Draft dodging in Phoenix
For Suns, free agency a better bet than lottery
By Peter May, Globe Staff | June 27, 2004
You'll find various opinions of the just-concluded NBA draft. Some teams helped themselves. Some teams think they helped themselves. And then we have the team that took one look at the top of the draft and said, "No, thanks." Behind all the attendant hoopla of superstar trades and teenagers-cum-millionaires, the Phoenix Suns took what has to be the extremely unusual step of bailing out of the draft -- while holding the No. 7 overall pick. We know why they did it: They're saving money for free agency. And had they used the No. 7 pick, they would have been liable for another $1.735 million (which would have gone to more than $2 million when the player actually signed).
But we're not talking about unloading a late first-round pick, which the Spurs, among others, have done to preserve cap room for free agency. The 27th, 28th, or 29th pick is iffy at best.
We're talking about a lottery pick, the seventh overall. Four years ago, when the Orlando Magic were readying for their free agency assault on Tim Duncan and Grant Hill, they had three lottery picks and traded two of them (Keyon Dooling to the Clippers and Courtney Alexander to the Mavericks). But the Magic also had the fifth pick that year and took -- and kept -- Mike Miller. Dooling and Alexander were traded for future No. 1's, which is what the Suns did with Chicago.
Was this a blanket indictment of the quality of the draft? Or did the Suns feel they simply could not afford to add another salary to their payroll, now estimated to be around $16.3 million under the projected cap for 2004-05?
"We have experienced some pain to get here," Suns GM Bryan Colangelo told Phoenix-area reporters. "But we've got the opportunity to add something significant to this team."
That would not be a draftee.
Before dealing with the Bulls, who ended up taking Luol Deng with the seventh pick, the Suns and Celtics explored a similar deal. Boston would have come away with the seventh selection by surrendering a future first-rounder, just as the Bulls did. But the Suns instead decided to do business with the Bulls, probably because they believe Chicago will have a worse record when the pick comes due. That's a roundabout compliment to ex-Suns coach Danny Ainge.
The Suns used to be one of the league's glamour franchises. Phoenix had everything a player could want: great weather, a great owner, and, generally, a pretty good team. It had a reputation of taking care of its players. For any free agent, Phoenix was always one of those must-see locations.
But, as one NBA executive said this past week, "They may think they're like that, but in reality, they're back with the common folk now." There's an element of truth to that.
The Suns have missed the playoffs in two of the last three years. Since 1994-95, they've had three 50-plus-win seasons and have won exactly one playoff series in eight tries, and that was a first-rounder in 2000 over the Duncan-less Spurs. (Ainge's 1997-98 Suns team went 56-26 and lost to the 56-26 Duncan-led Spurs in the first round. Some Suns-ophiles still wince over the non-use of Antonio McDyess down the stretch in that series.)
But, to Colangelo's credit, he saw that last year's team was going nowhere and did a deal with the Knicks that allowed the Suns to save a staggering $100 million in salary. Then Colangelo persuaded the Charlotte Bobcats to take Jahidi White's contract to save another $5-plus million. Phoenix has only seven players under contract as free agency approaches Thursday.
Among those out there who could pique the Suns' interest is former Sun Steve Nash, a free agent. You'd think Mark Cuban would not allow Nash to go anywhere, but we'll see. The Suns also might be interested in the Pistons' Mehmet Okur. They do need size, that's for certain.
But whatever they do this summer, it will be the result of taking a pass on the 2004 draft despite having one of the top choices. That would be Exhibit A in the argument that the draft has now fallen to a distant third behind trades and free agency as the method of choice in building/rebuilding a team.
You don't say
Five Things You Did Not Hear On Draft Night:
1. "Tracy, don't let the door hit you on the way out." -- Magic GM John Weisbrod after announcing that high schooler Dwight Howard was the No. 1 pick. Tracy McGrady wanted immediate help or else. Well, it's or else.
2. "Phew." -- Bobcats GM Bernie Bickerstaff after the Magic took Howard. What better guy to have as the face of your franchise than the hard-working, distinguished Emeka Okafor?
