Draft

Trades surrounding the second pick

Chris McGlynn Draft, Football, NFL , ,

Jameis Winston There has been a lot of buzz surrounding the Tennessee Titans number two overall selection in tomorrow’s draft. Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston will be available at that point and there are several teams in need of a franchise quarterback. Neither is a guaranteed solution, but both offer the potential for a bright future. Among teams reportedly in the mix to trade for the Titans’ pick are San Diego, New York Jets, Philadelphia and Cleveland. The Titans themselves could even draft one of the two signal callers. Time to look at who should be serious about making the swap and who should back off.Marcus_Mariota

For Tennessee, trading out is probably the best option. They are more than a quarterback away from being a playoff team. The problem is that they should not trade with San Diego. Landing Philip Rivers would put them in a win now situation. Tennessee has holes all over the place and Rivers would put them in a weird flux position. If Philadelphia or Cleveland (who reported has made an offer) decides to make an offer with a bunch of draft picks in return, that would be the best option. The Eagles could even send Sam Bradford to Tennessee, which would give them a veteran who still has a lot of time left if he is healthy.

From San Diego’s standpoint, adding Mariota or Winston at number two would be a great addition, especially if Rivers is truly set on leaving. It would be a much cheaper option for the Chargers and give them a chance to rebuild around him as well. The only thing that does seem a little bit off is that the Chargers would have to give up their own number one and Rivers to move up. I think San Diego could back off of the deal if only because they are undervaluing Rivers and believe they might find a better offer elsewhere.

Speaking of teams who could make a better offer, Cleveland is in need of a franchise quarterback. Johnny Manziel could still develop into something, which makes me think that bringing in either Mariota or Winston would not be a smart idea. Josh McCown is there already but if the Chargers would be willing to make a swap for both of Cleveland’s first round picks, a third rounder and maybe McCown, Cleveland should take it. The Chargers then have a chance to draft someone like Hundley, or Grayson later in the draft and use those now three first round selections to solidify both the offensive and defensive lines. I don’t think this will necessarily happen but it could be an interesting possibility.

Mariota would obviously be the grand prize for Chip Kelly. The question is what is too much to give up. If the Eagles can trade Bradford and a pair of first round picks (one in next year’s draft), I think Tennessee might be willing to listen. That is a lot for Philadelphia to give up though. It would give Kelly the quarterback he desperately desires but Philly has needs elsewhere. Without a wide receiver, a starting safety or a starting guard, the Eagles really need all of the help they can get. I think Philly would be wise to hold off on making a blockbuster deal quite yet. If Mariota begins to slide, then all bets are off.

The question that the Jets have to ask themselves is do they already have their quarterback of the future in house. If that answer is yes, (which it probably isn’t) then there is no reason to move up. However, if they really believe Mariota or Winston could be a once in a generation player, maybe make the move. They still would need to likely give up a lot just to jump four spots in the draft order. Realistically though, the Jets should just wait it out. There is always a possibility that one of the quarterbacks, probably Mariota, slides all the way to six. If that is the case, then I think the Jets would and should pull the trigger.

There is always so many unforeseen trades in the NFL draft and we could see a different team entirely swoop in and steal one of these players. That is the beauty of the NFL draft. You never have any what is going to happen until it has already happened.

Make or break time for several NFL teams

Chris McGlynn Draft, Football, NFL

Every NFL draft is critical but for certain teams, the draft tends to hold a bit more weight on a year-to-year basis. The Packers are consistently a team who gets the draft right, with the most drafted players still on their roster. The Raiders on the other hand, tend to struggle a bit more when it comes to making the right selection. Either way, the draft really dictates the future of a team. These are the teams who need to have a successful draft more than the rest of the league. DarrelleRevis

New York Jets
2014 record: 4-12
The Jets need an infusion of talent on the offensive side of the ball. New York went out and spent a ton of money on rebuilding their secondary. Now they need to bring their offense up to that level. Still in need of a franchise quarterback and some new offensive lineman, these selections will be vital to the Jets’ immediate future. On top of that, the Jets have a brand new front office and coaching staff. This new group needs to get off to a good start with a strong 2015 draft class.

