Yeah, I haven't blogged since I got up to Oregon and started working on finishing my M.Ed. Today marks the end of two of my three classes, though, and the two that are ending are the ones that required a ton of effort, energy, and e-focus. I have been able to pay attention to some things going on in the sports world, but not as many things as I would like. For instance: I haven't watched hardly any of the Blazers' summer league games. I think summer league is really fun, and this year might have been even more fun because of the way Jerryd Bayless has destroyed the opposition and Petteri Koponen has shown his abilities as a guard at this level. Something else I haven't talked about at all? How about NBA free agency or a few of the crazy trades (and trade ideas) that have been going on. Elton Brand? Baron Davis? Cory Maggette? Marcus Camby? (Not) Zach Randolph? Topics that interest me but that I haven't put any time into on this blog. Or I could have been talking about the fall of Jeff Francoeur. Or Chipper Jones' attempt to hit .400. Or Lofa Tatupu still being a great guy despite being charged with a DUI. Yeah, that one's pretty old, but it's still relevant and I haven't mentioned it until now. What's that? I failed to mention the University of Oregon football player who drowned earlier this week, when I've been on campus? Yep, until today. I was attending classes at the sight of the U.S. track and field Olympic Trials and didn't talk about the crazy atmosphere? True again. A guy who graduated from my high school became the first catcher to be charged with a loss as a pitcher in a game since 1901. (Thanks Jayson Stark.) How about the best swimming event in a long time, one that included three people from my high school – and could have had two more – competing against one of the best fields in the history of the sport, and I didn't mention it except on my other, non-sports blog? I did that too. Did I even mention the way Kevin Pritchard destroyed the rest of the association in the draft again this year? I don't think so.
All of that as a big way of apologizing and saying that I'm back. With a much lighter load for the rest of the term, and with the arrival of my iPhone, I plan on keeping things alive at this site for a good while to come.
And I'm putting in a new countdown. This one will tick off the days until the Blazers report to pre-camp camp. I'm giddy already.
Showing posts with label Draft. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Draft. Show all posts
Friday, July 18, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
A great take on the lottery
I posted this to the Kay House wall already, but I thought it was good enough to share again with everyone.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
An unfinished idea
Last night as I was talking to my brother I was inspired to begin thinking about a deal. I don't know what inspired me, especially since the Blazers were still losing to the Suns badly at that point. Maybe I was just thinking about the Suns because of the game, and realizing that their experiment is about to fail. Their window is about to close. They're going to need to rebuild. That means they'll need good picks and good young players, two things Portland has. So, if the window really does close for the Suns after this season, why not blow it up for real. That would mean trading away an old guy before all his value is gone. Of course I mean Steve Nash, who should never be traded. Also, I know that this is a homer deal. But I can see some things about it that could help Phoenix. Again, this is just the first effort, but what if the Suns received our first round picks in 2008 and 2010. The pick in 2010 probably won't be great, but this year we're a near lock for the lottery again, and they get the Hawks pick, which also looks like it'll be in the lottery because the 76ers are playing so well. In addition to the two picks, we give them three young guys who could flourish in the D'Antoni system: Travis Outlaw (Shawn Marion with a little less defense, more athleticism, and a prettier shot), Sergio Rodgriguez (a guy they drafted and should have kept, sort of like what they did with Nash), and Channing Frye (a decent big who can run some and hit the mid-range jumper pretty well, plus he'd be going back home to Arizona). The Blazers could also throw Steve Blake into the deal to give a stop-gap point guard while they dump the reigns into Sergio's hands.
Tomorrow I'll try to write more about why I'd actually love to do this deal from Portland's standpoint. One last time: I know that Phoenix wouldn't do this. I know. I just wanted to try it.
Again, I don't think this deal is an easy sell for Phoenix, because they'd be trading a two time MVP for a platter of young guys, two of which are still pretty unproven. But it would give them this lineup to build around:
Also, I really haven't finished thinking this through. It might take getting another asset from Portland and the Blazers getting another player from Phoenix. And I left out the backup shooting guard, because I think the interchangeability of Barbosa and Bell, along with the interchangeability of Outlaw, Frye, and Diaw would take away the need for a backup shooting guard. Then again, with two lotter picks this year they could end up with a player like Mayo or Westbrook or Collison or somebody else who could help with that. Also, the potential for the Suns to take one guy like that and Kevin Love – a center who can start the break as well as anyone in the country – could be really intriguing. Love could end up starting alongside Stoudamire after Shaq's body finally stops working.
Tomorrow I'll try to write more about why I'd actually love to do this deal from Portland's standpoint. One last time: I know that Phoenix wouldn't do this. I know. I just wanted to try it.
I love this thing
I was playing on the lottery simulator some more today, and came up with these scenarios. The one I posted yesterday is the most likely, with us staying at the 13 spot and maybe nabbing Westbrook. (I said sad yesterday, but only because I wasn't thinking clearly. Westbrook could be perfect for us.)
Here are the basic ways it could fall, with Portland getting one, two, three, or 14. Yeah, everything else could be different, but I don't mind any of these four options. Here are the pictures, the initial picture is the way the lottery worked out, and the second picture is the potential draftee. Kudos galore to Chad Ford and ESPN for doing this every year.
