HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Multiple Draft Picks Available

Although we are over four months away from the 2011 NBA Draft there is a growing concern around the league about the overall strength and depth of the class. Even in the best case scenario, with the majority of the top underclassmen like Perry Jones III of Baylor and Duke’s Kyrie Irving declaring, there’s still few expecting the 2011 draft to provide a major impact.

According to sources, those projections have several teams ready to move their picks in trades rather than using them to bring in first-year talent. The Toronto Raptors, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Minnesota Timberwolves and New Jersey Nets all have multiple first round picks that they could move. The Raptors, Timberwolves and Nets in particular wouldn’t mind letting go of one of their selections due to already having a surplus of young players.

The Orlando Magic, New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami HEAT and Memphis Grizzlies are all without a first round pick this year and could look to deal back in if they see a player they really like in their system.

With the trade deadline 12 days away it is very possible that we could see a few picks moved as fillers in order to make the salaries work in trades. Draft night in June, though, will be when we see the most shuffling of the draft order.

This is a good year to be a senior in the NCAA as a lot of four-year players will likely see their stock rise due to the potential of underclassmen waiting on the draft due to the uncertainty surrounding the Collective Bargaining Agreements.

Duke’s Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and BYU’s Jimmer Fredette are well positioned to benefit the most as their names should be called much earlier than they would have been if they entered the draft as juniors or sophomores like they could have.

The Andrew Bynum Gamble

The saga involving Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony took one of its more interesting turns this week when rumors popped up that the Los Angeles Lakers were considering dealing young center Andrew Bynum for him.

Before those reports could be dismissed by both sides Lakers nation couldn’t help but fantasize about how great it would be for one of the premier small forwards in the league donning purple and gold and it’s hard to blame them.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Lakers star Kobe Bryant is currently going strong in his pursuit for a sixth NBA championship that would tie him with former Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan. However, he is 32 years old and the day when he decides to call it a career is somewhere on the horizon. Whether it be two years from now or six, the Lakers are aware that they’ll eventually need a new franchise player.

While Anthony isn’t Bryant, he’s a top-tier player who would be ideal for the Lakers to have alongside Pau Gasol as they look to usher in a new era in the future.

Is the price of Bynum too high for a proven player like Anthony? It is in the mind of the Lakers shot callers, and Jim Buss in particular, it is.

A lot of people looked at this proposed deal as a no brainer for the Lakers. Bynum has had serious knee injuries three-years in a row. He’s one of the league’s best centers when healthy, but he’s spent more time on the sidelines hurt over the years than he has on the floor.

When he is on the floor, though, there’s no denying that the Lakers are the most difficult team in the league to match up with. Bynum and Gasol can hold down the paint like few other big-man duos in the league can and even a hobbled Bynum was instrumental in the Lakers winning the championship the last two years.

It’s a definite gamble for the Lakers to pass on Anthony in favor of Bynum, but they’ve been gambling on Bynum from day one and he’s come through for them the best he can under tough circumstances.

On draft night 2005 the Lakers opted to go with the young, unproven Bynum over players like Sean May, Gerald Green and Danny Granger because head coach Phil Jackson wanted a center and the aforementioned Jim Buss fell in love with him. Then three years later they passed on trading him for All-Star point guard Jason Kidd, much to the disliking of Bryant.

They haven’t regretted those decisions, giving them faith to hold onto Bynum when he’s in demand once again. After playing through a significant amount of pain in last year’s playoffs Bynum’s teammates share the same kind of confidence in him that the front office has. But until he starts dominating on a regular basis like he’s capable of there will always be those who wonder about how good Anthony could have been with the Lakers. 

Replacing Jerry Sloan

Jerry Sloan left some awfully big shoes to fill in Utah this week when he resigned as head coach. He went 1221-803 in his 23 seasons with the Jazz, only having one team in his entire tenure finish under .500. He never won a championship or the Coach of the Year award, but he’s already in the Naismith Hall of Fame and will always be regarded as one of the best to ever coach. Utah Jazz basketball, and the NBA as a whole, will not be the same without him.

Replacing a legend is one of the toughest things to do in sports for coaches just as well as players. Sloan’s top assistant Phil Johnson, also one of the best in the business at his respective position, resigned as well, leaving Ty Corbin to be named the Jazz’s new head coach.

In his head coaching debut Corbin saw his Jazz fall at home to the Phoenix Suns 95-83. The Jazz players voiced an odd feeling over playing without Sloan on the sideline for the first time, but that feeling will eventually pass as they continue to play without him.

At 31-24 the Jazz can’t afford for that transition period to take too long. They’re only two games ahead of the ninth-placed Memphis Grizzlies and now just three on the Suns.

Corbin may not have been expecting a promotion of this magnitude, but it’s actually a much better position to be in than many realize.

The Jazz’s roster features two of the league’s best players in point guard Deron Williams and big man Al Jefferson. They are surrounded by a nice supporting cast that has extensive playoff experience and an understanding of what it takes to win in the NBA.

It would be foolish for Corbin to look to make any wholesale changes at this point. It’s midseason and Sloan’s system is a proven. Corbin needs to take an approach much like Paul Silas in Charlotte. Silas also took over for a disciplinarian in Larry Brown and has seen a great response from the players by giving them a bit more freedom and allowing them to play through their mistakes.

Jazz ownership proved this summer that they are willing to spend in order to keep the team in the Western Conference playoff mix. Corbin has everything in place that he needs to be successful, he just needs to be himself and not try to be Jerry.