johnnyde

But we dont have that option(trading 1-3) do we? So this is a post for the optimists.

http://www.sportsline.com/nba/draft/lottery-history Consider this draft is full of "potential" and no surefire #1 even.

Shaq sets own market value By Terry Brown NBA Insider Tuesday, May 25 Updated: May 25 12:21 PM ET The bidding for Shaquille O'Neal, if we are to believe the latest reports, begins at $30 million per season. Do I hear $31? "His agent isn't dumb," said NBA salary-cap specialist Larry Coon. "He's one of the sharper guys out there and he knows that it's perfectly feasible for the Lakers to pay Shaq this amount of money and more and not change any of the personnel around him. No matter what amount they pay him, they're going to be over the cap. So that's not going to affect any future acquisitions. It's the luxury tax they have to worry about but Shaq can certainly command this amount." As ludicrous as these numbers may sound to you and me and the next guy waiting to make the balloon payment on his second mortgage, let's make it even more absurd by stating that the bidding cannot even begin for two more seasons when his contract completes and, at this asking price, there is only one qualified bidder. "He'll be making about $30 million dollars at the end of his contract," Coon said. "So a team can pay him up to 105 percent of that amount provided they have the cap space." And considering that the cap is at $43.8 million this year, how many teams do you really think are out there that have only $12.3 million in salary? You're right. The answer is none. But before we get too far with the Los Angeles Lakers monopoly, let's put a little more emphasis on Mr. Coon's point. As just mentioned, the cap this year was at $43.5 million. The Lakers' payroll for this season is at $65.5 million. Even without Shaq on the books, the team is at $39 million, giving the Lakers all of $4.8 million in cap space. That's it. Enough to sign someone like Michael Olowokandi or two Joel Przybillas or three Jake Tsakalidases. Cut Shaq's current salary of $26.5 million in half and the Lakers are still $8.4 million over the cap. Cut his salary by 75 percent, paying the big guy $6.6 million, and the Lakers are still $1.8 million over the cap. Cut his salary by 90 percent, to $2.6 million, and you've now created $2.2 million in cap space and pissed off one heckuva big fella for the opportunity of signing the likes of DeSagana Diop. In other words, any reasonable pay cut for Shaquille O'Neal is not going to affect the Lakers' ability to attract future free agents because the Lakers can still only pay them mid-level exceptions because they will still be over the cap. Shaq knows this. His agent knows this. Laker owner Jerry Buss knows this as well, but is hoping inaccurate articles in the local and national press put enough public opinion pressure on Shaq to take a pay cut. "At some point, these players are only competing against themselves," said Coon. "No other team can even come close to these figures . . . but we have to remember that Dr. Buss isn't anywhere close to being one of the richer owners in the NBA. In fact, he's not even on the Forbes list. While other owners have other income, the Lakers are all he has. The franchise may be worth about $400 million but that's all he's got." So this is one auction with one article up for bid and only one bidder. At his current asking price, Shaquille O'Neal will have only one suitor when he's a free agent. And this is one way to look at it. Shaq is going to be 32-years-old at the end of this season. That puts him at 34 when his current contract expires and still well within the traditional prime years. But that's also 730 dinners in the future, too, from tonight. So we'll try to guess his output as best we can. Between the 1999 season and 2001 season, Shaq averaged 28.2 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Between the 2002 season and 2004 season, he averaged 25.5 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. Using those ratios, we can guess that after two more seasons, he'll be averaging about 22.