With no surprise and being on the clock since winning the draft lottery, the New Orleans Hornets drafted Kentucky’s Anthony Davis. Davis was last years AP Player of the Year, leading his Kentucky Wildcats to a National Championship victory. Davis will look to help the Hornets regain some confidence after a rough 21-45 season. Although Davis is defensively NBA ready, he will need to develop his offensive game to help make a bigger impact on both ends of the court.

The second pick of the draft belonged to the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats finished the 2011-2012 season with the worst winning percentage in league history. With their pick, the Bobcats drafted another Kentucky star, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. This was the first time ever that the top two picks of the NBA draft were from the same school.

Washington was able to land Florida guard Bradley Beal with the third pick in the draft. The freshman guard has been compared to current NBA star and future Hall of Famer, Ray Allen.

Cleveland, who had their eyes on Beal, settled with Syracuse sophomore guard, Dion Waiters. This was a shock to some, considering Waiters did not start a single game for Syracuse last year, but should have an immediate impact for the Cavaliers.

Sacramento fans should be thrilled after drafting Kansas forward, Thomas Robinson. Through all the off court tragedy Robinson dealt with, he still led the nation with 27 double-doubles averaging 17.9 points per game and 11.8 rebounds.

Guard Damian Lillard from Webber State was drafted 6th by the Portland Trail Blazers. Lillard averaged 24.5 points per game, 2nd in the country. Lillard faces a tremendous amount of scrutiny based on the college competition he encountered. However, the 6’3 guard will look to make a quick impact for the Blazers.

Harrison Barnes, North Carolina forward, was drafted 7th by the Golden State Warriors. Barnes led the Tar Heels in scoring last season, averaging 17.4 points per game.

The second surprise of the draft was the Toronto Raptors’ 8th pick, Washington sophomore guard Terrence Ross. Ross, an excellent shooter, was not expected to be drafted so early; however, he can definitely make an impact on the Raptors 28th ranked offense.

Detroit decided to go big with their pick, drafting Connecticut center Andre Drummond. There is concern about Drummond’s youth, being only 18. Also, it was a bit of a surprise considering Detroit already has a young center, Greg Monroe.

The Hornets were back on the clock with the 10th  pick of the draft, and added Duke guard Austin Rivers. Rivers led Duke in scoring an average of 15.5 points per game. Rivers will likely play an important role off the bench behind current Hornet, Eric Gordon.

The Hornets can easily claim to be this year’s draft winners. Combining Anthony Davis and Austin Rivers with Eric Gordon gives the Hornets hope for a very bright future.

July 1st marks the 2nd day of excitement for organizations to make a push from being a good team to becoming an elite team with free agency.

Check out the rest of Round 1 and Round 2

Image Courtesy of  Anthony Davis

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Iona College’s stellar point guard, Scott Machado, is anxiously waiting for his name to be called Thursday at the 2012 NBA Draft. Machado is currently ranked as the 35th best player in the draft and the 5th best point guard of the draft, according to Chad Ford’s ESPN Player Evaluation

Machado received plenty of national recognition in his final season with the Gaels. He was one of the 16 finalists for the John R. Wooden Collegiate Player of the Year Award, and was one of the 11 finalists for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. In addition, his incredible court vision led him to finish the season as the nation’s assists leader, averaging 9.9 assists per game.

Machado’s 13.6 points per game, 5.0 rebounds per game, and 9.9 assists per game rightfully earned him the Pepsi Max Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year award, as well as membership of the All-MAAC First Team.

In his final season with the Gaels, he helped Iona become regular season MAAC champions, and also earned it an at large NCAA Tournament Bid. Iona’s regular season MAAC championship was the first since 2001, and this was the Gaels’ first NCAA tournament appearance since 2006.

It is clearly evident that Machado has been spending countless hours in the gym since joining the Iona Gaels, improving his shooting, passing, rebounding, and assisting throughout the years, posting career bests in each category as a senior.

He had some wonderful words of advice left behind to his teammates at Iona, “Work hard and seize opportunities given to them; to get better at every aspect of the game in any way possible and to sharpen up their everything.”

As for the tons of other mid-major players living the dream like Machado is, he stated, “At a mid major school, you have to be able to do a certain something very great and special because they think we can’t play. They feel as if our level of play isn’t very good because of the leagues we are in. You have to stand out and show that you are capable of playing at the next level in some sort of way.”

