Draft Fallout: Western Conference
15. Seattle Supersonics: Jeff Green could be a good complement to Kevin Durant but there were better players avaiable at #5, and personally, I'm not sold on Green. The better move would have been to trade down for Philly's three picks because the prospects at #12 were as good as #5 and this team needs as many players as possible. Most troubling, though, is the fact that GM Sam Presti subscribes to the Billy Knight School of You Can't Get Enough 6'9 Players. The Sonics are looking at a long season next year and Sonics fans should fear that Presti will opt for Michael Beasley over Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo if the Sonics get the first pick.
14. Sacramento Kings: Spencer Hawes will eventually replace Brad Miller and the Kings will be looking at replacing Ron Artest or Mike Bibby when they pick at the top of the lottery next year. The Kings should have tried to use Bibby or Artest to move up in the draft. They have to move one of them and the market for those two couldn't be any lower.
13. Minnesota Timberwolves: On the bright side, the teams that they could deal KG to all grabbed talented players in the draft so not getting the deal done before Draft Day might not be a disaster. That being said, having to trade is a disaster and the cause of that disaster is the disaster they call a roster. Corey Brewer is a solid pick but with Foye, McCants, and Brewer in the backcourt, I'm not sure who actually runs the offense. Making a run at Ron Artest is just delaying the inevitable. The Wolves need to trade KG. Until they do, you can't put them in last place.
12. Portland Trailblazers: Kevin Pritchard is quickly moving his name to the top of the GM rankings but the results won't come this year. The team now has so much talent that it will be tough to settle on a rotation. Josh McRoberts fell into the perfect situation as he was AAU teammates with Oden, who had nothing but praise for the fellow Dookie. Rudy Fernandez is a nice pick who will likely stay overseas for a couple of year while Petteri Koponen and Taurean Green are solid point prospects. The Blazers will likely be looking to move one of their PG's as they have Sergio Rodriguez and Jarrett Jack already on the roster and are supposedly looking to bring back Steve Blake. Add in another lotto pick and with two expiring contracts in Steve Francis and Raef Lafrentz next offseason and it could be another busy Draft Day for the Blazers. After that though, the team will likely be doing their best work in the playoffs.
11. Los Angeles Clippers: If Corey Maggette did steroids, he'd probably be Al Thornton. While that might seem like an intriguing player, the problem is that coach Mike Dunleavy Sr. already dislikes Maggette and Thornton's hoops IQ is even worse. Either he somehow learns to play the game over the summer or he'll probably be sitting next to Corey on the bench asking eachother why they are riding the pine behind Quinton Ross. The Clippers addressed their point guard situation by adding Jared Jordan, who can run a team but isn't a great shooter and is a worse defender. While there's nothing wrong with the players the Clippers took, they simply aren't the right for this coach and this team.
10. New Orleans Hornets: New Orleans needed a shooting guard and got Julian Wright, a tweener forward. Wright struggled in workouts and one has to wonder if he will be able to handle the NBA. The one strength he can rely on is his decision making, but the Hornets already have Chris Paul taking care of that. They added a shooter in the second round but it's unlikely Adam Haluska does much but ride the pine, if he even makes the team. The Hornets need to address their shooting guard spot or they will find themselves right back in the lottery.
9. Los Angeles Lakers: I love the Javaris Crittenton pick. He's a great point guard for the triangle and a top notch prospect. The Kobe Conundrum, however, remains unsolved and I don't think this team is going to fair well with a disinterested Kobe. Also not helping matter are Sun Yue and Marc Gasol, two players who I don't think will last in the NBA very long.
8. Memphis Grizzlies: No, this leap isn't based on the draft alone The Grizz should enter the season with a healthy center and a coach that actually wants to be there. Conley will be the motor that runs the impressive engine of Gasol, Mike Miller, and Rudy Gay. The Grizz could make a couple more trades but even if they don't, this team should be good enough to regain their spot in the playoffs.
7. Golden State Warriors: I love the addition of Brandan Wright to the up-tempo Warriors and alongside Andis Biedrins in the paint. Marco Belinelli should be a nice fit at the two spot as well but neither of these guys are going to be ready to contibute consistently in their first year so the Warriors should experience some growing pains but they still should be good enough to make the playoffs, as long as Baron stays healthy and Stephen Jackson stays relatively sane.
6. Denver Nuggets: Denver had no picks and weren't able to solve any of their contract issues. They are likely going to lose on of their key frontcourt players. In the end, the Iverson trade was fun but it isn't going to help the Nuggets to the promised land.
