SportsTicker
News Feed
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2003
- Messages
- 6,105
- Likes
- 9
- Points
- 38
The 'Ya Never Know' Department
Everyone (including me) was certain in the off season that the Nets had made a mistake in not making the 2006 Draft Night deal in which Richard Jefferson would have been sent to the Bulls for Luol Deng and a pick, either the Bulls pick at #4 or #16. The Nets wanted #4. Bulls were offering #16.</p>
Right now, I am not sure that even if the Nets convinced the Bulls to give them Tyrus Thomas along with Deng, it would have been that good of a deal.</p>
Deng has been one of the biggest individual disappointments in the NBA, averaging 14.6 and 6.0, while RJ is averaging 10 more points and .7 fewer rebounds. Deng's excuses are that he has been distracted by the Kobe trade rumors and/or his contract negotiations. If that is really true, he has a lot more maturing to do.</p>
Meanwhile, Thomas, born one month before Sean Williams, is not playing like an overall #4 pick. In every key category but rebounding, Williams is putting up better numbers. In rebounding, we are talking about a .4 per game difference while playing two more minutes a game. In scoring, it's 8.9 to 6.9, in rebounding, it's 4.6 to 5.0, in shot-blocking it's 2.2 to 1.0, in shooting percentage it's 62.8% to 43.9%, in free throw shooting, it's 70.3% to 47.8%. Nets would not have taken Williams if they had picked up Thomas. ESPN has a story this morning suggesting Thomas could be a bust.</p>
Simultaneously, the Nets were trying that night to trade their two first round picks for Seattle's pick at #10 so they could take either Hilton Armstrong or Saer Sene. Seattle almost pulled the trigger but was unsure that the swingman they really liked, Shannon Brown, would be available at #22 or #23. Even with Boone's inconsistency, that deal would have sucked. (Might have sucked for Seattle too!) So writes Filip Bondy in the epilogue to his new book on the 1984 draft, Tip-Off.</p>
</p>
</p>
Everyone (including me) was certain in the off season that the Nets had made a mistake in not making the 2006 Draft Night deal in which Richard Jefferson would have been sent to the Bulls for Luol Deng and a pick, either the Bulls pick at #4 or #16. The Nets wanted #4. Bulls were offering #16.</p>
Right now, I am not sure that even if the Nets convinced the Bulls to give them Tyrus Thomas along with Deng, it would have been that good of a deal.</p>
Deng has been one of the biggest individual disappointments in the NBA, averaging 14.6 and 6.0, while RJ is averaging 10 more points and .7 fewer rebounds. Deng's excuses are that he has been distracted by the Kobe trade rumors and/or his contract negotiations. If that is really true, he has a lot more maturing to do.</p>
Meanwhile, Thomas, born one month before Sean Williams, is not playing like an overall #4 pick. In every key category but rebounding, Williams is putting up better numbers. In rebounding, we are talking about a .4 per game difference while playing two more minutes a game. In scoring, it's 8.9 to 6.9, in rebounding, it's 4.6 to 5.0, in shot-blocking it's 2.2 to 1.0, in shooting percentage it's 62.8% to 43.9%, in free throw shooting, it's 70.3% to 47.8%. Nets would not have taken Williams if they had picked up Thomas. ESPN has a story this morning suggesting Thomas could be a bust.</p>
Simultaneously, the Nets were trying that night to trade their two first round picks for Seattle's pick at #10 so they could take either Hilton Armstrong or Saer Sene. Seattle almost pulled the trigger but was unsure that the swingman they really liked, Shannon Brown, would be available at #22 or #23. Even with Boone's inconsistency, that deal would have sucked. (Might have sucked for Seattle too!) So writes Filip Bondy in the epilogue to his new book on the 1984 draft, Tip-Off.</p>
</p>
</p>
