Shaq Making Them Pay: From the Charity Stripe?

I think Shaq's finally figured it out.  Reportedly, he's going back to his high school form of shooting free-throws, and for all extensive purposes, it's paying off.  Since the beginning of December Shaq has been 77 for 111 at the free throw line, that's 69% (he's 17 for 20 so far this year), we're talking about a career shooter of 58%.  Now take these numbers with a grain of salt (like they might not have used hack-a-Shaq), but 69%!  Here are the implications of these numbers, if Shaq had figured this out earlier...

In his highest scoring 1999-2000 season with the Lakers, he would've made 140 more free throws, resulting in an almost 2 point increase in his scoring average raising it to 31.5 ppg as his career high scoring average.

His career low scoring average would be a whole point higher (13.9 ppg rather than 12.9 ppg).

Overall, it would've probably raised his scoring average by at least 1 point per game per season (i.e. averaging 24.3 ppg in his rookie year instead of 23.4 ppg). 

His scoring average would be 26.6 ppg to its current 25, because he made 1731 more free throws.  Wow.  Of course, this is all in retrospect, but that's the difference that it's making right now.  Hope he can keep it up.  Kudos to the big man.

What's Up With the Clippers?

Sure we can say injuries, sure we can say whatever, new team, new roster, bad chemistry, but seriously, should this team be doing better or did the Clippers' front office overreact in blowing up the team?  It's hard to say, but here's my take: any team in California not called the Lakers has problems.

Let's look at the roster from last season:

PG- Brevin Knight, Dan Dickau

SG- Cuttino Mobley, Quentin Ross

SF- Corey Maggette, Al Thornton

PF- Elton Brand, Tim Thomas

C- Chris Kaman, Josh Powell

This was likely the ideal first squad/second squad setup that I would've had if I were Mike Dunleavy Sr.  Now granted, Sam Cassell played half of the season before asking to be bought out, however, Dunleavy was at a point where he thought Cassell had no gas left and was platooning his time with Brevin Knight, they were basically one person, honestly, and Cassell didn't really figure into being an impact player, except that both Maggette and Brand were out with injuries.  Now if we assume that this is what we get with a fully healthy 2007-2008 Clippers roster.

Let's look at today's roster:

PG- Baron Davis, Jason Hart

SG- Eric Gordon, Mardy Collins

SF- Al Thornton, Ricky Davis

PF- Zach Randolph, Brian Skinner

C- Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman

Now, we still have the same injury problem as Baron Davis, Randolph, Ricky Davis, and Chris Kaman are all out with injuries.  However, if we look at this roster versus the previous, is there really a difference?  First, let's look at a head to head with the starters:

Baron Davis vs Brevin Knight

This is something of a no brainer, of course, Baron Davis, former All-Star is going to win out.  Knight was, and still is, nothing more than a solid reserve that gets a decent assist to turnover ratio in limited minutes.  However, what is the most alarming is the drop off in across the board for Davis's stats.  Let's say last year was a fluke because Baron ended up somehow playing through all 82 games in the season without injury something he hadn't done since the 2001-2002 season, when the Hornets were still in Charlotte.  So, the year before, Davis was averaging: 20.1 pts, 4.4 rbds, 8.1 assts, 2.1 stls, and 0.5 blks on 3.1 TOs.  He was shooting 43.9% from the field including 30.4% from downtown and 74.5% from the line.  This year, so far, Davis is averaging: 17.3 pts, 3.4 rbds, 8.0 assts, 1.8 stls, 2.6 TOs, and 0.5 blks on 36% FG, 29.1% from downtown, and 78.8% from the line.  All of his numbers except FT% is down, a fairly significant amount too.  Granted Baron's been already battling injuries in these first 30-something games of the season, but still, he's not playing the way we expect him to be playing.

Eric Gordon vs Cuttino Mobley

It's not exactly fair to take Eric Gordon's numbers at face value, since he was playing for a while with Mobley still on the roster.  Across the season he's averaging 12.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1 steal, 1/2 a block, and a trey on 43.5% shooting and 34.9% from downtown.  He's only averaging 3.7 FT attempts per game, so take his 85% FT shooting with a grain of salt.  However, if we take the 24 starts he's had, you get; 16.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.4 apg, and 1.2 spg, shooting a respectable 45.2%.  Mobley on the other hand, averaged 12.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.4 spg, and 1.1 treys on 43.3% shooting.  As Gordon is putting up these numbers as a rookie, you suspect there is a lot of upside to be had.

Al Thornton vs Corey Maggette

Al Thornton was stellar as a rookie last year, however, it's fair to note, that for his rookie class, he's actually rather old, being already 24 (think like, Travis Outlaw), for a point of reference I don't think either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant can even drink yet.  Thornton has proven he can score, but doesn't really contribute much else.  He's averaging; 16.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.3 apg on 43.8% shooting.  Maggette on the other hand averaged 22.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1 spg, on 45.8% shooting.  Another item worth noting is that Maggette got to the line almost 10 times per game, almost double the amount of times that Thornton does.  Furthermore, Maggette also averaged almost 2 minutes less floor time per game than Thornton currently does (Maggette got about 36 minutes per game and Thornton, 38).  Scoring aside, their stats are pretty much comparable, with maybe an extra assist here or there for Maggette, making them a pretty comparable player, a black hole for scoring.  However, Maggette was just much more efficient and much better at it (5 pts per game in 2 fewer minutes).

Zach Randolph vs Elton Brand

Of course we all remember that Elton Brand was hobbled by a ruptured achilles tendon last year, so he didn't play much, thus for all extensive purposes we'll look at his stats from the season prior.  Also, I understand that Brand's leaving was by no means the fault of the Clippers' front office, but with that aside, let's run the comparison.  Zach Randolph has had something of a revival after starting the season playing under Mike D'Antoni.  Ever since being traded to the Clippers (for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas) he's been averaging 23.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game on 48.9% shooting, that was, of course, until he bruised his knee.  Elton Brand on the other hand, averaged 20.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1 steal, and 2.2 blocks on 53.3% shooting when he played the whole season in 2006-2007.  Basically, it's a wash, except Brand plays defense, for all extensive purposes Brand averages 1.9 more blocks per game than Randolph, Randolph on the other hand shoots 2.1 threes per game, making 0.6 of them (36.7%), Brand shot none.  It's a matter of a tradeoff, but for all extensive purposes Brand was shooting more efficiently and played defense.

