http://www.nbadraft.net/park001.asp decent reading if your bored.. 1) Stromile Swift - Houston Rockets This incredible athlete has been playing behind Pau Gasol and Lorenzen Wright in Memphis for the past couple of years, itching for the chance for more playing time. For his career he has averaged 21 minutes a game. With Juwan Howard's heart ailment and Vin Baker's effectiveness dwindling, Swift will be handed the starting position on a silver platter. Assuming his production is proportional with the minutes he will be getting, and being surrounded by such talent as Yao Ming and Tracey McGrady; look for Swift to breakout to the tune of 15-16ppg, 8rpg and 2bpg and be a regular on the plays of the night. Also look for Yao Ming to benefit from having a legitimate PF who will relieve him of the constant poundings opposing defenses dish out on him. 2) Luke Ridnour - Seattle Sonics The PG tandem of Ridnour and Antonio Daniels was great for the Sonics last season. Daniels knew that Ridnour was the PG of the future for this franchise and wisely took his act to the Washington Wizards. Will Ridnour make the people of Seattle forget about Gary Payton with his lock-down abilities? Hardly. What Ridnour is, is a true PG with exceptional vision and an ever-growing confidence in his jumper. Ronald "Flip" Murray will push him for minutes, but look for Ridnour to continue to put up big assist numbers and increase his scoring output significantly this upcoming season. 3) Caron Butler - Washington Wizards Trying to get Kobe Bryant to share the ball when your name is Shaquille is hard enough, and next to impossible if you're anyone else. Imagine how frustrating it must have been for a player who is not only capable of being a legit scoring option for a struggling team, settling for Bryant's scraps with less than 3 seconds to go on the shot clock. Its no wonder Butler averaged over 20 points per game when Bryant missed time at the end of the season. The lack of trust on offense for the Lakers last year stunted Butler's growth from becoming an all-star caliber SF that he is capable of. In Butler's new situation with the Wizards, he will get plenty of looks and scoring opportunities within Eddie Jordan's modified Princeton Offense, especially with Larry Hughes gone to Cleveland. Look for big things from the former Connecticut All-American this season. 4) Shaun Livingston - LA Clippers Marko Jaric has been shipped to Minnesota for an aging Sam Cassell, which should open the door for Livingston to get more playing time (assuming he is fully recovered from his injury). And to make things absolutely clear, I'm an unbashed fan of Livingston. Shaun is an absolute marvel to watch from a basketball fanatic's eyes. Like Penny Hardaway when he first entered the league, Livingston breaks the mold Livingston has Small Forward's size, possessing skill and creativity to get the ball to teammates like a true PG, unlike others who dilute themselves into thinking they can be a PG. A defensive nightmare for opposing defenses and an absolute coach's dream, look for Shaun to have a breakout season as long as he is able to stay healthy. 5) Raja Bell - Phoenix Suns Here's a prediction. Raja Bell will not only start for the Suns but become one their most valuable players. With the Michael Finley headed to the Spurs, Bell is slotted to play significant minutes for the Suns. Bell was asked to help with ball handling duties this past season for Utah and with injuries to key players on the Jazz, the whole team suffered. Bell will now be playing alongside Steve Nash, last year's MVP, along with studs in Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire. Bell will be able to focus on what he does best, play defense, as well as benefit from having so many great offensive players on your team with plenty of open looks. The thing that will make his contributions more visible to the rest of the league this season will be the fact that it will be in a winning environment, unlike last season. 6) Andre Iguodala - Philadelphia 76ers After a rookie campaign filled with highlight reel dunks backed by solid numbers, look for Iguodala to be more involved on the offensive end this season. He has already drawn the reputation as a lock-down defender and amazing athlete but look for his abilities to make plays with the ball and setup his teammates will be utilized more. Iguodala will not be asked to score 20 points per game as long as a certain Allen Iverson is on the Sixers, but he should be asked to pick up some of the scoring slack and continue wrecking havoc on the passing lanes. 7) Zaza Pachulia - Atlanta Hawks Get used to hearing this name, especially those of you in the Atlanta area, because Zaza is coming to a town near you. He is still only 21 years old, possesses a solid understanding of the game and was the object of a bidding war between Atlanta and Milwaukee this off-season. Why? In roughly 19 minutes per game last season he managed to pull down over five rebounds per game. The only competition for serious playing time at the center position will come from Jason Collier, so look for Zaza to enjoy the best statistical season of his young career. He should also benefit from the acquisition of Joe Johnson who is an underrated distributor along with the continual development of Josh Smith and the shooting prowess of rookie Salim Stoudamire. Plus, how could you forget someone named Zaza? 8) Sebastian Telfair - Portland Trailblazers After finishing off last season on a strong note, Telfair will pick up where he left off and then some. He averaged over 18 points per game in the Vegas Summer-league and showed total command of initializing the offense which showed in his six assists per game which led the summer league. Not only are the two incumbents Damon Stoudamire and Nick Van Exel no longer with Portland, the only true backup he'll have is Jarrett Jack, a rookie from Georgia Tech who has plenty of questions surrounding him. Though Telfair will still struggle with getting his shot off against longer defenders, look for Telfair to score in double digits and assist numbers to near double from last season. 9) J. R. Smith - New Orleans Hornets Smith led the Vegas Summer-League in scoring. That's somewhat good news for a franchise, a city for that matter, that could use any good news they can get in this point in time. Look for Chris Paul and Smith to making things very entertaining for Hornets fans this upcoming season. Smith is very active and athletic, but his greatest asset might be his ability to shoot very comfortably and accurately from the NBA 3-point range. That is a rare combination for any player, especially one that is only entering his second season out of High School. Smith and Paul should be a joy to watch for many years to come but look for Smith to put up big numbers for this struggling team early and often. 10) Kwame Brown - LA Lakers So he had a bad reputation in Washington as a talented player who does not enjoy playing the game, oversleeps for practices and what not, who cares? I care. Okay don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of Kwame Brown, but I think a trade is exactly what Kwame needed to knock some sense into him. A 7-footer, with unworldly athleticism, Brown has shown glimpses of absolute dominance the past couple of years but has generally disappeared when his team needed him the most. Some may still be not sold-out on the possibility of Brown becoming a consistent low-post presence. Especially considering Phil Jackson's lack of tolerance for those who do not put forth consistent effort and Kobe Bryant's mistrust of teammates on offense. But something tells me Kwame might have finally been humbled to a point where he was actually rattled enough to start making some changes in this work ethic and start realizing some of this great potential he possesses. Stay tuned… Honorable Mention: F - Travis Outlaw (Portland), C - Chris Kaman (LA Clippers), (Sacramento), F - Nick Collison (Seattle), G - Juan Dixon (Portland), F - Mike Sweetney (New York), G - Tony Allen (Boston), F - Dwight Howard (Orlando) Two veterens primed for big years but don't classify as "breakout players": G - Baron Davis (Golden State), F - Shareef Abdur-Rahim (Sacramento)
Hopefully this is the year that the Stro's go to the Series, the horns win the N. Championships, the Rox go to the finals. This could be a great year for me as a sports fan.