Johnny_Manziel

Cleveland Browns
2014 record: 7-9
Is there a year where the Browns don’t seem like they need rebuilding? Once again, Cleveland finds itself with major holes at some key positions. The team is struggling to find a franchise quarterback. They have Johnny Manziel, but the jury is still out on whether he has what it takes to compete at the NFL level. This draft comes on the heels of general manager Ray Farmer’s suspension for texting to his sideline. The Browns need a fresh start to turn over a new leaf. Not to mention, with two first round picks, the front office in Cleveland has a chance to make a huge impact on the team and really cannot afford to make mistakes.

Colin_Kaepernick

San Francisco
2014 record: 8-8
The longer you stare at this situation, the more you have to wonder what the hell happened. San Francisco was a Super Bowl team in 2012 and a NFC Championship team in 2013. Now the Niners are looking at a situation where they have dozens of changes to make. With a new head coach in Jim Tomsula, the 49ers will be a very different team than a year ago. With needs on both sides of the ball and the outside perception that this team is spiraling out of control means that this draft holds even more weight than it already would.

Drew_Brees

New Orleans Saints
2014 record: 7-9
Jimmy Graham is gone. Ben Grubbs is gone. Kenny Stills is gone. The Saints’ offense is a skeleton of what it once was. Adding Max Unger is huge but losing those two receivers and a starting guard drastically changes the draft approach. The championship window with this team’s core is rapidly closing. Drew Brees is 36 and is definitely running out of chances at another ring. Without some new offensive options, this team is going nowhere. On top of that, the defense was terrible last season. This team has some extreme remodeling to do and as one of only two teams with two first round picks, the Saints need to find some impact players to right the ship and get them back in the postseason.

Peyton_ManningTony_Romo

Denver Broncos/Dallas Cowboys
2014 record: both 12-4
This might seem a little odd to have two teams, and two teams that made the divisional round of the playoffs as well, but here’s why: these teams are on their last ride with their current core. Dallas cannot count of Tony Romo lasting forever with both his injury history and age. The team has a lot of salary cap issues as well so it is unlikely that a lot of this team will still be around in about two or three years. For the Broncos, had Peyton Manning retired, Denver probably would’ve blown up the team. With Manning back, it’s gotta be Super Bowl or bust. Manning is now 39 and entering the last two years of his deal. This will be the end for him. Both teams lost some key free agents and will need to fill those holes if they hope to make a championship run.

Obviously, Thursday through Sunday will be very important for every NFL team, but these select few have a lot riding on the outcome of the weekend. For some teams, it will be the difference between a successful rebuild or another year of failed experiments. For others, it will determine if they can raise the Lombardi Trophy next February or spend that weekend pondering what might have been. Either way, the draft will feature plenty of high tensions and shocking deals. This is where championship teams are built.

What if Cleveland hadn’t won the 2014 NBA Draft Lottery?

Chris McGlynn Basketball, Draft, NBA , ,

Andrew_Wiggins_2014The NBA draft lottery is always difficult to predict. The last time the team with the highest chance of winning the lottery landed the top pick was over a decade ago when the Magic won back in 2004. That pick turned into Dwight Howard and drastically changed Orlando’s fortunes for the next several years. Some teams have simply gotten lucky with the draft lottery. Cleveland ended up with the top pick in the draft three out of the past four years, including 2014, where the Cavs won despite only having a 1.7 percent chance. That is simply unprecedented. It makes you wonder what might have happened if the Cavaliers’ fortunes weren’t so great. Here is what would have happened if the Cavs did not win the 2014 NBA draft lottery.

First thing is first, Andrew Wiggins doesn’t go first overall anymore. Milwaukee wins the draft lottery instead and the Bucks made it clear they wanted Jabari Parker no matter what. Instead, Wiggins goes second overall to the 76ers, making Philadelphia a scary young team. What transpires after the draft drastically changes the outlook of the 2014-2015 NBA season.

