Current day Huskies led by Tony Wroten Jr. will be facing off against a Nate Robinson led UW alumni squad Wednesday afternoon at Edmundson Pavilion.
As reported by Percy Allen of the Seattle Times,
The UW alumni include: Nate Robinson, Spencer Hawes, Jon Brockman, Will Conroy and Isaiah Thomas. NBA star Jamal Crawford is going to coach the alumni team.
This will be the second time the public can get a glimpse at the Huskies. The team held an intrasquad scrimmage for UW students last Friday.
Will you be in attendance? Doors open to the public at 3:30pm.
Whenever the next NBA Season happens, you can be assured that teams will be looking to make necessary changes to how they carry contracts from here on out. With that being said I thought it would be interested to peer into the future and look at the most critical contracts on each NBA roster and address what should be done about each (it’s not like we can use up time on Summer League preview) and how it will affect the team. This series will take place over a few weeks, so you can grab your GM hat, we’re about to go on a ride.
First, let’s rank the type of contracts that we’ll be address in order of importance:
Expiring contracts (those due to expire at the end of the planned 2011-2012 season) are the most critical contracts taken into account.
Team/Qualifying option contracts. These contracts will come into play next mainly because this allows us to have more control over the players that are not necessarily expiring, but we may want to move with minimal issue.
Player/Early Termination option contracts. Unless a player is promised a multi-year extension, this is usually not a simple situation to deal with, especially for older players.
And secondly, some rules:
Trades may be taken into consideration.
We’ll be taking a team perspective, not a player perspective.
The old CBA rules will be taken into account as of September 1st, 2011.
I swear I’ll try to make this make as much sense without dabbling into hardcore numbers/analytics/statistics
Los Angeles Clippers
Where would you rank Chris Kaman in the NBA today? ESPN.com has him rated 88 and SI.com has him rated 79 in both their recently released NBA player rankings. Either way, everyone seems to have a good understanding of where Kaman rests as a player, but do you? Do you really know what you would have in Kaman, as a player, if you envisioned him playing at this moment? Funny, isn’t it? Because you probably do know who Kaman is, what to expect of his game, and where he stands presently as a player. It’s actually pretty simple, because over the last 6 years, Kaman has given us the extremes of his game. He either misses a substantial amount of games (07-08, 08-09, and 10-11) or plays almost every game in a season (75+ games in 05-06, 06-07, and 09-10). The Ax-Murder-bearded man will either subject you to All-Star caliber years statistically (05-06, 07-08, and 09-10 – in which was an actual All-Star) or make you question how he could be underachieving with such a solid skill set (06-07, 08-09, and 10-11). Now that Kaman is entering the last year of his eight figure contract, with young phenom DeAndre Jordan nipping at his heels, what is the smartest thing the Clippers can do with Kaman and his next contract?
Outside of a modest extension for the aforementioned, future center Jordan, the Clippers will have a substantial amount of cap space on their hands. They just have to be mindful of Eric Gordon‘s extension eligibility in a year. Mo Williams will surely take his player option year at $8.5 Million after next year, but after the 2012-2013 season you don’t have to worry about carrying the old guard forward. That’s if the Clippers decide to continue building a young core like Oklahoma City.
Kaman is owed $12 Million next year. Compared to some of the contracts that marginally average centers have received over the last few years (Samuel Dalembert: $9.6 Million, Andris Biedrins: $9 Million, DeSagana Diop: $7 Million and Brendon Haywood: $7.6 Million to $10 Million over the next 5 years), Kaman’s contract was should be considered a steal akin to the one the Boston Celtics have with starting point guard Rajon Rondo. Now that we’ve pretty much got an understanding of what Kaman is and what he is not, at 29 years old (let me add that he turns 30 at the end of this season), we don’t have to worry about overpaying in money or years for him. Given that Jordan is only 23 and may need a year or two more to hit his stride in the NBA, Kaman can prove to be the perfect (and affordable) transitional player and foil for Jordan’s expanding game. One issue that could arise is Kaman’s “star” agent, Rob Pelinka (Also Kobe “Colorado” Bryant‘s agent; also see “handshake-gate” with forward Carlos Boozer and the Cleveland Cavaliers), attempting to bully the market and get Kaman a contract far larger than what he is worth. With the lack of quality centers in the NBA today, a contender could very well snatch Kaman out from under the Clippers and leave them empty-handed. The second issue that contribute to the first is the “thrifty” (or downright frugal/cheap/ridiculously selfish) spending of Clippers’ owner Donald Sterling. Even though over the last few years (see Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, and Baron Davis) he has been somewhat more willing to spend on his key players. That’s a key component to this arrangement working out with the building of this current Clippers team.
