yea, i noticed that. 30? wtfsampresti

WOO. A PLAYER I'VE HEARD OF. :/

Aarron Afflalo? Is he a SG?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Arron Afflalo Another guard

I have to say, I don't know if this makes much sense.

*Bill Walton voice* UCLA legend.

Wow another 6'4 guard

Excuse me while I puke.

i was so hapy when i heard aaran. im not confident this guy can keep up with the nba game.

i do love aaraon afflalometofreedom though.

Tayshaun must be feeling like shit right about now.

No kidding. Tay, you play 40. We need to rest the most conditioned player in the league so he only plays 25 a night.

i'd say aflalo could backup the 3 but he's 6'4", and probably too slow.

ughhh. hope joe knows what he's doing.

When's our next pick? 57?

Yeah, I'm really doubting him right now. Ah well, I'm outie.

and yes timbeau, 57.

Alright, bye guys.

if it makes you guys feel better, he's not the last guy on the hollinger ratings. he's the second to last.

I like Afflalo and I like Stuckey. What I don't like is both of them at the same time. Is this a sign RIP is on the move? Otherwise I don't get it.

Well, I supported Joe Dumars through everything over the past few years, but the disaster that ensued in this draft has caused me to rethink my position.

Stuckey was a crappy pick, I hate guards that cant shoot the ball OR play defense, and think its obvious he's not our answer at backup point guard.

And I go to UCLA, trust me: Afflalo wasnt a good pick. Up against players with NBA level athleticism (most notably Cory Brewer two straight years in the Finals and Final 4) he folded and choked.

I dont know what Joe D was thinking with these picks, picking two shooting guards, and in particular, THESE two shooting guards. My loyalty to the man is shaken in a big way.

why not take alondo tucker? atleast he could backup the 3.

speak of the devil.

I dont know what Joe D was thinking with these picks, picking two shooting guards, and in particular, THESE two shooting guards. My loyalty to the man is shaken in a big way.

welcome to the dark side. used to be you could be right by just always agree with dumars. i'd have to say since 04 its been the opposite.

Not like Stuckey or Afflalo are gonna play much anyway.

its sad. aaran aflalo was one of a handful of guys i had identified after the tournament as guys i definitly didnt want us to draft. what is joe thinking?

he reminds me of that euro guy the pacers brought in couple years ago... jaruraksl;iefsusius, i believe his name was. just too slow and too small for the nba game.

Not like Stuckey or Afflalo are gonna play much anyway.

well, i agree. but ideally they would have.

The Suns don't take a big because...?

Wow, this guy's even whiter than I am.

that cant be an nba player.

HOWEVA! I sure do love these cheese doodles.

its sad. aaran aflalo was one of a handful of guys i had identified after the tournament as guys i definitly didnt want us to draft. what is joe thinking?
Was anyone else gonna take him in the 1st round? Anyone?

Afflalo sounds like a Mike Curry to me. Hopefully I never see him play. I can live with Stuckey, but I personally would have really thought about Nick Young, since a consistent offensive presence was what we really needed off the bench. I understand that Stuckey was the right pick given that Chauncey is a FA though. I can live with that selection.

I would have really thought about Splitter as a project C.

I also think that Joe has to have something in mind at backup SF. Maybe this Grant Hill thing does have legs for him not to even be interested in Tucker or Byars.

the one thing that i'll say in aflalo's defense is that he's a little tayshaunian, in that he had a fantastic ncaa career but everyone wanted to draft joe for picking him, anyway. that said, im setting my sights low on this one.

Basically we have stuckey to show for this draft, still leaving backup SF as a huge hole, and at least a bench Center.

Big Baby.

Who?

who likes 6'4" guards? cuz we drafted 2 of them!

WOW, J-Rich to the Bobcats?

now THATS a trade that makes sense to me. what the H is screaming A talking about? j-rich is exactly what charlotte needs, not another project.

I agree a bad trade for the CATs. A UNC guy for the bobcats? Wouldn't that be a good thing again?

