Steve Blake to Lakers thoughts

The Lakers finally landed the point guard they have been targeting for over 3 years, Steve Blake. The Maryland star signed a 4 year $16 million contract with the Lakers which is about the same amount the Lakers were targeting him for using their MLE a couple years back. This signing is something that the Lakers desperately needed in this offseason, and allows Blake to stay in the same city he was traded to in February except that he is playing in purple and gold as opposed to red and white.

With the almost certain departure of the Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown, that leaves the Lakers' backcourt with only Sasha and most likely Derek Fisher. What should happen is that Fisher will signa a 1 year deal with the Lakers and truly mentor Steve Blake at point guard for most of the season. They will slowly let Blake take over more of the duties as the season progresses. This is Mitch Kupchak and the rest of the Lakers' front office's grand scheme and it has been the plan for a while. It upgrades the Lakers' backcourt which has been a soft spot for the team since Gary Payton was the starter in 2004, and it gives Blake a chance to learn the offense as well as be slowly integrated into a starting role. A perfect situation from a guy who has been thrown on mediocre teams and asked to play starters minutes and lead the team to wins. Jackson and his coaching staff have shown that they have been able to consistently mentor guys and develop them well into their careers.

Blake is a great distributor who is athletic and can hit jumpers. His skill set seems to fit very well within a triangle offense as it revolves around passing and movement. Blake is less of a scoring point guard, but he can create his own shot which is critical in the Triangle Offense, and that should work well along Pau and Bynum in the middle. As soon as the defense collapses in the middle, Blake will receive the ball back and he can create or distribute very effectively. He has shown that he is a danger from the 3 point range or driving the lane. Blake is an athletic point guard who will be able to hang with the top point guards in the league, but he will need to improve his defense if he is going to be an impact player in crucial situations.

All in all, this was a solid signing for the Lakers and it helps put Lakers fans at ease while the last remaining details of this offseason get sorted out. Fisher is widely regarded to sign for 1 year which should answer any remaining questions about the point guard position. Farmar, Shannon Brown, and Josh Powell are the last pieces that may change for the Lakers. Signing Blake was a definitive statement that the Lakers are moving in a different direction than Farmar, and Farmar has made it clear the he wants to be a starter in the league. It will be a few weeks until the dust settles, and most of the inner workings can happen with little media attention due to the free agency circus surrounding the highest NBA profile free agents. Until then, the Lakers know that their point guard situation issue is addressed, and most importantly, their coaching issue is addressed. Sleep well Lakers fans.

Team USA, J.R Smith, Shaun Livingston and Darius Miles evaluations

Team USA is winning the gold. There is no doubt about it. Anyone who tells you different is just trying to avoid a complete embarrassment that would leave US basketball in a crippled state on the international level. The good news is that there is absolutely not chance that this is going to happen. The US has been playing inconsistently throughout portions of games, but still manage to crush opponents in the second half. The Aussie's were just getting excited until the US actually started playing and Kobe dropped 25 to put that one in the bag. The Bucks must have felt great knowing that their $70 million investment, Andrew Bogut, dominated the Team USA big men by netting a whopping 4 points. Good luck on that rebuilding Milwaukee! You traded two great prospects in Yi and Mo Williams and just watched your #1 draft pick, a pick that would be the worst first pick if it weren't for Kwame Brown and Michael Olowakandi, just produce absolutely nothing against top tier NBA competition.

The US team toyed around with Argentina, let them come back to single digits, and then Melo and the rest of Team USA decided that this game was over, and turned the lights out on Argentina's gold medal hopes. The most worrisome thing that Spurs fans, Argentina fans, and Manu Ginobili fans should take out of this game is the fact that Manu has not fully recovered from his ankle injury. The same injury that left him as a non-factor (except one game) in the Conference Finals against the Lakers. Manu leaving in the first quarter was a death blow to Argentina, and everyone knew it.

For Houston fans, Scola's 28 points should be very comforting. I have said it before, that Scola is a rising star in the NBA, and his production can only move upward. He did it all against the best players in the world, and the best team in basketball since the Dream Team. Scola and the Rockets have a very bright future, and who knows what the limit is for his talent.

Prediction for USA vs Spain: A huge win for the United States. The US crushed Spain in their first outing, and the Spanish team can't do much about it except trying to limit paint points and force jump shots. Spain will finish with silver and the US will win their first championship in an international tournament since Sydney in 2000 and reclaim US basketball as the best in the world.

