txsting

That's actually a good point. If we picked Deron, he would have improved the team immediately. There would be no Shelden, Law, and certainly no Horford. We would have the non-union Mexican equivalents (simpsons joke). This is a good case study on how to rebuild a team, although it was probably unintentional. With your first few high draft picks (after you gut the franchise), pick the high schoolers or freshman that will take a while to blossom. That way you will still suck for awhile. Then when you're ready to turn the corner, draft the best NBA-ready talent you can. Unwittingly we have done exactly that. Now I would have been really impressed if BK was thinking this 4-5 years ago.

Game, set, match. That's a nice post, atlien. Serious pwnage there, or at least a measured and reasonable position, which is much more rare.

West is a top-notch defender but has no left hand or shot. I can't see him in the NBA. Raivio on the other hand can shoot and that might get him a shot at sticking somewhere. Devin Green looks pretty good. For once, the Hawks aren't going to be in the market to try to find undrafted diamonds in the rough. It's nice to have a roster full of NBA players!

You do realize he posted that TWO years ago?

Stuckey has some D.Wade to his game. There are definitely some similarities in their draft story as well.

Yeah, I'm interested in Horford's performance but I'll be sure to remember it's still just SL. The thing about China in the SL is that they are playing real basketball and trying to win these things. They have regular substitution patterns and are really into it. Plus they have some fans in attendance. That has really rubbed off on their opponents, so we have seen some good, competitive games as a result. On Yi, he'll benefit from playing with better players, and he'll suffer from having to face those better players. I'm not sure which effect will be more pronounced at this point. I kind of expect his first year performance (if he signs) to be very up and down. He'll have times where he goes off for 20-30, and other games where he fouls out quickly and does nothing.

Absolutely correct here. Marvin would fit this team like a glove if he can be a dangerous and efficient enough shooter to stretch the defense out a little bit. I really want to give Marvin this 3rd year to see how he does. I would only move him for a sure thing, no brainer trade. Marvin has a chance to be Gerald Wallace or better if he has put in the work.

I watched the whole game. Yi was definitely not feeling his jumper, but he was VERY active in trying to get position in the paint, especially in the second half. He will benefit from a point guard who is actually able to feed the ball down low. He was getting free a bunch and the lousy guards couldn't get it to him. I've noticed when Yi gets the ball in good position he is quick with it and makes good things happen. I think they are calling way too many fouls in SL, but Yi was forcing the defense to foul him. To his credit, he was good from the stripe. When you score 20 in an off game, that's pretty good. And of course, the gamewinner was sweet - he felt the double team and rolled off it in complete control. I DON'T like Yi's effort and results on the boards. He also looks lost playing C in the zone. I wish China would man up, but I understand why they don't. Yi seems to always play for the shot block with his hands up, and fails to get his body on his man. I'd like to see him play defense more physical with a bent arm and lower body position, and give up a few of those from-behind shot blocks. I think a big difference is that 4's and 5's over here love to take it to the hole, whereas in China you see that their big men will take the jumper in a second if your hand is down. He'll be alright with coaching and time, IMO. No doubt he can acquire the strength and footwork he needs, and nobody needs to teach him quickness. Can't wait to breakdown Horford's game similarly - I've seen less of Horfy than I have of Yi at this point!

I watched this on NBA TV. It was a mixed bag for Yi. He was getting called for everything, especially a ton of moving screens and some really ticky-tack stuff. Gay and Johnson seemed like they were looking to posterize Yi, and they both did with a couple huge dunks. Yi will need to work hard on defensive position and effort, as well as add some more weight. I want to see Yi attacking the backboard for rebounds, many times he doesn't even try. But on offense, Yi was fluid, quick, and it's obvious he can compete against NBA atheletes. That Memphis squad was extremely athletic and quick, at least compared to that sorry Chinese team. Yi had an amazing sequence where he blocked a layup attempt, ran the floor, got the ball underneath with a step, up and under, monster dunk. He showed the use of both hands, with some drives, jumpshots, step backs, and hooks. He didn't shoot the ball great, but he did score in a variety of ways.I still think Yi will be very very good, but he needs time to adjust, obviously.

HoopsHype lists Horford as a C, for what it's worth. We all know Horford is going to play some at C with the way this team is currently constructed. I will take a "wait and see" attitude about the effectiveness of this plan. My guess is that we'd be better suited to make another deal to target another frontcourt player who is at least a "4.5" (see Walter) - in other words, another PF/C.

