander but for some reason Milwaukee took him.

11) Ind (traded to Portland)

Actual pick- Jerryd Bayless

Should have picked – Bayless

Grade B-

Loved bayless here, but then they went ahead and traded it for Brandon Rush. I like rush, now they’re going to have to count on Jack, Tinsley and Ford at the PG position. Hey, who knows one of them might stay healthy and be productive.

12) Sac

Actual pick- Jason Thompson

Should have picked – Chalmers, Arthur, Randolph, Speights

Grade D

He went to Rider… they couldn’t even make the NCAA tournament out of the MAAC. Your best option at pg right now looks to be Beno Udrih, while most of the top pg’s are off the board here I’m going to reach for the national champion over the guy who couldn’t make the NCAA tournament out of the MAAC. He was projected to go MAYBE 29… and you take him at 12… are we sure Isaiah Thomas isn’t in the building?

13) Por (traded to Ind)

Actual pick- Brandon Rush

Should have picked – Rush

Grade A+

They drafted Rush I was all ready to say how well Por did despite not having any prospect on the board who would be an upgrade over their current PG situation, but then they trade for bayless and I think this is a GREAT move. Jack had little value, and they got one of the top 5-6 players in the draft in my opinion and the number 4 prospect reportedly on their board.

14) GS

Actual pick- Randolph

Should have picked - Arthur

Grade B-

They need a big man and if he’s gonna play Nellie-ball he needs to be versatile, but for a team that’s already so thin up front you’re taking an 197 lb PF??? Arthur is another versatile PF who’s actually been to the dinner table once or twice. Randolph has a lot of talent though and put up great numbers, so I can’t kill the pick completely. If Baron Davis was younger I’d give this a B or maybe if they didn’t already have thin man Brandon Wright, but BD not being a spring chicken I’m giving it a B-

15) Pho

Actual pick- Robin Lopez

Should have picked – Donte Greene

Grade B

I know Steve Kerr wants to get better defensively, what he doesn’t realize is they’re never going to be very good at it as long as Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire are on the court. Donte Greene has top of the draft potential and would be a great swingman to take over for Grant Hill. As I said though they do need a big man who can defend and shaq can only play so many minutes at his age…

16) Phi-

Actual pick- Mareesse Speights

Should have picked – Speights

Grade A+

Speights has as much talent as anyone, and put up as good numbers as pretty much any PF. The Sixers need a PF with size who can play with his back to the basket. Excellent selection.

17) Tor (for Indiana)

Actual pick- Roy Hibbert

Should have picked – Hibbert, Arthur, Koufos

Grade B

They already selected a PG, so they needed to add some beef up front. You’re not going to find a much bigger player then hibbert. Teams like Tor (bosh) and bos (garnett) Mia (Beasley) will give them huge issues, but they’ll be better prepared for teams like cle (z) and mil (bogut) who are in their division.

18) Was

Actual pick- Mcgee

Should have picked – Mcgee

Grade B

Has great upside but he’s a big time project. However there weren’t really any players here who are clear upgrades over what they have (assuming Jamison, Butler and Arenas are back) so I don’t mind them taking a player based on upside.

19) Cle-

Actual pick- Hickson

Should have picked – Arthur, CDR

Grade B

Simply put they need guys who can put the ball in the basket. CDR would have looked great alongside LBJ, and I think Arthur would have been a nice replacement for the aging Joe Smith. Hickson did put up better numbers then Arthur, but it was on a much worse team so I don’t know what that means.

20) Cha

Actual pick- alexis aijinca

Should have picked – Kofous

Grade D

Workout warriors rarely turn into quality players. He barely played in the French league, and averaged a grand total of 5 points… need I say more?

21) NJ

Actual pick- Anderson

Should have picked – CDR

Grade – C

What I wrote at the time: You traded away Richard Jefferson, you already have Boone, Lopez and Williams not to mention Yi, and Kristic is a restricted free agent and you take another forward? How bout a swing guy to replace Jefferson, CDR would have been a great fit and would have started next year… god the Nets need Stefanski back.

Was all ready to give them an F for this pick, but then they got CDR in the second round, so I dislike this pick much less.

