I hope Jermaniac doesn't read this. But if you believe this "insider", Rick, Peja and Granger are staying and maybe no one else.
I've highlighted the part about the Pacers and brought it to the front of the column.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...p-355845c.html
New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
The No. 1 Priority
Sunday, May 28th, 2006
Like Larry Brown, Indiana's Rick Carlisle is currently involved in pre-draft workouts. But the difference is that while Brown is going to depart whenever Jim Dolan gives the word, Carlisle, who was on thin ice this past season, is apparently staying on. The Pacers' massive housecleaning plan includes exporting Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley and just about everybody else. Two players staying, barring a change, are Peja Stojakovic and Danny Granger.
One possible destination for Indy's O'Neal: Golden State, in a package starting with Troy Murphy. "A lot of teams out there like our players," said Golden State GM Rod Higgins. Besides Murphy, the Pacers like Ike Diogu and Mickael Pietrus.
We witnessed the dawn of a new era in the NBA this past week - and we're not talking about the dethroning of the San Antonio Spurs. For the first time in the Toronto Raptors' inglorious history, they won the draft lottery.
"Normally, we go backwards," said Jim Kelly, the team's long-time player personnel director. "We were just hoping we wouldn't lose ground, for once."
Hey, everybody gets lucky once in a while. The Raptors were barred from getting the No. 1 pick when they came into the league in 1995 and have never drafted higher than No. 2 (Marcus Camby in 1996). But now they can accelerate their rebuilding campaign. With the draft bereft of a franchise player who can make an immediate impact - that comes next year with Indianapolis high schooler and Ohio State recruit Greg Oden, ineligible for this year's draft - the Raptors are prime candidates to trade the pick.
They'd like to move down to No. 4, currently occupied by Portland, which owned the worst record this season and came up the big lottery loser. Gonzaga's Adam Morrison would help Portland turn around its fortunes, on and off the court. But Morrison probably won't be available at No. 4, so the Raptors might have themselves a trading partner. If Toronto can get a pick in next year's draft, already being touted as better than this June's, that would be ideal.
"There's no clear-cut No. 1 player this year, and if you asked three or four teams who they'd take at No. 1, you might get three or four different answers," Kelly said. "So we expect some action if we decide to move it."
At this early stage, Toronto doesn't know how far it will move down. But the Raptors are sending out strong signals that they'd like to get UConn's point guard Marcus Williams. The best pure point in this draft, Williams has drawn comparisons to Mark Jackson, but is considered faster than the ex-Knick.
The new man in charge in Toronto, Bryan Colangelo, wants a playmaker who looks to distribute the ball first to Chris Bosh and Williams' ex-UConn teammate Charlie Villanueva. Incumbent Mike James, a free agent, will be moving on this summer. So, unless it's a smokescreen, Williams is Toronto's leading choice to fill the role.
The Raptors would even take Williams as high as No. 4, a reach on most other team's draft boards. But as the Suns' GM, Colangelo sometimes took players higher than other teams had them projected, most notably Shawn Marion, at No. 9 in 1999.
The Bulls and Bobcats, drafting second and third, respectively, are set at point guard, with Kirk Hinrich and Raymond Felton. So they have no need for Williams.
"Williams isn't a jet like Chris Paul," said Kelly, referring to the Hornets' Rookie of the Year. "But he has good size and strength and he has a presence on the floor. He can deliver the ball to your big people. And he has a lot of big-game experience."
The Raptors haven't played in many big games. But who knows? In this new era, they could find themselves back in the playoffs next season after a four-year hiatus.
Cuban off the Mark
It's not really a new era for Dallas, even if Mark Cuban was saying as much after his Mavs ended the Spurs' bid for their first repeat title on the strength of Dirk Nowitzki's landmark series and an ill-advised foul at the end of regulation in Game 7 by Manu Ginobili.
"I told Dirk, did you see that? It just ran out of the door. The monkey that's been our back for so long, it's gone," Cuban said.
He wishes. This isn't Isiah Thomas' Pistons finally dethroning Larry Bird's Celtics, or even Michael Jordan's Bulls finally getting past Detroit. In each of those instances, the old kings were never heard from again. Boston never got past the second round in Bird's last four seasons, and the Pistons made it to only one more playoff series with Thomas, losing to the Knicks in the first round in 1992.
