beyond4lines

[beyond4lines]

Porzingod to Mavs

 The Dallas Mavericks just traded for Kristaps Porzingis to pair with Luka Doncic with Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr. to Follow the Latvian Forward. This trade can change both franchises future in different directions if the New York Knicks play free agency wrong. Before the injury, Porzingis was averaging 22.7 ppg with 2.4 blocks per game shooting almost 40% from 3 point range. If the Mavs get 80% amount of production from Porzingis after an ACL injury, he and Doncic could be a force to play against.

The two pieces going with Porzingis and Courtney Lee, and Tim Hardaway Jr. are a very good fit if they decide to keep them or flip for more assets. Getting Lee and Hardaway give the Mavs depth who could flourish in the right system and culture.     Courtney Lee before being iced out in New York averaged 12 ppg in 17-18 and 10.8 ppg in 16-17, shooting 40% from 3 in both seasons. Lee was part of the Hornets last playoff appearance in 2015-2016; during that season he averaged 8.9 ppg, 1.2 steals and shot 40% from 3 as a good partner for Kemba Walker. Some might say Lee is 2 years older and overpaid but his defense and shooting can be a good piece of the bench if paired with the right lineup.

Tim Hardaway Jr. is averaging 19.1 ppg this season and has been averaging double digits the past 3 seasons. He is a guy that can create his own shot and get to the rim and draw fouls, he averages 5 free throw attempts per game. I think with Doncic being the playmaker Hardaway will probably get easier and better looks that could make him a better player.  The Mavs are surrounding Luka with pieces that fit the time table and also fit his playstyle and Carlisle’s system.

With the Knicks, they receive Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, and Deandre Jordan and two future first round picks. The Knicks filled the need of a point guard for the futures as Frank Ntilikina has not shown promise to do that. Dennis Smith has all-star potential and is a decent defender who I believe can get better; Paired with Kevin Knox can be a good young core.  I think we all know what the Knick front office is doing as they traded a centerpiece that maybe did not want to be there, and just got a young point guard and expiring contracts in return; free agency.  What the Knicks are doing is a dangerous game, yes they get two future first rounder but we do not know what year those are in and if they are protected or unprotected; and free agency is uncertain as we have seen with Paul George last year. The Knicks have set themselves up for a potential dynasty or setting themselves back ten or fifteen years if they get free agency wrong if they don’t get the likes of Irving or KD.

Winners: Mavs-For now and on paper, the Mavs have Doncic and Porzingis when healthy who could be future superstars, with pieces that can help make playoff pushes in the future.

Winners: buyout market teams-If the Knicks release Jordan and Matthews, they can contribute for a top-five championship contending team.

Losers: Knicks-Yes they have 2 future first round picks and Dennis Smith Jr. but risking a centerpiece in Porzingis for the uncertainty of free agency is risky.

[beyond4lines]

NBA Trade Deadline for Each Team

I’m going to dive in what the team needs and what possible trades can happen at trade deadline on February 7.

Eastern Conference

1.       Raptors

Trade assets: Norman Powell, CJ Miles, Delon Wright

Needs: Wings that can shoot/spread the floor, Playmakers

Trade for Raptors:

·         Norman Powell for TJ Warren 

·         Norman Powell and CJ Miles for Kent Bazemore

 2.       Bucks

Trade assets: George Hill, Jason Smith

Needs: shooters, a big that can rebound

Trade for Bucks:

·         George Hill for Wesley Matthews

·         Something involving Hill and Terrence Ross

·         Hill for Enes Kanter

·         Jason Smith for Ed Davis

 3.       Pacers

Trade assets: Kyle O’quinn *Myles Turner, TJ Leaf, Ike Anigbogu, Darren Collison, Cory Joseph

Needs: Stretch 4 if decide to trade Myles Turner, a playmaker with Olidipo out for the season.

Trade for Pacers:

·         Myles Turner and Davon Reed for Nemanja Bjelica

·         B.Bogdanovic and Doug Mcdermont for Kent Bazemore

 4.       76’ers

Trade assets: Markelle Fultz *Ben Simmons

Needs: Shooters

Trade for 76ers

·         Wilson Chandler for TJ Warren

·         Markelle Fultz for Courtney Lee and future 1st

·         Markelle Fultz for Terrence Ross

·         Wilson Chandler for Trevor Ariza

·         Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Wilson Chandler, and 2021 Miami (via PHX) 1ST rounder for Anthony Davis

 5.    Celtics

Trade assets: Jaylen Brown, Terry Rozier

Needs: Knock down shooter, slashers that can get to the free - throw line and bigs that can rebound.

