The dominoes continue to fall

Had the proverbial "bridges been burned" between D-Will and the Jazz front office?

The NBA seems to be a madhouse during the days leading up to the February 24th trade deadline. Just 2 days removed from the blockbuster involving Carmelo Anthony, another one has occured, this time in the form of Deron Williams. D-Will, formerly of the Utah Jazz, has been shipped off to New Jersey (Siberia?), in exchange for Devin Harris, Derrick Favors and 2 first-round picks.

Supposedly, when Williams heard he was heading to New Jersey, he said he was in absolute shock, and declined all interviews. That probably ought to tell you all you need to know about how he feels on playing for that organization, as this certainly was not his choice. I do feel that the Nets did pretty well here in only surrendering 2 players and 2 picks; I believe Williams would have gone for much more at next year’s deadline, the year in which he was set to become a free agent (and, technically, still is), so I think New Jersey ought to pat themselves on the back for jumping on this one while they could. And, to be honest, I don’t see this as a bad move for the Jazz, either. Sure they lost, quite possibly, the best pure point guard in the game, but they also acquired a good one in Devin Harris, a power forward who oozes potential in Derrick Favors, and 2 first-rounders to play with. Not too shabby, I’d say.

The thing with me is the timing. There has to be much more here than just ‘a good deal’ that came up right at the deadline. I believe Deron Williams probably made quite a mess for himself between him and the Jazz front office (Jerry Sloan abruptly heading out the front door? That ring a bell?) and it was probably just time for him and that organization to move on. So, perhaps the Jazz really should have drafted Chris Paul in ’05 instead of Williams. At least they still would probably have one of the top 3 PGs in the game…

‘Melo Drama

He's so melodramatic!!

Drama, drama, drama! Seems like the NBA has turned into a reality TV show lately with all the high profile free agents getting so much attention about where they might go. Hell, people were talking about the 2011 NBA Offseason in 2009. Since it’s mideseason and the dust has settled a bit, the only major star out there is Carmelo Anthony and he’s getting publicity and his name mentioned more than any Hollywood star could dream of. As for right now, there is one deal that has been accepted and is awaiting Carmelo’s approval and it’s with the New Jersey Nets. It all hinders on Carmelo signing a 3 year, $65 million dollar extension. The deal is posted below:

PENDING TRADE

New Jersey Gets: Carmelo, Chauncey Billups, Renaldo Balkman, Shelden Williams, Melvin Ely

Denver Gets: Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Ben Uzoh, Troy Murphy, 4 1st round picks

That is what you call a blockbuster deal. New Jersey would be pretty depleted however having only role players outside of Brook Lopez. New Jersey is already out of the playoffs and would still need some key additions in the offseason seeing as how a huge amount of their draft picks will be gone. Other than Billups, the others are expiring contracts or fillers. Denver would get a nice package to use to build the future. Favors is a young power forward who could be a fore someday. Devin Harris is also a solid young point guard who’s solid yet unspectacular. The real kicker is 4 first round picks. Even if they are lottery protected, that’s at least a nice haul of role/situational players. It works for both teams as well. Denver gets to build for the future, New Jersey gets the pieces to try and make a run in the next year or so. Not to be outdone, the New York Knicks are planning on upping their offer. The rumored deal is as follows:

RUMORED TRADE OFFER

Denver Gets: Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Eddie Curry, 1st round pick (Minn)

New York Gets: Carmelo, Chauncey Billups, Salary Cap Player (TBD)

Minnesota Gets: Anthony Randolph

New York needs to get this deal done. After losing out on LeBron James, they need to land a star player to go with Amar’e Stoudemire. After they spent all that time clearing up cap space, it would be pointless if they didn’t land another max-contract player. They were holding onto too many key pieces that Denver wanted so the New Jersey deal will get them to show some cards anyways. Worst case scenario at least the ball is rolling and potential offers are starting to come in.

'Melo Drama

He's so melodramatic!!

