Britt Robson of Secrets of the City: “Even with one of the league’s top six low-post scorers drawing double-teams in the paint, the Wolves shot a league-worst 44.1% from the field last season. After scanning hours of video from last season, Kahn obviously felt the problem was the talent more than the scheme–he just dumped two of the ballclub’s top three perimeter scorers in Foye and Miller (and the third, Ryan Gomes, is a 240-pound forward). How bare is the cupboard now? Well, if the Wolves had to open the 2009-10 season with the personnel currently on their roster, the starting backcourt would be Sebastian Telfair (a 38.9% shooter over his 5-year NBA career, including 31.6% from three-point range) and Corey Brewer (38% from the field, 25% from trey during his two years in the league). So we know what’s on the docket for the draft and free agency: guards, guards, guards who can shoot straight.”
Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “With Foye’s departure, it sends away the player who — fairly or unfairly — most reminds Wolves fans of Kevin McHale’s failure in 14 seasons as Kahn’s predecessor. But, most notably, it has done one other remarkable thing. Kahn and his promise for change — about to be delivered with roster moves beginning today — has Timberwolves fans interested again. They are chattering away on Internet boards in numbers not seen in these Twin Cities since the last bit of breaking Brett Favre news. A franchise that has barely registered a pulse since July 31, 2007 — the day McHale traded away Garnett to Boston in the league’s biggest deal for a single player — now is guaranteed a prominent seat at the proverbial table after NBA Commissioner David Stern steps forth Thursday and announces the Los Angeles Clippers have made Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin the first player taken. More than anything, Kahn now has options as he remakes a team’s youthful rebuilding process apparently with more youth and, at least for now, on the cheap.”
Michael Lee of the Washington Post: “Ernie Grunfeld really wasn’t impressed with the pickings at No. 5 if he was willing to make a move like this so quickly. He didn’t even wait to see which players slid down to them on Thursday, so that let’s you know exactly what he thought about this draft. It stinks. I’m not completely sold on getting Randy Foye and Mike Miller, but I’m willing to give Ernie the initial benefit of the doubt, because if there is one area where Grunfeld has succeeded in during his time in Washington it is making shrewd deals. He landed Antawn Jamison for the No. 5 pick in 2004 and got Caron Butler for Kwame Brown a year later. This is Grunfeld’s third major trade for the organization, and it yielded a former rookie of the year and sixth man of the year in Miller and a combo guard who came on strong in the second half of last season in Foye. Miller had a down year last season, but has been a capable long range shooter for most of his career. Something else to take into consideration is that with Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler both dealing with injuries the past few seasons, Foye and Miller can step in to provide relief/insurance, if necessary.”
Mike Prada of Bullets Forever: “If winning a championship truly was the goal, the only way to do that with the Wizards’ type of payroll was to shove the luxury tax aside and trade for a major upgrade no matter the long-term cost. Trading for Mike Miller and Randy Foye doesn’t do that. Both players are helpful, but they improve the team’s depth, not its top-flight talent. They don’t do all that much to fix many of the Wizards’ biggest weaknesses (namely, defense), and by cashing some of his chips (the fifth pick, Etan’s expiring deal) to get them, Ernie Grunfeld has created a major roster imbalance that he must now solve, except now he has far fewer assets available to do it. It’s not taking a risk as much as it is maintaining the status quo and making slight upgrades without going all the way. So in making this trade, the Wizards are really trying to have it both ways — winning now even while cutting salary. This is clearly the most creative trade Ernie could make to have it both ways, but that’s not how success is measured. It’s measured in championships, and I’m dubious that this really got us much further on that front.”
Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News: “This goes against the trend. When Holt isn’t looking for the public to build him an ice rink, he’s wanting a few more million for AT&T Center improvements. He hangs banners, and he also hangs on to subsidies. Meanwhile, his front office is trading Luis Scola for cash, and none of this is enough, at least according to what the Spurs have said. They contend they lost money even in one of their title years, and now they are struggling to sell tickets in this economy. This is going on leaguewide. Small-market teams are especially affected, such as Milwaukee. That’s why the Bucks made this trade; they needed to clear salary. If finances didn’t matter, the Bucks would have kept Jefferson. He’s a pro. He’s always cordial, always at practice, always ready to talk to the media. He lived in New York when he played in New Jersey. Yet he took his 20-point scoring average to Milwaukee and didn’t say a bad word. Gregg Popovich remembers this personality from the 2004 Olympics. While Allen Iverson and others checked out on Larry Brown, Jefferson stayed true to the program.”
Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell: “Jefferson’s skill set couldn’t be a better match for San Antonio. He can score going to the hoop, is a capable defender, and shoots nearly .400 from the arc. His 19 ppg give San Antonio the 4th scorer they’ve needed for several seasons. Jefferson averaged a mere 2 TO per game last season as Milwaukee’s best player. It’s hard to imagine a better trade scenario. The Spurs just struck oil. Relative to his salary, Richard Jefferson may under produce. His career PER is 16.7. That’s a little low for a player owed 14 and 15 million the next two seasons. But he’s only 29. And his production is vastly superior to anything the Spurs have had on the wing since Sean Elliott. My best guess is that the Bucks will buy out Bruce Bowen and we’ll see him return to San Antonio prior to training camp. If that happens, this trade goes from a homerun to a grand slam. The only downside is that the move leaves the Spurs thin upfront, but one suspects they have a back up plan in the works to replace Kurt Thomas. Oberto’s best play is two seasons behind him, and the Spurs actually win by freeing up his roster spot. By adding Jefferson, the Spurs have converted Roger Mason Jr. into a potent 5th option or valuable trade chip.”
Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: “The move will result in some financial flexibility for the Bucks next season but will pay big dividends in 2010-’11, when Jefferson is due to be paid $15 million in the final year of his contract. All three contracts the Bucks took back from San Antonio and Detroit are deals that expire after next season. The Bucks will have nearly $18 million worth of expiring deals in the 2010-’11 season, and they saved at least $3 million in salary for next season and possibly more, depending on the actions they take regarding Bowen and Thomas. Johnson will be paid $3.66 million next season. Bowen has $4 million remaining on his contract, but only $2 million is guaranteed, and the 36-year-old Thomas is owed $3.8 million next season. ‘What this trade is going to give us is options and opportunities going forward,’ Hammond said when reached Tuesday night after the deal was concluded.”
Frank Madden of Brew Hoop: “If the luxury tax comes in at $71 million (perhaps slightly optimistic), then the Bucks would have nearly $8 million to play with in free agency. Well, not really play with, because that’s space under the luxury tax, not space under the salary cap. They’d have Early Bird Rights to sign Sessions and Ilyasova and their MLE in case those guys aren’t signed. Similarly, they could re-sign Villanueva using their Bird Rights without having to tap the MLE. That’s the assumption in the table above, which also reflects Bowen being cut and owed half his $4 million salary while Kurt Thomas stays with the team (not clear if that will happen). Factoring in the two draft picks the Bucks have and Elson/Allen taking their options, the Bucks would also have 14 guys on the roster even excluding Sessions/Villanueva/Ilyasova. Considering how many expiring deals they now have on the roster, that suggests more trades could be on the way. Given that Sessions can’t be offered more than the MLE (which could go up to about $5.8 million), the Bucks now have plenty of cushion to match any offer sheet.”
A. Sherrod Blakely of MLive.com: “When Detroit finished a disastrous 39-43 season, Johnson was among the players most likely to be traded. After spending his first three seasons as a seldom-used backup, the 22-year-old worked his way into the role of a starter. He appeared in 62 games with 24 starts, averaging 3.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. But as the season wore on, Johnson’s role gradually diminished. Once the playoffs arrived, he was a non-factor. Detroit was swept in the first round by Cleveland. Johnson played a total of just 13 minutes in the series. Duffy said Johnson will benefit from a fresh start in Milwaukee as well as a familiar face in Hammond, who is a former vice president of basketball operations in Detroit. ‘John knows him and believes in him, that’s why he pursued him,’ Duffy said. ‘John has confidence in him, and for a young player such as Amir, that’s important. It’s amazing what a little confidence can do for a young player.’”