Trade for Celtics

·         G. Yabusele and Jabari Bird for Ed Davis

·         Terry Rozier for Jerian Grant and future 1st or a 2nd round pick

·         Terry Rozier for Luke Kennard or Reggie Bullock

 6.       Nets

Trade assets: Allen Crabbe, Demarre Carroll, Rondae Hollis Jefferson

Needs: Dump Cap for summer

Trade for Nets

·         Allen Crabbe for Iman Shumpert

 7.       Heat

Trade assets: Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters, Wayne Ellington

Needs: Dump Cap

    Trade for Heat

·         Finding trade partners are hard considering how many bad contracts they have.

 8.       Hornets

Trade assets: Nicolas Batum, Marvin Williams, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, *Kemba Walker, Frank Kaminsky

Needs: Players that can support Kemba IE floor spacing and another playmaker.

 Trades for Hornets

1.       Nicolas Batum to the Cavs for Jr Smith in a 4 team trade between Cavs, Suns, and Kings.

·         Dragen Bender from Suns to Hornets

·         Rodney Hood to Suns

·         David Nwaba to Kings

2.       Marvin Williams for Tim Hardaway Jr.

 9.       Pistons

Trade Assets: Reggie Jackson, Andre Drummond, Jon Leuer

Needs: 3 and D wings, figure out if the Griffin/Drummond pair is working

     Trades for Pistons

·         Luke Kennard or Reggie Bullock for Terry Rozier

·         Langston Galloway for Wayne Ellington

 10.   Magic

Trade assets: Evan Fournier, Nikola Vucevic, Terrence Ross, John Simmons*Jonathan Issac, *Aaron Gordon

Needs: Letting go of some assets and bad contracts, a point guard and choose between Gordon and Issac because Issac is more of a 4 than a 3.

Trades for Magic

·         Jonathon Simmons and first rounder for Dennis Smith Jr.

·         Jonathan Isaac and first rounder for Dennis Smith Jr.

·         Nikola Vucevic for Marcin Gortat and future 1st round pick from the Clippers

 11.   Wizards

Trade Assets: Otto Porter, Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza

Needs: 3 and d wings, floor spacing, playmakers, and figuring out their future with Wall out for the foreseeable future.  

Trades for the Wizards

·         Trevor Ariza for Rajon Rondo and Lance Stephenson and a future 2nd rounder

 12.   Hawks

Trade Assets: Kent Bazemore, Jeremy Lin, Dewayne Dedmon, Taurean Prince

Needs:  get rid of assets like Bazemore,Lin and Dedmon, maybe Prince as some feel Prince might have hit his ceiling and will demand more money the Hawks are willing to pay in the future. In return get guys that can service young core.

    Trades for Hawks

·         Kent Bazemore for Norman Powell and CJ Miles

·         Prince for Denzel Valentine and a 2nd rounder 

·         Jeremy Lin for Solomon Hill and a 1st rounder

 13.   Knicks

Trade assets: Enes Kanter, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee, Frank Ntilikina, *Kristaps Porzingis

Needs: Create Cap for  summer, and get a point guard for the future.

Trades for Knicks

·         Tim Hardaway Jr. for Marvin Williams

·         Enes Kanter for George Hill

·         Courtney Lee for Markelle Fultz

·         Enes Kanter for Zach Randolph

·         Enes Kanter or Tim Hardaway Jr., Kristaps Porzingis and 2019 1st rounder for Anthony Davis

 14.   Bulls

Trade assets: Jabri Parker, Cristiano Felicio, Robin Lopez

Needs: 3 and D wings, playmakers, getting off Jabari Parker contract

Trades for Bulls

·         Robin Lopez for Brandon Knight

·         Jabari Parker for Zach Randolph

·         Jabari Parker for Wesley Matthews

·         Denzel Valentine for Prince

 15.   Cavs

Trade assets: Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, JR Smith

Needs: get rid of overpaid players

 Trades for Cavs

·         JR Smith for Brandon Knight

·         Tristan Thompson for Evan Turner

·         Tristan Thompson for Jonas Valanciunas

 West Conference

1.       Nuggets

Trade assets: Mason Plumlee, Will Barton, Trey Lyles

Needs: Floor spacing, more depth

Trades for Nuggets

·         J. Hernangomez and Torrey Craig for Jonathon Simmons “Magic”

·         Trey Lyes, J. Hernangomez, Torrey Craig for Courtney Lee “Knicks”

·         Trey Lyles for Luke Kennard “Pistons”

 2.       Warriors

Trade assets: None

Needs: NONE they are the Warriors they have 5 all-stars yeah FIVE!

