NBA Free Agent Action is Hot!

Take a few days off to catch some fish at the cabin and you miss like, 1 million free agent signings in the NBA.  I'm going to hit a few of the highlights.  Or lowlights.

1.  Might as well start with your precious T-Wolves, who signed Kevin Martin and Chase Budinger in a move to try to surround the Ricky Rubio/Kevin Love nucleus with as many poorly defending shooters as possible.  You take those two, J.J. Barea, Rubio, Love, Luke Ridnour, and Derrick Williams and add Shabazz Muhammad to the mix and the Wolves might end up being the worst defensive team in the league next year, especially if Kirilenko isn't back.  Nikola Pekovic, who it sounds like they're going to do everything to keep, is a decent post defender but not a rim protector in the slightest, which taken all together means that Giorgui Dieng is the only true paint defensive presence on the entire team.  You know, the guy whose job it is to discourage guys like Lebron and Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook from driving past all those white guards over and over again.  Sounds like a recipe for success!

2.  Dwight Howard is going to Houston.  Howard turned down more years and more money to stay with the Lakers and play with two (possibly 3) other future Hall-of-Famers, which is a stunningly good decision given Howard's track record the last three years.

Apparently the Howard signing isn't loved by everyone, as incumbent starting center Omer Asik has said he doesn't want Howard there, doesn't want to back him up, and doesn't want to play next to him and might want out of Houston.  Well guess what Omer?  I got news for you: I'm pretty sure they were exploring trades for you already.  Outside of free throw shooting his entire skill set is Dwight Howard extra lite, he offers nothing complimentary to Howard's game, and he's good enough where they can get something nice back for him most likely.  Sorry Omer, but you're not Dwight.

And make no mistake - Dwight Howard is still really, really good and it seems like everyone is forgetting that.  Last year was horrible, yes, but

1.  He was returning from a back injury, which for a player like him who relies on his athleticism and specifically his ability to jump quickly that is a tough one to play through.
2. The system he was playing in last year sucked for him, and playing with Kobe Bryant made him miserable which, because he's an immature person, made him sulk and affected his play.
3. People around the country hated, or at least had a strong dislike for Howard and the way he got Orlando's coach fired, then pushed his way out,then got Mike Brown fired with the Lakers.  Dwight is an immature person, and being disliked made him extra miserable and see #2.

Basically Howard is an immature baby who is mentally weak and who is going to sulk and suck when he's not happy.  He still averaged 17 & 12 with nearly 3 blocks per game while being only half engaged.  You don't think he's going to be better next year with his co-super star as James Harden, who knows about deferring when it's time to defer? He's still just 28 years old.  What if he actually realizes he has an amazing opportunity to learn from two of the best big men in history (Hakeem and McHale) and embraces it?  He could be a monster.  Going to be a big year for Houston.  Big.

3.  Sticking with the Rockets, they also traded your best friend Royce White to the 76ers.  Clearly Philly succeeded so well with one troubled but talented young big man in Andrew Bynum that they were super excited to try it again. Since Royce is pretty much afraid of everything, he's started walking to Philly from Houston and expects to be there by time training camps begin. Also, I really think trading Jrue Holiday is going to end up being a mistake for Philly.

4.  In what was, to me, the most shocking development of this period Brad Stevens (formerly of Butler) has agreed to become coach of the Celtics.  I was up at the cabin with Snacks and news was on in the background because we only get one channel up there and when the banner "Stevens to Boston" came up we had to yell and shush everybody else up and do you know how hard it is to shush up three women and one old man who've been hammering wine since mid-day?  It ain't Ninja Gaiden hard, but it's hard.

I'm just totally blown away because I assumed Stevens was going to be at Butler until he was lured away by Indiana or Duke or Kentucky or one of the other big-time college programs - I never ever thought he'd be going to the NBA for some reason.  I think part of it is because I thought we were done poaching college coaches and trying to make them NBA coaches since basically everybody has been a failure (seriously who is the best coach to make the switch?  I think it's P.J. Carlesimo which is like whoa).  Also this surprises me because Stevens is only 36 and has zero NBA experience.  People threw enough of a fit over Rich Pitino getting hired to coach kids at 30, but now Stevens is going to handle grown ass millionaires at 36?  I know it's a young team after trading Garnett and Pierce, but their best player is a total head case in Rajon Rondo.  There's almost no way Rondo spaz out by midseason. I'm not saying Stevens won't work out for sure, I'm just saying he won't with Rondo around.  FACT.