22) Orl

Actual pick- Courtney Lee

Should have picked – CDR, Lee

Grade B

They needed a tall starting shooting guard, but with turkogulo and lewis being great defenders CDR would have been the better pick here. People will be sorry they did not select him MUCH earlier… think Josh Howard (not the same type of players, but both players who went way too late)

23) Utah

Actual pick- Koufos

Should have picked – kofous

Grade B

Best value here given they don’t need a PF or a shooting SF. Speed really must not be something they pay much attention to.

24) Sea

Actual pick- Serge Ibaka

Should have picked – Anyone else, Darrell Arthur

Grade D

Here’s a predication this guy will never play in the NBA. He’s unlikely to play in the NBA this year, and if he’s as good as people say he is they won’t be able to pay him enough to come to the NBA with the rookie salary structure. If he isn’t… they won’t want him.

25) Houston (traded to Por)

Actual pick- Nicolas Batum

Should have picked – Arthur, CDR

Grade B

Ended up with Donte Greene who should provide some good scoring off the bench for a team that sorely needed another scorer. Why they didn’t just draft him though I don’t know.

26) SA

Actual pick- George Hill

Should have picked – Greene

Grade Spurs

They’re the spurs they don’t get a grade, I think they needed to get more athletic and needed more people who can score the ball, but they seem to know what they’re doing so who am I to question.

27) Cha (for Por) (Traded to Mem via Houston)

Actual pick- Darrell Arthur

Should have picked – D Greene

Grade A-

Didn’t really need Arthur but was too good of a talent to pass on so they turned it into a SF in Batum, not sure how good Batum will be, but I like the way Portland works.

28) Mem- (Traded to Houston)

Actual pick- Donte Greene

Should have picked – Greene

Grade B+

I like Greene he’s got lottery pick value but why Houston didn’t just take him themselves I’m not sure… I guess they must have gotten something for Batum/Arthur?

29) Det- (traded to seattle)

Actual pick- DJ White

Should have picked – whoever they like

Grade B+ (for both teams)

They don’t really have any glaring holes, so I didn’t mind them selecting White but he duplicates Maxiell, so I like them trading with Seattle, They’ll put the two second rounders in the D-league and hopefully they develop nicely. Meanwhile Seattle needed some beef up front and White should help provide that.

30) Bos

Actual pick- JR Giddens

Should have picked – Chalmers, CDR

Grade C

They could use an eventual replacement for Ray Allen, or a backup/upgrade for Rondo. Instead they take a headcase? I don’t like it.

Mock Draft Part 3 (picks 21-30)

You can read the run down of picks 1-20 below but to finish off my first round mock draft here are picks 21-30. There could still be alot of talent left in these picks, so teams selecting down here will definitely want to do their homework.

21) NJ- Batum

After drafting a post presence early in the draft the nets can either look to strengthen their bench with a shooter or can look to the future with an international pick that they can ideally stash over in Europe for a year or two. I say with Harris, M. Williams, Carter Jefferson, Speights Boone and S. williams around not to mention probably Nachbar you can afford to look ahead. Batum is young and was talked about as a lottery pick before the season I say draft him, put him in Europe and you have a potential replacement for carter in the future or Jefferson should you trade him.

22) Orl- CDR

Orlando needs a guard with quickness, who can penetrate when necessary or knock down shots when Howard passes it out. CDR is a perfect fit who is quick enough and big enough to handle the taller guards who Orlando is not currently equipped to guard.

23) Utah – Hibbert

They need quickness badly. Part of the reason they were eliminated this year was their inability to get back in transition because quite frankly they were too slow. However as I don’t have anyone on the board left who’s likely to help solve that problem so I take Roy Hibbert. They don’t like to run anyway so his lack of quickness wouldn’t be a huge problem, and he should be an improvement over Jarron Collins.

24)Sea – Chalmers

With all the young guys seattle is going to have on their roster I want a guy who’s been to the highest place possible, someone who’s seen what it takes to win. They need a pg and having based up on bayless I take Chalmers here.

