The Lakers roster evaluated and the best opportunities for improvement

Posted on LG.net on 1/10/06.

At 82Games.com, each player is given a rating (PER) for he did offensively at each position he played, a rating for how his man did while he was in there, and the net difference between the two. I find the net PER the best one number summation of how a player is doing. Here is how the Lakers are doing:
PG -4.1 (Parker -4.7, Vujacic -3.5)
SG +6.7 (Bryant +16.3, Profit -9.8, Vujacic -7.6)
SF +2.0 (Odom -0.3, George -1.9, Bryant +17.7, Walton -3.2)
PF +1.8 (Odom +8.2, Cook -1.0, Walton -7.6, Brown -10.6)
C -2.2 (Mihm -0.6, Brown -3.4, Bynum -9.4, Cook +7.8)
(The players are listed in order of minutes played at the position and I only list ratings where the player has played at least 5% of the possible minutes at that spot)

As you can see:

• Bryant is carrying the team
• Odom is second best, doing much better at PF than at SF
• Mihm is a little below average
• Smush is getting outplayed
• Brown has done poorly so far, particularly at PF
• Cook and George are the best of the bench players, essentially holding their own while out there
• The rest of the bench is weak to pitiful

At the same time, this is hindsight and driving while looking out the rear window is a recipe for disaster. Mihm had a better December than November, the Lakers are hoping Parker can be more consistent, Brown has had 3 solid games in a row, and Vujacic is playing solid defense while he is in. So, hopefully a lot of the negatives will go away with time and experience.

But if you were wanting to improve the Lakers based upon performance so far, here are the best opportunities for improvement:
#1 PG
#2 Back Up SG

The death spiral begins

Posted on CelticsBlog.com on 1/10/06.

Losing begets more losing which begets yet more losing....

PP has grown frustrated with the losing and has started talking about a trade. Many fans blame the Celtics' poor record on the coach, Doc Rivers.

So the likely path becomes....
PP gets traded
...and no way do the Celtics get an equivalent player. At best, they will get some combination of picks, young talent with potential and salary cap relief.

Without PP, the Celtics lose more often and by wider margins
With PP, the Celtics are winning only 38% of their games. Without PP, I expect the Celtics win only about a third of their games, may be less.

The Celtic players tune Doc out
The players reading the writing on the wall and know that Doc is history. Also, all the listening to Doc got them was plenty of losses, so what can they learn from him?

The young players don't progress much
IMHO, a tremendous amount of what a player learns in the NBA occurs on the job. However, that learning only happens in close games. During blow outs, players don't play with the intensity that is require to really learn if this move is going to be successful.

Also, losing teaches players that they are going to lose. When an opponent goes on a run, the young players will hang their heads, "knowing" they are going to lose because they have seen it so many times before.

Finally, it's hard to build much enthusiasm to practice hard when you know you are going to lose. Doc won't be able to push the players because they are tuning him out.

Doc is fired
Maybe during this season, may be at the end of the season, but if the Celtics continue down their current path, Doc is gone

No good coach wants to coach in Boston
Who wants to coach a team you know is likely to lose big? The only candidates that will be interested in the job are guys who can't get an interview with teams that have a lot more talent.

Poor coaching, weak talent leads to more losing
Unless the Celtics are lucky enough to have their ping pong ball drawn, they aren't going to get enough talent in one draft to make a significant difference.

Losing cause the young players to not progress much
See my earlier section on this topic

The losing continues until the team acquires through the draft enough talent to be competitive again
The last time the Celtics got caught in this cycle, they had 8 straight seasons of 36 wins or less. It looks to me that unless they get things back on track soon, they could be entering another period of prolonged losing.

Thoughts on Celtics/Lakers trade idea

Posted on CelticsBlog.com on 1/6/06.

pick_and_pop wrote:
To LA
Davis
Blount
Banks

For
Odom
Vujacic
Parker

I know LA liked Banks.

Yes, the Lakers liked Banks...as the throw in player in a big trade. The Lakers were targeting Mihm, wanted Atkins to be their PG and prefered Banks over Jones as the third player in the trade.

pick_and_pop wrote:
I don't know now because Phil Jackson is back with the triangle offense so who knows if Banks would fit. I think that's still OK since a passing point guard isn't really needed for the triangle.

The triangle doesn't require a passing point guard, but it does require a PG with range in order to keep defenses from collapsing. Banks doesn't qualify.

Also, the triangle takes a long time to learn and Banks will be a free agent this off-season. His only value would be as trade filler.

pick_and_pop wrote:
However, I think Blount is an underrated passer. I think he is a pretty good passer from the high post. He would fit in great.

Except when it comes time to play defense. Blount is playing better, but I still think he has a negative trade value because no team wants a role player with that big and long of a contract.

pick_and_pop wrote:
Davis will help Kobe out with some scoring.

Except they play the same position. You could play Davis as a small SF, but that would probably take away from his ability to play in the low post. Also, RD is used to having the ball in his hands a lot and he wouldn't with Kobe as his teammate.

pick_and_pop wrote:
I really like Odom. He would be a perfect #2 for Pierce. We would get rid Blount. Odom fits into Ricky's role plus you get 9.5 RPG. Vujacic and Parker could add depth to the 1 and 2 and maybe 3 with Vujacic at 6'7".

You clearly think that Odom is better the Ricky. Why should the Lakers trade him for Ricky? And don't say it's because they are getting Banks and Blount too as they don't add any value. You have to offer close to equal value for the other team to be interested.

Why isn't Boston >> Charlotte?

Posted on CelticsBlog.com on 1/5/06.

On paper, it's no contest. Charlotte doesn't have anyone anywhere as good as Pierce. Heck, they don't have anyone as good as RD. And yet, the Celtics had only two more wins than the Bobcats prior to the game last night and they then barely ecked out a win on their home court while the Bobcats were playing without their best big man, Emeka Okafor.

I haven't watched the Bobcats play, but why the heck are they getting so many wins with so little talent? Or why are the Celtics getting so little wins with their talent? Is it the coaching? That Charlotte hustles and defends while the C's don't? Does their talent mesh better than the Celtics?

Review of last 5 All-Star trades

Posted on LG.net on 12/23/05.

Tracy McGrady
Date traded: 6/29/2004
Did team have to trade him? No. He was bored with playing on a bad team and was underperforming, but wasn't publicly complaining
Traded for: Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato. Tyronn Lue, Reece Gaines and Juwan Howard were included with Tracy

Shaquile O'Neal
Date traded: 7/14/2004
Did team have to trade him? Yes. He had demanded a trade and had publicly feuded with management
Traded for: Lamar Odom, Caron Butler, Brian Grant and a 2006 draft pick

Kenyon Martin
Date traded: 7/15/2004
Did team have to trade him? Yes. He was a RFA and had received a contract offer from Denver that the Nets weren't willing to match
Traded for: Three first round picks

Vince Carter
Date traded: 12/17/2004
Did team have to trade him? No, but his lackadasical play was a major distraction to the team
Traded for: Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, Alonzo Mourning (who was immediately cut) and two first round draft picks

Baron Davis
Date traded: 2/24/2005
Did team have to trade him? No. Davis had been out with a back injury, the Hornets didn't have any insurance on him and were concerned that he would injure his back again, ending his career and leaving them with a financial liability
Traded for: Speedy Claxton, Dale Davis and cash

Of the five players, I would say that Artest is closest to Baron Davis in value. Both are players who could suddenly become unavailable to their team for a very long period of time. Unlike the rest of the players on the list, Artest isn't signed to a max, long term contract and can be a free agent in the 2008 off-season (per HoopsHype.com. Did Eric say this is wrong?) The Pacers have to trade Artest, which cuts his trade value even more. Based on this, I would say that Mihm, George and the Miami pick would be giving up too much for Artest.

Mitch's drafting compared to other GM's

Posted on LG.net on 12/9/05.

