2011 NBA Draft and Offseason Blog

Written by Paul Banks of the Washington Times, and David Kay of the The Sports Bank.
Send Paul an e-mail here: paulb05 AT hotmail DOT com.
All other e-mail, including advertising and link proposals, send to: [email protected]




2011 NBA Free Agency Signings Analysis – Dec. 20


New York Knicks sign PG Baron Davis to one-year deal worth league minimum
This was the likely destination for Davis as soon as he was amnestied by the Cavs. He does have a herniated disk that could reportedly keep him out from anywhere to 4-10 weeks. However, if Davis plays with a chip on his shoulder, he provides the Knicks with a much-needed veteran experience in the backcourt, and unlike Mike Bibby, can still productive in the downside of his career. Unless, of course, the overweight, selfish, “I don’t care about playing team basketball” Davis shows up, then this signing will be a disaster. I’d guess the former happens and not the latter.

Denver Nuggets re-sign SG Aaron Afflalo to 5-year, $43 million contract
Afflalo has developed into a solid role NBA player due to his ability to defend and knock down triples. I think he was one of the more underrated free agents of the 2011 class and received a contract of proper worth. Plus, Denver needed to shore up their play at shooting guard and Afflalo certainly does that.



Washington Wizards re-sign SG Nick Young to 1-year, $3.7 million contract
Young couldn’t find the long-term deal that he was looking for (probably because his asking price of $9 million a year was more than any team was willing to pay) so he accepted the qualifying offer on the final year of his rookie contract. It is a steal of a deal for the Wizards as Young is coming off a breakout season and is starting to develop into a dynamic scorer alongside John Wall. Young now becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Detroit Pistons re-sign PG Rodney Stuckey to 3-year, $25 million contract
I don’t get this deal. At. All. Sure, he led a crappy Pistons team in scoring last season, but more than $8 million a year for Stuckey seems awfully high especially when the team just used their first-round pick on Brandon Knight and still have Will Bynum under contract for the next two seasons. Joe Dumars has now paid $70 million dollars to bring back Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince and Jonas Jerebko. That is a lot for an average core of players on a pretty awful team. It’s not as bad as the Ben Gordon/Charlie Villanueva offseason, but it’s close.



Sacramento Kings void 4-year, $21.3 million contract of C Chuck Hayes
Just signed last week, Hayes failed his physical reportedly due to some sort of abnormality with his heart. We just saw the same thing happen with the Celtics Jeff Green who had his 1-year $9 million contract rescinded as he must now undergo open heart surgery. I liked this signing for the Kings since Hayes would have provided them with a junkyard dog-type player who was more interested in rebounding and doing the little things rather than jacking up shots – something Sacramento needs. Hopefully, his condition is not as serious as Green’s.

Los Angeles Lakers sign PF Troy Murphy to one year deal worth league minimum
Murphy suffered through injury last season which then resulted in a massive dropoff in his production. However, the Lakers are starved for depth inside and take a chance that the lefty can revive his career and give them some quality minutes. My only issue with this signing is that the Lakers just signed a young, better Murphy clone in Josh McRoberts.




Indiana Pacers acquire PF Louis Amundson from Golden State Warriors for SG Brandon Rush
Rush had sort of been lost in the shuffle with the Pacers but was still a steady contributor for them. I think they gave up a lot to simply acquire Amundson who is pretty much a less-talented Tyler Hansbrough. Plus, it is not like Indiana has a ton of depth on the wing. Rush now ends up with the Warriors and will likely compete for minutes off the bench with rookie Klay Thompson behind Monta Ellis and Dorell Wright on the wing. Amundson became expendable when Golden State overpaid Kwame Brown to a 1-year, $7 million deal.

