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The Pistons have struck first in the market, coming to agreements with Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva, both reportedly for five years. So, is Rodney Stuckey not the Dwyane Wade-lite we’ve heard he might be? I ask because Gordon is reportedly going to make an average of $11 million per year on his deal, Rip Hamilton is in front of him at the two-guard spot, and Stuckey is still in dire need of developing his three-point range. There is a report that Gordon agreed to the deal while knowing that he would come off the bench. Maybe the Pistons can see themselves going with a four-player rotation for the perimeter spots with Hamilton sliding to the three when Tayshaun Prince needs a rest.

I don’t understand the Villanueva signing at all. He seems like the second coming of Tim Thomas, in that he combines power forward size, a perimeter player’s offensive mentality, and disinterest in defense. I was shocked to see that Villanueva ranked so high in rebounding rate (35th in the league), but that may be a function of playing for a Bucks team last year that didn’t have a lot of options in the frontcourt once Andrew Bogut went down.

The speculation that Avery Johnson is in the lead to be hired as the new Pistons coach, further clouds these two signings. Neither Gordon nor Villanueva plays enough defense to satisfy Johnson, who turned the Mavericks from a Nellie-ball offensive machine to a grind-it-out defensive team that reached the NBA finals.

The Clippers have done what many who follow the NBA deemed the impossible, finding someone to take the albatross of Zach Randolph’s personality (and the remaining two years left on his contract). The lucky recipient of the NBA’s Mo Vaughn (oversized, offensively productive, and strong financial supporter of the Canadian ballet) is… the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies will send Quentin Richardson back to the Clippers, so there will be a return of the headbumps after making three-point shots if Richardson’s back is ever healthy enough for him to play.

I’m just shocked anyone would take Randolph’s contract. He has two years and over $33 million left on his deal. Randolph will walk into the starter’s role in Memphis and provide them with production in the low post to fill out their lineup with Marc Gasol, Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, and Mike Conley. It’s not a bad starting five and Randolph’s low-post presence will provide them with a new facet to help open things for the young perimeter players. That said, there isn’t a ton of defense on this squad and maybe this generates a few more wins for the Grizzlies based on outscoring their opponents.

The fact that the Clippers are bringing Richardson back is essentially meaningless. Getting out from under Randolph’s contract and getting a shorter, cheaper contract back in return (Richardson has a player option for close to $9.5 million for the upcoming season) make this a big win for the Clippers. Not only do they clear up their frontcourt situation after drafting Blake Griffin, they got rid of the contract and player that was the hardest to get rid of. Marcus Camby has one year left on his deal and Chris Kaman has three, so the Clips can break in their rookie power forward however they see fit, especially with Camby able to play either post position. DeAndre Jordan, who posted very positive per-minute rates in rebounding and blocked shots as a rookie project last season, offers injury protection for Kaman and Camby and an energetic shot-blocker off the bench. I guess they weren’t crazy for turning down the Randoph-for-Darko deal last week.

That’s the bottom line.

Loaded with cap space, a free agent market replete with power forward candidates who would have filled the hole at the 4 for Memphis (David Lee, Charlie Villanueva, Paul Millsaps) and the Grizzlies come back with Zach Randolph in a deal that didn’t even rid Memphis of the Marko Jaric contract. There is no rational explanation for this. And, no, Bill Simmons, this is NOT Chris Wallace behind these moves. You want to challenge yourself? Change the target to Michael Heisley. It is Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley pulling the trigger and running the show. And the moves being made seem calculated to make following the team as painful as possible for the four remaining Grizzlies fans. Out of spite.

My theory? Heisley is still steaming that local ownership interests won’t bend over and take it Beecher-style with regard to Heisley’s insane asking price for the team. In response, he has launched a three year campaign to inflict as much misery as he can on the fanbase, just because he can.

So, on a Grizzlies team that is teeming with youth, you add one of the notoriously awful teammates in NBA history, guaranteed to ignore coaches, loaf, and generally put up his 20 and 10 while assassinating the team he is on. And likely to get in a fight with a teammate. I was not a fan of the DeMarre Carroll selection at 27 in the draft, but I hope Carroll is tough enough to knock Randolph the fuck out when the inevitable fight starts.

