With six Western Conference teams kicking off their season tonight, I wanted to share my power rankings as of today:
Contenders
1.) San Antonio Spurs - The Spurs bring back their core from last season's championship team, so why wouldn't they be on the top spot?
2.) Phoenix Suns - A full year with Nash, Marion, and Stoudamire should help the Suns once again compete for the title. Another year of development from Leandro Barbosa and Marcus Banks and the additions of D.J. Strawberry, Alando Tucker, and Grant Hill should be beneficial.
3.) Dallas Mavericks - Like the Spurs, the Mavericks essentially bring back the same roster. Like the Suns, the Mavericks are hoping another year of development from Devin Harris and DeSagana Diop along with the additions of Eddie Jones and Trenton Hassell will help them advance further this year in the playoffs.
Near Contenders
4.) Houston Rockets - The Rockets certainly had the best offseason in the Western Conference adding a handful of rotation players. However, Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady still have not won a single playoff series. Houston is most likely one year away from really contending.
5.) Utah Jazz - The Jazz had an uneventful offseason with their only significant additions being signing Jason Hart and drafting Morris Almond. Andrei Kirilenko's ability to play in Jerry Sloan's system and the development of Ronnie Brewer will be keys to Utah's success. I expect the Jazz to win the Northwest division once again this season.
6.) Denver Nuggets - The Nuggets will benefit from a full season with Kenyon Martin, however, I do not think they have enough to beat out the Jazz in the Northwest. The overall talent level of the Nuggets roster is still unbalanced and lack scoring off the bench. The Nuggets will get three-fourths of their scoring from Allen Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, and Nene Hilario.
Potentially Frisky
7.) New Orleans Hornets - Another year of the David West-Peja Stojakovic-Chris Paul-Tyson Chandler core playing together will be beneficial towards their success. The Hornets hope that one of their young big men - Hilton Armstrong, Melvin Ely, or Julian Wright - can be a significant contributor to the team. If so, the Hornets will play hard and be competitive each night against the league's best.
8.) Golden State Warriors - The Warriors have put together a nice, young group of players though I think this year they will take a step back. Brandan Wright, Patrick O'Bryant, Mickael Pietrus, Monta Ellis, and Marco Belinelli is a great young core, but they will not be ready to seriously compete for the Western Conference title. The Warriors will most likely get as much from Andris Biedrins, Baron Davis, and Stephen Jackson as they did last season.
Playoff Contenders
9.) Los Angeles Lakers - With other teams around them improving, I do not expect the Lakers to perform much better than they did last season. The Lakers will hope to avoid the injuries that plagued them last year, but certainly do not have enough talent to jump into the top six in the Western Conference and maybe not even enough to make the playoffs this season.
10.) Sacramento Kings - The Kings will continue to struggle as long as both Mike Bibby and Ron Artest are on the same roster. Both players have shown an inability to play with one another and they are still relying on too many unknown commodities. Although some of these guys (Fransisco Garcia, Quincy Douby) have shown potential, they cannot provide enough each night for the Kings to make the playoffs this season.
Up-and-Coming
11.) Memphis Grizzlies - The Grizzlies are certainly a nice, young team who at this point next year will be competing for a playoff spot. However, at this point, they are building for that time. They have the groundwork laid with a fantastic young point guard (Mike Conley), a versatile wing scorer (Rudy Gay), a scoring power forward (Darko Milicic), and an all-star caliber big man (Pau Gasol). They also have a nice array of bench players who can contribute. However, in a loaded Western Conference, they will fall short of reaching the playoffs.
12.) Portland Trail Blazers - Without Greg Oden, Portland is still one man short of being a contender this season. Travis Outlaw and LaMarcus Aldridge will be expected to fill the missing numbers from the Zach Randolph trade. Sorting out a group of point guards (Sergio Rodriguez, Jarrett Jack, Steve Blake) will also be interesting to watch.
Not Ready Yet
13.) Seattle SuperSonics - Seattle rebuilt their roster this summer and now features two talented rookies: Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. They will continue to slowly build a roster that will eventually compete for the championship, but at this point they are not at that level just yet.
14.) Minnesota Timberwolves - Minnesota has begun to put together the blueprint to quickly rebuild their roster after trading Kevin Garnett. Corey Brewer, Randy Foye, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, and Sebastian Telfair are all expected to be apart of Minnesota's long-range plans. However, outside of Jefferson, the Timberwolves will struggle to get consistency each night and will be one of the league's worse teams this season.
Falling Hard
15.) Los Angeles Clippers - With Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston expected to miss the entire season, the Clippers may be one of the league's worse teams this season. A once promising team, now lacks focus and a plan to make its way back to the playoffs.