With no elite bargaining chip, the Cavaliers are unable to pry Kevin Love from the Minnesota Timberwolves. Instead, Love is shipped to Boston in exchange for Marcus Smart, Rodney Hood and two future first round picks. With Love headed for the Celtics instead of the Cavaliers, LeBron James decides to opt into his contract with Miami. The King’s presence in South Beach means that Chris Bosh walks away from the Heat for a contract with the Houston Rockets. Bosh teams up with the aforementioned Howard and James Harden to form a new Big Three in Texas. Some other free agents change their decision as well. Pau Gasol joins Miami to fill Bosh’s void. The incredible amount of spending by the Heat means they cannot afford to add the young Hassan Whiteside, who instead joins Philadelphia now that Joel Embiid is not in the picture. And with Gasol bound for Florida, the Bulls hang on to Jusuf Nurkic rather than trade for Doug McDermott. Chicago also finds an incredible amount of cap space they use to lure Carmelo Anthony away from New York.

The season starts with plenty of crazy headlines. Orlando cannot wait to pair Embiid with Nikola Vucevic next season. The 76ers love their core of Michael Carter-Williams, Nerlens Noel and Andrew Wiggins and never send MCW to Milwaukee. Rajon Rondo could not be happier in Boston with another star present in the form of Love. Dallas is in desperate need of a point guard but with Rondo locked in for the Celtics, the Mavericks find themselves out of luck. Right around the trade deadline, with the playoffs essentially out of sight with Dallas, Oklahoma City and New Orleans all in front of them, Phoenix deals Goran Dragic to the Knicks in exchange for Tim Hardaway Jr. and Lance Thomas. The Suns also send Isiah Thomas packing but this time to Charlotte for Lance Stephenson and a couple of future picks.

When the playoffs roll around, the super teams in each conference, Miami and Houston, enter as the top seeds. Milwaukee and Dallas miss the postseason due to the trades that now never happen. The Heat matches up with the eighth-seeded Cavaliers in the first round as LeBron inflicts even more pain on Cleveland with a 4-0 sweep. Miami edges the fourth-seeded Celtics and beats out the talented Bulls for a return to the NBA Finals for a fifth straight year. They meet the Memphis Grizzlies after the Griz outlast Houston in the Western Conference Finals. Pau and Marc Gasol become the first brothers to face each other in the NBA Finals. It would be the elder Gasol who gets the last laugh as Miami snags its third title in five years.

LeBron_JamesThe following offseason, with his contract up and three rings to his name, James walks away from the Heat and joins the Cavaliers. Linking up with Kyrie Irving, James sets out to recruit either LaMarcus Aldridge or Marc Gasol to join him in Cleveland. Minnesota is still sitting with the worst record in the league after an atrocious 11-71 season. The Knicks and Lakers both join the Wolves as those among the bottom three in the league. All of this happens if a different ping-pong ball was picked back in May of last year. Instead of talking about Cleveland, all the hype would still be in Miami right now with the playoffs just getting underway and the MVP conversation would likely be over as James dominated the league once again. Who knows, maybe LeBron will still get that third ring anyway.

What if Matt Barkley didn’t return for his senior year?

Chris McGlynn Draft, Football, NCAAF, NFL , ,

Remember back in 2012, when there was a possibility that we could see one of the best quarterback drafts in NFL history. Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III were the top prospects with Ryan Tannehill viewed as a nice consolation prize. However, there was a large contingency that believed there was another quarterback worthy of a top ten pick who ended up staying school. Matt Barkley, who some argued would have competed with Luck for the top pick, returned to USC for his senior year. He showed some major relapses and he ended up being a fourth round pick in 2013. But what if the former Trojan decided to head to the NFL a year early? Nothing is for sure but you can imagine a lot would change.