So, awesome.

Michael Heisley. Because he can.

– Tigers pitcher Nate Robertson went on the DL this weekend with a “mass” in his elbow. Yikes.

– The best quote of the weekend was Ozzie Guillen’s about Wrigley being a bar. I hate him with a passion, but I tend to agree with him.

– Since when has the trade of a productive utility player to a non-New York or Boston team generated so much interest? I am looking forward to Buster Olney’s analysis when the Yankees acquire Willie Bloomquist (preferably for Phil Hughes).

– Zack Greinke gave up 2(!) runs in 6.1 IP Sunday before the rains came. I’m not going to complain about the rain delay though because that made Trey Hilman pull Zack after just 80 pitches. With Gil Meche admitting that his arm’s tired after an unnecessary 132 pitch complete game, this is a well-deserved respite for Greinke given Hillman’s tendency to leave him in.

– The Marlins want a closer, and have apparently inquired about Heath Bell and Joakim Soria. That doesn’t make sense to me as Leo Nunez could probably capably fill the 9th inning, and the asking prices for Bell and Soria would be pretty costly in terms of prospects. And anyway, Soria is signed to a long term deal. That doesn’t fit with the Marlins’ philosophy.

– Ryan Langerhans was traded from the Nationals to the Mariners. Believe it or not, Langerhans is already 29.

– Albert Pujols hit two homers Saturday. Ho hum.

No, I am not kidding.

In other soccer news, Manchester City is apparently willing to make Samuel Eto’o the highest paid player in the world.

As a soccer neophyte, my opinion is hardly worthy, but…

Samuel Eto’o?

He seems like a mighty fine player, and the transfer fee seems to be a relatively pedestrian–for 2009–30 million pounds, but…

Samuel Eto’o?

He’s 28, and if Machester City also gets Carlos Tevez, they’re not going to be able to play Robinho, Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz and Eto’o at the same time, are they?

That seems like a disaster waiting to happen, and a situation eerily similar to the one that Tevez just experienced at United. Does this put Chelsea in the driver’s seat for his services?

– Joey Logano got his first Sprint Cup win at New Hampshire thanks to a great pit call by crew chief Greg Zipadelli. As the leaders hit pit road for green flag pit stops with a little less than 70 laps to go in the scheduled 301 lap race, Zippy had Logano stay out because thanks to being buried in the back of the pack, Logano had pitted at the tail end of the last caution flag. Just a few laps after Logano inherited the lead, it started to rain and the race was called with 28 laps to go.

– Logano becomes the youngest winner in Sprint Cup history, breaking the previous record by a year and four months. The youngest winner before Logano? That’d be his teammate Kyle Busch, who was approximately 20 years and 5 months when he won at California in September of 2005.

– Speaking of Shrub, he passed Logano with 36 laps to go in Saturday’s Busch* race at New Hampshire. If it wasn’t for fluky mechanical errors and other bad luck, Busch could have 10 wins in the series. But in perhaps the oddest event of the race was when Willie Allen was parked four laps in for not having a crew chief. Allen was driving an obvious start-and-park effort that’s fielded by Brian–Brad’s older brother–Keselowski to fund his underfunded independent operation. But not having a crew chief is a pretty poor attempt at racing, no matter the intentions.

– While we’re on the subject of start-and-parks, Ron Hornaday won the Truck Series event at Memphis Motorsports Park. It was a banner day for the Truck Series, as only seven trucks parked it within the first 30 laps. Rumors swirl about the viability of the series, despite NASCAR’s insistence that all is well. The trucks used to produce some fantastic racing, but with the economic impacts hitting NASCAR’s third-tier series especially hard, the racing has declined as well.

– Scott Dixon tied the IRL career record for victories at 19 with his win at the SunTrust Indy Challenge in Richmond. It was a banner night for Target Chip Ganassi as Dixon’s teammate Mr. Ashley Judd finished second and Team Penske’s Helio Castronevs and Ryan Briscoe finished 17th and 19th respectively.

