Student Blog: NBA Draft Mistakes & King of Pop

For the last couple of years, I thought that NBA scouts and general managers weren’t as dim-witted as their NFL counterparts. Turns out, I was wrong. My realization began with pick number three of this year’s NBA draft, when the Thunder missed out on becoming the most exciting team in basketball by skipping over Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio for James Harden. Then, after Rubio was picked fifth by Minnesota and common sense seemed to return, new GM David Kahn made the insane decision to pick a six-foot-with-shoes-on point guard (Johnny Flynn) to somehow play alongside a pure point guard (Rubio). I could see this duo working if Flynn…

1. Could make a jump shot to save his life
2. Grows three to four inches and gains fifteen pounds of pure muscle
3. Actually played the shooting guard position in college, high school, middle school, etc.

See, it’s one thing to move a shooting guard in college to point guard in the pros, because most guards possess above average dribbling and passing skills. It’s a whole different story when you try to move a point guard to shooting guard, however, because there are a large number of points in the “association” who can’t shoot to save their life (I’m looking at you, Andre Miller, Monta Ellis, Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook, etc.), and draining jump shots at a high rate is usually important for a player who’s position is named after, well, shooting. Making Kahn’s pick look even stranger was the well-known fact that Rubio already didn’t want to play for Minnesota and was now being offered the chance to split time with another rookie, not to mention he would basically be doing it for free because his rookie contract would pay off a large buy-out clause in the deal with his Spanish team. After the draft, Kahn tried to sound intelligent about this by saying that he knew Rubio might go back overseas for a year or two and Flynn would be needed to run the point. That statement would make more sense if he had explained what his plan was once Rubio did show up to play in Minnesota. I know the Timberwolves are not even close to playoff contenders, but David’s explanation was probably the last possible thing Minnesota fans wanted to hear about their new point guard.

The other shocking pick that made me question the intelligence of NBA scouts -- the late selection of DeJuan Blair. Pretty much every fan of every team wanted Blair after pick 20, when the talent level dropped off big time. As a Wizards fan, I watched with excitement as pick 32 approached. I just knew Ernie Grunfeld (Wizards GM) couldn’t possibly screw up the opportunity to select a cheap player that fills the void as a big man who isn’t afraid to bang inside the paint. Right now, Washington has Antawn Jamison (skinny), Andray Blatche (doesn’t even look to rebound), Brendan Haywood (solid center but not too physical), and JaVale McGee (biggest stick in the NBA besides rookie Austin Daye), so DeJuan really made sense. Instead, Grunfeld (who is quietly one of the worst GMs in sports) drafted a shooting guard who they ended up trading for cash, despite the fact that the Wizards could only afford a mid-level exception player anyway (a mid-level player affects a team’s salary cap, but the money received from a second round pick does nothing to help acquire a free agent asking for the mid-level exception). I wasn’t the only guy watching in pain, though. My friend Justin (who is also playing on Plano West varsity basketball this season) was practically jumping up and down hoping for Blair, as the Detroit Pistons picked at 35. He began to celebrate when the pick was announced as “DeJuan” followed by a four or five-second silence, but the basketball Gods were against him as “Summers” was the next word out of Adam Silver’s mouth. It would end up taking until pick 37 for a GM to resist the urge of taking another nameless European guy that they could stash away for five years, and surprise, that team was the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have long been a great drafting team, although I don’t give them too much credit for picking Blair. The concern with DeJuan was his knees, and while that’s a legitimate thing to be worried about, he hadn’t missed a game or a practice with Pittsburgh. R.C. Buford, the Spurs general manager, figured out that Blair could be an imposing presence off the bench similar to Glen Davis, a fellow second round pick in Boston.

The Scoop on the NBA Trades

The early candidate for cheapest team in NBA 2K10 appears to be the Orlando Magic, after the acquisition of Vince Carter this week. In real life, however, it’s tough to tell if the Magic will be much better. Carter is definitely an upgrade over Courtney Lee, but his large incoming salary means its probably good-bye to Hedo Turkoglu, who was vital to Orlando’s run to the finals last year. Plus, Courtney Lee is eight years younger than Carter and played pretty well as a rookie last season. New Jersey won’t be great next year, but they are quietly assembling a young squad that will be going after the 2010 free agent class. I predict a breakout season for Lee alongside Devin Harris for all you fantasy basketball owners. Think 16 ppg, five boards, three assists, two steals, and improved shooting numbers. The Magic, on the other hand, will have plenty of scoring with Jameer Nelson, Carter, Lewis, and Howard. I could also see them bringing in Rasheed Wallace and moving Rashard Lewis to the three, so that they can play even bigger and have a three point threat at every position. The Hawk’s acquisition of Jamal Crawford can’t really be judged yet, because we don’t know if Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson are coming back. If they both do, this trade doesn’t make much sense. Crawford would probably play backup point guard and shooting guard, but there are only so many minutes to go around. Shaq to Cleveland still doesn’t impress me either. As Bill Simmons said earlier this week on ESPN radio, adding Shaq is “like putting a band-aid on an axe wound.” If this was Shaquille from 2001, the Cavs would for sure be contenders and probably win the championship. An aging O’Neal is nothing to be afraid of, though. Shaq won’t intimidate Dwight Howard anymore, and there’s no guarantee that Anderson Varejao (a.k.a Sideshow Bob) will return to the Cavs. The last trade of interest was the Wizards salary dump plus draft pick for Randy Foye and Mike Miller. I’d like to say this puts Washington amongst the NBA’s elite, but it really doesn’t. Foye will definitely help out Arenas, especially if Gilbert’s knees don’t hold up again, and Miller will be a great six man or potential starter at shooting guard. The problem is, the Wizards have five big men and two of them will hardly play this season (Blatche and McGee). One of the guards with an expiring contract (Mike James or Deshawn Stevenson) needs to be dealt for a big man with experience, like Marcus Camby. Until then, I see Washington finishing fourth in the East, just ahead of Atlanta.