Sixers Notes: Collins, Thorn, Williams
Here's a look at the 76ers as they look to take the next step as a franchise heading into 2012/13..
- Despite their impressive run, the Sixers have a long way to go before they can truly be considered an elite team, opines Gordie Jones of CSNPhilly.com. Coach Doug Collins and team president Rod Thorn seem to agree that the team needs to add size and athleticism to their front line and find a proven scorer in order to improve. Jones also doesn't see Lou Williams opting out of his deal.
- The Sixers' playoff run is a great example of why teams should never tank, writes Chris Bernucca of Sheridan Hoops. Plenty of people felt that the club would be better served by missing the playoffs and getting into the draft lottery rather than get bounced by the Bulls or Heat in round one. Instead, the 76ers found themselves inches from the conference finals.
- Earlier today, we learned that major changes could be on horizon for Philly next year, as implied by Collins.
Prospect Profile: Marquis Teague
While the 2012 draft class is widely recognized as deep and talent-rich, teams aren't quite as enthused about this year's crop of point guards. You can expect a good deal of movement and surprises between now and June 28th, but Damian Lillard and Kendall Marshall figure to be the first two point guards taken, unless Marshall's elbow injury is more serious than he is letting on. After those two, teams will look to the other available floor generals such as Kentucky's Marquis Teague.
The freshman had an up-and-down season as the Wildcats' starting one-guard and at times looked to be more than reckless with the basketball. However, he managed to shine on a team loaded with star power in March as he held things together and scored when given the opportunity. Teague was asked to be a distributor first and a scorer second in John Calipari's offense this season but showed that he could fill a stat sheet with the best of them in performances like his game against Iowa State where he had 24 points off of 10-of-14 shooting.
While it's an imperfect comparison stylistically, Teague has a knack for pushing the ball forward and weaving between defenders similar to Knicks guard Jeremy Lin. It's a skill that serves Teague well in transition but most agree that the youngster doesn't thrive in the halfcourt set. Any team that drafts Teague will have to have the patience to groom him into more effective ballhandler in slow offensive sets.
His inconsistency as a frosh at Kentucky raised a few questions about his NBA potential but the promise he showed as a high school prospect has left many scouts drooling over his upside. Teague didn't put up major points (10.0 PPG) in large part because he wasn't charged with scoring, but the guard put up 22.7 PPG in his senior year of high school. It was that offensive ability and tenacity that led Rivals to rank the Indiana native as the fifth-best talent in the 2011 class. ESPN's Chad Ford has Teague as the fourth-best point guard in the draft while DraftExpress has him at third, but virtually all evaluators agree that he must improve on his shooting ability and decision making in order to succeed at the next level. It remains to be seen whether Teague will go ahead of Washington's Tony Wroten Jr., but you can expect to see him land somewhere between the late teens and mid-20s.
Pacific Notes: Clippers, Paul, Malone, Warriors
Items out of the Pacific as the Clippers decide whether to exercise Vinny Del Negro's option for next season..
- Clippers guard Chris Paul has Warriors assistant Mike Malone on his short-list of preferred replacements for Del Negro, a source told Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld. Malone was a part of the Hornets' staff during Paul's time in New Orleans.
- Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com wonders what the Warriors will do if Malone lands a head coaching job elsewhere.
- Even though many have speculated that Suns swingman Josh Childress could be an amnesty candidate, the 29-year-old is hopeful that there could still be a role for him with the club, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Childress is set to earn $21MM across the next three seasons, including his 2014/15 player option.
Knicks Notes: Woodson, Brown, Dolan, Jackson
Yesterday, the Knicks and Mike Woodson finalized a multiyear contract to keep the coach in New York. Here's details on the deal and more..
- Woodson's contract includes two guaranteed years and a third-year option worth approximately $4MM per season, sources told Stephen A. Smith of ESPNNewYork.com. The deal could keep Woodson at MSG for the next three seasons, the same length of time that Amare Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, and Tyson Chandler are under contract.
