Off-Season Thread

[Colin]

Dee Brown is a pretty good passer/playmaker. But he could easily lose all that in the transition to the NBA game, as opposed to someone recognized as a passer in college would have more transferable skills.

[Dean]

So would he be a guy we would realistically look at?
Who are some 'pass first' guys declaring for the draft?

Edit: After quickly browsing some profiles of the top Point Guard prospects, Marcus Williams of UConn is probably the perfect guy for Phoenix, but hes projected to go at #9. However, Draft Express are yet to account for Team Needs, and in my opinion, 11 of the 14 teams drafting in the lottery (Bulls account for 2 picks), are already set at the Point:

Blazers - Telfair; Bobcats - Felton; Bulls - Hinrich; Hawks - Johnson; Warriors - Davis, Fisher; Celtics - Delonte; Magic - Jameer; Seattle - Ridnour; 76ers - AI; Hornets - CP3; Jazz - Deron

That leaves the Rockets, Wolves and Raptors as teams in need of a Point, so its highly unlikely that we will get him without trading up.

The next guy is Mardy Collins (6'6" PG/SG, Temple). His profile on Draft Express says the following:

Collins is a highly unselfish player that controls tempo and plays the game with tremendous poise and patience. He's a coaches dream since he always plays within himself, never forces things and rarely makes unforced errors. Being smart and fundamentally sound, he seems to have a great understanding of the game; knowing when to look for his shot and when to get his teammates involved.

He has very good playmaking skills, running his teams halfcourt offence to perfection and executing extremely will. His court vision is excellent, utilizing his height to see the entire floor and being able to make passes that most shorter point guards just can't, particularly in the post. His passing skills aren't particularly flashy, as he's more of your fundamental bounce pass-type who just gets the job done effectively. Typically strict Hall of Fame coach John Chaney appears to trust him with eyes closed.

Collins is an excellent ball-handler as well, dribbling the ball low to the ground with an array of hesitation moves and great confidence.

Collins is projected as a Rich Man's Marko Jaric as a best case scenario.

Those are the two guys i'd love Phoenix to take out of this draft, but i cant realistically forsee this happening without moving picks, another thing i see as unlikely, although its not like we need both first rounders. Phoenix's pick is projected as the #19, so if either of these guys drop that far, ill be estatic.

Here's some more realistic names we could look at:
Rajon Rondo (PG, Kentucky, 6'1")
Quincy Douby (PG/SG, Rutgers, 6'3")
Guillermo Diaz (PG/SG, Miami, 6'1")
Dee Brown (PG, Illinois, 6'0")

Anyways, thats enough ranting for what is possibly the longest post ive ever typed.

[Fenix]

For the teams I actually care about:

Atlanta - sign&trade Harrington to Chicago for their second 1st round pick, draft Tyrus Thomas (if available) and Hilton Armstrong. Consider trading one of the remainding SFs.
Boston - trade the All-Irish-Looking team. Consider trading Pierce, if it's found necessary to get rid of other bad contracts (Sczehiharhairbiak, Scalabrine, Lafrentz). Draft someone non-white.
Chicago - DON'T accept the trade for Harrington. Draft Tyrus Thomas/Aldridge and Ronnie Brewer. Sign veteran big man (Antonio Davis) or more of them.
Lakers - Move Mihm to the bench in favor of Brown or consider trading him for a starting PF who fits better into the system. Try trading for KG, but NOT for Jermaine O'Neal. Surround Kobe with more shooters. Get some athleticism on the bench. I've given up on Bynum, so trade him while he still has some trade value.
Orlando - get rid of Arroyo and get a distributing, defensive minded PG instead (yes, I mean Rondo). Get a backup PF. Start Darko. Replace Stevenson with someone who can defend and create his own shot.
Cleveland - Sign&trade Gooden, possibly to Lakers for Mihm and their 1st round pick or Chicago and their 2nd 1st round pick. Start Varejao. Get Marcus Williams/Rondo in the draft. Sign another tough big man.
Toronto - Consider moving down in the draft for someone like Shelden Williams (if he measures a legit 6'10, he'll be more than capable playing the C) and veteran help and/or get someone who can create his own shot from the guard position with consistency. Get rid of Rick James, bitch. Do anything that is possible for Bosh not to play C anymore.
Houston - Get rid of Alston (doesn't fit, a potential nutcase), Juwan Howard (doesn't fit). Pray that you can get Morrison to play the SF. Move Mcgrady back to SG. Get a PF to play along Ming and be capable of defining Dirks AND Duncans of the NBA. Get a defensive minded, smart PG who will be able to relieve Mcgrady of playmaking duties. Get more athleticism, 3pt shooting and defense.
Knicks - Kill Nate, Marbury, Francis, possibly Q, Jerome James, Eddy Curry, Larry Brown and Isiah Thomas.

