The 2007 NBA Draft Lottery
Well, the Portland Trail Blazers have won the ever so important Greg Oden lottery insuring themselves at least one NBA championship in the next 10-15 years and also have ensured themselves as my #2 team in the NBA, only behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (pending a LeBron James moving in a few years, maybe to Portland?! Wishful thinking). ESPN's live feed into a Boston bar was sweet. Watching those spoiled fans cry over getting the #5 pick in the draft (allowing them to draft one of the following players: Florida PF Al Horford, UNC PF Brandan Wright or Chinese big man Yi Jianlian). It was sweet to watch those spoiled Boston fans have to suffer with having to cheer for a team that will not win an NBA title anytime soon, especially with Danny Ainge running the team. Cheer up Boston, you're front runners to bring home the next NFL and MLB titles.
As a Cleveland Cavalier fan, I shouldn't even care about the draft seeing as the Cavs traded this years first rounder for Jiri Welsch (not worth it). The Cavs also don't have a second round pick, that was in the deal to Orlando in which we got Drew Gooden (worth it). But seeing as I am a nerd of all things that are professional sports draft (namely NFL and NBA), I follow it year round. I'm bored, so I'm going to throw a quick "lottery only" mock draft and a list and reasons of prospects I'm high on and who I'm not high on. Enjoy.
1. Portland Trail Blazers-C Greg Oden, Ohio State
2. Seattle Sonics-F Kevin Durant, Texas
3. Atlanta Hawks-F Brandan Wright, North Carolina
4. Memphis Grizzlies-F Al Horford, Florida (Really a toss up for me between Horford and Conley.)
5. Boston Celtics-F Yi Jianlian, China
6. Milwaukee Bucks-G Mike Conley Jr., Ohio State (Assuming Mo Williams leaves for greener pastures and Chauncey Billups stays in Detroit, this pick changes if either of those things happen.)
7. Minnesota Timberwolves-F Corey Brewer, Florida
8. Charlotte Bobcats-F Jeff Green, Georgetown
9. Chicago Bulls-C Spencer Hawes, Washington (Probably makes too much sense for Paxson)
10. Sacramento Kings-F Al Thornton, Florida State (This team needs to just start over and try to get value for Mike Bibby and Ron Artest. Build this team around a guy like Al Thornton and Kevin Martin.)
11. Atlanta Hawks-G Acie Law IV, Texas A&M (Passed up Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Randy Foye, Mike Conley Jr. Time to take a point guard. Law is in the Billups-mold.)
12. Philadelphia 76ers-F Julian Wright, Kansas (Maybe not the best fit for the team that could use some low post scoring, but taking the best player available is always a good thing. Plus, if I was a point guard, I 'd love running fast breaks with Julian Wright on one side and Andre Igoudala on the other.)
13. New Orleans Hornets-Nick Young, Southern California (Took two bigs last year, just a hunch that they'll go with a guard this year.)
14. Los Angeles Clippers-F Joakim Noah, Florida (Although I have mixed feelings on Noah, more on the downside, this team needed some attitude on the team and Noah will bring that wherever he goes.)
Draft Prospects I Love
Greg Oden & Michael Conley Jr., Ohio State-Let's just get my homerism out of the way. For those who don't know me, I'm a diehard Ohio State fan. Greg Oden is the best big man prospect since Tim Duncan, as many "experts" have probably already told you. For those with ESPN Insider, go find Chad Ford's latest article about Greg Oden, it's fantastic. Oden is almost back to 100% with his once broken wrist. That's a scary thought because he was extremely good down the stretch for the Buckeyes. Onto Conley, my favorite Ohio State Buckeye. I'm a sucker for true point guards (ex: Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash) and I hate shoot first point guards (ex: Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford). Conley was the best pure point guard in NCAA last season and I instantly fell in love. He penetrates with the best of them for his size, he's as quick as they come and he has excellent vision. He needs to work on his jumper a bit, as teams will probably allow him to take jumpers if it means he isn't penetrating, but I've seen LeBron James dramatically increase his jumper, so I believe anyone can.
