Brief NBA Draft Thoughts
Looking over the results from last night's NBA draft...
The Pistons picked up Cincinnati's Jason Maxiell, a 6-7 PF known for tough defense. Not a surprise -- most of Cincy's players are tough, as in thuggish. He should be a good fit for Detroit, as he is a great shot-blocker and willing to do the little things to help the team win. Besides, he has freakish length (a 7-3 wingspan, which makes him longer than Tayshaun Prince), which will make up for the fact that he's undersized for a PF. Besides, being undersized never hurt Ben Wallace.
I think the Pistons did as well as could be expected with the 26th pick. Of course, I was kind of hoping for Michigan State's Alan Anderson, who I think is a legit four-position player in the mold of Prince, but Anderson went undrafted.
Random thoughts:
Four members of UNC's national title team were picked in the first 14 picks. That's impressive.
Everyone said this was the "year of the point guard," but only six of the top 30 picks were PGs. That's 1/5th of the picks, which is what you would expect given that there are five positions in basketball. Sure, PGs were taken in the 3-4-5 spots, which is unusual. But they were the only points taken in the top 20.
Nice move by the Jazz, trading up with Portland to snag Illinois' Deron Williams in the third spot. The Jazz need a floor leader, and Williams is tough as nails and knows how to run a team.
On one hand, I see what Charlotte is trying to do by drafting PG Raymond Felton and PF Sean May, both out of Carolina. (Ok, the first think they're trying to do is sell tickets, but beyond that...) Since they already have Emeka Okafor as a center, they're trying to build around him. The problem with that is that Okafor is undersized for an NBA center (only 6-10), and is really more of a PF. May isn't "undersized" for a PF, but he's certainly not extremely large at 6-9. It seems that the Bobcats are going to end up with a bunch of very similar players, and no true center.
I realize that Portland thinks prep-to-pro (or more accurately, playground-to-pro) PG Sebastian Telfaire is their floor general of the future. (Personally, I think he's rather overrated, and it's possible the Blazers do to. Why else would they pick GaTech's Jarret Jack?) So to "build" on that foundation, they pick prep SG Martell Webster. This is a team that has struggled for years with chemistry and maturity issues. Adding yet another 18-year-old straight out of high school to the roster is not going to take care of those problems.
The Knicks finally got a true center in Channing Frye. But on the same day, GM Isiah Thomas shipped out Kurt Thomas (good move) in exchange for Quentin Richardson. Which is great and all, but do the Knicks really need another swingman? The entire team is between 6-6 and 6-9, somewhat athletic, and has no defined position. I don't think Richardson solves that problem.
The Lakers pick up a high school center with the 10th pick. With all the holes that team has, it seems that there might have been one or two players available at 10 who could contribute immediately and aren't project players that might start contributing five years from now. Not that I mind if the Lakers make stupid decisions....
The Pistons picked up Cincinnati's Jason Maxiell, a 6-7 PF known for tough defense. Not a surprise -- most of Cincy's players are tough, as in thuggish. He should be a good fit for Detroit, as he is a great shot-blocker and willing to do the little things to help the team win. Besides, he has freakish length (a 7-3 wingspan, which makes him longer than Tayshaun Prince), which will make up for the fact that he's undersized for a PF. Besides, being undersized never hurt Ben Wallace.
I think the Pistons did as well as could be expected with the 26th pick. Of course, I was kind of hoping for Michigan State's Alan Anderson, who I think is a legit four-position player in the mold of Prince, but Anderson went undrafted.
Random thoughts:
Four members of UNC's national title team were picked in the first 14 picks. That's impressive.
Everyone said this was the "year of the point guard," but only six of the top 30 picks were PGs. That's 1/5th of the picks, which is what you would expect given that there are five positions in basketball. Sure, PGs were taken in the 3-4-5 spots, which is unusual. But they were the only points taken in the top 20.
Nice move by the Jazz, trading up with Portland to snag Illinois' Deron Williams in the third spot. The Jazz need a floor leader, and Williams is tough as nails and knows how to run a team.
On one hand, I see what Charlotte is trying to do by drafting PG Raymond Felton and PF Sean May, both out of Carolina. (Ok, the first think they're trying to do is sell tickets, but beyond that...) Since they already have Emeka Okafor as a center, they're trying to build around him. The problem with that is that Okafor is undersized for an NBA center (only 6-10), and is really more of a PF. May isn't "undersized" for a PF, but he's certainly not extremely large at 6-9. It seems that the Bobcats are going to end up with a bunch of very similar players, and no true center.
I realize that Portland thinks prep-to-pro (or more accurately, playground-to-pro) PG Sebastian Telfaire is their floor general of the future. (Personally, I think he's rather overrated, and it's possible the Blazers do to. Why else would they pick GaTech's Jarret Jack?) So to "build" on that foundation, they pick prep SG Martell Webster. This is a team that has struggled for years with chemistry and maturity issues. Adding yet another 18-year-old straight out of high school to the roster is not going to take care of those problems.
The Knicks finally got a true center in Channing Frye. But on the same day, GM Isiah Thomas shipped out Kurt Thomas (good move) in exchange for Quentin Richardson. Which is great and all, but do the Knicks really need another swingman? The entire team is between 6-6 and 6-9, somewhat athletic, and has no defined position. I don't think Richardson solves that problem.
The Lakers pick up a high school center with the 10th pick. With all the holes that team has, it seems that there might have been one or two players available at 10 who could contribute immediately and aren't project players that might start contributing five years from now. Not that I mind if the Lakers make stupid decisions....
posted by N at 10:31 AM
2 Comments:
Yay! Maybe i'll actually get to see Q play this year since he'll be in New York!
As for the Lakers, i still have faith. (Or at least, i'm still praying for them) ;)
well, you'll at least get to see Q sit on the bench. i the knicks just have a log-jam in that spot.
although i hear they are planning to put him at SG, which means jamal crawford would come off the bench. this might make sense for the knicks, because i think Q can actually play a modicum of defense, something that was always a problem for crawford.
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