NBA 2010

[ghost]

This seems to have been a good draft.  Of course, there is no way to know until years later (2000 draft case in point).

Some thoughts:

1.  Cousins-  this could be a Michael Jordan type draft fuckup for the four teams that chose not to take him.  The guy is an absolute beast with a bit of a mean streak.  Both go well in the NBA.  I expect him to be spectacular.
2.  Wall-  Again, great pick.  I don't think he'll be quite as good as everyone expects on the offensive end, but I do think his defense is underrated.  
3.  Turner-  Think he may turn out to be a Tayshaun Prince type, good for 12-15 points a game and a few assists/rebounds.  I question this at the #2 pick.
4.  Favors-  lots of potential but raw.  Risky pick.  
5.  Monroe-  the Pistons are so happy that Monroe fell to seventh and that the Warriors (in typical Warrior fashion) made a very doltish pick with Udoh.  
6.  Aminu-  another steal.  Should have gone a bit higher, in my opinion.
7.  James Anderson-  the Spurs do it again.  This guy is a great pick.  
8.  The rest of the draft generally sucked.  It was very top heavy in talent.

[Paelos]

I'll preface this by saying I live in Atlanta, so I get a lot of the sports talk/love from around the area, but Favors is an outright stupid pick over Cousins. He is lazy as hell, not physcial enough and only won rookie of the year in the ACC because the best teams in the conference didn't have any rookies playing.

[Rasix]

The Utah Jazz select... the best white guy available!

[ghost]

Hayward might have been a decent choice if he could shoot, but he is a 29% three point shooter.  He was a decent defender in college, but guarding Kobe Bryant is a whole different ball of wax. 

This guy will make Adam Morrison look like a smart choice before it's all over. 

[Malakili]

The Utah Jazz select... the best white guy available!

I couldn't help but think the same thing.


I watched some of this, and I'm not a HUGE basketball fan, so I can't give a ton of useful feedback, but I was a bit surprised at just how quickly there stopped being names I recognized.  Now, like I said that isn't saying much, but it did seem like a fairly mediocre draft class to me.

[Rasix]

This guy will make Adam Morrison look like a smart choice before it's all over.  

I can't help but think you're right here.  He's soft, undersized, and a bad shooter.  Talented, but then again, so is everyone else in the NBA.  Drafting someone almost purely on their tournament heroics is a bad idea.

edit:  I'm not really an NBA fan in the slightest.  I do love drafts though, always interesting to see what happens.

[Nebu]

I think Wall is the only player with any superstar potential and that won't be realized for 3 years.  He may be the fastest player I've ever seen from line to line, but he panics when going to the hole against a big man and still has turnover issues.  He's also worthless beyond 19 feet. 

Evan Turner is coming back from a back injury.  I don't know why any team would take a risk on him in the first round beyond the fact that there's just noone very interesting in this year's draft after Wall.   

[ghost]

Yeah, I'm much more of a fan of the college game in both football and basketball.  That is why I love the draft, I guess.

Another couple of lost souls that went very, very late based on talent:  Wayne Chism from Tennessee and Stanley Robinson from UConn.  Robinson is better than half the guys in the first round. 

[Nebu]

I think the most difficult part about drafting for the pros would be projecting future value.  You want to grab a player that hasn't peaked yet.  I think this is precisely the reason that the general population grumbles with many picks.  It's not about taking the player that is best now.  It's about taking the player that will be best in 2-3 years.  

[ghost]

Exactly.  And then factor in injuries and psychological issues and it can become a real crap shoot.  That's how  you end up with Sam Bowie being drafted ahead of Michael Jordan. 

Sometimes though, you really have to question the intelligence of NBA GMs.  Here are some NBA number one picks that either already are head scratchers or are heading that way:

1.  Michael Olowokandi (1998)
2.  Joe Smith (1995)
3.  Kenyon Martin (2000)
4.  Kwame Brown (2001)
5.  Andrew Bogut (2005)
6.  Gred Oden (2007)

And I will go on record as saying that Yao Ming will be viewed as a bust before it's all said and done, even though he was the right choice.  Man that was a hideous draft.

[Nebu]

You can't coach height.  A player with good hands and size will have greater value than a smaller skilled player in many cases.  Most of the players on that list are 6'9" or taller.

[ghost]

Very true.  If you look at the NBA "impact players" that are critical to their teams' successes right now, though, very few of them are above 6'9".  I still don't understand why GMs continue to worry about having a great center.  Small forward/shooting guard is where championships are generally won in the NBA and that is where the most legendary players reside-  Kobe and MJ being good examples of players that carry their team from that position.  Certainly you have to build around those players a solid team, but teams never seem to do well drafting for height and then building around the Center position. 

[Rasix]

Andrew Bogut is turning into one of the bestbetter centers in the league.  I don't know if that is just saying something about the quality of big men in the league, but he may turn out to have been a good pick when it's all said and done.  Of course, he did go ahead of Chris Paul and Deron Wiliams, but the rest of the draft was mediocre to poor that year.

[Mosesandstick]

By the time it's done, I'm pretty sure Andrew Bogut will not be considered a bad pick. He's already one of the best defensive players in the league.

Pretty much every championship team has had a dominant big man. Gasol, Garnett, Duncan, Wallaces, Shaq. The teams that didn't have one (notably MJ) were exceptional (best perimeter defenders, etc.) I think that's why GMs are so willing to try and strike it lucky with height.