Here are the basic ways it could fall, with Portland getting one, two, three, or 14. Yeah, everything else could be different, but I don't mind any of these four options. Here are the pictures, the initial picture is the way the lottery worked out, and the second picture is the potential draftee. Kudos galore to Chad Ford and ESPN for doing this every year.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Time waster? More like time betterer
One of my favorite ways to spend time is back: the NBA lottery simulator at ESPN. This is the most common result for Portland. Sad.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
How could I have forgotten?
Umm, I just watched the video that sits below this text. I'm sitting in a coffee shop, and I think people around me thought I was a little loopy because I was giggling like a little kid who has heard the best poop joke ever. Watch the video, then keep reading.
Somehow, as soon as Greg went down I forgot that he was on the team. In fact, somehow my mind just latched onto Taurean Green and Josh McRoberts as our only rookies this year. And technically they are. In my head I keep thinking about the value that we got out of the draft, because our two late picks are guys that should end up contributing at some point, even if that contribution is just making the team better by working hard in practice this year. But those aren't the only two guys we got in the draft. Nope. We also drafted Oden and Rudy Fernandez. Well, we actually traded for the rights to Fernandez, but I'm still considering that a draft pick. I don't know how many people remember this post, but I'll reference myself for fun:
Alright, I think that took me off subject for a second, so let's come back: I've been so focused on Aldridge, Przybilla, Roy, and Webster, that I nearly put Oden and Fernandez completely out of my mind. In that clip above this text we see Aldridge and Oden finding each other with really good passes. Sure, they don't finish very many of them. And sure, it was in summer league. But it was also within the first month that the two had played together. They were already playing like that and they'd only been together for less than a month. The reason that's really scary? The way the Blazers played against San Antonio on Tuesday and all the news from camp and the preseason have allowed me to focus on the team this year, instead of what they'll be when Oden gets back. That reminder of what they looked like with the two bigs together for just a second is the glimpse I need to get me absolutely excited again about next year. Regardless of a new draft pick, or some trade, or even another free agent signing, next year should bring the two best picks from this year's draft to the team. If Webster plays like this all season, Outlaw continues to be a great sixth man, Przybilla is consistent with his resurgence, and the expected guys step into the roles we envision for them next year, we only have one question mark in our nine man rotation next year. Seriously. We have a front court that includes Webster, Aldridge, and Oden in the starting unit, with Outlaw and Przybilla supplying relief off the bench. We have a great Ginobili-like sixth man in Rudy Fernandez, spelling our team leader SG/PG Brandon Roy. The only real question is who starts at point guard, and if it's Roy, then who ends up as the combo guard giving breaks to Roy and Fernandez. But PG is the position we still have perhaps the most potential. Now do you understand why I'm giddy? This team will surprise people for some wins this year. But next year? We won't surprise anyone, we'll just beat them anyway.
I just nearly giggled to myself again, that's how exciting this is.
If I end up back in Oregon anytime soon because I get sick of LA or teaching down here is just too much, I plan on making as many Blazer games as possible. In fact, if I end up in Portland, I'm going to get season tickets. Being there for the dynasty will be even more fun than writing about it is now. And writing about it now is pretty fun. I can't wait...fortunately, while I have to wait for that, I don't have to wait to see the NBA's youngest team come out hard against every team this year.
I'll end with a quote from the Basketball Jones podcast yesterday, as they spent most of the time they were talking about the Blazers/Spurs game focusing on Portland:
Somehow, as soon as Greg went down I forgot that he was on the team. In fact, somehow my mind just latched onto Taurean Green and Josh McRoberts as our only rookies this year. And technically they are. In my head I keep thinking about the value that we got out of the draft, because our two late picks are guys that should end up contributing at some point, even if that contribution is just making the team better by working hard in practice this year. But those aren't the only two guys we got in the draft. Nope. We also drafted Oden and Rudy Fernandez. Well, we actually traded for the rights to Fernandez, but I'm still considering that a draft pick. I don't know how many people remember this post, but I'll reference myself for fun:
Now for the reality check: as much as I was thinking about winning every game while reading the various accounts of the game, there's no way we'll even win more than 35 games this year. So that's what I want, along with some payback from the bouncing balls for us getting the fourth pick last year. Then we can still draft Oden and build on what happens this year...[then I put pictures up of what I thought would be the starting line up of the 2009 NBA champion Blazers]...Once again I'm impressed with how well I predicted the season and the lottery on the opening day of the season last year. What I'm more impressed by, though, is that at the time I had no idea how good LaMarcus would be, and how soon he would be that good. I was always a big advocate for Randolph, especially because of the stories about how hard he worked. Henry Abbott of TrueHoop said this in June:
PG Sergio Rodriguez
SG Brandon Roy
SF Martell Webster
PF Zach Randolph
C Greg Oden
Scottie Pippen once told me that Randolph works harder than any teammate he has ever had.I mean, that makes Zach a harder worker than, umm, Michael Jordan, right? At least in Scottie's opinion? Well, Nate McMillan was quoted in an article last week by Jason Quick of the Oregonian. Here's the whole section from Quick:
"I've never seen a starter in this league work like he does," McMillan said after a recent practice. "And it's every day. I mean look..."In that same article Quick included this piece:
McMillan pointed to Aldridge, who was shooting on the far side of the practice court, shirtless, his sweat-soaked jersey off to the side.
