2012 NBA Offseason

Pro Sports 886 replies 23,675 views
Midstate01's avatar
Midstate01
Posts: 14,766
Jun 25, 2012 9:54pm
Automatik;1211684 wrote:ODEN TO MEYAMI!! I WANT IT.

Welcome to Miami (bienvenido a Miami)?
Commander of Awesome's avatar
Commander of Awesome
Posts: 23,151
Jun 26, 2012 7:37am
http://basketball.realgm.com/article/221670/2012_NBA_Draft_Board_With_Tiers

Interesting read with some insight on the draft prospects.
Rotinaj's avatar
Rotinaj
Posts: 7,699
Jun 26, 2012 10:31am
Ironman92;1211363 wrote:What do the Bulls and Thunder need to do to get the Chanpionship?
The Bulls aren't winning shit. Unless a major injury or roster move occurs it will be Miami vs OKC for at least the next 2 years.
Early Cuyler's avatar
Early Cuyler
Posts: 1,097
Jun 26, 2012 10:52am
Commander of Awesome;1211895 wrote:http://basketball.realgm.com/article/221670/2012_NBA_Draft_Board_With_Tiers

Interesting read with some insight on the draft prospects.
Very credible, considering several of those players aren't even in this year's draft. The author really did his homework on this one, as did you by posting that link. Congratulations!
Rotinaj's avatar
Rotinaj
Posts: 7,699
Jun 26, 2012 10:55am
Looks like you didn't even read it. LOL.
Wooball's avatar
Wooball
Posts: 1,325
Jun 26, 2012 11:26am
Rockets loading up to do something special. They now have the 14th, 16th and 18th picks in Thursday's draft. Making a run at Dwight.
bases_loaded's avatar
bases_loaded
Posts: 6,912
Jun 26, 2012 11:34am
Wooball;1212049 wrote:Rockets loading up to do something special. They now have the 14th, 16th and 18th picks in Thursday's draft. Making a run at Dwight.

Sources say Houston has an offer of Lowry, the #14 and #16 picks for Tyreke Evans and the #5 pick on the table. Up to Sacramento to decide.


Report: If Kings accept the deal, Rockets then plan to offer Orlando Tyreke Evans, Kevin Martin and picks #5 & 18 to the Magic for Dwight
— Legion Sports (@MySportsLegion) June 26, 2012
sleeper's avatar
sleeper
Posts: 27,879
Jun 26, 2012 11:41am
bases_loaded;1212061 wrote:Sources say Houston has an offer of Lowry, the #14 and #16 picks for Tyreke Evans and the #5 pick on the table. Up to Sacramento to decide.


Report: If Kings accept the deal, Rockets then plan to offer Orlando Tyreke Evans, Kevin Martin and picks #5 & 18 to the Magic for Dwight
— Legion Sports (@MySportsLegion) June 26, 2012
That sounds like a terrible deal for SAC. And that sounds like a steal for Orlando.
sleeper's avatar
sleeper
Posts: 27,879
Jun 26, 2012 11:42am
Although I'll admit, I'm not really that high on Dwight Howard. Is he the best center in the game? Yes. Is he a top 10 player? No.
gerb131's avatar
gerb131
Posts: 9,932
Jun 26, 2012 11:59am
I'd like to see Brandon Roy come back and be good again. Injuries hurt him also but reading some things it sounds like he could come back and be effective. Most certainly worth the risk for someone.
gorocks99's avatar
gorocks99
Posts: 10,760
Jun 26, 2012 11:59am
Rockets ship Chase Budinger to the T'Wolves for the #18 pick: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/19424663/rockets-trade-chase-budinger-to-minnesota-for-18th-pick

E
DIT: Nevermind, semi-posted above. Definitely positioning to move into the top 10 and get Dwight.
bigdaddy2003's avatar
bigdaddy2003
Posts: 7,384
Jun 26, 2012 5:57pm
I'm not as high on Dwight Howard as others are. He's a beast but there is just something missing.
Ironman92's avatar
Ironman92
Posts: 49,363
Jun 26, 2012 6:24pm
bigdaddy2003;1212365 wrote:I'm not as high on Dwight Howard as others are. He's a beast but there is just something missing.

The "really" want it factor?
KR1245's avatar
KR1245
Posts: 4,317
Jun 26, 2012 6:55pm
Probably just a rumor, figured I'd post it anyways

Report From FoxSports: Lakers Trying To Move Pau Gasol To Wizards For #3 Pick And Metta World Peace For Late Pick
Midstate01's avatar
Midstate01
Posts: 14,766
Jun 26, 2012 6:58pm
KR1245;1212399 wrote:Probably just a rumor, figured I'd post it anyways

Report From FoxSports: Lakers Trying To Move Pau Gasol To Wizards For #3 Pick And Metta World Peace For Late Pick

I saw that on hoopshype earlier.
KR1245's avatar
KR1245
Posts: 4,317
Jun 26, 2012 7:02pm
Midstate01;1212401 wrote:I saw that on hoopshype earlier.
I dont think I'm doing it if I'm the Wiz
KR1245's avatar
KR1245
Posts: 4,317
Jun 26, 2012 8:15pm
Pistons traded Ben Gordon and fiture 1st rounder to the Bobcats for Maggette
Mulva's avatar
Mulva
Posts: 13,650
Jun 26, 2012 8:50pm
bases_loaded;1212061 wrote:Sources say Houston has an offer of Lowry, the #14 and #16 picks for Tyreke Evans and the #5 pick on the table. Up to Sacramento to decide.


