re: nba draft 2008

The next coolest thing to me besides the actual game of basketball is the business side of it…trades, draft  picks, etc…which culminates with the NBA Draft next Thursday the 26th. Everybodies has their predictions… pending injuries, potential draft picks going back to college inside of the NBA draft…here is what I think the first round will look like (there are only two rounds)…I apologize for grammer, sentence structure – I did this is my spare time in about 1:30-2:00 hours…enjoy!!!

NBA Draft 2008

Pick	Team	Choice	Need(s)
1.	Chicago	M. Beasley	Low Post Scorer. The age old question – do you draft for talent or need? Well, if you are the Bulls – you want to draft Rose but you are going to draft Beasley, because unless Rose is the next Magic then you NEED legit frontcourt help.  There are 4 guys in the NBA who averaged 20+&10+ a night, meet number 5
2.	Miami	D. Rose	PG? Center – this is simple, just like last year’s draft, choose whoever they don’t choose
3.	Minnesota	K. Love	Center. This is where the real draft begins.  Love will make life so much easier for A. Jefferson and with Foye & Brewer in the backcourt, the T-wolves only have to fill the SF void
4.	Seattle/OKC	J. Bayless	PG. E.Watson & L.Ridnour haven’t cut it; I’d stick with the Pf&C’s they have drafted for one more year. Swift is garbage, Petro, Collison, & Wilcox all have potential and Sene is unproven –EW & LR have proven that they are not starting PG material.
5.	Memphis	B. Lopez	PF/Center. Need size to pair with Darko. Have 3 PGs and 1 combo Guards. M. Miller & R.Gay are manning the SG&F positions.
6.	NY Knicks	Danilo Gallinari	Everything. Leadership – Knicks fans won’t be happy about this pick, but the new coach would love to have some Italian blood on the roster. He can play a multitude of positions which is what the Knicks need in new Coach Mike Diantoni’s up tempo style of basketball.
7.	LA C	OJ Mayo/ Eric Gordon	If Brand stays & Livingston comes back healthy. Need A Combo Shooting Guard/Small Forward because C.Maggette will be out, due to the bad relationship between him and Coach Dunleavy. If Livingston can’t return to full form then Russel Westbrook would be a good choice, trading down to get D. Colllison, or if E.Brand opts out of his contract then a PF to compliment C.Kaman at Center and A.Thorton at SF would be a solid choice.
8.	Milwaukee	DJ Augustine / Russell Westbrook	PG or SF. With A.Bogut, Y.Jialian, and C.Villanueva at the 4-5 positions and M. Redd holding down the fort at the 2 spot and as nice as a season a M. Williams had I just don’t think he is the long term solution for running the offense and they still have B. Simmons who is unproven in Milwaukee because he hasn’t been healthy during his stay with the Bucks.
9.	Charlotte	D. Jordan	Center. This team is a Center away from being in the playoffs. They have a solid 1-4 and are developing their bench. Size, youth, potential, and athleticism are what they need and this pick should give them just that.
10.	New Jersey	An.Randolph	Center. Plays the PF but at 6-11 he can make the transition over to the 5 spot depending on what they want to J. Boone, S. Williams, D. Diop, and N. Kristic but they all have flaws (Boone’s is size, S. Williams has poor character, Kristic is not durable, and D. Diop is not a starter in this league). With D. Harris, V.Carter, & R. Jefferson manning 1-3 they need to add some talent to their front lines. The only other option would trade down and get a lock down defender at the 2-3 position like a B. Rush to compliment VC and RJ’s more defensive skills.
11.	Indiana	E. Gordon / D. Collinson	PG. The Pacers lack durability – J.O’neal and J. Tinsley are more injured than healthy, so I would either draft a local product for rally support or get a durable point guard who can pass and drive to the whole.
12.	Sacramento	Russell Westbrook/ J. Alexander / D. Collinson	PG unless R. Artest leaves. S.Williams & S.Hawes are your 4&5 for the next 5-8 years, K.Martin is a legit scorer, who just need a facilitator to get them the ball.
13.	Portland	Russell Westbrook/ Ty Lawson / D. Collinson	PG. That is all they are missing, this team will be good for many years to come once they grow into their own. Fully stocked 1-5 (if draft a PG) and have a good bench. If they are worried about not being able to get the PG they covet I would expect them to move up in the draft or trade after the player they want is off the table (much in the same way they got L. Aldridge and B. Roy).