I have seen many, many people complain about Mitch's drafting. "He should have drafted Josh Howard instead of Cook!" "He should have drafted Chris Duhon instead of Sasha!" These complainers don't see to realize that drafting is not an exact science and that even the best of GM's frequently miss the best player. So, I thought I would develop some method of numerically assessing how good each draft pick was and then compare Mitch's performance in the 2001 to 2004 drafts to GM's with a similar tenure. The reason for the 2001 to 2004 range is that Madsen was West's last pick in 2000 and it is way too early to assess any 2005 picks. Ideally, we would wait three years to assess any draft pick, but Mitch's tenure is too short to wait that long.

Here's my GM rating (best to worst):
+9.0 - Billy King of Philadephia
+7.0 - Rod Thorn of New Jersey
+3.0 - Mitch Kupchak of the LA Lakers
+2.5 - Randy Pfund of Miami
+2.5 - Bryan Colangelo of Phoenix
+2.0 - Don and Donnie Nelson of Dallas
+1.0 - Indiana
+1.0 - Geoff Petrie of Sacramento
0.0 - Rick Sund of Seattle
-0.5 - Kevin McHale of Minnesota
-0.5 - RC Buford of San Antonio
-2.0 - Kiki Vandeweghe of Denver
-3.0 - Jerry West of Memphis
-3.0 - Kevin O'Connor of Utah
-4.0 - Carroll Dawson of Houston
-4.5 - Joe Dumar of Detroit
-5.0 - Elgin Baylor of LA Clippers
Note: these scores are imprecise due to weaknesses in the methodology

I expect for each pick in the draft order to net a certain level of talent. If a GM drafts better talent with lottery picks than another GM does with late first round picks, that GM isn't necessarily doing a better job. So, I defined what level of talent I expect with each pick, then I will give GM credit (positive points) or blame (negative points) if he the player he drafts turns out better or worse than I expected. Here is the scoring chart:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
      |        |        |        |        |        |  Deep  | Never  |
Pick  |All-Star|  Star  |Starter |Rotation| Bench  |  Bench | in NBA |
======|========|========|========|========|========|========|========|
1-2   |   1    |   0    |  -1    |  -2    |  -3    |  -4    |  -5    |
3-4   |   1.5  |   0.5  |  -0.5  |  -1.5  |  -2.5  |  -3.5  |  -4.5  |
5-8   |   2    |   1    |   0    |  -1    |  -2    |  -3    |  -4    |
9-12  |   2.5  |   1.5  |   0.5  |  -0.5  |  -1.5  |  -2.5  |  -3.5  |
13-16 |   3    |   2    |   1    |   0    |  -1    |  -2    |  -3    |
17-20 |   3.5  |   2.5  |   1.5  |   0.5  |  -0.5  |  -1.5  |  -2.5  |
21-24 |   4    |   3    |   2    |   1    |   0    |  -1    |  -2    |
25-28 |   4.5  |   3.5  |   2.5  |   1.5  |   0.5  |  -0.5  |  -1.5  |
29-32 |   5    |   4    |   3    |   2    |   1    |   0    |  -1    |
33-40 |   5.5  |   4.5  |   3.5  |   2.5  |   1.5  |   0.5  |  -0.5  |
41+   |   6    |   5    |   4    |   3    |   2    |   1    |   0    |
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The columns mean the following:

• All-Star - Selected as an All-Star
  
• Star - Not an All-Star, but one of the team's two best players
  
• Starter - Not a star, but starts when not injured
  
• Rotation - Plays when not injured, gets 15 - 24 mpg
  
• Bench - Plays 10 - 15 mpg, occasionally has a DNP-CD
  
• Deep Bench - Gets erratic minutes, will generally play in the NBA three seasons or less
  
• Never in NBA - Never made it on to to his team's roster

I would categorize the Lakers' roster:

• All-Star - Bryant
  
• Star - Odom
  
• Starters - Brown, Mihm, Parker
  
• Rotation - Walton, Cook, Vujacic, George
  
• Bench - Profit
  
• Deep Bench - Bynum, Wafer, Green, McKie, Medvedenko

For 2002 to 2004 picks, I used how the player is performing this season for the team that drafted him. For 2001 picks, the evaluation is based upon their current year or fourth year performance for the team that drafted him. This is because I think should evaluate draft picks after they have played three years.

Oh yeah - what matters is how the player did on the team that drafted him. The fact that George Lynch went on to be a starter on other teams doesn't change the fact that he didn't do well as a Laker draft pick. If a team lets a draft pick walk, then "Deep Bench" is the highest the pick can be rated. Keep in mind that drafting is just one part of a GM's job, but it's the part fans usually focus on.

Trades
Trades make evaluating a draft pick very difficult. Do you evaluate the player based on how they are performing with the team they wound up with? To me, how they are doing somewhere else doesn't tell you about the value the player is providing to the team that drafted him. Do you rate what the team get in return for the player? In that case, you are combining evaluating the GM's trading skill with his drafting skill. For example, let's say a GM drafted a bust then traded him for an All-Star. Was that a good draft pick or bad? I would say bad. What I am doing is for players that played several seasons for the team, use their performance when traded. If a player didn't play long for a team, I use what the team received in trade.

Alternatives considered
Rating players how they did regardless of their team
Mehmet Okur was an absolute steal at #38. However, Detroit didn't recognize that and let him go as a free agent. Does his stellar play in Utah redeem the pick? Some think yes, but I don't

Adjusting scores for C's, PF' and PG's
Centers are extremely hard to draft. SG's and SF's are relatively easily. I am thinking of add a point for Centers that earn at least a Bench rating and 0.5 points for PF's and PG's that make at least a Bench rating.

Seeing how each pick rated out of the available talent
For each draft pick, assess all of the players taken after that pick and how well the player ranked relative to the other players. For example, Chris Duhon would have better a pick that Sasha, but Sasha was the second best option. To do this would require evaluate and rank every player drafted for 4 years, which is more work than I want to do.

Evaluations
Mitch's picks and my scoring of them:
2001
No picks
2002
Kareem Rush (20) - Deep Bench (-1.5)
2003
Brian Cook (24) - Rotation (1)
Luke Walton (32) - Rotation (2)
2004
Sasha Vujacic (27) - Rotation (1.5)
Marcus Douthit (56) - Never in NBA (0)
Overall Score
+3

Tenures to short to evaluate
Billy Knight of Atlanta (2 seasons)
Danny Ainge of Boston (2 seasons)
Bernie Bickerstaff of Charlotte (1 season)
John Paxson of Chicago (2 seasons)
Danny Ferry of Cleveland (<1 season)
Chris Mullin of Golden State (1 season)
Larry Harris of Milwaukee (2 seasons)
Jeff Bower of New Orleans (<1 season)
Isiah Thomas of New York (2 seasons)
Dave Twardzik of Orlando (<1 season)
John Nash of Portland (2 seasons)
Rob Babcock of Toronto (1 season)
Ernie Grunfeld of Washington (2 seasons)

Don and Donnie Nelson's picks (Dallas) and my scoring of them:
2001
Kyle Hill (43) - Never in NBA (0)
2002
Mladen Sekularac (54) - Never in NBA (0)
2003
Josh Howard (29) - Star (4)
Note: Drafted Xue Yuyang (57), but immediately traded rights
2004
Pavel Podkolzin (21) - Never in NBA (-2) Note: Acquired in draft day trade and played 5 games in NBA
Traded draft rights for low second rounds picks
Overall Score
+2

Kiki Vandeweghe's picks (Denver) and my scoring of them:
2001
Wasn't GM at time of draft
2002
Nikoloz Tskitishvili (5) - Deep Bench (-3)
Nene Hilario (7) - Rotation (-1) Note: Acquired in draft day trade
Vincent Yarbrough (33) - Deep Bench (0.5)
2003
Carmelo Anthony (3) - Star (0.5)
Sani Becirovic (46) - Never in NBA (0)
Xue Yuyang (57) - Never in NBA (0) Note: Acquired in draft day trade
2004
Traded rights to Jameer Nelson in draft day deal
Overall Score
-2

