Mock - Rookie Lottery

OK, couldn't sleep so I decided I would mock it up right here and now...

All 13 JBL teams are in a hat and I am going to reverse draw - just for fun! Here we go...

The JBL team with the #13 rookie selection is...

13. Idaho - go figure kid. Good thing this is just for fun. But maybe getting a rookie for $1 buck isn't such a bad thing.

The 12th pick goes to...

12. Juan de Fuca - the 3 headed monster might need more than 24 hours to decide what to do here.

The 11th pick goes to...

11. Bangkok - knowing Rick he would like this spot because it gets him a potential $3 dollar gem. And Rick is known for drafting good rookies...

The 10th pick goes to...

10. Arctic - a $4 rookie is something I'm sure the Jerks would welcome onto their already stacked JBL roster.

The 9th pick goes to...

9. French Lick - French is another team that could benefit from a $5 dollar rookie blue-chip prospect.

The 8th pick goes to....

8. Maui - more homework for Trev to do prior to the JBL draft? A possible 'pass' could occur here.

The 7th pick goes to....

7. Golden - A solid rookie for $7 bucks would be a nice addition to the Golden squad.

The 6th pick goes to...

6. Brussels - Timmy pulls into the $10 rookie hole - would he pick or pass?

The 5th pick goes to...

5. Seoul - this is the proposed $12 dollar rookie slot. I'm sure Woo would be more than happy to role the dice on a pick here.

The 4th pick goes to....

4. Belgrade - our last place team, with no current keepers, would be able to land a $14 dollar rookie if he wanted. But in the current draft class - who is the right pick?

Our final 3 teams in the rookie lottery are Yuma, Manhattan Beach and the 'Wack...moving on to the 3rd pick...

3. Chilliwack - a rookie for $16 bucks? I'm sure Benny pulls the trigger here...

The 2nd pick goes to...

2. Manhattan Beach - runner up is like kissing your sister...

And in the 1st ever mock rookie draft order the #1 pick goes to Yuma...and he would get to make the tough decision on whether he thought Kyrie Irving was the best fantasy rookie available and secondly if he was worth the $20 dollar JBL price tag...

So, to recap, here is our mock rookie draft order....and one of the proposed salary structures for each rookie draft pick.

1. Yuma $20

2. Manhattan $18

3. Chilliwack $16

4. Belgrade $14

5. Seoul $12

6. Brussels $10

7. Golden $7

8. Maui $6

9. French Lick $5

10. Arctic $4

11. Bangkok $3

12. Juan de Fuca $2

13. Idaho $1

One more thing to consider now that I've done this mock lottery. Could a JBL team trade their rookie pick for someone else's rookie pick? For example, maybe Yuma doesn't want the #1 pick because he doesn't feel any rookie in this years' draft class is worth the $20 JBL salary. And maybe Bangkok, at #11, likes the rookie class and would be willing to pay a rookie $20 bucks. Could Yuma trade his #1 rookie pick to Bangkok for his #11 spot? I think the answer should be 'YES'. It's simple. It doesn't involve any NBA players and it's easy to administer.

Where it could get more complicated is say that Yuma wants to move out of the #1 spot and Bangkok is offering the #11 pick and a player from his keeper roster (remember, after Oct 1st, all JBL rosters will be reduced to the maximum number of potential keepers per team). In Bangkok's case, he would only have 4 players on his roster. Should this pick for pick&player trade be allowed? That's a debate for another time...

Up next...my rookie mock draft using the JBL mock lottery order above...

Night all...

The Rookie Draft Idea continued...

So, I thought I would continue on with this idea for a bit because I had some positive feedback from Mr. Chris Pershick on the matter. He liked the idea, even with it's certain difficulties, and it has some room to grow...

Imagine a JBL boys night around October 1st, when off season trading finally begins. Teams are starting to think about upgrading their keepers for the 2011/12 season. We, the JBL owners, gather at a discreet location to hold the 1st ever rookie draft. Not everyone comes because of personal commitments - but the usual JBL crew is there.