5.  The Hawks and Bucks got into a big fight over Kyle Korver.  Looking at the teams involved, you'd probably guess that this was an idiotic fight to get in to, and as usual you're right.  There were no winners in this fight, except of course Korver who ended up with a 4-year, $26 million contract which, considering he's going to be 37 at the end of that deal and he has exactly one discernible skill seems like a bit of an overpay, but then again J.J. Redick got 4/$27 and Jose Calderon got 4/$28 apparently that's the running rate for a one dimensional player who is really good at that one dimension and terrible at everything else.  For some reason, this seems terribly unfair.

6.  The Warriors are getting interesting.  First, because Dawger will point it out anyway, despite all my misgivings Steph Curry has completely proven me wrong and is a very, very good NBA player.  He's not as good as Bill Simmons thought he was during the play-offs, but he's an all-star, I will admit, and there's no doubt that he and Klay Thompson are a pretty dynamic duo.   Next season Harrison Barnes will be a year older and a year better, and he started to show some pretty dramatic growth in the playoffs and he gives the Warriors three pretty good wing players who can score in bunches. 

Now, via free agency, they've added Andre Iguodala, who doesn't score in bunches the way the other three do but is still averages 15 ppg for his carrer, is an absolutely outstanding defender, and can handle the ball and create well enough the Curry will get more chances to run off the ball, which will only help.  The plan seems to be to go with all four in the lineup at a time quite often, which will work if Barnes can defend and rebound at the 4 (remains to be seen), but even if not that's a pretty potent lineup, and Andrew Bogut (if healthy) is a good enough interior defender to make up for some defensive mistakes.  Really though, having four players who can all dribble, create, and shoot is something few teams have, and any time all four of those guys are on the floor it should be fun to watch.  Possibly on both ends.

7.  Milwaukee, oh Milwaukee.  First they made a trade towards the end of last season to acquire J.J. Redick, giving Tobias Harris to Orlando.  Harris, who averaged less than 12 minutes per game with the Bucks, was given starter's minutes in Orlando and went on to average 17 pts and 9 rebounds per game.  The Bucks just traded Redick (in a sign and trade) and received two second-round picks in return.  Then Monta Ellis opted out of his deal, which might actually be a good thing, but also means the Bucks have to find a way to replace some production all while with the handicap of selling Milwaukee to free agents.

Their big moves so far have been to sign O.J. Mayo, Zaza Pachulia, and Carlos Delfino - essentially a sixth man and two back-ups.  Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis (he gone), and Mike Dunleavey (he gone) were the team's top 3 scorers last year and now all three may be gone depending on what Jennings ends up doing.  Essentially the team is a bunch of so-so big men (John Henson is probably the best or at least has the most potential depending on what you think of Larry Sanders whose name does not actually have to be capitalized nerds) and Ish Smith.  This is either completely pathetic, or a genius realization that they're never going to be able to build a contending team through free agency and are in full on tank mode.  Given that we're talking Wisconsin, they're probably just drunk.

8.  We all know that the Lakers are somehow going to end up with Andrew Wiggins in next year's draft, right?  That's just how it happens.  If their smart they'll amnesty Kobe (since he is taking up nearly half of their cap room) trade Nash to Dallas for the heart warming Dirk/Nash reunion, trade Gasol and World Peace for whatever they can get and completely bottom out and hope for Wiggins.  What they will do is continue trotting out a lineup completely mismatched to D'Antoni's system which will be mismatched because Kobe will rush himself back by the season opener and they'll end up missing the playoffs by just a couple games and then win the lottery anyway because the NBA is rigged and everybody knows it.  Fact.

Who could say no to this?

Minnesota Timberwolves 2012-2013 Preview

Ricky Rehabbing Knee

So, I had planned on doing a little blurb about every team in the NBA leading up to a grand Timberwolves finale today.  I made it through the Eastern Conference and I'm freaking exhausted.  So, today I'm doing the Wolves season preview as planned, and maybe I'll haiku the crap out of the rest of the conference early next week.

