CB Draft 2011 Pacific Division Press Conferences

[indeedproceed]

I'll sing your praise on this whole draft, IP. You've been doing a great job as commissioner, and have been absolutely killing it with your analysis*.

That was meant to be plural but I don't know the proper pluralization.

Analysi? Analyses? Its Analyses, as in anal-ys-eese.

But anyways, thanks. The praise is appreciated.

[Kane3387]

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]

Interesting thoughts here. I personally think S Jack at this point in his career is more suited for the SF. His quickness has naturally slipped a little and the SF is his natural position.

I think you can play small for sure.

Very interesting on Arenas. He was playing solid in Washington from a scoring standpoint as the two guard. In Orlando he was the new guy and coming off the bench. I dont think SVG ever wanted him in the first place and in my opinion is overrated as a coach. Still I think for Arenas to be successful he has to get healthier in the knee, he has to start, and he has to have free reign.

[Fafnir]

Interesting thoughts here. I personally think S Jack at this point in his career is more suited for the SF. His quickness has naturally slipped a little and the SF is his natural position.

I think you can play small for sure.

I think Jackson is less valuable as a SF, he loses his size and strength advantage but he doesn't get a corresponding quickness advantage against most SFs.

Very interesting on Arenas. He was playing solid in Washington from a scoring standpoint as the two guard. In Orlando he was the new guy and coming off the bench. I dont think SVG ever wanted him in the first place and in my opinion is overrated as a coach. Still I think for Arenas to be successful he has to get healthier in the knee, he has to start, and he has to have free reign.

He scored, but you don't want someone taking a bunch of shots at .500 TS like Arenas was.

[Kane3387]

Interesting thoughts here. I personally think S Jack at this point in his career is more suited for the SF. His quickness has naturally slipped a little and the SF is his natural position.

I think you can play small for sure.

I think Jackson is less valuable as a SF, he loses his size and strength advantage but he doesn't get a corresponding quickness advantage against most SFs.

Very interesting on Arenas. He was playing solid in Washington from a scoring standpoint as the two guard. In Orlando he was the new guy and coming off the bench. I dont think SVG ever wanted him in the first place and in my opinion is overrated as a coach. Still I think for Arenas to be successful he has to get healthier in the knee, he has to start, and he has to have free reign.

He scored, but you don't want someone taking a bunch of shots at .500 TS like Arenas was.

I agree with the S JAck comment but you have to weigh what he is giving up quickness wise for what he gets in strength.

I don't like Arenas on this team. Period. That's what I was trying to get at. I agree you don't want him shooting like that.

[TheTruthFot18]

First off I am not being reticent in answering questions

Yes you are, see below.

Second, sorry but the minutes question has always been one I thought  really, really dumb, no disrespect intended. Starters plat starters minutes. Bench players plat bench players minutes. Sixth men play almost starter minutes.

YI have seen for years people putting down specific answers to minutes questions andthen have people pick apart those specitic for a simple minute or three.

Rotations are more complicated that that Nick and you know it. Look at the real life Celtics: they had to juggle KG's starter minutes while trying to maximize his impact because of their lack of quality defensive big men besides him. This lead to a lot of BBD at the PF and other poor defensive C (Krstic/Semih/etc) hurting the C's out of proportion to their minutes played.

LeBron will play superstar minutes.
The starters will play starters minutes.
The bench bench minutes as needed with oess in the playoffs

I have to assume you have no set rotation beyond the starters then and your players don't know what role they'll play from game to game. Plus even your starters might get inconsistent minutes from gaem to game (in how many 34, then 40, etc.)

Beyond this specific team for this year's CB Draft:
Is it a good thing for the game to have GMs dodge questions to avoid criticism? I think it sucks.

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

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.

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.

Just so everyone knows, and so I can hopefully avoid the same criticisms, I will be traveling home from Maine on Wednesday (SE press conference) and will miss a few hours of posting. IP has already been informed.

[StartOrien]

Just so everyone knows, I'm not very smart so I dodge most questions that aren't obvious compliments.  

Suggested Question: How in the world did you create such an incredible team?!

[nickagneta]

Sacramento Kings a.k.a. Dinoboxerbots

How does your team stop Dirk?


Is Billups effective enough without the ball in his hand running the offense?


Can Lebron mentally recover from the Finals thrashing his game took? 

Let's start with the last question first, can LeBron mentally recover from the Finals?

Did Isiah Thomas recover after throwing away a trip to the Finals in 1987? Did Magic recover after a horrid playoffs in 1981 or from his less than stellar performance in the clutch in the 1984 Finals? Did Shaq recover after his bad series in 1996 that cost the Lakers a deep playoff run?

