Well it's right around the corner. GMs for all of the teams are somewhere mulling over offers that they are getting for their picks in the 2008 draft along with others on their rosters. Right now, you'll probably see a lot of misinformation instead of the real deal. In the past a lot of this talk ended in nothing. I'll take on some of the rumors and we'll see if they make sense. As always, let me know what you think too:
Chicago Bulls - It's probably scary that I even put them this high in this discussion. Maybe they decided to trade the pick for TJ Ford or someone scarier. The only drama in Chicago is which guy will they pick. Everyone keeps saying that Derrick Rose should get ready for playing for his hometown. I went on record saying that the Bulls should get Beasley and that's no slight to Rose, I just think it'll be too much pressure for him to play in the city he grew up in. With that said,.....from what I'm hearing and reading,......it looks like the Bulls will make Rose the #1 pick. With that said, I'll continue the rest of this blurb with that in mind.
Knicks and Grizzlies - The Grizzlies would get David Lee (and some change) and give up their #5 pick. This would allow the Knicks to draft both 5 and 6 in this years draft. The Knicks would probably take a point guard and Danillo Gallinari. As I thought about this, I said to myself who would you want from the Knicks and yes, David Lee was probably the first player that came to my mind. This might make sense for the Grizz since they are cutting payroll and they could 'lose' David Lee next year (by not paying him). In the meantime you get a guy who can run the court, rebound, hustle, and play some D. With that said, those are all the reasons the Knicks shouldn't do this deal. They have a new coach who likes to run and the behemoths that he has on his roster right now (Curry and Randolph) are like drag racers running a race with half ton engines being dragged behind them. I think that this ends up being nothing and the Knicks pick Jerryd Bayless (Arizona) and call it a day.
Miami and Seattle - The Heat would swap picks with the Sonics so the Heat would get Chris Wilcox and the #4 pick, while the Sonics would get the #2 and Mark Blount. Pat Riley would definitely have to be smoking a blount to make this deal. This doesn't make sense for either team. Well, if it did, it makes more sense for Seattle as they would be pairing two high profile scorers in Beasley and Durant. No Defense and a whole lot of 135 to 131 games. I really think that Riley finds a way to get Elton Brand from the Clips (finally) and Beasley ends up in La-La Land, playing for the other Los Angeles team. Otherwise they get a year of Wade, Marion (who actually thought he was going to opt out of a $17M deal? Definitely not me), and Beasley. Not bad either way.
Toronto and Indiana - This would have given Toronto Jermaine O'Neal, and the Pacers would have gotten TJ Ford (bad neck), Rasho Nesterovic (I can just hear Steven A. Smith killing him in my head), and the #17 pick. If this deal works out, this is GREAT for Toronto. You get rid of Ford and Nesterovic (someone who never showed up last year) and you bring in O'Neal to play next to Chris Bosh. That gives Toronto a gruesome twosome. Indiana would get that point guard they need since Tinsley is more interested in having an entourage and partying, and with the #17 pick they could get a young big man, maybe one of the Lopez boys, Roy Hibbert, Kosta Koufos, or they could swing for the fences with a guy like DeAndre Jordan and hope that he comes through. I would probably go with Hibbert here since he's ready to play and has been showing improved conditioning.
Phoenix Suns - It seems like Barbosa and Diaw are on the block for the right deal. Talk about a new coach making some moves (or a mad GM, Steve Kerr). I'm not sure that I give up Barbosa, since he's the only guy on the team that can get his own shot. You have Amare, Nash, Shaq, Grant Hill (when healthy, which he was for the majority of last year) and not much else. Diaw seems the one who has to go. He's got that Lamar Odom disease where you can see he has the tools, but he doesn't apply them as often as one would want. Diaw can play some D though, and that's a mandate for playing for Porter. This is tough one for Phoenix. They have the #15 pick and I'm not sure I see anyone that really helps them from day one. They need a backup for Nash or Amare's career numbers will be taking a dip. Maybe they keep their pick and get someone like DJ Augustine, or a Russell Westbrook* (if he doesn't continue to climb), or better yet a guy that can play from day one in Brandon Rush. He would be a good player that can play off the bigs on this team and he can play D.
*How does Westbrook rise so quickly? He wasn't even in the Top 50 in most boards, but all of a sudden he's in the top 15 in most of the mock drafts? I'm not so sold on him. People are saying that he's a better shooting version of Rondo. I guess, someone in that top 15 will let us know if they are right by picking him that early.
So there you go. That's all I have for now, until Kevin McHale decides that he needs to trade the #3 pick to the Celtics for a combination of Leon Powe, Sam Cassell, and a second round pick. As my stat guy would say, you can never turn down a 3 for 1. I'll return when I have more.
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