Can Danny?

I'm not a huge fan of Larry Huges but this is just unfair.  RealGm has a headline claiming: "Larry Hughes doesn't think that playing hard on a game-by-game basis is the key to winning in the NBA." The Chicago Tribune (always looking for a controvery to cover a losing basketball team) headlined the story: ""Playing Hard Not Always Smart".

So what was the actual quote: "I really don't think we're missing on playing hard," Hughes told the Tribune. "You can play hard, but you have to play smart. This game is about strategizing. Playing hard doesn't necessarily get it done on a nightly basis. You have to execute."

Clearly he isn't saying that teams shouldn't play hard. To me, it's obvious that he's saying that if you play hard and play stupid, you'll lose. I think we all saw this in the last couple of seasons here in Boston. I don't think you can say that our players weren't giving their all (well, maybe not at the end of last season) but if you don't know how to play the game and can't execute, all the hustle is just wasted energy.  I think our own Tony Allen is a great example of that. He always plays hard but he also often plays dumb and negates all of his energy.

In fact, Hughes is downright positive about the team, saying, "I think a training camp and full season will help us out with the philosophy and style of this team." Of course, I'm sure someone could take that out of context and complain that he's always focusing on style over substance.

Thank God we don't have to worry about petty stories like this anymore. We can focus on a team that has to be the odds on favorites to win it all.

Posted by SoulHonky at 09:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With the opening weekend of the tournament gone, and most of the elite prospects gone with it, it's time to look at these young players to see if they should declare for the draft or stay in another year.

To start off, there's one thing that all guards should think about; the NCAA is moving the three point line back so they need to figure out how that will impact their success. If it is going to expose their shot, they might want to consider leaving while they still have the gaudy three point numbers. 

Also, the asterisk if for people like JJ Hickson, who has declared but hasn't signed an agent so he can still choose to go back to school. 

Michael Beasley: Declare
Beasley is the #1 pick and there's no reason for him to stay. He needs to be up with the pros to really improve his game.

Derrick Rose: Declare
Rose isn't going to learn how to run an offense in Memphis' system so staying in school isn't going to help him. If anything, Rose's year has shown that Memphis isn't the place for pure point guards (but is the perfect situation for 'tweeners).

Chris Douglas-Roberts: Declare
He's not going to get much better in Memphis's system and he might as well leave with Rose and Dorsey.


Blake Griffin: Stay 
Griffin could make a case for the third pick in the draft (or second, if Memphis gets the #2 pick) but he seems like the guy whose stock could fall in workouts. He needs to work on his jumper a little more to truly be a top prospect.  He should look at the word that Ryan Gomes did in his senior yet to make himself a more complete player and follow suit.

DeAndre Jordan: Declare*
Jordan should declare but not sign with an agent. With a couple of workouts, he should be able to figure out whether or not he's a top pick. Also, he needs to see what other young bigs are doing. If people like Hasheem Thabeet, Blake Griffin, and Mareese Speights stay in, Jordan might be better off testing the waters this season.

Jeryd Bayless: Declare
Bayless needs to learn how to play the point guard position but that's not going to happen at Arizona since they are bringing in #1 point guard recruit Brandon Jennings next year. Bayless's stock can't get any higher than it is right now.

Chase Budinger: Stay
Buddinger has basically shown that he isn't going to be a leading man in the NBA. What he really needs is a year in which he helps take the reins of his team and shows that he's a complete player. The extended three point line should benefit Budinger as he'll be able to take advantage of his pull-up jumper more. 

Eric Gordon: Declare*
Normally I'd say that anyone who is a lock for a top 10 pick should leave school outright but Gordon has struggled of late and his disappearing act in the NCAA's isn't going to help his stock any. Add in the fact that Ben Gordon has had such a rough season and NBA GM's might not look at Eric as kindly as they might have in the past. It also doesn't help that most of the lotto teams already have an undersized two-guard and probably aren't looking to add another one.  A couple of so-so workouts and Gordon could slide all the way to the late teens. He might want to hedge his bet in case it turns out he'd be better off using this offseason to work on his handle/PG skills and boost his stock.

Brook Lopez: Declare
His stock can't get any higher.

Robin Lopez: Stay
He needs to develop more and a year of being the man in the middle (sans his twin brother) should help him establish himself as his own man as opposed to just being The Other Lopez brother. He might also want to cut his hair because nobody's using a lotto pick on the next Anderson Varejao.