Trades for GSW

·         None

 3.       Thunder

Trade Assets: Patrick Patterson, Alex Abrines

Needs: defensive wing depth, big depth

   Trades for OKC

·         Patrick Patterson to Kings and Alex Abrines to Magic for Terrence Ross “Magic” and Scal Labissiere “Kings”

·         Alex Abrines for Wayne Ellington

 4.       Trailblazers

Trade assets: *CJ McCullum, Evan Turner, Meyers Leonard

Needs: Length and 3 and D guys

Trades for Trailblazers

·         Jake Layman and Nik Stauskas and a 1st rounder for Taurean Prince

·         Myers Leonard for Courtney Lee

 5.       Clippers

Trade assets: Gallinari , Avery Bradely, Marcin Gortat

Needs: free up cap space

Trades for Clippers

1.       Marcin Gortat and a 1st rounder for Nikola Vucevic

2.       4 team trade involving Clippers, T’Wolves Cavs and Kings

·         Clippers receive Iman Shumpert, Jayred Bayless, and Rodney Hood

·         T’Wolves receive Avery Bradley and Milos Teodosic

·         Cavs receive Mbah a Moute

·         Kings receive Gorgui Dieng

 6.       Spurs

Trade assets:  Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay

Needs: 3 and D wing

Trades for Spurs

·         Rudy Gay for Courtney Lee

 7.       Lakers

Trade assets: anyone but Lebron

Needs: shooters, a star

Trades for Lakers

·         Lance Stephenson for Wayne Ellington

 8.       Rockets

Trade assets: Brandon Knight, Marquess Chriss

Needs: rebounding, and shooting

 Trades for Rockets

·         Brandon Knight for JR Smith

·         Brandon Knight and Marquess Chriss and future 1st and 2nd  for Enes Kanter

·         Brandon Knight for Robin Lopez

 9.       Jazz

Trade assets: Derrick Favors, Dante Exum, Jae Crowder

Needs: Playmaker/Scorer to relieve Donovan Mitchell

Trades for Jazz

·         Dante Exum, Jae Crowder, Ekpe Udoh for Jabari Parker

·         Derrick Favors for Jabari Parker 

 10.   Kings

Trade assets: Zach Randolph, Iman Shumpert

Needs: floor spacing,  2 way big

Trades for Kings

1.       Zach Randolph for Enes Kanter 

2.       Nemanja Bjelica for Myles Turner and Davon Reed

 11.   T’Wolves

Trade assets: Jeff Teague, Gorgui Dieng, Taj Gibson

Needs: playmaker, perimeter scoring

Trades for T’Wolves

1.       Refer to the 4 team Avery Bradley deal I made for the Clippers

2.       Jeryd Bayless for Cory Joseph “Pacers”

3.       Jeryd Bayless in a 4 team trade for Dennis Smith Jr.

·         Minnesota receive Dennis Smith Jr.

·         Mavs receive Brandon Knight and Jeryd Bayless

·         Rockets receive Wesley Matthews and Pat Connaughton

·         Bucks receive Carmelo Anthony

4.       Taj Gibson in a 3 team trade for Markelle Fultz and Kosta Koufos

·         T’Wolves receive Markelle Fultz and Kosta Koufos

·         76ERS receive Anthony Toliver and a Future 1ST rounder

·         Kings receive Taj Gibson

 12.   Mavs

Trade assets: Harrison Barnes, Wesley Matthews, *Dennis Smith Jr.

Needs: perimeter defense, rebounding off bench, perimeter shooting depth.

Trades for Mavs

·         Wesley Matthews for Courtney Lee and Noah Vonleh

 13.   Pelicans

Trade assets: Jrue Holiday, *Anthony Davis, Solomon Hill, E’twaun Moore

Needs: Defense, Perimeter scoring, rebounding

Trades for Pelicans

·         Solomon Hill and Tim Frazier for Kent Bazemore

 14.   Grizzlies

Trade assets: *Mike Conley (has an early contract termination on final year of contract “2020-2021”) Marc Gasol, Chandler Parsons

Needs: get younger, get supporting pieces for Jaren Jackson , Kyle Anderson, and Dillon Brooks.