I arrive with a mysterious looking large black box. Why? Because every man dreams of sticking there hand in a large black box at some point in their life. Yes, I went there.

I can imagine Rick and Phil in attendance discussing the TENDEX rankings of LaMarcus vs. Garnett and who has more value to a JBL team. Anthony would of course be in attendance trying to convince someone that Sonny Weems for $1 dollar is a stellar keeper. Crikker, Timmy, Hildy and others have also made the journey. For we are about to reverse draw for the rookie draft order.

One by one we would stick our mitts into the black box to pull out ping pong ball after ping pong ball. And of course, all the ping pong balls have been decorated to represent their JBL teams. The first ball out is 13th, then 12th, then 11th and so on...The drama would increase as we approach the #1 selection. And ultimately, our rookie draft order would be set. Looking at the calendar, I'm thinking Saturday night, October 1st is the perfect night for this. Off season trading opens and we set the order for the rookie draft.

Crikker's rookie draft idea goes a little further and allows the team with the #1 pick 24 hours to make their selection. They could post a short article on the JBL website announcing who they are taking with the #1 selection. Once the pick is made, the 2nd team is on the clock and has 24 hours to pick or pass or even trade. So, the rookie draft can actually take place for 13 days possibly as we approach the JBL draft (October 29th this year people).

Imagine the excitement and options of being able to pick a potential stud rookie...very cool.

Some things I've thought of that would need to be addressed. My idea of the rookie draft would be for the upcoming season. So, whatever your protection allotment from the previous year was - the rookie draft would be extra to that. Example - if you were allowed to protect 4 players - you can do so - plus, you would be adding a 5th player in the rookie draft (assuming you make a rookie pick).

Other things...can a rookie draft spot be traded for a current NBA player - my thoughts on this would be 'no'. Example - let's say I have the #1 pick in the rookie draft and I am only allowed to protect one player based on my previous years results. Yes, it will be Kevin Love. Could I trade the #1 pick in the rookie draft to Bangkok for LaMarcus Aldridge. Again, my thoughts on this would be NO. The rookie draft option would be to add a rookie to your team from the previous year.

Now, that being said, once the season started, I think that trading your future rookie draft spot for an established NBA player would be allowed. I will have to check with CBS to see if we can do this. And we would have to log all trades involving rookie draft spots to keep track.

Another potential issue - what about setting a limit of how many rookie picks a JBL team can acquire in one season?? Let's take Belgrade's team from last year. He finishes last and has no keepers but in the final days heading up to the keeper deadline he starts to trade his established players for rookie selections. Let's even say he trades 12 players for everyone else's rookie spot in the rookie draft. Belgrade could now draft 13 rookies (for a total of $118 dollars) and then buy 2 more players at Auction (one at say $60 and another at $82). That would be 15 players (13 rookies) for $260 bucks. Should we allow this? My initial thoughts would be 'NO'. I would propose that a JBL team could not have more than 2 rookie draft picks (their own and one other). This would mean that JBL teams, yet again, would have to use some strategy about when they would make that one trade to get another rookie pick. Would Belgrade have traded Boozer to Golden for my pick? Or Greg Monroe to Phil for his pick? If he could only make one trade for a pick - which would it be? And would his choice be different if the chances of securing a higher rookie pick was different?

So, there's a lot to think about here. I'm still not totally sold that this is a good idea, but at least it got a couple of articles out of me. Anyone have any additional thoughts on the matter? I'm all ears....

Next up - I think I'll conduct my own rookie draft lottery with all the JBL teams and see how it looks - then try to make some rookie picks for each JBL depending on their JBL team needs.

That's all for now...signing off.

Lockout? Have no Fear - An Idea is Here...

Oh no. This doesn't look good. The NBA has locked out the players and if you read the issues - this doesn't look good for the JBL. The two sides are a LONG way apart and I don't think we're going to have a resolution any time soon. Remember 1998-99? The 50 game season. The JBL remembers. If my memory serves, due to the timing of it all, the NBA season had actually started by the time we could get all the guys together. Well, that won't be happening this year. Our JBL draft will live on. It's either October 22nd or 29th. So keep those dates open. And yes, even if the NBA is still locked out - we are drafting!!! Why? Because we are a league! We are the JBL! And damn it - that's one of my favorite nights of the year!

