Dirk Stays with Dallas

After a short delay to harsh out some details, the Dallas Mavericks came to terms with Dirk Nowitzki (number 3 on the Big Board) on a 4 year, $80 million contract. The deal also gives Dirk one of only three no-trade clauses in the league (the other belonging to Kobe Bryant and Paul Pierce). Dirk was eligible to receive $96 million total but left the remaining portion on the table as a show of good will, hoping owner Mark Cuban would be able to use it to obtain some more talent. It was a classy move by one of the classiest guys in the league. Dallas is home to Dirk and it would be weird, if not downright wrong, to see him playing in Chicago, New York, or wherever else. To get one of the five or ten best players in the league (which Dirk undoubtedly is) for a hometown discount is a coup. Nowitzki is one of the best shooters in the league, almost unguardable, an outstanding team player, and one of the two or three best Closers in the league. I could go on and on about Dirk and his legacy here in Dallas, but I won't. Not today. Suffice it to say that in my mind just the fact that he left that much money on the table to help out the only team he's ever known displays his class and "team first" mentality. Absolutely perfect signing.

Grade: A+

Joe Johnson Back to Atlanta

After a disastrous playoff exit, it was questionable whether or not Joe Johnson (number 6 on the Big Board) would be back with the Atlanta Hawks. Well, it's not so questionable anymore. After some flirting with a few other teams (including the Mavericks), Johnson signed a 6 year, $119 million deal to stay with the team he's led (?) for the last few years. After the way Johnson (and the rest of the team) crumbled in the playoffs, I personally wondered if he hadn't cost himself some money. Obviously not. Johnson is not a player worthy of a max-contract but some team (possibly including the Mavs) would have given it to him and so Atlanta was kind of stuck. The truth is, Joe Johnson doesn't really want to be in Atlanta and Atlanta isn't really dying to have Joe Johnson on the team (at least not at that price). For a guy like Johnson, who doesn't have the off-court notoriety of some of the other big name free agents nor the endorsement money that comes with it, the extra year on his contract is a big deal. At the same time, Atlanta is not ready to rebuild and not in a position to attract a big name capable of leading their team. So the result is an unhappy marriage that will almost certainly end in Atlanta trading Johnson for cap relief as this will be considered one of the worst contracts in the sport.

I kind of feel bad for Johnson. He's always seemed like a nice guy and a good player. The problem is he's just talented enough to be considered a franchise guy you can build around but not talented enough nor possessing of the correct disposition to actually be that franchise guy and lead a team. He's an All-Star type of guy that you end up paying superstar money. Allan Houston was a prime example of this for New York. Great Second Banana, terrible Alpha Dog. He'd be much better off as the Robin to someone else's Batman. There's no way he can possibly live up to the expectations that come with this deal and it will eventually be the end of this relationship.

Grade: C

Steve Blake to the Lakers

With Derek Fisher headed for the nursing home any day now, the LA Lakers turned to the services of Steve Blake (number 42 on the Big Board) to fill their point guard needs, signing him to a 4 year, $16 million deal. Blake is a bit of a weird player and one who I think suffers from Big Moment Desire. He’s got an outrageously high basketball IQ and is an underrated contributor in general. And yet, in end game situations, he often makes boneheaded plays that leave you scratching your head. I think it all boils down to a desire, or maybe even a need, to hit the big shot. If he can control that impulse, though, there are few point guards who better understand their roles than Blake and you have to assume Kobe puts him in his place immediately. $4 million a year is a fair market value, too.

Grade: B+

Pierce Sticks with Celtics

After a short period of suspense, the Boston Celtics today agreed to terms with Paul Pierce (number 7 on the Big Board) for a 4 year, $62 million contract. I’ve never been the biggest Pierce fan and I definitely think he showed that his best days are behind him. That said, though, I like that the Celtics are committing to one (or maybe two) more title runs before Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen ride off into the sunset. And I’m a sucker for a player, even one I’m not fond of, playing his entire career with one team and I think this contract definitely takes Pierce all the way to retirement. Oh, and this deal looks great when you compare what Rudy Gay has done in his career versus what Pierce has done in his and consider that their new contracts are virtually the same per year. Good move all around.

Grade: A

John Salmons Stays with Milwaukee

The Milwaukee Bucks continued to spend money no one knew they had, inking small forward John Salmons (number 12 on the Big Board) to a 5 year, $39 million deal. Salmons, who was acquired from the Bulls in February, was the catalyst behind the Bucks run into the post season where they took the heavily favored Hawks to 7 games. My take on this is divided. On the one hand, I’m not a huge Salmons fan. I think he is decidedly mediocre at a lot of things and at times I very much question his motivation. It seems he plays really well when he first gets to a new team and then gets sluggish after the honeymoon period. He’s also not a superior athlete and whereas some players work around that, it seems to me like Salmons doesn’t really understand his own limitations. On the other hand, though, he was Milwaukee’s best scorer last year and played a vital role for them. I think Salmons benefits tremendously from the addition of Corey Maggette, a natural athletic scorer who will take a lot of the offensive load away from Salmons. And hey, if nothing else, the Bucks got a proven, NBA starter capable of scoring 20 points per game for only $5 million more than what the Raptors paid Amir Johnson.

