2010 CB Draft: Southeast Division Press Conferences

[StartOrien]

Question for the Magic:

Is Vince Carter actually still "a force"? Lately he's been dissapearing for long stretches of games, and in case of the Eastern Conference Finals an entire series. What exactly do you think Vince brings to your team?

[indeedproceed]

Question for the Hawks: How concerned are you with the medical history of your bigs? You have two guys in particular, Brand & Okur, who have a long history of injuries. Do you think your team could still contend with Josh Boone playing about 20 minutes a night alongside Anderson Varejao?

Brand had his injury but after seeing him play 76 games last year we're confident he'll be able to play at least at that level.  We really think he'll have a bounce back year now after having that full year under his belt after the injury.

Okur doesn't have a long history of injuries he's consistently played 72+ games a year at 30mpg.  He's scheduled to be back at the start of the year and we're confident he'll be able to contribute.

Nobody thinks he'll be ready to play by opening night. Everyone is assuming he'll miss significant time at the beginning of the season.

Question for the magic: Andris Biedrins is coming off a terrible year in which he was often benched solely because he was not performing. On top of that to start the season he was injured. He's shown himself to be a talented, but mentally weak and one dimensional basketball player. What's his favorite TV show?

[celticpride07]

Question for the Hawks:

I like your roster but i would start Ridnour at PG I think he is more of a true PG and have hinrich a combo guard off the bench...my question is why did you pick Hinrich over Ridnour?

[Kwhit10]

Question for the Hawks:

I like your roster but i would start Ridnour at PG I think he is more of a true PG and have hinrich a combo guard off the bench...my question is why did you pick Hinrich over Ridnour?

I started Hinrich because he is a better defender and will be better suited to play starting guards. 

Last year Ridnour came off the bench for 20 minutes a game and had the same averages in those 20 minutes as he did as a starter the year before playing 31mpg.

[Roy H.]

Questions for the Boxers:

I guess I'll be the one to address the elephant in the room:  why should anybody assume that Bynum is going to be healthy in the playoffs?  He's been in the league five years, and has had exactly one healthy season.  The other 80% of the time, he's missed at least 17 games, and usually more.  He was visibly hobbled in the most recent playoffs.  Why, then, won't the same thing happen this year?

You were pretty harsh regarding Manu in last year's draft, regarding his age, his injuries, his inability to impact the game as a SG; why shouldn't those same concerns apply to your team, when Manu is a year older?

Questions for Cleveland:

Vince Carter isn't, and really never has been, a small forward.  Can he effectively play there in your lineup?

You have multiple quitters on your team, in Vince Carter and AK47.  Where does the mental and physical toughness come from on your team?

Questions for Atlanta:

What type of team would you matchup with the worst? 

Who is Durant's sidekick?  Has an NBA team won a championship with as weak of a second option as whoever that is on your squad?

[Kwhit10]

Questions for Atlanta:

What type of team would you matchup with the worst? 

Who is Durant's sidekick?  Has an NBA team won a championship with as weak of a second option as whoever that is on your squad?

The 94 Rockets had Olajuwan (27ppg) and Otis Thorpe (14ppg) and the 2003 Spurs had Duncan (23ppg) and Parker (15ppg).

I feel that having a yearly MVP candidate in Durant with sound players who are committed to the team game that we can be very competitive.

[StartOrien]

Questions for Atlanta:

What type of team would you matchup with the worst? 

Who is Durant's sidekick?  Has an NBA team won a championship with as weak of a second option as whoever that is on your squad?

The 94 Rockets had Olajuwan (27ppg) and Otis Thorpe (14ppg) and the 2003 Spurs had Duncan (23ppg) and Parker (15ppg).

I feel that having a yearly MVP candidate in Durant with sound players who are committed to the team game that we can be very competitive.

Those are two pretty dominant Bigs who played tremendous defense. Kevin Durant is a wing scorer. Don't you think there is a huge difference?

[Fafnir]

Questions for Atlanta:

What type of team would you matchup with the worst? 

Who is Durant's sidekick?  Has an NBA team won a championship with as weak of a second option as whoever that is on your squad?

The 94 Rockets had Olajuwan (27ppg) and Otis Thorpe (14ppg) and the 2003 Spurs had Duncan (23ppg) and Parker (15ppg).

I feel that having a yearly MVP candidate in Durant with sound players who are committed to the team game that we can be very competitive.

My rebuttal question to that is can Durant impact the game in other ways than simply scoring to the level that Dream and Ducan could?

