Inside the NBA from SI.com
The play of guards Delonte West (selected No. 24 in the draft) and Tony Allen (No. 25) has led to speculation that second-year point guard Marcus Banks is on the trading block. While Ainge denies that Banks is available, the GM is infatuated with his new guards. "Right now Delonte is our best shooter," says Ainge. "No," answers Rivers, "Paul Pierce is. I told Danny, 'You fall in love with your rookies.'"
Hopefully this is off-base speculation. I don't want to see Banks going anywhere. The article also includes some good commentary on Blount and this about Allen:
Rivers wants Allen to develop a mid-range jumper in the mode of Richard Hamilton. "I don't care about that long-range stuff," Rivers says. "I hope that every single kid in the country watched Rip Hamilton and the way he plays. Tony is so quick that he can get to wherever he wants to on the floor." Allen can beat his man off the dribble, but he needs to be able to finish the move by pulling up for a 15-footer. Says a rival NBA scout who watched Allen at the Orlando and Las Vegas summer leagues: "If he develops a jump shot, he could be an All-Star."
That's quite a departure from the O'Brien 3-for-all offense. I am encouraged by that sentiment. I am seeing more and more why Doc Rivers is such a popular guy in the media. He says all the right things. Lets hope the team buys what he's selling.
In other news, the Cavs have jettisoned the last former Celtics player involved in the Ricky Davis trade. Battie was packaged with future picks for Drew Gooden, Steven Hunter, and Anderson Varejao. Akron Beacon Journal
Obviously Cleveland didn't really value these players as much as they valued getting rid of Davis. How's that for a ringing endorsement? So far Davis has been a model citizen though. Perhaps a change of scenery has done him well. We can only hope. (same goes for Corey Dillon for that matter)