NBA Summer League Tweaks and Schedule

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

This summer the NBA will put in place new provisions in their summer league as a champion will be crowned for the first time. The NBA tweaked the league as preliminary games will be followed by a single-elimination style tournament to crown a champion.

This is an interesting spin to add to the summer league, which has boomed in popularity recently. Last year’s summer league broke records with 24 teams participating, more than 51,000 people attending the 10-day event, 60 games played, 38 live television broadcasts and participation of top draft picks (13 of the top 14 picks took part). This season some of those numbers can actually be surpassed. With the games being played in Las Vegas it is the only chance for people in the area to see some talent for their favorite NBA teams.

Week in Review with Kenny and Nick: June 30th, 2013

After some technical difficulties everyone's favorite radio hosts, the Best Looking Radio Show of Kenny (@teapeste725) and Nick (@ziggy26x) were able to host the Week in Review on the Bob Sullivan Show (@BobSullivanShow). The tandem break downs the NBA Draft, handing out grades for every team in the NBA for how they fared on draft night. They discuss how much they like or dislike the players and the situations some teams are heading in. The two also talk about the two big trades that have been completed since the draft between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets and the New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors. Follow the link below to listen in to the whole show!

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/the-bob-sullivan-show/2013/06/30/week-in-review-with-kenny-and-nick-1

Knicks Draft Tim Hardaway Jr. with 24th Pick

Tim Farrell

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

With the 24^th pick in the NBA Draft the New York Knicks selected Michigan University shooting guard Tim Hardaway Jr. Yes, it is that Tim Hardaway’s son, as the former Heat point guard that has been vocal about his disliking of the Knicks but will have to put his differences aside momentarily as long as his son is there. Hardaway Jr. has said that his father will not ever put on Knicks gear; at the same time seeing there aren’t many Knicks fans that would want to see him in it anyway.

2013 NBA Draft Grades

Michael Simmons/New York Daily News

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

The NBA Draft Thursday was as wild as people were expecting as there were trades were flying all night. Some teams did better than others tonight in a draft that was tough to navigate with no consensus number one pick, leading to surprises right from the first pick through the 60^th.  This is also the last draft that David Stern will be conducting as commissioner, as he is stepping down February 1^st, 2014. Here are the grades for each team with the players that they ended up with at the end of the night.

2013 NBA Draft: Best of the Rest

Jerome Carpenter/Capitol Broadcasting Company

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

With the NBA Draft complete there are some surprising names still available for teams to pick up as undrafted free agents. Some are players coming from smaller colleges, while others were once hotshot prospects that have since fallen out of favor with NBA teams. It will be tough to stick in the NBA as an undrafted free agent, much like a second round pick, but they do have an advantage that second round picks don’t; they will be able to choose which team they want to try out and play for. Here is the best of the rest remaining players that were not drafted.

Breaking Down the Nets/Celtics Trade

By Ryan McDonald(@RonnieMac90)

After the first round of the NBA Draft, the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics have agreed in principle to a trade that sends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn according to Yahoo Sports.

What the Nets Give Up
Gerald Wallace
Tornike Shengelia
Kris Humphries
Reggie Evans
Keith Bogans
Kris Joeseph
2014 1^st Round Pick
2016 1^st Round Pick
2018 1^st Round Pick

What the Nets Get
Kevin Garnett
Paul Pierce
Jason Terry

A major deal that required Kevin Garnett to waive his no trade clause, which he did late Thursday night. This is has put the Celtics in full rebuilding mode, and expect them to trade Rajon Rondo later in the year as well.

For the Nets though, giving up 3 1^st round picks for three aging players? Pierce and Terry are both 35 and Garnett is 37 years old. However, all picks are expected to be non-lottery, which means they’re not as valuable as they would appear. So it’s not as bad as a negative as some are making it out to be.

Then we have the actual players that we gave up and their replacements. Is Kevin Garnett, even at his age, an upgrade over Reggie Evans, who started at power forward for most of the year for the Nets? Absolutely, a huge upgrade. Garnett is a better passer, a better defender, and of course, a better offensive player. Garnett has a great jump shot which will space the floor and allow Lopez to be much more effective than when he was paired with Evans. Garnett also brings the intangibles, he’s a natural born leader and has always been. He plays with maximum effort all the time, which not saying Evans didn’t, but some of this roster needs to start doing more often.

Next up is Paul Pierce replacing Gerald Wallace. Again, Pierce is a much better shooter than Wallace, so he’ll space the floor much better. However, Wallace is the better defender. The Nets will miss Wallace on defense and rebounding, but in scoring and passing, Pierce is superior. It’ll be interesting to see however who the Nets put on the oppositions best perimeter player, which was normally Wallace. Pierce at this point is a bit of a liability on defense, as is Joe Johnson, but hopefully Garnett will help protect the rim and Lopez will continue to develop his shot blocking to make up for Johnson and Pierce’s poor defense.

