NBA 2006/2007 Offseason Thread

[Jacky]

playoffs is still going on.. but here are some interesting news about bargnani:

"The Raptors let go former Purdue coach Gene Keady. It's part of a shakeup under new general manager Bryan Colangelo. Mauricio Gherardini, an executive with Benetton Treviso of the top league in Italy, was added as assistant general manager. That's expected to help the Raptors get Bargnani, who played for Benetton. The talk is Bargnani's camp will put out word he could return to Europe--like Orlando pick Fran Vasquez did last year--if he's not a Raptors pick. That should scare off the top teams. The new Toronto philosophy is said to be to extend Bosh (he says he wants to return) and then concentrate on international players more comfortable playing in Canada. Chicago Tribune"
http://www.hoopshype.com/rumors.htm - May 22, 2006

anyone has seen bargani? is he really that good that he could be the next dirk?
I doubt he would be demanding to be a raptors pick... barnani/bosh/villanueva frontline would be too weak defensively for my taste... offensively would be fun to watch tho... but let's see what colangelo can do for the raps
it is from the chicago tribune.. toronto media hasnt said anything about this yet

 

[Hopeunited]

bye Gene Keady

 

[SlayerDeuS]

Yes! I can't wait for the weakest NBA draft in years!

 

[Jacky]

draft lottery tonight.... the number one pick goes to the Kni...err...hang on... the Bulls...
LOL.. it'd be really funny but of course I hope the raptors get it but not sure if it'll make that much a difference winning 1st or 3rd

 

[Jacky]

raptors won the lottery!!! colangelo has turned our luck!!

if it were me I'd trade down!! a little more leverage now with the 1st pick instead of 5th..

1. Toronto Raptors
2. Chicago Bulls
3. Charlotte Bobcats
4. Portland Trailblazers
5. Atlanta Hawks
6. Minnesota Timberwolves
7. Boston Celtics
8. Houston Rockets
9. Golden State Warriors
10. Seattle SuperSonics
11. Orlando Magic
12. New Orleans Hornets
13. Philadelphia 76ers
14. Utah Jazz

 

[Yossarian]

Yes! I can't wait for the weakest NBA draft in years!

You can't be serious? How do you figure this will be the weakest in a long time?

 

[yoyo913]

why couldn't this have been 3 years ago

 

[Jacky]

if only the raptors had 2 lotto picks this year.. it would've been 1st and 2nd!! LOL.. it's our year albeit not a superstar draft!!

It had to be the Raptors' day. The second draw that took place during the lockup also went to Toronto, but it was discarded as the team only has one first-round pick this year. ("We'll trade that pick," quipped Jim LaBumbard, the Raptors' director of media relations.)

during the lotto toronto's pingpong balls dropped for both 1st and 2nd!!

 

[Hopeunited]

wow the Raptors can get lucky too?!

I wonder who we'll pick/trade for. I hope the management will make a good decision this time.

 

[SlayerDeuS]

You can't be serious? How do you figure this will be the weakest in a long time?

Mainly because there are no high school kids in it. As compared to last year's draft there aren't many potential super-star players.

 

[$teauA]

I for one am glad that high school players aren't allowed to enter the NBA draft anymore. It will make the college game even better and it will bring in more fundementally prepared players in the NBA which will increase the quality of the game even more.

-----

Ed Tapscott stepped down as President and CEO of the Bobcats today. Apparently investors were pissed with him and his decisions so they went to Bob who took care of things . Good riddance, he has done wrong after wrong but unlike others he was nice enough to recognize his mistakes.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

I for one am glad that high school players aren't allowed to enter the NBA draft anymore. It will make the college game even better and it will bring in more fundementally prepared players in the NBA which will increase the quality of the game even more.

Wrong. Was Marvin Williams any more prepared because he went to UNC for a year? Not at all. He's still going to be a fine player, but if anything his year at college stalled his pro development a little.

And yes it is the worst draft since at least 2000, without question. It's a shame too, because the 2006 High School class is one of the better ones in recent memory. Some are comparing it to the 2004 class, which has like 12 future stars in the NBA already. College basketball gets better? No, not at all. The top programs get a little better, but it completely stamps out parody in the sport. There will be only 10 or so teams with a legitimate shot at the NCAA Title because of this rule. It hurts players, it hurts the equity of the college game, and it hurts the NBA by not getting someone like Greg Oden into the league as fast as possible.

 

[Jacky]

the age limit is implemented for the benefit of the NBA... Stern would never do it if it means that the nba could make less profit...
and also for the benefit of the kids..
to some kids, they may think basketball is life and forego education thinking about the glamourous life of being in the NBA... this is what stern is afraid of the ones that failed to even make it..
there is nothing wrong in getting an education EVEN if u have great basketball skills... but it is WRONG to forego education thinking you can make the NBA...
for every 20 that make it there maybe 1 that doesn't and that 1 that failed outweighs the other 20 successes..
factoring all this and maybe some more the age limit was the right thing to happen for the nba..

here's is part of an article from April 2005:

Researcher Michael McCann published a study last spring in the Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal that showed the player who enters the NBA directly from high school averages more points, more rebounds and more assists than the average player.

"In fact, this group has done better than any other age group to enter the NBA," McCann says. "It's a myth that they tend to fail; in fact, the very opposite is true."

The problem is that the younger the NBA gets, the less fans seem to like it.

