Jun

22

Cavaliers Make Qualifying Offers To West And Gibson

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The “Cleveland Plain Dealer” has reported that the Cleveland Cavaliers have made qualifying offers to guards Delonte West and Daniel Gibson. The move makes both players restricted free agents on July 1, and Cleveland can match any offer sheet extended by any?other team. West was acquired in February by the Cavaliers in the three team deal between Chicago, Seattle, and Cleveland. West proved to be the Cavaliers most consistent player in the NBA Playoffs other than the franchise LeBron James. He has just completed his fourth season in the Association.

Gibson who just completed his second NBA Campaign, had arthroscopic surgery on June 10 to repair his left ankle. Gibson first injured his ankle on February 20, in a contest against the Indiana Pacers. He subsequently missed the next 18 games for Cleveland. Gibson in his rookie season had played his way into the starting lineup mid-way through the regular season. He had his greatest success in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, as he had a very big series. Gibson took a step backwards in his second campaign in the league, as he fell out of the starting rotation. Gibson’s season came to an end when he suffered a separated shoulder in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

? Copyright 2008 thesackattack.net

Jun

22

NBA Needs A Real Minor League

Filed Under SDC COMMENTARY, Slam Dunk NBA Draft Central | 1 Comment

Basketball never seems to be too far away in the USA in 2008. The NBA season opens at the beginning of November and the Finals end in the middle of June. And just as teams, media, and fans have a little time to catch their collective breath, the NBA Draft is now just days away. June 26, a young man probably named Derrick Rose will be picked first by the Chicago Bulls, giving him fortune and fame, and if he plays his cards right, will set his family up for generations. It is the “Great American Dream” come true, with talent and hard work, you can become rich and famous. It is hard not to feel a vicarious joy for this young man. This a great opportunity for the point guard out of Memphis, but how good is it for the NBA?

Derrick Rose had a phenomenal freshman year at Memphis taking his team to the NCAA Championship game before losing to Kansas on April 7. Rose has been compared to Jason Kidd and our own Russ Loede made a comparison between Rose and Gary Payton. Rose probably does have the skill set, and talent to make some waves next season in the Association. But just think how much better he would be if he had four years of seasoning under his belt, before he made his debut in the NBA, instead of just one.

Now do I begrudge young Mr. Rose the chance that he has to make the amount of money that he will soon be getting? If I were in his position, and his age it would be tough to turn down the sure thing. But the worst thing about it is it does not have to be an all or nothing situation, there could be an alternative. So it is once again time for me to get on my annual soap box that I have gotten on every year since the fall of 1999.

It was the start of the 1999-2000 NBA season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were just starting their descent into NBA purgatory. The slow down team that had bored the fans but made the playoffs every year, only to be eliminated early in the postseason had come to an end. Mike Fratello who at times seemed to almost want to antagonize the Cleveland fans with the 1954 “Hoosiers” type offense he was running had been fired. In his place they brought in Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Randy Wittman to bring in a “fast break game” which never materialized. My mind jumps back to a conversation I had with Wittman, after the Cavs first home game. I asked the coach whether he was as impressed as I was with the court awareness, and quarterbacking skills of rookie point guard Andre Miller, who was then playing in only his second NBA game. Wittman agreed with my assessment, attributing it to Miller spending four years playing college ball, and playing for a great Utah program run by Rick Majerus.

This is not a column promoting that athletes stay in college for four years. I truly believe that college is not for everybody. If an athlete wants to get an education in exchange for playing for an institution of higher education, more power to him. However, lets be realistic, the so called symbiotic relationship between colleges and athletes is weighted heavily in the schools favor. Yes, the athlete has a chance to get a degree, but the schools are getting a huge revenue source in the bargain. And with the emphasis on athletics at the cost of education, many times if an athlete does get their degree, it?s not worth the paper it?s printed on. Not to say that this happens all the time, but how many times in recent history have we read about shenanigans such as tutors giving students answers to test questions, and other students who barely show up to class.

There are also athletes who are in true financial hardship, whose families live in poverty and are counting on them to help attain a better life. Families that are on the verge of being evicted from their homes, or are living from paycheck to paycheck. These athletes feel obligated to go pro, many times before they or their coaches feel their skills are ready to make an impact in the NBA. And the end result , is the player suffers, the league suffers, and in turn you the fan, suffers. The player suffers by never realizing their potential, the fan suffers with inferior play on the NBA courts, and the league suffers with less attendance in arenas, and less viewers for their televised games.

