Three More Steps For The Celtics And Clippers

Kevin Garnett and DeAndre Jordan are at the center of cross-coast trade talks. (Reuters)

There is plenty standing in the way of a whispered-about deal between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers that would end with Doc Rivers coaching a blue-and-white clad Kevin Garnett and the C's having a little more financial flexibility. In and of itself, such a deal would have a major impact on both the Eastern and Western Conference powers, but it could also act as the lead domino falling in a chain of events causing a larger seismic shake in the NBA landscape. While none of these transactions may happen, here are three things Boston can do post-trade to improve their new look, plus three for the Clippers.

What the Celtics can do

1. Hit the coaching market — hard

There should be many viable candidates left when/if this deal gets done, with the limited number of head coaching jobs still vacant. Lionel Hollins would be a near-perfect fit for a young, aggressive center like DeAndre Jordan (a Celtic, pending the deal) and a point with a nose for the ball like Rajon Rondo. Hollins could even help Avery Bradley return to his 2011-12 form, which looked like one of the NBA's top perimeter defenders. Though Hollins will surely have been snapped up by a needing team by that point, others such as George Karl, Kelvin Sampson, Brian Shaw and Nate McMillan could be available. A storied franchise like Boston's might even have a chance to lure Jerry Sloan away from retirement, if the rebuilding period could be sold as short.

2. Let Rondo pad his stats

Keep the roster as it is. If Boston can keep Paul Pierce — or if he requests a trade out of frustration or friendship with Garnett — fine. Getting something back for Pierce while he still has market value would be ideal, and giving Jordan a season as the headlining big man would be paramount to his development, but Rondo is still the heart, soul, motor, etc., etc., of the Beantown ballers. Coming back from an injury like an ACL tear, he will require time to get back into the rhythm of the game. The Celtics should allow him that and, when he's returned to the level of competition at which he usually plays, let him take as many touches as he wants. Rondo is a huge fan of performing on big stages, routinely recording triple-doubles in playoff games like he is on a court competing against amateurs. Giving him free reign to do this on a nightly basis could up his production to heights previously only imagined. It would also give Rondo more opportunities to explore the scoring aspect of his game, something Rivers and the Boston coaching staff have been hounding him to do for some time now.

3. Find a gem in the 2014 draft

Shawn mentioned it in a roundtable a while back, striking out and predicting the Celtics would tank 2013-14 to better their chances of snagging the winning ticket in the Andrew Wiggins sweepstakes. It seemed like a very long, if still realistic, shot then and has only become a clearer option since. The 2014 draft is deep and Wiggins is far from being the only prize to be had, but he is obviously the biggest gift under the tree. Pairing a prospect like Wiggins with a dominant, willingly deferring guard like Rondo is akin to a blessing from the basketball gods. Having an interior presence like Jordan would ease Wiggins through his rookie season, even if he won't need it.

What the Clippers can do

1. Re-sign Chris Paul

Duh. This is a no-brainer. Paul and Garnett would be nasty for opposing teams not only as a duo, but as a lethal leadership combination rallying their fellow Clippers. The steps following the current proposal between Los Angeles and Boston — dealing Eric Bledsoe for Dwight Howard or Arron Afflalo — could improve the Clippers a great deal more, but if the Clips are to succeed immediately, Paul must be directing traffic.

2. Find some youth.

Particularly at shooting guard. Especially at small forward. Recommended for the bench. Without Jordan (plus Blake Griffin and/or Bledsoe, pending other trades), the Clippers' mean age goes up significantly. Grant Hill may have retired, but Caron Butler and Jamal Crawford aren't doing much for the franchise's future, even if they are of some use presently. The addition of Garnett, and possibly Pierce, indicates win-now, which is fine for a team the caliber of which the LA front office is presently trying to assemble, but there are several reasons as to why a youthful group of role players could help the team. They begin with cultivating talent and giving it early looks at playoff experience and continue with concerns about durability for the older, billboard players.

3.Win the war for Los Angeles

This has nothing to do with Aaron Eckhart nor his terrible 2011 movie. Instead, it means fully emerging from the shadow of the Staples Center's favorite sons, the Lakers. The Clippers were on the verge this season as their dominance made the Lakers' struggles throughout the regular season look worse, but then the Lake Show managed to earn the Western Conference's eighth seed. Not that it mattered for either team, as both experienced first-round exits. Kobe Bryant's torn Achilles tendon and the Lakers' continuing roster woes offer a rebuilt Clippers squad to finally strike out for the throne in Southern California, if not the NBA as a whole.

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Danny Green Is San Antonio's Unlikely MVP

Danny Green has evolved from a benchwarmer to possible NBA Finals MVP. (nba.si.com)

Danny Green and LeBron James were teammates once upon a time, although hardly any time was spent on the floor together.

