What They’re Saying on the Draft Front

Is Jrue the Raptors man?

Update (5:49 EST): DraftExpress is now reporting that the Raptors seem to be back on DeRozan at 9.  Also, Minny is actively looking to move up to 3, Sacto likes Evans at 4 and may have given him a promise, and Curry might just slip to the Knicks.  Only an hour or so away, and this thing is still a clusterfuck.

Update (5:37 EST): My apologies.  I’ve been slackin.  The VC deal is done.  Carter and Ryan Anderson to Orlando/Battie, Alston, and Lee to New Jersey.  There is also word that Phoenix and Oklahoma City are discussing a Ben Wallace/Tyson Chandler swap.

Update (4:04 EST): Finally!  I almost went back to my spreadsheets thinking things had slowed down for the day.  Not the case!  Woj (who deserves a hearty hand clasp for his work so far today) is back with another big name rumour!  Apparently New Jersey is close to sending Vince Carter to Orlando in exchange for Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston, and Tony Battie.  A salary dump for NJ that would allow Orlando to let Turkoglu walk without worrying.

Update (2:53 EST): Woj at Yahoo has the latest on Amare.  Apparently the discussion is Stoudemire for Biedrins and #7.  I dig that for both teams, which usually means it won’t happen.

Update (2:24 EST):  More good stuff from Givony.  Portland is apparently eyeing Dejaun Blair with the #22 pick, but there’s a good chance he’s off the board by that point.  The next guy they look at would be Israeli (and, presumably, RM Franks favorite) Omri Casspi.  The Knicks, contrary to the earlier report, are expected to pursue Jack McClinton if he is available at 29.

Trade rumours, some crazy, some not.  Believe at your own discretion.

• Battier and Aaron Brooks to Sacto/Udrih and #4 to Houston – I don’t see Houston making a deal that McGrady isn’t involved in, but who knows?
• Devin Harris to Minny/5 and 6 to Memphis/Rubio and Craig Smith to New Jersey – Minny wasn’t willing to give up 5 & 6 for 2, but may be willing to give it up for an all star guard in Harris.  I don’t know that I’d be giving up a player like Harris (who, remember, is still quite young) for an unproven prospect like Rubio.
• New Jersey is shopping Vince Carter – Let’s get him, BC!  Get this done!   No?  Hated by the entire city you say?  Hmmm…
• Oden being offered up for a top 5 pick – This sounds like BS to me.
• Rondo, as I mentioned earlier, remains in play.

Update (1:50 PM EST): Over at DraftExpress, Jonathan Givony is reporting that Rubio to OKC at 3 is not a lock.  He believes Presti may be bluffing in order to get better trade offers for the #3 pick.  Harden is still very much in the mix for this pick, and other teams are still looking to pry it away.  In other news, $3 million was the price tag on that #29 pick that the Knicks bought from LA.  As well, Givony mentions Phoenix will be looking for an athletic wingman at 14 like Earl Clark or James Johnson. 

Update (1:37 PM EST): Woj over at Yahoo is reporting that the Knicks have indeed purchased a late first rounder, as I mentioned they were interested in doing earlier.  The pick is the Lakers 29th overall pick.  The Lakers could use the cash to help them resign Odom and Ariza, and would probably rather avoid a guaranteed contract anyway.  Woj’s sources are telling him that NY will look for a guard at 8 and a big man at 29.

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Good morning Ladies and Gents.  Draft day has finally arrived, and your boy TM Williamson is feeling a bit like a kid on Christmas morning.  I discussed my obsession with the draft early on in my Trueball days, and nothing has changed since then.  There is no offseason event in any sport that rivals the NBA draft.  Every pick is valuable, all the player movement is relevant, and nearly every suit can be criticized by those of us with taste.

Oh, this draft doesn’t have enough “superstar potential” for you?  Too many players going back to school?  Don’t think the Raps are going to get an impact player with the #9 pick?

Well, if that’s the case, consult your TV guide, enjoy some second rate programming, and please  shut the eff up about how bad you think this draft is going to be.  Because guess what?  This draft is going to be fucking awesome.

Of course, I’m talking about the event, not the players.  It is true that there is little superstar potential in this draft, but that doesn’t make it any less exciting.  We’ve had no less than five deals made already, and all indications are that the NBA’s GMs are continuing to work the phones.

So, with apologies to the wonderful people that employ me to, you know, actually work, I’m going to be constantly updating this page with any draft news I get during the day.  So please, keep checking back, and enjoy one of the NBA’s busiest days of the year.

What’s Already Happened

• The Big Aristotle to Cleveland/Ben Wallace and Saha Pavlovic to Phoenix – A straight salary dump by Steve Kerr that only further illustrates what a ridiculous move the Marion/Shaq trade was.  They ended up with two dissapointing seasons, zero serviceable players (that relate to that deal), and a worse financial situation than they would’ve been in had they kept Marion.  Steve Kerr, I’m sorry, but there’s no nice way to say this…you don’t do your job well.  At all.
• Richard Jefferson to the Spurs/Fabricio Oberto to the Bucks/Amir Johnson, Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas to the Kings – Franks covered this over on Trueball, so I’ll direct you there for some analysis.
• Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Wizards/Etan Thomas, Darius Songaila, Oleksiy Pecherov, and the #5 pick to the T-Wolves – Minnesota gave up a couple serviceable players to get it, but now they’ve got picks #5, #6, #18, and #28.  They might make 4 picks, they might try to package some to move up and get Rubio.  Huge night for Minny.
• Jamal Crawford to the Hawks/Speedy Claxton and Acie Law to Golden State – Crawford wasn’t a favorite of Don Nelson, so it was well acknowledged he would be moved.  The Hawks now have a little leverage in Mike Bibby negotiations.
• Portland gives Dallas the #24, an ‘09 2nd rounder and and ‘10 2nd rounder for the #22 pick – Clearly they value a guy at 22 they feel might be gone by 24.  Eric Maynor? Darren Collison?

