-Thursday, I watched the first half of the Kansas-Portland State blowout. I have always liked Brandon Rush, and he really shined in this game early on. Rush has always been very consistent in his three years with Kansas and can do a lot of things well. Rush finished with eighteen points in thirty minutes along with six rebounds. Rush also shot four for nine from behind the three point line. In terms of pro potential, I think Rush is a sleeper, similarly to what Tayshaun Prince's stock was like coming out of college. Both players were very consistent in their college career, played for big time universities, and had NBA bodies. Likewise, people wondered if they reached their ceiling early, and would not have much room to get better in the NBA. I love Rush's pro potential and think he can be a strong contributor. Along with great size and strength, he has a large wingspan and runs the floor well. Rush does a lot of things well, including rebounding efficiently for a guard, shooting range, and playing terrific perimeter defense. Rush's biggest weakness seems to be his ball handling, but I would assume this is a skill he will work on prior to individual team workouts.
-I've also spent some time watching Kevin Love of UCLA over the last few weeks. Love is an interesting prospect because he does not have the super athleticism that many young big men do today. He is more of a polished player, who does a lot of things well. For a pro team, if you are drafting him to be a top player within a franchise, I think you are making a mistake. However, if a team is looking for him to be their fifth player, I think he is a great fit.
Some interesting videos of Love:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TQkWr8tQ3Q
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JoVpjgj6GAo
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1dGLwJaayL0
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wykfvQFtCkc
-I'm still concerned about the Celtics making it through the Eastern Conference in the playoffs. Boston beat the Pistons two-out-of-three in the regular season, but the Pistons guards have played excellent in the matchup. Down the stretch of games, if Doc Rivers feels the need to play Sam Cassell over Rajon Rondo because of the experience, I see Cassell as a huge liability on defense. Cassell cannot keep up with Richard Hamilton running off screens and will not be able to stay with Chauncey Billups' physical play. In a matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers, I would again be concerned with their defense on LeBron James. Boston split their four matchups with Cleveland this season and James scored 38, 33, DNP, and 26. I don't see Pierce being able to matchup with James for most of a playoff game and still able to produce at a high level on offense. James Posey appears to not have much left in his tank and Tony Allen is not big enough to defend James. The main benefit the Celtics do have on their side in a big defensive matchup is Kevin Garnett defending the basket and Tom Thibodeau creating defensive game plans.
Showing posts with label Chauncey Billups. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chauncey Billups. Show all posts
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
Trade restrictions for “Base Year Compensation” players
If a team is over the salary cap and enters into a new player contract with a Bird or Early Bird free agent or an extension of a Rookie Scale Contract, that provides for a salary in the first year of the contract in excess of 120% of the player’s salary in the prior season, the player will be subject to a Base Year Compensation (BYC). If such a player is traded, his Base Year Compensation will be used instead of his salary for purposes of determining the amount of his Traded Player Exception. The player’s Base Year Compensation will equal the greater of the salary for the last season of his preceding contract, o 50% of the player’s then-current salary.
Some BYC players include:
Kendrick Perkins, Matt Carroll, Gerald Wallace, Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni, LeBron James, Sasha Pavlovic, Anderson Varejao, Josh Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Amir Johnson.
Some BYC players include:
Kendrick Perkins, Matt Carroll, Gerald Wallace, Kirk Hinrich, Andres Nocioni, LeBron James, Sasha Pavlovic, Anderson Varejao, Josh Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups, Amir Johnson.
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
Friday, August 17, 2007
Pistons Add Hayes to the Mix
Today, Pistons team president, Joe Dumars, confirmed that they have signed Jarvis Hayes. Hayes adds flexibility and depth to the roster and is still only 26 years old. Hayes had his most productive year in 2004-05, where he averaged 28.9 minutes per game, 10.2 points per game, and 4.2 rebounds per game.
Hayes possesses good size and shoots the ball well from the outside. He does not have a great first step or superior elevation. Hayes shoots too frequently off the dribble and needs to take the ball to the basket aggressively more often. Hayes' size and strength allow him to defend small forwards well. Defending shooting guards can be a problem though sometimes because his lateral quickness is only mediocre. In order to be more than just a role player, Hayes needs to work on his offensive game. He needs to diversify his offensive abilities with more willingness to get to the basket and draw fouls. His shooting behind the perimeter could also gain more consistency in order to keep space between himself and the defender.
With Hayes, the Pistons have now added Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo, Cheick Samb, and Sammy Mejia since the end of last season. Additionally, they expect Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell to play more of a factor this season. I like what Dumars has done by being patient and adding pieces with limited risk and high reward. Outside of Darko Milicic, the Pistons have done a good job in developing talent internally rather than having to sign questionable free agents.
If the Pistons chose a brash approach and looked to move Rasheed Wallace after last season, it is highly unlikely that they would have been able to bring back a player with an equal skill level. Instead, Dumars hopes that bringing in more support around Detroit's experienced starting five will allow their core to save more energy for the playoffs.