Charlotte Bobcats acquire C Byron Mullens from Oklahoma City Thunder for 2013 second round pick
The Bobcats are so desperate for size that they were willing to acquire a seven-footer who played in just 26 games during his two years in the NBA in hopes that he can at least bring some sort of inside presence to their roster. Granted, all it cost them was a second-round pick, and Mullens is only 22 years old, so why not, right? The Thunder had to make some sort of move since they had 16 players under contract with their recent acquisition of Lazar Hayward. (By the way, I was very adamant about Mullens making a huge mistake by leaving Ohio State after his freshman season. If this were Twitter, I’d add an #Iwasright.)



Recent NBA Draft and Offseason Blog Entries:

2012 NBA Draft Outstanding Trades - 12/25
2011 NBA Offseason Winners - 12/23
2011 NBA Offseason Losers - 12/23
2011 NBA Free Agency Signings Analysis - 12/22
2011 NBA Free Agency Signings Analysis - 12/20
2011 NBA Free Agency Signings Analysis - 12/16
Chris Paul Trade Analysis - 12/15
2011 NBA Free Agency Signings Analysis - 12/14
2011 NBA Free Agency Signings Analysis - 12/10
2011 NBA Free Agency Signings Analysis - 12/9
Five Players Likely to Be Traded After NBA Lockout - 7/7
2011 NBA Free Agency: Allan Houston Rule - Southwest Division - 7/6
2011 NBA Free Agency: Allan Houston Rule - Northwest Division - 7/5
2011 NBA Free Agency: Allan Houston Rule - Pacific Division - 7/3
Cavaliers-Kings Trade Recap - 7/1
2011 NBA Free Agency: Allan Houston Rule - Atlantic Division - 6/30
2011 NBA Free Agency: Allan Houston Rule - Central Division - 6/30
2011 NBA Free Agency: Allan Houston Rule - Southeast Division - 6/29
2011 NBA Draft Trade Recaps - 6/25
2011 NBA Draft: Bobcats-Kings-Bucks Three-Way Trade - 6/24
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: How Kyrie Irving Compares to John Wall and Derrick Rose - 6/23
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Is Kyrie Irving Ready to be a Franchise Point Guard - 6/23
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Kemba Walker is the Most Undervalued Player in the Draft - 6/23
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Is Derrick Williams a Power Forward or Small Forward? - 6/22
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Wait, Kansas' Marcus and Markieff Morris are Twins??? - 6/21
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Jordan Hamilton Using Yoga to Help His NBA Draft Stock - 6/18
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Tristan Thompson Benefits from Weak Draft Class - 6/17
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Kawhi Leonard's Versatility is His Biggest Asset - 6/14
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Chris Singleton is a Lottery Sleeper - 6/13
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Where Does JaJuan Johnson Fit in the NBA? - 6/11
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Kentucky's DeAndre Liggins Made Right Decision in Entering NBA Draft - 6/10
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Should a Marijuana Arrest Affect NBA Draft Stock? - 6/9
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Nolan Smith Has Different Identity On and Off Court - 6/7
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: John Wall Mentoring Darius Morris - 6/5
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Brandon Knight Worth Third Overall Pick? - 6/2
Rumor: Cavs, T-Wolves, Pistons Discussing 3-Way Trade - 5/29
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Josh Selby Putting Kansas Behind Him - 5/28
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Marshon Brooks Rising Up Draft Boards - 5/26
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Alec Burks Connected to Bobcats - 5/24
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Combine Measurements - 5/21
Thunder Really Likes Kyle Singler? - 5/21
2011 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Day 1 - 5/20
2011 NBA Draft Lottery Odds Breakdown - 5/16
2011 NBA Free Agents - 5/3
NBA Offseason and Draft Blog - Home







2015 NBA Mock Draft

2016 NBA Mock Draft

2014 NBA Draft Prospect Rankings: C | PF | COMBO-F | SF | COMBO-G | SG | PG





NFL Power Rankings - Feb. 22


2024 NFL Mock Draft - Feb. 21


Fantasy Football Rankings - Feb. 19


NFL Picks - Feb. 12