Official Speculation Thread (Pt. XLVIII"Preseason"Ed.)

[OrlChamps2030]

Boy does Vuch look good. What a great prospect. However, the more I watch Harkless, the more I think he is gonna bust. Nothing about him screams NBA player to me.

Harkless is def an NBA player. He has already shown that, the NY game comes to mind. He is still very raw and still trying to find his role and how he fits in. He is out on the floor with veterans so he is the 5th option on offense. I think it means alot that Coach Vaungh has a lot of confidence in him to start him and to give him more minutes, he seems to be playing more and more minutes lately. He is still playing hesistant but thats understandable with no training camp/preseason and a injury. What he needs to do more is find ways to make himself open and not waiting for things to come to him.

Ron Artest blowing by him for a dunk comes to mind. He probably shouldn't be starting. Seems like more of an energy guy than someone you count on for 30 minutes every night.

You're right, he shouldn't be starting. But he has to because Hedo and Harrington are out. I think Vaughn realizes this too and that's why he still uses him like a role player. The guy is clearly a project. Calling the youngest player in the NBA a bust ~15 games in...

[Optimus_Steel]

You got to compare him to other rookies. Compare him Daquan Jones who was starting and was ahead on him in terms of having a full training camp and preaseason, and is 3 years older. Jones is not playing anymore and Hark is getting over 20 mins a night right now.

[londoncollin]

Harkless was never going to be a guy to come in and dominate (or even play really well) right away. He was always going to be a long term project.

[BadMofoPimp]

Harkless already has very good defense which is what most coaches like from their players while Harkless hits the boards well and can finish at the rim. Thus, he is ahead of the curve for a 19 year old. Give him 2 more years and develop a solid outside shot while he will acclimate to the NBA just fine. I am not sold he will be better than Liggins or Von Wafer just yet, but he has potential to at the very least stick in this league.

[OrlChamps2030]

Harkless already has very good defense which is what most coaches like from their players while Harkless hits the boards well and can finish at the rim. Thus, he is ahead of the curve for a 19 year old. Give him 2 more years and develop a solid outside shot while he will acclimate to the NBA just fine. I am not sold he will be better than Liggins or Von Wafer just yet, but he has potential to at the very least stick in this league.

I get the point you're trying to make but I'm not sure I can agree with that. I was pretty much a blank slate on Harkless coming into this season but wow the guy can really use his length and athleticism for defense and rebounding. I guess some fans want to see more offensive production from him but I think he is at where we thought he would be at offensively: finishing in transition, making wide open dunks, and occasionally taking his defender off the dribble. The guy is 19 years old. If he develops an OK shot so that defenses can't totally cheat on him, he will have a solid offensive game IMO. With great defense too. Not too bad for the 15th pick in the draft.

[Def Swami]

Harkless has gotten better on offense every game, even though it doesn't show in the stats. He's far more active cutting and setting screens to free up other guys. I think him understanding his role on a team of veteran players is extremely mature of him. He's looking a bit more confident out there. He wasn't a good shooter in college and I still think his shot needs work. But, he has done everything else pretty well. He has shown pretty nice flashes of his potential, but he's the 5th option when he's on the floor. As the season goes on, he'll get more comfortable and build more confidence, much like you're seeing with Vucevic.

[BadMofoPimp]

Harkless already has very good defense which is what most coaches like from their players while Harkless hits the boards well and can finish at the rim. Thus, he is ahead of the curve for a 19 year old. Give him 2 more years and develop a solid outside shot while he will acclimate to the NBA just fine. I am not sold he will be better than Liggins or Von Wafer just yet, but he has potential to at the very least stick in this league.

I get the point you're trying to make but I'm not sure I can agree with that. I was pretty much a blank slate on Harkless coming into this season but wow the guy can really use his length and athleticism for defense and rebounding. I guess some fans want to see more offensive production from him but I think he is at where we thought he would be at offensively: finishing in transition, making wide open dunks, and occasionally taking his defender off the dribble. The guy is 19 years old. If he develops an OK shot so that defenses can't totally cheat on him, he will have a solid offensive game IMO. With great defense too. Not too bad for the 15th pick in the draft.

People should understand that I am joking half the time I post. Thus, the Von Wafer and Liggins references are more satyrical. But, in a sense, they can be true. But, I think he has shown that he can be better than those two guys. And, if so, then that means he has a career in this league and possibly much more.

[Rick Rolled]

I'm already preparing myself for the Lakers ungodly haul once they move Gasol.

Who's going to help them out this time?

[tiderulz]

I'm already preparing myself for the Lakers ungodly haul once they move Gasol.

Who's going to help them out this time?

my off the wall guess, Detroit. I dont know why, just throwing it out there. They get Charlie V as the outside shooter to Dwight, and I dont know what else, for Gasol.

[Rick Rolled]

I'm already preparing myself for the Lakers ungodly haul once they move Gasol.