Green was a rookie drafted by Cleveland, who only saw action in 20 games and averaged 5.8 minutes per game, while James led the Cavaliers to the Eastern Conference Semifinals before losing to the Boston Celtics 4-2 in the series.

It was the 2009-10 season, and it also happened to be both players' final seasons in Cleveland. Green was let go and found a new home in San Antonio while James, well, you know what happened with James. Turns out the change of scenery has worked out pretty well for both players.

Green went from only playing in 28 regular season games his first two seasons (without a start) in the league to this year playing in 80 and starting in them all. Still, Green is considered a role player to support the Spurs big three of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

Yet if the Spurs can close out their 3-2 series lead and win the NBA Finals, Green could be the MVP of the series. Green (averaging 18 ppg for the series) hit six 3-pointers as part of his 24 points in game five, putting his name in the NBA record books. Green now has 25 3-pointers during the NBA Finals, three more than Ray Allen's previous record of 22. More impressive is the fact that those 25 makes have come on 38 attempts, giving him a shooting percentage of 65 percent from behind the arc. For the entire postseason, Green has 53 3-pointers for a 51.5 percentage. Green has been a steady 3-point threat the past two seasons, shooting above 40 percent each year, but this is a give-the-man-a-gatorade-bath-because-he's-on-fire type of streak.

The giant stage of the NBA Finals is a great venue for breaking out as a player, but it hasn't been completely out of nowhere. This has been slowing evolving the entire postseason. Green has gotten better each series (except for a small step back in production from the Golden State to Memphis series), going from 23 minutes per game, seven points per game and three 3-point attempts per game in the first round series against the Los Angeles Lakers to now 34 mpg, 18 ppg and 7.6 3-pointers per game in the Finals, with steady rises from the first round to semifinals and conference finals to the NBA Finals.

Green is another great lesson that players don't have to be superstars as rookies. College is a place to get better, but so is the NBA. There is room for improvement upon entering the league and San Antonio should be given credit for giving Green a chance to grow. It's also no coincidence Green grew in the Spurs' system. That's what Gregg Popovich does.

Green didn't get much time to share the court with James as teammates, but now that the two are sharing the court again, this time as opponents, it may be Green who keeps James from earning that second ring.

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Friday Roundtable: Who Will Win The NBA Finals?

LeBron James is doing all he can to win that second ring. (ibtimes.com)

BDD's Friday Roundtable is a weekly discussion among a group of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: With the NBA Finals tied 2-2 through four games, who wins the series and in how many games?

Alex:
With the series tied 2-2, Heat-Spurs is going to seven games. San Antonio will bounce back for game five and win on their home court, but once the action returns to South Beach, LeBron James will finally prove he has the killer instinct that he has so long been criticized for lacking. James has already shown flashes of it this season and will submit for final acceptance two noteworthy performances, taking on the scoring load while using his excellent court vision to find his teammates for efficient looks. James can't do it all on his own - Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and the role players need to chip in buckets, too - but when LeBron is on, there's no one in the NBA who can contain him, not even in the Spurs' fundamental system.

Kyle:
The way this back-and-forth series has gone so far, it's hard to not think it will go all seven games. Miami has not lost two games in a row throughout the entire postseason, but they have also not won two games in a row since finishing off the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and winning game one against the Indiana Pacers (that was 11 games ago). Even if San Antonio wins game five in front of the home crowd, which seems feasible, it feels more likely Miami wins two straight before losing two straight, sealing the series with two wins in Miami. It's hard to count out the Spurs, as they were really the better team the first three games for all but the second half of game two, but it's also hard to bet against LeBron James, especially if Dwyane Wade continues to play like his former self. If Miami can get more production from guys like Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers, they win it in seven.

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NCAA Moving From Domes To Arenas In All But Final Four

Cowboys Stadium is hosting this year's Final Four, but will no longer be the site for regional
NCAA Tournament games. (gamedayr.com)

The college basketball atmosphere might soon be returning to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, at least leading up to the Final Four.

Football stadium domes — with often unfilled 70,000 seats with some vantage points so bad it makes 7-foot giants look like ants fighting over a piece of bread — had been the go-to home for the tournament from the Sweet 16 to the national championship game. Now both Andy Katz at ESPN and Matt Norlander at CBS Sports have reported the NCAA is cutting back on its dome fetish.

From now on, any rounds not named the Final Four will no longer be played in domes, unless a dome has never hosted a regional. So for example, Cowboys Stadium in Dallas and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis were regional sites last year and will no longer be eligible to host a non-Final Four round again.

So what's the big deal? Well, for one it should help the quality of play during those four rounds. It's been talked about at length throughout the past few years how the vastness of the background in the domes throws of players' depth perception and makes it harder to hit long shots. Not to mention the raised courts that are asking for players to fall off the floor going for a loose ball.

