Will the Lakers trading Gasol for Rondo benefit the Spurs?
The trade deadline is just two weeks away, so it’s time to get the rumor mill going. One of the biggest names who is most likely to get traded is L.A. Lakers’ Pau Gasol. The Lakers tried to trade Gasol before the season started and there are lots of sources saying L.A. is still shopping him around.
No one seems to have solid information on where Gasol will end up, but the newest rumor is that he’ll be traded to the Boston Celtics for Rajon Rondo. The Celtics are really struggling so there’s a chance Danny Ainge wouldn’t mind giving up his All-Star point guard for a big man, especially since Rondo hasn’t seemed happy in Boston for a while.
Giving up Gasol for a point guard would be a win-lose situation for the Lakers. It would give the Lakers some much-needed help in the back court but would definitely decrease their advantage in size. The combo of Gasol and Andrew Bynum has been a solid part of the Lakers offense for years (as long as Bynum has stayed healthy). When those two are …
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NBA Slam Dunk Contest 2012: Underdog Role Will Benefit Jeremy Evans
All the talk is of Derrick Williams and Paul George heading into the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, yet Jeremy Evans is a dark-horse pick that is sure to impress on Saturday night despite the unknown name.
Evans replaced the Knicks‘ Iman Shumpert, who would have been a nice player in this event had he not suffered a little patellar tendinitis. Instead, we have the high-flying and very underrated Evans as the replacement.
Not quite the well-known name everyone was hoping for.
This year’s edition of the NBA dunk contest does not have many well-known players, which is why someone like Evans is capable of stealing a show full of obscure names and unknown talent above the rim.
George and Williams would seem to be the favorites, but both have their flaws. Williams’ weight may be an issue when being inventive around the rim, and George may not have the power and ferocity to win this dunk contest.
Evans is far and away the highest-flyer of them all, which should pay off in the later rounds when becoming inventive is more important.
Also, the pressure will not be there for Evans to produce tonight. He is not the favorite, nor is he expected to win over the likes of Williams and George. For that matter, Evans should feel cool, calm and collected when approaching that first dunk attempt.
Another key asset of Evans is his wingspan, which is 7’6″. With that kind of frame, the sky may be the limit tonight for the 24-year-old.
I can see a good duel between George and Evans headlining the finals of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Both have length and extreme jumping ability, which gives them a ton of edge in this competition. While Williams will bring the power, George and Evans will bring shear athleticism, making this a very entertaining slam dunk contest after all.
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NBA Revenue Sharing: Small-Market Teams to Benefit from New Sharing Structure
The wake of the NBA lockout this past offseason has left the beginnings of a new financial structure intended to slowly infiltrate the league. One of the most contentious issues of the lockout was small-market profitability and revenue sharing.
Many owners of small-market teams like Michael Jordan of the Charlotte Bobcats and Dan Gilbert of the Cleveland Cavaliers complained of ballooning player salaries coupled with the limitations of existing in a small-market city. As a result, collective bargaining chips such as basketball-related income and luxury tax restrictions were altered to greater favour small-market owners.
It was also decided that drastic changes were to occur in the structure of league revenue sharing, but the details of which could be hammered out at a later date. That later date seems to be now, as Sports Business Daily reports that details of a new revenue sharing structure are emerging.
The provisions of this new system seem to level the playing field quite a bit for small-market owners. It works like this:
Sources said that the core of the plan calls for all teams to contribute an annually fixed percentage, roughly 50 percent, of their total annual revenue, minus certain expenses such as arena operating costs, into a revenue sharing pool.
Each team then receives an allocation equal to the league’s average team payroll for that season from the revenue pool. If a team’s contribution to the pool is less than the league’s average team payroll, then that team is a revenue recipient. Teams that contribute an amount that exceeds the average team salary fund the revenue given to receiving teams.
How very socialist of them. This will benefit teams who do not have the luxury of a gigantic surrounding population like the New York Knicks or the Los Angeles Lakers do. Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Charlotte Bobcats cannot sign huge local TV deals like rival franchises, so their stream of revenue is limited significantly. Here is an example of how the new revenue sharing system will work:
[...]one high-revenue team could contribute 50 percent of its total revenue, minus certain expenses, for a total of $70 million put into the pool. A low-revenue team could contribute total revenue of $45 million. After allocating to both teams the average team payroll of $58 million, the low-revenue team would receive $13 million in revenue sharing to make up the difference between its pooled revenue from the league’s average payroll. The high-revenue team would be contributing $12 million to be distributed among receiving teams, adding financial balance between the markets.
