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.
All other e-mail, including advertising and link proposals, send to: wpc112@gmail.com



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   Joe 12-23-2011 11:05 am xxx.xxx.xxx.204 (total posts: 1) 54     26 Walt, I dont think you understand what the Amnesty Clause does. The contract doesnt count against the payroll, but you still have to pay the player. You dont just get out of the contract for free. There was no point in using it on Rashard Lewis, because he can still at least play. Even if you are paying him a ton of money, he can still give you decent minutes. Plus, next year, he is a huge expiring that can be used as a trade chip. Pete 12-23-2011 01:45 am xxx.xxx.xxx.167 (total posts: 1) 24     33 Dude Wizards don't amnesty Lewis because if they did, they would be significantly below the salary cap floor imposed on teams, forcing them to spend a bunch of money on an extremely weak free agent class. Makes sense that they wouldn't amnesty him because of that. Walter 12-23-2011 12:11 am xxx.xxx.xxx4.88 (total posts: 10) 142     24 Ugh, what page is that on? Editing at 3 am apparently isn't a good idea. Oh, and I'm always up this late during football season. My Russian gypsy neighbors are surprisingly quiet. Peter 12-22-2011 04:25 pm xxx.xxx.xxx0.62 (total posts: 1) 23     24 Walter - Aren't you an English major? Or should I say, Engrish major? "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." All kidding aside, you're doing a great job with this website. BTW, what are you doing up at 2:55 AM? Are the Russians keeping you up? Or are you trying to spy on the hot neighbor next door? Walter 12-22-2011 02:55 am xxx.xxx.xxx4.88 (total posts: 10) 20     19 Sorry about that. It was my fault (editing error). I posted the wrong logo. It's fixed. Fitz 12-20-2011 08:03 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.242 (total posts: 2) 21     20 Dude can you please correct that Davis for Bass trade. Bass plays for Orlando, not Dallas. It is the most annoying thing seeing that big of a mistake on an otherwise good website Fitz 12-19-2011 02:58 am xxx.xxx.xxx.242 (total posts: 2) 20     36 Bass plays for Orlando. Therefore Glen Davis is going to Orlando. Can you please correct this already Bro 12-16-2011 10:44 pm xxx.xxx.xxx0.89 (total posts: 1) 28     20 The Pistons bought out Rip Hamilton's contract so they could still use their amnesty on Ben Gordon. I was hoping that the Pistons wouldnt resign Tayshaun Prince so we could land the first pick of the draft and get a stud to join our young core of Greg Monroe, Austin Daye and Brandon Knight. But, the Pistons are stupid so they will rely on bums like Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon to win us out of a good draft pick and stay mediocre. Also... 12-16-2011 11:10 am xxx.xxx.xxx6.44 (total posts: 4) 26     20 The Pistons bought out Rip's contract, and didn't use their amnesty clause yet. God willing, Ben Gordon is next to go. What an idiot 12-16-2011 11:08 am xxx.xxx.xxx6.44 (total posts: 4) 23     21 Way to keep on your trades, Paul and Dave! Brandon Bass has been with the Magic for awhile now, kinda shocking Walt would let someone so in-ept write for his site. rossfelhofer 12-16-2011 01:16 am xxx.xxx.xxx4.43 (total posts: 1) 18     21 the clippers are not done in free agency yet, they are going to have to sign another big man A Chris Paul Fan 12-16-2011 12:23 am xxx.xxx.xxx.216 (total posts: 1) 19     20 Chris Paul is a great player, I think he's the best PG in the NBA and capable of making any team into an instant playoff team. That said the Clippers gave up way to much for a player with bad knees who may leave in a two years. If they'd been able to keep Gordon or the draft pick then i'd like the deal a lot more. If Paul stays healthy and long term it'll make it a lot less lopsided. As of now i'd say it's a big win for the Hornets considering that Paul was leaving anyways and this was the best deal they could have gotten. Of course if Eric Gordon realizes that New Orleans is a crappy basketball market and leaves as soon as possible it'll make it much worse for the Hornets. David 12-10-2011 09:40 am xxx.xxx.xxx.159 (total posts: 2) 41     17 Glen Davis was traded to the Magic... Bass was on the Magic and got traded to Boston Yung Rapist Killa 07-09-2011 10:59 am xxx.xxx.xxx.189 (total posts: 1) 23     20 Lebron James trade? John L. 07-07-2011 01:25 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.140 (total posts: 2) 21     22 "I don't quite completely understand. If the team cuts a player, and still has to pay the player's salary, what's the point of it?" So that they don't have to pay the luxury tax for that player. Which is eight figures for the likes of Walton/Haywood/Arenas. Pages: 1 2 3 45 6 7

2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 3

2014 NBA Mock Draft - April 25

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

2010-11 NBA Season Previews

2009 NBA Draft Grades





2013 Fantasy Football Rankings - May 19


Charlie's 2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 16


2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 15


2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 3


NFL Picks - Feb. 3