Grade: B+

Hakim Warrick Signs with Phoenix

With Amare Stoudemire headed to New York, the Phoenix Suns looked to begin the process of filling a hole at power forward by signing Hakim Warrick (number 60 on the Big Board) to a 4 year, $16 million deal. Warrick is now with his fourth team in one year and his career has been a bit up and down of late. I’m a believer in Warrick and what he can do when given the right opportunity. He’s a very versatile player who can guard some small forwards as well as centers and loves to run the break. He’s a guy who could really excel in the Phoenix system and if he can develop a consistent jumper, this signing will look great. If he doesn’t progress, however, this move will look silly coming right on the heels of Amare leaving.

Grade: B

Channing Frye Stays on with Phoenix

Last year Channing Frye (number 26 on the Big Board) was an afterthought, signing with Phoenix for next to nothing. A decent year and a reinvention as a three-point bomber has brought huge financial rewards, as he's now earned a 5 year, $30 million deal from the team that gave him a second chance. As with everyone else who signed new contracts today, I think Frye is getting overpaid a bit here. He's a very nice player and a makeshift starting center for the Suns last year. But in the end, the Suns are now paying $6 million a year for a one trick pony. Frye is an excellent shooter but contributes very little in other dimensions of the game, though he will occasionally get you some rebounds. The honest truth is he's worth more to Phoenix in their fast paced system than he would be elsewhere so perhaps there's more logic in this than meets the eye. I'm happy for Frye, who by all accounts is a heck of a nice guy and deserving of his second chance in the league. But I do wonder about a Phoenix team that is always struggling to make ends meet and yet has $30 million for a shooter.

Grade: B

Amir Johnson Re-ups with Toronto

In the dumbest deal of the day, the Toronto Raptors have secured the services of forward Amir Johnson (number 55 on the Big Board) with a staggering 5 year, $34 million deal. How bad is this signing, you ask? When I saw the $34 mil figure I thought to myself, this would have to be a 10 year deal to make that amount of money make sense. Amir Johnson has a little bit of talent (I think). But during last year's "career year" (his fifth in the league), he averaged 6 points and 4 rebounds per game. He can't shoot, doesn't play defense, and isn't a scorer. In essence, he's a talented 10th or 12th man on a roster. Even a bad team like the Raptors were last year couldn't find more than 17 minutes a game for him. Those who use advance statistics will tell you this is a good signing, that Johnson has only shown a percentage of what he's capable of. Those people are wrong. Averaging this kids stats out to 36 minutes per game is ridiculous and even if he did get 36 a game and averaged 12 points, 8 rebounds, and a block, he'd STILL be way overpaid. He will now be paid $13307 per point he scored last year. This is beyond a bad signing, this is an AWFUL signing. I seriously doubt if Johnson would have gotten half that amount from anyone else. Crap like this is the reason Chris Bosh is RUNNING to get out of Toronto. Absolutely terrible.

Grade: D-

Rudy Gay Resigns with Grizzlies

Now we're starting to get some of the big names. The Memphis Grizzlies have maxed out their would-be free agent Rudy Gay (number 10 on the Big Board) with a 5 year, $82 million contract extension. This is a bit of a surprise on two fronts: 1.) I think most people believed the Grizz wouldn't be able to come up with enough cash to sign Gay; and 2.) Instead, the Grizz came up with way too much cash. Don't get me wrong, Rudy is a nice player. But he's not a franchise player. He's not leading anyone to a title (or maybe even a playoff berth) and has career best averages of 20 points and 6 boards. Not shabby, again, but not someone you bank on as the building block of your franchise. When you consider Memphis' relative lack of money, this could be a contract that cripples them, at which point they will inevitably trade him to the Lakers for nothing, giving Kobe two more titles before he retires. (Seriously. That's not much of a stretch.) Gay is a good player but not deserving of a max contract. But I guess you can't fault the team for paying what it costs to keep their own.

Grade: C+

Darko Resigns with Minnesota

The second "big signing" of the day comes from Minnesota, the Land of the Moronic GM. David Kahn (general manager) continues his foolish movements, resigning former number 2 pick in the draft Darko Milicic (number 41 on the Big Board) to a 4 year, $20 million contract. Milicic averaged a whopping 7 points and 5 rebounds per game last year and the Wolves already have three centers under contract so, sure, it totally makes sense that they'd give him $5 mil a year. This likely means Al Jefferson is on his way out of town because anytime you can trade a potential franchise big man and replace him with a barely average white spare, you just have to do it.

Grade: C

Drew Gooden Signs with Milwaukee

It's certainly not the crazy -big news everyone has been waiting for, but the first free agent from the class of 2010 has signed. Former Maverick Drew Gooden (number 35 on the Free Agent Big Board) has signed a 5 year, $32 million dollar contract with the Milwaukee Bucks. I'm not sure I love this move for the Bucks, mostly because I think the full mid level exception is too much for a player of Gooden's pedigree. Gooden does bring some skill to the table, though, as an excellent rebounder and a fairly dependable low post scoring option. He is also one of the stupidest players in the league with a basketball IQ that would definitely qualify as retarded. Still, I like that the Bucks are making moves and spending money to try and complete a young, up-and-coming roster.

