Basketball Blog

InsideHoops.com NewsWire: The Milwaukee Bucks have signed forward Awvee Storey to a multi-year contract, General Manager Larry Harris announced today. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Storey was a member of the Bucks 2007 Las Vegas Summer League Team, where he maintained averages of 11.0 points and 4.2 rebounds over five games.

“Awvee is a hard-nosed, aggressive player who brings depth to our roster at the guard and small forward positions,” said Harris. “He’s an excellent athlete and a solid defender who will be a good addition to our team.”

Undrafted out of Arizona State University, Storey, 30, has spent the last five seasons playing overseas as well as having stints in the NBA, NBA Development League, CBA and the United States Basketball League. During the 2006-07 season, Storey saw action in 16 games for Braunschweig of the German League and averaged 10.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Before signing with Braunschweig in early 2007, Storey played in three games for the Dakota Wizards of the D-League. As a Wizard, he averaged 9.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

In 2005-06, Storey appeared in 25 games for the Washington Wizards, averaging 1.7 points in 4.6 minutes per game. Storey also played in nine games with the New Jersey Nets during the 2004-05 season. After being released by the Nets in 2004, Storey had a brief stint with the Idaho Stampede of the CBA before finishing up the 04-05 season with the Wonju TG Sambo Xers of the Korean League. He appeared in 23 games with the Sambo Xers, posting averages of 14.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, helping lead the Sambo Xers to the 2005 KBL championship. From 2002-2004, Storey spent time playing professionally in Venezuela, Korea and the USBL.

A native of Chicago, Storey enjoyed a successful collegiate career at Arizona State University. He earned All-Pac 10 Honorable Mention honors in 2001 after posting career-highs in points (13.1) and rebounds (9.1).

By Jeff Lenchiner, editor of InsideHoops.com

InsideHoops.com reports that the practice select squad, which will help Team USA prepare for real competition, includes: LaMarcus Aldridge (Portland Trail Blazers); Aaron Brooks (Houston Rockets); Monta Ellis (Golden State Warriors); Channing Frye (Portland Trail Blazers); Jeff Green (Seattle SuperSonics); Devin Harris (Dallas Mavericks); Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers); Al Jefferson (Minnesota Timberwolves); Jason Kapono (Toronto Raptors); and David Lee (New York Knicks).

Various reports have named pretty much all these players already, but now it’s official.

InsideHoops.com NewsWire: Tuesday at 2PM Timberwolves Owner Glen Taylor, VP of Basketball Operations Kevin McHale, head coach Randy Wittman and newly acquired players will all talk with the media to discuss the big trade and everything else.

It’ll be interesting to hear what McHale says. Check the InsideHoops.com NBA rumors page that evening, when we’ll quote everyone and everything

IV. The Money

On CSI (doesn’t matter which one, the format is always the same) when we get to the last 10 minutes and the mystery is yet to be solved, the main character looks up knowingly and says to his team “just follow the money”, because money is the root of the evil (so says those of us without it, anyway).

There is money to be made in these FIBA competitions. There is a the big one – TV rights – and of course the jerseys, concessions, tickets, ad sales, etc. It doesn’t take a media genius to know that whatever the asking price is for the TV rights, it goes up when NBA players – and specifically Team USA is involved. Everyone wants to watch the famous “superstars” get beat. Further, as discussed in prior entries – FIBA makes the upset likely.

We know that the money does not go to the players who we are tuning in to watch. The money is being made off of their talent, their appeal, their practice, their hard work and our media’s ability to criticize them when they lose. Its also being made off their risk of injury…but they won’t see that nice FIBA TV cash.

Money also does not go to the teams paying these players salaries. This is particularly odd because it is the teams who are taking all the risk. For example, if Kobe Bryant/Chris Bosh/LeBron, etc. gets hurt in FIBA competition, Team USA will find a replacement or will lose. If Kobe Bryant gets hurt, his salary is still guaranteed by the LA Lakers. So barring a career ending injury, he’ll still get paid and will survive to sign another big deal.

But if Kobe Bryant gets hurt, the Lakers will take a huge loss on his salary. The team will also be weakened, through no fault or profit of their own. They will miss the playoffs and by enduring a losing season with a star player on the bench, it will cost them ad revenue and ticket sales. Moreover, the NBA, which struggles for its own ratings, loses one of its main attractions. Fans lose their ability to see a quality team play, which is why we buy tickets in the first place.

Clearly, we all know injury is part of the game. However, there is a big difference between a player being hurt playing on its employers behalf and not. When playing on the Lakers behalf, the Lakers can control how many minutes, the treatment before the game, the practices in between games, etc. In FIBA, the guys paying the money have no control.

