On this episode of the Young And The Cap Flexible...
In our last episode, we clued you into a potential deal that would send Carlos Boozer to Chicago, Kirk Hinrich to Portland, and Tyrus Thomas to Utah, among other moving pieces. The deal was refuted by several sources, but ESPN's sticking to their guns that the deal is on the table, but has hit a snag.
That snag? The Blazers insistence on keeping a phenomenal young player so that they can ... not play him?
It's almost unfair to judge a draft after one year, but this is what we're going to do. The final edition of our Revisiting the Draft series examines the 2008 Draft and believe or not, there are teams already harboring regrets from their picks.
Despite the extensive scouting, workouts and interviews involved in the draft, teams still make major mistakes and these days, prospects don't get three years to develop. Of the 14 lottery picks in 2006, six have already changed teams and players such as Patrick O'Bryant and Mouhamed Sene are not guaranteed jobs next season.
The NBA waits for no one, especially if they are taking too long to make an impact. So while teams won't freely admit they made mistakes 12 months after draft night, they will privately admit they overestimated talent and heart, and sooner or later, that will cost front-office jobs.
ESPN.com reports the Blazers have agreed to give Dallas the No. 24 pick, the No. 56 pick and a 2010 second round choice to move up ... two spots, to No. 22. The Kings sit at No. 23. I think it's safe to say Kevin Pritchard has his eye on a player he thinks Sacramento also covets. I wouldn't be surprised if said player was Israeli forward Omri Casspi, who had a marvelous workout in Sactown a few weeks ago.
This would be trivial if Pritchard didn't pull the same move last season. The Kings picked No. 12 last June, with the Blazers at No. 14. Coveting Arizona guard Jerryd Bayless -- who had been reported to be at the top of Sacramento's wish list -- Pritchard worked up a swap with Indiana to move up to No. 11. The silver lining for Kings fans is that Bayless barely got off the bench while Jason Thompson shone.
The Hornets should be very afraid. With Chris Paul leading the way (he had 12 assists by halftime!), they had the Trail Blazers on the ropes on Monday night, leading by as many as 20 points in the third quarter.
But when Paul left the game with an injured groin late in the third quarter, the Hornets completely fell to pieces, not only losing the game 97-89 but also destroying whatever confidence they may have had that they can win without their best player.
Imagine Nate McMillan's Olympic predicament. As an assistant on Mike Krzyzewski's staff, he had to concerntrate at the task at hand -- or at the very least, keep a straight face -- as Spain's Rudy Fernandez torched the Redeem Team's collection of All-Stars (and posterized Dwight Howard) for 22 points in fewer than 18 minutes.
Behind the stoic front, though, he was going nuts, just like most of the fans back in Portland. From Jason Quick of The Oregonian:
"I'm sitting there (in the gold medal game) with a straight face, trying not to smile," McMillan said. " (Spain) are the guys we have to beat, but I'm caught. That's my player and I want to (he claps his hands twice) but I gotta (he makes a serious face) because we are going up against him."
[...] "I was so impressed with him that it was to the point where after the second time I saw him, I didn't sleep that night because I was moving my rotations around," McMillan said. "I swear I did not sleep. I could not sleep thinking about him. Because I'm saying, 'We can put him here, do this with him, do that with him and Brandon (Roy), and do this... So he's playing for us. Oh yeah. I see that right now."
So what did he dream up? For now he's planning on using Fernandez on the second team alongside Jerryd Bayless and Travis Outlaw, although Fernandez will occasionaly share the court with Brandon Roy. If Fernandez plays as well as he did in Beijing (which isn't out of the question given the quality of competition he faced), can the Blazers keep him out of the starting lineup? I like Steve Blake as much as the next guy, but I don't see how they could.
Here's a look at the top ten players we saw at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. 1. Jerryd Bayless: Who cares that him running point was like a Ben Stiller movie or that he managed so few assists his teammates almost decided to bring their own ball on the court to play catch? The kid was transcendent. Floaters, fadeaways, dunks, steals, you name it. If it's got flash, Bayless was unleashing it on someone this week.
2. Kevin Love: You know how some people's college game just doesn't transfer to the pro game? Yeah, Kevin Love won't be having that problem. Tough, resilient, with a range of moves and offensive versatility to go along with the sweetest, yes, outlet pass we've seen, Love was incredibly impressive.
3. Anthony Randolph: Youth and athleticism rules! The lanky Warrior started the week off with a bang and played solid throughout. His impressive handle really made him stand out, along with a tenacious effort on defense.
I still think that Love is the most NBA-ready prospect I've seen -- and I'll go so far as to say that he's my early pick for Rookie of the Year -- but Jerryd Bayless has been flat-out electric. He had the crowd in awe as he put up 36 points in a close game last night, including 17 in the final quarter.