Showing posts with label Andrei Kirilenko. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andrei Kirilenko. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Camp lures NBA clientele
OFFSEASON INVESTMENT: Camp lures NBA clientele
Garnett, Billups, others get custom workouts at local Abunassar center
By TODD DEWEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Take a summer basketball camp and replace the usual wannabes with about 50 actual NBA players, sprinkling in a handful of stars.
Add some high-tech exercise equipment and innovative training techniques tailored to each athlete.
Arm the coaching staff with certified trainers and physical therapists, and have nutritionists on hand to create customized workout recovery shakes and meals for each player.
Turn the intensity level and music on high, and the finished product is Abunassar Impact Basketball.
Former NBA Most Valuable Player Kevin Garnett and former NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups led a parade of 47 players who worked out up to six hours per day, six days per week during the offseason at AIB, located near Palace Station.
Other players who participated included Ron Artest, Al Harrington, Antoine Walker, Cuttino Mobley and Tayshaun Prince.
Previous camp alumni include Andrei Kirilenko, Vince Carter, Baron Davis, Chris Bosh and Paul Pierce.
Joe Abunassar, a former student assistant at Indiana under Bobby Knight and assistant coach at Wyoming, founded AIB, which costs $25,000 per year for NBA players.
The program is apparently well worth it, because Detroit Pistons guard Billups and others say Abunassar has played a key role in making them better players.
"Coming into the league, my skills were good, but they needed a lot of honing," Billups said last month. "(Abunassar) took me from jumping around the league the first couple years to climbing that mountain to being where I got to today."
Abunassar trained five of this year's top 11 NBA Draft picks -- including No. 7 choice Corey Brewer, No. 9 Joakim Noah and No. 11 Acie Law -- and 20 of the 60 overall picks.
"We can change their body composition and we can change their game in six weeks," said Abunassar, who has built an impressive clientele mostly through word of mouth. "(The NBA) is such a big difference from college basketball."
Prince of the Pistons said the camp provides the perfect situation for players trying to make the transition from college to the NBA.
"You get good individual instruction on and off the court, and you're going against guys at your position who are just as good or even more talented than you are," he said. "It gives you the opportunity to get better and, at the same time, to stay healthy."
A typical daily regimen at the camp consists of 90 minutes of performance training, or strength training and conditioning, and 90 minutes of on-court skills drills in the morning.
A specialized lunch precedes afternoon 5-on-5 scrimmages that are arguably the best pickup basketball games in the world.
"We compete at a very high level, whether it's one-on-one drills, individual work or 5-on-5," Billups said. "We're here mostly all day, and when we go home we're pretty tired and burnt out."
Abunassar has created basketball-specific drills to mirror each player's movements in an actual game.
In a dribbling drill, for example, Billups is connected to a Bungee cord with resistance behind him, forcing him to stay low and in control as he brings the ball up the court.
In another exercise designed for big men, Garnett wears a belt tied to a Bungee cord and tries to maintain his post position and keep the ball under control. All the while, one coach pulls the cord in different directions to try to knock him off balance and another tries to steal the ball.
Players also can experience high altitude training in a glass-enclosed chamber simulating conditions at 9,000 feet.
http://www.lvrj.com/sports/10597212.html
Oct. 17, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Garnett, Billups, others get custom workouts at local Abunassar center
By TODD DEWEY
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Take a summer basketball camp and replace the usual wannabes with about 50 actual NBA players, sprinkling in a handful of stars.
Add some high-tech exercise equipment and innovative training techniques tailored to each athlete.
Arm the coaching staff with certified trainers and physical therapists, and have nutritionists on hand to create customized workout recovery shakes and meals for each player.
Turn the intensity level and music on high, and the finished product is Abunassar Impact Basketball.
Former NBA Most Valuable Player Kevin Garnett and former NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups led a parade of 47 players who worked out up to six hours per day, six days per week during the offseason at AIB, located near Palace Station.
Other players who participated included Ron Artest, Al Harrington, Antoine Walker, Cuttino Mobley and Tayshaun Prince.
Previous camp alumni include Andrei Kirilenko, Vince Carter, Baron Davis, Chris Bosh and Paul Pierce.
Joe Abunassar, a former student assistant at Indiana under Bobby Knight and assistant coach at Wyoming, founded AIB, which costs $25,000 per year for NBA players.
The program is apparently well worth it, because Detroit Pistons guard Billups and others say Abunassar has played a key role in making them better players.