25) Houston- Courtney Lee

Aside from T-mac and Yao every other position could probably be upgraded., raefer alston was very good last year so point isn’t a major need. With T-macs window closing they need people who can contribute right away, so I’m looking at one of the few seniors in the draft. Lee will knock down shots off passes from rafer and T-mac or Yao double teams and can also but the ball on the floor himself. When the rockets are struggling to score like they often do Lee will be a big help coming in for Battier or for T-mac when he needs to rest.

26) San Antonio- JJ Hickson

They have their big three, and a bunch of professionals but not a whole lot of athleticism. The spurs often look international and I would be surprised if they don’t, but Hickson will provide a nice option to help defend some of the quicker big men and aid their overall team speed.

27) New Orleans- Bill Walker

They don’t have too many needs. They could look to take a big man so they don’t have to play Melvin Ely ever again. Walker is too good to pass up here and with Bonzi Wells a free agent they can let him go Walker should be able to step into his role.

28) Mem- Kofous

I have them taking Eric Gordan at 5 so I would look big man here. Kofous I don’t see as a great NBA prospect due to his lack of athleticism but he should be able to score some points in the paint and that’s all the grizzlies can hope for here.

29) Det- Serge Ibaka

Mcdyess could call it quits which would change things a bit and rasheed could be dealt but right now it doesn’t look like too many guys will be getting playing time here so I’m looking to stick a guy in Europe for a year or two till sheed, mcdyess, rip and billups are closer to moving on. Ibaka is 18, you can let him learn the game in Europe for a couple years and bring him over when he’s ready and he’ll still only be 20-21.

Note: I’ve heard DJ whites name here, but I don’t see how that helps with maxiell already around.

30) Bos- Lawson

This pick will likely change based on how rondo does in the finals, but the Celtics need a pg that won’t be afraid to take open shots. I like rondo but they can use a replacement for House and Cassell and possibly a starter if rondo refuses to take the open shots he’s given. More likely the Celtics will look to a foreign big man like Ante Tomic, or Alexis Ajinca, but as I said I think the finals will show more about what the Celtics need to do.

Mock Draft Part 2 (picks 11-20)

After laying out my mock draft parameters and the first 10 picks in part 1, part 2 is here to give you picks 11-20.

To recap this is not what will happen, it's what should happen. i choose based on need and i don't care about what position you play just that you're the most talented player who will help my team get to the next level.

take a look at part 1 below for my reasoning as to why i have each guy at the positions but picks 1-10 where: Beasley, Rose, Randolph, Lopez, Gordon, Bayless, Mayo, Westbrook, Love, Speights

on to part 2:

11) Ind- Augustin

Indiana by all accounts is sick of Jamal Tinsley’s inability to play anything close to a full season. Assuming they don’t make some major changes (such as trading J. O’neal or Tinsley etc) it looks like Augustin is their best bet. Coming of a 19 pt 5 board a game season I might also look to deal Dunleavy and draft Galinari here.

12) Sac- Arthur

Assuming the top four point guards are off the board its probably too high to take a pg at 12, so I’m either looking to trade up (if Artest stays do they really need Francisco Gracia?) or trade down and get a power forward and a point guard (like Lawson or Chalmers later in the draft. If they stay here it looks like the choices would be Jordan or Arthur. I take Arthur.

13) Por- Alexander

Like Sac their biggest need is probably a pg and with Raef Lefrentz expiring deal they can probably make some moves, but with Brandon Roy on the roster they don’t neeeeed a pg. So Chad Ford tells me they’ll draft Joe Alexander and I have no problem with that.

14) G.S. – Galinari

Do they need Galinari? No, but we’re talking about G.S. here, Nelson loves 6’5”- 6’9” guys who can slash, shoot and pass. They could also draft Jordan here as they’re looking for more of an inside presence

15) Pho- Rush

Realistically their window has probably closed, because they’re not likely to overtake L.A., N.O., Utah, and S.A. but with Shaq and Nash around they need to win NOW. You’re looking for someone who can step right in and contribute so I think you’re looking at Rush or CDR. Rush is probably the better athlete and shooter and since they’re not looking for him to star anyway his reticence to do so is not a problem.

