NBA Draft!
 

Tomorrow evening is the NBA Draft, and I, for one, am excited. The reasons being that my home team, the Golden State Warriors, are one or two smart moves away from being a really good team for the first time in a decade. Secondly, my favorite college player of all time is going to be drafted--Salim Stoudamire.

The Warriors get the 9th pick, and I'm thinking this kid Vazquez out of Spain, Ike Diogu out of ASU, or Sean May out of North Carolina. Really, just any big man who is NBA-ready and can score a little bit. Of course, I am then hoping Stoudamire is still around for the second-round choice. I don't know if he'll ever become a star in the NBA, but whatever team gets him will have, at the very least, a shot in the arm off of the bench. Lastly, I hope the Warriors trade either Dunleavy or Pietrus for some more front court help. I do not envy Chris Mullin here, as I have no idea which player I'd rather give up.

Bogut is going number 1, and he's not going to be a stiff like some people believe. When was the last time a white guy was taken with the first pick?

What do you hope your team does?

Move to a different city?

No love for the Hawks, huh? Maybe we can go back to the "glory days" of Mookie, Augmon, and Steve Smith :)

I don't really have a favourite NBA team. Closest that would come to being a favourite is the Celtics. And of course, there's a girl involved in that. ;)

That being said, I'll be hacked if the hometown Bucks (well okay I'm 30-45 minutes away from Milwaukee.. close enough) don't take Bogut. Williams is an overrated SOC.

I've heard Bogut has gained 25 lbs. as of late.

Bucks are screwed. The best player in this draft is going to be one of the point guards, either Paul or the North Carolina kid. Bogut and Williams are both overrated. It's a terrible year to have the #1 pick.

If it's not all fat, then that's a good thing.

I agree Paul looks pretty good, but the Bucks really need a frontcourt guy. Bogut's the best option, I think, given that scenario.

Or hell, the Bucks could pull a shocker and trade down, grab Paul anyway because of the T.J. Ford concerns, picking up some extra picks along the way or something.

Granted, it'll probably be Bogut, but it's a nice scenario to picture.

I am keeping a close eye on where Deron Williams falls. I have heard as of late he might go as high as #2 even. Apparently he's had some outstanding workouts and has lost a lot of the babyfat that he has had throughout his college career.

I'm not sold-sold on him as a pro PG exactly but still hope and root for the guy who went to my hometown state college.

I agree. I was actively hoping the Hornets wouldn't win the lottery, though I really wanted the 2 or 3 pick. Now I'm hoping Paul somehow drops to 4 since Portland seems enamored with the top high school kids. My fantasy draft scenario is Paul lasting to #4 for the Hornets. Then we hope Toronto is dumb enough to send us the 7th pick for Magliore, then we pick Granger. Then we pick Turiaf at the beginning of the second round. That gives us a hell of a nucleus.

What will probably happen is that we grab Deron Williams at 4 and no deal with Toronto. Williams is a nice player but not a star. Damn. We went 18-64 to pick FOURTH?

I'm hoping the Knicks do something smart. Anything smart.

I'm torn on Channing Frye / Andrew Bynum at #8, and then at #30 going after another center, and hoping to pick up a nice defensive swingman, or backup point in the 2nd round... Also heard a rumor about possibly getting Gasol which I wouldn't mind...

I say they end up drafting another guard.

:)

I hope my team drafts someone good

Wizards don't have a first rounder. I just hope that they re-sign Larry Hughes. We need some consistency around here.

Detroit
Ben Wallace
Rasheed Wallace
Richard Hamilton

All 3 former first rounders for the Wiz. God damn Wes Unseld!!!!

Actually, I'm pretty sure Ben went undrafted out of Virginia Union.

Plus, MJ was the one who really wasn't sold on Hamilton as a player.

you are right about Ben. I guess I was thinking about how we traded him away to make thre numbers work.

I want Diogu in Minnesota. We've never had a real force inside.

Not impressed with the Kandi Man I see :p

Wasn't Ben Wallace part of that scrappy #8 seed Magic team? Before he was traded to Detroit along with a plethora of players for Grant Hill.

I believe you are right, Neon. That move single-handedly re-established Detroit as a winner (tho, no one knew it at the time). Conversly, that was one of the worst moves in Orlando's brief history (second only to losing Shaq). Orlando took a gamble that Hill would return fully healthy that season, and boy were they wrong. Gotta love the beauty of the NBA and those guaranteed contracts!

Back onto topic: I'm not sure who I'd like the Pistons to grab. Personally, I hope we get someone that can actually create their own shot, since we don't have too many guys like that.

I'd be happy to get Magloire for one of the 1st rounders.

I am hoping the Pistons can get Julius Hodge with their first 2nd round pick (#50), but he'll probably be gone. With the 26th pick, I really want Martynas Andriuskevicius. I think he has a chance to be special (as I also think Darko still will be).

Are you basing this off of the one game he started and played well (Atlanta)? I guess you must not be basing it off of all the other games he plays 1 minute and contributes nothing. Personally, I think Darko will become a solid player (around 8-10ppg, 5-7rpg) somewhere down the line, but I definitely do not share the opinion he will be "special."

I would watch it if Pittsnogle had not decided to come back to WVU. Now I don't care.

I trust Joe Dumars judgement in this, and Joe is determined to keep him and see him develop. Not only that, but many GMs in the NBA still consider him be a huge prospect (this is according to Chad Ford). Given some actual steady playing-time, I think his talent will develop. We'll just have to see.

