Chuck the Writer
06-30-2007, 05:36 PM
And now, once again, class, pull out your bingo cards and let's play along with Crazy Joe Newman.
OR: "What did you think of the NBA draft?"
Answer: Paul (and others): "First, you did very well. Portland certainly got a top quality superstar in Greg Oden (from Indianapolis) and an outstanding young man. The future is very bright for your team. Congratulations. And congratulations also to Kevin Pritchard, a former ABA coach, for the tremendous job he is doing there. It is amazing how many people have asked what I thought of the NBA draft. It's like asking McDonalds what they think of Burger King's Whopper. I think the NBA drafted some really outstanding talent that will help the teams - both from the NCAA level and from international teams. Like you, I've seen most of them on TV and they are great players. And of course, we're proud that Sun Yue was among them.
Geez o'peetes, Joe, you're taking credit for Greg Oden because the guy's from Indianapolis? Yikes stripes.
Gotta work in that McDonald's reference. Are you blatantly trying to get McDonald's to buy your carnival of a league?
Oh, and it took you long enough to take credit for Sun Yue. The ONLY reason you can even claim Sun Yue as a by-product of the ABA is because his team, Beijing Aoshen Olympian, brought him to the ABA when the team left the Chinese Basketball Association. Other than Sun Yue, can you even name three other Beijing players without running to the team's website? I'll even spot you a player - Paul Shirley was on the team for about three games, and got cheezed off when he only received garbage time because of a quota system on the team.
But don't take it from me... take it from websites like Draft Express, who have scouting reports on all the possible draftees:
Competition
Yue plays for a Chinese team that migrated to the American ABA, a semi-pro minor league that is now a shadow of what it used to be 20-30 years ago. He puts up excellent numbers in this competition. He has some experience internationally with the Chinese national team, but has been inconsistent playing with them.
Outlook
Even without the flaws he shows, Yue played in the American ABA and therefore has not been scouted extensively against top-level competition, which makes him difficult to evaluate as an NBA prospect. He would probably be best served pulling his name out of the draft, improving on his highly correctable weaknesses, and playing in a setting next year that would allow him better competition both as a challenge as well as a comparison for NBA types to use.
In other words, this guy's saying that Sun Yue is the best painter on a planet of blind people.
They must be blind people, go to youtube, punch in "Sun Yue" as a search choice, and look at all the fans that showed up at Beijing home games - the ones in California, mind you.
Anyways, back to Crazy Joe...
Personally, I wish that there were more ABA players drafted and genuinely believe that many of the ABA All-Stars can play in the NBA and are every bit as good or better than many of the players drafted.
Okay Joe, pay attention here. 99% of the ABA players are in the ABA BECAUSE NOBODY WANTED THEM IN THE NBA OR IN ANY OTHER PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE!! And of the 1% who do have talent, they were snapped up by D-League and CBA teams during the 2006-07 season (see Cory Minnifield, Kareem Reid, John Strickland, etc.).
I don't know how players like Jamal Staten, Donnie Beacham, Rob Sanders, Aaron Cook, Curtis Haywood, Kareem Reid,
and many others can be bypassed.
Well, I know Kareem Reid left the ABA because the franchise he was playing for, the Arkansas RiverCatz, folded when the team's hotel was foreclosed on. Then they merged with the other Arkansas team, and Reid was cut from the squad - and THEN he went to the CBA, was a star with the Albany Patroons (both in the CBA and the USBL), and is only considered an "owner" of a team in your sorry league because you gotta pay him some sort of salary for what he DIDN'T get during the regular season.
I really hope that teams will look at them as potential free agents and invite them to their camps. Many ABA players should be in the NBA. Period.
Right... I'm sure that the Dallas Mavericks are going to cut Dirk Nowitski so that they can sign a player or two from the Toledo Ice / Rens / Royal Knights / insert name of 2007-08 franchise here.
Another thought is about the players in the NBA Development league who worked very hard this past season believing that their next step was the NBA. They must also have been disappointed seeing all these "new" faces. I hope some of them are invited back to NBA camps and given another opportunity.
Again, Joe Newman with the fuzzy math. Just because the NBA drafted 60 players DOES NOT MEAN that those 60 players will be on NBA rosters. First off, the first round receives guaranteed contracts. The second round receives non-guaranteed contracts, and could be sent down to the D-League or may just say "forget this" and go overseas.
You're also making the false assumption that the players coming in from the NBA draft are going to take potential NBA spots away from D-Leaguers. There is something to be said for attrition, retirement of older NBA players, etc. And there are still guys who will get called up in the 2007-08 season, both from the D-League and from the CBA.
And finally,
I wonder about the 60+ NBA players who will be given their "pink slips" when they are replaced on the rosters with the new draft picks - their dreams of a long NBA career shattered. They are welcome in the ABA of course. Thanks for the questions. If you have a question, please email conniejoenewman@aol.com.
Again with the fuzzy math. The NBA is not General Motors, where somebody arbitrarily goes to every team and says 8 people are protected, 2 people are cut, 2 more are inserted. Again, players retire, players go overseas, there are injuries, there are off-the-court issues.
