Philadelphia 76ers - Jason Smith will undergo surgery today to fix his torn ACL in his left knee. He has a slim chance of playing this year, albeit late in the season. Smith may end up being a pretty good backup to Elton Brand in the future. If he regains his mobility, he can score with the best of them, but will need to concentrate on his D.
Los Angeles Lakers - Another note from the MASH unit, Luke Walton still hasn't been cleared for any weight bearing exercises following surgery on his ankle. Walton will be an important cog for the Lakers if they hope to win the title next year. He's a glue guy in the mold of a Shane Battier or James Posey kind of player. Good luck to Luke, we want to see him back on the court soon.
Portland Trail Blazers - Formerly on the MASH unit, Greg Oden is 100% ready and healthy to get at it this year for the Blazers. He's worked out and hasn't had any set backs. Training camp is two weeks out so they will be watching him closely.
Detroit Pistons - Pissing of a veteran already? First year head coach, Michael Curry, will be giving Amir Johnson, Jason Maxiell, and Kwame Brown (gulp) the opportunity to win the starting power forward spot from the incumbent, Antonio McDyess. Is this how you win friends and influence people? We all know that Brown can be taken out of the picture, Maxiell is probably best as a reserve because of his dominance and energy. Johnson is the piece that we haven't seen a lot of unless you've been watching D League. The Pistons have been talking about this kid for a while and how he is a monster, so maybe we'll get to see some of that this year.
Utah Jazz - Tough decisions coming up next year for the Jazz. They have Boozer coming up to free agency and all signs (mostly media speculation) are pointing to Boozer leaving the Jazz. The first person that you'll hear cry if that happens is Deron Williams. The Jazz may have to offer Boozer a max deal, but even that may not keep him in Utah considering he could make similar money in other markets, most notably Miami.
No comments:
Post a Comment