Marcus Camby vs Chris Kaman

Arguably, you can say this is the best part of the team, since the Clippers still have Kaman.  However, that brings up entirely other issues.  Camby, currently is averaging 12.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1 steal, and 2.6 blocks on 50% shooting.  These are pretty average stats for Camby, who seems to thrive better at the C position.  Kaman, on the other hand, averaged 15.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, 1.9 assist, and 2.8 blocks on a team without Elton Brand.  This season, he's averaging 13.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.9 blocks, playing next to Marcus Camby, we can't compare his stats from two years ago as last season was arguably his breakout season, and since he was injured before the trade for Randolph we can't really say a whole lot about that either.  Kaman has shown that he's got a decent scoring touch and is a solid rebounder and plays hard defense.  Camby still has some legs left, so while he's not playing significantly better than his DPOY form, he's not playing significanlty worse either.  So in terms of production, it's a wash.

If we look at the bench, from last year we would have had; Dan Dickau, Quintin Ross, Tim Thomas, Al Thornton, and Josh Powell.  Of course, Thornton and Thomas slid in and out of the starting lineup at will because of Brand's injury, so their numbers are likely somewhat inflated for reserves.  This year, we're looking at reserves of; Jason Hart, Mardy Collins, Ricky Davis, Brian Skinner, Chris Kaman; of course Paul Davis, Mike Taylor, and others are making an impact, but lets say these are the primary reserves.  Kaman coming off the bench would be a big plus to this year's squad, however, I'd say that's a wash with Thomas and Thronton, Ricky Davis has always been somewhat streaky, but when he shoots well he's very lethal, so we'll have him give the edge to the rest of the bench.

So if we were to pan it out:

PG: 2007-2008<2008-2009

SG: 2007-2008<2008-2009

SF: 2007-2008>2008-2009

PF: 2007-2008=2008-2009

C: 2007-2008=2008-2009

Bench: 2007-2008<2008-2009

So it seems like the 2008-2009 squad should win 3-1-2 right?  Well, the problem I think lies within the roster deficiencies.  Arguably the amount of chemistry within the team is different.  Yes, the current Clippers comprise of completely new players save maybe Chris Kaman, Al Thornton, and Paul Davis, however, I think the problem goes beyond that.

Issue #1: Baron Davis and Mike Dunleavy Sr.

Mike Dunleavy is renown as a coach who likes to micromanage, Baron Davis is renown as a PG who clashes with these kinds of coaches (see Byron Scott).  Baron is the kind of player that needs freedom to play his best game, of course, that often entails volume shooting, which attributes to his 30% shooting percentage, something that would likely drive Coach Dunleavy crazy.  While there hasn't been any media news regarding dissatisfaction on either side, I can't imagine they have the peachiest relationship as a coach and player.  Furthermore, I have to question Baron Davis's desire to win.  His reasoning for leaving for LA has always seemed to be wanting to be in LA and a long-term contract, which is fine, but it doesn't make sense, at least if he wants to win a championship.  Yes, there was the whole Elton Brand issue, but given Baron's on and off court antics, it's really just hard to say.

Issue #2: Zach Randolph and Al Thornton

I'm sure playing on the court with one offensive black hole is hard enough, add a second to the floor?  Ouch.  I don't know that they can rely entirely on Marcus Camby's offensive rebounding when Randolph and Thorton are inclined to just chuck from wherever they catch the ball.  Limited ball movement means fewer options on offense, which means an offense that is easier to read, which means stagnant offense, which means more losses. 

Issue #3: Zach Randolph and Chris Kaman

Z-Bo has to be the only 20-10 guy that doesn't help his team win games, it's been said before by others, so I'm saying it again now.  To me, Chris Kaman's game is similar to Eddy Curry's, the primary difference being that Chris Kaman hustles and plays defense.  However, they're both big bodies in the paint, solid rebounders, post scorers, and don't really pass all that well.  I can't help but think that when Kaman gets back, should he share floor time with Randolph they'll become the 2007-2008 Knicks frontcourt with some shot-blocking.

Based on these three major issues, without even getting into problems like Ricky Davis, I think the team has actually taken a step back, maybe a small one, maybe more laterally then backwards, but definitely anything but a step forward.  I was confused by the Marcus Camby trade, I was even more confused by the Zach Randolph trade, all I have to say, is that this team is just confusing as heck.  

Filling Teams' Needs: Atlantic Division

Now for the much anticipated (not really) continuation of what teams need to make their rosters more solid and give them a better shot a playoff berth. Granted, that might not be where all teams want to go, but, hey, you never know.  I think every team wants to get to the playoffs, it's just that some teams (in the Atlantic Division; New York and New Jersey) it isn't their primary goal, just an added bonus if it happens.  For other teams though (Boston and Toronto) the owners and front office are more concerned with winning than with improving.  Without further ado, let's look at the teams.

Boston Celtics

Strengths: Returning champs, starting 5, defense

Weakness: Depth (especially in the frontcourt)

Tradeable Assets: Leon Powe or Glen Davis, Brian Scalabrine

If we were to make the NBA a series of 30 minute 5-on-5 pickup games, there would be no doubt that Boston would win, they always have the best 5 on the court whenever they start the game.  Granted currently their in something of a slump, teams are adjusting, Rondo isn't shooting well, Pierce has been struggling, but nonetheless, as a starting unit, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Kendrick Perkins are the most solid squad any team can floor.  Perkins and Rondo have made huge strides and the Big 3 (Allen, Pierce, and Garnett) haven't really dropped off all that much.  That being said, once you hit the 6th man on the roster, the dropoff is pretty sharp.  They are severely missing the hustle and length of PJ Brown and the tenacity and shots of James Posey.  The reserves on the squad consist of; Eddie House, Tony Allen, Glen Davis, Leon Powe, and then maybe Brian Scalibrine and Gabe Pruitt.  It's not really an impressive bench, what they need is length.  Perhaps Doc will give Patrick O'Bryant another run, but it's telling how bad a player is when he's the tallest guy on the team and doesn't see any playing time.  

