HOOPLOG: Chucky Atkins

As the Point Guard Turns

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 07:57:26 -0800

Three Situations to Pay Attention To (Because Five Just Makes This Column Too Damn Long)

Denver
Earl Watson was one of my favorite guys to write about when doing this column last year. The Memphis rotation prevented him from having consistent fantasy value, but whenever Jason Williams was out, Watson was worth plugging in there. In 14 starts he was good for 11.9/3.3/6.5 with 1.4 steals and 1.1 3s. People thought it was odd when he signed with Denver in the offseason since the team already had point guards Andre Miller and Earl Boykins on board. Those opinions certainly didn’t change after he appeared in just one of the team’s first eight games, and Watson seemed like one of the players most likely to be moved once Dec. 15 came around. But with Earl Boykins nursing an injury, Watson has used the last four games to remind us of what he can do. He’s stepped right into Boykins role, coming off the bench gunning. In four games he’s put up an impressive line of 14.3/2.8/4.5 with 2.0 steals and a shockingly great 3.5 3pg in just 27.3 mpg. The 3s are the big surprise. He’s put up at least seven in each of those four games; he had never attempted seven 3s in a single even once before this stretch. So what does it mean for your fantasy team? Not all that much. Boykins will probably miss a few more games, so Watson will have a few more chances to show his stuff. (It should also be noted that Marcus Camby has missed the last three games and Kenyon Martin sat out yesterday’s, meaning there was more offense to go around.) When Boykins is ready to return, it’s hard to see Watson maintaining any of his current value. Andre Miller is playing some of the best ball of his career, and because of size issues, there’s just no way that all three of them can be on the court together for an extended period of time. Watson’s inspired play this past week has surely captured the attention of teams around the league, but at the same time it probably reminded the Nuggets of why they signed him in the first place. Watson’s a nifty little player, and he’s probably better to have around than Boykins, as Watson’s +9.6 (tops on the team, by the way) compared to Boykins’s –3.0 might attest. The Nuggets are in dire need of interior help with Camby and Martin perpetually banged up and Nene out for the year, so it’s possible Watson could still be shipped out. And now you know – or at least are reminded – that Watson can be filed in with the same group of guys as Jameer Nelson and Mo Williams – all they need is an opportunity.

Portland
Oh, happy day – a legitimate excuse to actually write about my favorite basketball player of the past decade, Steve Blake. If you’re a regular reader – and if you aren’t, may I ask why not? – you should know that we are Wizards fans and former Terps. So we have a long history with Stevie – I even have a Wiz jersey with his name on it. When Antonio Daniels and Chucky Atkins came on board over the summer it was clear that Blake was out of the Wizards’ plans, which was obviously disappointing to me. I didn’t mind seeing Juan Dixon leave – he’s just not all that good. But Blake, while far from a perfect player, is a useful guy to have around as a backup point guard. He signed with Portland, and like Watson, immediately found himself #3 on the depth chart behind Sebastian Telfair and rookie Jarrett Jack. Again like Watson, he was a forgotten man early in the season, appearing in just two of the first 12 games of the season. But once Nate McMillian gave him a chance, he offered some solid production off the bench and when Telfair went down with a thumb injury it was Blake, not Jack, who got the starting nod. That was quite a breakout performance on Friday against the Sonics – 19 points, 13 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 3s, 1 block on 7-of-14 shooting. Despite picking up two fouls in the first minute of last night’s game against the shitty, sorry, no-account, pathetic Wizards, Blake went for 14/5/4 with a 3 in 23 minutes, leading a short-handed Blazers squad to victory. So what does Blake bring to the table? Well, since he arrived at Maryland as a freshman he’s tried to shed the label that he’s not a strong outside shooter, but he’s actually not bad. Over his career thus far he’s 119-for-311, which is a strong 38%. For comparison’s sake, “great shooter” Juan Dixon is a career 32% shooter from long range. Blake’s a smart player who looks for his teammates but has a tendency to try to make the spectacular play a bit too often. I always argued that his game would be better suited for the NBA when he would be surrounded by players who could anticipate and handle his passes. And then he ends up on the 05-06 Blazers. Oh well. Blake seems to have won the trust of McMillian over the past week or so and should stay in the starting lineup as long as Telfair is out, which could be anywhere from a few games to a month. Just keep checking the Portland papers to find out. (Note: Reports indicate Telfair will be out for at least a month. Great news for all the players mentioned here.) As long as Blake is starting he deserves serious consideration and makes a great guy to plug into the utility spot this week, although road games against Detroit, Memphis and Minnesota aren’t the most enticing matchups.

