2012 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.
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2012 NBA Draft Losers - June 30


Indiana Pacers:
Now I get it, new Pacers' general manager Kevin Pritchard told Larry Bird that the team was going to use its first-round pick on Duke's Miles Plumlee. Bird was baffled by the decision, asked if Pritchard was joking, then resigned upon finding out Pritchard was serious. It all makes sense. Seriously though, I don't care if Plumlee is almost seven-foot and athletic for his size; did the Pacers not see how unproductive he was during his career at Duke? Never once did I watch Miles play and think, "Man, this dude is a first-round pick." Even if Orlando Johnson was a decent second-round pick-up, it by no means makes up for taking Plumlee so high. Baffling.



Houston Rockets:
After loading up picks and trying to move up, the Rockets struck out on their reported ultimate goal of landing Dwight Howard via trade. Therefore, Houston was stuck with three first-round picks and used the first one on Jeremy Lamb, whom I am not at all high on. Daryl Morey and his fascination of collecting assets took a pair of combo forwards at 16 and 18 in Royce White and Terrences Jones, respectively. It's like Morey has adopted Isiah Thomas' strategy of building a fantasy basketball team. They were decent value picks at the time, but how do White and Jones fit into a power forward rotation that already features Luis Scola, Patrick Patterson, Marcus Morris, and the recently acquired Jon Leuer and Jon Brockman? I guess White and Jones could play the three, but now the Rockets don't have a true big man on their roster. Unless a trade is coming in the near future, this could end up being a very poor draft for Houston.



Portland Trail Blazers:
To be honest, whichever team selected Meyers Leonard was going to end up in the "losers" category. I don't think Leonard is going to amount to diddley-poo. Portland should have played it safer with the 11th pick by selecting either Tyler Zeller or John Henson of North Carolina. Even with the sixth pick, I know the Blazers need a point guard, but I just feel like No. 6 was too high to take Damian Lillard. Will Barton was a great get at 40, but I would expect more from a team choosing twice during the lottery.



Recent NBA Draft and Offseason Blog Entries:

James Harden Trade Analysis - 10/29
What Will the USA Basketball Team Look Like at 2016 Summer Olympics? - 8/15
Dwight Howard Trade Analysis - 8/10
Restricted 2013 NBA Free Agents - 7/29
Unrestricted 2013 NBA Free Agents - 7/28
2012 NBA Offseason Winners - 7/23
2012 NBA Offseason Losers - 7/21
2012 NBA Free Agent Recap - 7/13
Outstanding 2013 NBA Draft Trades - 7/12
2012 NBA Free Agent Recap - 7/10
2012 NBA Free Agent Recap - 7/6
2012 NBA Free Agent Recap - 7/4
Atlanta Hawks' Trades Recap - 7/3
2012 NBA Free Agent Recap - 7/2
2012 NBA Draft Winners - 6/30
2012 NBA Draft Losers - 6/30
NBA Trade Analysis - 6/28
NBA Trade Analysis - 6/27
2012 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Perry Jones - More Risk or Reward? - 6/26
2012 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: John Henson One of NBA Draft's Most Overrated Players - 6/25
2012 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Vanderbilt to See Three Commodores Taken in NBA Draft - 6/22
Wizards-Hornets Trade Analysis - 6/21
2012 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Doron Lamb: Stepping out of Kentucky Shadows into NBA Draft - 6/20
2012 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Can Memphis' Will Barton Sneak into 1st round of 2012 NBA Draft? - 6/19
2012 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Baylor's Quincy Miller Made a Mistake by Entering NBA Draft - 6/16
2012 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Can Duke's Austin Rivers live up to the hype in the NBA? - 6/15
2012 NBA Draft Combine Coverage: Can Kansas' Tyshawn Taylor Be a True NBA Point Guard? - 6/14
2012 NBA Draft Lottery Odds Breakdown - 5/30
2012 NBA Trade Deadline: Winners - 3/19
2012 NBA Trade Deadline: Losers - 3/18
2012 NBA Trade Deadline: Five Players Likely to Be Traded - 3/8
2012 NBA Draft Outstanding Trades - 12/25
NBA Offseason and Draft Blog - Home