There are two things that hurt the reserves whenever they come out on the floor; they have no scoring options and they're short.  

Let's address the first issue:

Their bench can't score.  Their leading scorer off the bench is Tony Allen, who is averaging a measely 7.9 points per game and then Eddie House who averages 7.5, the next being Leon Powe at 6.7 per game.  That means that on average the top three reserves average only 22.1 points per game.  For comparison's sake, let's look at the next East contender, who we'll say for all extensive purposes is Cleveland.  Now, let's say for the sake of simplicity the starters' scoring cancels each other out (Boston's starters score 72.9 pts/game, Cleveland's 72.4), so in terms of scoring production Rondo+Allen+Pierce+Garnett+Perkins = Mo Williams+Delonte West+LeBron James+Ben Wallace+Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  However, if we take the second unit as a whole, we see that Boston's bench is in actuality rather weak.  Let's say the reserve squad would be Eddie House, Tony Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Leon Powe, and Glen Davis.  That ends up being 28.2 points per game.  In comparison, if we look at Cleveland's 2nd squad of: Daniel Gibson, Sasha Pavlovich, Wally Sczerbiak, JJ Hickson, and Anderson Varejao; you have a reserve unit scoring average of 32.7 points per game, which more than covers the difference.  Granted there are matchup issues and all that, but there just isn't really a goto scorer kind of person, which is why they're contemplating bring Sam Cassell back out of semi-retirement, since he at least can create his own shot.  As many have been speculating, this is also where the Stephon Marbury talks come in, while he's a headcase, Marbury would solve the scoring problem, should he be put into his place in the roster, that is a reserve PG for scoring.  Tony Allen was thought to be the James Posey replacement, and has been doing decently, however, watching Allen play is remarkably frustrating as he tries time after time to attack the rim and hoist highly difficult, low-percentage shots. 

The second issue is height.  As I said before, it's telling when your team's tallest player is at the end of the bench and hasn't really seen the floor since preseason.  Which means, that the tallest player coming off the bench is the 6-9 Glen Davis.  Even if you measure against reserves, you'd be matching Davis against a 6-11 Anderson Varejao (Cleveland), a 7-0 Marcin Gortat (Orlando), a 6-10 Maresse Speights or Theo Ratliff (76ers), a 7-0 Rasho Nesterovic, 6-11 Jeff Foster, or 7-2 Roy Hibbert (Indiana), etc... The best matchup would be against like a soft Andrea Bargnani (Toronto), who might still burn them with his outside game, or the smaller energy man Jason Maxiell (Detroit).  They just get outmatched in the paint with the second unit in length.  To me, Davis and Powe are both just high energy bigs, I mean, the ideal would be they turn into the hyper-efficient Paul Millsap, but honestly, they're just not there, and two of them doesn't really help the team.

Trading one of the two (Powe or Davis) seems to be the solution, otherwise finding a solution outside of trades.  Scalabrine, Pruitt, and O'Bryant are also somewhat expendable, but I don't think anyone really wants them.  There have been rumors of signing Dikembe Mutumbo, and should he have any game left, he'd be a brilliant addition, solving the problems of length and interior defense on the second unit.  Recently, Boston recalled their rookies Bill Walker and JR Giddens from their D-League team in Utah, which they hope to solve their problems, Walker was averaging 18.7 points per game in his 15 games with the D-League while Giddens averaged 17.3 with his 13.  Here's to hoping they make a difference, because there really isn't much they can do with their salary cap.

Toronto Raptors

Strengths: Frontcourt

Weaknesses: Wing play, depth, defense

Tradeable assets: Andrea Bargnani, Anthony Parker, Joey Graham

Where to begin with these Raptors?  Firstly, people have said that in general it's hard for the Raptors to ever get good, because no one wants to go play in Canada.  Makes sense.  This team, has a lot of jump shooters, and because of that, their wing play is extraordinarily weak.  Jose Calderon is struggling to adjust to being a full-time starter, Jermaine O'Neal is struggling to fit in and not take flat-footed 15-foot wing jumpers, and Chris Bosh is struggling to find a reason to stay once he hits the 2010 free agency pool.  Firstly, they're pretty soft on defense, I think having O'Neal, healthy on the floor will help that problem.  Depth is a second issue, primarily at the PG slot, though Calderon's recent injury have given Will Solomon and Roko Ukic to really step it up, and they've been doing a decent job. 

This brings me to the biggest weakness that Toronto has, its wing play sucks.  Granted they are one of the best shooting teams on the court, but no one outside of Chris Bosh can really create a shot for himself.  The wings consist usually of Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Joey Graham, and sometimes Andrea Bargnani, the most consistent of these would be Anthony Parker, and he's consistently average to below-average.  Sub-par wing play has forced this team to rely too much on Chris Bosh's dominance, and honestly, might be why Jermaine O'Neal thinks he has to do more on offense, because honestly, you can't rely on Parker, Moon, or Kapono to average 17pts a night.  

Parker and Graham are both rather packageable as expiring contracts which would then lead us to consider what kind of player they might get in return.  Parker makes $4.5 million and Graham $2.4 million, not to say that they could swing for a $7 milion swingman in a 2-for-1 but it's an option.  The only thing I see that might make sense for both teams would perhaps be a trade for Golden State Warrior's Stephen Jackson.  Of course, that's provided that Toronto is willing to be lumped with him for the next 5 years.  He does add a lot on the wing and is a decent defender, a pretty good scorer, and I think an improved second option over Anthony Parker behind Chris Bosh.  Kind of unfeasible.  Another one that is a maybe, but also potentially unfeasible, would be to see if they could convince Portland to give up Travis Outlaw for Anthony Parker.  Outlaw is the kind of slasher that scores in bunches and is athletic and the kind of guy that Toronto could really use.  On the other hand, Parker, is an expiring contract, giving Portland an extra $4.5 million next year in cap space, but additionally, for this season at least, provides a little more legitimacy to the squad's long-range game, as Martell Webster is yet to return.  Of course, I'd imagine that Kevin Pritchard wants to get something of value in return instead of an expiring contract.