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and two blocks per game. Those are still All-NBA numbers, even league MVP-like should the Lakers ever decide to take the regular season seriously again. But we've also got to factor in games played. In 1999, he played in 98 percent of the shortened 50-game schedule. In 2000, he played in 96 percent of the 82 regular-season games. In 2001, he played in 90 percent. Between 2002 and 2004, he played in 67 games each season or 81.7 percent. By 2007, we can guess that he'll be playing in about 58 games per season or about 71 percent of them, and if you saw his last playoff game on Sunday night then you know we're being generous here. So if we take those estimated statistical averages and multiply them by games played, we see that Shaq could very well be scoring 1,322 points per season, grabbing 574 rebounds and blocking 116 shots at that time. And at the asking price of $30 million per season, that equals to about $22,692 per point or $52,264 per board or a whopping $258,620 per blocked shot. Compare that to today's going prices for the same stats. Tracy McGrady led the league in scoring and by his numbers, he was paid $6,709 per point (1,878 points at $12.6 million). Kevin Garnett led the league in rebounding and he was paid $24,582 per board (1,139 boards at $28 million). Theo Ratliff led the league in blocked shots and he made $32,899 per swat (307 blocks at $10.1 million). By these figures, Shaq is way overpaid, often slower up and down the court and sometimes a bit more surly that we like our middle-aged cartoon characters. Let's all say it together. He isn't half the man that he used to be. But it wasn't too long ago that we were convinced that he was twice as good as anyone else. So maybe the better question is, do the Lakers want a motivated Shaq at $30 million or do they want the guy shooting 4-for-10 on Sunday night at $20 or $15 or $10? Or even the $4.9 mid-level exception? Do they load down his contract with incentives and clauses hitched to waist measurements, field goal percentages, team standings and number of jerseys sold? Can the Lakers pay him his weight in gold bullion on nights he leaves a pile of unworthy centers and power forwards in his wake and then empties the lint out their collective pockets when he plays Oliver Miller to a standstill? "There are a limited amount of things you can do here," Coon said. "The league will classify these incentives as either likely to happen or unlikely to happen. And if he's ever done them in the past then they're likely and they're going to count against the cap anyways." Score 61 in a game before? Check. Grab 28 rebounds in a single contest? Check. Block 15 shots in one night's work? Check. Win three Finals MVP awards while leading your team to three consecutive championships? Check. But while we're at it, here's another game. What can we get for $30 million in an NBA open market? Well, for starters, Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan combined made $26.1 million this year in salary. How about an entirely new front line in Elton Brand, Peja Stojakovic and Erick Dampier. That's 56.5 points, 28.6 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game plus 240 3-pointes on the season for $24.9 million. How about Tracy McGrady and Jermaine O'Neal, average age of 25, for about $26.3 million. Or how about another front line of Shawn Marion, Paul Pierce and Ben Wallace. That's 51.5 points, 28.2 rebounds and 4.9 blocks per game plus 205 3-pointers and some tenacious defense for $26.8 million. Sure, the Lakers are perfectly justified in not paying Shaquille O'Neal $30 million plus per season. But then, of course, they'd have to play against him. Do I hear $32 million?