Thoughts on Darius Miles: This signing is bad news for Portland. If Darius plays more than 10 games for the Celtics, the entirety of his contract has to be paid out. Darius is due to make $9 million the next two seasons. Not a good thing for Paul Allen's checkbook. Miles was the third pick in the 2000 draft and many cite him as an example of why high school players should not be allowed to enter the NBA, but he has shown some promise pre-injury. His supposed career ending surgery has made Miles a success story. He will be a dangerous player because he will want to prove that not only can he play for the defending champions, but he was not a draft bust and just needed to be in the right situation at the right time. This is his chance. Before his injury, for the Blazers, he averaged 10.4 pts, 5.2 rebs, and 1.15 blks. Not too bad, but not what a #3 pick should be averaging. The Celtics will be able to use him to try and fill the role of James Posey. Miles has never been a nitty-gritty type of player like Posey, but Miles is a credible offensive threat when he wants to be. He can score, and will cause match-up problems if he plays the 3. At 6'9 and 235lbs, he is a sizable body that can play the post and has a decent mid-range game. It is going to improve the Celtics bench a bit, but not totally fulfill Posey's roll on the team. Overall, good move for the Celtics and Miles. Danny Ainge clearly saw something in those workouts that none of us have access to. Boston fans should not be too worried except he failed his 4th drug test and will have to serve a 10 game suspension before playing in a Celtic uniform. I have posted this video of Miles in a previous post, but it seems relevant again



The best thing for Boston fans to do right now is to be skeptical, and be surprised if/when Miles pans out. Nevertheless, he can only gain from this situation, from a basketball and financial standpoint.

Thoughts on Shawn Livingston: Shaun Livingston is another player coming off of injury. A bad one. If you have not seen this video, I would highly recommend you brace yourself, and even if you have, I would say the same thing to you. I cringe every time I see this.



Livingston was one of the most promising guards in the NBA before his injury. He was expected to elevate the Clippers to the next level. I was not the only LA native who thought that either. When Livingston was at his peak, a lot of people in LA were talking about him. His devastating injury was a dark story in sports. A young and promising point guard who had a supposedly career ending injury on a freak accident. Livingston is on the Lakers summer team to try and make the squad. That will be a very tough job considering the Lakers just signed Sasha Vujacic to a $15 million contract, have Farmar and Fisher at point, and a guy named Kobe Bryant. That is a very crowded back court. I won't say that Coby Karl is a threat, but Coby Karl and the Laker's only draft pick in the second round, Joe Crawford from Kentucky, are trying to make the team, as well as a summer team loaded with former UCLA and USC grads. Point is, it will be competitive. When you sustain an injury like Livingston, NBA teams are reluctant to pull the trigger because of the uncertainty of how that player will bounce back. The Clippers had reportedly offered him a one year deal, but he declined. Now Clipper fans are screaming about the loyalty, but there is not much loyalty in a one year deal. The Suns and Nuggets have shown interest, but the Lakers appear to be Livingston's first choice. Livingston has been working out in Chicago with legendary trainer David Thorpe which is a great sign. The Lakers are in no need of a point guard, but it would not hurt to take a look at Livingston and possibly sign him. If Livingston plays well, one of the Laker guards (not Kobe, obviously, and probably not Fisher), could be on the trading block come February. Nothing like a little overload in a position to spur some competition and elevate everyone else's play. It is worth a shot.

Thoughts on J.R Smith: I have gone on a rant about J.R Smith and how he would flourish in a veteran environment. Unfortunately, Denver is not that place for him. He is seriously one of the most untapped talents in the NBA. Smith is one of those high school players who NBA scouts locked on to and decided that if he could be controlled, he would become a great NBA player. That is all true, except for the fact that George Karl's Nuggets are not a calming influence on Smith. He averaged 12.6 points and shot 40% from 3 point range for the Nuggets. At 22 years old, he still has a long career ahead of him, and if he reaches into his untapped potential, the rest of the league better take notice. I have a tremendous respect for J.R Smith and his game, and I predict that this multi-year deal will be the start of something good for him. This could be the making of a new star.

Izzy

picture sources: theassociation.blogs.com (first), jamd.com (second), atibaphoto.com (third), sportsillustrated.com,

Offseason to-do list: Nets by guest writer Charlie Falck

Charlie Falck is one of the few people you can talk to who can talk about the NFL, MLB, and NBA and actually have a well informed and coherent argument with. Although he calls New Jersey home his mother's former residence in San Diego gives him a connection to root for the San Diego Chargers. He is also as much of a Knicks fan as you can find these days. It is a person like Charlie that will give you one of those wake up calls telling you that you do not know as much about sports as you think you do. He can switch the conversation from the NFL to the NBA on a dime and with his radio-like voice, unlike many sports arguments, can actually persuade you. He has some interesting thoughts about what the Nets need to do to be successful. He concedes that they won't be good this year, but he writes this piece under the assumption that the Nets will go after/get Lebron in the 2010 free agency market. He says that if you don't think that will happen, he doesn't want you reading this column anyway. His analysis and prediction for the long term future for the Nets and, for a franchise that has constantly been in limbo, it actually makes sense.

The New Jersey Nets have made a commitment to change this offseason, having transformed Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson into a flashy bunch including Devin Harris, Mo Ager, Bobby Simmons, Yi, Brook Lopez, the memory of Keith Van Horn, a future first rounder, 10 million in cash, and whatever else will comprise Lebron James’ second substandard supporting cast in as many franchises in 2010. Although the Kidd trade will go down as a victory for New Jersey over Dallas, the deal did little to alter the Nets’ course for the future. There are, however, a couple intriguing subplots surrounding this team prior to King James’ arrival.

