06/19 ESPN & DX.com Speculation

[Wise1]

Yep I knew this would bring you out of the shadows and get you to post Wise!

Yeah, I'm in the shadows more than ever since corporate decided to check our salesforce and busted out the Websense software to limit internet access in all of our offices. Most of my work is done in the office in support of our national sales team. I have a laptop, but I refuse to enter into one of those 2 year contracts for a wireless card. I just do most of my posting after work now.

This is a great thread though. Lots of drama and energy.

[Licensed to Il]

So any confirmation on the Portland rumors? If LaFrentz is involved, we would have to deduct that Bobby or Mike Redd are invovled (salary matching wise).

Portland has a lot of "under the radar" guys. Jack is slightly better than servicable. Outlaw really emerged last year and has a bright future. Sergio Rodriguez is really tricky with the ball. Rudy Fernandez is Manu Ginobli without the giant schnazz and bald spot. Raef Lafrentz represents 10 million bucks off the books. Martell Webster is a hard worker who came out too early, but still has some promise. The 13th pick in the draft could net a solid rotation player like Rush, Speights, Hickson, or Lee.

I hope where there is smoke there is fire. There are a few combinations of the guys above that would really help solidify our roster.

[ReasonablySober]

I've been on the Portland board with different trade ideas all year. They seem to think that Outlaw still isn't any kind of a basketball player and Jack is worthless. I don't know what they think about Webster.

[paulpressey25]

If the Portland deal meant we dropped to 13 but dumped Bobby and Gadz contracts, that could be worth it, provided that it allows Hammond to make another move or two.

If you think about it, it essentially accomplishes everything that the "Zach Randolph" trade was supposed to do but instead of taking on a cancerous player and his $48 million dollar contract we just drop 5 spots in a draft where the guy at 13 might be ok compared to 8.

If we are going to trade with Portland, I'd actually rather do the salary dump than take back their unwanted, slightly talented guys like Jack, Outlaw, etc.

[Simulack]

I love that comments Hammond makes about Randolph are obviously smokescreens to some of the posters here yet they are supposedly intended to fool other NBA GM's who do this for a living. How is it the case that statements so transparently false to people whose sole qualification is a certain number of posts on an Internet message board are going to fool actual professionals into acting in a such a way that a certain guy is more likely to be available at #8? That's some serious hubris.

Anyway, if there is any truth these #2 pick trade rumors, I hope the Bucks are doing whatever they can do move up. Last year many of us should have been put on suicide watch after the Bucks didn't land top 2 pick and moved down. Beasley is on the same level as Durant was as a freshmen yet seems to be getting underrated of late. I'd dangle whatever combination of #8, CV, Yi, Redd or Mo could get the Heat to bite for #2/filler/bad contracts. Many have compared Beasley to Melo so I'd be willing to give up the same assets many were in the hypothetical Melo trade thread.

Beasley and Bogut would be finally be the type of core you can build around.

[paulpressey25]

I love that comments Hammond makes about Randolph are obviously smokescreens to some of the posters here yet they are supposedly intended to fool other NBA GM's who do this for a living. .

I liked Larry Harris a lot. But he did admit he got certain ideas off the internet....so I do think there are some who can get fooled.....

......I can't tell you whether it is a smokescreen or not, but it does seem funny to have a guy come out and proclaim that his pick is quite possibly Randolph and how he'll be thrilled with it.

[randy84]

I love that comments Hammond makes about Randolph are obviously smokescreens to some of the posters here yet they are supposedly intended to fool other NBA GM's who do this for a living. .

I liked Larry Harris a lot. But he did admit he got certain ideas off the internet....so I do think there are some who can get fooled.....

......I can't tell you whether it is a smokescreen or not, but it does seem funny to have a guy come out and proclaim that his pick is quite possibly Randolph and how he'll be thrilled with it.

I would almost agreed except that everyone in the world knows that we brought Alexander in for a second interview. So which is the smokescreen, bringing in Alexander for a second time or proclaiming we like Randolph?

[LUKE23]

There is no one that PDX would trade that would entice me to move from 8 to 13 and miss out on Alexander. Jack is going to be no better than Sessions (and I believe Sessions will be the better PG) and Outlaw isn't going to be any better than Simmons/Mason. I don't miss out on Alexander just to grab some ok depth.

[ReasonablySober]

There is no one that PDX would trade that would entice me to move from 8 to 13 and miss out on Alexander. Jack is going to be no better than Sessions (and I believe Sessions will be the better PG) and Outlaw isn't going to be any better than Simmons/Mason. I don't miss out on Alexander just to grab some ok depth.

That really doesn't matter a whole lot, though, if Milwaukee and Hammond have Randolph graded ahead of Alexander, something that's entirely possible.