And Bobby Medina, who is entering his 11th season as the Blazers' strength and conditioning coach, said Aldridge's work ethic in the weight room reminds him of former Blazers great Scottie Pippen, whose maniacal workout regime is legendary.Let me use some logic here that I've been teaching my geometry students. If Scottie, who was known for how hard he worked, said that Zach worked harder than any teammate he'd ever had, and then Nate McMillan, who played in the NBA for a while and has coached a few years, said that he's never seen a starter in this league work like he does, then by the transitive property, McMillan must be suggesting that LaMarcus also works harder than a certain MJ. Throw in the fact that Medina compared LaMarcus' habits to Scottie, whose original statement set the table for this argument, and I think we can at least be certain that Aldridge is going to continue improving for a while.
Alright, I think that took me off subject for a second, so let's come back: I've been so focused on Aldridge, Przybilla, Roy, and Webster, that I nearly put Oden and Fernandez completely out of my mind. In that clip above this text we see Aldridge and Oden finding each other with really good passes. Sure, they don't finish very many of them. And sure, it was in summer league. But it was also within the first month that the two had played together. They were already playing like that and they'd only been together for less than a month. The reason that's really scary? The way the Blazers played against San Antonio on Tuesday and all the news from camp and the preseason have allowed me to focus on the team this year, instead of what they'll be when Oden gets back. That reminder of what they looked like with the two bigs together for just a second is the glimpse I need to get me absolutely excited again about next year. Regardless of a new draft pick, or some trade, or even another free agent signing, next year should bring the two best picks from this year's draft to the team. If Webster plays like this all season, Outlaw continues to be a great sixth man, Przybilla is consistent with his resurgence, and the expected guys step into the roles we envision for them next year, we only have one question mark in our nine man rotation next year. Seriously. We have a front court that includes Webster, Aldridge, and Oden in the starting unit, with Outlaw and Przybilla supplying relief off the bench. We have a great Ginobili-like sixth man in Rudy Fernandez, spelling our team leader SG/PG Brandon Roy. The only real question is who starts at point guard, and if it's Roy, then who ends up as the combo guard giving breaks to Roy and Fernandez. But PG is the position we still have perhaps the most potential. Now do you understand why I'm giddy? This team will surprise people for some wins this year. But next year? We won't surprise anyone, we'll just beat them anyway.
I just nearly giggled to myself again, that's how exciting this is.
If I end up back in Oregon anytime soon because I get sick of LA or teaching down here is just too much, I plan on making as many Blazer games as possible. In fact, if I end up in Portland, I'm going to get season tickets. Being there for the dynasty will be even more fun than writing about it is now. And writing about it now is pretty fun. I can't wait...fortunately, while I have to wait for that, I don't have to wait to see the NBA's youngest team come out hard against every team this year.
I'll end with a quote from the Basketball Jones podcast yesterday, as they spent most of the time they were talking about the Blazers/Spurs game focusing on Portland:
SKEETS-The Blazer specifically – you can really tell that this team had been practicing and playing together all throughout the summer.They go on about Portland for a while longer.It's nice to have NBA people talking about the team again because of good basketball reasons. Oh it's nice.
MELAS-Hell of a point Skeeter, hell of a point.
SKEETS-Could you not?
MELAS-When did they get into Portland? They got altogether earliest of any team in the league, right?
SKEETS-Maybe May.
MELAS-Yeah, May. Early June. It was frickin' early.
SKEETS-It was early. It was early.
MELAS-And they looked frickin' good.
SKEETS-Yeah.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
2007 NBA draft running diary
Alright, I’m sitting on the couch out at Mikkalo and Mikkalo farms. Right now I’m wearing my neck brace, but it’ll come off at various points during the night. ESPN is switching over to the pre-draft coverage right now, since it just struck 4:00 pm pacific time. The word already came that Portland gave Greg Oden and his camp notice that he’ll become a Blazer soon, and that’s exciting. I’m really hoping that they do things perfectly during this draft. The other thing I want to is for the Hawks to be really smart about the way they draft. The running diary of the 2007 NBA draft starts now.
4:04 pm With the value of hindsight, Stephen A. Smith has now told us that the 2003 draft was better than this one. This was right after Jay Bilas said that this draft was the best since 2003. Way to stretch things, guys.
4:07 pm Andy Katz is talking about the possible deal that the Celtics and Sonics might do, which would be terrible for Boston. They would give up Delonte West, the number five, and Wally for an ancient Ray Allen. Yikes. Mark Jackson agrees with me. See? I must be right. Oh, and Stephen A. Smith disagrees with me. Yup, I must be right.
4:10 pm Apparently Greg Oden is a dominant low-post center. Thanks, Jay Bilas. I love watching all of the Oden clips, and just seeing what he did makes me really excited. Uh-oh, here’s Dicky V to compare Oden to someone. He sees: a little Patrick Ewing blocking shots, offensive skills like Olajuwon, competitive drive of Mourning, and the sense of team that Duncan brought. Dicky V just told screamin’ Stephen A, saying basically what I already mentioned in this diary.
4:15 pm I just love looking at the order up there, with Portland at number one. That’s beautiful. Almost as good as looking at highlights of Oden.