[Fitzy]

where would mike james go if they traded him? who would want him?

[Fenix]

Knicks?

[Fitzy]

they wouldnt be able to afforf him unless they trade francis and a few others

[[L3]1101]

IF the knicks want James, they can trade either QRich, M Rose, Curry, or J James
If i had the choice, i wouldn't take any of them.... though Curry sounds pretty good

[Fitzy]

but then what happens to Nate? will they start him or james

[Fenix]

Thank god you're not Toronto's GM. I was thinking about more of a Mike James-for-David Lee trade.

[[L3]1101]

unless Mike James wants to make less than 1 mil/year, i don't think that's gonna work
thank god your not toronto's GM. Another PF is the last thing we need

[Fenix]

If Shelden Williams (a natural C) is indeed 6'10 with shoes, he'd be a considerable upgrade over anyone Toronto has right now at that position. It's not like League is full of agile 7 footers playing starting C.

Edit: Oh, you probably thought the Lee trade. I didn't mean they should trade for a PF, I was just giving an example of cheap, young talent. I know they have more than enough PFs.

[Axel]

I think the Suns need to go after a nice backup center/PF in case Amare is injured again next season... they've been killed far too often on the boards this year.

^^ i think that takes more priority than a backup PG.

[zmac]

Cavs:
-Get rid of Damon Jones for a better/more consistent/more defensive backup PG.
-Try to resign Ronald Murray.
-Give LeBrons the biggest contract possible.

Miami:
-Not sign or trade for any players you would consider in the same category as Walker, Williams, Posey etc.

Knicks:
-Do what I did with my NLSC Knicks dynasty or similiar.

Blazers:
-Keep Randolph, Telfair, Monia, Webster. Fuck everyone else off.

Chicago:
-Keep exact same team, maybe sign another big man. As they will develop into a great team in 2 seasons.

Charlotte:
-Keep Felton, May, Okafor, Wallace.
-Offer Big Ben a huge contract.

Atlanta:
-Leave Harrington, or sign-trade him for someone who doesnt cost much and may end up doing what Diaw did for the Suns.
-Offer Big Ben a huge deal.

Boston:
-Keep working on Gerald Green, especially his cockiness.
-Keep Pierce.
-By the end of next season, or the somewhere in the one after, they will have Pierce and Pierce Jr(Green).

Detroit:
-Do whatever the fuck you can to keep Big Ben, or else dont expect 60+ Wins per season.

I think thats enough......

[Jugs]

Monia

If he wasn't playing for the Kings

Edit: I'd keep Joel Przybilla and Darius Miles.. for now.

[zmac]

I meant Khryapa. Both white Russian dudes....I think.

[Jugs]

I hate Khryapa, he should be gone before Miles or even Lenard are gone

[J@3]

Why? He's one of their better young players.

[Jugs]

I've never gotten to like him. He isn't sexually attractive (or non-attractive) like Zach Randolph.

edit: wow, VanK style post. and flashback of that post too.

[Fenix]

I would've mentioned his body .

[Fresh8]

Lakers

I say they should sign someone useful with that mid-level exception this time around. Vlade and McKie didn't work out too well due to injuries. I really want the team to keep Walton and Devean Geoge around. They should look at bringing in a point guard who could start in place of Smush (As Jae stated). Also, it would be good if LA looks at signing a shooter (ie. Rush - even if he is streaky). Obviously this wouldn't happen but if they do half the things I said, it would be sweet.

[Mayerhendrix]

The Lakers......they need to develop Andrew Bynum.

They took him way too early and he's stupid to skip college.

If he plays more though they could have a quality center. He's grown a few inches even since they drafted him, so he's got a lot of potential.

[artestfighttrainer]

I was thinking, with all the trade talk surrounding K.G and Iverson and where should they go etc. doesn't it make good sense they should trade teams? Obviously out of this K.G is the better player but at least the T'Wolves are getting someone very close in terms of output, calibre, and superstar status (in terms of league and for the franchise to make money).

Of course both teams would have to change some of their role players and bench to suit their respective games they play.

