Around The World: June 14

06/14/12

Written by: DHawes22

June 14

Trail Blazers: Mock Draft Database

Draft Express: Pre-Draft Measurements

Trailblazers.tv: Video: June 14 Pre-Draft Workouts Part One

Trail Blazers: Trail Blazers Announce 2012 Summer League Schedule
"In 2010, the Trail Blazers Summer League team posted a record of 4-1, its best mark in six years in the league, behind current Interim Head Coach Kaleb Canales. Current Trail Blazers forward Luke Babbitt shared the team lead in scoring with 14.2 points per game."

Trail Blazers: Hollinger: 'I Don't Think It's A Rebuild' And Other Portland Thoughts
"I don't think it's a rebuild, but I do think they'll go younger -- use the draft picks, bring in Claver and Freeland from Europe to shore up the bench and go after a young free-agent point guard. Dragic is obviously a key name, but they also could try to trade for Kyle Lowry if Houston keeps Dragic. I'd expect Jamal Crawford and Raymond Felton are long gone, I think they'll keep Batum, I think they'll explore Wes Matthews' trade value but not necessarily do anything. Most interesting variable is the coach."

Trail Blazers: VIDEO/TRANSCRIPT: Owner Paul Allen Addresses Media At Trail Blazers Pre-Draft Workout
"I think it’s an evaluation process. I think six and eleven, if we pick there we’re going to get really good players. But you never know what teams are going to offer for those picks and then you have to evaluate what the contracts are going to look like and the situation down the road. So we’re in a good position now because we have substantial cap room, we can roll some of that cap room into the following year too, so there’s a lot of decisions we need to make and this is going to be a really important period for the team."

Trail Blazers: VIDEOS: Trail Blazers Host Twelve In Tuesday Draft Workouts
"It's not about how tall you are, it's all about your heart." -Sullinger"

Oregon Live via Sporting News: 2012 NBA draft: Are the Charlotte Bobcats shopping the No. 2 pick?
"Sporting News' Sean Deveney reported in his latest NBA mock draft that the Charlotte Bobcats’ No. 2 overall pick will come down to either Thomas Robinson from Kansas or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist from Kentucky. ESPN.com’s Chad Ford mentioned in an online chat this week that North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes may also be in the mix for that pick, which certainly seems like a stretch. Florida's Bradley Beal and UConn's Andre Drummond have also been floated as possible No. 2 selections."

Oregon Live: Blazers draft workout: After lower-profile session Thursday, big name expected in for solo session Friday
“That year off really helped me. I spent a lot of time in the gym, spent time in the weight room,” he said. Moultrie rarely shot three-pointers in college, but showed a nice shooting touch Thursday. He said he imagines himself being a power forward with deep shooting range in the NBA. “Being 6-11, I had to play around the basket,” he said. “In the NBA, I can be more of a stretch four. That’s what I’ve been focusing on up until this process.”

Oregon Live: 2012 NBA draft: Should the Trail Blazers draft Dion Waiters? (poll)
"He's more ready for the NBA than any other guard I've ever had," Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim told Jon Rothstein of CBS New York. "Nobody will be able to guard him one on one unless their last name is Westbrook. He'll go by anyone he faces. Dion started out the draft process at 25 or 30 and has risen dramatically. It should come as no surprise, he's got all the tools."

Columbian: Team owner Allen watching Trail Blazers draft workouts
"I don't know where that would come from. I don't understand it," Allen said. "I'm the person that knows, and I know the answer, and I've stated the answer multiple times that the team's not for sale. So it's mysterious. There are mysterious figures lurking in the background whistling things, but who are they? Only a few people know."

CSNNW: Blazers have yet to inquire about Brian Shaw, Mike Malone
“My feeling is this, in college you go get a coach and build your entire program around the coach,” Olshey said. “Here, you build entire program around the players and your culture. And then you find the coach that best suits where your roster is at. You can't look at who the best coach is in a vacuum. You have to look at it relative to where you are in your growth, where you are in your process, and what kind of roster composition you have and who best suits developing that roster.”

Blazersedge via Draft Express: Jeremy Lamb To Cancel Blazers Workout After Ankle Sprain
"Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com reports on Twitter that UConn guard Jeremy Lamb will not attend a scheduled workout with the Portland Trail Blazers after spraining his ankle in Toronto while working out for the Raptors on Thursday."

