Real Deal

SUPER.

The Jimmer effect, and the Maloof strategy.

Package him with someone else, and get a better deal. There are many, many other SF's that would produce better, and have a better attitude, than Casspi. Plus, that pick's protection is ridiculous. Basically, if the Kings don't make the playoffs, you guys aren't getting a pick next year, and if they finish two spots outside of the playoffs two years from now, you don't get it, either. It's almost like you're playing Blackjack with the pick, your hand is 17, and you choose to hit. Cleveland should've just shopped him in February, or tried to deal him on draft night, for a mid-first that was actually going to be theirs that same night. I had a feeling they were trying to get a top 10 with him, and it didn't work out, so they settled and waited until now.

Casspi a prospect? I don't see him as much of anything. That mid-first is not worth Hickson. The Kings aren't going to play defense to begin with, so they will be more like the Kings of old, who weren't that bad when they were feuding with us (LA). That team did well with two very poor defensive players up front (Webb and Divac, eventually Miller), so I don't see that being a problem if they are looking to get into playoff mode right now. Eventually, they can pick up an anchor, but right now, there aren't any to add.

A frontcourt duo of Lopez and West couldn't defend me going to the rim, but West probably makes more sense for the simple fact that he's a better scorer, and the Nets were terrible on the offensive end. They were also getting out-rebounded by over half of the league, despite having Humphries. Honestly, it would make more sense to bring in a defensive-minded center, even if that means trading Lopez, then giving West a contract. I'm still not that high on Lopez, and I think he creates as many cons as he does pros. If that was done, though, the Nets would be modeling their team after the Hornets, which may not necessarily be a bad thing...but I'm thinking Mikhail has bigger plans for the money he has. David West was an all-star, but he's not a perennial all-star, and I think that's what he's shooting for.

http://twitter.com/#!/STEIN_LINE_HQ/status/86498385774903296 What the hell? Cleveland must think Casspi is a future all-star.

Welcome to the best.

We're done talking about it.

Just saw your post about the pick being lottery-protected. The Kings stole Hickson, no doubt about it. In two years, if the Kings are on the bubble, the Cavs will have a late lottery pick, which means there's a big chance of nothing coming out of it.

According to a few sources, the Kings are going to play Evans more at the point. Thornton didn't play the three with Sacramento last year. He's strictly a two-guard. If Jimmer comes in playing like a starter, he'll get the job, Evans will play the two, and Thornton will come off the bench behind Evans, who will play the point in the second unit.

C - Cousins PF - Hickson SF - Salmons SG - Thornton PG - Evans PG - Fredette Hmm...not bad.

Wow...that was unexpected. It wasn't too long ago that we all thought Phoenix was going to give them Amare for HIckson. :o

MySpace killed MySpace. That entire site was more concerned about promoting music, events, comedians, and other things (in other words, making money) far more than it was geared towards satisfying its own registered members.

I thought Minny made a great move to at least get a C+ as a grade. OJ Mayo would've given them a little more defense, and he can create his shot (all your words), but the Wolves would be just as bad (if not worse) without Love crashing the glass and, well, just being a better player, period. We're asking what moves could've made them a much better team? I'm not sure any move, other than getting Derrick Rose, would've done that.

Twitter and Facebook are seriously killing message board discussion. Even RealGM is having a little trouble, in certain team forums, and they have always been active.

WRESTLING IS REAL AND IF YOU DON'T THINK SO, COME GET PILEDRIVERED.

The bigger question is, why is CM Punk wearing a Stone Cold shirt? Didn't Heyman wear a Stone Cold hat when he went off on Vince a long time ago?

Sounds like Smush Parker, dude. Parker could finish around the rim, he didn't shoot that poorly, he could dish off on a dribble drive, and he "disrupted" the defense when he attacked the paint because he was athletic. Of course, I'm not saying they are alike, I'm saying that you can apply it to many players that aren't that great. You are severely overrating Rudy. If he was as good as you say he is, Portland would still have him. But, you'll see. We'll revisit this soon.

I never said anything outside of the NBA is irrelevant. I said that anything outside of the NBA is irrelevant when I'm evaluating NBA talent. That's two completely different things. If I want to know how well a guy is doing in the league, I'm not going to go look at his highlights playing for the Spanish national team. A perfect example is Sun Yue. I have no idea how many people claimed he was going to be great. He even blocked Dwight Howard in the World Championships (or qualifying matches, can't remember). Big deal. The guy looked like Magic Johnson when he was playing for China. He was drafted by LA, came to camp, and was horrible. Unfortunately, it happens a lot. International scouts are paid to judge players by what they do overseas, and predict how they will play in the league. My job is to look at what he is doing here, and say whether or not he belongs. What he does anywhere else, even in the D-League, means nothing to me. For one, we have/had a couple of members here that are college players, and I wouldn't be surprised if they actually played better basketball than some of the guys that are drafted, sent over, and are complete trash in camp. Also, I never said that Rudy was not better than House, I stated that he contributes as much. He shoots the ball, and that's about it. If anything is different, contribution-wise, he hustles more than Eddie.

All of that is fine (and I wasn't specifically responding to what you said, I've seen people actually praise Rudy far too much), but what he does overseas is completely irrelevant to me. Chinemelu Elonu put up a 20/14 game, is getting playing time, but he was also the 59th pick in the draft for the Lakers and will never see time on the court over here. My opinions of players are always going to be based on what they can do here. I've had enough of these guys flying across the ocean, getting drafted, and then playing worse than some of our own OTR members would once they arrive to training camp. The things I said about Rudy, as an NBA player, have been true...and for the first two years of his career, he was actually fine with being in Portland, and he did have opportunities, and I didn't see the player some describe him to be. I see a one-dimensional player that is a liability on the defensive end. If he's not nailing threes, he can be the worst player on the court. Contribution-wise, what's the difference between Rudy and Eddie House? Hustle? That may be it.

Overrated? Howard holds the center position to 45% FG over the season (which is jaw-dropping), is the only defender on an Orlando Magic team that is ranked 3rd in the NBA in defensive rating, and averages 23/14 on 59% FG, despite not having many post moves.

Aside from him having trouble logging minutes, I have to point out that Rudy isn't that great of a player to begin with. When does he play defense? Getting a steal here or there isn't exactly defense, or else Iverson would've been considered an excellent defensive player. He can jump and is athletic, but what does he actually do with the ball? He has a lot of trouble hitting from inside the arc, and he's not on Korver's level shooting the three (or any elite three-point shooter's, to be honest). I just don't see why many have fallen in love with his game.

Wall and Vesely on the break is just disgusting. It's obviously not going to be like having LeBron run the break with you, but at least someone will be getting down the court with Wall. The defense...I don't think he'll be a good post defender, ever, but he can be a pretty good help defender. He just needs to learn a bit more of the game itself, run through some offensive sets and get familiar with how players attack the rim out of the P&R and ISO's, and then the entire team has to communicate with him. I think he'll be fine. I just hope the team uses him appropriately, or else he has "bust" written all over him.

LOL, didn't they make fun of that during the draft? It was right after he was picked, IIRC.

People get too obsessed with what position he'll be in the NBA. What do fans say about LeBron James? If he had a post game, he would be the undisputed best player in the NBA. Well, LeBron is a small forward. Regardless of the position he plays, Morris has a post game. The only thing Houston needs to worry about is him not being able to defend PF's or SF's, but that doesn't mean that he can't hit the gym and get much, much stronger. Plus, there's some guy by the name of Charles Barkley that had the same problem on draft night, and then he started playing.