Juan Dixon qualifies at PG in at least Yahoo leagues, and now that he’s cracked the starting lineup for the Blazers, it’s time to give him a shot. We’ve been tough on Juan around here, but we still love him. He’s still not going to be a fantasy savior and given the same amount of PT, Blake should have more value, but Dixon should hit just enough 3s and grab enough steals to have some marginal value. His FG% will always be a drag – he’ll have his good games, like last night’s 8-for-13 performance or his 13-for-22 game against the Hornets two weeks ago, but be prepared for some 4-for-15s. He’s actually been a complete non-entity in the steals department this year, but he averages 1.7 p40 over his career, so you’d expect him to approach that level with regular PT. Jarrett Jack is another person who could have some value in the deepest of leagues while the Blazers deal with all of their injury issues, but it seems like McMillian likes keeping him in a limited role. He had a very impressive 11/6/8 performance last night, but played just six minutes in the game before that. He was Telfair’s primary backup before he went down, and the fact that he was passed over for the starting nod seems to be a pretty good indication of how McMillian wants to use him right now.

Los Angeles Clippers
Shaun Livingston was a popular preseason sleeper pick despite the fact that he has already proven to be quite brittle and would be in the backcourt with proven vets Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley. But it was understandable based on his April stats from last season and the simpler fact that the kid can flat out play. In 10 April starts he put up a line of 11.0/4.4/7.4 with 1.4 steals on 45% shooting. Nice numbers, but he didn’t even attempt a 3 in that period. Not too bad in real life – a point guard needs to make good decisions, and if you can’t hit the 3, don’t take it – but that’s not what we look from from a PG in fantasy land. The Clippers took their time letting Livingston get healthy at the beginning of the season, sensing no need to rush him considering his past and the Clippers fast start. The 20-year old was rusty in his first game back, failing to register an assist in 20 minutes of action; he notched at least one dime in every game he played last year. But Livingston showed why he was so highly regarded in his second game back as he dished 10 assists (with just a single turnover) in 29 minutes of action in a Clips win over the Rockets. Livingston was out there during crunch time, and while that may have had a lot to do with the fact that Corey Maggette was out, it is still worth noting. He obviously has a long future in the league, but his fantasy outlook is still murky. Playing time issues aside – and it looks like he should be able to see around 20 mpg as long as Cassell and Mobley are healthy – Livingston still needs that secondary skill to help him emerge from the pack. We know the assists will be there, but what else? His 1.6 steals p40 last season was good but not great. We already know his complete aversion to shooting 3s. He shot 41% last year, so we can’t expect anything great there. Right now he’s looking a lot like T.J. Ford. Check out their rookie season p40:

Livingston: 10.9/7.4/4.4 with 1.6 steals, 0.5 blocks, 3.7 turnovers, on 41% shooting.
Ford: 10.6/9.7/4.8 with 1.6 steals, 0.1 blocks, 3.8 turnovers, on 38% shooting.

Ford has added sort of added the 3-point shot to his repertoire this year (hitting 0.6 per game on 41% shooting) and he’s seriously boosted his FG% even with more shots. So Livingston certainly has a chance to be much improved in the near future. But even if he somehow found himself with a starting job, he looks to be PG2 material for the time being.

Comet Gain
Jason Kidd – 14/9/1 with two 3s, a steal and a block yesterday – in the first quarter. You knew those assists were start piling up

Andre Miller – Speaking of piling up assists, 10.1 in the last 9 games for Miller; also picking up scoring slack with injuries piling up, but career low 72% from the line isn’t too hot.

Chris Duhon – You know he runs hot and cold; 17.0/3.7/4.0 with 3.7 3s and 61% shooting over last three is pretty hot.

Chauncey Billups – Don’t bother calling it an All-Star game if Chauncey’s not there this year; 21.3/2.713.0 with 3 3s on 64% shooting over last 3 is almost – almost – expected at this point.

Chucky Atkins – The 3s are starting to come in bunches – 13 in his last four games; with Jarvis Hayes out for at least the next three games he’s a great short-term add as he’s seen 44.5 mpg in his two starts thus far.