Grade: B-

NBA Free Agent Big Board

With the biggest summer of free agency ever in the history of the NBA just underway, here's a quick primer on the top 75 available players. We'll try to keep track of where they all end up. (R) means the player is restricted, so their former teams can match any offer made to them.

1. Lebron James - SIGNED: 6 yr/$110 million - Miami
2. Dwyane Wade - RESIGNED: 6 yr/$107 million - Miami
3. Dirk Nowitzki - RESIGNED: 4 yr/$80 million - Dallas
4. Chris Bosh - SIGNED: 6 yr/$110 million - Miami
5. Amare Stoudemire - SIGNED: 5 yr/$100 million - New York
6. Joe Johnson - RESIGNED: 6 yr/$120 million - Atlanta
7. Paul Pierce - RESIGNED: 4 yr/$60 million - Boston
8. Carlos Boozer - SIGNED: 5 yr/$80 million - Chicago
9. David Lee - SIGNED: 6 yr/$80 million - Golden State
10. Rudy Gay - RESIGNED: 5 yr/$82 million - Memphis
11. Ray Allen - RESIGNED: 2 yr/$20 million - Boston
12. John Salmons - RESIGNED: 5 yr/$39 million - Milwaukee
13. Mike Miller - SIGNED: 5 yr/$25 million - Miami
14. Luis Scola (R)
15. Raymond Felton - SIGNED: terms undisclosed - New York
16. Brendan Haywood - RESIGNED: 6 yr/$55 million - Dallas
17. Tyrus Thomas (R) - RESIGNED: 5 yr/$40 million - Charlotte
18. Ronnie Brewer
19. Josh Childress (R) - SIGNED: 5 yr/$34 million - Phoenix
20. JJ Redick (R) - SIGNED: 4 yr/$20 million - Chicago
21. Udonis Haslem - RESIGNED: undisclosed - Miami
22. Shaquille O’neal
23. Travis Outlaw - SIGNED: 5 yr/$35 million - New Jersey
24. Brad Miller
25. Jermaine O’neal - SIGNED: 2 yr/$12 million - Boston
26. Channing Frye - RESIGNED: 5 yr/$30 million - Phoenix
27. Derek Fisher - RESIGNED: 3 yr/unknown - LA Lakers
28. Nate Robinson
29. Al Harrington - SIGNED: 5 yr/$35 million - Denver
30. Randy Foye (R) - SIGNED: terms not disclosed - LA Clippers
31. Richard Jefferson
32. Tracy McGrady
33. Kyle Lowry (R) - RESIGNED: 4 yr/$24 million - Houston
34. Luke Ridnour - SIGNED: 4 yr/$16 million - Minnesota
35. Drew Gooden - SIGNED: 5 yr/$32 mil - Milwaukee
36. Allen Iverson
37. Josh Howard
38. Matt Barnes
39. Wes Matthews (R) - SIGNED: 5 yr/$34 million - Portland
40. Ryan Gomes - SIGNED: 3 yr/$12 million - LA Clippers
41. Darko Milicic - RESIGNED: 4 yr/$20 mil - Minnesota
42. Steve Blake - SIGNED: 4 yr/$16 million - Lakers
43. Anthony Morrow (R) - SIGNED: 3 yr/$12 million - New Jersey
44. Kyle Korver - SIGNED: 3 yr/$15 million - Chicago
45. Raja Bell - SIGNED: 3 yr/$10 million - Utah
46. Quentin Richardson - SIGNED: unknown - Orlando
47. Craig Smith
48. Will Bynum (R)
49. Zydrunas Illguaskas
50. Rasual Butler
51. Shannon Brown
52. Kris Humphries
53. Jerry Stackhouse
54. Tony Allen - SIGNED: 3 yr/$9.7 million - Memphis
55. Amir Johnson (R) - RESIGNED: 5 yr/$34 million - Toronto
56. Ronald Murray
57. Larry Hughes
58. Sergio Rodriguez - SIGNED: Real Madrid
59. Joel Pryzbilla
60. Hakim Warrick - SIGNED: 4 yr/$16 million - Phoenix
61. Jordan Farmar - SIGNED: 3 yr/$12 million - New Jersey
62. Chris Duhon - SIGNED: 4 yr/$16 million - Orlando
63. CJ Watson (R)
64. Chuck Hayes
65. Juwan Howard
66. Marquis Daniels
67. Eddie House
68. Dorell Wright - SIGNED: 3 yr/$11 million - Golden State
69. Louis Amundson
70. Antoine Wright
71. Kurt Thomas
72. Ben Wallace - RESIGNED: 2 yr/unknown - Detroit
73. Roger Mason
74. Damien Wilkins
75. Carlos Arroyo
76. Jannero Pargo
77. Joel Anthony
78. Anthony Tolliver (R)
79. Jawad Williams (R)
80. Anthony Carter - RESIGNED: 1 yr/minimum - Denver
81. Shaun Livingston - SIGNED: 2 yr/$7 million - Charlotte
82. Theo Ratliff
83. Luther Head - Deal renegged by New Orleans
84. Tim Thomas
85. Devean George
86. Matt Bonner - RESIGNED: 4 yr/$15 million - San Antonio
87. Ian Mahinmi - SIGNED: 2 yr/$3.6 million - Dallas
88. DJ Mbenga
89. Shelden Williams - SIGNED: 1 yr/minimum - Denver
90. Earl Boykins
91. Joey Graham
92. Bobby Simmons
93. Johan Petro - SIGNED: 3 yr/$10 million - New Jersey
94. Rafer Alston
95. Fabricio Oberto
96. Kwame Brown
97. Ike Diogu
98. Keith Bogans
99. Trenton Hassell
100. Devin Brown