Joe Dumar's picks (Detroit) and my scoring of them:
2001
Rodney White (9) - Deep Bench (-2.5)
Mehmet Okur (38) - Deep Bench (0.5)
2002
Tayshaun Prince (23) - Starter (2)
2003
Darko Milicic (2) - Deep Bench (-4)
Carlos Delfino (25) - Deep Bench (-0.5)
Andreas Glyniadakis (58) - Never in NBA (0)
2004
Rickey Paulding (54) - Never in NBA (0)
Overall Score
-4.5

Carroll Dawson's picks (Houston) and my scoring of them:
2001
Eddie Griffin (7) - Deep Bench (-3) Note: Acquired draft day trade
2002
Yao Ming (1) - All-Star (0.5)
Bostjan Nachbar (15) - Deep Bench (-2)
Tito Maddox (38) - Deep Bench (0.5)
2003
Malick Badiane (44) - Never in NBA (0)
2004
Vassilis Spanoulis (50) - Never in NBA (0) Note: Acquired draft day trade
Overall Score
-4

Indiana Pacer's picks and my scoring of them:
2001
Jamison Brewer (40) - Deep Bench (0.5)
2002
Fred Jones (14) - Rotation (0)
2003
James Jones (49) - Deep Bench (0.5)
2004
David Harrison (29) - Deep Bench (0)
Overall Score
+1

Elgin Baylor's picks (Clippers) and my scoring of them:
2001
Traded away draft rights to Tyson Chandler
2002
Chris Wilcox (8) - Rotation (-1)
Melvin Ely (12) - Deep Bench (-2.5)
Traded away rights to Mario Kasun (41)
2003
Chris Kaman (6) - Starter (0)
Sofoklis Schortsanitis (34) - Never in NBA (-0.5)
2004
Shaun Livingston (4) - Has been injured all season. Estimate: Rotation (-1.5)
Lionel Chalmers (33) - Deep Bench (0.5)
Overall Score
-5

Jerry West's picks (Memphis) and my scoring of them:
2001
Wasn't GM yet
2002
Drew Gooden (4) - Difficult to evaluate because traded mid-rookie season in a multi-player deal. Estimate: Starter (-0.5)
Robert Archibald (32) - Deep Bench (0)
2003
Troy Bell (16) - Deep Bench (-2) Note: Acquired draft day trade
Dahntay Jones (20) - Deep Bench (-1.5) Note: Acquired draft day trade
2004
Andre Emmett (35) - Deep Bench (0.5) Note: Acquired draft day trade
Antonio Burks (36) - Deep Bench (0.5) Note: Acquired draft day trade
Segei Lishouk (49) - Never in NBA (0)
Overall Score
-3

Randy Pfund's picks (Miami) and my scoring of them:
2001
Ken Johnson (49) - Never in NBA (0) Note: Actually played 2 games
2002
Caron Butler (10) - Difficult to evaluate because traded twice. Estimate: Starter (0.5)
Rasual Butler (53) - Bench (2)
2003
Dwayne Wade (5) - All-Star (2)
Jerome Beasley (33) - Never in NBA (-0.5) Note: Actually played 2 games
2004
Dorell Wright (19) - Deep Bench (-1.5)
Albert Miralles (47) - Never in NBA (0) Note: Acquired draft day trade
Matt Freije (53) - Never in NBA (0) Note: Was waived by Heat before playing and played one game for Orlando
Overall Score
+2.5

Kevin McHale's picks (Minnesota) and my scoring of them:
2001
No draft picks
2002
Marcus Taylor (52) - Never in NBA (0)
2003
Ndudi Ebi (26) - Deep Bench (-0.5)
Rick Rickert (55) - Never in NBA (0)
2004
Blake Stepp (58) - Never in NBA (0)
Overall Score
-0.5

Rod Thorn's picks (New Jersey) and my scoring of them:
2001
Richard Jefferson (13) - Star (2)
Jason Collins (18) - Starter (1.5)
Brandon Armstrong (23) - Deep Bench (-1)
Brian Scalabrine (35) - Rotation (2.5)
2002
Nenad Krstic (24) - Starter (2)
Tamar Slay (54) - Deep Bench (1)
2003
Zoran Planinic (22) - Deep Bench (-1)
Traded rights to Kyle Korver (51)
2004
Traded rights to Viktor Khryapa (22)
Christian Drejer (51) - Never in NBA (0)
Overall Score
+7
Note: I think Thorn has been the worst GM in the league since after the 2002 draft. See here for details.

Billy King's picks (Philadephia) and my scoring of them:
2001
Samuel Dalembert (26) - Starter (2.5)
Damone Brown (37) - Deep Bench (0.5)
Alvin Jones (57) - Deep Bench (0.5)
2002
Traded rights to Jiri Welsch
Sam Clancy (45) - Never in NBA (0)
2003
Willie Green (41) - Deep Bench (1)
Traded rights to Paccelis Morlende (50)
Kyle Korver (51) - Starter (4)
2004
Andre Iguodala (9) - Starter (0.5)
Overall Score
+9

Bryan Colangelo's picks (Phoenix) and my scoring of them:
2001
Alton Ford (51) - Deep Bench (1)
2002
Amare Stoudemire (9) - All-Star (2.5)
Casey Jacobsen (22) - Deep Bench (-1)
2003
Zarko Cabarkapa (17) - Deep Bench (-1.5)
Leandrinho Barbosa (28) - Rotation (1.5) Note: Acquired draft day trade
2004
No Draft Picks
Overall Score
+2.5

Geoff Petrie's picks (Sacramento) and my scoring of them:
2001
Gerald Wallace (25) - Deep Bench (-0.5)
Maurice Jeffers (55) - Never in NBA (0)
2002
Corsley Edwards (58) - Never in NBA (0) Note: played for Hornets in '04-'05 season
2003
None
2004
Kevin Martin (26) - Rotation (1.5)
Ricky Minard (47) - Never in NBA (0)
Overall Score
+1

RC Buford's picks (San Antonio) and my scoring of them:
2001
Wasn't GM yet
2002
Wasn't GM yet
2003
No Draft Picks
2004
Beno Udrih (28) - Deep Bench (-0.5)
Romain Sato (52) - Never in NBA
Overall Score
-0.5

Rick Sund's picks (Seattle) and my scoring of them:
2001
Vladimir Radmanovic (12) - Rotation (-0.5)
Earl Watson (40) - Deep Bench (0.5)
2002
Peter Fehse (49) - Never in NBA (0)
2003
Nick Collison (12) - Rotation (-0.5)
Luke Ridnour (14) - Starter (1)
Paccelis Morlende (50) - Never in NBA (0) Note: Acquired draft day trade
2004
Robert Swift (12) - Rotation (-0.5)
David Young (41) - Never in NBA (0)
Overall Score
0

Kevin O'Connor's picks (Utah) and my scoring of them:
2001
Raul Lopez (24) - Deep Bench (-1)
Jarron Collins (53) - Rotation (3)
2002
Curtis Borchardt (18) - Deep Bench (-1.5) Note: Acquired draft day trade
2003
Aleksandar Pavlovic (19) - Deep Bench (-1.5)
Maurice Williams (47) - Deep Bench (1)
2004
Kris Humphries (14) - Bench (-1)
Kirk Snyder (16) - Deep Bench (-2)
Overall Score
-3

Thoughts on acquiring Jalen Rose

Posted on LG.net on 12/23/05.

Rose's numbers for December:
6.2 ppg in 19.5 mpg on 34.3% shooting, 31.8% on 3 ptrs, 0.2 spg, 2.9 rpg, 1.6 apg
His salary is $15.7 mil this season and $16.9 mil next season. He makes as much as Kwame, Devean and Slava combined.

