*NBA THREAD* Abe will be missed (3 Viewers)

[hxperson]

They don't have to deal him. Bosh didn't get dealt during the season. Neither did James. There are always sign and trades

Yeah, and you see what Toronto and Clev got in the sign and trades. SCREWED.

It was a calculated risk. If the Cavs trade LeBron in midseason, then there's a 0% chance of re-signing him and keeping him in Cleveland. They went all-in to try to get him to stay and actually got a little lucky because they could have ended up with nothing (but instead got two 1st round picks and two 2nd round picks). Also, since the last of those 1st round picks could come in 2017 (after the Wade, Both & LeBron contracts expire), they'll probably end up with a top-5 pick in the end.The Raptors got the #5 pick in the 2011 draft so they didn't exactly get screwed, either.

I think you should do a little more research.

What he said was all correct, and actually the Raptors got two 1st rounders this year from the deal, Miami's and their own back.

This is true but the Raps pick was lottery protected I believe, so Miami wouldn't have gotten it anyway.

 

[D'OHtis]

Via Rotoworld:

The Suns have offered Marcin Gortat plus the No. 13 pick for the Wolves' No. 2 pick, according to ESPN's Chad Ford.The Wolves have called just about every team in the league, so the rumors are running rampant. All we can really gather is that they don't really want Derrick Williams. Gortat emerged as a true difference-maker at the center spot for the Suns last year, so it's a little surprising to hear his name on the table

With all due to respect to whomever wrote the commentary. If you think Derrick Williams is an All-Star that you can build around, you do this deal in a heartbeat.Wolves are looking for a center & Gortat's contract is reasonable, hopefully the Wolves agree . Scared to think of the attendance at US Airways post-Nash with the team they have now. Gortat, while a nice NBA center, isn't going to sell tickets. This team is going to be amongst the worst in the league soon so I'm hopeful Williams can help turn it around quicker than I expect with their current cast.

 

[Abraham]

15 and 10 the last two months of the season for gortat. Pretty solid numbers, although he had Nash.

 

[D'OHtis]

15 and 10 the last two months of the season for gortat. Pretty solid numbers, although he had Nash.

And played next to a guy that refuses to go down low, Channing Frye. Gortat was the best down low of a bad bad lot.Gortat's a serviceable center, but not a huge difference maker. JMO They'd be getting an absolute steal getting Derrick Williams for that. Gortat's probably the one and only piece that'd get the Suns anything of value in return. (I don't think Nash nets them a potential difference maker the caliber of Williams)For a franchise that needs a difference maker for the future in the worst way, they'd be nuts to let Gortat stand in the way of it. (Judging by the fact they're the ones sending the offer reportedly, it seems they won't)

 

[biggamer3]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.

Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.

Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

 

[Cliff Clavin]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

Probably not much. Kobe would have cried and the Nyets would have traded him to the Lakers.

 

[biggamer3]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

Probably not much. Kobe would have cried and the Nyets would have traded him to the Lakers.

Maybe, but they could have held him for a few years and got a lot for him.Love all the guys who went before Kobe, Fuller, Lorenzon Wright, Samaki Walker.Interesting to hear what Hubie and Pitino thought of Kobe before he was drafted. They said countless times he was a wizard on offense and had all star moves.How teams were willing to pass on that upside for marginal talents like Samaki and Potapenko is nuts

 

[TobiasFunke]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

Didn't Kobe, or at least his agent, tell them not to pick him?

 

[Kev4029]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

Probably not much. Kobe would have cried and the Nyets would have traded him to the Lakers.

Maybe, but they could have held him for a few years and got a lot for him.Love all the guys who went before Kobe, Fuller, Lorenzon Wright, Samaki Walker.Interesting to hear what Hubie and Pitino thought of Kobe before he was drafted. They said countless times he was a wizard on offense and had all star moves.How teams were willing to pass on that upside for marginal talents like Samaki and Potapenko is nuts

Kobe would have gone much higher but it was well known that he was trying to force his way to the Lakers. So they weren't so much passing on Kobe as passing on the headache that drafting Kobe would have brought.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

Probably not much. Kobe would have cried and the Nyets would have traded him to the Lakers.

Exactly. Or he goes to Duke and re-enters draft later.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

Probably not much. Kobe would have cried and the Nyets would have traded him to the Lakers.

Maybe, but they could have held him for a few years and got a lot for him.Love all the guys who went before Kobe, Fuller, Lorenzon Wright, Samaki Walker.Interesting to hear what Hubie and Pitino thought of Kobe before he was drafted. They said countless times he was a wizard on offense and had all star moves.How teams were willing to pass on that upside for marginal talents like Samaki and Potapenko is nuts

They weren't passing on Kobe the player. They were passing on the headache and the crying.

