2015 NBA Free Agency Preview

LaMarcus Aldridge

LaMarcus Aldridge
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Aldridge has been under appreciated for years. While he is not an elite player, he is just a notch below and can be a key player on a championship team. He has spent his whole career with Portland, but that is set to change as it appears he is on his way out. He has meetings set up with the Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, and Toronto Raptors. Aldridge would be a good fit on all of these teams. Heading into July, the Spurs are the favorite due to Aldridge's appreciation of the system and the team. The one problem with the Spurs signing Aldridge is that they will have to make moves to open up cap space. One team that has not be given much attention but would be a very good fit is Toronto. Toronto's power forwards last season were Tyler Hansbourgh, Amir Johnson, and Patrick Patterson. All are good role players, but not typical starters. Aldridge could slide right into that starting role and help the Raptors become a legit contender in the East. With that being said, the odds are against the Raptors.

Paul Millsap

The Atlanta Hawks had one of the biggest free agent steals in recent memory when then signed Millsap to a two year, $19 million deal in 2013. Now, two years later, Millsap is again a free agent. Millsap can fit in with almost any team. As a stretch four, he can score the basketball from close, midrange, and three point land. He is also an above average rebounder. Millsap is likely to stay in the ATL, but it will be interesting to see if any team will be able to prowl him away. And if a team does, it would a great deal. 

Greg Monroe

Greg Monroe
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Monroe is a very good big man who is only 25 years old. He will not resign with the Detroit Pistons. Ever since the Pistons drafted Andre Drummond, Monroe has been forced to play more power forward and less center, his natural position. Monroe and Drummond would have been a good duo 25 years ago, but now the game has gotten smaller and the two clog too much space. It is better for the Pistons to let Monroe walk and stick with Drummond. Monroe will get a big deal from a team that misses out on one of the big time big men. It would also not be surprising if he replaced LaMarcus Aldridge in Portland. The problem with signing Monroe is it is going to cost a team a lot of money.

Jimmy Butler

The Chicago Bulls have reportedly offered Butler, the 2015 NBA All-Star, a max offer of five years, $90 million. That may be one of the smartest moves of this offseason. Butler is a fantastic player and key  for the Bulls. While the contract may seem large, it will not seem too bad when the cap increases over the next two seasons. By 2017, the deal will seem like a bargain.

Dwayne Wade

Wade has spent his whole career with the Miami Heat. And even though he opted out of his contract, it is still likely that he resigns with the Heat. Wade is asking for a three year, $16 million per year deal, which is way too much for him at 33. I think the Heat are the only team that would even come close to that offer. The Lakers have interest in Wade, but they would not overpay Wade and lose the opportunity to sign a young big man. Odds are in the Heat's favor with Wade.

Monta Ellis

Monta Ellis
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Ellis is an unrestricted free agent after opting out of his contract. He spent the last two seasons with the Dallas Mavericks. The Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, Sacremento Kings are reportedly after the 29 year-old shooting guard. Of those four teams, the Kings would be the most interesting and most likely fit. Ellis is a high volume shooter who can be a ball stopper and shoots poorly from behind the arc. He seems like the type of player the Kings would overpay to sign. Ellis is going to get a large deal somewhere, but it is likely that it will be with a team that is not a good fit for him. 

Jersey Pilots lose in extras to North Jersey Eagles

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com


After tying the game in the ninth, the North Jersey Eagles scored three runs in the top of the tenth as they beat the Jersey Pilots, 6-4.


The Eagles got on the board first. Ryan Rivera led off the fourth inning with a walk and then Chris Baldi hit a single to put runners on first and third. Zach Tondi knocked in Rivera with a single and Baldi scored later in the inning on a Kenneth Hayden groundout.


I

n response, the Pilots scored one run in three consecutive innings. It started in the fifth inning when Pat Geraghty scored on a Christian Zazzali double. In the sixth, Tommy Trotter led of the inning with a single, moved over to second on a Vic Konstantinovsky bunt, and scored on a Greg Kocinski single. Brian Dudeck then scored in the seventh on a Geraghty single.


To begin the eighth inning, Baldi and Tondi reached base. North Jersey shortstop Paul Rufo was the next batter and he hit a groundball to Drew DeAngelis at shortstop. DeAngelis fielded and threw to Zazzali at second. Zazzali received the throw, but was taken out by Tondi, who had tripped and fell after sliding. The umpires ruled that Tondi, who was out at second, interfered with Zazzali, As a result, Rufo was out at first and Baldi had to return to second base. Instead of having one out and runners on the corners, the Eagles had a runner on second with two outs. Matthew Stalter struck out to end the inning.


North Jersey tied the game in the ninth. Shane Woelfel led off the inning with a walk and then stole second base. Woelfel scored the game-tying run when Dalton Filotei’s fly ball was dropped in centerfield. Filotei almost put the Eagles ahead later in the inning. After advancing to third on a fly ball, Filotei tried to steal home after a pitch got past Konstantinovsky, the Pilots’ catcher. However, Konstantinovsky retrieved the ball and tagged out Filotei at the plate to end the top of the ninth.


