Trail Blazers “Dreaming Big” This Summer
Trail Blazers president Larry Miller doesn't intend this summer to be the start of a long rebuilding process. According to Miller, the plan is to instantly transform the Blazers back into contenders, and Portland is "dreaming big" when it comes to free agent targets, as the team president tells Jason Quick of the Oregonian.
"We can't say 'We are going after this guy, that guy, and this guy'," Miller said. "But we have positioned ourselves to compete for those big-name players. And this is a strong draft. Whether we trade our picks, or use our picks, we are going to get better going into next season."
The top priority for the Blazers in the summer will be finding a point guard, though Miller says it's not a certainty that Raymond Felton won't be back. Felton himself addressed the topic, responding to a tweet by Blazers TV announcer Mike Barrett that suggested the point guard wouldn't be playing for Portland next season:
"I would love to play here," Felton said (via Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge). "We'll see what happens. The media and fans, they don't dictate that. People can say what they want to say. I don't care."
Felton added that Blazers management had broached the topic of a return to him and his agent, but I imagine the odds of Felton returning to Portland are still very slim. With a weak point guard draft class, it's more likely Portland takes advantage of some of its cap space and signs a free agent — Steve Nash, Andre Miller, D.J. Augustin, and Kirk Hinrich are among the players the Blazers could pursue.
Before the team reaches the free agency period though, it will need to hire a new general manager. According to Miller, the GM search has been making progress, with two interviews lined up for this week, including one with a "big-name candidate." Chad Buchanan has been acting as GM since the team fired Rich Cho nearly a year ago.
Odds & Ends: Stern, Barbosa, Wallace
In an exciting night of basketball that saw the Raptors notch their third straight victory and the Heat come away with a hard-fought win over the Thunder at home, we tip our proverbial hats to the Spurs, winners of nine in a row. The Hornets were the big surprise of the evening as the squad featured six scorers in double figures in a stunning two-point upset of the Nuggets as they welcomed Eric Gordon back in the lineup. Let's take a look around the league to see what else is happening as the Lakers and Clippers battle for bragging rights (and playoff positioning) at the Staples Center.
- NBA commissioner David Stern spoke with the media on Wednesday and gave praise to the Spurs, Thunder and Jazz for being three model small-market franchises, writes Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake City Tribune. When asked about the Sacramento arena situation, Stern replied that he was more "hopeful than confident" that an agreement would be reached regarding the financial responsibilities surrounding pre-development funding. Smith also reports that Stern would like to see deputy commissioner Adam Silver succeed him upon his retirement.
- The Pacers have gone 8-3 with Leandro Barbosa on the court since acquiring him from the Raptors at the trade deadline. Barbosa has been especially effective in his last three games, all of which have featured double-digit scoring while making at least half of his shots from the field. While the Brazilian has lost fantasy value due to decreased minutes as compared to his time with the Raptors, he's played a significant role in providing depth for the surging Pacers off the bench.
- Mike Tokito of The Oregonian caught up with Gerald Wallace during his return to Portland and discussed the recent trade that saw the former Alabama forward land with the Nets. Wallace didn't see the trade coming but wasn't as affected by the move since he had been dealt last season by the Bobcats, the club he had been a member of for the majority of his career.
Poll: Did Inactivity At Trade Deadline Hurt Sixers?
On February 6th, the Sixers were 18-7 and looked poised to make a deep playoff run after beating the Lakers by five at home. Wednesday evening saw Doug Collins’ squad fall to the lowly Raptors by the score of 99-78, bringing their record to 29-25. With the Sixers’ current collapse dropping them to the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference, the question becomes whether the team made the right choice to essentially keep their roster completely intact at the trade deadline.
Let us know your thoughts below.
Should The Sixers Have Been Buyers At The Trade Deadline?
-
Yes 68% (245)
-
Too Early To Tell 16% (58)
-
No 16% (56)
Total votes: 359
Knicks Notes: Woodson, Lin, Playoffs
The Knicks remain the eighth seed after Tuesday night's eight-point loss to the Pacers in which Carmelo Anthony went off for 39 points. Up by as many as 17 points at one point, the Knicks were outscored 40-17 in the fourth quarter by the Pacers. Here's the latest news on the injury-riddled Knicks as they look to turn things around on Thursday with a game against the Magic in Orlando.
