So the other day I posted a non-biased, fact based piece on the 2014 NBA Draft. In this article, I will be posting some of my views on the draft, particularly some of the selections made by the teams.
Their fate has already been sealed - No matter how different their games are, no matter how far their careers drift apart, Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker will be compared for the rest of their career due to them being in the same draft class. In my opinion, Wiggins will be more popular with fans due to his flashy dunks, but I can see Parker becoming a very underrated player. Only time can tell whether the Cleveland Cavaliers made the right pick.
76ers select injury-ridden big man... Again - In the 2013 draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Nerlens Noel, a promising centre who had to miss a season due to injury problems. In the 2014 draft, the Philadelphia 76ers selected Joel Embiid, a promising centre who has to miss a season due to injury problems. Am I the only one getting deja vu? The 76ers seems intent on taking risks in drafts, and whether they will be worth it or not is yet to be seen. However, even if they do get Embiid and Noel healthy at the same time, what will they do with them? They will have 2 centers, with only one spot on the team. Either way, one player will be upset at his minutes.
What was wrong with Exum? - The question most Orlando Magic fans will be asking about their team's selection after this year's draft. Given the 4th pick, the stage was set for them to select Dante Exum, a highly praised guard from Australia. Also, with Arron Afflalo leaving the club in a trade a few days before the draft, Exum seemed like the perfect substitute. But instead, they selected Aaron Gordon, a power forward from Arizona. No disrespect to Gordon, he seems like a solid prospect, but it looked like Exum would be better suited to the Magic.
Will Shabazz shine in Miami? - One draft day trade saw point guard Shabazz Napier move from the Charlotte Hornets to the Miami Heat. With plenty of guards already on the roster, this move made sense for Charlotte, and Miami have been chasing after Napier for months, with him reportedly being LeBron James' favourite player in the draft. Critics of Miami have always said that the point guard role needs to be improved, with Mario Chalmers being deemed unfit for the position. Shabazz may apply some pressure onto Chalmers, or even take his place in the team. Or he could be ignored by Erik Spoelstra and pushed to the bench, much like Norris Cole has been.
"With the next pick in the NBA draft, the NBA selects..." - One of the best stories of the night was when Isaiah Austin was cermemonially "drafted" by the NBA. Austin couldn't experience the real draft due to him being diagnosed with Marfan syndrome just a couple of moves before the draft. I've shared the video before on this page, but if you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to watch it, it's incredibly emotional. A classy move from Commissioner Adam Silver, and one that will get him plenty of respect and fans (although that most likely wasn't his aim).
Showing posts with label adam silver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label adam silver. Show all posts
Saturday, 28 June 2014
Friday, 27 June 2014
Wiggins Is #1 Pick of 2014
For the second year in a row, a Canadian has been selected as the number one pick in the NBA Draft. In 2013 it was Anthony Bennett who took the top spot, and this year shooting guard Andrew Wiggins had the honour of being number 1.
Even as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver took to the stage in Brooklyn's Barclays Center, there was still discussion as to who would be the first pick. Duke's Jabari Parker and Kansas' Wiggins seemed to be favourites, whilst some pundits still backed Joel Embiid despite his recent injury problems.
After months of speculation, Silver put all rumours to rest. The Cleveland Cavaliers had selected the young man from Toronto, leaving the Milwaukee Bucks with forward Parker. Then, the Philadelphia 76ers took the stage with a big decision to make. Do they take the promising but injured Embiid or take a more conservative pick on a player without the injury concerns. When it came to it, they selected the centre from Duke to join their roster.
Then came one of the biggest shocks of the evening. Much praise has been heaped on Melbourne born Dante Exum, with one NBA General Manager (who stayed anonymous) saying he could be the next Kobe Bryant. Despite these recommendations, the Orlando Magic decided to select Aaron Gordon, a power forward from Arizona, a move that didn't seem popular with fans. This allowed the Utah Jazz to take the Australian at number 5, which could be considered to be a steal.
Marcus Smart, the point guard from Oklahoma State was next, being drafted to the Boston Celtics, while Julius Randle went out west to Los Angeles, to join a Lakers franchise in desperate need of a bright new star. Nik Stauskas was the 2nd Canadian to be drafted on the night, joining the Sacramento Kings at number 8 and Noah Vonleh became the first ever pick for the newly named Charlotte Hornets. Unexpectedly rounding out the top 10 was Elfrid Payton who was drafted to the Philadelphia 76ers. However, he was immediately traded to the Orlando Magic. In return, the 76ers received the rights to Dario Saric, who will be playing in Europe for the next couple of years.
