The NBA draft lottery is Tuesday for the chance, most NBA executives generally agree, to draft LSU forward Tyrus Thomas or Texas center LaMarcus Aldridge. They are regarded as the most talented big men in the draft along with Italian forward Andrea Bargnani. And then they’ll all probably watch Adam Morrison of Gonzaga or Brandon Roy of Washington become the 2007 Rookie of the Year.
The Bulls will be right in the middle of this great drafting dilemma because there is no super player at the top of the draft, no obvious No. 1 pick such as LeBron James, Tim Duncan or Shaquille O’Neal.
They have the second-best odds of landing the No. 1 pick after Portland and could go only as low as No. 5, which is unlikely. They should get one of the top three picks. This draft is somewhat like last year’s in which Atlanta went with talented athlete and prospect Marvin Williams at No. 2, and the Rookie of the Year and best player turned out to be point guard Chris Paul, who went at No. 4.
NBA executives tend to favor big men at the top of the draft under the basic logic that the bigger you are and closer you are to the basket, the easier it is to score and rebound. Of course, in the current NBA environment, things have changed with zone defenses that promote perimeter shooting and rules that limit contact outside but not in the paint.
“A lot of teams are now going with a big guy and four smalls, four perimeter players,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said.
Another question when it comes to drafting: Do you take the projected top player or a player who can fit your team?
The 2001 draft was a disaster for the top teams picking Kwame Brown and Tyson Chandler. Jason Richardson went No. 5, Joe Johnson No. 9 and Richard Jefferson No. 13. There are usually good perimeter players to be found after the top few picks, like Vince Carter No. 5 in 1998, Steve Nash No. 15 in 1996, Mike Miller No. 5 in 2000 when Kenyon Martin was No. 1 and Stromile Swift No. 2, Richard Hamilton No. 7 in 1999 and Dwyane Wade No. 5 in 2003.
So what if the Bulls got the No. 1 or No. 2 pick?
Roy is regarded as a player ready to step into the pros and produce at shooting guard. He is mature, can shoot, defend and is regarded as an all-around shooting guard. That’s just what the Bulls could use to have an ideal three-guard rotation with Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon. If they don’t address a need for a big guy at the top of the draft, maybe they could at No. 16 or in free agency with the likes of Ben Wallace, Drew Gooden, Nene, Joel Pryzbilla and Nazr Mohammed available.
And what about Morrison? He could be a star in the NBA. Or a tease. He’s a noted trash talker, and one veteran NBA insider said: “Do you know what they call trash-talking slow white guys in the NBA? Dinner.” But he’s also fearless and in today’s perimeter-oriented game could be a big-time scorer. Some teams, like Houston, are said to be eager to get him.
Thomas is often likened to Swift. Houston, you figure, would give up its lottery pick and Swift for a shot at Morrison. Or if you are the Bulls, maybe you draft someone like Morrison–even though he’s a small forward and that is your deepest position–and then work in Luol Deng at shooting guard or trade Deng, whose value is up.
The possibilities are endless and begin Tuesday night.
Finley’s revenge
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In inviting fans to condemn former Maverick Michael Finley, owner Mark Cuban has so infected the community that Finley was afraid to bring his family to Game 6 Friday in Dallas.
Finley had his revenge, though the classy pro from Proviso East doesn’t seek such moments, when he hit a big three-pointer late in the game and defended Dirk Nowitzki into a missed three to close out the Spurs’ victory. He has become a key for the Spurs’ recovery, averaging 46 minutes the last three games, and was the recipient of Jason Terry’s punch in Game 5 that resulted in a suspension.
Said Finley: “The boos are unfortunate, especially since when I played here I felt I gave my blood and guts, tried to be a model citizen. To come back and hear boos was kind of disheartening. My family was not even able to come to the game because of the things they were saying. I was hearing things like `traitor.’ The Mavs got rid of me. I was hearing things like `whiner.’ I got hit. I did not do anything. I thought I did a lot for the organization. I guess that doesn’t matter.”