 

[biggamer3]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

Probably not much. Kobe would have cried and the Nyets would have traded him to the Lakers.

Maybe, but they could have held him for a few years and got a lot for him.Love all the guys who went before Kobe, Fuller, Lorenzon Wright, Samaki Walker.Interesting to hear what Hubie and Pitino thought of Kobe before he was drafted. They said countless times he was a wizard on offense and had all star moves.How teams were willing to pass on that upside for marginal talents like Samaki and Potapenko is nuts

They weren't passing on Kobe the player. They were passing on the headache and the crying.

ah, in 1996 i wasnt following sports really so I wasnt aware of the contract thing. Sounded from draft like he would play where he was drafted with everyone clamoring for him to go to Nets. They even asked Calipari why not Kobe and he said Kobe was fine but they liked Kittles and his 4 years of college.If Nets or any team drafting after them had held onto Kobe and not gave in, what options did he have?

 

[tommyGunZ]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

Probably not much. Kobe would have cried and the Nyets would have traded him to the Lakers.

Maybe, but they could have held him for a few years and got a lot for him.Love all the guys who went before Kobe, Fuller, Lorenzon Wright, Samaki Walker.Interesting to hear what Hubie and Pitino thought of Kobe before he was drafted. They said countless times he was a wizard on offense and had all star moves.How teams were willing to pass on that upside for marginal talents like Samaki and Potapenko is nuts

They weren't passing on Kobe the player. They were passing on the headache and the crying.

ah, in 1996 i wasnt following sports really so I wasnt aware of the contract thing. Sounded from draft like he would play where he was drafted with everyone clamoring for him to go to Nets. They even asked Calipari why not Kobe and he said Kobe was fine but they liked Kittles and his 4 years of college.If Nets or any team drafting after them had held onto Kobe and not gave in, what options did he have?

He had no options, and would have reported to the Nets. Of course Kobe was trying to use what little leverage he had (everyone does) but the whole "Kobe FORCED his way to LA" is revisionist history.

 

[the moops]

I would hope the Wolves could get more for the number 2 than Gortat and the 14.

Rumors are flying everywhere.

Seems the Wolves have inquired about Hibbert, Bynum, and McGee.

 

[Abraham]

Someone is bound to have something the wolves will accept.

Dying for the rockets to get Bismarck.

 

[Kev4029]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

Probably not much. Kobe would have cried and the Nyets would have traded him to the Lakers.

Maybe, but they could have held him for a few years and got a lot for him.Love all the guys who went before Kobe, Fuller, Lorenzon Wright, Samaki Walker.Interesting to hear what Hubie and Pitino thought of Kobe before he was drafted. They said countless times he was a wizard on offense and had all star moves.How teams were willing to pass on that upside for marginal talents like Samaki and Potapenko is nuts

They weren't passing on Kobe the player. They were passing on the headache and the crying.

ah, in 1996 i wasnt following sports really so I wasnt aware of the contract thing. Sounded from draft like he would play where he was drafted with everyone clamoring for him to go to Nets. They even asked Calipari why not Kobe and he said Kobe was fine but they liked Kittles and his 4 years of college.If Nets or any team drafting after them had held onto Kobe and not gave in, what options did he have?

He would have gone to Europe where he probably would have made similar if not better money.

 

[the moops]

What would you folks do if you were the Wolves? They are in a somewhat tough spot with the 2nd pick.

If they think Williams can play the 3, then they got to take him, IMO. But they have the cluster #### of power forwards on their team and they need to sort that out.

I would be more inclined to package the 2 and Beasley for a center. The rumors are swirling and I doubt that gets them any of the Hibbert, McGee, Bynum. And it is too much to give to get Gortat. I wonder if a #2 and Beasley for Gortat, #13 and another piece from Phoenix is doable.

 

[Abraham]

Send it to Utah and get Jefferson back.

 

[Mr. PadresLakers]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.

Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.

Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

Probably not much. Kobe would have cried and the Nyets would have traded him to the Lakers.

Maybe, but they could have held him for a few years and got a lot for him.Love all the guys who went before Kobe, Fuller, Lorenzon Wright, Samaki Walker.

Interesting to hear what Hubie and Pitino thought of Kobe before he was drafted. They said countless times he was a wizard on offense and had all star moves.