So it's either Milwaukee takes Randolph at eight or they move back to #13 and grab him there.

I can't see them going for a guy they have graded lower at the expense of clearing cap space. They're not the Grizzlies or the Suns.

[carmelbrownqueen]

Even the Bucksblog is talking Mayo rumors now...

USC's Mayo impresses Wade
By Charles F. Gardner
Tuesday, Jun 24 2008, 06:42 PM

Southern California guard O.J. Mayo could be the third overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night, but he might not wind up in Minnesota. It is thought several teams have discussed potential deals with the Timberwolves, who hold the No. 3 selection.

Among those reported to have interest are the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Bucks and Charlotte Bobcats - teams with the sixth through ninth picks, respectively. Would the Bucks package Charlie Villanueva or Yi Jianlian with their No. 8 pick in a multi-player deal to land Mayo?

Or will Bucks general manager John Hammond stay at No. 8, with West Virginia's Joe Alexander a possible target? The 6-foot-8, 220-pound small forward, who averaged 16.9 and 6.4 rebounds as a junior with the Mountaineers, was in Milwaukee for an interview Monday after previously working out with the Bucks.

Mayo has been working out with NBA players in Chicago at Attack Athletics, and he has impressed Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, who was named to the U.S. Olympic team on Monday.

"Mayo is a combo guard," Wade said. "I'm not going to say he's like me, but he can play the 1 (point guard), he can play the 2 (shooting guard). He can guard bigger guys as well.

"One thing I did like about Mayo, besides basketball, is him as a person. You take a kid who's been getting hyped up since sixth grade, you think he's going to come in like he's already in the NBA. But he came in and has been a student of everybody who's been in the gym. He's asking questions and he's trying to learn."

The 6-4, 200-pound Mayo impressed Timberwolves officials during a five-team workout held in Chicago on Saturday. Memphis point guard Derrick Rose and Kansas State forward Michael Beasley are expected to go in the top two picks, although the Chicago Bulls have not revealed which way they are leaning with the No. 1 selection. Wade's Miami team has the No. 2 pick, and some media observers believe Heat president Pat Riley could be looking to make a deal.

"I see him as being NBA-ready," Wade said of Mayo. "The top three guys that we named are all NBA-ready. Everybody is taking a hit at Derrick Rose because they say he's not a shooter, that he probably will be later in his career. But he's NBA-ready.

"It's just about getting on the right team and getting in the right system. At least the top two are going to teams that already have a foundation, already have a base. And they (Bulls and Heat) can get right back on track immediately."

[LISTEN2JAZZ]

Beasley is on the same level as Durant was as a freshmen yet seems to be getting underrated of late. I'd dangle whatever combination of #8, CV, Yi, Redd or Mo could get the Heat to bite for #2/filler/bad contracts.

I agree, and there are a couple decent packages we could offer. One would be Redd/Villanueva/#8 (plus another pick?) for #2/Blount/Banks/Haslem. This deal leaves the Heat with a starting lineup of Wade/Redd/Marion/Villanueva plus whoever the draft - possibly Lopez?

I wouldn't do that from Miami's perspective, but the deal seems comparable to what other teams can offer, unless Memphis is actually dangling Conley +#5.

[Licensed to Il]

If you don't think that Outlaw will be better than Bobby or Dez, I can tell that you have not watched many Portland games. I'm not making any promises that Outlaw is a future star, but I think that most objective observers would rate him a better prospect than Bobby/Dez. For goodness sake, Outlaw is as athletic as Dez, while being a good 2 -3 inches taller. He also has a better shot, though it is still raw.

As far as J Jack, I'm not a huge fan. After all, Potland is in the market for a point guard, so that tells us a little something about JJ. However he is big, scrappy, and offers a mindset and a focus that Mo does not.

I can certainly respect the statement that we don't want to take on someone else's backups. But were not going to start 5 all stars anytime soon... so our first step towards respectablity is actually going to mirror Portland and Chicago's recent emergence... where we field a roster of 7 - 9 hungry guys battling for minutes. Jack is less an overall talent than Mo, but a better fit for Skiles. Outlaw is still raw, but a much better prospect moving forward than Dez or Bobby.

I would be really interested to hear the thoughts of posters who have watched these guys play (more than just against the Bucks twice a year).

[LUKE23]

I've watched Outlaw play plenty. He's a solid bench guy to have, definitely not a starter on a good team. Poor rebounder for his size/athletic ability and only average (if that) FG% for his size along with questionable shot selection. I really don't see him as much of an upgrade over Simmons if Simmons bounces back at all.