5. Houston Rockets: When do you say enough is enough? The team obviously isn't getting it done with T-Mac and Ming and adding Mike James and three second round talents isn't going to change that. Also, the team has a whole at the PF spot with Chuck Hayes or second round pick Carl Landry being the top two candidates for the job. Daryl Morey's first draft was a swing and a miss and he may be wondering if it's time to deal T-Mac during Draft Day 2008.
4. Utah Jazz: I don't care if Jerry Sloan hates rookies, Morris Almond should be the starting shooting guard next season. And seeing as his competition right now is Gordon Giricek and Ronnie Brewer, it shouldn't be too hard. Giricek is reportedly unpopular with his teammates while Brewer spent most of his rookie season in Jerry Sloan's doghouse. Almond is a smart player and a good shooter, the two things the Jazz need from the 2 spot. The key to the season, though, is Andrei Kirilenko or what they can get for him in a trade.
3. Dallas Mavericks: Glen Davis's low post scoring ability made more sense than Nick Fazekas, who is Dirk Nowitzki in cement shoes. They added to foreigners after that. They made a play for the #6 pick but if they were trying to go after Yi Jianlian, I think they were lucky that the Bucks wouldn't bite. The Mavs didn't improve much on draft day but they probably weren't expecting to anyway.
2. Phoenix Suns: The Suns draft day didn't make much sense. Rudy Fernandez is a great shooting guard who might not come over this season. Couldn't they have agree to take him and wait? The team also apparently shipped James Jones off in the Fernandez firesale so they could use a backup shooting guard. Derrick Byars, Marcus Williams, and Gabe Pruitt all seem to make more sense than Alando Tucker. Honestly, I would have taken a flyer on Josh McRoberts over Tucker. D.J. Strawberry is a guard who adds defense but he's hardly the answer since he's might not even make the team.
1. San Antonio Spurs: Leave it to the Spurs to somehow snag two guys who were considered lottery picks at this time last year. Tiago Splitter might not come over until next year but the Spurs can afford to wait. He could be a nice addition to the Spurs frontcourt. Marcus Williams has all the talent to be the heir apparent to Michael Finley's spot. If he can get his head on straight, he'll be an absolute steal. If not, he won't be any better than James White.




3. Minnesota Timberwolves: Al Horford.
8. Chicago Bulls (via Boston Celtics): Yi Jianlian
13. New Orleans Hornets: Nick Young
22. Boston Celtics (via Bobcats): Glen Davis
While many teams are tight-lipped about their workouts and don't let much info out, the Wizards and Timberwolves do a great job for their fans by delivering little workout videos for the draftniks amongst us. It's not much but even the slightest glimpses of the workouts or unknown commodities like
Mike Conley Jr.: As good as Rajon Rondo is, Mike Conley Jr. is much better. The one edge Rondo has is that he is more tuned in on defense but that's not to say Conley is a slouch. Conley is the epitome of a pure point guard and should join TJ Ford and Chris Paul as one of the top little men in the NBA. Some people will bring up the fact that he is only 6'1 but talent and athleticism overcomes lack of height so that should be a problem. What could be more of an issue is Conley Jr's shot. While not nearly as bad as Rondo's, Conley doesn't have three point range and, while he seems to knock them down in crunch time, doesn't have the most reliable medium range shot either.
5. Charlotte Bobcats via Boston Celtics: Corey Brewer
8. Boston Celtics: Thaddeus Young
22. Boston Celtics: Jason Smith
The first option is just to deal the #5 for multiple picks. The Bobcats could offer #8 and #22. The Sixers have #12, #21, #30. The two problems here are that you are adding nothing but youth (which isn't going to thrill Paul Pierce) and none of the other players in the draft are more of a sure thing than Wright. In the end, you are dealing a top ranked question mark for lower ranked question marks. On the bright side, the law of averages is on your side and the odds of you picking a winner will be a bit better if you have more chances. These deals are fine, especially if the C's brass isn't sold on Wright, but if you think he's the real deal, you'd probably want something more.
"More" usually means players than can help out immediately but once you start adding them into the mix, the luxury tax comes into play. Unless the Celtics can dump Wally Szczerbiak, they won't be able to take on any players who become free agents after next season. Guys like Gerald Wallace or Josh Smith might be interesting targets but we would never be able to re-sign them and stay under the luxury tax. Marvin Williams and Raymond Felton would work but I doubt their teams are willing to deal them quite yet while I sincerely hope the Celtics wouldn't be interested in Shelden Williams or Adam Morrison.