4:18 pm As Mike Tirico just told us, Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. were in Indiana last year. I was in class last year when the Blazers selected and made deals, so I’m pretty excited to watch one of those two guys get picked by my team in half an hour. Ooh, and now we find out that Durant hated working out like he did as a kid. That is a little different from the way he’s been characterized leading up to today. Also, they mentioned that Texas will be the first team to have players chosen in the top two for two years in a row in a while--if not ever, I didn’t catch the whole thing--when Durant goes to Seattle this year. The other one? My man LaMarcus Alrdidge.
4:25 pm Billy King is trying to move the 76ers up higher in the draft, and they’re looking for a power forward. If they mean that, maybe the Blazers really could trade Randolph for something good. This just in: my brother crapped his pants when Jim Gray said that Golden State is in the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes.
4:32 pm Here we go...I’m really not as excited as I was for the lottery, but that’s because I know what’s going to happen, and I’ve been dealing with this in my mind for a month. The booing for the New York Liberty is classic, along with the New York fans being generally pissed about everything. Ah, New York. The Blazers are now on the clock.
4:35 pm Mark Jackson likes the young nucleus of the Blazers. Stephen A. Smith is so ridiculous. And here it is: with the first pick in the 2007 NBA draft, the Porltand Trail Blazers select Greg Oden from Ohio State University.
That was fantastic. I got chills, and I don’t think it was because of my screwed up neck.
It looks like Oden will wear number 52, which was Buck Williams’ number during the early ‘90s. Highlight after highlight just adds to the excitement I have about what this kid brings to the team.
4:39 pm Best part of the draft so far? My cousin vacuuming in the room while my brother and I watch the draft. Thanks. That’s awesome.
4:41 pm With the second pick, the Sonics select Kevin Durant. Wow, nothing crazy yet. What a great day for the pacific northwest. I would have loved to get Durant, but I am even happier to have Oden. Too bad there was no way to get both of them. Kevin’s mom is proud of him. I had to share that with everyone. My brother thinks the Blazers could get the third pick from Atlanta, but I don’t see how it could happen. I also don’t want Portland to do it, which probably impacts my perception of it’s possibility.
4:46 pm Kevin Pritchard is now on video conference. Pritchard says the thing that they started with was determining who would take the team to the championship level. Pritchard didn’t sound as good there as he has in every other interview I’ve heard him do, but I’ll let that slide.
4:48 pm With the third pick, the Atlanta Hawks select Al Horford. He was the right pick, I just wished they would have traded down a little to get Mike Conley Jr. Oh well, hopefully he can be part of the deal that gets them Amare Stoudamire, or maybe he can learn from Amare is he plays center next to Stoudamire’s preferred power forward.
I just saw the new Hawks logo for the first time on Horford’s hat.
Everyone is second-guessing this pick, of course, but too bad.
4:52 pm With the fourth pick, the Memphis Grizzlies select Mike Conley, Jr. That means the Celtics are going to pick...Yi? It was great to hear the Hawks get hammered for picking the guy they did again, especially since he was the best guy there. Bilas just said that Conley has the same sort of ability as Deron Williams and Chris Paul.
Wow, they just showed the clip of Mike Conley, Sr. winning a celebrity dunk contest. That dude could fly.
4:56 pm Wow. Wow. Wow. The Celtics really pulled the trigger on that trade. That is terrible. The Sonics are now drafting Jeff Green. With the fifth pick, the Celtics take Green, but he’s going to be traded to Seattle. Wow. This means that the Sonics have no intention of re-signing Rashard Lewis, and since they’re drafting these two small forwards, maybe they plan n playing Durant at the 2 or at the 4. Sam Presti, another genius GM, pulled off a pretty good move in my opinion.
5:00 pm I think that Jeff Green is pretty excited to be playing with Kevin Durant. Wow, the pacific northwest is getting better as the draft goes on. I just remembered that Milwaukee was planning on drafting Yi Jianlian if he fell to them, which is what we’ll find out soon.
5:04 pm With the sixth pick in the draft, Milwaukee selects Yi Jianlian, just as they said they would. This is going to be something. Yi is hip-hop, he’s 50 cent. That seems like a stretch. Here is Andy Katz, to tell us what is going on with the Bucks and Yi. The Bucks are excited about Yi, and it sounds like they’ll do whatever they can to keep him. Bucher is now saying that this will probably lead to a trade, because Yi’s camp really doesn’t want him to stay there. I will say this, his English, while not great, is much better than that of some other foreign players.
5:09 pm My brother just asked a good question: who does Minnesota pick now? My guess is that Minnesota takes Hawes or Brewer. They have to take Brewer, but part of me thinks they’ll take Hawes anyway.
My ears are bleeding because of Stephen A. Smith. Geez, I can’t stand that guy.
5:11 pm With the seventh pick, the T-Wolves pick Brewer. That is what they had to do. Corey Brewer is so good. If Minnesota doesn’t trade Garnett, I think Brewer would be a good piece to go with him. Dicky V just commented on the one trade so far, saying that Seattle outfoxed Boston. I agree, and it reminded me of the Sports Guy’s suggestion of worst-case scenario for the Celtics. This is worse.
I take it back. It still seems bad, but the more I think about it, the more I believe that this might be a decent move for them. They’ll be trusting PG to Rondo, pairing Ray Allen with Allen Ray, counting on Paul the truth Pierce to be healthy and dominant as a small forward, and Al Jefferson dominating down low. They still have Theo Ratliff’s terrible contract, and of course they still have Kendrick Perkins. Maybe the Celtics could be a playoff team in the east next year.
