Oden To Declare

[---]

Beasley is going to KState.

His mum says so, but he doesn't seem sure yet. He definately hasn't said himself that he will go to KSU (with the whole coaching thing) but he has said that he's looking at Memphis. It all depends on the whole thing about KSU not letting the players get out of their LOI's.

"I haven't [asked to be released from Kansas State] yet," Beasley said after the Nike Hoop Summit game in Memphis, Tenn. However, it appeared he was unaware of the Wildcats' promotion of Martin, as he said, "I'm waiting to see who gets the job first.

"I haven't talked to [Huggins] yet. He had to do what was best for him, but he still didn't look out for his recruits. He supposedly had the best recruiting class in the nation, but he didn't look out for us."

Beasley said his phone hasn't stopped ringing since the news broke, and that he has formalized an early list of schools that could be a good fit for him if released from Kansas State.

"I'm really thinking about Memphis right now. NC State and Florida State, too," he said.

[Indy]

Trade Wallace for a team in need for a big man for their 2008 or 2009 first rounder.

Good luck getting a team to take on a badly aging specialist player with a contract like that, and for a draft pick?? Give me an example of a team with that type of cap room that would send out a top pick for a guy like Ben Wallace.

[Amphatoast]

knicks

[---]

So, so true. They are shelling out $62,299,250 for 5 players... that aren't on the roster.

[beau_boy04]

i guess i am one of the few people who hopes to get durant. i think he will end up being the better player. there is the old logic that says if you got a good big center you have to take him as they are so rare, it is that logic that has caused things like jordan going 3rd or olakwandi(sp?) going first. i like durant and want the celtics to get the second pick so we get him instead.

I certainly agree with you. If Charlotte gets the first pick I have a feeling MJ will take Durant over Oden. Durant will become a wing player/PF in the league and MJ loves that. Besides it doesnt make any sense for them to get Oden coz Oden is an improved version of Okafor, so having 2 Okafor would do too much specially when they lacking offensive power.
Durant will provide offense and Okafor will do magic on the defensive end.

[Andrew]

Once the Bulls get Oden I could take 2 approach.

Plan A.
C - Oden
PF - Thomas

Trade Wallace for a team in need for a big man for their 2008 or 2009 first rounder.

Plan B.
C - Oden
PF - Wallace/Thomas

Keeping Wallace on the team will provide leadership and veteran prescense and he will teach everything Oden needs to know about how defense works in the Nba.

For some reason I like Plan A. much better.

"Once the Bulls get Oden"? I wasn't aware that was in any way guaranteed especially since the Knicks' pick doesn't have the best odds of being number one. Assuming the Bulls do land Oden, the last thing they should be looking to do is go with your Plan A. As Indy said trading Wallace is easier said than done but even it was feasible...why deal away a proven player who is still productive for a draft pick that might have a chance of being top three? Why sabotage a team built to compete for a future prospect who you're not even guaranteed to land? How can that scenario be in any way preferable?

[beau_boy04]

For a guy like Derrick Rose By the way I just think Ben Wallace is overpaid, thats why I suggested that plan.

They just need to get ATL first pick rounder.

According to my notes, for the past 4 years:

2007 = 4th worst record
2006 = 3rd worst
2005 = worst
2004 = 4th worst

Talk to Hawks’ Executive Vice President/General Manager Billy Knight. He truly knows how to ruin a franchise for many years to come

[---]

beau_boy04, you seem awfully optimistic when it comes to the Bulls. The Bulls will not pick in the top 2. Its almost garaunteed. They need a team like Phoenix, Houston and maybe Charlotte to luck into the 1st while Chicago goes second for them to have any chance at getting Oden, because they are the only teams that can afford to pass on him. The chances are extremely slim.

While Wallace may not be much of a factor on the offensive end, he has been top 2-3 defender in this league over numerous seasons, if not number one. The Bulls are known for their defence, and Wallace plays a big part in that. As Andrew & Indy said, Ben Wallace isn't exactly attractive trade bait with his huge contract and age, despite still being a great player. 90% of teams would not trade a player with a salary big enough to match plus their 2008 first round draft choice (if they are a lottery team, which they need to be in order to grab Rose) for Ben.

