Basketball

Time to take a temporary break from examining the draft class in order to dip into the Mailbag! Dave, I like your rundown of draft prospects. You're encouraging me that there are guys worth taking in this draft! That's my question. Every year somebody says the current draft is weak. Every year good players emerge anyway. Many of them are drafted late in the first round or even in the second. Can we stop with this "weak draft" stuff now? Gary Dave, National writers are suggesting that everybody wants to sell their picks this year because of the supposedly weak draft. The Blazers should buy those picks then. History shows there's talent in every draft. If the Blazers get a few picks and play it right they can be set. It's a cheaper road to success than free agency. NathanB The point about there being some talent in every draft--maybe even a couple players approaching star level--is essentially correct. It's modified by a couple of factors though. 1. Some drafts really are weaker than others. Many of the players we've been discussing wouldn't be considered great options for the Blazers. We're forced to discuss them because there's not that much differentiating the best from the worst of them. I've already profiled 7 centers: Steven Adams, Cody Zeller, Alex Len, Kelly Olynyk, Mason Plumlee, Gorgui Dieng, and Rudy Gobert. There's no way that many guys would be in consideration at #10 or a modest trade up/down move in a normal year. One way to look at it: "This draft is deep in centers!" The more accurate assessment: "All of these guys have pronounced weaknesses and nobody's been able to put himself head and shoulders above the crowd." It's not going to come down to finding a sure-fire hit. There aren't any. It'll be a matter of deciding whose strengths you like, whose weaknesses you can live with, and how much risk you can tolerate while waiting to see if these guys develop. Lather, rinse, repeat for players at other positions. Taking two or three risks instead of one isn't necessarily a sound strategy for the future. 2. There's talent in every draft, but your ability to mine it is limited by your analysis capability. Everybody drafts perfectly in hindsight. Nobody can anticipate perfectly though. I'm not arguing that drafting well is pure luck. Some people are better at it than others. But "better" only means a percentage increase of getting it right, not a guarantee. Even the good guys miss. The chances of missing increase the farther back in the draft you go and the shallower the talent pool becomes. It's easy to go through each year's draft, list all the adequate players drafted after the 15th pick in the first round, and say, "See? There's talent in every draft!" But the assertion only makes a functional difference if you can show a team's ability to correctly identify and obtain that late-draft talent over a long period of time. When you make that list of adequate late-draft players you're pretty much going to find that they went to a bunch of different teams. A couple franchises--OKC and San Antonio come to mind--may have prospered more than others but even they're not optimal with every deep pick. Nor have the Blazers shown the capability to prosper in kind. In other words, the talent may be there in every draft but your ability to get it isn't, even if you theoretically have the picks to make that possible. Nobody parses prospects that well. Chances are getting more late picks will simply cause you to draft, and pay, more late-round misses. Unless you can target a specific player you like for a specific reason, getting extra picks isn't going to lead you to more success. Dave, Do you think that LA should develop a 3 point shot? As much as I am loath to move Aldridge farther from the basket why not have take two steps back for a more efficient shot. Seeing Chris Bosh splashing 3s in playoffs made me think of our "mayor of midrange" and what a poor shot the lon

On-again, off-again negotiations to trade DeAndre Jordan and a No. 1 draft pick to Boston for the coach and forward are reportedly set to continue Thursday. Clippers also meet with Brian Shaw again.The saga between the Clippers and the Boston Celtics continued, with the two teams resuming negotiations Wednesday on a deal that was supposedly dead one day, came back to life another day but was unable to be completed by the end of the day.