How teams were willing to pass on that upside for marginal talents like Samaki and Potapenko is nuts

They weren't passing on Kobe the player. They were passing on the headache and the crying.

ah, in 1996 i wasnt following sports really so I wasnt aware of the contract thing. Sounded from draft like he would play where he was drafted with everyone clamoring for him to go to Nets. They even asked Calipari why not Kobe and he said Kobe was fine but they liked Kittles and his 4 years of college.If Nets or any team drafting after them had held onto Kobe and not gave in, what options did he have?

He would have gone to Europe where he probably would have made similar if not better money.

Sounds familiarTeenagers have very little actual power. If any team thought Kobe would be Kobe they would have picked him and wait it out if needed.

 

[[scooter]]

If Nets or any team drafting after them had held onto Kobe and not gave in, what options did he have?

He had no options, and would have reported to the Nets.

Of course he had options. Just like Danny Ferry had options. (Although as a high schooler I think Kobe would have had to sit out more than just 1 year, like college guys did.)But that's beside the point. Charlotte was planning to trade the #13 pick from the start, and the only reason they drafted Kobe is because the Lakers asked them to.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

NBA TV has old drafts on now.Sheesh Nets took Kittles at 8 when everyone was telling them they must go Kobe there.Pitino said it best, will Kobe be a good player, yeah for sure but in five years time. Coaches dont last 5 years so why pick Kobe when kittles can help you right away. really sucks when coaches pick selfishly and not for good of team. Can u imagine how different the NBA would have been in Kobe had gone to nets?

Probably not much. Kobe would have cried and the Nyets would have traded him to the Lakers.

Maybe, but they could have held him for a few years and got a lot for him.Love all the guys who went before Kobe, Fuller, Lorenzon Wright, Samaki Walker.Interesting to hear what Hubie and Pitino thought of Kobe before he was drafted. They said countless times he was a wizard on offense and had all star moves.How teams were willing to pass on that upside for marginal talents like Samaki and Potapenko is nuts

They weren't passing on Kobe the player. They were passing on the headache and the crying.

ah, in 1996 i wasnt following sports really so I wasnt aware of the contract thing. Sounded from draft like he would play where he was drafted with everyone clamoring for him to go to Nets. They even asked Calipari why not Kobe and he said Kobe was fine but they liked Kittles and his 4 years of college.If Nets or any team drafting after them had held onto Kobe and not gave in, what options did he have?

He had no options, and would have reported to the Nets. Of course Kobe was trying to use what little leverage he had (everyone does) but the whole "Kobe FORCED his way to LA" is revisionist history.

No it's not. I recall it happening at the time. It's not some theory I made myself believe once I signed up here.

 

[Gr00vus]

The ### whooping of the Lakers continues. Spero Dedes goes to NY to be the t.v. play by play guy for the Knicks, we get stuck with Bill McDonald on t.v. and John Ireland on radio. Awful. I thought we'd found Chick's heir.

 

[tommyGunZ]

He would have gone to Europe where he probably would have made similar if not better money.

Not a chance.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Saw that per Hollinger's projections, Kyrie is the 2nd best PG to come out of college in the last 10 years, behind CP3.

Cavs are DOLTS if they reach for Williams.

 

[Abraham]

He played a dozen college games. That's ridiculous.

 

[tommyGunZ]

He played a dozen college games. That's ridiculous.

It's Hollinger's system.

 

[Abraham]

Not sure how mch I line a system that ranks a guy who played so few games higher then two guys that took their teams to the final four (Williams an rose)

 

[tommyGunZ]

Not sure how mch I line a system that ranks a guy who played so few games higher then two guys that took their teams to the final four (Williams an rose)

Hollinger's take:

Kyrie Irving is the one sure thingIf I had to put my money on one player in the draft becoming a star, it would be Kyrie Irving.OK, no shock there.But here's the logic -- Irving's rating of 15.12 is the best of any perimeter player. While he compiled that in just 312 minutes, his low minute total actually hurts him in the Draft Rater (minutes played are a positive indicator of future success). And he's in pretty exclusive company. The other perimeter players to post a rating of more than 15 all became stars -- since 2002, the six perimeter players to do so are Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade, Danny Granger and Rudy Gay. Based on those comparables, I like my chances if I'm Cleveland.

 

[tommyGunZ]

Top-rated point guards, 2002-2011Player	RatingChris Paul	15.28Kyrie Irving	15.21Jordan Farmar	14.80Jrue Holiday	14.04T.J. Ford	13.65Jay Williams	13.38Russell Westbrook	13.24Mike Conley	13.07Jameer Nelson	13.05Derrick Rose	12.99John Wall	12.89

 

[tommyGunZ]

Obviously Hollinger's system hit on CP3, but it does take a beating rating Rose and Wall FAR lower than they should have been.