Leave a comment Name Comment Verification: click on image to refresh it   Mike 07-10-2012 09:58 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.150 (total posts: 1) 15     10 No mention of Ray Ray to the Heat??? SunsFan 07-06-2012 02:18 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.183 (total posts: 1) 12     51 Why the MOTHERF U C KING LAKERS!!!!!NASH WHY!!!! CJ 07-05-2012 07:11 pm xxx.xxx.xxx6.44 (total posts: 4) 79     30 Again Banks is clueless, claiming Eric Gordon has already re-signed with New Orleans. Also the 'Clippers' weren't involved in the Marvin Williams/Devin Harris trade. Does this guy even proof read anything he writes? Atrocious. abe 07-05-2012 08:39 am xxx.xxx.xxx1.87 (total posts: 1) 20     13 walt eric gordon is signing with the suns not the hornets Ben Wallace 07-04-2012 06:54 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.153 (total posts: 1) 27     72 To be totally honest, Henson and Zeller wouldn't be any better than Meyers Leonard. They are all going to bust. C-3PO 07-04-2012 05:27 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.234 (total posts: 1) 21     9 Eric Gordon signed an offer sheet with the Suns dumb @ss, New Orleans has yet to match that offer, so he didn't resign like you said. Geiger 07-03-2012 07:03 pm xxx.xxx.xxx3.66 (total posts: 2) 27     11 The Nets are not out of the running for Dwight and are offering a package of Humphris, Lopez and Brooks with draft picks..Its sad to even hear the Nets entertain that idea, but it very well could happen. A team to look out for is the Lakers..an offer of Bynum, Artest and the Odom exception for Howard and Turkaglus monster contract is a win-win for both teams. Geiger 07-03-2012 07:03 pm xxx.xxx.xxx3.66 (total posts: 2) 13     10 The Nets are not out of the running for Dwight and are offering a package of Humphris, Lopez and Brooks with draft picks..Its sad to even hear the Nets entertain that idea, but it very well could happen. A team to look out for is the Lakers..an offer of Bynum, Artest and the Odom exception for Howard and Turkaglus monster contract is a win-win for both teams. @CJ 07-03-2012 04:33 am xxx.xxx.xxx.104 (total posts: 1) 17     122 So basically you're asking Walt to fire one "clueless" dumbass for another? lol Whats the point? Rise Above CJ 06-30-2012 04:54 pm xxx.xxx.xxx6.44 (total posts: 4) 214     108 Paul Banks, yet again showing how clueless he is. Almost every other draft analyst has the Rockets' with a positive ranking. This clown does understand that the Rockets are likely to make trades, with all the assets they've compiled? I agree that Meyers Leonard is probably going to be a bust, but you can't call Portland a 'loser' for stealing the 6th pick from the Nets. How about a 'loser' ranking for the Cavs for reaching so much for Dion Waiters? Or trading all their other picks for another likely bust in Tyler Zeller? But Banks has a 'man crush' (not that there's anything wrong with that) on Waiters, so he'd never mark the Cavs down. Fire this guy Walt, I'll work for free! Ben 06-25-2012 09:00 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.254 (total posts: 1) 11     23 So....Henson is overrated because he has trouble keeping and putting on weight and strength. And you stated that size and strength is everything in the nba for a big. But....isn't Davis just as if not more lanky and undersized than Henson....? And Henson is only one year older and both have similar wingspans? Just a thought.. @Live 06-22-2012 10:10 am xxx.xxx.xxx6.15 (total posts: 1) 12     9 You are an idiot, you apparently don't know how basketball trades work, its all about salary dumping. IN the NBA you are either rebuilding, championship contender, or youar e going to stay consistently medicore. They were never going ot win a championship with Okafor and Ariza taking up that much money on their books. Live 06-22-2012 04:28 am xxx.xxx.xxx3.80 (total posts: 1) 9     70 Washington - B Hornets - Big fat F Sure the Hornets is going to waive Lewis and relieve cap space to sign Gordon to a longer deal and draft Anthony Davis but so what! They let go a great defensive guy that can hit 3s here and there. They got NOTHING in return for Ariza and Okafor but a 2nd rounder. I didn't like what the Hornets got in return and it was a bad deal IMO. Vince 06-19-2012 04:03 am xxx.xxx.xxx3.99 (total posts: 1) 42     9 It was a play on words, not a pun. More importantly, know who else couldn't bench press 185 pounds at the NBA Combine? This one player called Kevin Durant. Ben 04-15-2012 09:06 pm xxx.xxx.xxx7.65 (total posts: 1) 29     21 I like how only one of these players actually got traded Pages: 1 2 34 5 6 7

2013 NBA Mock Draft - June 12

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2013 NBA Draft Prospect Rankings: C | PF | COMBO-F | SF | COMBO-G | SG | PG

2011 NBA Mock Draft - June 23

2011 NBA Mock Draft - Walt's (June 21)

2011 NBA Mock Re-Draft

2010 NBA Mock Re-Draft

2009 NBA Mock Re-Draft

2011 NBA Draft Scouting Reports

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2013 Fantasy Football Rankings - June 19


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2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 22


NFL Picks - Feb. 3