Now what is Kaman worth? Something close to the lower end of what he has been paid contractually over the last few years is the highest I would be willing to go over the next few years. Honestly, a 3 year contract worth around $22 Million is where I would start the negotiations. If Kaman desires over $9 Million or longer than 3 years, then he can go elsewhere. Ideally a 3 year deal would put the last year of Kaman’s contract at the start of Griffin’s extension and a year before the Clippers cap begins to balloon with the contracts of Al-Farouq Aminu and Eric Bledsoe.
The real value in Chris Kaman at this point in his career (on the backside of his peak) is where you can leverage his ideal center skill-set, but limit the wear and tear on his hamstrings, legs, knees, and feet (given his injury history). Kaman was the 6th pick in the historic 2003 draft for a reason. He can play with his back to the basket (like a traditional center), he has a respectable outside jumper, he can play admirable defense when not defending the Zach Randolph‘s of this world, and isn’t a liablity at the free throw line. He really does have a pretty complete game. The questions that will give you pause in continuing to pay Kaman after this year come in line with his injuries. When the NBA’s Zach Galifianakis appeared to be healthy he could contribute something along the lines of 15 to 18 ppg, in around 35+ minutes per game, with 9.0 to 12.0 rpg to go along with over 1.5 bpg (as in 07-08 and 09-10). The issues come when he was injured and could only manage to contribute around 26-29 minutes per game. His averages would drop to around 10-12 ppg, with 7.0 to 8.0 rpg (as seen in 08-09 and 10-11). The only constant was his blocking ability. The issue just wasn’t the amount of minutes he played (as you would think less minutes = lower stat lines), but during the years where he was injured his FG%, FT%, and PER suffered (compare his 08-09 and 10-11 seasons to the heights of his 07-08 and 09-10 seasons). It’s the lack of effectiveness and the hindrances placed upon the team trying to acclimate Kaman back into the starting lineup that really make you question is 3 more years of mountains and valley’s worth it?
The real question that beckons then is, is DeAndre Jordan ready for a more prominent role? Ultimately making Kaman appear expendable would only serve to help the Clippers in not only retaining his services at a lower price, but also in relegating Kaman to a mentorship/key bench player role (see Brad Miller). The biggest issues with Jordan are the same issues that plague most young big men: foul rate and a lack of discernible offensive moves (not to mention a horrendous free throw %; shoutout to JaVale McGee). Only time and exposure can assist Jordan in gaining that consistency. If the Clippers believe they have a young core that will grow into a contender (Jordan, alongside Aminu, Gordon, Bledsoe, and Blake Griffin), then they have to take the time now to develop Jordan into a real force. He has the size of a true center, the defensive skill of a true center, and he was a called a steal in the second round of the 2008 draft for a reason. Kaman can offset Jordan on offense and you can even play Kaman as a power forward at times alongside Jordan. Limiting Kaman’s minutes to around 25 per game and see if he can still be effective enough to be paid $8 Million/year is ideally the best low risk/high reward way to go. But, if Kaman still showcases injury issues on top of an ineffectiveness in limited minutes, then it may be best to let him walk.
October 22, 2011 at 11:33 am · written by HoopSmack
HoopSmack is back for Season 2 as we discuss…the NBA lockout…again. Failed mediations, trusting Dan Gilbert, Peter Holt lunacy, inept Billy Hunter, race relations, NBA Beatles Tour, its all up for discussion on the latest episode of the HoopSmack Podcast!!!