16) Phi- Jordan

Philly is an athletic team in need of more of an inside presence, put Jordan in the mix and they can keep their uptempo style while hopefully developing a low post scorer for the future. Note I have Jordan this low because I think he has high bust potential, at 7 ft you shouldn’t be averaging 8 pts and 6 boards in college. Granted he was a frosh, but was he even a starter at A&M?

17) Tor – Robin Lopez

With the team they have they need an athletic big who can also defend. They’re going to play uptempo and they have sufficient shooters, Lopez can run with them, but also defend guys who Bargnani and Bosh will struggle defending. SF is another option and Donte Green and CDR deserve looks

18) Was- Budinger

They have Caron Butler and a lot of question marks. I’ve seen McGee here, but with Blatche they don’t really need another tall developmental prospect. With Arenas, Jamison and Butler I put Budinger at the 2 and see if we can’t out shoot people. I’m not sure he’s a great pick for them but he’s the only one I see left having a chance to fit/contribute with them

19) Cleveland – Donte Greene

Simply put they need people who can score the basketball, and ideally some shooters. Hopefully Greene will add a little strength and develop a low post game in the future (he is 6’10”) but for now he’ll be a talented outside shooter not afraid to put up shots when Lebron throws it to him.

On a side note if they fail to turn Eric Snow and or their other expiring deals (Wally Sczcerbiak) into talented pieces then Danny Ferry needs to be catapulted out of town.

20) Denver- Mcgee

PG is definitely an option, with Chalmers being the pick over Lawson since they can’t get by with 2 under 6 foot guards in the backcourt. However with Camby getting up there in age, I take Mcgee who is a similar player and groom him as Camby’s replacement given Camby may even be traded.

Mock Draft Part 1 (picks 1-10)

To start I need to explain my mock draft a little.

This is in no way meant to be a prediction of what the actual GM’s will do. They have their favorites, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree it’s the best choice. So I give you what I think each team should do.

I believe in leaning towards need over talent. In some cases this would lead the hawks to choose mike conley over Al Horford, but in general I think you need to take a player who fits your system and who fits your needs. People will also bring up Bowie over Jordan but I would argue when your only other talented player is a SF, taking a SG is filling a need as well, so I’d like to believe I draft Jordan in that situation. In general that will ensure the hawks aren’t looking for their pg of the future for the past 10 years and the bulls a low post presence for the past 20.

I also don’t favor any one position over another unless it matters for your specific team. Jordan, Bird, Shaq, Duncan, Magic have all been the crucial components to multiple championship teams in the past and all play vastly different styles and positions.

1) Chicago- Beasley

They already have hinrich at pg, and have been looking for low post scoring for at least 2 decades. If they can trade hinrich for value they can consider Rose, but moving Gooden and Thomas will be muuuuuch easier. I’ve heard knocks on Beasley that he’s not necessarily a low post scorer, but lets not confuse his ability to do other things well with a lack of post scoring. After having one of the best freshman seasons EVER in college he will be a dominant force down low for the bulls and is the perfect fit.

2) Miami- Rose

I’m putting Rose here because he’s too talented to fall past the two spot, but if I’m Miami I’m seriously looking to trade down at least one spot and take Mayo or someone else. As Chard Ford has pointed out in his mock drafts with Rose and Wade in the backcourt they’d have one of the worst shooting backcourts in the league allowing defenses to sag off them and play their drives. However Rose would look damn good running the break with Wade and Marion.

3) Min- Anthony Randolph

I doubt they’d have the balls to take Randolph here, but to me he’s by far the best fit. He’s extremely talented with a skill set that’s been compared to Chris Bosh, but most importantly from what I can tell he can defend. He averaged 2.3 blocks a year, and with Al Jefferson being an extremely talented offensive player and equally disinterested defender they need to pair someone like Randolph with him.

4) Sea- B. Lopez

With no real inside presence to write of offensively or defensively I like Lopez here. Seattle does need a PG so Bayless is an option, but i’d be looking at a Mario Chalmers or Ty Lawson with their second first round pick rather then using the first pick on Bayless.

5) Mem- Gordon

I like Conley at point, Gay at SF and Warrick at PF the grizzlies could use a SG or C. Gordon is by far the best talent at either position available. Mayo is definitely an option if available as Anthony Randolph would be, but I have Randolph off the board and I’m not sure Mayo is big or strong enough for 2 guard in the NBA.

