Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 22)
Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.
Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.
We’ve been revisiting 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.
We’ve arrived at the No. 22 overall pick, which was held by the Magic. In the “real world” draft, Orlando took Courtney Lee, who is already off the board in our re-draft, going 14th to Golden State. That means Magic brass will have to go in a different direction, but there are still many talented players available.
So cast your vote for who Orlando selects and check back on Monday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Jazz should have taken with the No. 23 pick. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
- Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
- Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
- Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
- Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
- Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
- Knicks — Serge Ibaka [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
- Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
- Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
- Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
- Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
- Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
- Kings — George Hill [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
- Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
- Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
- Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
- Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick — Marreese Speights]
- Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
- Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
- Cavaliers — Timofey Mozgov [Actual Pick — J.J. Hickson]
- Bobcats/Hornets (from Nuggets) — Michael Beasley [Actual Pick — Alexis Ajinca]
- Nets (from Mavs) — Omer Asik [Actual Pick — Ryan Anderson]
- Magic — ?? [Actual Pick — Courtney Lee]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
Community Shootaround: Hall Of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inducted another star-studded class Friday night, headlined by NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal, Allen Iverson and Yao Ming. All three reached the hall in their first year of eligibility, which created a problem for some other players who are hoping to join them.
Former Suns point guard Kevin Johnson was a finalist for induction, but failed to receive enough votes. During a career that lasted more than 12 seasons, Johnson was a five-time All-Star who made five all-NBA teams and turned Phoenix into one of the league’s elite teams.
Johnson’s best opportunity at enshrinement will come next year, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. There won’t be any slam-dunk enshrinees joining the ballot in 2017, but that changes in 2018 when Jason Kidd, Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady become eligible.
Johnson will have plenty of fellow contenders when the votes are cast next year. There are several players who have been lingering on the ballot for a long time, and like Johnson, they may be approaching their last really good chance to reach the hall.
Along with K.J., these are the players with the best shot at induction in 2017, according to Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders:
- Jack Sikma — The former SuperSonics and Bucks center has a championship ring and seven All-Star appearances on his resume. All other eligible players who reached the All-Star game at least seven times are already in the hall.
- Shawn Kemp — He made it to the NBA Finals once and the All-Star Game six times. Kemp had more than 15,000 career points and 9,000 rebounds in 14 seasons. He is one of the greatest players in Sonics’ history and one of the most electrifying dunkers ever to play the game.
- Mark Aguirre — The first pick in the 1981 draft, Aguirre won two rings with the Pistons’ “Bad Boys” teams. Aguirre was a three-time All-Star and averaged 20 points per game in his 14-year career.
- Ben Wallace — The defensive anchor of the 2004 champion Pistons, Wallace could become the first undrafted player to reach the hall. He was named Defensive Player of the Year four times and was voted to the All-Defensive First Team five times.
- Tim Hardaway — A member of the highly regarded “Run TMC” teams in Golden State, Hardaway also prospered in Miami. He made five All-Star teams and was a first-team all-NBA selection in 1996/97. He topped 15,000 points and 7,000 assists in a 14-year NBA career.
- Chis Webber — He was the top star on the highly successful Kings teams from a decade ago. Webber made five All-Star teams and was a five-time all-NBA selection. He scored more than 17,000 points in 15 years in the league.
- George McGinnis — An ABA legend and a three-time NBA All-Star, McGinnis is the only eligible MVP from the NBA or ABA who hasn’t reached the hall. McGinnis won two ABA titles with the Pacers and played in the 1977 NBA Finals with the Sixers.
That brings us to tonight’s question: Who is the best eligible player not currently in the Hall of Fame? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.
Salary Cap Snapshot: Portland Trail Blazers
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Blazers’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Blazers currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Damian Lillard —$24,328,425
- Allen Crabbe —$18,500,000 [Contract contains 15% trade kicker]
- Evan Turner —$16,393,443
- Maurice Harkless —$9,488,764 [$500K in unlikely bonuses earned]
- Meyers Leonard —$9,213,484
- Al-Farouq Aminu —$7,680,965
- Festus Ezeli —$7,400,000
- Ed Davis —$6,666,667
- C.J. McCollum —$3,219,579
- Noah Vonleh —$2,751,360
- Anderson Varejao —$1,913,345 [Waived via Stretch Provision; $1,984,005 salary reduced by set-off]
- Jusuf Nurkic — $1,921,320
- Shabazz Napier —$1,350,120
- Pat Connaughton —$874,636
- Jake Layman —$600,000
- Tim Quarterman —$543,471
Total Guaranteed Salary= $112,845,579
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $2,925,000. Sent $2,850,000 to Nuggets in Jusuf Nurkic trade. Sent $75,000 to Magic in Shabazz Napier trade. [Amount Remaining $575,000]
Cash Received Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Room Exception — $2,898,000
- Trade Exception — $407,210 (Mason Plumlee trade) — Expires on 2/13/18
Total Projected Payroll: $112,845,579
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: –$18,702,579
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Total Projected Payroll For Tax Purposes: $113,282,539
Amount Below Luxury Tax: $4,461
Last Updated: 4/15/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 21)
Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.
Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.
We’ve been revisiting 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.
We’ve arrived at the No. 21 overall pick, which was held by the Nets. The team, which still called New Jersey home at the time, had acquired the pick from Dallas in a trade that February. The specifics of that swap were: The Nets acquired Dallas’ 2008 and 2010 first-round draft picks, Devin Harris, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, DeSagana Diop, and Keith Van Horn in exchange for Jason Kidd, Antoine Wright and Malik Allen. In the “real world” draft, the Nets used this pick to nab Ryan Anderson, whom the team already landed at No. 10 in our re-draft.
So cast your vote for who the Nets select and check back on Sunday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Magic should have taken with the No. 22 pick. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
- Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
- Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
- Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
- Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
- Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
- Knicks — Serge Ibaka [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
- Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
- Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
- Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
- Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
- Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
- Kings — George Hill [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
- Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
- Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
- Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
- Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick — Marreese Speights]
- Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
- Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
- Cavaliers — Timofey Mozgov [Actual Pick — J.J. Hickson]
- Bobcats/Hornets (from Nuggets) — Michael Beasley [Actual Pick — Alexis Ajinca]
- Nets (from Mavs) — ?? [Actual Pick — Ryan Anderson]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
Hoops Rumors Originals: 9/4/16-9/10/16
Here’s a look back at the original content and analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week.
- We asked readers to do over the 2008 NBA Draft. Here’s who you selected for picks No. 15, No. 16, No. 17, No. 18, No. 19 and No. 20 overall.
- We released our first installment of our 2017 Free Agent Power Rankings.
- You can stay up to date on any contract extensions agreed to this season with our tracker.
- We ran down the teams currently projected to be above or near the luxury tax line this season. We also looked at the teams currently below the salary floor.
- In a reader poll, we asked what the Kings can expect from Ty Lawson this season.
- Will Joseph highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- We looked at the 2016/17 Salary Cap figures for the:
- Arthur answered reader questions in our Weekly Mailbag. Here’s how you can submit your own questions for our mailbag feature.
- We ran down the players poised to become free agents in 2017.
- In our Community Shootarounds this week we discussed:
- What was bigger for the Heat — forming the “Big Three” or trading for Shaquille O’Neal?
- Which players hitting free agency next summer are likeliest to switch teams?
- Whether or not Paul Pierce should play this season or retire??
- Which Western Conference team that missed last season’s playoffs will make the postseason in the upcoming season?
- Our Free Agent Tracker continues to have up-to-date data on this summer’s contract agreements and signings from around the NBA.
- We ran down the teams that have 15 or more guaranteed contracts on the books.
- If you haven’t already, be sure to download the Trade Rumors app for your iOS or Android device.
2017 NBA Free Agent Power Rankings
After losing arguably the top free agent of the 2016 class to the Warriors, the Thunder ensured that they won’t watch their other superstar walk away next summer, locking up Russell Westbrook to a new contract extension earlier in the offseason. Westbrook’s absence from the 2017 free agent list takes a little star power away from the group, but it’s still an intriuging list.
The players who sit at the top of the first installment of our 2017 free agent power rankings aren’t necessarily expected to change teams next July. It would be a shock to see Kevin Durant leave Golden State after a year, for instance, but he does have a player option for 2017, meaning he could depart, and has to be featured on our list.
Similarly, there are a handful of restricted free agents on our lists who will probably get maximum-salary contracts – or close to it – from their current teams, perhaps even within the next couple months while they’re extension-eligible. For now though, the slim chance that they reach the open market means they have to earn spots on our list.