Both are big men who naturally have more value by positional scarcity and value. They also were top flight individual and team defensive anchors. Can Durant have that sort of overall impact beyond scoring.

[nickagneta]

Questions for the Boxers:

I guess I'll be the one to address the elephant in the room:  why should anybody assume that Bynum is going to be healthy in the playoffs?  He's been in the league five years, and has had exactly one healthy season.  The other 80% of the time, he's missed at least 17 games, and usually more.  He was visibly hobbled in the most recent playoffs.  Why, then, won't the same thing happen this year?

You were pretty harsh regarding Manu in last year's draft, regarding his age, his injuries, his inability to impact the game as a SG; why shouldn't those same concerns apply to your team, when Manu is a year older?

Questions for Cleveland:

Vince Carter isn't, and really never has been, a small forward.  Can he effectively play there in your lineup?

You have multiple quitters on your team, in Vince Carter and AK47.  Where does the mental and physical toughness come from on your team?

Questions for Atlanta:

What type of team would you matchup with the worst? 

Who is Durant's sidekick?  Has an NBA team won a championship with as weak of a second option as whoever that is on your squad?

1. Regarding Manu, obviously, last year I was in the minority and wrong. The Crotornats won the league in no small part because of Manu's presence and he then went on to have a healthy and extremely productive year. When last we saw him he was being the Spurs best player and averaging about 20 PPG, 6 APG, 4 RPG and 3 SPG in the playoffs over 10 games. I would expect that type of production and play to continue.

2. Regarding Bynum's health, let's not forget that the kid is only 22 years old. During his playing career Bynum has still been growing physically from a boy to a man and some of his late season injuries can be attributed to just not being physically used to the grind that playing 100 games can do to a full grown man's body, never mind that of an 18, 189 or 20 year old.

Also, players such as Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Marcus Camby, Antonio McDyess, Carlos Boozer, Elton Brand, Grant Hill and others have all come back from severe or multiple injuries early on in their careers to be productive, healthy and All-Star quality players.

Bynum is still tremendously young and only had arthroscopic surgery. He is expected to be at full strength when the season starts according to doctors. I can't predict the future regarding Bynum, Roy, but for someone that touted the Crotornats players last year through all the injuries they were coming back from and the way you have touted the Jazz during this year with Yao(who I believe to be about 100 times more questionable about being able to contribute than Bynum given his age and severity of the injury), I think you would have a bit less of a concern regarding the injury of Bynum and his ability to bounce back.

All I can say is that all of the Boxers players will be cleared by medical personnel to start the season healthy and I expect tremendous seasons from all of them.

[Kwhit10]

Questions for Atlanta:

What type of team would you matchup with the worst? 

Who is Durant's sidekick?  Has an NBA team won a championship with as weak of a second option as whoever that is on your squad?

The 94 Rockets had Olajuwan (27ppg) and Otis Thorpe (14ppg) and the 2003 Spurs had Duncan (23ppg) and Parker (15ppg).

I feel that having a yearly MVP candidate in Durant with sound players who are committed to the team game that we can be very competitive.

Those are two pretty dominant Bigs who played tremendous defense. Kevin Durant is a wing scorer. Don't you think there is a huge difference?

I have three bigs who have different skill sets that I think will be able to supply Durant with the talent he needs to win.
Varejao = defense, hustle
Okur = spread the floor
Brand = low pot scoring

[KCattheStripe]

 THE SEATTLE SUPERSONICS!



KC is a good manager, so I'm sure he knows what he's doing, and will make me look stupid for questioning him.


- Roy Hobbs, CBNBA legend.
Our Mascot:



Our Introductory Music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iof5pRAIZmw


The Roster



Chris Duhon
Last Year: 7.5 ppg 2.7 boards 5.5 assts 30mpg 35% 3PTA
The steady hand of our ship. Can initiate the offense and accept his role as 3 point threat in the offense.



Rudy Gay
Last year 20 ppg 6 boards 2 assts, 1.5 steals and 1 block 39 mpg

Our dynamic wing scorer who will be able to produce with greater consistency without the question of who is the primary offensive weapon like there is in Memphis. Amar'e is the first option and then Rudy. He will also become a much more capable defender learning from Shane Battier.



Shane Battier:

Last Year:
8 ppg 4.7 boards 2 assts 1 block and 1 steal.

Our defensive ace, won't be asked to do much offensively except hit the 3. Will be a very good mentor to Rudy and some of the younger players.



