Without a doubt my favorite draft-related activity (besides creating mocks) is the annual winners and losers lists, especially those that are a few years old. They can either be prophetic or some of the purest forms of comedy out there, such as one I read about Golden State last year, "passing on Reece Gaines will go down as one of the biggest draft mistakes in the Warriors franchise history." Yeah right... Anyway, here's my best effort to look like an idiot in a couple of years: <u>Winners</u> 1. Dallas: They got one of the drafts best point guards, stole a guy who could be one of the top 3 centers in the league in a couple of years, and got rid of Jamison's massive contract. And all it cost them was next year's first rounder, whatever money is under Cuban's couch cushions, and putting up with Jerry Stackhouse for a little while. Even if they don't get Shaq (and honestly, I don't think they should even try if the Lakers continue to insist on Nowtizki being part of the deal), they took a couple of huge steps forward this year. 2. Rafeal Araujo: Congratulations Araujo, whatever you had on Babcock and the rest of the Raptors front office, it was enough for you to go 4-13 spots higher than you should have. 3. Charlotte: While their expansion draft could have yielded more prospects, the amatuer draft couldn't have gone better. Okafor will be able to handle the pressure of being the man in Charlotte much better than Howard could have. 4. Telfair: There was no bigger reach in the first round than Telfair at #13. Over the last few days people were thinking Telfair might fall out of the first round if it wasn't for Mo Cheeks infatuation with Telfair. Little did we know Cheeks liked Telfair THIS much. Cheeks lucked out by having Monya fall to him at 23 and getting Ha Sueng-Jin in the second round. 5. Orlando: The Howard pick raised some eyebrows, but they redeemed themselves by stealing Nelson from Denver for a future first rounder. If Orlando finds the right deal for McGrady, they could be playoff bound next year, no matter how well Howard plays. 6. Kris Humphries: He was supposed to go to Utah, but not until the 21st pick. While I think the Jazz reached too high for him, the fact that they passed on Monia with all three picks means they didn't have him ranked nearly as high as everyone thought they did. 7. Robert Swift: Congratulations Robert, you may become a trend setter. Imagine next year, every lottery prospect announces in May that they aren't going to workout for any teams. I can see it now, Charlotte wins the draft lottery and fields offers from Minnesota and San Antonio, offering Garnett and Duncan respectively, each wanting to draft a high schooler they've never even seen. <u>Losers</u> 1. Boston: In '01 they botched the draft by missing out on such guys as Troy Murphy, Richard Jefferson, Zach Randolph, and Gilbert Arenas, each one of them could have been productive members of the Celtics right now. I'll spare Celtic fans by not rehashing who they ended up taking. This year, it looks like they swung and missed on all three picks again, but this time it wasn't Ainge's fault (how many times do we get a chance to say that?). They targeted Swift, Monya, and Dorrell Wright as three guys they really wanted. All three went just before the Celtics picked. Hopefully Al Jefferson can live up to his enormous potential. West and Allen have the potential to be quality guys as well. 2. Chris Duhon: I have a hard time putting here because I applaud guys who go back to school. But if he came out in '02 he would have been a lottery pick. Now he'd be lucky to make the Bulls roster. I'll say this though, if he gets cut, I'll be pulling hard for the Warriors to pick him up. 3. Toronto: They were hoping Gordon or Harris would fall to them, and it looked like they would. Unfortunately, the team got punched in the gut on the #3 and #5 picks. Their back up plan was to go for need and take Araujo. While they did fill a need, this may be one of those picks where we all look back and see that they could have had Iguodala, Jackson, Biedrins, or Podkolzine if they just would have gone with the BAP theory. 4. Miami: I was never the biggest Jameer Nelson fan, but if I were Miami, I definately would have taken him at #19. Who knows, he could be another Mateen Cleaves or he could be another Tim Hardaway. Look for Nelson to have a big chip on his shoulder 4 times a year when he squares off against the Heat. 5. Christian Drejer: A year ago this guy was looking like a lottery pick. But injuries, a poor attitude, and a decision to abandon his Florida Gators for a contract in Europe essentially blackballed him among NBA scouts and GMs. While New Jersey traded Khryapa, they may have gotten someone just as talented in Drejer. There's no denying his talent, but he's got a massive buyout with his club team in Spain, so it could be awhile before he ever suits up for the Nets. 6. Phoenix: Even if they got $3 mil and Chicago's #1 next year unconditionally, they could have really used a guy like Iguodala or Deng. Either would have really sweetened the pot in a deal for McGrady. And if the Suns kept the pick, Podkolzine and Biedrins would have been nice fits here as well. But hey, its okay they've got Jackson Vroman (although I do really like this kid as a second round pick).
