Around The World: May 21

05/21/12

Written by: DHawes22

May 21

Trailblazers.tv: Video: Trail Blazers Top 10 Alley-Oops

Trailblazers: 2012 Mock Draft Database

Trail Blazers: Hollinger: Steve Nash To Portland Always A Possibility
"It also begs the question: Would you rather sign a 26-year old Goran Dragic for four years or a 38-year old Steve Nash for two years? For me, the answer depends on whether the team is able to, as Hollinger writes, "net some big fish" with what while hopefully be two draft picks in the lottery. If you can grab a borderline all-star caliber player with the draft picks and maybe another player thrown in and re-sign Nicolas Batum, I think you go for broke with Nash. If not, you take the long view approach with a guy like Dragic."

Trail Blazers: Inaugural Mailbag: Just Casey Chat Edition
"Do we "need" Freeland? Probably not. Would I like to see the team bring him over? Absolutely. My understanding is that Freeland is more of a hard-nosed banger than Aldridge, Hickson or Babbitt and probably able to play both front court positions. To me, that sounds like something we could use."

Oregon Live: You make the call: Blazers interim GM Chad Buchanan
"As the season slipped away, and the playoffs fell further out of reach, Buchanan orchestrated the trades of Gerald Wallace (and his $11 million player option for 2012-13) to New Jersey for a lottery pick in the upcoming draft; Marcus Camby for the expiring contracts of Jonny Flynn and Hasheem Thabeet and a second round draft pick."

Oregon Live: You be the Blazers GM: Kaleb Canales
"A tireless worker, known to sleep at the team's practice facility, Canales worked his way up the ranks with the Blazers. He joined the team as a video intern in 2004 and spent the next three seasons as the team’s video coordinator, where he prepared scouting video for coaches and developed the team’s information technology. Prior to the 2008-09 season, Canales was promoted to assistant coach/video coordinator. He is widely respected in the organization for his work ethic, infectious energy and ability to connect and communicate with his players. "

CSNNW: Should the Blazers go after Jeremy Lin?
“We haven't reached the point to where we're looking into particular teams. It's still early,” Lin's agent Roger Montgomery told CSNNW.com. “Jeremy is a free agent and we'll weigh all of our options. When the time comes and free agency hits, we'll look at New York and each team and assess all of our avenues from there. I'm familiar with Portland. I think Portland is a good town and a great basketball city. But it's too early to get into conversations about specific teams right now.”

CSNNW: Not sure about Stan Van Gundy in Portland
"This Trail Blazer team isn't constructed to compete for a championship right now and I don't know if Van Gundy has the patience to sit through a couple of losing seasons without saying something that will disrupt the psyche of one of the Blazers' youngsters."

Portland Tribune: Trail Blazers show progress in search for GM
"Former New Orleans GM and coach Jeff Bower and current Indiana GM David Morway are the two who have already interviewed. Bower met with Miller and Bert Kolde, the Blazers' director of the board of directors, in Seattle, then interviewed with Allen in New Orleans (the Blazer owner happened to be there for a music festival). Morway met with Miller and Kolde in Indianapolis, then flew to Seattle for a get-together with Allen."

Rip City Project: A Couple Off Season Targets
"Roy Hibbert’s recent dominant play against the Orlando Magic in this years playoffs is certainly causing his stock to rise. Only 25-years old and standing at 7’2”, Hibbert is exactly what Portland needs following the heartbreaking departure of Greg Oden. Hibbert, currently with the Indiana Pacers, was elected to his first All-Star game this season and will be the target of many teams looking for a big man. In 2011-12, Hibbert averaged career-highs in points, rebounds, blocked shots, and field-goal percentage and can easily become a triple-double average kind of guy. For instance, in Game 1 of Indiana’s first round series against the Magic, big Roy recorded nine blocked shots. Because of his positive production and Indiana’s advancment further into the postseason, you can bet the Pacers will want to keep Hibbert. Beyond his current team too, he should have tons of phone calls asking for his services. He could be the young center that the Blazers are desperate to find. He hasn’t had much attention the last couple of years; this summer should be a new experience for him."

