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BasslineSpin.com February
19, 2010 …Chicago looks to be positioning themselves for a
run at Dwayne Wade in the
Summer. Wade is from the Windy City. The Bulls traded Tyrus Thomas to Charlotte. Thomas admittedly has
not lived up to what we thought he would be. However - the former LSU star
has shown a recent improvement in his mid range jump shot and he has not lost
anything athletically since he was drafted in 2006 with the fourth pick. I like this move a lot for the Bobcats.
They gave up a future first round pick along with Flip Murray and Acie Law - two inefficient guards. Chicago also sent John Salmons, two second round picks, and a
protected first round pick-swap this year, to Milwaukee for Hakim Warrick and Joe Alexander. Warrick and Alexander are in the
final year of their contracts. ...Theo Ratliff was
dealt from San Antonio to Charlotte. Ratliff, when healthy, is still an
effective defender but with DaJuan Blair playing
so well for the Spurs - Ratliff was not seeing much floor time. ...Even with
the knowledge that Jared Jeffries leads
the NBA in charges taken - I fail to see why anyone would want him on their
team. He ranked 66th out of 68 Power Forwards that had played over 300
minutes at the midpoint of the NBA season. The Rockets took on Jeffries in
the three-way deal between Sacramento, New York and Houston. The Knicks now
have only four players under contract through next season (Danilo Gallinari, Toney Douglas, Wilson Chandler, and Eddy Curry). Rookie Jordan Hill who was taken with the eighth pick in
the 2009 NBA Draft was shipped from NY to Houston. I’m not sold on Hill yet
and I wonder with Jeffries and Hill in place Houston if that won’t open up
minutes for Mike Harris who
should be an NBA minutes playing forward. ...Antawn Jamison to the Cavs for a first round pick
and Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a
good deal for Cleveland. I’ve always been a fan of Jamison’s game and
demeanor. I trust him. Not that I don’t feel the same about “Z” but Jamison
is the better player right now. ...The Clippers waived Ricky Davis the other day. Davis’ NBA season
midpoint EFR of .308 was 58th at Shooting Guard. ...Sebastian Telfair was shipped from the Clippers to the
Cavs. I also like that deal for Cleveland as Telfair is more efficient than
the “shoot only” Daniel Gibson. It
is a small gain for the Cavs - but a gain nonetheless. Drew Gooden landed in Clipper-land. I still like
Gooden’s efficiency (.567—17th at PF) but I do wonder about his desire
relative to the guys that really bring it every night. ...The Wizards landed Al Thornton in the three-way with the Cavs and
Clippers. Thornton is capable of big moments but his consistency was lacking
in L.A. However, Thornton CAN defend and with some better coaching about shot
selection (which he will get from Flip Saunders) this
could turn out to be a nice grab for Washington D.C. ...Darko Milicic is on
the move again. The number two pick in the 2003 NBA Draft was traded to
Minnesota for Brian Cardinal.
Milicic was drafted before Carmelo Anthony,
Wade, and Chris Bosh.
Yikes! The Knicks waived Cardinal. ...Ronnie Brewer being dealt away from Utah to Memphis
surprised me. Brewer is solid and although his EFR is down this season - he
still ranks 28th at his position - which means he should be a starter in the
NBA. The Grizz made out on this deal in my eyes. They gave up a future first
round pick to get an unselfish player in his prime. Brewer can “D-up” and he
is a team-first guy with a nearly three-to-one assist-to-turnover ratio. His
downside is that his ‘perimeter makes’ have not improved since he came into
the Association in 2006. ... The Marcus Camby to
Portland deal is huge for the Blazers. I don’t think Camby is appreciated
enough. He has a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. He rebounds, he scores (a
little), and he is a premier help defender. I like Travis Outlaw - who the Clippers get back - but I
would never trade for a guy with a hurt foot. That is the injury that has
Outlaw out of action until mid-March. You all know I am not a fan of Steve Blake’s game relative to the NBA. February
18, 2010 ...Trade deadline day in the NBA brought a
significant move for the Kings. Kevin Martin is out
- along with Sergio Rodriguez, Hilton Armstrong, and Kenny Thomas. In are Carl Landry, Joey Dorsey, Larry Hughes, and Dominic McGuire. ...While I do think Martin is a quality player at his position
- the same can be said for Landry. The intangibles however show a larger
benefit for the Kings. As good as Martin is - he has never been the kind of player
to consistently impose his will on a game. He has his moments and he scores
efficiently but Landry does too. It is my belief that Landry is a tougher
player. By pure efficiency by position - Martin ranks 12th in the NBA at SG.
Landry, similarly, is rated 14th at his position, PF. While I also believe in
Sergio Rodriguez—the Point Guard that will head to New York - I believe
equally in Joey Dorsey who can be much more than just the perceived “throw
in”. Dorsey was our MVP of the Las Vegas Summer league. I call him “the closest thing to Ben Wallace since Ben Wallace”. Dorsey blocks
shots and rebounds like a demon—and like Ben Wallace—he struggles at the free
throw line. If you combine Dorsey’s 500+ minutes of D-League play this season
with his limited career NBA numbers—his efficiency rating is .696. That
number would rank fourth in the NBA at Center. If he can come anywhere close
to that—and if Paul Westphal plays him - Dorsey can be the piece
that tips the trade heavily in favor of Sacramento. |