The JBL draft could look very different in October if the NBA isn't playing any ball. No summer leagues. No rookie camps. No exhibition games. No Free Agency period. Everything will be up in the air. But that could actually be exciting. Where will David West end up? Will Nene go back to Denver? How much are they worth? Is Ricky Rubio any good? Who's the starting PF in Cleveland? Oh man, the risk-reward opportunities out there will be huge!! As exciting as the 'chance' will be in drafting - it would be very sad knowing that the season wasn't starting a couple of night later.

Timmy P texted me the other day to see if I had any changes in mind. I didn't at the time. And no one had emailed me any ideas. But that got Johnny thinking. And now I have an idea. I am very confident I have posted it here before so I thought I would revive the idea. It comes in a couple of potential phases. The main crux of my idea focuses on the NBA rookies...

Why not have our own JBL lottery? We can't do it based on last year's standings (we could in the future), but why not try out a lottery system? One of the challenges of doing this is that we use the CBS auction room to do our draft. If we continued using that (and I think everyone loves its ease and speed) then we would have to implement a rule that the lottery and draft picks were done ahead of the auction portion of the draft. Then we could load the rookies onto their JBL teams and then conduct the Auction.

So, we put all our names (or ping pong balls) in a hat...or a bowl...or a trophy...of a hollowed out ham....and we reverse draw for order. First team out of the hat gets 13th pick...next gets 12th...and so on - all the way down to #1 pick. That would be our order for our 1 round of picks for the incoming NBA rookie class. And to be clear - this would be for Kyrie Irving and Derrick Williams - not for Ricky Rubio. And in future, we too, could weight the chances of winning the lottery depending on where you finished in the prior years' JBL standings.

So, we would establish our rookie draft order. My next proposal would be a salary system that is based on a scaled salary system. I have tried a number of different ones this morning as I type this. Initially, I thought a $2 decrease from #1 to #13 (so $26-24-22-20 all the way down to $2 bucks for the #13 pick.) More on potential salary scales later - but for now - let's use this idea of 26-24-22-20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2 - even though I know in my head it's too 'rich' for the idea.

My proposal is for just one round of NBA rookies being picked. All other rookies would be available via auction as in previous years.

Also, I would propose that JBL teams could "PASS" on a rookie selection if they wished. The spot would be left blank and the draft would continue on (example below)

10th - Joe Blow $8

11th - PASS

12th - Stinky Stinkerson $4

13th - PASS

So...let me go through some of the PRO's and CON's of this system...

And if I miss any please make sure to email me your thoughts...

THE GOOD:

• The JBL becomes even more NBA-like
• teams would now have the opportunity to prepare for a rookie draft
• Down the road, previous years standings could be incorporated into our own lottery system where the bottom teams had a higher chance of getting the 1st pick (just like the NBA)
• I would also propose that in future years your draft pick could be used in JBL trades (can you imagine trading say Luol Deng for a future 1st round pick). And because we would only have 1 round of rookie picks - you could only trade one year in advance. I don't think trading my 2017 pick to Chilliwack works...
• In this system - you could get some real bargains from the rookie crop based on the salary system (Blake Griffin for $26 bucks in year 1!!)
• JBL teams can make their own assessment of team needs and rookie values. Just because the T-Wolves thought Derrick Williams was the #2 pick - if your JBL team is stacked with 4 forwards - maybe you want to grab Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker with the 2nd pick.
• JBL teams could still 'PASS' on a rookie if they didn't think they were getting value from the 12th or 13th draft spot - so they are being forced to take someone.
• Also, could you imagine the potential trades that could be done in this window. Let's say Yuma won the lottery and had 1st pick and the clock was ticking (we could have our own clock in the room as well!) and then Bangkok pipes up and says (use his voice here) - "Ummm, Pat, you know, I'll give you LaMarcus Aldridge for that #1 pick".
• It adds another fun layer to the JBL auction process.