"Coming into the league, my skills were good, but they needed a lot of honing," Billups said last month. "(Abunassar) took me from jumping around the league the first couple years to climbing that mountain to being where I got to today."
Abunassar trained five of this year's top 11 NBA Draft picks -- including No. 7 choice Corey Brewer, No. 9 Joakim Noah and No. 11 Acie Law -- and 20 of the 60 overall picks.
"We can change their body composition and we can change their game in six weeks," said Abunassar, who has built an impressive clientele mostly through word of mouth. "(The NBA) is such a big difference from college basketball."
Prince of the Pistons said the camp provides the perfect situation for players trying to make the transition from college to the NBA.
"You get good individual instruction on and off the court, and you're going against guys at your position who are just as good or even more talented than you are," he said. "It gives you the opportunity to get better and, at the same time, to stay healthy."
A typical daily regimen at the camp consists of 90 minutes of performance training, or strength training and conditioning, and 90 minutes of on-court skills drills in the morning.
A specialized lunch precedes afternoon 5-on-5 scrimmages that are arguably the best pickup basketball games in the world.
"We compete at a very high level, whether it's one-on-one drills, individual work or 5-on-5," Billups said. "We're here mostly all day, and when we go home we're pretty tired and burnt out."
Abunassar has created basketball-specific drills to mirror each player's movements in an actual game.
In a dribbling drill, for example, Billups is connected to a Bungee cord with resistance behind him, forcing him to stay low and in control as he brings the ball up the court.
In another exercise designed for big men, Garnett wears a belt tied to a Bungee cord and tries to maintain his post position and keep the ball under control. All the while, one coach pulls the cord in different directions to try to knock him off balance and another tries to steal the ball.
Players also can experience high altitude training in a glass-enclosed chamber simulating conditions at 9,000 feet.
http://www.lvrj.com/sports/10597212.html
Oct. 17, 2007
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Monday, October 1, 2007
Europe Competing with the NBA for Talent
"Affluent European teams tempting NBAers"
TheStar.com, Toronto Star
September 30, 2007
By Dave Feschuk
TREVISO, Italy
So here it is, the NBA's annual take-over-the-world tour. And maybe the Raptors' two-week jaunt through Italy and Spain inches the roundball globe just a little closer to what some have long considered its manifest destiny, a European Division for David Stern's mighty league.
Judging from this past summer, though, Europe's basketball power brokers aren't pining to be colonized. Instead, they're suddenly competing with the NBA for the kind of players that European teams, not long ago, had little chance at landing. And they're doing it with impressive stacks of euros, the high-flying currency that, as of yesterday, was worth $1.42 U.S.
So while some have scoffed at the Europe-bound threats of Andrei Kirilenko and Anderson Varejao, disgruntled NBA forwards who have both talked of the option of leaving the NBA for Europe, this summer has seen a flow of trans-Atlantic traffic in a heretofore unusual direction. And the movement, now that Chris Webber is reported to be considering a two-year deal with Greece's Olympiacos, could continue.
The prospective terms of the Webber deal – two years and a net takeaway of $10 to $12 million (all figures U.S.) for the 34-year-old free agent – are the latest set of stunning figures to be tossed around the Continent. Sarunas Jasikevicius, the Lithuanian point guard slated to make $4 million with the Golden State Warriors this season, agreed to a buyout and signed with Olympiacos's Greek-league rival Panathinaikos for a deal that that will pay him a net salary more than $4 million a year. Factoring in the exchange rate – and the fact his NBA salary was a pre-tax figure while his European salary is quoted in take-home pay – Jasikevicius would have had to sign an NBA deal worth about $8 or $9 million to bank the same amount.
The prospect of NBA-calibre players heading back to Europe, once essentially idle chatter, is now "a concrete threat," said Maurizio Gherardini, the Raptors' Italian-born assistant general manager.
"No one was expecting Europe to become such a quality alternative over these past two or three years," Gherardini said.
"I think the NBA teams need to understand that the European teams can put on the table some good contracts, something that, a few years ago, you couldn't even think of."
Most of the gains are at the bottom of the NBA food chain. Uros Slokar, the Slovenian forward who spent last season riding the bench for the Raptors, has found impressively gainful employment in the Russian league, more than tripling his take-home pay after earning $412,000 in the NBA last season. And the list goes on.
Maceo Baston, the Raptors forward from Dallas who has spent the majority of his nine-year pro career playing for teams in Italy, Spain and Israel, said that when piled atop the traditional benefits of playing on the old side of the Atlantic – the apartment and the car that are automatic throw-ins in most contracts – the deals are "surprising."