The Hold Steady
Gilbert Arenas – Absolutely killing his owners in FG%, but absolutely dominant in 3s, FT%, assists, steals and points. That’s not a bad trade off.

Sarunas Jasikevicius – Still a starter even with Jamaal Tinsley back? That’s good news. Expect fewer assists, but the steals and 3s should still be there.

Marko Jaric – Numbers haven’t been great (8.5/3.5/6.0 with 1.5 steals and no 3s), but the fact that he’s seen 39 mpg in the two contests since Troy Hudson returned is at least encouraging.

Mike James – A clunker yesterday, but 19.0/3.0/4.7 with 2.3 3s in the three games before that were a nice bounce back.

Stephon Marbury – Still waiting for him to bust out; after going for 30+ in 17 games last year, has done it only twice this year.

The Fall
Jason Williams – Maybe he won’t officially lose his starting job to Gary Payton, but you’ve got to think that especially with Riley on board, he’ll be on an extremely short leash when he gets back.

Nate Robinson – There’s a reason the Knicks are a team to stay away from; one day you’re a “must” pick-up, the next day right back on the waiver wire.

Damon Stoudamire – Still a solid option, but team’s recent scoring woes have taken a toll on his production; career low in steals is very disappointing.

Steve Francis – Shooting only 19-for-54 (35%) since returning from injuries, with a 20 assists/13 turnovers to boot. Quite unimpressive.

Mike Bibby – Another second overall pick that’s been disappointing; I’m still a big fan, but the 0.9 steals after tying his career high with 1.6 last year is bad news.

Frustrated Atkins Gets His First Start

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 21:59:52 -0800

Chucky Atkins, who has expressed frustration over his role for several weeks, makes his first start of the season."> By Ivan Carter Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, December 14, 2005; Page E09 Chucky ...

Atkins Shares Szczerbiak's Outlook

Thu, 17 Nov 2005 22:53:57 -0800

Wizards guard Chucky Atkins said his shot feels good but simply hasn't been dropping.

Deal for Butler, Atkins Looking One-Sided

Mon, 14 Nov 2005 09:44:04 -0800

Ivan Carter of THE WASHINGTON POST writes, The interesting thing about the trade that sent Kwame Brown to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins is that while Brown claimed that he was ready to be a 'beast' this season, it is Butler who is playing like one."

Reading Preseason Box Scores

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 10:23:10 -0800

So here at FBB HQ, we were discussing what to talk about this week, now that we’ve finished off ranking just about everything there is to be ranked. Here’s a quote from DM: “We could do some preseason stuff (as in DO NOT PAY ATTENTION TO PRESEASON STATS).” To which I say: “really?”

Sure, the majority of preseason stats are of little to no value. Players aren’t getting the minutes they normally would, they’re not playing full speed in a lot of cases, and they’re often on the floor against future CBA-ers. But there’s still some important stuff going on. I mean, come on – it’s been like 4 months since we’ve had a box score to look at. So what should you be looking for when checking out the numbers? How 'bout this:

Rookie Projections
Before you roll your eyes, I’m not trying to tell you that what a rookie does in the preseason is what he’ll do ion the regular season. Because it’s not. But a lot of rookies will change their games when they enter the NBA. One thing to look for is any sort of unexpected stats from rookies. For example, Chris Paul grabbed ten rebounds last night against Denver. And two games before that, he pulled down seven against Atlanta. This is a guy who averaged 4.5 rpg last year in college – good, but not great - so it’s safe to say that those kind of numbers are a bit unexpected. All you have to do is look at Jason Kidd to know how much strong rebounding numbers can help a PG’s fantasy value.

Here’s another example. Last year with Connecticut, Charlie Villanueva took a total of twelve 3-pointers all year long – making six of them. Over the last five preseason games with Toronto, Villanueva has gone five for twelve from the arc. Where did this come from? Who knows, and who cares. The important thing is that if Villanueva keeps shooting the long ball, he’s going to have more value than many thought.

Position Battles
Here in Washington, we’ve got a nice little position battle between Chucky Atkins and Antonio Daniels, who are fighting to be the new backcourt mate of Gilbert Arenas. Last night in Houston, each got over 34 minutes, and Atkins way out-performed Daniels, as has been the case throughout most of the preseason. Should Atkins end up winning the battle and getting 30+ mpg for the Wiz, he’ll be worth a late round draft pick.