The Search for Scottie

Until I see anything different, no team built around a star player can win a championship without at least one competent sidekick Although Lebron does his best every spring to combat that theory, considering even the development of a mid-range/post-up game couldn’t possibly elevate his all-around numbers much more (can they?), the Nets should spend the next couple summers looking for a suitable Robin while simultaneously keeping adequate cap space. There are two in-house candidates with the potential to provide that. The obvious choice is Mr. Carter. Barring trades, Lebron and Vince would both be Nets for at least the 2010-2011 season. That will provide Carter a chance to show how well he can really play if interested, as well as give a gauge as to how well Lebron plays with another proven scorer. That is a potentially fascinating season for numerous other reasons, but it deserves its own column. The second candidate is Sean Williams, mainly for the fact that he’s only been playing organized basketball for five years. He and Lebron could combine for the most athletic 3-4 combo in NBA history, and considering Lebron tends to at the least give his teammates every opportunity to contribute, Williams could easily end up as an All-Star caliber forward in the East in a few years (provided he grows up). However, if Carter appears so disinterested the Nets would rather just free up more cap and Williams doesn’t improve, they must decide whether to explore outside options or just wait and build around Lebron after he arrives. It would be wise for New Jersey to exercise some patience for several reasons.

1. Outside of the Nets becoming a worse team than both the Knicks and Cavs, Lebron is coming. Once he gets there the Nets can work out the kinks and suit the team a little more to his interests.

2. At best, making a move for a sidekick would culminate in the Nets committing to a player that Lebron may or may not approve of before he arrives. At worst, it would most likely saddle the team with a bad contract, mess up whatever chemistry the current team might cook up, and create another weak supporting cast that Lebron will valiantly lead to playoff elimination for years to come.

3. Given the state of the team now, the Nets can afford to be patient. In addition to hiding behind the laughable moniker of “Eastern conference contender,” the Nets will be able to attract fans and make decent money in the next two years. They’re team isn’t good, but as long as Yi is marketable and not awful he’ll put fans in the seats, and New jersey still has star power with Carter. The Nets will figure to play an exciting, up-tempo style (more on that below) and should have no problem at least matching what sales have been the last two years.

Split Personality

As of today, the Nets roster is bloated to the point where you could form two wonderfully average teams. While this does not add up to anything good, the collection of players does provide options for a style of play. The opening night depth chart could go something like this:

1-Devin Harris, Marcus Williams
2-Vince Carter, Bobby Simmons, Mo Ager
3-Yi, CDR, Bostjian Nachbar
4-Sean Williams, Ryan Anderson
5-Josh Boone, Brook Lopez

Once you all collect your breath after viewing that Murderer’s Row, consider the contrast in styles evident in an rotation of Harris, Williams, VC, Simmons, Yi, CDR, Williams, Boone, and Lopez. Harris is built to push and would do so with athletes like Carter, CDR, and Sean Williams, and maybe even Boone. Williams is built to plod, as are Lopez, Yi, and Carter if he feels like it. The more effective strategy would be to run. This team will not finish above .500 and probably not even make the playoffs (it’s extremely depressing to rank those statements that way), and focusing on defense and half-court offense not only doesn’t cater to the strengths of the principal players, it probably won’t lead to anything because the only way the team would be any good next year is if they became more acclimated to Harris and his preferred pace. No matter how many times Lawrence the Leprechaun calls Vince Carter a leader, this is a team of largely passive basketball personalities. Whenever that happens, leadership deflects to the primary ball handler.

Prediction: As always, these predictions are useless. .500 would be a dream for this team, and it would take a 2000 Vince Carter to get them there. Assuming a few injuries take their toll, look for the Nets to start very slow but show some promise after the All-Star break. As long as Vince doesn’t mail it in, look for Devin Harris to emerge as a leader once he gets a full year running the team under his belt, as well as flashes from Williams, general idiocy from Lopez, and one-dimensional scoring performances from Yi.

MVP: Harris
Surprise: Boone
Disappointment: CDR
35-47, 10^th in East

-Charlie

Izzy

Links: Brandon Jennings is going overseas. I wrote about this issue last month and expected this to happen. This seems like a very slippery slope that no one seems to care about.

The Big Lead links us to two stories, one by the Toronto Star and another by ESPN the Mag, and they talk about how NBA players dry up their fortune. The Big Lead raises an interesting question on the story by asking the question why NBA players are always the ones that are mentioned in wasting their salaries? Is is that we have a preconceived stereotype that NBA players are inherently incapable of managing their small fortunes to a much lesser extent than any other athletes?

Remember Anthony Mason? Hoops Addict recaps his career and gives a little update on him.

Lebron, CP3, Darnell Jackson, +2 others, lost in a pickup game at Lebron's bball camp?!