I'm also pretty sure the deal was that we couldn't exceed the cap without all owners approval. Now, I wonder what the language is around that? When talking about Josh Smith's extension, we're talking about affecting our cap figure in 2008-2009, not 2007-2008, right? How can you avoid exceeding the cap in 08-09 without having any idea what the cap number is? This sounds like a big loophole in favor of the ATL spirit group. Another thing to note is that, for 08-09, we currently only have 8 players under contract for a total of about $40M. We could give Smoove 9M and Chillz 6M in that year and still be technically below the yet-unknown 08-09 cap figure. I'm assuming the salary cap can't shrink. Here's where it gets interesting: say we go ahead and give Smoove and Chillz extensions starting at the above figures. That gives us 10 players for 08-09, at about $55M. The cap will probably be $58-60M. That only give us maybe $4M to work with, and team are required to carry 13 contracts. We might be forced to sign 3 guys at minimum contracts. You can easily imagine a scenario in which our artificial salary cap constraints directly clash with CBA roster requirements. If we increase our future salary commitments in this offseason, it will get really interesting.

I think Darko would be a mild upgrade over Zaza immediately, with some upside beyond that. I would center a trade around Zaza, but I don't think I would want to throw in another young prospect like Childress. Something like Zaza/Lue for Darko. If they balk, I might also throw in next year's 2nd rounder. A fair price would be just north of the MLE, maybe starting around 7M.

I think I would do Wallace for Marvin, and I bet you Jordan would as well. We can only hope that Marvin will get to that level, especially defensively. Wallace is not the ideal shooter at SF, but he gets the job done decently, and gives you a lot of other production. I don't get why Dallas wants Wallace, considering they have Howard, who is basically the same guy. I kind of doubt we can get in on this because Wallace might want to get a 6 year deal here. Maybe, since he just turned 25, he would opt for a 4 year deal, so he could get another big contract when he's 29. A 6 year deal would take him to 31, where he'd be considered old. That's the way I would spin it if I was BK and interested.

That's a GREAT deal. For both sides. Which is why it won't happen, I guess. Horford/Gasol would be a killer frontline. I think Josh Smith might be a little lost at SF with that lineup - he's just not a good enough jump shooter. It wouldn't matter. We'd still be a top 4 team in the East in short order.

Yes, I like the potential PG rotation of Claxton and Law. I love having the depth to work matchups like that. The thing I keep hearing about Law is how ambidextrous he is. Apparently, he's shoots from long distance off his left wing, but he's really right handed. He can finish from close range with either hand, and can pass off both wings as well. I have questions about whether his shooting range will extend to the NBA line, since he has a funky release and no rotation. I guess we'll have to wait and see on that. I'm cautiously optimistic about Law. We really need to luck up with this one.

Darko may be headed to Seattle in a SNT deal. If this happens, it will probably make available one of Seattle's many center projects. I would be interested in taking a flyer on one of those guys.

Our needs: 1) we don't have a frontcourt player who can step out and really shoot the basketball, dangerous from 3pts. Marvin we hope can become that guy, but he just isn't yet and may not be. 2) a defensive presence at C 3) a scoring presence in the post - but hopefully Horford/Smoove will be able to handle this I do want to play out the first half of the season to see where we stand before making a move. Specifically, let's see where Marvin is at in his development, let's make sure that Law/Claxton will be a good pair, and let's evaluate Horford's all around game. If we have what I think we have, here's a move to think about: Marvin/Zaza/Lue for Korver/Dalembert Philly needs a frontcourt scoring threat (Zaza), and they can hold on to Steven Hunter to provide a similar defensive presence to Dally. Marvin has a better all-around game and upside than Korver, and can play SF or PF. Philly did draft Thaddeus Young, but it will be awhile before he can contribute. For Atlanta, Korver would make a deadly threat from the outside (>40% from 3), and would make a great rotation with Childress at the 3. Chills can provide more defense, and Korver can be plugged in to spread the floor. We can be very flexible with our matchups. Obviously Dalembert brings strong defensive rebounding and blocked shots, and the ability to really run the floor. NOTE: I would only do this once Horford can prove that he is a good option offensively, and assuming Marvin has not become a much more efficient scorer. What do you think about the value in this deal? It seems pretty even, perhaps you can even argue that Philly is getting better, younger talent. Philly also gets some cap savings with an expiring contract. I think the trade would make us a better, more versatile basketball team immediately. Korver and Dalembert are the right age for this team, giving us a little more experience, and they are both locked up for a long time with fairly good contracts. Dally's contract is pretty high (9.6M) and rising, but that's the price of competitive bigs. I guarantee you Zaza will get 7-8M or more when he hits the market. Korver is a rotational type guy who can't always stay on the floor, and his salary reflects that. It's a very good bargain.

Don't you think that's a bit of an overreaction? I'm just saying - give the kid a chance to get his feet wet in the NBA. I'll be interested to see what happens when he starts playing with talent around him. The rest of the Chinese team is garbage and it doesn't help Yi in the least.What's laughable is to write off an entire career after one summer league game.

