2013 NBA Draft

[MarkGrace]

I think the Celts made a good move here. Cleared a huge amount of cap space, landed several picks, and are well poised for the loaded '14 draft (and they'll now have two picks there). That C's team as we know it was done and going nowhere. Best to start over while those old core pieces still had some value (and that value was running out rapidly).

To me this is worse for the Nets. They've been such a "now" oriented team I think they'll continually prevent themselves from actually going anywhere.

[The_Douger]

I think the Nets just played themselves to the 2nd seed with that deal.

Problem is, it still won't be good enough in a series against Indiana or Lebron.

[San Juan Sun]

I think the Nets just played themselves to the 2nd seed with that deal.

I think Deron Wiliiams will continue to decline.
I think KG is done in less than 12 months.
I think Pierce is a shell of his former self.
I think Jason Terry will be out of the league when his contract is up.

The "this is a great trade in 2009" comment is dead on.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

SDSU was a good team last year. And Franklin led them in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. The only guy in college hoops to lead his team in each of those, and he did it on a good team. How did he fall to mid-2nd round? I'm shocked teams didn't trade in to get him. Does a bad ankle preventing you from working out really make you fall that far?

[Surfah]

I was hoping Davies would go to the Lakers or Spurs. I thought he would have been a great fit for either team and could have made the roster.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

WTH was New Orleans thinking? Trading Noel, 2014 first rounder only top 5 protected, AND having to pay $10 M/yr for Holiday now instead of having Noel and next year's pick on rookie contracts? It really seems absurd. I'm guessing they must be planning on spending the rest of their cap space, and then hoping that Davis/Anderson/Gordon/Holiday can be enough to make the playoffs so that pick isn't worth as much. But if that pick ends up being in the 6-10 range this deal could look bad.

[clackamascoug]

WTH was New Orleans thinking? Trading Noel, 2014 first rounder only top 5 protected, AND having to pay $10 M/yr for Holiday now instead of having Noel and next year's pick on rookie contracts? It really seems absurd. I'm guessing they must be planning on spending the rest of their cap space, and then hoping that Davis/Anderson/Gordon/Holiday can be enough to make the playoffs so that pick isn't worth as much. But if that pick ends up being in the 6-10 range this deal could look bad.

How about 3 time allstar Aldridge for Anthony Davis? LA is a big improvement on the position for NOP, and Aldridge and Monte Williams are good friends from their Blazer days. That helps NO right now, and Portland can still get a free agent big.

[wapiti]

WTH was New Orleans thinking? Trading Noel, 2014 first rounder only top 5 protected, AND having to pay $10 M/yr for Holiday now instead of having Noel and next year's pick on rookie contracts? It really seems absurd. I'm guessing they must be planning on spending the rest of their cap space, and then hoping that Davis/Anderson/Gordon/Holiday can be enough to make the playoffs so that pick isn't worth as much. But if that pick ends up being in the 6-10 range this deal could look bad.

And if Noel turns out to be the #1 pick everyone thought he was before he got hurt it will look awful. They definitely could have done better with those two assets.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

I don't understand the thinking that Noel doesn't pair well with Davis. Sure, right now, they would be limited offensively. But Davis appears to have the ability to drastically improve offensively from where he is right now. But the pairing of those two together could be amazing on defense, very similar to Sampson/Olajuwon.

Makes absolutely no sense to make that trade, when instead they could keep Noel, offer someone like Jeff Teague the money Holiday is making and probably land him, and then still get their 2014 first round pick. Go that route, and that franchise is killing it in 2 more years if Eric Gordon can stay healthy.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

@tomhaberstroh 28m
Player A: 15.8 points on 46.9 TS% and 6.7/3.3 ast/TOV. | Player B: 17.7 points on 51.7 TS% shooting and 5.7/2.4 ast/TOV.

Player A was Jrue Holiday the 2nd half of the season. Player B was Kemba Walker. As Haberstroh said, Holiday was an all-star for 41 games but most people think he was for a full season. He's just 23 and played in a bad offensive system under Doug Collins, but he's making big money now. Gordon and Holiday form a back court with some nice potential, but the potential to also be incredibly inefficient and hurt.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Should there be a new thread for free agency, or just continue in this one?

After making what I think was a bad trade to get Holiday, now reports say they will make Tyreke Evans a priority in free agency. Who is the GM there?

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

4 yrs, $48 M for Tyreke from the Pelicans. Stupid, stupid, stupid. How does a guy convince a team to give him a GM job if he is dumb enough to do that? Pairing Evans with Austin Rivers should be awesome. Plus they've got hot shooting Greavis Vasquez.

[Blueintheface]

Charlotte interested in the Big Cro-magnon. LOL! A better scenario does not exist for the Utah Jazz. The worst team in the Eastern Conference gets a scorer who plays no defense.

[Jacob]

4 yrs, $48 M for Tyreke from the Pelicans. Stupid, stupid, stupid. How does a guy convince a team to give him a GM job if he is dumb enough to do that? Pairing Evans with Austin Rivers should be awesome. Plus they've got hot shooting Greavis Vasquez.

Why do you have Evans? He's very talented and very good statistically. His production makes him worth close to what they are offering.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Why do you have Evans? He's very talented and very good statistically. His production makes him worth close to what they are offering.

His production sets a different market for him than what I would say his ability to help a team win does. He is essentially a taller Monta Ellis. And good teams don't pay that kind of player that kind of money. That kind of salary says he needs to be one of his team's 2 or 3 best players, and any team that has Evans as its 2nd best player just isn't going to compete for much (unless their superstar is unreal and/or they have a few awesome rookie contract players). And a team that can afford to pay their 3rd best player that kind of money is normally someone like the Knicks or Nets in a big market with a rich owner that is just throwing darts at a board hoping something sticks in the bulls-eye. Evans WS/48 for his career is 0.75; league average is about 0.100.

Last year I actually thing he proved to be more valuable, more of an asset, as his mpg and usage went way down. But if a guy's minutes and usage drop to make him more useful, is he then worth 4 yrs and $48 M? But besides from being over priced, he also just seems like an odd fit based on what they already have. Eric Gordon is going to make $45 M over the next 3 yers. Grevis Vasquez can't shoot. Austin Rivers was one of the worst players in the league. And from his college recruitment to his time in Sacramento, Evans has proven he isn't the guy that is going to come in and help establish the culture the team reportedly wants to build around Anthony Davis. That kind of offer just makes no sense to me, unless they have a plan to flip Gordon for two very good complimentary players that can both shoot the 3 and defend well.

The general roster build of contenders seems to be close to this: pay 2-3 stars big money, then fill the roster out around them with cheap role players who bring very defined skill sets and roles to the team. But one of the worst things that can happen to a team, especially one outside one of the marquee markets, trying to build towards being a true contender is to get too much money locked into a player that isn't a true difference maker. And to me, paying 4/48 to Evans and 3/45 to Gordon is doing exactly that two times over.