[Grades] Grades v. Mavericks 4/6/2014
- Thread starter Bricklayer
- Start date
No, the Bulls picked where the Knicks were slotted. The Kings, Knicks and Bobcats all had identical records that year with tiebreakers slotting them Charlotte, Chicago (via NY) and then Sacramento. Remember that only the top three picks are determined by the lottery and after that it always goes by record with no chance to leapfrog anyone else.
But I think also years of Geoff Petrie drafts have brainwashed Kings fans a bit. Geoff was a great talent evaluator but his tendency to never trade up has giving the collective fan base the notion that it doesn't happen.
Sure, I'm rooting for the Kings to win the lottery, but if they don't and the FO loves a guy that they think will go 5th or 6th then make a move to go get him.
There is no LeBron in this draft. No Duncan. No guaranteed, transcendent, game-changing players at the top. It is a deep draft with some real potential up top but the fact that there isn't even a consensus on who the best player is at this point tells you what you need to know going forward. This offseason is where PDA earns his stripes or shows himself unfit for the role. And winning the lottery opens up options but guarantees nothing. The Kings will have a chance to add an impact player wherever they draft. We'll see if they make the right call.
Meanwhile, I'm going to continue to root for my team to win every game.
But I think also years of Geoff Petrie drafts have brainwashed Kings fans a bit. Geoff was a great talent evaluator but his tendency to never trade up has giving the collective fan base the notion that it doesn't happen.
Sure, I'm rooting for the Kings to win the lottery, but if they don't and the FO loves a guy that they think will go 5th or 6th then make a move to go get him.
There is no LeBron in this draft. No Duncan. No guaranteed, transcendent, game-changing players at the top. It is a deep draft with some real potential up top but the fact that there isn't even a consensus on who the best player is at this point tells you what you need to know going forward. This offseason is where PDA earns his stripes or shows himself unfit for the role. And winning the lottery opens up options but guarantees nothing. The Kings will have a chance to add an impact player wherever they draft. We'll see if they make the right call.
Meanwhile, I'm going to continue to root for my team to win every game.
1) psst -- pretty sure Kings fans booed Pervis back in the day too. And he was twice the player Bennet is. 
2) you always s want more options, draft positions mean options. If this was that awful Kevin Martin led team in 07-08 I am, and was, very much in favor of tanking our ass off. However, I voted 30 wins above because I do, and have for several years, believe that there are other larger considerations in play now. That we already acquired the fruits of tanking, and now you have to switch focus to retaining them, by building around them. One of my huge problems with newbie numbnuts front office from the start. To THEM it all looks new, like time to tank. To anybody with actual knowledge of the organization it was not. it was time to win. Now its DEFINTELY time to win. So even so modest a mark as 30 wins is a tiny sign of life.
2) you always s want more options, draft positions mean options. If this was that awful Kevin Martin led team in 07-08 I am, and was, very much in favor of tanking our ass off. However, I voted 30 wins above because I do, and have for several years, believe that there are other larger considerations in play now. That we already acquired the fruits of tanking, and now you have to switch focus to retaining them, by building around them. One of my huge problems with newbie numbnuts front office from the start. To THEM it all looks new, like time to tank. To anybody with actual knowledge of the organization it was not. it was time to win. Now its DEFINTELY time to win. So even so modest a mark as 30 wins is a tiny sign of life.
And yes, the Kings have their cornerstone and it looks like they have a wingman for him. It's not time to tank - it's time to surround them with the right talent to succeed. Let's say the Kings were to win the lottery - who in this draft is ideal for pairing with DMC? Parker? He's a LOT like Rudy Gay. Wiggins? Loads of potential but also lots of gaps in his game AND he isn't a guy that spreads the floor. I think you can roll he and Rudy out at the wings and have versatility and improved defense but you're still lacking outside shooting and conceding that McLemore might not be coming around.
Embiid really intrigues me but he's going to take time. And his injury history concerns me. His game has progressed surprisingly quickly but he still doesn't have amazing hands and is still coming around as a shotblocker/rim protector. He and Cousins would take time to develop as a duo but I think Embiid would be the guy I'd target if I had the #1 overall pick and I'm not convinced he's an ideal fit/pick.