Download Episode 35 on iTunes, Zune Marketplace, SlapDash Radio, Stitcher Radio, Podomatic or right-click here to save to your machine. Leave us feedback on the iTunes store, send us an email at feedback@hoopsmack.com or hit us on Twitter.
You can also leave us a voicemail message at (509) 795-1858.*
After getting NBA Players Union Executive Director Billy Hunter to tell how he felt about the current labor situation the NBA “finds” itself in, it was only natural that commissioner David Stern would get his turn with WFAN’s own Mike Francesa.
Whenever the next NBA Season happens, you can be assured that teams will be looking to make necessary changes to how they carry contracts from here on out. With that being said I thought it would be interested to peer into the future and look at the most critical contracts on each NBA roster and address what should be done about each (it’s not like we can use up time on Summer League preview) and how it will affect the team. This series will take place over a few weeks, so you can grab your GM hat, we’re about to go on a ride.
First, let’s rank the type of contracts that we’ll be address in order of importance:
Expiring contracts (those due to expire at the end of the planned 2011-2012 season) are the most critical contracts taken into account.
Team/Qualifying option contracts. These contracts will come into play next mainly because this allows us to have more control over the players that are not necessarily expiring, but we may want to move with minimal issue.
Player/Early Termination option contracts. Unless a player is promised a multi-year extension, this is usually not a simple situation to deal with, especially for older players.
And secondly, some rules:
Trades may be taken into consideration.
We’ll be taking a team perspective, not a player perspective.
The old CBA rules will be taken into account as of September 1st, 2011.
I swear I’ll try to make this make as much sense without dabbling into hardcore numbers/analytics/statistics
Indiana Pacers
Potential. The most overused and probably misunderstood word utilized in the NBA today. If it’s not ESPN’s Jay Bilas gushing over some uber-athletic college swingman or some infatuated sports writer salivating over an over-hyped former All-American, everyone seems to be obsessed with what a young basketball player can possibly be. But what happens when the young player reaches the threshold of his potential and we still view him through the eyes of what he can possibly be? He becomes what Roy Hibbert is presently. In transition between who we thought he was and who he really is, mainly questions come to mind when you think of Roy Hibbert. Seen as a prototypical center, with excellent hands, strong rebounding skills and great vision. Even though he was below average athletically, he still has the quickness to still be effective. Though Hibbert is only 25 year old and experienced career highs in minutes, points, rebounds and blocks, we still find ourselves questioning what type of player Hibbert can be.
Contractually Hibbert sits in a favorable situation both from his prespective and from the teams point of view. The Pacers have one more year to evaluate Hibbert before they can sign him to a contract extension, and if contract talks stall they can extend him a qualifying offer for around $3.5 Million. Hibbert will be 26 (and entering his athletic prime) by the time the Pacers have to consider making Hibbert part of their core for the foreseable future. From Hibbert’s end, he has two years to prove his inconsistent play is a product of the minutes he played, than him hitting his peak already.
Let’s assume Hibbert continues his marginally good play over the next two years, what is he worth? There are two things we need to consider: 1) Centers are overvalued and 2) Can Hibbert improve in the areas he lacks consistency? Everyone knows that the traditional center is almost extinct in today’s NBA. When a one-dimensional center like Tyson Chandler and a power forward masquerading as a center like Nene can command upwards to $12-15 Million/yr, then you know that if Hibbert hits the market performing as he does presently, he might command a contract close to $10 Million/yr. That’s absurd to even consider, but take a look at some similar NBA centers’ contracts:
Samuel Dalembert: $9.6 Million
Andris Biedrins: $9 Million
DeSagana Diop: $7 Million
Brendon Haywood: $7.6 Million to $10 Million over the next 5 years
Neither of these players match the present production of Hibbert and if they can command those types of dollars in the NBA today, imagine what a young Hibbert could command. Whereas Dalembert, Diop, Haywood and Biedrins are all one-dimensional players, Hibbert is much more well-rounded and appears to only have a few faults to iron out that can make him a much better player. With that being said, the Pacers don’t seem to be making any strides past the first round with this current core. The entire team is prepared for a reboot after these last few years of mediocrity and investing in an above-average center, that shows few signs of being greater than what he is, isn’t a sound investment.