Detroit most likely would still like to add one more big body upfront for the playoffs. Whether that is solved by bringing back Chris Webber or trading for someone, Dumars would probably feel more confident with one more veteran. Dumars should look to Minnesota where Juwan Howard is looking to be dealt. If Dumars offered Minnesota Ronald Dupree (expiring contract), Ronald Murray (expiring contract), a future first round pick, and the trade exception they received from the Carlos Delfino trade for Howard, then they would get the big, veteran body they need. This trade would give Minnesota even more to build on as they look to reshape their team after moving Kevin Garnett to Boston.
With veterans Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Lindsey Hunter, Antonio McDyess, Nazr Mohammed, Tayshaun Prince, and Wallace returning, Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell looking to make more of an impact, and Hayes and the other new additions to the team, the Pistons will have more depth than they have had in awhile. Dumars hopes that this group can get past the Eastern Conference finals and compete for the NBA Finals.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Ideal Player to Build Around
Since the 1990-91 season, there have been six different teams that have won the NBA championship. Each one of these teams had a star player, who was the leader of that team: San Antonio Spurs (Tim Duncan), Miami Heat (Dwyane Wade), Detroit Pistons (Chauncey Billups), Los Angeles Lakers (Shaquille O'Neal), Chicago Bulls (Michael Jordan), and Houston Rockets (Hakeem Olajuwon).
With that being said, if I were looking to start a team or acquire a star, here are the traits that player would need to have:
-Good chemistry guy
-A warrior on the court
-Strong in the community
-Consistency
-Double-double or near double-double each night
-Entering into prime or in prime of his career
If you take a look at the most one-sided trades over recent history, each time the team trading the star got the short end of the deal because they traded that player for a reason that had nothing to do with talent.
Some examples over the last decade or so: Lakers traded O'Neal because of his situation with Kobe Bryant, Philadelphia traded Charles Barkley after his request because of decreasing talent, Washington traded Chris Webber traded after an arrest, Phoenix traded Jason Kidd after an arrest for spousal abuse, Orlando traded Tracy McGrady in an effort to bring in more talent, Toronto traded Vince Carter because of a trade request, Charlotte traded Alonzo Mourning over a contract dispute, Philadelphia traded Moses Malone in order to cut payroll, just to name a few. Some of these players (Kidd and Webber for "community", Carter for "warrior" while in Toronto) may not fit each trait, but nevertheless, they were still traded for reasons that did not have to do with talent.
It is yet to be seen if Minnesota and Seattle will regret trading Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, respectively. However, both of thse players fit my five traits, especially Garnett.
After going through the requirements and the history, here are a list of other players that I would build around today with all of these traits:
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Jermaine O'Neal, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, Elton Brand, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Kevin Garnett, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Kobe Bryant.
I clearly left off a handful of great players. Here are those players and the reasons for why I left them off:
Jason Kidd (age), Vince Carter (age/chemistry), Eddy Curry (chemistry), Ray Allen (age), Paul Pierce (age), Rasheed Wallace (chemistry), Chauncey Billups (age), Michael Redd (warrior), Shaquille O'Neal (age), Gilbert Arenas (chemistry), Rashard Lewis (consistency), Steve Nash (age), Shawn Marion (consistency/chemistry), Baron Davis (age/consistency), Ron Artest (chemistry), Greg Oden (age), Kevin Durant (age), Allen Iverson (age), Carmelo Anthony (chemistry), Pau Gasol (warrior).
With that being said, if I were looking to start a team or acquire a star, here are the traits that player would need to have:
-Good chemistry guy
-A warrior on the court
-Strong in the community
-Consistency
-Double-double or near double-double each night
-Entering into prime or in prime of his career
If you take a look at the most one-sided trades over recent history, each time the team trading the star got the short end of the deal because they traded that player for a reason that had nothing to do with talent.
Some examples over the last decade or so: Lakers traded O'Neal because of his situation with Kobe Bryant, Philadelphia traded Charles Barkley after his request because of decreasing talent, Washington traded Chris Webber traded after an arrest, Phoenix traded Jason Kidd after an arrest for spousal abuse, Orlando traded Tracy McGrady in an effort to bring in more talent, Toronto traded Vince Carter because of a trade request, Charlotte traded Alonzo Mourning over a contract dispute, Philadelphia traded Moses Malone in order to cut payroll, just to name a few. Some of these players (Kidd and Webber for "community", Carter for "warrior" while in Toronto) may not fit each trait, but nevertheless, they were still traded for reasons that did not have to do with talent.
It is yet to be seen if Minnesota and Seattle will regret trading Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, respectively. However, both of thse players fit my five traits, especially Garnett.
After going through the requirements and the history, here are a list of other players that I would build around today with all of these traits:
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Luol Deng, Jermaine O'Neal, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, Elton Brand, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Kevin Garnett, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Kobe Bryant.
I clearly left off a handful of great players. Here are those players and the reasons for why I left them off:
Jason Kidd (age), Vince Carter (age/chemistry), Eddy Curry (chemistry), Ray Allen (age), Paul Pierce (age), Rasheed Wallace (chemistry), Chauncey Billups (age), Michael Redd (warrior), Shaquille O'Neal (age), Gilbert Arenas (chemistry), Rashard Lewis (consistency), Steve Nash (age), Shawn Marion (consistency/chemistry), Baron Davis (age/consistency), Ron Artest (chemistry), Greg Oden (age), Kevin Durant (age), Allen Iverson (age), Carmelo Anthony (chemistry), Pau Gasol (warrior).
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