6) Knicks- Bayless

While Mayo is probably too talented to pass up here, I have my doubt about his ability to run an offense and with D’Antoni you need a strong PG.

7) LAC- Mayo

Clippers run up to the podium and rejoice that LA’s own OJ Mayo falls to them. The clips need a PG and whether Mayo is the prototypical pg or not he will fit in with them just fine.

8) Mil- Westbrook

With Mo Williams being more of a scoring pg, I’d like to pair him with another combo guard who can defend. The bucks have competent players at every position, but not necessarily any stars anywhere, so I take the best player available, but I think Westbrook is the best fit.

9) Char- Love

If I’m charlotte I probably look at Darrell Arthur, Speights, or DeAndre Jordan as they all have much higher upsides. However knowing Jordans hard on for guys that produce in college as well Larry Browns complete lack of patience in developing young guys I take Kevin Love. At least Love will get some playing time and contribute.

10) NJ- Speights

With harris, carter and Jefferson the nets are set 1-3, they have Williams and boone to provide a defensive presence so the nets need to look at the best scoring low post option. After averaging 14.5 pts on 62% shooting and 8 boards per game in the SEC last year I think he’s their guy. In comparison to other choices Darrell Arthur’s numbers were 12.8, 54%, 6.3 and DeAndre Jordan’s were… 8, 61% and 6.

So You Want to Draft Mayo

Editors note: i wrote this a week or so ago, and its probably not one of my better entries, but i hope you found it somewhat interesting.

Let’s say you’re the Knicks… ok I won’t subject you to such a scary fate… let’s say you’re the Timberwolves. If that’s too scary as well, just pretend you’re some other lottery team, for these purposes it really doesn’t matter which team, but the key is you could use either a point guard or a shooting guard and you don’t have a top two pick. So you take a look at the prospect available to you; you review the game film, work them all out, etc and you rate that OJ Mayo is the most talented pg/sg available after Rose is off the board.

In my best Stephen A. Smith voice I say, HOWEVA, you know he’s got all this USC baggage accompanying him. There’s going to be an investigation which may be a distraction for him and it certainly will provide some negative press, so is it worth it? What does it say about his overall character and will he be an issue over the course of his career?

Well my opinion is… unfortunately... this doesn’t matter. He’s probably not going to face any criminal changes for this or anything that would affect his ability to be on the court. As for negative press, well if the guy scores 15 a game (for example) as a rookie you’re fans won’t care. What does it say about his overall character? Nothing you probably didn’t already know. He’s a bit of a diva, but he’s also not selling drugs, stealing laptops or having sex with 13 year olds.

As we all know sports teams are businesses and your business is to make money. Fans want a winner and the more you win the more money you’re going to make. So to the GM who drafts Mayo I say good luck, and hope he pans out as a player because lets be honest fans will most likely only remember whether he was talented or not.

Editors note: i wrote this a week or so ago, and its probably not one of my better entries, but i hope you found it somewhat interesting.

How the Knicks Could Get Good Soon… Enough

The Knicks have been the model of dysfunction as an organization. However they really need to only make one big move to change the direction of the franchise. They’ll need to make a whole bunch of smart moves and good draft choices, but one big move can change the franchises fortune and it’s not all that hard a move to make.

Trade Zach Randolph.

Now i'm not the first to suggest how the knicks can fix themselves so i may not be breaking new ground here. However as i said i think with some patience, some shrewdness and one big move the Knicks can get back on track.

Simply put if the Knicks trade Zach Randolph they will be back on the path to success. Getting rid of the 3 years left on his deal will put the Knicks in position to be under the cap by the summer of 2009. Marbury, and rose come off the cap in 2009, if they can find a trade to get Randolph’s contract off the books by then that’s approximately a total of 41 million coming off the books that summer. This would put the knicks at around 42 million dollars of committed payroll by then. The current salary cap is about 55 million and going up about $2 mil a year. If one assumes the salary cap for summer of 09 is $57 million at least the Knicks could have up to $15 million of free cap space.

