if we were a team close to contention with some good pieces, i would agree with you. But considering that even with Pau we will not be contenders, i have to disagree. Why waste your assets just to tread water? However, it would be tempting just to get out of the Scola contract. I still think we can move that contract without having to trade two 1st rounders to do it.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog...a-draft-royce-white-draft-promise-plus-rumors The Royce White mystery; draft buzz Thursday evening I was the first to report that Iowa State's Royce White had canceled the remainder of his workouts and had gone silent. His agent, Andrew Vye, confirmed that White would not be doing any more workouts or interviews but refused to say whether he had a promise to be picked from a specific team. Is Royce White set for Boston? White was scheduled to work out with the Hawks on Friday but canceled. Later Thursday, two different sources said that the Celtics had told White they'd take him with their 21st pick. Now, "promises" are incredibly hard to nail down, in part because both the players and the teams will deny them. The whole point of the promise is to shut a player down so he limits workouts for other teams, and also to keep where he's really going obscured. So it's no surprise that on Friday morning I was already getting strong denials that White had such a commitment from the Celtics. The sources pointing White to the Celtics are strong ones, and we've moved him to No. 21 in our Mock Draft, version 8.2. However, it's very possible that the promise could be to the Hawks at No. 23. More buzz • The Detroit Pistons have a major workout in Detroit on Monday as the team tries to figure out who should be the No. 9 pick in the draft. The Pistons are clearly looking for a big at No. 9 and have brought in all the guys who might be available to them at that spot. Illinois' Meyers Leonard, North Carolina's Tyler Zeller, North Carolina's John Henson, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger, Baylor's Perry Jones and Kentucky's Terrence Jones are among those scheduled to go head-to-head in that workout. Right now, sources say Leonard and Henson are the two leading candidates in the group. Sullinger has slid on the Pistons' draft board since the team saw his draft combine physical. Mississippi State's Arnett Moultrie is also in the running for the No. 9 pick; however, he's more of a long shot. He worked out earlier with the Pistons. The winner of the workout could very well be the ninth pick if UConn big man Andre Drummond doesn't fall to Detroit. The Pistons are hoping Drummond does fall, and there are scenarios where they could get their wish. Right now it doesn't look like Drummond has a home inside the top five. Sources say he's struggled in workouts and hasn't gotten strong feedback from teams. The Blazers are a real possibility at six. However, the team is also considering Weber State's Damian Lillard and Syracuse's Dion Waiters at six. No other player in this draft has divided opinions the way Drummond has. The Warriors are another potential destination for Drummond. However, he hasn't worked out there, and Warriors owner Joe Lacob has been pushing for the team to draft players with great motors. Drummond, unfortunately, lacks that. If the Blazers and Warriors pass on Drummond, there's a really good chance he slides past the Raptors and gets to Detroit. Even after all that, there's no guarantee that the Pistons would draft him. They too have questions about his maturity and toughness. UConn head coach Jim Calhoun's comment to Andy Katz on Thursday that "three or four years down the road you'll see Andre's incredible potential" scares them to death. Three to four years of development time is an eternity for an NBA lottery pick. After several years of mediocrity, the Pistons really want to make a push for the playoffs now. • UConn wing Jeremy Lamb hasn't worked out since suffering a high ankle sprain early in a workout with the Raptors on June 14. High ankle sprains usually take several weeks to fully heal. However, it looks like Lamb is thinking about restarting draft workouts this weekend or early next week. Several teams, including the Blazers and Suns, are clamoring to get him in. The Raptors, too, would like another shot at seeing him for a full workout. • If Tyler Zeller and Meyers Leonard are both off the board when the Bucks draft at No. 12, don't be surprised if they switch gears and focus on adding a wing. Lamb, Terrence Ross and Moe Harkless are all in consideration there. • The Rockets continue to be as active as any team in the league. They would really like to move up into the top five. However, it looks like they've already turned down at least one offer to package picks Nos. 14 and 16 to get into the top 10. Sources say that while the Rockets want to move up because they feel the draft is really strong in the middle of the first round, they don't want to give up many assets to move up just a few spots. Yes, there are concerns that the Rockets won't be able to get their hands on one of the top bigs (I expect Drummond and Leonard to be off the board by then, and there's a good chance, given the Hornets' trade, that Zeller may be off the board too). However, the Rockets have other ways of adding bigs. The team will have significant cap space this summer and has its eye on restricted free agents Roy Hibbert and Omer Asik. Houston is one of those teams that will always draft the best player available, regardless of need.
my thoughts exactly. it's time to be bold. Assets we should be aggressively looking to trade: Lowry, Llull (assuming we resign Dragic), Bud, Morris, Kev Martin, Dalembert, and the Dallas top-20 protected 1st rounder. Scola isn't exactly an asset with his contract, but he should be on the move too. I don't think Lee can be traded prior to picking up his option, but i don't see him on the team past next season, so he should be moved as well. Those are a lot of assets. Get going Morey!
Maybe teams are asking for an arm and a leg to trade up into the top 5, and Morey's believing someone good will slide to 14....just like Patrick Patterson, "who was #6 on our draft board, we couldn't believe he was there at #14! (j*zz j*zz)" I just hope they have a new home targeted for Lowry, and will receive good value in return. That alone should get you well into the top 10; but Morey certainly wouldn't advertise it. And any team looking to take him, well, might be focused on Lillard and Waiters.
