Around The World: May 24

05/24/12

Written by: DHawes22

May 24

Trailblazers: 2012 Mock Draft Database

Trailblazers.tv: Video: Joel Przybilla Moves Up The Blocks Leaderboard

CSNNW: Sources: Malone interested in being Blazers next head coach
"The Blazers have great ownership, it's a beautiful diverse city and probably has the best fans in the NBA," Kauffman told CSNNW.com."

Trail Blazers: 2012 NBA Draft By Position: Point Guard
"Ten years ago, Kendall Marshall would have been the prototypical, pass-first point guard coming out of North Carolina. Great size for the position at 6-4. Finished first in the NCAA in total assists and assist to turnover ratio while finishing a close second in assists per game. Averaged just 8.1 points per game, thanks in large part to attempting just 6.3 shots per game, but that would be expected, and in many ways encouraged, playing alongside the likes of Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and John Henson at UNC. He'd be the old school point guard NBA scouts would step over their grandmothers to draft."

Oregon Live: You be the Blazers GM: 2011-12 roster rewind
"Fresh faces owned the popular vote. Elliot Williams, whose rookie season was lost to double knee surgery, only appeared in 24 games this past season but showed enough promise and potential to earn a team-high 95-percent stay vote. Newcomer J.J. Hickson made a positive impression on the fan base with his energetic and physical play over the last 19 games of the season and was just behind Williams with 94-percent stay."

Oregon Live: NBA High-5: Arbitration that will affect Blazers and J.J. Hickson will be held mid-June, report says
"For the Blazers, the ruling will affect what they can do with forward J.J. Hickson, whom they claimed after Sacramento waived him. Hickson will become a restricted free agent once Portland signs a qualifying offer on him. Next month's hearing will clear up if Portland will get his Bird rights. It remains unclear if the Blazers will keep Hickson, but having his Bird rights gives the Blazers flexibility in how much they can pay him if they do decide to try to hold onto him."

Oregon Live: Remember the good things Paul Allen has done for the Blazers
"Yes, we are starting over, but thank goodness we are starting over with an owner who has repeatedly shown the desire and wherewithal to do what it takes to assemble a championship-caliber team and front office. He has done it twice in his tenure, and we would be there a third time right now if those devastating injuries to Roy and Oden hadn't occurred."

Oregon Live via NBA: Kevin Love named to All-NBA second team; Trail Blazers' LaMarcus Aldridge misses cut
"The Miami Heat’s LeBron James, the 2011-12 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player and winner of three of the previous four MVP awards, highlights the 2011-12 All-NBA First Team. James received 118 of a possible 120 first team votes. Joining James on the First Team are Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, and Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers."

Blazersedge via Orange County Register: Ding: Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak Says He's Staying Put
"Mitch Kupchak said he's staying with the Lakers, calling it "the best job."

Ball Don't Lie: Allen Iverson presented the game ball for Sixers’ Game 6, talked about his future (VIDEO)
"There are a number of telling moments in the interview, including AI's heartfelt gratitude to the city of Philadelphia and how much he loves being recognized for the effort he gave on the court. The meat, though, is when he says that he won't use the word "retirement" and the line "I want to play basketball so bad" despite the fact that NBA teams have shown little or no interest in him. The 76ers and their fans treated Iverson like a retired hero on Wednesday, but the fact is that he's not ready to accept that role."

Ball Don't Lie: Can the Lakers improve with Kobe Bryant making $30 million?
"The problem with this line of thinking is that it's logical only in a very narrow on-court sense. Kobe won't be worth $30 million, but his importance to the Lakers as a public figure and cultural touchstone is incalculable after 16 seasons in uniform. He's the most popular man in Los Angeles, synonymous with the franchise, and the driving force behind everything they do on the court. The roles of everyone involved in the franchise are in some way predicated on Bryant's involvement. So while ditching Kobe might help the team rebuild for the future, the public relations hit would be devastating to the franchise and likely inspire a fan revolt. That's to say nothing of the fact that amnestying the most popular athlete in Los Angeles since Magic Johnson might not convince other superstars that this is the place for them."

Ball Don't Lie: Could the ‘Shaquille O’Neal-as-Orlando GM’ story have come from … Shaq?
"Toss in the fact that O'Neal repeatedly takes pot-shots at Magic center Dwight Howard, and you have a different angle entirely. Shaq has long appeared jealous of the Orlando All-Star, repeatedly referring to Andrew Bynum as the league's best center on TNT this season, calling Howard's potential free-agent flight "a travesty" earlier in the year, and genuinely acting a prat because it appeared for a while that Howard might be more beloved in the Orlando area that Shaq still calls home. That was the case for a while, at least."