Darren Collison: Declare
Personally, I wouldn't risk another knee injury if I was Collison. I can't imagine he'll be able to do anything next year that would make him more than the mid-first round pick that he already is so it's probably better to leave now and get that guarenteed contract rather than risking another knee injury. 

Russell Westbrook: Declare*
Right now I think Westbrook is a lot of hype and needs some work to make it in the NBA. Then again, his stock is absurdly high right now and could likely decline next season when he's fighting prized freshman Jrue Holliday and Malcolm Lee for playing time. If Westbrook can get through the workouts and still maintain his lottery position, he should stay in the draft and learn on the job. If not, he might be better off staying for another season in Westwood.

Kevin Love: Declare
Love's weakness aren't anything that he can fix. Unless someone finds a way to make him quicker and taller, he is what he is. If he continues his nice tournament run, he should use that as his launching pad to the NBA.

OJ Mayo: Declare
Staying isn't out of the question for Mayo. USC is getting an elite SG Demar DeRozan next year so Mayo could take over the point guard spot and help lead the team. That could help him fix a lot of his tarnished reputation. On the other hand, he could become the second best guard on his own team. In the end, I don't think there's any way for Mayo to match the hype that preceded him and he's better off taking his game to the NBA and learning how to run an NBA squad.

Mareese Speights: Declare* 
Speights is a dark horse because he's under the radar right now but he has the size and talent to play himself into the #3 pick with some good workouts. Right now, a lot of the big man competition is questionable and Speights could take advantage of it. The biggest problem, of course, is work ethic. Billy Donovan all but called out Speights by name as being disappointing this season and not having the mentality of a winner. It's in Speights and the Gators' best interests to have him declare. If Mareese is as good as he thinks he is, he'll outplay the likes or Lopez, Jordan, and Hibbert and earn a spot at the top of the draft. If not, he'll realize he has a lot to work on and should come back with a renewed focus.

DeAndre Jordan: Declare*
DeAndre Jordan doesn't really know how to play basketball. The guy can't shoot, is a walking turnover, and got his stuff tossed back in his face multiple times by Kevin Love in their tournament game. Yet he's still being called a top 10 pick. How can he not take advantage of his potential and sell high? When's a big man developed out of Texas A&M? And if Jordan does develop as people think he could and become a Dwight Howard-type, he's much better off in the NBA rather than the NCAA's where big men getting into foul trouble off of ticky-tack calls happens.

Anthony Randolph: Stay
Randolph needs to establish himself more. If he comes out now, he'll likely fall into the mid-first round.  Unless he considers himself a fraud who will never blossom, he should stay in and become a player.

DJ Augustin: Declare 
Many experts are saying that Augustin is a sure-fire lotto pick and he reminds them of Jameer Nelson. DJ needs to come out before these experts realize that that doesn't exactly make sense. 

Hasheem Thabeet: Stay
He might want to consider testing the waters but he's all-raw potential and likely wont' be able to work his way past most of the big men who are already ranked about him.

Ty Lawson: Declare
It doesn't seem like the UNC faithful have been very faithful to him (questioning why he was out with an injury) and I think the extended three point line is going to hurt him more than other PG's.  

Tyler Hansbrough: Stay
He loves college and is a better college player than pro prospect.

Donte Green: Declare*
I just don't see Green getting better at Syracuse. He's going to be playing a zone and not working on his man defense. He's already standing around too much on offense and I don't see that changing at all. While the initial reports were that he was like Rashard Lewis, he seems more like Shawne Williams.

Darrell Arthur: Stay
Arthur missed his chance to skate by on his potential last year. He's going to need to show some actual production and improvement in order to get his name back into lotto consideration.

Brandon Rush: Declare 
Rush is someone else who shouldn't risk another injury and he's also a player that is probably better off landing on a contender than being expected to step in as a starter from day 1.

Posted by SoulHonky at 01:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not to harp on Isiah Thomas when he's down but I'm not sure how you can't call what he's doing right now "tanking." His official quote was:

Isiah Thomas has revealed that the Knicks are now playing for the future, with Zach Randolph probably not being used for at least the next two games, the Associated Press is reporting.

