More workouts, more coaches

Greetings from the west coast, sorry to be a bit late; gotta get this whole time zone thing worked out.

But here we go

Take a look at the list of draft prospects coming into Toronto to work this week and the immediate reaction is, yawn!

The only one who could legitimately be considered a 17^th pick is Darrell Arthur of Kansas, who joins five others for Friday’s session.

The rest of them – Tyrone Brazelton of Western Kentucy, James Gist of Maryland, J.J. Hickson of North Carolina State, DeMarcus Nelson of Duke and David Padgett of Louisville  -- are marginal first-rounders and more likely second-round choices or summer league invitees.

Of course, as I mentioned yesterday, it’s not like they’re all sitting around. Jim Kelly’s somewhere out here, Jay Triano’s in Italy with Maurizio and Masai and others are floating around the continent.

And with a session originally scheduled for Buffalo on Thursday now cancelled, it seems to be stuff happening outside of Toronto that’s just as important as anything going on in the city.

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Big day on the coaching carousel, no?

Let’s go through them:

Detroit hires Mike Curry

No-brainer, saw it coming weeks ago, nobody’s surprised at all.

And I’m sure he’ll do a good job. You watch any Pistons game from this past season and when the players have a question during a game, it’s usually Curry they talk to. The way he works out the backups before every game – a full shooting practice – was a big reason Detroit’s bench got so good so quick.

Phoenix calls on Terry Porter

One of the game’s good guys, Porter gets a second crack at being a head coach after getting whacked too quickly in Milwaukee, where a meddling owner and a questionable GM panicked.

Tough gig, though. Aging team in a tough conference with high standards.

Chicago takes Vinny Del Negro.

Odd hire, isn’t it?

You’ve got a not bad young team that has no strong leader, are about to add the No. 1 pick in the draft and you hire a guy who’s never been as much as an assistant coach?

Not sure that’s the greatest of hires. And definitely a big, big gamble.
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A dip into the mailbag:

Q: I'm a transplanted Torontonian over here in the Midwest. I'm wondering about the players coming over for draft workouts. Come June 26, should we expect that the Raptors will draft someone they had to the city for a workout? Or is it common for teams to take someone they haven't seen first-hand?
As a follow-up, do you have a sense of whom the Raptors might like?  I know it's early, but did any of Douglas-Roberts, Rush, Lopez, Ajinca or Koufos impress?

Mary J, Chicago

A: It’s quite rare, actually, for a team to take someone they hadn’t worked out before the draft, the most recent example would be Milwaukee taking Yi last year without working him out.

But just because the kid, whoever it is, might not have been in Toronto doesn’t mean the Raptors haven’t seen him or worked him out on their own.

They’ve got scouts out at various workouts this week, three guys over in Europe and they could very well sneak a guy or two into some gym somewhere to get a look at him without us knowing. Which makes us work a bit harder trying to figure out if they do that sort of thing.

Of those five? From what I saw, Douglas-Roberts was a bit better than Rush and Lopez was the best of the bigs. But we only saw about 45 minutes or so of the workout so it’s really not a complete assessment.

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This is why some nights on this beat are better than others.

Head out for dinner last night with an NBA big shot and the iconic Philly beat grunt Phil Jasner to a cool soul food place in Marina Del Ray (Aunt Kizzie’s Kitchen, if you need a recommendation).

Wander in and who’s sitting there all by himself? Rick Mahorn. In town doing his gig as an assistant coach with the Detroit Shock, who play the Sparks here tomorrow.

Sit and have dinner and tell stories for about 90 minutes. Great guy. Funny.

Had some chuckles about The Gangster (“The Gangster’s a weird guy,” he said), Bargnani (let’s just say he’s not cut in the Mahorn style) and the league (let’s just say it’s not cut in the Mahorn style).

And have the catfish, mac and cheese and red beans and sausage.

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You can’t see this back home, I don’t imagine, but Jalen Rose is on one of the various ESPN panels he does and he’s wearing a dark suit, white shirt and a very baby blue bowtie. Very stylish.

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So what happens tonight?

Are the Lakers going to be the Lakers who scored 41 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2? Or the team that’s averaged about 21 points in the other seven quarters of this final?

My best guess, and I’m pretty sure you’ll all point out the error of my ways if it doesn’t come true, is that the Lakers can’t quite figure it out again and Boston’s defence stymies them one more time.

There’s just something about the way the Celtics pack the paint and still get out to close out on open shooters, that Los Angeles can’t quite figure out.

