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The 2008 NBA Draft

July 1st 2008 03:49

I’d like to post about the previously finished NBA Draft. A lot of trades were completed/proposed making this years draft exciting and noteworthy. In this first post I will be going through the top five picks and thereafter with updates and all you need to know up to the minute stats and transactions.

Let’s get this post draft analysis going with the first overall pick for the Chicago Bulls DERRICK ROSE. Rose out of Memphis has a solid NBA body and can take the punishment as a player in the paint. He will mold himself into whatever type of player his team needs him to be as evident by the video below. He is one of the most ready-type players to enter the league. A truly solid addition to any team, kind of makes me think of the miss of Jay Williams. In which whom the Bulls took as the savior type PG years ago before he had his motorcycle accident stifling his promising career. With this pick Chicago puts themselves back into contention for a playoff spot in the East.

This video shows how Rose can affect the game as he will become a solid NBA-PG.

# 2

Undoubtedly the Miami Heat selected MICHAEL BEASLEY out of Kansas State. This PF needs no introduction to basketball fans as his huge wingspan makes up for any negativity about his height at the four spot. One of the perfect teams for Beasley to go to, I think his character issues would only become apparent if he were to have to battle with a solid proven veteran for his starting spot. He will be going in battling Udonis Haslem who has seen his stock drop as he needs to create more of his own offence. The heat I am sure are not finished in tweaking their team for the 08/09 season. Marion though will alleviate any concerns of the rookie being overmatched down-low as he is almost like an extra PF out there sometimes with his rebounding efforts and hustle in trying to make the right plays.

# 3

Minnesota at the third spot went with OJ MAYO, who I have seen and been hearing about for a good number of years. Mayo will be a solid two as at 6’4” 200lbs he is limited in selected positions, but this guy is just a born scorer and if he ends up in Grizz-town, look for him to team up with Rudy Gay as Mike Miller was moved with Memphis making the choice to let him go after he admittedly carried the Grizzlies last season at times. In return Minnesota looks to get #5 Kevin Love. I am in love with this deal as the T-Wolves send Antoine Walker also to MEM. Minnesota gets the scoring they desperately need and character guys, to build around. I know what fans may be thinking and no this isn’t the second coming of Wally World, Mike Miller is a gamer playing all three spots from 1-3 for the Grizz and did whatever was asked, as he became a versatile and proven scorer, unlike streaky Szczerbiak.

# 4

Russell Westbrook a surprise at number four as the top three had virtually been decided weeks beforehand. Westbrook though an unexpected pick is an explosive guard that will do well in this league especially when Seattle gets all the parts and can continuously run up and down with Durant and Green. The Sonics clearly want a guard that can break down the D and get up and down the court at breakneck speeds. They have found that guy with Westbrook. People want to compare him to NBA champion Rajon Rondo and maybe Monta Ellis, he is long and skinny and extremely athletic, time will tell if he can make the right passes for a long career with Durant by his side.

# 5

Care of NBADraft.net

Memphis picks Kevin Love at the number five spot and in turn will be sending him to Minnesota in the deal outlined in the third pick paragraph. Love is solid, not an athlete like the Grizz love at the four spot, but the T-Wolves just need ballers in which Kevin is for sure. Down-low he will be helped by Al Jefferson for sure on defense. Also he will have a great passer in Mike Miller to get the ball to him in good spots. I like Kevin Love on a solid team a rebuilding team he may flourish or sink as he’ll need to create his own offence and may struggle with the speed of the NBA at first.

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Jason Kidd and LeBron James Together in Cleveland?

December 6th 2007 12:56

The New York Knicks beat a Jason Kidd-less, New Jersey Nets outfit today, which is the first of many surprises. Of course the New York Knicks winning an actual contest is always major news, but the biggest story coming out of this game was the missing superstar point guard for the Nets.

Kidd purportedly was absent from the game due to a ‘migraine’. However, franchise sources in and out of the organisation are suggesting that Jason is in fact angling for a trade. According to Yahoo! Sports, Kidd’s intention of missing today’s contest was always going to happen, and didn’t actually inform Nets officials until the afternoon of the game against the Knicks after the negative events of the past few weeks.

One New Jersey official stated that Kidd’s ‘migraine’ was a tad bit suspicious, and that he

Basketball orgasm will occur if these two get together. (REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk)

was actually sitting out in protest. (Wojnarowski, Yahoo!, 2007)

Adding to the intrigue is that Kidd and LeBron James had become tight during the previous summer when they both represented the U-S-of-A in Olympic qualifying, and that he is working towards a trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"They've been communicating about the (trade) options that could get them together in Cleveland," one Eastern Conference official said. (Wojnarowski, Yahoo!, 2007)

Make no mistake, Kidd is a winner and has bought respectability to one of the most horrific franchises in recent NBA history. Before, Jason came to the Sopranoland, the only successes the Nets were experiencing were faltering to greater depths of futility. What happened when the Californian Kidd came to town? Championship runs and postseason action.

