Lots of wasted salary on Knicks

The Knicks are headed in the right direction despite signing Chris Duhon, a player whose off-court activities last year have been in question. It’s amazing the number of players that they have eating up money on the books. The most obvious is Stephon Marbury, whose $21 million-plus salary makes him unable to be traded. Zach Randolph, at over $14.5 million, at least gave the Knicks some production last year, but next year they’ll owe over $6 million to players like Jared Jefferies, who was traded to Portland for Randolph, Jerome James and Malik Rose. By contrast David Lee, a player outside teams are actually interested in won’t even crack the $2 million threshold next year. You can’t blame players from wanting to score. It skews everything, including what it appears they’re worth.

Heat needs a banger

As the No. 2 overall pick in June’s draft, Michael Beasley is a marked man in the summer league games. That’s going to continue all the way through the upcoming season as veterans try to test his toughness. Right now he’s probably the strongest player physically the Heat has under the basket with Udonis Haslem projected to play center. They probably need another banger to help protect Beasley and Dwayne Wade. Haslem isn’t that type of player. Possessing a consistent mid-range jump shot, Haslem appears to be more of a finesse player, adept to finding open spaces rather than plowing his own space underneath. If he’s going to play center the Heat have no choice but to play uptempo. Too bad uptempo teams without a true center don’t win NBA championships.

Hickson needs to be James' bodyguard

The Cavaliers signed their first-round draft pick today, J.J. Hickson. At 6-feet-9 245 pounds, Hickson is built solid. The Cavaliers could stand to benefit if he has a mean streak to go along with that size and bulk. Where is the next Charles Oakley? That’s the type of player the Cavs need. Washington wasn’t afraid to hurt LeBron James in last year’s playoffs because Cleveland didn’t have anyone who would go out there and be stop Washington’s drives on the other end. That player should have been Ben Wallace, but he was too soft to do it as was Big Z. Joe Smith was a combination of both of them — old and docile. Hickson needs to come in there and immediately throw down the first player meets in the lane. It might not hurt the rookie to be know as a dirty player from the outset — at least when it comes to other team’s slashers driving the lane. James is going to continue to take hard fouls unless the Cavs do something about it. If New York and other teams that hope to lure LeBron in a couple of years are smart, they would make sure they have someone rugged they can bring to James and say “This will be your bodyguard.”

Warriors better without Davis?

Basically the Warriors traded Baron Davis for Corey Magette straight up and they have some room left under the salary cap after unloading Davis’ salary. The Warriors might not be in as bad of shape as it appeared after Davis’ departure. As far as last year’s production, here’s the tale of the tape:

Davis player Maggette
29 age 28
82 games 70
21.8 ppg 22.1
.426 fg% .458
.330 3pt% .384
.750 ft% .812
4.7 rpg 5.6
7.6 apg 2.7

Davis has the clear lead in assists per game and in the leadership department, but he was a point guard and was counted on to do those things. He also rebounded well for a point guard. But as far as point production and the ability to score. They are virtually a wash. If anything Maggette might have the edge, although last year without Brand there was more pressure on him to score. Without Davis, Golden State will have a chance to play a brand of basketball in which teams can’t key on stopping one person. They have few guys that can score. Their only problem is the half court game will continue to struggle. They’ve never been particularly strong in the slowdown game and next year they’ll be relying on a first year starting point guard.

Forget Turiaf. Lakers need nothing but healthy Bynum

Already $5 million of the luxury tax threshold, the Lakers aren’t in position to do anything major in free agency, nor do they need to. Their big pickup is going to be the addition of Andrew Bynum from the injured list. Bynum coming back will force a Lakers big to the bench and thus no pressing need for Ronnie Turiaf, who put the Lakers at a disadvantage in the finals against Leon Powe. The Lakers’ starting five is set and they might be one of the few teams that would truly be looking for depth. The fact that Turiaf is leaving is a non-story. He’s just a guy that plays forward. They can let him walk and open up a little more time to DJ MBenga, who is built like an animal.

