Can Danny: Wolves Cry
The C's lost an ugly one so I'm going to head back into thinking about the draft to take my mind off that ugly and painful loss.
The strange thing about this draft is that the 1 & 2 picks are kind of like the 3 & 4 slot. At #3, the choice is fairly obvious. #4? Well, there's a guy who SHOULD go there but he mirrors someone who is already on the roster. Instead of Evan Turner v. Andre Iguodala, this time around it's DeMarcus Cousins v. Al Jefferson.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves, with the third pick in the NBA draft, the New Jersey Nets will take Derrick Favors. ESPN's Chad Ford thinks that Philly might go with Favors at #2 but I think that the Nets should probably hope that they take Turner or try to trade up to take Favors (maybe Courtney Lee and #3 for #2?) The thing with Turner in New Jersey is that the Nets are still in the hunt for the grand prize of the offseason, LeBron James and Turner doesn't matchup well with Prince James. Turner also isn't a great fit alongside Devin Harris because, like Andre Iguodala, Harris doesn't have the most consistent jumper in the world. Favors is a better fit because he's still a project and could use two or three years to come into his own. If the Nets sign an older vet like Carlos Boozer, Favors might be coming into his own just as Boozer starts to slow down a bit. Favors also complements Brook Lopez and could give the Nets one of the most imposing frontcourts in the NBA.
So that leaves us with the #4 pick. DeMarcus Cousins is the best prospect left but, as I said, he's kind of like Al Jefferson as both are talented low post scorers with questionable attitudes. Some people have the Wolves going after Syracuse's Wes Johnson but Wes reminds me a bit of the Wolves' Corey Brewer and I'm just not sold on him as anything more than a role player.
So what should the Wolves do?
While the Wolves clearly think too much of Al Jefferson (they offered him straight up for Danny Granger; a deal the Pacers turned down immediately), that isn't to say that he doesn't have value. The first deal that I thought of was Tayshaun Prince and the #7 for Jefferson and Ramon Sessions. I didn't think it was too bad but the main problem was that the middle part of the lottery is made up mainly of power forwards and that's the last thing that the Wolves need since they'd be taking Cousins at #4 and already have Kevin Love. Granted, they could take Johnson fourth and then settle on one of the remaining big men but I feel like that's settling for your second and third or fourth choice when the best option was staring you in the face.
However, I think I stumbled upon a better deal for the Wolves. The Golden State Warriors have the #6 pick and a need for a low post threat. Big Al is a better option than anyone out there, even if he doesn't seem like the ideal candidate for the track meet style of hoops that Don Nelson runs. (Then again, if he had Jefferson, maybe Nellie wouldn't have to rely 100% on gimmicks.) The Wolves have a lot of young talent but I think they could get away with offering just Corey Maggette, Kelenna Azubuike, and #6 for Al Jefferson. Yes, Maggette's contract isn't great but he's a scorer and that's what the Wolves need. I'm a huge fan of Azubuike and he should be a nice bench player for the Wolves. As for #6, Minnesota will be able to grab whichever small forward prospect is left, either Johnson or Al-Farouq Aminu.
Before the lottery is even half over, the Wolves will have improved themselves on draft day, boasting a lineup of: Flynn/Sessions, Brewer/'Buike, Maggette/Aminu, Love/Gomes, Cousins/Hollins.
As for the Warriors, if they were smart (which they aren't) they'd jump at the offer that the Memphis Grizzlies' made during the year of OJ Mayo and Hasheem Thabeet for Monta Ellis. Unfortunately for Golden State, that deal might not be on the table still since the Grizzlies might be losing Zach Randolph for some time this year; he was just implicated in a marijuana distribution case. Still, with Steph Curry and either Ellis or Mayo, the Warriors have a nice backcourt and with Jefferson, Andris Biedrins, and Anthony Randolph, they have a promising frontcourt. They can use their MLE or late first round pick to fill the void left by Corey Maggette. Or better yet, they'll get someone who actually plays some defense for a change.
