The face of the Chicago Bulls has drastically changed in recent years. But, apparently for the better. Here is a quick run down of who they have under contract and how they stack up in the East.
Draft
10 July 2010
24 June 2010
Two of the biggest needs for the Thunder are inside presence and outside shooting. They got the shooter by trading the 32nd pick to Miami for sharp shooter D. Cook and the 18th overall pick. Wow! The move helps Miami trim the cap space they are fighting while acquiring a very high second round pick to go along with the other 3 second rounders they already have. Second round picks are not guaranteed like first round ones are. So, Miami doesn't have to keep the guys they draft.
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23 June 2010
There are three ways an NBA team can improve: 1) Draft 2) Trades 3) Free Agency.
I've taken a look at how well teams have drafted since 2003. I used the number of rebounds, points, assist, steals, and blocks to help me rank the teams on their ability to draft. If a player was acquired via a trade, he counts towards the team that received him in the trade. Also, the statistics that count are only the ones that the player acquired while with the team that drafted him. So, if a player was traded and then became a good player, that team lost out. Let's see the results.
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22 June 2010
The Milwaukee Bucks traded Charlie Bell and Dan Gadzurik to the Golden State Warrios for Corey Magette.
This is a good move for both teams and potentially a great move for Milwuakee.
Golden State is changing ownership and wants to get a younger nucleus to build around. The Trade of Magette rids the team of $31 million for the next 3 years.
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20 July 2009
Here is my take on the Hornets' summer league in Las Vegas.
Marcus Thornton was the team's leading scorer with 20ppg but only played in 3 games. He doesn't have a guaranteed contract. He did make a strong case to make the team. Or at least, be activated when players get injured.
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The Chicago Bulls had a nice summer in Vegas:
James Johnson was the leading scorer with 16 points a game, 7 rebounds and 3.6 assists. His number one downfall was the 40% fg shooting.
Rookie Taj Gibson only played in 2 games. He grabbed 20 rebounds and 26 points in those 2 games.
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26 June 2009
The Sacramento Kings desperately need a point guard. Beno Udrih isnt' the answer and Bobby Jackson is aging and a free agent. Instead of drafing Ricky Rubio, they took Tyreke Evans who was shoot
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The Memphis Grizzlies had a huge draft, literally. With the 2nd pick they selected 7-3 C from UConn, Hasheem Thabeet. He will provide a lot of interior defense and rebounds. He can alther shots and allow them to do things on defense that others can't. The draw back is that he is very limited on offense. That means defenses will get to do things to them when he is on the floor. At the 27th spot, they got DeMarre Carroll a 6-8 F from Missouri. He is a high energy guy that can provide a spark off the bench. In the second round at 36, they got Sam Young from Pittsburgh. This guy can play all over the floor and should have been a first round pick. He is a 6-7 small forward who can really get at it.
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The Thunder drafted James Harden Thursday night. He is a 6-5 shooting guard from Arizona State. The buzz word with Harden is "NBA ready". He may start right away and fit right in. He is compared most to Brandon Roy who torched OKC badly when Portland came to town. Harden was only a sophomore this past season, so he has a lot of growing room. Later in the draft, OKC moved up one spot by giving Dallas a future 2nd round pick. Then, they selected 7-1 BJ Mullens from Ohio State. He is pretty athletic for a big guy, but still seems like he is learning the game. I don't think he will start, but he will give the Thunder some inside help. In the second round the Thunder traded for SG Robert Vaden, a 6-5 player from UAB. They got the player from Charlotte at number 54.
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25 June 2009
Portland traded their 24th and 56th picks this year and their lowest pick next year to the Mavs to move up two spots at 22. Usually picks in the 50s don't amount to much and trading two of them
Continue reading "Portland sends 3 to Mavs to move up--bad move."
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24 June 2009
Washington traded away it's 6th pick in the draft along with Darius Songalia, Etan Thomas, and Oleksey Pecherov to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Randy Foye and Mike Miller. Two years ago the Wizards were an up and coming team. That changed last year when Gilbert Arenas was injured and out all year. Brendon Haywood was also out most of the year With Arenas back, there will be ample fire power. The roster all of the sudden looks really good.
Continue reading "Washington Wizards make a bold move--is ..."
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First the Tiberwolves get rid of Kevin McHale. Then, they go crazy. Minnesota traded away Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Washington Wizards for Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas and Daruis Songalia, and the 5th overall pick. Minnesota now has the 5th, 6th, 18th, and 28th overall picks in this week's draft. They are looking to ship the 5th pick with the 18th to move up to number 2. Doing that would allow them to draft either Ricky Rubio or Hakeem Thabeet. As of right now, the roster has huge holes in it and some overload as well.
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23 June 2009
The Utah Jazz have a busy summer in front of them. Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, and Mehmet Okur can all opt out of their contracts. So, they have to convince all 3 to stay. Paul Mills
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The Atlanta Hawks had another good year. They keep taking steps closer to the Eastern finals. To do so this year, they will have to deal with a lot of free agents. Mike Bibby is the only s
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22 June 2009
There are a lot of decisions for the 76ers to make this offseaon. both point guards, Andre Miller and Royal Ivey, are free agents. The point guard spot needs to be settled. The shooting guard spot
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The Chicago Bulls had a really good year and did well in the playoffs without Deng. With Deng back at full strength and Derrick Rose a year older, another step towards the title can be made.&nbs
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Are the glory days for the Pistons over? They did not make the Eastern Conference finals and they have some free agents to take care of. Allen Iverson, Rasheed Wallace, and Antonio McDyess
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21 June 2009
The Phoenix Suns missed the playoffs by 2 games. They had hopes of making a championship run instead. They tinkered with the team and had a new coach. What is the direction now? Grant Hill and Matt Barnes are both free agents. And the big three will be next year--Nash, O'Neal, and Stoudamire. So, it's very tempting to trade and start all over. Or, make another stab at it. Joining those three in the lineup is Barbosa and Richardson. So, there is no lack of scoring, but there is a huge lack of a bench. Whether they are focused on this year or the future, let's take a look at what type of player they might get in the draft. They have the 14, 48, and 57th picks.
