Yardbarker: Antonio McDyess

Rotowhine's Fantasy Basketball Preview: Positional Battles

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:23:23 -0500

In the latest Rotowhine Fantasy Basketball Preview article, Jeff takes a look at several fantasy "hot spots" around the NBA where a team has two players crowding one key position. Who emerges will no doubt aid a fantasy team or two this season. There are more than a few battles worth noting. Let's get to it.

NBA Punchlines: Rip Hamilton Criticizes Former Coach Flip Saunders

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:48:55 -0500

Welcome to the Clippers: Rookie Eric Gordon sprained his ankle during his first practice and will miss a week. (L.A. Times)

The Lakers are trying Lamar Odom out at point guard this preseason, in what we are guessing will be a Scottie Pippen type role. (L.A. Times)

Mike Dunleavy Jr. is looking to parlay his breakout season, and prove those wrong who doubted he could be a good NBA player. (Indy Star)

Rick Adelman is installing a new offense, his offense, in Houston. (Houston Chronicle)

Rip Hamilton had a few things to say about his former coach Flip Saunders yesterday at Pistons camp. (Detroit Free Press)

We have a Mateen Cleaves sighting. (Detroit Free Press)

Antonio McDyess is back in a bench role with the Pistons this year and he is comfortable with that. (Detroit Free Press)

The Cavs need Varejao and Pavlovic to snap out of whatever was going on with them last season. (Plain Dealer)

Finally: Ben Gordon signed the one-year tender offer with the Bulls worth $6.4 million. (Chicago Trib)

Why is the power forward position so cursed in Denver?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:09:41 -0500

Before the Nuggets consider brining Shawn Kemp into training camp, read this...

The 1990's All Nuggets Team

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:49:57 -0500

G: Robert Pack G: Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf F: LaPhonso Ellis F: Antonio McDyess C: Dikembe Mutombo And off the bench ... Reggie Williams Bryant Stith Nick Van Exel Raef LaFrentz Greg Anderson Rodney Rogers Dale Ellis Severe offensive challenges with this team, doubt they'll make the playoffs in this 1990's free for all!

The 1990's All Suns Team

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:07:51 -0500

Let's keep it in the Pacific Divison, as I attemp to structure this monumental task of naming the All-90's team for every NBA franchise! That is, all the franchises that existed. Some of them (Vancouver) are going to be ugly. but here's the Suns, anyways ... G: Jason Kidd G: Kevin Johnson F: Dan Majerle F: Charles Barkley C: Antonio McDyess Tom Chambers Jeff Hornacek Cedric Ceballos Rex Chapman Tom Gugliotta Cliff Robinson Penny Hardaway These guys wouldn't have a center to stand on, but they're guard play is excellent. I'd run both points at the same time because nobody could match that speed, and at the time Kidd wouldn't have been outmatched guarding most 2 guards. McDyess at center is a serious problem, though.