Exum is an enticing option but he's also a black box to me and his weaknesses (ball dominant, poor shooter) are more of what plague this Kings team now. I don't like Julius Randle or Aaron Gordon on the Kings and I don't like Marcus Smart at all. Vonleh is a guy that really intrigues me and who I think would be great for the Kings. And beyond him? Ennis? Willie Cauley-Stein? Bit of a reach for either.
Honestly, I think if the Kings won the #1 pick I'd be really tempted to trade it for some immediate help. Maybe a deal with Boston for Rondo and their #18 pick for a top three pick and ending contracts?
Philly is tanking and doing it right. They'll have MCW, Thaddeus Young, Nerlens Noel, two lottery picks this year and a ton of capspace to make the jump next season. The Kings have some mishmashed talent and little chance to improve upon it outside of the draft and trades.
Time for PDA to earn his salary.
Other roadside errata:
Ron Jones - Tattoo Man in Bartlesville, OK -- Ron Jones lives in Bartlesville, Oklahoma about 50 miles west of Vinita, via Highway 60. Ron is a car enthusiast driving a patriotic 1956 Chevy decked out in shining red, white and blue that he has owned for thirty years. Mr.
Jones and his classic car once made a trip all the way to Los Angeles, California for a one day car show. In addition, he and his car have often traveled to Laughlin, Nevada and Monroe, Louisiana. He says: "I'm not afraid to go anywhere at the drop of a hat if I can."
Back in the mid 1990's, Ron and his prized 210 two door sedan went to a car show in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There, amongst the classic cars, was what? None other than a Route 66 exhibit with all manner of Mother Road memorabilia, and that was the hook that "drove” Ron to his current obsession.
Ron and his customized Chevy, complete with sunroof and a log chain steering wheel, began to travel the Mother Road. But that wasn’t enough for Ron. He wanted even more of dear old "Mother." At the age of 51, he got his first tattoo. Of what? You guessed it - ole’ Route 66! The tattoo was of the 66 shield and a piece of the highway.
Four years later, in 2004, he had 23 of them running up and down his legs, having at least two from each state, including one of the long lost Coral Court in St. Louis, Missouri.
Ron doesn't have a real favorite but he likes the one of the 66 Drive-In in Carthage,Missouri, because it displays the back end of his car; and he likes the Cozy Dog in Springfield, Illinois, because the owner is a friend of his.
When Ron's not going through the excruciating pain of needle poking or cruisin' the highway in his classic car, he also carries his obsession inside the garage, where again you'll see all types of Route 66 and car memorabilia. Yes, Ron does also have to work -- sellin' and deliverin' a few welding supplies in Oklahoma.
Update February 2014: Ron now has over 100 tattoos and was featured on an episode of the History Channel's "Counting Cars".
.
Cockroach Hall of Fame -- Yup, this is the Queen of Quirky! In Plano, Texas, pest control specialist Michael Bohdan put a whole new twist on these creepy, crawly little critters, when he opened up the Cockroach Hall of Fame in his retail store, The Pest
Shop.
Featuring dead bugs dressed as celebrities and historical figures, this just might be the one time in your life that a cockroach puts a smile on your face. On your visit, you’ll see cockroach displays featuring "Liberoachi,” "The
Combates Motel,” and "David Letteroach,” among dozens of others.
In addition to the "dead" cockroaches, Michael also displays Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches that are very much alive. These African Cockroaches are three to four inches long and nearly an inch thick. When you pick these
cockroaches up, they hiss at you!
If you still haven’t had your "fill” of dead bugs, be sure to sample some "Larvets Original Worm Snacks" in a BBQ, cheddar cheese and mexican spice. Try the yummy delicious barbecue flavored Worm Snacks. Mmm, mmm, mmm!
As you might imagine, the members of Plano’s Chamber of Commerce, were at first, opposed to the attention focused on this museum. But Michael Bohdan, founder of the Cockroach Hall of Fame, is pleased to announce that
they’ve finally come around.
Michael Bohdan is a pest control specialist with over 20 years of experience, and The Pest Shop not only features this quirky museum, but also all manner of products to help you get rid of these pesky creatures.
The Cockroach Hall of Fame is open Monday through Friday from 12:15 pm to 5 p.m. 12 pm till 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Admission is free
.
