I sometimes wonder how hard it really is to become a general manager of an NBA team. Wednesday night was definitely one of those times. A lot of the clowns running these franchises have a penchant for making highly questionable decisions. Wednesday's draft was no exception.
Houston, what was the problem?
For about five minutes last night, I thought Houston had stolen the draft, but after they traded Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift for Shane Battier, that distinction instead goes to Memphis. Gay was the closest thing this year's draft had to a Paul Pierce/Gilbert Arenas situation. He was the guy who dropped too far for all the wrong reasons.
I mean, seriously, the biggest knock on the guy was that he wasn't "assertive" enough during his time at UConn. I'm not really sure how people can fault a guy for this when he played on a team that that had four other guys go in the top 45 of the same draft. If anything, the fact that he was able to fit in should have helped his stock.
It's irrelevant now, though Gay was probably the best talent in the draft and will be a valuable rotation guy in the league, at worst. Memphis got great bang for their Battier here, and it will be painful for Houston fans if Gay blossoms into a star in Memphis.
Anyone else convinced Danny Ainge has no clue?
I don't understand what Boston trying to accomplish last night. First, they dealt the seventh pick for Sebastian Telfair. The only part of this deal I understood was the portion that had Boston getting rid of Raef Lafrentz's horrendous contract. Otherwise, the deal is flat stupid for Boston. Telfair was a reach in the lottery when Portland took him, and he has done nothing to alter this line of thinking.
What I really don't get though is why they'd trade for Rajon Rondo, even though they gave up little, after acquiring Telfair. It's tough enough to win games while developing a young point guard, let alone two. Just ask Portland how it worked out for them last year. Boston should have stayed at No. 7 and taken a tradable asset, be it Randy Foye, Brandon Roy, or Gay. They still could have traded for Rondo once he started to slide. They are in bad shape. Poor Paul Pierce.
Mark Cuban can manage a Dairy Queen, but I bet Isiah Thomas couldn't.
I won't dwell on the sheer stupidity of the Renaldo Balkman pick because it's been done. The funny thing about the pick is that he fits a need for the Knicks better than most of the guys that were on the board at the time. Still, there is no reason to take a guy when you can get him at 29 or in the second round, or even better still as an undrafted free agent. Taking Mardy Collins at No. 29 wasn't bad, but I don't really see him getting much playing time. Tough break for Mardy.
The suicide rate in Seattle is rising.
Robert Swift. Johan Petro. The Guy From Senegal. Nothing screams "hey, let's pay extra taxes for a new basketball arena" quite like that triumvirate of draft picks. Coming to a trade rumor near you, Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen.
Draft Night Winners
Memphis — Came away with Rudy Gay and Kyle Lowry in hand. Lowry is a great fit for how Memphis plays, and I think he has a chance to be the best point guard in this draft class.
New Jersey — I'm not a huge Josh Boone fan, but he should help cover up some of Nenad Kristic's defensive deficiencies. Marcus Williams was a real coup for them. He is a great fit and will do a good job spelling J-Kidd this year. He also will make a nice replacement down the road.
Chicago — Anytime a playoff team adds one of the best players available and one of the draft's biggest sleepers, said team had a good night.
Draft Night Losers
Houston — The Battier trade may make them better next year, but it won't make them title contenders, which they might have been in two or three years had they stuck with Rudy Gay.
Atlanta — No. 5 was way too high for the Big Klutz (Shelden Williams). He'll grab some boards and may block a few shots, but his scoring numbers will never approach what he did at Duke. Not even close. He got most of his points in college on put back dunks, wide-open jumpers, and free throws. All three of these things will be harder to come by in the league, especially on Atlanta. He wasn't a horrible pick, but they should have traded down and gotten an asset in addition to him. They really could use Chris Paul right about now.
Boston and New York — See above.
Time will tell which teams truly struck gold in this year's draft. No draft should be judged until at least three or four years later, so don't chastise your team's management just yet. Unless you live in New York.
Leave a Comment