CB Draft 2011 Pacific Division Press Conferences

[jgod213]

How many games do you expect JO to appear in next year, and when he inevitably goes down, do you have enough depth at the position to survive?

First, thanks for the questions, Roy.  I obtained JO with the expectation that he would be used in more of a transitionary role.  Jordan is the better player, but he still has some growing pains to go through.  From all accounts, JO is said to be ready to go for the start of the season, so his role is to mentor Jordan and Biyombo while giving quality minutes in the amount of ~20 per game.  If we lose him, it's on DeAndre to play full starters minutes.

Currently, I have you last place in the division, and out of the playoffs.  Why am I wrong on that?

Simply put, Roy, this team is not a last place team because it matches up defensively and exploits its own offensive mismatches.  Kevin Martin is unguardable in this Division.  Ty Lawson could very well be the best point guard in this division.  And under Mike Brown's tutelage the team defense is one of the best in the CB-NBA.

[The Walker Wiggle]

But lastly, and saddest, given how little success I've had agitating for my own teams, I'd just be doing Champkind a disservice.

Oh jeez. Somebody go tell Eeyore that I found his raincloud. WW won't let go of it.

I'm not made of stone, IP. 

[indeedproceed]

But lastly, and saddest, given how little success I've had agitating for my own teams, I'd just be doing Champkind a disservice.

Oh jeez. Somebody go tell Eeyore that I found his raincloud. WW won't let go of it.

I'm not made of stone, IP. 

Ha, I wrote like 1,000 words on the western conference for apoint/counterpoint and you posted the ribbing I gave you? I tell you guys, I am completely under-appreciated!

[jgod213]

Questions for LA:

1. Do you worry about lacking a true SF? Jackson has been playing a big SG for a while now, Leonard is a rookie, and Gomes is a tweener 3/4. Is that why you're playing Martin at the 3 sometimes?

Thanks, Faf.

The SF question is a good one as Jackson is used to playing big minutes at the 2.  However, i think this was more of a result of CHA having Gerald Wallace around more than anything.  CHA played a very big lineup with Wallace at the 3 for the majority of their season.  Bumping Jax to the 3 will allow him to match up better size and speed wise.  Leonard isn't a prototypical 3, but he's expected to contribute for SA in that role in real life, and being one of the most nba-ready prospects i'd expect him to be able to do the same for LA.

2. You outline a lineup of Lawson/Arenas/Martin, do you worry about that lineup defensively? Because that seems to be a scary line up to trot out there against a quality team.

I do worry about this lineup defensively, which is why it won't be utilized with any regularity.  However, when you look at the Division's rosters, there are several 2 guards that will probably get run at the 3 (matthews/young/maybe even manu), which means there could be an opportunity to match up similarly.

3. What sort of minutes and production do you expect out of Arenas? He was barely rotation worth last year for Orlando.

I don't expect Arenas to return to his previous form, but it's my opinion that SVG didn't know how to utilize Arenas within his rotations, as is evident by the constant swing in minutes during his stay in ORL.  Arenas isnt that far removed from being a highly productive scorer - during the time he spent with the Wiz in '11, before he was traded, Arenas was putting up 17ppg.  There are no guarentees on Arenas, but the guy has everything to prove this year and i'm ready to take that gamble.

4. Big man depth (see Roy's above about O'Neal)
[/quote]

[StartOrien]

Is it a good thing for the game to have GMs dodge questions to avoid criticism? I think it sucks.

Without talking about any specific team:  Yes, GMs that speak "politically" will do a disservice to the game, if only because it takes away what the core of this exercise was supposed to be about.

When CFF and I started this thing back in 2007, there was no voting.  The fun was supposed to be the journey of picking teams.  We came up with the "press conference" idea, because GMs had lived and breathed these teams for weeks.  Answering questions and talking about your team was seen as a big part of the fun, as you could talk about your vision.  It was supposed to be fun.

Now, since voting is involved, many GMs refuse to be candid.  The draft has become an exercise in winning, and who can argue the best.  As our politicians have shown us, sometimes when you don't have an answer to a question, the best choice is to refuse to answer it (or to deflect attention away from it).  In the CB Draft, much like in politics, that isn't a good thing.

What do you do about it?  Short of eliminating voting, I'm not sure there's a lot that can be done.  Many people will answer questions in a way that ensures them the best result on the ballot.

I do question how much of it is political, how much of it is people evaluating talent differently, and how much of is people spending entirely too much time out of their lifes talking themselves into their teams and ideas.

