Draft Order

I have another potential rule change for next season:

My original plan was to conduct the D-League draft in reverse order of the standings every year and then do a drawing each year (involving all ten owners) to determine the NBA draft order.

But I wanted to come up with a way that would allow everyone to "see" or "witness" the process of the selection of the NBA draft order. So the "foul play" card couldn't be played each season (The D-League order would still be reverse order of standings).

So I came up with the following:

The six owners who finished in the money would select in reverse order of the standings from 5-10. And then the owners that did not finish in the money would be put into a lottery to determine picks 1-4. The lottery would be linked to the actual NBA lottery. The worst team in our league would be assigned to the worst team in the NBA (for example's sake, let's just say Oklahoma City continues their trend and ends the season as the worst team) thus indirectly given the best odds of receiving the highest pick. The 2nd worst team in our league would be assigned to the 2nd worst team in the NBA and so on and so forth. Then the order those 4 NBA teams finish in, will determine the order of our worst 4 teams.

The draft order is usually determined during halftime of one of the playoff games in May. This would give us a reason to tune in and our draft order would be set by June already so owners could make offseason plans right away without having to wait for the commissioner to determine the order. Plus, teams in our league couldn't openly tank to become the worst team (to get the #1 pick) since the lottery isn't a guarantee.

Again, let me know if you like the idea or not. The majority will rule.

Salary Cap Recap

This item really isn't a rule change rather just a heads up for those of you trying to make decisions on which players you'd like to keep heading into next season.

According to Wikipedia,

"The actual amount of the cap varies on a year-to-year basis, and is calculated as a percentage of the League's revenue from the previous season."

Here is a list of the cap figures from previous seasons (figures are rounded per league rules)

In 2000-2001 the cap was $36 million.
In 2001-02 it was $43 million
In 2002-03 it was $40 million
In 2003-04 it was $44 million
In 2004-05 it was $44 million
In 2005-06 it was $50 million
In 2006-07 it was $53 million
In 2007-08 it was $56 million
In 2008-09 it was $59 million
In 2009-10 it will be ????

According to this snippet I found in a Chris Sheridan article,

"Teams are cutting the bottom line, especially in light of the economy [and] the fact that the cap might stay flat this year and go down the following year, which means the luxury-tax number will go down, too. If you have escalating deals and a de-escalating tax, that's the trend you're going to see."

Just another bit of information to keep in mind as you consider any trades in the next month or so. The salary cap may not increase next year so plan accordingly.

Rule Change

In an effort to make the D-League draft picks more valuable, I was considering making a slight change to the rules for the 2009-2010 season.

Had this league been in existence since 2000, the owners who had drafted Andrew Bogut, Deron Williams, and Chris Paul via the D-League draft, by definition, would not have been allowed to keep those players for the 2008-09 season since they received extensions over the summer (before the October 1st roster deadline).

My proposal, is to allow owners to keep their D-League picks (that are in the NBA) through the final year of their rookie contract before their new contract kicks in. It basically boils down to being able to keep your D-Leaguer for 4-5 years instead of 3-4 years depending on when they receive an extension.

Basically, the better your D-League prospect is, the sooner you can expect that player to receive an extension. Bogut and Villanueva were in the same 2005 draft class and Bogut already has a new contract in place for next season while Villanueva does not.

A rookie contract for a player taken in the 1st round of the NBA draft typically has 2 guaranteed years and then 3 option years after that. The cream of each draft class have typically (by pattern) been granted extensions in the summer after their 3rd season (ie Bogut, Paul, and Williams) or early on in that player's 4th season (ie Granger and Bynum).

The goal is to try and make the D-League picks more valuable, and hopefully this rule change isn't something that you feel will completely alter your original strategy. I thought about allowing owners to keep their D-Leaguer's through their 2nd contract, but then owners would be able to keep certain D-Leaguers for 8-10 years at a time and that is just too long.

So if you have any questions or concerns, please make them known right away. I'm not going to make this change official until the majority of you sign off on the idea. But this change could effect any owner(s) who are considering trading draft picks between now and the trade deadline.