He's screaming HOWEVA~!!

okefor
sean may (?)
wallace
richardson
felton

with brezec, knigh, morrison, and walter herman coming off the bench isnt bad at all. with the right coach (larry brown) that team is real tough. how do you think dwyane or lebron love going up against wallace and richardson?

A lot of these picks I've been saying in my head.

I don't think they would have a problem with it since they would only be playing 30 minutes or so and would be sitting the whole fourth. I think Charlotte may have been able to do better before they had traded the pick. Not horrible trade.

Crap there goes Davis.

see, i think richardson is one of the top sg's in the league. a tier below the kobe/dwyane/lebron/pierce's of the world.

the cats were always a tough team to beat down. if they keep that tenaciousness up, but also add an established bluechipper like richardson, they should beable compete.

Wow, Mike Tirico just has to be so specific.

"His girlfriend lost control of her vehicle, it flipped about 4 or 5 times..."

Lol, my god...

I think JR's certainly good, especially being a sparty, but I gotta go with those four you mentioned, as well as TMAc. I personally think though that Ginobili, Joe Johnson, Ben Gordon, Ray Allen (at least last year), and Vince Carter are all at least comparable to him.

Wow, a Ukrainian goes in the 2nd round. I feel proud.

Stinko

I think the Warrior/Bobcat trade is a solid move for both teams.

The Warriors needed to trade big for small, they had a surplus of guards. J Rich was great, but he was a logical piece to trade given his salary. They got a solid guy at a position they really needed one.

The Bobcats look serious about making something happen this coming season. I like the lineup they have put together. The draft was weaker in terms of guards, which they needed one of, so instead of picking a guard player too high at #8, they went with a forward and made a trade happen. Good for them!

If only the Pistons had done something better.

Guy moves less than a statue. I read an article today claiming he was the slowest athlete ever to declare.

Who? Stanko?

yes

Bobcats #8 seed in the 07-08 playoffs.

i'll take the over on #8. if the east next year is anything like the east last year, assuming all their young guys take another step forward and they upgrade coaching, why cant the cats have a nice reg season?

IMO a #8 seed year is a nice regular season for the Bobcats.

yea, it'd be a good step forward.

but that team isnt all that young.

thisll be okeafor's 4th season? after he came out as a jr.

felton will be in his 3rd.

sean may and morrison were upperclassmen.

gerald wallace and knight have been around a while.

theyre not the baby cats.

Of course not, they'll be fun to watch.

They are all entering their primes. Should be a good 5 year run for them.

There's a dude in this draft named Stephane? Heh...

Nevermind, pronounced "Stephon"

http://www.100megsfree4.com/techtronpc/home_alone.jpg

^ joe's reaction when he realizes that he forgot that flip murray is on the roster and he just used 2 first round picks on 6'4" guards.

if kobe took a breathalizer right now, what would he blow? im pretty sure the lakers havent found even one marginal rotation guy next year.

Nah, he'd be making the chick giving him the test blow him.

c'mon guys, 6 picks to go. just move it along.

how can the O in JamesOn be capitalized?

You just did it, so you tell me Buff Daddy.

a better question is how can portland make 10 draft picks in 2 years?

who's left!?

You have a better chance figuring out what the meaning of life is.

ryvone covile is. he's tops left on my draft board.

What position?

we should probably address needs, though. are there any 6'4" guards left on the board?

What position?

he's a pf out of U/D mercy.

strawberry maybe?

I could live with that.

OH
MY
FUCKING
GOD

smmy meija from depaul?

Meijas: the official store of the Detroit Pistons.

Lol nevermind, his last name's Mejia.

I would love the Meijia pick...If we hadn't already fucking taken two big guards. WTF?

highlight of the night. didhe pull that jacket out of his glove compartment?

There isnt much to like about drafting 3 guards who can't shoot, except that the chances are 1 of them will pan out.

Boobie Gibson styles.

As much as I love Joe, he just cant draft worth a shit.

