New Jersey Nets - I can't believe Brooke Lopez fell to the Nets at #10. He was easily the best big man in the draft, yes I include Kevin Love in that, and teams who really need help with interior scoring passed on him over and over. Your telling me that the Memphis Grizzlies who's current starting center is Kwame Brown couldn't use Lopez? He has a great offensive game with the ability to score in bunches and can also rebound real well. He missed the first half of the NCAA season due to academic problems but came back fierce and against excellent competition to average 12.6 ppg and 6 rpg. He is going to make the teams that didn't select him regret it mark my words.
The Nets were also able to make another steal getting Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis at #40. Douglas-Roberts is a polished player and should have very little trouble making the transition from NCAA to NBA. His winning attitude and scoring ability should help fill the void left by Richard Jefferson.
The Golden State Warriors - GM Chris Mullin should have worn a mask last night because he stole Anthony Randolph with the #14 pick. Randolph's stock dropped a bit as people felt that he was too skinny too play effectively in the NBA but he could easily be the next Chris Bosh. At LSU he averaged 15.6 ppg and 8.5 rbg so we know that he can play.
The Miami Heat - Lucky for the Heat the Bulls needed a point and Michael Beasley fell to them at #2. Beasley is by far the best player in the draft and should be an excellent NBA player for a long time. He is only the 2nd Kansas State player to be named as a First Team All-American, the other being Carlos Boozer, and he also got Kansas State out of the 1st round of March Madness. Beasley was one of the most dominant players in the country, averaging 26.5 points (third-ranked nationally) and 12.5 rebounds per game (top-ranked nationally). He broke the freshman double-double record previously held by Carmelo Anthony. Anthony had 22 double-doubles while Beasley finished 28.
Losers
NY Knick Fans - Booing your teams first round pick just because you have never seen him play and he is an international player is just ignorant. Danilo Gallinari became the 1st international player selected in the 1st round by the NY Knicks in franchise history and didn't get a warm response from the fans. Let me just say that this kid can flat out play and against better competition than is provided in the NCAA. He is NBA ready and is better than most of the scrubs the Knicks call players anyway. Hopefully he has a great season and turns all those boos into cheers. I thought a lot of Italians lived in NY.
The Minnesota Timberwolves - You drafted OJ Mayo and then traded him for Kevin Love. What were you smoking? OJ Mayo has the potential to be a franchise guard and the Timberwolves could use a franchise guard right about now. By trading for Love you now have a good front court, Love and Al Jefferson, but it is undersized and will force Jefferson to continue playing center. The Timberwolves did also get Mike Miller who has one of the nicest shots in the NBA and also dumped the contract of Marko Jaric so I guess that is a positive but still a foolish move. Mayo has all the potential in the world and could very well be the next Kobe Bryant you don't pass that up.
Basketball Fans - Didn't get to see nearly enough of Stephen A. Smith who in my opinion is the best basketball analyst on television. He tells it like it is and isn't afraid of the consequences which is the perfect combo for draft day when teams make questionable decisions. Instead of being part of the analyst team he was demoted to interviewing the players which robbed him of the ability to be himself and ask creative questions. You could tell he was being forced to ask, "What are you going to bring to the [insert team]?" Instead of Stephen A fans were forced to listen to the bland Jeff van Gundy who said about 3 words all night. Come on ESPN step your game up next time and let Stephen A do his thing.
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