Great players have bad playoff series and recover to win many titles. Its happened over and over again in this league. Lebron is 26 years old and playing with 2 perrenial All-Stars. He will recover just fine.


regarding Chauncey playing off the ball, while playing alongside Carmelo Anthony, another ball dominant SF who acts as his own PG offensively but doesn't have nearly the ability to run an offense or pass as LeBron does, Billups put up some of the best years statistically in his career with only assists taking a slight tumble due to Melo's ball dominance. Billups will flourish next to Lebron especially given that come the fourth quarter, Chauncey will take that shot and make it if LeBron is feeling in less than a heroic mode.

Regarding Dirk, no one can stop him but him. Not this Kings team not any team in this draft. But you can play physical with him and make him play defense and hopefully wear him out so that his shots don't fall late in games. Diaw and Millsap will have trouble slowing him offensively but both can make him work both inside and out defensively. Last resort we can use Chandler on him who has had some success in slowing him in the past.

But in reality, we will just throw bodies at him, hit him, rough him up, make him work and do our best to slow him long term. And if that doesn't work, we will let him have his shut the rest of his team down and/or outscore them.

[nickagneta]

To Sacramento: Explain to my why Mike Miller will be healthy for the season, and Tyson Chandler is going to play well next season.

Miller just had yet another surgery for an ailment unrelated to his thumb, and he's not exactly optimistic. That makes two separate incidences since the off-season began:

Not only did Mike Miller undergo recent surgery for a ruptured tendon in his left thumb, but it has been learned that Miller recently also underwent surgery on his left shoulder. Due to the lockout, the Heat were not allowed to confirm the procedures.

Miller told his hometown newspaper, the Mitchell (S.D.) Daily Republic, "I've been trying to glue myself back together, kind of like the humpty-dumpty man right now. I've been out since the season's been over. It's a little bit frustrating right now, but hopefully it will give the rest of my body a chance to heal up and take a break."

The last time Tyson Chandler signed a contract extension, he followed it up was an offensively anemic, defensively inconsistent performance that prodded the Bulls into possibly the worst FA signing of the last 10 years, and shipping out Tyson Chandler for JR Smith and PJ Brown.

He's followed that year up with both acclaimed and criticized performances. An appearance in Beijing, a trade for Eduardo Najera, Matt Carroll, and Eric Dampier's expiring non-guaranteed contract. Leading the league in offensive rebounds, to being traded for scraps to OKC (old Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox), only to have that trade reversed by OKC because Chandler couldn't pass his physical.

Nobody can deny the effect of having a strong defensive anchor had on LeBron James's Heat in the Finals, but why do you think Tyson Chandler can break the chain this season and start putting in consistently elite defensive performances? You're not worried about "Fat Contract" Syndrome, or that last year was a contract year anomaly?

Well, Mike Miller will be healthy because the lockout might last a year but also because both surgeries were done very early in the off season process and he will have the summer to recupe. Without a lockout will he be able to start the season, who knows? He will probably not start the season but should be 100% before long as he actually played for weeks with the ruptured thumb tendon and bad shoulder.

Either way, we are not expecting large minutes out of Miller as we intend to have him back up mostly LeBron who we guess will be playing about 38 MPG and then more in the playoffs. If Miller is a no go, rookie defensive specialist and pretty much concensus best defensive player in this year's draft, Chris Singleton can give us minutes at the 3 during the season without costing us many games and will grow into a player by season's end.

Refarding Chandler, first off, who he was traded for is irrelevant as great players get traded for garbage all the time in today's NBA due to the salary restrictions of the CBA. Is Pau Gasol a worse player because of the trash he was traded for? How about Zach Randolph? How about any current very good to superstar player? Are they worse players because their GMs decided to take 50 cents or less in talent for them in a trade?

Over the last 6 years he has made about $64 million while averaging 9 PPG, 10 RPG, 1.3 BPG while shooting over 60% and playing great defense. He has also played in over 73 games 4 out of the 6 years of that contract. That's pretty good value for a 7'1" defensive minded center.

Also, his consistency could be attributed to being young(he was 23 when he signed that contract in Chicago) and now that he has matured and seen what it takes to win and win it all, he will be dedicated to the work ethic and play that we witnessed last year when in the playoffs, it could be argued he was the Mavs second best player and maybe the player the could least afford to lose. Let's remember he is only 29 and some feel that players don't really hit their peaks as players until they hit that 28-30 year old age.