Philadelphia 76ers

Strengths: Attacking the basket

Weakness: 3pt shooting

Tradeable assets: Samuel Dalembert

Honestly I don't really know what to make of this team.  Everybody, I mean everybody has underperformed.  I don't know if it's their perimeter play, but that's definitely one of their weaknesses.  The only players that I would think you can call "3pt specialists" on the squad are Willie Green and Donyell Marshall.  Obviously 3pt shooting isn't high on their list otherwise they wouldn't have traded away Kyle Korver for Gordon Girecek whom they no longer have on their roster.  Ultimately, I think this team has a lot of the pieces, but everybody has to figure out their role, starting with Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala.  From there, Andre Miller and Samuel Dalembert will know what to do, Thaddeus Young will have a clearer understanding of his role, etc, etc...

A lot of people say that Elton Brand will prove doubters wrong and regain his All-Star form, but you're going to have to count me among the doubters.  It just seems like Brand's style of play doesn't match those suited to the other key players in the rotation, namely Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala, of course, the results of overall decreased production (at least for Brand and Iggy) could be completely unrelated.  Samuel Dalembert has just looked lost, and the strong play of Marresse Speights probably hasn't helped his cause a whole lot either.  I think he needs a change of scenery.  

If they could foist Dalembert to a team that needs a strong big that clogs the paint, cleans up on the offensive glass, and blocks shots, for a strong shooter, then I think the GM has done his job.  There are rumors of Maggette for Dalembert, but I really don't see that as an improvement, Maggette is too close of a player to Iggy, and we've determined that Iggy doesn't know what to do at the SG slot, I don't know that Maggette would fare that much better, Crawford would be the better fit, however, I don't know that either is the answer.  Trading away Dalembert does leave a large gap in the middle for the 76ers, I don't know that a straight swap of centers, such as Dalembert for Brad Miller would be the answer, though arguably both would benefit more from the change, and Miller can play off of Brand better.  While I doubt that the T'Wolves are shopping him, especially with Corey Brewer out for the season, Mike Miller has been tremendously disappointing in Minnesota.  Some kind of package of Mike Miller and Mark Madsen for Dalembert would help solve some of Philadelphia's perimeter offense problems and Minnesota's lack of strong interior defense (sorry, but Big Al is just not a center).  However, the problem of coexistence between Al Jefferson and Samuel Dalembert might raise a few question marks as well.  An interesting mix might be Dalembert for Larry Hughes, while Hughes isn't the most coveted player in the league, I think he'll solve some of the scoring from the perimeter woes that the 76ers have, and allow Andre Miller to do what he's best at, facilitating the offense and finding the open man.  Of course this might be difficult if Tony DiLeo doesn't think Marresse Speights is ready to start and Theo Ratliff doesn't have enough juice left in him to be a full time reserve, especially with Jason Smith out for the season, maybe they can try to convince Chicago to throw in Aaron Gray.  Regardless, this also solves Chicago's need for some kind of interior presence.  Dalembert, while not really an All-Star, has shown in the past that he can be effective in the middle, epsecially on the defensive end.  Getting rid of Hughes also solves the platoon of guards and opens up playing time for Thabo Sefalosha, which Chicago has been trying to do for a while.

New York Knicks

Strengths: Athletic forwards, strong perimeter play

Weakness: Defense, height

Tradeable assets: David Lee, Eddy Curry, Jerome James, Malik Rose, Stephon Marbury, Jared Jeffries

Firstly, I understand that the New York Knicks are currently in the business of only collecting contracts that are 2 years or shorter in hopes for the LeBron James sweepstakes in the 2010 free agency.  While, LeBron may decide to stay with the much improved Cleveland Cavaliers, they also probably wouldn't mind landing the likes of Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, or Amare Stoudemire.  Given their current cap situation they will only have $6 million of Jared Jeffries on the roster by 2010, that plus any potential big free agents they sign next year, which I don't think will be any.  The ideal situation would be Nash signing for cheap, as he would then be able to play for D'Antoni and be in New York where he is part owner of a soccer club, sign LeBron for max contract and perhaps Chris Bosh for a max contract, and then build around that.  Not sure if they have any priority in retaining players, perhaps Danilo Gallinari to show he wasn't a wasted pick, and Wilson Chandler, who has really stepped it up, and perhaps Chris Duhon as a backup, as he has played well as well.  As they haven't yet extended David Lee and Nate Robinson, who become free agents end of this season, it's possible that Donnie Walsh might just let them walk.

That being said, the biggest issue with the current D'Antoni offense is that David Lee is a short center, the guy stands at 6-9 at 240 lbs, to give you a relative comparison, let's look at a typical center (not Dwight Howard, who is a monster, 6-11, 265 by the by), say Andrew Bogut, he's 7-0, 260.  I mean, there are shorter centers, like Emeka Okafor or Kendrick Perkins at 6-10, and there certainly are skinnier centers, like Andris Biedrins, who weighs only 245, but the general trend is, that David Lee is a short center, I mean, he's already not that humungous for a PF already, kind of typical (same height and weight as David West).  Eddy Curry is an end of the bench ornament at this point in time, and honestly, Donnie Walsh would be just as happy to move him, which means that the tallest players to crack the rotation both as starters and reserves are; David Lee (6-9), Al Harrington (6-9), Tim Thomas (6-10), and Jared Jeffries (6-11).  I know, you're thinking, "Jeffries is 6-11, that's not that short, and look at Jerome James, he's 7-1, there's no height problem in New York, and Tim Thomas is the same height as Emeka Okafor."  Yeah, but this is Jerome James, Jared Jeffries, and Tim Thomas we're talking about.  First, I wouldn't really trust Tim Thomas to play SF let alone the PF position, secondly, I would trust Jared Jeffries to play, thirdly, Jerome James has only played 2 games, total this season, it's telling when the team is trying to force you to retire before the season even starts.