Doc River's oldest son played for Georgetown last season and has announced that he will transfer to Indiana, but Rivers' youngest son has already agreed to play for Billy Donovan's Florida Gator's. He will be starting his sophomore high school season next year.

Picture sources: armchairgm.com(first), askmen.com (second), xxlmag.com (third), nydailynews.com

Off season to-do list: Knicks

Nowadays there are few people outside of Spike Lee with the courage to admit they are Knicks fans. Forrest, happens to be one of the true New York faithful left that I know. He is on top of all things Knicks and what I would consider a pretty good NBA historian. He has interesting thoughts about the Knicks, and the NBA (but we won't get into those), anytime you talk to him about it, including ideas such as keeping Isaiah Thomas in a front office position because he is one of the best talent evaluators in the NBA, Nate Robinson as one of the most athletic players in the league, and Danilo Gallinari being a good draft pick. While he doesn't defend those positions in this piece, he does give us a pretty good look into the present situation for the Knicks and the optimistic future outlook for the team.

Let’s be honest. Despite the recent hiring of proven winners in the coaching spot as well as in the front office, this is a franchise in shambles. The Knicks have not been a playoff team since 2001, and no, no one should count the 2003-2004 team which had a losing record and was swept out of the playoffs by the Nets in humiliating fashion as a “playoff team”. As if the on-court troubles weren’t enough, recent estimates say that the Knicks lost over 187 million dollars under Isaiah Thomas, which would easily have been enough money to lock up Allan Houston and Antonio McDeyess through 2012 with max deals.

Any discussion of what the Knicks need to do to get back to being an elite team has to begin with the summer of 2010. Lebron James has indicated that he might be leaning towards signing with the Brooklyn Nets instead of the Knicks. Regardless, this class could potentially include Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Rip Hamilton, Amare Stoudemire, Manu Ginobili, and Carlos Boozer. One can already see that the Knicks are looking forward to that summer, signing Chris Duhon to a two year deal so he could come off the books in 2010 where the Magic were offering him three.

So, keeping that in mind, let’s go through the Knicks roster and determine each player’s value as a combination of their talent, fit in D’Antoni’s system, and their contract.

Stephon Marbury’s career is done. We already knew from his stints with Minnesota, New Jersey, and Phoenix that he was not the type of player who was able to carry his team to victories on a consistent basis, but at least he was putting up All-Star caliber numbers. His numbers have declined each year with the Knicks to the point where he is now averaging just 13 points and 5 assists per game. Respectable numbers, but not good enough considering that during the 2008-2009 season he will be the second highest paid player in the league. Throw in his off the court antics, and Marbury’s impact on the team is solidly negative. However, it is essential that the Knicks do not trade Stephon. They will probably receive plenty of enticing offers given the $21 million that his contract will bring off a team’s payroll after next season, but the biggest problem with recent Knick’s personnel moves has been trading away such expiring contracts and tying themselves up with overpaid, mediocre players.

Another failed experiment is Eddy Curry. Curry refuses to get in shape, attempt to play defense, or pull down rebounds (Even in his best season, he was a 7 footer crashing the boards at a pathetic 1 rebound per 5 minutes rate). He can’t shoot, dribble, or run the break, so D’Antoni can’t have much use for him. The Knicks should just hope that they can somehow get rid of Curry for a player of less value but with a better contract. Another intriguing option might be to just cut him. Curry is terrible, but it is almost guaranteed that another team will at least sign him to the veteran minimum, meaning that the Knicks could reduce the amount that his contract is counting against the cap.

Zach Randolph is not such a clear-cut case. Although he is due to make much more than he is worth ($14.5 million next season, over 17 million in 2010-2011), he is obviously an extremely talented player. I don’t care how bad the team was, anyone who can average 23 and 10 in the Western Conference can play. There are some character and work ethic issues, but there are plenty of instances of players who ended up being successful after the media and their fan bases had written them off as selfish head cases that would never really “get it” (see Stephen Jackson and Paul Pierce). Randolph is also a mobile big man with handle who has decent outside range, which could work out well if D’Antoni does in fact try to implement his run and gun offense with the Knicks. While Quentin Richardson is another player who has underachieved in a Knick uniform, he has had success under D’Antoni before. So it might be wise, knowing that he is a player who thrives in a fast paced offense, to withhold judgment on Q until his contract, which is $10 million coming off the books in 2010, expires.

Jamal Crawford is another player who, given his shooting prowess and his excellent ability to handle the ball (only 2.4 turnovers in 40 minutes per game last season, and a devastating crossover), could shine for D’Antoni. He is also the only player on the Knicks not in his rookie contract that one could make the case is making about the amount of money he deserves. Jamal has been one of the few bright spots on this team for the last few years.

Malik Rose is an expiring contract that could potentially be used as a trade chip at some point this season. Jerome James and Jared Jeffries are both bad players who the Knicks are just going to have to let ride the bench until their contracts are up.