Ask the owners of the Memphis Grizzlies what they went through last year. Their team was team barely hanging on to profitability and a spot in the playoffs. A FIBA summer and Gasol injury later, their team is mired in losing, Fratello loses his job, their fan base gets smaller and NBA fans are robbed of a good team. Grizzly owners are robbed of millions.

So what about that money – the money FIBA makes from selling the rights to broadcast these players, and all the extra money realized when Team USA is there? It doesn’t go to the people with risk, the people who we are tuning in to see – it goes to, who else – FIBA. They have no risk and no talent and no expenses. Maybe the FIBA money gets split amongst the participating teams – who also have no risk, but get their own jersey and sponsorship money.

Want to be fair, here’s fair:

• Team USA (or other), with all its unrealized FIBA money, should insure the teams of the players competing in a FIBA competition. Team Spain, for example, buys a policy insuring Gasol for any games missed for the season following a FIBA summer. At least, then, the contract is paid for – the other revenue losses cannot really be calculated with certainty, but Gasol’s per game payment can be calculated and paid by insurance.

• Give some of that nice FIBA money to NBA team owners with participating players. Want my player to go? He’s under contract. Pay me.

NBA must get these concessions for its teams or the NBA involvement with FIBA must end. It should be easy. The NBA holds all the cards. All the money in FIBA is entrenched in the NBA. Since FIBA and Team USA want their free money, they’ll do whatever the NBA says to keep the lazy greedy NBA players (who get no money and take on the extra work voluntarily) in the competition.

NBA contracts are pretty clear. Players under contract in season and out. Players are not allowed to ride motorcycles, fly planes or engage in other dangerous activities. The clauses are not for the player’s safety, its for the owner’s security. Yet, somehow, they are allowed to have 7 foot behemoths pound on them for 40 minutes a night, without any protection from the refs….and FIBA gets all the money.

More to come.

answerman@insidehoops.net

Bucks schedule highlights

The 2007-08 NBA schedule was released today, which means that it’s officially acceptable to start getting hyped about the upcoming season (which is now only 90 days away!). Here are some of the obvious highlights:

Wed Oct 31 – Opening night against the new Magic duo of Dwight Howard and ‘Shard Lewis
Sat Nov 3 – Home opener vs Chicago
Fri Nov 9 – Yao vs Yi (or am I being too optimistic?)
Tue Nov 27 – 11 of next 15 games against easy teams – opportunity to break away from the pack
Fri Dec 7 – “What Could Have Been” weekend – first look at Durant followed by Sun Dec 9, first look at Oden
Fri Dec 14 – The newly star-studded Celtics
Fri Jan 4 – Battle of the Bogut vs Etan Thomas
Fri Jan 11 – Bucks’ sole TNT/ABC/ESPN game of the season against Lakers
Yao vs Yi part 2, televised on NBATV
Sat Feb 9 – Easy three game homestand leading up to the allstar break (Knicks, Clippers, Hornets)
Wed Mar 5 – Yet another Durant/Oden back to back
Sat Mar 22 – Home game against Lebron, televised on NBATV
Tue Apr 1 – Fight to the death against the 8th seed hopefuls – Knicks, Wizards, Pacers x2, Nets

The full schedule is available at:
http://www.nba.com/bucks/schedule/results_2007.html

I think it’s convenient to break the season down into the following “trimesters” for sake of analysis:

Opening Night through Christmas – 26 games (12 home, 14 away)
This stretch of the season includes 15 games against lotto teams (Magic x2, Bobcats x2, Grizzlies, Hawks x2, Sixers, Knicks, Clippers, Sonics, Blazers, Kings x2, Wolves), and 11 games against probable playoff teams (Bulls, Raptors, Rockets, Spurs, Cavs x2, Lakers, Mavs, Pistons, Warriors, Celtics). Although there are more away games than home, it’s a pretty nice opportunity to ease into the season against some weak teams.

December 26 through the All-Star Break – 27 games (12 home, 15 away)
This stretch includes 12 games against lotto teams (Wizards x2, Bobcats, Sixers x2, Hawks, Hornets x2, Pacers, Grizzlies, Knicks, Clippers) and 15 games against probable playoff teams (Nuggets, Bulls, Nets x2, Pistons, Heat x2, Lakers, Suns x2, Jazz, Warriors, Raptors, Rockets, Mavs). This is going to be a tough six weeks. The combination of lots of away games and lots of games against playoff teams will tell us all we need to know about what the Bucks are made of.

The end of this stretch of games will roughly coincide with the trade deadline, so if the season isn’t going according to plan, things could get very ugly. With Larry Harris’s lame duck status as General Manager, will he be allowed to make knee-jerk trades that impact the future of the team?

