Greivis Vasquez, traded to the Raptors in December, is finally feeling more like himself after undergoing ankle surgery in the offseason and experiencing a dip in production while playing for the Kings early this season, he tells Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee. “I’m a little upset because I couldn’t really show the fans what I could really do. Last year, I led the league in total assists and was playing at a high level, and I wanted to do that in Sacramento,” Vasquez said. “I’ve been showing what I can do and getting better. The playoffs are going to buy me more time to show what I can do.” Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Vasquez will become a restricted free agent this offseason if the Raptors extend a $3.2MM qualifying offer. In Jones’ piece, Vasquez says a return to the Kings isn’t out of the question.
- Tom Moore of Calkins Media wonders if the Sixers will struggle badly next season, even if they manage to upgrade their talent level through the draft and free agency. Moore is skeptical that massive roster turnover won’t create new challenges, and sees evidence of bad habits taking hold in Philadelphia, including in standout rookie Michael Carter-Williams.
- A former GM tells Al Iannazzone of Newsday that Carmelo Anthony would help the Knicks more by leaving this summer than re-signing with them. The former GM says losing Anthony and enduring one more season at the bottom of the standings is worth it to maintain New York’s cap space for the summer of 2015, when they could take swings at a number of star free agents. “Guys want to go to play in New York. It’s going to hurt for a little bit,” he said. “But if you have cap space, it’s not going to be that hard to get a good player to come to New York.”
- Aquille Carr discussed his hopes for the upcoming draft with Matthew Hochberg of Ridiculous Upside. The 5’5″ point guard chose to forgo college basketball, spending time in China and the D-League in preparation for this year’s draft.
- Two NBA scouts are high on Kentucky’s James Young, telling Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv that Young will land in the first round (Twitter links). One of the scouts thinks he’s a lottery talent, while the other thinks Jones would be better served to stay in college another year despite his upside.
I don’t see the Sixers struggles this year translating to struggles next year. They’re almost guaranteed to get 1 of Parker/Wiggins with their 1st pick and they’ll get one of Smart/Hood/McDermott/Young. What they need to focus on in FA is a legit 4. Bosh isn’t opting out. Pau/Harrington are too old. Randloph will want too much $. I think they should go add a guy like Glen Davis on a 1 year deal to place hold for 2015’s FA class of Aldridge/Love. \
They’ll attract someone if they’re running a team out that looks like:
MCW
Smart or Young
Wiggins or Parker
Thad
Noel
They could also trade Thad this year for a lottery 2015 pick.
No one is giving up a lottery draft pick (potential franchise cornerstone) on Thad Young. Sorry. He’s not that good. Why would anyone want to play for Philadelphia… Maybe when they came off that playoff berth a few years back but now they’re a doormat…. on the positive side they have MCW, Noel coming into the fold and what would be a top 5 pick (lottery balls are unpredictable) and probably another top 10 – 15 pick. Teams like the Bobcats for example draft high every year…it hasn’t done much for them. You need a combination of young talent and established veterans.Future does look good, but it may take time.
Lottery picks get traded every year for similar players. It’d just happen to be a protected Top X Pick.
It’s not like the Sixers just became terrible for no reasone. They were going no where with AI, Bynum was a turd, and E.T. is a bench role player at best. Thad is a great 1st guy off the bench player that can play some 3 and 4. I could see a team giving up a top 8 or 9 Protected pick, especially a team that isn’t far from the playoffs since Thad has 3 more years on his deal.
If they get a top 3 Pick they’ll be assured Embiid, Wiggins, Parker, or Randle. Hornets pick is only top 6 protected.