Similarly, there are battles to be won in Atlanta (three of them, really), New York (PT at center), and a number of other spots across the league.

Injury Watches
Nagging injuries in the preseason generally will turn into non-issues during the regular season. But sometimes, there’s truth to them. Shaun Livingston, for example, probably shouldn’t be drafted any more. Quentin Richardson should be sliding down the draft board. Brevin Knight’s elbow could be something to watch. It’s not a terrible idea to spend a late round pick on a guy who’s doing some injury fill-in work, and knowing who’s injured, obviously, is a good way to do that.

So as you can see, preseason games aren’t totally useless. If you know what to look for, there can be some useful information in them. I mean, it’s a basketball box score – it’s gotta be good for something.

Eastern Conference Preview - South East Division

Tue, 27 Sep 2005 17:00:33 -0800

Miami Heat

What can anyone say about a team with Shaquille O'Neal and Dwayne Wade? Of course the Heat will be the favorites to go to the NBA finals.

As great as the Heat were last season, look at what they have done in the off season. They acquired Jason Williams and James Posey from the Grizzlies, signed free agent Antoine Walker and now solidified their bench with the *gulp* veteran Gary Payton. That's right, if you read the Atlantic division preview, the HEX is still on. Actually the HEX is on for two reasons, the "glove" just adds to the old HEX i put on Alonzo Mourning for being sick, too sick to play in Toronto, but not sick enough to hang from Shaq's nuts like Payton is. Good thing Shaq's got two, right?

Is there another guard capable of taking the spotlight off of Lebron James? Dwayne Wade may be the only one right now, in the way that he cuts to the basket and plays defense with no fear and no regard for his own body.

Shaquille O'Neal must look at this year as the year to take it all again. O'Neal is definitely on his way down, his skills are going to erode rather quickly as they usually do with big men. Too many years of pounding on those knees and ankles and too much abuse from the double and triple teams and hack-a-shack's. How many more Shaq "quality" years are left?

This is another lineup that looks as deep as can be. Williams starting at the point backed up by a future Hall of Famer in Gary Payton, Walker starting at power forward backed up by Udonis Haslem, who had a break out year last year (we'll just pretend it had nothing to do with playing next to Shaq), and of course, Shaq backed up by, *uh-hem*, Alonzo Mourning.

I will understand if they Heat win a championship. Wade deserves that kind of success, i just don't like those "cleaner fish" who travel from team to team, only looking for a way to win a championship. Learn from Reggie Miller people...

My Picks:

Best Player: Shaquille O'Neal
Best Rookie: Wayne Simien
Prediction: 1st (Central), 1st (East)

Washington Wizards

I'm the wiz. I'm the wiz. The Wizards laid down the law last season. It was impressive to see a team heading into the playoffs not taking any crap from a player. In 2001, Kwame Brown was the first high school player ever taken with the first pick of the draft. Attitude and injuries always seemed in the forefront with Brown and only one of those can be tolerated, not both.

Brown was traded to the LA Lakers in return for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins. A good move in my opinion, trading a guy that no longer fits into the work ethic of the team for two talented far from superstar players.

The big loss for Washington was having Larry Hughes leave for the Cleveland Cavaliers. It will be difficult to replace that kind of scoring and defensive presence. The Wizards were able to land Antonio Daniels as a free agent, but that's far from replacing anything Hughes gave the team.

The team's strength this year will come from point guard Gilbert Arenas who can score from anywhere and has ice in his veins and the collection of talented big men, led by Antawn Jamison who found new life after coming to Washington from Dallas last season. Brendan Haywood and Etan Thomas are two nasty post players to be pitted against, those guys fight for every point and fight hard.

If the Wiz can get over the loss of Hughes and plug the hole with a combination of Daniels and Butler, there is no reason they can't compete in the SouthEast, although taking on the Miami Heat will be tough.

My Picks:

Best Player: Gilbert Arenas
Best Rookie: *
Prediction: 2nd (Central), 4th (East)

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic are a little bit of an enigma to me. With last season's personnel shuffle following the Tracy McGrady trade, sometimes it looked like the players weren't all on the same page. Doesn't a team led at the point by Steve Francis always seem that way? I thought the same of the Houston Rockets when he was there.