The rest of this roster is made up of pretty talented young players who could potentially make a great set of role players when the Knicks start contending for the playoffs. Nate Robinson, David Lee, and Renaldo Balkman have all proven that they can play at a high level off the bench. Wilson Chandler and Mardy Collins could fall into this category if given a few more opportunities over the next couple of years.

Now no one is suggesting the Knicks just stand pat and do nothing until Lebron comes along and saves the franchise. There are a few holes that could be filled to at least make this team competitive in the Eastern conference this coming year.

There are rumors that Monta Ellis has expressed interest in playing for the Knicks, and that the Warriors are open to losing Ellis in a sign and trade. Monta is one of the most talented young guards in the NBA. He had flashes this season where commentators were describing him as the next Dwyane Wade, which means that if you listen to John Hollinger, the Knicks could bank on getting the greatest finals performance in the history of the league if they could get their hands on Ellis. Honestly, if the Knicks could acquire Ellis one could make the argument that they could get out of Lebron mode and try to build around Ellis, Crawford, and Randolph. But this just seems like a fantasy. The Knicks simply could not give the Warriors comparable value for Ellis. On top of this, after losing Baron Davis, I can’t see Chris Mullin dealing Ellis unless he is getting truly amazing value for him. The only things the Knicks have to offer are a couple of young players and Marbury and Rose’s expiring contracts, which would put the Warriors solidly into rebuilding mode, a place they don’t want to be. Moreover, the Knicks just signed Chris Duhon, so it seems they might have already made their decision on a point guard for this upcoming year.

The Knicks need a true center, badly. One option would be trying to pry Nenad Krstic from the Nets. The Nets have given Krstic a qualifying offer, which means they have the right to match any contract another team offers him. This is irrelevant to the Knicks, because after signing Chris Duhon they could not offer Krstic a deal the Nets would not match anyway. However, Krstic is reportedly looking to force a sign and trade. The Knicks could potentially try to make a run at Krstic, as long as they don’t give up the expiring contracts of Marbury or Rose.

Other needs for the Knicks include shooters, for D’Antoni’s system, and defense, for a team that was 29^th in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions. Good shooters that are available this offseason include Ben Gordon, Brent Barry, Juan Dixon, DerMarr Johnson, and Bostjan Nachbar. Good defenders include Mickael Peitrus, Carl Landry, Matt Barnes, and Devean George. The problem with all these players is that the Knicks just don’t have the cap room after the Duhon signing to make a reasonable offer and would have to negotiate sign and trades which would most likely hamper them financially in the long term.

Thomas left the Knicks in a state where they are not going to be serious contenders even for home court advantage in the playoffs for the next couple of years. The best course for this team is to be patient, let their young talent develop, and not reinforce the same problems they have had over the last decade by mortgaging their future just on the hopes that they can grab a seventh or eight seed in the East.

Picture Sources: thegarden.com (first), theonion.com (second), nydailynews.com (third), sportsillustrated.cnn.com (fourth), nydailynews.com (fifth), rotorob.com (sixth), nba.com (seventh), hoopsvibe.com (eighth)

intro by Izzy

Off season to-do list: Nuggets

The Nuggets are an incredibly confusing team, to say the least. They have incredible talent on the team, but underachieve every single year. Most Denver fans will point to George Karl, but it has less to do with George Karl's coaching than it has to do with the chemistry of the team. There are a few things that the Nuggets could do that does not have to do with cutting George Karl from the head coaching position.

When AI was traded from Philly everyone thought putting him alongside Melo was going to create an unstoppable offensive force. Those predictions were true, and one of the few predictions about the Nuggets that came through. Melo and AI are obviously two incredible players who know how to score. It was sort of strange to hear Melo's name being thrown around in trade rumors. My theory on that is the Nugget's did that to scare Melo after his off-court troubles instead of actually trying to trade him. I have reason to believe that theory, other than the fact that trading for Chauncy Billups would have been a side step for the Nuggets and made them smaller in the front which would have made no sense for the Nuggets. The other name that came up was Rasheed Wallace and if the Nuggets were looking for a player that doesn't have off-court trouble, Wallce probably wasn't the right way to go anyway. Melo is staying in The Mile High City period.

The Nuggets got ousted by the Lakers 4-0. It was a sad reminder that this current Nugget team cannot get this done. A lot has not been said about this, but AI is in the last year of his contract and he is due to make $21.9 million this season. That is an unbelievable trade asset that the Nuggets have. I doubt that something happens before the season starts, but come February, if the right team puts together the right package, AI could be shipped out very quickly. Obviously AI has had a remarkable career, but his aging body has logged a ton of minutes and he has taken more punishment and injuries through his career than some team's starters combined have gone through. He did average 26.4 points, 7 assts, and 2 steals, but those numbers are down from his glory days in Philly. AI is one of the quickest players in the history of the NBA and no one is denying that. The pieces of the Nuggets are the main road block preventing them from doing damage in the Western Conference. The Nuggets could get great value back for AI because keeping him just causes problems. It would be foolish to sign him to another long term contract after this one expires in the summer of 2009 because he is an aging guard and it has not been working thus far. It is time for the Nuggets to part with AI. With AI's $21.9 million salary, a team could put together a very nice package. A team who needs a quick fix short-term fix in the back court, one of the best offensive assets in the league, quickness, toughness, and wants to secure sellouts every night could attempt to acquire his services and might explore trade options. No team immediately comes to mind, but just expect teams to be interested in his expiring contract and expect the Nuggets to listen intently.

