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Poll: Should Celtics Keep Or Trade No. 1 Pick?

May 19th, 2017 at 11:21am CST by Luke Adams

Few teams in NBA history have found themselves in the Celtics’ current position. Boston is not only one of the four teams still alive in the playoffs, but also has landed the No. 1 overall pick in what’s considered a very strong 2017 draft.

The Celtics’ showing this season, which included earning the first overall seed in the East, is proof that the team isn’t too far away from being a serious title contender. However, if Game 1 in the Eastern Conference Finals was any indication, the team may not just be one player away from seriously threatening LeBron James‘ Cavs.

That creates an interesting dilemma for the Celtics, who have stashed away three extra first-round picks beyond 2017, including the Nets’ unprotected 2018 selection. Boston has enough young players and future assets to continue taking its time in building a contender, perhaps waiting out LeBron’s peak. However, that stash of extra picks and assets, along with an already-talented roster, provides a unique opportunity — the C’s could move the No. 1 pick this year for a star, improve their roster immediately, and still be well-positioned to keep their window of contention open for years.

There’s no obvious answer for the Celtics, with some NBA observers arguing in favor of trading the pick and some insisting they need to keep it. The probable No. 1 pick, point guard Markelle Fultz, plays the same position as the team’s current MVP, Isaiah Thomas. What would it mean for Thomas’ long-term future if Fultz joins the mix in Boston?

Conversely, if the C’s were to trade the pick, what kind of player could they land? Jimmy Butler and Paul George have been frequently mentioned as targets, but are the Bulls ready to trade Butler? Would George, on track for 2018 free agency, be willing to commit to an extension with the Celtics? Is there another player – perhaps someone like Kristaps Porzingis – who might be available for the No. 1 pick, and who would appeal to Boston?

What do you think the Celtics should do with the first overall pick? Place your vote below, and then jump into the comments section to share your thoughts!

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Poll: Who Will Win Celtics/Wizards Series?

May 9th, 2017 at 10:12am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers made quick work of the Raptors in their second round series, but they’ll have to be patient as they wait to see which team they’ll play in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics/Wizards matchup on the other side of the bracket doesn’t resume until Wednesday, and it will feature at least two more games — it’s currently tied at two games apiece.

The Celtics are the No. 1 seed in the East and hold home-court advantage, which could be important — so far in the series, the home team has yet to lose a game. In fact, that streak extends even earlier, as the home team also won all four games in the regular-season series.

Still, it’s not as if Boston is a significantly better team than Washington. The two clubs were separated by just four games in the standings during the regular season, and the Wizards came much closer to stealing one of the two games in Boston than the Celtics did in Washington. And if you believe in momentum, the Wizards have it all right now, coming off a pair of dominant victories that evened the series.

What do you think? Which team will win this series? Vote below, and then jump into the comments section to share your thoughts on this series — and on which team would give LeBron James and the Cavs more of a challenge.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Poll: Who Will Win Spurs/Rockets Series?

May 8th, 2017 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets were firing on all cylinders in Sunday night’s win over the Spurs, making 52.6% of their field goal attempts, including 44.2% of their threes, en route to a comfortable 125-104 victory. Their Game 4 win evened up the series at two games apiece, and the two teams will head back to San Antonio for Tuesday’s Game 5.

While the Spurs maintain the home-court advantage, both teams have shown they’re capable of winning a game in their opponent’s arena so far, having split the first two games in San Antonio and the next two in Houston.

Injuries have also played a part in the series so far, but the Spurs managed to pull out a Game 3 victory after receiving word that Tony Parker would be sidelined for the rest of the postseason due to a ruptured left quadriceps tendon. As for the Rockets, their impressive showing on Sunday came – for the most part – without key reserve Nene, who played less than two minutes before leaving with a left groin injury. He’ll undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com details.

