The Tail Wagging The Dog: Let's get in front of some of these "rumors" – there is little doubt that a lot more speculation is occurring in the media and it's likely a result of more and more desire to generate "buzz" and Pageviews than genuine viable information.
John Gambadoro of KTAR in Phoenix has been spending a lot time on his radio show recently playing the "what if game…" and some people are buying into it. Nothing against John, who has a great radio show which I enjoy a lot. But the facts are not being used in his discussions, he's simply tossing out ideas and fans are interacting with them.
Somehow that becomes "Boston is considering trading Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo for Amar'e Stoudemire."
That's simply not true.
Is Boston considering ways to improve their roster? Absolutely.
Is Ray Allen likely the best trade chip Boston can cash to keep Glen "Big Baby" Davis and add the two additional pieces Doc Rivers says he needs? Likely.
Is Rajon Rondo available? Not a chance.
Would Phoenix like to cash out one of their stars to get better? Yes. Yes twice.
As we covered in this space yesterday, Amar'e Stoudemire has almost no trade value. The remaining two years and $33 million with a damaged eye make him almost worthless unless Phoenix takes on less talent or worse contracts.
If the Suns traded Amar'e now, they get nothing close to his value and it would be selling extremely low. The Suns have got to wait out his recovery, get him on the floor and prove there are no side effects and that's going to take time.
League sources close to Amar'e say he could be cleared to resume athletic activity in the coming weeks and that will help in moving things along and help determine if he's going to have complications.
But let's be real for a minute – There are going to be lots of hair brained "what if's" this summer, keep in mind there is a lot of "Tail Wagging The Dog" stuff going on and most of it is not based on information rather speculation.
Keep listening to John's show if you are in Phoenix, and tell him HOOPSWORLD says Hi!
NBA Draft News: Tick.Tock. The NBA Draft is 20 days away and more and more teams are starting to talk to each other and among themselves on where they plan to spend their draft picks and with most of the upper echelon guys expected to conduct individual workouts in the coming weeks things will get interesting.
The LA Clippers have scheduled a Saturday workout with Blake Griffin which will be open to the media. Working out Griffin this week is smart for the Clippers with most of the basketball world already in LA for the NBA Finals. Expect a lot of press to peek in on Blake's workout and the Clippers to get gobs of free press on it. Here are today's notes:
Watch Out Sam Young: Several league sources say Sam Young was by far the most impressive player coming out of the Oakland and Minnesota group workouts, if any one player seems to have generated positive buzz from the workouts it was Young although several players did well, Young is the name most mention as the best player they saw. On the flip side B.J. Mullens did not show well in either workout which is sure to get the critics going again on how he'll struggle at this level. Mullens is expected to start seeing teams individually in the next few weeks. Sources close to the situation said they still expect Mullens to be a top 20 pick, but that the odds he goes in the teens to a team willing to take a chance on him are far greater than a team in the top 12 grabbing him to solve an immediate need.
DeJuan's Knees: Every year there is someone in the draft class that gets hit with a medical concern and it seems this year it might be DeJuan Blair. MRI's in Chicago revealed some minor concerns about his knees as Blair had both ACL's repaired in high school. The irony of the concerns is Blair has not had a single knee related issue since the surgery in high school, did not miss a single game or practice at Pitt and has had no soreness or knee related issues. That won't stop some teams from passing on Blair, or using the chance of future knee issues – which is almost silly considering how common knee tears are these days – as a reason to pass on Blair. One league source commented that if teams were just now hearing about Blair's ACL's they apparently did not do their homework on him as he was quoted in an interview with Draft Express talking about it and has been exceptionally open about his health. Blair is still expected to go in the top 15, but teams in the top 8 might shy away leaving a very talented and personable player on the board for the 9 through 15 teams.
The Legend Of Tony Gaffney: In the draft process you occasionally come across a player that is easy to root for, in this year's class UMASS' Tony Gaffney is that guy. Underestimated at every level of play and told he could not achieve success Gaffney keeps plugging along and surprising people. Gaffney has had the flu for the past few days which has not stopped him from training with a low grade fever, stopping periodically to take trips to the nearby garbage can. Gaffney still gave a 100% effort in a recent workout, shooting the ball incredibly well and playing with energy. In an era when players sit with sand in their shoe, Gaffney refuses to quit for any reason. If he's breathing, he's playing; likely why he was a stand out for both the Pacers and Bucks in recent team workouts, drawing considerable interest from the Milwaukee Bucks. Gaffney is a 2nd rounder for sure, but if you're looking for this year's Luc Mbah a Moute it may be Tony Gaffney, a steal in the second round that you say "Where did this kid come from?". Gaffney is scheduled to see the Portland Trail Blazers in the next week so do not be surprised to hear his name mentioned in connection to one of Portland's three second rounders, he'd fit in nicely with the Blazers and be a fan favorite for sure.
Explaining Hasheem: There is little doubt Hasheem Thabeet is going to be drafted in the top 5 selections. NBA teams simply do not pass on 7'3 players. How good Hasheem will be as a professional is really going to be up to him. A league source explained Hasheem's situation in such an interesting way yesterday that it's worth repeating.
