What they need – Cavaliers, Bucks, Pistons, Pacers, Bulls

With the upcoming Draft around the corner, as well as the MUCH anticipated 2010 free agency, which has been hyped like the world is about to end two years before the Mayans predicted, let’s take a look at each of the 30 teams in the NBA and what I feel they need to do this off-season to make them better for the 10-11 year.

Crazy to think about how we have been hearing EVERYDAY for the past 3 years about how huge this free agency is….and here we almost are. One month away. Time flies by doesn’t it?

Now, two things I want to mention quickly about “What They Need”…

1. We will look at one division at a time, covering all the teams in that division. We are leaving the Atlantic and the Pacific until later, since two of the teams are still rocking.
2. I think that I am a pretty knowledgeable basketball guy, but please take my opinions with a grain of salt. As much as I might know about each of the 30 teams, people who get paid to follow these teams and people who live in the markets and are hardcore fans of each of these team will no doubt know more than I do. I don’t think that I am more of an expert on the Timberwolves then some hardcore b-ball fan who lives in Minnesota, just like I don’t think some basketball fan in Miami knows more about the Raps then I do. WE all have good opinions, but I am just saying that if you disagree, remember that I am certainly not thinking that I am an expert here.

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So, let’s start with the Central division today….

Cleveland Cavs – Starting with a big one. What they need to do is simple…resign Lebron. Of course, what they need to do and what they can do might be two different things. So let’s analyze what happens ether way.

First thing that needed to do regardless of what happens with Lebron was to fire Mike Brown. I agree that sometimes coaches get unfair blame on the lack of success a team has, but not here. Mike Brown was clearly in over his head. The Cavs should have been an uptempo team with the group that they had. WHO is going to stop Lebron in the open court? Has he ever been stopped on the break? But Mike Brown decided to always play with a slow it down offense. That just boggled my mind to be honest. SCREW Shaq, who cares if he can catch up. And you might say “well Mike Brown was forced to use Shaq so he had to go half-court” and to that I remind you that Shaq was in Cleveland for one year. Mike Brown has been slowing it down his entire time with Lebron.

So if Lebron stays, what do they need? Perhaps not much to be honest. A new coach, a new system, and a new voice. I really do blame Mike Brown for the Cavs issues, but if anything they might want to look at in addition is getting a solid defending 2 guard, as Anthony Parker started too show his age 2 seasons ago with the Raptors. ALSO, make sure Shaq is gone for good. Just get a solid center who can defend and rebound. Varajeo thinks he his Michael Jordan, so it’s good to have him come off the bench. They need a Kendrick Perkins-ish center, and give Jamison a training camp to get into a better groove with the team.

Without Lebron…well…thats tough. They need to build around Jamison for the year, and try to get a scoring 2 guard to replace some of the productivity they lose with Lebron. With out the King, the Cavs have NO chance at a title next year, but a scoring 2 guard is what I would aim for.

Milwaukee Bucks – They need an all-star. Doesn’t matter what position, they just need an all-star. Here is a team with some nice pieces, some nice future potential in Jennings, a very good center in Bogut, and a good coach. BUT….nice pieces alone won’t get you anywhere, Jennings could be a good player but I am not sure about great, and I would NEVER build around Bogut as he is an injury risk and has had nice moments so far but not a nice career. This team needs someone else to be the man. Michael Redd was a poor version of that BUT at least he was a version of that.

Now, since we know the Bucks have no chance at a top level guy, they need to focus on the Ellis’s, and Iggy’s. A current borderline all-star who the Bucks can hope can take the next step. I KNOW that Ellis and Iggy have never lead there teams anywhere, but a change in environment, coach and system can change things. And this is the only chance the Bucks have at getting an all-star right now. IF they could try to get sneaky with sign and trades, they could target Dirk Nowitzki, but again, will Dirk pick Milwaukee over a number of other teams? Most likely not.

Chicago Bulls – Next year could be huge for the Bulls, but one thing I want you to ponder….does this team need Lebron? Or do they need low post scoring?

Yes Bulls fans, I know the prospect of getting the best player in the game today on the team is huge….BUT, this is a team that has desperately needed low post scoring FOR YEARS! Seriously, we have talked about this need for at least 5 or 6 seasons. Noah is a very nice player, but he is a rebounder and defender, not a scorer. So what i am suggesting is that they go after Bosh (as a Raps fan that hurts to say) and a three point shooting 2 guard. This will make them a better TEAM.

And that is the key to my argument against going after Lebron. Remember many years ago that dream team the Lakers put together with Shaq, Kobe, Mailman and the Glove? Sure Payton and Malone were over the hill at that point, but regardless, that was a team that was designed for an easy championship. And they ended up getting destroyed by the better TEAM in Detroit. I am just saying that Lebron on the Bulls would win a lot of games, but I think the better chances for a championship would be scoring in the low post.