Now I’ll start by detailing how they trade Randolph. Well Cleveland could be a taker for Joe Smith, Aaron Snow, and a draft pick. Both are expiring and Randolph fits a need for them. Or maybe GS for Al Harrington and a sign and trade for one to two year for Matt Barnes. How bout even a sign and trade with Miami for Jason Williams and ricky davis (one year contracts for both of them). I’m not saying it will be easy because the league knows he’s a loser, but there are teams he is a fit for.

They would still have David Lee a good rebounder and a great fit as a 6^th man bringing energy off the bench. (Probably not a good enough defender/scorer to be a fulltime starter but definitely worthy of good minutes). They have Jamal Crawford a good combo guard who can get you high teens in points a game. Eddy Curry is a good post presence who despite a complete lack of defensive intensity can score and rebound quite well.

Let’s say the Knicks get Jerryd Bayless in the draft, (a realistic projection based on the draft mock lottery) now you have Bayless at the point, Crawford, and Curry starting. You have balkman or Richardson to play sf, both who can be decent role players and you have Lee coming off the bench with Nate robinson backing up at PG. Your gapping hole is at c with the need for a defensive big man.

Now the Knicks could opt to try to draft one (maybe Thabeet or Robin Lopez falls to them early second round or they trade up for a late first round pick) or just be content with Randolph Morris, Curry and Lee upfront for a year. Or they can try to sign one. This summer they have no cap space. Realistically their options for 09 are limited with not too many talented guys being unrestricted free agents, the following guys are worth looking at who are restricted free agents although it’s unlikely they’ll able to pry any of them away as Indiana, LA, NO, and UT will clearly match offers for their guys:

Marvin Williams (restricted)
Raymond Felton (restricted)
Jason Maxiell (restricted)
Danny Granger (restricted)
Andrew Bynum (restricted)
Hakim Warrick (restricted)
Chris Paul (restricted)
Nate Robinson (restricted)
David Lee (restricted)
Channing Frye (restricted)
Francisco "Paco" Garcia (restricted)
Deron Williams (restricted)

So the smart move is to wait till 2010 where the following players can be unrestricted free agents (ignoring guys like Shaq and Ben Wallace who will both be about 80 at the time) :

Joe Johnson
Ray Allen
LeBron James
Dirk Nowitzki

Josh Howard
Marcus Camby
Rip Hamilton
Stephen Jackson
Tracy McGrady
Dwyane Wade
Michael Redd
Tyson Chandler
Eddy Curry
Amare Stoudemire
Brad Miller
Manu Ginobili
Chris Bosh

Lets say you can’t get Lebron because he goes to Brooklyn and D-Wade wants to stay in Miami well Imagine Chris Bosh or Josh Howard being inserted in that lineup. Or how bout Tyson Chandler in there? So now you have Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry, Balkman/Q, Crawford and Bayless. I think you’ve got yourself a team now. If Lebron does sign in NY which is still a possibility given the lack of progress in Brooklyn then to borrow from Steven A… quite frankly you’ve got all you need.

NFL Mock Drafts Are a Waste of Time

Our country is addicted to the NFL. Despite a total of 21 weeks of meaningful games and only one game at most each week for your team you probably follow the game the entire year round. You probably follow the combine and you probably follow free agency etc. That’s all in good fun but when you take the time to do your own mock draft you’re wasting your time and more importantly you’re wasting mine.

Now i don't think all mock drafts are a waste of time. Mock drafts by professionals and mock drafts in the NBA are interesting. Yet I think NFL ones are a waste of time… so why the difference? Well let’s take a look at the talent pools which the nfl and NBA are coming from. NBA players are coming from 12 person college teams, where generally there aren’t more then 1-2 NBA players on that team and if there are then their team is on tv constantly (like a UNC for example). On the other hand The NFL is taking players from 50+ person teams where there could be up to 5 or more guys taken from that team.

Then let’s think about watching the games. Let’s say Joakim Noah is a top prospect and you’re watching Florida play it’s relatively easy to see what he’s doing on the court. Even if he’s not directly involved in the play it’s easy enough to see if he set a pick, how he's spacing the floor etc. Now let’s think about an offensive tackle or a defensive back. Are you really paying attention to what the left tackle is doing every play? If a cornerback is not being thrown at is that because of his coverage or are they getting more help from the safety so the qb is going to the other side?