14.	Oakland /Golden State	Donte Green	Center – Athlete. This team has no positions, just athletic bodies. B.Davis might be on the move – that would leave M.Ellis in charge of running the show and adding more playing time for K.Azubuike. D. Green looks like he might be the next S. Marion which I don’t think the Warriors mind having a guy who can play the 3, 4, & 5 spot.
15.	PHX	Donte Green / D. Arthur	Youth – Center or SF/PF. Shaq can’t play many minutes and we see how much better Amare is when he is at the 4 than the 5. Another need is a shot of youth into this team: Diaw, Barbosa, and Amare are good building blocks but another athlete can never hurt.
16.	Philadelphia	D. Arthur / M. Speights	Low Post Scorer. PF – that’s all they’re missing, it would be better if they could sign Brand or Marion but drafting one wouldn’t hurt just have less of an immediate impact
17.	Toronto	R. Lopez	Center. C.Bosh can’t play center, move A.B. to the 3 and find some athletic Center. Or get a SG
18.	Washington DC	K.Koufos /  R. Hibbert	If Arenas stays. Athlete, Leadership, Center. K.Koufos is similar to M.Okur out in Salt Lake City, but more has more athletism, which would help spread the floor and give the Wizards that extra fire power.
19.	Cleveland	C. Budinger	Guy who can make his own shop. SG. The Cavs have a lot of players that would be good third and fourth options, but they do not have a player who is a strong second option next to LBJ. Big Z is a solid third choice, but isn’t getting any younger.
20.	Denver	Best Player Available. B. Rush/ D. Collinson	Tall PG. AI and A. Carter are old and neither of them have any height, which was apparent against LA Lakers in 2008 playoffs, who doesn’t need the ball (facilitator)
21.	New Jersey	R. Hibbert/B. Walker	Center. If already drafted one, PF. B. Walker would be a great person for V.Carter and R.Jefferson to learn from and elongate the career of both players, but cutting their minutes.
22.	Orlando	J. Hickson / B. Rush	Everyone else thinks they need a SG. But I think they need a PF because R.Lewis can be an amazing SF but just a slightly above average PF, then move Hedo to the 2 spot. Need a PF that can move to the Center position. I would trade this pick for either C. Wilcox or D. Gooden, preferably C. Wilcox
23.	Utah	R. Hibbert / B. Rush / B. Walker	Bench Player either a Center or a Guy who can create their own shoot 2-3. This team is ONE player away from reaching the finals, they have got their number one option in D. Williams, their number 2 in Boozer, and would be a better fourth – they need that Lamar Odom player, this might be an opportunity to trade this pick with a player for a seasoned vet.
24.	Seattle/OKC	J. McGee	If they already got a PG earlier, then I would draft a Center or trade the pick. They have a lot of young talent, it is their time to see if they were worth the pick.
25.	Houston	S. Ibaka	Height. Back up Center or Starting PF
26.	San Antonio	N. Batum / R. Hibbert / N. Jawai / J. Dorzey / C. Lee	Youth. I would snag a SF or C. Been missing a Center ever since D. Robinson retired. But Bowen is becoming more and more expendable. With San Antonio’s tendencies to draft internationally I would not be surprised if they pasted on some American talent
27.	New Orleans	B. Rush / B. Walker / N. Jawai / J. Dorzey / C. Lee	Either a SG or a bench player that can play either the 4 or 5. When T. Chandler goes to the bench the Hornets become very small.  A solid high energy back up Center that can move down to the PF position would be good just as long as the Hornets feel M.Peterson and B.Wells are starting material
28.	Memphis	CDR / C. Lee	PF, but if the Grizzles want to get lower cap space, trading M.Miller…then a good dose of drafting within the state would be good to pair up with R.Gay
29.	Detroit	J. Thompson	Center. R.Wallace is never been a 5, get him some help to move him back to the 4 and McDyess to the bench
30.	Boston	J. Dorzey / C. Lee	Trade it for a future pick. They need to develop their young talent (Powe, Davis) while letting their experienced players finish out their days.