- Former Knicks coach Larry Brown says that his primary advice to Mike Woodson is to get along with Knicks owner James Dolan, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. "During my stay, my biggest problem is I didn’t establish a relationship with Dolan," said Brown. "I went through the chain of command and that was a mistake. I told Woody, [Dolan] wants to win."
- The Knicks promoted a company man in Woodson, writes Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post. Vaccaro also writes that it's possible that Phil Jackson didn't want to risk tarnishing his legacy by taking the reins of a team that has signficantly less talent than what he is used to.
Hoops Links: Sonics, Celtics, Lakers, Rondo
On this date in 1999, Vince Carter, won the Rookie of the Year award with 95.8% of the votes. The Raptors star averaged 18.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.54 blocked shots while shooting .450 from the field in 1998-99. This year, Cavs rookie Kyrie Irving captured the award with 117 of 120 (97.5%) first-place votes. Here's a look at this week's links..
- Know Hitter examines life in Seattle without the Sonics.
- Digital Refrain pairs Western Conference teams with popular bands.
- Blazer's Edge has a few thoughts from around the league.
- Red's Army wonders how these Celtics will be remembered if they lose tonight.
- The Basketball Post thinks the Lakers are in a tough spot going forward.
- NBA 24 7 365 is frustrated by Rajon Rondo.
- NIU BBall celebrates the resurrection of Chen Jianghua's career.
- Bullets Forever would like to re-introduce you to free agent Gerald Green.
- Ball 4 Life recaps the IBA finals.
- Hoops Addict says the future is bright for the Pacers.
- Shaky Ankles pits James Harden against Dwyane Wade.
- The Recliner GM looks at the legacy of Tom Gola.
- Hardwood Paroxysm begrudgingly respects the Spurs.
- Wages Of Wins wonders if the Lakers should part ways with Pau Gasol.
- Golden State Of Mind did some heavy duty analysis using pre-draft measurements.
- Project Spurs tries to figure out how to contain Kevin Durant.
- Ball Or Nuthin' wasn't surprised to see the Lakers get bounced.
- Waiting For Next Year weighs in on the top half the draft's first round.
- The Hoop Doctors look at Allen Iverson's return to Philadelphia.
- Bright Side Of The Sun analyzes Phoenix's centers.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Zach can be reached here.
Magic Rumors: Malone, Shaw, Morway, Bower
Big news out of Orlando today as the club has fired coach Stan Van Gundy and agreed to part ways with GM Otis Smith. The latest on the Magic..
- Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweets that plenty of executives are interested in the Magic GM job, and they aren't scared away by the Dwight Howard saga.
- David Baumann of Bright House Sports Network says that Lakers assistant Chuck Person is on Howard's list of preferred coaches, noting D12's preference for candidates with no head coaching experience (Twitter links, and a hat tip to Sam Amick of SI.com). That might be moot, however, if Howard still wants to leave the Magic.
- Warriors assistant Michael Malone and Pacers assistant Brian Shaw are candidates to replace Van Gundy, tweets Sam Amick of SI.com.
- Amick also tweets that many of the same candidates for the Blazers GM job will be in the running for the same post in Orlando, and links to a story from earlier this month specifying Pacers GM David Morway and former Hornets GM Jeff Bower as candidates for the Portland gig.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio says that the Magic had interest in signing Greg Oden, but that's likely changed in the wake of today's news (Twitter link).
- Orlando Sentinel columnist George Diaz encourages the Magic to be "creative, aggressive and different" with their GM and coaching hires.
Magic Fire Van Gundy, Part Ways With Smith
Magic CEO Alex Martins announced today that coach Stan Van Gundy has been let go while GM Otis Smith and the club have mutually agreed to part ways.
"On behalf of the DeVos Family, we sincerely appreciate and thank Otis and Stan for all that they have done on and off the floor for the Orlando Magic,” said Martins. "These are the days you dread in this business, but we feel it's time for new leadership and new voices. "
Van Gundy was named head coach on June 7, 2007 and coached the Magic to a 259-135 record in five seasons. The charismatic coach led Orlando to five postseason berths, three Southeast Division titles, and the 2009 Eastern Conference crown, but could not survive the turmoil of the 2011/12 season. The Magic were surrounded by drama as Dwight Howard flip-flopped between remaining in Orlando and forcing a trade to the Nets. In April, Van Gundy told reporters that his star player was actively working to get him fired.