"This time of year, I think with the roster that we have we need to take a look at the young players that we have," Thomas said, "particularly some that we have to make decisions on if we're going to keep contractually."

Thomas was referring to getting a better look at players such as Randolph Morris and Wilson Chandler.

So what has happened? Zach Randolph has gotten two straight DNP-CD's (sitting next to fellow benchee Quentin Richardson). Randolph Morris played 28 minutes (shooting 1-8) against Memphis but tonight he only has played three minutes.  The young buck who stole his minutes: 33 year old Malik Rose.

Although what might actually be worse is that 33 year old Malik Rose is actually playing better than any of the Knicks' young players. 

Of course, Isiah still has a ways to go to match Pat Riley who isn't even showing up for some games (who missed a few games to scout college players) and barely bothers to field an actual NBA lineup. In fact, the game after Jason Williams led the team to a victory of the Bucks he sat out with a life-threatening "jammed thumb". Shawn Marion's back seems to flare up all the time and guys on ten-day contract immediately become key rotation players, often getting more minutes than the young guys who were supposed to be the future of the Heat.

Posted by SoulHonky at 01:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Milwaukee Bucks finally fired Larry Harris, a man who really hasn't made a single great move in his time as a GM. Needless to say, he'll likely be hired on as an assistant GM any day now.  Harris came into a very good situation in Milwaukee, a young team with a backcourt of TJ Ford, Michael Redd, and Desmond Mason (as well as a servicable enough big man in Joel Pryzbilla) and a load of cap space. Harris's first couple of years weren't so bad; the Bucks made the playoffs and the team hasn't squandered too much of its cap space (partially because the Wizards inexplicably matched the obscene 6 million per year offer that Harris had made for Etan Thomas).

Then Harris seemed to lose his mind. Taking Andrew Bogut #1 overall isn't so bad since he was the consensus #1 pick and the Bucks already had TJ Ford with Mo Williams backing him up at the point. What doesn't make sense is that after making that decision, Harris (apparently determined to overpay a center) gave Dan Gadzuric the same 6 million a year deal he offered Etan Thomas and then traded Desmond Mason and a #1 draft pick for Jamaal Magloire. After loading his team up on big men, Harris then falls for the "Clipper Contract Year" and overpays role player Bobby Simmons to a 9 million per year deal. The rest of the cap space is essentially given to Michael Redd who signs a huge max contract. I like Michael Redd but he's not someone who should be making 17 and 18 million a year at the end of his deal IMO.

A year after passing on Chris Paul and Deron Williams because he had TJ Ford, the Bucks decide to trade Ford for Charlie Villenueva.  A year after dealing his starting PG for a soft tweener forward, Harris decides to draft Yi Jianlian. He also thinks Mo Williams is worth 8 million a year which puts the Bucks as the luxury tax line and gives them a starting frontcourt that can't play a lick of defense and a backcourt that focuses on scoring and little else.

Needless to say, the Bucks are now a terrible team and I don't think its a coincedence that Harris was fired the night after his team lost to the Wade-less Heat.

The Bucks aren't in a terrible position for the next GM but the Larry Harris Era definitely didn't do anyone any favors.  I gave my suggestions to the Bucks at the beginning of the season but the time for these deals has passed.

Of course, they are courting Donnie Walsh which makes some sense because of the respect he has around the league but I don't know how you can look at one of the few teams in a worse position than the Bucks and think THAT'S where they should look for their new GM. 

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

David Stern is at it again. The Boston Globe is saying that he wants to raise the age limit to 20 years old when the collective bargaining agreement comes due in 2011. As a basketball fan, I'd love to see Kevin Durant and the kids in college another year but the bottom line is this is wholly unfair. Forcing these kids to play for free while risking injury is ridiculous and it's not like most of them are incapable of handling the high level of play in the NBA. Maybe he thinks this is a way to get more people interested in the D-League but that whole venture needs to improve before it can truly become a legit minor league. Playing in that league is about as helpful as playing for the Globetrotters.