Jason’s act of defiance corresponds to the fact that his time and chance for a championship is extremely limited at the age of 34. Also, he feels that New Jersey no longer is intent on developing a winning franchise, or surrounding him with the talent that would enable a title run. Even if Richard Jefferson is playing out of his skin.

The one constant with Jason’s time in Jersey is that the man plays hurt – cracked ribs and a bad back weren’t obstacles for him to perform at an intensely high level. However, two factors have contributed to Kidd’s unhappiness, besides the aforementioned reasons that is: 1) New Jersey has so far refused to grant Jason a contract extension and 2) he is increasingly irritated by the dedication of his fellow Nets to the cause by not playing through injuries, most notably Vince Carter.

Player’s in the NBA always make trade demands, and a lot of times they deserve to stay put in their crappy situations, but Jason Kidd deserves his title shot. There rarely have been players that are as selfless as the electrifying point guard for the Nets. Also, who wouldn’t want the chance to see both King James and the Cali Kidd do their thing?

Enjoy the clip of the top 10 plays from today’s games. And, no, none of these plays is going to feature Jason Kidd you smartass readers.

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Posted By: Stanley - Category: Player News, New Jersey Nets, Lebron James

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Drazen Petrovic: One Extraordinary Basketball Player.

October 16th 2007 03:44

(Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images)

In an age where European players win NBA MVP awards, and are the number one picks in the Draft, it would prove surprising to many that not so long ago, ballers from the Continent were seen as not only inferior, but not worthy of a spot in the top basketball league in the world. That all changed in the late 80s and early 90s when Drazen Petrovic became a European trail blazer, opening the eyes of Americans at how good players could be from that part of the world.

Drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1986, Petrovic’s short, but stunning career would leave an impression on the NBA that is still being felt to this day.

Date of Birth: 22nd October, 1964 in Sibenik, Croatia.
Died: 7th June, 1993
Height: 6’5”
Draft: 60th overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers.
Average Points per Game: 15.4
Average Rebounds per Game: 2.3
Average Assists per Game: 2.4
Honours: Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2002); All-NBA Third Team (1993)

Petrovic was an international phenomenon where he would lead the former Yugoslavian basketball team to glory in World and European competitions, winning gold in both, whilst helping his team out in the 1988, and 1992 Olympics in their bronze and silver medal efforts.

It was in the NBA where Drazen would leave his greatest mark, establishing himself as one

The sweet shooting, Petrovic at work. (Nathaniel S. Butler)

of the most prolific shooters and scorers the league has ever seen. Although, his NBA career lasted for four short seasons, they were at least, truly, memorable.

After being traded to the New Jersey Nets, Petrovic’s game would reach unprecedented heights, averaging 21.4 and 22.3 points per game, while leading the team in scoring.

Drazen’s NBA accomplishments are a far cry from his humble beginnings in Sibenik, a small port city in the Adriatic Sea. Petrovic and his brother would often tirelessly work on their games on a makeshift basketball court whenever they had the time. It is extraordinary to consider that in his formative years, he was self-taught in the art of hoops. The practice would pay off when the talented 15 year old joined the Yugoslav national team.

So, good was Drazen, Notre Dame tried to lure the youngster to play college basketball in the U.S. but the travel restrictions in the old Soviet bloc meant that Petrovic would not be able to strut his stuff till the end of the 80s. Meanwhile, he dominated the European basketball landscape with Real Madrid in Spain, helping the team win multiple titles along the way.

The divorce from Real Madrid was messy, leaving bad feelings from the Spanish side, but Drazen was determined to establish himself in the NBA, joining the Blazers in 1989.

Portland was already set in the shooting guard position with Clyde Drexler, so the rookie experienced big growing pains in his first season. His output was unspectacular, and his defensive liabilities meant that he would only see limited game time.

With Drexler on board, Portland traded the Croatian sensation to the Nets, where he would see limited game time too, but the abilities were there for all to see with a league leading best points-per-minute ratio.

Drazen’s long range shooting abilities allowed him to start for the Nets and he instantly flourished, averaging 20.6 points a game, and gaining recognition as one of the deadliest scorers in the NBA.