Ron Jones - Tattoo Man in Bartlesville, OK -- Ron Jones lives in Bartlesville, Oklahoma about 50 miles west of Vinita, via Highway 60. Ron is a car enthusiast driving a patriotic 1956 Chevy decked out in shining red, white and blue that he has owned for thirty years. Mr.
Jones and his classic car once made a trip all the way to Los Angeles, California for a one day car show. In addition, he and his car have often traveled to Laughlin, Nevada and Monroe, Louisiana. He says: "I'm not afraid to go anywhere at the drop of a hat if I can."
Back in the mid 1990's, Ron and his prized 210 two door sedan went to a car show in Tulsa, Oklahoma. There, amongst the classic cars, was what? None other than a Route 66 exhibit with all manner of Mother Road memorabilia, and that was the hook that "drove” Ron to his current obsession.
Ron and his customized Chevy, complete with sunroof and a log chain steering wheel, began to travel the Mother Road. But that wasn’t enough for Ron. He wanted even more of dear old "Mother." At the age of 51, he got his first tattoo. Of what? You guessed it - ole’ Route 66! The tattoo was of the 66 shield and a piece of the highway.
Four years later, in 2004, he had 23 of them running up and down his legs, having at least two from each state, including one of the long lost Coral Court in St. Louis, Missouri.
Ron doesn't have a real favorite but he likes the one of the 66 Drive-In in Carthage,Missouri, because it displays the back end of his car; and he likes the Cozy Dog in Springfield, Illinois, because the owner is a friend of his.
When Ron's not going through the excruciating pain of needle poking or cruisin' the highway in his classic car, he also carries his obsession inside the garage, where again you'll see all types of Route 66 and car memorabilia. Yes, Ron does also have to work -- sellin' and deliverin' a few welding supplies in Oklahoma.
Update February 2014: Ron now has over 100 tattoos and was featured on an episode of the History Channel's "Counting Cars".
.
Cockroach Hall of Fame -- Yup, this is the Queen of Quirky! In Plano, Texas, pest control specialist Michael Bohdan put a whole new twist on these creepy, crawly little critters, when he opened up the Cockroach Hall of Fame in his retail store, The Pest
Shop.
Featuring dead bugs dressed as celebrities and historical figures, this just might be the one time in your life that a cockroach puts a smile on your face. On your visit, you’ll see cockroach displays featuring "Liberoachi,” "The
Combates Motel,” and "David Letteroach,” among dozens of others.
In addition to the "dead" cockroaches, Michael also displays Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches that are very much alive. These African Cockroaches are three to four inches long and nearly an inch thick. When you pick these
cockroaches up, they hiss at you!
If you still haven’t had your "fill” of dead bugs, be sure to sample some "Larvets Original Worm Snacks" in a BBQ, cheddar cheese and mexican spice. Try the yummy delicious barbecue flavored Worm Snacks. Mmm, mmm, mmm!
As you might imagine, the members of Plano’s Chamber of Commerce, were at first, opposed to the attention focused on this museum. But Michael Bohdan, founder of the Cockroach Hall of Fame, is pleased to announce that
they’ve finally come around.
Michael Bohdan is a pest control specialist with over 20 years of experience, and The Pest Shop not only features this quirky museum, but also all manner of products to help you get rid of these pesky creatures.
The Cockroach Hall of Fame is open Monday through Friday from 12:15 pm to 5 p.m. 12 pm till 3 p.m. on Saturdays. Admission is free
.
I doubt that IWC's wishing for losses is going to screw up anything. I also doubt that the management of any team would ask players to tank. There are ways to tank without asking players to throw in the towel. Take a look at Philly. They traded off just about every decent player they had and replaced them with scrubs. But, they have one lottery pick along with another first round pick and five second round picks. Don't know how that's all going to work out for them, but I'd rather be a Kings fan right now. You can also tank by sitting your starting PG for the rest of the season with some mysterious injury. I believe that if you went to Cousins and asked him to tank, he'd ask to be traded.