So what is the solution to this dilemma? It?s actually quite simple, the NBA should emulate Major League Baseball, and implement a minor league but with a twist. Not the current situation that exists with the NBDL, a true NBA farm system. My proposal is that just as in baseball each NBA franchise will have a minor league counterpart but with one major difference. In order for a player to play in the league, his class must have graduated, if not they must spend the time in the minor league.This is a win/win situation for everyone involved. The athlete can earn a salary, my proposal would be to start a player with no college experience at $150,000 for the first season, and for it to go up in one hundred thousand-dollar increments for the remaining three years. The minor league would be a developmental league teaching fundamentals that are sorely lacking right now in the NBA. The accepted philosophy is that the defense in the league has gotten stronger during the last few years, hence the drought in scoring. However if a player misses an uncontested 12-foot jump shot, that?s not good defense, that?s just poor offense. How many players are there in the league who either, can not create their own shot or just can?t shoot the “J”?

Now at this point I’m sure you are saying to yourself, Sackman, you covered LeBron James for his first three years in the NBA, and look at what he has accomplished, taking his team to the NBA finals in what would have been his fourth year in the program you propose. Look at Kobe, and KG, both coming straight out of high school. Look at Carmelo Anthony who has become a dominant player, after only one year at Syracuse. But these players are the exceptions, there are a lot more cases of Desagana Diop and Kwame Brown, guys who had no business going into the NBA after high school. But both these players were drafted in the first round Brown with the first pick overall!

The NBDL is a joke reserved for the rawest of the raw, combining players from two or three franchises. If David Stern did not press the issue, in the last NBAPA bargaining agreement high school grads?would still be going right into the NBA. Instead you have this charade where the Rose’s and the O.J. Mayo’s go to college for one year, just so that they can keep their skills fresh, and have a National platform in which you can showcase your talents.

I am a big fan of college basketball, covering the first round of the NCAA tournament in Cleveland was one of the high points of my career. However, it is not the NBA’s job to protect college basketball. The NBA has to look out for it’s own game, which is not as fundamentally sound as it was a generation ago. Is it any wonder that the USA has ended up falling short in International competition. That the NBA MVP had up until this season been awarded the last three years gone to a foreign born player ? This could all be rectified by the league instituting a four year minor league program. And the best thing about it, is everybody wins, the league, the players, and most of all you the fan.

? Copyright 2008 thesackattack.net

Jun

22

ESPN: Jay Bilas’ NBA Draft Preview

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Jun

22

ESPN: Is Carmelo Anthony Headed To Detroit?

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Jun

22

76ers Love Sweet Sixteen

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???????????????????????Philadelphia 76ers

I’m not saying that the Philadelphia are being passive about their position in this year’s NBA draft, but according to Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Sixers’ general manager Ed Stefanski said on Saturday that he loves the fact that Philadelphia drafts 16th - to the point that the team may not try to move up or down.? Stefanski added, “We’ve explored it.? But where we’re sitting, at 16, we have a handful of guys that we think - one or two or three - could be on the board when we draft.”? And unless he has a sudden change of heart, it appears that Philadelphia is leaning towards a power forward with their pick.?

Stefanski said that the team has already seen most of the PF prospects, including Syracuse’s Donte Greene, Nevada’s JaVale McGee (McGee could also be considered a center) and Florida’s Marreese Speights; they have also worked out Ohio State’s Kosta Koufos and Texas A&M’s DeAndre Jordan.? The aforementioned players are the ones being targeted by the team, according to Stefanski; he also mentioned that the Sixers are roughly $11 million under the salary cap - which may offer the possibility of adding a free agent at PF, as well.?

Jun

22

Nuggets Reject 2-For-1 Trade With Pistons

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??????????????????????Denver NuggetsDetroit Pistons

While it is common knowledge that the Denver Nuggets are in trade talks with the Detroit Pistons, a Pistons source has told the Detroit Free Press that any trade that goes down will not involve forward Carmelo Anthony.? Any trade that happens between these two teams have these goals in mind: for Denver, it will hopefully bring Chauncey Billups back to his home state; the Pistons, on the other hand, want to correct their messed-up 2003 draft and pry Anthony from the Nuggets.