Drama, drama, drama! Seems like the NBA has turned into a reality TV show lately with all the high profile free agents getting so much attention about where they might go. Hell, people were talking about the 2011 NBA Offseason in 2009. Since it’s mideseason and the dust has settled a bit, the only major star out there is Carmelo Anthony and he’s getting publicity and his name mentioned more than any Hollywood star could dream of. As for right now, there is one deal that has been accepted and is awaiting Carmelo’s approval and it’s with the New Jersey Nets. It all hinders on Carmelo signing a 3 year, $65 million dollar extension. The deal is posted below:

PENDING TRADE

New Jersey Gets: Carmelo, Chauncey Billups, Renaldo Balkman, Shelden Williams, Melvin Ely

Denver Gets: Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Ben Uzoh, Troy Murphy, 4 1st round picks

That is what you call a blockbuster deal. New Jersey would be pretty depleted however having only role players outside of Brook Lopez. New Jersey is already out of the playoffs and would still need some key additions in the offseason seeing as how a huge amount of their draft picks will be gone. Other than Billups, the others are expiring contracts or fillers. Denver would get a nice package to use to build the future. Favors is a young power forward who could be a fore someday. Devin Harris is also a solid young point guard who’s solid yet unspectacular. The real kicker is 4 first round picks. Even if they are lottery protected, that’s at least a nice haul of role/situational players. It works for both teams as well. Denver gets to build for the future, New Jersey gets the pieces to try and make a run in the next year or so. Not to be outdone, the New York Knicks are planning on upping their offer. The rumored deal is as follows:

RUMORED TRADE OFFER

Denver Gets: Danilo Gallinari, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, Eddie Curry, 1st round pick (Minn)

New York Gets: Carmelo, Chauncey Billups, Salary Cap Player (TBD)

Minnesota Gets: Anthony Randolph

New York needs to get this deal done. After losing out on LeBron James, they need to land a star player to go with Amar’e Stoudemire. After they spent all that time clearing up cap space, it would be pointless if they didn’t land another max-contract player. They were holding onto too many key pieces that Denver wanted so the New Jersey deal will get them to show some cards anyways. Worst case scenario at least the ball is rolling and potential offers are starting to come in.

Players Poised for Breakout Seasons

Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia 76ers, PG

This will be Holiday’s second season and look for him to step it up big.  New appointed head coach, Doug Collins, already expects Holiday to play like an All Star caliber point guard this season.  Will he live up to Collins’ expectations?  I believe he will.   I’m not saying he will be an All Star, but he will be a point guard to reckon with.   At 6’4, Holiday can be a mismatch for smaller point guards.  Not only will his size cause mismatches, but he has the quickness and athleticism to really give an opposing team fits.  Holiday was really inconsistent last season, but I believe he will improve drastically.  He is officially the starting point guard this season, as he was in and out of the lineup last season.  Look for Holiday to fill up that stat line, not only with assists, but also with rebounds and steals.  He has the physical abilities to be a really special player in this league, but will he have the mental toughness?

Terrence Williams, New Jersey Nets, G/F

Talking about athleticism, T-Will is a freak.  He is just a flat out playmaker on the basketball court.  What makes him even better is his versatility.  Hell, he can even play the point if he wanted with his ball handling skills.  He too is in his second year as he was very sporadic last season.   He has the ability to get into the paint, but he still needs to work on his outside game.  If he polishes his outside jumper he can be a deadly player. Look for Terrence to gain some more consistency and be that big playmaker off the New Jersey bench.

J.J. Hickson, Cleveland Cavaliers, PF

With Shaq and Big Z gone J.J. will have to up his game to the next level.   He has shown a lot talent and I do believe he will lead the Cavs in points in the paint.  Jamison will be too busy living at the three point line.  Even though Hickson is undersized he is very aggressive.  He finds ways to score.  With him getting all the minutes, look for him to post impressive numbers.

Darren Collison, Indiana Pacers, PG

When CPIII went down, Darren had to grow up fast.  He had some really big shoes to fill as a rookie and he did not disappoint.  He was putting up some ridiculous state lines that not even vets can do.  He has All Star written all over him.  Now that he has the reigns to lead the Indiana Pacer offense, look for him to continue throwing up solid numbers.  He should be racking up the assists with a scorer like Danny Granger and center Roy Hibbert on his team.  Tab him for your fantasy basketball team.

C.J. Miles, Utah Jazz, G/F

With Ronnie Brewer, Wesley Matthews and Kyle Korver all gone, look for Miles to make the most of his minutes.  Miles played well in the playoffs last season and look for him to build off that.  With one of the best point guards in the league on his side and Jefferson and Millsap in the paint, Miles will have plenty of wide open jump shots.

Others to Watch:

Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers, C

He is a very solid, defensive center that is starting to become an all around player.  His size gives him abilities to alter and block shots.  His only downfall is he can never get enough minutes because of foul trouble.  If he can stay on the court look for him to be a solid player.