Who's going to help them out this time?

my off the wall guess, Detroit. I dont know why, just throwing it out there. They get Charlie V as the outside shooter to Dwight, and I dont know what else, for Gasol.

Ha, they'll probably get Monroe, Knight, and Drummond plus 5 future 1sts for Gasol, Duhon, and a top 59 protected 2026 second round pick.

[trebone]

I can see him heading to Houston for a bunch of young prospects and cap relief, they will be set.

[BadMofoPimp]

I'm already preparing myself for the Lakers ungodly haul once they move Gasol.

Who's going to help them out this time?

my off the wall guess, Detroit. I dont know why, just throwing it out there. They get Charlie V as the outside shooter to Dwight, and I dont know what else, for Gasol.

Pau Gasol has about the most untradeable contract out there. But, he would fit in Detroit for his last 2 years of his contract because:

Pistons have tons of expirings. Hence, trade Gasol for Charlie V and Maggette and/or Maxiel.
Pistons have a solid PF/C to play with and tutor Monroe/Drummond. That is a nice 3 way front court.

Then, when Gasol's contract is up the summer of 2014, Pistons have mad money to spend on Prime FA's available.

For the Lakers, they free up money for next Summer's run at Josh Smith as much as I hate the thought of helping the Lakers, it makes sense business wise for both teams.

[InFlames]

I'm already preparing myself for the Lakers ungodly haul once they move Gasol.

Who's going to help them out this time?

Better believe some unlucky team will undoubtedly get bent over.

[RickB-Orlando]

.

For the Lakers, they free up money for next Summer's run at Josh Smith as much as I hate the thought of helping the Lakers, it makes sense business wise for both teams.

Does JSmoove really help them? It's not like he can really spread the defense, which appears to be part of the problem with Gasol - he's most productive in the paint, and Dwight now fills that up. Isn't Smith more of a slasher, clearly another rebounder, that in effect competes with Dwight inside?

Villanueva is probably a better fit, as is Ryno or even an Andrew Nicholson (not that I'm advocating that). Dwight needs to be paired with someone with a decent mid-range shot that doesn't clog things up down low.

[BadMofoPimp]

.

For the Lakers, they free up money for next Summer's run at Josh Smith as much as I hate the thought of helping the Lakers, it makes sense business wise for both teams.

Does JSmoove really help them? It's not like he can really spread the defense, which appears to be part of the problem with Gasol - he's most productive in the paint, and Dwight now fills that up. Isn't Smith more of a slasher, clearly another rebounder, that in effect competes with Dwight inside?

Villanueva is probably a better fit, as is Ryno or even an Andrew Nicholson (not that I'm advocating that). Dwight needs to be paired with someone with a decent mid-range shot that doesn't clog things up down low.

Josh Smith does have an outside game. He is shooting about .357% from the 3 point line this year. Not his forte', but he has a good mid range shot.

Maybe, the Magic can help the Lakers again and give them Big Baby for Gasol. A front line of Gasol/Vucevic would be interesting.

Wait, I still think BBD gonna prove ya'll wrong.

[magicman123]

lets be real, harkless is not even an option on offense, cause he has no game, but thats fine, all he needs to do right now is rebound and play defense

oh and hes already better than Liggins, who is wafer?

[The1llness]

They're not gonna have enough money for Josh Smith even if they do deal Gasol for expirings.

They have 50m committed to Kobe, Nash, Artest, Blake, Duhon and Hill. Throw in the cap hold from Dwight's bird rights as well as open roster spot cap holds and that puts them over the cap. They're going to have to fill out their roster with minimum salary players.

[Rick Rolled]

The New Orleans Hornets are expected to change their nickname to the Pelicans as early as the 2013-14 season, numerous sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Hornets planned to change their nickname since Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, purchased the team on April 14. Benson also owns the rights to the nickname Pelicans.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--nola-hornets-to-change-nickname-to-pelicans-231227843.html

Uh....lol?

[The1llness]

The New Orleans Hornets are expected to change their nickname to the Pelicans as early as the 2013-14 season, numerous sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Hornets planned to change their nickname since Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, purchased the team on April 14. Benson also owns the rights to the nickname Pelicans.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--nola-hornets-to-change-nickname-to-pelicans-231227843.html

Uh....lol?

State bird of Louisiana.

Check out this awesome UCLA-inspired design from uniwatch:

http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom ... he-hornets

Don't be surprised if they copy it

[Rick Rolled]

The New Orleans Hornets are expected to change their nickname to the Pelicans as early as the 2013-14 season, numerous sources told Yahoo! Sports.

The Hornets planned to change their nickname since Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints, purchased the team on April 14. Benson also owns the rights to the nickname Pelicans.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--nola-hornets-to-change-nickname-to-pelicans-231227843.html

Uh....lol?

State bird of Louisiana.

Check out this awesome UCLA-inspired design from uniwatch:

http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom ... he-hornets

Don't be surprised if they copy it

Even though it's the state bird, this sounds more like a minor league women's field hockey team than an NBA team.