Rumors and Free Agent Updates - Olympics Edition

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:32:26 -0500

Let's start with a couple of Olympic notes. Team USA opened their quest for a gold medal with a 101-70 win over Yao Ming, Yi Jinlian and the Chinese team. USA was up just 12 points at the half but took over in the second half for the 31 point win. It was nice that Yao opened the scoring with a 3. He deserved to have his home fans get excited and cheer him on. Just an observation, but Yi looked pretty bad. If I were the Nets, I'd be a bit worried about now. Next up for the US men's team will be Angola on Tuesday. The USA Women's team won their 27th straight Olympic game as they easily dominated China 108-63 I really like Lisa Leslie. She is a class act all the way. One of the Chinese players went down and it was Lisa Leslie who went to her and helped her up and off the court. The US woman's team is so dominant that it is hard to see them losing even one game. This has nothing to do with basketball but it was so thrilling to watch the men's 400 meter swim relay last night. The French team was the favorite to win and the US team was a serious underdog. One of the French swimmers said the Americans weren't goint to win and the the reason they came to Beijing was to crush the American team. Watching the race, the French swimmer was ahead down the final stretch but Jason Lezak came on strong and passed him to touch just hundreds of a second before him to win the gold. It was so close they had to watch the results board before knowing who won. It was pretty exciting to watch. The race was so fast that even the 4th and 5th place swimmers who didn't medal beat the existing world record. This gives Michael Phelps 8 career gold medals and a chance to make history in these olympics. One more medal and he will surpass Mark Spitz for the most career golds in his career and he still has 6 more races to compete in. He has a chance to win a record 8 gold medals in these olympics. I'm pulling for him. Exciting stuff. Thanks to our friends at one of my very favorite Celtics' blogs, Lex Nihil Novi, I was able to find this 5 DVD set from the Celtics' 17th championship run. According to the photo, it has 5 DVD's with the 4 wins in the finals along with the incredible game 7 against LeBron and the Cavs. Amazon is offering it on a pre-order basis with release promised for October 28. A league source reports that the Cavs might be pursuing Bucks point guard Mo Williams. All the details aren't known, but the Cavs, Bucks and Oklahoma City are reportedly involved in what could be a 3 team trade. The Cavs have long coveted Michael Redd, but the Bucks have made it clear that he is not available. The speculation is that Delonte West will be included with a sign and trade as the Cavs haven't been able to come to terms with him and it wouldn't make sense to have both Delonte and Mo on the same team as both would expect to be starters. I think the Cavs have been unfair to Delonte. He is their starter and they aren't offering him as much as they gave their back up. I wouldn't mind seeing him take the qualifying offer from the Cavs and come back to the Celtics next season. There were rumors that Danny had made an offer for him this season. Whatever happens, I hope he ends up in a good situation because he is a good kid and a good player. Jorge Garbajosa returned to the court playing for Spain in the Olympics. It was 2 years ago when Celtics fans witnessed the then Raptor going down with a horrible leg and ankle injury that could have been career ending. That was a bad year for the Celtics fans as they also witnessed their own Tony Allen go down with a season ending injury. But Garbajosa's injury looked so bad, it could have ended not just his season, but his career. His 13 minute stint for Spain marked the end of a gruelling period that included thousands of hours of rehabilitation and two surgeries. I am glad to see him back on the court. The Celtics have no players in the Olympics but there are plenty of other NBA teams with players competing. Here is a list of the players who are competing for teams other than the US team. Argentina has 5 including Manu Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs), Andres Nocioni (Chicago Bulls), Fabricio Oberto (San Antonio Spurs), Luis Scola (Houston Rockets) and Carlos Delfino (Toronto Raptors). Australia has Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee Bucks). China has Yao Ming (Houston Rockets) and Yi Jianlian (New Jersey Nets). Croatia has Roko-Leni Ukic (Toronto Raptors). Germany has Chris Kaman (Los Angeles Clippers) and Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks). Lithuania includes Linas Kleiza (Denver Nuggets) and Sarunas Jasikevicius (Golden State Warriors). Russia has Andrei Kirilenko (Utah Jazz). Spain has 6 players including Pau Gasol (Los Angeles Lakers), Rudy Fernandez (Portland Trail Blazers), Jose-Manuel Calderon (Toronto Raptors), Marc Gasol (Memphis Grizzlies) Juan Carlos Navarro (Memphis Grizzlies) and Jorge Garbajosa (Toronto Raptors). Thanks to Tom Halzak of the Connecticut Post for pointing out this comment from the Chris McCosky of the Detroit News: Think back to the Boston series. The Pistons, focused on stopping Kevin Garnett, wound up getting punched in the gut by Kendrick Perkins. Neither Rasheed Wallace nor Antonio McDyess could handle his athleticism, and Jason Maxiell, at 6-7, couldn't handle his size. Perk gets some well deserved props from the Detroit media. Detroit signed Kwame Brown with the express purpose of trying to match up with Perk. I still see people questioning Perk's effectiveness. Perk does everything that is asked of him by his coaches and that makes him very valuable. He is willing to do the dirty work without getting a lot of the glory. He does so much that doesn't show up in the box score. He may not get the rebound, but he boxes out so his teammate can. He may not score the basket, but he sets the pick so his teammate can. His value to the team can be most clearly seen in game 5 of the Finals. In games 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are basically ineffectual and aren't a factor. But in game 5 when Perk wasn't in there, they became unstoppable forces. Perk deserves a lot of kudos and it is nice to see him getting some.