The comparison, used by TNT and elsewhere, falls short in an even more critical area. When Detroit ousted the Celtics in 1988, Bird was old and banged up at 32, Robert Parish was 35 and Kevin McHale was 31. The Celtics were limping and done. In the case of Detroit being supplanted by Chicago, the Pistons' mainstays were getting up there - Thomas was 30, Bill Laimbeer was 34 and Vinnie Johnson nearly 35 - while Jordan was 28 and primed to start his dynasty.
But the Spurs aren't ready to be carried out on their shields. Tim Duncan, described after the series by Nowitzki as "unguardable," turned 30 last month. Ginobili will be 29 in July. Tony Parker is 24.
"I listen to (people say) how athletic Dallas was and how we couldn't handle it, and it just makes me smile," Spurs VP Gregg Popovich said after the Spurs' run ended. "If you win, there's all kinds of things you did well. If you lose, there's got to be reasons why you lost. So if they're more athletic, I need to figure out how much more to win by a point. How much more athletic is that?"
Not much. Any tinkering the Spurs do is not going to be mistaken for some sort of radical makeover. They don't need one.
"Let's face it, that Dallas series could have gone either way," said Dan Majerle, the former Phoenix Suns guard. "Tim Duncan is going to continue be a great player for a while. Parker is still a young guy. So they're not going anywhere. The way it looks, the Spurs are still going to be the team that everybody will have to go through for a long time to come."
Slam Dunks
Like Larry Brown, Indiana's Rick Carlisle is currently involved in pre-draft workouts. But the difference is that while Brown is going to depart whenever Jim Dolan gives the word, Carlisle, who was on thin ice this past season, is apparently staying on. The Pacers' massive housecleaning plan includes exporting Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley and just about everybody else. Two players staying, barring a change, are Peja Stojakovic and Danny Granger.
One possible destination for Indy's O'Neal: Golden State, in a package starting with Troy Murphy. "A lot of teams out there like our players," said Golden State GM Rod Higgins. Besides Murphy, the Pacers like Ike Diogu and Mickael Pietrus.
Minnesota brought back assistant coach Randy Wittman, a Kevin McHale favorite who could slide into the No. 1 seat if Dwane Casey gets off to a rough start in Year 2 with Kevin Garnett. You don't hear Garnett's name in trade talks — yet — but the T-Wolves would love to move oft-injured Troy Hudson.
Kenyon Martin will have to reach some sort of buyout with the Nuggets before Rod Thorn even considers bringing him back to the Nets.
I've highlighted the part about the Pacers and brought it to the front of the column.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...p-355845c.html
New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
The No. 1 Priority
Sunday, May 28th, 2006
Like Larry Brown, Indiana's Rick Carlisle is currently involved in pre-draft workouts. But the difference is that while Brown is going to depart whenever Jim Dolan gives the word, Carlisle, who was on thin ice this past season, is apparently staying on. The Pacers' massive housecleaning plan includes exporting Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley and just about everybody else. Two players staying, barring a change, are Peja Stojakovic and Danny Granger.
One possible destination for Indy's O'Neal: Golden State, in a package starting with Troy Murphy. "A lot of teams out there like our players," said Golden State GM Rod Higgins. Besides Murphy, the Pacers like Ike Diogu and Mickael Pietrus.
We witnessed the dawn of a new era in the NBA this past week - and we're not talking about the dethroning of the San Antonio Spurs. For the first time in the Toronto Raptors' inglorious history, they won the draft lottery.
"Normally, we go backwards," said Jim Kelly, the team's long-time player personnel director. "We were just hoping we wouldn't lose ground, for once."
Hey, everybody gets lucky once in a while. The Raptors were barred from getting the No. 1 pick when they came into the league in 1995 and have never drafted higher than No. 2 (Marcus Camby in 1996). But now they can accelerate their rebuilding campaign. With the draft bereft of a franchise player who can make an immediate impact - that comes next year with Indianapolis high schooler and Ohio State recruit Greg Oden, ineligible for this year's draft - the Raptors are prime candidates to trade the pick.
They'd like to move down to No. 4, currently occupied by Portland, which owned the worst record this season and came up the big lottery loser. Gonzaga's Adam Morrison would help Portland turn around its fortunes, on and off the court. But Morrison probably won't be available at No. 4, so the Raptors might have themselves a trading partner. If Toronto can get a pick in next year's draft, already being touted as better than this June's, that would be ideal.
"There's no clear-cut No. 1 player this year, and if you asked three or four teams who they'd take at No. 1, you might get three or four different answers," Kelly said. "So we expect some action if we decide to move it."