J.J. Redick, Orlando Magic, G

J.J. is finally showing signs of becoming an all around player as he has improved his ball handling and driving skills.  With Vince Carter on the decline look for J.J. to only get better.  Look for him to help spread the floor with Dwight in the paint.

Ramon Sessions, Cleveland Cavaliers, PG

Sessions has always put of solid numbers when given the minutes.  Now he has an opportunity to start due to Mo Williams’ injury and personal problems.  There have even been discussions that Mo may see some time at the two.  Either way Ramon will get minutes and will produce.

NBA Free Agency Losers

They're smiling because they're overpaid and not even starting

1) Cleveland Cavaliers – Let’s see. They had zero draft picks, have signed zero free agents, and lost key players LeBron James and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. They’ve been scrapping for backups at this point and can’t even land them so this is a no-brainer. Cleveland has done nothing since losing LeBron and have a gaping hole at small forward. I understand LeBron didn’t tell Cleveland ahead of time, but you still think they would have a contingency plan ready to go. Nope, all Cleveland’s done all offseason is see their owner get a $100,000 fine for some immature comments. This is Mo Williams’ team now which is absolutely laughable. Feel bad for Byron Scott too, who they recently signed as head coach. To say he has an uphill battle is an understatement.

2) Golden State Warriors – I don’t know how, but they’ve made some of the biggest moves in free agency and yet none of the moves look overly good. David Lee has torn ligaments in his shooting hand and could miss serious time. 1^st round pick Ekpe Udoh also is going to miss a good amount of the season (4-6 months). He wouldn’t have contributed much as a rookie, but would have given them a great shot blocker down low. In return, for these big moves, they gave up a total of 6 players that averaged over 10 points per game last season (Watson, Azubuike, Randolph, Morrow, Maggette, Bell). Stephan Curry and Monte Ellis are good scorers, but Golden State’s roster is now depleted. They also lack a tough down low player. How they plan on winning with 6 key players gone is beyond me.

3) New Orleans Hornets – Chris Paul, one of the best point guards in the NBA told the Hornets that he wanted to the team to make some moves and they literally did nothing. Now he’s out there saying he wants a trade to play with an all-star, which New Orleans doesn’t have outside of Paul. How do you let your best player get upset like this? Put a squad around him; he’s arguably the best PG in the NBA! All New Orleans did is get rid of Morris Peterson and drafted two late round players in Craig Brackins and Quincy Pondexter. They’re decent players and could have productive careers, but it’s nothing to get excited about. New Orleans was a contender a few years ago, but has fallen off. Doing nothing is a terrible way to think they can improve in a competitive Western Conference.

4) New Jersey Nets – The Nets are an example of why you need to be careful when trying to dump cap space in an effort to gain superstars. New Jersey was tied to all of the big name free agents this offseason (LeBron, Wade, Bosh, Joe Johnson) but landed zero of them. Instead, they signed 3 backups to massive contracts: Jordan Farmar, Travis Outlaw, and Johan Petro. None of them are consistent starters and none were highly sought after in the free agency process. In essence, they signed 3 glorified backups/role players. Not only that, they lost their backup point guard and center, so the signings don’t net them too much. They were able to land sharp shooting Anthony Morrow via trade and Derrick Favors in the draft which is a plus as both are young and talented. However, when you consider their expectations and all the cap-clearing moves, they failed to meet expectations.

5) Memphis Grizzlies – The fifth spot was difficult to decide on. Teams like Indy and Detroit did nothing outside the draft while teams like Phoenix and Toronto lost big name FAs, although they did decent in signing replacements. However, Memphis seems like a good fit. Their first round pick Xavier Henry isn’t happy with Memphis and is threatening to hold out. Not only that, there are rumors he’s wanting a trade. Grevis Vasquez was also an interesting pick. He’ll either back up Conley or be the 4th string shooting guard since they have Mayo and Tony Allen. The big mistake was signing Rudy Gay to a max deal similar to Kevin Durant’s. He’s never averaged over 20 ppg and he gets paid the same as guys who are MVP-caliber. It also doesn’t help they lost Ronnie Brewer and all they had to do is extend a qualifying offer since he’s a RFA. There’s a reason why they never contend.

NBA Free Agency Quick Hits

Best friends forever!