What a great sight to see last year, Grant Hill returning to the court and playing effectively was definitely a sweet story and although his season was cut short towards the end, there is hope that he is fully recovered from his series of ankle surgeries and will return to the court again this season, hopefully more confident and more like his old self than last year.

Dwight Howard, "man child" proved that he can play in this league and will someday be a dominant post player, after all, he was just drafted out of high school and he still averaged a double-double through his rookie season. When is the last time that feat was accomplished? I don't hear enough hype about that. Emeka Okafor averaged a double-double as well, but he was drafted out of the college ranks.

I have to say, it would be nice to see Jameer Nelson get some more starters minutes. It seemed the Magic played a more fluid game when Nelson started at the point and Francis was shifted to shooting guard.

It will be interesting to see if Kelvin Cato and Tony Battie can stay healthy this year. I remember thinking before last season that Tony Battie was a big gamble for the Magic, considering his bad knee history while with the Celtics and Cavaliers, but it didn't play as big a factor in Orlando as i thought. That's not to say the injury is completely over with, but if Battie and Cato can spell each others minutes, I'd be ready to let Howard have a bigger role in the post.

What the heck happened with the Fran Vasquez pick? Vasquez was rated one of the top big men available in this years draft and was taken with Orlando's first pick, 11th overall. Shortly after the draft, we started hearing about Vasquez not going to come to the Magic, rather he would stay in Spain and play for Real Madrid. This is a long standing issue with the NBA draft. Players can enter themselves for eligibility, but it doesn't mean that they actually have to commit to the NBA team that picks them. This was an 11th pick though, if an NBA team knows the player has no intention of coming to the league, then they could use that pick on someone that has shown that interest. Come to think of it, i guess the blame could be laid on the Magic organization as well for not doing their homework properly. They just went into the draft thinking, once picked, they could convince Vasquez to come to Orlando.

"I've said, 'No,' because I was afraid to adapt to the American way of life, and of not giving the level they have asked. I'm not a coward, but I prefer to stay in Spain, progress, and who knows? Maybe jump to the NBA in a few years."

Does that sound like a man ready to commit to the NBA? Could they not have known that before the draft? The lure of the NBA life isn't what we think it is, i guess.

My Picks:

Best Player: Steve Francis
Best Rookie: *
Prediction: 3rd (Central), 10th (East)

Charlotte Bobcats

Expansion what? I remember when the expansion Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies came into the league. The two teams didn't look like they had a hope in hell of improving in their first few seasons. It's a different story for the Bobcats through, you can look at that roster and the way Bernie Bickerstaff has drafted and signed talent and see the improvement coming rather quickly.

I had some questions about the drafting of Emeka Okafor. I had heard the stories of his back problems and how it would hinder his play in the extended NBA schedule. Well, i was wrong to doubt the pick, wasn't i? Okafor played above and beyond expectations and from all accounts is learning and developing this off season in hopes of being a bigger part of the team's offense.

There were too big surprises for me when watching the Bobcats last season. Primoz Brezec, who couldn't bribe his way unto the court in Indiana was picked by Charlotte in the expansion draft and proved to be a steal. The guy can play, he can score and rebound with the best of them, and he's young. Now, who the heck would have thought that Brevin Knight would have been among the league leaders in assist, almost averaging a double-double for the season with points and assists.

This season should be interesting for the Bobcats again and there's no reason to believe they won't improve. The Bobcats drafted a great college point guard in Raymond Felton and they are surely hoping the lack of size Sean May has won't be as big a hindrance as people think.

I just don't think the improvement will be significant enough to get them into the playoffs, but it will bring some more excitement to Charlotte.

My Picks:

Best Player: Emeka Okafor
Best Rookie: Raymond Felton
Prediction: 4th (Central), 11th (East)

Atlanta Hawks

Oh woe, the Hawks ended up having another disappointing season. I've been silently pulling for the Hawks for years. The lovable losers of my life.

Just look at their lineup this season and you can see the potential is incredible, but there is much seasoning to be done. Even the addition of Joe Johnson this off season won't bring the Hawks into the playoffs, the supporting staff in Atlanta is not what it needs to be this season, not that it won't be in the future, it's just not there right now.

Much like the Toronto Raptors, you have to question the choice of selecting a player that occupies the same position as your draft pick of the year prior. Marvin Williams is a great talent, but Josh Childress will have something to say about Williams' playing time.

