Terry Shilton

Huge news today in the Nba as more players than expected opted-out of the final year of their contracts to explore free agency, below is the players and latest rumours…

1. Elton Brand, big surprise coming off a injury filled year, many people were expecting him to play out the deal, Philly has become an immediate player, as are Chicago, Miami and Atlanta.

prediciton Elton ends in Eastern Conference, possibly Atlanta

2. Baron Davis, Huge suprise as Baron was in a back loaded deal and was due nearly 18 million, “Boom Dizzle” must have decided to win now, his health has been an issue and he feels that window closing, this situation is very difficult to peg as Baron researched teams like NY, Miami whihc had PG needs in the offseason but not the ability to outright sign him, as Gstate can offer the most money and have Monta Ellis (restricted)

prediction Baron will likely get signed and then dealt.

3. Gilbert Arenas, no surpirse wanted a max long term deal at the new salary cap, interesting developments now with other players available, as many league people believe the wiz are a better more balanced team without Arenas.

prediction Agent Zero resigns as he sells seats

4. Corey Magette, no surprise and he is leaving La he has had problems with the Clippers staff for some time, he should have been dealt at last years deadline, he wants to go to Orlando but it seems unlikely given their cap situation.

I haven’t heard anything about Ron Artest, who is also eligible to opt out of his current deal, which leads me to believe either he isn’t going to or he has waited right to the last second to so, and the announcment is delayed because of this.

Terry Shilton

1. Chicago Bulls ~ Derrick Rose, scouts love the PG, he’s local, character guy, proven winner, needs to improve outside shot, immediate impact

2. Miami Heat ~ Micheal Beasley, crazy scorer, future ROY, potential 25 pt plus 10-15 rebound per game guy

3. Minnesota Timberwolves ~ OJ Mayo, best player available, immmediate impact, eventual star

4. Seattle Supersonics ~ Brooks Lopez, can score from post and board clears the way for them to deal Chris Wilcox

5. Memphis Grizzlies ~ Kevin Love, athletic, fundamentally sound big man to replace the one they lost.

6. New York Knicks ~ Jerryd Bayless, stock rising as he has been great in workouts, D’antoni loves the scoring PG

7. La Clippers ~ Eric Gordon, Clipps need backcourt help bad, Westbrook will be tempting but that good at everything great at nothing PG will lose out to Air Gordon’s scoring ability, maybe a steal here

8. Milwaukee Bucks ~ Joe Alexander, New Gm drafts best athlete in draft, crazy upside, super athlete, possible star, almost certain to create most rookie highlights, dude can fly

9. Charlotte Bobcats ~ Russell Westbrook, currently no backup PG to Felton, worth the risk as Westbrook was once thought to be top 5 pick, does everything well

10. New Jersey Nets ~ Danilo Gallinari, versatile scorer, can really shoot has Toni Kukoc like game, lacks athleticism

11. Indiana Pacers ~ DJ Augustine, undersized, great shooter, good leader if they make that trade for TJ Ford, look for them to pick a centre here.

12. Sacramento Kings ~ Anthony Randolph, upside and risk here Anthony is either the next Chris Bosh or the next Bust, looks great and lost at times, Mario Chalmers also strong possibility here

13.  Portland Trailblazers ~ Mario Chalmers, suprise here Mario has been great in work outs, good defender looks Nba ready, would allow the Trailblazers to move Roy back to SG more often, also maybe pick most likely to get dealt; Portland has great young team need to add a Veteran or two

14. Golden State Warriors ~ Kosta Koufous, doesn’t Gstate always pick around here in the draft, nice pickup good upside, solid Nba centre, a year or so away developmentally, projected top 5 pick in 2009 came out 2008

15. Phoenix Suns ~ Brandon Rush, smart, athletic outside shooter, champion, good defender, Barbosa’s replacement?

16. Philadelphia 76ers ~ Deandre Jordan, quick big man, needs time to develop, low post scorer at one time thought to maybe be top 10 pick

17. Toronto Raptors ~  Alexis Ajinca, big euro center, meaning he can pass and understands basketball but needs to get stronger

18. Washington Wizards ~ Darrell Arthur, He can move, and score, handle the ball, but probaby destined to be a somewhat decent contributor off a bench; think Antwan Jamieson type game

19. Cleveland Cavaliers ~ Marreese Spreights, Cleveland want a big who can score, they have many who can defend either Spreights or Hibbert here; personally I think Spreights has more upside

20. Denver Nuggets ~ Javale Mcgee, struggled in camps, bit of suprising drop to here, has size and alot of upside potential contributor in a year or two, good quickness, and transition for a real big at 7′0

21. New Jersey (from Dallas) ~ JJ Hickson, nice combo of strength, wingspan, quickness, and a lot of offensive moves

22. Orlando Magic ~ Robin Lopez, an energetic, hustling big guy who can take up space and make some noise; think Anderson Varejo his hustle makes up for natural ability

23. Utah Jazz ~ Roy Hibbert, the Jazz have fingers crossed he’ll fall in their laps especially during the Cav’s pick, Roy is skilled but can’t run the floor, very effective in methodical half court offense, wonderful fit

24. Seattle (from Phoenix) ~ Serge Ibaka, former Spurs exec and current Gm goes international here, Serge is potentially Lottery pick next year came out a year early, likely to stay in Spain and hopefully develop into player