Where are these teams getting the money? The best-in-Europe Spanish league is booming. The Russian league counts among its owners a handful of mega-rich businessmen. Same goes for the Greek-league powers and a couple of teams in Istanbul, Turkey. The top team in Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv, isn't averse to paying top dollar to secure talent. Even the comparatively modest salaries in the Italian league are on the rise.
"I still believe that there will never be enough money to attract the true superstars (to Europe)," Gherardini said. "But for an average player, if he has a true offer from Europe, you do not want to underestimate that. You have to respect he growth of basketball in Europe, because people love basketball and it's getting better and better."
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/261956
TheStar.com, Toronto Star
September 30, 2007
By Dave Feschuk
TREVISO, Italy
So here it is, the NBA's annual take-over-the-world tour. And maybe the Raptors' two-week jaunt through Italy and Spain inches the roundball globe just a little closer to what some have long considered its manifest destiny, a European Division for David Stern's mighty league.
Judging from this past summer, though, Europe's basketball power brokers aren't pining to be colonized. Instead, they're suddenly competing with the NBA for the kind of players that European teams, not long ago, had little chance at landing. And they're doing it with impressive stacks of euros, the high-flying currency that, as of yesterday, was worth $1.42 U.S.
So while some have scoffed at the Europe-bound threats of Andrei Kirilenko and Anderson Varejao, disgruntled NBA forwards who have both talked of the option of leaving the NBA for Europe, this summer has seen a flow of trans-Atlantic traffic in a heretofore unusual direction. And the movement, now that Chris Webber is reported to be considering a two-year deal with Greece's Olympiacos, could continue.
The prospective terms of the Webber deal – two years and a net takeaway of $10 to $12 million (all figures U.S.) for the 34-year-old free agent – are the latest set of stunning figures to be tossed around the Continent. Sarunas Jasikevicius, the Lithuanian point guard slated to make $4 million with the Golden State Warriors this season, agreed to a buyout and signed with Olympiacos's Greek-league rival Panathinaikos for a deal that that will pay him a net salary more than $4 million a year. Factoring in the exchange rate – and the fact his NBA salary was a pre-tax figure while his European salary is quoted in take-home pay – Jasikevicius would have had to sign an NBA deal worth about $8 or $9 million to bank the same amount.
The prospect of NBA-calibre players heading back to Europe, once essentially idle chatter, is now "a concrete threat," said Maurizio Gherardini, the Raptors' Italian-born assistant general manager.
"No one was expecting Europe to become such a quality alternative over these past two or three years," Gherardini said.
"I think the NBA teams need to understand that the European teams can put on the table some good contracts, something that, a few years ago, you couldn't even think of."
Most of the gains are at the bottom of the NBA food chain. Uros Slokar, the Slovenian forward who spent last season riding the bench for the Raptors, has found impressively gainful employment in the Russian league, more than tripling his take-home pay after earning $412,000 in the NBA last season. And the list goes on.
Maceo Baston, the Raptors forward from Dallas who has spent the majority of his nine-year pro career playing for teams in Italy, Spain and Israel, said that when piled atop the traditional benefits of playing on the old side of the Atlantic – the apartment and the car that are automatic throw-ins in most contracts – the deals are "surprising."
Where are these teams getting the money? The best-in-Europe Spanish league is booming. The Russian league counts among its owners a handful of mega-rich businessmen. Same goes for the Greek-league powers and a couple of teams in Istanbul, Turkey. The top team in Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv, isn't averse to paying top dollar to secure talent. Even the comparatively modest salaries in the Italian league are on the rise.
"I still believe that there will never be enough money to attract the true superstars (to Europe)," Gherardini said. "But for an average player, if he has a true offer from Europe, you do not want to underestimate that. You have to respect he growth of basketball in Europe, because people love basketball and it's getting better and better."
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/261956
Saturday, September 22, 2007
The "Threat" of Europe
With free agent season coming to an end, Sean Deveney of The Sporting News yesterday wrote an excellent piece called "Europe emerging as NBA free-agent option".
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=275696
Europe emerging as NBA free-agent option
September 21, 2007
by Sean Deveney
First guard Charlie Bell threatens to sign with a Greek team in order to escape the Bucks, who own his rights as a restricted free agent. Then Andrei Kirilenko is quoted in a foreign newspaper as saying he would consider giving up the remaining $63 million on his contract with the Jazz to remain in Europe and leave the NBA.
And now, the agent for small forward Sasha Pavlovic says his client also would consider heading to Europe if a deal can't be reached with his current team, the Cavaliers. "We certainly are exploring that option," agent Marc Cornstein says. "We have to, absolutely. I am not saying we're in negotiations with European teams right now by any means. But it's an option. I wouldn't be doing my job if it wasn't."