Ball Don't Lie: Behind the Box Score, where the Philadelphia 76ers refuse to go quietly. If at all
"Credit Philadelphia. The team came out ready to turn this into a dogfight, and ready to let the Celtics know that nothing would be handed to them — which looked like what Rajon Rondo expected in this loss. No trips to the line unless you're a master like Paul Pierce, and no transition opportunities if you don't want to, y'know, transition the damn ball. All series long, Sixers coach Doug Collins has marveled at the team's ability to stay loose in the face of The Big Game, and that isn't just relative to Collins' nervy ways — these Sixers take chances, and not just in going for steals or knockout 3-pointers."

The Basketball Jones: Allen Iverson’s hug game is still on point
"This is kind of just a nonchalant, no big deal kind of one-armed hug. Just like a chill hug between chill bros, who kind of look like they’re Photoshopped in to a Wells Fargo Center backdrop. "

The Basketball Jones: Lou Williams enters Kyle Korver Hall of Fame for embarrassing defense pictures
"Coaches always tell you not to foul a jump shooter, and that’s something Lou Williams took to heart. Like REALLY took it to heart, to the point where he ends up Kyle Korvering a Keyon Dooling jumper, only with a grossed-out look on his face rather than Korver’s creepy grin."

DIME: Dime NBA Draft Profile: Jeremy Lamb
"There are a lot of misconceptions about Lamb when it comes to the skill portion of his game. He is a very smooth player that does a good job of making everything look easy on offense, but he isn’t as skilled as many think. Lamb has a nice midrange game and can knock down the three-pointer but there is not much else he can do offensively. He showed improvement this past year on isolation plays but that is still a major hole in his game. Despite his great athleticism, he does not have the ballhandling ability to match. Lamb tends to get lost on offense because he tends to just stand around a lot of the time. He will be a good spot-up shooter in the NBA but don’t expect him to be creating offense for anyone but himself."

DIME: Video: The Top 10 Defensive Plays Of The NBA Season
"The NBA unveiled their NBA All-Defensive First Team yesterday and it looked like this: Tony Allen and Chris Paul at the guards, LeBron James and Serge Ibaka at the forwards, and Dwight Howard in the middle. No Andre Iguodala. No Tyson Chandler – the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. That doesn’t make much sense right? Now, the NBA has released their 10 best defensive plays of the year, and Chandler doesn’t make that list either. He’s not feeling the love at all."

DIME: Video: Andre Iguodala Smashes A Dunk All Over Paul Pierce
"Don’t watch any tape of last night’s Game 6 in Philly if you can avoid it. Watch this one play – an and-1 dunk from Andre Iguodala on Paul Pierce‘s head – and you’ll be good for the day. This was pretty much the only highlight in 48 disgusting minutes. Actually, the only thing the game will be remembered for is the return of Allen Iverson."

SLAM via Express News: Tony Parker Ready to Attack Russell Westbrook
"It is Westbrook, and not three-time NBA scoring champ Kevin Durant, who Parker says sets the tone for Oklahoma City. “He’s definitely the head of the snake on this team,” Parker said. “Durant is obviously the best scorer in this league, but I think Westbrook is the one who makes them go.” [...] “I’m definitely going to go at him,” said Parker, 30, who is averaging a team-best 19.1 points and 7.1 assists in the postseason. “It’s not going to be like Dallas or the Lakers, where their point guards are not as aggressive. I’m going to go at him and make sure he works a little bit.”

SLAM: Post up: Back To Boston
"Even if you thought Game 7 was inevitable, last night Philly played so poorly that it seemingly did everything in its power to lose Game 6 and call it a season. The Sixers shot 40 percent in the first half, went 1-9 from 3-point range, committed 12 turnovers and missed an inexcusable 11 free throws (17-28). If the Celtics were able to capitalize even in the slightest and establish just one mini-run, they could’ve (and should’ve) won the game. But Boston accomplished something very difficult — they played even worse! The Celtics shot 33 percent from the field (26-78), went 3-14 from 3-point range and committed 17 turnovers. Aside from Paul Pierce, who scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, the Celtics couldn’t muster up any offense all game."

ESPN: How do you expect the Pacers to respond in Game 6 after Larry Bird called them "soft" following Game 5?
"After getting shellacked by 33 points in Game 3 of the 1984 Finals, Bird called his teammates "sissies." What happened in Game 4? We got McHale v. Rambis. I don't expect Tyler Hansbrough to clothesline Shane Battier, but I also don't expect the Pacers to shy away from the Heat, especially with 18,000-plus Pacers fans and one Hall of Fame team president expecting them to play tough basketball."