THE BAD

• The most obvious one in my books is the loss of the free-market system. In years past - everyone would have a chance to draft Kyrie Irving and his auction price is set by the JBL. This JBL rookie draft takes that equal opportunity away.
• This would probably extend our JBL draft day by maybe 30-45 minutes (like that's a bad thing really)
• We would have to manually place these players onto their JBL teams before the Auction could begin (again, big whoop)
• Would JBL teams start to tank near the end of a JBL season to try and increase their odds of getting the #1 pick in next year's rookie draft? Well, maybe, but it's still a lottery and there would be no guarantee you'd get the 1st pick. Also, we have a great system in place where the lower you go in the standings may increase your chances of the #1 rookie pick - but it also decreases the number of players you can protect. So, if we used last year's standings, Belgrade has zero players coming back but maybe wins the lottery and can pick Kyrie Irving for $26 bucks. Is that really worth 'tanking'? I think it's risky.
• There isn't enough rookie talent to warrant salaries ranging from $26 down to $2 (and I think the salary scale needs to be adjuster to a lower price point - so read on)
• We lose the ability to take those late draft rookie sleepers (last year's Greg Monroe for $2 bucks)

So, just for fun, let's look at the top 13 picks in the real NBA draft last season with the concept that they were picked in the same order in a JBL rookie draft (with JBL salary idea)...

1. John Wall $26

2. Evan Turner $24

3. Derrick Favors $22

4. Wesley Johnson $20

5. DeMarcus Cousins $18

6. Ekpe Udoh $16

7. Greg Monroe $14

8. Al Farouq Aminu $12

9. Gordon Hayward $10

10. Paul George $8

11. Cole Aldrich $6

12. Xavier Henry $4

13. Ed Davis $2

So, from that exercise, what did I learn? I would say that along the way there I could definitely see some JBL teams being very disappointed in their selections (Turner, Favors, Udoh, Aldrich)...but I could also see some JBL teams being very happy with their bargains - Wall, Cousins, Johnson, Monroe, Davis)...I also think the proposed salary levels would have to be adjusted to reflect the risk.

So, what about the argument that there isn't enough rookie talent? And I get it - it's a crap shoot - but it is for the NBA GM's as well. Remember the great debate on whether Oden or Durant should have been picked #1?? What would have happened in the JBL??? So, let's see what kind of JBL talent and salaries would have looked liked if we nailed the 2010 rookie class...and yes, it's lacking in depth, I'll admit that...

#1 - Wall $26 (less than his auction salary)

#2 - Cousins $24 (less than his auction salary)

#3 - Fields $22 (more than auction) - so this a case where we would lose the ability to find a gem in the rough. But I would also argue that no one in the JBL owner group would have taken the #39th pick in the NBA draft with the #3 pick in the JBL draft. Fields would have been up for auction anyways

#4 - Monroe $20 (more than auction)

#5 - Johnson (more than auction)

others that would get drafted - Ed Davis, Jordan Crawford, Derrick Favors, Evan Turner, Aminu?

So, just like the NBA draft - there are no guarantees - that's why I would advocate the ability for a JBL team to "PASS" on a pick. So, a team may have the 6th pick in the JBL rookie draft - and may choose to pass because $16 bucks might not be a good value there. And that would be fine with me.

I think the biggest hurdle from JBL owners would be the chance to grab those cheap rookie sleepers at the end of the auction. Well, in some way, those would still be there. The NBA has 30 first round picks - we would only have 13 rookies selected (and that's if all JBL teams used their pick). Would Landry Fields have been there last year on auction night? Absolutely.

I would predict, that many JBL owners in a rookie draft would be looking at their NBA GM's and probably try to mirror what they did if there was a doubt. Let's check out this theory and I will quickly mock the 2011 rookie class (because there are some guys - like #5 Valencious in TO who isn't coming to the NBA this year anyways - so he certainly wouldn't go #5 in our rookie draft). Let me also do this with a different salary structure in mind - how about this one - check out a quick mock draft with a new salary structure...