Other notable picks included sharpshooter Doug McDermott (number 11 by the Denver Nuggets, later traded to the Chicago Bulls), Canadian point guard Tyler Ennis (number 18 by the Phoenix Suns) and Connecticut point guard Shabazz Napier (number 24 by the Charlotte Hornets, moved to the Miami Heat). For a full list of draftees, see the end of the article.
The feel good story of the night was the one of Isaiah Austin. Formerly a center with Baylor, there were talks of him becoming a first round pick in the 2014 Draft. However, Austin was recently diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, thus ending his dreams of ever playing professionally. Then, between the 15th and 16th picks, Adam Silver called Austin to the stage and picked him as a ceremonial member of the NBA. Austin received a standing ovation from the crowd, and a draft night experience he never thought he would have.
For a full list of draftees, visit - http://www.nba.com/draft/2014/draftboard.html
To watch Isaiah Austin's emotional induction, visit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuKKhMls0bs
Even as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver took to the stage in Brooklyn's Barclays Center, there was still discussion as to who would be the first pick. Duke's Jabari Parker and Kansas' Wiggins seemed to be favourites, whilst some pundits still backed Joel Embiid despite his recent injury problems.
After months of speculation, Silver put all rumours to rest. The Cleveland Cavaliers had selected the young man from Toronto, leaving the Milwaukee Bucks with forward Parker. Then, the Philadelphia 76ers took the stage with a big decision to make. Do they take the promising but injured Embiid or take a more conservative pick on a player without the injury concerns. When it came to it, they selected the centre from Duke to join their roster.
 |
| Andrew Wiggins became 2014's Number 1 Pick |
Then came one of the biggest shocks of the evening. Much praise has been heaped on Melbourne born Dante Exum, with one NBA General Manager (who stayed anonymous) saying he could be the next Kobe Bryant. Despite these recommendations, the Orlando Magic decided to select Aaron Gordon, a power forward from Arizona, a move that didn't seem popular with fans. This allowed the Utah Jazz to take the Australian at number 5, which could be considered to be a steal.
Marcus Smart, the point guard from Oklahoma State was next, being drafted to the Boston Celtics, while Julius Randle went out west to Los Angeles, to join a Lakers franchise in desperate need of a bright new star. Nik Stauskas was the 2nd Canadian to be drafted on the night, joining the Sacramento Kings at number 8 and Noah Vonleh became the first ever pick for the newly named Charlotte Hornets. Unexpectedly rounding out the top 10 was Elfrid Payton who was drafted to the Philadelphia 76ers. However, he was immediately traded to the Orlando Magic. In return, the 76ers received the rights to Dario Saric, who will be playing in Europe for the next couple of years.
Other notable picks included sharpshooter Doug McDermott (number 11 by the Denver Nuggets, later traded to the Chicago Bulls), Canadian point guard Tyler Ennis (number 18 by the Phoenix Suns) and Connecticut point guard Shabazz Napier (number 24 by the Charlotte Hornets, moved to the Miami Heat). For a full list of draftees, see the end of the article.
The feel good story of the night was the one of Isaiah Austin. Formerly a center with Baylor, there were talks of him becoming a first round pick in the 2014 Draft. However, Austin was recently diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, thus ending his dreams of ever playing professionally. Then, between the 15th and 16th picks, Adam Silver called Austin to the stage and picked him as a ceremonial member of the NBA. Austin received a standing ovation from the crowd, and a draft night experience he never thought he would have.
 |
| Adam Silver (left) and Isaiah Austin (right) provided one of the most emotional NBA moments of all time |
For a full list of draftees, visit - http://www.nba.com/draft/2014/draftboard.html
To watch Isaiah Austin's emotional induction, visit - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuKKhMls0bs
Thursday, 24 April 2014
Does the league need a fresh look at divisions and conferences?
Let's compare two teams. The first team have played out of their skin this season, to earn an unexpected 48-34 record. The other team won 1 game in 15 attempts in February, and went on to finish with a sub .500 record.