3. "Jamal Who?" -- Bulls GM John Paxson, when reminded that drafting Ben Gordon might create a logjam at point guard with Kurt Hinrich and Jamal Crawford. The combustible Crawford is a restricted free agent.
4. "I hope the next coach gets to see what he can do." -- Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, after the team drafted high schooler Shaun Livingston ahead of the more seasoned Devin Harris.
5. "Denver? Denver? DENVER?" Jameer Nelson, after finally getting taken 20th overall by the Nuggets, who already have Andre Miller and Earl Boykins. Alas, he later learned he was going to Orlando, which is a much better situation for him.
Golden glow
Dare we call them the "Washington Warriors"? With the arrival of Antawn Jamison, the team that plays in "the most important city in the world" could well have three starters from the 2001-02 Golden State Warriors: Jamison, Larry Hughes, and Gilbert Arenas. Jamison was dealt to Washington for the fifth pick in the draft (Harris) along with Jerry "Blood and Guts" Stackhouse and Christian Laettner. We're not sure what the Mavs will do with their new fellows, but we do know this: Before the Wizards signed Stackhouse to an extension, the previous administration had hoped he'd opt out and leave. Wizards coach Eddie Jordan needn't worry about any conflicts among the ex-Warriors. Jamison got along well with both Arenas and Hughes and tried to persuade Arenas to re-sign with Golden State . . . Almost as astounding as seeing eight high schoolers chosen among the first 19 picks is the fact that 12 of the first 21 selections were teenagers. Deng, Kris Humphries, Andris Biedrins, and Pavel Podkolzine have yet to hit the big 2-0, joining the high school players. Biedrins, who turned 18 last April 2, is the baby of the first-rounders and is more than five years younger than the oldest first-rounder, Rafael Araujo, the center from Brigham Young who went eighth to Toronto. Araujo turns 24 on Aug. 12 . . . Biedrins was in the Warriors' crosshairs for months. The feeling is that he has Tom Chambers-like possibilities but at 18 is very raw. Golden State passed on a chance to go big with Robert Swift, which is interesting given that its two main centers (Adonal Foyle and Erick Dampier) could be free agents . . . Speaking of free agent centers, the Celtics' Mark Blount is on vacation in Florida with his family and will check in tomorrow with his agent, Mark Bartelstein, to see what might pop up. While Doc Rivers expressed optimism that Blount wants to play for him, Blount has told friends that nothing has really changed in his thinking. Whether or not Blount re-signs might affect the Celtics' free agency plans. If he goes elsewhere, among the bigs out there that Ainge might consider are Keon Clark (a baby sitter comes with the deal), Michael Doleac, Foyle, Donnell Harvey, McDyess, Greg Ostertag (he'll go somewhere), and Etan Thomas (who is restricted). Oh yeah, a guy named Eric Williams is out there, too. He'd pass the toughness test . . . One of the real keys in the deals for both McGrady and Shaquille O'Neal is, to coin a term, re-signability. McGrady has said he'd re-sign with Houston but hasn't indicated he'd do so anywhere else. It would be hard -- not to mention asinine -- to give up half your team for a player who wouldn't commit beyond a year. That's why the Houston-Orlando deal still makes the most sense. It also indicates, judging by what Houston would give up, how much Jeff Van Gundy really didn't like the team he got. But does McGrady know that no player not named Patrick Ewing has ever averaged 20 points a game for a Van Gundy-coached team? And that Van Gundy is rather fussy about the concept of playing defense? The Rockets would give up three starters for McGrady. He'd better be worth it. On the plus side, it shouldn't be hard to recruit free agents to play alongside Yao Ming and T-Mac . . . As for Shaq, the Mavericks' deal with Washington puts them into Dense Pack Mode in trying to throw a bevy of players at the Lakers for the Big Diesel. If I'm the Lakers, I don't make a deal with Dallas without Dirk Nowitzki, who, admittedly, has warts (as in no defense) but is still Dallas's best player. But if I'm the Mavs, I don't include Nowitzki and a re-signed Nash. The one benefit Dallas has is an owner who just might be willing to meet Shaq's rather ostentatious extension request.