Once being drafted, it doesn’t end there for Machado. “After being drafted I want to become a somebody in the NBA, not just another player.” The Gaels, as well as the NCAA, are losing a talented player. However, the NBA is gaining an ambitious future star.

Image Courtesy of  Scott Machado

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On the verge of an NBA season to be opening on Christmas day, fans will enter a familiar place where curiosity sets in for their beloved teams and how far they can go this year. However, with the exception of the summer’s draft picks, teams have remained relatively the same since the end of last season due to the lockout prohibiting trading and free agency. Therefore, expectations should be the same.

With free agency set to begin on December 9^th, just sixteen days before the season tips off, several general managers will make significant roster moves that can have a huge impact on the playoff picture at season’s end.

The 2011 class doesn’t contain any stars the way that the 2010 list did with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, but it does possess some interesting talent that can really shake up the final standings in comparison to last year. So out of the dozens of players available which ones should fans hope that their teams go after exactly? Let’s break it down categorically beginning with restricted free agents.

Some of the top restricted free agents include names like Nuggets forward Wilson Chandler and Grizzlies center Marc Gasol. Chandler brings the ability to score from anywhere on the floor, which is why he was a major piece of the trade that sent Carmelo Anthony to New York. Meanwhile, the much improved Gasol brings incredible size with the ability to also shoot at 7’1, 265 pounds.

Other restricted free agents that will spark interest include Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo, Celtics forward Jeff Green, Heat guard Mario Chalmers, and Clippers center DeAndre Jordan for his remarkable athleticism. Although there aren’t any restricted names that jump out as great scorers, there are a few unrestricted ones that could help a team put up points down the stretch to complement their primary threats.

This includes Mavs forward Caron Butler and Magic guard Jason Richardson. Richardson has averaged 18 points per game over his career since coming into the league in 2001, while Butler has averaged 16.6 since beginning a year later in 2002. While Butler did not contribute to the Mavericks title run in 2011 due to injury, three key components on that team will also be available on the 9^th.

Guard J.J. Barea, who brings great energy and a consistent jumper, will be on the market along with teammate forward Tyson Chandler, who adds ferocious defensive intensity and strong rebounding.

Guard Peja Stojakovic, an extremely lethal shooter, helped spread the floor for the offense as well, while hitting a number of big shots throughout his career going all the way back to his early 2000’s days with the Kings.

Every team needs at least one pure three-point threat similar to Stojakovic. The Nuggets’ J.R. Smith, the Hawks’ Jamal Crawford, and the Heat’s James Jones provide excellent shooting for any team that lacks it. Jones won last year’s three point shootout and shot almost 43% from behind the arc, while Crawford and Smith can also score off the dribble as well.

But shooters and scorers won’t be enough to win championships. That can only be done by obtaining size to clog up the paint and rebound, along with lockdown defenders to shut down perimeter scorers in the big moments of a game. Players such as Boston’s Glen Davis, Denver’s Nene and Kenyon Martin, and New Orleans’ David West make the best available big men.

Memphis’ Leon Powe and Shane Battier, Phoenix’s Grant Hill, and Detroit’s Tayshaun Prince are the main desired defenders. Although there are several more players who will become free agents in a matter of days, these seem the vital pawns for a team’s playoff run, and even perhaps to win a championship.

Fans should hope that their teams can acquire any of these players, especially those that played for them last year. While there are other players who seem interesting on paper such as Mavs forward DeShawn Stevenson, Lakers guard Shannon Brown, and Wizards guard Josh Howard – their character issues make them distractions that fans should hope their teams stay far away from.

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A host of NBA stars converged upon Oklahoma City Sunday night for the US Tracking Fleet Basketball Invitational hosted by hometown hero Kevin Durant. They did not disappoint, putting on quite a show for the energetic crowd.

With a final score of 176-171, players like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Russell Westbrook and several others made sure the fans stayed entertained until the final whistle.a

Surprisingly, the high-scorer was Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley, who finished with a Maravich-esque 56 points on 25-of-35 shooting from the field. Behind him, not-so-surprisingly, was Melo, who poured in a cool 43. King James finished with 40, and Westbrook added 34, but it would be the host himself, Kevin Durant, who put on the biggest show of all.

