Close, But No Cigar
NBA Basketball Tags: Brandon Roy, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA Draft, PlayoffsNo Comments »
Shocker Blake Griffin went No. 1 tonight right? Just kidding. But there were some eye openers that followed.
Hope you happened to check my picks earlier. If not, scroll down a bit. Considering this Draft was wide open to start with, I can’t complain. Take out Gerald Henderson and I nailed all players picked in the top ten of tonight’s NBA Draft. Flip Ricky Rubio with Tyreke Evans, Jordan Hill with Steph Curry, and Brandon Jennings with Jonny Flynn and I come out real well.
I’m still wondering what’s up with the Minnesota Timberwolves drafting all these point guards. Rubio was probably a steal at No. 5, but selecting Flynn to go back-to-back with him ponders me. My initial thought was that they’d trade Flynn. Apparently not. One will start, the other will be a role-player. I think they’re good enough players to help turn around the T-Wolves, a team who hasn’t made the playoffs since 2003. If they hadn’t traded Brandon Roy for Randy Foye on Draft night of ‘06, I think they already would have by now.
Biggest surprise of the draft? Tyler Hansbrough going No. 13 to the Indiana Pacers. I love his passion for the game, but hes a moderate bust. Think Christian Laettner, Nick Collison or Raef Lafrentz. He will be a serviceable pro but not a great one. It’ll take him some time to get used to the pace and style of NBA play.
I really think all the North Carolina Tarheels drafted this year, with the exception of Ty Lawson, are over hyped. I guess when you win a Championship and play for the most perennial school in college basketball, it gets you that attention. Not this many Heels from one team have gone since their 2005 title squad, which included Sean May, Marvin Williams, Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants. It’s safe to say all those guys have been quiet this far, playing all on mediocre teams. Not to mention that draft class was 10x better than this years. But the latest I heard, May got waived by the Charlotte Bobcats. And Williams is still viewed on as a controversial pick, going before arguably better players, such as Chris Paul and Deron Williams.
It was an eventful night for the NBA. This draft, unlike the NFL, is one where I can see immediate impacts. Let me grade my winner and loser real quick.
1. Kings got an absolute steal in Evans. Put him in the back court with Kevin Martin and they’ve got a good one-two combo for a few years. Jason Thompson is improving on the post. He rose late last year, and averaged 11 points and seven rebounds. They’ll win more than 17 games this year, no doubt. Evans is a player that comes around very seldomly.
2. So when you need a inside presence real bad, you take Tyler Hansbrough? Sorry, not going to get you to the playoffs this year. If I was to go post player with the No. 13 pick, I would have sat on DeJuan Blair. Somehow he fell to No. 37, which I don’t know why. Maybe it’s those knees of his. Larry Bird was quoted as saying he was looking for the next Chris Paul today. Jrue Holliday and Eric Maynor were there, and I’m sure they could have even traded up. But not a good night to be a Pacers fan. I’d be clearing cap by trading Troy Murphy ($11 million) and Mike Dunleavy (~$10 million) in hopes to pursue a guy like Chris Bosh in 2010. The NBA is all about economics today, and the Pacers are only hurting by having these guys on their roster.