Team Preview #2: Detroit Pistons

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 05:23:25 -0500

Let's go to Detroit for #2. LAST SEASON The Pistons advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for an impressive 6th year in a row, but they lost there for the 3rd year in a row and Flip Saunders got fired as a result. Joe Dumars has done an incredible job crafting this team, and they will continue to contend in the East thanks to their emerging young talent. Their Pace Factor of 87.3 was dead last, but they still managed to rank 17th in ppg. OFFSEASON MOVES Key Additions: Kwame Brown, Walter Sharpe, Will Bynum Key Losses: Jarvis Hayes, Theo Ratliff, Lindsey Hunter In a surprising (and somewhat disturbing) move, Dumars decided to sign current #1 bust Kwame Brown to a 2 year, $8 million contract. I can understand a team wanting to sign him as their backup center, but not Detroit, and not for 8 million dollars (if you can make any sense of this move, please contact me). Will Bynum had a cup of coffee with the Warriors a few years ago, and now he'll try to replace Lindsey Hunter as their #3 PG. I don't know anything about Walter Sharpe, other than that he's NOT a 3-point shooter, which is what Detroit lost when Hayes signed with New Jersey. ROTATION / PLAYING TIME Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton will be holding down Detroit's backcourt for the 7th year in a row. Last year however, their minutes hovered around 32-33 mpg instead of the 36-37 mpg they averaged the year before. They got more rest than usual because youngsters Rodney Stuckey (19.0 mpg) and Arron Afflalo (12.9 mpg) proved to be more than capable backups. There have been rumors about Billups being moved to open up more PT for Stuckey, but it looks like they'll keep the former Finals MVP around for now. So expect the veterans to play 30+ minutes once again while Stuckey's minutes get bumped up to 22-24 and Afflalo plays 14-16. At small forward, Tayshaun Prince's minutes (32.9) were down and his fantasy stats were very mediocre. However, I'm expecting Prince's minutes to shoot back up to 34-35 now that Hayes is gone. Antonio McDyess (29.3 mpg) started 78 games at power forward last season, but there's a lot of young talent behind him waiting to steal his minutes. For starters, Jason Maxiell (21.5 mpg) is an athletic beast who I'm expecting him to take over the starting PF spot this season (more on that below). Amir Johnson and Walter Herrmann are also very skilled players, and despite having power forward size, one or the other might actually backup Prince at SF this season. Rasheed Wallace's 30.5 mpg in '07-08 was his lowest average in 9 years. Surprisingly, his stats were almost identical to the year before, but he'll have trouble duplicating them again if his minutes fall any more. Maxiell is strong enough to guard centers, Kwame Brown is good for 6 fouls, and Cheick Samb is a talented shot-blocker, so the Pistons have plenty of big men at the moment. DON'T SLEEP ON: Jason Maxiell & Walter Herrmann Maxiell stands just 6-feet-6 with shoes on, but there are plenty of things to like about him. Let's start with his 7-3 wingspan, excellent leaping ability, and surprising quickness for such a beefcake. He gets off the floor in a hurry to block shots and he attacks the rim with a vengeance that few players possess. Maxiell is more than just a physical specimen tho, as his