True Hoop Network Blogs

Heat play waiting game yet again

2013-05-18T03:12:02Z

MIAMI -- As a four-time league MVP and the catalyst for the NBA's defending champions, LeBron James isn't accustomed to having his rhythm disrupted these days. Good defenders rarely bother him. Great schemes do little to knock him off his game. But the only thing to stop James in his tracks recently has been a self-inflicted wound of sorts: His team's dominance so far this postseason. The Miami Heat are 8-1 through two rounds of their best-of-seven playoff series.

Detroit Pistons #DraftDreams: Jeff Withey

2013-05-18T00:15:20Z

Discuss Draft Dreams on Twitter using the #DraftDreams hashtag.

Info

• Measurables: 6-foot-11, 240 pounds, senior center from the University of Kansas
• Key Stats: 13.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.9 blocks per game; shot 58 percent from the field.
• Projected: Mid-first round.

Random Fact

There are a lot of scatter-brained, potentially inebriated ideas that college students concoct — some great and some bad. But you’ve got to give it up, the cult following that Withey had during his four year’s at Kansas are pretty hilarious.

Not only did he have a parody Twitter account called @FakeJeffWithey, which is how I really hope he acts, if just for hilarity’s sake, but he’s also got two websites dedicated to his presence.

First you’ve got WitheyBlockParty.com which is literally a blog featuring a boatload of Withey’s blocks at KU. He had 286 in his final two seasons, and by listening to the calls of each block, you’d think the Kansas announcers had never seen him block a shot. There was actually a Twitter hashtag, #witheyblockparty, that was really a thing during the season and tournament, too.

The other goes by the name WitheyFace.com. If you’ve ever heard of ManningFace.com, you’ll know what this is. You’ll notice right off the bat that a snarling Jeff Withey closely resembles the Jayhawks logo. I’ll just leave you all with these 500 or so staring Withey faces…

Fits with the Pistons because …

There are a number of holes on the Pistons’ roster, but one of the more underrated ones is in the front court. The team already has it’s cornerstones in Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, but with Jason Maxiell entering free agency and Charlie Villanueva being Charlie Villanueva, the Pistons need a third big man.

Withey’s biggest strength — shot blocking — is one of the Pistons’ biggest weaknesses. There’s the niche of fans under the assumption that the Pistons already have a Withey-like player in Slava Kravtsov, but Withey has an plus-NBA skill. Kravtsov lacks that.

There’s no reason a team wouldn’t want a guy like Withey on their team. Even if all he ends up being in the NBA is an above-average shot blocker from the weak side, he’s still got value. The question is where does that value start. The Pistons are drafting in the top-10, but not again until the early second round.

Withey would be a horrible reach in the early-to-mid lottery, but in the early second round, he’d be perfect. The chances of that aren’t great now, especially considering the kind of great-at-one-skill players like Withey are usually a value to contenders who can pick and choose when and how they use them later in a draft.

Doesn’t fit with the Pistons because …

He’s not going to help a sometimes-stagnant offense. For all the good that Withey brings on defense, he’s still somewhat easy to push around on the block and doesn’t have any semblance of a post game. That’s something that can be cultivated and developed, but he’s going to be a non-factor on offense early.

I’ve gushed about the shot blocking, but he’s not a great defender individually. There’s confusion sometimes between really good defenders and really good shot blockers — there’s a difference. Serge Ibaka is a GREAT shot blocker, but just an above-average defender. Right now, Withey’s a really good shot blocker, NBA caliber, but in college hoops, specifically the Big 12, you’re not facing any sort of real post threat.

The best example of that might be his struggles with Michigan freshman Mitch McGary in the Sweet 16. Withey was muscled around and tossed aside by McGary, whose post game is hardly refined, even by college standards. That’s scary if you’re a GM looking at Withey to be a key defender for you.

Fair or unfair, he’s also kind of been stereotyped as the big, goofy stiff who is bound to be a bust. The fact that his predecessor, Cole Aldrich, has really done nothing in three seasons with a very similar skill set doesn’t help, either.

From the Experts

Chad Ford:

If there was a shot-blocking drill where the goal was to block as many shots as possible without fouling the shooter, Withey would walk away with the prize handily. Alas, the focus on offense probably won’t speak to Withey’s strengths at the combine. Big men rarely have their stock helped or hurt at the combine — his real tests will come in workouts against Gorgui Dieng, Steven Adams, Rudy Gobert and Mason Plumlee.

DraftExpress:

Athletic 7-footers with great defensive instincts and excellent finishing ability don’t grow on trees, though, so there will surely be a market for his services this upcoming June. A playoff team drafting in the second half of the first round could be very happy picking a player who is well-coached, experienced and ready to compete from day one, as if he pans out, he could present excellent value to a NBA team playing on a rookie scale contract.

On film

Exit Interviews: Reggie Jackson’s ready for more

2013-05-17T23:16:35Z

Scott Halleran/NBAE/Getty Images

Most interesting thing from today: Reggie Jackson said he was up until 3 a.m. last night dribbling a basketball. Said it’s something he always does.

It was kind of his jumping off point to talk about how much he loves the game and how much he’s always looking to improve. Jackson said he hopes to be part of OKC’s summer league team, because he’s itching to play.

Jackson has quickly become one of the more exciting and intriguing things about this Thunder team. His emergence in place of Russell Westbrook was incredibly impressive as he showed real signs and potential of blossoming into the Thunder’s bench stud of the future. The question is if Scott Brooks is willing to free his mind and not think of Jackson as exclusively a point guard. Jackson is a great combo player and needs to play alongside Russell Westbrook. And in a lot of ways, he needs to be the Thunder’s new sixth man.

“If that’s the number that’s called, I’m doing my best to be ready for whatever situation I’m thrown into next year,” Jackson said.

It was obvious in the postseason how good Jackson already is, and how good he can still be. He’s the type of player that can get to the rim almost at will, and he’s a splendid finisher. Where he needs to improve is with his jumper, specifically in the pull-up game. If that comes, along with a little playmaking, the Thunder have a serious bench piece and a potential secret weapon to use next to Westbrook.

For now, Jackson isn’t focused on any of that. He’s not thinking about role or playing time. He said he still feels like he should be getting ready to play Game 6 tonight, but as he transitions into the summer and starts focusing on improving his game, you can be sure he’s going to tirelessly work at it.

And because of it, he’s given Thunder fans something else to be really excited about.

“I’m ready to flash forward to camp right now,” he said.

Me too, Reggie. Me too.

The rest of the exit interviews:

REGGIE JACKSON

HASHEEM THABEET

JEREMY LAMB

DANIEL ORTON

RONNIE BREWER

PERRY JONES III

DEANDRE LIGGINS

SERGE IBAKA

The Greatest Worst Assembled Team in NBA History

2013-05-17T23:00:57Z

Ask Gregg Popovich the secrets to the San Antonio Spurs sustained success on any given day and you’re likely to get one of two answers. On most days Popovich will simply flash that condescending gaze, staring daggers into your soul until you find yourself apologizing for wasting his time with such a stupid question.

Find Popovich in a good mood, however, and he will likely admit that everything he and general manager R.C. Buford have built comes down to two important things—luck, and not screwing things up.

(Photo Bob Owen/San Antonio Express-News)

It was luck to have landed the top pick in the right draft and selecting Tim Duncan. There was luck in finding some pieces around them, and beyond that, it’s been a matter of simply not screwing things up (harder than it sounds). For an example of just how difficult it can be, you can read Andrew Sharp’s article on Grantland today.

On Sunday, Popovich and the Spurs will square off against their polar opposites. If the San Antonio Spurs are the NBA’s model franchise, the Memphis Grizzlies are the greatest worst assembled team in NBA history.

The Memphis Grizzlies are, perhaps, the luckiest team in the NBA right now, which fits perfectly into the first part of Popovich’s formula to success. It’s the “don’t screw up” part that the Grizzlies astonishingly seem to ignore with almost no negative repercussions. The Memphis Grizzlies have screwed up, regularly, repeatedly, and royally.

And yet no one can deny how fun and legitimately imposing these Grizzlies are as we get ready for the Western Conference Finals.

To start with, the Grizzlies core of Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol was created from a series of inexplicably horrible-to-laughable moves that, somehow, ALL MANAGED TO WORK OUT FOR THE BEST DESPITE LOGIC AND EVERYONE’S BELIEFS TO THE CONTRARY!!!

(Photo by Nikki Boertman/Commercial Appeal)

Even one of their earliest terrible trades, sending a pick to Detroit that would become the no. 2 overall pick in what would eventually be known as the Miami Heat draft, worked out in that it saved the Grizzlies the pain of drafting Darko Milicic.

(The Grizzlies would eventually trade Darko to the Knicks for Quentin Richardson, who they then flipped for Zach Randolph, meaning….EVEN SOMETHING AS HORRIBLE AS ACQUIRING DARKO MILIC WORKED OUT FOR THE GRIZZLIES!)