The saga between the Celtics and the Clippers are becoming more and more like an episode of the Walking Dead. Until the Clippers shoot the proverbial bullet in the head by signing another coach not named Doc Rivers, the trade is still alive. Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted earlier today that the the Clippers reached out to the Celtics this afternoon to resume dialogue on a possible deal. This despite multiple reports claiming that the Clippers "felt good" about hiring Scott, Shaw, or Hollins.So what triggered the Clippers to reach out to the Celtics? Was it a phone call from Chris Paul demanding this trade happens? Were the Clippers just posturing hoping that Danny Ainge caves in and accept the deal for just Deandre Jordan and one first round pick?Regardless of what caused the Clippers to contact the Celtics, it appears more and more likely that Ainge will get the two first round picks they were seeking for along with Center Deandre Jordan.So what does this mean for the C's? CoachingWith Doc Rivers moving to LA, the Celtics would need to find a replacement for their coaching vacancy. Interestingly enough, former Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro is considered at the top of their preferred list. Unless the Celtics are planning on tanking next season, hiring Del Negro will be a huge mistake. Between his time with the Bulls and the Clippers, his defensive scheme seems non existent and offensively I am not sure if he actually has a strategy. If I had my preference, I would like to see the Celtics hire Jerry Sloan. Sloan's offensive philosophy would best suite the Celtics current roster, allowing Rajon Rondo to attack using a pick and roll with Jordan, or hit a cutting Avery Bradley or Jeff Green. This should be big improvement over last year's anemic offense.Secondary Option: Jeff Van Gundy - Proven defensive system. Would utilize both Bradley's defensive prowess as well as Jordan's ability to protect the paint.PlayersCenter - Deandre JordanPower Forward - Brandon Bass or Jared SullingerSmall Forward - Jeff GreenShooting Guard - Avery BradleyPoint Guard - Rajon RondoBenchBass or SullingerCourtney LeeJason TerryTerrance WilliamsFab MeloLooking at the roster above, the Celtics have multiple needs one major need would be another scorer specially off the bench. With the 16th pick overall, the Celtics could use a player like Shane Larkin who many believe is one of the best pick and role players in the draft. Besides his pick and roll ability, Larkin is also a pretty good shooter which could be the perfect contrast to Rajon Rondo. Secondary option I would like to see Shabazz Muhammad in a Celtic uniform, but I doubt he would last this long. As far as free agency, the Celtics should go after Elton Brand. Brand could assist in replacing KG's role of veteran leadership and a strong mid range game. With his size and his physicality, the Celtics could also play him as a Center. Watching Fab Melo last year, I am not sure if he's ready or if he'll ever be ready to contribute. www.BostonSportsLink.com The saga between the Celtics and the Clippers are becoming more and more like an episode of the Walking Dead. Until the Clippers shoot the proverbial bullet in the head by signing another coach not named Doc Rivers, the trade is still alive. Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted earlier today that the the Clippers reached out to the Celtics this afternoon to resume dialogue on a possible deal. This despite multiple reports claiming that the Clippers "felt good" about hiring Scott, Shaw, or Hollins.So what triggered the Clippers to reach out to the Celtics? Was it a phone call from Chris Paul demanding this trade happens? Were the Clippers just posturing hoping that Danny Ainge caves in and accept the deal for just Deandre Jordan and one first round pick?Regardless of what caused the Clippers to contact the Celtics, it appears more and more likely that Ainge will get the two first round picks they were seeking for along with