The Hawks would have taken a huge step into respectability if they had signed Eddy Curry to an offer sheet this off season, but the issue of Curry's irregular heart beat and his unwillingness to be tested by Hawks' doctors just soured that deal to such an extent, there was no getting by it.

Because this team is still so young, there is no way to properly judge the future, other than to say it's going to be good, but whether or not the Hawks can hold on to their young guys beyond their rookie contracts is going to be the question.

My Picks:

Best Player: Joe Johnson
Best Rookie: Marvin Williams
Prediction: 5th (Central), 15th (East)

Q&A with Chucky Atkins

Thu, 25 Aug 2005 16:54:10 -0800

Veteran guard Chucky Atkins, who was acquired by the Wizards on August 2, recently phoned in from Orlando to discuss the upcoming season and his thoughts on playing in DC.

TalkBack

Sun, 07 Aug 2005 11:51:27 -0800

The Washington Wizards losing Juan Dixon, the star of Maryland's 2002 NCAA championship, ends a special link between Dixon and Washington area basketball fans. Nevertheless, GM Ernie Grunfeld and Coach Eddie Jordan believe that adding Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins from the Lakers and Antonio...

What Do We Do With Blount?

Fri, 05 Aug 2005 00:00:40 -0800

He's become a punchline. A joke. A sad joke that isn't worth laughing at. But what do we do about it? What can we do?

First of all, perhaps we need a little perspective. It is fine to dismiss him as utterly useless when talking about him on a message board, but in real life, he does register a pulse. He's a veteran, even if he doesn't always act like one. He's got playoff experience, even though that didn't do him any good on the bench of the last few games against the Pacers. He's a legit seven footer, even though he spends the bulk of his time at the elbows and doesn't rebound.

I'm going to play bleeding-heart devils-advocate here for a minute. Suppose he's got a legitimate set of excuses to explain away his horrible dropoff in production. He did lose the coach that believed in him and moved him from 12th man to starter on a playoff team. He's had to adapt to a new system that even Paul Pierce struggled with.

Think about the time when he was most successful (if you can remember back that far). He was buoyed a great deal by the Chucky Atkins trade. For once in his life, he had a solid pick-n-roll point guard that would pull the defender away from the basket and deliver the ball to Mark as he cut to the lane. It was a pure, isolation, two man game that was simple and easy to understand. He even had Brandon Hunter throwing bodies around and boxing out so all he had to do was open up his hands and grab a ball out the air. He even worked well in the defensive rotations that Dick Harter had been teaching him the last several years running.

Now think about last year. New coach. New offensive system based on movement. New point guard that would rather post up than pick and roll. Often playing next to Raef who plays on the perimeter a lot. Best friend traded away (at his request) mid season. Fans breathing down his neck for his back to back to back 2 rebound performances. I guess I can see why the guy would sulk.

That's all well and good, but at the money he's making, there really are no excuses good enough. You earn your money or you'll hear it from the fans.

One thing that seems clear about Mark is that he's a proud man. I don't think he ever really gave up all hope and completely quit. I think he was just plain lost in a new system that didn't fit his strengths. On the other hand, I think he was extremely frustrated and didn't really know how to express that. I think he started blaming his troubles on the people around him and making excuses as I've laid out above. I think after a while, he might have even started wondering "why even bother?" and let up a little.

Oh man, if there is one sin that Celtics fans cannot forgive, it is lack of hustle. Give me a completely unskilled player with lots of heart over a skilled player with no heart any day. Mark was always marginally skilled, but we were ok with that when he was making small money and anything he gave us was a bonus. Now that he makes starter money, it kills us to see him sluffing down the court, grim look on his face, waving his arms at an opponent driving right by him. Basically he looks like he's dogging it.

But what do we do about it? Is he enough of a clubhouse cancer and payroll drain that we get rid of him at all costs? Is it worth throwing in Banks and giving up hope on a young point guard with a world of talent (if not smarts ...yet)? It seems like the C's are at that point. Will another team bite? Will we get anything of worth in return? Cap space at least? A backup point guard? Is it worth swapping him for another bad salary just to get his attitude out the door?

Or do we gamble on keeping him around? Gabe has told us that the C's aren't as sour on him as we all are. He's performed before. He's had that 15 footer all along (even this last year). On occasion he even will play defense. Is he salvagable?

