Tag Archives: Eric Gordon

Randolph, not Alexander has had the inside track in Bucks draft

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I’m sticking with my earlier prediction that Hammond is working to move this pick, or trade whomever the Bucks draft — which may or may not explain why West Virginia’s Joe Alexander was in town today for a second visit with the Bucks. Until now, LSU’s Anthony Randolph has been viewed as the Bucks likely top choice, though there are concerns now that other teams are re-positioning ahead of the Bucks and Randolph may be gone by the time the Bucks draft at #8.

What makes me say this when all draft speculators have the Bucks taking Alexander with the #8 pick and Randolph slipping out of the top 10? For starters, I was at the June 6 workout of Randolph, Alexander and Donte Green of Syracuse. The man of the day was Randolph.

As the media straggled into the court area at the Cousins Center and the players reached for the gatorade on the sidelines, Bucks assistant Joe Wolf strode up to Randolph and the two 6’10″ers exchanged an emphatic high five. I’d say things went very well for Randolph in Milwaukee. In the post-workout interviews, Randolph declared himself the best player on the floor. I don’t think there is much doubt about this in the Bucks camp. Later that day, Coach Scott Skiles and Randolph were reportedly spotted Downtown eating dinner together.

Alexander and Green were also feeling the Bucks’ pro-Randolph vibe. Alexander hung around on the court taking in a few extra high post pointers from Bucks assistant Kelvin Sampson (no harm in kissing up to the coaches). Green decided he needed to show the media some of his stuff and slammed home a couple of high flying dunks on a side-basket. It worked — Green’s an impressive athlete and would be a good pick anywhere out of the top five or six in this draft. Green may yet sneak in to the Bucks plans.

I’d be very surprised if anyone in the media came away from the Cousins Center with the impression that Joe Alexander would be the pick. Journal Sentinel columnist Michael Hunt said as much in his column yesterday, writing that Randolph will likely be taken higher than #8. Here’s the excerpt:

“’Everything’s in play,’ Hammond said recently. ‘Was, still is and probably will remain that way probably right up until draft day. We’re going to explore every option that we can to improve our team, and, as we said, potentially maybe even move the pick.’

That’s good, because LSU’s Anthony Randolph, the 6-10 forward who was probably the best option that worked out for the Bucks, will likely be gone by then. Draft-day trades, though, have become more and more uncommon in the NBA, so it’s possible the new and promising regime will have to take this reclamation project deep into the summer.”

The New York Daily News yesterday echoed the Hunt (and BBJinx) take on Randolph.

The Bucks are sending out strong signals that they like LSU’s Anthony Randolph at No. 8. A legitimate 6-10, Randolph has been called a cross between Tayshaun Prince and Odom. But West Virginia small forward Joe Alexander, a hard-nosed worker, is seen as a better fit with new coach Scott Skiles. …

You know whoSo why does ESPN’s Chad Ford have Randolph possibly “slipping out of the lottery” in his latest Mock Draft? Ford writes:

“A number of young, inexperienced bigs have been hurting themselves in workouts. It’s now a possibility that LSU’s Anthony Randolph falls out of the lottery. Texas A&M’s DeAndre Jordan, Nevada’s JaVale McGee and Florida’s Marreese Speights might not hear their names called until the 20th pick or after.”

Ford doesn’t talk to teams as much as he talks to agents, which means whatever he’s got happening with Randolph probably serves the interest of a sports agent or two.

(Since originally posting this, a little research revealed that Randolph’s rep is former Chicago Bull B.J. Armstrong of the Arn Tellem agency. Armstrong, a teammate of Bulls GM John Paxson on the 1992 and 1993 Bulls championship teams, also happens to be the rep for one Derrick Rose. Employing the Chad Ford principle we can assume that Armstrong is one of Ford’s primary sources regarding not only Rose and the debate over who the Bulls will pick, but Randolph as well.)

Ford wrote in his mock draft last week that Randolph may now be perceived to be a headcase (Brewhoop notes it here.) That’s probably a seed planted by Armstrong or other interested parties who want to see certain teams take a pass on Randolph. It’s not all that clear what the Sonics, Grizzlies or Knicks will do ahead of the Bucks — and the Grizzlies and Knicks at least have had interest in Randolph or Alexander or both.

(Brewhoop today notes that weeks ago Ford had Randolph in the top 5 talent-wise, a good sales pitch by Armstrong right about the time of the Randolph-Alexander Bucks workout. Armstrong and Ford seem to either have Randolph high out of the Bucks reach or too low for the Bucks to dip for. Go figure.)