That being said, basically anyone on the roster is tradeable, except maybe Chris Duhon, but I think Donnie Walsh could be convinced to part with him if he thought the price was right.  The only requisite for trading with the Knicks is that the contract has to expire in 2010.  Now Jeffries and Curry both have player options that extend to 2011, which is why it's something of a priority to move them, however, that makes their contracts that much uglier than even Kenny Thomas's, whose contract at least expires by the 2010 free agency.  While D'Antoni may not like Harrington, he's been the most effective offensive option on the Knicks thusfar, averaging 21.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals, 2.6 threes on 42.3% shooting since being traded.  Lee is much coveted across the league, apparently by Portland GM Kevin Pritchard, trade rumors have murmurings of returning Channing Frye to New York with someone like Sergio Rodruigez or something, perhaps also involving a third team, however, this only works if Pritchard can convince Lee that he won't get a better offer as a starter elsewhere, and is satisfied being a perpetual sub behind LaMarcus Aldridge and Greg Oden.  There were also rumors of Curry for Diaw, which Charlotte would do for an inside scoring presence, which New York would do simply because Diaw makes less per year.  I don't know that D'Antoni is all that worried about the height issue, but if he can get an athletic big that can run with the team, it wouldn't really be all that bad either, that's the key though, finding someone that can run with the team.  Marcus Camby was mentioned as an option, which would free up time when for Kaman when he returned, as the Clippers seem to like Randolph.  I personally feel that perhaps some trade for Shawn Marion, (if Eddy Curry can get in game shape again, so like Eddy Curry and Quentin Richardson), would benefit both teams.  While Marion doesn't add a whole lot of height, he does add some defensive tenacity.

New Jersey Nets

Strengths: PG

Weaknesses: Forward slots

Tradeable assets: Everyone except Devin Harris

Well, maybe not Brook Lopez either, and if Yi is bringing enough money.  I haven't really given up on Yi yet, but things aren't looking too promising for him, at least as a basketball player, I'm seriously hoping he proves me wrong.  If not, the Nets did draft the next all-American version of Yi in Ryan Anderson.  Needless to say, the Nets, like their New York counterparts, are waiting patiently for the 2010 free agency.  The only players that are signed for contracts longer than two years currently are; Devin Harris, Vince Carter, and Eduardo Najera.  The step that the Nets have over New York currently, is that they at least have Harris and Carter to rebuild around, a young burgeoning point guard and an old saavy vet, say what you will about Carter, he's still got game.  I don't know that the Nets disklike Najera, so they'll likely keep him, there's no reason for them to upgrade over Jarvis Hayes or Bobby Simmons as they're just waiting for LeBron to fill in the PF slot, so they'll just coast with Harris and Carter and hope that Yi and Lopez develop.

This is ridiculous...

NBA is all about the fans, but the fans just take it too far sometimes.  Seriously, isn't the NBA all about "playing until the whistle"?  Well, that's what I leanred from high school volleyball, but still, this is just dumb.  This is like saying a ref coughs with a whistle in his mouth and that's a turnover.  Seriously... 2 pts?  Sure, you can say, "Ok, take 2 pts away from the Jazz, they still would've won 117-114 instead of 119-114."  I'm not saying the Warriors would've won otherwise, but these fans are the reason people don't like Utah.

An Interesting Fantasy Tactic: Pick Against the Warriors

I don't mean to write a lot about the Warriors, but a friend of mine introduced me to this interesting tactic when playing fantasy basketball: pick up anybody over 6-9 playing against the Warriors, the Ws will make them look like All-Stars, in essence though, it's pretty much anyone that plays the PF/C position.  I saw the line for Marc Gasol's 20 point, 16 rebound game in November, but really?  Anybody?  Well, let's go back about 10 games and see...

v Orlando Magic

Marcin Gortat: 16 points, 13 rebounds (7 offensive), 1 assist, 3 blocks on 7-13 shooting in 27:36 minutes

@ Denver Nuggets

Kenyon Martin: 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block on 6-9 shooting in 24:36 minutes

Renaldo Balkman: 12 points, 6 reobounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 blocks on 6-8 shooting in 16:43 minutes

v Houston Rockets

Luis Scola: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block on 7-12 shooting in 24:19 minutes

Carl Landry: 18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal on 7-10 shooting in 23:14 minutes

v Milwaukee Bucks

Charlie Villanueva: 9 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 4 blocks on 3-11 shooting in 29:52 minutes

@ Oklahoma City Thunder

Nick Collison: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks on 6-10 shooting in 23:05 minutes

@ San Antonio Spurs

Matt Bonner: 14 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal on 6-9 shooting in 19:23 minutes

Fabricio Oberto: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists on 3-5 shooting in 23:56 minutes

@ Houston Rockets

Luis Scola: 8 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block on 4-8 shooting in 23:43 minutes

v Miami Heat

Udonis Haslem: 21 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks on 8-11 shooting in 41:40 minutes

Michael Beasley: 19 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block on 7-15 shooting in 24:27 minutes

@ New York Knicks

David Lee: 37 points, 21 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 block on 16-29 shooting in 38:31 minutes

Al Harrington: 36 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal on 13-25 shooting in 39:43 minutes

@ Cleveland Cavaliers

Zydrunas Ilgauskas: 21 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal on 9-13 shooting in 19:25 minutes

Now these are just the big men you don't really always expect to produce a lot, I'm not counting the 33pt, 14 rbd game Yao had, or the 20pt, 13 rbds Tim Duncan had in slightly over 20 minutes of play, nor the 41 pt, 10 rbds monster game Kevin Durant had.  

I don't know what it is, but GSW really makes power forwards and centers look like efficiency monsters.  Seriously, only 3 players on the list played over 30 minutes (Haslem, Lee, Harrington) but their stats reflect it too.  Combined, the three had 94 points, 46 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals, 3 blocks on 37-65 (56%) shooting.  So arguably, a run of the mill PF or C, of a starting caliber, should average about 30 points, 15 rebounds, 1-2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block on about 55-60% shooting in about 36 minutes of play.  I'm not a Warriors hatere, but the strategy seems to work.