To add to this trade scenario, ESPN.com reports that the Pistons have offered Tayshaun Prince and Billups to Denver for Anthony; the Nuggets have countered with an offer of Allen Iverson or a package featuring Marcus Camby.? But the Pistons are only interested in Anthony at this point.? Whether anything comes to fruition is purely speculative at this point; stay tuned to Slam Dunk Central for future developments.

Jun

22

NBA Trade Winds Blowing

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The NBA Draft is just days away and the phone lines, as one would expect, are burning up.? This year’s pre-draft activity would make Monty Hall proud.? And the rumors floating out there are many.? According to Chad Ford of ESPN.com, rumors such as: the Phoenix Suns putting Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa on the market in hopes of moving up in the draft or getting a veteran to play along with Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O’Neal.? The Suns own Atlanta’s #15 pick, but the players they covet - Russell Westbrook, Joe Alexander and Brandon Rush - should be gone by then.

There’s plenty of small forwards being shopped around, as well.? Besides the aforementioned Diaw, you can add New Jersey’s Richard Jefferson, Dallas’ Josh Howard, Charlotte’s Gerald Wallace and Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince to the list.? But most of these teams have stumbling blocks trying to deal these stars.? The Mavericks, like any other team in the Association, probably will not want to deal within their own division or conference.? The Pistons have little interest in Diaw as their needs lie elsewhere on their roster.? The Nets just want expiring contracts - preferably contracts that expire by 2010.? Phoenix may or may not want to take back Wallace’s existing contract.

Minnesota seems especially ripe for a deal if Michael Beasley is available at #3 (he won’t).? They covet 3 particular big men - Kevin Love, Brook Lopez and Danilo Gallinari - although none of the 3 are worthy of that lofty pick.? And you just know that the T-Wolves want young players, not veterans - they’re in rebuild mode.? The Knicks want to get rid of Zach Randolph (can’t say that I blame him) and his ridiculous contract, but teams aren’t really biting (I can’t blame them).? And even though New York has the #6 pick, they’d like to move up a spot or 2 so they can get either O.J. Mayo or Jerryd Bayless.? If the Knicks cannot get either one of them,??Russell Westbrook may be on the Knicks’ radar.

The Clippers want to move up to #3 - hopefully to get Mayo - and they’ve made phone calls offering nearly everyone on their roster (or so it seems) for that privilege.? Considering that Los Angeles has Elton Brand, Chris Kaman and Al Thornton, the Clippers could be players in this year’s draft.? Milwaukee is trying to move up the draft board, as well (who isn’t?); their phone lines have been somewhat busy, with interest lying with Yi Jianlin and Charlie Villanueva.? Mo Williams and Michael Redd also figure in the trade equation, as well.? Portland has the #13, #33, #36 and #55 picks in the draft; the last thing they need is more youth on their team, especially since Greg Oden and Rudy Fernandez will be on the roster next season.

Oh there’s even more: The Oklahoma City Roughnecks/Seattle Litigators/Seattle SuperSonics have an interest in Russell Westbrook, but they will probably have to move down for that to happen.? And yes, even the Lakers are in the mix - although to a lesser degree.? It appears that Lamar Odom is being speculated to be shopped around.? And you can bet that teams would love to have his expiring contract.? Some teams that could make a trade with the Lakers possible: New Jersey (for Richard Jefferson), Chicago (for Andres Nocioni), Sacramento (for Ron Artest) and Memphis (for Mike Miller).? Payback for the Grizzlies in that scenario?? Hmmm.

Just a couple more trade rumors: Cleveland is looking to trade Sideshow Bob Carlito Anderson Varejao and their #19 pick to Golden State for Brandan Wright (Why?); the Warriors hold a $10 million trade exception which will allow them to take back more money than they send out in a trade.? But probably the biggest rumor floating out there is Memphis shipping Kyle Lowry and their #28 pick to Denver for their #20 and Linas Kleiza.? I’m sure there’s other scenarios out there, but they’re few and far between.? If anything, AT&T will get richer from all of the trade speculation; it will definitely be a very interesting several days as things shape up.? Stay tuned to Slam Dunk Central for the most up-to-date NBA draft developments.

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