Shot of the Day

John Isner Celebrates After Winning Epic Match

Mavericks Draft Night Plans

Since my Mavs only have one pick tonight (number 50), my draft excitement has been somewhat tempered compared to years past. Yet I'm still a draft freak and considering the Mavs are always a team capable of paying to move up into the draft, I'm still preparing just like I would if they had a lottery pick.

3 PLAYERS WORTH MOVING INTO THE FIRST ROUND FOR:
Obviously I'm taking the big guys off the table here because of the cost. The Mavs aren't in a position to pick up a top 5 pick so Evan Turner, John Wall, etc. are out. But the Mavs could be able to jump up into a pick between 10 and 20 if the right player was there. The right players for me would be:

1. Patrick Patterson, PF, Kentucky - Patterson would fit in perfectly with the Mavs. While he's probably not ever going to be a 20-10 (points-rebounds), he could be a 10-8 guy for the Mavs right now. On a team that seriously lacks in both youth and front court depth, Patterson would fill two needs. Worst case scenario, he's Brandon Bass, a capable back up power forward. Best case, he's David West.
2. Paul George, SG, Fresno State - I'm a little wary of George because he has the potential to be a Workout Wonder: a guy who didn't do a whole lot in college and then jumps up the draft boards with good workouts. But everything I've heard says George's relative lack of production (16 points, 9 boards, 2 steals) is more due to his teammates and exposure to big time media. Regardless, George could start at shooting guard for the Mavs (if they traded Marion or Butler) and provide a little bit of everything immediately.
3. Cole Aldrich, C, Kansas - Normally I'd be dead-set against the Mavs drafting another big white guy. But in this case, I think Aldrich would be a great addition to the team as a backup center who could immediately contribute defense and rebounding. He's also a much tougher player than your average big white stiff. While I think Aldrich would be a bad pick for any of the teams actually in the lottery (because he has almost no potential to be a real offensive player), he'd be perfect for a good team that can pick him up.

5 GUYS WORTH TRADING UP IN THE SECOND ROUND FOR:
If any of the players I listed as "Sleepers" or "Players I Love" in my previous post (James, Jones, Hobson, Warren, White, etc.), I think they'd be worth the money it would cost to buy into the top 5 in the second round. In addition I would consider:

1. Elliot Williams, G, Memphis - Williams is a lottery player who just hasn't had a chance to show it yet. He started at Duke and showed flashes of his potential, then moved to Memphis to be near his family. He played very well last year but in relative obscurity. An injury prevented him from making the proper workout rounds leading up to the draft and there's a chance he falls into the mid second round, where he represents a HUGE value.

2. Craig Brackins, PF, Iowa State - Two years ago Brackins was a lottery pick. Last year he was a sure first rounder. This year he could drop into the second round. Scouts see less potential in him than they did before and Iowa State never did anything while he was there. I see him as a guy who was never comfortable as a leader or as a star player but has the scoring and rebounding ability to be a dynamite NBA role player.

3. Stanley Robinson, SF, UCONN - Robinson suffers from being on an underachieving UCONN team and not having the type of workouts NBA scouts are looking for. He's not going to create any shots for himself but he rebounds, defends, and runs the break, and if you get it to him on the break, he's throwing down (like Shawn Marion).

10 PLAYERS I'D BE HAPPY WITH AT #50:

1. Wayne Chism, C, Tennessee - Chism probably isn't going to get drafted so maybe we should just hold out for Summer League. But if the Mavs could get their hands on Chism, I would be thrilled. For me, Chism is a dead ringer for Ben Wallace, a guy who rebounds, plays defense, and knocks people around when they come in the lane. He absolutely has a place in this league.
2. Latavious Williams, SF, USA - Williams skipped college and played a year in the D-League where his abilities and maturity came around stronger and stronger throughout the season. He's a project but he has more potential than anyone else at this point in the draft.
3. Brian Zoubek, C, Duke - Not a flashy pick by any means, Zoubek has solid career ahead of him as a backup center. He rebounds very well, especially on the offensive end, and plays excellent defense. He also knows his role as well as anyone in the league.
4. Jarvis Varnado, C, Mississippi State - Like Chism, Varnado is a Ben Wallace starter kit. He plays defense and rebounds and doesn't worry about anything else. He's a bit frailer than Chism.
5. Jon Scheyer, PG, Duke - Scheyer is slow of foot, unflashy, and potentially between positions. But he has two decidedly NBA-level skills, more than most at this time: he's a lights out shooter and a born leader. In the right position, he's got an NBA career ahead of him.
6. Dexter Pittman, C, Texas - Pittman is a beast of a man who unfortunately seems to like food more than he does basketball. He's got a solid skill set, though, and would be worth a risk this late.
7. Ryan Richards, C, England - Richards is incredibly raw and unpolished, having only played basketball for a short period of time. He's a great option, though, to stash away for a couple of years and watch his development.