Cuban, Part II
Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich likely agree on this one, though Popovich wouldn’t say as much. When Jackson suggested that referees are intimidated in Dallas by Cuban’s constant harassment and complaints to the league, Cuban spent a week hurling insults at Jackson.
But some of the most curious pivotal calls of the playoffs were when Dallas won Games 3 and 4 at home against the Spurs. There was the delay-of-game technical foul, there was Nowitzki’s winning free throws with 8.5 seconds left after barely a touch by Bruce Bowen and there was Tim Duncan’s fouling out after Nowitzki stepped on Duncan’s foot.
Said one veteran team executive: “He’s got those refs intimidated when they come down there, his running on the court, the letters to the league. The refs respond.”
Another team executive said Cuban has former league referees on staff to analyze calls, which has created bitter feelings from officials toward their ex-colleagues.
Commissioner David Stern, meanwhile, has heard enough of the ref-bashing in the playoffs and seemed to reach his boiling point addressing reporters recently when he said, “Play the game and stop complaining. If you don’t like it, go and get a job someplace else.”
Extension tension
LeBron James hedged some when asked about signing an extension with the Cavs this summer, but he is expected to do so. “I love my teammates and the coaching staff,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”
It’s being called the Amare Stoudemire effect, which likely will see the top players from that potentially great draft–James, Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Hinrich–all sign extensions rather than play out their contracts and become restricted free agents next year. After Stoudemire signed an extension with the Suns last fall, he underwent two knee surgeries that bring into question the kind of player he’ll be when he returns.
Because of his endorsements, James could afford to wait and is believed to have interest in the Nets because of their eventual move to Brooklyn.
The ballot box
Here’s why the Bulls can’t stand pat. The Bulls and the Pacers, the latter said to be considering a major shakeup, were the only playoff teams without a player receiving a vote for all-NBA. Forty players received votes. . . . If we were taking another ballot for most improved player, it might be Raja Bell, who signed as a free agent with the Suns last summer after being released by the Spurs, 76ers and Mavs and playing in the CBA. He is averaging 20.7 points in the conference semifinals against the Clippers and 16.3 points for the playoffs and shooting 23 of 45 on threes against the Clippers. His career playoff average is 3.8 per game. He had the takedown of Kobe Bryant in the first round, making him a local folk hero. Plus his mom had the trash talk of the playoffs. Bryant had joked Bell went after him because maybe he wasn’t hugged enough as a kid. After the Lakers’ Game 7 loss, Bell’s mother, Denise, was there and yelled to Bryant: “Hey, Kobe, need a hug?”
Double dribbles
The Raptors let go former Purdue coach Gene Keady. It’s part of a shakeup under new general manager Bryan Colangelo. Mauricio Gherardini, an executive with Benetton Treviso of the top league in Italy, was added as assistant general manager. That’s expected to help the Raptors get Bargnani, who played for Benetton. The talk is Bargnani’s camp will put out word he could return to Europe–like Orlando pick Fran Vasquez did last year–if he’s not a Raptors pick. That should scare off the top teams. The new Toronto philosophy is said to be to extend Bosh (he says he wants to return) and then concentrate on international players more comfortable playing in Canada.
Last shots
Figure to see dozens of these, but the two latest trade rumors for Allen Iverson have him going to Minnesota for their lottery pick and players or to Atlanta in a sign-and-trade for Al Harrington and one of Atlanta’s young forwards. . . . Richard Jefferson did some post-series coaching, writing on an NBA blog: “We have a first-team All-Defensive player in Jason Kidd, but we didn’t have him guarding Wade to start off games. The most competitive game was when we had J-Kidd guarding Wade.” . . . The Celtics are bringing on former Bull Clifford Ray as a coach. . . . The Cavs’ Larry Hughes said he gets a new tattoo every year and added one for the recent death of his brother, Justin, of tears under an eye. . . . Here was Jerry Stackhouse after he almost blew Game 3 against the Spurs by failing to hit the rim with a purposely missed free throw: “You do something bad at the end of a game and your Mama, you want her to be like, `It’s all right, baby.’ But she was asking, `What were you thinking about?'”