Trades for Grizzlies

1.       Marc Gasol for Allen Crabbe, T. Graham and future 1st ronder

2.       Mike Conley to the Suns in a 4 team trade involving the Grizzlies, Suns, Pelicans, and Kings

·         Grizzlies receive Solomon Hill, Josh Jackson,Skal Labissiere, and Frank Jackson

·         Suns receive Mike Conley and Time Frazier

·         Pelicans receive Zach Randolph

·         Kings receive Ryan Anderson

 15.   Suns

Trade assets: TJ Warren *Josh Jackson, *Kelly Oubre, *Mikal Bridges

Needs: point guard, bench depth

Trades for Suns

·         Kelly Oubre for Dennis Smith Jr. and  Bucks 1st rounder

·         Mikal Bridges for Dennis Smith Jr and  Bucks 1st rounder

·         Josh Jackson for Frank Ntilikina

[beyond4lines]

6 Coaches UCLA Are Looking At

Earlier this month Steve Alford was fired after five years being the head coach at UCLA. With the lack of underwhelming recruiting classes and underperforming teams, the marriage between Alford and UCLA was bound to fail. Now the coaching search begins for everybody involved from the athletic director and boosters to alumni who want what is best for the program. As a fan here are my six coaches that UCLA will or should consider for the job.

1.Fred Hoiberg: Unattached

The former Iowa State and recently fired Chicago Bulls coach has been a name floating around since the coaching job has opened up. From an A.D. and booster point of view, he’s a “big name” get and has some big-time conference experience under his belt. When Hoiberg made the jump to the NBA in 2015 to the Chicago Bulls he automatically looked out of his depth, with the tension between him and veteran players. His tenure at the job was difficult which led to his departure. What UCLA should look at his time at Iowa State where he took the Cyclones to the NCAA tournament 4 out 5 times at the helm. He recorded .673 win percentage at Iowa State which is impressive because of the status of the program and winning in a very tuff conference like the Big 12. With evidence of his success, it should be apparent that he is good at recruitment and player development at a college level as he recruited non-NBA players and helped make them perform to be a mid-tier BIG 12 team.

Conclusion on Hoiberg: A negative on Hoiberg is that he did like to dip in the transfer market as UCLA is not known for doing that so the board may not be fond of that, but that could’ve been the product of players just not wanting to go there and Hoiberg not having resources to bring top players. The UCLA coaching job could be a new challenge for him and an opportunity to lick his wounds and gain some confidence by going back into the college ranks. As I am writing this he is up for the running for the General Manager or Head Coaching job for the Minnesota Timberwolves left by former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, so we’ll see how that turns out.

2.Gregg Marshall: Wichita State

The current Wichita State Head coach was an NABC and Naismith coach of the year in 2014. Marshall is a good recruiter for a small program like Wichita State and made a great outcome by doing well against top competition in the tournament. At Wichita State, he has a .742 win percentage and has had tremendous runs in the NCAA tournament with an appearance in the Final Four in the 2012-2013 season. The production of his team has slowed down recently (6-4) in 2019 and (25-8) 17-19 and lost in the first round last year, because of this it could be a good opportunity for UCLA to push for him because I feel he might have plateaued at Wichita.

Conclusion on Marshall: He has been at Wichita Stare for over 10 years (07-08) to present. He has turned down major offers before so is he willing to make the jump. One of the negatives is that he has only coached in small conferences up until recently which now Wichita competes in the AAC, so can he recruit and compete in a highly competitive Pac 12.

3. Bruce Pearl: Auburn University

The Current Auburn Coach knows how to find talent and mold them into productive college players. When he was at the University of Milwaukee he went to two NCAA tournaments and went to the sweet 16 in the 04-05 season. At Tennessee he proved to be a great recruiter as he went to six straight tournaments and with an appearance in the elite eight in the 09-10 season, putting a football conference on the map since prime Kentucky days.  Pearl brings good offense and hardnosed defense to his teams and UCLA need that as I feel UCLA might need a culture change and probably more so of the court than on it.

Conclusion on Pearl:

The negatives on hiring Pearl are that he had just gotten off of recruiting violations stemming from a 2010-2011 NCAA Investigation. Back in the  1990’s UCLA have had violations against them when Jim Harrick was the coach. Will UCLA want the possibility to go through that again?  Me personally don’t think so. If the board and the boosters can look past that, Pearl has just gotten Auburn to a place Auburn hired him for and that is to win games and compete against Kentucky. If UCLA came calling would he dip without knowing how good Auburn can be, as he did not get a chance to see what could’ve been at Tennessee because of the violations.