From 2008 through today the Grizzlies have made some of the more puzzling moves in the NBA, and yet every single one of them has led them here, to the Western Conference Finals.

The Gasol(s) Trade

Frame your arguments however you’d like in the comments sections or on Twitter (and I hope you do), but no amount of hindsight can hide that, at the time, trading Pau Gasol to the Lakers in exchange for scraps was amongst the most lopsided trades in NBA history.

Yes, the Grizzlies were in a position where trading Pau Gasol was a must, but he was a franchise-quality big man who immediately transformed the Lakers into NBA champions (after failing in the NBA Finals his first half season there, of course). In exchange the Grizzlies eventually received cap space in Kwame Brown’s expiring contract, Javaris Crittenton, and two late first round draft picks, as well as the rights to Marc Gasol.

Pau and the Lakers have since faded, and Marc is the 2013 Defensive Player of the Year and in contention for mantle of game’s best big man. But absolutely no one knew Marc Gasol would develop into THIS, and anyone who would tell you otherwise is a liar.

(Photo by Mike Brown/Commercial Appeal)

In an interview with Yahoo!’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley referred to the Grizzlies assets as cap space. Though he didn’t regret the trade, he did wonder if his team got the best value possible:

“I don’t know if I got the most value,” Heisley confessed. “Maybe our people should’ve shopped (Gasol) more and maybe we would’ve gotten more, done a better deal. Maybe Chris did call every team in the league. I don’t think he did, but maybe he should’ve…”

Heisley didn’t mention Marc Gasol in the interview, no one did. The last time most people saw the younger Gasol was as a pudgy high school center with limited prospects.

It’s okay to admit that, even with the way things turned out, this was a bad trade turned positive purely by fortune in the same way that Popovich and Buford admit that finding Manu Ginobili had little to do with their scouting staff and everything to do with luck. As Popovich has said repeatedly, if they knew how things would turn out, they wouldn’t have waited so long to take him.

The Zach Randolph Trade

With the cap space vacated by the Pau Gasol trade, the Grizzlies swung a deal to acquire Zach Randolph, solidifying what would eventually be the Grizzlies devastating frontline. But at the time Randolph was a cautionary tale, though admittedly a talented one. Nothing in his stops in Portland, New York, or Los Angeles revealed any signs of hope, and certainly no rational basketball mind would have traded Pau Gasol for Randolph straight-up, which is what appeared to be the case at the time.

But few, even amongst Memphis fans, could have predicted the connection the city would have with Randolph and how that would change him. Though I have no proof, I feel confident in saying that Randolph in a Grizzlies uniform doesn’t work in Vancouver—which as a side note, was another Grizzlies move widely panned (moving from Vancouver to NBA’s smallest market) that worked out wonderfully for the NBA (see how these moves are all connected?). Randolph, along with Tony Allen, embraced Memphis’ blue collar work ethic, which became the culture by which this team operates.

It is, perhaps, the only location in the NBA where this roster could thrive, and that stands as a testament to the city and its wonderful fans.

The Mike Conley extension

Mike Conley was the no. 4 overall pick in the draft, so there were some expectations in place for him to succeed. But headed to the end of his rookie contract Conley was seriously underperforming relative to those expectations.

When the Memphis Grizzlies announced Conley’s contract extension it prompted CBS blogger and huge Grizzlies enthusiast Matt Moore to write a column with the headline: GRIZZLIES COMMIT FRANCHISE SUICIDE, EXTEND CONLEY. The post has since been removed, but the sentiment was the same everywhere and I’ll refer you to Kelly Dwyer’s post over at Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie, who touches on Moore’s column:

“Bidding against absolutely nobody, they signed Conley to a deal that will have him making eight figures over the last couple years of its existence. That alone should make your hair stand on end. And as Moore pointed out, there is absolutely nothing in Conley’s game nor at-best potential that should allow for anyone to think that he should even approach an average salary, something that would pay him about half of what he’s due to make in a few years.”

That albatross of a contract appears to be a bargain now, and that Conley against Tony Parker no longer seems like an overwhelming mismatch speaks of how much Conley has grown since receiving his contract. And if the Grizzlies had faith in anything, perhaps it was his work ethic and the team’s culture, but those aren’t tangible qualities that would have had them competing with suitors for Conley at that price.

And the rest of the horrible, terrible, no good, very bad decisions…

Every front office makes a mistake or two, or three. Often times just one of these can cripple a franchise for years to come. And yet, the Grizzlies have made some of the most questionable moves this side of David Kahn. And they’ve thrived.

Trading Kevin Love for O.J. Mayo (which admittedly looks a lot worse now than it did then), picking Hasheem Thabeet with the no. 2 overall pick in a draft with James Harden, Ricky Rubio, and Stephen Curry still available (if it’s any consolation, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets at the beginning of the season, making it two teams that have kept Thabeet over Harden).

Teams that pass up or trade even one franchise player—and from the looks of it Curry and Harden appear to be as much while Rubio looks to be, at the very least, special—aren’t supposed to contend for championships. They’re supposed to turn into the Milwaukee Bucks of the world, trading the draft rights to Dirk Nowitzki for rotation filler and wondering the desert of mediocrity for the next decade as penance.

And yet here are the Grizzlies in spite of all this. Hell, maybe even because of it. Maybe there’s something to an island of misfit toys that no one else wanted finding sanctity in each other and in a city the NBA underestimated.

Rubio and love never made the playoffs while Harden was eliminated in the first round by the team that had Thabeet. Stephen Curry and the Warriors were eliminated by the very Spurs the Grizzlies will be playing, coached by a man who publicly called into question the sanity of the trade that ignited everything the Grizzlies have built today. A trade that helped Memphis upset these Spurs just two years earlier in the first round.

I’m not sure what to make of this other than great things often come from humble beginnings. Going back to 2008, the Memphis rebuilding plan made about as much sense as investing in lottery tickets, right down to the odds for success.

And yet, here are your Memphis Grizzlies, gritting and grinding and generally living life as the greatest team that was ever poorly constructed. Everyone questioned how they got here, but no one denies that they’ve arrived.

Jesse Blanchard writes for Project Spurs and ESPN San Antonio. You can find him on Twitter at @blanchardJRB.

Sacramento Kings stay: Community congregates at city hall to celebrate today

2013-05-17T22:11:45Z

Nearly five months to the day that a deal to sell and move the Sacramento Kings to Seattle was announced, the community once again gathered this morning at city hall. Not to announce an ambitious effort to keep the Kings, but this time to celebrate victory.

Here are some notable quotes and images of those who spoke at today’s gathering at city hall chambers this morning.

Mayor Kevin Johnson

While there are a lot of people to thank, and I’ll be able to do that over the next few days, today is about one big thank you, and that’s to the fans and community of Sacramento. The fans – you never gave up, you never lost hope, you supported us. The owners that stepped up, the people who are here today is why the owners stepped up. Our new ownership group is because of what you did. They know how deep your love is for the Kings and this community. Every time we fell down, the fans, you picked us up. And you said keep fighting, you said we can do it, our voices will be heard, we will not be ignored. The fans of Sacramento – this is your moment, truly your moment. The NBA supported our work because of you. The owners came together and stepped up because they knew what you could do as a community. And I never stopped fighting because you wouldn’t let me, so thank you for not giving up.

California State Senator Darrell Steinberg (D)

No one else could’ve taken a situation where we were, okay it is basketball, we’re 15 points down in the fourth quarter with about five minutes left to play and engineered the kind of comeback that leads us here today than Kevin Johnson. Incredible.

California State Senator Ted Gaines (R)

I’m very excited about the fact that we’ve had season tickets for I think 26 years and I now have six children. I’m done, not having anymore. But my children are going to have the opportunity to be season ticket holders here in Sacramento. It’s because of Kevin Johnson, the leadership team behind me, the locals in Sacramento that have stepped up with money and the diverse nature of the investment group that helped this all come together.

Sacramento Councilman Allen Warren

Yesterday and last night we jumped some very significant hurdles, but we cannot lose sight of what’s yet to come. We still have to build this facility downtown. We want it to be a world-class facility. We want it to set the standard for the NBA. We have a leadership group that I believe will be trendsetters. We have a lot of confidence in our investors and the owners of our team. We have had a tremendous amount of unity around this issue. And as the mayor just requested of both Senator Steinberg and Senator Gaines, we need to take that energy and move that throughout our community to other things as well. There are a lot of things that need attention here in this city and let’s let this be the catalyst. Let’s continue to build.

Sacramento City Manager John Shirey

You know, we’ve used a lot of sports metaphors here this morning. We’ve talked about “come-from-behind”, “playing catch-up”. I think those are actually understating the situation. We easily forget that there was a time when we didn’t even know the game was being played. We had to find out about the game and show up with our pickup crew and show who’s really king of the court.