Chance for the playoffs
Hangs in the balance by just
a few knee tendons

If I knew how to photoshop, I'd draw a face on that mole.

Say what you will about KAHN, he's certainly had his ups and downs as the GM for the Timberwolves.  One thing that continues to be a theme though is if you can't play, you're out.  Even if he drafted you and thought very highly of you (Flynn>hi) - he doesn't keep you around long if you don't perform.  Another thing that is fairly easy to see is how the Wolves have gained depth under the KAHN regime. Remember when guys like Rashad McCants, Sebastien Telfair and Craig Smith were playing major minutes?

Also, I don't know how he did it, but getting Rick Adelman was a stroke of luck/genius.  It could be as simple as Kevin Love's connection to him, but man, he is one good NBA coach.  I'm sure all of the money helps too.

Let's break down our 2012-13 Timberwolves by position.

Point Guard - There is no doubt that Ricky Rubio was a sensation in 2011...right up until the horrible knee injury that resulted in a torn ACL and LCL.  Watching that poor dude roll on the ground was pretty sad.  Seeing him now as he prepares to return (mid-December is the latest projection), he appears to be in high spirits and ready to roll.  Rubio probably won't be going for 35mpg like he did last season, rather they'll work him back slowly, so I wouldn't expect a big jump from the 10 points and 8 assists he had last year.  He truly is a player that everyone on the court better and I can't wait for him to get back.  In the meantime, Luke Ridnour and JJ Barea are more than capable backup point guards.  Ridnour (12ppg, 4.8apg) signed a 4 year, $16MM deal in 2010 that was panned by most, but he's been a solid player.  Look for the 32.2% he shot from 3 point range to jump back up to the 37-38% range.  Barea (11ppg) was banged up a lot last year, but I like his aggressive play style and he'll chip in as well.

Shooting Guard - Brandon Roy is back!  You may remember the Timberwolves briefly had his rights before we pissed them away for Randy Foye and $1MM cash money.  Roy went overseas and had super secret wolverine type procedures to repair his knees with adamantium.  He'll be playing 30+ minutes right off the bat, so we'll see how he holds up I guess.  I'm hopeful and with the injuries I can see Roy being a 17-18+ppg game until Love and Rubio return.  This guy can score and can finish games, and if he's 90% of his formal self we have a legit 2-guard.  Alexey Shved was a sneaky signing from Russia and I and many other internet knobs have compared his game to Rubio's.  It's true in that he's an excellent ball handler, he's all over on the court, he runs the floor.  It's different in that he's bigger (6'7") and he's a better shooter.  He may not play much early as Ridnour and Barea may see time at the shooting guard as well, but I see him playing more as the year progress.  Malcolm Lee is a second round pick from UCLA that is in his second year with the Wolves.  He's considered a pretty good defender and by most accounts is work hard to improve his all-around game.  I don't see him playing a lot unless they're even further decimated by injuries at this point.

Small Forward - The Wolves landed another Russian import and former all-star in Andrei Kirilenko.  One thing previous Wolves' teams have lacked is a lock-down type defender.  Kirlienko can be that guy.  He's big enough to play the small or power forward position and he's very nifty inside.  He moves well without the ball and runs the floor on the break.  He even shoots a decent percentage from the 3 (35.7%) over his career.  He's also average more than a block and a steal per game through his career.  He doesn't need to be a focal point of an offense to be effective, which is extremely useful.  Chase Budinger was also added this year when the Wolves traded their #18 pick to Houston for him.  Kevin McHale satisfied his man-crush for Royce White with that pick and the headaches have already begun. (maddencruiser)  Budinger is a good offensive player; he's athletic, he runs well and can shoot it.  Dante Cunningham was obtained in a trade to Memphis for Wayne Ellington.  Cunningham is a physical player that is known for his defense and rebounding skills.  

Power Forward - Kevin Love, work-out machine, busted his hand doing kick ass high intensity knuckle pushups and will be out until at least late November. We'll also see plenty of Derrick Williams this year and he'll start in Love's absence.  He had a couple of big pre-season games and he really needs to show something early in the year.  He had surgery on his nose of all things in the off-season to improve his breathing which apparently will allow him to work out more and just get along better in general basketball-wise.  I wouldn't be surprised if Kahn shops Williams this year as there is kind of a logjam at SF/PF, but I doubt he'd give up Williams for peanuts, but it's definitely time to put up or shut up.  Louis Amundson is a warm body at the PF position that can't shoot and is kind of a long-haired Mark Madson.