1 - Irving $20

2. Williams $18

3. Kanter $16

4. Thompson $14

5. Walker $12

6. Knight $10

7. Vesely $7

8. Jimmer $6

9. Shumpert $5

10. Faried $4

11. Leonard $3

12. Biyombo $2

13. Burks $1

So - there could be some rookie bargains there in my mind...and I think that type of salary structure might be better...

And of course - let's say you get the #1 pick - do you have more faith in Kyrie or Jimmer? The options are endless...yet still, if you don't like your options - you could 'pass'.

So, I think I've rambled on enough on the topic. I think you get it. But let me add one more piece to this...we are facing a NBA lockout and the real possibility that we don't get to do the JBL this season...so why not try something new...we may not even get to see if it works if the NBA doesn't come back...but it might be worth a try...

With that...I'll say Happy Canada Day and I look forward to some feedback on the idea.

DRAFT PICKS I LIKED...

Well, with the NBA lockout just days away, the focus has changed from the very weak NBA draft held on Thursday. Even with the inevitable approaching, I still found myself fascinated with the NBA draft. Even with a weak class of incoming players - I was still there looking and analyzing at all the picks. So, without further ado, let's look at a few of those players who I think could have some fantasy value in 11/12 (whenever that is)...

#1 - Kyrie Irving - of course the #1 pick is going to have fantasy value. Cleveland is in full rebuild mode and should play him 30+ minutes a night. Because really, are they going to let an aging Baron Davis run the show? I don't think so. My concern on Irving is that he played about 300 minutes of college basketball. So he's still a bit of an unknown. But, like any rookie on a bad team, he will force shots and try to do too much. I say JBL owners beware...

#2 - Derrick Williams - To me, he looks like the best player right now in this draft. The problem, he plays in Minnesota (so far). He'll be behind Beasley and Love but should still hopefully carve out 25 minutes or so. I think he can have some fantasy value for sure.

#3 - Enes Kanter. I like this guy's potential. Despite not playing last year at Kentucky I think he has great potential to be a factor in Utah this coming season. I think he can pair nicely with Big Al and provide a presence in the paint for the Jazz. He will take over Okur's minutes and should be a fantasy factor as the season moves along. Kanter and Favors are a nice young duo that could allow them to move Millsap.

#6 - Jan Vesely. I love this dude for so many reasons!! I love this kid because he tongued his girlfriend when he was drafted. He's known as the 'Dunking Ninja' on You Tube. When asked if he was the European Blake Griffin - he responded with, "No, Blake is the American Jan Vesely." He is the next Andrei Kirilenko! And remember what AK47 went for in the land of fantasy a few years ago?? He was a $50 dollar player. I think this kid has that kind of potential.

#8 - Brandon Knight. While I'm not a huge fan of the player, I'm a bigger fan of the situation he landed in. For the longest time, Knight was pegged as the #3 choice going to Utah to play behind Devin Harris. However, he slipped to #8 and now has a chance to start in Detroit. Stuckey is not a pure PG and I think Knight could actually get significant minutes next season. Again, I think he will struggle with his shooting %'s but he should earn himself a JBL team spot on Auction night.

#9 - Kemba Walker. He gets mixed reviews from the experts on whether he'll make in the pro game. I like him though. Another guy who I think landed in the right situation. Charlotte is trying to change it's culture and only has Augustin and Henderson in the backcourt right now so I think Walker can earn enough minutes to be a fantasy factor. He was the PG on the NCAA winning team that wasn't loaded with stars so he can definitely play. I think he could be a late night pickup on JBL auction night.

#10 - Jimmer Fredette. Another perfect situation for a guy. Jimmer can play PG beside a much bigger guard Tyreke. The knock on Evans was that he wasn't a pure PG and loved to drive the ball too much. Well, now Tyreke can drive and kick it out to one of the best shooters the NCAA has ever seen. The Kings backcourt now features high volume guys like Tyreke, Jimmer, and Marcus Thornton. Will there be enough balls to go around?? No doubt this guy gets drafted at Auction.