Aside from some roster tweaking and a backup point guard signing, this seems to be the last question of the summer. We'll see how Danny plays it.

Butler Is Ready to Serve and Defend

Thu, 04 Aug 2005 18:58:50 -0800

The Wizards officially introduce Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins during a news conference at MCI Center. The Wizards will look to the 6-foot-7, 217-pound Butler to make up for the loss of Larry Hughes.

'Tis Official

Tue, 02 Aug 2005 15:54:53 -0800

Kwame Brown and some cat I've never heard of (Laron Profitt), as well as some cash, are coming to the purple and gold in exchange for Caron Butler and Chucky Atkins.

I liked pre-March Chucky Atkins. Post-March Chucky got a little to mouthy with the reporters and started to be a distraction in my opinion. So I'm not particularly sad to see him go, especially if Smush Parker is as solid as his play was in the Summer Pro league. I don't think Smush is going to be ready for a starter's role but we should be able to find a decent point before the season starts.

I will miss Caron (especially since my mom in law bought the jersey for me). It's sad to see him go because I felt he was making strides toward the end of the season and I thin khe would have been a very legitimate number 3 if not number 2 option.

Kwame better step up.....

Kwame flips coasts

Fri, 15 Jul 2005 12:49:52 -0800

Forum Blue and Gold: Kwame Comes To Town

There are doubts about his work ethic, but will a change of scenery and a new coach change that? Last season Brown shot 64% inside but just 32.8% from outside jumpers, but according to those that have watched him, many of those were fade aways that started on the block (this is not from Pincus, but from a couple of people who know the Wizards well). He has a nice jump hook, but because his first step is great but his jumper iffy, defenders play off him. If the jumper becomes consistent is scoring threat goes up.

His rebounding has never been good for a power forward (a career 13.8% rebound rate [percent of available rebounds grabbed]), can Phil get him to focus on that? The scouting report on him is that when he wants to be, he is a good rebounder.

That scouting report I got also said he is a good man defender but not a great help defender. For his career, he averages just 1.4 blocks per 48 minutes (for comparison, Chris Mihm is 2.5), can Phil get him to improve this part of his game?

The Kwame who defied expectations:

Fantasy Impact (Lakers)

Obviously, the Lakers needed a stronger prescence in the middle. Not sure that I would have gone after Kwame myself… but they did, so what can I do? Nothing. Besides, if he continues to struggle, so will the Lakers. And I don’t have a problem with that. That’s right, I’m as biased as you can get.

Chris Mihm got 25 minutes last year. His numbers per 48 are a lot better than Kwame’s. The Lakers also picked up Andrew Bynum and Ronny Turiaf. I think Turiaf is probably ready to play PF in the NBA (from the, like, 2 games I saw Gonzaga play last season). Bynum will obviously be backing up Brown and Mihm (and Medvedenko for that matter). Brown is probably good enough to work within the Triangle Offense, especially with Lamar and Kobe around him.

Personally, I think the Lakers should have traded down from #10 and taken Jarrett Jack or Luther Head to help them out at the PG position. Or they could have stayed small with Sean May and Mihm at PF and C, Odom at SF, and Kobe and Chucky in the backcourt. But, I digress. I guess it’s because I still have yet to fully digest the draft that I had to indulge myself in that tangent.

The Kwame who looks like he’s defying expectations in this picture:

So, if Kwame picks up the other 24 minutes not filled by Mihm (who’s minutes would not decrease if I were Phil Jackson), he’s going to give you every bit of that 7 and 5 he had last season, and maybe a little more. What about the 0.4 blocks? Don’t fret, those’ll be there. If I was 6′11″ I do believe I could get 0.4 block in my sleep. And I’m white. Kwame was taken 101st last year in ESPN drafts and owned in 6.1% of leagues (which I guess isn’t that bad since Lamar was only owned in 70% of all leagues). The only people who’s numbers are going to go down on the Lakers are the ones you don’t want anyway.

Fantasy Impact (Wizards)

The Wizards aren’t doing so bad considering they lost out on Larry Hughes (but at least they didn’t overpay for him, like I would argue that other team probably did… but then, I can’t even imagine being paid $13 million a year, so I guess my perspective might be skewed). The additions of Caron Butler, Chucky Atkins, and The Next Kevin Garnett. Atkins will be a good backup for Gilbert Arenas, and they’ll probably end up sharing some time together in the backcourt. That said, Dude ain’t gone play no 35 minutes next year. (Speaking of which, who the hell are the Lakers going to play for 35 minutes at the PG position?? Comments please!) Atkins is this: 10 points, 3 assists (maybe more if Arenas and the other Wizards are hitting shots), and 1 three-pointer a game.