Warriors Woes

Only 2 years removed from the "We Believe" campaign, no team has drifted further from a title than the Golden State Warriors.  Sure, Nellie-ball has revitalized excitement in basketball, it's fun to watch.  They had one successful playoff run, ousting the top seeded Dallas Mavericks from the first round of the playoffs, then were again only a couple of games shy of clinching that much desired 8th spot in the Western Conference playoffs again last season.  It sounds kind of like the low-budget production of what happened with Dallas a couple years ago, losing the Miami in the finals, the losing in the playoffs (to Golden State), then losing in the playoffs again (to New Orleans).  

Yet all of us still are kind of rooting for them inside.  However ingenious Don Nelson is though as a head coach, you have to admit, the roster kind of, well, maybe more than kind of, is bad.  If I were Don Nelson I'd have a hard time deciding if I wanted to start CJ Watson or Brandan Wright next to Jamal Crawford, Stephen Jackson, Corey Maggette, and Andris Biedrins.  It all kind of went downhill when Baron Davis opted for more years and more money with the Clippers down in Los Angeles, and the Warriors didn't match, because that's understandable, Baron Davis isn't renown to be healthy, and asking for a 5-6 year contract isn't  really what we're all looking for.  Of course, then the front office goes and extends Stephen Jackson for 5 years for like $35 million.  Then, Monta Ellis, the future of the franchise, who just signed a $11 million peryear contract (I think like 6 years) goes celebrating on a moped and wrecking his ankle.  Warriors are definitely still crossing their fingers about him coming back.  Things are just not looking pretty for the Warriors thusfar this season.

Honestly, there isn't a whole lot you can do with this roster, it just looks ugly.  Additionally, you don't have a lot of cap flexibilty to work around it.  Corey Maggette was the result of a quick reaction to Baron Davis leaving, taking $50 million over 5 years...  Maggette, definitely is not a player worth that kind of money.  Lemme give you an idea of who you can get for that kind of money.  Let's say Maggette is worth about $10 million per year right now (I think the actual number is like $9.6 million with bonuses or something), and we understand that the Warriors just lost Baron Davis, Matt Barnes, and Mickael Pietrus in free agency (to the Clippers, Suns, and Magic respectively).  These guys I'm comparing aren't free agents, but I use this as an illustration of how Maggette isn't worth the money.  So let's first compare swingmen, those in the SG/SF ilk.  Caron Butler makes an average of $9.78 million over the next 3 years, Gerald Wallace an average $9.47 over the next 4 with an $11 million player option in the 5th, Ron Artest is an $8.45 million expiring contract, Josh Howard makes $10.4 million per over the next 2 years with an $11 million team option in the 3rd.  These are all guys that right now, salary-wise, you could trade Maggette for straight up.  All players that I'd rather have on my team.  Sure Maggette can score and get to the foul line, but that's it, he's like a poor man's Paul Pierce.  Granted, Paul Pierce is making max contract, but still, there is better to be had for the same price.  The Maggette move, right now, looks less like lateral movement to make up for Baron and more a step backwards.  It's money poorly spent.  Even worse, it leaves the Warriors in no position for the free agency in the coming years, 2009 to include names like Allen Iverson, Shawn Marion, Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, and likely Carlos Boozer and Hedo Turkoglu, and of course the 2010 fiesta with names like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and Amare Stoudemire just to name a few.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, Jamal Crawford, Stephen Jackson, and Corey Maggette don't coexist very well on the floor.  They're all volume shooters, and chuck threes with regularity, and not a great amount of consistency.  Better than say Ricky Davis but that's not  really saying much.  They'll score in bunches, but they don't really add up to a whole lot.  If you look at the contracts, Jackson and Maggette go out to 2013 and Crawford to 2011, they've just signed Biedrins and Ellis on major contracts with player options out in 2014.  They've locked themselves with this lineup for a while.  Unless they can get rid of it.  Maggette becomes tradeable in a couple of days, but because of what the Warriors threw at him in a knee-jerk reaction to Baron Davis and being spurned by Gilbert Arenas and Elton Brand, there aren't a lot of people that would want him.  Maggette needs to end up on a team that doesn't mind having a black hole on the court, and honestly, there aren't a lot of them out there.  Jackson's contract is somewhat reasonable, averaging out to about $8.6 million per year, but then you consider that you have to hold him until he's 35, then that gets a little out of hand, or rather, undesireable. 

To be honest, I really don't think that Maggette can be had for fair value in return.  There really isn't much of any solution to be had, and I know people already calling for Blake Griffin or Ricky Rubio via ping-pong balls.  However, given the Warriors' luck in drafting (Joe Smith, Todd Fuller, Ike Diogu, etc...) there might be some doubts about that front office will take those talents.  However, if the Warriors want to build for the future, I don't think they can afford to keep Maggette and Jackson in the picture. 

This is where my trade mongering comes in...  The best that the Warriors can really hope for in return is expiring contracts and maybe some depth, and they have to trade to a team that's hurting and looking to get better on the fly.  One possibility is Maggette for some package like Jason Collins, Kevin Ollie, and Calvin Booth (all expiring contracts).  So why would Minnesota do something like this?  Well, for one, they desperately need scoring on the wings, while Corey Brewer is improving, he's now out for the season with a knee injury, and he wasn't the scoring answer they're looking for, Randy Foye hasn't really panned out either.  Maggette is the kind of scorer that can play next to Mike Miller and Al Jefferson, and just has to worry about scoring.  Of course, Jefferson isn't a great passer, but if they develop Love, who is a good passer, then it's a maybe.  Another possibility would be Stephen Jackson for Chris Wilcox.  Knowing Sam Presti, Oklahoma City will likely ask for draft picks in return, but, this does give Golden State a solid rebounder to start at the 4 next to Biedrins while developing Randolph and Wright at the SF slot until the add more weight.   Additionally, it gives more burn to the new guys, DeMarcus Nelson and Anthony Morrow as well as the other players that we'd like to see more of, like Kelenna Azubuike and Marco Belinelli.   Wilcox expires end of this season, and the Warriors now have more cap room to work with.  For OKC it's a matter of what the need is.  With Kevin Durant at the SF slot now, their SG has become really weak.  Unless Scott Brooks decides to play Westbrook at the SG slot (which he hasn't) he's left with starting Damien Wilkins.  Jackson at the very least bolsters their wing spot as well as gives a little veteran leadership.  Hopefully he doesn't go getting into trouble like in Indiana.  But that's my call, and how the Warriors can be fixed.  It's obvious that the Warriors won't win anything this season, unlike other teams they're not much better than the 6-15 record they hold.  So develop the young guys I say.