The Rockets and Spurs still have their MVP candidates – James Harden and Kawhi Leonard – on the court, and both teams have the firepower necessary to advance to the Western Conference Finals for a probable date with the Warriors. So which team do you think will make it through?

Vote below in our poll and jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote in today’s poll.

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Poll: Who Should Be Drafted First Overall?

May 6th, 2017 at 9:02am CST by Joshua Fischman

With the NBA draft nearly a month and a half away, potential lottery teams like the Celtics, Suns, and Lakers, and basketball fans alike debate: who should be taken first overall? A pair of freshman point guards from Pac-12 schools, Lonzo Ball of UCLA and Markelle Fultz from the University of Washington, dominate the discussion.

In 25 games, Fultz averaged 23.2 PPG, 5.9 APG, and 5.7 RPG, while shooting 47.6% from the floor. Although Fultz’s Huskies finished 9-22 and did not qualify for the postseason, the 6’4″ prospect was named First Team All Pac-12 for his performance.

Ball, too, was named to the First Team, after averaging 14.6 PPG and 6.0 RPG on 55.1% shooting, while leading the nation with 7.6 APG. Ball’s Bruins finished 31-5 and were eliminated by Kentucky in the Sweet 16.

In an Insider-only piece at ESPN, Chad Ford and Kevin Pelton discuss potential sleepers to be selected first, but ultimately decide that it comes down to Fultz and Ball. After making the case for both players as the potential No. 1 pick, the duo diverges, with Ford leaning toward Fultz and Pelton preferring Ball.

What do you think? Should Ball or Fultz be drafted first? Or should someone else entirely go No. 1?

Vote below on which player you believe merits the honor of being the first name called on draft night. After placing your vote, share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Poll: Which 2-2 Series Will End In Upset?

April 25th, 2017 at 1:15pm CST by Luke Adams

Last year’s NBA Finals combatants, the Cavaliers and Warriors, made quick work of their first round playoff opponents, dispatching the Pacers and Trail Blazers respectively in four games apiece. However, many of the other first round series around the NBA remain very much up in the air.

Currently, four series are tied at 2-2, with two of those Game Fives scheduled for tonight, and two more on tap for Wednesday. The Clippers and Jazz have each split their home games, resulting in a 2-2 tie, while the No. 7 seeded Grizzlies won two home games over the Spurs following David Fizdale‘s post-Game 2 “take that for data” rant, pulling even in that series. Those four teams will be in action tonight.

Over in the Eastern Conference, the No. 1 seeded Celtics find themselves tied with the No. 8 Bulls in an unusual series in which road teams are 4-0 so far. Meanwhile, the Hawks ripped through the Wizards‘ defense in two games in Atlanta, evening that series at 2-2. Both of those series will resume on Wednesday.

In each of those four series, the higher seed maintains the advantage, with two of the final three games on their home court. But most of those higher seeds don’t look as formidable as they did entering the postseason.

What do you think? Will any of these series result in upsets? If the Jazz are able to knock off the Clippers, should that series even be viewed as a legit upset, given the absence of Blake Griffin and the teams’ identical regular season records?

Vote below on which lower seeds will make it through the first round — you can pick as many as you want. After placing your vote, share your thoughts in the comments section!

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Poll: 2017 All-NBA Third Team

April 20th, 2017 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

In an NBA season packed with incredible performances and remarkable statistical achievements, we’re letting you decide which 15 players are most deserving of All-NBA recognition.

On Tuesday, we opened voting for the All-NBA First Team, and 24 hours later, we had clear answers for which five players you believe deserve spots on that team. On Wednesday, we published polls for the Second Team, and we have now have our five players for that squad too. In this case, the vote was a little closer, particularly at center, where Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert went down to the wire in the race for a spot on the Second Team.

Here are the voting results so far:

All-NBA First Team

All-NBA Second Team

While your First Team choices consisted mostly of this year’s top MVP candidates, your Second Team picks were heavy on the best players from this year’s best teams — the NBA-leading Warriors got two spots on the Second Team, while Thomas, the top scorer from the East’s No. 1 team, earned one of the guard spots.