Walton has better numbers for December:
5.8 ppg in 21.2 mpg on 42.4% shooting, 37.5% on 3 ptrs, 0.4 spg, 3.8 rpg, 3.3 apg
And Walton makes less than a tenth of what Rose makes.

Salary aside, would I like to Rose on the bench to take Profit's place? Yes. But there is no way I would trade $15 million worth of players to get Rose.

A guide to Mitchspeak (for those who need guiding)

Posted on LG.net on 12/22/05.

After reading some posters go nuts here on a fairly boring Mitch interview, I thought I would post a guide for understanding Mitch's public statements.

IMHO Mitch has these goals when speaking to the media:
1. Never lie
2. Never tip his hand
3. Never put pressure on young players
4. Never close out options
5. Let the performance on the court speak for the team

As a consequence, he will always say:
Roster moves are possible, but not likely
An example from the above thread - "We approached the season thinking this is the team were going to stay with all season but he's going to look around and talk to GMs so that he can improve the team."
Another example - After McKie was signed, the press wanted to know if the Lakers were going to sign another free agent, in particular Sprewell. Mitch said that the Lakers weren't going to sign another free agent...unless they signed a free agent who fit there needs for the right price.

Both of those statements don't tip the Lakers' hand, don't close out any option and could never be deemed a lie.

Young players have the potential to contribute eventually, but not right now
Examples - Mitch's comments about Bynum not contributing for 3-5 years. In the reporting on Turiaf being cleared to play for the Lakers, the Laker officials talked about what more Turiaf what have to do before he could play for the Lakers and didn't discuss what Turiaf might contribute to the team. When Wafer played great in the SPL, no Laker official talked up his potential.

Here is Mitch on Turiaf during his interview with the LA Times Lakers' blog:

AK: He [Turiaf] could maybe provide a kind of emotional lift to the team.

MK: If he plays like he did in the summer, from time to time, he would give us an emotional lift with his energy. He likes to do the dirty work stuff like run the floor, rebounding, loose balls, blocked shots, that kind of stuff. That would help us, initially. But he would have to continue to improve to have a sustained ability to help us. You can't come in and stay at a certain level. You have to improve. So there might be an immediate flurry of activity about him joining the club, but that could go away quickly if he doesn't improve. He's unproven as an NBA player. It's not like we've had four years to watch him in the NBA, and you know that once you bring him back, he'll eventually get back to where he was. He still hasn't played in an NBA game, so you're still trying to evaluate if this rookie is good enough. And then on top of that, you have to evaluate the fact that he had open heart surgery and is he back where he was this summer? That's our process. But it's not far fetched to think that he would play with us this year.

It is hard to set expectations for Turiaf much lower than that. Mitch doesn't close the door on Turiaf playing for the Lakers this season, but he certainly doesn't put any pressure on Turiaf to start contributing and instead emphasizes long-term performance improvement.

As a consequence of Mitch's style, the Laker young players can develop in a very supportive, relatively pressure-free environment where the focus is on contributing long-term. Sasha sucked last year, but the Lakers officials were very supportive of him, didn't put any pressure on him to contribute right away and created an environment for him to make huge strides.

Contrast that with the Celtics, who spent this off-season talking up Al Jefferson as a future franchise player even though he was drafted last year right out of high school. I think a lot of Celtic fans now view this season as a disappointing one for Jefferson though he is playing a lot more minutes (17.7 mpg) than Bynum probably will next year.

The team has earned its record, but their future performance can't be predicted
From the LA Times Lakers' blog:

BK: Obviously, the playoffs are the goal. Realistically, how high do you think it can go? How low do you think it can be if things don't go right?

MK: I don't know. You really don't know. Injuries play a huge part in this whole thing. If we have a couple of key injuries, then we're going to lose a bunch of games. I think Detroit and San Antonio are the two best teams in the NBA. I don't think we're in that class, although I'm sure that on any given night, we can beat a team like that. But I think those two teams are the best teams. There are some other good teams in the west that you can argue could beat us in a seven game series. But I feel comfortable with us in the pack. Whether we're at the middle of the pack or at the bottom of the pack right now, I don't know. But if we stay healthy and continue to improve...

Expectations? We can make the playoffs. That would be great. And if you get the right match up in the playoffs, maybe you can win a round or two. But I do think San Antonio and particularly Detroit, they know how to win right now. San Antonio is going through integrating some new players right now. But Detroit just has a certain poise about them, and in my mind, they would be the favorite team right now in the NBA. Let's see what happens in Miami, with the coaching change. But right now, I'm going to say Detroit.

Searching through this, the only definitive statement I find is that the Lakers aren't as good as Detroit and San Antonio. Mitch doesn't even extrapolate from the Lakers current record. The Lakers "can make the playoffs" and if they do, that's "great". I think most GM's in Mitch's position would say that they expect to make the playoffs unless there is injuries, etc. On the other hand, Mitch says that the Lakers "maybe you can win a round or two", which would take the Lakers to the WCF. To me, Mitch is trying is to be a team spokesman and at the same time same that it is not about him, it's about what the players do on the floor and they earn whatever accolades the team gets.

I get the feeling that because Mitch doesn't say he is doing a great job and the team has tons of talent that people interpret that to me that Mitch isn't doing a good job. I think Mitch would much rather have people evaluate his performance based upon how the team is playing (which IMHO is very impressive for the sixth youngest team which was rebuilt in two off-seasons) than based upon what he says.

Thoughts on Green and Wafer

Posted on LG.net on 12/22/05.

karlmalonefan wrote:
Green sucks and needs to be cut...he is a horrible player and couldn't hit a shot if his life depended on it...i'd rather a player with some attitude play, like wafer...green is too tentative...he looks scared to death out there...jmo...

Hey - we are talking about a undrafted rookie here that played at a tiny college program (Hampton). It is going to take time to develop his game. To expect him to contribute right away as much as Profit (a 3 year NBA vet from a major college) is stupid.

Wafer and Green aren't going to contribute this year. The big question with them is how good will they be at the end of next year's training camp. That is when they should be cut if they aren't playing well.

Dallas' Nightmare - Playing the Lakers in the first round

Posted on LG.net on 12/21/05.

Dallas has the 3rd best record in the NBA. Unfortunately for them, they are in the same division as the team with the 2nd best record, the Spurs. That means that the Mavericks are likely to be the fourth seed in the playoffs. The fifth seed will be the second place team in the Pacific division. The Clippers and Suns are currently tied for first and the Lakers and Warriors are currently tied for third, 1 1/2 games back. Personally, I think the Suns or the Lakers will win the division and the other team will come in second. It is very conceivable to me that the Lakers finish second in their division.

So, the Lakers play the Mavericks in the first round. In the two games the Lakers have played the Mavericks, they beat Dallas in Dallas when the refs were the only thing keeping the Mavericks in the game and they crushed the Mavs last night.

Is this possible? Gerald Green reportly adds 24 lbs of muscle

Posted on LG.net on 12/16/05.

From the Celtics website:

In this short amount of time that Green has spent with the team, he has managed to be able to transform body fat and through a strenuous training regimen, add roughly 24 pounds of muscle

In 6 months? I find it hard to believe.

My thoughts on the roster so far

Posted on LG.net on 12/16/05.

I wouldn't form any firm decisions on the play of any player so far. The players are learning the triangle and the Lakers have a lot of really young players that have a ton of potential.

Mihm, Brown - Both very inconsistent. If they both play at C, hopefully one of the two will have a good night. I have been disappointed with Brown's play, but I am still hopeful that he can become a 15/8 or 12/10 kind of player.

