Carmelo Anthony Decision Must Come Soon

The Denver Nuggets have offered forward Carmelo Anthony contract worth more than $64 million over just three years. It seems the Nuggets have decided that they would prefer to get this business done rather than have a LeBron James like departure at the end of the season. The Nuggets are a solid team but they have very few players that can lead their team into the future. Trading Anthony is one way to change that. Moving Anthony, their biggest star will hurt the popularity of the franchise in the short term. But there are teams out there willing to make big moves to acquire a star of his caliber.

The New York Knicks have to be considered but are not the only trade possibility. The Cavaliers Nets, and Clippers are probably just as interested. I imagine a couple of young players and a bunch of first round picks could get the deal done. But Carmelo Anthony has to turn down the money first. I know I wouldn't.

The Trail Blazers Hire Rich Cho as GM

From Sports Business Daily:

The Trail Blazers today named Rich Cho as the team’s ninth GM. Cho spent the last nine seasons serving as the Sonics/Thunder Assistant GM & VP/Legal. Financial details were not disclosed (Trail Blazers). Cho joined the Sonics as an intern in '95 while earning his law degree from Pepperdine Univ. As an intern, Cho helped “design and implement one of the NBA’s most advanced and comprehensive” evaluation systems. Prior to joining the Sonics, Cho worked as a Boeing engineer
(OREGONLIVE.com, 7/19).

Emerging Sleeper : Tiago Splitter Joins the Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs did not sign LeBron James. Regardless, they may have done enough to challenge the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA West. After stashing away his rights the last few years, the Spurs have reached a contract agreement with Brazilian center and European Superstar Tiago Splitter.

From Ticket 760

Ticket 760 has learned that the San Antonio Spurs have reached a contract agreement with Tiago Splitter. He is expected to sign the deal on Monday. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Splitter was expected to be in the 2006 NBA Draft but teams were backed off by the cost of buying out his huge contract. Splitter was automatically eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft, as he was at least 22 years of age at the time of the draft. He was the 28th draft pick overall, the first round pick of the San Antonio Spurs.

Splitter is an intense defensive player. He is an agressive shot blocker and among the leaders in steals in both the Euroleague and ACB (Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto or in english: Basketball Clubs' Association). He is not a great rebounder but has an extremely high basketball intelligence. He has been described as an old school type center. He should be an excellent fit with the Spurs.

Offensively, Splitter excels in the low post. Splitter is used to be being the offensive focus of his teams and aggressively fights for his spot in the post. He is not afraid to put the ball on the floor. He has great agility, excellent hands and touch. He has good footwork and an a variety of low post moves, his favorite being a hook shot he can execute with either hand. Although he has shown some improvement, Splitter is a mediocre free-throw shooter, averaging around 70 percent.

Fantasy owners can be excited about the prospect of adding Splitter to their roster but should display the same caution they would with any rookie. He is likely to start at center but should qualify at both center and power forward. Assuming he meets with projections he should be playing full time minutes and emerge as one of the more productive NBA rookies.

2009-10 Defensive Efficiency (Hollinger)

I thought that a good place to start talking Advanced Fantasy Basketball would be with some ranking. The rankings you see will represent the sort of stats we will utilize over the life of this blog. The first is Defensive Effiency.

