Ok, reporting live from my living room, here's my initial reaction to tonight's draft........... 1. Cavs- Lebron James, no suprise here. If King James doesn't earn his minutes with some numbers and couple of highlights, Cleveland fans are going to feel cheated. 2. Detroit- Darko Milicic, everyone knew this was coming as well. He'll have more of an impact than people realize (even on a contending team), he's kicked around players that would dominate the NCAA since he was 16. 3. Denver- Carmelo Anthony, Could easily lead Denver in scoring as a rookie. 4. Toronto- Chris Bosh, A slightly light-weight '4' who can stick the '3'. Toronto fans will be happy this pick wasn't traded by the end of next year. 5. Miami- Dwayne Wade, finally, a surprise pick! Miami doesn't really need a SG with Eddie Jones and Caron Butler around, and Wade isn't even the best SG available on most boards right now. That's not a knock on Wade, who'll be a fine NBA player, but they could've had a better player at 11. 6. Clippers- Chris Kaman, the smallest surprise of any pick outside the top 4. The Clips need someone to replace Olowakandi and they also need to make a poor decision. This kills two birds with one stone. (if someone can come up with a white, american center worthy of a top 6 pick drafted in the last 20 years, maybe I'll change my mind about Bust Kaman). 7. Chicago- Kirk Hinrich, Hmmm....hard to argue with Hinrich at 7, he's a helluva player and it lets Crawford play the '2' spot where he is a better fit. I don't know what the fuss is, Jay Williams is out for a while and when he comes back the Bulls will have excellent trade bait in one or two of Hinrich/Jay/Crawford. 8. Milwaukee- TJ Ford, personally I think the Bucks would've rather had KU's Hinrich here but how do you complain about getting the best playmaker in the draft with the 8th pick? Plus, with the Bucks there isn't as much pressure for Ford to become a better jumpshooter (with Redd, Toni K, and Cassel around) which allows hmmm to do what he does best, make plays. 9. Knicks- Michael Sweetney, a bit of a puzzler given the presence of Mcdyess and Kurt Thomas (not to mention Othella Harrington and Clarence Weatherspoon who can both still be productive off the bench). Lampe would've made more sense here as his perimeter skills would allow him to play along side KT and Dice. However, if Sweetney gets minutes he could put up numbers similar to Amare Stoudamire's rookie stat line (though his ceiling isn't as high). 10. Washington- Jarvis Hayes, another no-surprise pick, and I don't like this one. Hayes is an athelete and a dynamite shooter, but why hasn't someone with his body and athletic ability been able to do anything but shoot? This pick means either Hughes or Stackhouse won't be around much longer. 11. Golden State- Mickael Pietrus, a classic example of taking the BPA over need. Not being a big Jason Richardson fan, I can't argue with this..I just hope Pietrus gets the minutes to show his stuff. Jerry West is a big Pietrus fan, and he could be headed to Memphis. 12. Seattle- Nick Collison. I think this is way to high for Collison to be drafted. He's a solid player but if they wanted a big, Lampe would've been a better pick. Lampe, by the way has slipped way to far. 13. Memphis- Marcus Banks? Seriously? I think Banks is only a marginal prospect and a part-time starter at best. Especially with Jason Williams and a Jerry West favorite (Earl Watson) already at the point. Memphis's biggest need is a post player but they went with a marginal PG prospect...Gaines or Ridnour would've been better picks by far. 14. Seattle- Luke Ridnour, and sanity has returned. A poor defender, Ridnour's ability to shoot the rock and run a team more than makes up for it. With No PG in Seattle he could be in line for big minutes, he might not be ready for starter's minutes with the NBA's schedule length just yet, but should be a productive rookie regardless. His game reminds me of Steve Nash's, but maybe its just the haircut/image. I'll post again as soon as more picks have been made... UPDATE 15. Orland- Reece Gaines. Another expected pick. A big combo guard who can shoot it, Gaines reminds me of one Reggie Theus. Should help take a bit of the ball handling load off Mcgrady's shoulders. 16. Boston, Troy Bell- While I like Bell as a player, this is just too high for him. They could've gotten him with the 20th pick or traded down ten spots and still picked him up. They could've gotten a couple of 2nd rounders or maybe even a future first by trading down with Minnesota. 17. Phoenix, Zarko Carbarkapa- This pick had been leaked out for weeks, though its a maybe a bit high for Zarko, he's a good fit in Phoenix. Though you have to wonder if the Sun's would've made this promise if they knew Lampe would be available... 18. Charlotte, David West- Solid pick here, he should remind people of PJ Brown right away, though he has the potential to be a better scorer. Some people would've rather seen Brian Cook here, but the NBA has enough talented headcases, why draft one to your team on purpose? (note I'm not saying that I don't like Cook, I just understand Charlotte's reasoning for taking West first). 19. Utah, Alexsander Pavlovic_ A good pick and another leaked pick. He shoots the rock at least as well as Jarvis Hayes, maybe better (but I'm biased) and is skilled enough to help right away on offense. 20. Boston, Dahntay Jones- Ok, if Boston isn't making these picks for someone else then the Celtics have officially entered joke punchline territory. Word is both these players are going to Memphis for Marcus Banks....maybe Jerry West is going senile, I don't know why you'd trade the 13th overall pick for a 2nd round player and a marginal first rounder...
