Archive for the ‘NBA Basketball’ Category

A Brand new purpose

Wednesday, July 9th, 2008

The just added a big free agent signing away from the Clippers. Brand will fill the PF spot nicely and gives the the half-court, low-post presence they desperately needed. The instantly become contenders in the and should put a scare in some teams in the Eastern Conference. Does this mean the are instant favorites, not quite? The way the Doc Cappers see it, the Celtics, Pistons, Cavaliers and Magic and perhaps Toronto are all better on paper. The are still lacking a consistent outside shooter since the Kyle Korver trade.

We all expect the will take more than one year to develop considering the team is currently based on youth. It will take Brand and Iggy some time to get comfortable but the sky is the limit for this young team with a rock low post presence. Great move by the .

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It’s finally here Oklahoma City!

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

It is official, after 41 years the are relocating to . Clay Bennett and the NBA have made it official to move Seattle’s NBA franchise to Oklahoma. When Bennett purchased the Sonics and its sister franchise in the WNBA, the Storm, for $350 million, he agreed to make a “good faith” effort to keep both teams in Seattle. Did anyone truly believe that a group of investors would want to keep the teams in Seattle? The attendance in Seattle has been staggering and the city has shot down numerous attempts to fund a new arena (being that the Key Arena is on its last legs). The Sonics are going through a rebuilding phase drafting young prospects and building their team around Kevin Durant. We all saw how passionate was towards the Hornets last year so we know the attendance will be through the roof from the beginning.

The total amount of money spent by Clay Bennett to move the Sonics to :
City of Seattle, June 2008: $45 million
Additional money, 2013: $30 million
Relocation fee: $30 million
Losses, 2007-08 season: (est) $20 million
Losses, 2006-07 season: (est) $20 million
Moving fees: (est) $15 million
Legal fees: (est) $2 million
Grand Total of $162 million!
Cost of renovating Key Arena is estimated at about $300 million so we start to see where this relocation makes $ense. Bennett had indicated many of times that he had no interest in breaking out his check book to help renovate the arena because all along he had no interest in doing anything to keep the teams in Seattle.

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The “Documented” 10 biggest NBA draft day mistakes

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

It’s day and our staff got to thinking of some of the biggest blunders in recent history. Since the conception of the NBA there have been many drafting mistakes made and quite frankly hindsight is 20/20. A draft pick can often be looked at as a coin flip in the future. If the coin lands on heads your team is headed to the NBA Finals. If the coin lands on tails, your blunder lands you right back in the lottery.

From an educated fans standpoint we all know that drafting is not an exact science. As good as a kid looks in college or high school, on paper or in a workout in a gym, his game might not crossover to the NBA. We have compiled a list of 10 decisions that cost some teams multiple championships and many fans.

#10. In 1997 there was a multi team meltdown. It started with the 76ers at the #2 position and missing out on Tim Duncan who was drafted #1 by the Spurs and Chauncey Billups #3, to select Keith Van Horn. Vancouver (Memphis), Denver, Boston, New Jersey and Golden State then pass on high schooler Tracy McGrady in order to draft Antonio Daniels, Tony Battie, Ron Mercer, Tim Thomas and Adonal Foyle. All McGrady has done is land himself on seven consecutive All-Star teams and seven All-NBA honors. How many All-Star appearances did the other five players account for you ask? Zero All-Star nods and zero All-NBA awards.

#9. In 1993, Philadelphia passes on Penny Hardaway and Jamal Mashburn to take 7′5 Shawn Bradley at the #2 spot. At the time the 76′ers had a vision of turning around their franchise with the help of a big center. Although Bradley put together a 12 year career with Philadelphia, New Jersey and Dallas, all Shawn Bradley accomplished was being posterized by Tracy McGrady.

#8. In 2001, Washington passes on Pau Gasol and Tyson Chandler to Kwame Brown #1 overall. Kwame was a disaster for Washington and has done very little recently for the Lakers. Paul Gasol made an immediate impact with the Grizzlies averaging 18 points and 8 boards a game. Tyson Chandler took a while to develop but has certainly had more of an impact than Brown.

#7. In 1987, the Nets and Clippers pass on Scottie Pippen, Kevin Johnson and Reggie Miller for Dennis Hopson and Reggie Williams. We really don’t even need to explain this one. Although Pippen was a late bloomer and had the help of the greatest basketball player ever, all Scottie, KJ and Reggie did was combine for 15 All-Star appearances, 15 All-NBA teams and 10 All-Defensive awards.

#6. In 1998, Milwaukee drafts German Dirk Nowitzki and trades him to Dallas for Robert “Tractor” Traylor out of Michigan. The Bucks should have known better to draft a player who played overweight all throughout college. As a double kick to the face, the Bucks also passed on Paul Pierce who just got an NBA Finals MVP award with Boston.

#5. 1999, Toronto drafts Jonathan Bender out of high school. The next five picks in order go Wally Szczerbiak, Rip Hamilton, Andre Miller, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. The only disappointing player in this group is Jonathan Bender. The #57 player selected in the ‘99 draft, Manu Ginobili.

#4. In 1985, 13 teams including Phoenix, Chicago and Washington pass on country boy Karl Malone. Selected right before Malone was Ed Pinckney, Keith Lee and Kenny Green. What did Malone do in his career that made him so special you might ask? Malone tallied 36,928 points, 14,968 rebounds, 13 All-Star games, named to 14 All-NBA teams and was named league MVP twice. How many titles would the Bulls have won with Malone, MJ and Pippen?

#3. In 1996, Dallas, Indiana, Golden State and Cleveland pass up a Philadelphia area high school player by the name of Kobe Bryant. Samaki Walker, Erick Dampier, Todd Fuller and Vitaly Potapenko all went before Bryant. The Hornets drafted Bryant at 13 and immediately traded him to the Lakers for king of flop Vlade Divac. Some teams have all the luck. What players were selected after Bryant? Only Peja Stojakovic, Steve Nash and Jermaine O’Neal! One mistake after another.

#2. In 2003, a very notable draft field, Detroit passes on Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh to select Darko Milicic! What the hell were they smoking? Those 3 guys are now a part of the USA Olympic team as well as the NBA All-Star teams.

#1. In 1984, Portland passes on Michael Jordan at #2 to select Sam Bowie, this easily the biggest blunder of all time in our eyes. The #5 selection was Charles Barkley and the #16 selection was John Stockton. Portland made a big mistake in 1984 and we now know that Olajuwon, Jordan, Barkley and Stockton were all named to the NBA’s 50 Greatest roster years later. To Portland’s defense they drafted Clyde Drexler in ‘83 who played the same position as Jordan. Either way you dice it, Michael Jordan is still the greatest of all time.

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