I don’t think Leon Powe reprises his Hall of Fame game on the road – there’s something about playing at home that geeks most backups – but nothing the Lakers bench has done has been impressive.

The way the Laker backups have played is the biggest surprise to many of us; what was seen as a big advantage has become a huge liability. That may change at home. Maybe.

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Another one from the mail and there’s lots I’ll eventually get to:

Q: Hey Doug, thanks for keeping the blog going during the summer, I've been working at the Honda plant in Alliston as a student so my days have been long and boring, but your blog certainly helps get me through them. Now, on to my question:
Me and a buddy at work were talking about my favorite player of all-time, Dennis Rodman. Aside from his crazy antics of the court there’s no denying Rodman could play.  So my question to you is, do you think Rodman should be in the HOF? And do you think he ever will be?....Obviously I think he should be a first ballot HOFer but unfortunately I think some conservative voters might prevent that from happening, Your opinion oh wise one?
Marc D, Barrie

A: Anything I can help get through a boring day I’ll do. But I hope the bosses don’t read this, too.

Sorry to disappoint but Dennis Rodman is NOT getting into the Hall of Fame. Forget the antics off the court, or even some of the crap he pulled on the floor, he was a one-trick pony. He rebounded like few we’ve ever seen in this era, brilliant for his size, but when you think Hall of Fame, you think of guys who do way more than one thing better than others.

Comments

[Mike]

Dennis Rodman absolutely belongs in the hall of fame. I dont think he was "just a rebounder" as you say. His defense was unbelievable (see Karl Malone) and the Bulls do not win those championships without him. I think it speaks volumes that guys like Pippen, Kareem and Isiah all think hes hall worthy (a first balloter too!)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/11/sports/basketball/11rodman.html
http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/category/nba/2007/02/15/is-dennis-rodman-a-hall-of-famer/

[Jason Robinson]

I was glad to see Marc D.'s question (and your response) about Rodman in the HOF since my friends and I have recently been debating this very topic. Our discussion was precipitated by a recent on-line article that said Robert Horry was a no-doubt HOF'er. My opinion: if Horry is elected than Rodman should be in, too.

[Brian]

Rick Mahorn is one of the hosts on Sirius' Full Court Press, so I get to hear him quite a bit. I called in regularly this season, and the term he always used to describe Bargs was "mental midget". Really funny guy, with a bunch of NBA knowledge and experience, and an unapologetic Pistons homer.

[Karl]

There is no way the Lakers lose tonight.

[Chris]

Rodman definitely deserves to be in. The best rebounder of his generation by far, one of the best defenders of his generation and a 5 time champion. Hands down. If you look at just pure basketball playing he isn't too, too far behind Bill Russell. Think about it, just as good as a rebounder (if not better considering the eras they played in), close to as good a defender. Russell was better offensively obviously but it's not like he was Wilt Chamberlain. Rodmans 5 rings in his generation also compare somewhat to Russells 11 in a tiny league. Rodman should be an easy HOF'er but he'll never get in. Also, anyone who says Horry should go in is a complete and utter moron.

Blogger's note: I'm sorry, but to even hint that Dennis Rodman is in the same neighbourhood, or conversation as Bill Russell is, no disrespect intended, ridiculous.

[Peter]

The coach of the Spanish National team has put Garbajosa on the list for the Olympics:

http://www.elquintocuarto.com/2008/06/aito-seleccion-espanola-juegos.html

[Marc]

While I agree that Rodman should not be a HOF'er it should be noted that the voters (and media) tend to have trouble separating the on-court performances of players with their off-court lifestyles. MLB is going through just such a thing with discussions around the HOF-worthiness of Bonds, Clements, Raines, etc. The NFL has T.O. and Moss to consider. The NBA also has Horry (sorry, but no) and, eventually guys like AI and Pierce.

[Sean]

Not really mailbag worthy, but I was wondering what the Michael Curry hire means for Detroit's style of play going forward? His playing days and his affinity with Kevin O'Neill seems to signal that we can expect more defense-first, 76-68 games from the Motowners, no?

Blogger's note: No, not necessarily; Curry played for KO, he's not necessarily going to emulate him

[Mark]

Bit surprised about the Rodman comments. I'm not sure he should be in the HOF, but he was certainly more than a one-trick pony. He was one of the top defenders in the league for many years. If he isn't a HOF candidate, then he is certainly close.