Enough. Figure out the issue with retired players being traded (or even better, retired players still counting on the salary cap). Deal with the fact that one of the best teams in the league (New Orleans) can't even fill 75% of its arena. Realize that the mess in Seattle is partially his fault because he let people who he knew wanted a team in Oklahoma City buy the Sonics. Maybe fine the next team that thinks hiring Chris Wallace is a good idea. And please don't give me the "People will be better off staying in college" b.s. Kevin Durant would have just hoisted up as many shots as he did last year and would still have issues with defense and passing ability. Greg Oden would have Ohio State trainers dealing with his injury instead of the top flight guys the Trailblazers get. Darrell Arthur, Ty Lawson, and Chase Budinger haven't exactly improved. Hell, Hibbert's didn't improve any staying for his senior year. And it's not like the two years will make anything easier on scouts. They'll still get duped by guys like Patrick O'Bryant, Luke Jackson, and Adam Morrison. Sure, watching LeBron and 'Melo battle it out in March Madness for a couple of years would have been fun but it's more fair to let them start earning the paycheck that each deserved.

Posted by SoulHonky at 12:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Pacers co-owner said changes are going to be made this season but I hope he realizes that the only real changes available to the team are long term. With a roster full of players who are overpaid or injury-prone or headcases (or all three), there isn't much hope that they're going to be able to turn this thing around and get back into the playoffs in one season.

However, while the Pacers team is a mess, one trade could set the team's rebuilding process into place. 

Jermaine O'Neal and Jamaal Tinsley for Stephon Marbury, Malik Rose, David Lee

Ideally, the Pacers would go after the Knicks' #1 pick or even a swap of 2008 picks but if this is the best they can get, they should go for it. Both Marbury and Rose are expiring deals next season and Lee is a great young prospect for Larry Bird's Hickory High look-alikes. The key to the deal is dumping Tinsley, who has either been in trouble or on the injured list for much of the last couple of years. This one move puts the Pacers under the cap in 2009/10.

Plan B 

If the Pacers can't make that deal, they might have to take the Ray Allen special: Jermaine O'Neal for Nazr Mohammed, Adam Morrison, Bobcats #1 pick. Mohammed's contract is worse (i.e, longer) than Wally's. Yes, Morrison went much earlier than Delonte West but I'd rather have Delonte. I think Morrison is a bust. The key would be a chance to rebuild with Granger and two lotto picks (perhaps Eric Gordon and Anthony Randolph). Michael Jordan is dying to win now so I think he jumps at the chance to grab O'Neal.

This, of course, leaves Tinsley and odds are that they'll have to make a deal for an bad contract. Again, a deal with the Knicks for someone like Jerome James could work. The best move might be to deal with the Nuggets who might be willing to trade Kenyon Martin for Jamaal Tinsley and Troy Murphy. Tinsley would give the team a playmaking PG and Murphy would be the second best 3-point shooter on the team and could be a decent complement to between Camby and 'Melo. The contracts are all the same length but the Pacers add defense and dump a malcontent. 

In the end, Mohammed and Martin would just have to hold down the fort until a draft pick like Randolph develops. In two years, if the pick is a bust, K-Mart is an expiring deal and could be used in a trade. Meanwhile, Dunleavy serves as the cog of the offense, distributing between Danny Granger and Eric Gordon (or whomever they land in this year's lotto).

It's far from a perfect plan but the Pacers need to wake up and embrace the fact that the next couple of years will remain the property of the Celtics and Pistons. Building for the next couple of years is a waste of time. The goal should be to prepare for the day when those two elite squads start to decline.

Posted by SoulHonky at 07:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm not sure you can call it a fall per se since he's never actually done anything outside of the dunk contest but Gerald Green was just waived by the Houston Rockets for Mike Harris. Even worse than being waived for some guy nobody outside of Houston has really ever head of but Harris was only signed to a 10 day contract. The Rockets dumped Gerald for a guy who might be gone in a couple of weeks. Hopefully Gerald is working on his resume. Personally, I think he's a great fit for the Knicks. Not just because he is a lot of talent, zero hoops IQ, and seems to have a high opinion of himself, but also because the Knicks actually could use his outside shooting.  And Isiah could finally say that he brought a champion* to New York.

I always hoped for the best for Gerald but after a while you just had to realize that he simply didn't have the head to turn his world of potential into actual production. Would college have helped him? Probably not. He was heading to Oklahoma State so odds are that he probably just would have become a better dunking, dumber version of Tony Allen. Actually, that's not fair to Tony since he actually has a good work ethic and is more crazy than entitled.

*slam dunk champion

Posted by SoulHonky at 10:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)