I was praying for a trade to shake things up a bit, as this team has gotten stale, but now we wait for the deadline.

I still cant believe Joe didnt make a trade. Has he forgotten how he built this team?

There isnt much to like about drafting 3 guards who can't shoot, except that the chances are 1 of them will pan out.

Boobie Gibson styles.


Nah, Dumars is just a boob tonight.

LOL at number 58 being there in NY.

my guess is they just pointed at random dude in the crowd and said "you".

gotta reward the fans that stay late.

Go Lions, 12-4 baby.

tyrico rolling hard with the darkness for about the 50 guys hoping to catch these last 2 spots.

"its a neat song. cuz it ends tonight for everyone who's life's dream was to make it to the nba draft".

I can see a number of players being quite pissed off they were drafted to Portland. Mainly the projects. With the influx of players drafted in the last year, there is a very small chance most will ever get to play.

They could always trade us Greg Oden.

well, thats that. looking forward to the sportsguy's collumn tomorrow. my guess is he's pretty snarly.

I hope a video of dudes harassing Stephen A appears on Deadspin!

Shakur wasn't drafted...and who is this sammy guy?

Joe is becoming a joke. He has yet to prove he can draft, he hasn't been an aggressive GM for 3 years, since the Sheed move.

I am sorry but we could have really improved through the draft but failed to move up, trade for a vet or get the best player on the board, what did Joe do to make anyone think we are better?

I am sorry but F the D Wade and Stuckey comparisons because in 03 we drafted the Next KG or Dirk and Manu and neither amounted to half of that.

We needed a back up PG and got a tweener guard. We needed a legit back up for Tay and didn't get that but could have at 15 the again at 27. I also think there was a deal that could have been made with NY to get Randolph via Portland considering the hard on Zeke has for Sheed. Even if we had to give up a first it would have been worth it.

If I were Chauncey I would take a hard look elsewhere because getting Grant Hill doesn't fix our serious lack of energy, rebounding, back up ball handling or gapping hole in the middle. I am disgusted. This was a disaster when you consider this is the end game for the number 2 overall pick 4 years ago. I just thought Joe would grow a pair and back up his "disgust" and "disdain" he had for the attitudes here that need a shake up. Well maybe the problem was solely Delfino and I am just over reacting to yet another shitty draft, time for Joe to dump his season tickets at Ford Filed and replace them with an office next to DD.

The Pistons are the only team that screwed up more than the Bucks. :yingyang:

Our chances of making a trade with GS and the Knicks are now gone.

Here we go again guys.

I'm sorry to be a party pooper pooper, but I'm very happy with our draft picks.
I'll be honest, I didn't see Stucky play any ball at all. He's got some impressive
stats and is the guy that the Pistons wanted all along. I'm fine with it.

As for Afflalo, I'm not sure how anyone can be mad at that pick! I'm ecstatic.
He's a leader, he's a great defender, he's long at the 2 and can hit shots
while under pressure. I think he's perfect for this team.

As far as I'm concerned, they're both perfect for this team in that they'll play
hard, compete and try to get PT without bitching about it. We didn't need
any front court players. I like the draft. My man from Depaul is a nobody.
I'm sure he won't crack the roster, but I'm very happy with what went down.

Let's just hope that I'm right like I was with Max. I loved the pick then and
this board was all but undergoing a meltdown when we picked him up.
Calm down suckas. Let's see what happens in free-agency before we pass
too much judgement on guys low on the totem pole. There wasn't anyone
out there that made me think, "Fuck we missed out on _______!"

I wanted Julian Wright who we were 2 picks away from and Thornton was a
pick away, but I did not want Nick Young at all. Stuckey should fit in nicely
and give us a nice spark. Afflalo is going to be a very good player.

Just chill and let's see what happens next. I'm happy right now. Smile fuckers!

[smilie=pleased.gif]

and so starts the cheick samb era?

If These guys knock flip murray off the roster. then i have no complaints. if not, joe d better have a true center ready to sign.