Now if you’re Todd Mcshay and you have access to all the game footage from all the games and multiple views of it you can get a pretty good view of what the guy can do. How many of us have that kind of access? You might say, sure we don’t have all that extra video but we still can see the combine and we can still see what the scouts are saying and form our own opinions. Why shouldn’t we take all that, take look at team needs and go from there?

Well because quite frankly it’s useless. Should the Dolphins take Matt Ryan with the number one pick? Well I’ve never really seen Joe Flaco play, so should I tell them to take Matt Ryan with the number one pick when I don’t know whether taking Flaco in the second round could be a better value? Are you prepared to even look at the second round to see if they need to pick a certain Ryan that high?

One of the most valuable players on the Giants this season was a defensive end out of Troy that they took in the fourth round. You might have heard of Osi now, but I can’t imagine you did out of college. Yet you might have wanted the Giants to take a defensive end in the first round that year not knowing they were gonna take Osi in the fourth round.

To put it another way… people who do mock drafts are the same people who boo Donovan Mcnabb on draft day because they wanted Ricky Williams.

So enjoy your mock draft, but unless its your job, I’m not interested.

Nets Effect: Breaking it Down

So the trade deadline came and went and the Nets took one of two necessary moves. They traded away Jason Kidd the best thing that ever happened to the franchise. However as I wrote before he was traded they needed to do it and after seeing the trade I have to say Jason Kidd is still the best thing that ever happened to the Nets because they made out tremendously in this deal. In short they weren’t any good with him, he’s getting old and he’s very expensive. On top of that he asked for a trade so while he seemed to be playing hard I don’t think his head was truly in it. I wish him the best and I’d hold no grudge if the Mavs win the championship, but this needed to be done.

So now it’s done and as I said I think the Nets made out very well. They’re saving nearly 7 million in cap space for next year and they made off with a point guard who’s ten years younger then Jason Kidd and statistically speaking a better player right now. Granted he’s probably not the team leader and doesn’t set quite the tone as Kidd, but he’s quicker, better defensively, he’s locked in at a very affordable price and oh btw did I mention 10 years younger. Between him and Marcus Williams I’m very confident in the Nets future at the point guard position.

Unfortunately they were not able to move Vince Carter and really get some real cap space for the summer. Instead they’ll still have him around with 4 more years left on his contract. They’re going to have to hope he can be efficient on a nightly basis for the rest of the season. Notice I didn’t say great just efficient. If he takes good shots, gets to the basket, shoots a high percentage, doesn’t turn the ball over with stupid passes then he can be a very efficient and effective player. Whether he scores 17 points or 30 as long as he’s shooting 50% or greater, rebounding and passing well the Nets are a team to be reckoned with.

So the Nets are left with Harris, Carter, Jefferson, Boone, Marcus and Sean Williams, Maurice Ager and Stromile Swift. There’s plenty of talent there and they’ve won 2 of 3 since the break/trade. So the questions remain how efficient will Carter be, how will the William’s and Boone develop and how will Harris fit with the team once he returns from his ankle injury?

I think they’ll find a way to make the playoffs (not saying much in the east) but unless they’re able to catch Washington for the 6 seed it’s most likely a first round exit for them. If they do catch Washington they could probably find a way to beat Orlando a good but not great team, but either way I don’t see a long playoff run in store for the Nets.

The Nets Effect: Time to Break Out The Dynamite

It’s tough as a fan to say goodbye to the best thing that’s ever happened to your franchise and for the Nets Jason Kidd is that thing. In the years since he’s been here the nets have had the most success as a team since Dr J was lacing up his Chuck Taylors and rocking his short shorts over in Long Island. The Nets having won ABA titles had never even been to the NBA finals never mind won one since they entered the NBA. With Jason Kidd the Nets have made the playoffs every year, had their first ever 50 win season and made the NBS finals twice. Certainly having Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson, Kerry Kittles and recently Vince Carter has helped, but Jason Kidd was unquestionably the driving force behind this success. For that reason I've held off on writing this article for over a week as I wanted to hold out hope.

