Odds & Ends: Union, Lucas, Draft, Brown
With the offseason winding down, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld identified who the real contenders will be in 2013/14. The back-to-back champion Heat top the list with some of the other usual suspects, including the Spurs and Thunder. The Bulls should be vaulted back into contention with the long-awaited return of Derrick Rose. The Clippers are a bona fide contender after re-signing Chris Paul, landing Doc Rivers as coach, and adding J.J. Redick. The Nets, who now boast the most expensive roster in the NBA by far, hope to be among the league's elite with first-time coach Jason Kidd at the helm. And of course, the Rockets will be one of the most intriguing teams to keep an eye on after luring Dwight Howard away from L.A. Here's more from around the Association..
- NBPA executive committee member Jerry Stackhouse told Ken Berger of CBSSports.com that LeBron James' comments about the union felt like a "kick in the stomach". "I don't think he's had any dialogue with anybody since the All-Star break, but it is what it is," Stackhouse said. "To make that statement about where we are as a union right now, he was misinformed."
- Point guard John Lucas III was a safe choice for the Jazz, in the sense that he won't threaten Trey Burke or expect to be the main one-guard for the long-term. However, Utah believes they have more than a capable stop-gap and more than a positive locker room influence in the veteran, writes Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) runs down the 2014 NBA Draft and notes that its remarkable depth could make it the best ever. Ford's latest big board has Andrew Wiggins at the top, followed by Kentucky's Julius Randle, Australian Dante Exum, Duke's Jabari Parker, and Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart.
- Sean Deveney of the Sporting News gives his immediate and long-term outlook for the league's 13 new coaches. The list starts with the latest hire, 76ers coach Brett Brown.
- Jordan Hill's summer assignment is to become the stretch four that the Lakers need, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Hill missed 53 games last year, mostly because of back and hip trouble.
Odds & Ends: James, Bobcats, Bucks, Cavs
There are a lot of contenders to the Eastern Conference crown that LeBron James and his Heat teammates have worn the last three seasons. James knows he's got to keep getting better if he wants to remain on top next year and advance to his fourth NBA Finals in his four seasons in Miami.
Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel caught up James during his charity event in Akron today to discuss all the wheeling and dealing in the Eastern Conference this off-season.
James is aware that the Heat face an even harder field in the Eastern Conference next season, and he's doing everything in his power to meet the challenge, telling Richardson, "I've seen what so many teams have done to get better. I've seen the moves that we've made, so I've got to do my part."
Here's what else is happening around the league on Saturday night:
- Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer details how Bobcats GM Rich Cho and President of Basketball Ops Rod Higgins created a balanced roster with all their off-season moves this summer.
- Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel does the same for the Bucks writing that GM John Hammond has them ready for the future.
- The Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat live-tweeted much of Canada's game against Jamaica tonight during the Jack Donohue International Classic. Canada came back from a 17-point deficit to get the 77-72 win (Twitter link) as newly right-handed Cavs forward Tristan Thompson led Canada with 16 points and appeared productive (Twitter) with his new shooting hand.
- Mary Schmitt Boyer talks new Cavs coach Mike Brown in her latest mailbag for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
- Highly touted 6-6 Australian point guard Dante Exum is a top prospect in next summer's draft. Peter Rolfe of the Australian Herald Sun (by way of RealGM.com) reports that Exum is "50-50" to declare for the draft next June after some scouts pegged him as a top-5 prospect.
- Sam Tongue of Blazers Edge opines that Portland's acquisition of Mo Williams is a move only a playoff team would make, which the Trail Blazers might be after significantly improving their bench this off-season.
Poll: Which Top 2014 Prospect Falls Before Next Year’s Draft?
The 2014 NBA Draft is said to be the deepest in league history. Multiple prospects who would have gone as the top pick in previous drafts may now be relegated to a lower draft position. With such an influx of talent, Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld details some of the favorites in next summer's heralded class.
Brigham attempts to sift through the brightest prospects to provide a blueprint for how the order might play out a year from now. The players he spotlights include incoming college freshman, Andrew Wiggins (Kansas), Julius Randle (Kentucky), Jabari Parker (Duke), Aaron Gordon (Arizona), Oklahoma State sophomore Marcus Smart and Australian Dante Exum.
But even with these players as supposed locks for the lottery, things can change. As Brigham notes in his piece, last year's two prized players expected to be the top two picks in the 2013 Draft, Shabazz Muhammad and Cody Zeller, both fell after the following college basketball season concluded despite neither suffering a major injury. Muhammad even fell out of the top 10 all the way to the Timberwolves (by way of the Jazz) with the 14th pick.
It stands to reason that one of the players Brigham mentions will see his draft stock plummet before June even if all of them stay healthy. If all of these prospects stay healthy next season, and if Exum enters the draft without playing a year at an American university, which one will drop?