Los Angeles Daily News: Spokesman says Portland Trail Blazers have not contacted team in regards to Kupchak's availability
"The Portland Trail Blazers have not asked for permission to speak to Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak about their opening for the same position, Lakers spokesman John Black said before Game 4 on Saturday. An Internet report last month suggested the Trail Blazers had a strong interest in speaking to Kupchak about their general manager vacancy. They have not asked the Lakers to speak to him as of Saturday evening, however."

CNNSI: Game of risk: Evaluating the top prospects in the 2012 draft
"He was Robin to Davis' Batman at Kentucky, in large part because of his commitment to playing both ends of the floor (he was only fourth on the team in scoring at 11.9 points). It's unclear whether he can evolve into playing a lead role, but he has no shortage of casting calls because of his versatility and the leadership he showed during the Wildcats' championship run. For all of the attention paid to Davis as Kentucky's top talent, Kidd-Gilchrist was regarded as the team's glue. Coach John Calipari routinely praised him for being the emotional leader, and Kidd-Gilchrist was the captain of the Wildcats' 8:30 a.m. workouts before scheduled practices."

SB Nation: NBA Draft Grades: Revisiting 2007, Where The Unspeakable Choice Was Born
"What looked like a massive haul turned out to be a nightmare and scrap metal. We all know Oden's story well: a series of injuries befell him, and he's out of the league trying to rebuild himself. When on the court, he was actually quite good, which salvages part of this grade -- without the injuries, he wouldn't have been a bust. But would he have been nearly as good as the player Portland passed up, the three-time scoring champ?"

Oregon Live: NBA High-5: Nate McMillan will interview with Bobcats, but Clippers, Magic could become better options
"But that still won't make '12-13 much fun. The question for McMillan is, would he be willing to suffer through a stopgap year like the one he did in Portland in 2005-06? Those of us who were around that team then know just how dysfunctional things were in the franchise, top to bottom."

Ball Don't Lie: The Golden State Warriors will likely move to San Francisco in 2017
"The arena spot is effectively right next to the San Francisco Giants' beautiful AT&T Park, arguably the finest park in Major League Baseball. While the open air of a baseball stadium lends itself particularly well to a waterfront location, there's no doubt that a nearby basketball arena would be a major upgrade for the Warriors, who currently play in a not-especially-central area of Oakland. The area around AT&T Park — once called China Basin, now a mix of South Park and SoMa — has also been built up considerably with restaurants, bars and office buildings (Twitter is within walking distance). If the Warriors want to leverage the area's tech companies and business interests to their advantage, this move would certainly help accomplish those goals."

Ball Don't Lie: Behind the Box Score, where the Oklahoma City Thunder dominated the fourth quarter. Again
"For all we know, this could have been Bynum's game to give away, had he been given the chance. Bynum has played over 40 minutes in the last three games, and played the entire first and third quarters in this contest, on the second night of a back-to-back. Bynum split his two attempts in the quarter, and Pau Gasol (so clearly not a power forward in a pick and pop style) didn't even attempt a shot in the fourth, and his late-game turnover was a game clincher for the Thunder. Nothing is guaranteed in this game, and there is no certainty to the idea that the Lakers could have won this game had they continued to go inside first."

Ball Don't Lie: Adam Morrison looks great, everyone
"As you can probably gather from the backdrop and the small forward's threads, Morrison spent the morning being put through his paces by the Brooklyn Nets as part of a three-day workout for free agents looking to catch on with an NBA club next season, including fellow former NBA draft picks Hilton Armstrong, David Harrison, Darington Hobson, Jermaine Taylor, Al Thornton and Julian Wright. It's unlikely that a couple of good days against Julian Wright will necessarily make anyone think Morrison's the next Larry Bird again, but considering he hasn't seen NBA action in more than two years and his overseas stints with Red Star Belgrade and Besiktas Milangaz didn't exactly send his stock skyrocketing, workouts like this probably represent just about his only shot of getting a serious sniff from NBA front offices in advance of Summer League or pre-training camp workouts."