ya, my mistake. it is milwaukee's pick. hawks.com transactions page is a bit more clear on this.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but it is DENVER's pick that we have.

I beleive the Buck's pick is actually the Nugget's pick through the Bucks.

Doh! Lascar78 beat me to it.

Per ESPNInsider: Jackson leaving Atlanta? Stephen Jackson told the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Sunday that he will not pick up the option on the second year of his two-year, $2.1 million deal with the Hawks. "I'm free after this year," Jackson said. "I'm totally free. I don't know if I'm going to be here next year or not. I know I'll have a job somewhere next year. No matter what, I'm going to be happy."

I was talking to a friend of mine who works in the DC/Maryland area. He says "I just found out that the partners of my company own a significant portion of the atlanta hawks, atlanta thrashers, and phillips arena as of TOMORROW?" I asked if he meant the McDavid group and he said no, that the guys from his company negotiated the past 2 days with AOL and won. Apparently these are guys that he talks too every day also.

Rumors: Is Denver Melo on Anthony? By Chad Ford NBA Insider Send an Email to Chad Ford Tuesday, May 27 Updated: May 27 9:44 AM ET By now we know the Cavs will select LeBron James with the first pick in the NBA Draft and the Pistons will select Darko Milicic at No. 2. That means the Nuggets will select Carmelo Anthony with the third pick, right? Umm ... let's not get ahead of ourselves. James is a godsend to Cleveland in every way imaginable. Darko eventually will give the Pistons the low-post scorer they've coveted for years. Both players are obvious fits, and both teams have been high on them for months. In other words, don't expect the Cavs or Pistons to trade these guys away, unless names like Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant are thrown around. The Nuggets, on the other hand, have a mini-dilemma at No. 3. They like Carmelo. They think he's definitely the best player left on the board. It's just that he isn't James or Milicic (both are rated much higher on the draft board), and he's not an ideal fit in their system. The Nuggets already have two young small forwards for whom they have high hopes, Nikoloz Tskitishvili and Rodney White. Although Carmelo may have more upside, and certainly more star power, with so many other holes on the Nuggets, it isn't a slam dunk he'll land in Denver. That poses an interesting dilemma for Kiki Vandeweghe & Co. Do they take Carmelo, like everyone expects, or do they listen to trade offers for him? Several teams later in the lottery are much higher on Carmelo and might be willing to offer a lottery pick and a young star in return. Who's interested? Try just about everyone who missed out on one of the top three spots of the lottery. The Raptors, Heat, Bulls, Wizards, Grizzlies and the T-Wolves appear to be the most eager players if a Carmelo sweepstakes develops. Could the Nuggets actually make out better by trading away the chance to land Anthony? In most circumstances, the answer is no. The Raptors have little to offer, unless they're ready to dump Vince Carter (they aren't). The Heat are in the same position, unless they're willing to jettison Caron Butler (they aren't, either). And the T-Wolves probably would love to find a way to swap Wally Szczerbiak for Anthony, but with Szczerbiak's new extension kicking in this year, forget about it. The Bulls, Wizards and Grizzlies, on the other hand, have some interesting assets to offer. We start with the Bulls because frankly, they have the most ammunition. Would an offer of Jay Williams or Jamal Crawford and the No. 7 pick pique the Nuggets' interest? Denver is very high on French two guard Mickael Pietrus. In one swoop, the Nuggets could give their backcourt a major, major upgrade. If you're the Bulls, the trade makes a lot of sense. They need to thin out their backcourt, and they really need a versatile small forward. Losing Williams or Crawford (sources say new GM John Paxson is higher on Crawford) won't be the end of the world, and there isn't another small forward available at No. 7 with nearly the upside of Carmelo. They've been drafting in the lottery for the past five years, but they've never been able to land an elite talent like Carmelo ... until now? The Wizards don't have as much ammunition, but they do have a former No. 1 pick and the No. 10 pick in this year's lottery. If the team continues to clear house post-MJ, expect it to at least entertain the idea of trading Kwame Brown. If Brown is really as good as some people in the league think, it could be hard for Kiki to pass up the chance to grab another 7-footer and a lottery pick. Pietrus could still be on the board (though the Bulls are high on him) at No. 10. Add Gilbert Arenas to the mix, and the Nuggets are rolling again. Jerry West has been very vocal about his feeling that Anthony, not Darko, should be the No. 2 pick. Is he willing to put his roster where his mouth is? Kiki wouldn't pass on the chance to swap the No. 3 pick for Pau Gasol. Just exactly how much does Mr. West actually like Anthony? It's food for thought. More trade talk The Nuggets aren't the only ones willing to trade out for the right price. # Heat president Pat Riley already has begun working up scenarios to trade the Heat's No. 5 draft pick, according to one NBA source. Now that he knows he can't nab one of the top three players, he's willing to ship out No. 5 in return for a veteran who can help his team win now. The rumors he wants Hawks forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim have been floating around for weeks. However, the Hawks actually would have to take Eddie Jones or Brian Grant off the Heat's hands to do that deal. I'm not sure how that makes either team that much better. # The Bulls aren't happy at No. 7. If they can't move up and land Anthony, they'd be willing to move out, if they