NCAA MVP Race

Here is a rundown of how many times your D-League star has posted a power of 40 performance:

1. Farming for Fatty's

-Patrick Patterson (5)
-Nick Calathes (4)

2. Cousy's Cagers

-Jeff Teague (5)
-Willie Warren (2)
-Al-Farouq Aminu (1)
-Jack McClinton (1)

3. Arlie's Hogs

-Stephen Curry (14)
-Hasheem Thabeet (3)
-Sam Young (2)
-Ty Lawson (2)

4. Zephyrs

-Lester Hudson (12)
-Tyreke Evans (2)
-Samardo Samuels (1)

5. ATTIC

-Blake Griffin (11)
-Gani Lawal (2)

6. Cradle Rockers

-James Harden (7)
-Patrick Mills (2)
-Cole Aldrich (2)
-Jerome Jordan (1)
-Austin Daye (1)

7. We Wear Short Shorts

-Luke Harangody (12)
-Tyler Hansbrough (3)

8. Handsome City

-N/A

9. Manbearpig

-Tyler Smith (1)

10. Your Ad Here

-Earl Clark (3)
-Terrence Williams (2)
-Sherron Collins (2)
-Jordan Hill (1)
-Chase Budinger (1)

Power of 40

Here are the top performances from January 5th through January 18th:

MVP

1. Lester Hudson vs. Murray St. (42), Austin Peay (52), Tennessee St. (59), SE Missouri St. (51), Tennessee Tech (52), and Jacksonville St. (45)
-He averaged 30 points, 3 threes, 8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 3 steals per game.

The 40 x 4 Club

2. Stephen Curry vs. Duke (46), Citadel (52), Elon (53), and Georgia Southern (42)
-He averaged 32 points, 3.5 threes, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals per game.

3. Luke Harangody vs. Georgetown (44), Seton Hall (50), Louisville (45), and Syracuse (50)
-He averaged 29 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block per game.

The 40 x 3 Club

4. Nick Calathes vs. Longwood (41), Ole Miss (42), and Arkansas (52)
-He averaged 22 points, 3 threes, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals per game.

The Rest

5. Blake Griffin vs. MD Eastern Shore (45) and Kansas St. (49)
-He averaged 24.5 points, 15.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2 steals, and 2.5 blocks per game.

6. Terrence Williams (54) vs. Notre Dame
-24 points, 3 threes, 16 rebounds, 8 assists, and 3 steals.

7. Jeff Teague (48) vs. North Carolina
-34 points, 3 threes, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal.

8. Tyler Hansbrough (45) vs. Virginia
-28 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, 1 assist, and a three.

9. Tyler Smith (44) vs. Georgia
-24 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and a three.

10. Austin Daye (42) vs. San Francisco
-25 points, 3 threes, 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 assists.

11. Cole Aldrich (42) vs. Siena
-24 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks, and a steal.

12. Earl Clark (41) vs. South Florida
-22 points, 3 threes, 9 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists, and a block.

13. Patrick Mills (41) vs. Santa Clara
-31 points, 4 threes, 4 steals, and 2 assists.

14. Sherron Collins (40) vs. Michigan St.
-25 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 threes.

15. Jerome Jordan (40) vs. Memphis
-20 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocks, and 3 assists.

And while he didn't reach 40, I figured Greg Monroe's 13 point, 11 rebound, 8 assist, 5 steal, and 2 block performance against Providence deserved at least a mention. Way to go Greg.

Power of 40

Here are the top performances from December 15th through January 4th:

Triple Threats

1. Patrick Patterson vs. Tennessee St. (49), Florida Atlantic (46), and Louisville (42)
-He averaged 27.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.6 blocks.

2. Luke Harangody vs. St. John's (50), DePaul (45), and Savannah St. (40)
-He averaged 25.6 points, 14.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 2 steals.

Usual Suspects

3. Stephen Curry vs. Charleston (50) and Samford (43)
-He averaged 25 points, 3.5 threes, 5.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists, and 3.5 steals.

4. Blake Griffin vs. Rice (46) and Arkansas (42)
-He averaged 24 points, 12 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.5 blocks, and a steal.

5. Lester Hudson vs. Central Arkansas (59) and Fordham (45)
-He averaged 36 points, 2.5 threes, 8.5 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal.

6. James Harden vs. BYU (47) and California (40)
-He averaged 28 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3.5 steals, and a three.

Freshmen Breakouts

7. Willie Warren vs. Arkansas (51) and Rice (41)
-He averaged 33 points, 5.5 threes, 3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and a steal.

8. Tyreke Evans vs. Northeastern (45) and Lamar (41)
-He averaged 26 points, 3 threes, 2.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 5.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks.

Other First Timers

9. Terrence Williams (47) vs. UAB
-21 points, 5 threes, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 blocks, and a steal.

10. Nick Calathes (44) vs. N.C. State
-32 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and a three.

11. Sherron Collins (43) vs. Tennessee
-26 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 threes, and a steal.

12. Al-Farouq Aminu (41) vs. East Carolina
-21 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and a steal.

13. Cole Aldrich (40) vs. Tennessee
-22 points, 10 rebounds, 6 blocks, 1 assist, and a steal.

Top Performance Against a Non-borderline Division II School

14. Earl Clark (52) vs. Ole Miss
-25 points, 16 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 assists, and 2 threes.

The Rest

15. Jeff Teague (41) vs. BYU
-30 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 threes, and a steal.