UPDATE 21. Atlanta, Boris Diaw- A good pick here, the Hawks no longer need to worry about playing Jason Terry (provide Diaw can play some significant minutes right away) due to his size. A heck of a talent for the 21st overall pick. A 6'9 freak of an athelte who can play the point...if he was one of the top 3 scorers in the draft instead of one of the top 3 passers, he's a top 5 pick easy.... 22. New Jersey, Zoran Planinic- Another nice job by the New Jersey front office. ESPN likes to talk about how he can play 3 positions, that's a joke. He is as pure of a PG as they come, 6'8 and has a dangerous outside stroke. 23. Portland, Travis Outlaw- A freaky Athlete with small basketball skills compared to the rest of the players available. But Portland can afford to make him sit and learn. Outlaw should've learned from the successful 'one and done' campaigns of Dajuan Wagner and Carmelo Anthony who played themselves from the bottom of the first round and into the big money with one year of college ball. Besides, if Portland wanted someone they didn't have to play right away they should've taken a flier on one of several Euro's that have far more talent than Outlaw. NOTE; Where the HHHEEEEEEEEEELLLLLL is Lampe??!! Teams are going to regret passing on him in a big way in a couple of years....I'm praying he slips to Detroit, it just wouldn't be fair if L.A. gets him. UPDATE>>>> 24. LAL, Brian Cook- Solid pick. Cook is a big talent to scoop up at the bottome of the first round and the strong personalities that make up the heart of the Lakers will probably keep his head in the game. Good pick talent wise AND a good fit, makes me smile. 25. Detroit- PLEASE TAKE LAMPE, PLEASE TAKE LAMPE! ARGGGH!!!...we went with SG Carlos Delfino instead, he's a good player but it makes me sad because a. I really wanted Lampe and b. drafting Delfino means we're probably getting rid of Jon Barry who is one of my favorite players. Oh well, Delfino fits in with the Pistons because he's a tough player for a '2' and we could use his outside shooting touch... *sniff* 26. Minnesota, Ndudi Ebi- A real head scratcher here. Normally Ndudi's upside would make him a solid pick at 26 but why are teams that feel comfortable drafting a project passing on a 6'11 shooter with as much upside as anyone outside of the top 5? I'm going to start calling some people... 27. Memphis- This pick, apparently is Boston's now. I wonder how West (who claimed to be very high on Lampe) feels about giving it away for Troy Bell and Dahntay Jones now (whom they could've had one of with this pick here and someone like Lampe, Carkbarkapa, Pavlovic Brian Cook or a top PG at 13. KENDRICK PERKINS it is. A raw, but talented big man, Perkins could help Memphis down the road...is Lampe hurt? NOTE West used 3 first round picks on Bell, Jones and Perkins...in their place he could've selected Luke Ridnour, Alexsander Pavlovic and Lampe...I think he'll regret this. Then again, who am I to question Jerry West? Then again he did give away Drew Gooden and by passing on Ridnour, Gaines and Barbosa (who would've been my 2nd choice for the Pistons to draft at 25....oh well.) he's committed to a combination of Jason Williams and Troy Bell at the point. I hope none of the other Grizzlies like having the ball much. Also, Mike Kahn reports that both Memphis and Boston are thrilled with the trade made earlier tonight....apparently he was refferring to their NBDL affiliates...Seriously, next thing you know Jerry West will trade a top young power forward for a one dimensional swingman and Boston will try and top their stupidity by trading for Vin Baker...Haha! 28. San Antonio, Leandrhino Barabosa- A nice pick here in terms of talent and fit. Barabosa has the ability to be a top PG in the L but with Tony Parker around will be under little pressure to do so right away and can focus on basketball instead of learning English. He'll be valuable right away as he will be able to combine limited minutes with his buzzing, boundless energy and will harass the hell out of and wear down opponents PG's for Tony Parker's sake. 29. Dallas, Josh Howard- A funny pick. Dallas is in a position to take someone with upside because a mature player who is available at 29, but ready to contribute now (for instance...say Wake Forest's Josh Howard?) probably won't get any minutes on Dallas' talented roster. 29 is a good number for Howard but a very questionable fit with Lampe and Malick Badiane still on board. So the players that've slipped to the second round include Lampe, Badiane, Zaur Pachulia and Mario Austin. Those 4 alone make for more talent thats been around in the 2nd round than there has been in years. UPDATE New York finally tabs Lampe with the 30th pick overall. Funny thing, I never would've guessed Lampe would miss out on guarenteed money, but it looks like Josh Howard is getting paid and Lampe will have to earn his check. The funny thing is that earlier, I argued that Lampe was a better pick at #9 than Mike Sweetney...New Yorkers finally have something to celebrate. PREDICTION Kurt Thomas is dealt by this year's trade deadline. The Knicks, with Lampe and Sweetney have the ability to start a rebuilding process if they can move either Spreewell's or Houston's contract. Fat