Center - Nikola Pekovic, who I've always been a fan of because I think he's probably buried a couple of bodies in Montenegro, had a big breakout last season.  He's leaner and even meaner this year and I expect big things.  In fact, Pek and Roy will likely be the main options early in the year.  Like Love, Pekovic is a monster on the offensive glass. He averaged 14 points and 7.4 rebounds last year, but that doesn't reflect how great he was when his minutes picked up.  Greg Stiemsma was brought in from the Boston Celtics and is taking a break from his acting career in the Hellboy movies.  He brings a strong defensive presence as well (recognize a theme, we have some defenders!).  

So, there you have it, a quick recap of the roster.  There's a lot to be hopeful for even with the injuries.  As long as Roy doesn't break and Rubio and Love return in December, we're going to watch some playoff basketball come spring. 

Wolves Retool, Emphasis on the Tool

It's been a wild and wacky off-season for the Wolves.  The one thing you can say about Kahn is he doesn't stand pat.  I appreciate the fact that he's wheeling and dealing and scraping for some players instead of signing the basketball equivalent of Jamey Carroll and quitting. (Yes, I know about Willingham, but stay with me.)  If you're a big dork like me an follow twitter and websites for every off-season hoops rumor you know the Wolves are involved in about half of them.  They didn't always hit on their efforts to land players, but boy are they trying.  In addition, the drafting of Rubio and the play of Kevin Love actually makes players want to come here now!  Can you believe that?  Brandon Roy talked about a white Christmas with his family moving to Minnesota.  That's freaking incredible.

By the way, the basketball equivalent of Jamey Carroll is Toronto Raptor Jose Calderon.

I can do a few things, but I am overpaid and deserve your hatred.

The Wolves moved some malcontents and underachievers for some new white guys and an embattled former star.  Beasley was allowed to walk instead of picking up his $9MM-ish qualifying offer.  He went to Phoenix where he'll likely be allowed to chuck it 20 times a game in order to get them a high lottery pick.  Martell Webster was also jettisoned; and he could be considered the first salvo in what has become a Portland/Minnesota hoops feud.  Minnesota claims that Portland knew that Martell's back was beyond jacked and did not trade in good faith.  They are actually pursuing this with the NBA and asking for a pick (assume 2nd round) for compensation.  I doubt anything comes of it other than some people laugh at Kahn.

The Wolves then made a play for Nic Batum in the hopes of getting a wing that could actually defend someone one-on-one.  They made an pretty massive offer for a player that has a lot of skill and upside, but isn't an all-star type...at least not yet.  The Blazers waited until the zero hour and then matched.  At the same time they also helped facilitate a trade for another potential Wolves target by being the 3rd party in the Courtney Lee sign and trade to the Celtics.  This isn't over, Blazers! *shakesfist*

The Wolves also got Brandon Roy, who apparently has regenerated some knee parts by visiting the Island of Dr. Moreau and getting some injections.  In cripple mode he was near worthless, but he claims he feels better than he's felt in years after the procedure, so we'll see.  If the Wovles get 25 mins a game of  not quite as good as ol' Roy, that's a steal.  Remember Ol' Roy dog food from Christmas Vacation?

So who else is gone?  Anthony Randolph, Brad Miller (retired), probably Anthony Tolliver (as they're out of spots unless they cut some dudes) and former #4 pick Wes Johnson.  Watching Wes Johnson go dunk-a-tron on everyone at Syracuse made me think this was a good pick at the time.  Turns out Wes didn't have any fire in his belly and just kind of coasted through most of his games with the Wolves.  I'm pretty sure Wes is constantly on shrooms; do they test for that? Wes goes to Phoenix (Beasley AND Wes, what could go wrong?) and will try for new life on a career that's been disapointingly poop-stained.  Oh yeah, they traded Wayne Ellington for Dante Cunningham too.