I would love to see Oden play for the Bulls, but I am 99% sure it won't happen. It ill take somewhat of a miracle for it to go down like that. Also, I wouldn't trade Ben Wallace for a chance to get Derrick Rose. I have seen him play, and while I like him, he is fit for a fast break team from what I saw. He is very crazy with the ball and playing against an NBA defence I don't know how he would handle it. The Bulls have Hinrich and Duhon anyway, so the need isnt really there.

[Andrew]

For a guy like Derrick Rose By the way I just think Ben Wallace is overpaid, thats why I suggested that plan.

They just need to get ATL first pick rounder.

According to my notes, for the past 4 years:

2007 = 4th worst record
2006 = 3rd worst
2005 = worst
2004 = 4th worst

Talk to Hawks’ Executive Vice President/General Manager Billy Knight. He truly knows how to ruin a franchise for many years to come

At the end of the day, it comes down to trading an established veteran who is still productive for a draft pick that may be in the lottery and might be top three. That's the basic flaw with that plan; you are not assured of any picks or that you'll get a player who may be coming out in a year or two. No GM would make such a deal, especially when they are putting together a team that is starting to approach the level of being a team that can make some noise in the playoffs and with the right pieces could start thinking seriously about serious runs at the championship in a couple of years.

There is no way of knowing whether the Hawks' pick will yield the top selection in 2008 or 2009 or whether the Bulls will be able to select Derrick Rose or anyone else you might have in mind. There is no way all these future moves can be mapped out because most of them rely on a chain of events that aren't guaranteed to happen.

I agree that Ben Wallace is overpaid and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed that his numbers have slipped in a couple of areas and that I wasn't concerned about the Bulls' four year committment to him for $15 million a year. But those two figures - a four year deal (with three years remaining) at $15 million per year - is the main reason trading Wallace isn't really a feasible option. Few teams would be willing to take on his contract, especially in exchange for potential top three picks or young talent.

[beau_boy04]

I would love to see Oden play for the Bulls, but I am 99% sure it won't happen. It ill take somewhat of a miracle for it to go down like that. Also, I wouldn't trade Ben Wallace for a chance to get Derrick Rose. I have seen him play, and while I like him, he is fit for a fast break team from what I saw. He is very crazy with the ball and playing against an NBA defence I don't know how he would handle it. The Bulls have Hinrich and Duhon anyway, so the need isnt really there.

That is because you didn't know about this http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 02120.html

Check it out and up your hopes and faith.

[shadowgrin]

My idiot meter is starting to detect some idiocy.

[Andrew]

That is because you didn't know about this http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... 02120.html

Check it out and up your hopes and faith.

Should the White Sox' victory in MLB's 2005 World Series also be considered an omen that the Bulls will soon follow suit and win the NBA championship? Personally, my hopes are not raised by the results of another sporting league's draft lottery.

[---]

My idiot meter is starting to detect some idiocy.

Mine broke after Plan A

[Slamduncan]

Hopefully the bucks can get him or durant

[BodyBump]

Greg Oden says he'll enter NBA draft
By MARK WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer

Greg Oden is through with school. The 7-foot freshman center said Friday he will leave Ohio State to enter the NBA draft, where he figures to be one of the top two picks along with Texas freshman forward Kevin Durant.

Freshman teammates Mike Conley Jr. and Daequan Cook also said they will make themselves available for the draft. Unlike Oden, they have opted not to hire an agent for now — meaning they will retain the option of returning to school in the fall.

"This is a very tough decision for me," Oden said in a statement released by Ohio State. "I love OSU and love being a Buckeye, but I also have a great opportunity to take my game to the next level and compete with the best players in the world. I've discussed this with family, friends and Coach (Thad) Matta, and I feel the time is right."