We’re moving on today to the All-NBA Third Team, so cast your votes below for the two guards, two forwards, and one center that you believe are most deserving of being named to that squad. You’ll have until about 12:00pm CT on Friday before we close this round of voting and round up the final results. You’ll also have the opportunity to select two players apiece in the guard and forward polls, so be sure to take advantage of that.

Who should be on the All-NBA Third Team?

Guards:

Note: This poll was reset after a top candidate was initially omitted. If you voted in our original poll, please feel free to re-submit your vote.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Third Team guards.

Forwards:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Third Team forwards.

Center:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Third Team center.

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Poll: 2017 All-NBA Second Team

April 19th, 2017 at 10:48am CST by Luke Adams

In an NBA season packed with incredible performances and remarkable statistical achievements, we’re letting you decide which 15 players are most deserving of All-NBA recognition.

On Tuesday, we opened voting for the All-NBA First Team, and 24 hours later, we have clear answers for which five players you believe deserve spots on that team. James Harden and Russell Westbrook ran away with the two guard spots, while LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard comfortably won the vote for forwards. At center, Anthony Davis topped all challengers to earn a spot on our All-NBA First Team.

The voting results so far:

All-NBA First Team

With four clear-cut MVP candidates on the First Team, the choices were somewhat straightforward, but that’s not the case for the next 10 spots, where there should be several interesting races. We’re moving on today to the All-NBA Second Team, so cast your votes below for the two guards, two forwards, and one center that you believe are most deserving of being named to that squad.

You’ll have about 24 hours for this round of voting before we move on to the All-NBA Third Team on Thursday. You’ll also have the opportunity to select two players apiece in the guard and forward polls, so be sure to take advantage of that. And if there’s a player not listed below that you believe deserves All-NBA consideration, be sure to mention him in the comments section too — if I agree, I’ll make sure he’s included in our All-NBA Third Team poll.

Guards:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Second Team guards.

Forwards:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Second Team forwards.

Center:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA Second Team center.

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Poll: 2017 All-NBA First Team

April 18th, 2017 at 9:40am CST by Luke Adams

Russell Westbrook‘s full-season triple-double was the most impressive statistical achievement of the 2016/17 regular season, but the NBA’s stars put up astounding numbers across the board this year, making All-NBA decisions tougher than ever. No matter which 15 players earn spots on the three All-NBA teams for 2017, worthy candidates will miss the cut.

Still, we want you to do your best to identify which 15 players are the most deserving of All-NBA recognition this year. Over the next few days, we’ll be running a handful of polls to let you make your selections for this year’s All-NBA teams.

We’re starting today with the First Team. Polls for the guards, forwards, and center are below — you’ll have the opportunity to pick two players apiece in the guard and forward polls. We’ll leave today’s polls open for about 24 hours, at which point we’ll name the players with the most votes to our All-NBA First Team and move on to voting for the Second Team.

Vote for your All-NBA picks below, and then take to the comments section to explain your reasoning. And if there are a player not listed below that you believe deserves All-NBA consideration, be sure to mention him in the comments section too — if I agree, I’ll make sure he’s included in our Second and Third Team polls.

Guards:

Note: This poll was reset after a top candidate was initially omitted. If you voted early in our original poll, feel free to vote again.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First team guards.

Forwards:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First team forwards.

Centers:

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on the All-NBA First team center.

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Poll: Best Point Guard In The Draft?

