The Bargain Bin: Eastern Conference Edition

As of July 30th, most of the big name free agents have been signed.  The biggest names left are Shaquille O'Neal (in my opinion he should retire, but he's still serviceable enough to get a contract), Tracy McGrady (disappointed at a workout for the Bulls), and Allen Iverson (should stay retired.).  But there are a few bargain bin options for teams still looking for some extra depth.

I will be using Sports Illustrated 2010 NBA Free Agent Tracker and also looking at the teams that still have space left, and still have roster spots left.  The minimum amount of roster spots a team must have is 13.  The maximum is 15.  Currently some teams (like the Heat who I mentioned yesterday) are over that 15 mark, because the cuts will be made during training camp.

Today I'll be looking at the Eastern Conference, and Monday we'll be taking a look at the West.  So lets see which teams have roster spots and money available, and which unsigned players might fit best.

Make No Mistake, the Heat are Going to be Good.

When "The Decision" aired and LeBron announced he was going to be signing with Miami, joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh as perhaps the best Big 3 of all time, much was made about how they would have trouble filling the roster with smaller contracts, and that the egos would clash (If you think that, you haven't watched the Olympics and seen the chemistry between these players, especially James and Wade).

But frankly, the Heat have done a marvelous job surrounding LeBron, Wade and Bosh with very good role players this offseason.  The biggest things they needed were shooters to take advantage of Wade and James penetration, and a rim defender to stop opposing big men from dominating on that end.  Let's take a look at what they've managed to do.

Lorenzen Wright Found Dead at Age 34

Lorenzen Wright was reported missing last week by his friends and family.  The missing persons case has turned tragic though, as Wright was found dead in Southeast Memphis.

Wright played in the NBA for 13 seasons after being drafted 7th in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Clippers, and also played for the Hawks, Grizzlies, Kings, and Cavaliers.

Being a Kings fan, I only really remember Wright as being a bit player in the Mike Bibby trade.  He only played 5 games and 13 total minutes for the team before being waived, but he seemed like a good guy.  Bryan Rosa of A Royal Pain found this interview with Lorenzen on his time with the Kings.

A much more passionate read comes from Peachtree Hoops, where a fan remembers Lorenzen's time with the team.

Death is always sad, but especially in these type of cases involving a man who was still in the prime of his life.  Condolences to the Wright family, Lorenzen will be missed.  We can only hope that the people responsible are brought to justice soon.

Nov. 4, 1975 - July 28, 2010

The Circle of Kaaaahn!!!

Yesterday, the Minnesota Timberwolves traded Ramon Sessions, Ryan Hollins, and a 2013 2nd round pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Delonte West and Sebastian Telfair.

I find this funny, because it creates a full circle from last year, when Telfair also was with the Wolves.

A couple weeks ago, Tom Ziller wrote over at Fanhouse that an Avocado would likely have made a better GM than David Kahn.  I agreed with it at the time, and I agree with it now, because after the trade, the Wolves are back to where they were last year with Telfair, but worse.  Let's review:

7/20/2009:  Wolves trade Sebastian Telfair, Craig Smith, and Mark Madsen ($9.465 million) to the Los Angeles Clippers for Quentin Richardson ($8.7 million).

8/4/2009: Wolves sign Ryan Hollins to 3 year, $7 million contract.

8/13/2009: Wolves trade Quentin Richardson ($8.7 million) to the Miami Heat for Mark Blount ($7.97 million).

9/4/2009: Wolves sign Ramon Sessions to 4 year, $16.4 million contract.

3/1/2010: Wolves waive Mark Blount who hadn't played a minute with them.

7/26/2010: Wolves trade Ryan Hollins, Ramon Sessions, and a 2nd rounder ($17.6 million) for Sebastian Telfair and Delonte West ($7.2 million).

7/27/2010 - 8/3/2010: Delonte West widely expected to be waived, as only $500,000 of his 2010-11 salary is guaranteed.

So in the end, instead of letting the contracts of Smith and Madsen expire, the Wolves paid for 1 year of Sessions (8.2 PPG, 3.1 APG) and Hollins (6.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG), paid $500,000 so that Delonte West won't ever suit up for them, paid Mark Blount almost $8 million to do the same, lost a 2nd rounder, and still have Telfair.  And its arguable that Smith and Telfair would've been more productive for the Wolves last year than Sessions and Hollins were, at a cheaper price.

It's the Circle of Kaaaahn.

Power Shift Back to the East?

Back in the day, I remember reading an article in Sports Illustrated showing how the Power in the NBA had begun to shift from the East to the West, beginning with Shaquille O'Neal's departure from Orlando to LA, Michael Jordan's 2nd retirement from the Bulls, and the arrival of stars such as Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Webber, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett to teams in the Western Conference.

Recently, Chris Thomasson over at AOL Fanhouse wrote an article questioning if there's been a Power Shift back to the East, citing big free agents such as Amar'e Stoudemire and Carlos Boozer moving to the Eastern Conference, as well as the top 3 draft picks this year going to Eastern Conference teams.

But is the East as a whole really becoming better?

Rook-Roll'd: Vegas Summer League Part 2

The time has come for us to wrap up our Rookie coverage (at least until Pre-season begins in October), and we're going to end by talking about how DeMarcus Cousins, Ed Davis, Larry Sanders, Quincy Pondexter, Trevor Booker, Dominique Jones, Jordan Crawford, Andy Rautins, Devin Ebanks, and Willie Warren did during the Vegas Summer League, and also debut our first Rookie Power Rankings. 


After the jump, our impressions, and the 1st edition of the 2010-11 Rookie Power Rankings.