Bynum - Very raw, has a lot of promise, but it will be a few years before the Lakers really know what they have

Medvedenko - I think the Lakers should cut him to free up room for Turiaf. Unlike Wafer and Green, he has demonstrated that he has no upside. His only value is that he is apparently a good practice player

Cook - A decent back up PF. I am surprised he is starting, but hopefully Brown and Mihm will soon learn how to co-exist and Cook can move back to the bench

Odom - The Lakers have been counting on him to deliver and he has done so in December. The second most valuable player on the team

Walton - In terms of value per salary dollar, a steal. One of the guys who has made the second unit so effective lately

George - Another leader of the second unit and the best defender on the team. I wish he shot better given the number of open looks that he gets

Bryant - One of the best players in the league and the most consistent Laker

Profit - To me, he's a lot like Jumaine Jones last year - a player that was buried on one team's bench, was a throw-in to make a trade work and then blossomed on the Lakers. A couple times a game, he ends up wide open next to the basket. He has the highest shooting percentage of the second unit

Green, Wafer - Raw players that might turn into something after working hard next off-season. I hope neither gets cut. Green is way ahead of Wafer in terms of picking up the offense and defense and consequently has gotten a lot more minutes, but is a terrible shooter (2 for 11, 5 for 11 from the line)

Parker, Vujacic - Parker is probably the best value per salary dollar free agent signing of the off-season. Vujacic has made huge strides since last season. Both are inconsistent and it is still too early to say how good they will be. However, if you had told Laker fans at the end of last season that our PG rotation this season was going to be Smush Parker and Sasha, I think 99.5% of them would have said that the Lakers would already be out of the playoff hunt

McKie - Is turning out to be a wasted free agent signing. With the surprising play of Parker, Vujacic, Profit and Green, the Lakers don't need McKie. McKie has been awful, averaging only one shot every 9 minutes and shooting only 11.1%. Hopefully, his problems have been because of nagging injuries and he will be more effective whenever he makes it back to the active roster

Turiaf
I have no idea how good he will be. I am hoping that he can be a Najera-like spark off the bench. I wouldn't be surprised if he struggles this season as he tries to catch up with team on the offensive and defensive schemes and continues to recover from his surgery

Overall
So far, lots of good surprises on the roster. I have been really surprised at how well the bench has played lately given that Sky felt before the season that the Lakers had one of the worst if not the worse bench in the NBA.

I think what the Lakers are trying to do this season the same thing they did in the '95-'95 and '95-'96 seasons - establish themselves as a young, exciting, up-and-coming team that can then land a big name free agent that makes them a championship contender. The average age of the roster is 25 1/4 years old. Exclude McKie and the average age drops to 24 3/4 years old. Drop McKie and the three players whose contracts expire at the end of this season - Medvedenko, George and Profit - and the average drops to under 24 years old. I think the Lakers are going to make the playoffs somewhere in the 5th to 7th seed range. To do that with a team so young is fan-tastic.

Thoughts on 2007 plan

Posted on LG.net on 12/13/05.

One thing about the 2007 plan - they don't necessarily have to pare their roster to $41 million, they just have to be able to threaten to do so. Let's say Dirk decides he wants to play in LA for a max contract. Mitch calls up Dallas and says, "Hey, Dirk wants to play here. How about we do a S&T instead of you getting nothing for Dirk? We can offer Kwame, Cook and some picks." The Lakers are happy, because they get an All-Star for two non-All Stars. The Mavericks agree because they want to get something for Dirk. Dirk is happy because he can get more money through an S&T than a straight FA contract. The Lakers then re-sign/take options on the rest of their players.

Interesting quote from Kwame

Posted on LG.net on 12/13/05.

"I was just trying to get the trust back from my teammates," he said. "I know how it is when you're on a team and they're expecting big things from you and they haven't gotten them. Teammates start to look away from you, you look down on yourself."

(Link)

Sadly, Kwame has a lot of experience in disappointing his teammates. I am glad he faces up to that fact and understands that you have to earn trust.

I went to the game - my thoughts

Posted on LG.net on 12/13/05.

I went to the game last night. I had planned to get there early, but the freeway to downtown was bumper-to-bumper and it took me forever to get there. Before the game, it stopped in the restrooms and the Mavericks pre-game show was piped into there. The Mavericks announcers weren't giving the Lakers any love, saying something like, "It used to be that the Lakers-Mavericks was a marque game, but no more. The Lakers are just this side of mediocre."

I went to me seat. I had a front row seat up in a nosebleed section. The crowd was late arriving and very quiet during the first half. When the Lakers took an 11 point lead in the second quarter, the fans were shocked. Some booed. Some yelled, "What's the matter!" The crowd got into the game when the Mavs made the game close at the end of the second quarter and went nuts when Mbenga stuffed Kobe at the end of the first half. When Kobe made that incredible reverse lay up, the whole crowd went, "Wow!"

When Dampier went out with his fifth foul, I was surprised that the Lakers didn't try to feed Chris Mihm. Chris shortly thereafter picked up a "I breathed in the general direction of a guy shooting the ball" foul and had to sit. Kwame came in and the Lakers did feed him. Kwame had a great game, but one thing he was doing that was driving me nuts was that instead of cutting to a spot on the floor, he strolled over to it like it was Sunday in the park. I don't know if he was just conserving energy because he was playing a lot of minutes after not having played for a while, but he caused the Lakers to burn up shot clock time as they waited for him to get into position.

When Kobe made the long, long three to put the Lakers up by 2, the crowd was stunned. I had been chatting through out the game with the Mavericks fan next to me and after that shot, he turned to me and said, "That's Kobe." The Lakers played clutch the rest of the game and won it.

Walking out, I noticed a lot more Laker jerseys than Maverick jerseys. #8 was by far the most popular jersey, but I saw a Fisher jersey and a Shaq jersey. All talk about the game was about Kobe's last three.

I listened to the Maverick post game show on the way home. The play they talked the most about was Kobe's dagger. They had one of the Mavericks announcers on and he talked about two things (1) how Kobe is one of the most exciting players in the NBA to watch and that he gave the fans their money's worth last night and (2) how the Lakers shut down the Mavericks inside toughness in the fourth quarter.

This is the third Lakers game I have attended in Dallas since I moved there in '96. The first two games weren't very enjoyable as the Lakers were a much better team and they played down to the Mavericks level and lost both. This time, I expected the Lakers to lose. The Lakers fought, battled, hustled and generally played well, so I would have been happy if they lost. Then Kobe showed yet again why is one of the best in the NBA, Walton and Smush were clutch, and I was in cloud nine after the game was over.

Stats for 2004 draft class, sorted different ways

Posted on LG.net on 12/12/05.