Would somebody please give this league the Old Yeller treatment already?
OR: "What did you think of the NBA draft?"
Answer: Paul (and others): "First, you did very well. Portland certainly got a top quality superstar in Greg Oden (from Indianapolis) and an outstanding young man. The future is very bright for your team. Congratulations. And congratulations also to Kevin Pritchard, a former ABA coach, for the tremendous job he is doing there. It is amazing how many people have asked what I thought of the NBA draft. It's like asking McDonalds what they think of Burger King's Whopper. I think the NBA drafted some really outstanding talent that will help the teams - both from the NCAA level and from international teams. Like you, I've seen most of them on TV and they are great players. And of course, we're proud that Sun Yue was among them.
Geez o'peetes, Joe, you're taking credit for Greg Oden because the guy's from Indianapolis? Yikes stripes.
Gotta work in that McDonald's reference. Are you blatantly trying to get McDonald's to buy your carnival of a league?
Oh, and it took you long enough to take credit for Sun Yue. The ONLY reason you can even claim Sun Yue as a by-product of the ABA is because his team, Beijing Aoshen Olympian, brought him to the ABA when the team left the Chinese Basketball Association. Other than Sun Yue, can you even name three other Beijing players without running to the team's website? I'll even spot you a player - Paul Shirley was on the team for about three games, and got cheezed off when he only received garbage time because of a quota system on the team.
But don't take it from me... take it from websites like Draft Express, who have scouting reports on all the possible draftees:
Competition
Yue plays for a Chinese team that migrated to the American ABA, a semi-pro minor league that is now a shadow of what it used to be 20-30 years ago. He puts up excellent numbers in this competition. He has some experience internationally with the Chinese national team, but has been inconsistent playing with them.
Outlook
Even without the flaws he shows, Yue played in the American ABA and therefore has not been scouted extensively against top-level competition, which makes him difficult to evaluate as an NBA prospect. He would probably be best served pulling his name out of the draft, improving on his highly correctable weaknesses, and playing in a setting next year that would allow him better competition both as a challenge as well as a comparison for NBA types to use.
In other words, this guy's saying that Sun Yue is the best painter on a planet of blind people.
They must be blind people, go to youtube, punch in "Sun Yue" as a search choice, and look at all the fans that showed up at Beijing home games - the ones in California, mind you.
Anyways, back to Crazy Joe...
Personally, I wish that there were more ABA players drafted and genuinely believe that many of the ABA All-Stars can play in the NBA and are every bit as good or better than many of the players drafted.
Okay Joe, pay attention here. 99% of the ABA players are in the ABA BECAUSE NOBODY WANTED THEM IN THE NBA OR IN ANY OTHER PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE!! And of the 1% who do have talent, they were snapped up by D-League and CBA teams during the 2006-07 season (see Cory Minnifield, Kareem Reid, John Strickland, etc.).
I don't know how players like Jamal Staten, Donnie Beacham, Rob Sanders, Aaron Cook, Curtis Haywood, Kareem Reid,
and many others can be bypassed.
Well, I know Kareem Reid left the ABA because the franchise he was playing for, the Arkansas RiverCatz, folded when the team's hotel was foreclosed on. Then they merged with the other Arkansas team, and Reid was cut from the squad - and THEN he went to the CBA, was a star with the Albany Patroons (both in the CBA and the USBL), and is only considered an "owner" of a team in your sorry league because you gotta pay him some sort of salary for what he DIDN'T get during the regular season.
I really hope that teams will look at them as potential free agents and invite them to their camps. Many ABA players should be in the NBA. Period.
Right... I'm sure that the Dallas Mavericks are going to cut Dirk Nowitski so that they can sign a player or two from the Toledo Ice / Rens / Royal Knights / insert name of 2007-08 franchise here.
Another thought is about the players in the NBA Development league who worked very hard this past season believing that their next step was the NBA. They must also have been disappointed seeing all these "new" faces. I hope some of them are invited back to NBA camps and given another opportunity.
Again, Joe Newman with the fuzzy math. Just because the NBA drafted 60 players DOES NOT MEAN that those 60 players will be on NBA rosters. First off, the first round receives guaranteed contracts. The second round receives non-guaranteed contracts, and could be sent down to the D-League or may just say "forget this" and go overseas.
You're also making the false assumption that the players coming in from the NBA draft are going to take potential NBA spots away from D-Leaguers. There is something to be said for attrition, retirement of older NBA players, etc. And there are still guys who will get called up in the 2007-08 season, both from the D-League and from the CBA.
And finally,
I wonder about the 60+ NBA players who will be given their "pink slips" when they are replaced on the rosters with the new draft picks - their dreams of a long NBA career shattered. They are welcome in the ABA of course. Thanks for the questions. If you have a question, please email conniejoenewman@aol.com.
Again with the fuzzy math. The NBA is not General Motors, where somebody arbitrarily goes to every team and says 8 people are protected, 2 people are cut, 2 more are inserted. Again, players retire, players go overseas, there are injuries, there are off-the-court issues.
Would somebody please give this league the Old Yeller treatment already?