Truer words were never spoken. At least when it comes to a sports franchise. Anything in between is limbo. Ask the fans in Atlanta how it feels to be almost good enough year after year after year. Strange, that if you read every post, you find a lot of opposite opinions, that if taken separately, seem to be true. It's almost as if there is no right or wrong, there's just luck! And, that's true as well. To end up with a franchise player, a player that dramatically changes the direction of the team, all the stars have to align, you have to have done your homework, and you have to be lucky. Pretty simple huh? And, if your lucky enough to land a player of that caliper, you have to have a coach, and system in place that allows that player to become as good as he can be. You don't buy the best seeds available for your garden, and then plant them in sand. The whole process almost seems impossible. But its not. It comes down to hiring the best people for the job, and then providing them with everything they need to acquire all the information they need. Have the Kings done that? At this moment in time, I have no idea.
I'm not going to rag on PDA, because I don't think he had a fair shake last time around. he inherited the job with very little time left before the draft, and also inherited what ever Petrie had already set up. He had a new coach without a staff to workout the players that were coming in. And for those not familiar with how the system works, GM's are right now, already trying to schedule players for workouts as soon as they declare for the draft. You come into the game with a couple of weeks left before the draft, and most of the top players schedules are already set. It's damm difficult to get them to come, especially when they might have a workout in Philly on saturday, and you want them to work out for you on sunday. My point is, that PDA's hands were tied. He had little time for workouts, and he had no scouting dept to rely on. All he had was what he knew from his previous team, which probably had different needs. He also inherited the Tyreke Evans situation, which might have handled differently if Tyreke still had another year left on his contract. So because of all those things, I'm giving him a pass for now. But from this point on, there's no more get out of jail for free cards.
To think that the draft doesn't matter defies logic. Just about every single player that's playing in the NBA was drafted. We acquired our best player in Cousins through the draft. Ask yourself this. Would you have wished for one more win that year if you knew in advance it would cost us acquiring Cousins? I wouldn't! Cousins or one more win? That's a dammed easy answer for me. Now I realize that we don't know what the future holds, but the principle is the same. It comes down to logic versus emotion, or passion if you will. Having said that, I sit in front of my TV every game and find myself groaning every time we miss a shot, or throw the ball away. Time stood still for the last few seconds of last nights game before Cousins threw up a prayer at the basket. I desperately wanted that shot to go in. But when it didn't, I was content with the knowledge that we still held on to the seventh spot in the draft. Were not machines! We can think like one, but we also feel the emotions connected to the results of our thoughts. Makes it damm complicated at times.
I'm not going to rag on PDA, because I don't think he had a fair shake last time around. he inherited the job with very little time left before the draft, and also inherited what ever Petrie had already set up. He had a new coach without a staff to workout the players that were coming in. And for those not familiar with how the system works, GM's are right now, already trying to schedule players for workouts as soon as they declare for the draft. You come into the game with a couple of weeks left before the draft, and most of the top players schedules are already set. It's damm difficult to get them to come, especially when they might have a workout in Philly on saturday, and you want them to work out for you on sunday. My point is, that PDA's hands were tied. He had little time for workouts, and he had no scouting dept to rely on. All he had was what he knew from his previous team, which probably had different needs. He also inherited the Tyreke Evans situation, which might have handled differently if Tyreke still had another year left on his contract. So because of all those things, I'm giving him a pass for now. But from this point on, there's no more get out of jail for free cards.
To think that the draft doesn't matter defies logic. Just about every single player that's playing in the NBA was drafted. We acquired our best player in Cousins through the draft. Ask yourself this. Would you have wished for one more win that year if you knew in advance it would cost us acquiring Cousins? I wouldn't! Cousins or one more win? That's a dammed easy answer for me. Now I realize that we don't know what the future holds, but the principle is the same. It comes down to logic versus emotion, or passion if you will. Having said that, I sit in front of my TV every game and find myself groaning every time we miss a shot, or throw the ball away. Time stood still for the last few seconds of last nights game before Cousins threw up a prayer at the basket. I desperately wanted that shot to go in. But when it didn't, I was content with the knowledge that we still held on to the seventh spot in the draft. Were not machines! We can think like one, but we also feel the emotions connected to the results of our thoughts. Makes it damm complicated at times.
But the "Cousins or one more win" question never did nor will come up because no one can know in advance and the target never sits still long enough to get a bead on it. But I think your other statement about each argument and each position on the subject when considered alone has merit. S there we are. No matter what I hope PDA and crew can get a good outcome.b