midrange jumper has improved drastically and his low post moves are pretty solid as well. Want more? He's entering his prime (25 years old) and he posted Detroit's 3rd best Roland Rating in last year's playoffs (while shooting 62.5% FG). His playing time (and thus, fantasy value) was limited in '07-08, but I'm expecting a breakout season of sorts for Mad Max. Walter Herrmann was everyone's favorite "sleeper pick" in 2007, but after averaging just 8.2 minutes and 3.4 points per game, none of those people are gonna go near the guy in 2008. At least, not until he starts playing big minutes and dropping threes left and right. Which is more likely to happen than you think. Jarvis Hayes cramped his style last year, but Hayes is no longer in Detroit, which means that Tayshaun has no clear-cut backup. With Juan Dixon and Lindsey Hunter likely gone as well, that's a lot of 3-point shooting to replace. Stuckey & Afflalo are going to play more this season, but they combined to shoot just 20.3% from beyond the arc last year (ouch). Enter: the finger rolling Fabio. Herrmann has proven that he can knock down threes, and if Prince ever gets hurt, he could have serious value. People are going to be sleeping on this guy, but I suggest you watch him closely. BE CAREFUL OF: Antonio McDyess & Rodney Stuckey I've always been a fan of the Dice Man, but not this year (at least fantasy-wise). He turns 34 in September and the statistics indicate that his production is rapidly declining. After posting a solid 18.1 PER in '06-07, that number plummeted to just 14.1 in '07-08. Additionally, his -3.2 regular season Roland Rating was actually the WORST among all Piston regulars last year. To top it off, his 10.8 points and .8 blocks per 36 minutes were the lowest marks of his career. Someone in your league is going to draft him based on his 8.5 boards per game, but McDyess is going to be a fringe fantasy player at best in '08-09. It feels weird to warn people about Stuckey, because the guy is clearly a future star in the making. Unfortunately, some fantasy sites are hyping this guy up WAY too much. I'll tell you right now, if you target him in the "early-middle rounds" then you're asking for trouble. For starters, Stuckey is a guard with limited 3-point range. His senior in college, he made 1.5 treys per game, but he shot just 26.7% 3P (very poor). As a rookie, he attempted just 16 threes (making only 3) in 1,081 total minutes. For non-three-point-making guards to have serious fantasy value, they must either get a ton of assists (Andre Miller) or a lot of steals and shoot an excellent % from the field (Monta Ellis). Sure, Stuckey is capable of racking up steals and assists, but that's pretty tough to do in under 30 minutes per game, which is where his minutes will likely be unless Billups gets traded. I have no problem swooping up Stuckey with a late round pick, but if you're using an "early-middle round" pick on someone based on the assumption that the guy ahead of him will be traded, well… good luck with that. ROUND BY ROUND TARGETS (Where you should draft these guys in an 8-cat Roto league with 12 teams and 14 man rosters) Billups: Late 3rd Hamilton: 6th - 7th Wallace: 6th - 7th Prince: 10th - 11th Stuckey: 12th - 14th Maxiell: 13th - 14th McDyess: Don't draft (I told you to be careful) Herrmann: Don't draft (but pickup if Prince goes down) Johnson: Don't draft (but watch if you need blocks)