West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon

When someone casts doubt on the progress that we have to make on this complex project, delivering this on time, on budget for the people of this community and this region, remember how you feel now. Remember the steadfast leadership that Mayor Johnson has provided on this project when almost everyone else – thankfully not 80 percent all at once – but when almost everyone else wasn’t so sure, he did. He believed. He knew the heart of this community. He knew our assets and he knew how to win and he did.

New Kings co-owner Mark Friedman

There are a lot of people who are responsible for this moment. The mayor has mentioned Vivek Ranadivé and the extraordinary ownership group that he’s put together. I can’t wait for you to get to know them the way that I have. We’ve got leaders in software development, leaders in telecommunications, leaders in social media. And I know that they’re committed to give you a winning team, to give you the kind of digitally-connected arena that will be a model for the rest of the world.

Carmichael Dave

It’s the dawn of a new day. This is the moment when we all laid our heads on the pillow every night and you get that happy thought in your head, this is it and it’s better than we thought. You know, “Here We Buy” is gonna be “Here We Bought”, “Here We Build” is going to be “Here We Built”, “Crown Downtown” is going to be “Downtown Crowned” and “Here We Stay” is “Here We Stayed”. You guys did it. I love you all and I’m so proud to be a member of this phenomenal community.

Ben Hansbrough before his big shot

2013-05-17T21:17:29Z

Pacers coach Frank Vogel must have known the first question he’d hear from the media assembled at MSG for Knicks-Pacers Game 5 would concern concussed point guard George Hill.

How would the Pacers replace their best ballhandler and distributor?

He was ready with a response.

D.J. Augstin would start in Hill’s place, but replacing him would be a group effort, a group that included rarely used rookie Ben Hansbrough. Not only would Hansbrough be the backup point, but Vogel said “We could still play Ben and D.J. together. Ben is not just looked at as a backup for D.J.. If you play Lance Stephenson as the backup one, you need to replace your wing minutes because Lance is going to play less at wing. Your options go to Orlando Johnson, Gerald Green, Sam Young in extended minutes. We could even use Ben and a smaller guard to counter their two point guard attack.”

Did you hear that?!

Ben Hansbrough was going to get real minutes, not this garbage time stuff.

Flash back two years, and Ben is the reigning Big East Player of the Year. After his stellar senior campaign in South Bend, the Notre Dame point guard seemed like a lock to make the league, and stay on as a backup combo guard with real range. I shamelessly, relentlessly promoted this possibility on Twitter.

That future never came to be. Instead, Hansbrough went to play in Germany for Bayern Munich. Ben couldn’t get on the court, and there was speculation he couldn’t get on with his coach at Bayern, and was released midway through the season. As Eurobasket put it:

Sometimes even when there seems to be a positive trend in the play with a player, it doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is blooming like a beautiful moon flower blooming in moonlight.

So true. Ben hopped over to Slovenia and Krka Novo Mesto, but didn’t even last a month before leaving for personal reasons.

All that didn’t matter as Hansbrough warmed up before Game 5. The rest of the Pacers had long left the court, but Hansbrough’s lingered to find the zone. As he worked through a series of ball screen moves against invisible defense, you could see him conjuring Tyson Chandler’s outstretched arms as he lofted running hooks off the backboard and softly through the net.

Hansbrough stepped back behind phantom screens, setting his feet before releasing a pure jumper. “This kind of thing could actually give the Knicks some trouble,” I thought to myself.

At the end of Game 5, Hansbrough walked off the court at Madison Square Garden without so much as breaking a sweat or squeaking a sneaker. He never played. The expectation and earnest intensity that had filled the otherwise empty half court during his warmup was all in vain. Had Vogel purposefully fed the media some misinformation?

When I went to the Pacers locker room to ask him if had believed he would play, Hansbrough was already dressed and gone.

Three hours earlier, just before terminating his warmup, Hansbrough called for the assistant coach working with him to feed him for one last jumper. Hansbrough caught, and with mechanical precision, snapped off one last swish.

The ball rolled back to him and he spiked it with his fist. Hansbrough jogged back to the lockerroom, ready for a moment that never came.

Follow @BeckleyMason

Why the Miami Heat recycle

2013-05-17T20:06:58Z

Rick Havner/Getty Images MIAMI -- Erik Spoelstra laughed at the question. The coach was asked at Heat practice on Friday if he feels pity for the video coordinators these days. After all, they have to prepare not one, but two, full scouting reports, one for the New York Knicks and one for the Indiana Pacers, because the Heat still don't know who they're playing in the Eastern Conference Finals. Actually, it's possible that the idle Heat won't know who they're playing until Monday night ahead of Game 1, which starts on Wednesday.

Should the Thunder amnesty Kendrick Perkins?

2013-05-17T19:54:57Z

NBAE/Getty Images

When the Thunder’s season ended in Oklahoma City on Wednesday night, fans chanted “O-K-C! O-K-C!” as players walked off the floor.

But as one clever person tweeted at me, he thought they were chanting “Am-ne-sty! Am-ne-sty!”

The Thunder’s big offseason question, other than what happens with Kevin Martin, is if they should use their amnesty provision on Kendrick Perkins. Perk was asked yesterday about his future with the Thunder and he said it this way: “I’m pretty sure I’ll be back next year.” And I agree with him. Here’s why, and it has less to do with Perk as a player and more about the simple economics: It doesn’t make sense. When has the Thunder done anything that didn’t at least make some rational sense? (Don’t say say drafting Byron Mullens and don’t say signing Perk to an extension sight-unseen.)

But it doesn’t make sense because of the money, and because it doesn’t really fix anything.

(A refresh for those that don’t know what exactly the amnesty clause is than that thing your boyfriend is always yelling at the TV when Perk sets an illegal screen. It’s a one-time get-out-of-jail-not-free-at-all device that allows a team to cut a player, while still having to pay out his remaining contract. The reason you do it though is because the player’s contract comes off your cap number, thus freeing you to sign someone else or avoid the luxury tax. For a player to be eligible, he has to have been on your roster when the new CBA was signed.)

I already linked it in today’s Bolts but a reader sent an email to Berry Tramel giving a pretty ideal explanation as to why it doesn’t make a lot of sense. To the blockquote:

But the Thunder would not create any room under the cap by waiving Perkins. And Perkins is far from a questionable character (he’s welcome at my dinner table anytime). And while overcompensated for his skill at this point, he’s nowhere near the stage of a Baron Davis or Darko Milicic. So that leaves the question of tax savings.

Let’s assume (though we can never know, can we?) that the Thunder don’t do anything wild between now and after the draft. They could find themselves mildly in tax territory just by drafting with the picks they will have. Even if they wound up, say, $4 million over the tax line (a very high estimate), that would be a tax of $6 million. Does it make sense to spend $9 million (in Year 1 and over $18 million overall) to save $6 million? I’d have a hard time justifying that.

Only they wouldn’t really save that. It stands to reason that OKC would need to sign someone to replace him. The Thunder could always adopt a smaller starting lineup next season by moving Ibaka to the 5 (center) and KD to the 4 (power forward), but that’s going to require either a new coach or a major philosophical programming change in Scott Brooks.

So who’s going to be available this summer in terms of a true center? Let’s logically eliminate Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum and Nik Pekovic. That leaves folks like Zaza Pachulia. Old friend Byron Mullins. Chris Kaman. Timofey Mozgov (an admittedly intriguing idea a year ago). Tiago Splitter. That’s about it before you start moving from questionable ideas to very questionable ideas. Do any of those ideas move the needle at all? And if you do that, now you’re spending $13-$15 million on the center position next season with little to no improvement over what you would have had.

So that’s really well put. One little addendum though: If you amnesty a player, he goes on waivers. If someone were stupid enough to fully claim him, then that team would be on the hook for that $18 million Perk is owed, and the Thunder would no longer be. The likely thing is someone puts in a partial claim, basically a bid. Say it was for $4 million for one year. The Thunder would still be on the hook for about $15 million. Basically, the Thunder would have to owe the remainder of Perk’s contract, minus what his new team is paying him. So it’s not likely to actually be the full $18 million. Got it?

If the Thunder cut Perk, they’ll have to replace him. It’s a chic thing to say the Thunder “need a post presence,” and while everyone in the league would like the best possible players at each position, the Thunder’s offense was pretty darn good as assembled this season. So you have to ask yourself: What’s better that’s currently available? If you genuinely think Zaza Pachulia or Johan Petro is, then you’ve gone so far in your Perk hate that you can’t be saved.

But the overreaching point is that the Thunder would be paying money for someone to go away. Which is obviously in contrast of the culture and philosophy of the organization. We’ve seen it with James Harden and Eric Maynor and others — Presti doesn’t like for a player to walk for nothing. And in this case, the player wouldn’t only be walking for nothing, you’d be paying him to walk.