[GM]

Why are you at the Finals? Not just you, but why is any beat grunt from any team other than the Lakers and Celtics there? Man, with 30 teams and, I'm guessing, at least two beat grunts per team there, that's a lot of seats. Not to mention all the usual hangers-on and pseudo-media. Couldn't you get pretty much the same stuff from sitting at home in your underwear? Or will you get a quote that absolutely nobody else gets?

Blogger's note: Actually, not every paper, nor every team has someone here. And, no, you can get all kinds of different stuff that you may use later; your paper may want its own style of reporting or writing rather than the wire service stories everyone gets. There may be a local angle that pops up that the wires wouldn't recognize; there may be a player or a GM or a scout or an executive here from another team who passes on some draft nugget. There are lots of reasons people should be here.
And the seats? They're in the hockey press boxes here and in Boston, we're not occupying prime real estate.

[Serge Papineau]

I agree with Mike, if Horry's in the HOF then Rodman should definitly be in as well. I think that, if anything, it's his antics both on and off the cours that will keep him out, not his numbers. There are a lot of players in the HOF that were great scorers but didn't play a lick of defense so it seems absurd that one of the best rebounders and defenders to play the game wouldn't get in, sadly though I believe that will be the case.

[Sivart]

I may be wrong, but if my memory is correct it was just a few weeks ago that Doug said Ben Wallace belongs in the HOF. If Ben Wallace gets in than I think Dennis Rodman has to get in.

Blogger's note: I've just done a search of the posts for the last four months and the only time Ben Wallace was mentioned was in a Cavs-Raptors Morning After The Night Before Item and some playoff previews. And if I ever suggested Ben Wallace is a Hall of Famer, I was on mind-altering substances. Ben Wallace is a lot of things, a Hall of Famer is not one of them.

[darwin]

on the Rodman thing. he has said he would like to coach, would a guy with his rebounding and defence ablity, could he pass that on to a team that needs that?

Blogger's note: Maybe, but he's so radioactive for the stuff off the court no team is going to give him a sniff, I don't believe.

[Steve G]

That article saying Garbo is on the list also says at the bottom that they haven't heard from Colangelo yet about him, and that Garbo is doubtful for the olympics. I guess whoever picks the team hasn't heard it officially from BC and just wanted him there just incase.

[Zack]

Doug didn't say Big Ben would get into the HOF, he said out of the Pistons who won a ring in 04, Ben would be the only one who would be considered due to his numerous Defensive Player of the Year awards. It was around the time someone asked if Rasheed would be a HOFer and Doug said no.

[Chris]

Why is it so ridiculous to say Rodman was that much worse than Russell? Forget all the antics and you will see that he won 5 titles in a 23-29 team league as opposed to Russells 11 in a 7-14 team league. As a winner he is reasonably close to Russell. He is the all-time leader in rebound pct by a good margin and while they don't have that stat available in Russell's era, Chamberlain was a better rebounder and there were other comparable rebounders so I can't imagine Russell would best Rodman here. Defensively Rodman won 2 DPOY awards and was on the 1st team All defence 7 times (again, in an era with much more teams and therefore players competing against him for these honours) . Russell would have blocked more shots and was probably better defensively but not by that much. This only leaves offence where Rodman is lacking but it's not like Russell was great. He was a much better passer and a better scorer than he was given credit for but it was still the weakest part of his game. He never led his team in scoring and only ever finished 2nd once (and that was by only 1 point). And before you say it wasn't his job to score, was it Rodman's? Certainly I'm not saying Rodman is better or even as good, I'm just saying he isn't as far behind as people would think.

[Peter]

The thing about Rodman playing in a 23-29 team league is that having more players doesn't necessarily make the league better. It's an argument that people always make against expansion. It is also quite difficult to compare across eras. I wasn't alive in Russell's day, and was pretty young in Rodman's heyday so it's hard for me to say either way. I'm just not sure that playing in a bigger league was to Rodman's detriment. How many Primo Brezecs were there in a 7 team league?
On another note there are reports that Garbo is being bought out...but I imagine this is already becoming huge news aronud these parts.

[Sivart]

My bad Doug, I should have actually been less lazy myself and just checked before I made that statement. I hope you can forgive me and still let my comments and mailbag questions go through :)

I'm not sure I know enough about the basketball HOF to know if Horry should be in or not, same with Rodman. Horry is tough because he won so dam much, but you can argue that he was never really the main reason his team ever won, nothing more than perhaps a great role player. Role players really don't have a spot in the hall do they?