The Nuggets seem to lack the strength and mental toughness needed to succeed in the West. AI has the mental and physical toughness and is a good defender, but this is where things get murky for the Nuggets. Outside of AI, it doesn't seem like any of the other players have that. Kenyon Martin made an astronomical salary of $13.2 million in this past season and is due to make $14.1 million in the coming year and it rises about $1.2 million over the next 3 years. This super athletic forward out of Cincinnati has had times where he has performed up to his salary, but not when it counts in the post season. He averaged 12.4 ppg, 6.5 rebs, and 1.2 blks. Those numbers are not terrible, and he was the third highest scoring Nugget by .1 point above J.R Smith, but those numbers are not living up to his salary. His contract is usually for a 20pt/10 reb/2.5 blks type of guy. He is an amazing defensive asset and he has the ability to shut down whoever he is guarding, but his offensive production might be hindered by Melo and AI taking 38 of the teams shots. To Martin's credit he does get a lot of clean up opportunities and shoots the highest field goal percentage on the team at 53.8%. He seemed to crack under the pressure of the playoffs and seems to be a little of a hothead on the court and his emotions dictate how he plays which is a huge liability for any NBA team, but K-Mart is by no means the only Nugget guilty of these flaws.

After Carmelo Anthony was drafted out of Syracuse he was hoped to be the franchise savior for the Nuggets. He has been able to keep them above water for the past few years, but never anywhere near what his 03' draft class buddies Lebron James and Dwayne Wade have done for their franchises since being drafted. The Cavs are consistently at the top of their conference as well as Wade bringing home a championship for Miami. Bosh and Melo have performed up to expectations individually, but have not been surrounded by the right mix of talent to finish the job. Melo is locked up under contract for the next 4 years with a salary that increases from $14.4 million and increases up to $18.5 million until the summer of 2012. This means that the Nuggets have put their franchise on Melo's shoulders and he needs to produce something besides a first round exit or the Nuggets will try and move in a different direction. Melo has been productive in his role as the team's cornerstone. He averaged 25.7 ppg and 7.4 rebs in the past season. The biggest flaw in Melo's game is not going to the rim enough. He too often settles for a mid-range jumpshot instead of using post moves that could utilize his size and strength. He also plays almost no defense which is probably the Nugget's biggest problem as a team.

J.R Smith is exploring different opportunities in different places and may not be in Denver next year. If he does happen to return to Denver he will make $2.3 million and his offensive production will be good enough to justify that contract. Smith needs to go to a new team. His personality is better suited to be on a team of veterans who are proven winners. The first team that comes to mind are the Spurs. Surrounding himself with teammates who can show him how to get to the elite level will be the best thing for his career. He is an incredibly talented player and would be a starter on 80% of teams in the league, but coming off the bench for Denver doesn't allow him to establish a rhythm early and has to rely on streaky shooting in order for him to be effective. His offensive performance against the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs will be remembered and teams will be willing to cut big checks for that kind of performance from Smith. If he gets on the right team, his underperforming 12.4ppg average will drastically increase. I have a lot of respect for his game, and he is an undervalued player because of the team he is on. At this point, he is not in a role where he can make the Nuggets a winner, and this may be one area where George Karl's misuse in utilizing his skills to their full capacity may be one area where George Karl has failed in.

The Nuggets collectively play little to no defense which explains why their opponents put in 89.1 field goals a game which is about 5 more field goals than the league average of 84.3 field goals from opponents per game. They have good defensive players on their team like Marcus Camby who was a former defensive player of the year in 2006 and averaged 3.61 blocks this past season. K-Mart is also a solid defensive player and AI has always been quick enough to stay in front of his man, but collectively the Nuggets look confused on defense and are slow on rotation and have terrible weak side help. The Nuggets lack the mental toughness and focus to be an elite team. It was almost every game against the Lakers in the first round that they lost their cool down the stretch when it was tight and their play just went downhill from there.


