Tonight were the first two rounds of the NBA draft and they gave me a lot to talk about. Lots of interesting picks and a tonne of story lines. Let's get right to it:
Breaking the Rules
OK well he didn't officially break the rules he just worked around them. I am of course talking about Brandon Jennings who instead of spending the mandatory 1 year in college opted to play professional basketball in Italy. Many thought that this would hurt Jennings' stock in the draft as no one got to see him play but he ended up going 10th to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Everyone was watching Jennings to see where he would go because if he fell below 20th then his little experiment would have failed. But he went 10th and now has shown youngsters that they no longer need school and can just go to Europe.
I am alright with this because I feel the minimum in college should be 2 years or not at all. What Jennings did may not be in his best interest for the future but for now it seems to have worked.
On Guard
This year an NBA record was broken as 17 of the first 30 picks were guards. Picks 4-7 were all point guards as were picks 17-21 and in total there were 11 point guards picked in the 1st round. This is pretty telling of the current state of the NBA as it is no longer a leage dominated by big men as it was in the 70s and 80s. Now it is all about guards who can slash into the lane and then kick out for open looks.
In a league where so many teams has shitty centers only 2 were drafted in the 1st round. The most startling thing is how important a good center is. Look at the NBA Finals. Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard, who are two of the best centers in the league, were there and played big roles. I find it odd more teams don't try and get better centers.
NY Fans Show No Class
What is wrong with the people of New York? Do they have any class what so ever? They boo'd when the Knicks picked Jordan Hill because they wanted Stephen Curry. Idiocy. Hill is a great player but because he isn't from NY he gets treated like shit by the fans. Curry won't even be that good of a pro in my opinion as he is way too small and is viciously over hyped by the media. Yes he put up big numbers but that was at Davidson.
The fans aren't like this only at the NBA draft either as every year you can expect Giants and Jets fans to be booing whoever their teams pick no matter what. Jets fans boo'd when they took Nick Mangold and now he is a Pro Bowl player. Smarten up assholes. The Knicks blow and any player you bring in to help you should be praised.
Shaq Not Gonna Do It
I am sorry to all those bandwagon Cavs fans out there but Shaq isn't gonna win you a championship next year. Yes he can still put up his numbers (17.4 ppg 8.2 rpg in 72 games last season) but his defense is lacking.
The reason the Cavs lost to the Magic was because they couldn't defend the pick and roll of Orlando. Now they bring in Shaq who couldn't stop the pick and roll if his life depended on it. Seriously if you are reading this now keep this in mind, the next person you see after reading this and yourself could run the pick and roll on Shaq, it's that bad.
Bringing in Shaq is a good way to make your fans happy but it won't get the job done. It may have worked 4 months ago but now it's just a hope.
International Flavor
The NBA is truly an international game and its reach was expanded tonight as two players, Hasheem Thabeet and Omar Casspi, became the first men to represent their home countries in NBA history. Thabeet for Tanzia and Casspi for Israel. Each year the NBA gets more and more international stars and this year was no different as Thabeet and Ricky Rubio made sure more superstars will be from outside the USA.
Value Picks
A lot of guys fell really far tonight and teams were able to pick players they never dreamed would still be available. Here are just a few of the better value picks that were made:
Jordan Hill at 8
Jrue Holiday at 17
Wayne Ellington at 28
DeJuan Blair at 37
Blair is the biggest, both literally and figuratively, as many experts had him going in the top 20. I am not exactly sure why he fell so hard but the Spurs somehow got him at 37 and that is an absolute steal.
Trades
There were a few trades today and yesterday. Some big names moved and I am sure more trades will be coming soon. Here is a recap:
- The Hawks acquired guard Jamal Crawford from the Golden State Warriors on Thursday for guards Acie Law and Speedy Claxton
- The Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to send Darko Milicic to the New York Knicks for Quentin Richardson and cash considerations.
- The Denver Nuggets have traded a future first-round draft pick to Minnesota for the rights to North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson.
- The New Jersey Nets have traded Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson to the Orlando Magic for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee.
Something That May Interest Only Me
Tonight Ricky Rubio became the first person to ever be selected in the NBA draft that was born in the 90s. He was born in 1990 and is only 18 years old. When I first heard this it made me feel really old even though I am only 22. All these damn punk kids making something out of their lives and having millions of dollars. Its just the worst.
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Don't forget that tomorrow night I will be doing my running diary of the NHL draft starting at 6:45pm EST. Just keep clicking refresh allll night.
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