NBA Roundtable Discussion

[Brett Favre]

One of their assistants Scott Brooks is the leading candidate.

[Ripper]

Eventually I will have been watching basketball so long that I will remember every coach in the league when they were rookies.

 

Scott Brooks as a coach....sigh

 

Ripper - feeling old even though he really isn't

[alfdogg]

Unpinned, since the (regular) season is over.

 

We'll go ahead and use this as our offseason thread, too. I'll get a list of free agents eventually.

[alfdogg]

Now that the regular season is over, can we officially call this the most miserable season of the past twenty years? I know it was a cheesy article, but Bill Simmons may have had a point that the fans deserve to be MVP this year after putting up with six months of total crap. I'm hoping that the playoffs can save the day like last year because I can't think of another time when my interest in the NBA has been lower.

btw, if you guys read Simmons' article on the '85 draft lottery, "Justin from Indy" is not me.

[alfdogg]

OK, draft stuff. Tiebreakers were done today, and here are the lottery teams, in order by chances out of 1000, and also the mock draft pick from Chad Ford.

 

1. Memphis (250) - Greg Oden, C/7-0/245/19/Ohio State

2. Boston (199) - Kevin Durant, SF/6-10/190/18/Texas

3. Milwaukee (156) - Al Horford, PF/6-9/235/20/Florida

4. Phoenix (from Atlanta, top 3 protected) (119) - Joakim Noah, PF/6-11/230/22/Florida

5. Seattle (88) - Yi Jianlian, PF/7-0/230/19/China

6. Portland (53) - Julian Wright, SF/6-9/220/19/Kansas

7. Minnesota (53) - Brandan Wright, PF/6-10/210/19/North Carolina

8. Charlotte (19) - Corey Brewer, SF/6-8/185/21/Florida

9. Chicago (from New York) (19) - Spencer Hawes, C/7-0/230/18/Washington

10. Sacramento (18) - Roy Hibbert, C/7-2/265/20/Georgetown

11. Atlanta (from Indiana, top 10 protected) (8) - Mike Conley, PG/6-0/170/19/Ohio State

12. Philadelphia (7) - Acie Law, PG/6-3/185/22/Texas A&M

13. New Orleans (6) - Jeff Green, SF/6-8/225/20/Georgetown

14. LA Clippers (5) - Chase Budinger, SG/6-7/190/19/Arizona

 

Couple questions, first, for Boston fans (and for any team in the lottery, I guess, though the Celtics have been the most discussed) - now that they've both declared, do you pick Oden or Durant? I think Jefferson's development has really made the choice interesting.

 

Also, this one's for Ripper...what do you think the Suns should do, should they end up with the Hawks' pick?

[Ripper]

I hope they don't get the pick honestly because they aren't going to draft anyone that will crack D'antoni's insanely short playing rotation. If they get the pick, I would hope they trade up and get Conley. I am still a little bitter about them giving Deng to the Bulls, so I don't count on the Suns ever keeping picks now.

 

But with the Hawks plummet at the end of the year, I am hoping for a top 3 pick. But Atlantas best pickup would be either Hibbert or Conley. So of course Knight would pick Julian Wright.

[Guest]

Oh boy, there's some players that aren't projected to go in the lottery spots that I'd love to have.

 

I think we're going to have a good enough pick to get one too!

[Guest Richard McBeef]

I'm so pissed that Milwaukee has such a high chance and the Bulls don't. Nobody cares about the Bucks. Everyone should have a 1 in 14 chance. That's the whole idea: tanking games won't get you anywhere.

 

I was watching a video of the '85 lottery. I saw that dog-eared envelope, Sternie, you sneaky little shit.

[Guest]

I forgot to mention that Seattle's going to get that pick, just so that the city stays as a part of the league.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

Ooh, good point. I think it's important to maintain the Seattle Supersonics. Their history is too strong to just go away. (I said the same thing about the Penguins.) Besides, moving them to Oklahoma City wouldn't be fair to the people there, who have already done way more to support the Hornets in two years than New Orleans did. That's their team now, and I hope they exercise the option for a third year once Stern & Co. realize that New Orleans is still a toxic dump that can't sustain a 41-game NBA schedule for a team that has no connection to the city. I think they've built up enough public relations capital that they can explain the departure and get off relatively scot-free.

[Failed Bridge]

OK, draft stuff. Tiebreakers were done today, and here are the lottery teams, in order by chances out of 1000, and also the mock draft pick from Chad Ford.