Finding that Missing Piece: Pacific Division

Each team has needs that it needs to get filled, of course, when the free agency is looking thin, which it usually is, then teams need to look on the trade market, trusting that the move will make them better both immediately and in the forseeable future.  Let's look at immediate impact for teams that are in consideration here.  Of course, no team is going to make a trade that doesn't make sense for them, so there are a couple of considerations that go into effect here; player chemistry, salary dumping, expiring contracts, etc...  Thus, whenver you consider a team need, you also need to figure out what that team has to offer.

Pacific Division

Los Angeles Lakers

Needs: frontcourt depth

The Lakers are playing so well right now that it doesn't seem like they have a whole lot to offer.  Everyone is playing at a higher level and Lamar Odom looks like he can really be effective off the bench, the team is a team, and while fantasy owners hate it, since the everyone's numbers (especially Odom's) are down across the board, Lakers fans love it because that means they have a 14-1 starting record.  Honestly though, frontcourt depth can be an issue, as I see it.  Normally I would've said perimeter defense, but Ariza has really stepped it up, and while he's not the shooter that I'm sure Phil Jackson would like on the wings, the Trevor Ariza/Vladamir Radmanovic/Luke Walton platoon for all extensive purposes works.  Now, granted the Lakers are a really deep team, the frontcourt is the place that could use the most bolstering.  Granted it could be a lot worse, it's not ideal to have your starting PF be your backup center.  If you look at the depth charts the frontcourt would probably look like:

PF- Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom

C- Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol

Which means that the three of them probably platoon the time equally.  Fortunately, no major injuries have occurred as of yet, and given how well their playing, Jackson has the opportunity to really rest his guys.  Of course, Radmanovic might see some playing time at the PF slot, but these three are really the crux of the big men.  Behind them you then have Chris Mihm and DJ Mbenga, who are just incidental names that happen to have contracts sitting at the end of the Lakers' bench, basically your 14th and 15th men on the squad.  So there are minutes to go around, and honestly, it could be better distributed, take some pressure off Gasol.

Available for Trade: Lamar Odom, Luke Walton

Odom, is the most obvious player that is tradeable.  In the current Lakers' system Odom has become little more than an overpaid bench player, honestly, I don't think he's adding a whole lot to the offense, and it really is because the Lakers are playing well enough for it not to make a difference.  Odom currently makes around $14 million, a hefty price tag, but is an expiring contract, so teams might be less leery about trading for him.  Likely teams that are looking for a missing piece might be a little leery about trading for Odom since they have no guarantees that they could hold onto him.  There probably aren't a lot of teams that would be willing to do a sort of 2-for-1 for Odom, especially 2 big men, and Luke Walton's $20 million over the next 5 years is definitely not a contract that anyone would want to take.  A solution might be trying some sort of three way or something trying to nab a couple of serviceable big men like Nick Collison, Chris Wilcox, and/or Nazr Mohammed.  Otherwise, the Lakers could just try their luck this year, and if it doesn't work out, let Odom walk and try to nab someone else from free agency.  Honestly, the Lakers don't really need a whole lot, they just need a couple of hustle guys that can bang it and tide over the lead while Bynum and Gasol get breathers.

Phoenix Suns

Needs: backup point guard

While Shaq isn't the best fit for the skills of Steve Nash, the Suns are actually a pretty good team.  They made some smart moves to make the offense work around Shaq, and thus have been holding their own in a competitive Western Conference.  The biggest problem would really be the age of the team.  Matt Barnes has already replaced Grant Hill in the starting lineup, and thus Hill has an easier schedule, Robin Lopez is doing a serviceable job allowing Shaq to rest on back-to-backs, Amare is still young, and he has the serviceable Boris Diaw backing him up anyways.  Raja Bell and Leandro Barbosa are both fairly reliable health wise (as Barbosa is moving on from the passing of his mother) which leaves the biggest question mark the backup to Nash.  So far, Goran Dragic, the Slovenian point guard who says he's trying to model his game after Tony Parker, hasn't looked too sharp.  That means, Steve Nash, at age 34, is still getting a lot of minutes. 

Available for Trade: N/A

The unfortunate thing is that unless some guy gets cut and can be picked up for cheap in free agency (eyes turn to Stephon Marbury) there really isn't anyone that the Suns can offer.  Alando Tucker and Sean Singletary maybe, but that's like less than $1.5 million, hard to find a decent point for that much...  Since Alando Tucker makes the brunt of that, he's going to be the key to this trade... Here's maybe an option...

Golden State Warriors

Needs: ball-handling, rebounding

The Warriors lost a very close one yesterday, and I blame it on rebounding, they don't have players that box out.  It's somewhat understandable, especially since when Don Nelson wants to play a legitimate PG with his best players he's playing a center and 3 6-6 shooting guards next to him.  While Ronny Turiaf is averaging a nice 2.3 blocks per game, and Andris Biedrins is having a career year, playing Stephen Jackson at power forward while having CJ Watson, Jamal Crawford, and Corey Maggette man the 3 "smaller" positions isn't really going to cut it, not at all.  I put ball-handling down, because while a Crawford/Jackson tandem of sharing the ball-handling responsibilities neither one is a point guard or should be classified as such.  While both can handle the ball, neither one is really proficient at finding teammates, nor is their game designed to do so.  Both can find the open man, but Crawford especially, is just much better taking his man one-on-one.  They're still waiting out on Monta Ellis, but I have two reservations about that; firstly, the rehab schedule doesn't sound pretty for Monta, he might try to rush back and then pull a Gilbert Arenas and aggravate his injury, secondly, Monta Ellis is not a point guard, just a really small shooting guard.  However, given that Ellis is the point guard of the future (provided he makes his comeback), it's unlikely that the Warriors will trade for a point guard.