On Wednesday, Josh Kroenke continued his all-out assault on the Nuggets front office after the most successful regular season in franchise history. The Denver Post’s Chris Dempsey is reporting the Nuggets have lost two more front office members in director of player personnel, Mike Bratz, and scouting director Dan Tolzman. While Bratz’s future remains up in the air, the Post’s Benjamin Hochman is reporting Tolzman has taken a “director-level scouting job” with the Raptors. The number of front office members to leave the Nuggets organization this summer now stands at four — and counting. First, if you haven’t seen Pete D’Alessandro’s introductory press conference as the Sacramento Kings’ new general manager, I highly suggest you take the time to watch it. It’s very interesting from a Nuggets fan’s standpoint. Why? Because Pete D’Al comes off as an incredibly intelligent, incredibly savvy, incredibly hungry and incredibly passionate dude. You know, the exact type of guy who generally succeeds in the everyday world and who usually isn’t found in an NBA front office. I must admit: I wasn’t really depressed about the Nuggets’ offseason debacle until I watched that press conference. That’s sort of when it hit me, as in: Holy crap, is this really happening? While there’s no guarantee D’Al will turn into the next Masai Ujiri, it doesn’t take a genius to recognize talent — and that dude has it. At this juncture I feel pretty confident saying the Nuggets lost two of the future (and current, in Ujiri’s case) top five general managers in the league. In his presser D’Al talked for a long time. He answered many questions and even gave a shoutout to the Sacramento Kings TrueHoop blog, Cowbell Kingdom. But of the half hour he spent covering everything from his childhood to advanced statistics, one specific part of his speech stood out like a sore thumb, and that was his explanation as to why he fled Denver to Sacramento. This is what he had to say: To work with Josh would have been incredible. But when are you gonna step out? And when are you gonna do your thing? When are you gonna actually take a leap and believe in what you can do? I’ve always been that second guy. I’ve always been, you know, the guy who could help. And we’ve had success everywhere I’ve gone. And I feel I’m ready. That one paragraph said more about the current state of the Nuggets than any columnist, blogger or talking head has said over the last three weeks since Ujiri first announced he was leaving for Toronto. In a brief, eight-sentence monologue, D’Al essentially confirmed the one thing we’ve been wanting to know all along: Yes, Josh Kroenke is heavily involved in the day-to-day operations of Denver Nuggets; and no, he doesn’t plan on relinquishing those duties anytime soon. Remember, D’Al was in the running for the HEAD general manager position in Denver. He was supposed to be replacing Ujiri to be THE guy. He wasn’t interviewing to be assistant GM. He was already assistant GM. Yet… yet… D’Al TOTALLY answered that question as if he was STILL going to be playing second fiddle to someone else. That someone else, obviously being the aforementioned Josh Kroenke. This summer it’s become very apparent that Josh Kroenke is running the show in Denver; however, I feel his exact role in the organization has been somewhat blurry… until now. To me, that D’Al quote said it all. I know it’s an extremely small sample size and usually I’m not one to over analyze the routine banalities of a press conference, but this is an exception. D’Al’s was honest as he could be throughout that entire interview. He didn’t skate around anything and made a point of answering each question with authenticity. (After all, this was his introduc