KD finished with a triple double, putting up 42 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists, leaving the crowd enraptured throughout the scintillating performance. Other players invited to the affair included LaMarcus Aldridge, Johnny Flynn, Jamal Crawford, Jeff Green (once a Thunder player before his 2010-11 mid-season trade to Boston), Rudy Gay, Amar’e Stoudemire and John Wall.

Of course, Melo, Stoudemire, and Paul were all on the Blue Team, giving Big Apple fans a taste of what it could be like to have their own Big Three (Paul will be a free agent after the 2012-13 season). The exhibition match ran like a Golden State Warriors vs. New York Knicks game—strictly offense with a small smattering of defense sprinkled in.

Players joked and dilly-dallied around for the first three quarters, but buckled down in the closing minutes when victory and subsequent bragging rights were on the line. After being sent into overtime, it would be James and Durant that would pull the White team away for the win.

With the players exhibiting so much energy in what was a glorified All-Star game, it’s clear that they’re ready to get back to business and play NBA basketball. But if the lockout drags on, we’ll be sure to see more invitationals in the near future.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.facebook.com/nba

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After yet another futile attempt by both the owners and players unions to come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement, the remainder of the NBA Preseason has been canceled, and, barring any miraculous agreement on Monday, the first two weeks of the regular season are next in line.

Following a four-hour meeting between the players and owners on Tuesday, commissioner David Stern and deputy commissioner Adam Silver took the stand to announce the bad news to the press.

“The formal position of the parties was the players at 53 [percent], us at 47,” said commissioner Stern in a televised press conference. “We asked the question of the players, ‘would each side entertain the notion of a 50-50 deal?’… While we were in the process of doing that [discussing] with our owners, we were asked to step out and we were advised by the players that that would not be acceptable to them; that they were at a higher number.”

“Today we’ll be announcing the cancellation of the rest of the exhibition season, and by Monday, we will have no choice but to cancel the first two weeks of the season.”

For those of you who don’t know the formalities of the ongoing NBA Lockout, the owners and players are waging war over who receives more of all basketball related income, as well as other minor issues. The players, who were once at a whopping 57 percent, came down to 53 percent, but refused to split the pot in half with the owners.

“We’re continuing to be open-minded about what a final deal will look like, but today was not the day to try and continue to close that type of gap,” said Derek Fisher, the president of the NBA player’s union. “It’s just not a place we feel we can go, but that doesn’t mean we’re not willing to negotiate. We’re not saying that negotiations are over, but in the forseeable future, obviously until another meeting is possibly canceled, we’re just not sure at this point.”

With the 2011-2012 NBA season looking more indefinite than ever, players are in a frenzy to head overseas and make money while staying in shape by playing basketball for foreign teams.

“The biggest thing is that I didn’t know how the lockout was going to turn out,” said Nuggets’ Forward Wilson Chandler, who recently signed a contract to play in China. “I just wanted to play so I can get a better game shape, a better game rhythm.”

And the list goes on and on, with players like Deron Williams, J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin and Andrei Kirilenko, to name a few, heading overseas as well. There are even talks of the Black Mamba himself, Kobe Bryant, possibly entertaining a 10-game/$3 million contract from an unspecified Italian team.

The NBA is quickly losing its talent—the one thing that puts it a single notch over the increasingly convalescent international teams. With many players signing contracts without opt-out clauses, returning to the NBA won’t even be an option until they play their agreed amount of games overseas.

Commissioner Stern alluded to the fact that the owners had already lost $200 million in revenue by canceling preseason games. Unless the owners want to continue losing egregious amounts of money, an agreement in the very near future is imminent.

 
Domenic Gareri / Shutterstock.com

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The 2011 NBA regular season is in serious jeopardy of not starting on time as the lockout continues late into September. The 2011 season is scheduled to tip-off on November 1, as last season’s champions, the Dallas Mavericks, are set to host the Chicago Bulls. As the days march on, that start date looks less and less likely to be accurate.

With players and owners still in disagreement over the new collective bargaining agreement, training camps and the first week of preseason games, from October 9-15, were both cancelled Friday afternoon. Players were scheduled to report to training camp on October 3.

“We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time, and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement. “We will make further decisions as warranted.” This is unfavorable news for NBA fans, as the Summer League was already cancelled.

The Summer League serves as a venue for coaches to evaluate the talent level of rookies and young bench players. While the Summer League is not integral to having an NBA season, the combined cancellations do not provide hope for a prompt start. The only time the NBA season did not start on time due to a work stoppage was during the 1998-99 season, where the regular season was cut to 50 games.