8. Sherron Collins, PG, Kansas - Collins has one NBA-level skill and that is scoring. He just finds ways to score. He is undersized, though, and not a true point guard and I think you have to question his ability to transition from star to role player.
9. Denis Clemente, PG, Kansas State - Clemente is undersized and isn't a very good scorer or shooter. But he's a solid flood leader and pest on defense, like a smaller Raja Bell.
10. Da'Sean Butler, G, West Virginia - Butler would absolutely be an early second round pick if not for a horrific ACL tear during a Final Four game against Duke. He's a tweener, not quite point guard, not quite shooting guard, but he is a great athlete (at least before the injury) and a very good scorer who has a place in the league if he works hard.

And if we can avoid taking Greivis Vasquez, the only player ever in the history of the NBA draft to qualify as both the cockiest and slowest player in the draft, I'd be just thrilled.

Draft Night Primer

I stopped making attempts at legitimate mock drafts some time ago for two reasons: 1.) Since I don't get to talk to NBA GMs, scouts, etc., all I have to base a mock draft on is looking at other people's mock draft. Second hand knowledge is not always the best information; 2.) NBA GMs, as a whole, are morons. You spend months diagnosing what a certain team needs, looking at all the available prospects, and make an educated, intelligent guess of who the team should take, only to have that thought process thrown out the window when an in-over-his-head GM (See: David Kahn, Minnesota) drafts a point guard when the only player on his team worth keeping also plays point guard. It's easy to guess who each team might pick based on need and availability, but factoring in the human element is almost impossible.

So instead of a Mock Draft, I think it's much better to simply have a look at the prospects and the upcoming draft as a whole rather than the picks themselves.

5 THINGS TO LOOK FOR TONIGHT:
1. There will be a ton of trades - Draft day always sees its fair share of moving and shaking, but this year should bring even more trades than normal. So many teams are trying to cut salary to get in on the Lebron/Wade/Bosh free agent class and another handful of teams are in desperate need of financial help. Combine all that with a draft class that is low on star quality and you've got a breeding ground for lots of moves.
2. Somebody will reach for Daniel Orton - A freshman from Kentucky who barely played and barely contributed, Daniel Orton nevertheless entered the draft and has been projected to go as high as 10 over the last couple of months. Recently, however, his stock has dropped and some of the big prognosticators are guessing that he could drop to the second round. I say this isn't very likely because if past drafts have taught us anything, it's that it only takes one moron to fall in love with "length" and "potential" when better players are on the board. Personally I wouldn't touch Orton with a 10 foot pole unless he did drop to the second round, but I'm smarter than most NBA GMs.
3. Not many Euros will be picked - The European/foreign player phenomenon of a few years ago has all but died out. So many of these players either didn't pan out or have thus far stayed in Europe and some GMs have turned on the foreign market. As few as 5 Euros could be picked tonight, with only 2 as potential first rounders.
4. A number of familiar names will drop - There are several players in this year's draft that would have been drafted much higher last year than they will be this year. Ed Davis would have gone top 3 a year ago, Cole Aldrich would have been top 8, and Willie Warren would have likely been a lottery pick. Davis and Aldrich are probably still lottery picks but Warren and a handful of other prospects hurt their stock tremendously with another year of college.
5. This draft will be talked about more fondly in 5 years than it will be tonight - There's not a lot of star potential in this class, with maybe only 4 to 6 guys who you could reasonably expect to be All Stars. That usually causes a lot of grumbling about the quality of the draft. Truthfully, however, there are a ton of guys that will be picked tonight that should have long careers as top-8 rotation players. From pick 1 to 50, you can get a player in this draft that you can reasonably expect to contribute. That's a good draft in my book.

THE TOP 5 PLAYERS:

1. John Wall, PG, Kentucky - Definitely going to be the first pick and everybody raves about the guy. He has great court vision, relatively high basketball IQ, great athleticism, and incredible size for a point guard. He reminds everyone of a taller Derrick Rose, which would be a heck of a combination. I don't think there's any way he's a bust but I'm not completely sold on him being the once-in-a-generation player everyone talks about. We'll see.
2. Evan Turner, SG/SF, Ohio State - A combo player who does everything: scores, passes, rebounds, defends, leads. The knock on him is his relative lack of athleticism to which I say, bull crap. Turner is a less muscular, less injury-prone version of Brandon Roy, who's doing just fine in spite of his own athletic issues. The biggest problem for Turner is that he doesn't fit in Philadelphia and that's going to stifle his development.
3. DeMarcus Cousins, C, Kentucky - Speaking strictly about skills, Cousins is a beast. He (potentially) has a great NBA body and legitimate post moves. He rebounds EXTREMELY well and finishes strong and even blocks a few shots. The problem is, he's a complete and total idiot. He's difficult to coach, difficult to play with, and difficult to judge on how well he'll mature with a big paycheck in his pocket. At best he's an immature kid who just needs some time to grow up. At worst he's a franchise killer and locker room cancer.
4. Derrick Favors, PF, Georgia Tech - As a freshman at GT, Favors looked great one minute, lost the next. He has an incredible amount of talent and I think a lot of his issues can be chocked up to absolutely atrocious guard play and little supporting help. I think he's more of a sure thing than Cousins is, personally.
5. Wesley Johnson, SF, Syracuse - A relatively unknown transfer from Iowa State, Johnson tore it up in his one year at Syracuse and vaulted himself into the top 5. He reminds me a lot of Shawn Marion with a slightly better jump shot. He doesn't excel at anything but he does pretty much everything pretty well and his defense should keep him on the court even if he struggles offensively.

3 TOP 25 PLAYERS I LOVE:
1. Patrick Patterson, PF, Kentucky - This guy was the stabilizing glue that held Ketucky together last year. He's got an NBA body and unlike so many of the other bigs in this draft, Patterson is an established player, meaning he can contribute right away. He doesn't have the potential that Cousins does but you know what you're going to get out of him. He can play several positions if need be and what I really love about him is his willingness to do what the teams needs him to do. His first two seasons he was a low post presence and in his last year, when Kentucky brought in Cousins, he transitioned to a face-the-basket player. I love what he could do on a good team.

2. Damion James, SF, Texas - James is going to slip because he's a tweener: too small for power forward, too slow for small forward. But while I wouldn't pick him in the lottery, I'd love to have him on my team in the later stages of the first round. James has a healthy assortment of offensive moves and has turned himself into a decent outside shooter over the last season. And the dude crashes the boards and knocks people down in the process. An excellent backup for a good team.

3. Dominique Jones, SG, USF - The only reason Jones won't be a lottery pick is his height (6'5). If he was 2 inches taller, he'd be a highly rated commodity. He's not a great shooter but what he is is a GREAT scorer. He's got a knack for filling up the basket and getting to the free throw line. He's a dynamic athlete and a pretty solid ball handler who could serve as a makeshift backup point guard.

4 GUYS I'D STAY AWAY FROM:

1. Daniel Orton, C, Kentucky - As noted before, Orton couldn't get off the bench for his college team and didn't do much when he did. He has a rail-thin body that's going to take years to fill out, he's got some maturity issues, and a reported knee issue. None of those things are what you want in a first round pick. Scouts say he has potential but it is the most unproven kind of potential and unless I'm a very good team that can dedicate 3 years to development (Portland), I'd stay away.

2. DeMarcus Cousins, C, Kentucky - Again, this guy has the potential to be a franchise maker or breaker. He's going to be so hard to pass on but I'd want nothing to do with him. Immaturity is one thing. You can grow out of that. Immaturity plus entitlement plus some money are a deadly combination. In addition to all of that, he's already out of shape (20 pounds overweight) and isn't so gifted athletically as to be someone who can make up for the added weight. I see Derrick Coleman when I look at him.
3. James Anderson, SG, Oklahoma State - Nothing against Anderson here. He's a great scorer with good size. The problem is I don't think he can get his shot in the NBA. He's not a great one-on-one player nor is he quick and svelte enough to run off screens like Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton, etc. That's not a good combination for a player who's entire contribution depends on getting his shot off.
4. Solomon Alabi, C, Florida State - Hasheem Thabeet all over again. Low motor and lack of motivation are likely to keep Alabi from ever adopting any kind of an offensive game. In the second round, he's got some value, but I wouldn't touch him in the first round.

5 SLEEPERS:

1. Darington Hobson, SG, New Mexico - Hobson could go anywhere from 25 to 45. He's a guy who could play shooting guard or point guard, scores at a solid level, and is a great leader. He's a little short for shooting guard in the NBA and little frail but he's got the basketball IQ to succeed.
2. Willie Warren, PG, Oklahoma - Warren, as mentioned, would have been a lottery pick had he come out last year. His stock has dropped drastically after a sophomore year that was marred by injury and a lack of Blake Griffin to take the pressure off. He’s really more of a combo guard than a point guard, too, which doesn’t help. But he has incredible size (6’4, 208) for a combo guard and knows how to score in dynamic fashion. As a lottery pick he’s iffy but as a second rounder he represents a great value.
3. Terrico White, SG, Mississippi - White is another combo guard who could go anywhere on the board from 20 to 35. While he’s not quite as offensively gifted as Warren, he is an amazing athlete and has shown a willingness to learn to be a point guard. If a deep team can snap him up, he could be an immediate help.
4. Quincy Pondexter, SF, Washington - Pondexter is exactly the type of guy who slips on draft day. He’s a senior so his potential is lower than some of the other guys and he doesn’t have great size for his position. He also doesn’t have great range which an NBA small forward needs these days. He is, however, an excellent athlete with good scoring ability and an eye for rebounds.
5. Gani Lawal, PF, Georgia Tech - Lawal was a borderline first round pick last year before returning, only to have his place taken from him by Derrick Favors. He and Favors had trouble coexisting as their skill sets are similar and his draft stock struggled. At the end of the first round or later, he’d a Brandon Bass-type who could help immediately.