Hoe Cake Kwame Brown Heads to Motown

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:52:50 -0500

Kwame Brown looking to revitalize his career with the Detroit Pistons? Fat chance. Tiny Hands Kwame will never live up to the potential of a first round draft pick, much less the #1 overall.

I Hereby Nominate Kwame Brown For "Luckiest Bastard In The NBA"

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 18:56:52 -0500

Just when you thought that Kwame would be exiled to the Euro League (where he rightfully deserves to TAKE his butterfinger ball-handling cuz he's washed up), Joe Dumars comes out of hiding to make what is sure to be one of the many "big moves" that he promised at the end of the semi's. It has been reported that DET has offered Kwame "Butterfingers" Brown a 2 yr deal worth $4m per year. How does he keep pulling these deals out of his ass when everyone keeps thinking he's "done and ready to be shipped out"? I just don't get it. (I think he's trading sexual favors but you didn't hear that from me.) All I can say to this deal with Detroit is "ARE YOU F***ING SERIOUS, JOE DUMARS?"... SERIOUSLY!! Although the deal is half the LENGTH of Ronny Turiaf's who just signed with the Warriors, it is basically the SAME AMOUNT OF MONEY …. For about 1/8th the result. It's no secret that I have NO LOVE LOSS for Kwame and nearly threw a parade when he got shipped off to Memphis but this is just ABSURD to be paying a guy like THAT, money that he JUST DOESN'T DESERVE. Detroit is sure to be in serious trouble if THIS is the kind of player they are chasing in free agency. So many people they have had opportunities to get their hands on that would have served them SO MUCH BETTER that they chose to pass on. Exhibit A: BRIAN SKINNER of the PHX SUNS, Exhibit B: Earl Barron of the HEAT, Exhibit C: David Harrison from the PACERS. Ugh…. I am outraged that considering they're in need of a "big man" that they would even consider Kwame over those 3 candidates … not to mention RONNY TURIAF. I mean, I watch the guy play almost nightly here in L.A. and I can tell you that he will definitely be missed as our back-up around here…. Only time will tell but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Joe Dumars, although he won't say it PUBLICLY, will end up regretting the decision he has just made to acquire Krackpot Kwame…. Not to mention that the Pistons will probably be a 5-7 rank team as a result of not pursuing the right kind of talent for their roster.

Boom Dizzle Is My New Hero (Fer Shizzle)

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:07:56 -0500

Word on the street (Marc Stein - ESPN, to be specific & The LA Times) is that Baron Davis is leaving A WHOLE LOTTA MONEY on the table to sign with THE CLIPPERS (yes, you heard me right) for 5 yrs and $65m. (sooo.. $13m/yr) As you all well know, he could have exercised his (player) option with the Warriors to the tune of $17,180,000. However, in order to retain carry him on their cap at 150% of his 07-08 salary which equates to $24,660,000. (which, BY THE WAY, is more than Kobe makes, LOL). That left GSW with limited options if they were to keep him and who wants to stay somewhere they're not wanted and can't get playing time (exhibit A: Final Game Of The Season When Nelly Benched Him). SOOOOO ... Boom Dizzle leaves a whole lot on the table says "Call Me A Clipper" to the tune of about HALF what he could have made if he'd have stayed at The GSW. For what it's worth, I think this is a terrific move for him because he can turn anyone into a star. Look what he did for Monta Ellis! And now he will have the support of Phenom Eric Gordon (or as Petros Papadakis calls him "Long Winded Gordon" LOL) I think this could be a new era for the Down & Out Clippers. For soooo long they've been the redheaded stepchildren in Los Angeles basketball and I think they might just have something worth watching if this deal goes through. The Lakers, on the other hand, are probably going to be stuck with the same tired squad that couldn't get it outta first in the Finals unless my dream comes true and they trade Lamar & Vladi (and maybe Mihm, if he's actually DESIRED) for someone tough (AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, CONSISTENT) like Antonio McDyess. I'm proud of Baron Davis. It's not often that you actually see "The Love Of The Game" and not the "Love Of The Money For PLAYING The Game" demonstrated and he clearly wants to be somewhere that he'll make a difference no matter what it costs him. HOORAY FOR BOOM DIZZLE...... FER SHIZZLE. :-) (Sidenote: Kat, looks like you'll have to come to my hood to get your fill now! LOL)

Ex-Nuggets vs. Current Nuggets: Who's Better?

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:04:38 -0500

Comparing active ex-Nugget players to the current Nuggets roster and asking: who would win?

What would be the best trade for the future of the Detroit Pistons???

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 19:34:09 -0500

What would be the best trade for the future of the Detroit Pistons???