Available for Trade: Marcus Williams, Marco Belinelli

It seems strange that the Warriors would want to trade Williams after trading a conditional pick for him, but, Nelson just doesn't see him fitting into the rotation, at best he's a serviceable point guard that can score a bit.  However, with CJ Watson already understanding the system and the starting of Jamal Crawford at the point, Marcus Williams just hasn't been able to crack the rotation.  Even undrafted rookies Anthony Morrow and DeMarcus Nelson are in front of him on the rotation.  I can definitely see some teams using his abilities, worse case scenario he's like another Smush Parker... ok that's pretty bad.  Belinelli just hasn't found consistent playing time and there are murmurs out there that Nelson doesn't really like him, fellow draft-classmate Brandan Wright has cracked the regular rotation and is getting an opportunity to develop, but behind a glut of wing players in Crawford, Maggette, Jackson, Kelenna Azubuike, and the emergence of Anthony Morrow, the opportunities just aren't there for Belinelli.  Worst case scenario he becomes a shooting specialist, something akin to the Italian Jason Kapono.  Honestly, I can't think of anything that would look pretty...

Sacramento Kings

Needs: backcourt depth

If you actually stop to take a look at the roster that the Kings can put on the floor it actually doesn't look half bad, really, I'm serious.  If we assume all things equal and all players healthy you'd probably have a starting five that looks something like; Beno Udrih, Kevin Martin, Francisco Garcia, Jason Thompson, Brad Miller with Spencer Hawes and John Salmons as the first off the bench.  There's something of a platoon of big men as Reggie Theus tries to get the emerging 2nd year big man Spencer Hawes and the standout rookie Jason Thompson minutes.  When Brad Miller was suspended for a violation of the NBA drug clause or something, Thompson and Hawes really were outstanding.  Currently, Theus is starting Hawes as a PF next to Miller, and with the return of Francisco Garcia, Thompson is going to lose the minutes he could've logged at SF as well.  For fantasy owners the Francisco Garcia/John Salmons tandem is one of the most frustrating things in the world because you're never sure who gets to play on any given day, however, they're both solid players and man the 2 and the 3 slots very well.  Whoever doesn't start becomes the first reserve behind both Kevin Martin and the other guy that does start.  However, should injury occur, there isn't a whole lot behind them.  Behind Udrih is the serviceable Bobby Jackson, but they could maybe use a third point (for you Skeets: Julius Hodge!).  So let's say for all extensive purposes they start Martin and Garcia at the wings, then the ideal situation would be to bring in Salmons off the bench behind Garcia, then should Martin come off and Garcia stay off, they can put in the developing Donte Greene at SF and slide Salmons to the SG slot.  The biggest problem, Greene is still green.  They could use a little more assurance than Donte Greene's lone 41 point Summer League game and Quincy Douby.

Available for Trade: Brad Miller, Kenny Thomas

I'm tempted to put Mikki Moore up there, but they could always use a reserve big man, and that's what Mikki Moore is, a high energy, reserve big man.  Getting rid of Brad Miller may be a little tricky with $22 million and 2 years left on his contract, but hey, he can shoot and is considered one of the best passing big men on the high post, and possibly one of the best undrafted players in the league.  However, an interesting problem to have, but a problem nonetheless would be who to get for Brad Miller, arguably you could get a player that fits in right away, but then you don't get the opportunity to develop some of your younger players.  One of the reasons for getting rid of Miller in the first place is to get playing time for both Thompson and Hawes.  Ideally, the Kings go back to the starting frontcourt of Hawes and Thompson and bring Mikki Moore in off the bench.  While Kenny Thomas is available for trade, no one wants to touch the $16 million and 2 years left on his contract, well maybe no one except Donnie Walsh, but then I doubt the Kings want Eddy Curry in return.   A solution for who to get for Brad Miller could be a simple 2 for 1, where you trade Miller for 2 smaller contracts in return, maybe a backup point and a backup center behind Spencer Hawes.  Since the Kings threw a full MLE at Beno Udrih, a hefty extension at Francisco Garcia, and pretty much made Kevin Martin the future of the franchise, there's no real reason to upgrade at any of those positions, at least no justifiable reason.  Trading Brad Miller for a worse center doesn't make a lot of sense, but if you get a decent back up point in the mix then it might be worthwhile.  Maybe?

Los Angeles Clippers

Needs: wing players

Well, to be more precise, they need consistency at the wings.  Say what you will about Cuttino Mobley, at least he was consistent, that's what really drives people crazy about Ricky Davis, can't he just get his averages consistently?  Sure you love him when he gets you 25 points with 3 treys on 45% shooting, but then, there are always those Ricky Davis nights when he gets you 5 points on 2-14 shooting or something, you only need one streaky shooter (Baron Davis) in the starting 5.  Eric Gordon is still rookie, so I can't really be too hard on him.  Therefore, they need to strengthen their wing play.  I'm actually still rather puzzled at the Zach Randolph trade, because it kind of strengthened a position that they're already strong at...  However, say what you will, Randolph is a bigger offensive threat over Kaman and Camby.  

Available for Trade: Chris Kaman

I've kind of explained this in my previous post, but I'll say it here again: Chris Kaman = Eddy Curry + FT% + defense.  Kaman is kind of your fairly traditional kind of banger/low post player.  He's good, he really is.  The problem is, he and Zach Randolph can't coexist.  So the ultimate question of who you trade for comes down to who the Clippers want to give more playing time/develop more: Eric Gordon or Al Thornton.  I'd actually go with Gordon, because you can relegate him to a 3 pt specialist, kind of a catch and shoot guy, and this mitigates the amount of time that Thorton and Randolph share the floor, because both are renown black holes on offense.  Additionally, for all it's worth, Thornton's upside isn't as high as Gordon's, as Thornton is already older than someone like Travis Outlaw who's been in the league twice as long.  A lot of teams can use a solid interior presence and big rebounder.  I see three players that they can go for: Gerald Wallace, Jason Richardson, or Josh Howard.