In exchange for these guys, the Wolves brought in a veritable blizzard of white guys. You already know about Chase Budinger coming aboard for the 18th overall pick. In addition the Wolves add a pair of Russians in Aleksey Shved (23) and  Andrei Kirilenko (31).  The Wes trade was to free up cap to get Kirilenko, who Kahn signed toa  2 year $20MM deal. That is a LOT of cash for a guy on the back nine of his career, but there are no other FAs left that can bring what he can and I've been given to understand the second year is a player option in case Andrei wants to go back to Mother Russia and drink wodka.  Plus, Kirlenko has a sweet nick-name (AK47) and a hot wife that lets him go off the farm on his b-day.  Shved is an upside play and I've watched enough youtube to see that he's as slippery as an eel and has good ball-handling and an OK jumper. I've seen clips where he alternates between delivering and receiving alley-oops.  He signed a 3 year deal for about $10MM and I like the play for some sneaky upside.  If he were a draft pick I'd consider him the type of guy that goes in the 15-25 range.  Could be solid; could make you punch your cat in frustration.  Lastly, the Wolves signed backup center Greg Stiemsma to fill their backup stiff position.  Stiemsa has a couple things going for him:  1) he's white and we're apparently trying to set some kind of record with that and 2) he can defend inside a bit.  I think he was a good signing.

The lack of shoulder blades allows Shved to more easily windmill dunk.

So the roster as of now is something like this:

PG:  Rubio (out w/knee), Ridnour, Barea, Jerome Dyson?
SG:  Ol' Roy, Budinger (SF), Shved, Malcom Lee?
SF:  Andrei Kirilenko, Dante Cunningham, Robbie Hummel Figurine
PF:  Love, D. Williams
C:   Pekovic, Greg Stiemsma, Paulo Prestes?

That's an incredible 11 white-ish players.  Although I'm not certain about the guys with questions marks making the team at this point.  That list has 16 and the Wolves need to get down to 15.  In addition, the Wolves had been in talks with Carl Landry to bolster their big man ranks.  I did think Prestes looked decent in summer league play, but no one tries there.  Jerome Dyson sucks (get it?) and I haven't seen much of Lee but the reason he was drafted in the 2nd in 2011 was he can defend, so it might be a good idea to hang on to him.  Dante Cunningham is kind of Jack of all trades type that should be able to provides some defense. 

This season likely hinges on Brandon Roy and Ricky Rubio's health.  As mentioned, if Roy can be 90% of his old self and play around 25 minutes, he's a weapon.  Rubio's recovery from knee surgery appears to be going great and I've heard anything from late September to December for the date of his return.  If he can come back and play like he was playing before injury, this is a team that can get in the playoffs.  There.  I said it.

Roy may not start in the beginning and I could see lineups were Budinger starts at the 2 or at the 3, pushing Kirilenko to the bench.  I also suspect AK47 and D. Williams will share a lot of time on the floor with Williams defending the lesser offensive weapon at either the 3 or 4.  There are lineup configurations here that present post options with Pek, pick an roll options with a number of players as well as some players that love to run.  Budinger, Ak47, Williams, Shved and even Stiemsma can run the floor and will get some alley-oops.  Should be fun to watch. 

Defensively, there are a few players that I consider good passing lane defenders, like Rubio and Budinger.  Pek is good on the blocks just because he's very physical.  Steimsma is a plus defender, as are Kirilenko and Cunningham.  Love is still a turnstyle but he and Pek rebound like the dickens.

Early homer projection based on a healthy Rubio return by late November is a .500 record and the 8 seed.

In closing...

Makes you want to troll the Russian Brides websites...

Monday Musings

-  I was actually intending to make this a report on the Gopher hoops recruiting so far for 2013, but it turns out there's pretty much nothing to report.  There are still zero commitments, which I knew, but the list of names is really underwhelming, if you believe the recruiting services.  According to ESPN the Gophers have nine offers out, but the highest ranking ESPN gives any of the players who they say have received one is an 79.  To put that in perspective, 2012 signee Wally Ellenson is a 90, and Oto Osenieks was an 87 as was Justin Cobbs.  Which means that according to ESPN Tubby is currently looking to get guys who are at the same level of Dan Monson type recruits.  Now, these recruiting gurus aren't always right because they had both Al Nolen and Devoe Joseph ranked in the 70s and they turned into contributors at the very least, but still it's not exactly an exciting list.