re: Happy Thursday!!!

Well we made it through our second week of grad school. That is way exciting. I hope your weekends are super fun! Stay cool, get rest because next week this time we will be half through…YAHHHOOOOO!

On a side note here is a Musician I really enjoy listening to (well at least one of his songs)…here is a link to listen to him http://www.facebook.com/pages/Andrew-Schar/7544059194

The song I enjoy most is “Where I’ll Be”…and yes it is from the Kia Sorento commercial.

–BigMcal

theMayor

Reflection of Mayor Nancholas

Notes:

• Been mayor of Caldwell for 11 years
• AB2C (Apples, Bridges, Cookies, and Courage)
  • Apples: count the seeds in the apple but can you count the apples in a seed?
  • Bridges: know where you are going and how to the get
  • Cookies: need right about of ingredients, mixture, and time to prepare
  • Courage: has a lot to do with leadership

§         Rut – a grave without ends

§         Insanity – doing something the same way over and over yet expecting different results

• Leadership:

§         we (all of us) plant seeds everyday

§         can’t lead unless people are willing to follow

§         In order for people to follow a leader, a leader must have the: trust, respect, and belief of it’s people. As well as great communication skills

• Have to be able to ask
• 2 ears, 1 mouth —-should listen twice as much as you talk

Thoughts:

Well to start I really enjoyed listening to the mayor this morning. I have heard him speak three times in total and this was the smallest group that I have been apart of and enjoyed this one the most. The other times were in the C of I student senate (during the spring) and during the winter when I had an internship at the City of Caldwell (regarding the development of the Downtown Caldwell).

A comment that Mayor Nancholas did not emphasize enough in my mind was when he said, “You have to be able to ask”. That is a crucial aspect about being a leader and a well respected person. Taking into account the thoughts and beliefs of others, because although you may not be able to please everyone – you should at least take into account their view point.

At first when Nancholas started talking about the AB2C…I was like, “WHAT???” How is he going to talk about leadership with apples, bridges, and cookies (courage…made sense to me). But he found a way…he is a great speaker. I went to Orphan Annie’s for lunch, while I was there I saw Mayor Nancholas with Marty Holly (C of I athletic director), we did not chat much but what Marty said I completely agreed with…and that was to have the mayor come and teach a course at the college. I believe the mayor would be a great asset to the students learning environment on campus and that our school would benefit very much from his leadership, knowledge and means to convey that knowledge (communication skills).

re: 8:29 isn’t late…but it sure is hell ain’t early

I just wanted to let you all know why it is I always appear to be struggling to get to class at 8:30am. It isn’t that I am sleeping in until 8:20am or anything, I am up Monday-Thursday at 6:45am. Each morning I great the day with either a bike ride or a run. I would like to be at class earlier, but sometimes I think it will only take 20 minutes to run and it will take 25 minutes—same with biking. I am trying to do a better job of allocating how long my morning exercises take.

Hope that clears things up a bit…so you don’t all think I am a slacker

re: Movies

Taking a quick break from some HW I was watching some previews for upcoming movies…and man there are a lot of movies that I hope to watch because they look pretty cool. Here are some of the ones I want to see:

Already out:

The Happening

The Strangers

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Opening June 27, 2008

WALL-E

Wanted

Gunnin’ For That #1 Spot (

Opening July 2, 2008

Hancock

July 11, 2008

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Opening July 18, 2008

•	The Dark Knight
Opening July 25, 2008
•	The Longshots
•	Step Brothers
Opening August 1, 2008
•	The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
•	The Rocker

Any movies you are looking forward too? Hope you all are having great Mondays!!

re: painting the bleachers…

if you have a second you should really go check out the new weight room that has $110,000.00 of new gym equipment in JAIC…but something I am really proud of the bleachers members of senate painted so that there is a “student section” that students have the ability to be rowdy and not worry about sitting next to infants or grandparents during basketball and volleyball games. Though I think other people got more paint on me than the bleachers ;-}

re: the Kurdy’s

I don’t know about you all, but I really enjoyed the Kurdy’s today. I found them to be very friendly and extremely insightful. Shedding real life situations into our idealistic minds. Whether it was talking to us about mutual funds or joining our professional organization. I thought it was so thoughtful and generous for them to give up their morning to help us out. I really wish that I had one of them as a lead teacher, just because they seem like amazing role models to learn from. One of our questions in the reflection/response that Willie gave us says, “if this individual ‘was’ a leader…..” I am under the firm belief that the Kurdy’s will be leaders forever – from bringing new programs into the school system (Discover Idaho), being NASDAQ Teacher of the year, their compassion, consideration, and love for teaching…was truly something inspiring. Listening to them encouraged me never to settle and always go that extra-mile because wouldn’t you want your teachers to do that for you?

Have a great weekend y’all!

re: something to think about…that’s slightly more profound than toogle…i mean toggle

Do you ever wonder about the purpose of USA professional sports, music, movies? I sometimes ask myself if the purpose of it is to distract the mass majority of people from what is going on in our world. If secretly the government is sppon feeding sports, movies, music to the masses so that we spend less time on issues of government, war, etc. Do you feel the government is the group pushing this on us? Because I love music, movies, television shows, sports (playing and participating), they make up a significant (not statistically) portion of my time…but I find myself wondering if this is a “proper” way to be allocating my time.

It would be interesting to look at the rise of sports, movies, music relative to what other events were taking place during the same time in our nation’s history.

 

re: XMAS 2008

sailing the caribbean sea

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