June 23, 2009, at 1:12 pm
Here are some updated off-season rumors and draft news in the NBA:
- From Yahoo! Sports: The Boston Celtics offered Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo to the Detroit Pistons for Rodney Stuckey, Richard Hamilton, and Tayshaun Prince. Apparently the proposal never made it to Pistons GM Joe Dumars because a lower level official from Detroit rejected the trade.
Thoughts: Um, why does Boston feel compelled to shop Rajon Rondo. Rondo had a spectacular post-season in which he almost averaged a triple double in round one against orlando and averaged 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 rebounds in the regular season. I understand Allen can be hot and cold any night, but so can Hamilton and Prince. He is also in the final year of his contract so if you want to get someone who is a little younger that is understandable. To me, there has to be something about Rondo that the Celtics are unhappy with that is putting him out on the market. If Kevin Garnett was healthy this year, the Celtics are in the NBA Finals and perhaps winning it all, so I do not understand the notion that the Celts feel the need to overload the roster.
- From the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Sixers might trade Samuel Dalembert and the 17th overall pick to the Charlotte Bobcats for Vladimir Radmonovic, Nazr Mohammad, and the 12th overall pick.
Thoughts: Philly does not help themselves with salary with this trade as both Vlad and Nazr have two years left on their contracts. In terms of the picks, maybe the Sixers can get lucky and draft someone like Brandon Jennings if he falls. However, I think Jennings will be gone at that point and the Sixers will end up taking Ty Lawson or Eric Maynor.
- From the Chicago Tribune: The Bulls have held talks with a few teams about trading their 16th and 26th pick for a higher selection in order to select shooting guard Gerald Henderson.
Thoughts: Chicago, don’t do it! Henderson might be the one guy in the lottery who can be the biggest bust. I just do not see a ton of upside from a guy who disappeared in the tournament and had an overall inconsistent college career. In this draft, you would much rather have picks in the second half of the first round rather than a lottery selection because you can get solid value, for less money, and a lot of prospects in the lottery can be very hit or miss. If you want to move up, do not move up for Henderson.
- From the NY Post: The Knicks are looking to trade Larry Hughes and perhaps Jared Jeffries for the number 5 pick (if they take both Mike James and Etan Thomas’ expiring contracts) and then parlay the pick with number 8, to acquire the second pick overall, in an attempt to draft Ricky Rubio.
Thoughts: Some people are beginning to question whether Rubio’s value is truly that high. One Western Conference coach said, “Ricky has a big upside. Nevertheless, he’s very light, like Steve Nash only without the offense. He has no mid-range game, never gets to the free throw line and is a defensive liability due to his lack of strength and size.”
- From CBSSports: The Phoenix Suns offered Amare Stoudemire and the 14th overall pick to Washington for Caron Butler, Nick Young or Javaris Crittenton, and the 5th overall pick. The Wizards turned it down as they seem intent to not trade Butler away.
Thoughts: The Wizards do need help down low so Stoudemire would help but Butler is an all-star who only seems to be getting better each year. With Gilbert Arenas coming back healthy and owning the 5th pick in the draft, the Wizards feel they are in a good position to compete next year which I completely agree with.
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