– The quality of racing was once again a hot topic after the race at the 3/4 mile track, as virtually every driver complained about the single file funeral procession that doubled as a race. Third place Graham Rahal said that he passed two cars all night. This is a sad trend for the IndyCar Series which at one time had some of the best racing of any of America’s top touring series. Some engineering changes are in order, especially if Tony George is willing to follow through on his threat of stopping the series if it isn’t profitable by 2014.

A couple things off the top before getting to the first round predictions:

This mock is as things currently stand, which I expect won’t last through the draft, as I fully expect Minnesota to make a trade up to #2 to snag Ricky Rubio. The question is just what Memphis will ask for in return and will Minnesota just say “the heck with you and your ridiculous demands” and call Oklahoma City to see if they’re interested in dropping down a couple spots (as Stephen Curry and James Harden would both blend nicely with what the Thunder already have). Also, feel free to drop by the Swamp and check out the “2009 NBA Draft” thread, which recently got bumped and should be getting more action over the next couple days. There will likely be a new thread for the draft itself tomorrow. Onto the picks…

1. Los Angeles Clippers – Blake Griffin, F, Oklahoma
Griffin is a no-brainer. The Clippers will be peddling other parts of their frontcourt rotation (Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman, Zach Randolph) to make playing time for Griffin. Ideally, Randolph and his monstrous contract get sent out of town, but Camby’s expiring deal and Kaman’s youth and more reasonable (although longer) contract make them better options. A swap with the Bulls with Kaman and Kirk Hinrich as the centerpieces could be beneficial to both squads, with Hinrich providing backup minutes at both guard spots, as well as injury protection behind Baron Davis.

2. Memphis Grizzlies – Hasheem Thabeet, C, Connecticut
Between Ricky Rubio’s threats of not getting out of his contract in Europe and the Grizzlies’ backcourt of Mike Conley and OJ Mayo, Memphis opts for the big man on the board with the lowest floor. There is not a whole lot of upside with Thabeet, but if he can max out as the second coming of Dikembe Mutombo and clean up for the defensive mistakes on the outside, it could turn into a very good pick.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder – Ricky Rubio, G, Spain
Russell Westbrook is not a true point guard, but Rubio is. Westbrook offers enough size and athleticism to defend shooting guards, so this should work in the long term. Rubio may not be ready to go from the jump, but Westbrook can still play the point in the interim and Thabo Sefolosha showed enough after coming over late in the season to stay in the starting lineup until Rubio is ready for the keys to the car.

4. Sacramento Kings – Jrue Holliday, G, UCLA
Sacramento is in a difficult spot here. Any of the remaining true point guards are a reach, the shooting guards are redundant with the best player on their roster (Kevin Martin), and they already have a couple high picks sunk into their frontcourt. As a result, getting a point guard with a lot of upside to pair with Martin down the line makes the most sense. Holliday also has a very nice size (6’4”), wingspan (6’7”), and combination to build on.

5. Minnesota Timberwolves – James Harden, G, Arizona State
Harden, who is now garnering a comparison to Paul Pierce, would fit in nicely with Al Jefferson and Kevin Love doing the heavy lifting down low. Harden is also only 19 years old and would be a very nice building block for the future Timberwolves’ backcourt along with…

6. Minnesota Timberwolves – Stephen Curry, G, Davidson
Curry will still need to develop his point guard skills, add strength, and overhaul his defensive game to adjust to the NBA. That said, Curry’s marksmanship will open things up for the big boys down low and it seems like a relatively simple call for the second of the Timberwolves’ four first-round picks.

7. Golden State Warriors – Jordan Hill, F, Arizona
Hill is not a polished player, but he is the best remaining big man, once again a primary need for the Warriors. With Andris Biedrins, Anthony Randolph, Rony Turiaf, and Brandan Wright already on the roster, Hill could fit in as another energy and hustle guy as his game develops.

8. New York Knicks – Jonny Flynn, G, Syracuse
Mike D’Antoni needs a true point guard to run his uptempo system and Flynn is a good match. While undersized, Flynn is still strong and has the quickness and point guard skills to work in that system. While Flynn is not a great outside shooter, he has shown the ability to hit from range and should develop consistency as he matures. His leadership skills should also help the Knicks.

