Saturday, June 27, 2009

And the winners are....


It’s been sometime now since I wrote about the NBA. Before I get into my thoughts about the draft, I must give some love.

Congrats to the Lakers, you deserved it. I won't gloat about picking them to win, as it was pretty much a given.

Congrats to the Magic in taking out Lebron, and giving it a good run.

Lastly, congrats to the NBA. These playoffs were some of the most exciting in years. The league's star power is stronger then it's ever been, and the quality of play is at its highest level ever.

Last night was the annual NBA Draft, one of most exciting nights for NBA teams. It's a night you can hit a home run, or strikeout swinging for the fences.
Though the lights shine bright on the youngsters on this day, the spotlight was directly on a former number one pick to start the day. News broke early that the Big Aristotle, Shaquille O'Neal would be joining forces with Lebron in Cleveland, as the Cavs and Suns came together on a deal.

If that wasn't enough, right before David Stern called the Clippers on the clock, the Magic countered the Cavs, by dealing for Vince Carter from the Nets. With Shaq back in the east, VC and Howard on the same team, and Garnett back for the Celtics, the east is going to be a battlefield next year. To quote Blahzay Blahzay, "When the east is in the house, oh my god, DANGER!"

Let the festivities begin. Man, I love this day.

This year's draft was one of many questions. The only slam dunk (no pun intended), being Blake Griffin. The rest of the field had the ever-popular "potential" tag, that being the potential to be a hit or a miss.

My opinion of this draft is that it's loaded with NBA role players, and a few (here’s that word again) potential stars.

Here are my winners from this year:

Clippers

The one given in this draft was that the Clips took Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) with the first pick. He’s got an NBA body, athleticism, smarts, and appears ready to take his game to the next level. Did the Clippers just make their first good move in franchise history? Maybe. What ever happens with Griffin's career in Clipperland, he's going to be a very nice player in the NBA, that is a given.

Oklahoma Thunder & Sacramento Kings

The Thunder made the right move taking James Harden (Arizona State) with the third pick. He's got a Paul Pierce-like game and will fit nicely with Westbrook in the Thunder backcourt. They also grabbed a great value pick in a deal with the Mavs, nabbing 7'1" B.J. Mullens (Ohio State) with the 24th pick. Sacramento got their man in Tyreke Evans (Memphis) with the 4th pick, who should be a very valuable combo guard in the league. I'm not sure about this Omri Casspi out of Israel, who the Kings took with the 23rd pick. He's been playing pro in Europe and has a good NBA body, but I know nothing about him. Regardless of the second pick-ups by each team, the real studs are Harden and Evans.

Toronto Raptors

Love their pick. Of course I’m being biased when it comes to picking them as a winner, but they addressed a need in their line up, and got the man they wanted with the 9th pick, without having to do anything but sit and wait. DeMar DeRozan (USC) is a great kid and should take a bit of time, but will be a leading man in Toronto in the coming years.

Denver Nuggets

North Carolina Tar Heels make for good NBA'ers. That’s a fact. Ty Lawson will be a good NBA'er. That’s an opinion, but could very well be a fact, especially since he will start his career under the wing of one of the best floor leaders in the game, Chauncey Billups. Lawson will flourish as Billups back up in Denver. Great deal by the Nugs, they're one of the most exciting teams in the NBA, and just got deeper with the 18th pick.

I won't pick out the losers of this years draft, as it's really hard to say who didn't make the right move. The verdict is still out on a few names, including Ricky Rubio (Spain), Brandon Jennings (Italy) & Hasheem Thabeet (Connecticut). All three of these kids could be stars, or busts, or just flat out decent league players. Time will tell. It will be very interesting to see what the T-wolves do with point guards Rubio and Jonny Flynn (Syracuse), whom they took with the fifth and sixth pick. Looks to me like they like both players, and will deal one to whomever comes with the right package. Smart move by a not-so-smart franchise.

Free agency is right around the corner, so stay tuned NBA fans, this year will be a roller coaster ride of movement, and with many teams looking to dump salaries the fun’s not over yet!