My gut tells me that if Larry Harris is to keep his job, his contract will be renewed at this time, and he will be given the green light to make some small trades that leave the Bucks in good shape for the playoff run. If Larry’s version of the Bucks is clearly headed for the lottery, any number of scenarios could happen. He could simply be handcuffed from making trades as the team limps through the remainder of the season, or he could be fired on the spot so that his successor has an opportunity chance to get started on the rebuild.

In my opinion, the team needs to be on pace for 38 wins (.463) at this point to even bother fighting for the playoffs with the core that Harris has assembled. That’s roughly 25 games at this point. If the team can win that many, it makes sense to try and aquire another veteran for the depth chart and charge onward.

The Playoff Push – 29 games (17 home, 12 away)
This stretch includes 12 games against lotto teams (Pacers x3, Sonics, Blazers, Sixers, Wizards x2, Hawks, Magic, Knicks, Wolves), and 17 games against probable playoff teams (Pistons x2, Nuggets, Cavs x2, Nets x2, Spurs, Jazz, Celtics x3, Heat x2, Bulls x2, Raptors). It’s hard to know whether this is a glass half empty schedule loaded with playoff teams, or a glass half full schedule loaded with home games. Hopefully we’ll know more about how the team performs at home vs on the road, and against good teams vs against bad teams before this time comes.

Should be a great season!

InsideHoops.com NewsWire: The New Jersey Nets have named Brian Hill as an assistant coach and have rehired assistant coaches Tom Barrise and Pat Sullivan, Nets President Rod Thorn announced today. Hill, Barrise and Sullivan will join Bill Cartwright on Head Coach Lawrence Frank’s coaching staff for the 2007-08 season.

Every season there are a handful of players who go from zero to hero. I’ve compiled a list of mostly lesser known players players who I think have the best chance of making a big splash next season.

Rajon Rondo (PG) – Rondo seems to be almost guaranteed to have a big season after the exciting turn of events for the Celtics this summer. Although his jumpshot is weak, he will have plenty of finishers to capitalize on his court vision and speed. Did I mention his freakish rebounding skills for a little man? The Big Three will make him a better player.

Randy Foye (G) – Randy Foye would’ve seriously competed for the ROY award last year if he played starter’s minutes. Dwayne Casey didn’t want to throw him into the fire and he didn’t get as much experience as he should have. Next season I expect him to showcase his innate scoring ability and surprising strength. He should see a much bigger role and might be Minnesota’s best player.

Ronnie Brewer (SG) – Ronnie had a very efficient rookie season and I expect more success to come with more opportunity next season. His defense is great and his athleticism allows him to score with ease around the basket. If he can earn Sloan’s respect then I’m certain he will be a breakout player next year.

Dorell Wright (GF) – Dorell will be entering his 3rd year and I expect big things from him. He is a freak athlete and plays way above the rim. As a starter he averaged 7 rebounds in only 28 minutes last season. He’s one of those (much lesser) Shawn Marion type guys that doesn’t demand the ball to be productive on offense. He is also a good passer and shot-blocker. If Pat Riley gives him a chance next season I know he’ll blow up.

Amir Johnson (F) – Call me a homer but I think Amir is the league’s best kept secret. He is extremely long and fast, and uses this natural abillity to do most of his damage on hustle plays around the basket. At 7’0 tall he is skinny for his frame and can sometimes be out-muscled by bigger forwards. He has some range on his shot and is a fantastic fastbreak finisher. I predict he’s a sixth man of the year canidate if he gets at least 20 minutes.

Louis Admundson (FC) – This guy is an Anderson Varejao that plays good defense and blocks shots like a mad man. Not much of an offensive threat but he makes up for it with his rebounding and hustle. The Sixers are in need of rebounding and defense and they would do well to sign him to a 2 or 3 year deal. Give him the chance and he will produce.

Hottest news off the press right now is the “imminent” trade that will send Kevin Garnett to Boston for Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, and other spare parts. Garnett’s probably warmed up to playing for Boston knowing he’d team up with both the Truth and Ray Allen in the “Leastern” Conference. If the trade goes through, Boston becomes the immediate favorite in the East, as they’re the only team with at least two legit superstars in the whole conference.

ESPN had some misses in June, though. There were at least three “imminent” trades on draft night, and none of them went through. The only trades that did happen (Allen to Boston; Randolph to New York) were those ESPN had no idea about until they were announced…

Milwaukee decided to pony up the cash to keep rising stud Mo Williams for six years and over $50 million. The Bucks are hoping that their young core of Williams, Andrew Bogut, Charlie Villanueva, and star guard Michael Redd will be healthy long enough to become as legit as an Eastern Conference team can claim to be…

Ironically, Williams is head of a program called “Mo’s Making Money Matter.” The program teaches and encourages kids to “learn the value of saving money.” It’s a sure bet he gave a great speech to kids right after inking his new deal…

Morris Peterson departed Toronto for the first time in his career, signing with the New Orleans Hornets. GM Jeff Bower said, “Morris was our top free agent target this summer.” Aim small, miss small, right?