The players were not available for comment. Conley is expected to be an honorary head coach for Saturday's Scarlet vs. Gray spring football game. Oden is out of town to attend his aunt's wedding.

At a news conference Friday afternoon, Matta said the departure of the three players, though not unexpected, would leave a hole in the program. Matta said he was proud of their accomplishments and hoped that the success of players such as Oden, coupled with the team's trip to the national championship game, will lure talented recruits.

"Honestly, it's been kind of a goal of mine to have a player selected as high as Greg is going to be," Matta said. "This is a situation where we've got to handle it and continue to build."

Matta said he thinks Oden had a tough time making the decision to leave and that he told him he understands his dream to play in the NBA.

Matta said he told Oden, "I think if you did come back and everyone came back, I think we would have a chance to be one of the greatest college basketball teams ever, but that's selfish on my part."

All three players were key figures this past season for the Buckeyes, who went 35-4 to set a mark for victories and won the Big Ten's regular-season and tournament titles before advancing to their first national championship game since 1962, where they lost to two-time champion Florida.

After getting a late start at Ohio State because of a wrist injury, the 19-year-old Oden lived up to his billing as a two-time national high school player of the year, leading the Buckeyes in scoring (15.7) and rebounding (9.6) per game and topping the Big Ten in shooting percentage (.616).

His best game may have been his last one, when he scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds while dominating the inside against Florida's Al Horford and Joakim Noah.

Oden had surgery on his right (shooting) wrist to reattach ligaments last June 16. He worked out with the team while wearing a cast that eventually became an elastic brace. After missing the first seven games, he came in and — despite shooting free throws and most of his other shots left-handed — had an immediate impact.

"If he's not remembered for what he did here I would be saddened by that," Matta said.

Oden and Conley — friends and teammates since the sixth grade in Terre Haute, Ind. — led Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis to three consecutive state championships and a 103-7 record.

The 6-1 Conley, who many believed was just a throw-in for recruiting Oden, ended up setting Ohio State records with 238 assists while handling the ball almost all the time against high-pressure defenses. His assist-to-turnover ratio was among the best in the nation at 2.77, with only 86 turnovers in 39 games — a little more than two per contest.

When Oden fouled out late in the Buckeyes' second-round NCAA game against Xavier — and Ron Lewis (news, bio, voting record) hit a clutch 3-pointer in the final seconds — it was Conley who scored 11 points in the overtime to lead Ohio State to a 78-71 victory.

The only knock on Conley is his outside shooting. He hit just 30 percent of his 3-pointers, although he was a 52-percent shooter from the field — mostly on layups after scissoring through defenses trying to double-team Oden.

"This has been an extremely exciting and challenging process for me," Conley said in the statement released by Ohio State. "It is my lifelong dream to play in the NBA.

Cook got off to a fast start for the Buckeyes, but wilted down the stretch. He was averaging more than 15 points a game midway through January before finishing at 9.8. After leading Ohio State in scoring seven times in its first 15 games, he failed to do it again over the Buckeyes' last 24 starts.

Cook started just one game all season for the Buckeyes, but the 6-6 swingman was their second-leading rebounder.

The deadline for players making themselves available for the draft is April 29. They can work out for NBA teams and gauge interest — as long as they do not have an agent — and have until June 18 to withdraw their names from the draft pool. Conley and Cook still could retain their Ohio State eligibility at that point.

The players are expected to be represented by Conley's father, Mike Conley Sr. He won the Olympic gold medal in the triple jump at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. In addition to running a company (World Sport Chicago) that helped garner that city the U.S. bid for the 2016 Summer Games, he also has created another sports-representation company (Mac Management Group) and applied to the NBA to be a player agent.

The elder Conley at first said that his son would not leave early, but then waffled as the Buckeyes went deeper and deeper in the tournament and his son's stock climbed.

Source: Yahoo News

[shadowgrin]

My idiot meter is starting to detect some idiocy.

Mine broke after Plan A

Tough luck in replacing your meter.

Why do I have the feeling that Memphis is going to get lucky and bag Oden?