FanHouse Dan Dickau

This week, FanHouse is taking an early look at the top teams heading into 2008 with a BlogPoll decided on by our college hoops bloggers. To help with the team capsules, we've brought in some of the top fan bloggers around the internets to give us insights on their teams.

Today, we have enlisted Zach Bell and Max Mandel of the The Kennel Report to break down the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Gonzaga has become one of the most recognizable college basketball programs in the nation. During his tenure, Mark Few has elevated the small, Jesuit institution to the forefront of college basketball. He's had guys like Adam Morrison, Ronny Turiaf, and Dan Dickau but the talent he has for the 2008 season is the best he has ever had at Gonzaga.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

The Clippers' 2008 season was derailed before it even got started. Injuries to Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston, along with the mid-season defection of Sam Cassell (ring-chasing bastard) left the Clips with a lot of holes in their roster.

Picks: #7, #35.

Needs: Guards. Dan Dickau was running the point for most of last season, and it was painful to watch. Fortunately, the Clippers seem to know this, and have been working out guards like crazy the past couple of weeks.

Best case scenario: That the team trades up and gets someone like O.J. Mayo or Jerryd Bayless. The Miami Heat are said to be open to trading their number two pick, and the Clippers "secretly" worked out Mayo last week.

More likely scenario: If they stay at seven, then Russell Westbrook or Eric Gordon should be on the board. Either would do fine and provide some immediate help, though I would prefer Westbrook as he seems slightly further along in his development.

Please don't take: Joe Alexander or Brook Lopez. The Clips probably won't do this, considering how depleted they are at guard. But both are thought to be legitimate NBA players, and, well, the Clippers have done stranger things over the years.

Trade possibilities: Working out O.J. Mayo last week makes you think the Clippers are considering trading up, and would have a sign-and-trade player in Corey Maggette to deal. Is that along with the Clippers' seventh pick enough to entice the Heat? Stay tuned.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded NBA Correspondent, brings his exclusive NBA reporting to FanHouse. Check back here regularly for more videos.

In this video Marcus Williams tells about the origin of the Martin Luther King quote tattooed across this chest, but the interview really gets interesting around 1:50, when Smush overhears him downplaying the talent coming out of New York.


Video link.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
There's just something wrong to me, that even with Zach Randolph nursing a sore foot and not playing, David Lee still doesn't get to start. What does the guy have to do? Grab 16 rebounds in 30 minutes? Oh right. He did that. He did shoot two of nine, but if my coach didn't let me on the floor, I'd be hoisting shots every time I got on the hardwood too. Usually Lee, is the king of the plus/minus, but there wasn't a single Knick in the plus last night, so solace is at least found in him being their leading rebounder.

Hot Cakes
Andrei Kirilenko took a nasty little hit from Dirk Nowitzki last night and had to leave the game with only four minutes under his belt. The primary beneficiaries in terms of playing time would be a mix of Kyle Korver (who I think the Jazz actually like off the bench) and Matt Harpring. Harpring's worth an add and Korver is probably owned, although the latter would be must start material if he ended up in the starting lineup.

Tiny little tip of the cap to Deron Williams who decided to let Jason Kidd know who the elite in the L are, with a 17 point, 20 assist night that included five boards and two blocks. We'd like him to shoot a little bit better, but it's tough to be picky. Very nice.

Brevin Knight appears to be back at regular PG duties for the Clipjoint now that Sam Cassell is gone -- he's certainly always a nice add if you're looking for steals and assists. The guy that's worth keeping an eye on (because Knight tends to get hurt) is *shudder* Dan Dickau. He played 16 minutes last night and recorded four dimes in that span. A starter is a starter, folks.

We've already had Isiah Thomas make a unique personnel move this week. That's nothing new. But what if Thomas's curious track record is all due to poor memory? From Game On, via Stop Mike Lupica:

When the trade was made, it looked like Fred [Jones] and Dan Dickau were just salary cap throw-ins. When you made that trade, how did that discussion go?

Thomas: Both of those guys fit our team. I think Dickau is going to be a good player on our team when he's healthy. With Fred, you can't consider either of those guys throw-ins.

As SML notes, Dickau is no longer with the team, although Thomas could just be thinking of Jared Jordan. At least that's an honest mistake, right?

This could be the Rosetta Stone of Isiah's GM career. Like on a Law and Order when it turns out the doctor's hands shake, which was a terrible secret, which was why he had to kill the old lady. It's easy to live over the cap if you forget who's signed. Understandable that you'd make questionable acquisitions when you get players mixed up. And Isiah's stellar draft picks? Happy accidents, brought on by the heightened bustle and confusion of draft season.

And you thought that the "Renaldo Balkman isn't Rolando Blackman" meme was just glib internet humor.