You have to think that maybe this is the year the Clippers strike in free agency. Then again, it's the Clippers, so maybe they'll do nothing, keep their payroll at the barebones minimum, and hope they get another fat check at luxury tax time. But these Clippers made a couple of moves last week to indicate they at least will have more money -- maybe even to use on a player like free agent-to-be Kobe Bryant. The Clippers saved money by moving down in the draft from No. 2 to No. 4, about $600,000. Then they saved another $2.8 million by getting the Bobcats to take on the contract of Predrag Drobnjak. They have further options to trim even more. That means either more walking-around money for Donald Sterling or money to throw at a player. When the Clippers moved the No. 2 pick, it continued a trend. Prior to Thursday, the Clippers had the No. 2 pick three times in the last 15 years and moved it each time, trading Danny Ferry in 1989, McDyess in 1995, and Tyson Chandler in 2001. This time around, the Clips traded the pick before the draft . . . Great line from Rivers, when it was noted that Al Jefferson had not selected an agent and was thus still eligible to go to college. "Arkansas pays a ton," Rivers said, referring to the school to which Jefferson had made a commitment. "But I don't know if they pay that much." Jefferson will earn more than $4 million in the next three years . . . Whoa, Pat: After drafting high schooler Dorrell Wright, Heat el jefe Pat Riley compared him to McGrady and Penny Hardaway. Easy there, Riles. The Heat's decision to pass on Nelson apparently means they are comfortable with Dwyane Wade masquerading at the point for another season, with free agent Rafer Alston coming out of the bullpen. Alston and Blount are at the top of Riley's free agent wish list . . . Just wondering, but why didn't Indiana make a bid for Nelson the way Orlando did? Then again, one of the Pacers' future firsts would not be as valuable as one of Orlando's . . . "I will continue to suggest that Jackie is the sleeper of the draft. He has first-round physical talent and I believe that NBA teams are now aware that he has first-round determination and work ethic." The speaker? Charlotte attorney Ken Harris, who represents Jackie Butler, a fifth-year high schooler who was the top rebounder at the Chicago predraft camp. The remarks came via fax eight days before the draft. Well, Butler not only didn't get picked in the first round, he didn't get chosen in the second round, either.
For Suns, free agency a better bet than lottery
By Peter May, Globe Staff | June 27, 2004
You'll find various opinions of the just-concluded NBA draft. Some teams helped themselves. Some teams think they helped themselves. And then we have the team that took one look at the top of the draft and said, "No, thanks." Behind all the attendant hoopla of superstar trades and teenagers-cum-millionaires, the Phoenix Suns took what has to be the extremely unusual step of bailing out of the draft -- while holding the No. 7 overall pick. We know why they did it: They're saving money for free agency. And had they used the No. 7 pick, they would have been liable for another $1.735 million (which would have gone to more than $2 million when the player actually signed).
But we're not talking about unloading a late first-round pick, which the Spurs, among others, have done to preserve cap room for free agency. The 27th, 28th, or 29th pick is iffy at best.
We're talking about a lottery pick, the seventh overall. Four years ago, when the Orlando Magic were readying for their free agency assault on Tim Duncan and Grant Hill, they had three lottery picks and traded two of them (Keyon Dooling to the Clippers and Courtney Alexander to the Mavericks). But the Magic also had the fifth pick that year and took -- and kept -- Mike Miller. Dooling and Alexander were traded for future No. 1's, which is what the Suns did with Chicago.
Was this a blanket indictment of the quality of the draft? Or did the Suns feel they simply could not afford to add another salary to their payroll, now estimated to be around $16.3 million under the projected cap for 2004-05?
"We have experienced some pain to get here," Suns GM Bryan Colangelo told Phoenix-area reporters. "But we've got the opportunity to add something significant to this team."
That would not be a draftee.
Before dealing with the Bulls, who ended up taking Luol Deng with the seventh pick, the Suns and Celtics explored a similar deal. Boston would have come away with the seventh selection by surrendering a future first-rounder, just as the Bulls did. But the Suns instead decided to do business with the Bulls, probably because they believe Chicago will have a worse record when the pick comes due. That's a roundabout compliment to ex-Suns coach Danny Ainge.
