2007 NBA Summer League: Day One
By Aran Smith 7/7/07 Link: NBA.com Official Summer League Site 23 Teams, 10 days, 55 games (27 of which are scheduled to be televised on NBATV). The NBA Summer League got underway on Friday night, and NBADraft.net is in Las Vegas to bring you all the inside scoops and scouting reports of players on hand.…
State of the Cap: Phoenix Suns
By Josh Redetzke 7/5/07 2007/08 Phoenix Suns Payroll: $78.3 million 2007/08 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $55 million Roughly: $23.3 million over cap The Good: There is a heck of a lot to like about the Phoenix Suns. First and foremost is the play of Steve Nash. The two-time league MVP was nearly a three-timer after…
State of the Cap: Los Angeles Lakers
By Josh Redetzke 7/3/07 2007/08 Los Angeles Lakers Payroll: $57.6 million 2007/08 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $55 million Roughly: $2.6 million over cap The Good: The Lakers have been looking for a new Shaq since they sent him packing to sunny Miami. It appears they have found one, although we won’t be certain for a…
Early 2007-08 NCAA Top 10
By Adi Joseph 7/2/07 Welcome back. No college coach would ever admit it, but a key player deciding to return can mean huge things for a school’s hopes. And with Roy Hibbert returning to Georgetown and Brandon Rush returning to Kansas a few weeks ago, those hopes have NCAA Championship written all over them. Billy…2007 NBA Draft Grades
This year’s draft grades may seem a little higher than usual, but overall teams did an excellent job of addressing need, and with 54 of 60 of the players projected on the mock draft taken, we can’t have too many complaints, especially with the second round picks. This was an abnormally predictable second round compared…
State of the Cap: Los Angeles Clippers
By Josh Redetzke 6/29/07 2007/08 Los Angeles Clippers Payroll: $58.8 million 2007/08 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $55 million Roughly: $3.8 million over cap The Good: The dependable Elton Brand continued to earn his hefty paychecks. Though his numbers were down slightly from last year, it’s hard to complain about 20.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.2 blocks,…2007 Top 50 Draft Prospects
By Aran Smith 6/28/07 1. Greg Oden 7-0 257 C Ohio St. Fr. 2. Kevin Durant 6-10 215 SF Texas Fr. 3. Brandan Wright 6-10 200 PF UNC Fr. 4. Yi Jianlian 7-0 242 PF China 1984 5. Jeff Green 6-9 228 SF Georgetown Jr. 6. Al Horford 6-10 244 PF Florida Jr. 7. Julian…2007 Top 10 Prospects Lists
By Aran Smith Updated 6/27/07 Point Guards Comments 1. Mike Conley 6-1 180 PG Ohio St. Fr. Quickness is phenominal, but must add shooting consistency. 2. Javaris Crittenton 6-4 195 PG Ga. Tech Fr. PG with considerable upside. Leaving early could hurt his long term development. 3. Acie Law 6-3 185 PG Texas A&M…
2007 NBA Draft: Centers
By Aran Smith 6/27/07 The center position has one goliath (Oden), one potential lotto pick in Hawes and a number of other first round possibilities. The position is never usually deep or talented, so having a potential dominating center at the top makes this an excellent center year. 1. Greg Oden 7-0 265 C Ohio…
2007 NBA Draft: Power Forwards
By Aran Smith 6/26/07 With three potential top five picks (Horford, B. Wright and Yi), and 7-8 potential first rounders, the power forward position in the 2007 draft is both talented and deep. There are upside picks such as Yi, Wright and Smith, and instant impact guys such as Horford and Noah. After the dust…
State of the Cap: Golden State Warriors
By Josh Redetzke 6/25/07 2007/08 Golden State Warriors Payroll: $61.1 million 2007/08 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $55 million Roughly: $6.1 million over cap The Good: After grabbing the hearts of the general public as the feel good story of the NBA this year, there are plenty of accolades to go around for the Golden State…
2007 NBA Draft: Potential Winners/Losers
By Kevin Duffy6/25/07 Each year after the draft, analysts go over the teams that “won” and “lost” on draft day. But we decided to take it a step further and project what could be. We will take a look at possible picks and trades that could potentially turn each team’s draft into a success, and…
2007 NBA Draft: Small Forwards
By Aran Smith 6/25/07 Small forward is easily the most talent laden position in this year’s draft with one franchise player (Durant) and 5 other possible lottery picks (Green, Brewer, Thornton, J. Wright, T.Young). This group is extremely athletic and talented and should provide a number of teams in the lottery with immediate help as…
2007 NBA Draft: Shooting Guards
By Aran Smith 6/24/07 This year’s shooting guard class is balanced with a lot of quality, experienced players. Although there aren’t any surefire superstars, look for around 7-8 to make it into the first round (possibly the most of any position) with most landing in the later half of the first round. 1. Nick Young…
Which Colleges Produce the Best Pros?
By Kevin Duffy NBADraft.net 6/23/07 With the Draft less than a week away, it’s crunch time for NBA executives. Doing the proper research and evaluating can make or break a team’s draft. And one draft can make or break a team’s future. Because of the draft’s importance, teams will consider a lot of factors before…
2007 NBA Draft: Point Guards
By Aran Smith 6/22/07 With less than a week until draft day and the field of players set, we will preview each position starting with the point guards. This year’s point guard class features 3 surefire first rounders (Conley, Crittenton and Law), and a number of other potential late first rounders as well. It’s not…
State of the Cap: Utah Jazz
By Josh Redetzke 6/22/07 2007/08 Utah Jazz Payroll: $58.9 million 2007/08 Estimated NBA Salary Cap: $55 million Roughly: $3.9 million over cap The Good: To find the answer to Utah’s surprise run to the Western Conference Finals, look no further than Deron Williams. The second-year point guard out of Illinois showed phenomenal improvement this season,…
2007 NBA Team Needs
By Aran Smith 6/21/07 Picks: 1,37,42,52,53 Needs: SF,PG Analysis: The Blazers appear to be more in need of a SF than a C after adding LaMarcus Aldridge in last year’s draft, but Aldridge was diagnoised with a heart disorder at the end of the season raising some doubt about his future. The Blazers paid a…