Maybe Darius Rice should be on your losers list as he went undrafted. I heard he was projected to be at least a 2nd round pick.
I think Darius Rice had the skills but the mental and personality aspect of his game wasn't there. i.e. he was lazy. Or so I've read.
Big winner was Chicago. Got a great NBA ready guard out of Ben Gordon and then they got, at #7 via Phoenix, who I thought they'd get at #3 with Luol Deng. But, all in all, 2 great young players right there who could possibly produce next year for them. Another winner was Dallas. They now have their point guard of the future in Devin Harris. Also got that huge Pavel Podkolzine guy (or whatever his name is), whom I don't know that much about, but, apparently could be something. And, if all else, with getting Pavel or whatever his name is, they might have done so to use as more bait in the Shaq thing so they don't have to rid themselves of Dirk. Also, I'd be willing to bet that's what Stack and Laettner are for also. Final winnner, Delonte West. I thought this kid was nuts when he decided to go draft. I definitely thought that he'd be dropping to the middle 2nd round. But, Boston decided to take the risk on him and picked him up late 1st. Good for the kid. Now lets see if he's actually ready for the league. Losers time. Firstly, the Raptors. Wanted Harris or Gordon, got neither. And, who the hell is the guy they drafted? Rafael Araujo? I was surprised along with probably everyone else by that pick. Granted they do need a big body, but, I don't know. I think they might have been better off with just going after Andre Iguodala. Or, if they needed a point guard so bad, cause apparently they did, why not go after Jameer Nelson? Sorry, still bitter about his drop. But, also, if they wanted a big man, they could have also gone after Robert Swift or Kris Humphries. But, oh well. I don't know much about Araujo so I can't slam on them too much. Other loser, MIAMI!!!! What in gods name were they thinking? They need a point guard, and, quite frankly, they should have taken one. Jameer Nelson was sitting right there for the taking. They SHOULD HAVE TAKEN HIM!!!! Instead, they go after a guy who will likely be a project. Oh well. Their loss I suppose. We'll see later on if they are a true loser if Alston doesn't resign or if they don't resign him.
The biggest loser is obviously Toronto. It would literally be the biggest benefit of our franchise if he was productive in any way for the Raptors. Apparently, it seems like Vince is pissed over our pick, and he said he would want to be traded, but said it through his agent. It has to be false... http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/S.../24/511987.html
Chungster, Toronto was right to pick Rafael Araujo. Babcock picked him to lessen the load on CB4 who was always forced to play Centre against players 50 pounds more than him. Now we can put Araujo at Centre and put Bosh at his natural 4 position making the possibilities of a break out season go up 100 %.
wtwalker77: I understand from your perspective that this may look like a bad draft, but as a celtic fan and someone who's kept a fairly close eye on the draft proceedings (which you have also ) I think we rated B for this draft. Jefferson was the #2 overall guy on our board. We got him after Swift unexpectedly was taken by Seattle. Unexpected, but Jefferson will be a quality player, IMO, potentially in less time than it takes Swift to develop. Plus he's more of a banger, which we coveted anyways. West and Allen caught everyone by surprise, but they make sense. West is a lefty with good court sense. Allen is a gifted defensive player. Both fit our intended system well. We needed another pg anyways, although Allen may be looked at a superfluous. With the loss of guys like EWill last year, back up defensive presences are things the C's need if they intend to try to play a high rotation, uptempo, trapping game. Both guys have good Tourney experience to boot and both played well in those tourneys. People will argue that they are too short, but both guys have longer wingspans than normal: 6'6" and 6'9" respectively. If you can't get by with that as a guard, you simply can't get by at all. IMO, people were expecting Ainge to do more than he was capable of realistically doing, based on the fact that far too many people think he's a boob who doesn't know what he's doing. When he didn't pull off a block buster to refute that last thought, people lessened thier perspective on his choices,IMO. With the exception of Reed, (who I admittedly know nothing about, but am told he's viewed as a better potentialed Brandon Hunter) all 3 of these picks were solid and purposeful, which is more than I can say for recent previous drafts.