Bell signed an offer sheet this week with Miami, which was matched by Milwaukee. But just nine days before the opening of training camp, three prominent restricted free agents -- Pavlovic, Anderson Varejao and Mickael Pietrus -- remain unsigned. Their difficult situations have raised the issue of NBA players -- especially restricted free agents -- leaving the league for European teams.
Pavlovic and the Cavaliers remain, according to Cornstein, "very far apart," on a new contract. The Cavaliers are also struggling through negotiations with Varejao, a power forward. The two sets of negotiations remain at a stalemate. Because of the restricted tag, the Cavaliers own the NBA rights for both players. If no long-term deal is worked out, the players would be forced to sign one-year qualifying offers. After fulfilling the year, they would be unrestricted free agents next summer, free to re-sign with the Cavaliers, or any of the league's other 29 teams.
Varejao's agent, Dan Fegan, has already indicated that if his client is forced to accept the qualifying offer, he is unlikely to return to Cleveland. As for Pavlovic, Cornstein says, "That would be something Sasha would have to say directly. But I think it is a safe bet he would not want to come back."
Similarly, Pietrus is looking like he won't be around for the long haul with the Warriors -- but there will be no threats of a European escape for Pietrus. His agent, Bill McCandless, says that Pietrus did, in fact, get a one-year offer from a Euroleague team worth more than 2 million Euros, or nearly $3 million. "But the problem is, the restricted tag does not come off when he comes back to the NBA," McCandless says. "We seriously thought about it. He probably would have gone, but in a year, he would come back to the NBA and still be a restricted free agent for the Warriors. We would have been right back where we started."
Instead, McCandless says, Pietrus would choose to simply hold out. Both sides, it seems, have exhausted sign-and-trade possibilities, especially after the Warriors nixed a two-for-one deal (plus a draft pick) the Heat put on the table last week. "There are basically two categories," McCandless says. "Some teams have come to us and worked something out, then presented it to the Warriors. There were two cases like that, where we had an agreement on money, but the Warriors turned it down. Then there are teams that contact the Warriors directly and negotiate that way. But the Warriors don't tell us what is going on with those talks."
Pietrus' best remaining option is to find a multiyear offer sheet, knowing he can give teams some assurance that the Warriors won't match any contract that goes beyond this year. If you're the Warriors, the downside of bringing Pietrus back is the negativity the situation has created. "We had a meeting with the team a couple of weeks ago, and Mickael came out thinking they love him and they're going to make him an offer," McCandless says. "But now, he's not happy. He feels stuck and he feels coerced."
That's the same feeling that is going around in Cleveland. Varejao and Pavlovic were key players in the bunch that LeBron James carried into the NBA Finals. Pavlovic blossomed after he was awarded the starting small forward spot in the second half of the season, averaging 12.7 points in 28 games as a starter. He tired late in the season, though, and slipped to 9.2 points in the playoffs.
Varejao is the team's top reserve, an excellent defender who averaged 6.8 points and 6.7 rebounds in 23.9 minutes last year.
The problem for the Cavaliers is that, with a payroll of nearly $65 million, paying sizable contracts to Varejao and Pavlovic will send them way over the luxury tax threshold, set at $65.4 million. That means the Cavs will pay a dollar tax for every dollar they agree to pay the two.
But just as significant a problem, just like in Pietrus' case, is bad blood these negotiations have created. The Cavaliers have made no significant additions this summer. The East has improved. It will be much more difficult for this team to return to the Finals next season. Even the Eastern Conference finals will be tough to reach. If the franchise is seen as moving backward, that will upset fans -- as well as James, who can be a free agent in 2010. If a backward move is coupled with losing Varejao and Pavlovic, you'll probably see a very angry James.
Cornstein says he doesn't even have plans to meet with Cavs GM Danny Ferry. "Right now, there's no reason," Cornstein says. "We're so far apart, it wouldn't make sense. If something changes, though, it's only an hour flight to Cleveland from New York. I am not stubborn."
Coincidentally, if Pavlovic did leave Cleveland for Europe, it's something Ferry should know quite a bit about. He once ducked out on the NBA for Europe -- remember, he went to Italy rather than play for the Clippers when he came out of college.
Considering the favorability of the exchange rate -- the U.S. dollar is very low against the Euro at the moment -- and considering all the perks that European teams include in their contracts (a house, a car) it very well could be that a player like Pavlovic would do better in Europe than in the NBA.