(Sidebar I want to stress: There’s this myth that not amnestying Perk had some kind of impact on the Thunder not re-signing James Harden. That’s one of the most incorrect and misunderstood things passed around and dropped in columns and blog posts everywhere. Amnestying Perk last summer had zero impact on Harden’s extension. Because while using the amnesty on Perk would’ve helped alleviate tax concerns, it wouldn’t have mattered one bit this season. Because Harden’s extension doesn’t start until the 2013-14 season. So like Ibaka this season, Harden was still playing under his rookie scale deal, which means Perk’s contract had zero impact. Can you be sure to pass this around to everyone you know so that we can put an end to this?)

So what are the Thunder’s options with Perk? I see five:

1) Trade him. But if the Thunder are so desperate to be rid of him, who really would want him? Plus, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but he’s owed close to $19 million over the next two seasons. And no, a traded player cannot be amnestied. So if the Thunder were going to deal Perk, it would have to be part of a larger deal, either with a draft pick or a young player like Jeremy Lamb or Perry Jones. Is it worth giving up that just to dump Perk off? It would be if the deal involved a good replacement big, but what really is there? And don’t say Gortat.

2) Bench him. Give him the Andris Biedrins treatment. The Warriors signed Biedrins to a pretty terrible extension (six years, $63 million) and after recognizing he’s kind of a horrible player, they just decided to not multiply the problem by playing him. Here’s the thing with this option though: Though some don’t want to believe it, especially right now, Perk is a much better player than Biedrins.

3) Adjust the philosophy. Use Perk as a well paid specialist. You’ve got to play him some to keep him in shape, but don’t get completely married to him in the starting five every night and playing 25 minutes a game. The NBA is going small and fast more and interior post defenders aren’t near as valuable as they were even four years ago. The Thunder could play Serge Ibaka at center, Durant at power forward and live with that a whole lot more.

4) Stick with the same thing. Brooks is famously stubborn so prepare yourself for 82 more games of grumbling. But here’s the thing with Perk: As the Thunder’s starting center, OKC won 60 games and finished with the second best offense and fourth best defense in the league. If he’s as terrible as some say, would that have really been possible with him playing 25 minutes a game? And don’t forget this part of it: Everyone’s yelling at Perk as if he’s the reason the Thunder failed in the second round of the playoffs. I’m sorry, was he the one that tore Russell Westbrook’s meniscus? I forget. Things are viewed in a much different lens had the Thunder been healthy this postseason and were currently storming their way back to the Finals. There would still be Perk gripes, but his deficiencies, especially those on the offensive end, wouldn’t be near as exposed.

5) Use the lottery pick on a big man and start grooming him as Perk’s replacement in two years. Rudy Gobert, Gorgui Dieng, Kelly Olynyk, Cody Zeller, Mason Cole Aldrich Plumlee — there are some decent options.

Perk said yesterday that Russ “gives everybody swag,” including Scott Brooks, KD and himself. Check this: In the regular season, Perk only averaged 1.6 minutes per game without Westbrook on the floor, 24.6 with him on the floor. And with Westbrook on the floor with him, Perk was an average +10.1 per 100 possessions. So in a lot of ways, Westbrook did give Perk his swagger, or at least, helped him look better. That’s called being part of a team.

Again, Perk’s postseason was really bad. Historically so. He bumbled, he stumbled, he did horrible things. He couldn’t finish simple plays, he didn’t do what he’s paid to do (defend an elite big guy) and he sure didn’t rebound. The Thunder were better off tying him to the Gatorade bucket than letting him on the floor. He’s paid to defend big guys and he didn’t do anything, outside of Game 1, to slow down Marc Gasol. Can’t defend that, even a little bit.

Though I will add this: The PER number everyone is throwing around is a bit skewed from how bad that Houston series was in terms of matchup. He had no one to guard and the game was so spread that he really had no business ever being on the floor. That’s not really his fault, though. That’s more on Scott Brooks. You can’t tell your dog to cook you dinner and yell at him when he can’t. Perk is like Liam Neeson, except not really — he has a very particular set of skills. Problem is, in the current NBA world, those skills are becoming less and less valuable. When Perk was acquired, the Lakers were just coming off a title where their twin towers and the Triangle had led the way. OKC was eliminated at the hands of it. So with that power structure set up, it was obvious OKC needed something to defend the Lakers and their Triangle.

But I don’t think the Perk that Presti signed to an extension is the Perk that Presti thought he was signing. The Perk he signed was one coming off a serious ACL injury, but one that in the year previous had averaged 10.1 points and 7.6 rebounds, and had led the league in dunks. Perk battled injury last postseason with a torn groin and a ripped up wrist. Good excuses for him. This postseason, he was healthy. If I were him, I’d undergo back surgery or something tomorrow just for PR’s sake.

I think the move for the Thunder is to keep Perk, but adjust the philosophy, while grooming his future replacement. It’s hard not to be a prisoner of the moment with the recent images of Perk dropping rebounds and throwing away inbounds passes, but he played some pretty good games this season. Remember his February and March? He was really productive and played very nice defense. Statistically speaking per Synergy (which isn’t the end-all, by any stretch), Perk had defensive numbers on par with Defensive Player of the Year Marc Gasol. He’s a tremendous screener and brings a spirit to the team that I think think really strengthens them.

People love to scream “amnesty Perk!” because he’s an easy target and it feels good to pin problems there. I think a lot of the people that yell for the amnesty don’t really understand what it even means, or what would happen because of it. It’s like Brick in Anchorman. It’s not simply cutting a guy without repercussion. It’s a move that can be helpful, but isn’t really to be done just because you think a player is bad. There are a lot more factors to it.

It isn’t a popular opinion among frustrated Thunder fans right now, I realize. And I know that some are going to characterize this as a defense of Perk. I absolutely love the guy, and I still think he helps a healthy Thunder team. He’s got his drawbacks, he was a major disappointment in the playoffs and he does bad things that make you want to jump in the ocean wearing a swimsuit made of chum.

But like the man himself said, I don’t think he’s going anywhere soon.

Martell Webster in 2012-13 with the Wizards: A Freak Occurrence in an Unsettled Atmosphere

2013-05-17T20:10:43Z

[Wizards 2012-13 Player Reviews from the TAI crew are going down; let's reflect---
index so far: Jannero Pargo, Jason Collins, Shaun Livingston, Shelvin Mack, Cartier Martin, Earl Barron, Jan Vesely, Chris Singleton, Trevor Booker, Garrett Temple, Emeka Okafor, Trevor Ariza.]

Martell Webster

6-7 : Height
210 lbs. : Weight
26 : Age
8 : Years NBA Experience
3 : NBA Teams

Signed by the Wizards as a free agent Aug. 29, 2012.

Time as a Wizard in 2012-13

76 : Games
62 : Starts
2,200 : Minutes

1.45 out of 3 stars

Average Truth About It.net DC Council Game Rating
{Webster evaluated over 66 games}

13.9 PER

NBA historical PER contribution equivalent:
maybe Nick Anderson for the 1996-97 Orlando Magic (13.8)
maybe Ronnie Brewer for the 2010-11 Chicago Bulls (13.8),
maybe Willie Anderson for the 1991-92 San Antonio Spurs (13.8)

.138 Win Shares/48 Minutes

NBA historical WS/48 contribution equivalent:
maybe Scottie Pippen for the 1999-00 Portland Trailblazers (.137),
maybe Peja Stojakovic for the 2004-05 Sacramento Kings (.137),
maybe Bob Dandridge for the 1972-73 Milwaukee Bucks (.136)

With Martell Webster on the Court…

The Wizards offense scored 4.7 points more per 100 possessions (OffRtg)
The Wizards defense allowed 1.5 points more per 100 possessions (DefRtg)
Plus/Minus per 48 minutes: minus-0.7

Numbers : Per 36 Minutes

14.2 : Points
4.8 : Rebounds
0.3 : Blocks
0.8 : Steals
2.3 : Assists
1.5 : Turnovers
2.7 : Fouls

1.06 PPP

Webster had 806 offensive possessions with the Wizards that ended with a FGA, TO or FTs, and he scored 1.06 Points Per Possession (PPP) on those, ranked 21st in the NBA (via Synergy Sports Technology). Defensively, he allowed 0.87 PPP over 668 possessions, ranked 196th.

Shooting

44.2% Field Goals (281-636)
42.2% 3-Pointers (139-329)
84.8% Free Throws (168-198)

[stats via NBA.com/stats and Basketball-Reference.com]

#9

Martell Webster in 2012-13 with the Wizards:
A Freak Occurrence in an Unsettled Atmosphere

by Sean Fagan (@McCarrick)

Martell Webster is the type of player Ernie Grunfeld has spent years attempting to acquire, but never with much success. When signed by the Wizards, Webster appeared to be a traditional Grunfeld “value pickup,” a guy who came out in a slightly glutted free agent market and had been too dinged up in the recent past to take more than a flyer on. These types of moves had worked before to some degree (see: Stevenson, DeShawn) or had been semi-spectacular failures (see: Yi Jianlian—traded for, not a FA, but you get the point). At most, the Wizards were hoping to get a guy who could sop up the minutes that Trevor Ariza wasn’t taking and provide a safety valve in case Chris Singleton didn’t work out.