Barkley was highly regarded but I think it is likely that during the pre-draft workouts, Luck and Griffin would put some distance between themselves and the kid from USC. However, I think Barkley would still rate higher than fellow first rounder Ryan Tannehill. On draft day, Luck and Griffin still go one and two. None of the teams from picks three to seven really needed a quarterback. Miami sitting at number eight was ready to move on from Chad Henne and with Barkley still on the board, the Dolphins would gladly draft him. Barkley would join a Fins team with another former USC star in Reggie Bush led by rookie coach Joe Philbin. If Barkley began playing anything like he did during his senior season or how he has in the NFL with Philadelphia, there is a really good chance that veteran signal caller Matt Moore beats out Barkley for the starting job.

So this also means that there is no way for the Dolphins to take Tannehill, who continues to fall down the draft board. He doesn’t fall too long because sitting at number twelve is a team in desperate need of a young quarterback. The Seattle Seahawks had Tavaris Jackson under center the year before and desperately needed an upgrade. Matt Flynn was brought in as a potential replacement but that wouldn’t stop Seattle from picking up the talented Tannehill. Tannehill was viewed as a bit of project and based on how much the team was paying Flynn, the rookie from Texas A&M would probably be given a year to sit on the bench.

The 2012 season looks extremely different as well. Seattle struggles under Flynn and by the end of the season, Tannehill gets some reps as the starter, but the Seahawks miss the playoffs. Green Bay win against Seattle in week 4 with no Fail Mary game. This means that Green Bay finishes the season with the second best record in the NFC. Instead of Seattle and Minnesota in the playoffs, Chicago and Philadelphia make the postseason in their place. The Bears get a major showdown with the third seeded 49ers. The Eagles travel to Washington for a duel of rookie quarterbacks. Robert Griffin III versus Russell Wilson. Oh right, did I forget to mention that the Eagles snag Wilson in the third round because Seattle took Tannehill? Philadelphia falls next week to Atlanta who meets Green Bay in NFC championship game. Green Bay dispatches Atlanta for a matchup with the Ravens in the Super Bowl where Aaron Rodgers outduels Joe Flacco for his second straight Lombardi Trophy.

Andy Reid still leaves in 2013 and Chip Kelly cannot wait to get his hands on an offense led by Russell Wilson. Seattle is still good but not great with Tannehill under center. They miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year. That means no Legion of Boom and no Super Bowl rout of the Broncos. With the Seahawks out of the picture, the 49ers win the NFC West and the Nick Foles led Cardinals make it as a wildcard. Foles was drafted by the Cardinals when Philadelphia no longer had interest in him in the fourth round in 2012. The Eagles get a boost with Wilson under center to the second seed while the 49ers take the top seed. Green Bay beats New Orleans in the wildcard round while Philadelphia takes down Arizona. The Niners beat the Packers in the divisional round setting up a meeting with Russell Wilson again in the NFC championship game, this time with the Eagles. Philly’s offense of DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Jeremy Maclin is the Greatest Show on Turf 2.0 and Philadelphia finds itself in the Super Bowl against Peyton Manning’s Broncos. With no incredible defense to haunt him, Manning plays great and narrowly beats Philly in a shootout giving Manning his second ring.

Now some of you might be saying, what about Matt Barkley and the Dolphins? Don’t worry. I’m getting to that. Barkley never develops quite how Miami wants. So in 2014, they are in the market for a new quarterback. Joe Philbin decides to go after a different Texas A&M quarterback with their first round pick by the name of Johnny Manziel. For once, the Cleveland Browns don’t completely lose out because they get Carson Palmer when Arizona no longer wants to sign him with Foles under center, so the Browns don’t want Manziel anyway.

So in short, Russell Wilson is an Eagle, Nick Foles is a Cardinal, Carson Palmer is a Brown, Rodgers has two rings, Manning has two rings and Wilson ends up with none. The Legion of Boom never happens in Seattle and Miami ends up with Manziel. All of this just because Matt Barkley decides to leave school one year sooner.