The Pilots had their own opportunity as well to win the game in the ninth. Stephen Petriello, pinch-hitting for Dudeck, came up to the plate with one out and DeAngelis on first. Petriello ripped a double into the right-centerfield gap. DeAngelis attempted to score on the play, but was thrown out at the plate.


The first two Eagles batters of the tenth inning, Rivera and Luis Amaro, walked. After a fly out, Rufo reached on an error, loading the bases. Stalter then knocked in a run when his groundball was mishandled. The next batter was Woelfel, who hit a 2-RBI double to make the score 6-3.


Jersey put together a rally in the tenth. Zazzali and Trotter walked to start in the inning and Kocinski hit a single that scored Zazzali. However, the Pilots could only get one run across in the tenth, leaving them two runs short of extending the game further.


The Pilots, now 4-6 after the loss, return to action on Father’s Day with a doubleheader at the South Jersey Giants. The first game scheduled to begin at 3:00. For more updates and news on the Pilots, go to jerseypilots.com or @ACBL_Pilots.

Pilots lose both games of a doubleheader to Lehigh Valley

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com and acbl-online.com

After splitting a doubleheader on Saturday, the Lehigh Valley Catz beat the Jersey Pilots in both games of Sunday’s doubleheader at Synder Avenue Park.

The Catz won the first game 5-4. The Catz got on the scoreboard first when right fielder Joseph Coyle came up with runners on second and third and hit an infield single, scoring a run.

Jersey retaliated with two runs of their own in the third. Center fielder Tommy Trotter hit an RBI triple and then scored on a Drew DeAngelis groundout.

The Catz tied the game in the fourth when David Moyer hit a solo home run and then reclaimed the lead in the fifth. Lehigh Valley DH Benjamin Bortz led off the inning with a double. Anthony Gaetaniello followed the double up with a bunt single and then Stephen Cohen walked to load the bases. After that, second baseman Nick Todero knocked in two runs with a double of his own. The Catz added a third run on an Anthony Rinaldi sacrifice fly to make the score 5-2.

The Pilots put together rallies in the fifth and seventh, but could not equalize Lehigh Valley. In the fifth, Trotter knocked in a run on a single. The Pilots also loaded the bases in the inning, but could not score any more runs. Stephen Petriello hit a solo home run in the seventh to bring the score within one, but the Pilots were unable to even the score.

In the second game, the Pilots scored first. To start the bottom of the third, Brian Dudeck hit a single and advanced to second on an error. The next batter was Nicholas Marini, who walked. After a fly out, DeAngelis hit an RBI single and Greg Kocinski walked to load the bases. Petriello then hit a weak groundball to the pitcher, but the Catz catcher dropped the throw, allowing a run to score.

The Catz scored six unanswered runs to end the game. In the fourth, Lehigh Valley scored one run when William Anderson hit a sacrifice fly. In the fifth, the Catz scored three runs when Todero walked with the bases loaded, John Collin McGeary hit into a fielder’s choice, and Doug deMarrais singled. The Catz tacked on two more runs in the seventh to make the score 6-2 when McGeary doubled in two runners.

Lefty Ian Carbone picked up the win for the Catz in first game, while Peter Moore got the win in the second. Both pitched all seven innings. Pilots’ pitchers Christopher Rossi and Tommy Giunta received the losses for game one and game two respectively. With the two loses, the Pilots fall to 4-5 while the Catz improve to 4-5. The Pilots next home game is Wednesday, June 17 against the North Jersey Eagles at 6:30. Check jerseypilots.com and @ACBL_Pilots for updates and more information.

Pilots Lose Home Opener 3-1

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

The Jersey Pilots lost their season and home opener 3-1 to the North Jersey Eagles at Snyder Ave Park.

All of the Eagles runs came in the second inning. North Jersey catcher Zachary Tondi led off the inning with a single and was soon joined on the base paths by John Kukura, who walked. North Jersey right fielder Shane Woelfel then ripped a double into gap, scoring both baserunners. Woelfel then scored on a Ryan Rivera single.

The Pilots scored their only run in the eighth inning. After being no-hit for the first 7 1/3 innings, Pilots first baseman Greg Kocinski and left fielder Ryan Jennings had back-to-back singles to put runners on first and third with one out. During the next at-bat, Jennings broke for second base. Eagles catcher Frank Mayo threw the ball to second base, where the throw was bobbled. Jennings was safe at second and Kocinski, who broke from third base on the throw from Mayo,

was safe at home. 

Jersey had only two hits on the day, but did draw five walks. Pilots starting pitcher Tommy Giunta went 5 1/3 innings and picked up the loss. Catchers Vic Konstantinovsky and Stephen Petriello both threw out a runner attempting to steal.

The winning pitcher for North Jersey was Mike Sgaramella. He threw three innings of no-hit ball, but did surrender four walks. Daniel Rajkowski also threw three innings of no hit-ball in relief. Jordan Fontenelle closed the game out for the Eagles and had three strikeouts in his one inning of work.

The Pilots fall to 0-1 on the season, while the Eagles improve to 1-2.

The next game for the Pilots is on Sunday with a game time of 6:30 p.m. It is Ben Smookler Day in honor of the Pilots late owner and general manager. There will be pre-game ceremony honoring Smooker. For updates on the Pilots, check jerseypilots.com and the team’s twitter page: @ACBL_Pilots.