Butler will be starting over Jeffries unless he gets moved to SG (not alltogether unlikely). No matter what, though, he’s going to get at least as much time as he had last year since he played 35 minutes and Hughes was putting in 38. I can see Caron going to 38 and giving 17/18 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists (4 if he plays more at shooting guard), and 1.5 steals.

I believe that Etan Thomas and Jared Jeffries will step up to fill in the couple extra points the Wizards lost with the departure of Hughes. I know Thomas is capable of it because he was backing up Emeka Okeafor on my EA Live team and when Chuke went down with an ankle sprain for 4 weeks, Etan stepped it up and was putting up double-doubles. He’s the real deal. I think he’s definitely a GiveMeTheRockian Candidate.

Count it.

Kwame flips coasts

Fri, 15 Jul 2005 12:49:52 -0800

Forum Blue and Gold: Kwame Comes To Town

There are doubts about his work ethic, but will a change of scenery and a new coach change that? Last season Brown shot 64% inside but just 32.8% from outside jumpers, but according to those that have watched him, many of those were fade aways that started on the block (this is not from Pincus, but from a couple of people who know the Wizards well). He has a nice jump hook, but because his first step is great but his jumper iffy, defenders play off him. If the jumper becomes consistent is scoring threat goes up.

His rebounding has never been good for a power forward (a career 13.8% rebound rate [percent of available rebounds grabbed]), can Phil get him to focus on that? The scouting report on him is that when he wants to be, he is a good rebounder.

That scouting report I got also said he is a good man defender but not a great help defender. For his career, he averages just 1.4 blocks per 48 minutes (for comparison, Chris Mihm is 2.5), can Phil get him to improve this part of his game?

The Kwame who defied expectations:

Fantasy Impact (Lakers)

The Kwame who looks like he’s defying expectations in this picture:

Fantasy Impact (Wizards)

Count it.

How to get Something for Nothing

Thu, 14 Jul 2005 14:18:47 -0800

Link: ESPN.com - NBA - Report: Wizards trade Brown to Lakers

What do you do with a player who has never reached his potential and doesn't seem interested at all? Trade him for 2 starters and don't look back.

Kwame Brown is supposedly going to the Lakers for Caron Butler and one of either Chucky Atkins or Devean George.

Brown has been one of those enigmas of the NBA. A big man with a nice athletic body, who could use some filling out to battle the men under the basket, but as he is now, he should have been able to fill the basket and simply out work people with his athleticism. What would that take? Desire. It's like Brown sold his soul for 5 bucks a few years ago, and is now just a shell of a promising young man.

As is often the case, most people believe the remedy here is just a change of scenery and that's what the Lakers are hoping is the case. The Lakers got some good performances from Chris Mihm to begin the season last year, but by March, Mihm looked like the white man who couldn't jump. This move, provided Brown takes it a little personal and has a fire lit under him, could prove to be a good one. The Lakers drafted high school centre Andrew Bynum with their first lottery pick in ages and it would be good experience to see Brown actually deliver on all his potential.

The Wizards aren't going to replace the Cleveland bound Larry Hughes with this move, but they do gain a good, defensive, quick, point guard if they aquire Chucky Atkins. Not only that, but Atkins would let the Wiz play Gilbert Arenas at the shooting guard from time to time and we all know Arenas can score at will. Caron Butler was a great shooter and good scorer for the Heat before he joined LA and had Kobe Bryant take the ball away from him, but he should be able to find his shooting groove in Washington.

This obviously doesn't mean the Wizards aren't looking for another guard to help fill the void left when Hughes skipped town, but at least they got some useful pieces from the Lakers in return for a player who they didn't even want to have sit on the bench during last season's playoffs.

Lakers Acquire Kwame Brown

Thu, 14 Jul 2005 14:18:37 -0800

The Los Angeles Lakers have apparently acquired restricted free agent center Kwame Brown from the Washington Wizards in exchange for forward Caron Butler and either guard Chucky Atkins or forward Devean George.