Expect Ford, ever the accomplice for NBA agents, to be wrong on this one, and Hunt to be the writer who’s got the Bucks and Randolph in better focus.

Ford also has Eric Gordon now going to the Memphis Grizzlies at the #5 spot — that’s a first for Gordon in these mock drafts — and writes that he “would be shocked” if the Bulls took Beasley over Rose.

I’d be shocked if Chad Ford is on target.

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Here’s an interesting analysis from Adi Joseph on NBADraft.Net. Joseph points out that many players in this draft are struggling to fit an NBA position, and that a little pessimism might be in order for fans of lottery teams.

“Alexander can’t handle or shoot well enough to truly play on the wing, but he’s too short for the post. He’s definitely got some Shawn Marion in him, but often players with similar skill sets struggle to find their offensive games in the NBA.

Randolph is being compared to Chris Bosh. But he struggled with his efficiency as a freshman, turning the ball over 3 times per game and shooting just 46% from the field. And he’s rail-thin and had the worst bench press results at the Orlando predraft camp. He’ll have to bulk up big time to ever play in the post. But his 2-of-19 shooting from three-point range will need to improve if he expects any respect from defenders at the NBA level.”

Ouch. Joseph might even be meaner than I am!

Rumor central: Redd on the trading block… Eric Gordon’s the pick apparent

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No question about it — as you read here last week — Michael Redd is officially on the trading block. And with that realization this week, national sports media scrapped its conventional wisdom on what the Bucks will do with their lottery pick.

Bucks GM John Hammond has been contacting other GMs to scout out trade interest, with Redd featured prominently in those discussions, reported Racine Journal Times Bucks writer Gery Woelfel in his Tuesday column. Woelfel also reported that Charlie Villanueva is a focus of interest from the GMs Hammond has talked to. Hammond’s search for a small forward is on.

“In a recent interview with The Journal Times, Bucks general manager John Hammond said the one position he would like to ‘address’ is small forward. Desmond Mason and Bobby Simmons are the Bucks’ current small forwards and both are coming off pedestrian seasons,” Woelfel wrote.

“Hammond could find a potentially good forward in the draft with the team’s eighth overall pick. There is also increasing speculation small forward Ersan Ilyasova, whom the Bucks selected in the second round of the 2005 draft and who spent this season playing for FC Barcelona in Spain, will return to the Bucks next season.

Hammond could also acquire a veteran small forward via a trade. There are a surprising glut of talented small forwards who could be dealt, including Denver’s Carmelo Anthony, Miami’s Shawn Marion, the Clippers Corey Maggette, Sacramento’s Ron Artest, Washington’s Antawn Jamison and Chicago’s Andres Nocioni.”

Add to that list Dallas SF Josh Howard, Utah’s Andrei Kirkilenko and the Nets’ Richard Jefferson. Most of these forwards have contracts comparable to Redd’s, making the trades viable.

The CNN-Sports Illustrated NBA site has the Woelfel story linked in its rumor section. Join the discussion about it here on the Sportsbubbler fan forum.

ESPN’s NBA Rumor Central got into the action, featuring Michael Redd trade talks today. It’s an Insider story – a pay feature – and this is not an endorsement. If you’re not in the mood to give ESPN money, wildly speculate as I do.

As of Tuesday, it was assumed the Bucks were looking for a point guard in the draft (which they’re not). Many mock draft sites, ESPN and SI included, had the Bucks taking Texas point guard D.J. Augustin with the #7 pick.

I wildly speculate that national sports media doesn’t pay that much attention to the Bucks unless the team is trying to acquire a coach or player that the NY Knicks want. But then Woelfel’s column hit the rumor mills, Bucks GM John Hammond, I’m sure, had a few conversations when he was in NY/NJ for the lottery, sources were called, some journalism got done and suddenly the national sports media realized what the Bucks and Hammond are up to this summer.

By Wednesday, Indiana shooting guard Eric Gordon was the consensus pick, Augustin was out of the picture and Redd was on the trading block, with Hammond scouting for a small forward and willing to trade Redd to get one. What a difference a few hours makes.

Sports Illustrated:

“[Gordon]’s the best player available here, an explosive scorer with a solid family background. His arrival may allow the Bucks to move Michael Redd’s enormous salary if they’re so disposed.”