Really? The 7th? I think Magliore is pretty average and fairly clutzy, although since there are so few decent centers, I realize he's more valuable than he should be. But I'm afraid he's going to become a malcontent and we'll have to trade him for nothing in a year, like what happened with Baron Davis.

He'd be happy in Toronto and I think we'd be okay building around a Paul/Smith/Granger nucleus and playing a year without a real center. We're not going to the playoffs next year anyway. I hope something gets done.

I agree with you Schmidty that he is talented, but after watching the kid play the past two years, I just don't see the heart. Perhaps that will come as he matures, but I personally have never seen him bring any intensity to the game. When he plays, it always seems like he is in a daze and is indifferent towards everything going on around him. Maybe his mindset has been damaged from being a permenant fixture on the bench, but if he really wants to play (instead of just whining about it to the newspaper) he should go out and hustle.

Who knows, maybe you're right about him being special. I really hope so. I'd hate to see it as a wasted pick. So here's hoping he tears it up in the summer league.

I would like the Heat to pick up a big man preferably a power forward that could replace the combo of Laettner/Doleac. This pick is probably going to ride the pine for a year anyway similar to the way Dorell Wright did this year but could be the third/fourth option a couple years down the road.

On a side note, I am intrigued with if and where Salim Stoudamire and Travis Diener are drafted.

Darko is still only 20 years old. Assuming he was entering this years draft, he would still likely be the #1 selection.

Rumors have the jazz trading with the blazers for #3 overall to get into the position for Deron Williams.

Speaking of rumors, my favorite so far has been Rasheed and Darko to the T-Wolves for Garnett. Won't happen, but I'd pull the trigger on that one in a second.

Sean May was not considered a first rounder until the tournament. And he has apparently been having some bad workouts. He seems like a good guy, and I hope he does well, but I would be very nervous if my team drafted him in the lottery. He is too small to play NBA center, but too slow to guard NBA small forwards--and even a lot of the athletic power forwards in the league.

Again, I hope he does well, but I would not count on him to shore up any ailing frontcourts.

But, really, would the Hornets be in better position picking any earlier?

They need a PG desperately. The #3 and #4 players in the draft are PG's. What is the problem?

Well, from my perspective I like Paul a lot more than Williams. If we come out of the first round with just Deron Williams, I'll be somewhat disappointed.

You'd have wasted your time because he wasn't going to be drafted...

This is a joke, right? You can't possibly be serious?

Just finished hearing Chad Ford say that he thinks Utah will trade to #3 and take Williams, so there is still hope. Of course, he also mentioned that Atlanta could take Paul at #2.

I don't see Darko as turning out to be an exceptional player. I think Dumars's hard-on for him is sorely misguided.

On an unrelated note, living about a half-hour away from Marquette, I'd also like to see where Diener gets drafted, if at all. He's been having a good offseason in workouts and the like, so he'll probably go somewhere in the second.

Yeah, I just want them to get a center than can do SOMETHING. Bosh would be nice as the PF alongside Magloire. And the fact that he's from there and WANTS to play for Toronto is a plus too. Last time the Raptors passed on a Canadian was Steve Nash...... do I wish they traded for him back then.....

I'll follow it as i have heard today in the news that the Spanish guy is going to be drafted in the first round. Damn why all our players are as ugly?

I'm just praying that the Hawks don't get any Tar Heels.

I think May will suprise some of you guys, he has the best hands of any big man in the draft and I think if he can continue to improve his conditioning he'll be a very good power forward in the NBA, a double double guy easily. He won't be guarding small forwards, or play center, he's a PF.

McCants got invited to the green room... has someone made a promise to take him in the top 20 or is this the NBA's idea of a (admittedly funny, but cruel) joke... take a kid with a lot of problems, put him in the green room and watch him fall to 25 and just watch his facial expressions every pick?


Also, Schmidty, I saw your comment on Julius Hodge at #50... the latest mock drafts have him going as high as #20, and almost certainly in the first round now.

If I'm a fan of an NBA team, it's the Bobcats, but really, I don't care too much about the NBA. I would love to see the Bobcats end up with Felton at 13 if he falls that far, or to trade up w/ the Hawks for Marvin Williams. One of them on my favorite team might have me a little interested in the NBA.

Magloire will be coming to Toronto in 2 years....for free.....so if i was Badcock i'd keep the 2 picks and try to haul in Felton.

I just want to see the Raptors do something that will make me want to watch them play. I think they suck right now, and don't enjoy watching them play. They're coming here for a pre-season game against Portland on October 24th, and I want a reason to see them other than that they're an NBA team. :)

Yes, im serious. He was drafted at 18, assuming he played in europe for the last 2 years there is no reason why he still wouldnt be regarded as a top prospect in the draft.

May could possibly be Boozer in the pros. Hard to say.

Hell, my dream for the draft is some how the Grizzlies unload Jason Williams and pick up Deron Williams. He was the glue that held Illinois together last year, and could dominate a game, without dominating the stat sheet.

I think Darko would certainly be someone's #1 pick, but I doubt he would go in the top 5. Are you saying that teams would still pick him high if he somehow re-entered the draft, after seeing what he did the past two years (nothing)? Or is this without that knowledge?

Where'd you hear this? I haven't heard anything about it, but yeah, I think I'd pull the trigger on that deal as well (as long as we'd be willing to pay the salary).

Great comparison. They said many of the same things about Boozer. I think May will be the best PF in this draft, ahead of many wimpy Euros taken ahead of him.