In the ’92-’93 season his numbers got even better leading the team in points, field goal percentage and three point field goal percentage. So, good was Drazen that the media voted him into the All-NBA Third Team. His coach at the time, Chuck Daly, had this to say about Petrovic: "You couldn't have wanted a better teammate," New Jersey Head Coach Chuck Daly told the Newark Star-Ledger. "He was very talented, he played very hard and was able to lead by his example. He was indefatigable." (NBA.com)

After the Nets were eliminated from the playoffs in his best and final season, Drazen was back in Europe to represent Croatia in European Cup competition. After a star turn in Poland, Petrovic made a detour to Germany to visit his girlfriend. On June 7 en route to Munich, the car where he was a passenger in ploughed into a tractor-trailer killing Drazen instantly. He was 28.

In celebration of Drazen Petrovic’s life, today’s video is of the man himself.

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Posted By: Stanley - Category: Player News, New Jersey Nets

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Jason Kidd: a True NBA Artist.

September 16th 2007 07:31

Stop everything! In the one-and-a-half years that this blog has been in

Jason Kidd had the ability to shock the basketball world early on. (Image from nbapedia)

existence, we haven’t written a bio entry on Jason Kidd! What on earth were we thinking? Obviously, we can’t possibly cover every NBA player that has ever played the game, nor even the worthy ones, because there is always pro-hoops related news going on, but nothing on Kidd? That has got to be the one of the biggest oversights in history since Michael Jordan forgot to put forward a pre-nup agreement to his ex-wife, resulting in the biggest celebrity divorce payment of all time.

When we’re talking of phenomenal NBA players, the Californian Kidd often gets overlooked, which once again can we say, is a massive oversight! Of all the NBA players in the league, what Jase brings to the table is a skill set that no other baller possesses – unbelievable court vision and an all-court game that makes LeBron’s look one dimensional!

The Cali Kidd is a nightly triple-double threat.

Date of Birth: 23 March, 1973.
Height: 6’4” (193cm)
College: California
Draft: 1994. Second overall pick by the Dallas Mavericks.
Average Points per Game: 14.5
Average Assists per Game: 9.2
Average Rebounds per Game: 6.7
NBA Teams: Dallas, Phoenix, now with New Jersey.
Honours: 1995 NBA co-Rookie of the Year
8-time All-Star
6-time All-NBA Selection
9-time All-Defensive Selection
1992 Naismith High School Player of the Year
2000 Olympic Gold Medallist

When writing about great NBA players, the pattern that emerges is that their talent was irrepressible early on, and that they were always destined to be awesome. In most cases this would be correct, but on the other hand, many more high school stars never fulfil their potential and are left to live like the rest of us mere mortals.

However, with Jason Kidd there was never going to be doubts about his greatness, even during his teenage years. Watching him play in Oakland everyone would have just known that this was a unique talent that they were privy to.

He dominated all comers in high school and college, so it was off to the NBA in 1994, becoming the second overall pick. Who was the first choice that season? Um, Glen ‘Big Dog’ Robinson, who wasn’t the greatest of picks considering Kidd and Grant Hill were behind him, but it wasn’t a Kwame Brown or Michael Olowokandi disaster as well.

Anyway, back to Kidd!

Joining a star studded Dallas trio of Jamal Mashburn and Jimmy Jackson, the three ‘Js’ would make fast break basketball relevant again with their youth and exuberance. The core Mavericks threesome was supposed to transform team basketball, but like most multi-star NBA teams, egos, jealousy, and as legend had it, a singer named Toni Braxton, would get in the way and poison their relationship.

All three would find new homes soon afterwards.

Traded to the Phoenix Suns, Kidd would continue his all-star calibre play leading his team to the playoffs each year. In a mind-boggling trade the Suns would ship him off to the Nets for

Jason Kidd is a NBA visionary. (Image from nba.com)

Stephon Marbury, because Steph once again soured another team with his presence via his Starbury antics.

It would be New Jersey where Kidd would really establish his greatness, hauling the bottom dwelling Nets off the basement and into perennial playoff contenders. In fact so great was his impact when he first came to the Meadowlands in the 2000-2001 season, he was the sole reason why the Nets achieved one of the greatest single season turnarounds in league history.

Kidd was so good in fact that his first two seasons resulted in trips to the NBA Finals for the Nets who never achieved such exalted heights before.

The previous post-season was Kidd’s finest sustained performance, whilst ranking as one of the all-time great playoff runs. Jason was so out-of-this-world brilliant, that he pretty much single-handedly lifted the Nets past the first round and into the second where they were beaten by the LeBrons. How wonderful was his performance in the ’06-’07 playoffs? Try this statline on for size: 14.6 ppg, 10.9 rpg and 10.9 apg. Remarkable!

Today’s video is all about the California Kidd love. Respect.

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Posted By: Stanley - Category: Player News, New Jersey Nets

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