The main issue of the 1998 lockout was that owners wanted to cut player salaries and set a salary cap because player salaries were significantly taking away from earnings. During negotiations in 1998, the problem wasn’t directly dealt with. While players’ salaries were capped between $9 million and $14 million, each party agreed to institute a soft cap.

This allowed teams to exceed the cap and pay players as much as they wanted if the teams paid a luxury tax to the NBA on the player’s salary. That decision to allow an exception is becoming a big problem 12 years later, and owners want to decrease salaries and set a hard cap.

The hard cap would prevent teams like the Los Angeles Lakers from having a $91 million payroll, when the salary cap is $57.7 million. The Lakers dish out $17 million more than the Orlando Magic, the team with the second largest payroll. Unlike smaller teams, the Lakers have a huge fan base to draw from, and can generate the revenue needed to pay the luxury tax.

There is a big push for the hard cap from smaller market teams like the Golden State Warriors, who are finding it hard to compete because they can’t pay high level talent what teams like the Lakers can pay. However, installing a hard cap would decrease every player’s salary, an issue the players are not willing to concede to at this moment.

The belief of the players is that they only earn a small piece of the money pie, and the owners want them to have an even smaller piece. It isn’t shocking to see that money is the main component for the cause of the lockout. However, owners and players need to come to an agreement soon before they lose something they both couldn’t exist without: a fan base.

 
Domenic Gareri / Shutterstock.com

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Despite criticism from much of the media about their decision, the Knicks and Donnie Walsh, for the situation they were in, completely made the right choice when they drafted Iman Shumpert from Georgia Tech, with the 17 pick in last Thursday’s (June 21) NBA Draft.

Howard Beck of the New York Times explains the situation that the Knicks were in saying, “The need now is for high-quality role players, as well as shooting, rebounding and size. But the best shooters and big men were gone by the time the Knicks picked.”

These “shooters and big men” whom Beck refers to, most certainly include, Jimmer Fredette, Klay Thomson, Bismack Biyombo and Nikola Vucevic, all of whom the Knicks were rumored to have had interest in before the draft. With these four players gone, The Knicks were left with the predicament of who to choose and they obviously thought Shumpert fit their needs better.

Knicks management, Donnie Walsh in particular, said the Knicks decided to go with the smaller Shumpert because he was thought fit the needs of the team more. In reference these comments by Walsh, Chris Sheridan of ESPN writes that, “the Knicks chose a defensive-minded guard rather than a defensive-minded forward simply because of the lack of playing time opportunities available at those positions behind Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire.”

The media has been critical of the Knicks decision and have been saying that the team should have scooped up forwards Chris Singleton or Kenneth Faried instead.  However, at the present moment these players would be excessive if added to the Knicks roster, due to the fact that the team is already stacked with players at the forward position.

Although many experts have said it was a stretch to take Shumpert with the 17th pick, he does give the Knicks added depth and multiple options being able to play both the point guard and two guard position.

Additionally to the holes Shumpert fills for the Knicks, management thinks of him highly because of the performance he displayed at pre-draft workouts. in reference to one of Shumperts workouts, Donnie Walsh said, “He shot the ball extremely well. His shot’s not broke. Some guys you see, and you can tell right away they can’t shoot and they’re going to have to learn form. He has good form, he was hitting shots, he can defend very well. Very well. And he’s got tremendously long arms, so I really liked him a lot,”

Also impressing the Knicks was Shumpert’s athleticism and physique. Jared Zwerling of ESPN refers to Shumpert as having  “freakish athleticism”. At the Chicago combine, Shumpert impressed onlookers, including the Knicks, with this “freakish athleticism” recording a 36.5-inch standing vertical leap. In terms of physique, what is unique about Shumpert, is, how tall he is for a point guard, yet still manages to play this position. Shumpert stands at 6-6 feet tall, with a wingspan of 6-10. Not many point guards have a wingspan of 7 feet!  Shumpert’s length, both in height and wingspan, are physical attributes considered to help him on the defensive end of the floor.

Shumpert is known more for his defensive prowess than his offense; however, if he can improve his offense even a modest amount Shumpert could be a sleeper pick that many teams will regret passing on. Even if Shumpert does not necessarily improve his offense, he can still contribute and be a valuable part of the Knicks roster. As New York Times writer Howard Beck explains, “Shumpert does not need the ball to be effective, making him a solid complement to the Knicks’ three stars.” Surely, he will be a formidable addition to the team as they come together to contend for a championship next year.