- The chatter about Kentucky head coach John Calipari heading to the Knicks after the season doesn't phase interim head coach Mike Woodson, writes Newsday's Al Iannazzone. "It ain't about my job, my security or where I am going to be. I'm happy with me. They'll make the right decision, whatever way they decide to go. My job right now is these guys that are in uniform and the guys that are hurt, make sure they're prepared and ready to play basketball." Woodson battled with a lack of job security for years as the head coach of the Hawks even after improving the team's record each season he was there.
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld says Jeremy Lin will attempt to return to the Knicks in four weeks, giving him a chance to make it back in time for the playoffs. Sidelined with a meniscus tear in his left knee, Lin was initially expected to miss six weeks but is optimistic that he can rehab quicker than expected after undergoing surgery on Monday. The former Harvard point guard would be making his playoff debut if able to return by the end of April.
- Ian Begley and Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com predict the Knicks will secure the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with the Sixers plummeting to eighth place in a must-read playoff prediction piece.
Southwest Notes: Belinelli, Boykins, Hornets
Home to both the Western Conference's second-best record (Spurs) and worst record (Hornets), here's the latest news from the Southwest Division.
- In an interview with Sportal.it, Hornets shooting guard Marco Belinelli stated his desire to finish his career in the NBA rather than return to Europe to play in Italy, reports Sportando's Emiliano Carchia. While the Hornets have struggled since trading Chris Paul to the Clippers in December for a package headlined by Eric Gordon, Belinelli has flourished this season thanks to his ability to stay healthy. The former first-round pick has seen his minutes increase to over 30 per game leading to a scoring average of 11.8 PPG.
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle says the Rockets are expected to re-sign Earl Boykins on Thursday to either another 10-day contract or for the remainder of the season (via Twitter). Feigen tweets the Rockets will presumably sign him for the rest of the season with a non-guaranteed contract for next year, which may not be of interest to a veteran like Boykins. The former Eastern Michigan guard, 35, is averaging 6.4 PPG and 3.0 APG in five games with the Rockets.
- David Stern says the Hornets are in serious negotiations with three different ownership groups and hope to soon have a future TV deal in place as well, tweets Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Franchise Notes: Kings, Warriors, Seattle
With a full slate of NBA action about to get underway, let's first head to the Pacific Division where arena-related news is being made all the way from Oakland to Seattle.
- More financial problems continue to plague to the development of the Sacramento arena, reports Ryan Lillis of The Sacramento Bee. With the Kings refusing to pay any pre-development costs, the Sacramento City Council voted in favor of using $200,000 from the NBA to provide funding for two weeks of worth of initial site work. The Maloof family, the owners of the Kings, contend that they never agreed to provide a monetary contribution toward the pre-development costs of the arena.
- J.Michael Falgoust of USA TODAY wonders if Sacramento is in danger of losing the Kings as a result of the Maloof family's stubbornness toward the pre-development costs associated with the construction of the arena. The NBA will meet with both sides next week with hopes of resolving the issue. Falgoust believes the arena project will lose any chance of being completed if the dispute cannot be settled.
- The Warriors are planning to relocate their D-League affiliate, the Dakota Wizards, to Santa Cruz, California in time for next season, reports Lou Babiarz of the Bismarck Tribune. The move will allow for an hour and a half drive rather than having to fly from Oakland to Bismarck.
- While MLB's Mariners are in favor of basketball returning to Seattle, they are strongly against the construction of an arena near Safeco Field, writes Lynn Thompson of The Seattle Times. The team fears adding another sports franchise to the Sodo neighborhood will bring myriad parking and scheduling issues that may potentially cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars to circumvent.
Blazers Notes: Cap, Felton, Przybilla, Canales
In a look ahead to the summer's free agent period, Ken Berger of CBS Sports identifies the Trail Blazers as one of three teams who will be in the "driver's seat" when it comes to cap space. Along with the Cavaliers and Rockets, Portland will be among the clubs with the most cap room, though they could be joined by a few other teams (Mavericks, Nets, Suns, etc.) when the dust settles.
Here are a few more notes on the Blazers, as they look ahead to tonight's game against the Nets:
- It's safe to assume Raymond Felton won't be back with the Blazers next season, tweets the team's TV announcer Mike Barrett.
- Ben Golliver of Blazer's Edge has the transcript of a Joel Przybilla interview on Blazers Courtside. In the interview, Przybilla says he'd "love to come back" to Portland next year, though that decision will be in the hands of his family as well as the team.
- Przybilla also endorsed Blazers interim coach Kaleb Canales, suggesting he deserves to be the team's full-time coach: "He's made such strides in a few weeks. I'm excited for the future for him. He has great potential to be a great coach for many years."