Mola, Happy Early B-day First, but I am sorry I disagree, I could have lived with Stuckey and the Kid from DePaul, if we got a legit player for a spot of need.

My problem is Joe gets hard ons for guys and it prevents him from seeing anything on either side of the tunnel. At 27 there was still a lot of talent on the board that would have been a better option.

All we heard is how he loved Acker, and how Acker is NBA ready and now barring a trade we don't have room for him. You can't tell me that a decent big at 27 (Big Baby, Splitter, or Fazekas)or Alanda Tucker wouldn't have been a better value. As for the Max pick three drafts ago, I am sorry but considering the need we had three drafts ago and the fact that Max didn't get us over the hump, I still think Ellis, Gomes and Lee were the better picks. Especially considering 3 draft later we still have a major hole at the back up 3. I would love to pull that thread up but it was lost.

The frustration for me is simple we had needs, and drafted three guys for 1 spot who all are very similar, which wasn't our biggest need, considering Murray, and Acker would have sufficed if we drafted for another need.

This team lacked rebounding, inside scoring, slashing and energy and outside of Stuckey I don't think the other two guys but mainly Affalo were steals. Big Baby with Stuckey would have been B+ to A draft, this feels more like an incomplete.

Here we go again guys.

I'm sorry to be a party pooper pooper, but I'm very happy with our draft picks.
I'll be honest, I didn't see Stucky play any ball at all. He's got some impressive
stats and is the guy that the Pistons wanted all along. I'm fine with it.

As for Afflalo, I'm not sure how anyone can be mad at that pick! I'm ecstatic.
He's a leader, he's a great defender, he's long at the 2 and can hit shots
while under pressure. I think he's perfect for this team.

As far as I'm concerned, they're both perfect for this team in that they'll play
hard, compete and try to get PT without bitching about it. We didn't need
any front court players. I like the draft. My man from Depaul is a nobody.
I'm sure he won't crack the roster, but I'm very happy with what went down.

Let's just hope that I'm right like I was with Max. I loved the pick then and
this board was all but undergoing a meltdown when we picked him up.
Calm down suckas. Let's see what happens in free-agency before we pass
too much judgement on guys low on the totem pole. There wasn't anyone
out there that made me think, "Fuck we missed out on _______!"

I wanted Julian Wright who we were 2 picks away from and Thornton was a
pick away, but I did not want Nick Young at all. Stuckey should fit in nicely
and give us a nice spark. Afflalo is going to be a very good player.

Just chill and let's see what happens next. I'm happy right now. Smile fuckers!

[smilie=pleased.gif]


IF aflalo is a--- not even lock down, if he's a reliable wing defender, than thats fine at 27. but if he's mateen cleeves part 2 (compounded by redundant drafting) than this was a horrible pick.

i'll reserve passing judgement on stuckey, but right now im not pleased with this draft. it bothers me, alot, that we took a redundant, questionable, aflalo at 27 when phx took alondo tucker at 28. granted its kerr running the show now, but phx's record of developing talent is >>>> ours. not only would alonda have been a better pick based on need, but he's someone we've all seen and talked about. hardly a secret. hell, i said we should have taken tucker 30 seconds before phx took him. wtf joe?!?

As for Afflalo, I'm not sure how anyone can be mad at that pick! I'm ecstatic.
He's a leader, he's a great defender, he's long at the 2 and can hit shots
while under pressure. I think he's perfect for this team.
They spent the entire time talking about him, saying how he cant create his own shot, and doesnt extend to the 3pt line.

We already have Rip who can do this pretty god dam well.

Then we go ahead and get Stuckey and the other guy (whose name we all need to learn now -.- ) who are two other players, who apparently can't shoot that well.

Our coach is Flip Saunders, dont forget. These guys will get turned into spot up shooters, the bet on that one has got to be even money.


EDIT* Just found out the guys name is Mejia... I thought it was way harder to remember how to spell...