"It could happen eventually," McCandless says of restricted free agents signing in Europe. "Maybe not this year. But eventually, someone is going to give up on restricted free agency and play over in Europe."
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=275696
Europe emerging as NBA free-agent option
September 21, 2007
by Sean Deveney
First guard Charlie Bell threatens to sign with a Greek team in order to escape the Bucks, who own his rights as a restricted free agent. Then Andrei Kirilenko is quoted in a foreign newspaper as saying he would consider giving up the remaining $63 million on his contract with the Jazz to remain in Europe and leave the NBA.
And now, the agent for small forward Sasha Pavlovic says his client also would consider heading to Europe if a deal can't be reached with his current team, the Cavaliers. "We certainly are exploring that option," agent Marc Cornstein says. "We have to, absolutely. I am not saying we're in negotiations with European teams right now by any means. But it's an option. I wouldn't be doing my job if it wasn't."
Bell signed an offer sheet this week with Miami, which was matched by Milwaukee. But just nine days before the opening of training camp, three prominent restricted free agents -- Pavlovic, Anderson Varejao and Mickael Pietrus -- remain unsigned. Their difficult situations have raised the issue of NBA players -- especially restricted free agents -- leaving the league for European teams.
Pavlovic and the Cavaliers remain, according to Cornstein, "very far apart," on a new contract. The Cavaliers are also struggling through negotiations with Varejao, a power forward. The two sets of negotiations remain at a stalemate. Because of the restricted tag, the Cavaliers own the NBA rights for both players. If no long-term deal is worked out, the players would be forced to sign one-year qualifying offers. After fulfilling the year, they would be unrestricted free agents next summer, free to re-sign with the Cavaliers, or any of the league's other 29 teams.
Varejao's agent, Dan Fegan, has already indicated that if his client is forced to accept the qualifying offer, he is unlikely to return to Cleveland. As for Pavlovic, Cornstein says, "That would be something Sasha would have to say directly. But I think it is a safe bet he would not want to come back."
Similarly, Pietrus is looking like he won't be around for the long haul with the Warriors -- but there will be no threats of a European escape for Pietrus. His agent, Bill McCandless, says that Pietrus did, in fact, get a one-year offer from a Euroleague team worth more than 2 million Euros, or nearly $3 million. "But the problem is, the restricted tag does not come off when he comes back to the NBA," McCandless says. "We seriously thought about it. He probably would have gone, but in a year, he would come back to the NBA and still be a restricted free agent for the Warriors. We would have been right back where we started."
Instead, McCandless says, Pietrus would choose to simply hold out. Both sides, it seems, have exhausted sign-and-trade possibilities, especially after the Warriors nixed a two-for-one deal (plus a draft pick) the Heat put on the table last week. "There are basically two categories," McCandless says. "Some teams have come to us and worked something out, then presented it to the Warriors. There were two cases like that, where we had an agreement on money, but the Warriors turned it down. Then there are teams that contact the Warriors directly and negotiate that way. But the Warriors don't tell us what is going on with those talks."
Pietrus' best remaining option is to find a multiyear offer sheet, knowing he can give teams some assurance that the Warriors won't match any contract that goes beyond this year. If you're the Warriors, the downside of bringing Pietrus back is the negativity the situation has created. "We had a meeting with the team a couple of weeks ago, and Mickael came out thinking they love him and they're going to make him an offer," McCandless says. "But now, he's not happy. He feels stuck and he feels coerced."
That's the same feeling that is going around in Cleveland. Varejao and Pavlovic were key players in the bunch that LeBron James carried into the NBA Finals. Pavlovic blossomed after he was awarded the starting small forward spot in the second half of the season, averaging 12.7 points in 28 games as a starter. He tired late in the season, though, and slipped to 9.2 points in the playoffs.
Varejao is the team's top reserve, an excellent defender who averaged 6.8 points and 6.7 rebounds in 23.9 minutes last year.
The problem for the Cavaliers is that, with a payroll of nearly $65 million, paying sizable contracts to Varejao and Pavlovic will send them way over the luxury tax threshold, set at $65.4 million. That means the Cavs will pay a dollar tax for every dollar they agree to pay the two.
But just as significant a problem, just like in Pietrus' case, is bad blood these negotiations have created. The Cavaliers have made no significant additions this summer. The East has improved. It will be much more difficult for this team to return to the Finals next season. Even the Eastern Conference finals will be tough to reach. If the franchise is seen as moving backward, that will upset fans -- as well as James, who can be a free agent in 2010. If a backward move is coupled with losing Varejao and Pavlovic, you'll probably see a very angry James.