The squad they have assembled undoubtedly has the talent, on paper, to be one of the best teams in the league, but their constant underachievement implies that there is a problem somewhere. Some point at George Karl, some point at AI and Melo, some point at chemistry, and the list goes on, but it is a combination of all of it. The Nuggets are limited by the salary cap in what they can do this summer. Any movement for them will come via trades. If J.R Smith stays the Nuggets have a salary of $76.9 million dollars which is well above the salary cap. I wish I could say more to what they can and should do, but realistically, improving defensively and mentally are the only things they can do. Roster upgrades cannot come through the free agency period this year and that hurts a team who is constantly battling for the 8th spot in the playoffs every year. They have tried pairing one of the greatest offensive players of all time in Allen Iverson with one of the league's young superstars in Carmelo, but have failed to see any positive results. It may be another long year for Nuggets fans, as they continue to be just as confused by the lack of results as the Nuggets' front office. At this point, all the Nuggets fans can do is cling to the memories of the 90s success and hope this is just a lull in a franchise that is desperate for results.

Links:

This is a glimpse of Allen Iverson's workout and strength training program during the season.

Here is a close up look at the new Nike Hyperdunks at the low price of $240, and Kobe was even nice enough to sign a few pairs for those lucky enough to grab them in a releasing in Santa Monica.

Josh Smith got the star treatment in Philly and he could very well be a star there by July 9th.

My cousin and I were wondering who on Team USA was not sponsored by Nike. I named Dwight Howard because I vaguely remembered something about him being sponsored by Adidas. He is in fact sponsored by Adidas and the amazing photoshopers at Nike were able to do a great job at the old 'blackout-the-adidas-logo-in-team-photos' trick.

A friend and I were talking today about how many athletes go broke after they stop playing professionally. Right on cue, Vin Baker's house was filed for foreclosure because he was not able to make the payments on it. Here is a list of Vin Baker, and Lattrell Sprewell and other professional athletes who are in financial trouble.

I don't really know why this is news, but I guess for those incredibly interested in any breath the new rookie class is taking, here is the latest from the Miami Heat's early practices with Michael Beasley.

Picture sources: nbauniverse.com (first), nba.com (second), lakers.topbuzz.com (third), nba.com (fourth), jordanextreme.com (fifth), uk.eurosport.yahoo.com (sixth), espn.com (seventh)

Izzy

Off season to-do list: Clippers

UPDATE: Baron Davis signs a 5 year deal worth $65 million. I wrote this post before the news came out, so I changed some things, but disregard anything that does not take the Baron Davis signing into account.

We apologize for getting this post up late. Been swamped by the end of summer session and what not. There will be constant regular posts by the end of the week.
The forgotten LA team, the Clippers, will be very active this offseason. The notoriously stingy Donald Sterling will have to make the decision to re-sign his franchise player Elton Brand and starter Corey Maggettte. Elton Brand is asking for a $120 million. That sounds reasonable for a player of Brand's calibur, however, he played only 8 games last season because of an Achilles rupture and is reportedly waiting it out to see what the Clippers do to bring in free-agents. Look Brand, you are not going to free up that much cap space by opting out, asking for $120 million, but still trying to be the good guy by waiting for free-agents to sign with the Clippers. He should have kept the last end of his deal and not opted out if he was truly sincere about wanting to bring in free-agents. The best idea probably would have been to stay with his deal and finish out the last year and produce, and then become more active in the market next year. Although there will be no shortage of free agents next year, Brand still could have gotten the money he deserved if he played well this next season. I'm not surprised if Elgin Baylor is hesitant to knock on Sterling's office and ask him to cut a few checks worth $120 million dollars. Nevertheless, the Clippers will probably keep him on a long term deal, but this trade from a TrueHoop reader is intriguing. No one expected him to do this, but maybe he is unsure of how he will come back after the injury and wants to lock up as much guaranteed money as he can.

Corey Maggette is the next player the Clippers have to deal with. He made $7 million this past season and there have been rumors of him going back to play with the team he played for his rookie year, the Orlando Magic. Maggette is an extremely frustrating player. He is ridiculously athletic, but does not use it to his advantage consistently. He was the highest scoring Clipper this season with a 22.1 ppg average. He also logged 5.6 rebs and 2.7 assists. Those numbers are not bad and Maggette is right to be asking for money. Maybe it is frustrating to watch Maggette play because he has not been in the right system that allows him to use his athleticism to his full advantage. When he first came into the league he had flashes of greatness, but it seems that Maggette has spent his entire NBA career in mediocrity that it has become a habit for him now. A change would suit Maggette, and his talents and size would be great assets for most NBA teams. Expect the 6ers to make hard runs at Brand and Maggette. Maggette is probably more of a possibility for a Philadelphia considering how much money they have (around $11.5 million) to throw at Maggette as well. It doesn't make much sense for Philly to acquire Maggette since he plays the same position as Andre Iguodala which would give Philly two super-athletic players at the 3 who underachieve. There will be a lot of other teams interested in Maggette's services including the Suns who reportedly have the most interest in him and will probably explore a sign-and-trade involving Leandro Barbosa. Other teams only have the MLE to give Maggette which means about $2 million dollars less in pay.

This does not necessarily speak to Maggette's athleticism, but it shows how quick his reaction time adds up to 1 light year faster than the average joe, and more generally, how an NBA player's reaction time is compared to the average joe. It seems appropriate after a discussion of Maggette.