5:17 pm The Bobcats have been wanting to trade their pick for a veteran, and even though I don’t really want to trade Randolph, maybe this is the trade we make.
5:18 pm With the eighth pick, the Bobcats drafted Brandan Wright. That means the Blazers will not be trading for his rights. Bilas thinks that Wright was the fourth-best player in this draft, and that they might have to wait on him a bit--exactly what Jordan said he didn’t want to do--and that this is a great pick. The Bulls will now pick Spencer Hawes, unless they’re trading the rights to the Blazers for Randolph.
5:22 pm Great signs from Bulls fans in New York, one just says “thank you Isiah.” Stephen A. Smith just mentioned Zach Randolph for the Bulls, but he doesn’t know what direction they should take. My brother just made a good point, that the Bulls have basically gone the direction of the recent Pistons, with a bunch of good players that work well together.
5:25 pm With the ninth pick the Bulls select Joakim Noah. I think that means they’re keeping Noah. This really does make sense for the Bulls. He doesn’t add much offense for them, but he hustles, he fits the culture of the team, and I think he does a lot of good things to help Chicago play well.
5:30 pm My brother wants me to imagine Garnett as a Blazer. I just can’t imagine it. He keeps pushing it, but I really just can’t imagine it.
5:31 pm With the tenth pick in the draft, the Kings select Spencer Hawes. I didn’t quite laugh-out-loud at that, but that’s funny. Maybe he’s the right pick, but I just don’t think he’s that good. My brother suggests that Hawes will become Brad Miller, and can just step into that role for the Kings. Hmm, Bilas thinks he’ll be good, but has just mentioned that Hawes isn’t a good rebounder or shot blocker. Yeah, that sounds good. Hawes says that getting older will make him a better rebounder. Huh.
5:35 pm Here’s John Paxson. He says that the Bulls plan on keeping Noah. Stephen A. Smith really doesn’t like the pick that the Bulls made. Smith is about to scream that the Bulls should have picked someone without energy, because they already have energy. SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM.
5:38 pm With the eleventh pick in the draft, the Hawks select Acie Law IV. That means they’re keeping the pick. I think that was probably a pretty smart move. I hope he does well there, for the sake of J-Lew, and I hope that Horford plays as well as I think he should. Ugh. The new Hawks jersey looks terrible. Tirico just held that jersey up to show the “new look” of the Hawks, just like the “new look” these two picks are bringing the Hawks. I don’t know what that means for sure, but we’ll see how the Hawks go.
5:42 pm Rumors in Philly? Sal Paolantonio says that the 76ers have been trying to move up in the draft really hard, but it’s too late. It sounds like the Sixers are going to draft Thornton, but who knows, they’re pretty stupid, and they think they need size up front. Billy King is going to screw this up, just watch. I’m guessing that they reach on some power forward, but I can’t think of who it would be. In the Blazer’s Edge mock draft, the Blazers traded for this pick.
5:46 pm With the twelfth pick in the draft, Philadelphia selects Thaddeus Young. Well, that was really dumb. I can’t believe they just did that, I don’t think Young is big enough for what they want. Wow, I can’t believe that they chose Thaddeus Young. Oh, but he does have a lot of great upside according to Jay Bilas.
5:48 pm My brother just suggested that the Clippers need a PG, and I agree. Maybe they draft Javaris Crittenton, or maybe they draft someone like Al Thornton so they can trade Maggette. Or maybe they draft him so they can trade his rights to Portland for Jarrett Jack.
5:51 pm Billy Knight looks like he just walked out of a bar. Wow. But he makes a good point that the guys they drafted will be ready to play right away. But Knight must be drunk, since he says that Law reminds him of Mark Jackson. There’s no question that these draft picks will be Hawks for a long time.
5:52 pm With the thirteenth pick, the Hornets select Julian Wright. He fell a little ways, but I think that’s a good choice. If he reaches his potential, that could be crazy. Dick Vitale is on drugs, and just suggested that ten players will average in double figures this season.
5:56 pm I really enjoy Julian Wright. He sounded really nervous. But I like that kid a lot. He was the pick I wanted the Blazers to make before we got the first pick.
5:59 pm With the fourteenth pick of the draft, the Clippers select Al Thornton. Maybe they trade his rights? Or maybe they just picked the best player available. That doesn’t sound like the type of pick that the Clippers would make. Stephen A. Smith says that Thornton is exactly what the Clippers need. And my brother makes a good point, Smith just said that they had to draft a guard.
6:05 pm With the fifteenth pick of the draft, the Pistons select Rodney Stuckey. I expected that one. My friend Julie is going to be a freshman basketball player at Eastern Washington, and I know that this has nothing to do with her, but that’s fantastic anyway. Bilas just called Stuckey a poor man’s Dwyane Wade. I still think this is a good pick for Detroit.
6:10 pm Stephen A. just ignored Mike Tirico’s question and said a bunch of crap. That was great. The Wizards are on the clock.
With the sixteenth pick in the draft, Washington selects Nick Young. Yup, he was the best guy left. That’s the right decision, I think. Although I can’t help but think about Bryce Taylor from Oregon when I see Nick Young, since it was against Young that Taylor shot 100% in the Pac-10 tournament. Taylor also held Young to three points in that game, I think.