Blazersedge: 2012 NBA Draft: Portland Trail Blazers Trade Up for Thomas Robinson or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist?
"Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is a 6'7", 228 lb Freshman small forward from Kentucky. Like Robinson he boasts amazing athleticism, a huge wingspan, and comes from a high-profile college program. But it's not just the height and weight and 7'0" reach...this guy moves it. He's a thunderous terror in transition. His defensive potential is formidable. The recurring nightmare for opponents is MKG stopping a player straight up, running he court, then finishing with a monster jam on the other end. He has that mentality too. He's not a softy. He doesn't ponder or regret. You are going to get chucked, slapped, robbed, and finished on. His inside offense reflects his mentality. He's ready to bang low. He'll post you if you're smaller. You'll not have an easy night--probably ending up sore--when he's on the floor."

Ball Don't Lie: John Stockton wasn’t very popular at the Barcelona Olympics (VIDEO)
"However, one of the Dream Team stars went about his time in Barcelona mostly undisturbed. In the funniest moment from the documentary, John Stockton simply walked around the famous La Rambla street with no distractions. No one screamed his name, and even self-professed Dream Team superfans from America didn't recognize him. Stockton took his own video of his conversations, and it's all pretty shocking given the all-encompassing celebrity of the best basketball team ever assembled."

Ball Don't Lie: Karl Malone ‘would have to start my team with Scottie Pippen,’ and not Michael Jordan. Wha?
"I would have to start my team with Scottie Pippen," he said. "This is why I would take Scottie: Do you remember the time that Michael retired? I watched Scottie Pippen when the Chicago Bulls weren't really good and Scottie led that team in every statistical category, and I just remembered that. Plus, he's a guy who could care less about scoring. He wants to stop the best player on the other team. That would have been pretty cool, to see Scottie guarding Michael."

Ball Don't Lie: Will LeBron James guard Kevin Durant in Game 2?
"On its face, the suggestion makes an awful lot of sense — a 6-foot-9 defender with the length to potentially even bother Durant's nearly-impossible-to-deter high release point, a weight and strength advantage that could enable him to body up and bully the three-time scoring champ, and the quickness to stay with the hiccup-fast Durant off the bounce seems like the perfect deterrent for the league's most deadly and versatile offensive weapon."

The Basketball Jones: Video: Colorado couple snags former Bulls PA guy for wedding intros
"That being said, if you can pull the guy who invented the “Frrrroooommmmm such and such a place” style of introducing, Ray Clay, out of retirement to announce your wedding party, that is pretty chill. Not sure it’d be my choice, but that’s only because I’m still trying to convince Christopher Walken to show up at my wedding unannounced and that was three years ago."

The Basketball Jones: Kevin Durant hates Shane Battier’s hand in the face move
"You know, Shane Battier makes a great point — people don’t like being touched in the face. Try it sometime. Go up to one of your best friends and touch them on the nose. Even though you and that person are very close, they’ll be like, “What are you doing?!” I have been testing this hypothesis since high school, so believe me when I tell you that people are VERY protective of their faces."

SLAM via Twitter: Gerald Wallace set to Opt-Out with the Nets
"After trading what ultimately turned out to be this year’s number six Draft pick for Gerald Wallace, the Nets now find themselves in danger of losing Wallace to another team. It has been reported that Wallace will opt-out of his final year with the Nets in search of a longer and more stable contract."

ESPN: Heat-Thunder: Who wins Game 2?
"Fact. It is if they're going to win the series. Otherwise they're faced with pulling off the rare middle-three home sweep (it's happened only twice since the return of the 2-3-2 format in 1985) or the never-seen task of winning the final two games on the road. Don't see either of those happening."

Sports Illustrated: Dream Team doc goes behind the scenes of greatest team in history
There are multiple narratives throughout the film, including Jordan and Pippen's dislike for Isiah Thomas, the Pistons Hall of Famer who was left off the squad. ("I couldn't stand Isiah," Pippen tells the filmmakers. "I despised the way that he played the game. No, I did not want him on the team.")

Sports Illustrated: Sloan decides to stop pursuing Bobcats' coaching opening
"I took myself out today," Sloan said by phone. "I don't want to comment on it because it's never profitable for anybody. It just makes it sound like you're making a statement about someone. But they were wonderful and there were no problems. I just took myself out."

Sports Illustrated: Draft notes: UNC's Henson out to prove that he's no lightweight
"As far as being prepared for the league, I think I am the best player in the draft," he said. "That's just me being a competitor. Not to take anything away from Anthony Davis. He's a great player."

Sports Illustrated: NBA keeps finding new ways of turning bad news into big ratings
"That was a very tough situation," Stern said of the criticism he endured. "But then you combine that and the games opening on Christmas Day, and it was like the ignition of a rocket."