NBA Draft: The Day After

[PaperLantern]

Alright we all know last night was crazy. Everyone add their $0.02 to how the whole thing shook down.

Darrell Arthur... feel sorry for the man. As one fellow poster put it, it seemed like David Stern was making up imaginary players just so Arthur wouldn't be picked. IMO, he's one of the best 10 players in the draft. And then when you thought it couldn't get worse for the guy, he gets traded 3 times in an hour, seeing 4 teams in his first night in the league. And he's in Memphis now... I feel for ya Darrell.

Apparently Danny Ainge doesn't have character issues high on his priority list in 2008. He picked JR Giddens in the first round (former Kansas player, was involved in an altercation a few years ago). That pick wasn't so bad. What sent it over the edge was when they traded with Washington to get Bill Walker. Ah, old Billy Walker. One word: Thug.

Super Mario Chalmers... was promised by many teams that he would not slip past the 27th pick (specifically New Orleans promising, but they traded their pick, and Mario slipped to the 34th pick and landed in Minnesota. Luckily, he was traded to Miami, so now he gets the last laugh as he lands on a Heat team that desperately needed a point guard. He'll have Dwayne Wade and Michael Beasley at his side.

One last thing. All 5 Kansas players drafted were traded at least once.

[rspencer86]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

LOL on Stern making up players to call before Arthur. That really is what it felt like. Poor dude, I hate Kansas but you never want to see something like that happen, having to wait all of that time and then getting shipped around from team to team. Hopefully he'll tear it up and prove everyone wrong.

I think it's funny that the Rush brothers are on the same team. I had honestly forgotten that Kareem was still in the league, is he a end-of-the-bench type player or will he actually play?

I'm excited about the Bulls and Rose, it'll be interesting to see how they deal with the glut of guards they have now. Hopefully we can package up Hinrich or sign-and-trade Gordon for a good athletic big man.

[DTX3]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

Davon Jefferson...

[Flyboy]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

Not too sure what I think about the Rockets' draft.

Don't know what the hell Memphis is doing.

[Cebby]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

What sent it over the edge was when they traded with Washington to get Bill Walker. Ah, old Billy Walker. One word: Thug.

What did he do? Is he out slanging cain with Pimp C and Young Buck?

[X*Cell]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

I think it's funny that the Rush brothers are on the same team. I had honestly forgotten that Kareem was still in the league, is he a end-of-the-bench type player or will he actually play?

Kareem played 71 games last year for the Pacers at 21 minutes per, so he's definitely not an end of the bench player... 8th man or so.

I loved the Spurs pick at #26... all these mock drafts were so high on the Spurs trying to go after rebounding help, but we aren't going to get that help at pick #26... we need to address that in the free agent market, because Ian Mahinmi is technically our late first round leaper.

A backup to Tony Parker who can shoot and play defense was what we needed and George Hill can do both things. He played both PG and SG in college but he's better geared for Point in the NBA. In our system we don't need a guy who is stellar at dishing the ball because Tim Duncan can often create for himself. Like Parker or any of our swing men, we need these guys to be shooters who can draw those double teams off Duncan, and Hill has NBA-shot range.

I wasn't even aware of this guy really (typical for the Spurs), but I was hoping for us to draft Mario Chalmers, and this is even better in my opinion. I'm glad they went the backup PG route. We've never been able to pin-down this problem for the longest time, and hopefully the wait is over.

[dunnyduns]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

I think it's funny that the Rush brothers are on the same team. I had honestly forgotten that Kareem was still in the league, is he a end-of-the-bench type player or will he actually play?

Kareem Rush is a free agent and probably will not be back with the Pacers next year. So, the Rush brothers on the same team won't be happening.

[rspencer86]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

Kareem Rush is a free agent and probably will not be back with the Pacers next year. So, the Rush brothers on the same team won't be happening.

Well, so much for that idea. Thanks for the info.

[yvesdereuter]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

LOL on Stern making up players to call before Arthur. That really is what it felt like. Poor dude, I hate Kansas but you never want to see something like that happen, having to wait all of that time and then getting shipped around from team to team. Hopefully he'll tear it up and prove everyone wrong.

I think it's funny that the Rush brothers are on the same team. I had honestly forgotten that Kareem was still in the league, is he a end-of-the-bench type player or will he actually play?

I'm excited about the Bulls and Rose, it'll be interesting to see how they deal with the glut of guards they have now. Hopefully we can package up Hinrich or sign-and-trade Gordon for a good athletic big man.

Does anyone remember when Stuart Scott interviewed Larry Bird and asked him if he wanted to have the Rush brothers just for the sake of having them? LOL. Larry Bird didnt even really answer the question as it was so dumb. Bird won points with me for just sidestepping that question. It was one of the many awkward Stuart Scott moments.