Why Billups, 'Sheed most likely to be traded

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 06:32:48 -0500

How about that Joe Dumars? He fired his coach, then made bigger news at the press conference. The Pistons president said he will try to shake up his core, a surprisingly bold statement intended to send a message to the rest of the league: Call me. Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace are most likely to go. Richard Hamilton and Antonio McDyess are most likely to stay. Tayshaun Prince falls somewhere in between. I will explain all that in a second. But first, a word about the coach: Michael Curry is the heavy favorite to be the next coach. This does not mean it's a done deal. It definitely won't happen this week. Dumars will talk to Pistons assistant Terry Porter, the former Milwaukee head coach, and former Mavericks coach Avery Johnson, a fellow Louisianan who is interested in the job. But the job clearly is Curry's to lose, and he is unlikely to lose it. When the new coach holds his first practice, which starter will be gone? I'll list them in order, from most likely to be traded to least likely: 1. Chauncey Billups Last summer, the Pistons invested up to $60.5 million in Mr. Big Shot. So why is he the most likely to go? A few reasons. Dumars talked Tuesday about a lack of urgency in his players. Billups is as responsible for that as anybody. Dumars surely wants a renewed emphasis on defense, and Billups is the weakest defender among starters. Billups is most likely to go because teams covet point guards more than other positions, and the Pistons have two. The Pistons believe Rodney Stuckey can be an elite point guard -- sooner rather than later. Billups, meanwhile, is still an All-Star-caliber player. Anybody with a young roster and a hole at point guard would have to be interested in him. Billups has four years left on his contract, but the last year is not guaranteed. He is owed $36.3 million over the next three years -- reasonable by the NBA's unreasonable standards. So he is highly tradeable. With Stuckey in the fold, the Pistons could package Billups and a young bench player for a high-scoring forward. 2. Rasheed Wallace Wallace easily could go, but it's not just because the Pistons simply want to wash their hands of him. It is because he has high trade value. Wallace's contract is up after next season, and in the wacky world of the NBA, that makes him more attractive to others. Expiring contracts mean future salary-cap space. Wallace also is a 6-foot-10 forward with rare skills (though he didn't flash those skills enough during the Boston series). A contender might see him as the missing piece, and seeing as he has one year left on his deal, the risk is limited. Dumars received several calls about Wallace last summer. He didn't really consider a trade then. He'll listen hard this time. 3. Tayshaun Prince Other teams will want Prince for obvious reasons: He is the youngest Pistons starter (28), he has a reputation as an elite defensive player, and he is versatile. But at times in recent years, Prince has not lived up to his defensive reputation -- he got torched by LeBron James in last year's playoffs and overpowered, at times, by Paul Pierce in this year's conference finals. Worse, Prince sometimes disappears offensively when he draws a big defensive assignment. Prince might have saved his Pistons career with his performance in the first two rounds of the playoffs, when he was the team's best player. If he goes, it probably would be in a package with Billups or Wallace for a star. 4. Antonio McDyess Sense of urgency? If anything, McDyess has too much of a sense of urgency. When the team loses two straight in January, he is apoplectic. McDyess probably has more value to the Pistons than to anybody else. His attitude, reasonable contract and skill set are all appealing to the Pistons. But he turns 34 in September and is unlikely to fetch a big offer. Expect him back. 5. Richard Hamilton Rip isn't going anywhere. He is still among the best in the NBA at using screens, and he is a rare player who can average 20 points without dominating the ball. Hamilton often has been compared to Reggie Miller -- another long, thin jump shooter who kept himself in great shape. Miller was an effective player into his late 30s. Rip is 30. Of course, other teams like Hamilton for the same reasons. But if the Pistons trade him, they would need to acquire somebody with similar skills in the deal, and why trade Rip for a Rip imitation? Besides, Hamilton would provide a perfect complement to Stuckey, who can drive to the basket at will but needs to work on his jump shot. A Hamilton-Stuckey backcourt could keep the Pistons in contention for several years. And you might see it as soon as next season.

Pistons GM Duamrs States: " I'll make a significant trade"

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:54:01 -0500

On Tuesday June 3rd, Pistons GM Joe Dumars held a press conference which had confirmed the firing of Pistons head coach Filp Saunders, but not just that. Dumars said, ""I'll make a significant trade," "We have a core group of guys here that for the first time in six years and I'm letting teams in the league know I'll do a deal. … I'm open for business." When asked about last fridays game he stated "I was disgusted." What would be the best trade for Detroit? (Please don't say Chauncey)!!!!!

The Piston Era is over

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 14:00:21 -0500

Many Pistons fans called me crazy when I buried them and called their era over in the Philadelphia Series. Where are those fans now?