2007 NBA Draft Special – 30 Team Evaluation

by Guichard Cadet

Wrap-up of 2007 Playoffs: My pick of a Detroit/Dallas NBA Finals fell short early because the Mavericks faced a team equipped to exploit their key weakness – man-to-man defense. Detroit simply lost focus, due to overconfidence.

This is a very long read because it covers all 30 NBA teams, specifying their needs and trade possibilities. I also included a list of players slated as potential lottery picks, and the team that might select them.

#1. Portland: It seems like a no-brainer, pick Greg Oden and be done with it. If you look at their roster, they really need a Small Forward, because they show no confidence in Travis Outlaw, and Darius Miles hase been riddled with injuries.

I would pick Kevin Durant then stop all the trade rumors surrounding Zack Randolph. If they do take Oden while not being able to trade Randolph (very large contract, with past infractions), what do they do with LaMarcus Aldridge? A #2 overall pick getting spot minutes is not a good thing. Just ask Detroit and Darko Milicic.

Picks: 1, 37, 42, 52, 53

Needs: SF, PG

Trade Possibilities: Sit tight because after this year, all the young players’ contracts come up as “team options”. Trade all the second rounder picks for cash, unless you can get a PG with size at #37.

#2. Seattle: They win no matter how you slice it. With all their recent drafting of young centers and Rashard Lewis opting out, Kevin Durant fits them well. If, by chance, Greg Oden is available, they can take him and have no worries because they could easily parlay Swift, Sene, Petro, et al for other talent to round out their roster.

Picks: 2, 31, 35

Needs: Coach

Trade Possibilities: Move Ray Allen to quicken a rebuild, especially if arena situation is not resolved and the franchise plans to relocate.

#3. Atlanta: This is a make or break year for the franchise. By the end of the year, Atlanta might have a new coach and/or general manager. They have been losing for too long, to simply think being below the cap while amassing young talent is enough. It is time to do something drastic, yet smart.

Make a pitch for Kobe or Kevin Garnett. The Hawks are ONE player away from being a major force in the East, and I do not mean a rookie player. They have players at every position, but only two keepers.

If they opt not make a major trade, do not draft a PG with #3. Use the #3 pick to draft a big man that way they could move any of the other big men with the #11 pick for a veteran or up-and-coming PG.

Al Horford has the best back-to-the basket game of the big men, but I wonder about his size and handle, whether he can consistently get and hold his position.

Use the #11 pick on Acie Law.

Picks: 3, 11

Needs: PG

Trade Possibilities: Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are the only keepers. They cannot afford to simply use both picks and miss the playoffs again.

#4. Memphis: The franchise is in a tight spot, more like limbo, with a pending sale, new front office personnel and a rookie coach. I still beckon you not to cry for Memphis because they still have Pau Gasol. They can play it two ways: trade him for need, or continue putting pieces around him, a move that consistently got them to the playoffs, albeit for a 1^st round knockout, much like Kevin Garnett’s early years in the league.

Memphis should use KG’s plight as a cautionary tale because it showed by putting talent around your franchise player, you can go far, but the players cannot be veterans looking for new contracts, unless the team plans to pay.

The Grizzlies should draft the best shooting SG on the board. The player should come from a major conference or garnered notoriety for scoring, if from a mid-major. Take this track and do not trade Gasol. Players to watch: Arron Afflalo or Nick Young.

If they plan to trade Gasol or just decide to pick a big. Players to watch: Joakim Noah.

Picks: 4

Needs: C, SF, SG

Trade Possibilities: Stay put until mid-season because they have great youth in Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry and Hakim Warrick.

#5. Boston: The Celtics need to trade Paul Pierce. Who is willing to take his maximum-salary contract that goes for at least four more years? Orlando.

The only risk to Orlando: giving up the rights to Darko Milicic and a future first rounder or two.

Boston would not have to take back any salary because the Magic is under the salary cap. From there, move Wally Szczerbiak for a contract expiring in 2008, even if you have to give up one of the youngsters.

The Celtics cannot risk trading all the youngsters because Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers are under fire.

Draft Jeff Green, Julian Wright or Derrick Byars.

Picks: 5, 32

Needs: SF, SG

Trade Possibilities: Do not trade Al Jefferson, Gerald Green and Rajon Rondo, with Ryan Gomes getting an honorable mention.

#6. Milwaukee: The Bucks are happy they have such a high draft pick, but they are sad because the one the one they love - Yi Jianlian - does not love them. They should be relieved. This would be a disastrous pick for Milwaukee because they cannot afford to gamble when they have major needs at three positions. Also, of concern, Bobby Simmons’ contract locks their salary cap for the next few years, with Andrew Bogut and Charlie Villenuava requiring new deals in two years.

