The New York Daily News has published an interview with Philip Scala, recently retired FBI supervisor who uncovered Donaghy's betting scheme and headed the task force that investigated Donaghy's claims. Scala believes Donaghy told the truth, including about the NBA having other refs that are dirty.

Continue reading this post »

There has been much discussion about Josh Childress taking a contract in Greece this year including that his income is tax free. This may not be accurate. I assume Greece has waived local income taxes for Josh so this post will not address other countries' taxation. It will attempt to address the IRS regulations on US citizens working and living abroad and paying tax to the US.

Continue reading this post »

The economics of drafting Europeans in the bottom of the 1st round has shifted dramatically in the past 5 years. Considering 1) European teams paying significantly more to players; 2) the dollar's drop against the Euro; and 3) the NBA rookie salary structure for 1st round picks there simply is not enough money to sign a European talent after he establishes himself in Europe. (Rudy is amazing to be willing to come anyway.) Both Kopenen and Batum will have to sign 4-5 year contracts in order to play in Europe next year (and get pretty good money). By the end of those contracts they will be getting 3-5 times the salary restricted for low 1st rounder (remember that the salary is the amount when they were drafted). So failing to sign both this year probably means we will not see them again. A side note: I believe 2nd round picks are not restricted in what we can pay so 2nd rounders are more valuable than low 1st rounders for Europeans. It is why KP does so well with this currency.

Both show huge upside and both are raw in experience. Both can be worth having on the roster by the end of this year (getting some playing time).

So the real question to me is do you want to keep these guys or toss off Paul Allen's $3M purchase of each of these draft picks? It would appear that error on the side of keeping the player makes more sense. Especially if there is indeed a trade this next year (likely a 2 or 3 for 1 trade). We also have the ability to waive Raef (hate it if we do) and still keep his salary cap value going into next year. With Greg healthy there will not be minutes for him I would think. That would free up a roster slot if absolutely needed.

A number of posts recently have indicated that the repeated success of a team is guaranteed to generate hatred nationally from other fans. I have been thinking about this and believe there are some nationally hated teams that share some characteristics we should consider.

Continue reading this post »

Hello - This is my first post here but longtime poster on Blazers Edge and a KU alum. The question posed above might be of interest here given the normal interest we all have in our team's draft process. The support for the question comes from a leading NBA draft journalist and evaluator:

Continue reading this post »

There is so much debate about which point guard we need and so many who passionately believe we need a much better point guard to win a championship. In this light I wanted to look at championship teams in the past and how their starting point guards stack up to Steve Blake for this past year. OK- stop laughing. Even I was unprepared for the results.

Continue reading this post »

For an entirely different reason I was reading on FIBA.com and encountered a stunning announcement. Perhaps I was asleep and missed the posting here since it is dated April 28, 2008.

As most of us know the USA plays basketball and the world plays an entirely different game with different rules. That disparity is over. FIBA is the rule-making body for the world and the Olympics. FIBA has adopted NBA rules!

World breakthrough as NBA and FIBA put their eggs in one basket

Continue reading this post »

Most of the draft discussion has been around point guard with occasional mentions (good) of power forward and small forward but almost nothing about Centers. The conventional wisdom seems to be that we have Joel and Greg and we are already good there.

Here is the missing link: 12

Continue reading this post »

There has been much disparaging of Martell and our selection of him and Jarrett Jack instead of Deron Williams or Chris Paul.  While those two players have indeed become big contributors in year 3 Martell is not so shabby. Martell has those qualities so hard to find with terrific athleticism, wonderful shooting form, toughness and size. Some do not appreciate Martell as a shooter. He compares very well with NBA shooters.

Continue reading this post »

NFLDraftbible.com is disclosing that the Cowboys have signed a SS in Dowayne Davis of Syracuse.

Link

DRAFT BIBLE SLEEPER: DOWAYNE DAVIS

One of the prospects flying under the radar is Syracuse safety/cornerbacks Dowayne Davis. After starting at strong safety for two seasons, the 6’0, 200-pound Davis excelled as a senior-- making the transition to cornerback and showing vast improvement in his man coverage. He displayed outstanding athleticism and good instincts, not to mention he can also lay the lumber (see insert). A scouting combine snuff, Davis looks to impress scouts at his pro day workout in March where the former track standout is expected to run in the low 4.4-range. With The Orangemen producing such talents as Tanard Jackson (Buccaneers) and Anthony Smith (Steelers) in recent years, look for Davis to garner some attention. A native of Jamaica, he was also an academic achiever in the classroom.

Posted by NFL DRAFT BIBLE at 7:33 AM