New Orleans Needs to Stand Up to Chris Paul

So the latest NBA news is that Chris Paul, perhaps the best point guard in the league, wants out of New Orleans as reported by Ken Berger for CBS Sports.

According to the report (which isn't completely new, rumors of Paul wanting out have been surfacing ever since Byron Scott was let go), Paul is frustrated at management for failing to build a contender around him, and wants to follow in LeBron James footsteps (it should be noted that he just joined LeBron's marketing company LRMR) and join a team with another superstar, preferably the Lakers, Knicks, or Magic.

Troubling news for the Hornets Franchise, no?

Rook-Roll'd: Vegas Summer League Part 1

After covering the main rookies that played in the Orlando Summer League, its now time to cover the more expansive Vegas Summer League.  Today we will look at the performances of John Wall, Derrick Caracter, Patrick Patterson, Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Bledsoe, Hassan Whiteside, Greg Monroe, Gani Lawal, Luke Babbitt, and Landry Fields.  Friday we will conclude with DeMarcus Cousins, Ed Davis, Larry Sanders, Quincy Pondexter, Trevor Booker, Dominique Jones, Jordan Crawford, Andy Rautins, Devin Ebanks, and Willie Warren and introduce our very first Rookie Power Rankings, our top 10 list of  the best Rookies in the league.

After the jump, our impressions.

Rook-Roll'd: Orlando Summer League Edition

I hope I didn't just lose all my readers.

Rook-Roll'd is going to be a recurring segment I do looking at how the current crop of rookies is doing.  Currently we've only seen them in Summer League, which is definitely not enough to tell us how they will be through their career or even the season (Stephen Curry for example, had a pretty terrible Summer League last year, but managed to be one of the best actual rookies throughout the season).  But its still a glimpse of these players playing for the first time with NBA rules and other NBA caliber players.  This first segment of Rook-Roll'd is going to take a look at the players who played in the Orlando Summer League last week from July 5-9. On Wednesday and Friday, we'll be taking a look at the rookies that played in Vegas.  After the Regular Season starts, Rook-Roll'd will occur weekly (time permitting)

Since this is the first Rook-Roll'd Post, let me explain the categories a bit.  "Never Gonna Give You Up" is reserved for the Top Performers, "We Know the Game and We're Gonna Play It" is for the players that played about as well as was expected, and "Don't Tell Me You're Too Blind to See" is for the disappointments.  After the jump, our impressions.

Chris Cohan Sells the Warriors

After years of poor management and penny-pinching, Chris Cohan, owner of the Warriors since 1995, has sold the team to Peter Guber and Joseph Lacob for what is now an NBA record $450 million.  Many Warriors fans were hoping billionaire Larry Ellison was going to buy the team, but he was outbid by Guber & Lacob.  The fact remains though, that the Warriors are no longer under Cohan's ownership, and that is cause to rejoice right there.

Meet the Newest Member of the Pick and Scroll Team: Devin Kharpertian

I am very pleased to announce that Pick & Scroll is adding another talented writer to the staff in Devin Kharpertian.  I asked Devin to introduce himself and here's what he had to say:

"I'm a 20-year-old writer, musical artist, and student from northern New Jersey. I started my basketblogging career in May as a regular contributor to ESPN's TrueHoop Affiliate NetsAreScorching, and have come a long way since. I'm a fan of all things Nets and all things basketball, am the captain of Hampshire College's basketball team (which is far less cool than it sounds), and an ardent viewer of any game tape I can get my hands on. At 6'4", I'm also one of the taller TrueHoop bloggers, and after hearing of a TrueHoop-SBNation matchup this summer, expressed a serious desire to show my skills in any rematch. You can check out my Nets-specific work over at www.NetsAreScorching.com or follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/uuords "

Welcome to the team Devin!

With LeBron Gone, What Should Cleveland Do?

If you haven't heard by now (you probably shouldn't be reading this blog), but LeBron James is leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat.  This is a huge blow to the franchise as a whole, and Gilbert's claim that the Cavaliers will win a championship, not just before the Heat, but a championship at all anywhere in the near future, is not just unfounded, but also insane.

David Kahn Wants to be Like Glory Day Kings?

So tonight I watched the Sacramento Kings play the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Las Vegas Summer League.  During the 2nd quarter, the announcers (Matt Winer and Chris Webber, an all-time great King) had Minnesota GM David Kahn on to explain his thought process on what he's trying to do with his team, since nobody else on this planet can seem to figure it out (the best explanation is that David Kahn was sent from the future in order to prevent a 2012 apocalypse from the Timberwolves being so good.  I would like to claim credit for this but I read it on Twitter here.)  Kahn told Webber that he was trying to model his team after the old Sacramento Kings and create an up-tempo system where everyone loves to pass.

Well David, if this really is your plan, you're doing it horribly wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong.

Welcome to Pick and Scroll

Hello one and all, and welcome to Pick and Scroll, my first general NBA blog.  My name is Akis Yerocostas (that's Greek if you're wondering) and I'm here to talk basketball.  I've been a Sacramento Kings fan all my life (it's honestly not as bad as you would think.), but throughout that time I've watched a lot of basketball.  Currently I write for the great Tom Ziller over at the SB Nation Kings Blog Sactown Royalty, and while I will continue my work over there, I'll be talking about the general NBA over here.

If you're new to my writing as no doubt many of you will be, I try to back up my opinions with facts and numbers, so hopefully I won't make too many sweeping generalizations about your favorite team or player.  I'm sure that if I do say something you disagree with, I'll hear about it, and that's good!  I also will try to have running posts on certain subjects, perhaps weekly or monthly, while also chiming in on current NBA topics as they occur.

So welcome to Pick and Scroll, I hope you like it.

- Akis