2010/2011 NBA Thread

[gunnar hendershow]

Melo doesn't help that team at all.

And there isn't really another LeBron in the draft this year, though from what I've read it's a pretty deep class in terms of good players. It's a good draft to be a struggling team who already has a franchise player (Clippers, Wizards, Wolves) but not a good draft to be a team like the Cavs or Kings who have nobody to build around.

The Kings have two nice pieces in Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins. Who is the franchise player on the Wolves? If you think a winning team can be built around Kevin Love, then we have a different definition of franchise player. Griffin and Wall I'll give you, but Minnesota fits the bill of a struggling team with nobody to build around since Love and Beasley are putting up gaudy numbers on a team that will be lucky to win 25 games. Those are "David Lee" type numbers. They look nice and get you an undeserved spot on an AS team, but do very little in terms of a team's W/L record.

Lastly, the current Cavs are THE argument for contraction.

I'm a big fan of Hollinger's ratings, and Love's 6th in the NBA in PER. I definitely think you can build a team around him the way SA built around Duncan. Evans is a PG with 5 assists a game, but we'll see how Cousins develops and it's too early to tell with him. I can't see Evans becoming a PG on the level with the league's elite though, but that might not be necessary if Cousins develops into a Dirk, Boozer, or KG.

The Cavs are also THE argument for LeBron unanimously winning MVP. Sadly.

[Colossus]

Evans is playing at the 2 this year though, with Beno playing at the point. And in no way he's a Point Guard, he's a D-Wade\Agent Zero type of guard

[naiwf]

I'm a big fan of Hollinger's ratings, and Love's 6th in the NBA in PER. I definitely think you can build a team around him the way SA built around Duncan. Evans is a PG with 5 assists a game, but we'll see how Cousins develops and it's too early to tell with him. I can't see Evans becoming a PG on the level with the league's elite though, but that might not be necessary if Cousins develops into a Dirk, Boozer, or KG.

The Cavs are also THE argument for LeBron unanimously winning MVP. Sadly.

Comparing Kevin Love to Tim Duncan in any way other than "they're both tall" seems blasphemous to me. If Kevin Love is your best player your team will struggle just to make the playoffs and would never win a series. Even though his stats look great this year he had 24 wins his rookie year, 15 in season 2, and 12 through 51 games this year. There's not a 25-30 game improvement there just by building around Love and B-Easy. Stats in isolation don't mean much when a guy like Zach Randolph is working on his 5th 20-10 season and no one would have ever argued that he's the type of guy you'd want to build around. Love is a more rugged version of David Lee. A complementary piece on a great team, a valuable starter on a mediocre team and a superstar on a shitty team.

[gunnar hendershow]

And despite that he still leads the team in assists with 5. Also, if he's an Agent Zero type guard it means they won't win shit. Such an overrated player. I wasn't sad to see him head off to Orlando at all. The problem with someone like Gilbert Arenas is that he's too good of a shooter not to command himself as the offensive focus, but too bad of a passer to open up the offense so that the team itself can consistently win. With that style the Kings can win a lot of regular season games, but will easily get trounced come playoff time.

[phatman]

I totally think Minnesota can build around Kevin Love and Michael Beasley... They might be putting up good numbers been on a shitty team but I think they will continue to put up these numbers for the rest of thier careers and the wins will come... They're a young team with no real leadership... David Kahn however has to be one of the worst, if not the worst, GM's in the league... Giving massive contracts to players they don't need/deserve or drafting too many players at the same position is never going to help build a team... Now he is thinking bout giving up a 1st round pick, Corey Brewer and taking on Eddy Curry's remaining contract just to get Anthony Randolph from New York, I think that's a little crazy...

[bill_da_bill]

If Tyreke Evans never becomes better than Gilbert Arenas it'll be a shame and he won't have lived up to his potential, because he has the game to be better and to be a franchise player.

I think Love is a fringe franchise guy, but he would be better served paired up with a dominant lead scorer. Plus Love's game leaves a bit to be desired on the defensive end of the court as well. I like the guy, especially cause I am a fantasy sports junkie, but in terms of NBA talent, he falls a little short of franchise level to me.

As far as this year's draft goes, Jared Sullinger looks to me like a guy that could be a franchise player. I'm not talking about Lebron James game changer, it'll be a while before we see another Lebron James impact guy come out. But I see Sullinger as having the game to be close to a Blake Griffin level impact, just not the flash and athleticism.

[Panni]

Earlier today I was thinking about where Jimmer Fredette could end up in next year's draft. If his stock falls a bit I could see both the Lakers and the Heat looking to draft him. I really hope he winds up playing on a quality team so I can see a lot of him on television, but if he becomes a member of the Heat I guess i'll have to stop liking him.

Teams like the Wolves, Kings, & Nets have had top 10 picks for a few years now and most likely will again next year. I think all of those teams have good young cores, but it's hard to see where they would wind up. Sometimes a bunch of top 10 picks in a row works out, like in Atlanta & OKC, but then again there's teams like the Warriors and Clippers who just never seem to get over the hope. I wouldn't be surprised either way if in three years any of teams a) become a legitimate playoff team or b) continue to stay at the bottom of the league.

