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Perhaps a taker for Sessions?- “The Knicks weren’t in the lottery for the first time since 2007 (the second of two picks yielded to Chicago in the Eddy Curry trade), but the results of the drawing could set up an opportunity for them. For one, the Cavaliers certainly have to strongly consider taking Duke point guard Kyrie Irving with the first overall pick. Irving is widely regarded as the top player in what many scouts and team executives are calling an extremely shallow draft. The Cavs already have Davis, whom they traded for last season, and yet also have Ramon Sessions. If they take Irving, you’d have to expect Sessions would be available.
Mike D’Antoni has wanted Sessions since 2009, when he was a restricted free agent. The 25 year old point guard is from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — yes, the same place where D’Antoni’s brother, Knicks assistant coach Dan D’Antoni, coached high school ball — and both D’Antoni’s feel Sessions would be a perfect fit in this offense.” [Hahn/Newsday] (H/T Cavs the Blog)
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“The last time the Cavs found themselves in this position was 1986 and their are similarities to that draft and this one. The key lies with the front office. In 1986, the Cavs were able to trade Roy Hinson and cash to Philadelphia for the 76ers No. 1 pick – the first overall – so they could select Brad Daugherty. They then used their own lottery pick – No. 7 – to select Ron Harper. Finally, the Cavs traded a future second-round pick to Dallas for Mark Price. How’s that for a day’s work?” [Pullo/Red Right 88]
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“The Steelers and Ravens have their answers at quarterback. Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, 29, already has led his team to three Super Bowls, winning two, and is currently in the prime of his career. Baltimore’s Joe Flacon, 26, has led the Ravens to three consecutive playoff appearances and continues to get better.
That puts an immense amount of pressure on Dalton and McCoy to catch up. Their futures directly tie into Cincinnati and Cleveland’s ability or inability to close the gap within the division. If both are busts, there might not be an end in sight to the dominance by Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Neither the Bengals nor the Browns have any shot of overcoming these perennial contenders with shoddy quarterback play. “It’s horrible; there’s nothing good about [inexperienced quarterbacks] facing the Ravens and Steelers,” said Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. “They’re not carbon copies of each other, but their philosophy is pretty similar. They’re going to take away your running game, and you’re not going to outwork them in the trenches or move them. Then you’re one-dimensional, and then you’re in trouble.” [Walker/AFC North Blog]
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More on David Kahn’s statement about the draft lottery- “Maybe he was making light of the fact the Timberwolves luck — always bad — never seems to change. Maybe he was trying to make light of the fact that some good luck charms, such as an ultra-confident and charming 14-year-old in a bow tie and Buddy Holly glasses, work better than others. But one thing is for certain: Kahn, whatever he meant, chose cruel words.
“The NBA has a habit … of producing some pretty incredible story lines ”
No, Mr. Kahn. The NBA doesn’t. Lotteries do. It doesn’t take Shirley Jackson or an old Bogie movie to know that lotteries spawn great storylines. Lottery stories are compelling for the simple fact that winning a lottery is catching lightning in a bottle. Good story lines will sometimes come from the Lottery not because the NBA wants it to, but because of the randomness of the event itself. The NBA has its share of problems — allowing a numbskull such as Donald Sterling to own the Clippers, by having Isiah Thomas hang around its edges and having the impending lockout hanging like the sword of Damocles over the 2011-12 season — but “fixing” the Lottery results are not one of them.” [Peterson/Hardwood Paroxysm]
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In case you missed it yesterday-”Now, Irving gets the benefit of a coach, Byron Scott, whose inventory of knowledge includes a Showtime Lakers career as Magic Johnson’s running mate and a coaching run that includes Jason Kidd and Chris Paul under his watch. Irving will find a city dying to embrace him, and he’ll make it easy. And once they hear that his family took a pass on LeBron and his wooing partners, they’ll be even more impressed. For everyone’s sake, it probably works out that Maverick Carter, Rich Paul and the rest of LeBron’s Akron buddies don’t come marching back into Quicken Loans Arena arm and arm with the future of the Cavaliers’ franchise. It would’ve been a wild scene full of acrimony and tension, but Kyrie Irving made it easy for everyone, and yes, that’s what great point guards are supposed to do.” [Wojnarowski/Yahoo]
(Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