Yes, Kevin Durant fills their current roster better but you don't pass up Greg Oden because you have Zach Randolph and LaMarcus Aldridge. So after taking Oden, the first order of business in Portland is to find a new home for Zach Randolph and Darius Miles. In the case of Miles, if New York doesn't bite on a deal for Malik Rose or some sort of Jerome James and Nate Robinson for Miles and the 37th pick type deal, the Blazers will likely have to bite the bullet and buy Miles out. That leaves Z-Bo.
Oh what a difference one slot makes. With Greg Oden on the team, Seattle could convince Rashard Lewis to stay and keep Ray Allen happy. However by winning the second pick, odds are that one of those two might be going to Disney World. 'Shard probably won't want to stick around when the new savior plays the same position and Allen probably won't want to wait for Durant to get acclimated to the NBA.
The Grizzlies, like the Celtics, have to figure out if they want to win now or rebuild. And the Grizzlies, like the Celtics, will likely opt for winning now. Odds are that they won't be able to get what they want for Gasol (especially if Ben Gordon and Luol Deng is the going rate) so they will likely look to move the pick. While this deal would never happen, I think the best deal for all teams involved could be Mike Miller, #4, Brian Cardinal, and Hakim Warrick for Tracy McGrady. The Rockets become Yao's team and Miller would be a perfect complement. Warrick can handle the PF spot until Jianlian is ready to take over. While T-Mac is still a beast, he's getting older and has been talking retirement. And although Jeff Van Gundy took the fall, it's time to realize that the McGrady/Ming duo isn't going to bring a title to H-Town. Financially, the Grizzlies get the superstar they've been looking for in order to sell more tickets while the Rockets become China's team and sell even more jerseys.
5. Seattle via Boston selects Brandan Wright
If Atlanta wants to move up, some sort of deal involving Josh Smith and Shelden Williams for Brian Skinner, the #6, and Milwaukee 2008 pick could be discussed and it might be possible if Corey Brewer goes at #5 and Brandan Wright is still available here. Even still a deal could happen. Josh Smith is a defensive beast who might have worn out his welcome in A-Town. He also would be a perfect complement to the defensive-sieve that is Charlie Villenueva. Smith could handle the 3 or 4 while I'm not sure that Brewer is going to be able to help check Villenueva's man. If Wright isn't around though, I can't see Atlanta giving up so much unless they really are sick of J-Smooth's act. Brewer makes sense in Milwaukee as he replaces Ruben Patterson as the defensive stopper.
Part 2 to come tomorrow.
The crazy coaching connections of college basketball continues. Michael Beasley (pictured left) was about to walk from Kansas State but was pleased to find out that they promoted assistant coach Dalonte Hill to replace the out-going Bob Huggins. Hill, it seems, was actually more influential than Huggins when it came to Beasley's decision to attend Kansas State. The McDonald's All-American had originally committed to Charlotte, in part because Hill was an assistant coach there. But then Hill suddenly was wooed to go to K-State
The already ugly story that is Bill Walker's college career has taken another turn for the worse. Bill Walker went from a possible lottery pick to poster boy for the worst case-scenario for top ranked high schoolers going to college. Heading into this year's recruiting season, Bill Walker and O.J. Mayo were two prizes both of whom seemed to have ties to unemployed coach Bob Huggins. In fact, some reports had Huggins using that fact as a reason for school's to hire him. In the end, Kansas State hired Huggins (despite in checkered past) and Bill Walker seemed like a sure thing to join the team next season.
Then something strange happened. It turned out that Walker's transcript was incorrect and he actually had had two freshmen years. What that meant was that Walker's junior season was actually his fourth, and final, year of eligibilty so he was no longer able to play college basketball. While some would see this as a crushing blow to a young man, it was a minor hurdle for Walker who simply (and suddenly) was able to graduate early and matriculate to K-State in time for the second semester of the 2006-2007 school year (and second half of the team's season). An ugly battle loomed on the horizon as Walker was looking to test the NBA's age limit. To be eligible for the draft, a player has to be one year removed from his graduating class. Unfortunately for Walker, while the Ohio hoops governing board saw 2005 - 6 as his senior year (and thus ruled him ineligible to play), the NBA still counted 2006-7 as his graduating class so he wasn't able to declare either. Adding more confusion to the mix is Sonny Vaccaro who pointed out that Walker had dual citizenship. The rule about being one year removed from high school didn't apply to foreign players, which, by some stretch of the imagination, Walker technically was.