You spend two weeks constructing a team, thinking about angles for attack, advantages vs. disadvantages, and eventually you've thought things over so much that you're convinced that you know exactly how things would play out.

For the most part, I do try to be fairly candid about my team, but when I revisit the threads I always end up asking myself what I was thinking. How in the world I could think this player would be able to do that, how this player would fit with this player, etc.

[The Walker Wiggle]

JGod, nice work, I enjoyed it. I also badly wanted Bismack Biyombo, who went to the Conspiracy one pick before my own. He divides the experts, but Draft Express's own Jonathan Givony rated him 2011's third best prospect.

Biyombo’s combination of length, athleticism, intensity, aggressiveness and smarts is simply unheard of. Pass on him at your own peril.

And I'd agree that Lawson should give Kidd, Billups and Curry a very difficult time. But you know what's a little wild? As near as I can tell Kevin Martin has never played against Wes Matthews and Ty Lawson has yet to face off across from his former mentor in Denver, Chauncey Billups. Thanks for nothing Basketball-Reference Head to Head Game Finder.

[The Walker Wiggle]

Here's my most pressing question, who is coaching the Conspiracy? Apologies in advance as I've likely just overlooked this.

[Fafnir]

As near as I can tell Kevin Martin has never played against Wes Matthews

What?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201101020POR.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201101050HOU.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201103010POR.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201002270UTA.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201004070HOU.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201001290UTA.html

[The Walker Wiggle]

As near as I can tell Kevin Martin has never played against Wes Matthews

What?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201101020POR.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201101050HOU.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201103010POR.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201002270UTA.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201004070HOU.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201001290UTA.html

My fingers failed me. Thanks Fafnir. "Wesley Matthews" not "Wes Matthews." So looks like Martin has dominated Matthews to the tune of 29 points per to 9. Hm...

[jgod213]

DubDub, thanks for the kind words.

Yeah Biyombo is a once-in-a-lifetime athelete, but he's so polarizing (at least in scouting circles) and raw that i didnt want to spend too much time pumping his tires.  He could very well be Serge Ibaka 2.0, though.


For the record, the Coach of the Conspiracy is Mike Brown.

[Rondo2287]

Faf...get a life. I am on vacation and the roaming charges on this are gonna cost me a small fortune.

If you can't post more because you're on vacation thats fine, but that's not the reason you gave for refusing to give a minutes breakdown. Don't throw that excuse back out there when you've already said that wasn't why.

This is for the regular season folks.  People know what I mean.  The starters will be  about 34-38  MPG except Billups who will play less. Diaw and Jennings are the first two off the bench. Miller, Neal and Mohammed are the 8th and 9th and 10th men. When big leads occur,  others will get minutes which will lessen the averages of the starters.

I guess this is the best we will get, so be it.

This isnt rocket science. Its basketball. I am sure the people following this will understand what I am getting at and the situation I am in even if someone like you cant.

I get what you mean, and as I outlined above you are specifically being vague to avoid criticism because you view the Kings as the number one team going in. Thus avoiding being torn down (until playoffs) is the strategy.

That sucks, almost as much as you making it personal in the above quotes. Dodging a question and then insulting the questioner, politics indeed.

Im on vacation as well, but have to say, from my ipod touch, Faf you gotta chill out.

[StartOrien]

AAAAAAANNNNNNNNDDDDD IN THE REEEEEEDDDDD COOOOOOOORRRNNNEEEEERRRR

[Roy H.]

I don't like the hostility that has crept into this thread.  Comments like "get a life", etc., have no place here.  Such comments cross the line from legitimate debate to the realm of personal attacks.

I thought everyone had moved on, but to the extent it's coming up again:  quit it.  If it happens again, there will be consequences, including but not limited to having the team of the offending GM(s) declared ineligible.

[Fafnir]

As near as I can tell Kevin Martin has never played against Wes Matthews

What?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201101020POR.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201101050HOU.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201103010POR.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201002270UTA.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201004070HOU.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201001290UTA.html

My fingers failed me. Thanks Fafnir. "Wesley Matthews" not "Wes Matthews." So looks like Martin has dominated Matthews to the tune of 29 points per to 9. Hm...

Though half of those matchups were in Utah where he was still working towards becoming a NBA player.

[KCattheStripe]

I don't like the hostility that has crept into this thread.  Comments like "get a life", etc., have no place here.  Such comments cross the line from legitimate debate to the realm of personal attacks.

I thought everyone had moved on, but to the extent it's coming up again:  quit it.  If it happens again, there will be consequences, including but not limited to having the team of the offending GM(s) declared ineligible.

Unless you mean this, because this is important.