Salvaging the Wolves

Chris McGlynn Basketball, Draft, Free Agency, NBA , , ,

The Minnesota Timberwolves are bad. That’s it. Plain and simple. This team is currently tied with the hapless Knicks for the worst record in the NBA with just two games to go in the season. Obviously, the Timberwolves do not have much left to play for this season. That doesn’t mean that these games don’t mean something for the players. In a lot of ways, this is a tryout to see who might be on the team next year. It also could help the Minnesota front office figure out what to do with some of the veterans on the team. Guys like Ricky Rubio, Nikola Peckovic and Kevin Martin have all had good runs with the team but none of them have really lived up to the money they are paid. With some of the guys they have rising through the ranks, it might be time for the Wolves to start looking elsewhere.

Kevin_Martin

Kevin Martin, Shooting Guard
Age: 32
Decision: Sell
Kevin Martin has shown the ability to light up the scoreboard and be a great offensive piece for Minnesota. However, with his age and overall ineffectiveness shooting the basketball, his value significantly drops for this rebuilding team. Martin has shot only 42.3 percent from the field this season. He also provides little when it comes to assists and rebounds on a night-to-night basis. The other major concern for Martin is his health. He only has appeared in 38 games this year, marking the fifth time in his career that Martin has been unable to play in more than 51 games. He simply is not a player Minnesota can consistently rely on. He should be moved, maybe in a deal with the next player on this list.

Ricky_Rubio

Ricky Rubio, Point Guard
Age: 24
Decision: Sell
Despite being one of the most promising point guards when he entered the league four years ago, Ricky Rubio has never really been able to convert the potential into talent. Entering his fourth year in the NBA, Rubio showed signs of being ready to take a big step. Instead, he was injured once again and has spent another injury-riddled season mostly on the bench. The Timberwolves are running out of time to wait on him to develop as well. In his only season where he played a full slate of games, Rubio failed to average more than ten points per game and shot a mediocre 38 percent from the field. And then here’s a scary stat, that was a career-high for Rubio when it comes to shooting percentage. Meanwhile, rookie point guard Zach LaVine has caught fire recently. The athletic freak has averaged 19 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds on 44.5 percent shooting over the past 10 games. It looks like Minnesota might already have Rubio’s replacement in house.

Nikola_Pekovic

Nikola Pekovic, Center
Age: 29
Decision: Sell
While he might be one of their best offensive assets but with one of the top picks in this year’s draft, the Timberwolves can replace Nikola Pekovic. Through five years in the NBA, Pekovic has never played more than 65 games in one season. He shot a career worst 42.4 percent from the field and his season ended very early due to an Achilles injury. The Wolves also owe Pekovic roughly $12 million each of the next three seasons. That’s a lot to be paying for a player who is not on the court very often. He also saw his scoring drop to the lowest since his rookie year and his rebounding totals dip to the lowest since 2011. Overall, Pek is not really improving at this point in his career. With either Jahlil Okafor or Karl-Anthony Towns likely set to wear a Timberwolves jersey next season, Pekovic could be expendable.

Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett, Power Forward
Age: 38
Decision: Keep
Even though he is going to be 39 years old next season, Kevin Garnett provides some value for this young Timberwolves team. He doesn’t do a ton on the court anymore when it comes to converting on the court but when he does play, Garnett has been fairly effective. He is more suited as a sixth man or role player next year but after shooting 58 percent from the floor and providing almost eight points per game in limited minutes since returning to Minnesota, he has made a difference. Plus, his veteran leadership and championship experience are invaluable. Garnett can bring a bit of fire to this team and improve them from a mental aspect. He might not be worth the $12 million price tag he has at the moment, but bringing him back would be a smart move.

The Timberwolves are going to look like a very different team next year pretty much no matter what. Gary Neal and Garnett are set to be free agents and if Chase Budinger opts out this club would have some holes to fix. With what is shaping up to be a fairly strong draft class, trading away some of the veterans for a couple of middle of the order draft picks could be a great way for Minnesota to restart and rebuild.