So, who deserves the play-off place? Well, most people would go with the team with the better record. However, due to the current conference and division set-up in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks (the second team mentioned above) will make the trip to the post-season, whereas the Phoenix Suns (the team mentioned first) will have to watch the play-offs on TV.
Many fans, usually the ones who support teams who don't make it to the post-season with a good record, wonder how this system can be fair. There have been plenty of protests against the current divisions and conferences that are in place, and now it looks like the NBA board could be paying attention.
Adam Silver said in December that the NBA committee will be "taking a fresh look" at the structure of the league. He also went on to say "Historically, based on geography in terms of ways to schedule and convenience of travel, the goal was to enhance rivalries and I'm not sure if that's still what's happening."
Silver makes a valid point. Local rivalries are, of course, a big part of the game, I mean look at the Clippers and the Lakers or the Knicks and the Nets. But the eradication of divisions isn't going to halt these clashes. Fans of each side will still hate each other, and fixtures between the teams will still be of paramount importance. Mark Cuban made another case for keeping divisions when he said that he "actually like divisions because it helps sell tickets". Although this argument might not be popular with fans, you can never underestimate the power that NBA franchise owners have.
However, other authority figures are less keen on the idea. When asked about his feelings Mike D'Antoni, Los Angeles Lakers head coach (for now anyway), replied "Who cares? It really doesn't matter. I just check conferences." Indeed, his thoughts may be shared with fans across the globe, who would rather see their team make the playoffs than do well in their division.
Of course, there are other limiting factors to getting rid of divisions, and indeed conferences. One of which is the audience side of the debate. Although unlikely, what if all 15 teams in the West qualified. Would this rule out half of the NBA viewers from watching the playoffs?
Of course it wouldn't.
The NBA playoffs are one of the biggest sporting events in the world, drawing millions of viewers from around the world, no matter the teams participating. Fans just want to see good teams play good basketball, and there are worries that the current system is limiting that potential.
And it's not like the NBA board are afraid of changing the playoff structure. In 2003, the board changed the first round to a best-of-seven series, rather than a best-of-five. Other changes include changing divisions around in order to fit the Charlotte Bobcats in, and guaranteeing a top 4 seed for division winners, rather than a top 3 seed that was previously up for grabs. But these changes happened during the Stern era, so it's hard to predict how Silver, a relatively new commissioner, will react to change.
But isn't it fair to reward the teams with the best record, regardless of their location on the map? To use the example mentioned earlier, the Phoenix Suns were written off at the beginning of the season, with many "experts" predicting them to be propping up the Western conference at the end of the season (and all the way through it). The Phoenix Suns franchise was commonly mentioned in the same sentence as "tanking". But instead they have come out, played good basketball and defied their critics, fighting their way to a brilliant 48-34 record in the process. The Hawks, on the other hand, haven't been very good this season, mainly due to injuries to big men Paul Millsap and Al Horford, but have come through an appalling Eastern conference to fall into the 8th spot. If the two teams swapped their conferences, Atlanta wouldn't finish in the top ten, whereas Phoenix would be gaining home-court advantage, after qualifying joint third.
This isn't a short-term issue either. The last time the 8th placed team in the East had a better record than the 8th placed team in the West was in the 1998-99 season (which, incidentally, was a lockout season, allowing only 50 games to be played). This season, only 4 Eastern teams have had a winning record against the Western conference (Indiana, Miami, Toronto and Brooklyn). In the West, there are only 4 teams that don't have winning records against their Eastern competitors.
During David Stern's 30 year tenure as the NBA Commissioner, he made plenty of changes, such as relocating 6 teams, and creating 7 new franchises. This has allowed him to become one of the most respected men in basketball (as well as a lot of fans angry with him, obviously). Silver is yet to make any big changes to the league, with a few changes to the All-Star Weekend being the only accomplishment on his list of achievements. This could be his first real chance to get the fans on his side.
So, will anything get done about it? It would be surprising if this issue got resolved by the start of the new season. Silver himself has said that the top priority for the NBA board is to try and raise the draft age to 20 (but there will be more on that later in the season), so the board will be concentrating on that issue instead. Also, he came out and last week and told the press that he was "still in the studying stage" about the division and conference split, so he's not ready to "state it's a concern". Looks like this one could rumble on for a while.
So, who deserves the play-off place? Well, most people would go with the team with the better record. However, due to the current conference and division set-up in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks (the second team mentioned above) will make the trip to the post-season, whereas the Phoenix Suns (the team mentioned first) will have to watch the play-offs on TV.