Coach Lawrence Frank of New Jersey received a multi-year extension this past week. Apparently he’s the Nets’ winningest coach with a record of 157-129. Never-mind the fact that his record’s winning percentage equals .549, or that he’s never taken a team with Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson to the Finals coming out of the Eastern Conference. There’s no way Brooklyn natives will put up with that once the Nets move there…

Former Stanford sniper Casey Jacobsen signed with the Grizzlies in an attempt to resurrect his NBA career. If Marc Iavaroni’s offense has the effect on former bit players like his mentor D’Antoni, a career year for Jacobsen is already assured…

Laker castoff Smush Parker signed with the Heat for two years, and didn’t hesitate in comparing his former All-Star teammate (Kobe) to his new one (D-Wade). “D-Wade is more of a people person than Kobe. I’m looking forward to jelling with Wade, and playing with him,” said Smush to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

In light of those comments, it’s almost a shame that the NBA and ABC cancelled their annual X-Mas game of Heat vs. Lakers. It would’ve been amusing for the writers and commentators to bring up Parker’s comments before the game, and then watch Bryant burn Parker and the Heat for at least forty…

Instead of Heat/Lakers, fans will be treated to Heat vs. Cavaliers (a.k.a. Wade vs. LeBron). The level of competition should be pretty equal. Udonis Haslem and Drew Gooden should neutralize each other’s blue collar work. Big Z and Shaq will be the slow, plodding shadows of their former selves. The outside shooting will be atrocious, and whoever is better between Wade and LeBron will decide who comes out victorious…

Bulls.com interviewed Joakim Noah, and asked him if he’d stop being a Knicks fan since putting on a Bulls uniform. Noah’s response? “I actually haven’t liked the Knicks for awhile. The last Knicks teams that I really followed were before Patrick Ewing left. Since then, I’ve kind of divorced my affiliation with the Knicks.” Join the club…

The rumors of a Kevin Garnett trade for 5, count ’em, 5 Celtics are making the rounds. It’s a little premature to comment on this, since nothing’s been formally laid out, but if this pans out, Celtics GM Ainge has put a lot of chips on the craps table with this.

You’ve got a 2-year window with the core of KG, Ray Allen and Mr. Celtic, Paul Pierce. Age and contracts are both factors there. However, you’ve got a very nice set of shooting guard, small forward and power forward there. The problem is, what do you have past that? Figure Rajon Rondo (if not part of the deal) is at the point, with Tony Allen possibly filling in as a combo guard… assuming he’s back from that ACL injury. (Its dangerous to count too heavily on someone coming off knee surgery — ask the Knicks.) At center, Kedrick Perkins isn’t exactly inspiring fear, even in the East. Past him, does anybody think Big Baby Davis can get away with playing center in the East? That’s the next biggest body.

But after the trade, you’re basically left with rookies, second year players and Brian Scalabrine who’s shown precious little since leaving the Nets.

There do look to be some open slots on the roster, so let’s not kid around – if this deal is what’s being reported, free agency makes or breaks the C’s play-off penetration. They need a center, they need an experienced point and they need bench. If Ainge can get some of the remaining B-listers out there to sign for veteran’s minimum and try to “win one for Gipper(s),” it’s the East and they have a fighting chance to make it to the finals. If not, and there aren’t any injuries, Boston makes it to the playoffs, but could fade quickly.

As for injuries, check out the Nets of recent vintage when something happens to one of their Big 3. Until we see some semblence of a bench, we’re looking at something similar to the Nets. Are KG, Allen and Pierce better than Kidd, Carter and Jefferson? It’s the Atlantic and that’s a question you want to be asking yourself, along with “Is Krstic or Magloire better than Perkins?”

That’s my reality check on this rumor. Time to sit back, see who really gets traded, and who ends up signing to fill out the roster. One thing’s for sure, the potential for the C’s to be just plain awful in 3-4 years is also there, but they’re going to take their shot now and I wouldn’t begrudge that to anyone involved.

With the recent announcement that Andre Igoudala has been invited to join several other promising young players at scrimmage in preparation for the FIBA America Championships word is also spreading that Billy King is in talks with Igoudala’s agent, Rob Pelinka, in regards to a possible extension for rising star. However, one must question whether this is the appropriate time to discuss a contract extension for Igoudala. This summer has already been marked by the tragic overpayment of Rashard Lewis. Now, despite Igoudala’s talent and potential, 76ers fans should be a little nervous about what Billy King and his historically generous front office is prepared to offer to young player.