If you look at any of the great basketball talents, more times than not they chose basketball. They picked up the ball and started playing. When you're a 7-foot African, more times than not the ball was put in your hands and you were told to go play and learn the game. Hasheem did not choose basketball, basketball was chosen for him. As was going to UCONN, as is the decision to be in the NBA Draft. This is a vocation for Hasheem not a dream, as a result there are lots of questions about how good he'll be as professional, how driven will he be to be great? The team that draft's Hasheem needs to surround him with guys that help him develop an affection and passion for the game, if he cannot or does not find that love for the game because of bad coaching, poor locker room chemistry or bad team mates, he could be a huge failure. Great success in this league is rarely about talent, it's generally about drive and determination. How bad do you want it and what will you do to get there? Hasheem could end being more like Darko Milicic who approaches the game the same way and less like Dikembe Mutombo who everyone around Hasheem hopes he can become. Thabeet will go top 5, the question becomes how long will he play in the NBA and will he love doing it or just love the paycheck?
Is Maynor This Year's CDR: VCU's Eric Maynor is a great personality and very interesting to talk to, however more and more scouts and team sources label him as this year's Chris Douglas Roberts, saying that you see the talent, but that in workouts he has been less than impressive and that his stock is taking a tumble. Last year CDR was labeled a "poor workout guy" and slid into the 2nd round. This year Maynor who is among the nation's best closers in the fourth quarter, seems to be headed for a similar fate. This might workout out well for the Spurs who seem to be very high on Maynor and are hoping he slides to them at 37. The Spurs are in the market to buy a lower first round selection and word has it they are very high on Omari Casspi and may be able to nab him in the 20's. Casspi is not expected to pull out over draft position, he is pretty set on becoming the first Israeli to play in the NBA and is more concerned with getting on a winning team than getting drafted high. The Spurs could end up with two very solid ready to play players.
Rubio And The Kings?: It seems the Kings might end up with their man after all, word is the Kings are working on a deal with Memphis to land Ricky Rubio at #2, league sources say a lot is still up in the air and a deal is far from done, but should the two teams make a deal it is not going to include Jason Thompson as some have speculated. Any deal between the Kings and Grizzlies might include future draft picks but unlikely will include a roster player of subtsance. League sources contend that Memphis really does not have a lot of leverage in this situation as Rubio will not play for the Grizzlies. The Kings are willing to deal for Rubio and unless Oklahoma City gets in the mix, moving down to #4 still fits Memphis' game plan. The Kings are preparing a contingent plan that could include grabbing Jordan Hill at #4, which would be a solid "win-now" move if the Grizzlies hold out for more compensation. League sources say if the Grizzlies move down to #4, Tyreke Evans would be their man on draft night, which makes sense, considering Evans can play both point guard and shooting guard, backing up OJ Mayo and Mike Conley and would be immensely popular with the Memphis fan base.
Thoughts On Game 1: The LA Lakers handled the Orlando Magic last night in one of the best demonstrations of desire and focus in recent history. Kobe Bryant was a machine in his drive and precision and his will to win was amazing. The Lakers absolutely earned their Game 1 win.
The Orlando Magic on the other hand seemed overwhelmed by the moment, despite getting out to a strong start. The decision to use Jameer Nelson so quickly and for so long was a bad decision by head coach Stan Van Gundy, it really disrupted the flow of the team, but as coaching sources explained in text messages last night – if you have decided that this series is unwinnable without Jameer using him now gets him ready for later in the series when you have to have him to win.
Credit the Lakers defense, they did a great job forcing Orlando into bad shots, something the Philadelphia 76ers did in the first round against Orlando and the Magic took the bait.
Looking at the stats, The Magic got their number of shots (77), versus the Cavs they shot 72 to 80 shots per game, so their shots were there, they simply did not go in. When the Magic win they are shooting around 48% on average from the field and better than 35% from three – a far cry from their 29.9% from the field and 34.8% from three-point range effort last night. If the Magic were to have met their averages last night they'd have been in the game which is good news for the Magic going into Game 2, however if the Lakers can keep baiting the Magic into bad shots this will be a short series for Orlando.
Not a single Magic starter shot better than 30% from the field, so the good news for Magic fans is it cannot get worse than Game 1.
All season long there has been this media driven debate on whether LeBron James or Kobe Bryant was the best player in the league and without question Kobe answered the question last night. It's Kobe Bryant.
How many times in the game last night did you think to yourself "Kobe just will not lose." – He has that scary focus going on that could end up in somebody getting hurt if the Lakers lose.
During the Post-Game interviews Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom seemed nervous like they were interviewing for a job on Team Kobe, almost like he was waiting in the hallway with a baseball bat to deal with comments that were not inline with his goals. Kobe has his guys dialed in and on his page – hopefully LeBron is watching.
NBA Chats Today: IMG Basketball has a gym full of guys including Sacramento star Kevin Martin and Bulls center Joakim Noah, as well as several NBA draft hopefuls. Coach Anthony Macri will host his weekly NBA Chat at 12pm EST, so get your questions in early as his chats fill up. HOOPSWORLD senior writer Travis Heath will hold his weekly chat at 4pm EST as well. Both of these chats go fast so the key to getting your question answered is getting in early.