At 27, we could have taken Gray,Tucker, I forgot his name#30 pick, or fuck even Ramon Sessions. Another 2 guard was not the answer to our needs.

Does anyone know the point of the Miami/Philly trade?

Does anyone know the point of the Miami/Philly trade?

apparently a 2020 second rounder was the point, stupid fucking trade not worth the extra pick or the paperwork it took to complete the trade.

Did you see the look on Stern's face announcing the deal? He looked bewildered, then confused, followed by comically annoyed that he had to waste his breath on such a pointless trade.

Haha thats right, I remember that face now! As soon as I heard about it, I had no idea... but when he read it out, he looked like he was about to start laughing!

Both teams could have picked the same players without changing their draft position...


Maybe Miami wasn't ready to pick yet, so they traded with Philly so they would have more time to made a decision! I like that theory...

Arron Afflalo is the next Richard Hamilton.

Arron Afflalo is the next Richard Hamilton.
Our actions at #15 and #27 only make sense if we trade the current Richard Hamilton (and waste Alex Acker).

Stuckey at #15, I dont' mind. The rest might be good enough players, but do they actually do what we want them to do. Would Chauncey Billups be happy with these trades? Why didn't we draft, say, Derrick Byars at #27 and Kyle Visser at #57? That kind of draft would've made me far, far happier.

Our actions at #15 and #27 only make sense if we trade the current Richard Hamilton (and waste Alex Acker).

Stuckey at #15, I dont' mind. The rest might be good enough players, but do they actually do what we want them to do. Would Chauncey Billups be happy with these trades? Why didn't we draft, say, Derrick Byars at #27 and Kyle Visser at #57? That kind of draft would've made me far, far happier.

I was about to make the same post, now I don't have to.

I think we can agree that the primary needs going into this were (in no particular order):

-A backup PG
-A backup SF
-A young center

We got three SGs.

What's wrong with this picture?

I'm not happy at all.

At least if we had drafted a young, athletic project (Nick Young, Crittenton, etc.) , there would have been some excitement today. There is not excitement.

Hell, I would have taken Tiago Splitter at #27 over Afflalo.

They spent the entire time talking about him, saying how he cant create his own shot, and doesnt extend to the 3pt line.

We already have Rip who can do this pretty god dam well.
Which means absolutely nothing. The so-called experts aren't any more qualified to make
judgments on players based on what they've seen from him in college than you and I.
I watched enough UCLA games (that's my 2nd fav college team - MOtown - Los Angeles)
to tell you that Afflalo is a very good defender, a good shooter that can create
his own shot as well as drive to the basket. Does that translate to the NBA? Who knows.

Those fucking talking heads don't know shit, especially Mark Jackson's dumb ass.

Fuck rolling with "they said __________ can't shoot!" fuck they.
I saw a bunch of Afflalo the last 2 years and I liked what I saw.
I actually ran through my house cheering during that pick.

We got a future star at 27.

what pisses me off is the criticisms of the cat trade.

on aol.com, dude is criticizing it because now maybe cats dont sign gerald wallace and this trade doesnt make them championship contenders.

what? they can, and probably will, keep wallace. why wouldnt they? if anyone is to go, its morrison, not wallace. and since when are all trades bad that dont immidiatly win you a championship. cats upgraded their talent in a big way and avoided yet another project. how's marvin williams doing in atl, what 3 years later? i'd do jordan's trade 10 / 10 times.

Which means absolutely nothing. The so-called experts aren't any more qualified to make
judgments on players based on what they've seen from him in college than you and I.
I watched enough UCLA games (that's my 2nd fav college team - MOtown - Los Angeles)
to tell you that Afflalo is a very good defender, a good shooter that can create
his own shot as well as drive to the basket. Does that translate to the NBA? Who knows.

Those fucking talking heads don't know shit, especially Mark Jackson's dumb ass.

Fuck rolling with "they said __________ can't shoot!" fuck they.
I saw a bunch of Afflalo the last 2 years and I liked what I saw.
I actually ran through my house cheering during that pick.

