1. Say Minnesota wins the right to draft John Wall. From a pure basketball perspective, is there a better fit for John Wall's talents than playing alongside Kevin Love in Minnesota? Love is lauded for his ability to rebound and start the fast break with a quick outlet pass. I don't think I need to explain how that compliments Wall's game. Problem here is Wall and Love don't fit perfectly with Al Jefferson, Ricky Rubio, and Johnny Flynn. From where I am sitting, Amare Stoudemire would fit in perfectly with Kevin Love and John Wall. Sota would have plenty of assets to see that deal through, and all indications are the Suns are willing to move Amare. I think the Suns would let Nash mentor Rubio for a couple years, and also take on a decent player/contract from a third team.
The trick would be finding that third team, but it shouldn't be too hard to find somebody willing to take the talented Al Jefferson. I'm thinking the Suns get Rubio and Sam Dalembert and Corey Brewer; Sixers get Al Jefferson and Johnny Flynn +Expiring Contract; Minnesota gets Amare Stoudemire and Andre Igoudala. The Sixers and Suns are motivated by financial concerns to make a move that might not make the most basketall sense. The Sixers and Suns might both need draft considerations to get the deal to go through (Minnesota has two first round picks this year, and should have the 32nd pick as well). Also, the T-Wolves would have to win the lottery, and the Suns and Sixers would have to hold off until the offseason to trade their stars for this scenario to play out. So... yea, it is pretty much a done deal.
2. I would love to see Cousins end up in Oklahoma City. I think he is the perfect big guy for the best young team in the league. This one is a lot easier than figuring out how Minnesota can become an attractive destination for J Wall. OKC's GM is one of the best at acquiring assets, and they have two first round picks in this draft. Those picks combined with their financial flexibility make it pretty easy to move up in the draft. All they need is a team that is looking to dump salary and isn't crazy about Cousins as a top five pick. I'm thinking a team like Washington, Houston, or Golden State will be willing to make a salary dump move for a team wanting to trade up for Cousins. Too many possibilities to get into the specifics, but I would love to see OKC moving up and landing Cousins.
3. Are there any teams dumb enough to win the lottery and then trade John Wall? I don't have any insider information on what they think about Wall, but I can see Golden State being the sucker that would make this move. For those that don't follow the league closely, the Warriors front office is a mess (that is being kind). It would depend where the other teams line up in the draft, but I could see Golden State making a move that landed Wesley Johnson, a really good veteran (like Al Jefferson or Andre Igoudala) as well as the ability to dump Corey Maggette's contract. It would make the Warriors better in the short term, but the NBA is all about superstars. John Wall is a superduperstar in training. He is on his way to becoming a top ten NBA player, and there is no way I would trade one of those guys unless I thought I had a great chance to win a championship in the short term.
4. Is Patterson an NBA starter? I have almost zero doubt that Patterson is on his way to being a very good NBA player, it is more of a question of how good? He has been able to showcase his versatility this year. Even though his #'s are slightly down, it isn't hurting his draft stock. Being the third option on this team is more like the role he will play in the league, and most star collegiate players have trouble adjusting to a secondary role. Pat's character has shown through with his willingness to accept and thrive in this role, and I think it is going to pay off big for Pat. Now, if he can find a good balance of aggresiveness and team chemistry come March, his place in the top ten-fifteen picks of the NBA draft should be safe.
5. Who is the sleeper? Personally, I like Greg Monroe and Damion James. Both are projected outside the top ten right now, and I think both have a chance to become really good Pro's.
Let me know what you think in the comments section, or if you see better trade options than what I put out there.
The problem with Sota is even though they own the rights to Rubio he isn't coming to the League anytime soon and that could be a major deterrent to any team wanting to trade for him. I just think a lot would have to happen in order for him to be a key piece for any deal and I think even though they are beyond terrible that the Nets would be the best fit for Wall. They have a young nucleus, kazillionaire owner, they are planning a new huge arena in Brooklyn, they have a ton of cap space after this year which could land them a key player through trade in someone like Stoudemire but also have room for another Superstar. My ideal scenario would be Wall to the Nets with Stoudemire and Lebron signing in the off season which isn't far fetched. Those players along with Lopez, Lee, Harris, and so forth would make a splash in Brooklyn and the bright lights of New York.