[ghost]

Andrew Bogut is turning into one of the bestbetter centers in the league.  

No argument there.  I don't think he's going to lead the Bucks to the championship anytime soon, though. 

Out of that draft I would have taken Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Andrew Bynum ahead of Bogut. 

[FatuousTwat]

FUCKING ODEN. >:(

[Paelos]

Very true.  If you look at the NBA "impact players" that are critical to their teams' successes right now, though, very few of them are above 6'9".

True statement. The center position will not win you a title. It's akin to asking why the best tight end in football didn't win you a super bowl. It's a great asset, it's a great thing to draft, but if you don't have solid starting ball-handers, you're totally fucked.

[Nebu]

I'd argue that a big man is more like an offensive line in football.  Sure, a great QB (PG or 1 in basketball) can get you wins, but he can do a hell of a lot more for your team with a good offensive line (basketball: big man or 5).  Kobe would have NEVER won this year without Gasol. 

[Paelos]

I'd argue that a big man is more like an offensive line in football.  Sure, a great QB (PG or 1 in basketball) can get you wins, but he can do a hell of a lot more for your team with a good offensive line (basketball: big man or 5).  Kobe would have NEVER won this year without Gasol.  

And the counter is that a Gasol is worthless without a Kobe. Would anybody consider him a great player without the exposure he's received from winning with the Lakers? The main force comes from the people who have the ball in their hands the most. That's why QB's make the difference in football, pitchers in baseball, and guards in basketball.

I'm not discounting the total ability of a team to win in a sport, but you build from those points outward.

[ghost]

It's looking like the Spurs are looking to move Tony Parker, and possibly to the Knicks.  That trade doesn't sound good for either team.

[Rasix]

This off season is getting retarded. 80 million for Rudy Gay? 100+ for Amare?  39 million for John Salmons?  Overpay much?

[ghost]

No kidding. 

Can you imagine what Amare would be worth if he had every played a second of defense?

[Mosesandstick]

Amare without an injury and with defence would probably be on course for the HOF. Joe Johnson is supposed to get an unbelievable extension as well. Why do these GMs have jobs?  A lot of these contracts are being given to older players as well. I'd be better if they were front-loaded, but that's pretty damn rare.

[Rasix]

120 million for Joe Johnson.  Unbelievable.  Enjoy your star who can't create his own shot.

[ghost]

And 7 million per year for Amir Johnson

[Paelos]

120 million for Joe Johnson.  Unbelievable.  Enjoy your star who can't create his own shot.

The Hawks ownership has no idea what it takes to win in the playoffs. You need a leader, and Atlanta hasn't had one. They just paid $120M for what will be the nail in the coffin for the Hawks owners. They will sell this team before they win in the second round.

[Rasix]

Bosh with Wade in Miami.

Boozer in Chicago.

Lebron doing some ridiculous announcement show (although raising cash for a good cause in the process), which means he's likely staying in Cleveland.  So.. uhh, who's left to join him?  Seems like he's going to end up on the one of the most talent poor teams in the conference.

[caladein]

If Boozer's going to Chicago, there's really no one left on the table that they could even overpay for, much less get.

[ghost]

Lebron would be silly stupid to spurn the Heat if the money is equal.  Well, if he wants to win he would be silly stupid.  If he wants to be the big fish in a small pond and be the NBA version of Ken Griffey, Jr., I guess he could do any of a number of things.

[Trippy]

Lebron would be silly stupid to spurn the Heat if the money is equal.  Well, if he wants to win he would be silly stupid.  If he wants to be the big fish in a small pond and be the NBA version of Ken Griffey, Jr., I guess he could do any of a number of things.

Money can't be equal cause Wade and Bosh are signing with Miami. He would have to be willing to take less than what he can get at Cleveland (the max) for a better chance to win a championship.

[ghost]

Not if Miamuh can pull off an interesting trade.

[Malakili]

Lebron would be silly stupid to spurn the Heat if the money is equal.  Well, if he wants to win he would be silly stupid.  If he wants to be the big fish in a small pond and be the NBA version of Ken Griffey, Jr., I guess he could do any of a number of things.

Money can't be equal cause Wade and Bosh are signing with Miami. He would have to be willing to take less than what he can get at Cleveland (the max) for a better chance to win a championship.

Well, he'd have to take less to go anywhere but cleveland, though the idea is if he went somewhere like New York or Chicago the endorsement deals would more than make up for it.  Miami isn't exactly a big basketball town though, not compared to some of the others in the running.  I've been saying since the beginning I think he'll stay in Cleveland just because I don't think any of the other teams he would go to are really going to be any better.  Miami is definitely better now though, hypotheticlaly, so I dunno.  Of course, if they signed THREE max players, the rest of their team would be made up of anyone they can scrounge together (which might actually be a fair amount, if people are willing to play for league minimum to win).

Still, I could do without the whole charade, the only reason this is such a big deal is because ESPN hasn't been able to shut up about it for the last year, let along the last month.   I really do like sports, but sometimes ESPN makes me want to claw my eyes out of my head.

[ghost]

Looking like Miamuh

[Paelos]

If Lebron goes to Miami, I want Shaq in Atlanta. Just so we'll have something to chuckle about as we get our asses kicked roundly.

[Rasix]

It'll be interesting seeing those 3, Mario Chalmers and a bunch of guys signing for the league minimum.  I didn't think Lebron's ego would accomodate this.  Miami won't be "his team".

Hopefully Wade can stay healthy, which hasn't been a given for him.