We got a future star at 27.[/FONT]
I hope you are right :P I never get to see any college ball, so I can only go from what I have heard. And I am yet to hear anything good about this guy... but please, enlighten me!

I need something to cheer me up, I feel like I just lost a dam testicle.
I wait all year for Bill Simmons' draft diary, and when it finally comes, I didn't laugh once...
Such a fucking downer!


what pisses me off is the criticisms of the cat trade.

on aol.com, dude is criticizing it because now maybe cats dont sign gerald wallace and this trade doesnt make them championship contenders.

what? they can, and probably will, keep wallace. why wouldnt they? if anyone is to go, its morrison, not wallace. and since when are all trades bad that dont immidiatly win you a championship. cats upgraded their talent in a big way and avoided yet another project. how's marvin williams doing in atl, what 3 years later? i'd do jordan's trade 10 / 10 times.
Exactly. What did Charlotte need? A scorer.

What did they get? A fucking great scorer.

So long as Richardson can stay healthy, he is one of the top few SGs in the league. (Though that is a big 'so long as')

Okay, I know that the Sonics got younger and added a lot of talent, but this roster is now so unbalanced it's not even funny.

They are now claiming that since they moved Ray Allen that they want to re-sign Rashard Lewis. That's okay...in a vacuum.

How many swingmen do you need?

Rashard Lewis
Kevin Durant
Jeff Green
Mickael Gelabale
Carl Landry
Wally Szczerbiak
Damien Wilkins

What kind of style are they going to play with that? Well, to know that, you'd have to know who their coach is, which we don't. Too bad Nellie is already at GSW.

If Joe is looking for a backup SF (who knows, maybe he wants some more SGs instead?) Seattle might be a place to look.

I listened to Joe's interviews on Mlive and he said he was looking at a 2nd guard the whole time at #27.

Basically he felt we lost the last few years in the playoffs because of poor bench guard play. Nobody could make a play. He felt that the big men off the bench didn't cost them any games.

I agree, but you also don't have a backup to Tay. Why afflalo when you could get a wing that can backup the 3 as well. Joe claims he can. We shall see.

Both Nick Young and Rodney Stuckey were available. Joe Dumars and his staff had gone round and round all week about which player they would take if both were there.

In the end, the Pistons chose the tougher, harder-edged more versatile player over perhaps the more polished player. They chose Stuckey, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound scoring guard from Eastern Washington.

"We had Rodney rated pretty high the whole time," Dumars said. "It really wasn't a hard decision. With his versatility, his talent, his athleticism and the fact that he can play both (guard) positions, it made it an easy choice to take him."

With the 27th pick, Dumars continued to stockpile perimeter players, selecting Arron Afflalo, a 6-5 shooting guard from UCLA.

"He's a tough guy, a fighter, a guy who competes and is a winner. That's what appealed to me," Dumars said of Afflalo. "This is a guy who can defend all three perimeter positions and he's a flat-out tough guy. And he can score. He's been on that big ."

The Pistons now have Billups, Richard Hamilton, Flip Murray, Will Blalock, potentially Alex Acker and these two draft picks at the two guard positions. Dumars indicated a couple of those players probably would be dealt before training camp, but it was his aim to bolster the backcourt.

And knowing that Acker is most likely coming back also pissed me off while we continued to draft SGs last night.

Acker won't be on this roster come the regular season. Book it. He'll be back this summer, but I think that is to push the rookies and to measure them against someone that Joe has been watching against NBA players. He can see how his draft picks compare to Acker at this point.

I don't think Acker has a future in the NBA, and I never did.

I'm actually ok with the draft but only because the pistons really did need guys that could come off the bench and score from the perimeter positions, preferably guys that could play either the 1 or 2.

For the past 3-4 years this team hasn't had anyone capable of accomplishing such a thing. Not one. Mo Evans? Arroyo? Delfino? Flip Murray? Hunter?

Tony Delk was by far the best perimeter scorer the pistons had on the bench which is very, very sad.