The drama on the horizon, however, quietly set the moment that Walker blew out his knee in his seventh game at K-State. Much like the Celtics' Tony Allen, Walker has a long rehab ahead of him. Still, Walker hoped to work back into shape and take on the NCAA's alongside top recruit and McDonald's All-American Game MVP Michael Beasley.
Not so fast. Now, the man who brought Walker to Manhattan, Kansas might be on his way out. Bob Huggins is considering leaving Kansas State for the West Virginia. If he does so, Michael Beasley would likely rescind his letter of intent and head to another school, leaving Bill Walker stuck. Walker could transfer but then he could be forced to sit out a full year before being eligible to play and, for a player with his eyes on the NBA Draft, there could be nothing worse than being forced to sit for a year and a half. Most likely, he plays out his year at K-State and bolts for the NBA. Hardly what he was expecting when he was promised big things from Huggins.
This is my problem with forcing players to go to college. In many cases, coaches are focused on themselves. They may have some deeper will to win but, more importantly, they all have a need to win or else they will be fired. In any other profession, college is supposed to prepare you for your future career. College sports, however, are focused on winning now, future be damned. The rules in college limit the freedom of the player so choosing the wrong school (or having the school recruit another top prospect at your position) could ruin one's chances at making the NBA. In the end, forcing people into a situation which doesn't care about their future and from which they have little power to maneuver is patently unfair.
Could Stuckey be the next Wade? Who knows. And NBA scouts aren't going to have a lot of time to figure it out. Wade helped his draft stock with a great tournament performance and then wowed even more people in the pre-draft workouts. Stuckey isn't in the tourney and a new NBA rule has now outlawed workouts before the NBA pre-draft camp. The rule change didn't make much splash in the news and has been widely ignored but for the likes of Rodney Stuckey and other people who want to help themselves in workouts, its a major blow.
Last season, the Celtics started working out players the day before the lottery, two weeks before the pre-draft camp. While that might not seem like a lot of lost time, for Rodney Stuckey, it makes his odds of moving up the draft even harder. This year, Stuckey only has 23 days to workout for teams. As he could go anywhere from the early-20's to the mid-to-late lottery, he'll likely have twenty-three days to work out with twenty-or-so teams all over the country. It's a rigorous schedule that would wear down many players. Stuckey could go the Gerald Green route and only workout for teams that are in the range in which he wants to be drafted. That is a major risk as even a super-prospect like Gerald Green fell because of it. When the first teams passed on Gerald, he fell into the laps of teams who hadn't seen him workout. The problem, of course, was that those teams fell in love with a prospect that they had worked out and passed on Gerald. While that worked out for the Celtics, it isn't exactly a risk Stuckey might want to take. Still, it puts Stuckey in an odd position; say a team without a draft pick might be interested in trading for a pick in order to select Stuckey? Does he add them to his already chock-full workout schedule and perhaps wear himself down even further for later workouts? (And working out for a team twice might be out of the question)
The NBA made the rule change for their own self-interest, i.e, they were tired of nobody showing up to their pre-draft camp. The NBA wanted big name players to show up but why? Judging players in the pre-draft camp is like drafting off of summer league play. The games are ragged and performing in those games doesn't necessarily translate to actual NBA games. Also, the big names have nothing to prove. The pre-draft camp was a major boost for second rounders. As they had a chance to show their skills. With more top talent (and guys who are locks to be draft) some border-line talents will likely be pushed out. Also, the NBA is once again putting their own personal pet project over the welfare of the game. If most teams would rather scout the best prospect on their own, why not let them? Does the NBA see the pre-draft camp as an attendance draw or as something that they could put on TV? With our without bluechip prospects, who besides die-hard fans will watch it either way?
The ulterior motive might just be to dissuade underclassman who are on the bubble from coming out. Giving them less time to prove themselves would make staying in college a bit more enticing. That being said, how much would it help? Craig Smith and Paul Millsap could have played 8 years in college, teams still would have shied away from them, despite their talents, because of their heights. Leon Powe's stock dropped after he blew outs his knees. People said he should stay in to show he could be healthy for a season, as if his already injured knees would just go away or be overlooked by scouts. Why risk getting hurt again playing for free?
The NBA draft is a crap shoot and this rule is just making it more muddied than before. While the top of the draft should be OK, I wouldn't be surprised if we started to see a lot of talented players fall into the second round or even go undrafted.