Matt Watson of FanHouse: “Despite the fact Detroit needs to plug holes in their front court after the likely departures of free agents Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess, my guess is that they’ll let Oberto walk and use the savings to help make a run at a free agent such as Carlos Boozer or Paul Millsap. Johnson, meanwhile, is reunited with John Hammond, Milwaukee’s general manager who served as Joe Dumars’ right-hand man in Detroit when the Pistons drafted Johnson in 2005 and signed him to an extension in 2007. Despite having four years under his belt, Johnson’s ceiling is still unknown; he played only 11 games combined his first two years and spent the next two on a short leash with Flip Saunders and Michael Curry, largely due to foul trouble. When he’s on the court, though, he’s shown an uncanny ability to block shots, get to loose balls and quite simply make things happen. He’s one of the most athletic players in the league, and despite his up-and-down tenure in Detroit, he’s young enough to carve out a successful career.”
Ross Siler of The Salt Lake Tribune: “Even in a down draft, that’s a pretty impressive haul of picks. Now consider that Minnesota moved up in the first round without giving up Al Jefferson, Kevin Love or Ryan Gomes from its core of players. The Thunder have similarly stockpiled draft picks and look at the results. Oklahoma City has a nucleus of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and the No. 3 pick Thursday, along with the likes of Thabo Sefolosha and Nenad Krstic. All of a sudden, the Jazz find themselves in a division in which four of the five teams clearly are on the ascent in Denver (fresh off its Western Conference finals run), Portland, Oklahoma City and Minnesota. The Jazz, by comparison, appear headed in the other direction. Maybe that impression will change by the start of training camp in late September, but Utah has made less progress in the playoffs each of the last three years.”
Eddie Sefko for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “The Dallas Mavericks had no choice on Tuesday but to stress patience — both to themselves and their fans. Rival San Antonio used a pair of contracts similar in nature to Jerry Stackhouse’s to acquire forward Richard Jefferson from Milwaukee. So why couldn’t the Mavericks pull off such a deal? It wasn’t for lack of effort. They had what Donnie Nelson, president of basketball operations, called a ‘fairly active’ Monday and Tuesday. ‘There’s a chance we could do something around [Thursday’s] draft and probably an equal chance we would just carry it into July when a lot of the bigger deals are going to be discussed,’ Nelson said. ‘We don’t feel any outward sense of urgency because somebody else is doing something. But when it’s right, we’ll squeeze the trigger.’”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “From Joe Johnson to Tim Thomas to James Jones to Shawn Marion, the Suns gradually have lost some of the length and defense that compensated for a fast, offense-oriented system’s shortcomings. Length, defense and more will be available Thursday. The Suns’ 14th pick in the NBA draft will come with choices at wing that other positions won’t offer. Barring a tumble from a touted point guard, the Suns’ ‘best player available’ approach could mean choosing among a wide range of swingmen. The group has a combo forward who would be a Suns power forward (Louisville’s Earl Clark), shooting guards (Duke’s Gerald Henderson and North Carolina’s Wayne Ellington), a tall shooter (Gonzaga’s Austin Daye) and versatile wings (Wake Forest’s James Johnson and Louisville’s Terrence Williams). ‘We’re trying to cover the possibility that Grant Hill doesn’t return,’ Suns Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin said of the 36-year-old free agent.”
Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail: “The Toronto Raptors have had nearly 40 players come to them to work out in advance of the NBA draft. They have had representatives travel across North America and Europe for more opportunities to see draft-eligible players show their wares and will have two more prospects in Toronto this week for ‘under-the-radar’ private sessions. And they still don’t know who they will pick Thursday night. But Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo says he at least has a list of five he expects to choose from when the No. 9 pick comes around: DeMar DeRozan, Jonny Flynn, Gerald Henderson, Jrue Holiday and James Johnson. All are perimeter players, split between point guards (Flynn, Holiday), shooting guards (DeRozan, Henderson) and small forwards (Johnson). Some – Johnson, Henderson and Flynn – could be contributors as rookies. Others – teenagers Holiday and DeRozan – might be more long-term plays. ‘I think it’s safe to say one of those players will be a Toronto Raptor unless something crazy happens and there’s a trade and we don’t pick at nine,’ he said.”
Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “Just because the Grizzlies are thinking big on the eve of this year’s NBA draft doesn’t mean they’ve settled on using the No. 2 overall pick to select 7-3 center Hasheem Thabeet. Or any player, for that matter. The Griz are just as likely to trade the pick — and it appears that is their preference. Exercising the second pick — almost certainly on Thabeet — in Thursday’s draft will be Plan B, given how much the team’s decision-makers have focused on trade scenarios involving up to five teams. ‘The water still is a little muddy,’ general manager Chris Wallace said. ‘There are a lot of contingencies to go over before the draft.’ It is no secret that the Griz have held trade discussions, some on a cursory level, with such teams as Sacramento, Houston, Minnesota, Boston, New York and New Jersey. The Grizzlies’ goal has been twofold: acquire a proven NBA player or two and move down in the draft with former University of Memphis guard Tyreke Evans, Davidson’s Stephen Curry or Arizona State’s James Harden as targets.”
Kate Fagan of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Stefanski hedged his bet a little, saying that if a trade messed with the draft board, ‘things could change,’ but otherwise expect a point guard or a shooting guard to be added to the Sixers’ roster by tomorrow night. Point guard is the team’s more pressing need, with none on the current roster. Last season’s starter, Andre Miller, is an unrestricted free agent. But shooting guard – specifically outside shooting – is also a concern because Willie Green and Lou Williams, the only guards under contract, are more scorers than long-range threats.
During predraft workouts, the Sixers brought in 18 players, almost all of them guards. Stefanski said yesterday that eight players were on the team’s draft board, adding that thick skin was required in meetings while team officials hashed out the board’s order. ‘By this time, you’d think it would be whittled down more than this,’ Stefanski said, adding that this year’s draft was one of the most unpredictable he had seen.”
Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee: “With Thursday’s draft drawing near and the Kings’ workout schedule having been completed with Ricky Rubio’s visit Monday, the deliberating about the team’s No. 4 pick continued internally. And while their list of top candidates is believed to include Rubio, Memphis’ Tyreke Evans, Syracuse’s Jonny Flynn and Davidson’s Stephen Curry, it appears Evans is heading the group entering the final days. Although the 6-foot-7 guard is not the true point guard the Kings had hoped for, his physicality, ability to get to the rim and dynamic scoring ways have enticed the team. He raised his stock in recent workouts, dominating in Minnesota before doing the same in Sacramento. Rubio, meanwhile, may be passed over even if he is available when the Kings’ first pick arrives. ‘I think we’ll get a player that can help us,’ said Westphal, who has been taking part in the team’s workouts. ‘Beyond that, these guys are so young that you have to hedge everything with, ‘If he develops … .’ After you do all the research…you can’t look into somebody’s heart and see how they’re going to react when they get some money in their pocket and how they’re going to react to being in the spotlight.’”
Sam Smith of Bulls.com: “I’ve gotten a variety of opinions from NBA executives, so I decided to ask a guy who knows the position as well as anyone who’s ever played it, Isiah Thomas. Thomas is now head coach at Florida International U., but he was scouting for the Knicks for much of this season. And while Thomas got his share of criticism as Knicks and Raptors boss, his collegiate talent evaluation ranked among the best in the NBA. And Thomas is a Hall of Fame guard, regarded by many as the best small guard ever to play in the NBA. So who’s the best point guard in this draft, Isiah? ‘(Tyreke) Evans or (Jonny) Flynn,’ Thomas said. ‘I think Evans has a chance to be a real star. With the style of the game now, the point guard position may be the most important. It used to be center. Now you have to have a great point guard. So how are you going to defend the pick and roll? He’s a bigger and quicker athlete. It’s the stuff you see with (the Lakers and) Phil (Jackson) and Tex (Winter). Guys like (Trevor) Ariza, (Lamar) Odom, Kobe (Bryant), athletes out front who can switch everything. Evans is big. He can handle the ball and get where he wants. You don’t see many able to stay in front of him. Flynn is the kind of player who’ll do whatever is necessary, make a shot or score, facilitate, a good locker room guy.’”