25. Houston Rockets ~ Courtney Lee, tough choice for Houston between Lee and Douglas-Roberts, but Lee is a shooter and Douglas-Roberts more of a slasher, The Rockets will take Lee and hope he can contribute at the SG position right away

26. San Antonio Spurs ~ Ryan Anderson, PF that can shoot the lights out, Robert Horry’s replacement

27. Portland Trailblazers (from New Orleans, traded for cash today) ~ Nicolas Batum, a quick, leaping scorer with nice potential and very good defensive ability

28. Memphis Grizzlies (from La) ~ Jason Thompson, close here with DJ White, Grizzlies need front court help Jason can rebound and defend at an Nba level any scoring would be a bonus

29. Detroit Pistons ~ Chris Douglas-Roberts, suprising fall here, Gets to the rim, scores, shoots and can defend. Some wonder if his upside is limited

30. Boston Celtics ~ Richard Hendrix, A smart power forward with low post game who can help an NBA team’s bench. Understands basketball

UPPER SECOND ROUND / FIRST ROUND BUBBLE:
DJ White (PF 6-9 250 Indiana)
Bill Walker (SF 6-6 220 Kansas State)
Gary Forbes (G/F 6-7 220 Massachusetts)
Mike Taylor (G 6-2 190 Iowa State/D-League)
Ante Tomic (C 7-2 245 Croatia)
Omer Asik (F/C 6-11 230 Turkey)
DeVon Hardin (C 6-11 250 U of Cal)

MID/LOWER SECOND ROUND:
Joe Crawford
Trent Plaisted
James Gist
Davon Jefferson (SF 6-8 215 USC)
Shawn James (PF 6-10 225 Duquesne)
Drew Neitzel
JR Giddens
James Mays
Josh Duncan
Malik Hairston
Sasha Kaun
George Hill
Josh Duncan
Richard Roby
Pat Calathes
Joey Dorsey
Sean Singletary
Vladimir Gulubovic

This post’s Comments will be updated throughout the day with Draft Rumours so please check back often
 

Terry Shilton

The Nba’s Draft Lottery goes tonight and as usual it’s a tale of two players, the first Micheal Beasley the consensus #1 for most of the year Beasley a 6-10 Power Forward from Kansas State has a arsenal of offensive tools scouts drool over: He can shoot the ball, inside, outside, unbelievable athleticism can finish the break, score with his back to you and has that superstar mix of confidence and nasty that all the great players have, which helped him lead his team to a few upset’s in the Ncaa tourney; in short in nearly every statistical category a better freshman year than Durant’s which espn called “arguably the best freshman campaign ever.”

The second is the late bloomer, Derrick Rose was always considered a lottery pick but his value has drastically changed with his Tournament performance, He led Memphis to within minutes of the glory. Derrick has unique athleticism, he can break you off the dribble or just physical dominate, and has shown Nba level decison making with the ball. With young point guards like Chris Paul, Deron Williams having immediate results in the Nba is it any wonder why he is getting a strong look?

Like always who is picked first often depends on who wins the Lottery, so here is a break down of the Lottery teams odds and expected pick.

Miami Heat 25%

A backcourt of Rose and Wade plus Marion and Haslam means pretty immediate respectability but despite Espn stating edge Rose I still see Beasley is the pick only because Wade carries the ball so much what good is a true PG when 30% of the time, the ball will be in Wade’s hands Edge Beasley

Seattle Supersonics 19.9%

Wow Imagine, Sonics get Durant then Beasley in consecutive years, two best freshman collegiate seasons ever drafted to the same team in back to back years not since Shaq and Penny Hardaway would one team be so immediately transformed via the draft. But they may play too similar, plus the Sonics have some good young talent up front and a couple PG that are due a change of scenery Edge Rose

Minnesota T-Wolves 13.8%

Beasley allows this team to move Al Jefferson to Centre, and gives them a scary but young front court plus the team believes the have a good young guard in Randy Foye, Edge Beasley

Memphis Grizzlies 13.7%

This team has drafted the best player available almost to a fault, they have nice pieces but have had trouble establish rotations because they have depth but not that Star and that would change with Beasley also they have good young guards in Gay and Conley, Edge Beasley

NY Knicks 7.6%

New coach new system, new point guard, the Knicks have some forwards capable of scoring in Curry and Randolph they have brought in D’antoni to change the culture of losing what a perfect time for a new PG too try to bring it all together, Rose is especially attractive here as he is accountable at both ends and will set a great example out of the gates, Edge Rose

La Clippers 7.5%

Easily the most interesting sub plots with the Clipp’s who have, well had a fantastic young prospect at PG in Shaun Livingston who has suffered some terrible injuries and may never get healthy, also Elton Brand has a dreaded opt out clause where he can terminate his contract and look to sign elsewhere. Although this team has no real backup plan for a Brand departure, but after letting Cassel go they need a starting PG and Rose fits that bill and is currently healthy, sorry Shaun, Edge Rose

Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets, Indiana Pacers, Sacremento Kings, Goldenstate Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers have an outside shot but as it’s below 5% I’ve left them off for purposes of keeping this post reasonable in length should any of them win i’ll post the pick… 

Also please look for my Mock Draft and Nba Rumours post’s in the coming weeks…