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The Pacers missed the playoffs and made some changes. Looking towards next year, one thing can be said is that Indiana is interesting. The Lineup consist of Jarret Jack and TJ Ford in the
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20 June 2009
Charlotte was 2 places out from the playoffs. This team is heading in the right direction. The starting lineup of Raymond Felton, Raja Bell, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw and Omeka Okafor is
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The New Jersey Nets have the 11th pick in this year's draft. Devin Harris had a break out year and is an all-star as is Vince Carter. That gives them some firepower on the perimeter. But t
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The Milwaukee Bucks had a dissappointing year. After trading for Richard Jefferson and having Michael Redd, it looked as if a serious move was going to happen. Andrew Bogut and Redd played for less than half the season. And that made all the difference. This is a crucial time for the Bucks. Keith Bogans and Damon Jones are both free agents. Charlie Vllanueva had a break out year and is a restricted free agent. And, to top things off, Jefferson and Redd both could opt out of their contracts next summer. If things don't go well this year, that could happen. Also, Ramon Sessions was a nice surprise. He is also a restricted free agent.
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The Raptors had a horrible season finishing third from the bottom in the East. Anthony Parker, Shawn Marion, and Jake Voskhul are all free agents. That is 2 starters and a top bench player. That leaves a shaky starting lineup:
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The Wizards were the second worst team in the NBA this year and will get the 5th and 32nd picks of the draft. Anawn Jamison and Caron Butler had to carry the load and did what they could.
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The Sacramento Kings have a lot to gain in this week's NBA draft. They have almost 3 first rounders (they have the first pick in the 2nd round). They have 3 unrestricted free agents, Bobby Jackson, Calvin Booth, and Cedric Simmons. Only Bobby Jackson really played this year and he only started 10 games. So, they aren't loosing anything. The starting five consist of pg Beno Udrih, sg Kevin Martin, sf Anres Nocioni, pf Jason Thompson, and C Spencer Hawes.
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The Thunder made some improvement as the year went on and this week's draft will there will be more improvement. Although there is a lot of speculation on who they will take at #3, let's take a look at how successful the third and 25th picks have been.
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The Memphis Grizzlies are looking forward to this year's draft. They have no were to go but up. The question is, how far can they rise. They have the 2nd, 27th, and 36th overall picks in the draft. More than half of the mock draft boards out there have Hasheem Thabeet going to them. He would provide an inside defensive presence for sure. A few boards have Ricky Rubio going that way. And the next pick listed is James Harden. They will be happy with who they take this year. But, let's look at how these positions have fared over the past 14 years.
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19 June 2009
The San Antonio Spurs don't own a first round pick. But they do have 3 second round picks at 37, 51, and 53. Let's take a look at how each have done in the past 14 years to determine what the chances are that the Spurs will get someone who can help them.
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The Dallas Mavericks only have one pick this year in the NBA draft and they really need help to keep from falling any further. If you look at draft boards, the list of players that could go to Dallas at the 22nd pick are too numerous to mention. But, we can look at how the past 14 drafts have done at that position.
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Cleveland fell short of making the NBA finals and they have LeBron James for at least one more year until to make another run at it. At least one piece will be added Tuesday with the NBA draft. The Cavs have the 30th and 46th overall picks in the draft. Predicting on who they will take is very difficult and looking at draft boards produces all kinds of possibilities. We can look at what those past picks have been like:
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18 June 2009
With the first pick of the NBA draft, the Clippers are in great shape. I looked at the last 19 years and broken it down as follows: Super stars--11 Quality starter--2 Starters--3 Bench --3 So, histori
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Who will New York take with the 8th pick? I've seen many mock drafts and there is one consistency
oint guard. Brandon Jennings, John Flynn, Jrue Holliday are all point guards that keep popping up. I've looked at the last 20 drafts and have broken down the 8th pick as follows:
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17 June 2009
The LA Lakers are the top team in basketball. Can they stay that way? Oh yes! Both Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom are free agents this year and both contributed heavily to the team's ti
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The Clippers had a horrible year. They were suppose to be more than just a playoff contender. Fred Jones is a free agent and Ricky Davis has a players option. I doubt he will leave. The Clippers have the first overall pick and will take Blake Griffin. A trade could happen and if it does it's likely to involve either Camby, Randolph, or Kaman who all have close to or over 10million on their contracts.
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The Hawks continue to improve and will continue to improve providing the resign Mike Bibby. The most important move they can make this summer is to retain the 31 year old point guard. Last year he made 14million and they will have to be close to that to keep him. If someone manages to lure him away, there is no viable option on the team. They have the 19th pick in the draft. However, that won't yield them a player that is ready to step in. There are three other options:
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16 June 2009
Every Oklahoman wants to see Blake Griffin in an Oklahoma Thunder uniform. The only way this is to happen is to trade with the Clippers. The best chance the Thunder has is to trade both of
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