Meanwhile, Smith has been telling people that he was considering retirement and may have been fired by the club anyway, according to Sam Amick of SI.com (via Twitter). Smith's career in Orlando's front office began as the director of player development and in May of 2006 he was promoted to General Manager. In total, the Magic were 299-177 during Smith’s time as GM.
Prospect Profile: Kendall Marshall
March Madness is the time when top draft prospects typically solidify their status or boost their stock considerably on college basketball's biggest stage. Unfortunately for North Carolina's Kendall Marshall, he didn't get the opportunity to show scouts what he could do against top competition in this year's tournament. The sophomore point guard hit the hardwood wrist-first after a layup against Creighton in the round of 32, ending his season prematurely. However, Marshall has shown scouts plenty ever since taking the reigns as UNC's starting point guard in his freshman season and made tremendous strides in 2011/12 as he led the talent-rich team.
One could also say that Marshall's importance to the Tarheels was underscored by his absence for the remainder of the tournament. UNC, despite having three more All-Americans outside of Marshall, would succumb to No. 2 Kansas in the Elite Eight. Surrounded by a multitude of scorers, including likely top ten pick Harrison Barnes, Marshall spread the wealth with his remarkable passing ability. This year, Marshall averaged 9.8 assists per contest while turning the ball over just 2.8 times per game. It seems likely that Marshall will have a relatively easy learning curve entering the league this year and can be plugged in to any style of offense. While there have been questions about fellow one-guard Damian Lillard's court vision, there are no such qualms when it comes to Marshall.
Unlike Lillard, Marshall hasn't shown that he can be an effective scorer at the next level. Marshall averaged just 8.1 PPG this season, but in his defense, he wasn't asked to shoot as a part of UNC's offense. The youngster's distribution skills are so solid that he'll never have to be a quality scorer to succeed in the Association. The real question is, can he score well enough in order to establish a triple threat? Marshall's defense has also been called into question by some NBA scouts who fear that he can be easily overwhelmed by quicker, more agile opponents.
As it stands now, DraftExpress has Marshall pegged to go No. 14 while ESPN's Chad Ford has him at No. 18. If Marshall chooses to make the rounds on the combine circuit heading into the draft and shows that he can score and defend in live action, he could easily find himself in the backend of the lottery.
Odds & Ends: Raptors, Gay, Bulls, Hibbert, Draft
Links from around the Association as the Thunder and Lakers do battle at the Staples Center…
- Stephen Brotherston of HoopsWorld looks at possible draft day trades for the Raptors. Possible targets include Rudy Gay of the Grizzlies and Luol Deng of the Bulls should they choose to restructure their roster in anticipation of Derrick Rose's return in 2013.
- You might think that a player in his contract year would be focused on building up his stats, but Pacers center Roy Hibbert isn't overly concerned with that, writes Conrad Brunner of Pacers.com.
- Matt Moore of CBSSports.com hosts a roundtable to ask if the Western Conference is still the stronger of the two.
- HoopsWorld compiled the complete history of every draft pick from No.1 all the way to No. 60.
Southeast Notes: Hawks, Wade, Heat, Howard
Links out of the Southeast division as the Heat get set for Game 4 in Indiana tomorrow afternoon..
- Hawks General Manager Rick Sund’s contract expires next month but he has yet to commit to a return or publicly address his future, writes Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Sund may also retire, take a part-time role with the Hawks, or jump ship to another team.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel wonders whether playing in the Olympics makes much sense for Dwyane Wade, who could use the rest for his 30-year-old body. Winderman notes the pressure that sponsors put on Wade and other superstars to play for their country.
- If the Rockets take a stab at trading for Magic big man Dwight Howard, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel believes that the package would be centered around Kevin Martin and Luis Scola because the salaries match up. Even if Howard doesn't sign a long-term extension with Houston, they would at least have Martin and Scola off of the books for a proper rebuild.