At this early stage, Toronto doesn't know how far it will move down. But the Raptors are sending out strong signals that they'd like to get UConn's point guard Marcus Williams. The best pure point in this draft, Williams has drawn comparisons to Mark Jackson, but is considered faster than the ex-Knick.
The new man in charge in Toronto, Bryan Colangelo, wants a playmaker who looks to distribute the ball first to Chris Bosh and Williams' ex-UConn teammate Charlie Villanueva. Incumbent Mike James, a free agent, will be moving on this summer. So, unless it's a smokescreen, Williams is Toronto's leading choice to fill the role.
The Raptors would even take Williams as high as No. 4, a reach on most other team's draft boards. But as the Suns' GM, Colangelo sometimes took players higher than other teams had them projected, most notably Shawn Marion, at No. 9 in 1999.
The Bulls and Bobcats, drafting second and third, respectively, are set at point guard, with Kirk Hinrich and Raymond Felton. So they have no need for Williams.
"Williams isn't a jet like Chris Paul," said Kelly, referring to the Hornets' Rookie of the Year. "But he has good size and strength and he has a presence on the floor. He can deliver the ball to your big people. And he has a lot of big-game experience."
The Raptors haven't played in many big games. But who knows? In this new era, they could find themselves back in the playoffs next season after a four-year hiatus.
Cuban off the Mark
It's not really a new era for Dallas, even if Mark Cuban was saying as much after his Mavs ended the Spurs' bid for their first repeat title on the strength of Dirk Nowitzki's landmark series and an ill-advised foul at the end of regulation in Game 7 by Manu Ginobili.
"I told Dirk, did you see that? It just ran out of the door. The monkey that's been our back for so long, it's gone," Cuban said.
He wishes. This isn't Isiah Thomas' Pistons finally dethroning Larry Bird's Celtics, or even Michael Jordan's Bulls finally getting past Detroit. In each of those instances, the old kings were never heard from again. Boston never got past the second round in Bird's last four seasons, and the Pistons made it to only one more playoff series with Thomas, losing to the Knicks in the first round in 1992.
The comparison, used by TNT and elsewhere, falls short in an even more critical area. When Detroit ousted the Celtics in 1988, Bird was old and banged up at 32, Robert Parish was 35 and Kevin McHale was 31. The Celtics were limping and done. In the case of Detroit being supplanted by Chicago, the Pistons' mainstays were getting up there - Thomas was 30, Bill Laimbeer was 34 and Vinnie Johnson nearly 35 - while Jordan was 28 and primed to start his dynasty.
But the Spurs aren't ready to be carried out on their shields. Tim Duncan, described after the series by Nowitzki as "unguardable," turned 30 last month. Ginobili will be 29 in July. Tony Parker is 24.
"I listen to (people say) how athletic Dallas was and how we couldn't handle it, and it just makes me smile," Spurs VP Gregg Popovich said after the Spurs' run ended. "If you win, there's all kinds of things you did well. If you lose, there's got to be reasons why you lost. So if they're more athletic, I need to figure out how much more to win by a point. How much more athletic is that?"
Not much. Any tinkering the Spurs do is not going to be mistaken for some sort of radical makeover. They don't need one.
"Let's face it, that Dallas series could have gone either way," said Dan Majerle, the former Phoenix Suns guard. "Tim Duncan is going to continue be a great player for a while. Parker is still a young guy. So they're not going anywhere. The way it looks, the Spurs are still going to be the team that everybody will have to go through for a long time to come."
Slam Dunks
Like Larry Brown, Indiana's Rick Carlisle is currently involved in pre-draft workouts. But the difference is that while Brown is going to depart whenever Jim Dolan gives the word, Carlisle, who was on thin ice this past season, is apparently staying on. The Pacers' massive housecleaning plan includes exporting Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson, Jamaal Tinsley and just about everybody else. Two players staying, barring a change, are Peja Stojakovic and Danny Granger.
One possible destination for Indy's O'Neal: Golden State, in a package starting with Troy Murphy. "A lot of teams out there like our players," said Golden State GM Rod Higgins. Besides Murphy, the Pacers like Ike Diogu and Mickael Pietrus.
Minnesota brought back assistant coach Randy Wittman, a Kevin McHale favorite who could slide into the No. 1 seat if Dwane Casey gets off to a rough start in Year 2 with Kevin Garnett. You don't hear Garnett's name in trade talks — yet — but the T-Wolves would love to move oft-injured Troy Hudson.
Kenyon Martin will have to reach some sort of buyout with the Nuggets before Rod Thorn even considers bringing him back to the Nets.
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