| Evaluating the NBA Draft |
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 Jonathan Lee - AccuScore Analyst
The 2008 NBA Draft is over. There is of course no way to truly analyze how teams did for another three or four years, but here is some instant analysis anyways based on the information currently available. A flurry of deals led to plenty of player movement among draftees and veteran players as well. Teams are listed alphabetically. ATLANTA HAWKS Atlanta did not have a first round pick because of the 2005 trade for Joe Johnson. The team is still very young so drafting another player was not necessary. The Hawks need to focus on resigning Josh Smith and Josh Childress and finding a veteran free agent or two. BOSTON CELTICS Obviously there was no way to top what Danny Ainge did last season so there will be a long grace period in Boston. Giddens and Walker bring even more athleticism to the wing positions. Walker in particular could pay off in the long-term if he can recover from multiple knee injuries. He could be the eventual defensive replacement for James Posey. CHARLOTTE BOBCATS This was an interesting first pick by the Bobcats as they put Raymond Felton on the market by taking Augustin. I think Augustin is the better player because of his ability to shoot, but I don’t think this was the best use of assets in the draft. Picking center Brook Lopez probably would have been a better fit because he would bring the true size and interior scoring ability that isn’t currently on the roster. The team also bought the number 20 pick and took a major French project in Ajinca. He just seems like a physical freak, but not a real basketball player as he averaged just five points in the lower level French league. The best pick here was taking Weaver who is a Larry Brown kind of player. He will defend and do all the little things that help teams win. CHICAGO BULLS The Bulls got the payoff for their lottery luck in the form of hometown boy turned star point guard Derrick Rose. Now they can build the roster knowing that they have their point guard for the next decade. Rose is big and athletic, and is a true floor general that eventually will be a threat to score himself. With a logjam in the backcourt, look for more moves coming out of Chicago this summer. Asik may take awhile to come over to the NBA due to contract issues, but statistically he graded out as one of the best center prospects in this draft. It cost Chicago three second rounders to secure his rights. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS Hickson is a nice piece with good potential as a low-post scorer. He isn’t however the answer for the Cavs, and he certainly won’t be enough by himself to convince LeBron to stick around when his contract is up in a couple of years. This is another team that really could have used Darrell Arthur or Mario Chalmers but chose to pass on both players. DALLAS MAVERICKS Foster can shoot the lights out, but that is about it (other than singing on YouTube). I don’t think he’ll make the roster. What Dallas really needed was to get younger, but they won’t be able to do that because of the Jason Kidd trade which will continue to haunt this franchise for years. DENVER NUGGETS Denver clearly is not a contender out West. They need a culture change which will require dealing either Carmelo Anthony or Allen Iverson. The Nuggets dealt their only pick (20) to the Bobcats, but had they kept it they could have selected a number of players that could have helped them immediately including former Kansas stars Mario Chalmers or Darrell Arthur. DETROIT PISTONS Joe Dumars took D.J. White at the end of the first, but ended up trading him to Seattle. Trent Plaisted is probably just as good though neither will be anything more than a bench player. Sharpe came out after just his sophomore year and is a risk. He was ruled academically ineligible for UAB midseason but he does have talent. In the end, there won’t be much coming out of this draft for the Pistons. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS Not sure what Chris Mullin was thinking at the end of the lottery other than trying to pick a player at his appropriate position in the draft. Randolph is super talented and was projected to go very high, but he duplicates last year’s selection of Brandan Wright. Wright didn’t get any burn for Don Nelson last season so why would Randoph? The skinny forward out of LSU is years away from being physically mature enough to play in the league. If he does eventually become a star I predict it won’t be with the Warriors. This makes it two straight years of wasted picks. HOUSTON ROCKETS This would have been the perfect team to take and keep Darrell Arthur. He would have given the Rockets what they desperately need: two-way production at the power forward spot. Instead he was acquired and dealt away eventually turning into shooting forward Donte Greene. He’s got plenty of potential, but appears to be very one-dimensional and needs to mature physically and mentally in his approach to the game. The selection of Dorsey also puzzles me because he duplicates both Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry, both of whom have proven to be capable defensive forwards. Leunen is a player that will surprise some people with his terrific offensive skills. I think he plays a long time in this league. INDIANA PACERS Talk about sibling rivalry. Brandon Rush comes to Indiana in a trade, and will essentially replace his brother Kareem at the two guard spot. How’s that for brotherly love. Rush was acquired through a pre-arranged trade with Portland (sending away Jerryd Bayless) as the roster continues to take shape after the Jermaine O’Neal trade. Larry Bird has turned over half the roster in a matter of days, and now the Pacers can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I never bought the hype of the past two years that Hibbert was a dominant post player but he should be a rotation player in the NBA. That is good value in the second half of the first round. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS The shunned step-child in L.A. had a mixed bag on draft night. Gordon is a shooter and big-time scorer, but I question whether he is a star in this league. He’s short for a two (6-foot-3) and has no point guard skills or mid-range game. The better choice would have been Jerryd Bayless who is just as good a scorer and shooter, but has a more diverse game with the ability to attack the basket and play a little at the one. The second round was better as the Clippers grabbed Jordan who was once considered a lottery lock. He’s a great gamble there. The team also traded for Taylor which is another nice gamble. Taylor has an interesting story having been draft-eligible after playing in the NBDL last season so he is more ready to step in and contribute than most players his age, and he will face very little competition at point guard. LOS ANGELES LAKERS L.A. traded away its first round pick as part of the Pau Gasol deal, so I’d say that worked out o.k. Crawford does have one very good skill which is scoring the basketball. That should give him an outside shot of making the roster which is not too bad for the third to last pick overall. MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES Memphis got the man they wanted in Mayo, but the roster now looks like a minor league team. Outside of Mayo, Rudy Gay, and maybe Mike Conley there isn’t much left on the roster. Poor Arthur got burned by some bogus medical reports, and ended up being traded three times on draft night. That has to be some sort of record. The good news is that in Memphis he can lay claim to the power forward spot as I think he should have gone top-10 on talent alone. He was dominant against Florida two years ago and in the Final Four this year. Kid can play, and he will prove it at the NBA level. MIAMI HEAT The Heat are big winners never mind that Pat Riley seemed to actually desperately want O.J. Mayo. Miami found one superstar, one potential starting point guard, and a rotation big man. Great draft. Beasley will be able to score in the NBA from day one, and help carry the load for Dwyane Wade. Chalmers I think can be a starting point guard, and at the very least will be a strong back-up. He can shoot, plays up in big games, and is as good a backcourt defender in the draft this side of Russell Westbrook. Jackson greatly improved over the last two seasons at Kansas. Even though he was often forgotten among his high profile teammates, he was very productive and was underrated by many. He is a steal so late in the second round. MILWAUKEE BUCKS Milwaukee looks like it is playing for now going by the trade for Richard Jefferson (in exchange for Yi) before the draft. Obviously the team thought they needed a small forward ending up with three new players at that position after draft night. Alexander is a long-term pick who can play behind and learn from Jefferson as he matures. Mbah a Moute will be a role player in the league, but is a fantastic defender which will earn his a roster spot for sure. Desmond Mason should probably be polishing up his resume as he has to be on the way out considering three players were brought in to play his position. The Bucks still need a big man to board and play defense but they did improve their team and should battle for a playoff spot. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES Kevin McHale fell in love with a player that is almost a carbon copy of himself so much so that he traded for him. He sent away O.J. Mayo and in return got UCLA star Kevin Love along with shooter Mike Miller in a larger deal with several other moving parts. I like this end of the deal more as Miller is a good NBA player, and will help stretch the floor for Love and Al Jefferson. The backcourt is still hard to figure out in Minnesota, but while Mayo would have been an upgrade, he wasn’t the sole answer. Now Minny can find out if Rashad McCants and Randy Foye are legit players now that they should be healthy for a full season. Solid draft for the T-Wolves. NEW JERSEY NETS The Nets might as well put up a giant sign in Brooklyn that says: LeBron James, coming in 2010. The trade of Richard Jefferson for Yi Jianlian means they will be able to give a max contract in two seasons and that can only mean they have one target. The Nets weren’t going anywhere with their team so I like the fact they realized that and are smartly trying to rebuild. Brook Lopez is a huge human being, and he can score in the interior. Ryan Anderson is also gifted offensively, but he duplicates Yi so it’ll be interesting to see how that shakes out. Getting Chris Douglas-Roberts so low was a pleasant surprise, and he should also slot right into the rotation for this team. The Nets won’t be very good next season but they now have several intriguing pieces and are wisely building for a future run. NEW ORLEANS HORNETS The Hornets are a young and up-and-coming team. I’m strongly opposed to simply selling away draft picks (how well has that strategy worked out for Phoenix?) which is what the team did this year. They still need an upgrade at shooting guard and probably could use another tough guy up front. NEW YORK KNICKS Gallinari was roundly booed by the fans at Madison Square Garden, but none of those people have seen him play. He was highly productive in the EuroLeague the past two seasons which means he probably won’t be just another international bust like Darko Milicic or Nikoloz Tskitishvili. He might be a bit of a tweener right now needing to work more on his perimeter skills to play the three and gain strength to play the four. Eventually he should be a match-up nightmare for opposing defenses, but the wait shouldn’t be too long. Gallinari is not some four year international project. Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni wouldn’t have picked him if they didn’t think he could play and soon. Now if they could just find someway to trade Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry, and Zach Randolph they’d be sitting pretty. ORLANDO MAGIC I think Lee is being underrated by the casual fan because he played his college ball at Western Kentucky. In reality he dominated the Sun Belt conference for four years shooting 40 percent from 3-point range over his career. There was a reason the Hilltoppers made the Sweet Sixteen and gave UCLA a scare in the tournament. The best thing about this pick is that Lee should be ready from Day 1 to start in the back court and give Dwight Howard another scorer to kick the ball out of the post to. The Magic desperately needed a rebounding power forward as well, but Lee covers their other major hole in the backcourt. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS Maurice Cheeks is going to have his work cut out for him once again. Speights is extremely talented being one of the best offensive forwards in the draft. He is however wildly inconsistent and is said to have a very questionable work ethic. That sounds a lot like former Bulls big Michael Sweetney who was a gifted post scorer but ate himself out of the league after just four seasons. Speights fills a need, but carries a huge risk factor with him. PHOENIX SUNS The Suns have finally realized keeping draft picks is probably a good idea if you want to get some young talented players. Lopez fills a need as an energy big man. He can defend and block shots, and has a developing low post game. He’s shown flashes on the offensive end but will need time to grow, something the Suns don’t really have with the career clocks of Steve Nash and Shaq ticking furiously. Hairston can do it all on the offensive end, and could find a role as an offensive bench player. He is also younger than your typical college senior so he still have plenty of room for improvement. PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS General manager Kevin Pritchard really is a wheeler and dealer. Portland had five picks to start the draft, and ended it with the two players it wanted plus four more future selections. Given how much talent is already on the roster that is terrific considering there isn’t room for more players anyhow. Bayless can shoot, and he gives them an athletic player in the backcourt. He fits perfectly because he is not a true point but that doesn’t matter as Brandon Roy can help with the ball-handling and distribution duties. Batum has upside, but won’t be ready to contribute for a couple years and its hard to see what his role will be with Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster still on the roster. Getting Bayless at the end of the lottery though was a coup SACRAMENTO KINGS The Kings pulled the real shocker of the draft grabbing Thompson in the late lottery. He was rumored to be the Warriors pick at 14, but that still doesn’t make the selection any less shocking. Thompson put up great stats at Rider, and I like him as a rotation player in the league. It’s more of a what you see is what you get situation which is a bit underwhelming this high in the draft. Picking Ewing Jr. was a throw-away in the second round. He has no shot to play in the NBA. A project international player that they could wait on would have been a better option. SAN ANTONIO SPURS It’s hard to criticize the Spurs given their fantastic draft record over the years, but I didn’t like what they did here. Hill is a nice player and he should make the roster as a back-up point guard but this seemed a logical landing spot for Mario Chalmers. Gist is athletic, but has very few skills and has very long odds of ever making the NBA. If Tiaggo Splitter doesn’t come over and Hill doesn’t make the team, the Spurs won’t have any players it drafted in the past three seasons on its roster. They need a bigger influx of talent. Chalmers was definitely a guy that could play off the bench at the minimum. SEATTLE SUPERSONICS Many people think four was too high to take Westbrook, but I agree with the selection. He has more potential than every other guard taken after him when you consider the type of athlete he is and rate of improvement. Westbrook is already a premium defender, something that can’t be said of the other backcourt options available like Bayless or Gordon. He is also often compared to Rajon Rondo, but he already has a better offensive game than the Celtics point guard with his ability to finish in transition and natural passing vision. His shooting is inconsistent at this point, and his ball-handling needs work but remember that he is a full-year younger than O.J. Mayo who was picked immediately before him. Westbrook will fit perfectly in Seattle. GM Sam Presti also seems to be trying to make up for the franchise’s past big men mistakes by stock-piling four post players later in the draft. White probably can contribute this year, and Hardin can play defense as well. This may spell the end for the likes of Johan Petro, Robert Swift, and Saer Sene. TORONTO RAPTORS The Raptors gave up their mid-first rounder to trade for Jermaine O’Neal. I already went over the trade for Toronto and gave it my stamp of approval. The pick ended up being Roy Hibbert, and O’Neal is clearly the better player. Jawai gives them a nice long-term project that was rumored to be a late first-rounder. I like the way the roster is shaping up for the team up north. UTAH JAZZ Koufos at 23 is a value pick as he shot up the boards with a string of strong workouts. I think he’s got a huge bust element to him, as he’s a soft seven footer that doesn’t like to play in the paint, a poor man’s Mehmet Okur who ironically he will be backing up in Utah. It’s not a good sign when you’re also compared to Darko Milicic and turn the ball over three times as much as you dish out assists. Yikes. Tomic is reportedly talented so that could pay off in three or four years, and even draft experts hadn’t heard of Dragicevic. Luckily Utah is already one of the best teams in the NBA, but they didn’t help themselves in this draft. WASHINGTON WIZARDS Ummm…what? How is McGee any different from the other project the Wizards currently have in Andray Blatche who I think is more talented anyways? Washington stood pat, and also traded away its second round pick (Bill Walker) acting as if it were a ready-made contender. Their inability to get out of the first round says otherwise. Washington management clearly doesn’t get that just making the playoffs and making a quick exit isn’t the goal in the NBA. Trackback(0)
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