NBA News for May 19: Did the Grizzlies win the Gasol-for-Gasol trade?

Vogel says Heat just another team. LeBron begs to differ: "I don't understand what he's saying. We're not just another team. Not true."

May 19, 2013 2:06 pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@JoeGoodmanJr

Joseph Goodman

When asked who the Heat’s most important player, most people would say LeBron James, right? Not Erik Spoelstra. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes: “Through two rounds, (Chris) Bosh has been not only ambulatory, but impactful, disruptive defensively and a pain to guard for opponents. He’s swishing three-pointers at a percentage that ranked fourth among players who entered Saturday still alive in the postseason. The man who once wanted no part of playing center continues to embrace it and thrive — outplaying Chicago’s Joakim Noah, ranking among the playoff leaders in blocked shots, and raising his rebounding numbers from the regular season, when he averaged a career-low 6.8. All the while, he causes fits for opposing teams by drawing centers out to the perimeter, then sinking silky jumpers over their outstretched arms. “He is our most important player for a reason,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’ve said that for three seasons. He allows everything to work on both ends of the court.” “

Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald talked to a bunch of NBA executives at the draft combine about what they think of the Celtics’ future with the Pierce/Garnett/Rondo era apparently winding down: “We expected only doom and gloom — and there was certainly a great deal of that — but there were also some who expressed the belief that the C’s are not so deep in the hole. So where one general manager shook his head and said, “Oh, they’re screwed,” another stated strongly, “As long as you have assets, you’re never screwed. The Celtics have players that other teams want. They’ve also got some guys that would be really hard to move, but when you’re talking about Rajon Rondo and even (Paul) Pierce and (Kevin) Garnett, those are people who can make a team better. Now the question then becomes who you can get back for them and will those new guys make the Celtics better.”

As Moke Hamilton did for this site, Peter Botte of the New York Daily News reports on J.R. Smith’s future in New York: “He is expected to opt out of the final year of his below-market value contract ($2.8 million per year) and test free agency this summer. The most the Knicks can offer the Jersey product is an “early Bird” exception starting at $4.9 million per year over four years, but there might be a team with more salary-cap room willing to pay Smith substantially more. “I want to retire a Knick. I don’t want to go anywhere else,” Smith said. “I love my teammates, I love my coaches. I was standing in the locker room looking at my jersey after the game and just knowing that I don’t want to be anywhere else except in the orange and blue. We’ll see.” Still, when asked if he’d be willing to take less money to remain in New York, Smith hedged and added, “I haven’t even thought about all that, that far. I still have to talk to (agent) Leon (Rose) and see where we’re at.” “

Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer makes the case for the Cavs to draft Nerlens Noel should they have the chance: “What did the Cavs talk about all season? Improving the defense. Add Noel into the middle of the lane and suddenly there is help for Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters, who both have trouble on defense. Some of those layups the Cavs yielded a year ago will be blocked or missed at the rim. Noel would instantly transform the defense, and he’s worth the wait for his knee to heal. I also hear the Cavs are still considering 7-foot Greg Oden, the former Ohio State center who has not played in an NBA game since December 2009. He was the top pick in the 2007 draft, but he’s played just 82 NBA games — averaging 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds for Portland. The real problem is Oden having three microfracture knee surgeries. (Two such surgeries may have ended the career of Indians outfielder Grady Sizemore.) So Oden’s a gamble, and a signal the Cavs are looking for a defensive center.”

Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal-Times looks at the Bucks’ draft options, including one son of a former NBA player who could get a long look in the middle of the first round. There’s also this tidbit on Mike Dunleavy: “After the Bucks bowed out of of the playoffs to Miami, I asked current Heat and former Bucks guard Ray Allen which Bucks impressed him. He immediately cited Mike Dunleavy. Apparently, Dunleavy’s fine playoff showing after a quality regular-season performance has impressed some other NBA folks as well. I’m hearing several teams are keenly interested in signing the soon-to-be unrestricted free-agent.

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Dan Malone just finished his third year as a journalism student at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He blogs, edits and learns things on the fly for Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on Twitter.

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Comments

Alan Frederick says

May 19, 2013 at 7:04 pm

Glad to see someone re-thinking the Pau trade. Not only did that trade get them Marc Gasol, but Kwame’s expiring contract gave them the room to try to sign Josh Smith (Atl matched) but then to get Zach in a trade with their cap room. They used the draft picks to get Greivis Vasquez (later traded for Pondexter) and Donte Green (traded for Darrel Arthur). Then they traded Crittenton to Washington for a conditional 1st round pick. So, for Pau, they ended up with Marc Gasol, Z-Bo, Arthur and Pondexter + a conditional 1st round pick. Nice haul. Chris Wallace got unfairly scorched for a trade which made their team.