Corey Brewer, Florida-What a fantastic Final Four run this man had. He's 6'8" and can play the 2 spot in the NBA, in my opinion, but he'll likely end up a 3 for the lucky team that drafts him. He's a fairly efficient player on the offensive end (still needs work), but that's not where Brewer shines. Brewer is a lockdown defender and caused problems for every team the Gators play on their way to the back-to-back National Titles. Brewer made Ohio State's Ron Lewis worthless in the championship game and UCLA's Arron Afflalo accomplished to do nothing against the Gators for the second straight year in the Final Four. Why is this? Corey Brewer. Like the rest of "them Gator Boys", Brewer is said to be a very hard worker.
Nick Fazekas, Nevada-This man is not worthy of a lottery pick, but mid-to-late first round, this man will make someone very happy. I don't really understand why mock draft sites are down on him. He's 6'11" and can stroke. Isn't there always a spot on an NBA roster for a guy like that? He's not a great athlete, sure, but the man can play basketball and more importantly KNOWS HOW TO PLAY BASKETBALL! He'll fit his most likely limited role his rookie season and watch it grow. Mark it down, Nick Fazekas will be a good starter for a lucky NBA squad in a few short years.
Derrick Byars, Vanderbilt-Future All-Star, you heard it here (maybe) first. Didn't make a big impact at Vandy until his senior season, but raised his stock dramatically. Byars beat out bigger names like the entire Florida roster and Al Thornton to bring home SEC Player of the Year honors. The Commadores probably should've been Elite 8/Final 4 bound if not Jeff Green's walk at the end of the game while he hit the game winner. Byars had 17 on the Hoyas and 27 on 3 seed Washington State (which had exactly 1/2 player who looked the part of Division 1 basketball player). Byars has drawn a few comparisons to Dwyane Wade, although I don't think he'll be that good. I'm expecting something a little below that, I'm not sure who that compares to the in the NBA, but lets say a fairly poor mans Dwyane Wade, which is still a very good player.
Draft Prospects I Do Not Love
Joakim Noah, Florida-I don't hate Noah because he won't be a bust. NBA GM's will know what they're getting with Noah, but your casual fan of both the NBA and NCAA will probably expect much more out of one of the stars of the best two college basketball seasons. What you won't get from Noah is a multiple All-Star (I'd be surprised if he got one) who's going to fill up the stat sheet. I can see Noah bringing home an award year in and year out and that's Sixth Man of the Year. He might enter the NBA and instantly become the best energy player in the NBA. He will not be a bust to the team that drafts him (unless it's the Celtics because Danny Ainge probably sees him as an All-Star). He is a winner and is one of the cockiest men I've ever seen, but you know what? He flaunts it when his team is successful. Sure, he talks too much, but the media gave him the most attention of the Gator players (even though he was the 3rd best player on the team behind Corey Brewer and Al Horford).
Julian Wright, Kansas-He's in the same boat with me as is Noah, but to a lesser extent. I wouldn't be surprised if Wright was out of the league in 5-6 years, but his athleticism will probably be more than enough to keep him in the NBA. Not too long ago, he was getting Scottie Pippen comparisons by NBADraft.net and now he's getting the ever-so-sexy Boris Diaw comparisons. In my mind, that's not a good sign. Like Diaw, I can only see Wright be a truly effective player in a run and gun offense like the Suns. A good scenario for Wright would be him falling to #11 to the Hawks, but only if Mike Conley goes to the Hawks at #3. That could be an exciting offense in a few years with all of their explosive, athletic players. If he does find a run and gun team, he may turn into an impressive player, but if he goes to a slower paced team, I don't see him getting off the bench much in his early career.
Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh-Slow, unathletic, white. The NBA has evolved to a very quick game where players like Aaron Gray fail. I just can't see him lasting very long in the NBA and will probably have a stint in the NBDL. A once first rounder (now a borderline first rounder to second rounder), I see him going mid-2nd and fighting for a roster spot. I could see Gray being this years version of the West Virginia duo of Mike Gansey and Kevin Pittsnogle who were also borderline first rounders who went undrafted.
This should be a spot for Roy Hibbert, however he withdrew his name from the draft and I'll probably be higher on him next year.
Ever since the 2006 World Cup, I have slowly fallen more and more in love with the game of soccer. A game of absolute beauty. I've watched games every chance I get, as long as the teams come from Europe. I'm not being sucked into Minor League Soccer (Okay, maybe it's MAJOR League Soccer, but not really). Today was the UEFA Champions Cup. I can't really compare it to any American sporting event, because well there is nothing like the Champions Cup. Todays game pitted AC Milan of Serie A in Italy and Liverpool of the English Premier Leauge. Two of the worlds best players were involved as AC Milan's Kaka (pictured above) squared off against Liverpool's Steven Gerrard. Kaka, who some call the worlds best player at the moment was fairly ineffective until a beautiful pass to Filippo Inzaghi, allowing Inzaghi's second goal of the game which capped off AC Milan's 7th Champions Cup title with the 2-1 victory. The truly remarkable story is AC Milan's 38 year old captain Paolo Maldini. This is his 5th Champions Cup title, only one player has more. Maldini will return for one more year.
Side Rant: I'm watching the Cubs/Padres game right now and they just showed the "Fan Cam" starting off very strong with two very attractive Southern California girls and shortly followed it up with a guy in a Cubs jersey and a Padres hat. Now let me tell you, theres two things I hate when I go to baseball games. Number 1 being the guy who wears memorabilia of his team at a game where that team is not playing. I see this every time I go to a Cubs game with White Sox and Cardinals stuff. Why do people do this? Am I going to go to U.S. Cellular for a White Sox/Royals game and wear my Cubs hat? No. I am not a douche bag. The other thing is the aforementioned guy. It's cool to have two teams you love, I understand this. But when the two teams square off, choose one. Please, I'm begging you. Don't be an asshole, nobody likes an asshole. Anyways, back to the NBA draft.
Coming Tomorrow: A rant or rave about Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, we'll see how it goes.
As a Cleveland Cavalier fan, I shouldn't even care about the draft seeing as the Cavs traded this years first rounder for Jiri Welsch (not worth it). The Cavs also don't have a second round pick, that was in the deal to Orlando in which we got Drew Gooden (worth it). But seeing as I am a nerd of all things that are professional sports draft (namely NFL and NBA), I follow it year round. I'm bored, so I'm going to throw a quick "lottery only" mock draft and a list and reasons of prospects I'm high on and who I'm not high on. Enjoy.
1. Portland Trail Blazers-C Greg Oden, Ohio State
2. Seattle Sonics-F Kevin Durant, Texas
3. Atlanta Hawks-F Brandan Wright, North Carolina
4. Memphis Grizzlies-F Al Horford, Florida (Really a toss up for me between Horford and Conley.)
5. Boston Celtics-F Yi Jianlian, China
6. Milwaukee Bucks-G Mike Conley Jr., Ohio State (Assuming Mo Williams leaves for greener pastures and Chauncey Billups stays in Detroit, this pick changes if either of those things happen.)
7. Minnesota Timberwolves-F Corey Brewer, Florida
8. Charlotte Bobcats-F Jeff Green, Georgetown
9. Chicago Bulls-C Spencer Hawes, Washington (Probably makes too much sense for Paxson)
10. Sacramento Kings-F Al Thornton, Florida State (This team needs to just start over and try to get value for Mike Bibby and Ron Artest. Build this team around a guy like Al Thornton and Kevin Martin.)