Report: If Kings accept the deal, Rockets then plan to offer Orlando Tyreke Evans, Kevin Martin and picks #5 & 18 to the Magic for Dwight
— Legion Sports (@MySportsLegion) June 26, 2012
That is way too much to give up for Dwight Howard.
Pick6's avatar
Pick6
Posts: 14,946
Jun 26, 2012 8:52pm
Mulva;1212485 wrote:That is way too much to give up for Dwight Howard.
especially for him to just leave you after the season is over lol. The Rockets would royally fuck themselves for the forseeable future in any kind of trade for him.
Laley23's avatar
Laley23
Posts: 29,506
Jun 26, 2012 10:37pm
Id assume it would have to be a sign and trade, in which case it will never happen. Cause Dwight aint signing shit.
wildcats20's avatar
wildcats20
Posts: 27,794
Jun 26, 2012 11:01pm
KR1245;1212399 wrote:Probably just a rumor, figured I'd post it anyways

Report From FoxSports: Lakers Trying To Move Pau Gasol To Wizards For #3 Pick And Metta World Peace For Late Pick
Ugh.
gorocks99's avatar
gorocks99
Posts: 10,760
Jun 27, 2012 11:35am
Not NBA, but basketball-related:

[video=youtube;-_Ttzreu-Mg][/video]
Laley23's avatar
Laley23
Posts: 29,506
Jun 27, 2012 11:38am
That was the first dunk of the contest also. Crazy. Everyone else should have just left.
Commander of Awesome's avatar
Commander of Awesome
Posts: 23,151
Jun 27, 2012 1:36pm
[h=3]The Misevaluation Of Perry Jones[/h] By: Jonathan Tjarks
Jun 27, 2012 2:14 AM EDT
When LeBron James didn’t win a championship in any of the first eight seasons of his career, people weren’t satisfied with explanations centered around X’s and O’s. There had to be something wrong with James, as if the playoffs were a morality tale and an inability to win an NBA Finals MVP revealed some sort of deep-set psychological issue.

As it turns out, the biggest difference between his performance in the 2011 and 2012 Finals wasn’t LeBron’s “killer instinct” but his “post game”. When a player isn’t performing up to his capabilities, it’s easy to point the finger at his character and whether he “wants to win”. In reality, the reason usually has more to do with what’s happening on the court than in the psyche.

In the 2012 NBA Draft, Baylor sophomore Perry Jones III has received the brunt of criticism from the armchair psychologists in the basketball community. An incredibly athletic 6’11, 235 forward with a 7’2 wingspan, Jones has one of the best combinations of size, skill and athleticism to come into the NBA in a long time.

However, in his two seasons at Baylor, he only averaged 13.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.7 blocks on 52% shooting. Jones, a soft-spoken and unselfish player, didn’t pound his chest and he didn’t dominate that many collegiate games; therefore, the reasoning goes, he’s too “soft” to be an effective NBA contributor. As a result, a player with top of the lottery talent has slipped into the middle of the first round in many mock drafts.

But, unlike Anthony Davis, Jones didn’t walk into a situation where he would be playing with five unselfish future NBA players. In his two seasons for the Bears, the starting guards were AJ Walton (a defensive specialist), LaceDarius Dunn (a guard who lacked Kobe Bryant’s talent but not his willingness to shoot), Pierre Jackson (a score-first junior college transfer) and Brady Heislip (a shooting specialist). So while Davis got the majority of his points on alley-oops, dive cuts and fastbreaks, Jones didn’t have anyone creating easy baskets for him.

Tweety Carter, a four-year senior point guard who had played in the McDonald’s All-American Game, graduated the year before Jones came. And without an elite distributor, Scott Drew’s offense ground to a halt, becoming a loosely organized free-for-all. It’s hard for a big man to get in a rhythm offensively when he can’t count on getting the ball back if he passes it.

The situation was even more absurd on the other end of the floor. Despite having one of the most athletic teams in the country, Drew stubbornly played a 1-3-1 zone, a conceptually weak defense that’s almost never seen in high level basketball.

Most zone teams in college run some sort of variation of the 2-3, which leaves the free-throw line (where very few college big men are effective) open to defend the three-point line and pressure ball-handlers. In contrast, the 1-3-1 guards the middle of the floor at the cost of leaving the corner 3 (the most efficient shot in basketball) unguarded.

And while the 2-3 allows teams to attack passing lanes on the perimeter, the 1-3-1 concedes them. There’s no real way to defend a well-coached, top 25 team for 35 seconds in such a passive zone, yet Drew didn’t change to a man defense until the last game of the season, an Elite Eight loss to Kentucky.

With the formula for beating the 1-3-1 spreading widely through the Big 12, Baylor fell apart at the end of the season. A team that started 17-0 was barely above .500 to finish, going 13-8 in its last 21 games.

Jones, the team’s best player, was often blamed for the Bears struggles, especially as other big men had field days carving up Baylor’s zone. However, he wasn’t responsible for defending Thomas Robinson in their losses to Kansas, and zones, as a rule, give up a lot of offensive rebounds. So while Robinson, an undersized big man without the skill to dominate at the next level, became known for his heart, Jones became known for his lack of it.

The real question is how they would be perceived if they had switched teams. How would Jones have looked playing for Bill Self, an excellent strategist and tactician who adjusts his schemes to fit the talents of his best players? Meanwhile, how would Robinson have looked in the middle of a 1-3-1 zone while playing with guards either unable or unwilling to give him the ball?

I’ve never met Perry Jones, but I’ve watched him play a lot of basketball. And when there are tactical and strategic reasons for why a player isn’t maximizing his potential, I’m going to look at those before I start questioning his ability to succeed at a children’s game because of who he is as a human being.

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Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/blog/221762/The_Misevaluation_Of_Perry_Jones#ixzz1z1538W3k
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