ATL: Preseason edition (Is Hayward worth $50mm pg15)

[sneakerdust]

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400491590

I'm probably late but joe alexander on the warriors? lol

Bogut's muse.

[paul]

Bogut and Cousins really don't like each other.

[mattg]

I was thinking 8 or 9 a year prior to this coming out, I still wouldn't go over that if I was the Jazz but there's more than just talent involved in this one.

ETA-Sorry he's not close to the same caliber as Paul George though.

Yes he is. Sure George is a better athlete, defender and rebounder but Hayward is a significantly better shooter, and is a more versatile offensive player who can run the offense, play off ball or as a PnR handler. He scores at a better rate than George and turns the ball over less. They are most certainly similar caliber players and its silly that members of a board with as many smart posters as this one can't see that.

I didn't read every post after this, but really? George is on a whole different level-- it's not even close-why is this comparison being made? Hayward is not worth anything close to that kind of coin. The ONLY thing Hayward does better is his outside shot- and it's not like he is lights out. His overall game is pretty weak.

The Jazz have been a fine franchise, but not really doing that well with their recent decisions. For a 3rd overall pick Kanter is kind of just decent, I think over-rated (it was a weak draft). Favors is their best player, but even in his case I don't quite see super star-another 3rd overall pick. Not a Trey Burke fan- his deficiencies will show up in the NBA. Should have traded Millsap. They are not a good team and will be in the lotto discussion.

Don't get so butthurt, brah.

[stellation]

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400491590

I'm probably late but joe alexander on the warriors? lol

It gets weirder - pretty sure he hasn't laced up a sneaker yet because he's got a fracture in his lower leg, and despite that and some other guys getting cut he's still there.

I believe there's a rule that the last 3 guys cut from an NBA team's roster can be added directly to their d-league affiliate? They might want to keep a close eye on Joe to see if there's any last chance of anything.

[SpursNBucks]

He will kill someone at some point, I don't doubt that.

Sam Smith saw Artest up close covering the Bulls. In years past he wrote a column or two where he said he felt Artest was too mentally unstable to be in the league and that the NBA was playing with fire by allowing him to stay around. And this was before the Brawl in the Palace (10-year anniversary next month I think).

Wasn't he the guy that decked Big Dog in a game? Kind of surprised he and Larry haven't went at it.

[Baddy Chuck]

Steven Adams is having a really promising preseason for OKC.

[blazza18]

Sacramento have it all over GS haha.

[KingCammo]

Steven Adams is having a really promising preseason for OKC.

This.

The sooner the Thunder take their eggs out of the Perkins basket and put em into Adams the better I think.

[paul]

Steven Adams is having a really promising preseason for OKC.

Kiwi FTW


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[ReasonablySober]

Dipo has looked really good in the PS.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEVGr4TFTNE[/youtube]

I like how he handled the double in the post at around 2 min.

I still think people are sleeping on Orlando. They're being penciled into the bottom of the East, but I could see a ten-twelve win improvement this season. They have a couple guys that can score, a legit double double guy in the post and they're adding the most NBA ready guy and odds on ROY.

[EastSideBucksFan]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24132134/monta-ellis-thinks-hes-passing-too-much-no-seriously

“There's a lot of shots that's been there and I've been making the late pass,” Ellis said. “I think the majority of my turnovers come because instead of me taking that shot or making the layup, I try to pass. I've got to get out of that. I've got to be more aggressive and make the defense move.”

[EastSideBucksFan]

Oladipo looks like the next Wade to me.

The Cavs would've been unstoppable if they would've put him next to Irving.

[AussieBuck]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24132134/monta-ellis-thinks-hes-passing-too-much-no-seriously

“There's a lot of shots that's been there and I've been making the late pass,” Ellis said. “I think the majority of my turnovers come because instead of me taking that shot or making the layup, I try to pass. I've got to get out of that. I've got to be more aggressive and make the defense move.”

The last part is true.

[Ayt]

Some of the left handed layups Oladipo has made during the PS have been ridiculous. He definitely has some Wade in him, though I think he's lacking the smooth athleticism that Wade had. Dipo definitely needs to work on his handle and develop his offensive game overall.

Still, he's going to be a very good player. I think they should give him heavy minutes at the PG spot all year.

[El Duderino]

Oladipo looks like the next Wade to me.

The Cavs would've been unstoppable if they would've put him next to Irving.

The Cavs have had three other top 5 picks besides Irving, including a first overall pick and i'm not a fan of how they've used those picks. That was their chance after taking Irving to build a great young core.

[EastSideBucksFan]

Oladipo looks like the next Wade to me.

The Cavs would've been unstoppable if they would've put him next to Irving.

The Cavs have had three other top 5 picks besides Irving, including a first overall pick and i'm not a fan of how they've used those picks. That was their chance after taking Irving to build a great young core.

Agreed. They've picked pretty horribly.

A core of Kyrie Irving/Victor Oladipo/Andre Drummond has a great 10 year run and contends for a championship.

[HurricaneKid]

Last year, the Jazz played through Jefferson who is a notorious black hole. This year they will be playing through GH. He is going to avg a really nice line. Giving all the numbers about how high a % of his shots were assisted means very little as he will not be playing that way moving forward.

I really don't see why Utah (and everyone else) are locking their guys down prematurely. Favors hasn't had sufficient court time to wear off his rough edges, GH hasn't shown he can handle the burden of being a high usage player day in and day out (he has had some really inconsistent stretches over the years; its not easy being the guy). But there was no reason to give Wall a 5/90 deal before this season. I think Milw got a discount for backing up the truck for Sanders a year before they needed to but there is no discount in paying guys the max. And any one of these guys could prove unworthy this year. Wall has never had more than 4.5WS. GH and Favors haven't proven they can be the cornerstones of a franchise. And they can match anything. I just don't see the benefit in prematurely giving players more than they are worth.

[HurricaneKid]

Oladipo looks like the next Wade to me.

The Cavs would've been unstoppable if they would've put him next to Irving.

The Cavs have had three other top 5 picks besides Irving, including a first overall pick and i'm not a fan of how they've used those picks. That was their chance after taking Irving to build a great young core.

Agreed. They've picked pretty horribly.

A core of Kyrie Irving/Victor Oladipo/Andre Drummond has a great 10 year run and contends for a championship.

Throw in Valanciunas and its even better. And all 4 of those were expected/should have been. So its not like saying they should have taken Kawhi at #4 that year. And the guys they reached for: Thompson, Waiters, and Bennett have not exactly impressed.

[drew881]

I think it is hard for us to judge the other teams who had 1-4 picks in those years when we didn't go through the same process. I really wonder what Hammond would do with high picks in those years. He has been very solid with the mid to late first rounders, but badly missed on inside the top 10 (Alexander/Darko [with Dumars]). I think it is important to bring up when we talk about tanking. Although next year's draft is more of a no-brainer, I think we often assume that Hammond will draft well if given a high pick.

[jr lucosa]

Tristan Thompson was a safe pick but if you look at who was taken after him, Valanciunas put up nice stats but his team was better with him off the court (a terrible Raptors team mind you), and the next 3 picks after that were Vesely, Biyombo and Knight, looking back at it they could've done a lot worse, but one of Bennett and Waiters really has to boom or they may never get out of the bottom half of the eastern conference playoff seedings with their core.

Passing on Andre Drummond is the one that could really end up haunting them.