Basketball

The Spurs' defense isn't always remarkable, but it has been good enough to stop Zach Randolph and the Grizzlies.

While Indiana coach Frank Vogel is taking major heat for sitting Roy Hibbert on the final play of last night’s Pacers/Heat game, it was Paul George’s poor defense on LeBron James that allowed the game winning layup. But enough about basketball. George’s biggest mistake happened when he packed this: I’d wear George’s getup instead of Dwyane Wade’s capri suit pants any day of the week.

As soon as the Charlotte Bobcats were announced to have the 4th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, possibilities starting running through my head. With the Cleveland Cavalier's card yet to appear, we knew that they had a Top 3 pick and a chance to be even better than that. For those of you who don't know, I have maintained that there are really three players that I thought would be excellent fits on the Cavs: Nerlens Noel, Otto Porter, and Alex Len. With a Top 3 pick in hand, they were guaranteed one of these players. But it got better. The absurdly long ESPN show came back from commercial and they announced that the Washington Wizards had the 3rd overall pick. And then the Orlando Magic had the 2nd overall pick. It took me a second to realize what had happened, but then I was like...AHA! The Cavaliers had won the NBA Draft Lottery and had the 1st overall pick in the upcoming draft. I did a little fist-pump. It was a good night. I have been on the Nerlens Noel bandwagon for a long time. During the middle of the season, I wrote that Noel would be the no-brainer top pick for the Cavs if they had the chance. Well now the Cavs have that chance I think they should, uh, take it. There are plenty of other options. There have been rumors that the Cavs will investigate the trade market to see what the Cavs can get in exchange for the #1 pick. The Cavs could also draft someone other than Noel. Otto Porter, Ben McLemore, and others are highly talented prospects. Furthermore, those guys aren't coming off ACL surgery and would be healthy at the very beginning of the season. But I'm here to tell you that we should ignore those options. Well, not completely ignore those options, but mostly ignore them. I'm sure we'll discuss all of these things in the coming weeks before the NBA Draft on June 27th, but I want to get some preliminary arguments out of the way, if only to let you guys know where I stand on the issue. Trading the #1 pick There's the idea that the Cavaliers will try to trade the pick for an established veteran player. I'll admit, this isn't a terrible idea at first glance. We're all tired of seeing the Cavs lose a ton of games and we're tired of young players making stupid mistakes. Adding an established all-star caliber player instead of another 19 year old rookie is fairly appealing. But in order to follow this option, there has to be an appropriate trade opportunity. In other words, which established veteran star are you trading for? And ultimately, that's not a rhetorical question. I really would like some more ideas about this. But where we stand now, I just don't think there's a reasonable trade to be made. The Cavs have expressed interest in trading for Kevin Love but that's not happening. Love didn't like David Kahn. David Kahn is gone. Love was representing the Minnesota Timberwolves at the NBA Draft Lottery. He talked to reporters and said he was excited about the future of the team. He's not getting traded. The other hot target is LaMarcus Aldridge. I don't think this one is very likely either, although I will admit that trading for Aldridge is probably slightly more likely than trading for Kevin Love. Aldridge would be a great fit next to Kyrie Irving, but that doesn't explain why the Blazers would trade him. Furthermore, the Blazers have been looking for a young center to play next to Aldridge since he would rather be playing power forward. They could certainly get that young center with the first overall pick by selecting Nerlens Noel....but then they wouldn't have LaMarcus Aldridge. That doesn't really work now does it? If the Cavs could work out a trade for Aldridge without giving up much more than the #1 pick, you could probably convince me that it was the best move. But other than that type of deal, I'm not sure what other trade opportunities are on the table. You're not trading the top pick for Eric Gordon and the other young stars, such as Paul George, Greg Monroe, or DeMarcus Cousins, are either t

James Pallotta traveled to the Vatican on Wednesday in his role as president of the Italian soccer club A.S. Roma, which will take on rival side Lazio in the Coppa Italia final this weekend. Delegations from the two clubs visited St. Peter's Square during Pope Francis' daily general audience as part of a peace initiative, presenting "Papa Francesco" with jerseys from each side, while Serie A President Maurizio Beretta gave the soccer-loving Argentine Pope a football and a small replica of the Italian Cup. But the Boston-born businessman is also part of the ownership group that runs the Boston Celtics, so Pallotta brought along a home-white Celtics jersey — with "THE POPE" on the back above the No. 1 — to present, as well. How did the Pope respond? OK, cool. He smiled. He digs it! FOX Sports was worried he might not, because it just had his generic title rather than his specific name. But it looks like you got all worried for nothing, FOX Sports. No "epic fail" at the Vatican here. Whew! (Nobody should've worried, anyway. As "The State" taught us many years ago, the Pope-a, he's a so nice-a.) Celtics devotees surely know that No. 1 has long since been retired by the Green in honor of Walter Brown, the team's founder and first owner. So long as Pope Francis doesn't try to check into the Celtics' next home game rocking the retired kit, though, we're betting neither Brown's descendants nor the NBA will mind too much. Pallotta, who was raised Catholic, called meeting the Pope "one of the most emotional experiences in my life," Pallotta said, according to The New Age. We're sure it meant a lot to the Pope, too, considering the last NBA-connected visitor to Vatican City was a little ... off. Pallotta's presentation came less than a week after the Dalai Lama donned a Pelicans hat during a visit to New Orleans to show appreciation for his hosts while on a speaking tour. Here's hoping this doesn't start NBA teams scampering to lock down the support of religious leaders. The competition to lock up the backing of Seventh Day Baptist General Conference General Secretary Jan Lek could prove to be quite fierce, and I don't even want to think about the engram-clearing free-for-all that would be associated with courting Church of Scientology President Heber Jentzsch. Here's another look at Pope Francis admiring his new tank top, via the Celtics' Instagram account: Hat-tip to Gary Dzen of the Boston Globe's Celtics Blog.

