For cry sakes, we didn't take Smith over Fareid because we thought he was in any way shape, or form better than Fareid. We DIDN"T take Fareid as part of the trade for Felton. You can rail all you like about that being a mistake, but we did not choose Smith over Fareid.
Spain isn't playing Claver, and as a result, Ukraine is up 5. When will they learn? (Ukraine is doing it right: they were getting blown out by minnows early on in the buildup, but they've steadily improved and have already beaten France. Mike Fratello can still coach!)
Even in limited minutes, I love Victors defensive instincts. He has the length to bottle guys up in the paint that few of our roster players have. I still think he could be a top tier defensive specialist in the NBA. Like a Bruce Bowen or Doug Christie he doesn't look to score unless the clock is winding down. If Stotts doesn't play him I hope he goes somewhere he'll get some burn.
I agree. All he needs to do is work on his three point shot, really, and I'm sure Stotts would play him. I was trying to think where he'd fit best. Memphis, perhaps. Or a running team like Phoenix or Minny (where he and Ricky could complain about the cold together).
Top 10 (arguably top 5) PG of all time? 25 PER average over 8 year career (playoffs, too), averages 20 pts/10 ast/5 reb/2 stl in the playoffs? Here is a stats comparison with Magic through their first 8 seasons: Link I hate CP3 for his whining and flopping but he is a beast, man... Sure, he has not won a title yet, but a lot of first ballot HOFers never won a ring either.
The other part of this proposal would be to have playing for USABB be their full-time occupation (with, say, a $100K salary), and to hire a coach specifically for USABB, giving them the opportunity to practice and train together year-round, learn how to play team ball, and become a cohesive unit. When not competing internationally, they would tour and participate in exhibition games--summer league, NBA preseason, international friendlies...maybe even play the Globetrotters. It'll never happen, but I'd love to see it.
Tell you how this COULD happen: an eccentric billionaire in somewhere like the Philippines (which already has Andray Blatche) decides to do this and gets quickie citizenships for them all. Every Eastern European team has a black American PG these days (Draper for Croatia, Jeter for Ukraine, Bo McCalebb for Macedonia, etc.) so it's doable. That's much more likely that the "loveable Team USA" you're envisaging. The closest to that is that the USA occasionally sends D-League players to things like the Tournament of the Americas just because it doesn't give a shit about that.
he just turned 29, he should have a few more elite years under his belt (assuming his knees hold up), but thus far rookie if the year 7 time all star 6 time all nba defense 6 time all nba (with 8 total first team honors) 2nd highest career assist% in nba history, 3rd highest apg in nba history 3rd highest spg in nba history, has lead the league in steals 6 out of the last 7 years 4th highest ws/48 in nba history #1 ortg of all time 25.6 career PER (6th all time)
That actually makes it worse. Dre + Rudy + Faried >>> Felton + Nolan How the hell does Chad Buchanan get hired again?
Nate wanted that trade, he sparred with Dre all the time in practice and was a Nolan fan. My biggest disappointment ever was Felton for Dre. At least Felton eventually turned into TRob..that's an upgrade
Dre called out Nate for his stupidity of starting Blake over him. His explosion was warranted. And Nate should have no say whatsoever on player evaluations -- remember Taurean Green? Ultimately, it doesn't matter who was involved. What does is that we had one of our least enjoyable seasons ever in 2011-12 because of it (and Broy retiring, cutting GO, Jamal signing, etc).
<BANGS HEAD ON DESK> Brandon Roy couldn't play alongside Miller. Nor could Rudy. On paper, Felton was a MUCH better fit playing alongside Brandon. If Brandon retires at the end of the season instead of in training camp, we don't make that trade, and Dre, Rudy, Marcus Camby, and probably Fareid are all three still starting alongside LaMarcus. Instead, we end up trying to fill Brandon's shoes with Jamaal Crawford, and get dragged down by a sandbagging fat piece of cupcake turds.
Blake started because Brandon was drastically more effective playing alongside him compared to Miller. Without Brandon, Miller was able to play to his strengths which were light years ahead of Blake's.
ahh, they made the trade trying to fit the roster built around a player who was about to retire. that makes way more sense, thanks
Because right up until he actually announced his retirement, Brandon was positively gushing about how good his knees felt...
I see nothing that strikes me as a first ballot hall of famer. Borderline? Sure. First ballot? Not even close, there's no argument for it.