ESPN Insider Chad Ford

“Milwaukee could go in a lot of different directions. Its biggest need is at small forward, but this may be too high to draft Joe Alexander or Donte Greene. With the Bucks expected to be active on the trade market this summer, they can draft the best available player and then work things out later. Gordon is a dynamic scorer who could free up the Bucks to trade Michael Redd.”

A pitfall to this scenario is that Gordon could be gone when the Bucks pick, unless Hammond is able to trade up, which doesn’t seem likely. The culprit would be the L.A. Clippers, drafting ahead of the Bucks at #7. The concensus seems to be that Gordon would be the best player available at #7, but that the Clippers need a point guard and seem likely to draft for need rather than go into next season with Dan Dickau as the starting point guard.

If the Clippers take “the best player available” route and draft Gordon, the Bucks would be looking at a couple of small point guards, “project” forwards Anthony Randolph and Donte Green, maybe UCLA’s Kevin Love, who would only crowd the power forward position further for the Bucks. Italian small forward Danilo Gallinari‘s stock is rising, and it seems unlikely he’ll be available at #8.

If Gordon is gone, the Bucks would do well to swap the pick for a lower pick to trigger any number of trades, especially when dealing with Western Conference playoff teams.

Brewhoop’s take on the Woelfel column notes that it may be tricky putting the pick in play in trades involving some key players because of the NBA’s base year compensation (BYC) rules. For example, the Bucks can’t trade the pick to Dallas with Michael Redd in a deal for Josh Howard because Dallas can’t do a Redd-Howard deal until after July 1. (Bucks would have to draft on behalf of Dallas or swap picks with the Mavs for future considerations). Howard received a big raise last summer, so for trading purposes, his salary doesn’t yet count fully against Redd’s, and is still tied to his base year salary of 2006-07.

In an NBA trade, the salaries going out have to match the salaries coming in, give or take 25 percent. The base year rule prevents a team from giving a player a big raise simply to make the salaries in a trade work. A team giving a big raise to a player is forced to wait a year before trading that player to ensure against salary shenanigans. Any trade involving Mo Williams would have to wait as well, Brew Hoop points out. (Mo got a $5.8 million raise last summer).

This is important because the Dallas Mavericks are a good possibilty for a Redd trade, given the Mavs stable of aging shooting guards and an early exit from the playoffs at the hands of the Hornets. Howard fits the bill as a small forward Hammond will likely be inquiring about. This trade is also known as Brewhoop’s favorite Michael Redd trade.

Bucks Diary doesn’t think too highly of this year’s lottery talent. His verdict: “It stinks!” Now, if you invert it … BD makes a good argument for there being more NBA-ready players projected to go in the lower half of the first round. Richard Hendrix, Joe Alexander, Mo Spaights, Ryan Anderson, et al. “The Bucks have to trade out of the lottery. The gold is all down stream!”

Who’s afraid of Kelvin Sampson?

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Bucks coach Scott Skiles confirmed this week that he is set to hire Jim Boylan, who was his top assistant in Chicago, and is pursuing Kelvin Sampson, Lionel Hollins and Joe Wolf as his three other assistants.

What’s that, you say? KELVIN SAMPSON – the coach ousted only two months ago from Indiana University? Kelvin Sampson is a terrible person. A cheater. A bad man. A disgraced coach who brushed up against the “moral turpitude” clauses at Basketball U and violated the rules of the honorable NCAA.

Ahhh, the “moral turpitude” of Bobby Knight University and its basketball program may forever be a work in progress. Turpitude, to quote my dictionary, equates to “baseness, vileness, depravity, or any action showing depravity.” The idea of turpitude was, in fact, raised by a lawyer in Indiana trying to figure out how the university could avoid contract liability to Sampson in the event they fired him. They did fire him, of course, and paid him off handsomely, so one can conclude that IU didn’t stand on its “moral turpitude” in dealing with Sampson.

But even that this “moral turpitude” clause was mentioned leads me to believe there are those at Indiana University who are far too sensitive about their coaches in the shadow of Bobby Knight, whose actions as a coach can only be described as inhumane. Baseness indeed. Hypocrites.

And as inviolate as the rules of the NCAA can be at times — is there really any pretense left about moral upright-ness? Pity the hundreds of millions made at the Big Dance and the profits of the Big Ten Network. Nevermind the never-ending rule-bending by coaches and arbitrary enforcement.