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With the NBA draft approaching fast, Knick fans know the sand is running out of the hourglass. Each ticking minute until the draft will give Knick fans a queasy stomach, especially, with the recent announcement of a supposed mutual ending to Donnie Walsh’s time as Knicks General manager.

The story of the Knicks since last summer, despite a vastly improved roster with superstars Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, led by veteran point guard Chauncey Billups, has been besmirched by allegations of wrong doing on the part of owner James Dolan and former Knick general manager and coach Isiah Thomas. The story started last summer when James Dolan tried to hire Thomas, his close friend, as a consultant for the Knicks, despite Walsh not being keen to the idea and despite Thomas already being basketball coach for the college Florida International University (FSU).  Many in the media saw the move, that was eventually shot down by Commissioner David Stern because of Thomas’s obvious conflict of interest if he were to become a consultant for the Knicks, as a slap in the face to Donnie Walsh.  The divide in the front office between Dolan and Walsh did not end there.

According to well-known sportswriter, Frank Isola, of the New York Daily News, in January Dolan and Walsh’s relationship deteriorated further after a “heated exchange over the telephone”. which included profanity. Isola elaborates on the telephone conversation, saying, the disagreement was due to an interview Walsh granted to another well-known sportswriter for the Daily News Mike Lupica. As Isola writes, “Dolan was upset that Walsh had granted an interview to Dolan’s arch nemesis in the media, Daily News columnist Mike Lupica. Although Lupica’s column was favorable toward Walsh and the Knicks, Dolan saw it as a sign of betrayal.”  What came next was the straw that broke the camels back: the Carmelo Anthony saga, which seemed to last for months. The saga was riddled with stories of Dolan unfairly usurping Walsh’s power in public. Because of Dolan’s promise to Walsh in 2008, this action was seen as an about-face. Dolan had previously promised that Walsh would have full authority to make all decisions related to basketball operations when he became GM in 2008.

Now we are faced with Friday’s news of Walsh’s departure. Knicks fans must have queasy stomachs at the thought of Isiah Thomas whispering in his good friend Dolan’s ear. The last thing the Knicks need right now is front office turmoil. This month’s draft is a pivotal one for the Knicks; it signifies what direction the Knicks will go in during the next basketball season and more importantly during the next off-season. The Knicks are trying to follow the successful blueprint of the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat, trying to attain three superstar players surrounded by a cast of role players.  It is no secret to any Knicks fan that both Chris Paul and Dwight Howard will be free agents next summer, therefore, the 17^th pick in the NBA draft will shed some light on which of these players the organization thinks is best suited to complete its attainment of the big three. It would behoove the Knicks to have someone as competent, smart, and as seasoned as Donnie Walsh at the Helm. Unfortunately, Friday’s news leaves Knicks management like a ship without a captain.

The NBA draft is an event that receives ample speculation and scrutiny by pundits and non-pundits alike, allowing for wide-ranging opinion and debate. For the Knicks this year the three positions that have been tossed around, as the most logical are a point guard, center or power forward.  The question is, who is making these decisions? Are they pundits or non-pundits? With the departure of Donnie Walsh the speculation is that non-pundits will make many of the Knicks’s decisions. More specifically, similar to speculation of Thomas having Dolans ear and being a primary behind the scene decision maker, speculation has recently come out about how Creative Artists Agency will have a fluid hand in many of the Knicks decisions, including, who the teams next GM will be and whether coach Mike D’Antoni will be back. Ric Bucher of ESPN.com shares this in a column he wrote Saturday saying,

“Speculation from other team general managers is that Creative Artists Agency, which represents recently acquired superstar Carmelo Anthony as well as assistant general manager Allan Houston and consultant Mark Warkentien, will exert influence not only on who the Knicks hire to replace Walsh, but also whether D’Antoni is the Knicks coach beyond next season.”

Knicks fans have to ask themselves the following questions: Who is making the decisions behind James Dolan’s Oz like curtain of deception? Will the people or person be as competent, as smart and as seasoned as Donnie Walsh? And finally will the people or person be a hindrance to making the right decision in this year’s draft?Dark days seem to loom large over Knicks fans heads. If only Donnie Walsh were still general manager, not only would we find comfort and solace today, but  our splitting headaches would go away and our nausea would subside.

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