I have decided to do my ranking strictly on a position by position basis. My reasoning is two fold; 1.) I have a significant bias towards big-man, 2.) I don't yet know how to grade all positions, on a position independent basis. Big men produce more wins, but grading all players on just that scale is not the best way to view this. Any NBA team must fill 5 positions, and you cannot fill all 5 with only big men. While big men will contribute more to a teams wins, one must view all players through the lens of "opportunity cost". A center may out produce a SG, but if that SG out produces the average SG by 20%, then the choice of selecting the big man must be weighed against opportunity cost of passing on the SG. So until I can develop a fair way to assess all players on a scale that measures that opportunity cost, I think it is best to rate players by position. I have separated all players into positions. Some players will appear in two groups (say C and PF, or SG and SF). I used DraftExpress and NBADraft.net as the arbiter on this, if they identified a player in a position then I included that player in that position group. My Rank for SG Name Draft Express Top 100 NBA Draft.net top 100 1 Victor Oladipo 3 9 2 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 21 15 3 C.J. McCollum 8 5 4 Ben McLemore 5 1 5 Reggie Bullock 28 39 6 Glen Rice Jr. 31 35 7 Jamaal Franklin 23 34 8 Shabazz Muhammad 11 12 9 Carrick Felix 71 56 10 B.J. Young 59 61 11 Archie Goodwin 33 37 12 Vander Blue 68 60 13 Lorenzo Brown 50 25 14 Brandon Paul 67 53 15 Michael Snaer 66 63 16 Allen Crabbe 29 28 17 Erick Green 22 30 18 Alex Abrines 53 62 19 Tim Hardaway Jr. 32 20 20 Seth Curry 75 75 Below is a breakdown of all the centers based upon their physical attributes, their "Length", and their "Athleticism". You will not some players do not have data for some measurements. The final table shows what how well the player measured relative to the average of a player of his height, or other measurements, based upon size specific algorithms. Physical Attributes Name Height Inches no Shoes Height Inches w/shoes Weight Body Fat Hand Length Hand Width Victor Oladipo 75.25 76.25 213 6.6% 8.75 9.25 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 76.5 77.5 204 6.5% 8.5 9 C.J. McCollum 74.25 75.25 197 8.6% 8 9.5 Ben McLemore 75.5 76.75 189 5.0% 8.75 9.5 Reggie Bullock 77.75 79 200 7.0% 8.5 9 Glen Rice Jr. 76.5 77.75 211 8.5% 8.5 9 Jamaal Franklin 76 77.25 191 8.3% 8.5 8.25 Shabazz Muhammad 76.75 78.25 222 9.0% 9 10 Carrick Felix 76.75 78.25 203 3.3% 8.5 9.5 B.J. Young 74.25 75.5 179 4.7% 8.5 9.5 Archie Goodwin 75.75 77.25 189 4.6% 8.5 9 Vander Blue 75.5 77.25 197 4.6% 8.5 9.5 Lorenzo Brown 76 77.25 189 4.0% 8.25 8.5 Brandon Paul 74.75 76 201 5.3% 8.5 9.5 Michael Snaer 75.5 76.5 201 7.0% 8 9.5 Allen Crabbe 77.25 78.25 197 4.7% 8.25 8.5 Erick Green 73.5 75 178 4.4% 8.5 9 Alex Abrines 75.85 77 190 Tim Hardaway Jr. 76.5 78.25 199 6.1% 8 9.25 Seth Curry 73 75 179 9.6% 8 8.25 Length Name Wingspan Inches Reach in Inches No Step Vert Reach Max Vert Reach No Step Vert Max Vert Victor Oladipo 81.25 100.5 133.5 142.5 33 42 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 80 100.5 129.5 135 29 34.5 C.J. McCollum 78.25 96.5 128.5 135 32 38.5 Ben McLemore 79.75 100.5 133 142.5 32.5 42 Reggie Bullock 80.75 102 133 138.5 31 36.5 Glen Rice Jr. 81.25 101.5 134.5 142 33 40.5 Jamaal Franklin 83.25 103.5 Shabazz Muhammad 83 104.5 134 141.5 29.5 37 Carrick Felix 81.25 103.5 135.5 142 32 38.5 B.J. Young 80.25 99

Chris Broussard says the Spurs are probably the only team who could rebound from a devastating loss like they did in game 6.

Seven things that matter about the Finals as we head head into a historic Game 7 in Miami. With J.A. Adande, Israel Gutierrez, Alvaro Martin, Michael Wallace, Tom Haberstroh and Royce Young. TrueHoop TV at the Finals.

Will Jay-Z actually represent clients of his newly built sports agency Roc Nation Sports in contract negotiations? Ron Berkowitz, a spokesman for Roc Nation Sports, confirmed to ESPN.com that, as of this week, Jay-Z is now licensed to work as an NBA agent. Juan Perez, president of Roc Nation Sports, also is now certified with the [...]

Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports The last time the New York Knicks were in the NBA Finals, in 1999, Marcus Camby was regularly electrifying Madison Square Garden with blocked shots. The former second-overall pick in the 1996 draft had a solid stint with the Knicks from 1998-2002, averaging 10.13 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. He then went to the Denver Nuggets, where he won NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2007. After bouncing around the league for a few years, the Knicks decided to bring the veteran back last off-season. Camby was supposed to come off the bench and occasionally spell Tyson Chandler in 2012-2013. The center’s 39-year-old-body had other plans, though. Camby spent the better part of last season not fending off opposing shots, but a number of ailments. He struggled to amass any semblance of a consistent run. Given that he was only expected to be a backup, his inconsistency wouldn’t normally be considered a big deal — but the fact that he earned $4.5 million last year gives credence to that assertion, however. Camby is still under contract for the following two seasons, and will be paid over $8.5 million during that tenure. Despite his persistent injury problems, he has no plans to retire. “The game plan is still the same,” Camby’s agent, Richard Kaplan, told ESPNewYork.com. “There’s no reason to believe he won’t be back and won’t take on a greater role next season.” Unless the aging big-man can overcome his seemingly never-ending injury spell, his contract will continue to haunt the Knicks. Joshua Needelman is a New York Knicks writer for Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoshNeedelman. “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