9. Toronto Raptors – Tyreke Evans, G, Memphis
The Raptors need an influx of athleticism and get it with this quick two-guard whose size (6’5”) and wingspan (6’11”) enable him to make in impact in the backcourt. Evans also is an excellent scorer going to the basket, which may help keep some pressure of Chris Bosh and encourage him to stay when his contract expires at the end of next season. Evans does lack shooting range, though, which will limit his minutes on the court.

10. Milwaukee Bucks – Brandon Jennings, G, Italy
Milwaukee’s trade of Richard Jefferson was mostly a salary dump to enable themselves to make moves to keep either Charlie Villanueva or Ramon Sessions. With this being a deep draft in point guards, Villanueva gets the first offer and Jennings is taken to be the point guard of the future. He has tremendous potential and can caddy behind Luke Ridnour for a year before taking over the reins. While Jennings will need to bulk up, his speed will allow him to penetrate on offense while his body matures.

11. New Jersey Nets – DeJuan Blair, F, Pittsburgh
It’s a bit of a reach here, but the Nets pick up some low-post scoring and toughness to complement Brook Lopez, last year’s first round pick. Blair will likely not contribute too much as s rookie due to the adjustment to the pro game, but should bring both of those attributes in time.

12. Charlotte Bobcats – Demar DeRozan, G, USC
DeRozan gets to go to a situation where he won’t be expected to deliver major help right away. By filling a spot behind Gerald Wallace and Raja Bell, DeRozan will have a chance to develop for a couple years and hopefully expand his game to match his athleticism.

13. Indiana Pacers – Earl Clark, F, Louisville
Clark can do a little bit of everything at the small forward spot. With Danny Granger as their premier player and Troy Murphy each under contract for two more seasons, the Pacers can develop him to play at both spots, then eventually take over alongside Granger at the four.

14. Phoenix Suns – Jeff Teague, G, Wake Forest
Teague is a bit of a combo guard who can play the point, but the Suns have some experience with that kind of player with Leandro Barbosa on the roster. Teague will be tutored by Steve Nash as a rookie (and possibly a couple more years if the Suns extend the former two-time MVP), which will help him transition into the point guard of the future in the desert.

15. Detroit Pistons – James Johnson, F, Wake Forest
Johnson has a nice variety of skills and can play both forward spots, but will likely see the bulk of his minutes at the power forward spot in Detroit. He’ll need to work on his body, but it seems like a good match for the Pistons, who still have quality players on the perimeter.

16. Chicago Bulls – B.J. Mullens, C, Ohio State
It’s another year, another big man for the Bulls. Mullens is raw and a project, but can be broken in slowly by the Bulls, who have Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas in front of him.

17. Philadelphia 76ers – Eric Maynor, G, Virginia Commonwealth
The 76ers get a young point guard to come in and replace Andre Miller, should they end up not re-signing him. Maynor is a very good defender and likes to have the ball in his hands in important situations, so he is a nice fit with a team that has a couple established offensive options in Andre Iguodala and Elton Brand (should Brand return to health).

18. Minnesota Timberwolves – Austin Daye, F, Gonzaga
With their third choice in the first round, the Wolves elect to stop the slide of Daye, a multi-talented small forward. Daye is skilled and has great height and length, but a lack of bulk and questionable motor make him a major question mark. With Ryan Gomes and a rehabbing Corey Brewer on the roster, Minnesota can take a chance on him and let him develop.

19. Atlanta Hawks – Ty Lawson, G, North Carolina
Mike Bibby is a free agent and the Hawks are trying to bring him back in the fold, but the Hawks will need a point guard of the future, as Acie Law IV has not shown much in his first two years in the league. Lawson is quick and has shown the ability to set up his teammates in college, which should translate nicely to a team with Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Marvin Williams already in the fold.