Shot of the Day

Landon Donovan Celebrates His Game Winning Goal

Grading the Deal

The draft is tomorrow and I've got a whole lot of work coming your way over the next couple of days as I am a draft freak. But there have been a couple of deals made in the last 30 hours or so, one of which deserve attention. We're about to see what I really do believe will be a trade storm like nothing draft day has ever seen.

MILWAUKEE - GOLDEN STATE

To Milwaukee - Corey Maggette, 2010 2nd round pick
To Golden State - Dan Gadzuric, Charlie Bell

I'm a closet Maggette fan, have been since he entered the league and he's someone I have lobbied for the Mavericks to trade for seemingly every off season. He's a knucklehead, for sure, but I honestly don't think that's all his fault. He has been on losing teams his entire career and I think that fact gets underestimated. When you lose 50-60 games a year, you develop a mentality wherein you just try to make your stats look good because really, it doesn't matter how much of a team player you are, you're still losing 50-60 games. So while he can DEFINITELY be a ball hog and a loose wheel on defense, I think his positives potentially outweigh the negatives.

Mags is a FREAKISH athlete with one of the most physically imposing bodies I've ever seen on a swingman. He drives hard and finishes with contact and at times in his career he's been a decent outside shooter, though he doesn't focus much time on that part of his game. He rebounds well for his position and has the tools to play good defense. Most importantly he is a free throw waiting to happen. Some guys have a knack for getting foul calls and Maggette is the king of this. He can absolutely fill it up on any given night. I love this trade for the Bucks. A team that had next to no offensive fire power and no one to take shots besides Brandon Jennings now has a tried and true scorer who fits in perfectly. And Scott Skiles, as much as he beats me down, is known for forcing players to play defense and that may be exactly what Maggette needs to turn himself into a legit defender. Plus, this move costs the Bucks absolutely nothing. NOTHING.

On the flip side, Maggette was never a good fit for Golden State. A bad team that has no discipline and a coach who never has cared about defense or effort is a recipe for disaster combined with Maggette. The Warriors were pretty much trying to trade Maggette from the moment they signed him to an overpriced contract (seriously, they were looking to move him within two months). So while Gadzuric and Bell bring very little in the way of on court contribution, their contracts expire a year earlier. I'm never a fan of a team making trades just for the sake of saving money. It's the worst thing about the NBA right now in my opinion (safe for the officiating, of course). But in this case, the Warriors are simply riding themselves of a mistake they made several years ago and trying to start over.

Milwaukee Grade: A+ Golden State: B

Marlins Bring in Vuvuzelas

If you've watched any of the World Cup this year, you've noticed two things:

1.) The referees suck, and
2.) The annoying buzzing sound that permeates every inch of your viewing pleasure.

That noise, which is made by a South African horn called a vuvuzela, has received more attention than almost anything else involving the World Cup (which is a real shame given how good the games have been thus far). It is INCREDIBLY annoying and while you do start to get used to it after sitting through a dozen or so games, it's not really something you want during your sports viewing.

So, naturally, while everyone in the world who is not South African is talking about how horrible these vuvuzelas are, another organization has jumped on the annoying bandwagon. This weekend, during an interleague series with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Florida Marlins decided it would be a great idea to pass out vuvuzelas to all the fans who attended the game. The result was an obnoxious, ear splitting, insanity inducing buzz that overtook the ballpark and eventually led to a costly miscommunication between the home team's manager and the home plate umpire.

I get the need for give aways and promotions, especially if you're a Marlins team that sells, on average, 16,000 tickets a game. (And probably seats no more than 5,000 if the recent weekend series with the Rangers is anything to go by.) But really, Marlins brass? Really?! This vuvuzela thing is getting panned worldwide for the annoyance and general disruption that it causes and you think the smart thing to do is to bring them across the pond and integrate them into Major League Baseball, the most resistant-of-change institution our country has to offer? Terrible idea! And what if this catches on? Will we see every ballpark filled with horn blowing fools who've eaten too many dollar hot dogs and drank too many beers? Have we learned nothing from the 2002 Angels and the evil they brought into the world in the form of the Thunder Stick? If this trend takes off, I'm leading the caravan down to Miami to set fire to the Marlin offices. It would be the right thing to do.

Shot of the Day

Kobe Bryant

Shot of the Day - 6/10

Kevin Garnett, Now with Karate Chop Action

Shot of the Day - 6/8

Shannon Brown

Ken Griffey, Jr. Hangs 'Em Up

On Wednesday, Ken Griffey, Jr. announced his retirement from Major League Baseball. Griffey, now 41, has been in the Majors since he was 18 years old, and for the better part of those years, he was a force to be reckoned with. His age and a prime that was riddled with injuries finally took their toll, slowing Griffey down to an occasional pinch hitter, a role he wasn’t willing to accept. He will likely take a place in the Mariner front office next year and hopefully stay close to the game.