The Suns used to be one of the league's glamour franchises. Phoenix had everything a player could want: great weather, a great owner, and, generally, a pretty good team. It had a reputation of taking care of its players. For any free agent, Phoenix was always one of those must-see locations.
But, as one NBA executive said this past week, "They may think they're like that, but in reality, they're back with the common folk now." There's an element of truth to that.
The Suns have missed the playoffs in two of the last three years. Since 1994-95, they've had three 50-plus-win seasons and have won exactly one playoff series in eight tries, and that was a first-rounder in 2000 over the Duncan-less Spurs. (Ainge's 1997-98 Suns team went 56-26 and lost to the 56-26 Duncan-led Spurs in the first round. Some Suns-ophiles still wince over the non-use of Antonio McDyess down the stretch in that series.)
But, to Colangelo's credit, he saw that last year's team was going nowhere and did a deal with the Knicks that allowed the Suns to save a staggering $100 million in salary. Then Colangelo persuaded the Charlotte Bobcats to take Jahidi White's contract to save another $5-plus million. Phoenix has only seven players under contract as free agency approaches Thursday.
Among those out there who could pique the Suns' interest is former Sun Steve Nash, a free agent. You'd think Mark Cuban would not allow Nash to go anywhere, but we'll see. The Suns also might be interested in the Pistons' Mehmet Okur. They do need size, that's for certain.
But whatever they do this summer, it will be the result of taking a pass on the 2004 draft despite having one of the top choices. That would be Exhibit A in the argument that the draft has now fallen to a distant third behind trades and free agency as the method of choice in building/rebuilding a team.
You don't say
Five Things You Did Not Hear On Draft Night:
1. "Tracy, don't let the door hit you on the way out." -- Magic GM John Weisbrod after announcing that high schooler Dwight Howard was the No. 1 pick. Tracy McGrady wanted immediate help or else. Well, it's or else.
2. "Phew." -- Bobcats GM Bernie Bickerstaff after the Magic took Howard. What better guy to have as the face of your franchise than the hard-working, distinguished Emeka Okafor?
3. "Jamal Who?" -- Bulls GM John Paxson, when reminded that drafting Ben Gordon might create a logjam at point guard with Kurt Hinrich and Jamal Crawford. The combustible Crawford is a restricted free agent.
4. "I hope the next coach gets to see what he can do." -- Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy, after the team drafted high schooler Shaun Livingston ahead of the more seasoned Devin Harris.
5. "Denver? Denver? DENVER?" Jameer Nelson, after finally getting taken 20th overall by the Nuggets, who already have Andre Miller and Earl Boykins. Alas, he later learned he was going to Orlando, which is a much better situation for him.
Golden glow
Dare we call them the "Washington Warriors"? With the arrival of Antawn Jamison, the team that plays in "the most important city in the world" could well have three starters from the 2001-02 Golden State Warriors: Jamison, Larry Hughes, and Gilbert Arenas. Jamison was dealt to Washington for the fifth pick in the draft (Harris) along with Jerry "Blood and Guts" Stackhouse and Christian Laettner. We're not sure what the Mavs will do with their new fellows, but we do know this: Before the Wizards signed Stackhouse to an extension, the previous administration had hoped he'd opt out and leave. Wizards coach Eddie Jordan needn't worry about any conflicts among the ex-Warriors. Jamison got along well with both Arenas and Hughes and tried to persuade Arenas to re-sign with Golden State . . . Almost as astounding as seeing eight high schoolers chosen among the first 19 picks is the fact that 12 of the first 21 selections were teenagers. Deng, Kris Humphries, Andris Biedrins, and Pavel Podkolzine have yet to hit the big 2-0, joining the high school players. Biedrins, who turned 18 last April 2, is the baby of the first-rounders and is more than five years younger than the oldest first-rounder, Rafael Araujo, the center from Brigham Young who went eighth to Toronto. Araujo turns 24 on Aug. 12 . . . Biedrins was in the Warriors' crosshairs for months. The feeling is that he has Tom Chambers-like possibilities but at 18 is very raw. Golden State passed on a chance to go big with Robert Swift, which is interesting given that its two main centers (Adonal Foyle and Erick Dampier) could be free agents . . . Speaking of free