6:13 pm Stuart Scott just said that the NBA drafted Nick Young. And the Knicks just traded with the BLAZERS. WHAT?!?!?!?!?.
I have no idea what I should think about this. Stephen A. Smith loves this move for the Knicks, which makes me think I probably like this for Portland.
6:16 pm With the seventeenth pick in the draft, the Nets just selected Sean Williams.
Okay, the Blazers got rid of danger Dan Dickau, which was necessary, Fred Jones (a player I like but who isn’t really necessary), and Zach Randolph to open up the front court for Greg and LaMarcus.
My brother thinks that Portland has to trade JJ now to allow Steve Francis to start, but I don’t really want to get rid of Jack. I am at a loss still as to what I should think about this.
I think the Blazers must have something else in the works. My brother suggests that Steve Francis might fit into a multi-team deal with the Lakers. I trust Pritchard, and I think Isiah is a terrible GM, so I’m looking forward to seeing how we use this.
6:22 pm With the eighteenth pick, the Warriors selected a foreign player. That makes sense. Marco Belinelli is the pick.
6:28 pm Stephen A. is screaming about the Lakers. I can’t stand him. I wonder if the Lakers are picking for Portland right now.
With the nineteenth pick of the draft, Los Angeles selects Javaris Crittenton, Huh. I don’t know much about him, but I’ve heard comparisons to another strong Georgia Tech PG, Jarrett Jack.
6:31 pm I’m eating right now, so hopefully I can deal with the upcoming Blazers trade news better.
6:35 pm With the twentieth pick, the Heat select Jason Smith. That seems like a good pick here, considering Miami’s needs and Smith’s talent.
6:42 pm With the twenty-first pick, the 76ers select Daequan Cook from Ohio State. It sounds like Philly and Miami traded the last two picks, which seems like a good choice by the Sixers.
6:45 pm The more I think about the Blazers trade, the more I think it’s all about the future. Channing Frye is someone I was thinking about before we got the first pick to play up front with Aldridge. I think he could develop into a great third man in that rotation. I have to believe that Franchise is going to be traded either today or before the end of next week.
6:48 pm With the twenty-second pick, the Bobcats select Jared Dudley. He looked like a good player in the game footage I watched today on ESPN.
6:53 pm With the twenty-third pick, the Knicks select Wilson Chandler from DePaul. I know nothing about this guy. I can’t even think about anything right now while I’m trying to figure this thing out.
6:57 pm Man, the Blazers are busy this year again, just as I thought. They bought this next pick from Phoenix, and it sounds like they’re going to draft Fernandez for Portland. That’s who I wanted with a late first round pick. And that just happened. I did a little research about him last week, and I was really happy with him. But he fits Portland, he isn’t that old, and I think he’s pretty good. Man, I don’t know what to think about anything, but I sure believe that Pritchard knows what he’s doing.
7:05 pm With the twenty-fifth pick, the Jazz select Morris Almond. At this point I’m not contributing much as far as analysis goes.
7:11 pm With the twenty-sixth pick, the Rockets selected Aaron Brooks from Oregon. Dang, good choice by Houston. I love Brooks, and I had a ton of confidence in him during this whole season.
7:13 pm Andy Katz is back to talk about trades. Milwaukee doesn’t know yet if Yi will actually go to Milwaukee.
7:19 pm With the twenty-seventh pick, the Pistons select Arron Afflalo. He was picked after Brooks and should have been second to Brooks in Pac-10 player of the year voting.
7:25 pm The Spurs just picked Tiago Splitter. I think that's a smart pick.
7:47 pm It was just announced that Charlotte traded Brandan Wright for Jason Richardson. All the analysts think this was a bad move, but it makes sense to me. I missed a few of the last couple picks, so here they are: pick 28 was Splitter, 29 was Alando Tucker to the Spurs, 30 was Petteri Koponen to the 76ers, 31 was Carl Landry to the Sonics, 32 was Gabe Pruitt to the Celtics.
7:52 pm The Spurs just selected Marcus Williams from Arizona. I keep waiting to see if the Blazers are going to end up moving Franchise again. The Mavericks just drafted Nick Fazekas, which I think is a good pick for them.
7:55 pm The Celtics just got Glen Davis, which could be good with Al Jefferson up front. Wow, Jay Bilas just made an "Oprah-is-fat" joke.
8:00 pm The Blazers are up again. So much has gone on in the last year. It turns out that Portland bought Petteri Koponen. I just sighed and smiled. And now Portland has another pick. They just drafted one of Oden's favorite guys, Josh McRoberts. Apparently he's a great passer and good defender. Holy crap, the Blazers are just doing crazy things again.
8:15 pm The Blazers are up again. They had all the ESPN guys gushing about how well the draft was going.
8:18 pm Okay, it's time for Portland's pick, but it seems likly that this pick is going to Philly. The Bobcats trade for Jason Richardson was just confirmed. The Blazers just picked Derrick Byars. Okay, Byars was picked for the 76ers in the Koponen trade.
8:26 pm I'm really looking forward to seeing what Portland does in the next week. Will they do a buy-out with Franchise? Will they ship him somewhere? What are they going to do with all those picks? Will they re-sign Outlaw and Udoka? Will they try to convince one of the small forwards on the market to take the mid-level exception to come play with Oden? Kevin Pritchard is a genius.