So what did Sampson do? It’s complicated, but ESPN ran a comprehensive story about Sampson’s violations back in February.  ESPN.com recapped the NCAA/Indiana investagations more recently in the story about Skiles’ intent to hire Sampson. It’s a bit shorter but packs a good punch.

In a nutshell, Sampson was found to have exceeded phone call limits and contact to recruits 2000-04 at Oklahoma, which led Indiana to place him on probation during his first year as Indiana coach 2006-07. The NCAA could not sanction Indiana for things Sampson did at Oklahoma, but Indiana took to it with gusto. The school shackled Sampson’s telephone usage, banned him from recruiting visits for a year and ratcheted up monitoring of Sampson’s staff. 

Although Sampson was not allowed to make calls,  text messaging was OK. He was in on ten speaker phone conference calls that were also deemed violations. Yeah, it sounds crazy, and it also sounds like Sampson and staff tested to the letter the limits of its probation, operating with a growing bunker mentality.

In October, the school announced that Sampson had violated his probation, having made about a hundred recruiting calls, and the NCAA launched a joint investigation with Indiana investigators this season, finding more violations. How many investigators were working this case?

In the end, Sampson stood accused of failing to create an atmosphere of compliance in running his staff (who also exceeded phone limits) and of the more serious charge of misleading Indiana and NCAA investigators, a charge he denies and has said he will fight.

Indiana’s position has been that the phone usage is “secondary” to the bigger issue of whether Sampson misled NCAA investigators. Of the “secondary” violations, one in particular stands out for me:

A recruit had signed on for a basketball camp at IU’s Assembly Hall, and Sampson had an “impermissablel contact” with him. (It was Indiana and Sampson’s camp). An assistant, Jeff Meyer, also had “impermissable contact” and stands accused of giving the kid a t-shirt and a gym bag, which are the kinds of things players receive when they attend a baskeptball camp. These camps are rarely free. 

I used to get t-shirts at the camps I went to. I got a pair of Pro Keds at a blue chip camp in Kentucky. I hope that was OK in the eyes of the NCAA.

T-shirts, gym bags, phone calls. Indiana reporting itself. It sounds to me as though there were Indiana boosters who never wanted Sampson in the first place, and more or less made sure he was put in a noose when the NCAA announced the Oklahoma sanctions — two months after he took the Indiana job. 

The athletic department at morally turpitudenous Bobby Knight University is apparently unaware that there are federal laws against creating this sort of work environment.

Up until this year, however, folks in Indiana thought quite highly of Kelvin Sampson. Check out this glowing coach Sampson bio still up on the university website. (It’s the same as the one linked above with KELVIN SAMPSON-all caps.)

In the NBA, a coach can use the phone all he wants. If Sampson’s boy Eric Gordon is drafted by another team, he and Gordon can remain friends and no one will send a team of investigators to monitor their conversations. NBA coaches also get to sit in on conference calls but don’t have to worry much about shoes and gym bags – the shoe and bag companies are all over it.

Looking at Sampson’s bio, he would be a great hire for Skiles if the Bucks can seal the deal. Let’s hope Herb Kohl accepts his new assistant coach. I doubt the senator will lose any votes over it. 

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Most impressive about Kelvin Sampson is his USA basketball experience, which is extensive. He’s got plenty of experience working with pro players, so the transition from college to pro personalities shouldn’t be much of a problem for Sampson. Here’s some of the bio:

“He was the head coach of the 2004 USA Basketball World Championship for Young Men qualifying team that posted a 5-0 record and earned a gold medal in Halifax, Nova Scotia. That 2004 squad featured former Hoosier standout Bracey Wright and captured the United States’ first gold medal in the event since 1996. Sampson, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and former Golden State Warriors coach Mike Montgomery were assistant coaches to George Karl on the 2002 USA Men’s World Championship team in Indianapolis. That squad included current NBA stars Paul Pierce, Michael Finley, Elton Brand and Baron Davis.

“In the summer of 1995, Sampson served as head coach of the USA Men’s Junior World Championship team that played in Larissa and Athens, Greece. That team featured current NBA players Vince Carter and Stephon Marbury. Sampson was an assistant coach to George Raveling on the 1994 USA Goodwill Games team that competed in St. Petersburg, Russia. Damon Stoudemire, Shawn Respert, Finley and Tim Duncan led that club to the bronze medal. Sampson began his USA Basketball tenure as the head coach of the 1993 Olympic Festival West team in San Antonio, Texas. Jerod Haase, Charles O’Bannon and Jerald Honeycutt helped that club to the silver medal.”