With 26 teams now eliminated from title contention, much focus has shifted on the NBA offseason and precisely what those teams plan to do prior to the draft on June 27.
For those teams that fell in immediate need of the ultimate prize, this is a time of reevaluation, preparing and forward thinking. This is a time to make several decisions.
Some of those decisions will involve coaching changes and roster goes, but every organization inside league must expect you'll improve through the write. With a premium placed on lottery selections—and choosing the right players outside the best 14 picks—general managers can be scrambling to craft plans for acquiring the players they want.
But some of those general managers are considering poor draft position. For any teams, this is a time to consider making some decisive moves position their team in the best position to brew a splash in the draft.
Let's take a consider some rumors from across the league and identify one or two squads looking to potentially progress or down the draft board to get the players they want inside 2013 NBA draft.
The 2013 campaign had been a disappointing season for the Portland Trail Blazers, but they have a compelling foundation on which to build for the future. With Rookie of the majority Damian Lillard and contributing scorer LaMarcus Aldridge in place for next season, general manager Neil Olshey must be focused on finding one other talented scorer to lead his team through the playoff barrier in a Western Conference.
According to be able to Chris Haynes of CSNNW. com, Olshey might have a target in intellect. Sources indicate the Trail Blazers "really like" Indy swingman Victor Oladipo and may try to move up within the draft to acquire her.
The draft lottery on May 21 will give a clearer indication, but Portland is slotted for the Certainly no. 10 pick in the draft—a position when it will likely have to trade up to search for the athletic perimeter scorer. If the Trail Blazers not crack the most notable five when the ping pong balls are drawn, Olshey may have to get creative to commerce up.
This year's draft isn't being lauded because of its elite talent, though, with the recent success of non-lottery picks like Kenneth Faried along with Chandler Parsons, there might be a bevy of teams hoping to incorporate extra picks by moving the government financial aid the first round—like the Charlotte Bobcats.
According to Rick Bonnell of that Charlotte Observer, the Bobcats may be interested in moving out of the superior five—a rare occurrence in a very draft that typically focuses on top-tier talent:
Here's what I noticed: The Charlotte now Bobcats, a team assured of drafting no under what fifth in the to begin with round and having simply no second-round pick, seem oddly curious approximately players projected to be drafted in the midst of the first round.
So i asked several writers addressing teams with similarly high picks if they thought their general leaders were receptive to trading down. "Absolutely, " We kept hearing.
Every general manager are going to be doing his due diligence ahead of draft, and the talk associated with trading down may simply be described as a smokescreen to keep other teams on the toes, but there is usually some validity to the rumors if the Bobcats have their heart set for a player who isn't your projected top-five talent.
As is the case with Portland, what Charlotte ultimately decides to do will hinge on how the draft lottery plays out and about, but it's hard to assume a top-five team willingly trading back the first round, even inside of a weak draft class. The Bobcats can't afford to find too creative and neglect a proven talent and future building block.
It's hard to put a positive spin on the Los Angeles Lakers' season. Despite adding superstar abilitie this offseason, the Lakers floundered high of the year and met their fate as a result of the San Antonio Spurs inside first round of your playoffs, as Kobe Bryant watched on by having a season-ending injury.
There's no timetable for Bryant's return and standard manager Mitch Kupchak can have his hands full with trying to retain Howard. What imagine, however, is Pau Gasol might be the odd man out in La.
According to Sam Amico of Fox Sports, the Lakers may very well be willing to trade the forward in turn for youth and more desirable draft positioning, potentially within the lottery, as he additionally noted on Twitter:
The unrest involving Gasol in L . a . has been palpable, therefore shouldn't be a surprise that team could look move him this offseason. With Bryant's 2013 future use and the prospect involving potentially losing Howard to help you free agency, Kupchak has to be willing to reshape his roster and get younger through the write.
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