chance however, seeing that they've been trying to do that for years. Will money kill the Knick's shot at rebuilding? Maybe not if Dice is healthy. Because if he is they can easily move him and his dollars out of their way....maybe for a PG? Chicago and Memphis both have inexpensive extra '1's and could use an explosive post-up threat like Mcdyess. In Chicago there would be a bit of a log-jam but Donyell Marshall wouldn't be hard to trade and Tyson Chandler should be able to play the '3' ok. Move Crawford or Hinrich to new york for dice and the Hinrich pick makes sense....Hinrich(or Crawford), Rose, Chandler, Mcdyess, Curry looks like a playoff team to me. 31. Cavs, I was imagining if Lampe fell to them, imagine a lineup of Wagner, James, Davis, Lampe, Big Z and D.Miles of the bench.....Oh well. Jason Kapono is not a bad pick, he doesn't do much but shoot the rock, but he doesn't well. Maybe better than anyone else in the draft. He'll be a nice long range threat in Cleveland. HAHAHAHAha...I almost said that with a straight face....With Wagner, James and Davis hogging the ball and the coach dying to get Zydrunas Ilgauskas more touches down low he'll be lucky if he touches the rock. 32. LAL, Luke Walton- Niiiiice. His passing ability, exp and toughness means LA drafted two guys who can help right away. They instantly have a deep frontcourt, no one has done more (considering where they've picked) with their picks than the lakers. Heat coming up, but I'm going out tonight...see you all soon!
If Lampe slips to the Spurs then maybe they wouldn't have to get J. Oneal and can put their focus elsewhere for the rest of the off season.
HAHAHA @ David Stern "Doodi (how he pronounced it, I know how it's spelled) Ebi from ENGLAND." Funny stuff. If the Spurs don't pick Lampe then either: A. There is something really wrong with him or B. NBA teams ARE in fact stupid
Now look at my above post and substitute the Spurs for the Mavs. Ok so I guess in my previous post choice A would've been right. Contract problems with his international team. It's Jake Tsakilidis part 2.
I posted this in the NBA forum: Weis. Vujanic. Lampe. Foreign players the Knicks selected in the draft. The first two will probably never play for them. The last one has a great chance of not playing for them.
But at the end of the first...teams should be willing to wait on a talent like Lampe to play out his contract, or at least stay in Europe until a buyout could be negotiated....strange really...I wonder if he suffered a late injury..
The contract was probably the only thing. Remember Jake Tsakilidis was a top ten pick then moved down to where ever the Suns were (late twenties I believe). Lampe's contract situations seems much worse than Big Jake's was and Big Jake's team even took the Suns to court to try and get him back. That scares team a lot.
Suns get Barbosa. I like Barbosa a lot. He can take some minutes and pressure away from Marbury just in case his ankles will continue to act up.
Got drafted by the Knicks. FIBA says he is contractually obligated to play in Spain for two years and possibly three after that which is why he was passed on.
Dwayne Wade is gonna explode. This is my last post here. Thank you Rocco, I liked your posting very much. Thank You.
Jerry West is a NBA genius... and he sees Troy Bell as I do... he knows what hes doing... let him work his magic... Im 2 secs from tellin this lil idiot t.mcfaggot off if he keeps being gay...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting "sunsfan1357":</div><div class="quote_post">Suns get Barbosa. I like Barbosa a lot. He can take some minutes and pressure away from Marbury just in case his ankles will continue to act up.</div> yes i am so happy the suns got Barbosa
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting "purehoops":</div><div class="quote_post">Jerry West is a NBA genius... and he sees Troy Bell as I do... he knows what hes doing... let him work his magic... Im 2 secs from tellin this lil idiot t.mcfaggot off if he keeps being gay...</div> what?? I do not have pure hops but damnnn. Respond in another thread silly. I think Wade is gonna explode. And Rocco posts better stuff than anyone here.
my username is purehoops you sorry excuse for a man... your post are really pathetic and this board would be better off with you not make pathetic lil gay comments on this board...
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting "purehoops":</div><div class="quote_post">my username is purehoops you sorry excuse for a man... your post are really pathetic and this board would be better off with you not make pathetic lil gay comments on this board...</div> Uh oh...she's mad I made a legitamite post and you attacked me. This thread would be better without you on it. Now go away. Thank You.
im a guy... and callin me a girl is pretty stupid on your part... your posts arnt legitamite... you try to make sly (yet they are gay) remarks about lil topics and you say "Thank You." in every single post... your annoying and really really gay... you get on my nerves and Im sure plenty other peoples nerves and Im not gunna shy away from tellin you off... your a pathetic f*ggot and get off on tryin to make jokes like callin me a girl... get a life...