While this is our first extended look at 2017’s top free agents, it certainly won’t be our last. Injuries, breakout years, trades, or poor performances could affect these rankings significantly over the course of the 2016/17 season, so we’ll be revisiting the list every month or two to make updates and changes.
Our list reflects each player’s expected value on the 2017 free agent market, rather than how we think they’ll perform on the court for the 2016/17 season. For instance, older players like Pau Gasol and Zach Randolph have strong short-term value, but didn’t make our top 20 because they’re unlikely to inspire major bidding wars next summer. In other words, age and long-term value is important.
Here’s the first installment of our 2017 free agent power rankings:Read more
Salary Cap Snapshot: Phoenix Suns
With the free agent signing period winding down and teams looking ahead to the preseason, we at Hoops Rumors will be tracking the Salary Cap figures for each team around the league. These posts will be maintained throughout the season once financial data is reported. They will be located on the sidebar throughout the year, once all the teams’ cap figures have been relayed. You can always check RosterResource.com for up-to-date rosters for each franchise, with the Suns’ team page accessible here.
Here’s a breakdown of where the Suns currently stand financially:
Guaranteed Salary
- Eric Bledsoe —$14,000,000
- Brandon Knight —$12,606,250
- Tyson Chandler —$12,415,000
- Jared Dudley —$10,470,000
- Jared Sullinger —$5,628,000 [Waived by team]
- Alex Len —$4,823,621
- Dragan Bender —$4,276,320
- Leandro Barbosa —$4,000,000
- Mike Scott —$3,333,334 [Waived by team]
- Marquese Chriss —$2,941,440
- Devin Booker —$2,223,600
- T.J. Warren —$2,128,920
- Archie Goodwin —$2,094,089 [Waived by team]
- Tyler Ulis —$918,369
- Alan Williams —$874,636
- Michael Beasley —$777,777 [Waived via Stretch Provision]
- Derrick Jones — $543,471
- John Jenkins —$469,841 [Waived by team]
- Ronnie Price —$276,828 [Actual salary — $438,115]
- Ronnie Price —$57,672 [10-day contract (Jan 27); actual salary — $91,274]
- Ronnie Price —$57,672 [10-day contract (Feb 6); actual salary — $91,274]
- Jarell Eddie —$57,672 [10-day contract (Mar 19)]
- Jarell Eddie —$57,672 [10-day contract (Mar 29)]
- Elijah Millsap —$23,069
Total Guaranteed Salary= $85,055,253
Cash Sent Out Via Trade: $0 [Amount Remaining $3.5MM]
Cash Received Via Trade: $1.5MM ($1MM received from Raptors in P.J. Tucker trade. $500K received from Hawks in Mike Scott trade.) [Amount Remaining $2MM]
Payroll Exceptions Available
- Room Exception — $2,898,000
Total Projected Payroll: $85,055,253
Salary Cap: $94,143,000
Estimated Available Cap Space: $9,087,747
Luxury Tax Threshold: $113,287,000
Amount Below Luxury Tax: $28,231,747
Salary Cap Floor: $84,729,000
Amount Above Salary Cap Floor: $326,253
Last Updated: 4/14/17
The Basketball Insiders salary pages and The Vertical’s salary database were used in the creation of this post.
Submit Your Questions For Hoops Rumors Mailbag
We at Hoops Rumors love interacting with our readers. This is why we provide an opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in our weekly mailbag feature, which is posted each Sunday.
Have a question regarding player movement, free agent rumors, the salary cap, the NBA draft, or the top storylines of the week? You can e-mail them here: hoopsrumorsmailbag@gmail.com. Feel free to send emails throughout the week, but please be mindful that we may receive a sizable number of questions and might not get to all of them.
If you missed out on any past mailbags and would like to catch up, you can view the full archives here.
Poll: 2008 NBA Draft Take Two (Pick No. 20)
Scouting players and predicting how their skills will translate to the NBA is one of the more difficult tasks front offices have on their plates. Looking back over past drafts and how many lottery picks never evolved into stars, or even made a significant impact in the league, illustrates just how often stats, combine numbers and pure gut instinct often come up short.
Of course, we get the opportunity to critique these moves with the benefit of hindsight — a luxury that GMs don’t have on draft night. Having said that, it’s still fun to go back in time and take a theoretical look at how these drafts should have/could have gone.