Mason leaves Wizards for Spurs

For the Wizards, some of their backups last year like Roger Mason Jr. received a ton of playing time with Arenas out and lead the team to the playoffs only to be shoved back to the bench on Arenas’ return and watch the franchise player sign a new deal worth $111 million. The one good thing for Mason thought was that he was able to prove his value on the floor and became an attractive option to a team like the Spurs, who could use a young backup point guard.

Championship gave free-agent role players exposure

What the Celtics are going through right now is they have two key reserved, with the same agent, that are trying to see what kind of financial gain they can expect from being on a championship team. Posey is shopping himself around for a full mid-level exception and one reason the Cavaliers are in play is because they are reportedly interested in giving it to him. Eddie House has apparently also drawn some interest, even though he was a liability in the Eastern Conference Finals and anyone with a good on-ball defender like Detroit had with Lindsey Hunter can render House ineffective. There can’t be any situations better for House than what he has in Boston. He’s never been more relevant than he is now with the Celtics.

Nickname for Oklahoma City

My vote:

The Oklahoma City Five

Just like the football team I'd like to see: The Los Angeles Eleven

Rebuilding Nets must deal Carter

The Nets are officially rebuilding and it’s only a matter of time before Vince Carter is gone. The only question is where does he go? And can he accept a lesser role, possibly even one coming off the bench? The rest of the Nets team is so young that it’s laughable to suggest they would add another veteran to the mix. Even Nenad Kristic appears to want to play elsewhere. He’s wanting a longer deal than he’s shown he’s worth. The Nets often said, even when they had Kidd, that their success would depend on Kristic’s health. He was never healthy and the Nets were never serious title contenders. Both Kristic and Carter still have some nice trade value so if they can work out a deal to sign Kristic, they might be able to use him, along with Carter, in a sign a trade, possibly even for draft picks since New Jersey is no longer in a win-now mode.

With James signing, Heat overloaded at forward

The Heat has loaded itself at forward with the addition of James Jones through free agency. They certainly have some valuable pieces to use in a trade if they are still in the market for a point guard. The addition of Mario Chalmers through free agency should eliminate that need for a point guard. If they like him, might as well throw him in there. Weather they like it or not, the next year will be a building year for the Heat. Wade will be coming off on injury. Marion will still be developing chemistry with his new teammates and the rookies—Chalmers and Beasley—are going to have to learn what it is like going through an 82-game season. Starting 82 games is going to tough for a rookie point guard, but even if they determine he’s not ready to do that, if they like him, he should be ready to do that by next season. Miami probably shouldn’t trade a talented forward that would give the team depth in the long run for a short-term solution at point guard.

Posey would be wasted playing behind James

The Cavaliers have an interest in Celtics free agent James Posey just like a dozen teams out there. The problem is that they already have a small forward, and the addition of Posey would be so that he could play the same role that he did with the Celtics. One thing the Cavs have going for them is that Posey is from Twinsburg, a Cleveland suburb. Maybe he’ll want to return to the area with the cush job of having to play for James when, in the rare instance, he's sitting on the bench. Cleveland would be using their full mid-level exception for a player that is a reserve for one of the game’s most legendary players in Lebron James. In order to get full value for their $5.858 million, Cleveland would have to find a way to put James and Posey on the court at the same time.

Can't make grade? Go to Europe

Brandon Jennings, a point guard from Compton, Calif., who is one of the top recruits in the country has decided to go play in Europe instead of playing for an American University. Will this inspire other American to do the same? Possibly. Seems like Canada could try to sneak its way into being another non-US option. The year LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Darko came were drafted, it make me think about this scenario. It showed that all three levels were capable of producing a top NBA-pick. Here’s a blub of what I wrote on June, 23, 2003:

Why shouldn’t it be that high school players don’t start looking to the European leagues to further their skill if it’s not guaranteed they’ll make an NBA roster? College can present all kinds of problems and undue stress for the athlete who never gave a damn about grades anyway. Many times the graduation rates of athletes disgrace the university. In Europe high-schoolers would get to face better competition while learning what it’s like to get paid to play basketball -- and everything else that goes along with being a professional. High-School players could get incentive packages that include money for both school (if it’s even desired) and personal items. There’s not the same restriction on the number of hours they can practice with the team, coach included. In short, there are no NCAA regulations of any kind, except that you can never play in the NCAA after signing a deal. But who needs dorms and cafeteria food when there’s lobster, steak, and penthouses. Certainly the possibility exists these players would end up in Europe anyway.