However, a funny thing happened on the way to the lottery. Webster not only blew up during the season, setting career-highs in just about every category, but he also displaced the incumbent starter, Ariza, when it became painfully aware that effort from Ariza would only come in fits and starts. Webster also became the go-to quote in the locker room in the early season after excruciating losses and the rare victory. However, there was a difference between Webster’s “on the record” exhortations and those of former Wizards spokesmen, such as Josh Howard or the “Captain” Andray Blatche. Webster, for one, was more in tune with the dynamic of his team and spoke of each situation in a realistic manner that provided ballast, unlike the ridiculous proclamations of players like Blatche, who would still be talking about playoffs after a fifth straight regular season-loss. Unlike Howard, Webster could get better effort out of his teammates because he was actually on the court playing. Thus, if he called out a poor effort, he was putting the blame squarely on himself and the team rather than deflecting it. He became both a media and fan-favorite, all through the strength of playing within himself and within Randy Wittman’s system.

The return of John Wall only reinforced Webster’s value to the team. Webster, in only one season, was everything that Nick Young wasn’t during his entire time with the Wizards. Webster, like Young, could hit the corner spot up 3-pointer that John Wall loves to initiate, but he could also keep the ball moving and help facilitate the offense. For a player essentially playing for a huge payday, Webster never became the black hole that he had every opportunity to morph into, and he rarely complained when he was lifted for defensive purposes for the more frenetic Ariza.

Now comes the difficult question, what are the above contributions worth to the Washington Wizards? Webster is somewhere between a stopgap solution at the wing and the long-term solution that the Wizards desperately need. However, to not resign him would be be another shot across the bow of Wizards fans. For Wizards diehards, not re-signing Webster would be a crime akin to not re-signing James Singleton or other hardworking players—only magnified by a multiple of a thousand. Of course, there is also the distinct possibility that Webster could become another Stevenson, great for one year before returning to the norm. The problem with having a breakout year after quite a few years in the league is that the term “outlier” begins to get thrown around a lot. (Even if Webster has seemingly overcome back issues in Washington.) The Wizards may have already mined all the gold from Webster and to re-sign him would be to expect lighting to strike twice.

At the end of the day, Webster serves as a potent example of how poor the Wizards’ player development system has been and how much of a desperate situation they have put themselves in by only signing him for one year (even if they didn’t really have a choice otherwise). Webster himself suggested that the Wizards trade their upcoming pick for another veteran, knowing full well his value to the team and that the only positional depth in the draft is a strong forward. Without any young Wizards ready to step up, and with Washington’s recent draft history, one has to hope that Grunfeld goes out into a thunderstorm with a kite.

Unveiling the Wizard

[Pre-Feast: Okafor, Webster & Nene - via instagram/martellwebster]

The Winning And The Waiting (or Bring On The Spurs!)

2013-05-17T19:34:18Z

Going into last night’s Spurs-Warriors game, and I had two ways of looking about things. Part of me thought I should clearly be pulling for the Warriors. Not only would a Game 7 give the Grizzlies a major advantage in terms of rest, but on the off chance the Warriors had actually came back and won the series, they’d be a less scary opponent than San Antonio. Another part of me just wanted it to be over. We were obviously going to play the Spurs, and the sooner that would become fact, the happier I’d be.

The basketball gods chose the second option. Klay Thompson and Steph Curry both barely missed key threes in the final two minutes, while Tony Parker – who had been struggling all game – hit two big ones from downtown to clinch the series. So, it’s settled. Grizzlies. Spurs. Game 1 on Sunday afternoon.

It makes almost too much sense that the Grizzlies are playing San Antonio next. In the first two rounds, they’ve exacted revenge on the teams who dispatched them in 2011 and 2012, now the first team the Grizzlies ever won a playoff series against looks to even the score themselves. We have two more days to bask in the joy of knowing that the Memphis Grizzlies actually are in the Western Conference Finals before Game 1 tips off and we go back to the grind.

The Spurs won’t be an easy opponent. After struggling through the first two games of the Warriors series, the idea of “maybe they’re too old” came up once again. They responded by stepping up their game thoroughly, and basically dominating the rest of the series. It really doesn’t matter what age Tim Duncan, he’s still going to be extremely tough to stop. Thankfully, the Grizzlies have the rare defense that is up to the task. Make no mistake, the duel between Duncan and Marc in this series is going to be amazing.

In each of the first two rounds, the Grizzlies were faced with the task of overcoming a superstar player. They were able to handle Chris Paul and Kevin Durant in impressive fashion, rarely letting either one take over a game by himself. The Spurs lack any individual player as dominant as KD or CP3, but Duncan and Tony Parker both come pretty close, while Manu Ginobili continues to be one of the best 6th men in the league.

This will be a tough series because the Grizzlies are finally facing a team who is just as good at being a team is they are. The Clippers lean heavily on CP3 and Blake, while the Thunder were lost without Westbrook, basically asking Durant to do everything. The Spurs are not like that. They are a monument to cohesion, as they play the game as beautifully as any team in the league. The goal of the Grizzlies will be to disrupt that; to keep Danny Green and Gary Neal from being wide open for easy threes; to keep Tony Parker from somehow getting to the hoop by himself, to keep the Spurs from getting into that groove that makes them impossible to defend.

This is going to be a great series. Can the Grizzlies win? Absolutely. But it’s going to be very tough. Another five-game series would be nice, but I expect the Spurs to be tougher than that, to give the Grizzlies the best challenge they’ve had yet. Enjoy the next 45 hours, folks, because on Sunday afternoon, it’s about to get intense.

NYRR Brooklyn Half 2013 (AD)

2013-05-17T19:08:40Z

The Brooklyn Game

The post NYRR Brooklyn Half 2013 (AD) appeared first on The Brooklyn Game.

Brain Injuries and When George Hill Will Play Next

2013-05-17T18:34:04Z

I’ve got to plead some ignorance when it comes to both head injuries and the NBA’s new(ish) concussion protocol. I didn’t know much about either before this morning. I’m still no expert, but, ya know, baby steps.

Like many people, I read Malcolm Gladwell’s 2009 New Yorker piece on concussions and recoiled in horror. Since then, I have watched the science develop from afar, my relationship with football growing more morally ambivalent, my understanding of brain trauma evolving with time, my agony at hearing the news of a player suicide recurring too often.

When I heard that Junior Seau killed himself, time froze.

Not Junior.

I was a 49ers fan growing up (still am), and the 1994 team — with Deion and Merton Hanks doing that swag stuff, before we knew it was a word, before it became the new-millenium “gnarly” — was my favorite thing ever. I’m surprised I didn’t wind up in the hospital with a snapped neck trying to do that Merton Hanks dance in my bedroom.

The only aspect of their Super Bowl rout over the Chargers that bothered me was that it happened to Junior.

I was such a fan.

Who wasn’t?

I was an offense guy before that, a Jerry Rice guy, first and foremost. Ronnie Lott was my dude, too, but that 1994 Niners squad turned me. It was the final kick I needed to care more about the grimier side of the ball, although it was somewhat ironic that it took that All-World eleven-man combo, playing with such flash, to push me over.

But two guys, other than Lott, laid the foundation the proceded that switch: Derrick Thomas and Junior Seau. I was a little young for prime L.T., so it was those two linebackers that started to make me see why defense mattered more.

If you know the NFL, you know what happened to D.T.

Car crash. Tragedy. Such a loss.

I remember being happy that him and Joe Montana got to play together at least. I rooted for Joe and Derrick to make the Super Bowl after the best QB in history left the Bay.

But to see Junior’s untimely passing, so young, too?

Man. Kick to the gut.

It was just over a year ago. I was in Miami, attending a business convention about weather. Three days later, I would drive four hours north to watch the Pacers beat the Magic in Orlando in round one of the playoffs. I remember thinking about Junior, and more his mom, her soul wailing on live television, during that long drive, alone, whipping a rental at 90 through the dull Florida swampland, hoping to shave enough minutes off of the commute to make it in time to listen to Stan Van Gundy speak to the media before the two o’clock tip.

(I made it. He was funny and Van Gundyian. The Pacers almost collapsed but won in overtime. The Magic have a nice arena. I enjoyed the trip.)

This is all preamble to say that my understanding of concussions is little, and my emotional reaction to them is large. In the past year, I’ve seen a few 60 Minutes-type pieces, read a few magazine features and tried to keep up on the phenomenal work my bros Beckley Mason and Henry Abbott have done on basketball-related concussions over at TrueHoop.

But, mostly, my outlook on concussions has more to do with the memory of watching Junior Seau’s mom fall to pieces on live TV last May than it has to do with actual knowledge of how the human brain is affected by blunt-force trauma.

Like a good little pretend journalist, however, I’ve tried to do my research on the matter before trying to add any insight to the George Hill situation.