Cornstein says he doesn't even have plans to meet with Cavs GM Danny Ferry. "Right now, there's no reason," Cornstein says. "We're so far apart, it wouldn't make sense. If something changes, though, it's only an hour flight to Cleveland from New York. I am not stubborn."
Coincidentally, if Pavlovic did leave Cleveland for Europe, it's something Ferry should know quite a bit about. He once ducked out on the NBA for Europe -- remember, he went to Italy rather than play for the Clippers when he came out of college.
Considering the favorability of the exchange rate -- the U.S. dollar is very low against the Euro at the moment -- and considering all the perks that European teams include in their contracts (a house, a car) it very well could be that a player like Pavlovic would do better in Europe than in the NBA.
"It could happen eventually," McCandless says of restricted free agents signing in Europe. "Maybe not this year. But eventually, someone is going to give up on restricted free agency and play over in Europe."
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Profiling Coach David Blatt
Today, Allon Sinai of the The Jerusalem Post, wrote an article entitled "Coach David Blatt revels in Russia's EuroBasket triumph". The article profiles Blatt and discusses his aspirations to one day coach in the NBA.
Just 24 hours after guiding Russia to the European Championship title David Blatt was already preparing for his next challenge. The 48-year-old Israeli coach arrived in Turkey on Monday to join up with Efes Pilsen which he will guide in the Euroleague this season.
On Sunday night Blatt became the first Israeli coach to win the EuroBasket tournament after Russia defeated Spain 60-59. The victory over the host and world champion completed a remarkable two weeks for the Russian team, which won its first Euro title since the break-up of the USSR despite its underdog status.
"This was a victory of David over Goliath. We faced the beast and knocked him down and won," a joyous Blatt said. "It's an historic event. I'm proud to be the person in charge of this historic journey.
"Our plan was to stay in the game and make them feel the heat, the pressure of 15,000 fans, and to see how they play. Fortunately, we did that and we won."
Blatt's game plan worked to perfection on Sunday, with nationalized guard J.R. Holden scoring the winning basket for the Russians with 2.1 seconds remaining in the final.
"This is an ultimate moment in the history of the Russian nation. It's the first championship of the new Russia. I feel very lucky to be part of history both in Russia and FIBA Europe basketball," Blatt added.
Spain was a massive favorite ahead of the game, with Russia surprising everyone by simply reaching the title game.
"Russia's win surprised me in the same way it surprised everybody else," Israel coach Tzvika Sherf told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. "David played a major role in his team's win. He made the most of the abilities of his NBA players and combined them outstandingly with Holden and the skills and European experience of the players from the top Russian sides.
"David succeeded in making Andrei Kirilenko the star of the side and at the same time also got the Utah forward to contribute to team play. David ran his team fantastically and prepared the side for every game as only he knows."
Russia finished eighth in the European Championships in 2005, meaning Blatt had to rebuild the team and take it through qualification when he was appointed to the job last summer. According to Blatt. the turning point came after the team lost its second qualifier to Belgium last September.
"After that loss I walked inside the locker room and went crazy, threw things around and told the players that now I understand why everybody, including myself, thought that Russia is a loser team," he said. "After that game, a lot of people back home said, this is the same old thing. They were saying Russia is just losers, but since that game everything has changed."
Blatt, who was born and raised in the US, moved to Israel in the early 80s after playing for the American basketball team in the 1981 Maccabiah. The former guard, who played collegiate basketball at Princeton University under coach Pete Carril, began his coaching career at Hapoel Galil Elyon in 1993.
Six years later he was appointed as Pini Gershon's assistant at Maccabi Tel Aviv, remaining with the club until 2004. Blatt was named head coach for the 2001/02 season after Gershon announced his retirement. He was, however, demoted to the assistant's position two years later after Gershon came out of retirement and the two guided Maccabi to the Euroleague title at the end of the season.
Blatt left for Russian club Dynamo St. Petersburg in 2004 and led the team to the FIBA EuroCup. He then moved to Italian giant Benetton Treviso, winning an Italian championship and cup in his two seasons at the club.
Blatt could have well been guiding the Israel national team at the EuroBasket tournament this month had local bureaucracy been slightly more flexible. He was named as the national team coach in 2004, but despite coaching in Israel for over a decade he was later told he would not be able to guide the blue-and-white as he had no Israeli coaching certificate. Blatt quickly lost patience with the ensuing wrangle and decided to resign before ever even coaching the team.
Blatt is being tipped by many to make the rare leap from European to NBA coaching. The coach has never hidden his desire to guide a team in the best league in the world and after Sunday's triumph is surely a step closer to fulfilling his dream.