That takes care of the two big pieces for the Clippers. Looking at their lineup there is a player by the name of Cutino Mobley on the books that got paid $8.3 million this last season and due to make $9.1 million this coming season. It seems like Mobley's bad play can go under the radar because he is playing for a bad team, but a closer looks shows that, he only averages 12.8 ppg, 3.6 rebs, and 2.6 assts. To put that in perspective, he averaged the exact same number of points as Same Cassell did before he went to Boston. The other two categories of rebs and assts are pretty close also. You may say, "well, Cassell overachieved and he handled the ball more than Mobley." Well, Mobley averaged a full 10 minutes more than Cassell, as well as averaged 11.3 field-goal attempts compared to Cassel's 10.6 field-goal attempts, and shot 47.2% from the field which is almost exactly the same as Cassell's 47.3% avg from the field. Mobley is a heavy contract on the team's payroll and is not getting any younger as he will turn 33 on September 1st.

Mobley does not seem to be the Clipper's biggest problem. Mobley will squeeze out every penny of that $42 million dollar 5 year contract with the Clippers, but he still has potential to produce at numbers like 15ppgs with a few dishes and a couple more boards IF he gets the right point guard. That seems to be the biggest hole for the Clippers. The injury to Shaun Livingston was tragic, but I think that every basketball fan is pulling for him to make a full recovery. His status is still up in the air and it seems unlikely that he will be able to produce like the emerging star pre-injury, and probably will not get signed by a team during this free-agent period. Their starting guard, the Stanford legend, Brevin Knight, has had to carry the load. Unfortunately, putting the weight of the playoffs on the aging guard's shoulders is asking a little too much. Knight has always only been a backup point guard at best in the league and has never been able live up to a starter role. The next mistake of the Clippers was signing Smush Parker. You would think that being arena roommates with the Lakers would allow them to see just how bad Smush Parker is. Even if that didn't help, the fact that Phil Jackson and Pat Riley, two of the best "personality handlers" in the history of the league couldn't deal with him, what would make any Clipper official think Mike Dunleavy could? His whopping 6.4 ppg and 3.4 assts in his 19 games in Clipper colors was probably enough to show the Clippers just how bad signing him was, but Clipper fans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing he is gone now. There was always Dan Dickau though right? The drafting of Eric Gordon should help the Clipper's problems in the backcourt a little bit, but Gordon is more of a combo guard and it is a little much to expect him to be the franchise point guard. I think Gordon will be a solid NBA player, but not in the next year or two.

The two bright spots for the Clippers are their center, Chris Kaman, and their young prospect Al Thornton. There is no real backup for Kaman unless you think Tim Thomas is a credible center, the Clippers need to address that gap. With the right players, Kaman can be one of the top 5 centers in the league. He is an incredible asset that logs the most minutes on the team at 37.2 minutes per game with 15.7 ppg and 12.7 rebs a game. Thornton is a very good player that will find a spot on an NBA roster for many years to come. He still has a lot of work to do, and needs to increase his 4.5 rebs per game and overall defense in order for him to be an all-around solid player.

The work for the Clippers in the front court is basically done if they can resign Brand and Maggette, but the backcourt problem for the A guy like Baron Davis changes the whole complexity of the Clipper's back court. They are now a serious threat in the Western Conference, and the arms race in the Western Conference continues, and it seems like the Lakers have some big competition now. This offseason just got very interesting. It seems like there is spillover from all the big name movement during the season into the offseason.

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I'm sure a lot of you have seen this, but when you win the championship blowing those bonuses in Vegas while hanging out with the boxer of the hour, doesn't seem so bad.



Chris Douglas-Roberts could have been a first-rounder but he didn't go to some workouts. He even didn't workout out for his home town team, the Pistons! Obviously a player can't make every workout he is invited to, but at least go to one or two below where you are projected to be drafted. It is time that the NBA move to an NFL combine type system.

Fellow blogspot site, Basketbawful, has some great stuff on their site. They posted an amazing NBA fact yesterday about a really shady triple-double by the Magic's Anthony Bowie. Of course, Shaq backed the decision up too.

Speaking of Shaq, this is a great freestyle SLAM's Russ Bengtson put up of a possible Kobe freestyle response to Shaq's antics last week. It is...looong.

The "Everytime-Jay-Bilas-says-'long'-and-'upside'-we-take-a-drink" game was brought to Jay Bilas' attention and he promptly stopped using those words and started using some other interesting synonyms.

China hates Yi Jianlin at nightclubs because it puts their Olympic gold medal in basketball at stake. Someone should inform them that they have a -100 to 0 chance at winning the medal this year. I'd put their shots of medaling at about -30 to 0.

Picture Sources: sportingnews.com (first), ballhype.com (second), sportsillustrated.com (third), nba.com (fourth), realgm.com (fifth), clippers.topbuzz.com, slamdunkcentral.com (seventh)

Izzy