Draft Order
#1 - Dwight Howard
14.7 ppg in 36.6 mpg, shooting 48.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 13.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.89 spg, 1.47 bpg, 2.32 TO, 0.61 A-to-TO
#2 - Emeka Okafor
12.7 ppg in 33.3 mpg, shooting 39.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 9.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.95 spg, 1.71 bpg, 1.90 TO, 0.68 A-to-TO
#3 - Ben Gordon
15.2 ppg in 28.2 mpg, shooting 39.1%, 43.7% on 3's, 2.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 0.94 spg, 0.00 bpg, 2.24 TO, 1.08 A-to-TO
#4 - Shaun Livingston
Has not played in the NBA this year
#5 - Devin Harris
11.2 ppg in 25.9 mpg, shooting 45.5%, 12.5% on 3's, 2.6 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.20 spg, 0.35 bpg, 1.75 TO, 2.14 A-to-TO
#6 - Josh Childress
7.6 ppg in 26.5 mpg, shooting 52.9%, 66.7% on 3's, 4.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.37 spg, 0.26 bpg, 1.21 TO, 0.96 A-to-TO
#7 - Luol Deng
15.4 ppg in 30.4 mpg, shooting 47.1%, 43.5% on 3's, 6.1 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.79 spg, 0.53 bpg, 1.16 TO, 1.00 A-to-TO
#8 - Rafael Araujo
2.9 ppg in 10.8 mpg, shooting 46.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.5 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.40 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.85 TO, 0.18 A-to-TO
#9 - Andre Iguodala
11.2 ppg in 36.9 mpg, shooting 53.1%, 40.0% on 3's, 6.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.52 spg, 0.33 bpg, 1.57 TO, 1.61 A-to-TO
#10 - Luke Jackson
1.9 ppg in 9.1 mpg, shooting 32.4%, 33.3% on 3's, 1.1 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.47 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.82 TO, 0.79 A-to-TO
#11 - Andris Biedrins
2.4 ppg in 9.5 mpg, shooting 83.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 3.5 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.31 spg, 0.38 bpg, 0.69 TO, 0.22 A-to-TO
#12 - Robert Swift
0.0 ppg in 10.0 mpg, shooting 0.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.00 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.00 TO, -.-- A-to-TO
#13 - Sebastian Telfair
11.2 ppg in 29.4 mpg, shooting 38.5%, 35.4% on 3's, 2.1 rpg, 4.5 apg, 0.75 spg, 0.10 bpg, 1.90 TO, 2.34 A-to-TO
#14 - Kris Humphries
4.9 ppg in 14.1 mpg, shooting 43.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 4.0 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.45 spg, 0.30 bpg, 0.65 TO, 1.00 A-to-TO
#15 - Al Jefferson
7.9 ppg in 17.4 mpg, shooting 54.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 5.2 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.50 spg, 0.85 bpg, 0.90 TO, 0.44 A-to-TO
#16 - Kirk Snyder
4.9 ppg in 12.2 mpg, shooting 48.8%, 35.7% on 3's, 1.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.15 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.54 TO, 2.71 A-to-TO
#17 - Josh Smith
8.4 ppg in 24.6 mpg, shooting 37.9%, 0.0% on 3's, 4.5 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.71 spg, 1.94 bpg, 1.82 TO, 0.52 A-to-TO
#18 - J.R. Smith
12.1 ppg in 26.7 mpg, shooting 37.6%, 37.3% on 3's, 2.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.81 spg, 0.13 bpg, 1.50 TO, 1.33 A-to-TO
#19 - Dorell Wright
1.6 ppg in 5.6 mpg, shooting 44.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.3 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.14 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.57 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO
#20 - Jameer Nelson
10.5 ppg in 25.8 mpg, shooting 41.7%, 44.2% on 3's, 2.6 rpg, 3.4 apg, 0.84 spg, 0.11 bpg, 2.32 TO, 1.45 A-to-TO
#21 - Pavel Podkolzin
Has not played in the NBA this year
#22 - Viktor Khryapa
5.8 ppg in 19.4 mpg, shooting 47.4%, 50.0% on 3's, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.25 spg, 0.13 bpg, 1.38 TO, 0.91 A-to-TO
#23 - Sergei Monia
3.8 ppg in 16.9 mpg, shooting 35.1%, 28.6% on 3's, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.33 spg, 0.28 bpg, 0.61 TO, 1.64 A-to-TO
#24 - Delonte West
8.9 ppg in 32.8 mpg, shooting 43.9%, 26.2% on 3's, 3.6 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.11 spg, 1.06 bpg, 2.06 TO, 1.97 A-to-TO
#25 - Tony Allen
Has not played in the NBA this year
#26 - Kevin Martin
4.8 ppg in 14.2 mpg, shooting 36.1%, 16.7% on 3's, 1.8 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.61 spg, 0.11 bpg, 0.61 TO, 0.91 A-to-TO
#27 - Sasha Vujacic
4.4 ppg in 18.1 mpg, shooting 35.5%, 37.3% on 3's, 1.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.55 spg, 0.10 bpg, 0.45 TO, 3.89 A-to-TO
#28 - Beno Udrih
2.4 ppg in 5.8 mpg, shooting 33.3%, 12.5% on 3's, 0.7 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.14 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.57 TO, 2.00 A-to-TO
#29 - David Harrison
2.9 ppg in 9.9 mpg, shooting 48.5%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.7 rpg, 0.1 apg, 0.21 spg, 0.50 bpg, 0.93 TO, 0.08 A-to-TO
#30 - Anderson Varejao
Has not played in the NBA this year
#31 - Jackson Vroman
2.0 ppg in 9.6 mpg, shooting 52.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.9 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.43 spg, 0.07 bpg, 0.29 TO, 1.50 A-to-TO
#32 - Peter John Ramos
Has not played in the NBA this year
#33 - Lionel Chalmers
Has not played in the NBA this year
#34 - Donta Smith
0.7 ppg in 3.3 mpg, shooting 40.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 0.5 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.17 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.17 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO
#35 - Andre Emmett
Has not played in the NBA this year
#36 - Antonio Burks
0.6 ppg in 7.2 mpg, shooting 17.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 0.6 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.29 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.29 TO, 4.00 A-to-TO
#37 - Royal Ivey
4.3 ppg in 10.5 mpg, shooting 51.3%, 50.0% on 3's, 0.9 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.55 spg, 0.09 bpg, 0.64 TO, 0.86 A-to-TO
#38 - Chris Duhon
9.6 ppg in 33.6 mpg, shooting 39.5%, 35.0% on 3's, 3.1 rpg, 5.9 apg, 1.28 spg, 0.06 bpg, 1.56 TO, 3.82 A-to-TO
#39 - Albert Miralles
Has not played in the NBA this year
#40 - Justin Reed
2.4 ppg in 10.4 mpg, shooting 33.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 0.8 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.25 spg, 0.20 bpg, 0.40 TO, 0.75 A-to-TO
#41 - David Young
Has not played in the NBA this year
#42 - Viktor Sanikidze
Has not played in the NBA this year
#43 - Trevor Ariza
4.9 ppg in 20.2 mpg, shooting 41.7%, 33.3% on 3's, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.33 spg, 0.28 bpg, 1.28 TO, 1.04 A-to-TO
#44 - Tim Pickett
Has not played in the NBA this year
#45 - Bernard Robinson
3.4 ppg in 12.4 mpg, shooting 35.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.9 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.93 spg, 0.07 bpg, 1.07 TO, 0.60 A-to-TO
#46 - Ha Seung-Jin
2.6 ppg in 9.6 mpg, shooting 62.5%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.6 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.00 spg, 0.40 bpg, 0.40 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO
#47 - Pape Sow
2.0 ppg in 1.0 mpg, shooting --.-%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.00 spg, 0.00 bpg, 1.00 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO
#48 - Ricky Minard
Has not played in the NBA this year
#49 - Sergei Lishouk
Has not played in the NBA this year
#50 - Vassillis Spanoulis
Has not played in the NBA this year
#51 - Christian Drejer
Has not played in the NBA this year
#52 - Romain Sato
Has not played in the NBA this year
#53 - Matt Freije
Has not played in the NBA this year
#54 - Rickey Paulding
Has not played in the NBA this year
#55 - Luis Flores
Has not played in the NBA this year
#56 - Marcus Douthit
Has not played in the NBA this year
#57 - Sergei Karaulov
Has not played in the NBA this year
#58 - Blake Stepp
Has not played in the NBA this year
#59 - Rashad Wright
Has not played in the NBA this year