 

1. Memphis (250) - Greg Oden, C/7-0/245/19/Ohio State

2. Boston (199) - Kevin Durant, SF/6-10/190/18/Texas

3. Milwaukee (156) - Al Horford, PF/6-9/235/20/Florida

4. Phoenix (from Atlanta, top 3 protected) (119) - Joakim Noah, PF/6-11/230/22/Florida

5. Seattle (88) - Yi Jianlian, PF/7-0/230/19/China

6. Portland (53) - Julian Wright, SF/6-9/220/19/Kansas

7. Minnesota (53) - Brandan Wright, PF/6-10/210/19/North Carolina

8. Charlotte (19) - Corey Brewer, SF/6-8/185/21/Florida

9. Chicago (from New York) (19) - Spencer Hawes, C/7-0/230/18/Washington

10. Sacramento (18) - Roy Hibbert, C/7-2/265/20/Georgetown

11. Atlanta (from Indiana, top 10 protected) (8) - Mike Conley, PG/6-0/170/19/Ohio State

12. Philadelphia (7) - Acie Law, PG/6-3/185/22/Texas A&M

13. New Orleans (6) - Jeff Green, SF/6-8/225/20/Georgetown

14. LA Clippers (5) - Chase Budinger, SG/6-7/190/19/Arizona

 

Couple questions, first, for Boston fans (and for any team in the lottery, I guess, though the Celtics have been the most discussed) - now that they've both declared, do you pick Oden or Durant? I think Jefferson's development has really made the choice interesting.

Definately Oden. Let Oden take over as the starter and put Kendrik Perkins on the bench. A starting rotation of

 

G - Rondo

G - Pierce

F - Wally

F - Big Al

C - Oden

 

will at least get you to the playoffs. The bench would be pretty damn good too since they'd have Green, West, Perk, Powe, Scal, and one more guard on there. I don't believe that one other guard to be Telfair as he did shit this year and now he's in trouble with the law. They need to find a way to somehow trade him to the Cinci Bengals.

[bobobrazil1984]

Man if only Conley or Acie Law would slip juuust a few spots to the Orlando-to-Pistons draft pick.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

Definately Oden. Let Oden take over as the starter and put Kendrik Perkins on the bench. A starting rotation of

 

G - Rondo

I had a great idea for a movie about a fry cook who tries out for the Celtics but then he does blow and dies. It's called Len Fry-as.

[Brett Favre]

Man if only Conley or Acie Law would slip juuust a few spots to the Orlando-to-Pistons draft pick.

 

I think Acie Law will.

[Brett Favre]

 

Whatta!

[Guest Vitamin X]

Two draft rumors I've heard are that if the Blazers don't end up with a top 3 pick and have a chance at an Oden or Durant, they'll trade out of that spot, for a veteran player.

 

And Mitch Kupchak tipped his hand the other day and said that the Lakers "don't really need any more young players", so it looks like they'll be looking to trade for a veteran as well.

[Failed Bridge]

Definately Oden. Let Oden take over as the starter and put Kendrik Perkins on the bench. A starting rotation of

 

G - Rondo

I had a great idea for a movie about a fry cook who tries out for the Celtics but then he does blow and dies. It's called Len Fry-as.

Emeril Lagasse isn't walking through those doors. Gordon Ramsay isn't walking through those doors. Yutaka Ishinabe isn't walking through those doors!

[Rendclaw]

Nice obscure Iron Chef reference.

[LivingLegendGaryColeman]

As a Celtics fan, I say they have to take Oden. What he can bring and his position will be needed more in Boston. If they get Durant, they are going to have to make some roster moves. Durant would need to take as many touches as Pierce, so Pierce would most likely be traded, but at the same time, Big Al is their power forward. Even thought Durant is better, they need Oden's size and skillset more.

[alfdogg]

Barbosa wins the Sixth Man award, and Sam Mitchell is expected to be announced as Coach of the Year tommorrow.

[Guest Richard McBeef]

Coach of the Year is pretty much just Coach Of An Overachieving Team Of The Year, right? It's never the consistently good coaches that win it. This goes for all of the Big Four.

[alfdogg]

Celtics move toward severing ties with Telfair

 

 

Less than a week after Sebastian Telfair was arrested on a gun possession charge, the Boston Celtics have taken what appears to be a first step toward severing ties with the guard after one season.

 

"I wanted to let you know that we have removed Sebastian's nameplate from his locker in Waltham. The facts and circumstances of his case have not been determined but he does not have a Celtics locker and we do not anticipate that he will," Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck wrote in an e-mail to The Boston Globe on Tuesday.

 

Telfair was arrested on a gun possession charge after the car in which he was driving was stopped for going 77 mph in Yonkers, N.Y., early Friday. The 21-year-old Brooklyn native was charged with second-degree possession of a handgun and driving with a suspended license following the 3:53 a.m. stop on the Yonkers highway, Westchester County police said.

 

Telfair's attorney, Ed Hayes, told The Associated Press the Celtics are rushing to judgment.

 

"It always bothers me when you punish a guy so severely before there's been a finding of fact. I think that's wrong whether it happens in Durham (N.C) or in Boston," Hayes said, referring to the Duke lacrosse rape case.

 

Hayes said Telfair supports 17 relatives on his NBA salary since being drafted out of high school in Brooklyn.