Ken Griffey, Jr. was, arguably, the best baseball player in the game during the 90s. He could do everything. He hit for average and power, drove in a ton of runs, and fielded his position with a flair that few have ever possessed. His baseball IQ was off the charts, the mark of a bright kid raised in the game under the tutelage of Ken Griffey, Sr., himself a Major League all-star. Junior always seemed to know what his team needed of him. If that was a monster home run, he’d send it to the parking lot. If it was a sac fly, he was willing to do that, too. And if that meant giving up his body crashing through the outfield wall tracking down a ball, Griffey was more than happy to oblige.

I came late to sports and the only major American sport I didn’t immediately embrace was baseball. As a youngster I played a season of tee-ball that was excruciating. I was the right fielder (aka “worst player”) on a team that didn’t win a game all season. Even trying to watch baseball was too much effort for me. The game was too boring, too much standing around. Then two things happened: Barry Bonds got out of baseball purgatory (Pittsburgh) and signed on with a real team in the Giants. And I caught sight of Ken Griffey, Jr.

In the near future, when Barry Bonds dies, (from complications of steroids or at the hands of an angry ex-girlfriend) I’ll have a column on my other baseball favorite. (I’ve been writing it in my head for years.) But for today, it’s all Griffey. Griffey played the game in a way that I, as a self-professed baseball hater, had never seen. He was one of the rare athletes who could pull off a smooth swagger without coming across as arrogant or cocky. He knew how incredible he was but The Kid genuinely loved baseball, loved playing the game. He always seemed like he was having fun and that, unfortunately, is a rarity. Griffey was exciting in a sport that was, for me, terribly unexciting.

And then there was that swing. From the very first time I saw Griffey swing the bat I knew it was something special. I once knew a guy who claimed that everyone had one quality or skill that was truly God-given; one thing that they were great at. You might be really, really good at a lot of things, but there was one thing that set you apart. Griffey was an outstanding all around baseball player, but that swing was a gift. It was the purest swing I have ever seen. If I started training my kid at age two to swing the bat and paid for all the best coaches that money could buy and took him to other countries to get radical surgeries that turned him into some type of mutant with the strength of a silverback gorilla and the joint dexterity of a pterodactyl (I don’t even know what that means), he would still be miles behind Griffey. His swing was perfect.

In the 1995 divisional playoff series against the Yankees, Griffey went off for five home runs and seven RBIs with a .391 batting average. He and pitcher Randy Johnson single handedly (double handedly?) torched the Yankees and even a baseball moron like myself knew it was just right to hate the Yankees. I was hooked. Year after year Griffey racked up home runs, Gold Gloves, and wins against my hometown Rangers. One of the saddest days of my Sports Life was the day Griffey was traded to Cincinnati, a National League team that only rolls through town once every six years. And then Griffey’s body betrayed him. Injuries are a part of sport, to be sure, but what happened to Griffey was unjust. THE player of the 90s became a spectator for much of the 2000s. He spent the better part of his prime on the disabled list and never could quite regain form. Yet when he was able to get on the field, things still stopped down every time he came to bat because you knew there was still a chance you were going to see something special.

I was at a Rangers-Mariners game earlier this season and Griffey happened to be in the lineup as the DH. It had been a while since I had seen him in person and the change was pretty evident. Even if you didn’t know his age, you would know he was close to the end of his career. Yet every time he came to bat, I found myself holding my breath, knowing (or maybe hoping) that he could still do something special. The end was near for Griffey and we all knew it but I swear to you, every member of that pro-Ranger crowd hoped he’d get one more at bat, one more chance to show us something spectacular, even if it cost the home team the game. On one pitch he unleashed that beautiful, perfect swing…and missed a home run by a tenth of an inch, popping up harmlessly to second. An unspectacular ending for one of the most spectacular players this game will ever see.

Griffey finished his career with over 2700 hits and 1800 RBIs, appeared in 13 All Star games, and won 10 gold gloves, seven Silver Sluggers, and an MVP trophy. He also happened to pop 630 home runs, the fifth most in MLB history and without the injuries I whole heartedly believe his name would sit atop that list. And he did it all clean. In an era that was ripe with steroid usage, Griffey’s name has never once even been associated with performance enhancing drugs. When you consider the juiced-up competition he was going up against, his numbers and his impact are even more astounding. More importantly for this writer, Ken Griffey, Jr. represented the entire sport of baseball for a 12 year old boy who’d written the sport off entirely. Ken Griffey, Jr. WAS baseball for me and I will be forever grateful for that.

Seriously disappointed in the lack of attention this retirement has gotten,
Brian

Shot of the Day - 6/3

Jim Joyce and Armando Galarraga Shake Hands (the day after Joyce cost Galarraga a perfect game)

Shot of the Day - 6/2

Worst. Call. EVER.

Shot of the Day - 6/1

Gabe Gross