Many fans, usually the ones who support teams who don't make it to the post-season with a good record, wonder how this system can be fair. There have been plenty of protests against the current divisions and conferences that are in place, and now it looks like the NBA board could be paying attention.
Adam Silver said in December that the NBA committee will be "taking a fresh look" at the structure of the league. He also went on to say "Historically, based on geography in terms of ways to schedule and convenience of travel, the goal was to enhance rivalries and I'm not sure if that's still what's happening."
 |
| Adam Silver said the NBA board will take another look at the divisions |
Silver makes a valid point. Local rivalries are, of course, a big part of the game, I mean look at the Clippers and the Lakers or the Knicks and the Nets. But the eradication of divisions isn't going to halt these clashes. Fans of each side will still hate each other, and fixtures between the teams will still be of paramount importance. Mark Cuban made another case for keeping divisions when he said that he "actually like divisions because it helps sell tickets". Although this argument might not be popular with fans, you can never underestimate the power that NBA franchise owners have.
However, other authority figures are less keen on the idea. When asked about his feelings Mike D'Antoni, Los Angeles Lakers head coach (for now anyway), replied "Who cares? It really doesn't matter. I just check conferences." Indeed, his thoughts may be shared with fans across the globe, who would rather see their team make the playoffs than do well in their division.
Of course, there are other limiting factors to getting rid of divisions, and indeed conferences. One of which is the audience side of the debate. Although unlikely, what if all 15 teams in the West qualified. Would this rule out half of the NBA viewers from watching the playoffs?
Of course it wouldn't.
The NBA playoffs are one of the biggest sporting events in the world, drawing millions of viewers from around the world, no matter the teams participating. Fans just want to see good teams play good basketball, and there are worries that the current system is limiting that potential.
And it's not like the NBA board are afraid of changing the playoff structure. In 2003, the board changed the first round to a best-of-seven series, rather than a best-of-five. Other changes include changing divisions around in order to fit the Charlotte Bobcats in, and guaranteeing a top 4 seed for division winners, rather than a top 3 seed that was previously up for grabs. But these changes happened during the Stern era, so it's hard to predict how Silver, a relatively new commissioner, will react to change.
 |
| David Stern wasn't afraid to make changes in his leadership |
But isn't it fair to reward the teams with the best record, regardless of their location on the map? To use the example mentioned earlier, the Phoenix Suns were written off at the beginning of the season, with many "experts" predicting them to be propping up the Western conference at the end of the season (and all the way through it). The Phoenix Suns franchise was commonly mentioned in the same sentence as "tanking". But instead they have come out, played good basketball and defied their critics, fighting their way to a brilliant 48-34 record in the process. The Hawks, on the other hand, haven't been very good this season, mainly due to injuries to big men Paul Millsap and Al Horford, but have come through an appalling Eastern conference to fall into the 8th spot. If the two teams swapped their conferences, Atlanta wouldn't finish in the top ten, whereas Phoenix would be gaining home-court advantage, after qualifying joint third.
This isn't a short-term issue either. The last time the 8th placed team in the East had a better record than the 8th placed team in the West was in the 1998-99 season (which, incidentally, was a lockout season, allowing only 50 games to be played). This season, only 4 Eastern teams have had a winning record against the Western conference (Indiana, Miami, Toronto and Brooklyn). In the West, there are only 4 teams that don't have winning records against their Eastern competitors.
 |
| Goran Dragic and the Phoenix Suns have been sublime this year, yet they still missed out on a play-off spot |
During David Stern's 30 year tenure as the NBA Commissioner, he made plenty of changes, such as relocating 6 teams, and creating 7 new franchises. This has allowed him to become one of the most respected men in basketball (as well as a lot of fans angry with him, obviously). Silver is yet to make any big changes to the league, with a few changes to the All-Star Weekend being the only accomplishment on his list of achievements. This could be his first real chance to get the fans on his side.
So, will anything get done about it? It would be surprising if this issue got resolved by the start of the new season. Silver himself has said that the top priority for the NBA board is to try and raise the draft age to 20 (but there will be more on that later in the season), so the board will be concentrating on that issue instead. Also, he came out and last week and told the press that he was "still in the studying stage" about the division and conference split, so he's not ready to "state it's a concern". Looks like this one could rumble on for a while.
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