"If a European coach will reach the NBA in the coming years it will be David," Sherf said. "David is very similar to Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni. They're both Americans who coached successfully in Europe for several seasons. David has the vision, ability and contacts to get to the NBA."
"The NBA dream is closer then ever, but it won't happen this season because I have a contract with Pilsen," Blatt told Army Radio on Monday. "I will only leave for the NBA if I receive a challenging and financially satisfactory offer."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411423388&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Also see:
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=EuroSemifinals
Just 24 hours after guiding Russia to the European Championship title David Blatt was already preparing for his next challenge. The 48-year-old Israeli coach arrived in Turkey on Monday to join up with Efes Pilsen which he will guide in the Euroleague this season.
On Sunday night Blatt became the first Israeli coach to win the EuroBasket tournament after Russia defeated Spain 60-59. The victory over the host and world champion completed a remarkable two weeks for the Russian team, which won its first Euro title since the break-up of the USSR despite its underdog status.
"This was a victory of David over Goliath. We faced the beast and knocked him down and won," a joyous Blatt said. "It's an historic event. I'm proud to be the person in charge of this historic journey.
"Our plan was to stay in the game and make them feel the heat, the pressure of 15,000 fans, and to see how they play. Fortunately, we did that and we won."
Blatt's game plan worked to perfection on Sunday, with nationalized guard J.R. Holden scoring the winning basket for the Russians with 2.1 seconds remaining in the final.
"This is an ultimate moment in the history of the Russian nation. It's the first championship of the new Russia. I feel very lucky to be part of history both in Russia and FIBA Europe basketball," Blatt added.
Spain was a massive favorite ahead of the game, with Russia surprising everyone by simply reaching the title game.
"Russia's win surprised me in the same way it surprised everybody else," Israel coach Tzvika Sherf told The Jerusalem Post on Monday. "David played a major role in his team's win. He made the most of the abilities of his NBA players and combined them outstandingly with Holden and the skills and European experience of the players from the top Russian sides.
"David succeeded in making Andrei Kirilenko the star of the side and at the same time also got the Utah forward to contribute to team play. David ran his team fantastically and prepared the side for every game as only he knows."
Russia finished eighth in the European Championships in 2005, meaning Blatt had to rebuild the team and take it through qualification when he was appointed to the job last summer. According to Blatt. the turning point came after the team lost its second qualifier to Belgium last September.
"After that loss I walked inside the locker room and went crazy, threw things around and told the players that now I understand why everybody, including myself, thought that Russia is a loser team," he said. "After that game, a lot of people back home said, this is the same old thing. They were saying Russia is just losers, but since that game everything has changed."
Blatt, who was born and raised in the US, moved to Israel in the early 80s after playing for the American basketball team in the 1981 Maccabiah. The former guard, who played collegiate basketball at Princeton University under coach Pete Carril, began his coaching career at Hapoel Galil Elyon in 1993.
Six years later he was appointed as Pini Gershon's assistant at Maccabi Tel Aviv, remaining with the club until 2004. Blatt was named head coach for the 2001/02 season after Gershon announced his retirement. He was, however, demoted to the assistant's position two years later after Gershon came out of retirement and the two guided Maccabi to the Euroleague title at the end of the season.
Blatt left for Russian club Dynamo St. Petersburg in 2004 and led the team to the FIBA EuroCup. He then moved to Italian giant Benetton Treviso, winning an Italian championship and cup in his two seasons at the club.
Blatt could have well been guiding the Israel national team at the EuroBasket tournament this month had local bureaucracy been slightly more flexible. He was named as the national team coach in 2004, but despite coaching in Israel for over a decade he was later told he would not be able to guide the blue-and-white as he had no Israeli coaching certificate. Blatt quickly lost patience with the ensuing wrangle and decided to resign before ever even coaching the team.
Blatt is being tipped by many to make the rare leap from European to NBA coaching. The coach has never hidden his desire to guide a team in the best league in the world and after Sunday's triumph is surely a step closer to fulfilling his dream.
"If a European coach will reach the NBA in the coming years it will be David," Sherf said. "David is very similar to Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni. They're both Americans who coached successfully in Europe for several seasons. David has the vision, ability and contacts to get to the NBA."
"The NBA dream is closer then ever, but it won't happen this season because I have a contract with Pilsen," Blatt told Army Radio on Monday. "I will only leave for the NBA if I receive a challenging and financially satisfactory offer."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411423388&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Also see:
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olybb/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&page=EuroSemifinals
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)