4.Eric Musselman: University of Nevada

The Nevada coach is becoming a hot commodity this year as his team is 14-1. A former NBA coach (most recent job was Sacramento Kings (06-07)) and also coached in the G-League from 2010 to 2012. Musselman has been on the west coast before Nevada job, more specifically is familiar with the  Pac 12 with jobs being an assistant and later associate head coach at Arizona State. His experience in the NBA might be a good balance of hard-nosed coach but the caretaker of young men. Musselman is known for player development with the likes of Gerald Green and Jeremy Lin when Musselman was coaching in the G-League to former NBA player Kevin Martin during Musselman's time with the Sacramento Kings. From an A.D. point of view that is a great sign that he can recruit but also mold players into productive pieces to help the team but to improve their games. during the 13-14 season, he was a candidate for fellow PAC 12 schools like CAL and Oregon State. Musselman does have International coaching experience by coaching the Dominican Republic and Leading Venezuela to the 2012 summer Olympics. From my point of view, I think his connections internationally can open recruiting pipelines for foreign players to the program, similar to Mark Phew at Gonzaga.

Conclusion on Musselman:

As he is a good coach, maybe a negative is that he has only coached division one hoops for one school for a short period of time (4 years) at a smaller school with not much expectation in a mid-major conference (The Mountain West); the people making the decisions may  ponder if he can translate the same success at UCLA. Another caveat is if an NBA team offered him a position will he choose the bruins or give it another go at the next level.

5.Tony Bennett: University of Virginia

Tony Bennett is potentially a home run pick. He knows how to recruit, he can change the mentality of how the program and get guys who want to stay long term instead using the program as a stop gap for the NBA. I think he can have a balance of one and done players and veterans and can implement a philosophy that can help the program. I know most people don’t like that his Virginia teams have low scoring games but from a fundamental standpoint, they are very productive and effective. Overall he gets it done with the players he has in a very deep ACC, which means his players are straight ballers and if UCLA wants him and can get him they can expect the same. He is familiar with the PAC 12 as he coached Washington State from 06-09. If you look up NBA players that he coached is shows he has a good eye for talent and has a knack for player development for example 2017 NBA rookie of the year Malcolm Brogdon and 3 time NBA champion Klay Thompson.

Conclusion on Bennett:

I believe he has a basketball and personal philosophy comparable to the great John Wooden. I also recognize how players admire him and respect him and he does the same as he sees them as young men and in turn will run through a wall for him and each other and every year Virginia has a great team. A negative about Bennett is not him as a coach but more so would he want to leave UofV as he has a good thing going in a better conference currently in the ACC compared to the PAC 12. Also can or will UCLA buy him out of his contract.

6.Earl Watson: Unattached

There have been rumors of him wanting the job and many Alums and former players would like to see him on the sidelines. As a former player, he knows the culture which is a plus as he would already know the expectations of what comes with the job. He is young so he can relate to players, he has coached the Phoenix Suns team that was one of the youngest in the NBA. He might be a good recruiter because of his status as a former UCLA and NBA player. A possible negative is that he does not have much coaching experience let alone productive coaching experience but someone has to take into account that the Suns organization is dysfunctional so Watson didn’t get a proper chance as he only had a year and a half on the job.

Conclusion on Watson:

Wouldn’t be a bad hire but potentially a great hire if the A.D., boosters and the board are patient with the process with Watson. Take Villanova and Jay Wright, for example, they have a rich basketball history like UCLA but when Wright started there were ups and downs and now they have 2 national championships in 4 years with Wright being almost twenty years on the job. I believe Watson is given the time can be influential in the process of bringing the program back to prominence; but if not UCLA should just avoid him.

Honorable Mentions:

Mike Brey: Notre Dame

•    Rumors of UCLA wanting him

•    I don’t think he will leave after being at Notre Dame for almost 20 years.

Rick Pitino: Unattached

•    Big name “great recruiter” but ……. NO!

 Tyus Edney: UCLA assistant

•    Like Watson is a former player, won a national championship for the Bruins in 1995.

•    Director of men’s basketball operation so has been in the creation of the program since 2010.

•    Again if hired as a head coach he will need patience from the upstairs to be successful.