#12 - Alec Burks. I admit, I don't know much about this kid. I do know that he was one of the best SG options available though and that he's landed on a team desperate for SG help. The Jazz trotted out Raja Bell last season on many nights at SG so Burks has a chance to contribute right away. Not sure how many minutes he'll get but he's probably a good risk/reward type player to draft late at auction and stash away on the bench.

#15 - Kawhi Leonard. A projected top 5 pick for the week leading up to the draft he somehow slipped to #15 and landed with the Spurs. San Antonio is great at identifying talent so I fully trust that they know what they're doing here. And just think, the only player standing in Leonard's way to significant minutes is an aging Richard Jefferson. So yes, I think Kawhi is going to play a lot next season.

#18 - Chris Singleton. He is supposedly the best defender in this draft and he's landed in Washington where they need some help. He will battle Vesely for minutes but should be on the floor a lot because of his ability to play D. He doesn't have much of an offensive game but he should get many open looks because of Wall's passing abilities. A possible late night JBL pick.

#22 - Kenneth Faried. Think Reggie Evans or Dennis Rodman type rebounder. Plus, he could actually start for Denver if they don't re-sign Kenyon Martin. He could be a nice value pick if you are in need of rebounds.

Well, there you have it...those are some of the guys that I like from this NBA draft. If we do see a lockout I think this year's JBL draft could be the most interesting one ever. Why? Because for the first time ever we won't have the luxury of pre-season games. We won't know what teams' rotations will look like. We won't know how FA's will be fitting in with their new teams. The uncertainty excites me. Although I do not want to see a shortened NBA season because that would mean our JBL season would be shorter as well.

Iguodala Rumors continue...

So, another day, another blog post, and another Andre Iguodala trade rumor.Today's features a Chris Kaman for Iguodala swap. If you're a Clippers fan (is there such a thing?) then this has to be an exciting rumor. Can you imagine a starting lineup of Mo Williams, Eric Gordon, Iguodala, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan? Very appealing.

Is moving Chris Kaman the right thing to do? I say yes. Is he a quality big man? Yes. Absolutely. He has 18 and 10 potential with some blocks in fantasy land. But the LA landscape is changing. He will no longer be needed to put up those kind of points with Blake, EG, and Mo around. He's really a 4th option. And as good as an athlete he is for being a big man (and a white guy) - he's not athletic enough to keep up with the track meet pace that LA could set. The other knock on Kaman is his durability. How many games has he played each season over the last 5 years? Try 32-76-31-56-75. He misses games. So, I say the Clippers are doing the right thing by considering moving him.

Iguodala would be a great fit in Clipperland in my view. I think his overall fantasy game would mesh very nicely with that group. I think he could still average 12-15ppg and he would stuff the stat sheet on a nightly basis. Mo Williams isn't the most 'pure' PG in the league so I could easily see AI averaging over 5 assists a night as a point-forward. And all those rebounds, steals, and blocks. Yummy.

And if Kaman could get and stay healthy - he could be a very good center in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers need to get bigger in the middle as they just can't survive with Spencer Hawes in the middle and Kaman could put up some good numbers. Kaman is always a fantasy risk because of his health but I have to think his numbers would be better (fantasy-wise) in Philly than in LA. Blake and EG are the focus in LA. Where in Philly, it's Elton Brand and a bunch of other guys. Kaman really could shine in Philly. Again, only if he stays healthy. And it's that health risk that has Philly wanting more than just Kaman for Iguodala. Can't say I blame them. And it never hurts to ask.

I guess the other implication for Philly in this potential deal would be the promotion of Evan Turner to starting SG and Thaddeus Young would get more minutes as well. Young could have a breakout season with more minutes as he averaged 13 and 5 in just 26 minutes per game last season. He also had 90 steals! Add another 10 minutes of run to his night and he could be a 17 and 7 guy. Oh so nice. Sleeper! And what about Turner? He was the #2 pick last season behind John Wall but had a very disappointing season. He would be one of those high risk - high reward guys to keep an eye on for sure. Now, if there is a lockout, the risk is even bigger if the JBL Auction rolls around and we don't know if Turner can handle the starting gig. That just adds to the intrigue of the JBL draft in my view. How much would Turner go for at Auction? Would he even be drafted at all???