The new revenue sharing structure still requires “small-market teams to generate at least 70 percent of the leaguewide average in total team revenue in order to receive full revenue-sharing benefits.” This encourages teams to remain competitive in their business strategies rather than sit back and receive welfare from the rest of the league.
So, essentially what we are looking at here is a levelling of the playing field of sorts. It is projected that 15 of the league’s 30 teams will be receiving a payout from this new revenue sharing structure. A complete fix will be impossible, as some teams will just make more money than others. It’s just the way it works.
Some teams will always have the prestige and the pedigree and, as such, will maintain an advantage in free agency. This new structure, however, will help small-market teams to be a little more financially competitive. And at the end of the day, who wouldn’t want a little more money?
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NBA Trade Rumors: Westbrook for Rondo Would Benefit Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder (12-3) stand atop the Western Conference and should easily win four of their next five games. After having the misfortune of meeting a red-hot Dallas Mavericks team in the conference finals last year, the Thunder have come out looking like a focused veteran team hell-bent on a championship. However, as the story of the Thunder goes, Russell Westbrook is still causing drama in the locker room that readily gets hyperbolized by the media. Westbrook seems to continually clash with head coach Scott Brooks and subsequently apologize or state that there was not a problem in the first place after the next day’s practice. If it has to be addressed at all, there is a definite problem. It may sound crazy, but there is certainly a more pass-first point guard to compliment the shoot-first Durant. Enter Mr. Rondo. Rondo has always been the one who has to defer Pierce, Allen, and Garnett. This has been the first season where Rondo has clearly had to step it up on the offe…
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NBA Free Agents 2011: Would Signing Kyrylo Fesenko Benefit the Miami Heat?
When thinking of the Miami Heat, the obvious three names that will come to mind are LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Two of the top five players in league, plus another arguable superstar joined forces last season with mixed results.
The Heat struggled at times last season and ultimately lost in the NBA Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, but the problems the Heat encountered were not due to the “Big Three.”
Yes, LeBron vanished during the fourth quarter of several games, and Bosh struggled offensively at times, but those three are still far better than any other three players any other team could put on the court.
The teams who were able to find the most success against the Heat were teams with a top-tier point guard and/or post players.
The point guards the Heat put on the court were simply not able to stay in front of players such as Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo.
Not only could they not stay in front of them, but they struggled to defend the paint once they beat their man off the dribble.
Yes, they did beat both of those teams 4-1, but struggled against them during the regular season.
Thus far in the shortened offseason, the Heat have not addressed either problem.
Not many well-known players are still available this close to the regular season, but one player, Kyrylo Fesenko, could definitely help anchor the paint.
Fesenko played for the Jazz last season and did not log many minutes, but when he did, he defended the paint quite well.
According to John Hollinger’s Player Profiles on ESPN, the Jazz were 11.91 points better defensively per 100 possessions than with him on the bench.
Opposing centers had a PER of 10.4 when Fesenko was defending them.
However, the problem with Fesenko is he fouls frequently and is horrible offensively.
Of these two problems, only foul trouble would cause problems for the Heat.
They do not need Fesenko to contribute offensively with James, Wade and Bosh providing the offensive firepower. Fesenko simply needs to come in and defend.
At this point, Fesenko could be signed for at or near the league minimum.
The worst case scenario is Fesenko continues to foul too much and takes himself out of the game.
The best case scenario is the Heat bring in a center who can come in and cause problems for opposing big men becoming one of the better post defenders in the game.
All this for a fraction of the price of other premier post-defenders.
Fesenko could help the Heat shore up one of their major deficiencies from last season and do so at low cost.
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NBA Free Agents 2011: Adding Tracy McGrady Could Benefit the Chicago Bulls
ESPN’s Steven A. Smith first reported that he had heard rumblings that the Chicago Bulls will sign Tracy McGrady as soon as the lockout is over. While one part of me sees players like Allen Iverson refusing to turn into role players, I believe that McGrady could still work out nicely for Chicago.
