@29

Ted I hope this draft is like 2001 or 2006 so some talent drops to us. Thanks for the acknowledgement. Fair enough on Stephenson, but the views on him are all over the place, which I think explains why there is no agreement as to where he could be picked. From what I saw of him at Cinncy, he could get whatever shot he wanted. Outside stroke needs some polish. He was a ball hog. I dont know if that was due to a lack of offensive options or what the coach wanted. But he is a pouter when he isnt featured. Hard to tell about his defense since i saw him playing a lot of 2-3 and match up zone with little on ball defense or help rotations.

@ 30

I get that if players give up a few million then they could all play together, but then those are no longer max contracts. My point is that even with Wade renounced there is not enough cap space in Miami to sign 3 max contracts of the top free agents. They could squeeze in three 2nd level guys but not 3 max top level guys. I just want folks to keeping in mind the minimum roster charge plaus the cap hold of a free agent until he is signed or renounced. When people say Miami is 40 million under, it is clear they didnt make the right calculations.

That deal will happen, then Bird will blame it on the refs.

“An NBA source has told us the Pacers and Bulls are discussing a deal that would send Kirk Hinrich and the 17th pick to Indiana for the 10th pick and possibly some salary relief to even out the deal. The Pacers are supposedly targeting Gordon Hayward at 17.”

As for Lawrence Frank, who wouldn’t like the idea of a great defensive coach being added on (which means you have to pay him a lot) as an assistant coach? Sounds like a no-brainer for the Knicks, but Frank is good enough to be seriously considered for head coaching jobs, no? So I don’t know if he wouldn’t just wait for a head coaching job to open up first.

You also have to consider their situations if Orlando and LAC are interested…
-Orlando is a capped out contender with limited resources to get over the hump and win a ring. Turning two solid rotation players (say Bass, Pietrus) into a quality player might be a good play. If the #17 were included… You get a nice 24 year old above-average starter AND a shot at drafting a high ceiling guy in a pretty wide open draft.
-LAC have valuable cap space, but might have a hard time finding someone to take it. I would take Deng over Gay at even money. If Gay’s getting more than Deng, no way. Outside of Gay who does LAC realistically target? Bring in Deng for leadership (great guy, hard worker, smart, tough…) to solidify a supporting cast of #8 pick, Kaman, Davis, Gordon, DeAndre Jordan, Craig Smith… around the guy you hope is your franchise player: Blake Griffin… could be a playoff team in a couple years. Clippers might be wise to take the solid playoff team play rather than their chances of getting LeBron James.

Nelson
Gilbert
Deng/Carter?
Lewis
Howard

I think that team beats Cleveland w/ LBJ next year. Move on, LeBron!

I love the idea of Deng to Orlando! No extra cap space for the Bulls this summer, they lose part of their “young nucleus”, Deng is sent to the Magic making LeBron all the more motivated to go to a team who will help him beat Orlando.

Ford says Warriors are offering the #6 pick if a team will take Monta Ellis… Wonder if they’d take back Curry and change that to Biedrins? (Only $2 mill per less than Ellis.) Curry/Chandler for Biedrins/#6 or Biedrins/Brandan Wright would be about salary neutral. At #6 you’re looking at Monroe, Aminu, maybe even Cousins… Could be worth taking back Ellis to get a C like Cousins or Monroe…

@34

Chandler has not produced even an average NBA season yet. It’s all projection/potential with him (I know, I know… his TS% was .550 for 30 games last season, great… he’s been a below average player for 3 seasons). I can see why a GM would be more hesitant to get a guy who CAN *potentially* do something than a guy who has consistently been doing something for 5 years. We all think WC CAN produce that season, but Deng has been an above average NBA player for 5 or 6 seasons and is only 2 years older than Chandler… Deng had a good season (Chicago’s best player according to 82games’ Simple Rating, #2 in WS/48) so I’m not sure why you’d say he’s getting worse. Who knows what’s behind those rumors, though… Seems like Chicago is shopping Deng and might be that teams are intrigued if the #17 pick is thrown in.

On the whole I’d say WC is rated a whole lot higher on this site than around the league, which either means people here are ahead of the curve or that they’re drinking the kool-aid… Also consider he’s a free agent next offseason who will cost more than he’s making now… maybe into the 7-10 mill range depending what kind of season he has.