RK	TEAM	PACE	AST	TO	ORR	DRR	REBR	EFF FG%	TS%	OFF EFF	DEF EFF
1	Charlotte	92.8	14.4	26.2	26.5	74.2	50.7	49	53.8	101.5	100.2
2	Orlando	94.2	14.3	23.9	24.6	77.4	51.9	53.6	57.3	109.5	100.2
3	Milwaukee	94	14.9	21.9	26.2	76.4	50.1	48.2	51.8	102	100.9
4	Miami	91.9	14	22.7	26.1	74.9	50.7	49.6	53.7	104.5	100.9
5	Boston	93.8	16.7	25.3	22.8	73.8	49.1	52.2	56.4	105.4	101.1
6	LA Lakers	95.2	14.8	22.1	27.7	74.4	51.2	49.6	53.8	105.9	101.1
7	Cleveland	93.5	16	23.6	25.1	77.2	52.4	53.2	57	108.8	101.5
8	Oklahoma City	95.6	14	24.4	28.6	73.6	51.7	49.4	54.7	105.8	101.6
9	San Antonio	94	15.8	22.9	26.8	76.3	52	51.5	55.2	107.2	102
10	Chicago	95.5	14.5	23.4	26.6	74.8	51	47.7	52	100.8	102.6
11	Utah	96	17.9	24.8	26.8	75.6	51.9	52.4	56.5	107.8	102.9
12	Dallas	94.8	16.5	21.8	24.3	73.7	49.3	50.6	55.2	107.1	103.2
13	Portland	90.2	15.2	21.6	28.2	74.8	51.3	49.9	54.7	108	104
14	Atlanta	92.5	15.7	20.4	28.2	72.7	50.2	50.6	54.5	108.9	104
15	Indiana	99.4	14.5	24.2	21.6	73	47.1	49.1	53.6	101.3	104.2
16	Denver	97.3	14.6	22.6	26.1	72.4	49.5	50.9	56.1	108.7	104.7
17	Houston	96.6	14.9	23.3	27	73.8	49.5	49.4	53.7	104.6	105.5
18	Washington	94.1	13.5	24.4	27.6	72.4	49.7	48.1	52.4	101.4	106.7
19	Phoenix	97.9	15.9	23.9	27.6	70.8	50.4	54.6	58.5	112.7	106.9
20	LA Clippers	95	15.3	25.7	27.1	74	50.4	49.1	52.9	100.9	107.1
21	Sacramento	96.5	14.1	24	27.8	73.5	50.3	49.1	52.8	102.4	107.2
22	New Orleans	94.8	15.7	22.6	24.8	73.8	48.9	50.6	54.3	105.1	107.3
23	Philadelphia	93.9	14.8	24.1	27.6	73.2	50	49.6	53.4	103.4	107.6
24	Memphis	96.1	13	24.1	31.3	73.3	52.3	49.4	53.6	104.8	107.6
25	New Jersey	93.6	13.6	24.1	25.1	71.8	47.4	45.8	50.9	98.1	108
26	Detroit	91	14.1	22.7	30.3	73.4	50.5	47.4	51.5	102.4	108.9
27	New York	96.1	15.1	23.1	23.5	72.1	47.4	50.9	54.7	105.2	109.1
28	Minnesota	98.5	13.5	25.5	26.7	73.6	49.7	47.8	51.8	98.9	109.3
29	Golden State	102.7	15	23.1	20.9	68.5	44.4	51.4	55.7	105.4	109.4
30	Toronto	95.4	15.6	22.5	24.7	72.9	49.5	52.1	56.4	108.6	110.2

• PACE: Pace Factor - the number of possessions a team uses per game.
• AST: Assist Ratio - the percentage of a team's possessions that ends in an assist. Assist Ratio = (Assists x 100) divided by [(FGA + (FTA x 0.44) + Assists + Turnovers]
• TO: Turnover Ratio - the percentage of a team's possessions that end in a turnover. Turnover Ratio = (Turnover x 100) divided by [(FGA + (FTA x 0.44) + Assists + Turnovers]
• ORR: Offensive rebound rate
• DRR: Defensive rebound rate
• REBR: Rebound Rate - the percentage of missed shots that a team rebounds. Rebound Rate = (Rebounds x Team Minutes) divided by [Player Minutes x (Team Rebounds + Opponent Rebounds)]
• EFF FG%: Effective Field Goal Percentage
• TS%: True Shooting Percentage - what a team's shooting percentage would be if we accounted for free throws and 3-pointers. True Shooting Percentage = (Total points x 50) divided by [(FGA + (FTA x 0.44)]
• OFF EFF: Offensive Efficiency - the number of points a team scores per 100 possessions.
• DEF EFF: Defensive Efficiency - the number of points a team allows per 100 possessions.