Ball Don't Lie: Let’s all hate the Oklahoma City Thunder shirts that take a needless shot at the team’s move from Seattle (PHOTO)
"Current Oklahoma City Thunder fans? The city of Seattle, and former SuperSonic fans, did absolutely nothing to deserve this. In the midst of what could be a championship season, diverting attention from the franchise's ultimate goal to take a needless shot at a city and fan base that is clearly still hurting is the ultimate prick move, and we heartily encourage any mindful Thunder fans to take Twitter pictures and send them our way during Monday's Game 5; so that we can band together to shame however many morons that decide to sport these shirts."

DIME via Magic: Breaking News: Stan Van Gundy Is Out As Magic Head Coach
“They both brought die-hard dedication and an unmatched work ethic on a daily basis,” added Martins. “Their success is well documented, as the Orlando Magic has had the fourth best record in the NBA over the last five years, and entering the playoffs this year the third most playoff wins over that period of time. The disappointment of getting eliminated in the first round of the playoffs these past two seasons played a primary role in our decision, as we feel our momentum towards winning a championship has paused. We wish Otis and Stan all the best and we look forward to taking the next step towards winning that championship.”

DIME: Dime NBA Draft Profile: Damian Lillard
"There was no other player in college basketball who had as productive and efficient of a season as Lillard. He averaged 24.5 points per game on 46.7 percent shooting from the field, 40.9 percent from beyond the arc, and 88.7 percent from the line. Lillard obviously will not be putting up those kind of numbers when he gets to the NBA considering that his competition will be significantly tougher, but it was pretty amazing how he managed to score so efficiently despite having to take so many shots. From a skill standpoint, Lillard is ready for the league. There is only one question: can he be a good floor general? He showed decent playmaking skills at Weber State, but nothing extraordinary. Once he is surrounded by NBA players, however, he very well may prove that he can play the point guard position full time."

DIME: Humble & Hungry: Dime’s 2012 NBA Draft Diary With Dion Waiters, Week 3
"One cool thing I did recently was some work with 2K Sports for NBA 2K13. That was unbelievable. I remember I just got a call from them asking if I wanted to do some video game work. I said “Of course.” You don’t really get a lot of opportunities for things like that so you have to take advantage of it. It was crazy. It was love. That’s something that you dream about growing up and I finally got a chance to do it."

SLAM: Post Up: LeBron Leads Heat
"Quite frankly, the Heat clicked on all cylinders for a while (And by “on all cylinders” I mean Wade and LeBron dominating, with the other guys stepping in when needed.) They showed quick flashes of their basketball ceiling as a team and handled adversity well for a team with a less-than-stellar reputation for fourth-quarter performances. LeBron played like the MVP, Wade showed why he is considered a top 10 player in the league, and everyone else chipped in when applicable. Game 4 is exactly what people envisioned when LeBron decided to “take his talents to South Beach”. They got knocked down in the first half and roared back after recess. They took over the game like superstars do and left no doubt as to who the best players on the court were. The series now becomes a best of three for the Pacers and Heat. If LeBron and Wade charge out of the gate like they finished Game 4, the series will not need the third game. If Roy Hibbert and David West demand more post touches and dominate the paint like the earlier games in the series, we may have a thrilling seven-game series on our hands"

SLAM via USA Basketball: Video: Shawn Kemp Performing Shakespeare
“Being chosen for the Select Team is quite an honor, and it’s an important step in becoming involved in USA Basketball’s National Team program in the future. In the past, current national team finalists like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, LaMarcus Aldridge, Andre Iguodala, as well as many other outstanding players got their USA National Team start through the Select Team.”