Let me preface by saying this: if Tracy McGrady is the biggest acquisition the Chicago Bulls make this offseason, we have a huge problem. He is NOT an answer at the shooting guard position short term and there is no reason the Bulls at this point should be looking for a short-term fix. They have short-term patches on the roster right now with Keith Bogans and company.
While I don’t want McGrady being a starting shooting guard, he could still be very valuable on the roster.
First, and most importantly, McGrady gives the Bulls options. With McGrady on the roster, you can make C.J Watson, Keith Bogans, Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver at least somewhat expendable through a trade. Imagine a trade like Watson, Brewer and Bogans for Andre Iguodala. Not saying that the trade specifically works, but just take it as an example.
T-Mac would excel as a third guard because he can shoot to some extent, handle the ball to some extent, and run the offense to some extent in the second unit. He could also play effectively off of either Derrick Rose or the hypothetical Andre Iguodala.
Second, this is a very low risk move. At this point, T-Mac is looking for a team that will even take a chance on him, so the Bulls could probably even get him on a veteran’s minimum salary. If he were to act up, Chicago could easily cut him without losing much of anything in terms of money or flexibility.
Tracy McGrady is a guy who believes he still has basketball left in him, and he’s dying to prove it. An unguaranteed veteran’s minimum contract could be a low-risk, high-reward proposition for Chicago, and it’s one they should seriously consider.
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NBA Free Agents 2011: Adding Tracy McGrady Could Benefit the Chicago Bulls
ESPN’s Steven A. Smith first reported that he had heard rumblings that the Chicago Bulls will sign Tracy McGrady as soon as the lockout is over. While one part of me sees players like Allen Iverson refusing to turn into role players, I believe that McGrady could still work out nicely for Chicago.
Let me preface by saying this: if Tracy McGrady is the biggest acquisition the Chicago Bulls make this offseason, we have a huge problem. He is NOT an answer at the shooting guard position short term and there is no reason the Bulls at this point should be looking for a short-term fix. They have short-term patches on the roster right now with Keith Bogans and company.
While I don’t want McGrady being a starting shooting guard, he could still be very valuable on the roster.
First, and most importantly, McGrady gives the Bulls options. With McGrady on the roster, you can make C.J Watson, Keith Bogans, Ronnie Brewer and Kyle Korver at least somewhat expendable through a trade. Imagine a trade like Watson, Brewer and Bogans for Andre Iguodala. Not saying that the trade specifically works, but just take it as an example.
T-Mac would excel as a third guard because he can shoot to some extent, handle the ball to some extent, and run the offense to some extent in the second unit. He could also play effectively off of either Derrick Rose or the hypothetical Andre Iguodala.
Second, this is a very low risk move. At this point, T-Mac is looking for a team that will even take a chance on him, so the Bulls could probably even get him on a veteran’s minimum salary. If he were to act up, Chicago could easily cut him without losing much of anything in terms of money or flexibility.
Tracy McGrady is a guy who believes he still has basketball left in him, and he’s dying to prove it. An unguaranteed veteran’s minimum contract could be a low-risk, high-reward proposition for Chicago, and it’s one they should seriously consider.
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Thunder can benefit from shortend season
After using every public moment to play the Grinch over a 149-day period, the NBA has decided they won’t be giving us all D-League sweaters as the lone reminder of the 2011-12 season after all. Rather, with a tentative agreement to end the lockout, it offers us the present of true NBA basketball to unwrap Christmas Day.
The Western Conference runner-up Oklahoma City Thunder will have to wait a little longer to learn where and when they will open their season, but when they do, Kevin Durant and company will be chomping at the bit to get back on the court in an attempt to make their first NBA Finals.
With free agency and training camps set to open on the same day, Dec. 9, an abbreviated preseason and the regular-season beginning Dec. 25, the atmosphere around the NBA is about to get frantic.
Given the nature of this hectic timeframe, a shortened 66-game season and word leaking out about likely back-to-back-to-back games…where does the Thunder stand?
In as few words as possible: on solid ground.
Where so many will begin with uncertainty, the Thunder has only one free agent, Daequan Cook, and possibly as few as one new face, first-round-pick Reggie Jackson, a 6-3 combo guard that likely won’t be a primary rotation player without outside influences, such as injuries.
