Getting Warmed Up
As I type this post the 2005 NBA Draft is only a few hours away. And outside of the Bogut and Williams family, nobody has a big hard on than me. I have no idea why I love it so much, but I have watched every second of the last 10 or so drafts. Most of them are horribly disappointing and guys never wind up with the team that drafted them. The NBA trades more draft rights than Larry Brown coaching stops. All that happens is over hyped and under scouted foreigners and high schoolers get picked, and Dick Vitale will do an interview raving about the new proposed age limit, Tim Duncan staying fours years in college, and how he & JJ Reddick just got back from the Mayo Clinic and have figured out a way for them to conceive a child together. Oh boy, this is gone be a great night.
Before we go any further we need to of course talk about the coat hanger abortion that is the Isaiah Thomas led New York Knicks. Now Danny and Martin, this is what an actual terrible franchise looks like (of course being in Blue & Orange I figured you Met fans would already know that, Dan Filowitz don’t laugh at Mets fans pain, there is a Rich Kotite joking coming around the bend). It still appears that the Kurt Thomas for Quentin Richardson trade will happen. That will give the Knicks a third malcontent who wants to shoot every possession in their backcourt. Good job Isaiah, while you are at why don’t you draft another 6’7 Power Forward, the Knicks need that like Jet fan’s need another season of Rich Kotite coaching their squad. It seems as if the Knicks are going to draft Channing Frye or Andrew Bynum. These guys combined don’t make a good player. Frye is softer than former Heavyweight Champ Frank Bruno. And Bynum is a project to say the least. He most likely would have come off the bench for UConn next year, but alas in Isaiah we Trust.
Now we get to some players I like and players I dislike.
Raymond Felton. I love the heart this guy has. He has won Championships everywhere he has been. He led tiny Latta High to a state title, various undermanned South Carolina AAU teams to titles, and his overall improvement in all facets of his game was key to North Carolina’s title run. He has improved his shooting every year and he is a ball hawking defender. He has great savvy and leadership, any team will be lucky to have him. Charlotte may pick him at 4, but if he slips past there look for the Lakers at 10, that would be a nice fit.
Charlie Villanueva. This guy is awesome, I had a chance to meet Sean May last week and all he could do was rave about how Villanueva killed he (May) and Wayne Simien in a bunch of workouts they had together. He rebounds as well as anyone in the draft, and Jim Calhoun players always seem to have a great understanding of the game. Villanueva’s inside game improved at UConn, but originally he thought of declaring out of high school and his perimeter skills for a 6’10 guy were unbelievable. Most mock drafts have him projected as the 10 pick to the Lakers, but I see no reason the Knicks shouldn’t draft him, except for the fact that they are the Knicks.
Francisco Garcia. To me he is the most complete player in the draft, but maybe that is some of the problem. GM’s don’t see a great deal of improvement, but where Garcia is now is hard to improve on. He has torched the nets with his long range shooting during workouts. He is versatile and as good a defender as there is in the draft. I think if he falls anywhere past the lottery every GM should be killed. Toronto at pick 7 needs a small forward (but they like high schooler Gerald Greene), Golden State at 9 may give him a look, but other great fits would be Minnesota at 14 and Charlotte who have 2 first round picks.
Other guys I look for in the first round that could be a good fit for certain teams are; Ryan Gomes, Hakim Warrick, Sean May, and Danny Granger.
The second round is harder to predict, but I think there are talented guys who can help in the second round. Florida’s Matt Walsh and David Lee both are hard workers and relentless selfless players. I think they will both play in the league as role players. Travis Deiner and Daniel Ewing are winners, and they can be good additions to playoff teams. Lastly the biggest upside second round players are Randolph Morris, Kennedy Winston, and Brandon Bass. Yes they are all SEC guys, and I am biased.
Here are some guys I just don’t like, all for various reasons. Joey Graham seems to be a tweener. Not sure of he has the overall perimeter skills to compete offensively. Chris Paul is someone I have never liked. All basketball coach’s I know love everything about this guy, but I do not see it. I think his shooting is a big question mark and I am not sure what kind of leader he is. He seems to be very similar to Stephon Marbury to me. Antoine Wright of Texas a & M is another guy who I just seem unfamiliar with. He seems to have shot up the board with great individual workouts, but I like guys who make me notice them during a game, and Wright has never done that to me.
Most of the High School guys seem drastically unprepared. They are so set on going to the league after they have one good AAU Tournament and then they shut themselves down. Lewis Williams out of Georgia had the entire buzz around him last summer, but after a mediocre senior campaign he has lost some luster. Gerald Greene cam on during the seasons as did Monte Ellis, but I am not sure if these guys can contribute right away. And we all know that big guys never pan out early, so it will be a tough climb for Andrew Bynum and Andre Blatch. The one guy who seems NBA Ready is Martell Webster, he is big strong and super athletic.