Still waiting for Rose

The Bulls can’t seem to get Derrick Rose on the court. After the tendonitis he’s experienced in his knee, the jammed it in a summer league game Tuesday. All his life he’s been waiting to get to the NBA and now that its here, he can’t play. At least it doesn’t appear to be serious, but the last thing the Bulls need is an injury-prone guard. Hopefully it’s not something with the way he plays that makes him more susceptible to injury. The Bulls want to take advantage of him to create opportunities in transition. Hopefully he’s not playing out of control trying to speed things up because he’s at the NBA level. That is all speculation right now, nothing but a guess. It doesn’t take much to get fans thinking about a guy like Grant Hill. Other than that, which is the major headline right now, Tyrus Thomas has been dominating — against rookies and a bunch of hopeful reserves. It’s good that he showed up, especially since the Bulls had a ton of chemistry problems last year, but it’s clear he can play and the Bulls management would be right to send him home.

Magic needs big man not shooting guard

The Orlando Magic signed Michael Pietrus and apparantly he’s expected to become a starter. Pietrus is nice player in that he’s athletic and 6-foot-6 and will be able to match up defensively with any shooting guard in the league. The only downfall of the signing — and its going to be the reason the Magic fail again in the playoffs next year — is that it looks like the move will keep Rashard Lewis out of position at power forward. Power forward is the position Orlando needs. Hedo Turkoglu looked to have the skills last year to carry himself at shooting guard, which would allow Lewis to play the three. Once again the Magic is going to rely on Dwight Howard to get all the rebounds when other teams like Boston and Detroit are going to have multiple players banging Howard underneath. The Magic needs Tony Battie to return from injury and take over the power forward spot. Pietrus should be the sixth man. That is the foundation of a championship team. To have Pietrus coming off the bench is to have a strong bench.

Brand signing puts Sixers in win-now mode

The Sixers are going to pay $82 million for a power forward that was injured all but the very end of last season. Brand has been in the league nine seasons and for the most part has been dependable. They Sixers are definitely giving him the benefit of the doubt — and maybe for good reason, although Josh Smith would have been the better long term solution. He does have nice averages of 20 points, 10 assists per game and in the eight games he did play last year, he averaged 17 points and eight rebounds, but the season was already lost. If this works out then the Sixers will have the dimension that cost them against the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs last year. Brand will give them a player that will allow them to slow down the pace of the game if needed. They’ll be able to work on that throughout the regular season and get Andre Igudola comfortable finding his offense in the half court set. The ability to play in the half court is the next step for this team. Igudola couldn’t do that last year. If he wants to be considered a bonified No. 1 option, he’s going to have to learn that phase. However Brand’s singing signifies an end to the Sixers rebuilding process.

Maggette helps, but what about Marbury

The addition of Corey Maggette does not make up for the loss of Baron Davis, but it helps fill the hole with a little sand. The only problem with Maggette is he’s a complimentary player. He’s a Lamar Odom or, frankly, a Michael Redd. Someone that can be effective on the court, but would probably thrive in a situation where they could roam free because a bigger star is drawing all the attention. If Maggette would have stayed with the Clippers, they would have been a threat to the Western Conference, assuming the Brand comes back full strength. And that’s a big assumption. Maggette averaged 22 points a game on a team with no offensive options other than him on most nights. He’ll be a nice fit in Golden State because he’s a slasher with the strength to get to the hoop and finish with contact. The Warriors will still need someone they can trust to run the point. They were willing to offer Gilbert Arenas a max contract, which means they should still have some money left to spend after locking up Maggette for a reported $10 million a year. A max deal with Arenas would have put him around $20 million a year. There are very few point guards out there that wouldn’t want $10 million a year. An intriguing thought is Stephon Marbury, he’s a lot like Baron Davis in that he needs to score. If Don Nelson can't make the boy wonder useful, no one can.