Rivals has it a bit different with the Gophers having extended 18 offers, and there are two players of interest who they give a rank of 4 stars who remained uncommitted:  G Juwan Parker (#94 overall) and G Xavier Rathan-Mayes (#66).  Of course, Parker has already narrowed his list to Memphis, Georgia, or Stanford and Mayes has teams like Kansas, Texas, Arizona, Memphis, and NC State after him so the odds on the Gophers are pretty negligible.  I'll stay more in the loop when things pick up, but man there's is just nothing to report right now.  A couple of names of interest are G Martez Walker and F Nick Fuller who are both lefties and shooters (Walker is a guard, Fuller a small foward) who ESPN lists as "considering" the Gophers, however neither site lists the Gophers as having made an offer to either of them so I don't know.  In short, there's nothing happening and that's super uplifting and makes me really, really happy for the future of the team.

-  So the NBA Draft happened without the Wolves involvement.  I actually watched the entire first round and was typing up a live blog type of deal but then I got behind and then I realized I was writing a paragraph for each pick and that was way too many words to read or type and also I got bored so I quit.  A few quick NBA thoughts, however:

• Outside of the top 3 picks, who were the right guys and right situations I thought, the pick of the draft was pretty clearly Perry Jones to the Thunder at #28.  Once again, OKC proves their front office is better than most.  Let's see, Jones was a top-3 pick if he came out last year, had a so-so sophomore season at Baylor where he shrunk from the pressure in big games, but was still expected in the late lottery and then slides to the end of the first due to a knee injury?  When nobody really knows how serious it is?  I get that if you had a lottery pick you'd rather not roll the dice here, but Fab Melo?  John Jenkins?  Miles fucking Plumlee?  It's ludicrous to me that someone would rather have those guys with almost zero upside than a guy like Jones.  Plus, Jones probably needed one of two things out of the team drafting him to succeed - either an athletic team that likes to get up and down where he can use his athleticism to be a big-time asset in transition or a team with one or two established alpha stars so he wouldn't have to face the pressure of being a savior.  And guess what?  He got both.  And bless the Thunder for not being as dumb as everyone else and realizing it makes infinitely more sense to roll the dice that a big-time talent like Jones will be healthy than burning the pick on Festus Ezeli or Jae Crowder.  I mean seriously.
• Speaking of Jones, even though the Wolves would have had their pick of him, Jared Sullinger, or Terrence Jones if they had kept #18 I still think the trade for Budinger was the right call.  First, you probably couldn't have guessing any of those three would have been there at 18.  Second, they all have serious question marks where you know you're getting a decent scorer who can shoot in Budinger, and thirdly, they all play PF and Kevin Love is probably going to be pretty good for the next 3.5 years before he demands a trade and says he'd never sign another contract with Minnesota after the slapped him in the face by offering him a 4-year deal instead of a five.  So yeah, I like the pick-up.
• Hopefully the Wolves can get Batum as well.  He's a restricted free agent so Portland may match the 4 years and $50ish million the Wolves have offered, but the Blazers have also, ridiculously, offered a max contract to Roy Hibbert which I can't imagine the Pacers matching (especially since they just drafted his replacement in the awesome Miles Plumlee).  Batum, Love, and Rubio are a pretty solid foundation (Batum's only 23) for the next few years.  And Derrick Williams, if he ends up figuring it out.  And speaking of....
• I'm really not sure what to think of this Pau Gasol heat we're hearing.  I can see why the Wolves might want him.  Skilled big man who can play next to Love, excellent high post passer whose unselfish game will translate well with the kind of culture Rubio breeds just by playing with him, him and Ricky can get tacos together or watch bullfighting on tv or whatever, which will only make Rubio more comfortable, which can only be a good thing.  I'm not really sure why they're so hot to move on from Derrick Williams already but if Rick Adelman is done with him that's good enough for me.  I have gotten a distinct whiff of "loses the necessary weight to play the 3 but turns himself into nothing but a 3-point specialist" at the same time.  It's either that or he figures out how to be an undersized 4, and I'm just not seeing it.  I guess I'm in favor of trading Williams and getting Gasol back.  I just think Gasol, Rubio, Batum, Love, Pekovic, Ridnour, Barea, and Budinger make this a really fun team, and now that I type that out I look like a racist.  Great.
