My thoughts on the NBA Draft

Last night’s draft was one of the more interesting drafts in quite some time. Outside of the first pick there was a lot of mystery surrounding the draft. A lot of unknown players, and players who seemed to be sliding up and down the draft board depending on which mock draft you looked at. This won’t be an exhaustive list, but here are some observations that I made while watching the draft:

Pick 1: Blake Griffin-F-LA Clippers. While he’s the only can’t miss prospect of the draft, I can’t help but think that he’s been sentenced to Basketball purgatory where he can either play well enough to go elsewhere when his contract is up or where his career will ultimately perish. As of right now they have a crowded frontcourt including Chris Kaman, Zach Randolph, and Marcus Camby. If they’re able to get rid of one of those guys, then you’re looking at the Rookie of the Year.

Pick 2: Coming to a poster near you-Hasheem Thabeet! I’m sorry, but this guy has poster written all over him. He’s big, slow, has limited mobility, and won’t be able to camp out under the basket like he did in college. I can see the Lebron’s, Vince Carter’s, Jason Richardson’s of the league salivating when they see this guy under the basket. One of my least favorite sayings was said about Thabeet the other day, “well he’s 7’3 and you can’t teach height!” I wish this would apply to the work place as well, “Well you have your Master’s, you manage people well, you have plenty of experience, but that guy is tall so we’re going with him.” While that’s far-fetched, I just don’t understand why you take someone who isn’t skilled and whom Jay Bilas said the following, “I don’t think his offensive game is ever going to come around.”

Picks 5 and 6: Johnny Flynn and Ricky Rubio going to the T-Wolves. As I screamed in my apartment with innocent bystanders looking on, a few things came to mind with this pick: 1. The Wolves GM is drunk. 2. The Wolves GM lost a bet and had to take all point guard’s in the draft. 3. The Wolves GM was trying to win a bet and took all point guard’s in the draft. Whatever the case may be, there is not a snowball’s chance in Hades that this works. Granted, I think both are good players. I do think Rubio will be a standout point guard, maybe not right away, but it will come with time. Remember, he played very well in the Olympics last year at 17 years old. I also want Johnny Flynn to be a great NBA player, despite his size. However, these two guys will not be effective on the court at the same time. While they are different players (Rubio more of a passer, Flynn more of a scorer) they both need the ball to be effective. Also, you’re asking Rubio to guard the 2-guard on the other team when he’s scrawny for a point guard. I like these players individually, but can’t see them playing together effectively.

Pick 7: Stephen Curry-Golden St. Warriors. The Warriors ripped out the collective hearts of Knicks fans all over the country with this pick. I already had visions in my mind of Curry playing D’Atoni’s offense with open looks all night long. More importantly I had visions of Lebron driving to the basket in a Knicks uniform. As Lebron drew defenders, Curry would be waiting at the 3 point line, all by himself. It was not to be. If the Warriors are keeping this pick, I’m not sure I understand it, as they now have a very small backcourt of Curry and Monte Ellis, neither one of them being a true point and both of them around the same size. If the Warriors follow through with getting Amare and send this pick to Phoenix, Steve Nash will make Curry look like a million bucks for years to come.

Pick 8: Jordan Hill-Knicks. I feel bad for the guy, getting booed by a crowd that has just become your own fans, for no fault of your own. While I initially wanted Curry, Johnny Flynn, Ricky Rubio, or even Ty Lawson, there are a few reasons why I don’t think this is a bad pick. 1. They passed on Jrue Holiday. I can’t believe the Knicks were entertaining picking a guy who played one year at UCLA and averaged about 8 points a game to be their point guard, when he didn’t play point guard at UCLA. 2. Hill fits the Knicks system. He needs to work on post moves, but is an athletic big man who likes to run the floor, the prototype for the Knicks offense. Not what I personally wanted, but not a terrible pick.

Pick 10: Brandon Jennings-Milwaukee Bucks. I’m not quite sure yet about whether Brandon Jennings and whether or not he’ll be a great NBA player. He’s a few years away from being a starting NBA point guard in my opinion. I have to imagine David Stern cringed when Jennings advised more players to skip college and go play overseas.

Pick 11: Terrance Williams-New Jersey Nets. He’s my sleeper of the draft. His shot’s a little inconsistent, but he plays D, can take the ball to the hole, handle the ball, and is an excellent passer. Him, Devin Harris, and Courtney Lee may not win many games, but they’ll fly up and down the court and be fun to watch.

Pick 13: Tyler Hansbrough-Indiana Pacers. A little bit of a reach here, and a bit of a shock to me and a few others I was watching the draft with. I’ll be honest, I don’t like watching him play. His eyes bugging out and never blinking frightens me, the way he throws himself into defenders and tosses the ball up at the basket is not fun to look at, I had a friend who told me the only thing fluid about his game was sweat, I agree with this wholeheartedly. Despite all that, I’m rooting for the guy to make it in the NBA. He has a good work ethic and I’d like to see him rewarded for that.

Ramblings from the rest of the draft: I cannot believe how far Dejuan Blair fell in the draft. The rumor is that his knees are in pretty bad shape. Whatever the case may be, the Spurs got a steal in the 2nd round getting him. This may actually be a blessing in disguise as he’ll get to play on a great team and may actually get some playing time there next year.

These are my thoughts on the draft, let me know what you think.