More importantly for the fans, the smaller arenas (20,000+ seats as opposed to 70,000) make for a louder, more intimate environment that mimics what fans see during the regular season at the great arenas around the country and makes for a better experience. Why not try to get an atmosphere that feels more like Assembly Hall or Cameron Indoor Stadium with the stakes and intensity of a single-elimination tournament game? Instead, teams are playing in front of semi-empty domes that automatically takes away from the spectacle. Cowboys Stadium can hold roughly 80,000 people, yet only 40,000 attended the Sweet 16 and 36,000 saw the Elite 8 in the dome this year.

It was a smart move by the NCAA to not think about dollar signs and make a decision that bettered the game. The NCAA makes a killing off TV revenue and if the domes are not selling out for the regional rounds, then lose 15,000 people and raise ticket prices slightly to account for the difference. The product and atmosphere will be better and worth the extra money.

The next step of bringing the Final Four back to the arena like the good old days seems like a long way off, if it ever happens. The difference is the Final Four will bring in 70,000 people, and it is unlikely the NCAA would say no to losing that kind of cash from ticket sales. And to give domes credit, they are better at capacity.

But this is a victory for the little guys, the 20,000-seat arenas who get to provide the intimate, loud and intense atmosphere that makes college basketball a popular sport.

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The Divergent Careers of Grant Hill and Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd and Grant Hill's shared history includes various accolades. (nicekicks.com)

Grant Hill never became what he could have been, eventually being marginalized as a veteran, though still effective, presence on the Los Angeles Clippers' bench in 2012-13. Jason Kidd went out near the top, starting more than half of the games in which he played for a resurgent New York Knicks squad this season a mere two years after winning the only NBA championship of his career with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.

The two entered the Association in 1994, each making an immediate impact to the point that Hill and Kidd shared Rookie of the Year honors. From that point on, their careers would be forever tied together. While each found success in the roles they filled for 19 years in the NBA, Hill's was profoundly more understated after injuries compounded by trying to return to action too early to allow for proper recovery. While Hill was toiling away in Orlando, trying — and, largely, failing — to be the star player the Magic expected when acquiring him from the Detroit Pistons, Kidd was powering the New Jersey Nets nearly single-handedly, leading the franchise to consecutive NBA Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003.

To a degree, those years defined Kidd and Hill. That era assured Kidd would become a hall of famer, ensuring a first-ballot entry if he hadn't already earned one. Hill's time in Orlando changed the trajectory of the latter half of his time as a professional basketball player, changing his perception as the "Next Michael Jordan" into one of a sure-fire starter who had no more upside to capitalize upon. One common theory states Hill's career should have been shorter by several years, but all the time he missed with the Magic (Hill played in just 200 games over six years) and time spent with the vaunted Phoenix Suns staff for another five seasons elongated his durability.

(Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Whether or not one puts any credence in that idea is a personal decision, but one number matters over all others when looking back at an NBA career, and that is the number of rings a player won, used — perhaps somewhat unfairly — to indicate success and the intrinsic value of a player to his teammates and the franchise employing him. Hill undeniably had the potential to be a game-changer for a team, but derailed by health issues, including a potentially fatal staph infection, he was never able to make the impact he could have in Orlando, when he should have been peaking. The salt in the wound for Hill is that, five seasons after trading him, the Pistons won a championship in 2004 without a defined star player, thriving on chemistry. The closest he would come was in 2009-10 when the Suns made an unexpected run to the Western Conference Finals, falling 4-2 to a rival Los Angeles Lakers team that would capture that season's title. The Suns front office made a mess of their roster next season, landing Phoenix outside the postseason with Hill ready to walk out the door, all while Kidd was playing an integral role for the Dallas Mavericks and claiming his sole championship and the validation that so many strive for and fail to obtain.

Now, early into their retirements, Kidd is pursuing a head coaching job, making a push to fill the Brooklyn Nets' vacancy and fortify his legacy with the franchise. Hill's apt basketball mind and well-thought statements will surely not be unnoticed by television networks in need of a fresh view, although it would not be out of the question for Hill to pursue his own road to coaching. But with Kidd all but guaranteed to be enshrined as soon as possible, the new theme following Hill is not if he will get into the hall on his first ballot, but if his career deserves hall of fame acknowledgement at all.

It is the kind of drama that has followed Hill for the majority of his career. Kidd amassed his own list of commotion-causing incidents, mostly off-court, that put him in the middle of drama of a different sort. In the end, though, Kidd has that ring; Hill does not. Both had great careers, even if Kidd played nearly 16,000 more minutes and more than 300 more games than Hill. The perception held to Hill early in his career will likely affect his post-playing status among the ranks of greats, despite it changing mid-career.

Players retire. Storylines do not. Thus is the life of a professional athlete.