We’ve been revisiting 2008 draft, which had a number of players who have gone on to post big numbers in the league. This was the year of Derrick Rose (No. 1 overall), Russell Westbrook (No. 4), Kevin Love (No. 5), Brook Lopez (No. 10) and Nicolas Batum (No. 25). Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking readers to vote on whom teams should have selected in each spot.
We’ve arrived at the No. 20 overall pick, which was held by the Bobcats/Hornets. Charlotte had acquired the pick from Denver in exchange for a future first rounder. In the “real world” draft, the Hornets used the selection to take Alexis Ajinca. Cast your vote for whom Charlotte selects and check back on Saturday to see the results, as well as to vote on whom the Nets should have taken with the No. 21 pick. Also, don’t limit yourself to a simple button click. Take to the comments section below and share your thoughts on the pick and why you voted the way that you did. If we fail to list a player who you think should be selected, feel free to post that in the comments section and we’ll be certain to tally those votes as well.
- Bulls — Russell Westbrook [Actual Pick — Derrick Rose]
- Heat — Kevin Love [Actual Pick — Michael Beasley]
- Wolves — Derrick Rose [Actual Pick — O.J. Mayo]
- Sonics/Thunder — DeAndre Jordan [Actual Pick — Russell Westbrook]
- Grizzlies — Brook Lopez [Actual Pick — Kevin Love]
- Knicks — Serge Ibaka [Actual Pick — Danilo Gallinari]
- Clippers — Nicolas Batum [Actual Pick — Eric Gordon]
- Bucks — Goran Dragic [Actual Pick — Joe Alexander]
- Bobcats/Hornets — Danilo Gallinari [Actual Pick — D.J. Augustin]
- Nets — Ryan Anderson [Actual Pick — Brook Lopez]
- Blazers (from Pacers) — Eric Gordon [Actual Pick — Jerryd Bayless]
- Kings — George Hill [Actual Pick — Jason Thompson]
- Pacers (from Blazers) — Robin Lopez [Actual Pick — Brandon Rush]
- Warriors — Courtney Lee [Actual Pick — Anthony Randolph]
- Suns — Roy Hibbert [Actual Pick — Robin Lopez]
- Sixers— Nikola Pekovic [Actual Pick — Marreese Speights]
- Raptors — O.J. Mayo [Actual Pick — Roy Hibbert]
- Wizards — Mario Chalmers [Actual Pick — JaVale McGee]
- Cavaliers — Timofey Mozgov [Actual Pick — J.J. Hickson]
- Bobcats/Hornets (from Nuggets) — ?? [Actual Pick — Alexis Ajinca]
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here to vote.
Community Shootaround: Western Conference Playoffs
Normally filled with 50-win teams, the Western Conference had a few “haves” and way more “have nots” last season. The Warriors and Spurs separated themselves from the pack quickly, while the Thunder and Clippers cruised to the third and fourth spots. No other team won more than 44 regular-season games and spots 5-9 were separated by a mere four games.
That suggests we could see some upheaval in terms of the playoff picture this season. The Thunder will struggle to match, or even come close, to the 55 wins they collected last season with Kevin Durant now wearing a Golden State uniform. The teams in the bottom half of last season’s playoff bracket could be in danger of falling into the lottery, as most of the non-playoff teams appear to be on the upswing.
The Jazz just missed out on the playoffs and have fortified their young core with playoff-tested veterans, including George Hill, Joe Johnson and Boris Diaw. The Nuggets have a deep team led by point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who could be poised for a breakout season after getting a trial by fire in his rookie season.
The Pelicans were a colossal disappointment a year ago after making the 2014/15 playoffs but any team anchored by Anthony Davis has to be respected. If rookie guard Buddy Hield makes an immediate impact as a scorer, New Orleans could be poised for a turnaround.
Perhaps no team in the league has more young talent than the Timberwolves. Led by franchise player Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, the club could take a big jump with defensive-minded coach Tom Thibodeau at the helm.
The Suns added power forwards Dragan Bender and Marquese Chriss in the draft and with better health for guards Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight, they should be much more dangerous.
The Kings made some curious off-season moves but they still have arguably the league’s top center in DeMarcus Cousins. The Lakers did some roster tinkering, including the addition of veteran forward Luol Deng, but their biggest hope is that lottery pick Brandon Ingram develops into a franchise player.
This leads us to our question of the day: Which Western Conference team that missed last season’s playoffs will make the postseason in the upcoming season and what will put that team over the top?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the topic. We look forward to what you have to say.