<u>Winners</u> Dallas: First making that trade helped big time. They got a real nice PG, arguably the best in the draft, Devin Harris. Devin is a guard that right off the bat will do something in the NBA. Then they got Podkolzine. How in the hell did Pavel drop all the way down to pick #21? I had him going at #5 to the Mavs. They also drafted Luis Flores who was a big time scorer for Manhattan in the NCAA. Very nice draft for the Mavs. Atlanta: Maybe some people diagree with me, I know one site has them with a draft grade of a C, but I think they had a very nice draft. First, Josh Childress whom most people thought he would fall but got grabbed by the Hawks. Next, Josh Smith. Jay Bilas says Josh is nothing without his left hand and is most likely to be a bust. Let's see if Smith can prove him wrong. They also drafted Royal Ivey. If your looking for a great defensive guard, he's your man. Donta Smith was also drafted by them. I didn't think he was going to be drafted when he declared, but he did something in his workouts and improved his stock. LA Clippers: They drafted 2 very nice guards, one at #4 and one in the 2nd round. Shaun Livingston is a huge guard, I think 6'7" and people don't think right off of the bat he will do good but in the future he will be awsome. I wish he would make an impact now. Lionel Chalmers from Xavier was picked by them. He had a great final season for the Musketeers and a good draft choice by the Clips. New Orleans Hornets: They needed shooting and boy did they get it. They got arueably the 2 best shooters in this draft, J.R. Smith and Tim Pickett. We all know about J.R. Smith, Co-MVP in the All-American game. Tim Pickett put on some great shooting games in the ACC for Florida State. Watch for them to make an impact for the Hornets in the backcourt. <u>Losers:</u> All of the losers that everyone mentioned.....
Winners --------------------- I say Chicago,despite having high picks they didnt take high school kids,they are probally timred of waiting for hs players to develop.(Curry,Chandler)They drafted a versatile player in Ben Gorgon and Luol Deng and they got Chris Duhon. I think my Sixers got a steal in Andre Iguodala but they I wish thye would have had more picks. Losers --------------- Everbody who needed a pg and looked over Jameer Nelson.
All this salary cap dumping by Phoenix is going to blow up in their face when they realize they can't sign any all-stars. They're going to end up pulling a Jerry Krause, signing a marginal player like Ron Mercer to a big contract. They're already positioning like they know Kobe or T-Mac is coming.. In the end, their fans will suffer.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting johnny33:</div><div class="quote_post">All this salary cap dumping by Phoenix is going to blow up in their face when they realize they can't sign any all-stars. They're going to end up pulling a Jerry Krause, signing a marginal player like Ron Mercer to a big contract. They're already positioning like they know Kobe or T-Mac is coming.. In the end, their fans will suffer.</div> I disagree. Even if they don't attract a huge name like Kobe, they have the dough to throw at Steve Nash, who with Devin Harris going to Dallas, would be no better than a 50/50 proposition to stay in Texas. With Marion and Johnson manning the swingmen positions, and Lampe to develop, there wasn't a huge need to hold onto seven. Vrones is a steal, and if it gets them closer to Kobe you can't blame them.
Chicago and Orlando did great in the draft. As far as Rafael Araujo goes...he did good in the tourney, and if he starts working out NOW instead of pulling a Darko Milicic (because everyone knows Darko needs some muscle), then Araujo will be pulling down boards because he's actually pretty aggressive underneath the hoop...although he doesn't look like an aggressive player
I agree with all of you that Aroujo was taken too early, but Toronto plays in the East and everyone knows that once you get a bigman in the east you become an elite team in the East. If Aroujo pans out, he can make the Raptors a consistent playoff team. Also, Robert Swift was not a reach. Had he gone to college for a year or two he would have been a top 10 lock, maybe even top 5. The sonics do not seem to be going anywhere this year, but by next year this guy could be a star and help this team reach the playoffs.
The Mavs lost by letting go Jamison. He is one player who will never complain and always take his role with a smile. Unlike Antoine Walker's pudgy self who whines more than a littl kid at a dinner theater. It would have been smarter to trade Walker.