Well, that's all for tonight....back to back blogs baby!! Offseason Johnny is on a roll!

NBA Rumours...

Hello again Chronicles lovers...all 6 of you. I'm back again. Geez Johnny, how are you getting this done? Well, a battle with strep throat and a nasty cough has me in the spare bedroom in the basement. So, rather than waste my best moves on the Mrs. trying to get her naked - I have more time for JBL and NBA discussion. Lucky for you. No 'getting lucky' for me. Oh well.


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

Shaq and the NBA...

Superman. The Big Aristotle. The Diesel. Shaq Fu. The Big Shaqtus. Big Daddy. Shaqovic. Whatever you called him...he has called it quits. For me, it's a very sad day. Not because Shaq was one of my favorite players or anything like that. It's just that he was a big part of my 'youth'. As more of these guys retire - the older I get. It's sad. Farewell Shaq. I will miss you and your quotes. You were one of the good guys in the NBA.

Love him or hate him Shaq is probably one of the top 5 centers of all time in the NBA. Wilt. Bill Russell. Kareem. Hakeem. And Shaq. For his career, he averaged 23ppg and 11reb with 2.3 blks per game. He has 4 titles. He was rookie of the year in 1992/93. He was MVP in 99/00. He won 3 NBA Finals MVP's. 15 All-Star game selections. 2 scoring titles. 14 All-NBA selections. 3 All-Defensive NBA selections. He is 7'1 and weighs over 325 pounds. The man was a monster and one helluva basketball player.

But Johnny - Shaq was just so good because he was so big!! Are we supposed to hold that against him?? Are we supposed to say the only reason that Carl Lewis was so good is because he ran fast. And the only reason Michael Phelps wins all those gold medals is because he's a good swimmer?And the only reason Jennifer Aniston is drooled over is because she's hot?? We can't hold his physique against him!! Shaq was amazing.

And I hear Ricky Rubio is coming to the NBA! Well, it's about time. Has there ever been a more over-rated prospect that we've waited for?? Greg Oden maybe? The kid did shoot 39% and 22% in the Spanish league this season. Wow. Nice. But hey, he's only 20 or something like that so I'm sure he can lead a stocked Timberwolf team to the promised land. Count me in the non-believer camp. I'm not buying this kid.

And hey, the NBA finals are underway. They are definitely in the backseat for me as the Canucks are in the frickin' Stanley Cup finals and are ahead 1-0! Go Canucks. And Go Mavs! As I've mentioned here before, I don't want the superfriends to succeed. I want Dirk to get a ring.

And Jay Triano lost his job as coach of the Raptors. Surprising? Not really I guess. But what did he really have to work with as far as talent goes? I wonder who they'll bring in next? And will they trade Calderon? His name comes up in just about every trade rumour these days.

Another name that keeps popping up in trade rumours is Jonny Flynn. Really? Jonny Flynn? The guy who couldn't even earn playing time on the T-Wolves last season? What's the market for him? Come on man...

And the Pistons sale finally went through. Thank God. Now the coach can finally be fired and the rebuild can begin. Will Joe D survive the cuts though? I think he should be gone too. He should have moved Tayshaun and Rip last season and started the rebuild. I think his lack of vision for the squad costs him his GM job. Maybe Kevin Pritchard will land in Motown. He certainly deserves another GM job.

And Jerry West is joining the Warriors. I'd love to see them make some moves. They have such great fans. They remind me a lot of Vancouver fans in the mixture of cultures you see in the stands. And that's a loud building I'm told. The Warriors are a fun team to watch because of the fast pace they play. I wonder if they split up the small back court of Monta and Steph? I would think they could get a lot for a scorer like Monta. They need some size, some defense, and a coach that preaches defense. We'll see who they land on.

With the NBA collective agreement expiring in 28 days there is plenty of speculation that the new NBA will feature a hard cap and a lower salary cap. Wouldn't that be something to see half the NBA have to cut players or make major moves to abide by the new system? I love player movement. It makes the JBL more interesting. I just hope they get a deal done. Come on David Stern - work some magic.

Go Canucks!