could land a veteran small forward in return. Given the amount of talent the Bulls can deal, our guess is someone will work with them. Shane Battier isn't a veteran, but the Bulls were interested in him this summer. Is he, along with the Grizzlies' No. 27 pick, worth the Bulls' No. 7 pick? If the Bulls want to win now, the answer might be yes. # If Texas point guard T. J. Ford isn't going to fall to No. 8 (it looks like Toronto likes him at No. 4 and the Clippers would snatch him up at No. 6) don't be shocked if the Bucks try to trade that pick (obtained from Atlanta in the Glenn Robinson trade). They aren't nearly as high on the other top point guards in the draft and want to shore up that position early in case Gary Payton decides to bolt. # If Knicks GM Scott Layden is confident Chris Kaman won't be on the board at No. 9, he, too, will try to trade out of this year's draft. There isn't anyone else out there who can really help the Knicks. Reports they're high on Mike Sweetney or Sofaklis Schortsanitis are a bit silly. Given the abundance of power forwards (many of them undersized) already on their roster (Antonio McDyess, Kurt Thomas, Clarence Weatherspoon and Othella Harrington to name four), exactly how is Sweetney or the 17-year-old Schortsanitis supposed to help Layden reach his stated goal of making the playoffs next year? # The Magic know they'll probably need to be drafting higher than No. 15 to get the guy they're after, Marquette's Dwyane Wade. But what do they have to offer? With most of their players hitting the free-agent market this summer; Doc Rivers can't afford to dump anyone, unless someone's willing to take Pat Garrity or Grant Hill off his hands. More draft rumblings # Several top European prospects are expected to arrive in the U.S. this week to begin workouts. Yugoslavia's Alexsandar Pavlovic and Slavko Vranes arrived in New York this weekend to begin working out with Darko Milicic. They'll start individual workouts next week. Spain's Maciej Lampe will also be here soon. His team, Universidad Complutense, was eliminated this weekend. Lampe played well in the series, averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds. He'll arrive in Chicago this week and begin training with Tim Grover at Hoops Gym. # Several top draft prospects, including Dwyane Wade and Leandrinho Barbosa, are earning early draft buzz. Wade got rave reviews for a workout in Chicago on Friday. "He's got an unbelievable first step," one Bulls source told Insider. However, the Bulls are looking for a wing player who can shoot the ball, and Wade really meets neither description. The day before Barbosa came in and impressed Bulls brass with what the same Bulls source called "amazing athleticism." Barbosa also worked out in Milwaukee to strong reviews. "He's very long and active," a Bucks source told Insider. "He's got the chance to be really good; I'm just not sure how long it will take." # BYU's Travis Hansen has been working out alongside Duke's Dahntay Jones. Hansen is considered the more complete player, but Jones may be the best athlete in the draft. So how did the two stack up in workouts? "Jones is an amazing athlete," one NBA team told Insider, "but what amazed us is how well Hansen hung with him. I'll be shocked if Hansen isn't drafted in the first round. Jones may be too. They're both playing really well." # With that little prediction, we'll have to increase the number of first-rounders to 50 to get everyone in. The most interesting was the Charlotte Observer, which wrote a piece marveling over why Josh Howard isn't a mid-first-rounder. The story blamed the Internet (when in doubt ...) for Howard's slip. As the coaching carousel turns With Larry Brown's resignation on Monday, there are now seven (Hawks, Cavs, Rockets, Clippers, Hornets, Sixers and Raptors) coaching positions open. If the Wizards fire Doug Collins as expected, that will make eight. I think a lot of us assumed that Brown would kick back and retire for a while. But now I keep hearing that he could be heading back to the Clippers. Meanwhile, Jeff Van Gundy is dating both the Rockets and Cavs. And Paul Silas is standing around waiting to see where Brown and Van Gundy end up. In a perfect world, here is how the NBA coaching carousel should look when it finally stops spinning: Larry Brown: Clippers. It makes sense folks. He's one of the few coaches who has a great relationship with Donald Sterling. With Brown taking the reigns, Sterling might feel more comfortable about actually signing a guy or two. Brown's greatest achievement could be turning around a Clippers squad with all of the talent in the world, but no clue how to put it all together. Jeff Van Gundy: Rockets. He'd be crazy not to take this job. With Steve Francis, Yao Ming and young players like Eddie Griffin and Bostjan Nachbar already in place, the team has nowhere to go but up. A little Van Gundy discipline is all they need to be a playoff contender. Paul Silas: Cavs. The Cavs need a good coach, and Silas is the best coach on the board. Players love him, because he's nurturing. But he's also strict enough to keep them in line. He'll have to be patient with this squad, but there could be some serious rewards. Maurice Cheeks: Sixers. He'd bolt the Portland madhouse in a second to get a chance to coach back home. Eddie Jordan: Raptors. Jordan knows a thing or two about coaching great point guards. If the Raptors take T. J. Ford as expected, they should be ready to roll right back into the playoffs. Doug Collins: Blazers. I know it's a long shot, but I'd love to see it, wouldn't you? Doug crying his eyes out over the dead-head Blazers every night makes great copy. Don't go into the light Doug. Stay away from the light. Tim Floyd: Hornets. I believe in second chances. The fact he didn't hang himself in Chicago is a plus. The Hornets are a good team. With the right coach, they'll stay that way. Mike Dunleavy: Wizards. He has to resurface somewhere, doesn't he?