8:34 pm The Sonics/Celtics trade was just finally announced,
and now the Lakers have drafted Pual Gasol's little brother.
I'm a little disappointed that the only Blazers jersey I've ever drafted is now out of date. Maybe Oden will change his mind on number 52 and decide to wear 50 in Portland. Then maybe I can just change this jersey a little bit.
9:06 pm The draft is over. Check ESPN if you want to know who was picked. I've been trying to edit this picture for the last few minutes. Here's my first attempt on Photoshop in a while.
9:20 pm Sportscenter is covering the draft now, and they all agree that Portland did amazing things for a second straight year. I agree. Jay Bilas thought may Blazers had the best draft day, and he thought that J-Lew's Hawks had the worst day. I disagree, and I hope that Horford and Law turn into great players for Atlanta. That's all from eastern Oregon.
4:04 pm With the value of hindsight, Stephen A. Smith has now told us that the 2003 draft was better than this one. This was right after Jay Bilas said that this draft was the best since 2003. Way to stretch things, guys.
4:07 pm Andy Katz is talking about the possible deal that the Celtics and Sonics might do, which would be terrible for Boston. They would give up Delonte West, the number five, and Wally for an ancient Ray Allen. Yikes. Mark Jackson agrees with me. See? I must be right. Oh, and Stephen A. Smith disagrees with me. Yup, I must be right.
4:10 pm Apparently Greg Oden is a dominant low-post center. Thanks, Jay Bilas. I love watching all of the Oden clips, and just seeing what he did makes me really excited. Uh-oh, here’s Dicky V to compare Oden to someone. He sees: a little Patrick Ewing blocking shots, offensive skills like Olajuwon, competitive drive of Mourning, and the sense of team that Duncan brought. Dicky V just told screamin’ Stephen A, saying basically what I already mentioned in this diary.
4:15 pm I just love looking at the order up there, with Portland at number one. That’s beautiful. Almost as good as looking at highlights of Oden.
4:18 pm As Mike Tirico just told us, Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. were in Indiana last year. I was in class last year when the Blazers selected and made deals, so I’m pretty excited to watch one of those two guys get picked by my team in half an hour. Ooh, and now we find out that Durant hated working out like he did as a kid. That is a little different from the way he’s been characterized leading up to today. Also, they mentioned that Texas will be the first team to have players chosen in the top two for two years in a row in a while--if not ever, I didn’t catch the whole thing--when Durant goes to Seattle this year. The other one? My man LaMarcus Alrdidge.
4:25 pm Billy King is trying to move the 76ers up higher in the draft, and they’re looking for a power forward. If they mean that, maybe the Blazers really could trade Randolph for something good. This just in: my brother crapped his pants when Jim Gray said that Golden State is in the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes.
4:32 pm Here we go...I’m really not as excited as I was for the lottery, but that’s because I know what’s going to happen, and I’ve been dealing with this in my mind for a month. The booing for the New York Liberty is classic, along with the New York fans being generally pissed about everything. Ah, New York. The Blazers are now on the clock.
4:35 pm Mark Jackson likes the young nucleus of the Blazers. Stephen A. Smith is so ridiculous. And here it is: with the first pick in the 2007 NBA draft, the Porltand Trail Blazers select Greg Oden from Ohio State University.
That was fantastic. I got chills, and I don’t think it was because of my screwed up neck.
It looks like Oden will wear number 52, which was Buck Williams’ number during the early ‘90s. Highlight after highlight just adds to the excitement I have about what this kid brings to the team.
4:39 pm Best part of the draft so far? My cousin vacuuming in the room while my brother and I watch the draft. Thanks. That’s awesome.
4:41 pm With the second pick, the Sonics select Kevin Durant. Wow, nothing crazy yet. What a great day for the pacific northwest. I would have loved to get Durant, but I am even happier to have Oden. Too bad there was no way to get both of them. Kevin’s mom is proud of him. I had to share that with everyone. My brother thinks the Blazers could get the third pick from Atlanta, but I don’t see how it could happen. I also don’t want Portland to do it, which probably impacts my perception of it’s possibility.
4:46 pm Kevin Pritchard is now on video conference. Pritchard says the thing that they started with was determining who would take the team to the championship level. Pritchard didn’t sound as good there as he has in every other interview I’ve heard him do, but I’ll let that slide.
4:48 pm With the third pick, the Atlanta Hawks select Al Horford. He was the right pick, I just wished they would have traded down a little to get Mike Conley Jr. Oh well, hopefully he can be part of the deal that gets them Amare Stoudamire, or maybe he can learn from Amare is he plays center next to Stoudamire’s preferred power forward.
I just saw the new Hawks logo for the first time on Horford’s hat.
Everyone is second-guessing this pick, of course, but too bad.
4:52 pm With the fourth pick, the Memphis Grizzlies select Mike Conley, Jr. That means the Celtics are going to pick...Yi? It was great to hear the Hawks get hammered for picking the guy they did again, especially since he was the best guy there. Bilas just said that Conley has the same sort of ability as Deron Williams and Chris Paul.
Wow, they just showed the clip of Mike Conley, Sr. winning a celebrity dunk contest. That dude could fly.