Now coming to the close of his career the Nets are struggling and Jason Kidd has realized what any Net fan has to realize: it’s time to move on.

The Nets currently stand at 18-26 having lost 9 in a row including last nights loss to Minnesota where they allowed Al Jefferson to score a career high 40 points. As bad as the Nets have played recently they’re still only ½ a game out the playoffs, so one could argue the Nets should keep the team together and make a push for the playoffs. Heck the Nets have played the Magic tough, and on any given night could compete with the elite teams in the league. They’ve beaten the Magic, Trailblazers and Lakers on the road. However the fact still remains they’re 8 games under 500 and have lost to Minn, NY twice, Sacramento and the Clippers; some of the worst teams in the league.

So your options are keep Kidd and fight or give in to his trade request and start over. I think as a rational fan you have to say thanks for the good times Jason, and good luck in your new destination. If the Nets trade Kidd however Vince Carter needs to go with him. I’m not even interested in talent. If I’m the Nets I look for draft picks and cap space with an emphasis on cap space. In the NBA you rarely if ever get fair value in terms of talent when you trade a star. If the Nets can get Kidd and Carter off the books by the end of the year they will be significantly under the cap. More than 20 million to be precise.

So how do they do it? How bout Kidd for Jason Williams and Ricky Davis. Pat Riley has been looking for point guards, and I can’t imagine he’s willing to wait around on a rebuilding effort. With Shaq on the book for an extra year then Kidd this is low risk for the Heat and the Nets get 19.8 mil off the books at the end of the year. Throw in a draft pick and you have a steal. Will this move make the Heat better? Probably not, but they’re over the cap next year anyway and as I said I can’t imagine Pat Riley is willing to sit ideally as his team stinks it up.

Now for Carter this will be a much bigger challenge as he just signed an obnoxious contract extension. However it is possible. Riley might take a similar deal for Carter instead of Kidd because as I said he’s desperate. If he will then you can deal Kidd to the Mavericks or any of the other interested suitors. If not perhaps your other best option is LA. With Corey Maggette and Elton Brand both having ETO’s at the season end, the Clippers could fear losing either one for nothing at seasons end and could believe bringing in Carter will help them sell some tickets. For the Nets you can either let them both walk or end up with a good player. Now of course the Clippers may not be too upset at letting them walk and thus a deal might not happen there either. Trading Carter will not come easy, but if you’re going to build around your young talented pieces (Marcus Williams, RJ, Sean Williams and Josh Boone) you need to find a way.

The NETS Effect: Kiki is Coming to Town

Having seen Ed Stefanski leave to be General Manager of the 76ers the Nets apparently wanted to bring in more help for Team President Rod Thorn. Today the Nets named Vandeweghe special assistant to the team president in a role that will essentially replace Stefanski. As a Nets fan the question is clear, should you be happy or afraid?

The answer to that question is much less clear and quite frankly I don’t know how to react. Vandeweghe is the same man to draft one of the all time greatest draft busts Nikoloz Tskitishvili. However in the same draft he orchestrated a trade that brought them Nene, and Marcus Camby for a 25^th pick in that draft (which New York took Frank Williams) and Antonio McDyess. Camby being the reigning defensive player of the year you have to say that’s an unquestionably good deal.

He also drafted Carmelo Anothy which I don’t think anyone would question, but considering Anthony was clearly the second best prospect in that draft at the time I don’t know how much credit he gets for it. In 2004 he traded away the rights for Jameer Nelson to Orlando for a 2005 first round pick. The pick turned out to be a number 20 pick which they used on Julius Hodges who’s only claim to fame is having been shot. Not a great move but considering Orlando had won the lottery the previous year I guess the thinking was it would be a higher pick than number twenty.

You could blame him for giving Kenyon Martin a huge contract since Martin has been a bust, however Martin was 26 years old at the time coming off a season averaging 16.7 points and 9.4 boards a game. (nearly a double double) On top of that Martin had improved every season he had been in the league. Can’t really predict a player is going to end up needing micofracture surgery.

So welcome aboard Kiki let’s hope the good you bring to the team outweighs the bad… and stay way from those foreign guys.