With KG and Philly they gotta get rid of C-Webb coz he's in KG's spot. I think they can trade him off to the Knicks so they can get Marbury and maybe someone else and the Knicks can either keep C-Webb (his contract expires 07-08) or trade him off. Def. keep Iggy, don't know about Dalembert can keep coz of lack of centers and also decent ones in nba, good shot blocker but should be grabbing more boards and getting more points. Korver is another iffy, they paid him too much but shooters are rare in the L, Salmons has to go, get a better starting SF. Finally they gotta get a much better bench period. That's why they aren't in the playoffs.

With the T'Wolves Davis will have to play SF, Banks should stay and partner A.I in the backcourt, he'll learn from A.I and develop well, they def. need someone at the front, Harrington would be nice but is a long shot, Stromile Swift would be good but he would really have to prove himself that he can fit in their system and produce, Magloire or Pryzbilla would be a handy center for em, Marko Jaric has to go. Like Philly their bench has to be reshuffled.

I'm sure this could work in terms of salaries and cap space.

Toronto should let Mike James walk imo. He's def. played good this year but I don't think he's worth the 3 or so yrs he's asking for, don't think his future with the Raptors is gonna be bright, they should go for someone else. If he wants money I know there's a NBA club in Atlanta that overpays players if they want him. If they do I hope for their sake that he produces like Joe Johnson.

Boston are crazy if they let Paul Pierce go. Just rebuild around him and don't screw up as usual.

Al Harrington to Chicago is a top move. Need to fill the void Eddy Curry left and will also produce much more than he did. Bulls got cap, hope they use it wisely.

Charlotte deserves a lot of good luck and good players in draft and FA Market after what happened this season. They should trade Brevin Knight even though he's a good player Felton is developing very well.

Portland are in crisis (not as bad as another team but I'll mention em' later). They gotta make some good moves. They have to fix their clog at PG. They should let Pryzbilla and Lenard walk. Trade Outlaw and find replacements for them.

Houston needs a backup for T-Mac, SG and needs a bench fix. Get rid of Howard and Swift.

Seattle better keep Wilcox, he's playing damn well since his trade.

And finally.... New York Knicks. Where do you begin? Well actually we all know. ISIAH THOMAS YOU SUCK AS A GM! Even if you don't support or even hate the Knicks you know he's gotta go and never manage a franchise never ever ever ever ever ever... ever AGAIN!

He's so stupid as a GM I bet when he gets fired his reason will be that he wasn't given enough salary cap. He should of been a politician of any mainstream party in any western country, he would waste taxpayers money, the budget and get a country into even more debt just like the salary cap at the Knicks like there was no tomorrow.

Larry Brown should go, he's a good coach deserved much better, he made a mistake in getting Stevie Franchise though he's tradeable but fixing the mess that the Knicks are in isn't going to help his health.

Franchise and Starbury have to go period. If Eddy Curry is also tradeable get rid of him same with Q-Rich, Rose and Crawford.

I'm sorry Knicks fans but your team is really F***ed up. I'm sure millions of ppl have said that but I haven't said it yet. Best of luck your team needs plenty of it and also I heard Phil Jackson was handing out books the other day and had plenty of copies of the Bible to give which would be handy.

For David Stern he should fix up the dunk contest, have a time limit, Kenny Smith should be banned from ever judging again, fix the rules so that any player can enter not just 'rising stars' and give a good incentive so the players we want to see in the dunk contest for the first or watever time join to participate.

[Fresh8]

I don't think AI and KG will be moving or at least I don't want them to. But if it happens, it seems logical.

[Colin]

I think the Suns need to go after a nice backup center/PF in case Amare is injured again next season... they've been killed far too often on the boards this year.

^^ i think that takes more priority than a backup PG.

Not really. It's a certainty that Nash will playing at a lower level within 3-4 years. He'll at least be slower and less athletic. Amare will probably be good to go. And even if they don't they should be fine as they have Brian Grant and Kurt Thomas who were both injured at some point this season.

[Dean]

I think the Suns need to go after a nice backup center/PF in case Amare is injured again next season... they've been killed far too often on the boards this year.

^^ i think that takes more priority than a backup PG.

Not really. It's a certainty that Nash will playing at a lower level within 3-4 years. He'll at least be slower and less athletic. Amare will probably be good to go. And even if they don't they should be fine as they have Brian Grant and Kurt Thomas who were both injured at some point this season.

Word. My thoughts exactly. Amare is the future, Stevie isnt going to be around forever, so we need to start building up a replacement...hopefully Marcus Williams :D:D