10. Philadelphia 76ers - The 76ers went out and drafted two quality players who can definitely help out an NBA franchise with Bobby Jones and Rodney Carney. Bobby Jones will be able to alleviate some of the defensive pressures which could be placed on AI (if he is still on the roster that is). I question whether Carney is too similar to Iguodala and may clash styles in addition to their glaring need of a point guard which is why they are not slotted hire on the rankings.
9. LA Lakers - I'm a fan of Jordan Farmar, he's the reason UCLA made it to the final game of the tourny and he's a pure point. I like him more than I like Rondo and would have been placed if the Celtics picked him up. Overall I believe it was the best you could possibly do with the 26th pick.
8. Utah Jazz - Sometimes I think GMs and these guys that do Mock Drafts over analyze things. Even if Dee Brown is more 5-11 than the 6-0 ft he is listed at lets compare him to Rajon Rondo. Dee Brown is as fast if not faster than Rondo, he was an integral part of a Final 4 team and he is 10 times the shooter as Rondo, yet for some reason Rondo is a top 20 pick while Dee Brown falls to the middle of the 2nd. I give Utah a lot of credit for re-pairing Dee and Deron and I love this pick for Utah. Ronnie Brewer was arguably the best available player when they drafted and fit their needs and in the entry I wrote a few days ago I said the Jazz should draft Brewer, so they listened to me and had a solid draft.
7. Orlando Magic - Congrats to the Magic for drafting AA Redick. Or JJ "Last Call" Redick whichever you prefer. The Magic along with the Rockets were the two spots that I thought Redick would be a great pick. Sometimes basketball can be turned into a simple game, one of these times happens when you have an emerging dominant post player with a lights out deadeye three point shooter. Here's a simple formula, pass the ball to Redick on the wing, spread the other 3 players to the opposite end of the court and have Redick dump the ball downlow, now the closest defender can't double off of Redick for fear of the 3 this gives Howard extra seconds to work before the double arrives. In addition Howard is a beast on the offensive glass and will be able to find Redick on kickouts for open 3s all the time. Solid pick up by the Magic.6. Chicago Bulls - I really do think Thomas might end up being the best player taken out of this draft, however I just see him right now as a raw athlete with a motor. If they really like Viktor Khrupa then they did a solid job of holding Aldridge hostage, but I can't say much about Khrupa. I would have kept Aldridge if I was John Paxson though. Also, I can't really say anything about Thabo other than scouts seemed to like him.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves - Foye was one of my favorite players in all of college basketball last year. He's a tough SOB that came up big in the tourny and when 'Nova needed him. I think Roy would have been a better pick up but I can't argue that heavily with them keeping Foye. Also, I think Craig Smith was a steal in the 2nd round, he's another player that I've watched a lot of and don't understand why he gets rated so low. He's 6 foot 7 which isn't exactly redwood height but the man was arguably the strongest player in all of college basketball last year and he will be able to rebound alongside KG, plus he's shown some touch around the hoop and was the key to BC's success the past two seasons.
4. Charlotte Bobcats - Draft that Stache, Draft that Stache, Draft that Stache. Well MJ went with the Stache interesting pick. He isn't going to play a lick of defense, but the Bobcats have athletes in Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor to take care of the defensive end. What they needed was scoring and thats what they will get with Morrison a straight scorer who I guarantee will average 15 points a game next season. I would have leaned towards drafting Gay but I think Morrison is a great fit.
3. Portland Trailblazers - Enough of the grilling of the Trailblazers for trading up to get the players they wanted. When you are drafting ahead of a team you have the power to hold them hostage. The Blazers wanted Aldridge the Bulls new this and new Thomas wouldn't be selected by the Bobcats so the Bulls held the Blazers by the cajones. But big deal the Blazers gave up only Viktor Khrupa, and since he was such a stellar performer last year for such a great team... who am I kidding I've never seen this kid play nor do I care to. But the best part of this draft was them trading up for Roy. Somehow the media killed them for this as well, which makes no sense. Paul Allen is the richest owner in all of professional sports around the world. All they gave up to trade Foye for Roy was 1 million dollars, I contemplate whether buying a Frosty at Wendy's is worth the 2 bucks I'm going to drop longer than Paul Allen thinks about whether he should drop a million dollars. Basically, they got two high upside guys and the most complete player in the draft for Viktor Khrupa, Sebastian Telfair and taking on Raef's contract, they did well, really well.2. New Jersey Nets - If you've read anything I've had to say for the past few weeks I am a big fan of the skill set that Marcus Williams brings to the table, and think that he is an absolute steal at the 22nd pick in the draft. Marcus Williams is the Matt Leinart of this draft. Not only is he a stellar talent but he has similarly to Leinart fallen into the perfect situation. Marcus gets to come in and backup one of the best point guards of all time. The benefits of this are two-fold first he gets to watch and learn how to be a great NBA point guard, secondly he will have zero pressure to perform at a high level. Not to mention that any point guard would love to pass the ball to VC and Jefferson around the hoop. Throw in Boone, who was terrible last year at Uconn, but is a big body who could help the Nets get offensive rebounds they have not gotten in the past and the Nets had a fantastic draft.
And the Winner is....
1. Memphis Grizzlies - Hands down the winner of this draft. They are in the toughest division in basketball and needed to make changes to their roster and what they did in this draft can easily be described as genius. To trade away a player that could never be more than a role player in Shane Battier and to retrieve a pure athlete who will be reunited with his old team in Swift as well as the player in the draft that has all the tools and could become a superstar is amazing. Rudy Gay "Not Like There's Anything Wrong With That" only needs to gain some assertiveness and he could become a perennial all star. In addition the Memphis went out and got Kyle Lowry another tough kid who can get to the bucket and is relentless on defense. And finally Alexander Johnson in the 2nd round when he was described by most as a solid 1st round pick, Jerry West simply put is a Magician.
Comments