20. Utah Jazz – Gerald Henderson, G, Duke
Henderson is an excellent defender and already has an NBA-ready body, so he should fit nicely into Jerry Sloan’s plans. Henderson needs work on his shooting, but should be able to make enough of a contribution on the defensive end to threaten Ronnie Brewer and C.J. Miles for minutes in the Utah rotation (or perhaps make one of them expendable in a trade down the line).

21. New Orleans Hornets – Terrence Williams, G, Louisville
Williams is a multi-talented player who will help fill in at the swingman spots for the Hornets. He also provides athleticism, which is something the Hornets need in that spot, as Peja Stojakovic, James Posey, Rasual Butler and Morris Peterson are all getting up there in age.

22. Dallas Mavericks – Darren Collison, G, UCLA
The Mavericks need to do something to soften the blow of the departure of Jason Kidd, who his now a free agent. While the Mavericks are talking about bringing the future Hall of Famer back, they need a replacement to keep Jason Terry in his role as instant offense off the bench. Collison is very quick and is an excellent on the ball defender who also shot the ball very well in college, so he could be a steal this late in the first round.

23. Sacramento Kings – Omri Casspi, F, Israel
Casspi is a tough player who also has good athleticism and a solid mid-range game. He can continue playing abroad and stay off the Kings’ payroll while developing his stregth and game.

24. Portland Trailblazers – Tyler Hansborough, F, North Carolina
Hansborough can come in and add an element of toughness to the Blazers. With a still-developing developing Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge as a more perimeter-oriented power forward, Hansborough would add a scrapper underneath who can go all-out for 15 minutes a night and provide a different style of player to the Blazers’ mix.

25. Oklahoma City Thunder – Nick Calathes, G, Florida
With Calathes having already signed a contract to play in Greece, drafting him gives Oklahoma City his rights and they can let him develop his body and game in Europe or buy him out. Calathes is a very versatile player with great point guard skills for a 6’5” player. He would eventually slot as a third guard who can back up both Rubio and Westbrook.

26. Chicago Bulls – Sam Young, F, Pittsburgh
One of the older players in this draft class, Young is ready to go and should be able to contribute for the Bulls right away. He can back up Luol Deng at the small forward position from the get-go.

27. Memphis Grizzlies – Jeff Pendergraph, F, Arizona State
Pendergraph is not a showy player, but has one of the best college resumes in this draft class. While not an exceptional athlete, at 6’10” and 240, this four-year star is an excellent low-post scorer and rebounder, mostly due to a strong work ethic.

28. Minnesota Timberwolves – Jonas Jerebko, F, Sweden
Jerebko is an interesting prospect who can remain in Europe and develop his game while remaining the Timberwolves’ property. Besides, the Timberwolves have added enough youth to their roster for one night.

29. Los Angeles Lakers – Derrick Brown, F, Xavier
A 6’9” forward, Brown has the skills to play at either forward spot and can do a lot on offense. His ability to shoot from range from the power forward position makes him a nice fit for the triangle offense.

30. Cleveland Cavaliers – Wayne Ellington, G, North Carolina
Ellington is an excellent athlete and can shoot well from outside. Unfortunately, with his defensive deficiencies and the Cavs’ depth, he’ll have to develop from the bench.

–Kasey Kahne held off Tony Stewart on four double file restarts in the final 35 laps to win the Sprint Cup Toyota/SaveMart 350. The race was moving along rather quickly until the final segment, when everyone decided that they wanted to play bumper cars.

–For the casual fan, Sunday’s race was one that would have been very entertaining. Watching the drivers attempt to muscle these boxes around the 11 turns at Infineon was awesome. Drivers were attempting to divebomb each other three-and-four wide into 90 degree corners, and probably less than 12 drivers weren’t involved in some sort of an incident on Sunday.

–Mr. Ashley Judd won the Iowa Corn Indy 250 at Iowa Speedway. Despite only four cars finishing on the lead lap, the racing on the 7/8 mile track was some of the best racing that the IndyCar series has produced all year.

–Tony Kanaan took the lead early in the race at Iowa, and with the way he was running it looked like he’d finally be able to break his string of bad luck. Instead, right after giving up the lead for a green flag pit stop, Kanaan lost the car in turn 2 on his second lap out of the pits, and slammed into the wall.