After suffering a concussion when colliding with a Tyson Chandler screen during the first quarter of Game 4 (video of the play above), he was a late scratch from yesterday’s attempted close-out game against the Knicks. The Pacers proceeded to play like a team that lost the only reliable point guard on their roster.

It was gross basketball that I did not care to watch. It was a laughable display of turnovers, really.

The team seems to badly need Hill. If he can’t play, that significantly ups the likelihood that the Knicks can pull off an improbable come back after trailing 3-1 in this series.

It’s bad news.

But while I get that basketball is not football, mostly, it’s bad news for George Hill.

Not the Indiana Pacers. Not the Indiana Pacers fans.

Again, I don’t know crap about crap when it comes to brain trauma, but I’m a precautionary principle guy through and through, so my instincts tell me that, if Hill isn’t 100 percent, he shouldn’t be playing basketball in the next few days. Maybe not in the next few weeks.

This series is a giant moment for the Pacers franchise, but this is a man’s brain health. That’s not about walking around with pain in your knee everyday when you’re 54 years old. It’s a lot bigger.

That said, we have no idea how severe this concussion was. As I’ve come to understand it, since he flew to New York and went through shootaround and was walking around the arena and talking to people before the game, that means his symptoms were likely mild. But, as I’ve come to understand it, the lack of severity of symptoms doesn’t necessarily mean the recovery time will be shorter than it would be if the symptoms were more limiting.

Like all injuries, brain injuries heal with rest. How much Hill needs to recover is a great unknown, certainly to me, almost definitely to him and probably even to the doctors giving him medical advice.

Looking at other players’ recovery times seems problematic, because brain health seems like perhaps the most unique-to-an-individual type of health there is. (Again, no M.D. Just guessing on that.)

Nevertheless, here is a graphic ESPN put together on time missed by a few NBA players who have suffered concussions.

Again, take this with a grain of salt. None of the names on that list are “George Hill,” and none suffered his specific injury. Medical science has not reached the point where this equates to the typical “meniscus tear: four to six weeks” prognosis for recovery.

Here is some related recovery information that Abbott and Mason compiled for TrueHoop.

In the concussions-focused documentary “Head Games,” Douglas Smith, a neuroscientist from the University of Pennsylvania, cautions that “15 or so percent of people with a single concussion have persisting cognitive dysfunction, meaning they don’t go back to school or to work or just carry on life the way they had it. They have long-term, persisting problems after one concussion.”

In a presentation at the University of Michigan, Kutcher says skipping the proper care is a mistake: “The biggest risk is their injury is going to be a lot more complicated. … Instead of a seven-day concussion, it’s going to be a seven-week concussion. Instead of two weeks, it’s going to be six months.”

This is scary stuff.

Brian Scalabrine, who suffered three concussions in one month, shared his story of recovery with Mason for TrueHoop.

The story is I got hit in the head and more than likely I would have sat out the entire year … except that [Kevin] Garnett was out with the little knee thing he had, then Leon Powe tears his ACL.

So we’re sitting there playing Chicago in the first round and at that point I go back to “I don’t care if I’m 70 percent, I don’t care if I’m 50 percent, I have an opportunity right now to play in the playoffs.”

The only two bigs we had were [Kendrick] Perkins and Big Baby [Glen Davis]. I was the third rotational big man, and I got a chance to play a ton of minutes in the playoffs. So I said, Hey, the long-term repercussions of this, I’ll deal with later. I’m going to push through and play.

Game 5 Feelings, Meme Styley

2013-05-17T18:43:15Z

Friday Forum

2013-05-17T18:24:30Z

The playoffs continue to roll with the Memphis Grizzlies heading for a down and dirty showdown with the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. For the Los Angeles Lakers, the story continues to be whether Dwight Howard will or won’t resign and how to fill in the gaps around a core group of expensive veterans. General wisdom holds that Lakers need to preserve the ability to rebuild during the 2014-15 season when Kobe and Pau’s contracts come off the books. The new CBA doesn’t give much wiggle room regardless – the upcoming season poses the challenge of fielding a supporting cast through the team’s own free agents, the mini mid-level exception, veteran minimum deals, the 49^th pick in the 2013 draft and any potential Pau Gasol trade.

Jovan Buha for ESPN’s Lakers Index writes about Lakers under and not under contract and who could fill in the gaps on one-year deals.

Drew Garrison from Silver Screen and Roll takes a look at free agent Raja Bell, an affordable veteran who hasn’t played in over a year.

The Kamenetzky Brothers’ latest podcast at the Land O’Lakers covers the Dwight scenario and the likelihood that it could be a long summer of waiting.

Chuck Schiliken for the LATimes writes about the highest-paid athlete in Los Angeles and fourth-highest in the nation, one Kobe Bryant.

Mike Trudell from the official Lakers blog offers a player capsule for Jodie Meeks. The shooter has a team option for the upcoming season for $1.55 million.

Finally, a cool article by Alex Wong aka Steven Lebron for TSFJ about Kobe’s musical musings.

***

Most of the recent stories about Derek Fisher have centered on his continuing quest to win one more ring. With the Thunder now embarking on their summer vacation, Fish’s last best shot may have passed. He’ll be 39 in August and will no doubt continue to be a free agent news item until he finally makes it official and hangs them up for good. The reports of Billy Hunter’s new lawsuit against Fish and other interested parties brings us back to a different but all too familiar saga. Hunter is seeking to prove in a court of law that Fisher circumvented the bounds of his own contract by negotiating secretly with handpicked NBA owners.

There’s a couple obvious hurdles that Billy Hunter has to cross. For starters, the NBA lockout and resulting negotiations were hardly a matter of secrecy. The whole mess was covered in excruciating detail not only by sports outlets but by the national media on whole. The players association was joined in its efforts by some of the heaviest hitters in the fields of mediation and litigation, namely George Cohen and David Boies. The association ultimately disbanded and filed anti-trust suits which achieved the desired result of forcing the owners back to the bargaining table. Whether the final agreement was good for the players or the NBA in general is debatable. One of the linchpins of the case however, is a claim that an unnamed NBA player and his representative called Hunter on October 27, 2011 to apprise him of a backdoor agreement between Fisher and certain owners.

Does Billy Hunter have a winnable case? Probably not but the Machiavellian quest for revenge and redemption will continue to roll. Hunter will never again serve as the head of the NBPA but his latest legal action is simply the logical extension of a power struggle with long and bitter roots. There will be parties within the association’s executive committee as well as media members with personal motivation who will gladly keep this thing going throughout the summer and well beyond. This lead-out bumper was actually going to continue along the free agency topic – see how easily I get sidetracked?

It’s going to be OK: A 2012-13 Oklahoma City Thunder eulogy

2013-05-17T17:51:58Z

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images

For the first time, the Oklahoma City Thunder have ended a season by taking a step back instead of a leap forward.

And that, for now, is OK.

It’s not OK that Russell Westbrook got hurt. It’s not OK that the Thunder were unable to come up with a competent plan (on the fly) without him. It wasn’t OK to watch Kevin Durant struggle to 5-of-21 shooting and miss free throws in a closeout game — that felt worse than watching an endless YouTube video of defenseless puppies being kicked with steel-toed boots. It’s not OK that Derek Fisher went from white-hot to ice-cold, that Kendrick Perkins was only able to summon his trademark defense for a few possessions per game, that Serge Ibaka stayed in a slump for far too long, that Nick Collison couldn’t buy a favorable call or that we have no idea if Jeremy Lamb or Perry Jones are going to be useful.

What makes it OK is that the Thunder will still have all they need to be a legitimate contender next season, no matter what happens during the offseason: Durant, Westbrook and work ethic.

Lame platitudes? Overly optimistic? Not really. Even without one of those three components against Memphis, OKC had a chance to win every one of the four games it lost, only to be doomed by preventable mistakes and untimely missed buckets. The Thunder never gave up, fighting until KD’s potentially game-tying shot bounced off the rim in the waning moments, and that kind of mentality doesn’t evaporate in one summer. The preventable mistakes portion of the Grizzlies series will grate for five months — or maybe 11, until the Thunder have a chance to prove they can overcome them in a new round of postseason basketball. But though 2012-13 will go down in Thunder history as a lost season because of the Westbrook injury, absolutely nothing has happened to change the fact the Thunder will be a contender for another 10-15 years as long as Westbrook and Durant are playing in downtown Oklahoma City.

Offseason questions

This offseason will be the most interesting in the Thunder’s short history … since the last one, anyway, with Ibaka and James Harden in their extension-eligible summers. But with Kevin Martin’s impending free agency, a critical summer for Lamb and Jones, the (probably faint, knowing the Thunder brain trust) possibility that Kendrick Perkins will be amnestied, two first-round draft picks (and thus some room for draft day maneuvering as well) and the first remote chance (probably about 2 percent) that the Thunder make an offseason coaching change, a lot can happen between now and October.