Sign Posey, deal Peja for SG

Posey should go play with the Hornets, but that’s not going to solve the more glaring problem, which is a shooting guard. Maybe a Posey signing would allow the Hornets to Peja for a shooting guard. Peja is a nice player with some value it might not hurt to see what kind of interest is out there for him. One shooting guard always rumored to be on the block is New Jersey’s Vince Carter. He might not be the player he was, but he could score more than Morris Peterson did and Posey might not be the deadly accurate shooter that Peja is, but he can hit 3s consistently and he’s a better clutch shooter. The only problem with any of these three players is that they’ve all been in the league awhile. The Hornets know what they’re getting a bad back with Peja. Carter and all his knee ailments and perceived nasty attitudes would be an unknown.

Put Dirk at SF

They Mavericks are going to need to find a way to keep Devean George. In a shallow free agent market he’s going to command some respect. For one, he’s a player that can come in and be a starter for a lot of teams, although a team that could have a player like that coming off the bench at small forward, like the Mavs, would be a championship-caliber team. It’s useless to even talk about Gerald Green until he proves he’s an NBA player and it would be nice for the Mavericks to resign Tyronn Lue to give them a true point guard to back up Jason Kidd. Kidd is 35 and some projections have had him as the starting point guard on the Olympic team. There is already a lot of wear on Kidd and now he’s going to be going through an extended summer with the Olympic team. Dallas has tried to use Jason Terry at the point in the past, but he’s more of a scorer in the mold of Chicago’s Ben Gordon. Lue will come in and run the offense more like Kidd would. My ideal lineup for the Mavs right now would be Kidd at the point with Josh Howard at the 2. Dirk at small forward with Dampier and Bass down low. Dirk at small forward. That’s the ticket -- as long as Dallas can put enforcers in there at the four and five spots.

Detroit has dilemma at small forward

The Pistons are really sleepy right now. There isn’t much out there they can do. They are already over the salary cap and only have the mid-level exception to offer as a lure to free agents -- or they can, and might, use their entire roster as trade bait. The best they could do in free agency is landing James Posey. The worst would be having to rely on Walter Herman to back up Tayshaun Prince at small forward. Any deal that would involve Prince in a trade would have to include a small forward in return. There is very little that Detroit realistically could get back at that position equal to what Prince's value except for probably for Carmelo Anthony. It’s looking like Corey Maggette is going to be able to get a better deal than the mid-level exception. He’s not going to be available to Detroit. Ideally the Pistons are going to have to work a trade without Prince, but, at 28, he is probably their most valuable commodity, unless the team involved in the trade is looking to dump salary. Then the most valuable commodity would be Rasheed Wallace. Detroit might be able to absorb a Wallace loss more than a Prince loss if only because they have a proven big in Jason Maxiell that could fill in with another one in Amir Johnson that is waiting in the wings. He’s probably ready for a regular bench role. Bottom line is it’s going to be hard for Detroit to make a deal involving Prince without short suiting themselves as small forward.

Sixers should put energy in getting Smith

Reports out of Philadelphia today say they 76ers are financially strengthening their pursuit for Elton Brand. They could probably save a little money and pursue a younger, more athletic Josh Smith, who would make an already athletic 76ers team even more so. Smith won’t produce the offensive numbers that Brand will, but he’s no slouch at a little over 17 points per game and he would provide tremendously more intimidation guarding the basket. It remains to be seen if Brand will still have the explosiveness he had before the knee operation. Also, Brand may have already played his best basketball. Smith has yet to play his. Every team in the league should be fighting each other to get Josh Smith. There might not be another player like him in the league now — or possibly ever. A shot-blocking, rebounding force with a 3-point shot, energy and athleticism. Smith is a special player and he’s on his way up. Atlanta can’t let this man walk.

