Some draft thoughts






I needed a day to regain my composure after the Suns sold away another first round draft pick in order to save money. I understand wanting to keep a team intact and keep your payroll down but why would you trade away a player you could simply stash in Europe for another year? The Spurs have ridden the stash a player routine for years and I don't know why more teams don't do it. It helps your payroll in the now and eventually you have a seasoned player that can come over and play immediately. They did it again this year with Tiago Splitter and I have a feeling I will be cursing at the screen at him in the near future. Seriously though, it is more jealousy than hate. Can you says Patriots of the NBA? And breathe... On to the rest of my draft thoughts.

1)I will be person number 1000000000000 to say that Portland is doing a nice job. While it is hard to say if every young prospect pans out, they have enough around that a few could be very good. I really like their nucleus and I would be surprised if they weren't in the playoffs next year.

2)I can't stand it when players make demands on where they want to go. People were fearing that Yi wouldn't play in Milwaukee and my only response is, who is this guy? I understand that he has a lot of potential and I've studied his game a bit but what ever happened to feeling honored to just get a shot in the NBA? I didn't like it when Steve Francis, a great player at Maryland, demanded a trade from Vancouver. I really don't like it when a player from a very weak Asian league acts as if he can't play in a place that doesn't fit his exact needs.

3)Speaking of Yi, does anyone find it odd that the Sonics passed on a guy that could have been HUGE in the Asian community of Seattle. I know it may be a bit redundant with Durant but so is Green and Lewis. I'm thinking more and more that the Sonics simply have no desire to stay in this city which is a shame.

4)Atlanta really missed the boat on Conley. I really like Horford but I'm beginning to see a reoccurring theme with the Hawks. They just keep drafting players that play a similar position until one pans out. Law could be a solid pro but he will not distribute enough to their athletic wings and it will cause an offense that should be breaking to bog down.

5)Brandon Wright could be great in Golden State. Nellie is great at working with young players and finding their strengths and he could find a great role in the Warriors break neck offense with Wright. He's a little ways off due to his body and maturity but in a year or two, he could be a steal considering they gave up a player that they really didn't want to begin with in Richardson.

6)As you've seen before, I'm a big Noah fan. Skiles will love that kid and he should be able to fill the role that Ben Wallace will have difficulty doing soon in the rebounding and weak-side help department.

7)While I may bag on the Suns at the beginning of this post, I can't bag on their pick of Alando Tucker so much any more. I wasn't pumped about it initially due to the anger coming from dealing the 24th pick but I really like what he brings to the table. Every year a great college player like him slips due to a lack of something but people tend to lose the fact that he was GREAT for a very good program at Wisconsin, has great athleticism and is a high quality person to boot. Dudley was picked earlier under similar circumstances and I have a feeling if Alando had attended the predraft camp as well, he would have probably gone in that spot. People value upside and think within the box a bit too much. The game is evolving and traditional viewpoints don't always hold true.

8)I really like Byars and I can't believe that Portland got both him and McRoberts in the second round. Josh was a number one recruit at one point and sometimes people can be better pros than college players. That front line of Oden, Aldridge, Frye and him looks pretty imposing.

I will not grade teams because noone knows for certain how any of these picks will pan out. Some players that were supposed to be great will fail and players that were supposedly doomed turn out to be great. This draft did have a lot of potential thought and in the coming years, this draft as well as 2003 will probably be the drafts that define the next ten years of basketball.