Where the league will be defined by its tumultuousness, the Thunder should find a high level of consistency and familiarity. Though Russell Westbrook’s contract situation (he is on the final year of his rookie deal and likely due a massive extension) will have to be addressed at some point, it needn’t be during the early scramble in the lockout’s wake.
In other words, this will be almost a mirror of the roster that reached the Western Conference Finals, losing to the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks only a year older, a year wiser.
This is a good thing.
Thanks to the shortened training camps and preseason, many teams will find themselves thrust into a new season with little chance to develop chemistry among their new faces. This span may allow the Thunder to embrace their familiarity, finding a possible head start.
The extended time off may also have served another benefit by allowing a young roster who likely played more games in a calendar year than their bodies had ever previously endured to fully recover, not to mention giving someone like Kendrick Perkins time to separate himself from the injuries that plagued him a season ago.
Removing the long-term financial implications of the new CBA and looking solely at this moment, this 66-game season, there are few teams that find themselves in a better position than the Thunder.
Where quick change and hurried approaches may rule the day, they may choose to avoid both.
Where an extended period between seasons, and the rest that comes with it, would seem to aid older teams in the league, the Thunder were not without their need for the same.
Where youth and energy may prove vital to stand against small waves of back-to-back-to-back games and a condensed schedule, they throw a five-player core on the court with only one member older than 23 (Perkins is wise, scowling, and “old” 27).
Instead of worrying over the immediate impact of the new CBA, or a roster in flux with not enough time to intricately address, the Thunder and their fans can focus more on what lessons may have been taken to heart.
Is Russell Westbrook ready to not only cause many to raise the question of whether or not he’s earned his way into the conversation as this team’s MVP by averaging career highs in points (21.9), assists (8.2), steals (1.9), field-goal3-pointfree-throw percentages (all as he did last season), but to also willingly defer to Kevin Durant when the time comes to do so?
Will James Harden make us talk more about his newfound consistency with big minutes than the glorious nature of a beard that puts so many to shame as long as this does not anger the beard. Can he build upon the glimpses he showed of next-level talent he gave us in the Western Conference Finals?
Can Serge Ibaka, fresh off his time overseas with Real Madrid, use the fury of weapons Dirk Nowitzki unleashed upon him to take another step forward? Can he be more than occasionally amazing and genuinely entertaining and become a force? Can he be dominant where he needs to be?
The Thunder sit in a position to watch from above the early fray and act with deliberate shrewdness. Undoubtedly, they would rather have not missed games, but their roster is not in flux in the immediacy of now. They’re fresh off a season that was not a failure, unless they decide to make it so by ignoring the multitude of teachings found there.
We’ll find out soon enough, but from here, the Thunder seems poised to roll.
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NBA Free Agent Rumors: Miami Heat Will Benefit Most from Amnesty Clause
The Miami Heat are going to be better than ever this coming NBA season once they re-tool their roster and add even more talented players for minimum contracts.
There is a great chance that with the new amnesty clause a large number of solid and talented players will be freed from their current contracts and allowed to sign wherever they please.
It was put in to help teams who signed a player to a ridiculously large deal and found it didn’t pan out. They are able to cut them without it counting against their salary cap this season, but still must pay the player.
This is going to help contending teams like the Heat get great talent at bargain prices.
Miami obviously needs a point guard and center. With quite a few solid free agents available and a handful of expected amnesty causalities who will be seeking to sign on with a contender soon, as well as a mid-level exception to burn, the Heat should have a team that is once again the favorite to win the NBA Finals.
Last season, the Heat made the Finals with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh and not much else in the way of talent.
Now, it’s quite possible for them to add players like Baron Davis and Samuel Dalembert while retaining Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem on the bench.
The advantages that the new CBA affords the Heat nearly guarantees that they will be back in the Finals this year if they are able to sign any decent amnesty causalities and free agents.
Unless Miami owner Micky Arison screws the pooch and decides not to recruit these newly homeless players, the Heat are going to be the best team in the league this season and have all the firepower in the world needed to bring them a championship.
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NBA Lockout: 5 Reasons Portland Trail Blazers Will Benefit Most of Any Team
The chance for an NBA season actually happening this year is looking slim to utterly impossible. Therefore it is time for every Portland Trail Blazers fan to speculate the future. Obviously no NBA season means a long, depressing winter up in Portland, but could the NBA lockout prove fruitful for the Blazers?
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