During the first two months of last season Hibbert averaged 16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 3.7 assists per game. During the months of December and January he averaged 10 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 1.7 assists per game. From February to April Hibbert averaged 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.8 assists per game. Will the real Roy Hibbert please stand up? Hibbert managed to showcase his highest highs (24, 12 and 6 assists in a 95-92 win over the Lakers in November) and his lowest lows (6 straight games of single digit points and rebounds during the month of December) throughout last season. At nearly 25 years old, Hibbert is in the perfect position to improve his stock going into his prime. We’ve poured over his statistics previously, but his ability to dominate offensively and defensively is clearly there.
His one issue is actually one that may be his death kneel regarding his future: Foul Rate. Last season Hibbert fouled at a rate of 5.5 fouls per 48 minutes. Over an 82 game season, if Hibbert played all 48 minutes, he would foul out of 91% of those games. 91%!!!! That’s approximately 74 games. How much of an issue would that be when it comes to game planning? Could any team afford to make one of their cornerstone players a part-time player? Especially the back line of their offense? Not likely. Unless he was a bench player or a young player that had not learned to reign in his athleticism, it just isn’t worth the headache. Now you can see the bigger picture. Hibbert’s biggest fault is a direct result of his biggest weakness, a lack of athleticism. That’s not something you can solve with practice or drills. You can always work on his timing or develop his basketball I.Q., but that’s usually something that comes innate within a player. Is that to say that he can’t develop it, no, just that it’s extremely hard to do. At this point in Hibbert’s career the Pacers probably don’t want to invest that time. It seems that Hibbert probably fits next to a star power forward that can take pressure off of him and allow him to focus on developing his strengths. The Pacers have Tyler Hansbrough, Josh McRoberts, Jeff Foster and Solomon Jones. Collectively, they are about as far from a star forward that you can get. For a team that may need a “reboot” more than a rebuild, Hibbert exemplifies the mediocrity that has plagued this franchise for the last 5 years. It’s time to move on.
October 13, 2011 at 8:06 am · written by Knowledge
None of the commissioners in any of the 4 major American sports are as recognizable as David Stern. In 28 plus years as NBA commissioner, Stern has helped propel the National Basketball Organization to its most successful years in terms of profitability and popularity. His impact has particularly been felt on the International landscape, and Stern himself has expressed a commitment to have an NBA franchise in place overseas in the coming years. There is little to no doubt that Stern’s regime has been marked by many successful ventures and it definitely doesn’t hurt that the game has introduced some of its biggest stars in his era i.e. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bean Bryant & Lebron James just to name a few. With that said, David Stern has shown a consistency in failing to prepare both his owners and his players to get on the same page.
His hardball, take it or leave it tough negotiation tactics has rubbed not just the players but many fans the wrong way. With now a second lockout attached to his name, Stern’s legacy has definitely taken a hit, not to mention the numerous relocations under his watch. (BRING THE SONICS BACK). Stern has the utmost responsibility to ensure that his league continues to remain profitable but he also must understand that the athletes are the ones who drive the popularity of the sport, as one of our staff members Tay p said” I’ve never paid to see an owner own a team.”
Stern has continued to state that competitive balance and sustainability are at the forefront of the current labor talks as well as overpaid players whose salaries don’t reciprocate their value but Stern has not questioned the owners spending tactics and poor business practices nor held them accountable for anything. Simply put, Stern and the owners are looking for a system to help protect them from themselves. There are many questions that keep running through my head. If Stern felt a lockout was inevitable, why wasn’t he more proactive in getting both sides together? How does a lockout benefit both sides? One of the biggest issues I have with this lockout is Stern’s leadership throughout this entire process. It almost seems he feels a lockout is necessary in order for things to change when it should be the other way around.
There is no doubt that there are others at fault but Stern is ultimately responsible in my book and I truly wish he would’ve walked away years ago. As David Stern once said “I know where the bodies are buried” well jump right in David because you have definitely dug your own grave.