March 25th, 2017 at 8:25pm CST by ChrisCrouse

In 2017, we may see a draft class that contains the greatest collection of point guards in the history of the league, according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com (ESPN Now link). Ford added that as many as four point guards could be selected in the first five picks. Here’s a brief breakdown of the point guards who could have their name called early on draft night:

  • Markelle Fultz is expected to be the top pick in the draft, according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express. He averaged 23.2 points and 5.9 assists per game while sporting a 27.9 player efficiency rating during his lone season in Washington. His massive wingspan, coupled with his ability to make plays, should allow his game to translate to the next level. However, he wasn’t able to elevate his college team to the NCAA Tournament and he struggled against better competition, which are worrisome factors when evaluating the young prospect.
  • Lonzo Ball is not better than Stephen Curry. He is one of the best point guards in the draft and if you can get past all the noise his father is making, you can see why teams are placing Ball near the top of their draft boards. There aren’t many 19-year-olds who can control the game the way Ball does. His passing ability and court vision are top-notch and it wouldn’t be shocking if he’s the first player to have his name called in the upcoming draft.
  • Dennis Smith Jr. is an explosive athlete with great awareness on the court. He’s not the best shooter and like Fultz, Smith wasn’t able to get his team into the NCAA Tournament. Ford has him going to the Magic with the No. 5 pick in his latest mock draft.
  • De’Aaron Fox outdueled Ball and UCLA to lead his team to the elite eight. Fox is one of the fastest point guards in the draft. He’s an athletic prospect who excels on the defensive end. If Fox isn’t selected in the top-5, it’ll be because of his shaky jump shot has scared teams off. He made just 23.1% of the 3-point attempts during his lone season at Kentucky.
  • Frank Ntilikina is a long-armed, quick point guard from France with a smooth game that should transition well to the league. Givony believes he has plenty of room to grow and adds that the 18-year-old’s versatility and basketball IQ will reward whichever team selects him on draft night.

[RELATED: Hoops Rumors 2016/17 NBA Reverse Standings]

Assuming all five of these prospects declare for the draft (Fox can’t declare until his team either wins the NCAA Championship or is eliminated. Fultz and Ball have officially declared. Smith is expected to declare; same with Ntilikina), which point guard selected in the 2017 draft will have the best career?

Don’t limit yourself to just a click of a button. Take to the comment section below to explain your selection. Think another point guard will have a better career than the aforementioned prospects? Let us know and make your case below. We look forward to what you have to say!

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Poll: No. 8 Seed In Western Conference

March 20th, 2017 at 11:21am CST by Luke Adams

For most of the 2016/17 season, seven Western Conference teams have comfortably held postseason positions. The Warriors and Spurs have led the pack, followed by the Rockets, with the Jazz, Clippers, Thunder, and Grizzlies rounding out the top seven. The order those teams finish in has yet to be determined, but none of them are in danger of losing their playoff spots.

That leaves just one open spot for Western Conference teams vying for playoff contention, and the battle for the No. 8 seed has been an interesting one. With one or two exceptions, virtually every team in the bottom of the Western standings has been viewed as a viable candidate for that final postseason spot at some point since October — even the last-place Lakers created a little buzz when they opened the season with a 10-10 record before falling off significantly.

At this point, two teams look like top contenders for that No. 8 seed, and those two clubs actually completed a trade with one another just last month. The Nuggets and Trail Blazers swapped Mason Plumlee for Jusuf Nurkic in February, and those players have thrived with their new teams, helping to position them for a run at the West’s No. 8 seed. Both teams have been among the NBA’s best so far in March — Denver currently holds a one game lead over Portland with 13 to play, but the Blazers have won three games in a row and have a favorable schedule down the stretch.

Ultimately, it might not matter much which team claims the No. 8 spot — neither the Nuggets nor the Blazers is a serious threat to upset the top-ranked Warriors (or Spurs). Still, either club could at least make things a little interesting in round one as a frisky underdog, given how well they’ve been playing as of late.

What do you think? Will it be the Nuggets or the Blazers in that No. 8 spot at the end of the regular season? Or will another Western team – such as the Mavericks, Pelicans, or Timberwolves – sneak into that final spot with a hot streak in the season’s final weeks?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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