What They’re Saying

• The fine folks over at RaptorsHQ (who are about as plugged in as it gets in the Raptors blogosphere) think Jrue Holiday is the pick.  He’s not their (or my) favorite, but that’s the buzz around Raptors HQ right now. (The real one and the website, apparently)  What does this mean?  Well, it means Roko could be moved, but more likely it would mean Holiday would back up at both the 1 and 2, with Roko seeing point guard minutes while Jrue is at off guard.  It also means we would get to nickname him Jrue the Damaja, which is fun for everyone!  KC had Jrue at 7 in his latest mock, but I disagree (as I often do.)  I believe he’ll be available at 9 if BC wants him.
• Gerald Henderson, James Johnson, and DeMar DeRozan remain in play at 9 for the Raps as well.  All three are expected to be available.
• There remains a possibility that one of Flynn, Evans or Harden could slip down to 9.  DraftExpress has Evans at 8 in their latest mock, and as we know, things change in the blink of an eye on draft day.  If one team reaches (for Derozan, Williams, Holiday, Henderson, etc.), the Raptors could be looking at a very high value pick at 9.
• There is still a vocal contingent out there that supports that Raps trading the 9 pick for a lower pick packaged with either a useful player or a 2010 first rounder.  The thinking here is that because this draft is so weak, a 2010 first rounder in the early 20s could be as valuable as the 9 this year.  I don’t consider myself a member of this camp, but there are much worse things BC could do with the pick.
• Finally, there a very slight rumblings that BC could look to trade up and grab Flynn.  I don’t really see how that’s going to work (who gets included in the deal to make it worthwhile for another team?) so I consider this by far the least likely scenario.

Around the League – Draft

• Thabeet is all but guaranteed to go to Memphis at 2.  Barring a big offer late in the game, all indication is that Memphis will keep the pick and go with Thabeet.  Does this make Marc Gasol expendable?
• It looks like OKC has zoned in on Rubio at 3.  There is talk that a potential David Lee sign and trade with NY could be in the works.  Russell Westbrook’s reaction to the pick will be something to keep an eye on.
• The Kings are expected to choose between Johnny Flynn and Tyreke Evans at 4.  Flynn appears to be the favorite, and they have a much greater need for a pure point guard than a scorer (Beno Udrich is currently their starting point guard.  That is a fucking serious need.)
• If Minnesota keeps 5 and 6, it is widely expected to be guard/guard, as the only guards on their roster right now are the injury plagued Corey Brewer and the inconsistent Bassy Telfair.  If Rubio or Flynn fell to them they would likely happily snatch them up, but if all goes as expected, look for Harden and Curry to go in these spots.
• At 7, Golden State is said to be enamored with Jordan Hill.  Monta Ellis is apparently down on the idea of selecting a lead guard, so Evans, Jennings, or Holiday, while great fits for Golden State’s playing style, may be passed on in order to appease the star.
• At this point, the metaphorical pants of Raptors Nation will be ripped open by the metaphorical boner that we will all metaphorically have over the thought of Tyreke Evans dropping to 9.  Unfortunately, all indication is that New York will take him at 8 if he’s available.
• That leaves BC with a collection of players to choose from at 9.  It seems to me, at this point, that there is a defined top 8, and it gets a bit sketchy after that.  Of course, we have the 9th pick, which is a classically devestating blow.  Holiday is thought by many to be the move here.
• After that, the consensus is that things get real muddy.  Milwaukee could look to replace the departed Jefferson with DeRozan, or they could go with a point guard in Teague or Lawson.  None of the remaining picks have particular relevance to the Raptors though, so I’ll spare you the non-lotto scuttlebutt.

Around the League – Trade Talk

• Amare Stoudemire remains at least somewhat in play.  Golden State has apparently offered a package centred (get it?) around Biedrins.  Houston is also in the mix, offering the oft-injured (and based on last season, totally expendable for Houston) Tracy McGrady, Aaron Brooks, and Carl Landry for Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa.
• There is apparently serious interest in McGrady and his $22 million expiring contract.  Daryl Morey will be listening to all offers.
• The Bulls and The Grizz are rumoured to be interested in selling off late first rounders.
• Kirk Hinrich to the Trailblazers is on a lot of people lips.  Not sure who would be coming back to the Bulls.  Outlaw perhaps?
• The Knicks are being very active looking to move up (Curry or Rubio) as well as looking to buy a late first round pick.
• Darko for Q-Rich seems to have some legs.
• It seems to me that Rajon Rondo is on the block, but Danny Ainge isn’t interested in going public with it.
• Indiana is shopping TJ Ford (I know! I can hardly believe it either!  Sarcasm is sometimes difficult to detect so let me be clear that I was being sarcastic!) Phoenix is said to be a potential partner.

That’s all for now folks.  I’ll be updating this post all day with anything that I think you classy individuals will be interested in, so keep checking back!

As always, DraftExpress, InsideHoops, HoopsHype, Woj at Yahoo, and ESPN  (if you’re an insider…lah-di-dah) are pumping out news and rumours all day long.  RaptorsRepublic, RaptorsHQ, and a few others who you can find on the sidebar over at the Republic have got your Raptors fix (that is, if you’re getting bored over here), and as always, The Morning Coffee is hot, delicious, and filled with some MSM material you may have missed.

Keep coming back, and enjoy the draft, people!  Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/tmwilliamsonn and follow KC at https://twitter.com/kcroberts5.  We’ll be tweeting during the draft unless this live blog thing pans out.  I’ll keep you upated!