For the past 10 seasons DJ Bedz has been filling the Pepsi Center with the best beats in the league. At every home game I attended this season, I would walk by the DJ booth (Mt. Loud) and yell, "DJ Beeeedz!" I doubt he ever heard me, but I have been curious about what his job entails. I caught up with Cassidy Bednark in a question and answer interview over email. Nate Timmons: DJ Bedz, you are the man behind the sounds at Pepsi Center. Can you tell us a little about yourself? How long have you been in Denver? Are you a big Nuggets fan? Favorite Nuggets memory or story? DJ Bedz: I've been a Nuggets fan since birth. While I don't have one specific memory that jumps out as the most prominent, I can remember a number of things like yesterday: the Jumbotron graphic that showed "The Horse" every time Dan Issel scored a bucket, following Bill Hanzlik out to his minivan after a game to get an autograph, attending the Fat Lever and Calvin Natt basketball camp, trying to figure out how to steal one of those cardboard "3's" they put up around the perimeter of the lower bowl [at McNichols Sports Arena] when Michael Adams was on his consecutive games with a three-pointer made streak, and my first playoff game in 1987 where Mark Aguirre ripped my heart out by hitting a late three-pointer to propel the Mavs to victory over the Nuggets. (This interview is all about music at NBA games, but notice in the following clip, where Michael Adams scores 31 points, there is no music at the Boston Garden ... weird.) NT: How do you come up with the playlists for the games? Do you take requests? DJ Bedz: Every game has certain consistencies and certain things that are variables from a musical standpoint. My boss (Director of In-Game Entertainment, Shawn Martinez) and I are in constant communication, during the off-season and during the season all the way up to right before tip-off. Things like the player introduction beats and the songs we play if we win tend to be premeditated. Additionally, we have a meeting before each game where we discuss the best options for whatever elements may be going on for that specific game (Super Mascot Rocky's skits, special timeouts, halftime, etc.). Beyond that, they mostly trust my judgment after 10 years with the franchise. I'm a little on the superstitious side, so I like to keep certain elements intact if we are winning. So, last year with the way we were playing at home that lent itself to a lot of reoccurring themes (when we won I‘d play "All I Do Is Win", "Celebration", "One More Time", and "September" like clockwork). But really, a lot of it is freestyle with structure. The pre-game hip-hop mix -- as the players are warming up -- is completely off the top of my head. And yes, requests are welcomed. The players constantly want to hear songs. Guys like Blake Olson [Altitude Television Reporter and Host] and Ben Hochman [Denver Post] will reach out from time-to-time. And during games I'm constantly getting blown up on my phone and on social networking sites with requests, and I'll try to honor as many as possible within reason. NT: Are there any rules on when you can play music vs. when you cannot play music? DJ Bedz: You'd be shocked. In particular when the other team has ball. There's a list of nine pre-approved defensive prompts that you can play, if you choose to go outside the list you are only allowed to play things that imply an obvious cadence of "de-fense". About seven years ago the Nuggets were playing a Lithuanian team in the pre-season and I accidentally played the beat from Nu Shooz, "I Can't Wait" while their team had possession of the ball. The Nuggets were hit with a $10,000 fine for that. It's crazy. The Nuggets let that one slide but have made it clear any fines I incur moving forward will come out of my pocket. I have to be very careful. The league also frowns upon doing anything to disparage the referees. So, "Three Blind Mice" is a no no. (Here is that infamou