–Sebastian Vettel won the British Grand Prix, ruining Jenson Button’s hopes for a victory in his home country. Button and Brawn GP have dominated so far this season, and it looks like their only challengers will be Vettel and Team Red Bull.

–During Fox’s coverage of the Rays-Mets game on Saturday, Fox used some stats that Ben Shpigel found in his piece on David Wright’s strange season. They didn’t credit Shpigel. He was not amused.

–Barry Zito actually took a no-hitter into the seventh inning on Sunday against the Rangers. And then lost it on Andruw Jones’ two run HR that wrapped around the foul pole. What’s scarier, that Zito had a no-hitter through six, or that Andruw Jones broke it up?

–Carsten Charles Sabathia left Sunday’s start with a biceps problem. The Yankees feel that it’s a minor problem, and the good news is that bicep problems are usually not a precursor to elbow problems. The bad news is that they’re a precursor/symptom of shoulder problems. Just ask Bert Farv.

–Albert Pujols smashed a grand slam off of the new-but-not-yet-open Royals’ Hall of Fame in left field on Sunday. Pujols has absolutely destroyed the Royals in his career, and helped give Tony La Russa his 2,500th victory.

–Speaking of my awful favorite team, Joe Posnanski did some quick and dirty research about the Royals’ five game losing streak and couldn’t find any other five game stretch in Royals history that were all five run or more losses. Oy. (And his Father’s Day column is worth the read as well.)

–Did anyone else LOL at the awkwardness of Jonathan Papelbon’s high five of Nick Green?

–As mentioned by Swamper degenerasian, the Blue Jays’ starting pitching is absolutely decimated. However, Brett Cecil pitched very well Saturday night.

–Apparently Scott Proctor was a drunk. I wonder if he’ll ever pull a David Wells and claim he pitched drunk? With the amount of times that Joe Torre used him, you’d have to think it was inevitable.

On any of your fantasy teams, trade him.

Right now.

His value isn’t going to get much higher than it is, after throwing a complete game this afternoon giving up just six hits and one run despite striking out just two.

In 193.1 IP last year, Blackburn recorded just 96 strikeouts with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. This year, Blackburn’s K rate is even lower, at a paltry 3.57 K/9, which includes today’s start.

Blackburn has benefited from a better-than average BABIP, which stood at .278 before today’s game compared to last season’s .308 BABIP. And he’s walking more hitters too. After walking just 39 last year, Blackburn has walked 25 people this season after walking just 39 in 2008.

Maybe you can unload him on a not-so-sabermetric leaning owner who will be fooled by his 3.09 ERA and six victories. That’s certainly what I’ve been trying to do.

Well, his stat line from tonight’s start certainly looks human.

6.2 IP 8 H 6 R 4 ER 2 BB 9 K

As evidenced by the 9 strikeouts, Greinke was dominant–well, as dominant as a performance with a 1.5 WHIP is–and was hurt horribly by the Royals’ lack of defense. With runners on first and second in the fourth inning, Greinke gave up a groundball to the right side to Miguel Montero. However, Alberto Callaspo’s lack of range prevented him from making the play, and when Jose Guillen finally got to the ball, he double clutched, making a horrible throw to the plate as Gerardo Parra scored from second, and Chris Young moved to third and Montero moved to second.

And on the next play, Chris Snyder hit a slow chopper to third, and Mark Teahen decided to come home with it. Teahen’s throw was in the dirt and inexplicably went through Miguel Olivo’s legs. As the ball skidded towards the backstop, Olivo was clueless about the ball’s location, and by the time that Greinke got to it, Montero scored from second.

Yes, he did give up a homer to Mark Reynolds–after striking him out their previous three matchups–in the seventh, but it was Greinke’s 115th pitch of the evening. And anyway, Greinke’s a flyball pitcher. It was astonishing that he went so long without giving up a homer in the first place.

So yeah, the ERA is up to an astonishing 1.96 and the WHIP is above 1. But don’t be fooled, Greinke had great stuff tonight. Besides, even I didn’t expect him to continue his torrid pace.