Sorted by Minutes Per Game
#1 - Andre Iguodala (#9 pick)
11.2 ppg in 36.9 mpg, shooting 53.1%, 40.0% on 3's, 6.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.52 spg, 0.33 bpg, 1.57 TO, 1.61 A-to-TO
#2 - Dwight Howard (#1 pick)
14.7 ppg in 36.6 mpg, shooting 48.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 13.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.89 spg, 1.47 bpg, 2.32 TO, 0.61 A-to-TO
#3 - Chris Duhon (#38 pick)
9.6 ppg in 33.6 mpg, shooting 39.5%, 35.0% on 3's, 3.1 rpg, 5.9 apg, 1.28 spg, 0.06 bpg, 1.56 TO, 3.82 A-to-TO
#4 - Emeka Okafor (#2 pick)
12.7 ppg in 33.3 mpg, shooting 39.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 9.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.95 spg, 1.71 bpg, 1.90 TO, 0.68 A-to-TO
#5 - Delonte West (#24 pick)
8.9 ppg in 32.8 mpg, shooting 43.9%, 26.2% on 3's, 3.6 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.11 spg, 1.06 bpg, 2.06 TO, 1.97 A-to-TO
#6 - Luol Deng (#7 pick)
15.4 ppg in 30.4 mpg, shooting 47.1%, 43.5% on 3's, 6.1 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.79 spg, 0.53 bpg, 1.16 TO, 1.00 A-to-TO
#7 - Sebastian Telfair (#13 pick)
11.2 ppg in 29.4 mpg, shooting 38.5%, 35.4% on 3's, 2.1 rpg, 4.5 apg, 0.75 spg, 0.10 bpg, 1.90 TO, 2.34 A-to-TO
#8 - Ben Gordon (#3 pick)
15.2 ppg in 28.2 mpg, shooting 39.1%, 43.7% on 3's, 2.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 0.94 spg, 0.00 bpg, 2.24 TO, 1.08 A-to-TO
#9 - J.R. Smith (#18 pick)
12.1 ppg in 26.7 mpg, shooting 37.6%, 37.3% on 3's, 2.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.81 spg, 0.13 bpg, 1.50 TO, 1.33 A-to-TO
#10 - Josh Childress (#6 pick)
7.6 ppg in 26.5 mpg, shooting 52.9%, 66.7% on 3's, 4.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.37 spg, 0.26 bpg, 1.21 TO, 0.96 A-to-TO
#11 - Devin Harris (#5 pick)
11.2 ppg in 25.9 mpg, shooting 45.5%, 12.5% on 3's, 2.6 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.20 spg, 0.35 bpg, 1.75 TO, 2.14 A-to-TO
#12 - Jameer Nelson (#20 pick)
10.5 ppg in 25.8 mpg, shooting 41.7%, 44.2% on 3's, 2.6 rpg, 3.4 apg, 0.84 spg, 0.11 bpg, 2.32 TO, 1.45 A-to-TO
#13 - Josh Smith (#17 pick)
8.4 ppg in 24.6 mpg, shooting 37.9%, 0.0% on 3's, 4.5 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.71 spg, 1.94 bpg, 1.82 TO, 0.52 A-to-TO
#14 - Trevor Ariza (#43 pick)
4.9 ppg in 20.2 mpg, shooting 41.7%, 33.3% on 3's, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.33 spg, 0.28 bpg, 1.28 TO, 1.04 A-to-TO
#15 - Viktor Khryapa (#22 pick)
5.8 ppg in 19.4 mpg, shooting 47.4%, 50.0% on 3's, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.25 spg, 0.13 bpg, 1.38 TO, 0.91 A-to-TO
#16 - Sasha Vujacic (#27 pick)
4.4 ppg in 18.1 mpg, shooting 35.5%, 37.3% on 3's, 1.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.55 spg, 0.10 bpg, 0.45 TO, 3.89 A-to-TO
#17 - Al Jefferson (#15 pick)
7.9 ppg in 17.4 mpg, shooting 54.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 5.2 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.50 spg, 0.85 bpg, 0.90 TO, 0.44 A-to-TO
#18 - Sergei Monia (#23 pick)
3.8 ppg in 16.9 mpg, shooting 35.1%, 28.6% on 3's, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.33 spg, 0.28 bpg, 0.61 TO, 1.64 A-to-TO
#19 - Kevin Martin (#26 pick)
4.8 ppg in 14.2 mpg, shooting 36.1%, 16.7% on 3's, 1.8 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.61 spg, 0.11 bpg, 0.61 TO, 0.91 A-to-TO
#20 - Kris Humphries (#14 pick)
4.9 ppg in 14.1 mpg, shooting 43.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 4.0 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.45 spg, 0.30 bpg, 0.65 TO, 1.00 A-to-TO
#21 - Bernard Robinson (#45 pick)
3.4 ppg in 12.4 mpg, shooting 35.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.9 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.93 spg, 0.07 bpg, 1.07 TO, 0.60 A-to-TO
#22 - Kirk Snyder (#16 pick)
4.9 ppg in 12.2 mpg, shooting 48.8%, 35.7% on 3's, 1.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.15 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.54 TO, 2.71 A-to-TO
#23 - Rafael Araujo (#8 pick)
2.9 ppg in 10.8 mpg, shooting 46.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.5 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.40 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.85 TO, 0.18 A-to-TO
#24 - Royal Ivey (#37 pick)
4.3 ppg in 10.5 mpg, shooting 51.3%, 50.0% on 3's, 0.9 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.55 spg, 0.09 bpg, 0.64 TO, 0.86 A-to-TO
#25 - Justin Reed (#40 pick)
2.4 ppg in 10.4 mpg, shooting 33.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 0.8 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.25 spg, 0.20 bpg, 0.40 TO, 0.75 A-to-TO
#26 - Robert Swift (#12 pick)
0.0 ppg in 10.0 mpg, shooting 0.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.00 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.00 TO, -.-- A-to-TO
#27 - David Harrison (#29 pick)
2.9 ppg in 9.9 mpg, shooting 48.5%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.7 rpg, 0.1 apg, 0.21 spg, 0.50 bpg, 0.93 TO, 0.08 A-to-TO
#28 - Ha Seung-Jin (#46 pick)
2.6 ppg in 9.6 mpg, shooting 62.5%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.6 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.00 spg, 0.40 bpg, 0.40 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO
#29 - Jackson Vroman (#31 pick)
2.0 ppg in 9.6 mpg, shooting 52.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.9 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.43 spg, 0.07 bpg, 0.29 TO, 1.50 A-to-TO
#30 - Andris Biedrins (#11 pick)
2.4 ppg in 9.5 mpg, shooting 83.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 3.5 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.31 spg, 0.38 bpg, 0.69 TO, 0.22 A-to-TO
#31 - Luke Jackson (#10 pick)
1.9 ppg in 9.1 mpg, shooting 32.4%, 33.3% on 3's, 1.1 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.47 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.82 TO, 0.79 A-to-TO
#32 - Antonio Burks (#36 pick)
0.6 ppg in 7.2 mpg, shooting 17.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 0.6 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.29 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.29 TO, 4.00 A-to-TO
#33 - Beno Udrih (#28 pick)
2.4 ppg in 5.8 mpg, shooting 33.3%, 12.5% on 3's, 0.7 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.14 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.57 TO, 2.00 A-to-TO
#34 - Dorell Wright (#19 pick)
1.6 ppg in 5.6 mpg, shooting 44.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.3 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.14 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.57 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO
#35 - Donta Smith (#34 pick)
0.7 ppg in 3.3 mpg, shooting 40.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 0.5 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.17 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.17 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO
#36 - Pape Sow (#47 pick)
2.0 ppg in 1.0 mpg, shooting --.-%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.00 spg, 0.00 bpg, 1.00 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO

Sorted by Points Per Game
#1 - Luol Deng (#7 pick)
15.4 ppg in 30.4 mpg, shooting 47.1%, 43.5% on 3's, 6.1 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.79 spg, 0.53 bpg, 1.16 TO, 1.00 A-to-TO
#2 - Ben Gordon (#3 pick)
15.2 ppg in 28.2 mpg, shooting 39.1%, 43.7% on 3's, 2.3 rpg, 2.4 apg, 0.94 spg, 0.00 bpg, 2.24 TO, 1.08 A-to-TO
#3 - Dwight Howard (#1 pick)
14.7 ppg in 36.6 mpg, shooting 48.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 13.3 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.89 spg, 1.47 bpg, 2.32 TO, 0.61 A-to-TO
#4 - Emeka Okafor (#2 pick)
12.7 ppg in 33.3 mpg, shooting 39.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 9.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.95 spg, 1.71 bpg, 1.90 TO, 0.68 A-to-TO
#5 - J.R. Smith (#18 pick)
12.1 ppg in 26.7 mpg, shooting 37.6%, 37.3% on 3's, 2.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.81 spg, 0.13 bpg, 1.50 TO, 1.33 A-to-TO
#6 - Devin Harris (#5 pick)
11.2 ppg in 25.9 mpg, shooting 45.5%, 12.5% on 3's, 2.6 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.20 spg, 0.35 bpg, 1.75 TO, 2.14 A-to-TO
#7 - Sebastian Telfair (#13 pick)
11.2 ppg in 29.4 mpg, shooting 38.5%, 35.4% on 3's, 2.1 rpg, 4.5 apg, 0.75 spg, 0.10 bpg, 1.90 TO, 2.34 A-to-TO
#8 - Andre Iguodala (#9 pick)
11.2 ppg in 36.9 mpg, shooting 53.1%, 40.0% on 3's, 6.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.52 spg, 0.33 bpg, 1.57 TO, 1.61 A-to-TO
#9 - Jameer Nelson (#20 pick)
10.5 ppg in 25.8 mpg, shooting 41.7%, 44.2% on 3's, 2.6 rpg, 3.4 apg, 0.84 spg, 0.11 bpg, 2.32 TO, 1.45 A-to-TO
#10 - Chris Duhon (#38 pick)
9.6 ppg in 33.6 mpg, shooting 39.5%, 35.0% on 3's, 3.1 rpg, 5.9 apg, 1.28 spg, 0.06 bpg, 1.56 TO, 3.82 A-to-TO
#11 - Delonte West (#24 pick)
8.9 ppg in 32.8 mpg, shooting 43.9%, 26.2% on 3's, 3.6 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.11 spg, 1.06 bpg, 2.06 TO, 1.97 A-to-TO
#12 - Josh Smith (#17 pick)
8.4 ppg in 24.6 mpg, shooting 37.9%, 0.0% on 3's, 4.5 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.71 spg, 1.94 bpg, 1.82 TO, 0.52 A-to-TO
#13 - Al Jefferson (#15 pick)
7.9 ppg in 17.4 mpg, shooting 54.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 5.2 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.50 spg, 0.85 bpg, 0.90 TO, 0.44 A-to-TO
#14 - Josh Childress (#6 pick)
7.6 ppg in 26.5 mpg, shooting 52.9%, 66.7% on 3's, 4.7 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.37 spg, 0.26 bpg, 1.21 TO, 0.96 A-to-TO
#15 - Viktor Khryapa (#22 pick)
5.8 ppg in 19.4 mpg, shooting 47.4%, 50.0% on 3's, 3.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.25 spg, 0.13 bpg, 1.38 TO, 0.91 A-to-TO
#16 - Kirk Snyder (#16 pick)
4.9 ppg in 12.2 mpg, shooting 48.8%, 35.7% on 3's, 1.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, 0.15 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.54 TO, 2.71 A-to-TO
#17 - Trevor Ariza (#43 pick)
4.9 ppg in 20.2 mpg, shooting 41.7%, 33.3% on 3's, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.33 spg, 0.28 bpg, 1.28 TO, 1.04 A-to-TO
#18 - Kris Humphries (#14 pick)
4.9 ppg in 14.1 mpg, shooting 43.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 4.0 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.45 spg, 0.30 bpg, 0.65 TO, 1.00 A-to-TO
#19 - Kevin Martin (#26 pick)
4.8 ppg in 14.2 mpg, shooting 36.1%, 16.7% on 3's, 1.8 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.61 spg, 0.11 bpg, 0.61 TO, 0.91 A-to-TO
#20 - Sasha Vujacic (#27 pick)
4.4 ppg in 18.1 mpg, shooting 35.5%, 37.3% on 3's, 1.9 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.55 spg, 0.10 bpg, 0.45 TO, 3.89 A-to-TO
#21 - Royal Ivey (#37 pick)
4.3 ppg in 10.5 mpg, shooting 51.3%, 50.0% on 3's, 0.9 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.55 spg, 0.09 bpg, 0.64 TO, 0.86 A-to-TO
#22 - Sergei Monia (#23 pick)
3.8 ppg in 16.9 mpg, shooting 35.1%, 28.6% on 3's, 2.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.33 spg, 0.28 bpg, 0.61 TO, 1.64 A-to-TO
#23 - Bernard Robinson (#45 pick)
3.4 ppg in 12.4 mpg, shooting 35.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.9 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.93 spg, 0.07 bpg, 1.07 TO, 0.60 A-to-TO
#24 - David Harrison (#29 pick)
2.9 ppg in 9.9 mpg, shooting 48.5%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.7 rpg, 0.1 apg, 0.21 spg, 0.50 bpg, 0.93 TO, 0.08 A-to-TO
#25 - Rafael Araujo (#8 pick)
2.9 ppg in 10.8 mpg, shooting 46.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.5 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.40 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.85 TO, 0.18 A-to-TO
#26 - Ha Seung-Jin (#46 pick)
2.6 ppg in 9.6 mpg, shooting 62.5%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.6 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.00 spg, 0.40 bpg, 0.40 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO
#27 - Beno Udrih (#28 pick)
2.4 ppg in 5.8 mpg, shooting 33.3%, 12.5% on 3's, 0.7 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.14 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.57 TO, 2.00 A-to-TO
#28 - Justin Reed (#40 pick)
2.4 ppg in 10.4 mpg, shooting 33.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 0.8 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.25 spg, 0.20 bpg, 0.40 TO, 0.75 A-to-TO
#29 - Andris Biedrins (#11 pick)
2.4 ppg in 9.5 mpg, shooting 83.3%, 0.0% on 3's, 3.5 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.31 spg, 0.38 bpg, 0.69 TO, 0.22 A-to-TO
#30 - Pape Sow (#47 pick)
2.0 ppg in 1.0 mpg, shooting --.-%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.00 spg, 0.00 bpg, 1.00 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO
#31 - Jackson Vroman (#31 pick)
2.0 ppg in 9.6 mpg, shooting 52.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.9 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.43 spg, 0.07 bpg, 0.29 TO, 1.50 A-to-TO
#32 - Luke Jackson (#10 pick)
1.9 ppg in 9.1 mpg, shooting 32.4%, 33.3% on 3's, 1.1 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.47 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.82 TO, 0.79 A-to-TO
#33 - Dorell Wright (#19 pick)
1.6 ppg in 5.6 mpg, shooting 44.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 1.3 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.14 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.57 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO
#34 - Donta Smith (#34 pick)
0.7 ppg in 3.3 mpg, shooting 40.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 0.5 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.17 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.17 TO, 0.00 A-to-TO
#35 - Antonio Burks (#36 pick)
0.6 ppg in 7.2 mpg, shooting 17.4%, 0.0% on 3's, 0.6 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.29 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.29 TO, 4.00 A-to-TO
#36 - Robert Swift (#12 pick)
0.0 ppg in 10.0 mpg, shooting 0.0%, 0.0% on 3's, 2.0 rpg, 0.0 apg, 0.00 spg, 0.00 bpg, 0.00 TO, -.-- A-to-TO

Stats from DougStats.com

Celtic fans went Sasha for Banks

Posted on LG.net on 12/9/05.

My, how things have changed. From CelticsBlog.com:

I was watching the Bobcats vs. the Lakers the other night and I was impressed with the defense of Sasha Vujacic. He also has a nice assist/TO ratio and is almost automatic at the line.

We all know that the Lakers have been after Marcus for some time now.

We could trade Banks for Sasha and Von Wafer (works on RealGM).

Banks is NOT coming back to Boston next year. We could give Vujacic a try as our big PG. It's not like we are giving up much.

The guy has gotten 23 replies to his suggestion. My favorite:

We could trade Banks for Sasha like we could trade Pierce for Kobe but why would LA do it? He's playing well, Phil Jackson trusts him enough to play him at crucial times. They must like what they have in him. There is no way they would want to trade him just for Marcus Banks. He also happens to be better than Banks is.

Last season, I think many posters here would have been ectastic to get Banks for Sasha.