I enjoyed the read over at NBAdraft.net on the main page today, it is full of little draft rumor gems. With the draft lottery just about a week and a half away, I am getting pretty excited. I was trying to decide if this year’s draft will be more important to the franchise than last year’s draft was. I think after reflection the answer is that it depends. It depends on how we fare at the lottery. If we get the top pick or the second pick, then yes, I think it is. The player we get with 1 or 2 will likely be a 40 mpg player for us for years to come, and as important as any other player on the roster in years. If we get picks 3 through 7, it becomes less sure.
At pick 3, a guy like Harden could be a bonafide starting SG for years, but maybe Presti makes us all fall out of our chairs with a pick like Hasheem Thabeet……I don’t think Thabeet will ever be a 40mpg player in the NBA, and if he is, it will be a few years down the road, that much is for sure in my opinion. Also at 3-7, a guy like Stephon Curry would help this team immensely with ball handling and shooting, but it’s not a sure bet that he would even start, or ever start consistently. He seems like an offense off the bench/backup point guard to me at the moment.
For those reasons, I think last year’s high lottery pick of Westbrook, in a very solid draft was more important, but, if we get a top 2 pick this year, in a weak 2 man draft, then this year would be more important.
Anyway, according to the NBAdraft.net article, the rumor is that the Knicks have given guarantees to Curry that he won’t get past New York:
it appears to be a legitimate possibility that if the Knicks have the 8th pick on draft night they will use it on Curry. Curry’s game would fit extremely well in Mike D’Antoni’s wide open style and his scoring ability would be enhanced.
This get’s interesting when there are these “supposed guarantees”. Assuming that the Thunder select above the Knicks, but don’t have a top-2 pick, there could be some deals swung. Remember, we were kind enough to hand them Chris Wilcox’s expiring deal so he could get a tryout in the D’Antoni system for the last 1/3 of the season. That deal was just weird. We brought in leadership and professionalism in Malik Rose, and jettisoned an unhappy player, but Rose’s deal was actually more expensive than Wilcox’s. It was almost like Presti was gaining favors from the Knicks for future use. Maybe the Thunder select Stephon for the Knicks, then swap Stephon for the Knick’s later lottery pick, and pick up a second rounder for the swap. It would explain why Presti has been working out so much second round talent lately.
Also, a thing or two about Ricky Rubio:
Ricky Rubio recently signed with American agent Dan Fegan and it appears he will attempt to use a marketing deal with a shoe company to help pay off the 4.7 million Euro buyout. An NBA team can only pay $500K of that buyout meaning that Rubio will be left with nearly 6 million dollars owed to Joventut.
Aaahh…so that’s how you get out of a Euro deal. Genius. I had been wondering how, if the Thunder were able to get the second pick, our cost conscious GM would be able to creatively get Rubio to buy out the bigger portion of his contract and come over to the states and play right away (NBA teams can only pay a small amount towards a Euro player’s buyout of his Euro contract).
Also Jonny Flynn is supposedly the desired “heir apparent” to Steve Nash:
Phoenix appears to be Flynn’s safety net as it’s unlikely the Suns will let him slip past their pick at 14. They see him as Steve Nash’s possible successor with Nash likely bolting in free agency after next season.
There are a few other nuggets in the article; it’s worth a read.
Also, Duquesne’s combo guard Aaron Jackson is also getting a workout with the Thunder. Here is his draftexpress profile.
I think this last yeas set the record for the most coaches fired earliest in the season.
Incidentally, I couldn't remember all the fired coaches this season, so I had to google it. Came across this useful page:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008-09_NBA_season
That's a fairly decent summary and a nice resource.
Ok, there's a few holes in my theory. Kevin McHale was promoted to head coach, not interim, and likely will stay. And the Wizards looked to the past to grab Flip Saunders for a new coach. And the Kings didn't promote an assistant or anybody from the current coaching staff -- in fact, they wiped the slate clean by tossing out everyone.
But still...
Everybody's gotta copy the Thunder...
Look at the coaching situation:
First, OKC fires P.J. Carlesimo after a dreadful start and promotes assistant coach Scott Brooks as interim head coach. This is followed by:
Wizards fires Eddie Jordan, promotes Tapscott to interim head coach.
Raptors fires Sam Mitchell, promotes Triano to interim head coach.
Timberwolves fires Randy Wittman, promotes McHale to head coach.
Philadelphia fires Maurice Cheeks, promotes DiLeo to interim head coach.
Sacramento fires Reggie Theus, promotes Kenny Natt to interim head coach.
Phoenix fires Terry Porter, promotes Alvin Gentry to interim head coach.
Sure, everybody's gotta copy what the Thunder does.
Then at the end of the season, interim coach Scott Brooks is signed as the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. This is followed by:
Phoenix signs interim coach Alvin Gentry as head coach.
Toronto signs interim coach Jay Triano as head coach.
Sure, everybody's gotta copy what the Thunder does.
;)
I like Jodie Meeks
Yeah, actually, more than a few guys that would probably have been first rounders this year have opted back to school like Griffin did. Cole Aldrich comes to mind. Next year's draft will hopefully be a bit better because of it. But even though this is a weak draft, we are positionally pretty good, assuming we get a top 4 pick. Top 1 or 2 would be of course much better.
But if we are drafting late lottery....yuck.
If we draft say 3rd, and take Harden, or Curry, that takes care of your shooting, so then you can use that later pick in a number of ways. You really don't have to find "that guy". But if Presti gets a top 1 or 2, what is great is that there are a number of guys who can fill it up with that late first, like Marcus Thornton, or Jermaine Taylor, or Jodie Meeks, or Wayne Ellington.
So, this is a bad year to have team needs and have a middling pick, unless you need a point guard, which seems to be heavy in this draft.
what Nix said . . .
that's why the trade down scenario makes no sense . . .
Man...this draft sucks...I'd rather have an extra lottery pick last year then a 3rd pick this year...
Lopez is better than anybody after 1&2...Shoot...I'd take his brother over most people in this draft as well...
frustrating...
It's like when the Hornets had two first round picks in a weak draft...Ced Sim and Hilton Armstrong...what a delight...
also, you know me, why trade Curry when he's the third best player in the draft - if we trade down then who do we get with that pick????
there is no guarantee that Curry will be there, so the article (while fun to read in Mid may) is pure speculation . . .
besides that, we don't even know the actual draft order . . . bring on the lottery!!!
@Joe
excellent post . . .
If there was a trade with the knicks I would want them to throw in Jared Jeffries and the 2nd rd. pick. He is better than any player that would be available at the knicks lottery pick.
They will either be happy with someone else, or trade for him. I think they would try to trade for him.
No doubt, Curry would be incredible in a D'Antoni offense. What happens if Curry isn't there when D'Antoni and the Knicks get to the podium?
yea I agree on the Thunder/Knicks relationship... Rose was character and practiced hard...that was probably worth it compared to someone who wasn't practicing hard...
Plus, it is very easy to buy second round picks. No need to do a big trade to get one. I'd be willing to bet that if Presti threw some money at Memphis, they would send him the fifth pick in the second round.
I think you're reading too much in to the Knicks/Thunder relationship. The Knicks didn't want Rose, but they liked Wilcox. The Thunder didn't want Wilcox, but they liked Rose. Simple as that.
Reading Aaron Jacksons draftexpress profile makes me think Presi is going for another Manu/Parker combo...two guys that can get to the rim at will...
I've been saying it all year...D'Antoni wants Curry...been saying it...