 

[Gr00vus]

Top-rated point guards, 2002-2011Player	RatingChris Paul	15.28Kyrie Irving	15.21Jordan Farmar	14.80Jrue Holiday	14.04T.J. Ford	13.65Jay Williams	13.38Russell Westbrook	13.24Mike Conley	13.07Jameer Nelson	13.05Derrick Rose	12.99John Wall	12.89

Where's Derron Williams?The results of this formula don't seem very useful to me given this list.

 

[Time Kibitzer]

Top-rated point guards, 2002-2011Player	RatingChris Paul	15.28Kyrie Irving	15.21Jordan Farmar	14.80Jrue Holiday	14.04T.J. Ford	13.65Jay Williams	13.38Russell Westbrook	13.24Mike Conley	13.07Jameer Nelson	13.05Derrick Rose	12.99John Wall	12.89

Where's Derron Williams?The results of this formula don't seem very useful to me given this list.

I'm also pretty curious how this formula is calculated. In pretty well every statistical category Deron Willaims was better than Jordan Farmar in college except for points per shot; so I'm guessing it values that heavily.

 

[Kev4029]

Top-rated point guards, 2002-2011Player	RatingChris Paul	15.28Kyrie Irving	15.21Jordan Farmar	14.80Jrue Holiday	14.04T.J. Ford	13.65Jay Williams	13.38Russell Westbrook	13.24Mike Conley	13.07Jameer Nelson	13.05Derrick Rose	12.99John Wall	12.89

Where's Derron Williams?The results of this formula don't seem very useful to me given this list.

I'm also pretty curious how this formula is calculated. In pretty well every statistical category Deron Willaims was better than Jordan Farmar in college except for points per shot; so I'm guessing it values that heavily.

I think it weighs each of the players last three years, in the case of Williams, he was not a particularly good player as a freshman and I imagine that weighed down his score. If I remember correctly, it also heavily factors in athletic indicators (steals, blocks, etc) which Williams didn't particularly excel at (probably because hes not an elite athlete).

 

[Time Kibitzer]

Top-rated point guards, 2002-2011Player	RatingChris Paul	15.28Kyrie Irving	15.21Jordan Farmar	14.80Jrue Holiday	14.04T.J. Ford	13.65Jay Williams	13.38Russell Westbrook	13.24Mike Conley	13.07Jameer Nelson	13.05Derrick Rose	12.99John Wall	12.89

Where's Derron Williams?The results of this formula don't seem very useful to me given this list.

I'm also pretty curious how this formula is calculated. In pretty well every statistical category Deron Willaims was better than Jordan Farmar in college except for points per shot; so I'm guessing it values that heavily.

I think it weighs each of the players last three years, in the case of Williams, he was not a particularly good player as a freshman and I imagine that weighed down his score. If I remember correctly, it also heavily factors in athletic indicators (steals, blocks, etc) which Williams didn't particularly excel at (probably because hes not an elite athlete).

That would explain why Deron's score would be so low, because as you said Deron was pretty bad in his freshman year from a scoring standpoint. Though Farmar averaged about the same stls/blks a game as Deron did in their college careers, so I'm still confused on how Farmar had such a high score.

 

[Abraham]

Farmar has a high score because the formula is stupid.

 

[thecatch]

He played a dozen college games. That's ridiculous.

It's Hollinger's system.

I'm a huge fan of Hollinger, but in the same article, he complains about how the system has trouble with 1 and done guys because of lack of sample size, and then weakly explains away Irving's 300 college minutes. I wasn't sold by his explanation.

 

[Abraham]

Espn says the spurs are shopping Parker for a lottery pick.

 

[Abraham]

Parker would help the raptors and kings a lot. He'd have the jazz back in the playoffs as well. But the spurs are like the 3 tine champ in your fantasy football league; if thu want to trade with you then you have to be sauspicious.

 

[Sudoku_in_the_Bathtub]

I don't disagree with dealing Parker really. (Hill's more than capable) I'd probably want more than a mid-lotto pick for him though.

Got to think they really like one of the foreign guys. They do need a low post presence next to the aging Duncan. I still think Blair can be a solid contributor in some fashion. His playoff usage vs. Memphis was just really really bizarre.

With the Spurs draft history, hard to disagree with much of what they do.

 

[No. 16]

He played a dozen college games. That's ridiculous.

It's Hollinger's system.

I'm a huge fan of Hollinger, but in the same article, he complains about how the system has trouble with 1 and done guys because of lack of sample size, and then weakly explains away Irving's 300 college minutes. I wasn't sold by his explanation.