Bite the bullet, and pickup the team option on Brian Skinner. Let Ruben Patterson and Earl Boykins walk. Split the MLE between Maurice Williams and Charlie Bell.

Draft: Joakim Noah, Jeff Green, Derrick Byars

Picks: 6, 56

Needs: PF, SF, PG

Trade Possibilities: Make no moves that will hurt the salary cap situation.

#7. Minnesota: No way, you trade KG. Call Seattle and trade for Ray Allen. Entice them with this combination of expiring contracts and youth: Ricky Davis, Eddie Griffin, Randy Foye, and Rashard McCants.

Use the next two years to compete for a championship with a veteran squad. If it fails, the TWolves will be under the cap in 2009.

Draft: Jeff Green, Derrick Byars, Al Thornton, Mike Conley Jr., Acie Law

Picks: 7, 41

Needs: SF, PG

Trade Possibilities: Make a solid move for a bona fide perimeter scorer that will not affect the salary cap situation beyond 2009.

#8. Charlotte: Sign Primoz Brezec. See if Gerald Wallace will take $40 million over 5 years. Offer Matt Carroll a three-year deal totaling no more than $9 million.

Patience has paid off for the Bobcats, and they seem poised to continue on this path, as shown by the recent hire of rookie coach, Sam Vincent.

They need a SG who can put the ball on the floor, and very capable of hitting the jumper. If Wallace decides not to stay, sign Rashard Lewis.

Draft: Nick Young, Arron Afflalo, Jeff Green, Julian Wright, Derrick Byars

Picks: 8, 22

Needs: SG, SF

Trade Possibilities: Rashard Lewis, or Jason Richardson.

#9. Chicago: The Bulls need size in the back and front courts, but I will not go as far as Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon cannot be an effective backcourt duo for years to come. The playoff series against Detroit showed their weaknesses but not many teams flaunt such a multi-dimensional backcourt.

This coming year Chicago just needs to maintain what they have established by signing Andres Nocioni to a front-loaded MLE level contract. By mid-season, they should put contract offers to Ben Gordon and Luol Deng.

Draft: Spencer Hawes, Nick Fazekas

Picks: 9, 49, 51

Needs: C, PG, SG

Trade Possibilities: Ben Wallace for a PF/C with a post presence.

#10. Sacramento: The Kings underachieved last season, and now they have hired a rookie coach, Reggie Theus. They are locked into their cap situation until 2009, unless they make trades to dump salary.

The Kings have decent talent at every position, so it is either a team (player) chemistry or a coaching issue. They can gamble on a player who does not have to contribute right away.

Draft: Brandan Wright, Yi Jianlian

Picks: 10

Needs: C, PG

Trade Possibilities: Ron Artest. Mike Bibby.

#12. Philadelphia: The 76ers have one more year to find out if they made a mistake when they gave Samuel Dalembert his roughly $10 million per year contract. Toward the end of last season, Dalembert started showing signs of an offensive game to go with his defensive presence.

The key to success for Philadelphia lie on the play of the two Andres: Iguodala and Miller. Philly’s bench is not deep on the offensive side, once you get past Kyle Korver, but their defense will create problems for many teams.

Draft: Best PF (or player available). Or, draft for need – Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo

Picks: 12, 21, 30, 38

Needs: PF, SG

Trade Possibilities: Make no trades.

#13. New Orleans: If Predrag (Peja) Stojakovic comes back healthy, then the Hornets should have no worries. They could still use a dominant low post scorer but this is not the draft position to get one. The focus now turns into developing Hilton Armstrong.

Draft: SF or best shooter available in case injuries hit again – Morris Almond, or Derrick Byars.

Picks: 13, 43

Needs: SF

Trade Possibilities: Make no trades.

#14. L.A. Clippers: Trade Chris Kaman to the Bulls for the #9 pick and filler contract to round out the bench. The Clippers have no bench depth, and cannot seriously think they can count on Sam Cassell to log all the PG minutes, in the aftermath of Shaun Livingston’s injury.

If they get the #9 pick, draft Joakim Noah or Sean Williams from Boston College.

With the #14 pick, draft whichever of these PGs is still on the board: Acie Law, Mike Conley, Jr., or Jarvis Crittendon.

Picks: 14, 45

Needs: C/PF, PG

Trade Possibilities: Chris Kaman.

#15. Pistons: There is a discipline issue in the locker room. I am not talking about Rasheed Wallace’s on-court tirades, but specifically the overconfidence that plagued the Pistons after going up 3-0 on the Chicago Bulls during these past playoffs. From that point, the Pistons lacked focus, and eventually lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Look for the Pistons to re-sign Chauncey Billups unless a team like Atlanta or Memphis offers an extremely high contract. From there, the onus will be on Flip Saunders to show he is capable of managing a squad filled with veteran egos.