Martin said all the right things about possibly willing to take a discount to return to Oklahoma City, which would be the only way he actually does return. But, then again, so did Harden, and we know how that turned out. Lamb and Jones didn’t have the opportunity to show if they have a chance to be impact players on this level, but how hard they work this summer, and the results of that hard work, will be telling — just look at Reggie Jackson’s superb summer in 2012, and the definitive statement during the playoffs that he’s a player worth having around. I would be very surprised, but not shocked, if Perk and Brooks are anywhere but in OKC next season, but that would be a huge departure from the Thunder ethos so far.

But the answers to those questions, to me, seem less relevant than answers to questions facing other players and teams in the Western Conference. I fully expect the Thunder to be a top-two seed in the West almost no matter what happens in Oklahoma City, barring another devastating injury at the worst possible time. Does Dallas or Houston make good use of all that cap space? In a related question, what happens to Chris Paul this summer? Dwight Howard? Will Kobe Bryant be able to return the court in any form resembling the still-deadly player he was for much of this season? Will Memphis find a way to get even deeper? Can Golden State get even better — and will Steph Curry be able to keep his ankles injury-free? Can the Spurs be the Spurs yet again, for the umpteenth time?

The only thing I can be sure of is that some team is going to make a seismic move that will make them the chic pick to win the West — it’s just a question of whether that seismic move will be something like Memphis winning the title or at least giving the Heat a good run, or something like Dallas getting CP3 or Houston getting Dwight. But we know how well the recent offseason champion’s actual season went. Predictions can end up looking pretty stupid.

What I do know is that no matter what happens to those other teams, if Durant and Westbrook are healthy like the basketball gods surely want them to be, OKC will be waiting for them in May.

Burning bright

More than once now, I’ve written a Thunder season eulogy declaring that the future is as bright as it’s ever been, and I still believe that, despite the frustrating way this postseason ended, for the above-stated reasons.

By all accounts, the Thunder’s situation from here on out is more like a powerhouse college football team than an NBA squad: There’s no rebuilding, just reloading. All of Sam Presti’s salary cap gymnastics have been set up to give the Thunder a chance to resemble the Spurs’ last 15 years, not the Lakers’ or Heat’s or anyone else’s. There’s unlikely to be that period like the Lakers had when Kobe was gunning for personal statistics with a weak supporting cast and no real shot at making noise in the playoffs.

There’s no question, this playoff run hurt. But a painful ending has been inevitable, one way or another, ever since the news of Westbrook’s injury broke. There was no doubting it, it was only a question of how far the Thunder could go. In between then and now, we found out that Kevin Durant is capable of reaching heights perhaps even higher than we thought, even if he ran out of gas without his (more-than-a-sidekick) sidekick. We found out that Ibaka was only in a slump that he was able to snap out of, not a guy who crumbled with the extra load on his shoulders. We found out the Thunder’s role players can still step up, even if they weren’t able to do it consistently. And the people dumb enough to doubt Westbrook’s value certainly found out how wrong they were.

To me, this year’s playoff run didn’t hurt any more than those in 2011 or 2012, which also featured the Thunder falling in heartbreaking fashion (as if there’s any other way in the playoffs). It’s a disappointment that we didn’t really get to see how far this collection of players could really go, because OKC wasn’t playing with all its arrows in the quiver.

But if there was any doubt that the fight in this team, and in Oklahoma City, wasn’t going to be enough, it was erased in the valiant (but too late) comeback in the final minutes when the Thunder fought back when a lot of fans around the world had already switched the channel, and when the fans (who stuck around in larger numbers, and with louder voices, than was alleged on Twitter and elsewhere) serenaded their team with chants of “OKC!” as the players shuffled off the court for the last time this season.

The Thunder used to be going nowhere but up. That narrative dipped, just slightly, this season, in part because of bad luck. But if you expect anything less than another spirited and fun foray into the late rounds of the playoffs next season, then you haven’t been paying attention.

We’ve read this story before

2013-05-17T17:57:48Z

Photo: Kyle Slattery | Flickr

Ed. Note: Evans Clinchy is a Bostonian and active member of the hoops blogosphere. He’s been covering the Celtics for nearly four years, with his writing appearing on CelticsBlog, NESN, and SI (among other places). You can follow him, his thoughts, and his writing on Twitter. He wrote this piece after the Spurs defeated the Warriors last night to advance to the Western Conference Finals.

Assuming you have a human heart that pumps blood and a pair of human eyes that have been anywhere near a TV screen the last week and a half, you’ve probably found yourself drawn to the Golden State Warriors. How could you not? This team is new. Refreshing. At times flat-out electrifying. A year ago, they were in the lottery, and now they’re on national TV fighting deep into the playoffs.

Everything has changed since the Warriors rose to power. Klay Thompson is now a borderline household name, Mark Jackson has supplanted Al Sharpton as America’s favorite overdramatic preacher, and Stephen Curry has emerged as one of the top [insert ridiculously hyperbolically small number here] players in the NBA. The Warriors grabbed America’s attention and refused to let go. Now the Warriors are done, and America weeps.

Well, most of America does. In a way, I find myself relieved.

Let me clarify that I come at this from a position of impartiality, more or less. I’m from Boston and have no attachment to either city involved — I’m obsessed with all 30 NBA teams, but I have no particular emotional investment with either Oakland or San Antonio. It’s not about that. A win for the Spurs, while it may be a significant blow to novelty and excitement and perhaps even overall happiness, is a win for what makes the NBA the NBA.

That’s depressing, I know. So many series like this are. When you have a young team like Golden State and a seasoned one like San Antonio going head to head for seven games, it has “fait accompli” written all over it, and that doesn’t make for good TV. There’s nothing quite like a grind-it-out Spurs win for making the casual fan change the channel.

Let them.

If you really love this league, you appreciate that the Spurs are the Spurs, and you find comfort in the fact that they do this every May. A good Spurs playoff team is like your favorite book — you can reread it every spring, and it’ll never get old, because you can’t wait to rediscover every little nuance all over again.

You love the quiet, subtle, understated leadership that Tim Duncan has symbolized for the last 15 years. You love the crafty pick-and-roll artistry that Tony Parker brings to every game, regardless of the matchup. You love that Manu Ginobili, no matter how many injuries and shooting slumps and “Is he washed up?” debates he endures, somehow keeps doing Manu Ginobili things. You love that this team somehow takes spare parts that couldn’t cut it in Cleveland or Charlotte and turns them into valuable playoff role players. You even love that Gregg Popovich is kind of a dick, because let’s be honest — he’s the best in the world at this, and he’s earned the right to be kind of a dick.

These are the things we come to expect from the Spurs every year, and to get anything different would be oddly unsettling. When I pick up that dog-eared paperback of The Sun Also Rises and reread it every year, I’m not doing it to discover the alternate ending where Jake gets the girl and everyone lives happily ever after.

Pro basketball is an exact science, and the great teams are the ones who have figured it out. Steph and Klay are the experiment, but Pop and Duncan are the control. They’re the baseline. They’re proven, and they’re not going anywhere. You want unpredictable? Fine. Go watch March Madness.

Those who eat, sleep, breathe and dream NBA don’t do it for the entertainment. We do it for the excellence. If you’re the best, you deserve to be rewarded over and over and over again. Watching a rerun is never a bad thing — in fact, repetition is what it’s all about.

That’s not true of any other sport. Quick — how many rings did Willie Mays win? Three… two… one… buzzer. Too late. No one’s obsessing over that one, though. But we know that Duncan has four, and Magic Johnson five, and Michael Jordan six, and Bill Russell eleven. Those numbers matter. In fact, you could argue they’re the only ones that stand the test of time.

That’s the real reason we watch the NBA playoffs. Rounds one and two might be about surprises and upsets and whatnot, but the deeper you get, the more you cherish the opportunity to watch greatness.

If you miss the Warriors, that’s fine. I can’t blame you. But Steph Curry and the gang will be back in October. In the meantime, let’s settle in and enjoy true May basketball.

Former Lives: The Once-Blazer Playoff Rankings

2013-05-17T17:30:51Z

The conference finals are three-quarters set and there will no doubt be more compelling basketball to come. While the 15 players on the Blazers’ roster this season weren’t able to make the playoffs, 19 former Blazers were part of teams that did participate. Here are the rankings of how these Blazers of yore have fared in the postseason.

The Old, Washed-Up Big Man Category

Juwan Howard, PF, Miami Heat

Yeah, he’s still in the league. I’m as surprised as you are.

Joel Przybilla, C, Milwaukee Bucks

Didn’t play much during the year and logged 0 minutes in the Bucks’ short-lived playoff venture.

Kurt Thomas, PF, New York Knicks

Rasheed Wallace, C, New York Knicks

Earl Barron, C, New York Knicks

Wow, the Knicks are putting together an awesome 2002 big man rotation. These guys have been solely working on their suit game this postseason.

The Slightly Less Old, Washed-Up Big Man Category

Marcus Camby, C, New York Knicks

Shavlik Randolph, PF, Boston Celtics

These guys have both played exactly 3 minutes in the playoffs. Again, is there an early 2000s quality big man the Knicks don’t have? What’s Elden Campbell up to? Is there still time to sign Scott Pollard?