[Simulack]

I agree, and there are a couple decent packages we could offer. One would be Redd/Villanueva/#8 (plus another pick?) for #2/Blount/Banks/Haslem. This deal leaves the Heat with a starting lineup of Wade/Redd/Marion/Villanueva plus whoever the draft - possibly Lopez?

I wouldn't do that from Miami's perspective, but the deal seems comparable to what other teams can offer, unless Memphis is actually dangling Conley +#5.

Conley plus #5 would be tough to beat particularly if Memphis throws Miller in there too.

I'd be willing to offer #8 + CV or Yi and then add either Redd/Mo (if the Heat want one of those guys to try to win now) or add Dez in for one of their bad contracts like Banks which would save them 9 million or so

If we somehow got another lottery pick (as some believe we could for Redd), I'd also try to package that with the #8 and whatever else it took to move up to #2.

Beasley is probably the guy I want most in the draft. Rose was inconsistent most of the year and the PG position is overrated by many on this board IMO. As someone pointed out on the Draft board, PG's were the most efficient player on only 2 of the 16 playoff teams. Beasley is a can't miss prospect and I'd move whatever it takes to get him as Bogut/Beasley alone would be a great foundation to build on.

[carmelbrownqueen]

I have also watched Outlaw play quite a bit, he's a good bench guy but still seems to have an extremely low bball IQ and just generally doesn't seem like a very smart player. I love his athleticism and that he's showing some improvement, however he isn't a guy I am just anxious to see play on this Bucks team.

[Simulack]

I've watched Outlaw a lot, probably 15-20 Blazers games this year.

He looked really improved for a month or two there when Portland had that winning streak. Better shot selection than he demonstrated previously and his outside shooting looked a lot better than it had in previous years. But he seemed to regress a lot later in the year, his numbers went down and he was back to shooting a poor FG%.

I think what you think of him depends on how much weight you give to different parts of the season. During December/January, he looked to be a fairly promising young SF who had made big improvements and was arguably one of the better players on a successful Portland team. Towards the end of the year, he didn't look like anything to get excited about. I guess it is at least a positive that his best play roughly coincided with a period when Portland was playing well so he was doing it within the team concept and not just putting up numbers on a team losing every night.

Another drawback is that it looks like he is one of those guys who just makes up his mind he is going to try to score. He doesn't have very good passing/playmaking skills (assist/turnover ratio is basically 1:1).

I dunno, I wouldn't get overly excited about him but I do think he is certainly an upgrade over any 3 we have and he is still young enough to have potential. Personally I think his ceiling is an average to slightly below average s SF as a starter with it being more likely he ends up a decent 6th man type. I like him better from what I've seen than Webster although, from reading the Portland board a while back, most there seemed to prefer Martell.

[aaprigs311]

Bogut and Beasley would be nice building blocks. I'd trade the farm for Beasley. I hope Hammond has contacted Riles.

[carmelbrownqueen]

I will try this again... but I am gettin really frustrated with these new boards. I just had to login 6 times (when I was supposedly already login by the way) just to post this. Very very irritating.

Anyway. Sportsbubbler.com has a video with John Hammond stating that we will "probably" walk into the draft with the 8th pick and "probably" walk out of the draft with the 8th pick. Also said that we don't have anything going "right now" regarding trading any of our players and thinks we will probably still have our current roster after draft day.

http://www.sportsbubbler.com/DisplayTop ... picID=2003

[Wise1]

I will try this again... but I am gettin really frustrated with these new boards. I just had to login 6 times (when I was supposedly already login by the way) just to post this. Very very irritating.

Anyway. Sportsbubbler.com has a video with John Hammond stating that we will "probably" walk into the draft with the 8th pick and "probably" walk out of the draft with the 8th pick. Also said that we don't have anything going "right now" regarding trading any of our players and thinks we will probably still have our current roster after draft day.

http://www.sportsbubbler.com/DisplayTop ... picID=2003

I had to use the quote feature just to read your post since everything on this page appears to be shifting off screen to the right.

I think there are teams with pieces that are just more attractive than what we have to move up: Brand, Jefferson, Wallace, Prince to name a few.

[pasting_monkeys]

Thanks for that link CBQ.

I really like Hammond's interviews. He just seems like such an intelligent guy who is constantly focused on the big picture.

It certainly sounds like there were a lot of deals discussed over the last week and a bit, but now the talks have simmered. As wichmae has been saying, all the draft day deals hinged on what Miami was going to do. Miami trading the #2 pick (Beasley) could have been the trigger to many team's deals, but now they seem content to keep the pick and grab Mayo, meaning that all deals are off, and we keep the #8 pick.

Who knows, maybe we can still get a trade going that will help this team 'win now'.

I have full faith in Hammond. That is, until he drafts Anthony Randolph.