Of course, getting Lebron is a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I wouldn’t blame them for going after James first. It would be a tough one to pass up, no matter what.

Indiana Pacers – As nice as Danny Granger is, he really is proving to be the injury risk that was predicted when he was drafted. But when healthy, he can be a beast who shoots WAAAAY too many three’s.

But what the Pacers need is a PG. They got TJ Ford before for this spot, but again as a Raps fan I knew that they were not getting much. They need to get a very good PG. The Pacers have an odd team where if they are rolling and the 3’s are falling, they can hang with anyone. But they don’t have the high enough talent level or consistency to do that and make it anymore except 9th-11th place every year. They are like a poor mans Orlando Magic. They need an injection of talent at the 1 spot, and they need to develop other aspects of their game besides jacking 3’s. Orlando can get away with it because of Dwight. The Pacers do not have a Dwight.

Detroit – Ugh…I don’t know here. I guess they just need a healthy season, but even then this is a border line playoff team. I guess they need to get rid of the old, and bring in another new. Say goodbye to Prince and Hamilton, get a decent defending 2 who can shoot and is fine with Gordon getting the most minutes at the position. I am not a big fan of Charlie V, so I think they need to get rid of him…but that won’t happen. So maybe trying to get an athletic center in the draft.

Seriously I don’t know with Detroit. I thought they made some bad moves in signing Gordon and Charlie V.  OK, Gordon can be good, although streaky, but I don’t think ether guy is championship material. Then this team has guys like Prince and Hamilton who clearly want out.

So what I think they need to do is completely rebuild. Top to bottom. But due to the contracts they gave Gordon and Charlie V, and the fact that I doubt Dumar’s will go that far in admitting he made some mistakes, I think this team is going to try to add one or two pieces and give it another go next year. THEN when they fail, they will then be forced to do what they really need to do…a complete rebuild.

Look for more “What they need” in the future. And I would love to hear what you guys and girls have to say about my thoughts, and what your thoughts are in the comment section down below. What do you think?

Chris Bosh just made things more interesting

Tom here at the Program 101 is responsible for the 32 Group Battle Royal, and he is a hard core Knicks guy. But me, Rob, I am a Raptors guy. And it is my role here at The Program to provide the articles that you have been enjoying everyday. What that basically means is that you might just be seeing (check that, you WILL be seeing) some Raptors related material posted on the site from time to time. Of course though, when it comes to Chris Bosh and his upcoming free agency, it really is not just a Raptors related issue, but a league wide issue.

Reports are out that Chris Bosh has given Raptors management a list of 5 teams that he would be interested in joining this summer. This is important to the Raps, because if Bosh decides to leave, the Raptors want to get something in return. If Bosh decided to leave without doing a sign and trade, not only does Bosh get less money, but the Raps are in a screwed position of having just the Mid-Level to sign a new player. And you can’t replace Bosh with just 5 mil. A great website for hoops fans is Hoops World, and they have done a nice job breaking down the sign and trade potential with each of the 5 teams that Bosh mentioned. IMPORTANT TO NOTE that I have read some articles that Bosh’s agent is now claiming that they never gave out a list of 5 teams. So, even though it sounds legit, this 5 team thing still might not be true. But for fun, let’s take a look. With full credit to Hoops World, I am going to post what they said about the potential trades the Raps can do with each of the 4 teams and give my thoughts on what Hoops World had to say. Then I will talk about the Raps and what they can do to get Bosh to resign…

Miami – Because the HEAT are so far under the cap this could be a lopsided deal with the Raptors taking back much less in return, creating for them a Traded Player Exception. It’s likely a deal here would center on Michael Beasley ($5.0 million) and a possible future first-round pick. The HEAT really doesn’t have much else to offer. Adding Bosh via trade may make it possible to re-sign Wade and sign LeBron James as well.

I HIGHLY doubt that Bryan Colangelo (GM of the Raps) wants anything to do with Beasley. Just like how Pat Riley didn’t want anything to do with Beasley ether with that #2 pick a few years ago. Colangelo values high character guys, which Beasley just doesn’t seem to be. Add in the fact that Beasley has shown little potential of being a big time player in the regular season, and COMPLETELY disappeared in the playoffs, I guarantee you that the Raps have VERY little interest in anything the Heat have to offer.

New York – Like Miami the cupboards are a little bare in New York. They’d love for the Raptors to take Eddy Curry ($11.3 million), but that’s probably wishful thinking. The Knicks could offer David Lee in a sign-and-trade deal, plus a draft pick and create a Traded Player Exception; it’s doubtful they offer any of their four remaining players (Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas, Danilo Gallinari, or Bill Walker). Adding Bosh could convince LeBron James to come to New York.