[dunnyduns]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

Does anyone remember when Stuart Scott interviewed Larry Bird and asked him if he wanted to have the Rush brothers just for the sake of having them? LOL. Larry Bird didnt even really answer the question as it was so dumb. Bird won points with me for just sidestepping that question. It was one of the many awkward Stuart Scott moments.

Stuart Scott asked 2 other stupid questions to Larry Bird then as well. First, he asked Bird what he thought of Jerryd Bayless even though Bird traded Bayless so like Bird really cares about Jerryd Bayless right then as he's not going to be a Pacer. Then, Scott ended the interview by asking Bird why he wanted T.J. Ford even though Bird can't discuss the trade or T.J. Ford until it becomes an official trade after July 1st. It was certainly a quality interview by Stuart Scott.

[Psyblast]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

http://www.mlive.com/pistons/index.ssf/2008/06/blowing_off_workouts_not_a_goo.html

Blowing off workouts, not a good idea

AUBURN HILLS -- There's a part of the NBA draft process that's seldom talked about, but plays as big a role as any in who a team selects.

It's the part where draft prospects decide which teams to work out, and which ones to blow off.

Having covered soon-to-be pro athletes in football and basketball for more than 15 years, I've seen a lot of guys screw this process up.

And we saw quite a few guys get this painfully wrong Thursday night.

The thing that disturbs me - and I would imagine, most fans - is how a lot of these soon-to-be-millionaires just don't seem to get it.

Playing in the NBA is more than just a job; it's a VIP pass into a lifestyle that few ever understand and even fewer gain admittance into. So to see draft prospects take all this for granted, before they even get to the league, is disturbing.

Sadly, Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts, a Detroit native, falls into this category.

He was a very good college player, and certainly one of the nation's best.

But good enough to blow off working out for teams in the first round, teams that were picking around where he was supposed to be drafted?

I don't think so.

That was among the reasons why the first round came and went Thursday night, and he was still on the board.

Detroit was among the teams with first-round picks that Douglas-Roberts as well as a couple other notable second-round picks (Mario Chalmers being one of them) elected to not work out for.

They weren't the only ones.

A number of players were drafted later than expected because of their refusal to work out for certain teams.

Douglas-Roberts, whose skinny frame and ability to score in bunches is reminiscent of Richard Hamilton's game, refused to work out for the Pistons despite being considered a late first-round pick. He was under the impression that he would be gone by the time No. 29 was on the clock.

Oops.

So when the Pistons traded out of the first round and had pick No. 32 and Douglas-Roberts was still on the board, it didn't matter. Detroit had no plans on drafting him. And so he continued to fall before ultimately being scooped up by New Jersey with the 40th pick.

His arrogance reminded me of when I covered college football back in the 1990s. There was a receiver who had a great junior year, decided to come back and was solid as a senior. He was all over the place on most draft boards, but all had him being drafted by somebody.

We were talking one day leading up to the draft, and I found it odd that he had narrowed the list of teams he'd work out for to about five or six.

Big mistake.

All of his workouts were horrible. And as his agent tried to scramble to get more workouts, teams didn't want to bring him in because of how poorly he had performed elsewhere. He went undrafted.

A few years later, I covered a wide receiver who also opted to come back after a strong junior season. He was even better as a senior, and it was a pretty safe bet to believe that he would be taken in the first round.

I remember asking him leading up to the draft what teams did he plan to work out for.

"Anybody who wants me," he said.

That wide receiver was Torry Holt, who went on to be the No. 6 overall pick, a Pro Bowler, a Super Bowl champion and when he's done playing, a likely Hall of Famer.

Like those two football players, Douglas-Roberts has talent and clearly a high opinion (ego) of himself. But when you allow that ego to ride shot gun on the eve of your professional career, you're doomed to crash sooner or later.

Players can't work out for every team with a draft pick.

I understand that.

But this isn't like picking a girl friend or a new car.

This is a job we're talking about; a very high-paying job with very few openings, mind you.

And if you're trying to land such a coveted job, why would you limit your options?

And if you're a team trying to figure out who to draft, why would you take a guy that clearly didn't want to be part of your team?

Fans can take Joe Dumars to task for drafting Walter Sharpe, a player most of us never heard of or saw play before. But his decision to not take Douglas-Roberts was a no-brainer.

Would the Pistons have taken Douglas-Roberts at No. 32?

Who knows.

But his refusal to even give the Pistons a chance to work him out, made the decision to blow him off at No. 32, an easy one to make.

[DTX3]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

HA!, what an idiot. He deserves it.

[Flyboy]

Re: NBA Draft: The Day After

He's still gonna be a steal.