All in all it should be a fun evening. Be sure to check out tonight’s draft diary tomorrow morning. Remember all the fun we had last year (http://krisdeblasioswisdom.blogspot.com/2004/06/initial-1st-round-thoughts.html#comments and http://krisdeblasioswisdom.blogspot.com/2004/06/official-kris-deblasio-nba-draft.html#comments). Also noticed that I did not mention any foreigner’s. I hate all those greasy headed big nosed leather jacket wearing homos!!!!
Before we go any further we need to of course talk about the coat hanger abortion that is the Isaiah Thomas led New York Knicks. Now Danny and Martin, this is what an actual terrible franchise looks like (of course being in Blue & Orange I figured you Met fans would already know that, Dan Filowitz don’t laugh at Mets fans pain, there is a Rich Kotite joking coming around the bend). It still appears that the Kurt Thomas for Quentin Richardson trade will happen. That will give the Knicks a third malcontent who wants to shoot every possession in their backcourt. Good job Isaiah, while you are at why don’t you draft another 6’7 Power Forward, the Knicks need that like Jet fan’s need another season of Rich Kotite coaching their squad. It seems as if the Knicks are going to draft Channing Frye or Andrew Bynum. These guys combined don’t make a good player. Frye is softer than former Heavyweight Champ Frank Bruno. And Bynum is a project to say the least. He most likely would have come off the bench for UConn next year, but alas in Isaiah we Trust.
Now we get to some players I like and players I dislike.
Raymond Felton. I love the heart this guy has. He has won Championships everywhere he has been. He led tiny Latta High to a state title, various undermanned South Carolina AAU teams to titles, and his overall improvement in all facets of his game was key to North Carolina’s title run. He has improved his shooting every year and he is a ball hawking defender. He has great savvy and leadership, any team will be lucky to have him. Charlotte may pick him at 4, but if he slips past there look for the Lakers at 10, that would be a nice fit.
Charlie Villanueva. This guy is awesome, I had a chance to meet Sean May last week and all he could do was rave about how Villanueva killed he (May) and Wayne Simien in a bunch of workouts they had together. He rebounds as well as anyone in the draft, and Jim Calhoun players always seem to have a great understanding of the game. Villanueva’s inside game improved at UConn, but originally he thought of declaring out of high school and his perimeter skills for a 6’10 guy were unbelievable. Most mock drafts have him projected as the 10 pick to the Lakers, but I see no reason the Knicks shouldn’t draft him, except for the fact that they are the Knicks.
Francisco Garcia. To me he is the most complete player in the draft, but maybe that is some of the problem. GM’s don’t see a great deal of improvement, but where Garcia is now is hard to improve on. He has torched the nets with his long range shooting during workouts. He is versatile and as good a defender as there is in the draft. I think if he falls anywhere past the lottery every GM should be killed. Toronto at pick 7 needs a small forward (but they like high schooler Gerald Greene), Golden State at 9 may give him a look, but other great fits would be Minnesota at 14 and Charlotte who have 2 first round picks.
Other guys I look for in the first round that could be a good fit for certain teams are; Ryan Gomes, Hakim Warrick, Sean May, and Danny Granger.
The second round is harder to predict, but I think there are talented guys who can help in the second round. Florida’s Matt Walsh and David Lee both are hard workers and relentless selfless players. I think they will both play in the league as role players. Travis Deiner and Daniel Ewing are winners, and they can be good additions to playoff teams. Lastly the biggest upside second round players are Randolph Morris, Kennedy Winston, and Brandon Bass. Yes they are all SEC guys, and I am biased.
Here are some guys I just don’t like, all for various reasons. Joey Graham seems to be a tweener. Not sure of he has the overall perimeter skills to compete offensively. Chris Paul is someone I have never liked. All basketball coach’s I know love everything about this guy, but I do not see it. I think his shooting is a big question mark and I am not sure what kind of leader he is. He seems to be very similar to Stephon Marbury to me. Antoine Wright of Texas a & M is another guy who I just seem unfamiliar with. He seems to have shot up the board with great individual workouts, but I like guys who make me notice them during a game, and Wright has never done that to me.
Most of the High School guys seem drastically unprepared. They are so set on going to the league after they have one good AAU Tournament and then they shut themselves down. Lewis Williams out of Georgia had the entire buzz around him last summer, but after a mediocre senior campaign he has lost some luster. Gerald Greene cam on during the seasons as did Monte Ellis, but I am not sure if these guys can contribute right away. And we all know that big guys never pan out early, so it will be a tough climb for Andrew Bynum and Andre Blatch. The one guy who seems NBA Ready is Martell Webster, he is big strong and super athletic.
All in all it should be a fun evening. Be sure to check out tonight’s draft diary tomorrow morning. Remember all the fun we had last year (http://krisdeblasioswisdom.blogspot.com/2004/06/initial-1st-round-thoughts.html#comments and http://krisdeblasioswisdom.blogspot.com/2004/06/official-kris-deblasio-nba-draft.html#comments). Also noticed that I did not mention any foreigner’s. I hate all those greasy headed big nosed leather jacket wearing homos!!!!
2 Comments:
I love Kotite jokes. I can't wait for Filo-Dan's response.
Don't forget us Eagles fans, we too know the pain of a Rich Kotite coached season.
The Flying Turd-Fish
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