Points in the Paint 7.04.08: The Draft
Posted by Rob Bonnette on 07.04.2008
The draft!
Hello everyone and welcome to Fourth of July edition of Points in the Paint. This week it's all about the draft recap; a lot of fun and exciting things went down, so let's take a look.
Draft recap!
The draft is over, so of course I have to look at who picked well, and who didn't. One thing that has definitely changed over the years is the wardrobes. Somebody must be getting a hold of these guys beforehand and setting them straight, because we haven't seen many fashion blunders in the last few years. On the one hand, I'm kinda sad because that was the gift that kept on giving in terms of comedy material but on the other hand, it's good to not have to see a bunch of guys who are awkward enough as it is because of their height look even worse because they have on a lime green or powder blue suit that accentuates said awkwardness. Maybe one day the Jalen Rose pin stripe number will return, but hopefully it won't be for a while. Anyway, on to the actual picks. Some made perfect sense to me did not. Some were just plain stupid, and there were some guys who definitely should regret the decision they made to come out when they did. So who did well and who did not so well? Let's see:
The picks that made sense:
Danilo Galiinari to New York: I know he got booed by the New York faithful (who doesn't?), but the pick works for me. He's a small forward, a position we needed an upgrade at badly, and like I said last week he has skills and apparently isn't your typical soft European player.
Brook Lopez to New Jersery: Yes, I pooh poohed him last week, but he makes sense in New Jersey. Their former starting center Nenad Kristic has been hurt for the past two seasons, and their other bigs (Josh Boone, Sean Williams) are guys who can bang and board but aren't much on offense. A big man who can score, even if he isn't much on the boards, always helps.
Indiana picking Jerrod Bayless, then sending him to Portland for Brandon Rush: A good move for both teams. Portland needed a point guard prospect that could possibly turn into a 35 minute, 82 game starter (they had a crew of 23 minute guys this season), while Indiana needed a real life shooting guard so they could stop playing Mike Dunleavy, Jr. there. Both got what they wanted with this deal.
Roy Hibbert to Indiana: They just traded away Jermaine O'Neal (more on that later), and while they did get a serviceable big man in return in the form of Rasho Nesterovic they still needed a bona fide seven footer. Hibbert's stock has been like a roller coaster over the past two years, and even now some are predicting he'll be a stiff while others are thinking he was severely underrated as a pro prospect and will shock the world in the pros. I think that he'll at least be good for 20 to 25 minutes of good center play, and may eventually be much better. To get that at 17 isn't bad at all.
JaVale McGee to Washington: Picking at 18 the Wizards weren't going to a get a big man who could play right now, but they were able to get a real seven footer who doesn't need to eat and likes to play in the paint. He has the potential to be better than Brendan Haywood and they can afford to give him a year or two to learn.
The ones that confused me:
The Mayo for Love deal: Yes, I get it that Minnesota GM Kevin McHale wanted Love all along and managed to get him along with Mike Miller by drafting Mayo then trading him. Fine. But what was in this Memphis? Yes, they got Mayo and vastly improved their perimeter/wing unit. But they gave up Miller, and still have not low post players to speak of. Jason Collins and Marc Gasol do not constitute a low post tandem worth putting on the floor for 82 games.
DJ Augustin to Charlotte: I absolutely do not get this one at all. The Bobcats already have a young, capable point guard in Raymond Felton; do they really think that Augustin is going to be better? If he was that good, don't you think he'd have been drafted earlier? They're biggest need was someone to help on the front line, and there were guys available to do just that, and yet they drafted a guy who does not fill that void or upgrade any other position. But in the eyes of the Bobcat brass, Augustin must be considered an upgrade which means that Felton will probably be suiting up elsewhere. So Bobcat fans can look forward to a team that is no better than the one that played last season. Wonderful. Hey Felton, we'll gladly take you in New York if you're up for it.
Alexis Ajinca to Charlotte: It was the 20th pick, which you can use to experiment with if you had an earlier pick already. That part is fine, but why would anyone draft this guy in the first round? Were his workouts that awesome that they excuse the fact that he was a benchwarmer who only averaged five points a game in France? Give me a break. Is this the help for Emeka Okafor that is needed so badly? Yikes. If I'm Okafor's agent, I'm seriously thinking about getting my client the best contract possible somewhere else.
Individual Draft Winners and Losers!
The teams aren't the only ones who won and lost on draft day; several players either made out well or crapped out entirely due to where they got selected. Most of the time it pays off to get drafted by a better organization that it does to get drafted early, and it always sucks to go at the bottom of the first round or in the second round when all your guys had you believing you were a lottery pick. Anyway, here's who I think made out well and who should be salty at whoever convinced them to come out this year.
The winners:
The top eight picks: They went just about where they were predicted to, and they all ended up in favorable situations where they are wanted and will get every chance to succeed. Rose, Beasley, Mayo, Russell Westbrook, Love, Gallinari, Eric Gordon, and Joe Alexander all have the benefit of knowing that everything went according to plan on draft day.
Jason Thompson: Came from nowhere in the last week to a possible lottery sleeper on a few boards, then ended going twelfth to Sacramento, a team that needs a power forward. He'll get a chance to play and prove his worth.
Robin Lopez: His stock climbed in the week before the draft, andnow instead of being someone's project pick in the twenties he got to go toPhoenix at fifteen. He'll get some decent minutes backing up Shaq but won't be called on to do anything big his rookie year.
Roy Hibbert: He went higher than some thought he'd go initially and he gets to go to a team that needs a seven footer. He'll get a chance to play early and learn as well.
JaVale McGee: Like Hibbert, he gets to go to a team in Washington that needs a big man but can afford to give him reserve minutes while he learns the job.
Ryan Anderson: In the last week before the draft he was mentioned as a guy with first round ability who was to unfairly get picked in the second round. Someone must have been listening because he got picked in the first round at 21.
Bill Walker: Yes, he got picked in the second round but he ended up in Boston, where he will get time to heal his injured knee and learn the game from future Hall of Famers Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Much better than getting picked in the second round by a team like Memphis.
The losers:
Kosta Koufos: The guy leaves school after one year and is projected early on as a late lottery pick. Then he falls to 23 and ends up in Utah, where no nonsense coach Jerry Sloan will no doubt chain him to the bench if he doesn't work hard enough.
Darrell Arthur: This one is kinda sad, really. Arthur's stock dropped like a rock in the last few weeks after rumors of a kidney problem surfaced. He went from a possible lottery pick to going 27th to Portland, then getting traded several times. I really hope he can overcome this a have a good career.
Donte Greene: Another possible lottery sleeper who ended up going much later than expected, 28th to Memphis, and got traded already. Another year in Orange probably would have helped here.
DeAndre Jordan: THE biggest loser of them all. The guy was a projected lottery pick, had awful workouts and allegedly a bad attitude, then reportedly decided to not work out for teams drafting in the twenties because he and his people assumed he'd get picked earlier. So what happens? He gets picked in the second round, which means no guaranteed contract, and to make matters worse he gets picked by the Clippers who are already set at center with Chris Kaman. Good luck, kid. Sucks to be you right now.
OK, that's it for this week. Next week I dive into free agency, and rip some GMs for making ludicrous contract offers! Until then…..