Actual Guys

12. Hasheem Thabeet, C, Oklahoma City Thunder

Thabeet was basically the most unplayable Thunder big not named Perkins. Final tally: 26 minutes, -0.8 PER.

11. Jeff Pendergraph, PF, Indiana Pacers

Pendergraph graces the worst bench currently in the playoffs. He’s played 66 minutes, shot 7 for 22, and has as many fouls as rebounds. Take a seat, Jeff.

10. Patty Mills, PG, San Antonio Spurs

Mills plays exclusively in garbage time, but isn’t terrible when he does. Still, to be any higher you’d have to be able to beat out Cory Joseph for rotation minutes.

9. Steve Blake, PG, Los Angeles Lakers

He got hurt. But, man, if he hadn’t, the Lakers still would have gotten swept.

8. Anthony Tolliver, SF, Atlanta Hawks

Played 11.3 minutes per game and appeared in all 6 games for the Hawks. Shot 63.6 percent from 3, which is kind of crazy.

7. Jerryd Bayless, PG, Memphis Grizzlies

Bayless is supposed to be the Jarrett Jack of the Grizzlies, except he isn’t as good as Jack. He’s shooting 36.3 percent overall and 32.6 percent from 3. He’s also not a strong defender unlike most of the Grizzlies. Still, he’s an important rotation piece for a Western Conference finalist.

6. Jamal Crawford, SG, Los Angeles Clippers

He was unconscious (in the good way) in game 2 against the Grizzlies. He was unconscious (in the bad way) for the rest of that series.

5. Gerald Wallace, SF, Brooklyn Nets

Wallace played so well that he completely justified the trade that ultimately led to Portland drafting Damian Lillard! Ok, not actually, but he rebounded decently and finally made some shots.

4. Andre Miller, PG, Denver Nuggets

Miller had the game-winning layup in game 1 and continued to be a go-to source of offensive creation for the Nuggets. Unfortunately, his defense on Steph Curry was woeful and thus the Nuggets were ousted in the first round.

3. Raymond Felton, PG, New York Knicks

Felton may be keeping it 100 in life, but he’s keeping it 3rd in these rankings. He’s not shooting all that well, but has barely been turning it over. Plus, he’s been an important part of the Knicks’ high-powered, 3-point happy offense all season, running pick-and-rolls and attacking the basket.

2. Jarrett Jack, SG, Golden State Warriors

Jack can be frustrating due to limited court vision, which often leads to him missing Steph Curry or Klay Thompson open on the wings. He was also atrocious on defense at times. However, Jack is a great mid-range shooter and a guy who created offense when the effects of Steph Curry’s ankle injury started to show.

1. Zach Randolph, PF, Memphis Grizzlies

Randolph has been doing his thing, creating space under the basket and rebounding very well. He was able to beat up most of the defenders the Thunder put on him. It will be incredibly fun to watch Randolph and Marc Gasol battle against Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter in the next round.

Billy King at NBA Draft Combine

2013-05-17T17:26:14Z

Devin Kharpertian

Now that the inaugural Brooklyn Nets season has come to a close, Billy King's next major step comes on June 27 during the 2013 NBA Draft, hosted this year at Barclays Center. The Nets currently have the 22nd pick in the draft, and King attended this year's NBA Draft Combine in Chicago to scout.

"You're just trying to see guys' skill level," King told Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. "You've already seen a lot of them at college. So at this point, you're seeing how they interact, how they take instructions from the coaches, and see how hard they play."

King said the combine is not a "make-or-break" for most potential draftees, but an added component to consider when looking at a player's body of work. He said he puts more stock in their season performance and individual team workouts. He also did not tip his hand about potential players, positions, or roles he's looking to fill, or if he's looking to draft based on talent or need.

"This is good for the measurements you get, for the interviews ... this can't be the only thing you base your decision on, this is only a part of it," he added. "You get to learn about them as people."

Watch: NBA.com -- Billy King on Draft Combine

The post Billy King at NBA Draft Combine appeared first on The Brooklyn Game.

Friday Bolts – 5.17.13

2013-05-17T16:32:26Z

Ben Golliver for CSNNW: “Watching the Memphis Grizzlies close out the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 on Wednesday night left me with two Portland Trail Blazers-related thoughts. First, even the most carefully laid plans are subject to ruin by even the slightest knee injury. Russell Westbrook’s early exit from the playoffs left the remaining Thunder players struggling to cobble together lineups and responsibilities much like Brandon Roy’s ongoing issues kept juggling things in Portland for multiple seasons. Sam Presti put together arguably the league’s deepest and most balanced roster, one that withstood a blockbuster trade of James Harden just fine all season long, only to have all that hard work go poof when Westbrook went down. Basketball can be cruel, as Portlanders have known for years (decades).”

Berry Tramel: “Absolutely the Thunder got better this season. The Heat was and is a big favorite to repeat. But the Thunder was favored over the Heat last June in the Finals. The Thunder certainly could have made a run at the championship this season. But then Westbrook went down, and opportunity was lost. The Thunder will have many more chances. But the number of years is not infinite. The clock is ticking.”

Eric Freeman of BDL: “Given the circumstances of Westbrook’s injury, it’s fair to wonder how things may have been different if he had not been lost for the playoffs. Yet it’s clear that the Thunder would have faced a considerable challenge in the Grizzlies no matter their luck. Memphis is a uniquely talented squad with a clear sense of their own identity. Although they’re not the highest seed left in the West, they could be the conference’s scariest team at this juncture of the postseason.”

Some Twitter people are still going after Patrick Beverley.

Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com: “The Thunder likely will be favored to win the Western Conference again next season with a healthy Westbrook and Durant. But the team does face some important offseason questions. Sixth man Martin is an unrestricted free agent. Center Kendrick Perkins is a potential amnesty candidate. Martin said he was looking forward to the process of being an unrestricted free agent, but it was too soon to focus on it yet, with the season having ended so abruptly.”

Rudy Gobert, a player that Sam Presti has personally scouted, measured impressively at the combine yesterday. Rudy Gobert 7’0.5″ in socks and 7’2″ in shoes with a 7’8.5″ wingspan and 9’7″ standing reach.

Fantastic reader email to Berry Tramel: “Let’s assume (though we can never know, can we?) that the Thunder don’t do anything wild between now and after the draft. They could find themselves mildly in tax territory just by drafting with the picks they will have. Even if they wound up, say, $4 million over the tax line (a very high estimate), that would be a tax of $6 million. Does it make sense to spend $9 million (in Year 1 and over $18 million overall) to save $6 million? I’d have a hard time justifying that. Only they wouldn’t really save that. It stands to reason that OKC would need to sign someone to replace him. The Thunder could always adopt a smaller starting lineup next season by moving Ibaka to the 5 (center) and KD to the 4 (power forward), but that’s going to require either a new coach or a major philosophical programming change in Scott Brooks. So who’s going to be available this summer in terms of a true center? Let’s logically eliminate Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum and Nik Pekovic. That leaves folks like Zaza Pachulia. Old friend Byron Mullins. Chris Kaman. Timofey Mozgov (an admittedly intriguing idea a year ago). Tiago Splitter. That’s about it before you start moving from questionable ideas to very questionable ideas. Do any of those ideas move the needle at all? And if you do that, now you’re spending $13-$15 million on the center position next season with little to no improvement over what you would have had.”

Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com on re-signing Kevin Martin: “For the right price, absolutely. Martin can give them what they want offensively in that role, and he largely did this season. He led the team in offensive rating and had a true shooting percentage above 60 percent. This is no longer about James Harden, because he isn’t coming back. If the Thunder pass on Martin, they’ll have to find someone else who can deliver the production.”

Links to the Present: The Draft Is Coming — Updated

2013-05-17T16:52:19Z

Due to massive computer issues on my part, a podcast with Robert and Colin has been delayed. Fortunately, there’s lots to discuss on the draft front.

To start, both Mary Schmitt Boyer from the Plain Dealer and Bob Finnan from the Morning Journal note how the Cavaliers are doing their best to find an underrated, special player during this week’s combine.

Jason Lloyd over at the Akron Beacon Journal covers how, surprisingly, the Cavaliers will not meet with Otto Porter at the combine. Thankfully, he notes, Porter has made it clear he’d like to play for the Cavaliers.

On Bleacher Report, Greg Swartz details how Mike Brown will improve the current Cavs squad’s D. Suffice to say it will be a challenge.

Finally, Rant Sports’ Cody Williams touches on Shaun Livingston’s season with the Cavaliers, and speculates about his future.

–Update–

DraftExpress just published the NBA Draft combine measurements. Notables include Rudy Gobert with the third biggest wingspan, (7’8.5″), and the second tallest standing reach (9’7″) in combine history. Also, Otto Porter ranks among the lightest players for his size in combine history at 6’7.5″ and 198 pounds. The entire sortable historical database is posted here.