Jason Terry will most likely assume the role as Deron Williams’ back up and replace CJ Watson who will be lost to free agency. Again, the Nets lose perimeter defense, as Terry has difficulties on defense. But Terry is known for his big shot making, and can shoot off the dribble extremely well still.

The starting line up will be projected to be Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Brook Lopez. With Terry, MarShon Brooks, Mirza Teletovic, and Mason Plumlee off the bench.

With the addition of such aging players, it’s clear that the Nets have Championship or bust for the 2013-2014 NBA season. This means even MORE expectations for rookie head coach Jason Kidd. Already under what was called unrealistic expectations, Kidd will be expected to deliver a Championship this upcoming season. This could end with a short run of Kidd as the Nets’ head coach say the Nets lose in the 2^nd round of the playoffs which could easily happen.

If they don’t win a championship this upcoming season, the future is bleak. Terry, Garnett, Pierce, will all be another year older, and their play has already significantly downgraded. As well as Joe Johnson, who seems to have hit and past his prime already. Pierce’s contract expires after the 2013/2014 season, but Garnett’s and Terry’s do not expire till after the 2015/2016 season. Even with Pierce’s expiring contract, the Nets’ payroll will be roughly $84,000,000. Meaning they won’t be able to do anything in terms of free agency. After the 2015/2016, again, the Nets’ payroll will still be $62,000,000, tied up in Lopez, Johnson, and Williams. This means that after this crucial 2013/2014 season, the Nets will not be bad enough to get the few 1^st round picks they have left to be lottery picks, but they won’t be good enough to contend for a championship.

Even so, I still think this was a good trade for the Nets. The Nets as constructed with Gerald Wallace, would not contend for a Championship anyway, and they still wouldn’t be bad enough to get into the lottery. The Nets are trading away the next 3 years of being a 4-8 seed in the East, for a shot at being a 1-3 seed and a shot at the NBA Finals.

The trade makes them a better team for this year, and that’s all we can really ask for. They aren’t the favorites to win it all, but they’ve certainly gotten better, and anything can happen.

Nets Draft Mason Plumlee

By Ryan McDonald(@RonnieMac90)

With the 22^nd overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft the Brooklyn Nets selected Mason Plumlee. Plumlee is a 6’-11” 23 year old from Duke University.

Strengths-
Plumlee brings great energy to a team that seemed to lack it against the Bulls in the playoffs. Along with his athleticism, Plumlee can finish explosively at the rim. Plumlee will also be a good rebounder for the Nets.

Weaknesses-
Unfortunately, Plumlee doesn’t have much of a post game and his mid-range jumper can only be called decent. He won’t space the floor if paired with Lopez like say Blatche did for the Nets this past season.

How He Fits-
Plumlee will most likely fill in for Andray Blatche who is a free agent as the back up center to Lopez. But don’t look for Lopez and Plumlee to be on the court together like Blatche and Lopez were seen doing, mostly in the playoffs. Plumlee doesn’t space the floor as well as Blatche, and doesn’t have much of an offensive game.

Overall, it’s a decent pick for the Nets given the spot they were in. With their starting five intact for the most part, rotational players is what they needed to draft and Plumlee can give the Nets 8-14 minutes a game.

2013 NBA Draft Sure Things

www.barclayscenter.com

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

The NBA Draft is being held Thursday night and there is still tons of speculation flying as to where players will land. There are rumors about which teams want which players and some teams trying to trade up in the order. There aren’t any superstars according to scouts in this draft but the depth is deep as rotation players can be found throughout the top 35 picks. After focusing on some sleepers and players that could be busts, here is a look at some players that look like sure things in a draft void of them.

2013 NBA Draft Sleepers

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

The NBA Draft is set to take place June 27^th and is quickly approaching as it is right around the corner. Here are some players that may not be lottery picks but have been turning some heads in NBA circles at tryouts and workouts. These are players that with some luck could find themselves sneaking into the second round to be picked or even moving up to the end of the first round. It is all about finding value and diamonds in the rough as the draft moves on and these players fit that bill.

Potential NBA Draft Busts

Dennis Nett/The Post-Standard

By Kenneth Teape (@teapester725)

With the NBA Draft just days away the speculation is flying as to where players are going to land. This draft is void of any superstars or cornerstone franchise players but there is plenty of depth here as the player that is projected to get drafted 35^th is rated as high as someone projected to go 15^th. With that, there are still some risky players in the draft. Here are some players to keep an eye on as being potential busts.