Amar'e Stoudamire
Last Year: 23 ppg 9 boards 1 assts .6 steals 1 block.

Our dynamic front court scorer. Amare is a potent offensive weapon who benefits from having a versatile wing scorer (Rudy) and a PG who can run the pick and Roll well ( Duhon). An above average defender, his shot blocking makes it 4 of my players who average at least a block a game.



Emeka Okafor
10.4 ppg 9 boards 1.4 blocks

Our defensive anchor. Mostly a garbage man offensively, but this is the most skilled offensive team he's ever played for so there will be far more buckets open for him.


The Bench

6th Man

Rodney Stuckey
Last Year: 16.6 ppg 5 assts 3.8 boards 1.4 steals.

A dynamic scorer and servicable playmaker off the bench, will probably end up finishing most games ala Manu for us.


Dejuan Blair

The beats of a rebounder with a developing all around game. A key reserve for us.




Anthony Tolliver: A solid stretch 4 coming off the bench who can also play and defend the 5.



Luther Head: The utility guard with a knock down shot and scrappy defense.


 Sam Young: The high flying second year player.



Damien Wilkins: Solid bench scorer



AJ Price:Young , dynamic bench scorer.



Daniel Orton: Emeka's eventual replacement, we feel he has the talent and skill to become a dominant low post player.

Drafting Philosophy:

I went young initially, but I saw an opening to create a competitive playoff team so I decided to try something new.

Best decision:

The second day in the draft I moved two 4s for a 3 and 5 and then used my two 3s for a 2 and a 5. The incredible value there was in the 5th round really made these trades work for me and it also allowed me to grab a 3rd player in the 2nd round which allowed me to assemble the squad I have now.

That being said, I'm happy with all the trades I made.

Outlook:

I think we are certainly a playoff team. And as for the other gms in the Southeast, whom I respect a great deal, the Supersonics would like their mascot to have the final word:

[Fafnir]

Questions for Atlanta:

What type of team would you matchup with the worst? 

Who is Durant's sidekick?  Has an NBA team won a championship with as weak of a second option as whoever that is on your squad?

The 94 Rockets had Olajuwan (27ppg) and Otis Thorpe (14ppg) and the 2003 Spurs had Duncan (23ppg) and Parker (15ppg).

I feel that having a yearly MVP candidate in Durant with sound players who are committed to the team game that we can be very competitive.

Those are two pretty dominant Bigs who played tremendous defense. Kevin Durant is a wing scorer. Don't you think there is a huge difference?

I have three bigs who have different skill sets that I think will be able to supply Durant with the talent he needs to win.
Varejao = defense, hustle
Okur = spread the floor
Brand = low pot scoring

Brand is no longer a good low post scorer, his TS% was an awful .480 two years ago and a bad .518 last year. Also his teams offenses were signifigantly better with him off the floor. His rebounding also fell to a Rasheed Wallace bad level of 11.8.

I'm very curious to your answer to my question: can Durant have an elite impact in another way than scoring?

[StartOrien]

KC do you have any concern about going against a team who would employ Blanca, on account that his electric shock finisher is much simpler to perform than Guile's sonic-boom?

[KCattheStripe]

KC do you have any concern about going against a team who would employ Blanca, on account that his electric shock finisher is much simpler to perform than Guile's sonic-boom?

The sonicboom can hit Blanka from a distance and hit him while he's executing that attack. Also, if Blanka is in the NBA , I'm sure he'd have eaten Anderson Varejo and Leandro Barbosa for embarrassing Brazil, so it's a win-win for me.

[Kwhit10]

Questions for Atlanta:

What type of team would you matchup with the worst? 

Who is Durant's sidekick?  Has an NBA team won a championship with as weak of a second option as whoever that is on your squad?

The 94 Rockets had Olajuwan (27ppg) and Otis Thorpe (14ppg) and the 2003 Spurs had Duncan (23ppg) and Parker (15ppg).

I feel that having a yearly MVP candidate in Durant with sound players who are committed to the team game that we can be very competitive.

My rebuttal question to that is can Durant impact the game in other ways than simply scoring to the level that Dream and Ducan could?

Both are big men who naturally have more value by positional scarcity and value. They also were top flight individual and team defensive anchors. Can Durant have that sort of overall impact beyond scoring.

This year Durant has made huge strides in his man and team defense.  Prior years arguments were his on/off court numbers.  This year the team allowed more points with him off the court. 

It can only be expected that his is going to improve again this year.