ReplyDeleteI think Patterson will be a little better Hayes in the NBA and hope he gets drafted earlier but would love to see him with Meeks and the Bucks.
I think whoever ends up with the 2nd pick will almost be forced to take Boogie. I mean you don't come across too many 6'11 bigs with the skills and agility of Cuz. He isn't Shaq and won't have the same effect on the league as Shaq but he will be a force that will be hard to pass up. People will say it depends on the #2 teams needs but everyone in the league needs a 6'11 280lb skilled big man. That is what wins in the NBA.
I agree in general in that I would probably take Cousins #2. I still think it depends on who goes where. I agree that Wall and Bron to the Nets makes a ton of sense, but that is something I have talked about in the past. There is only a 25% chance the Nets will get the #1 pick, so I was going into some of the other possible scenarios.
ReplyDeleteRubio is only one year away. After next season he has ZERO buyout. He will be free to come to the league. If you are the Suns and trying to save money, I think they would love to stash an extremely talented player overseas as the heir apparent to Nash. I don't think Rubio makes sense for everybody, but I think he is perfect in Phoenix.
Back to the Nets, they won't be in Brooklyn next year. I am not sure if Bron would want to wait it out in Jersey. If they were going to be in Brooklyn next year I could see it, but it doesn't make as much sense as things are. The closer the summer gets, the more it looks like Bron is staying with the Cavs.
If the Twolves have the #2 pick and don't make any trades, I think Evan Turner is a WAAAY better fit than Cousins. In my opinion, Wesley Johnson and Evan Turner are both on the same level as Cousins. Wall, Cousins, Turner, and Johnson could all become All Stars. I agree that Cuz is a rare talent, but it still depends on how the lottery balls fall. I could see Washington wanting to stay away from Cousins as well because they might be more concerned with Character with their recent issues. There are a lot of what ifs, but I don't think Cuz is a slam dunk for #2 even if he should be.
ReplyDeleteI admit it is a little too soon to be looking ahead. After the trade deadline we will have a little clearer picture, but there are even more possibilities right now which make it a little more interesting to think ahead.
ReplyDeleteTeams are weighing basketball decisions against what they want to do financially. It isn't a hard sell to owners to trade for expiring contracts and save some money in the current financial climate. Teams are hemorrhaging money left and right.
By the way, I plugged the three way deal into the ESPN trade machine and got it to pan out financially. According to their (Hollinger's PER) formula, the trade is fairly close. The Sixers are getting the worst of the deal, but gain a lot of financial flexibility. They would probably need some considerable draft considerations to make the deal go through, but the deal makes a lot of sense. Main thing is, Sota has to get Wall before they could deal both Rubio and Flynn, so it is pure speculation for now.
I think Wall and Cuz are 1 and 2 right now. If Cousins keeps playing like he is, he could make a case for the top pick. He's been that dominate the last month. Still you gotta expect Wall to have that spot. I think Turner could be a better fit, but I am not sure how anyone could pass on Cousins right now, good fit or not. My sleeper in the draft is Mark Krebs.
ReplyDeleteI can see people passing on Cousins. He isn't a slam dunk. If he were to leave school and go to the same lengths that Patterson and Blake Griffin have to get in the best possible shape and show he is 100% committed to being great I could see a strong case for him being an unquestioned #2. He is quick for a guy that size, but he is not abnormally quick for top notch NBA big guys. If he is able to improve on his explosiveness/conditioning I will be shocked if he isn't taken #2 though. If he declares for the draft and shows up for workouts out of shape I think teams will pass on him for safer bets.
ReplyDeleteWhat about my sleeper pick though?
ReplyDeleteGood call on Krebs. His nbadraft.net profile compares him to is a mix between Matt Heisenbuttel/Lebron James
ReplyDelete