As for the draft, this is simply a case of the rich getting richer. I would not be surprised if Detroit combines one of the earlier picks with Rasheed for an expiring contract, to have more cap flexibility and give their current youth more playing time.

Picks: 15, 27, 57

Needs: SG, PG

Trade Possibilities: Rasheed Wallace. Nazr Mohammed.

#16. Wizards: Eddie Jordan is some coach because when you look at the Wizards roster it is hard to fathom how they have made the playoffs for three consecutive years. This is the year Jordan has to stretch a bit and ask Ernie Grunfeld to pull the trigger on a major trade, so they can advance past the second round.

Antawn Jamison is the bait, and the hope is that he can bring back a big man who plays defense and would not wreck the salary cap. A trade along the lines of Jamison for Drew Gooden, Aleksandar (Sasha) Pavlovic, and Donyell Marshall could fit both teams’ needs.

Make a lateral move of either Ethan Thomas or Brendan Haywood for Nazr Mohammed.

Re-sign Andray Blatch.

Picks: 16, 47

Needs: SG, PG

Trade Possibilities: Antawn Jamison. Ethan Thomas or Brendan Haywood

#17. Nets: The rumors state New Jersey is abut to close a deal for a new contract with Vince Carter. The team should really reconsider. Carter has the option of playing this last year with the Nets at his reported $16 million dollar salary. The Nets have the option of treating the money as an expiring contract, either for a trade or salary cap space.

It does not make sense to lock themselves in to at least three more years of Carter’s salary, with trading Richard Jefferson (with a pick or young player) as the only way to improve the team.

Recommendation: Practice patience until 2009 when Jason Kidd’s salary come off the books, or trade both Kidd and Carter to expedite the rebuild process.

Picks: 17

Needs: SG, PG

Trade Possibilities: Vince Carter. Jason Kidd.

#18. Warriors: The stunning five-game knockout of the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs means the Warriors can no longer hide behind their underdog status. Since trading for Baron Davis, GSW has had been plagued by the injury bug or a bad coaching fit.

If they made no moves, the Warriors will most likely make the playoffs as a six to eighth seed. Their salary cap situation makes it hard for them to make any moves to fit their key need: a defensive big man who can score.

Golden State has three big men to develop: Andris Biedrins, Patrick O’Bryant and Josh Powell. They can also shop Jason Richardson with the latter two for such a player.

Re-sign Matt Barnes and Kelenna Azubuike.

Picks: 18, 36, 46

Needs: SF, and clear some cap space.

Trade Possibilities: Jason Richardson.

#19. Lakers: The Lakers had a problem even before Kobe Bryant requested a trade. They only have one player who consistently looked for his shot: Bryant. At times, Smush Parker provided a scoring burst but he and head coach, Phil Jackson had a falling out right before the playoffs started.

First, Lakers cannot trade Kobe Bryant because it makes no sense. It might cost them much more when they take on the salary of another max-contract player. If they trade him, they risk being a lottery team for many years, much like the Chicago Bulls when they decided to let Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen walk.

Offer Portland Lamar Odom for Zach Randolph. Portland does this because Odom’s contract expires in 2009, much earlier than Randolph’s. The Lakers get a player who will take the scoring burden off Kobe.

Do not ship out Andrew Bynum along with Odom in the reported Indiana trade.

Re-sign Chris Mihm and Luke Walton.

Use all three draft picks to get the best scorers available, primarily at SF and SG.

Picks: 19, 40, 48

Needs: SF, SG.

Trade Possibilities: Lamar Odom.

#20. Heat: Will Shaquille O’Neal be motivated after getting knocked out in the first round? Will Dwyane Wade fully recover from his shoulder injuries? If the answer to these questions are yes, then the Heat will again contend for the Eastern Conference Championship.

Alonzo Mourning is considering retirement, but his absence will only mean playing time for Wayne Simien.

Re-sign Jason Kapono and James Posey.

Picks: 20, 39

Needs: PG, SG.

Trade Possibilities: Make no trades.

#23. Knicks: Another off-season and the Knicks are still in salary cap hell, with 4 combination Point-Shooting guards. They can simply wait two more years when they will fall below the salary cap, provided they do not sign any new players, offer contracts to the three players (Channing Frye, Nate Robinson, and David Lee) drafted in 2005, or the players with options (Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson and Jerome James) opt out their current deals.

All three of these scenarios are far-fetched unless James Dolan sells the team or fire Isiah Thomas. At the same time, the Knicks should remain patient and try to build from within, while keeping an eye at the salary cap.

Picks: 23

Needs: PF, SG.

Trade Possibilities: Steve Francis. Malik Rose. Nate Robinson.

#24. Suns: The Suns win too many games to concern themselves with dumping salary, particularly Shawn Marion’s contract. Though the rumors have them pursuing Kevin Garnett, they should focus on consolidating Boris Diaw and Marcus Banks’ contracts in a trade for another outside shooter and a big man with defensive intensity.