11. Atlanta Hawks-G Acie Law IV, Texas A&M (Passed up Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Randy Foye, Mike Conley Jr. Time to take a point guard. Law is in the Billups-mold.)
12. Philadelphia 76ers-F Julian Wright, Kansas (Maybe not the best fit for the team that could use some low post scoring, but taking the best player available is always a good thing. Plus, if I was a point guard, I 'd love running fast breaks with Julian Wright on one side and Andre Igoudala on the other.)
13. New Orleans Hornets-Nick Young, Southern California (Took two bigs last year, just a hunch that they'll go with a guard this year.)
14. Los Angeles Clippers-F Joakim Noah, Florida (Although I have mixed feelings on Noah, more on the downside, this team needed some attitude on the team and Noah will bring that wherever he goes.)
Draft Prospects I Love
Greg Oden & Michael Conley Jr., Ohio State-Let's just get my homerism out of the way. For those who don't know me, I'm a diehard Ohio State fan. Greg Oden is the best big man prospect since Tim Duncan, as many "experts" have probably already told you. For those with ESPN Insider, go find Chad Ford's latest article about Greg Oden, it's fantastic. Oden is almost back to 100% with his once broken wrist. That's a scary thought because he was extremely good down the stretch for the Buckeyes. Onto Conley, my favorite Ohio State Buckeye. I'm a sucker for true point guards (ex: Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash) and I hate shoot first point guards (ex: Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford). Conley was the best pure point guard in NCAA last season and I instantly fell in love. He penetrates with the best of them for his size, he's as quick as they come and he has excellent vision. He needs to work on his jumper a bit, as teams will probably allow him to take jumpers if it means he isn't penetrating, but I've seen LeBron James dramatically increase his jumper, so I believe anyone can.
Corey Brewer, Florida-What a fantastic Final Four run this man had. He's 6'8" and can play the 2 spot in the NBA, in my opinion, but he'll likely end up a 3 for the lucky team that drafts him. He's a fairly efficient player on the offensive end (still needs work), but that's not where Brewer shines. Brewer is a lockdown defender and caused problems for every team the Gators play on their way to the back-to-back National Titles. Brewer made Ohio State's Ron Lewis worthless in the championship game and UCLA's Arron Afflalo accomplished to do nothing against the Gators for the second straight year in the Final Four. Why is this? Corey Brewer. Like the rest of "them Gator Boys", Brewer is said to be a very hard worker.
Nick Fazekas, Nevada-This man is not worthy of a lottery pick, but mid-to-late first round, this man will make someone very happy. I don't really understand why mock draft sites are down on him. He's 6'11" and can stroke. Isn't there always a spot on an NBA roster for a guy like that? He's not a great athlete, sure, but the man can play basketball and more importantly KNOWS HOW TO PLAY BASKETBALL! He'll fit his most likely limited role his rookie season and watch it grow. Mark it down, Nick Fazekas will be a good starter for a lucky NBA squad in a few short years.
Derrick Byars, Vanderbilt-Future All-Star, you heard it here (maybe) first. Didn't make a big impact at Vandy until his senior season, but raised his stock dramatically. Byars beat out bigger names like the entire Florida roster and Al Thornton to bring home SEC Player of the Year honors. The Commadores probably should've been Elite 8/Final 4 bound if not Jeff Green's walk at the end of the game while he hit the game winner. Byars had 17 on the Hoyas and 27 on 3 seed Washington State (which had exactly 1/2 player who looked the part of Division 1 basketball player). Byars has drawn a few comparisons to Dwyane Wade, although I don't think he'll be that good. I'm expecting something a little below that, I'm not sure who that compares to the in the NBA, but lets say a fairly poor mans Dwyane Wade, which is still a very good player.