[gunnar hendershow]

I can see Fredette being in the NBA for 10 years as a 12-15 minutes a game guy. Nothing beyond that, but he would be a welcome addition to any team needing offensive depth. He could very well be a Jason Kapono type of player.

[bill_da_bill]

I think Ferdette will be a solid role player if he finds the right team and the right role. The same way J.J. Reddick had to find the right role on the Magic and he's really now excelling in that role. Like Reddick I can't see Ferdette ever being a superstar, but he's good enough to be around for some time.

[naiwf]

Earlier today I was thinking about where Jimmer Fredette could end up in next year's draft. If his stock falls a bit I could see both the Lakers and the Heat looking to draft him. I really hope he winds up playing on a quality team so I can see a lot of him on television, but if he becomes a member of the Heat I guess i'll have to stop liking him.

Teams like the Wolves, Kings, & Nets have had top 10 picks for a few years now and most likely will again next year. I think all of those teams have good young cores, but it's hard to see where they would wind up. Sometimes a bunch of top 10 picks in a row works out, like in Atlanta & OKC, but then again there's teams like the Warriors and Clippers who just never seem to get over the hope. I wouldn't be surprised either way if in three years any of teams a) become a legitimate playoff team or b) continue to stay at the bottom of the league.

You also need a little of bit luck involving other teams making terrible picks sometimes. If Detroit doesn't inexplicably draft Darko at # 2 that year, Carmelo and Wade probably end up on different teams and Miami's free agency summit may not end up the way it did. If Portland drafts Durant at # 1, OKC is a middle of the pack team trying to build around Oden's creaky knees instead of the best scorer in the game.

The main problem with teams like the Wolves, Nets, Clippers, Warriors, Cavs etc is that none of the "game changing" players would ever go there in free agency. Why spend your life trying to make one of those teams good when you can get exposure, championship possibilities and/or more money playing for teams like the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Mavs, Heat or Magic? Does anyone REALLY think John Wall and Blake Griffin will end their careers as a Wizard or Clipper respectively?

[phatman]

Fredette is someone who could be fun to watch but I see is stock falling in the draft combine... I don't see him been a lottery pick though, the only team I could see taking him in the lottery would be Phoenix... I think he'll end up somewhere from 24 onwards though...

Jared Sullinger is probably the only person at this stage I could see going #1 in the draft but I don't know if he is going to help an NBA team immediately become better...

Kemba Walker, Nolan Smith & Kyle Singler are all players I see sliding down the draft as I don't see much depth or versatility with thier games transferring to the NBA... Walker is just too small IMO for his game to make it in the NBA and I see eams been hesitant to take him on...

[bill_da_bill]

If Detroit doesn't inexplicably draft Darko at # 2 that year

This still brings me pain to think about. Why did they have to do it in what might be one of the greatest draft classes ever!

[Colossus]

Kevon Love is a great 2nd banana. He is never a Franchise guy, but put him on a team like the Thunder, and they come closer to a title...

[livid]

I think Ferdette will find a role similar to either a better Jason Terry on the optimistic side of things or Eddie House on the more realistic side of things.

[Meacon Keaton]

Call me naive, but I can definitely see Blake Griffin being a Clipper for life.

[gunnar hendershow]

A lot of people have brought it up before how LA is a city (like New York) where it is plenty big enough for a second team to succeed. Will the Clippers ever become the Mets to the Lakers' Yankees remains to be seen, but if they get there then it would be real hard for Blake Griffin to leave the team. On the John Wall side of things, Washington is just a big enough market where if the team starts winning he could stay. It's even more a transplant city than either New York or LA, so the fanbase is even more fickle but you need only look at the longterm legacy of the Redskins and the current success of the Capitals for proof that when Washington wants to latch onto a team, it will and its players will be treated like loyalty. Also, Ted Leonsis is a great owner and could do a lot to spur interest in the Wizards franchise before they start winning with Wall. If the Wizards aren't competitive as Wall is nearing free agency though, and the same applies for the Clippers, then both guys will go somewhere else.

[naiwf]

Call me naive, but I can definitely see Blake Griffin being a Clipper for life.

You're naive. Also Jimmer Redick = JJ Fredette

LA is big enough to have two viable teams, but when Donald Sterling is your owner you're doomed.

[MyKILLv2.0]

Exactly. The Clippers problem isn't that LA isn't big enough for two teams. The Clippers problem is they have had the worst GM/owner combo in the league for nearly two decades.

[bill_da_bill]

Which is sad cause they have a decent core group coming together with Eric Gordon/Blake Griffin/DeAndre Jordan, but you know it's going to get screwed up, or Sterling will just never capitalize on the opportunity he has.

[Szumi]

I'm sure quite a few people will agree with me, but Memphis is a team that is floating under the radar that could really make a god push in the second half of the season to secure a playoff spot. The Grizz started out awful this year, but have been on a great run as of late. They're currently just a game or two back from the 8 seed, and the majority of their games are at home in the run-up. They've beaten some good teams since turning themselves around, and I think with the solid all-around team they have, could cause problems for quite a few teams in the run-up.