Umm…yeah, you can forget about Eddy Curry. That’s not happening. David Lee on the other hand I can see as a worst case scenario for the Raps. David Lee is a very good player, who’s work ethic is going to be very much appreciated by the Toronto crowd. That being said, the only worse front court defense I can think of then Bosh/Bargnani/Turkoglu is Lee/Bargnani/Turkoglu. The Raps know this, so consider Lee a long shot, but a possibility if all else fails.

Los Angeles – The Lakers have only the MLE they could offer Bosh, so he’d have to take a major pay cut to go that route. In a trade it’s likely the Lakers deal would center on, well, center Andrew Bynum ($13.8 million). To make everything even Sasha Vujacic ($5.5 million) or Luke Walton ($5.3 million) could be included on L.A.’s side and perhaps Marco Belinelli ($2.4 million) on Toronto’s side, as well as draft picks likely headed for Toronto.

I know Laker fans have been talking about a Bynum for Bosh trade for a while, but they never considered one thing when they discussed this…the Raps don’t want Bynum. Why take a guy who gets injured EVERY year, and who might have a lot of potential, but is obviously helped out by playing with Gasol and Kobe. How good is Bynum going to be with less talent around him? Seriously…I rather have David Lee I think then Bynum. I consider any trade involving Bynum VERY unlikely.

Chicago – For the Bulls to work a deal with Bosh it would presumably include the addition of LeBron James via free agency as a straight up signing. It would be presumed Derrick Rose is not on the table and highly unlikely they offer Joakim Noah as well, so that leaves Kirk Hinrich ($9 million – the Raptors already have two point guards in Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack) or Luol Deng ($11.3 million). Bringing in Bosh may also make it possible to trade Taj Gibson ($1.2 million), but he’s very cost-efficient.

Crazy how Chicago could be going from first round knock-out to championship material if things work out well for them this summer. But a sign & trade for Bosh here will be tough. Raps would certainly be interested in Rose or Noah (just like all other 28 teams in the league) but the Bulls will NOT move on Rose, and it’s highly unlikely they move Noah. Maybe if something crazy happens where Lebron tells the Bulls he will come but only if Bosh joins, and the only way to get Bosh from the Raps is to trade Rose, and the potential for a Lebron/Bosh team is too good to pass up so they trade Rose and use Hinrich as the point. But that is fantasy talk. Truth is that Rose won’t go anywhere, Noah most likely won’t, and I don’t see interest in Deng, since we already have money locked into Turk to be our SF. We already have PGs so no need for Hinrich. Unless Noah gets involved, then I don’t see this happening. If Noah gets involved THEN we might be on to something.

Toronto – Obviously there would be no trade here. Toronto remains on the list on the off possibility all of Bosh’s other preferred teams go another route, just so there are no bridges burned. Still, they are probably fifth on the list.

I am sorry but I still don’t think that the Raps being 5th on the list is true. I think the Raps still have a good chance at keeping Bosh. Let me say this…at the all-star break the Raps were in 5th seed and looking very good. Looking like they would put up a strong fight against anyone they got in the first round. After the all-star break is when the wheels fell off, but if the Raps had made the first round and put up a good fight, the chances of Bosh staying were quite high. But that changed when the Raps fell apart and ended up in 9th. Bosh now is looking to play for a winner.

So there is 4 reason why Bosh might stay with the Raps…

1) More money staying with the Raps if the Raps decided against any of these potential S&T.
2) Little known fact – Most players like Toronto. That includes CB4. Sure the warm weather would be nice, but don’t think that players itch to get out of the city because 100% that’s not true.
3) Bosh wants to be the main guy. First, forget this whole “Bosh is not a main guy” thing, thats not the point here. Bosh has said this a few times that he likes being the man, and everything I know about the guy tells me  that this is true. Maybe he has had a change of mind recently. But unless he has, I know that being the main guy is important to him. He won’t get that playing with Lebron, Wade or Kobe.
4) He said that for him to stay with the Raps, the team needs to get more help and preferably an all-star level guard who can create his own shots. THIS is the key to keeping Bosh. If Colangelo can’t work something out, I think Bosh is gone. But let me put a name out there. Andre Iguodala. This is someone I think the Raps COULD get, and the addition of AI does make this Raps team, with Bosh, a heck of a lot better.

Look, you just got to understand one thing here. The Raps team from last year was better than the 9th seed they got. Something happened to this team after the all-star break (part of that was Bosh getting injured during a very tough part of the schedule) and the team chemistry went out the window. This team had serious mental issues. But the talent was there. So with a few changes, one of which is a legit SG (like Iggy, or Ellis from Golden State), this very well could be something that would keep Bosh here AND present a team that could take that next step in the east.

What the Raps do at the draft this year (trades, what they draft) will tell quite a bit about what is going to happen to Bosh come July 1st.