All in all, he's averaged 29.8 points in four games. He warmed up for today's game with his teammates, but he's spent most of the game sitting on the sidelines with his hand wrapped in ice. (It's nothing serious -- an MRI was negative -- but after being named to the USA Select Team that will scrimmage against Team USA over the next few days, he could use the rest.)
Bayless was awarded the T-Mobile NBA Summer League Top Rookie trophy before tonight's game, which, judging by the way he filled the bucket, is an honor I completely endorse.
Jerryd Bayless did not have a Darrell Arthur-like plummet in the draft, but he still fell pretty far, relatively speaking. When he finally got taken at number 11 overall, it was easily seven spots later than where he -- and many prognosticators -- thought he would have landed.
And just like the Zero-man before him, Bayless has revenge on his mind for the teams that passed on him because he seems like more of an ill-fitted two than a true point guard.
"I think they are crazy," Bayless said when asked what he would say to people who don't think he can play both guard spots. "That's what I think."
[...]Bayless appeared visibly upset that he went that low, after it was predicted in mock drafts that he could be picked as high as No. 4 by Seattle or realistically No. 7 by the Los Angeles Clippers.
"I have 10 teams to prove wrong now," Bayless told ESPN radio. "I'm going to definitely go out and try to do that. Hopefully everything works out."
Now, of course, Bayless did not fall nearly as far as Gil, who ended up in the second round. And it's also tough for Bayless to be that upset, considering that he landed in a pretty perfect spot, getting to run the point for Portland.
He'll have control of a young, up and coming team with a plethora of weapons and with Brandon Roy in the backcourt with him, he'll have the opportunity to score plenty as well. And if he's teed off and willing to prove that a slew of teams messed up by passing on him, it will only make Kevin Pritchard look smarter.
With Tom Ziller's blessing, I bring you the story of a fan base that had its draft night hopes raised to the highest of heights, only to have them come crashing to the ground moments later. The Sacramento Kings had the 12th pick in the draft, and as things were shaking out, it appeared one of the best guards in the draft -- Jerryd Bayless -- might just fall into their laps at that spot. Through the first 10 picks, Bayless had been passed over. All that was left was for the Pacers to draft someone else at 11, which appeared likely considering they had just traded for T.J. Ford. But then ... well, Blazer's Edge (via TrueHoop) explains better than I ever could.
There's a show on National Geographic called "Seconds from Disaster" where they chronicle, minute by minute, the events that led up to a famous, tragic event like an airline crash or a gas pipe explosion. This feels like one of those shows ...
Obligatory warning: This thread is SOOOOO not safe for work because of the language. Well, maybe if you work in a porno shop with drunken sailors who have gone off of their Tourette's meds. No...even they would blush. But in this context all of that seems vaguely appropriate.
An absolutely hilarious account, and a pretty accurate one too. Now, Kings fans weren't lining up to jump off of the Tower Bridge because the team selected Jason Thompson. It was because of the cruel way in which the Draft Gods had toyed with them, and did so for the second straight year. Ziller mentioned that this year's Draft felt a little too much like last year's, when the Kings hoped to get Brandan Wright or Joakim Noah before they disappeared from the draft board in the two picks before it was Sacramento's turn.
Hopefully Thompson turns out to be more than a serviceable big man for the Kings. Because after the way the last two draft nights have gone down in Sacramento, the fans of the team seem to deserve it.
Crystal Ballin'takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.
It's almost sad that, with the NBA Draft in New York, we won't get to see Knicks fans freak out and boo whoever they take simply because Isiah Thomas is in charge. They still might boo, but it will likely be a force of habit thing rather than because they think Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni will screw this thing up. But to think that the Knicks will be a quick rebuild seems a bit too much to ask.
Picks: #6 Needs: They're gonna need a new point guard (Stephon Marbury "might" not use that option, but he's still gone sooner than later), they need a tough inside presence (Zach Randolph/Eddy Curry = notsomuch) and they need players that fit D'Antoni's system. Good thing they have so many picks.
Best case scenario: Jerryd Bayless falls into their laps at six, which is looking more and more likely as word seems to slip out that Seattle is interested in Russell Westbrook. On the other hand, there wouldn't be anything wrong with getting someone to take #6 and Zach Randolph (contract that lasts past the two year window they're clearly eying) in exchange for a move down the board. More likely scenario: Zeke calls Donnie and offers him Marbury and the number six for Randolph. Things get awkward. Then, the Knicks take Bayless or Eric Gordon, depending on how the top five shakes out.
On this episode of the Young And The Cap Flexible...
FanHouse fixes a decade of draft-day blunders in 
ESPN.com reports the Blazers have agreed to give Dallas the No. 24 pick, the No. 56 pick and a 2010 second round choice to move up ... 
The Hornets should be very afraid. With 
Imagine 
Here's a look at the top ten players 
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