Dumars is right. They needed guards. Guards that could score. This has been the achilles heel of this team.

Now all of a sudden you have a couple guys that can step in and play in their first season in the NBA and actually contribute.

As for the talent level of these players that can and should be debated. I'm not ecstatic about either player. I think Nick Young was by far the better player in comparison to Stuckey and I believe Young was #1 on their draft board....but I see why they picked Stuckey.

Stuckey is a guy that can handle the ball and play the point if need be and play along side a shooting guard. He's also versatile enough to leave out on the floor with a point guard.

Young is only a 2. He's going to be a really good one, but only a 2. As a result they liked stuckey's versatility over Young's star potential. I also think Dumars felt they'd be able to get a legit 2-guard with the 27th pick and he was right.

BUT, I also think Dumars was really hoping Morris Almond would fall to him at #27 which in retrospect would never happen...Utah had too big of a need, Almond was way too good to pass on...and Utah never drafts poorly. Ever. It's too bad because Almond is going to be outstanding for Utah.

So, Afflalo was the pick. This kid isn't spectacular but he's very solid. I actually think he'll be a better player in the NBA than Stuckey (I'm hoping Stuckey is more World B. Free than Flip Murray/Dejuan Wagner but I'm definitely leaning towards the latter. He can't shoot well enough or jump high enough to be a consistent threat but I hope I'm wrong).

I love that Afflalo can hit a jump shot, doesn't need the ball in his hands to succeed, shoots a nice percentage, has a legit-NBA body which means he should be ready to play and contribute day 1 and, most importantly, he was the best player on a team that made the final 4 two years in a row. He's a winner.

What's not to like about that? Plus I dare anyone to find another player drafted after him that is more NBA ready than this kid?

There isn't one.

Now this leaves the team the option of finding a legit 3 via their mid-level or through a trade. This will happen.

I also didn't think Joe D. would even consider drafting big. He wants to ensure that Maxiell and Johnson aren't in further competition for PT from our already rotationally challenged leader in Flip Saunders. He wants those kids to play. And now they will. Guaranteed.

Vecsey on Zach Randolph trade


Still, as usual, Thomas was incapable of making a trade without further capsizing the payroll. The Disenfranchised One will pocket $16.44 million next season and $17.8 million in '08-'09, while incoming Blazers, Fred Jones ($3.3 million) and Dan Dickau ($2.9 million) add an extra $3 million onto New York's 2007-08, ahem, budget.

This is where I'm stumped. Should Randolph actually stay put, and ultimately doesn't work out for whatever reason (we haven't even discussed his off-the-court curriculum tribulations), how does Thomas plan to blame Larry Brown?


Okay, I pretty much posted this because the last line made me laugh.

I didn't think Acker would shine on a top-flight Euroleague team and he did.
We were playing him out of position when he was here and it clearly threw his game off.

BTW, I can't stand Joakim Noah.

No, it's not the clown suit and floppy tie. No, it's not the hair (good luck wearing it that way with no headband in Chicago, pal.)

I heard three interviews with him yesterday and he came across as an asshole each time.

Will Purdue was interviewing him on ESPN Radio after he was picked and compared him to Ben Wallace (he was implying that he plays with hustle and rebounds, as he later clarified). When he said that, instead of taking that as a compliment, Noah jumped all over him, "What!? Nobody has EVER compared me to Ben Wallace, I totally disagree. Totally!"

Somebody a little insecure about their offensive shortcomings there, bud?

Not an original observation by any means, you've probably all read it 10 times already since it's all over the place, but the Ray Allen trade last night puts him on the same team as Allan Ray.

So this is quite funny:

The draft was on ESPN again so I started watching it just to see some clips of Stucky (I wasn't able to watch last night) and ESPN literally skipped the Pistons pick with commercials and went right to the New Jersey pick (and the Knicks trade) from the Clippers. They didn't even mention Detroit.

Please tell me that's not how it happened last night.

they did everything they could to ignore the pistons, but they did infact televise the picks.