I hope we probe the possibilities. We still have two extra players that we have to get rid of (14 contracts, 12 roster spots, and nobody we want to put in NBDL). I would offer Shelden + (AJ or Lue). Shelden would fit in great next to Bogut, and they might need depth at PG with Mo maybe leaving. We don't really need Shelden anymore, we just drafted him again.

I'm getting 5.7 as his home assist average. I'm not saying he can't dish the rock or be a good player, I honestly haven't seem him enough. But I am saying this is not the first thing I wanted to read when trying to investigate what type of player we got. I don't have much doubt that Law will be able to score, and this alone should help JJ out. He was the best shooter available. I think the Lakers got a steal in Crit at #19. I still think he's the better player after 1 year.

One of the reasons I felt okay about Law was due to his ability to put up huge assist numbers on occasion (like 15 against Texas). I usually feel that this is an indication of potential. However, I came across this, take it how you will: Quote: Acie Law IV didn't set any school records in the Aggies' double-overtime loss to Texas, but he scored 33 points and also hit a three-pointer to send the game into the first extra session. The last time that the Texas A&M senior guard played against Texas, he went for a school-record 15 assists. Or did he? After a thorough review of the tape from the Aggies 100-82 victory over Texas on Feb. 5, there’s no way that Law really tied the school record. In fact, we had him for 11 assists. The stat guy in College Station had an off-night – and not just for the Aggies. He was being overly generous for both teams. How else to explain the fact that Texas actually took eight assists away from its players after reviewing the film. ``After normal film review, to maintain the integrity in the statistics, we felt it was in the best interest to remove eight of our assists from the game,” Texas sports information director Scott McConnell said. ``Assists are really a subjective statistic,” countered Texas A&M sports information director Collin Killian. Here’s the definition of an assist (if you care). A player is credited with an assist when the player makes, in the judgment of the statistician, the principal pass contributing directly to a field goal. Only one assist is to be credited on any field goal and only when the pass was a major part of the play. … An assist should be more than a routine pass that just happens to be followed by a field goal. There’s no logical explanation for how Aggies guard Acie Law IV picked up one assist late in the game. It went like this: Law threw a lazy pass to Antanas Kavaliauskas at the top of the key. Kavaliauskas tossed it to the right side to Josh Carter, who drove to the basket for a hoop and a foul. The Aggies stat crew credited Law with the assist. Are you kidding me? I wasn’t aware that Texas A&M had a hockey program. We looked back at two other home games in College Station and found no improprieties in terms of handing out freebies when it comes to assists, but we truly didn’t have the time to double-check every home game. All we know is that the Aggies were credited with 24 assists on 25 field goals against Winthrop earlier in the season. It was 22 of 25 against Iowa State. ``Wow,” said one Division 1 head coach. In games at College Station, the Aggies are assisting on astonishing 79 percent of their baskets. That’s beyond efficient. That’s ridiculous. ``That’s unfathomable,” one D-1 head coach said. On the road, it’s a more realistic 43 percent. Law is a heck of a player, but let’s not put him in the class of Kevin Durant for Big 12 Player of the Year. His assist numbers are inflated. The question is how inflated?

If we can do this, we should select Horford in order to keep the possibility of a Gasol trade going. That is, if we suspect that we're close enough to Gasol to possibly push it through later.

I think you're right TP. If Conley doesn't fall to #11, a deal is probably in place moving Childress for a "pure" PG. I damn sure hope it's Calderon but I doubt it. But then I think BK takes Stuckey in that case to replace Chill because he's the most versatile backcourt player available.

Sounds good. GS should be a little antsy now that all the scuttlebutt is pointing to Yi going at #3. Biedrins being "untouchable" is laughable. Still not sure I wouldn't rather have Yi for myself, but if you get Conley too it makes it a tough call.

1) Trade one or both picks + one young (Chill/Marvin/Shell depending on the deal) + filler for: (in order of preference) Dwight Howard Gasol / PG (Calderon preferably) Amare 2) Would pick Conley #3 if I could line up a deal with #11 + a player to get a young C in the league, like a Bynum or a Biedrins type. 3) If keeping picks, take the highest potential at #3 (Yi), and the best PG available at #11: my draft PG ranking: Conley Crit Law In this scenario, I'm expecting a follow-up trade centered around one of our forwards (Smoove/Marvin/Childress/Shelden) for a center, probably to include Zaza when he gets to his contract year next year. For the record, Horford comes in second to Yi, and I believe Horford turns out to be a solid starting power forward, somewhere in between Horace Grant and Okafor.