• So since I'm on board with getting Gasol and trading Williams, and Dwight Howard has managed to completely destroy his own image in Orlando, and the Nets just traded for Joe Johnson and his ridiculous contract, resigned Gerald Wallace, and want to resign Deron Williams so they're probably not in the Howard discussion anymore, tell me how much this makes sense:
• Wolves trade Derrick Williams, Luke Ridnour, Martell Webster, Brad Miller, and Wes Johnson and receive Pau Gasol and Jason Richardson
• Lakers trade Gasol and Andrew Bynum and get Dwight Howard, Martell Webster, and Luke Ridnour
• Magic trade Howard and Richardson and receive Derrick Williams, Wes Johnson, Brad Miller, and Andrew Bynum
• It works under the salary rules, and everybody gets what they want.  The Wolves get Gasol and a veteran shooting guard they could certainly use in Richardson.  He isn't the athlete he once was but he still averaged 12 points per game and shot 37% from three last year and could take over for Wes Johnson's minutes, especially with Barea playing more point with Ridnour gone.  The Lakers get Howard, who they covet, but also pick up Ridnour to play the point - a major weakness for them this past season.  They also get Webster, who can give them some bench scoring which is another issue for them.  And the Magic get two great pieces to build around in Williams and Bynum, as well as a young guard in Johnson and cap relief in Miller.  It's not perfect - Richardson's contract sucks for the Wolves and the Lakers are maybe giving up a tad too much in both Bynum and Gasol, but I really think this trade makes good sense for all three parties (if you're on the Gasol train).  Really, it's pretty much a genius idea by me.  
• Back to the draft quick, I thought their were two really poor moves - one in the lottery and one late.  The Meyers Leonard pick baffles me because I never thought he'd be a first round pick let alone a top 10 guy, or at least not after last season.  He's athletic for a 7-footer and can shoot free throws, but Tyler Zeller is a rich man's version of Leonard and John Henson is basically guaranteed to be a rotation player at worst because of his defense.  Both were available, and either would have been a better pick than Leonard.  The other move was the Heat trading Arnett Moultrie.  A defensive and rebounding specialist who led the SEC in rebounding last year and was 9th in the country, and despite averaging a double-double last year he wasn't remotely an offensive player.  He could patrol the paint for the Heat and grab rebounds and block a few shots and score off put-backs every once in a while.  He was perfect for that team, yet they traded him to Philly for Justin Hamilton, a poor man's Arnett Moultrie.  They got a future first as well, but dude was a perfect fit.  Reminds me a lot of when the Wolves traded Mario Chalmers even though they desperately needed a PG.  Buncha clown shoes running' teams these days.
• I should also mention Tony Wroten to the Grizz is a really nice pick that late in the draft (at #25).  Odds are he flames out, as most late firsts do, but he has a whole lot of potential and is a sick athlete.  He had some troubling numbers in college, namely 58% free-throw shooting, 16% 3-point shooting, and 3.8 turnovers per game, but if you watched him play at all it was clear he had an NBA body with NBA athleticism and just couldn't harness himself within the college game (which is why Circus Ball U was a perfect fit for him).  That certainly doesn't guarantee NBA success as Corey Benjamin, DerMarr Johnson, and Jerome Moiso could tell you, but it's better than taking Miles fucking Plumlee.
• Keep an eye on the Hawks right now.  They just dumped Joe Johnson's contract to the Nets and then followed that up by sending Marvin Williams and his awful contract to Utah for Devin Harris.  Johnson is owed something like $100 million over the next four years (I'm not exaggerating) while Marvin is owed $16 million over the next two.  Atlanta suddenly has a ton of cap space, is Dwight Howard's home town, still have Josh Smith (good friend of Howard's) and just acquired Anthony Morrow (another Howard buddy) in the Johnson deal.  So they'll have tons of cap space plus retained some tradeable assets (Al Horford, Jeff Teague), two interesting rookies (John Jenkins, Mike Scott), and picked up a future first rounder (protected) in the Johnson trade.  Suddenly a Howard and Chris Paul pairing is a realistic possibility.  If Howard can wait it out and he and Paul sign you're looking at Paul/Morrow/Smith/Horford/Howard.  That's pretty whoa.

- That was certainly a lot of words about NBA things.  I certainly didn't see that coming.