After his first season in the NBA Development League, Idaho Stampede head coach Michael Peck will be joining his NBA parent club's (Portland Trail Blazers) Summer League squad in Las Vegas. Peck will be a member of the Portland Trail Blazers coaching staff in Sin City, and hopes to further his understanding of Stott's system before entering his second season in the NBADL. Peck spoke with RidiculousUpside.com and explained his upcoming summer plans. "I will be assisting on the bench with the Blazers in Summer League. I'm anxious to spend some more time with the staff in Portland to expand my feel for coach Stotts' system." Peck said. Peck enters a second year with the Stampede, after leading the successful Findlay Prep program for five seasons prior to his arrival. Peck has developed tremendous talent during his time as a head coach at both levels, and looks to continue doing so in the NBA D-League. After withstanding the initial learning curve, Peck is ready to use every resource available to him. By doing so, the former UNLV video coordinator will expand upon his coaching knowledge, and further develop his craft. Last season, Peck had the opportunity to coach Will Barton, Nolan Smith, Victor Claver and Joel Freeland. Each player spent time with Peck's club on assignment, and also contributed in some fashion for the Blazers. It is an ever-growing trend in the NBA for teams to send players back and forth between their NBADL affiliate, and their own squad multiple times throughout the season. As the Stampede enter their second season as the Blazers' single affiliate, Peck should expect more players from Portland to shuffle through his roster in the upcoming season. On top of preparing for his upcoming Summer League duties, Peck had the chance to spend some important family time following the end of last season. "Initially, after wrapping things up in Boise, I spent some quality time getting re-acquainted with my family. It was nice getting caught up with them and hearing about what I had missed during our season." Peck commented. In his first season guiding the Stampede, Peck finished 19-31 overall, but went 9-7 in his last 16 games, including a 3-game winning streak to finish the year. As the season progressed, Peck became more acclimated with the nuances of coaching in the unique NBADL setting, and the Stampede's results showcased that. Despite Peck's season ending at the beginning of last April, the young head coach kept himself plenty busy by working on different projects. "I've become immersed in watching and following the playoffs. One of my top priorities this offseason was to closely watch and study how different teams are defending the pick-and-roll (middle, side, angle, flat, etc...)" Peck continued, "I keep in very close contact with the Blazers front office. I've mainly written some reports on players in the draft that I'm familiar with, having coached them in various settings, i.e. high school, elite high school camps. I've also kept in contact with our players from this past year just to check in and see how they're doing." Peck added. By implementing Peck into their offseason activities, the Trail Blazers are demonstrating a commitment to their NBA D-League affiliate. The benefits by doing so, will surely pay dividends for both franchises this upcoming season.

With so many roster spots available this summer the Atlanta Hawks can go a number of different directions in the 2013 NBA Draft. The Hawks have four total selections including two back-to-back first round picks at No. 17 and 18. CBSSports.com NBA writer Matt Moore has updated his mock draft post lottery and projects University of Kentucky freshman guard Archie Goodwin to the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 17 pick. Archie Goodwin, SG, Kentucky: A change of pace wing, which they already have some of, but Goodwin's the best left on the board. Goodwin was Kentucky's leading scorer during this past season but elected to enter the draft even after the Wildcats' missed out on the NCAA Tournament. He stands 6-5 in shoes and has a 6-10 wingspan on a solid 198 pound frame. He is a plus athlete that has a good burst and could eventually develop into a factor at both ends of the floor. He still is just 18 years old. Here is his draft combine interview with DraftExpress: Most experts have had the Hawks going big with at least one of their choices and Moore is no different projecting Pittsburgh center Stephen Adams to the Hawks with the No. 18 pick. Steven Adams, C, Pittsburgh: A great fit here, depending on who they hire for coach. Adams measured out to an even seven foot in shoes with a 7'4" wingspan and over a 9 foot standing reach. He weighed in at 255 pounds and averaged just over seven points and six rebounds at Pitt as a freshman. Adams biggest asset is his mobility and quickness for his size but he hasn't developed into much of a great offensive player yet. Still like Goodwin, he is very young and there is room for quite a bit of growth. Here is his draft combine interview from DraftExpress:

We’ve all done this: After a really difficult project, no matter how rewarding it was, right afterward we say “no way, I’m never doing that again.” Then six months later we look back on it and think “you know, it wasn’t that bad” and talk ourselves into doing it again. That’s Mike Krzyzewski and coaching…

What Chris Andersen did Wednesday shouldn’t be forgotten. For a while, the team with the first, third or fourth picks of the 2003 National Basketball Association draft was kept afloat by the first pick of the 2001 NBA Developmental League draft, the anomaly who had been adrift for so much of his basketball life. Andersen [...]

In one notable way, Frank Vogel dares to be different from other coach in the NBA. Road teams choose which basket to defend. Vogel’s Pacers are the only team, when visiting AmericanAirlines Arena, chooses to defend the basket closest to their bench in the first half. That way, his offense is nearer to him down [...]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qyCPvE-kHI LeBron James said he’s pleased to hear Mike Krzyzewski reportedly will return as Team USA coach in 2016, but said it’s too early for him to commit to playing. “I think it’s great,” James said. “What he means to USA Basketball goes beyond just what we do on the court.” “I respect and trust [...]