Another classic example of Hollinger fudging with the numbers/formula so that his "statistical methods" match "public opinion" is the "Ben Howland" input he created. I actually respect Hollinger when it comes to basketball analysis because he actually does watch every single game and player in the NBA, but I pretty much toss all Hollinger "statistical analysis" out the window.Hopefully, people will realize this and give PER less weight in discussions since he essentially does the same thing by making the any percentage above ~33% FG a positive input into PER when league average FG% is ~45%. What this does is overrates volume scorers, but Hollinger keeps it in because it keeps superstars like Kobe and Melo near the top of the standings.With that said no rating system (especially predictive) will ever get anything 100% correct, but you just hope it has more "correct" calls than "incorrect" ones.

 

[Abraham]

Any system that puts Jordan farmar over deron Williams, Derrick rose, Ty Evans, Russell Westbrook and John wall is worthless.

Worth. Less.

 

[thecatch]

He played a dozen college games. That's ridiculous.

It's Hollinger's system.

I'm a huge fan of Hollinger, but in the same article, he complains about how the system has trouble with 1 and done guys because of lack of sample size, and then weakly explains away Irving's 300 college minutes. I wasn't sold by his explanation.

Another classic example of Hollinger fudging with the numbers/formula so that his "statistical methods" match "public opinion" is the "Ben Howland" input he created. I actually respect Hollinger when it comes to basketball analysis because he actually does watch every single game and player in the NBA, but I pretty much toss all Hollinger "statistical analysis" out the window.

I don't toss it out the window completely. He's trying to create a model with imperfect data that doesn't lend itself to predictive analysis. But I take it with a grain of salt.

 

[thecatch]

Espn says the spurs are shopping Parker for a lottery pick.

Some reports that the Kings are in talks involving the #7 pick and Omri Casspi. If the Spurs have offered that, Sacramento has to jump all over it.Then again, the Maloofs ownership interest in the Palms has just been cut to 2%. They may not be willing to take on any salary.

 

[JMon348]

Good interview with Biyombo on grantland

 

[Zaxxon]

Good interview with Biyombo on grantland

Not interested in hearing anyone besides Yandek interview anyone. If I don't learn how someone is doing fairly quickly then I lose interest entirely.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Good interview with Biyombo on grantland

Not interested in hearing anyone besides Yandek interview anyone. If I don't learn how someone is doing fairly quickly then I lose interest entirely.

First off

 

[TobiasFunke]

As with all rumors, take this with a grain of salt ... but the rumor that the Wiz will trade the 6 and 18 to move up to 3 or 4 to grab Kanter is gaining momentum. He hasn't exactly been shy about wanting to come to DC and play for the Wizards with Wall, and they could definitely use an interior presence with scoring ability to pair with Javale McGee.

 

[the moops]

As with all rumors, take this with a grain of salt ... but the rumor that the Wiz will trade the 6 and 18 to move up to 3 or 4 to grab Kanter is gaining momentum. He hasn't exactly been shy about wanting to come to DC and play for the Wizards with Wall, and they could definitely use an interior presence with scoring ability to pair with Javale McGee.

Don't they both play the same position?

 

[wadegarrett]

He played a dozen college games. That's ridiculous.

It's Hollinger's system.

I'm a huge fan of Hollinger, but in the same article, he complains about how the system has trouble with 1 and done guys because of lack of sample size, and then weakly explains away Irving's 300 college minutes. I wasn't sold by his explanation.

Another classic example of Hollinger fudging with the numbers/formula so that his "statistical methods" match "public opinion" is the "Ben Howland" input he created. I actually respect Hollinger when it comes to basketball analysis because he actually does watch every single game and player in the NBA, but I pretty much toss all Hollinger "statistical analysis" out the window.

I don't toss it out the window completely. He's trying to create a model with imperfect data that doesn't lend itself to predictive analysis. But I take it with a grain of salt.

While I'm not a huge fan of the system, in this year's draft I'm with Gunz, Irving should be the Cavs pick going away. It shouldn't even be that hard of a decision. Hopefully Chris Grant doesn't over think this and #### it up.

 

[Captain Quinoa]

As with all rumors, take this with a grain of salt ... but the rumor that the Wiz will trade the 6 and 18 to move up to 3 or 4 to grab Kanter is gaining momentum. He hasn't exactly been shy about wanting to come to DC and play for the Wizards with Wall, and they could definitely use an interior presence with scoring ability to pair with Javale McGee.

as a Cavs fan I would do that trade for #4. Unfortunately if they do they are supposedly looking at Valanciunas :X . Hopefully Toronto grabs him so he would be off the board.