I recently saw a trade rumour that had Monta Ellis leaving Golden State for Philly in a swap for Andre Iguodala. Interesting. This rumour surfaces just days after GS announces the hiring of 1st time head coach Mark Jackson. I kinda like the hiring. I'm not a huge fan of re-treading guys that have been unsuccessful in the past. Could GS fans get excited over the hiring of Sam Mitchell? So why not Jackson? He could be good...we just don't know.
So, who wins a Ellis for Iguodala swap. Despite the offensive talent difference - I think this deal is a good one for GS. They get a defender - something they've desperately lacked. They get bigger in the backcourt. And they remove a ball hog from their system. Yes, Andre is a couple years older than Monta and his salary isn't exactly friendly over the next couple of years but GS needs to change their culture. They are currently built around offense with the idea that we can outscore you. Guess what GS? This hasn't worked for you. Try something else.
Did you know that Ellis was actually a net minus player for Golden State when he was on/off the floor (according to http://www.82games.com/)? Which means - that Golden State actually got out-scored by their opponents when Ellis was on the floor (-233). So, he's a high volume shooter (led the league in shot attempts per game); he turns the ball over a lot; and he doesn't play good defense (don't let all those steals sway you).
Iguodala, by contrast, was a positive player for the 76ers. He is a good scorer (14ppg), a good passer, taller than Monta, can steal, block, rebound, and would provide GS with a defender at the SG position to match up with some of the better scorers in the Western Conference (Kobe, Gordon, K-Mart, Tyreke, Manu, etc). I like this deal from GS's point of view.
Why would Philly do this deal? You have to think one of the reasons would be that Elton Brand led the team in scoring at just 15ppg last season. Did any NBA team have a leading scorer that averaged less than that? I don't think so. Philly ranked 18th in PPG as a team last season and adding Monta would give them a go-to player. Now, could Monta and Jrue Holiday play together in the backcourt? How tall is Jrue? Wouldn't Philly be too small in the backcourt? And is Monta really a Doug Collins guy? If Collins could get Monta to buy into the Philly system - it might work - but can Collins convince him?
It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this rumour. Usually, nothing ever does. But with GS hiring a new coach and looking to change its culture - something should happen there.
Another trade rumour floating around is the Minnesota and Toronto deal...
Minny would get the #5 pick and DeMar DeRozan
TO would get the #2 pick and Jonny Flynn
Quick - which way do you think I'm going to lean on this one???
If you guessed I LOVE this deal for Minny - you are correct sir.
First of all, I just commented on Jonny Flynn last week. Not a fan.
I guess TO is trying to get a potential star in Derrick Williams with the #2 pick. They struggled at SF last season trying Sonny Weems and James Johnson and others during the season. But is Derrick Williams a sure thing?? And is Jonny Flynn really the answer at PG? They have Calderon. They have Jerryd Bayless (who averaged 18 and 6 in some late season starts). So is Flynn an upgrade? And if TO moves DeRozan - who plays SG? Weems? The knock on DD is his outside game and lack of 3PT shooting (5 for 52 on the season). If they move him, who plays SG? Barbosa? In just his second season, DD averaged over 17ppg and shot a very respectable 47% from the field. He had over 80 steals and over 30 blocks. Not bad for a sophomore in the NBA on a very shitty team. I think it's too soon to move DD for a 2nd tier PG and a #2 pick.
From the Minny side - I think this would be a solid move. If they keep the #2 pick they have to take Derrick Williams because he is the 'best available'. That doesn't work for them because they have Beasley at SF and Love at PF. No room for Williams. They want to move down. So, why not move down to #5 and fill one of their 2 biggest needs - SG and Center - by acquiring a young and emerging SG like DeRozan. He fits where the Wolves are going (age) and would probably be a good #3 scorer behind Love and Beasley.
And then, with the #5 pick, they could go big and hope that Enes Kanter, the 6'11, 260 pound centre from Turkey is still around and hope to mold him into their C of the future. One website that does a NBA mock draft lists 5 writers mocks. They have Kanter going 5-3-7-6-8 in their various mock drafts. So, he could be there and he could be a good value pick.
Another option is this Janus Valanciunas from Lithunia. Another big young foreign centre (those always pan out right??). But he's rated very highly as well in the mock drafts. He could be another option with the 5th pick.
Now, this deal will probably never happen because of KAHN in Minny. He doesn't do anything right so this trade is bound to fail. But, for once, it's a rumour that has Minny coming out on top in my books.
This NBA draft appears to be shaping up to be an interesting one - for a couple of reasons.
1) it's being called a weak draft and there aren't many projected 'stars' in it - but that always changes and guys surprise us all the time. So who will those guys be in this draft?
2) With the potential lockout looming there could be drastic changes to the salary cap and team managment systems - which could see NBA teams cutting high paid veterans to make room for cheap rookies - which could mean that 1st round picks (and even 2nd rounders) are suddenly valuable to a NBA team and potentially fantasy friendly.
So, as my 2011 JBL draft preparation continues - I shift my focus to the young talent about to be picked in the 2011 NBA draft. So exciting...
Kudos to French Lick today for trimming his roster down. He can protect 4 players for next season and has narrowed his list down to 5 players:
- Stephen Curry for $20
- Wilson Chandler for $17
- DeAndre Jordan for $6
- Chris Kaman for $19
- Amir Johnson for $8
If I had to guess which of those players will get dropped - I would guess it would be Amir Johnson. I think the other 4 players offer more value for the money - especially if the Clippers are able to package up Kaman for a SF and give the starting Centre job to Jordan. Maybe Kaman for Prince finally gets done.
Still waiting on about 4-5 JBL teams to reduce their current rosters to 10 players (maximum) by July 1st. I will send out reminders the last week of June.
Looks like the NBA and Players Union met for 5 hours today and plan to meet again tomorrow. Come on Stern - get'er done.
That's all for now JBL lovers...signing off.
JE
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