Draft Updates: Cheek, Burke, Sullinger
We've already heard today that Jared Sullinger has decided to leave Ohio State early and officially enter this year's NBA draft. We'll track the rest of today's draft-related updates here:
- Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com hears that Villanova junior Dominic Cheek will likely declare for the draft (Twitter link). Cheek's draft prospects don't seem great — he comes in at 208th among ESPN.com's prospect rankings.
- Freshman point guard Trey Burke is expected to leave Michigan and declare for the draft, reports Goodman. Burke ranks just 70th on Chad Ford's top 100 prospects and doesn't show up on DraftExpress.com's list. However, according to Goodman, some NBA execs believe the Michigan freshman has a chance to be taken in the first round due to a weak class of point guards.
- Scouts are divided on Sullinger's pro potential, says Ford in an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com. Some scouts compare the Ohio State big man to Kevin Love, Zach Randolph, or Paul Millsap, but the worry is that he'll end up being more of a Glen Davis type.
- Ford also fielded a number of draft-related questions in an ESPN.com chat this afternoon. Sam Amico did the same for FOX Sports Ohio.
2012 NBA Draft Early Entrants
Hoops Rumors' up-to-date list of early entrants for the 2012 NBA draft is below. These are NCAA underclassmen who have declared their intent to enter the NBA draft this season. This list will continue to be updated through the NCAA withdrawal deadline of April 10th until the NBA's early-entry deadline of April 29th.
Players are sorted roughly by expected draft order, per DraftExpress.com's top 100 prospects. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.
List updated 4-30-2012
Anthony Davis, Kentucky (freshman)
Andre Drummond, Connecticut (freshman)
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky (freshman)
Thomas Robinson, Kansas (junior)
Bradley Beal, Florida (freshman)
Jared Sullinger, Ohio State (sophomore)
Harrison Barnes, North Carolina (sophomore)
John Henson, North Carolina (junior)
Perry Jones III, Baylor (sophomore)
Terrence Jones, Kentucky (sophomore)
Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut (sophomore)
Damian Lillard, Weber State (junior)
Kendall Marshall, North Carolina (sophomore)
Meyers Leonard, Illinois (sophomore)
Austin Rivers, Duke (freshman)
Terrence Ross, Washington (sophomore)
Quincy Miller, Baylor (freshman)
Marquis Teague, Kentucky (freshman)
Tony Wroten, Washington (freshman)
Moe Harkless, St. John's (freshman)
Dion Waiters, Syracuse (sophomore)
Arnett Moultrie, Mississippi State (junior)
Royce White, Iowa State (sophomore)
Fab Melo, Syracruse (sophomore)
John Jenkins, Vanderbilt (junior)
Doron Lamb, Kentucky (sophomore)
Will Barton, Memphis (sophomore)
Jared Cunningham, Oregon State (junior)
J'Covan Brown, Texas (junior)
Hollis Thompson, Georgetown (junior)
Khris Middleton, Texas A&M (junior)
Tony Mitchell, Alabama (junior)
Maalik Wayns, Villanova (junior)
Renardo Sidney, Mississippi State (junior)
Terrell Stoglin, Maryland (sophomore)
Dominic Cheek, Villanova (junior)
Justin Hamilton, LSU (junior)
Victor Rudd, South Florida (sophomore)
Dominique Ferguson, Florida International (sophomore)
Jonathon Simmons, Houston (junior)
Gerardo Suero, Albany (junior)
Atlantic Links: Lin, Nash, Knicks, DeRozan, Nets
Here's the latest out of the Atlantic, as the division-leading Celtics prepare to host the Spurs in one of the many intriguing matchups on tonight's NBA's schedule….
- Ian Begley and Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com debate whether the Knicks would be better off re-signing Jeremy Lin or pursuing Steve Nash in the offseason. Currently, 65% of nearly 8000 ESPNNewYork.com readers have voted for Lin.
- DeMar DeRozan, who will enter the final year of his rookie contract in 2012/13, suggests to Eric Koreen of Postmedia News that he'd like to remain with the Raptors longer than that.
- Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov will make a rare appearance in New Jersey to watch his team next week, writes Tim Bontemps of the New York Post. The Russian billionaire will also meet with commissioner David Stern and may be on hand at the NBA's Board of Governors meetings in New York, where the board will officially vote on the Nets' move to Brooklyn.