– The Bulls must have seen something that the Utah Jazz didn’t. So far this offseason, they’ve signed 3 players who played with the Jazz last season: Kyle Korver, Carlos Boozer, and Ronnie Brewer. Korver will provide shooting range, Boozer a low post presence, and Brewer will bring defense and energy. Watch out Jerry Sloan, Chicago might be coming for you next!

– If you thought the Miami Heat would slow down after “The Decision”, you were wrong. They since have signed shooting ace Mike Miller, former Cavs big man Zydrunas Ilgauskas , and re-signed consistent PF Udonis Haslem. They are also closing to signing PG Carlos Arroyo and PF Juwan Howard.

– The Nets are clearly losers this free agency. They cleared cap space to try and land LeBron or another big FA, but landed none of them. They’ve signed 3 players so far: SF Travis Outlaw, PG Jordan Farmar, and C Johan Petro. Petro and Farmar are both backups while Outlaw is getting $7 million a year which is way too much for a fringe starter.

– Wesley Matthews is an enigma in the NBA. He was an undrafted FA out of Marq uette who got a shot with the Utah Jazz. Not only did he make the team, but he ended up starting 48 games and averaging close to 10 PPG. He was a restricted free agent, so Portland made an offer that Utah couldn’t match: 5 years, $32.7 million. How’s that for bucking the traditional system?

–  I’m pretty sure the San Antonio Spurs could solve any economic problem out there. In a summer where every team is over-paying, the Spurs signed 2007 1^st round pick Tiago Splitter to a 3 year, $11 million contract. Splitter is considered one of the best euro players and won both the Spanish league MVP and Finals MVP. Put it this way: he averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds while Johan Petro got a 3 year, $10 million contract and averages 3 points and 3 rebounds.

– Speaking of European players, 2 notable former NBA players are returning this season after being signed by new teams. Josh Childress was traded to the Phoenix Suns after 2 years in Greece while Linas Kleiza signed with the Toronto Raptors. Speaking of the Raptors and the Suns, Hedo Turkoglu was traded after a bad season in Toronto to the Phoenix Suns for Leandro Barbosa and Dwayne Jones.

– 2 big trades have also happened since “The Decision”. Minnesota big man Al Jefferson was traded to the Utah Jazz for two 1^st round draft picks. He will replace Carlos Boozer or at least try to. David Lee was traded from New York to the Golden State Warriors for the mediocre Anthony Randolph. Advantage: Warriors.

Writing On The Wall; Wizards Get #1 Pick

They look shocked because they actually won something

The NBA Draft is different from any other draft in sports. While most go off of record to determine the draft order, the NBA takes the non-playoff teams, assigns them a certain number of ping pong balls based on record, and then lets the lucky team with their logo on the ball pick first. In essence, it’s the lottery’s power ball meets pro sports. It’s this uncertain fate that makes it so interesting and tries to deter teams from tanking games to get the #1 pick. This year, New Jersey was the favorite to get the #1 pick but landed at #3 after the lottery. For Washington, this is huge; they just won the John Wall sweepstakes. Gilbert Arenas’ gun incident and suspension really put the team in a bind so to get some positive press is always a good thing. With the #1 pick, they now get to pick freshman phenom John Wall and either trade Arenas or move him to shooting guard where he may be a more natural fit. Definitely thinking they’ll move him to SG as Arenas is more of a scorer and his contract is of ridiculous proportions (what team in the right mind would trade for him). With Wall, Washington will get a true point guard with freakish athleticism. Very similar to Derrick Rose coming into the NBA as a rookie, it’s scary to think about a 6’4” true PG who can catch ally-oops and create for teammates but that’s what he does. He still needs to improve his shot, but will be a huge asset for Washington and a step in the right direction. They’ll still need some help, but Wall will be an instant starter and is the early favorite for rookie of the year. As for the other picks, this is how I see the rest of the top 10 playing out as of right now:

2- Philadelphia 76ers: Evan Turner, SF, Ohio St

3- New Jersey Nets: Derrick Favors, PF, Georgia Tech

4- Minnesota Timberwolves: Welsey Johnson, SG/SF, Syracuse

5- Sacramento Kings: DeMarcus Cousins, C, Kentucky

6- Golden State Warriors: Cole Aldrich, C, Kansas

7- Detroit Pistons: Greg Monroe, PF/C, Georgetown

8- Los Angeles Clippers: Al-Farouq Aminu, SF, Wake Forest

9- Utah Jazz: Ekpe Udoh, C, Utah

10- Indianapolis Pacers: Xavier Henry, SG, Kansas

– Lork