There's a widespread perception that many young players turn pro lacking in fundamentals and teeming with entitlement. Some of this relates to the resentment of middle-class wage-earners against teen-age millionaires; some to the disparate sensibilities of suburbia and hip-hop; and some, surely, to race.

Many Americans regarded the epic failure of the U.S. Olympic basketball team not as a blow to national pride so much as overdue comeuppance. Similarly, the November brawl involving O'Neal's Pacers, the Detroit Pistons and numerous spectators served to accentuate the rising tension between basketball's competitors and its consumers.

For David Stern, the issue is not so much black and white as it is black and red. Black for profit. Red for loss.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050415/news_1s15sullivan.html

and of course this:

In numerous interviews through the past couple of years, Stern has said -- and we're paraphrasing here -- that he is uncomfortable being the leader of a league that, directly or indirectly, is encouraging teenagers to abandon school.

Stern has acknowledged the significant contributions of some of the stellar current players who entered the league directly from high school -- Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, LeBron James, etc. -- but for Stern it's not about that. Rather, it's about the countless youngsters who put all their eggs in the dreamy basket of the NBA, fall short and have nowhere to go, having turned their backs on all educational prospects.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/Harris/2005/05/18/1044997.html

 

[Moreira_Benfica]

lets trade the pick!! have no idea if bobcats will do it

1st pick

for

brevin knight+3rd

why for bobcats:
they got felton who has played amazing when starting and they can get a good forward in tyrus thoman, aldbrige etc..

why for toronto:
we can still get bargani at number 3 most likely, and we finally get pass first pg

 

[Yossarian]

lets trade the pick!! have no idea if bobcats will do it

1st pick

for

brevin knight+3rd

why for bobcats:
they got felton who has played amazing when starting and they can get a good forward in tyrus thoman, aldbrige etc..

why for toronto:
we can still get bargani at number 3 most likely, and we finally get pass first pg

Sounds good to me so long as Gay isn't drafted top two.

And yes it is the worst draft since at least 2000, without question. It's a shame too, because the 2006 High School class is one of the better ones in recent memory. Some are comparing it to the 2004 class, which has like 12 future stars in the NBA already. College basketball gets better? No, not at all. The top programs get a little better, but it completely stamps out parody in the sport. There will be only 10 or so teams with a legitimate shot at the NCAA Title because of this rule. It hurts players, it hurts the equity of the college game, and it hurts the NBA by not getting someone like Greg Oden into the league as fast as possible.

I disagree.

 

[Hopeunited]

I don't like Bargani, I don't trust Euros. I want the Gay.

 

[Jacky]

yeah... I'd prefer gay to be on the raptors (trade down to 4th etc..)... but I'm not against it if colangelo chooses bargnani

http://www.sendspace.com/file/wqri60
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ety7ka

he looks pretty good in these clips... excellent 1st-step.. speed.. quickness.. can defend/block shots... but seems to be very weak(lacking mucles)

 

[Moreira_Benfica]

I Dont know why people want gay, is it cuz hes a flashy dunker? he performed horrible in big games (NCAA tourny) doesnt have a great jump shot, although i havent seen games of bargani i would still pick him its hard to find a 6'11-7 foot forward who can handle the ball and shot the ball like he can

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this better not be true

At this early stage, Toronto doesn't know how far it will move down. But the Raptors are sending out strong signals that they'd like to get UConn's point guard Marcus Williams. The best pure point in this draft, Williams has drawn comparisons to Mark Carlos*son, but is considered faster than the ex-Knick.

The new man in charge in Toronto, Bryan Colangelo, wants a playmaker who looks to distribute the ball first to Chris Bosh and Williams' ex-UConn teammate Charlie Villanueva. Incumbent Mike James, a free agent, will be moving on this summer. So, unless it's a smokescreen, Williams is Toronto's leading choice to fill the role.

The Raptors would even take Williams as high as No. 4, a reach on most other team's draft boards. But as the Suns' GM, Colangelo sometimes took players higher than other teams had them projected, most notably Shawn Marion, at No. 9 in 1999.

The Bulls and Bobcats, drafting second and third, respectively, are set at point guard, with Kirk Hinrich and Raymond Felton. So they have no need for Williams.

"Williams isn't a jet like Chris Paul," said Kelly, referring to the Hornets' Rookie of the Year. "But he has good size and strength and he has a presence on the floor. He can deliver the ball to your big people. And he has a lot of big-game experience."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/421479p-355845c.html

 

[Hopeunited]

We have enough Williamses for now. Colangelo seems to be a decision-maker that we can trust, but I'd still rather have us drafting the more "obvious" prospects.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

At this point I think the best two players in the draft are Bargnani and Gay and I have an irrational love of the Italian. Those clips of him are pretty amazing (especially considering a lot of them are game highlights, not career highlights) and his stats with Benetton and in the Euro League are pretty unheard of for someone his age. He looks like the most polished drafted Euro to come over since Gasol, and he looks like the closest thing I've ever seen to Dirk anywhere.

Gay is an athletic freak who can shoot and post up. A lot of people put so much blame on him for not stepping up, but honestly look at his team and then look at his stats. There are 4 future NBA players on that roster (possibly 4 first round picks this year) and many other guys who can play for pay somewhere in the world (Rashad Anderson and Denham Brown). Gay is very likely to be the best player out of this draft and my boy Bill Simmons is going to be eating crow starting the first time he steps on the court.