[nickagneta]

I am actually back from vacation and have full internet access with the ability to look up information to point counterpoint if anyone wishes to ask questions of the Kings.

Apologize for my lack of being able to respond in detail or to some questions but western Puerto Rico isn't exactly metropolitan Boston when it comes to getting acces to a computer(none at any of my in-laws and no time to find a wi-fi hot spot if one exists here) or getting a 1G signal, nevermind a 3G signal. I think I may have cost myself a small fortune in roaming charges just doing what I did.

So if you have questions before placing your ballots, let's see them

[Lucky17]

nick, seeing as my hastily scribbled, gut-reaction rankings are eerily close to yours in the three other divisions I have checked, can you please give me your rankings (SAC included) for the Pacific?

[nickagneta]

Good overall division that might get three teams in the playoffs and should have the overall CB Draft champion

1. Sacramento - best starting five in the game and maybe the best starting 7. The dropoff from there could hurt them eventually though I doubt it.

2. Phoenix - I spent too much time last year expounding on the virtues of Bynum and Manu not to see this team finish here. Health is EXTREMELY important for these two but I like the Kidd and Odom additions and the bench has some potency. probably a number 5 seed

3. Golden State - except for Curry and Dirk there's not a lot on this team I like. Doesn't mean there's not a bunch of talent its just not talent I believe in and I have seen Dirk with better talent do not so great in the regular season before. Dirk is this team. If you believe in him as a top 2-3 player this team is better than Phoenix, if not, I can't see them beating them out for 2nd in this division.

4. Los Angeles - well, someone has to come in 4th, who better than the lakers(ooops Conspiracy). Sorry jgod, just way too many question marks for this team in a very strong division

[action781]

Good overall division that might get three teams in the playoffs and should have the overall CB Draft champion

1. Sacramento - best starting five in the game and maybe the best starting 7. The dropoff from there could hurt them eventually though I doubt it.

2. Phoenix - I spent too much time last year expounding on the virtues of Bynum and Manu not to see this team finish here. Health is EXTREMELY important for these two but I like the Kidd and Odom additions and the bench has some potency. probably a number 5 seed

3. Golden State - except for Curry and Dirk there's not a lot on this team I like. Doesn't mean there's not a bunch of talent its just not talent I believe in and I have seen Dirk with better talent do not so great in the regular season before. Dirk is this team. If you believe in him as a top 2-3 player this team is better than Phoenix, if not, I can't see them beating them out for 2nd in this division.

4. Los Angeles - well, someone has to come in 4th, who better than the lakers(ooops Conspiracy). Sorry jgod, just way too many question marks for this team in a very strong division

I concede that Pawnee stands no chance against Sacramento if Sacramento is allowed to start 7 players.

 

But I agree with these rankings.  LA is still a good team even though 4th in this division and is very close to GS in my eyes.  Maybe even a little better, it's very close.

[Bahku]

I am actually back from vacation and have full internet access with the ability to look up information to point counterpoint if anyone wishes to ask questions of the Kings.

Apologize for my lack of being able to respond in detail or to some questions but western Puerto Rico isn't exactly metropolitan Boston when it comes to getting acces to a computer(none at any of my in-laws and no time to find a wi-fi hot spot if one exists here) or getting a 1G signal, nevermind a 3G signal. I think I may have cost myself a small fortune in roaming charges just doing what I did.

So if you have questions before placing your ballots, let's see them

The (Luis Munoz Marin International) San Juan Airport is a nightmare. Did you get to Arecibo? So cool ... love astrophysics.

[nickagneta]

I am actually back from vacation and have full internet access with the ability to look up information to point counterpoint if anyone wishes to ask questions of the Kings.

Apologize for my lack of being able to respond in detail or to some questions but western Puerto Rico isn't exactly metropolitan Boston when it comes to getting acces to a computer(none at any of my in-laws and no time to find a wi-fi hot spot if one exists here) or getting a 1G signal, nevermind a 3G signal. I think I may have cost myself a small fortune in roaming charges just doing what I did.

So if you have questions before placing your ballots, let's see them

The (Luis Munoz Marin International) San Juan Airport is a nightmare. Did you get to Arecibo? So cool ... love astrophysics.

Yes it is a nightmare of an airport.

I passed Arecibo on the way to Aguadilla where I stayed. Spent a lot of time at Crash Boat Beach and Guajataca Beach but did get down to the Cave Parks of Rio Camuy. BTW, if you are a geologist and havent been there, shame on you.

And made a trip to Ponce one day. So much to see with so little time, especially when you have to make time to see every single aunt, uncle, grandparent and cousin on the isle.