Adding Duhon solves nothing

Duhon is going to get a chance to start for the Knicks. The club doesn’t mind putting its faith in a player that had some clear off the court issues last year and isn’t known to be strong defensively. For some reason some people don’t get that to win championships, the starters need to be solid players offensively and defensively. Teams are going to attack Duhon and paring him with Jamal Crawford doesn’t appear to be a duo that will be any better than what the Knicks had last year. It’s baffling that the Knicks weren’t seriously reported as being interested in trading for Kirk Hinrich. He seems like the best potentially available point guard, although if a smart general manager would pair Hinrich in the backcourt with Rose. Hinrich would be nice complement offensively and he would be able to take ball handling pressure off the rookie. Plus he’s a defender that’s, at least, willing to get dirty.

Posey not an answer at shooting guard

The Hornets desperately need a shooting guard. It appears Morris Peterson was a failed experiment and by the end of the season Bonzi Wells proved to be a better option. But to consider Posey as an answer at shooting guard reeks of desperation. Bonzi Wells is the best backup small forward in the league right now, possibly capable of playing a complementary role as a starter, but if the Hornets make him the starting shooting guard, their problems won’t end there. Players that are 6-foot-8 usually don’t play guard unless they’ve shown unnatural skill or athleticism. Posey isn’t strikingly skilled or athletic. He’s a clutch long-range shooter. He had his chance to start in this league when he played for Houston and was expendable. He’s found a niche and although you can’t blame him for taking a role as a starter again, especially for an up-and-coming team like the Hornets, but it might be better for him to stick with coming off the bench.

Pieces Pistons offering not attractive enough

It’s been a month since the Celtics eliminated the Pistons from the postseason and the major deal that Joe Dumars talked about in his press conference hasn’t come. Unreasonable people are getting impatient. It’s only been a month -- and only two weeks since the draft. Detroit is still a good team, it’s just the market value for players that haven’t been able to get it done over the past three years isn’t going to look to attractive to the market. The perception of Detroit is they play well as a team, but don’t have individually talented players that are on par with other stars in the league. That has been their problem over the past three seasons. Their teamwork hasn’t been able to overcome the stars players on the other team. The league is controlled by stars again.

Carlisle needs to make Mavs tougher

With Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitski, there’s no way that Dallas shouldn’t be major players next year and one thing Rick Carlisle had done in previous stops is get his team to play tough on the defensive end. The first Pistons teams he took to the playoffs basically did it with smoke and mirrors on offense and a defense that stayed intense longer than its opponent. The main knock on Dallas is and will continue to be its defensive toughness. The Mavericks just don’t intimidate people. The Pistons had that toughness and so did the Pacers until Ron Artest was traded for Peja Stojakovic, one of the softest players in the NBA and Jermaine O’Neal couldn’t stay healthy. The only issue is whether the team is going to respond to Carlisle better than it did Avery Johnson. Carlisle has been perceived by the media as abrasive.

Chalmers nothing more than a role player

The story today made Mario Chalmers sound like a steal. He won a championship after staying for three seasons, a graybeard by college terms, was the most outstanding player in the Final Four and shut down all the top draft picks when the they faced each other last season. What were all the NBA teams missing about him that allowed him to fail to the second round? He would seem to have the pedigree at point guard. Playing at Kansas there wouldn’t be another team in the country that would have played tougher competition and his team took on all comers and won. The thing is he might not be anything more than a role-playing point guard. A defensive presence to put in the game to pressure the ball. His offensive numbers in college weren’t that impressive for someone that was supposed to be a marquis player. He averaged just over 12 points per game and just over four assists. Defensively he did average 2.5 steals per game, which is evidence of his ball pressure. There’s nothing yet to suggest those numbers are going to go up against NBA players. When Chris Paul came into the league he averaged over 16 points and 6.5 assists in college. That is what a starting point guard looks like coming out of college.