Draft Prospects I Do Not Love
Joakim Noah, Florida-I don't hate Noah because he won't be a bust. NBA GM's will know what they're getting with Noah, but your casual fan of both the NBA and NCAA will probably expect much more out of one of the stars of the best two college basketball seasons. What you won't get from Noah is a multiple All-Star (I'd be surprised if he got one) who's going to fill up the stat sheet. I can see Noah bringing home an award year in and year out and that's Sixth Man of the Year. He might enter the NBA and instantly become the best energy player in the NBA. He will not be a bust to the team that drafts him (unless it's the Celtics because Danny Ainge probably sees him as an All-Star). He is a winner and is one of the cockiest men I've ever seen, but you know what? He flaunts it when his team is successful. Sure, he talks too much, but the media gave him the most attention of the Gator players (even though he was the 3rd best player on the team behind Corey Brewer and Al Horford).
Julian Wright, Kansas-He's in the same boat with me as is Noah, but to a lesser extent. I wouldn't be surprised if Wright was out of the league in 5-6 years, but his athleticism will probably be more than enough to keep him in the NBA. Not too long ago, he was getting Scottie Pippen comparisons by NBADraft.net and now he's getting the ever-so-sexy Boris Diaw comparisons. In my mind, that's not a good sign. Like Diaw, I can only see Wright be a truly effective player in a run and gun offense like the Suns. A good scenario for Wright would be him falling to #11 to the Hawks, but only if Mike Conley goes to the Hawks at #3. That could be an exciting offense in a few years with all of their explosive, athletic players. If he does find a run and gun team, he may turn into an impressive player, but if he goes to a slower paced team, I don't see him getting off the bench much in his early career.
Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh-Slow, unathletic, white. The NBA has evolved to a very quick game where players like Aaron Gray fail. I just can't see him lasting very long in the NBA and will probably have a stint in the NBDL. A once first rounder (now a borderline first rounder to second rounder), I see him going mid-2nd and fighting for a roster spot. I could see Gray being this years version of the West Virginia duo of Mike Gansey and Kevin Pittsnogle who were also borderline first rounders who went undrafted.
This should be a spot for Roy Hibbert, however he withdrew his name from the draft and I'll probably be higher on him next year.
Ever since the 2006 World Cup, I have slowly fallen more and more in love with the game of soccer. A game of absolute beauty. I've watched games every chance I get, as long as the teams come from Europe. I'm not being sucked into Minor League Soccer (Okay, maybe it's MAJOR League Soccer, but not really). Today was the UEFA Champions Cup. I can't really compare it to any American sporting event, because well there is nothing like the Champions Cup. Todays game pitted AC Milan of Serie A in Italy and Liverpool of the English Premier Leauge. Two of the worlds best players were involved as AC Milan's Kaka (pictured above) squared off against Liverpool's Steven Gerrard. Kaka, who some call the worlds best player at the moment was fairly ineffective until a beautiful pass to Filippo Inzaghi, allowing Inzaghi's second goal of the game which capped off AC Milan's 7th Champions Cup title with the 2-1 victory. The truly remarkable story is AC Milan's 38 year old captain Paolo Maldini. This is his 5th Champions Cup title, only one player has more. Maldini will return for one more year.
Side Rant: I'm watching the Cubs/Padres game right now and they just showed the "Fan Cam" starting off very strong with two very attractive Southern California girls and shortly followed it up with a guy in a Cubs jersey and a Padres hat. Now let me tell you, theres two things I hate when I go to baseball games. Number 1 being the guy who wears memorabilia of his team at a game where that team is not playing. I see this every time I go to a Cubs game with White Sox and Cardinals stuff. Why do people do this? Am I going to go to U.S. Cellular for a White Sox/Royals game and wear my Cubs hat? No. I am not a douche bag. The other thing is the aforementioned guy. It's cool to have two teams you love, I understand this. But when the two teams square off, choose one. Please, I'm begging you. Don't be an asshole, nobody likes an asshole. Anyways, back to the NBA draft.
Coming Tomorrow: A rant or rave about Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, we'll see how it goes.