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Draft Profile: Shabazz Muhammad's Tenuous Stock

In the run-up to the 2013 NBA Draft on June 27, the BDD staff will be profiling several projected lottery picks and other draft entrants. Next up: Shabazz Muhammad.

The former No. 1 college recruit has questions to answer before the June 27 draft. (tucsoncitizen.com)

Position: Shooting Guard/Small Forward

School: UCLA

DraftExpress Projection: No. 9 in the first round, No. 9 overall to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Synopsis: Shabazz Muhammad came into this past season as the No. 1 recruit in the nation, and will enter the NBA as a lottery pick. However, there are certainly questions about Muhammad as he begins his professional career. While he showed some potent offensive skills, his defense, at times, left something to be desired, and there are questions about his motor and character. The combination of his talent and offensive skill set and his questionable motivation and defensive intensity makes Muhammad one of the more compelling prospects to track in this year’s NBA Draft.

There are plenty of positives about the former No. 1 recruit, mainly on the offensive side. He has the ability to get to the rim and is very good about moving without the ball to get open for his shots. He’s a very aggressive offensive player, averaging 18 points per game at UCLA, and puts a ton of pressure on opposing defenses to always know where he was on the court. Muhammad also showed a well above-average jumpshot, knocking down nearly 40 percent of his attempts from behind the arc. DraftExpress also pegs Muhammad as an excellent offensive rebounder, as he consistently crashed the glass effectively for second-chance buckets. A major plus to Muhammed’s offensive game is he takes care of the ball, turning it over less than two times per game. He will need to work on his ball handling at the next level, as he will struggle to get his own shot against NBA-caliber defenders otherwise. Overall, Muhammad has a very polished, all-around offensive game.

Muhammad is not without flaws, however. His defensive performance is largely tied to how involved he is in the offense. When he’s in a rhythm and consistently getting shots to fall, Muhammad’s energy on the defensive side of the court is good. When he misses a few shots or simply goes a couple of possessions without touching the ball, his attention to detail and intensity on the defensive end tend to slip. He also doesn’t generate a lot of turnovers, which will make it interesting to see how he translates to the next level defensively. His athleticism has been called into question as well by those at DraftExpress, so it will be interesting to see how all these factors affect Muhammad’s transition to the NBA. There is also a cloud of drama that has hovered over his head since before he ever put on a UCLA Bruins jersey. Before ever playing in an NCAA game, he had issues with his eligibility. As the season went on, a major story broke about how Muhammad’s age was falsified. Finally, the Bruins of UCLA, led by Muhammad, took a tough first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament, which led to Ben Howland’s firing. All of these factors, combined with the questions about his defense, could lead to Muhammad’s slide in the draft.

Quote to Note: "There was some stuff that I wasn't really comfortable with. It wasn't a really up-tempo style of play, but I really enjoyed playing there... I didn't really get to show a lot of off-the-dribble stuff.” - Muhammad on Ben Howland’s system at UCLA, via CBSSports.com.

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Draft Profile: Tim Hardaway Jr., Doesn't Mind Shooting

In the run-up to the 2013 NBA Draft on June 27, the BDD staff will be profiling several projected lottery picks and other draft entrants. Next up: Tim Hardaway Jr.

Tim Hardaway Jr., was the second-best player on the second-best team in college basketball last year. (annarbor.com)

Position: Shooting Guard
College: Michigan
Draft Express Prediction: No. 25 in the first round, No. 25 overall to the Los Angeles Clippers

Synopsis: The junior son of NBA player Tim Hardaway was the second-best player on a Michigan team that played in the national championship game, but was overshadowed a bit due to the play of point guard Trey Burke. Hardaway Jr., averaged 14.2 points per game last season, second most on the team, while showing impressive athletic ability.

The issue with Hardaway comes with shot selection. It took the guard 12.2 shots to average his 14 points and he only averaged 5.2 makes per game, for a 42.9 percentage from the floor. Hardaway has improved with his percentage off catch-and-shoot opportunities every year of his college career, but he has regressed in pull-up jumpers and runners around the rim.

(draftexpress.com)

Even if Hardaway Jr., takes a few bad shots a game, his confidence in his shot is always high, something that will be a benefit for him in the NBA. At 6'6" and 199 pounds, Hardaway Jr., is a big two-guard with a 37.5-inch vertical who is athletic enough to make plays around the rim for easy baskets. If Hardaway Jr., can improve his shooting, he has the build and athleticism to succeed as a guard in the NBA.

Quote to Note: "He has the pedigree, the positional size and the basketball instincts to play in the NBA for a long time, even as a solid role player. People in the Michigan basketball program have told me that he already handles himself like a 10-year pro" - Fran Frascilla on Hardaway Jr., being the most underrated player in the draft.

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