agent centers, the Celtics' Mark Blount is on vacation in Florida with his family and will check in tomorrow with his agent, Mark Bartelstein, to see what might pop up. While Doc Rivers expressed optimism that Blount wants to play for him, Blount has told friends that nothing has really changed in his thinking. Whether or not Blount re-signs might affect the Celtics' free agency plans. If he goes elsewhere, among the bigs out there that Ainge might consider are Keon Clark (a baby sitter comes with the deal), Michael Doleac, Foyle, Donnell Harvey, McDyess, Greg Ostertag (he'll go somewhere), and Etan Thomas (who is restricted). Oh yeah, a guy named Eric Williams is out there, too. He'd pass the toughness test . . . One of the real keys in the deals for both McGrady and Shaquille O'Neal is, to coin a term, re-signability. McGrady has said he'd re-sign with Houston but hasn't indicated he'd do so anywhere else. It would be hard -- not to mention asinine -- to give up half your team for a player who wouldn't commit beyond a year. That's why the Houston-Orlando deal still makes the most sense. It also indicates, judging by what Houston would give up, how much Jeff Van Gundy really didn't like the team he got. But does McGrady know that no player not named Patrick Ewing has ever averaged 20 points a game for a Van Gundy-coached team? And that Van Gundy is rather fussy about the concept of playing defense? The Rockets would give up three starters for McGrady. He'd better be worth it. On the plus side, it shouldn't be hard to recruit free agents to play alongside Yao Ming and T-Mac . . . As for Shaq, the Mavericks' deal with Washington puts them into Dense Pack Mode in trying to throw a bevy of players at the Lakers for the Big Diesel. If I'm the Lakers, I don't make a deal with Dallas without Dirk Nowitzki, who, admittedly, has warts (as in no defense) but is still Dallas's best player. But if I'm the Mavs, I don't include Nowitzki and a re-signed Nash. The one benefit Dallas has is an owner who just might be willing to meet Shaq's rather ostentatious extension request.
You have to think that maybe this is the year the Clippers strike in free agency. Then again, it's the Clippers, so maybe they'll do nothing, keep their payroll at the barebones minimum, and hope they get another fat check at luxury tax time. But these Clippers made a couple of moves last week to indicate they at least will have more money -- maybe even to use on a player like free agent-to-be Kobe Bryant. The Clippers saved money by moving down in the draft from No. 2 to No. 4, about $600,000. Then they saved another $2.8 million by getting the Bobcats to take on the contract of Predrag Drobnjak. They have further options to trim even more. That means either more walking-around money for Donald Sterling or money to throw at a player. When the Clippers moved the No. 2 pick, it continued a trend. Prior to Thursday, the Clippers had the No. 2 pick three times in the last 15 years and moved it each time, trading Danny Ferry in 1989, McDyess in 1995, and Tyson Chandler in 2001. This time around, the Clips traded the pick before the draft . . . Great line from Rivers, when it was noted that Al Jefferson had not selected an agent and was thus still eligible to go to college. "Arkansas pays a ton," Rivers said, referring to the school to which Jefferson had made a commitment. "But I don't know if they pay that much." Jefferson will earn more than $4 million in the next three years . . . Whoa, Pat: After drafting high schooler Dorrell Wright, Heat el jefe Pat Riley compared him to McGrady and Penny Hardaway. Easy there, Riles. The Heat's decision to pass on Nelson apparently means they are comfortable with Dwyane Wade masquerading at the point for another season, with free agent Rafer Alston coming out of the bullpen. Alston and Blount are at the top of Riley's free agent wish list . . . Just wondering, but why didn't Indiana make a bid for Nelson the way Orlando did? Then again, one of the Pacers' future firsts would not be as valuable as one of Orlando's . . . "I will continue to suggest that Jackie is the sleeper of the draft. He has first-round physical talent and I believe that NBA teams are now aware that he has first-round determination and work ethic." The speaker? Charlotte attorney Ken Harris, who represents Jackie Butler, a fifth-year high schooler who was the top rebounder at the Chicago predraft camp. The remarks came via fax eight days before the draft. Well, Butler not only didn't get picked in the first round, he didn't get chosen in the second round, either.