Picks: 24, 29, 59

Needs: PF, SG.

Trade Possibilities: Shawn Marion. Kurt Thomas. Boris Diaw. Marcus Banks.

#25. Jazz: Dallas’ first-round loss was Utah’s gain, after the Jazz outlasted the Houston Rockets in a seven-game series. Utah has a great young nucleus but they need to address Andrei Kirilenko’s effect on their salary cap, and the SG position.

Picks: 25, 55

Needs: SG.

Trade Possibilities: Andrei Kirilenko.

#26. Rockets: The Rockets fired Jeff Van Gundy, and replaced him with Rick Adelman. They are hoping to rev up an offense that stalled in a first round loss to the Utah Jazz.

The first move since the hire, a trade of Juwan Howard for Mike James, indicates a greater focus on perimeter scoring and point guard play. With Bonzi Wells accepting the option to stay another year and reunite with his former coach, I would not be surprised to see Shane Battier (with Rafer Alston) traded to acquire another defensive big man, unless Houston addresses that need via the draft.

Re-sign Dikembe Mutombo

Picks: 26

Needs: PF, SF.

Trade Possibilities: Shane Battier. Rafer Alston.

#28. Spurs: The Spurs are coming off another championship season, and only need to address bench depth at the perimeter positions.

New contracts for Fabricio Oberto and Bruce Bowen.

Picks: 28, 33, 58

Needs: PG, SG, SF.

Trade Possibilities: None.

#34. Dallas: The Mavericks have a decision to make and it has little to do with their surprising first round playoffs loss to the Golden State Warriors, because Jerry Stackhouse was their best player during the series. His contract expired and he is now an unrestricted free-agent, looking for one last multi-year deal.

Having shuffled their lineup to hide Erick Dampier’s defensive deficiencies, can Dallas enter this year without addressing their man-to-man defense?

The Mavericks play great team defense but suffer greatly when faced with teams or players who run an offense based on isolation.

Offer Dampier for Andres Nocioni, or Larry Huges (if they do not re-sign Stackhouse).

Picks: 34, 50, 60

Needs: SG.

Trade Possibilities: Erick Dampier. Jerry Stackhouse (sign and trade).

#44. Orlando: After Billy Donovan left the news conference where the Magic announced they had hired him as coach, they broke the news to him. The Magic do not plan to be big players in free agency, nor are they sure about what to do with Darko Milicic, Jameer Nelson and all the other young players. They also told him they doubt Grant Hill will return.

This is just my guess, but I am quite curious as to what happened to make him change his mind. Either way, Stan Van Gundy steps in to pretty much the same situation he inherited in Miami when Pat Riley gave him his first coaching opportunity.

The Magic have a puncher’s chance to make the playoffs for the second year in a row. They also have a chance to land Rashard Lewis, trade for Paul Pierce, or even Kobe Bryant. As long as, they have Dwight Howard as the "big man building block", perimeter scorers will make the trip to the Magic’s kingdom.

Concerns: Will Darko accept the Qualifying Offer?

Picks: 44, 54

Needs: SG.

Trade Possibilities: Expiring Contracts to land a scorer: Carlos Arroyo, Pat Garrity, Keyon Dooling

Teams without a pick

Cleveland: They have great size at every position but suffer through scoring droughts. This is due to coaching philosophy and lack of perimeter players who can create their own shot. The Cavaliers rely too much on LeBron James to create shots for other players.

Since they experienced success these past playoffs, making it all the way to the NBA Finals, this is the perfect time to revamp the roster. They do not have a particular need at anyone position but could stand to upgrade at PG and PF.

Trade Possibilities: Drew Gooden. Donyell Marshall. Larry Hughes.

Denver: The Nuggets should not aim to make a major move in the off-season because it will mean giving up their defensive anchor, Marcus Camby. For now, just re-sign Steve Blake, and try to purchase a second round draft pick to shore up depth for the backcourt.

Trade Possibilities: Make no moves until Kenyon Martin returns from injury.

Indiana: The easiest thing do would be a fire-sale to try to clear contracts, but that is the wrong move, especially in the off-season. The team can be a lower seed in the eastern conference if both Jermaine O’Neal and Jamal Tinsley stay healthy.

Trade Possibilities: Jermaine O’Neal if the other team sends a shorter contract with a top-flight young player or lottery pick.

Toronto: The Raptors took a major step this past year, but late season injuries affected their playoff run. They recently traded for Carlos Delfino – a good pickup to provide a scoring punch, especially if Jorge Garbajosa’s injuries ail him into the season’s start.

The team just needs to add an interior defender – a role Jamal Magloire can fill if he is willing to accept the MLE.

Trade Possibilities: Radoslav Nesterovic.