 

"He's come so far and done so well, I don't think you have to throw him overboard," Hayes said.

 

According to Westchester police, Telfair was driving his 2006 Range Rover on northbound Bronx River Parkway when it was clocked speeding in a 45-mph zone.

 

A passenger, Al Eden Fuentes of Queens, was in the car with Telfair when it was stopped on the parkway, about five miles north of Manhattan. Telfair produced a Florida driver's license that had been suspended.

 

After stopping the Range Rover, the officer found a loaded .45-caliber handgun sticking out from under the front passenger seat, according to the Westchester County spokesman.

 

Telfair and Fuentes, 28, said they knew nothing about the gun, Westchester County police spokesman Kieran O'Leary said. Police were still investigating whether the gun was registered.

 

Police charged Telfair with a misdemeanor count of second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and issued summonses charging him with speeding and driving without a license, both violations.

 

Telfair pleaded not guilty Friday at Yonkers City Court to the charges and bail was set at $7,500. He and Fuentes were due back in court May 17.

 

"The players on the Celtics have been explicitly warned, this year, to obey the team and league gun prohibition as well as state laws. We take this very seriously and will act accordingly once the facts have been determined," Grousbeck said Friday.

 

Telfair's brief NBA career has been marred by controversy, starting with his 2005 fine by the Portland Trail Blazers after a loaded gun was found on the team's private jet at Boston's Logan Airport.

 

The handgun was found in a pillowcase belonging to Telfair as the team plane was being prepared for a flight from Boston to Toronto. Telfair explained to local authorities that the gun belonged to his girlfriend and that he had inadvertently grabbed the wrong bag when leaving for the team's road trip.

 

In October 2006, Telfair reported a $50,000 chain was snatched off his neck at a Manhattan night club. He was unable to identify the men who stole the chain.

 

The 6-foot Telfair, a former New York schoolboy hoops legend, averaged 6.1 points and 2.8 assists a game this season for the Celtics.

[alfdogg]

Rick Sund and Bob Hill are both out in Seattle. No article yet on the official firings, but rumor is that the Sonics will make a run at Rick Adelman.

[Ripper]

If I had a uptempo team, I would have no problem picking up Telfair. Like, if Toronto can't hold on to Jose Calderon, I would grab him.

[Failed Bridge]

Telfair can't stay out of trouble and can't play defense. While he's not going to Pacman Jones or Stephen Jackson levels it seems he's always in the wrong place at the wrong time getting himself into situations that can be avoided.

 

I also didn't like how the article pointed out how he's supporting 17 family members or whatever. As if its out their to gain sympothy for him and say "See? He really is a good guy! Just ignore the multiple incidents with guns and stupid shit!". Telfair can't blame anybody but himself and if he really wanted to be resposable for those family members then he would have acted smarter.

[LivingLegendGaryColeman]

I met Telfair after a game once and he seemed real cool, real genuine. So it's sad for me to see him keep getting into stuff like this, he does not come across as a troublemaker at all.

 

I think he needs to get out of Boston though. He won't be able to work with Doc's coaching. Telfair looked great in the summer league this past year, and not just because of the competition, but because he was given freedom to run the court. I think he suffers the same fate Banks had in Boston. Those are two players who can be explosive given the right controls and systems.

 

Banks is another story though. I thought he would be monster as Nash's backup, but D'Antoni's 7-man rotation barely lets him in and when he does get in, he is too tentative and nervous to function.

[Ripper]

The thing with Telfair, he got held up at a resturant last year, I am not shocked that he has a loaded gun with him. Just stupid if he didn't have a registered one.

 

I don't understand why people say him getting robbed last year was another him getting in trouble either. You have that boneheaded move in portland and now this, but seriously, i haven't seen anything bad from the kid...outside of his defense.

[Failed Bridge]

funny thing about that boneheaded move while he was with Portland is that it occurred at Logan Airport in Boston.

 

He's not at fault for getting robbed but as I said he does have a knack of repeatedly being in the wrong place at the wrong time along with doing stupid things. The gun is also not registered in his name since he's telling people that he didn't know it was there.

 

I also find it absurd that Telfair's lawyer is compairing his client to the Duke lacrosse kids.

[Ripper]

I also find it absurd that Telfair's lawyer is compairing his client to the Duke lacrosse kids.

 

 

Yeah, that screamed "My client is guilty as fuck".

[starvenger]

Coach of the Year is pretty much just Coach Of An Overachieving Team Of The Year, right? It's never the consistently good coaches that win it. This goes for all of the Big Four.

Pretty much. Mitchell was named in a players poll as Worst Coach in the NBA last year. Now he's the best coach?

 

The thing about Mitchell is that he knows that all (well, most) of the credit for winning the award goes to his players, and he made that clear in his interview and in the post-presentation photo by having the whole team in the picture. Classy move on his part.