4:56 pm Wow. Wow. Wow. The Celtics really pulled the trigger on that trade. That is terrible. The Sonics are now drafting Jeff Green. With the fifth pick, the Celtics take Green, but he’s going to be traded to Seattle. Wow. This means that the Sonics have no intention of re-signing Rashard Lewis, and since they’re drafting these two small forwards, maybe they plan n playing Durant at the 2 or at the 4. Sam Presti, another genius GM, pulled off a pretty good move in my opinion.
5:00 pm I think that Jeff Green is pretty excited to be playing with Kevin Durant. Wow, the pacific northwest is getting better as the draft goes on. I just remembered that Milwaukee was planning on drafting Yi Jianlian if he fell to them, which is what we’ll find out soon.
5:04 pm With the sixth pick in the draft, Milwaukee selects Yi Jianlian, just as they said they would. This is going to be something. Yi is hip-hop, he’s 50 cent. That seems like a stretch. Here is Andy Katz, to tell us what is going on with the Bucks and Yi. The Bucks are excited about Yi, and it sounds like they’ll do whatever they can to keep him. Bucher is now saying that this will probably lead to a trade, because Yi’s camp really doesn’t want him to stay there. I will say this, his English, while not great, is much better than that of some other foreign players.
5:09 pm My brother just asked a good question: who does Minnesota pick now? My guess is that Minnesota takes Hawes or Brewer. They have to take Brewer, but part of me thinks they’ll take Hawes anyway.
My ears are bleeding because of Stephen A. Smith. Geez, I can’t stand that guy.
5:11 pm With the seventh pick, the T-Wolves pick Brewer. That is what they had to do. Corey Brewer is so good. If Minnesota doesn’t trade Garnett, I think Brewer would be a good piece to go with him. Dicky V just commented on the one trade so far, saying that Seattle outfoxed Boston. I agree, and it reminded me of the Sports Guy’s suggestion of worst-case scenario for the Celtics. This is worse.
I take it back. It still seems bad, but the more I think about it, the more I believe that this might be a decent move for them. They’ll be trusting PG to Rondo, pairing Ray Allen with Allen Ray, counting on Paul the truth Pierce to be healthy and dominant as a small forward, and Al Jefferson dominating down low. They still have Theo Ratliff’s terrible contract, and of course they still have Kendrick Perkins. Maybe the Celtics could be a playoff team in the east next year.
5:17 pm The Bobcats have been wanting to trade their pick for a veteran, and even though I don’t really want to trade Randolph, maybe this is the trade we make.
5:18 pm With the eighth pick, the Bobcats drafted Brandan Wright. That means the Blazers will not be trading for his rights. Bilas thinks that Wright was the fourth-best player in this draft, and that they might have to wait on him a bit--exactly what Jordan said he didn’t want to do--and that this is a great pick. The Bulls will now pick Spencer Hawes, unless they’re trading the rights to the Blazers for Randolph.
5:22 pm Great signs from Bulls fans in New York, one just says “thank you Isiah.” Stephen A. Smith just mentioned Zach Randolph for the Bulls, but he doesn’t know what direction they should take. My brother just made a good point, that the Bulls have basically gone the direction of the recent Pistons, with a bunch of good players that work well together.
5:25 pm With the ninth pick the Bulls select Joakim Noah. I think that means they’re keeping Noah. This really does make sense for the Bulls. He doesn’t add much offense for them, but he hustles, he fits the culture of the team, and I think he does a lot of good things to help Chicago play well.
5:30 pm My brother wants me to imagine Garnett as a Blazer. I just can’t imagine it. He keeps pushing it, but I really just can’t imagine it.
5:31 pm With the tenth pick in the draft, the Kings select Spencer Hawes. I didn’t quite laugh-out-loud at that, but that’s funny. Maybe he’s the right pick, but I just don’t think he’s that good. My brother suggests that Hawes will become Brad Miller, and can just step into that role for the Kings. Hmm, Bilas thinks he’ll be good, but has just mentioned that Hawes isn’t a good rebounder or shot blocker. Yeah, that sounds good. Hawes says that getting older will make him a better rebounder. Huh.
5:35 pm Here’s John Paxson. He says that the Bulls plan on keeping Noah. Stephen A. Smith really doesn’t like the pick that the Bulls made. Smith is about to scream that the Bulls should have picked someone without energy, because they already have energy. SCREAM SCREAM SCREAM.
5:38 pm With the eleventh pick in the draft, the Hawks select Acie Law IV. That means they’re keeping the pick. I think that was probably a pretty smart move. I hope he does well there, for the sake of J-Lew, and I hope that Horford plays as well as I think he should. Ugh. The new Hawks jersey looks terrible. Tirico just held that jersey up to show the “new look” of the Hawks, just like the “new look” these two picks are bringing the Hawks. I don’t know what that means for sure, but we’ll see how the Hawks go.
5:42 pm Rumors in Philly? Sal Paolantonio says that the 76ers have been trying to move up in the draft really hard, but it’s too late. It sounds like the Sixers are going to draft Thornton, but who knows, they’re pretty stupid, and they think they need size up front. Billy King is going to screw this up, just watch. I’m guessing that they reach on some power forward, but I can’t think of who it would be. In the Blazer’s Edge mock draft, the Blazers traded for this pick.
5:46 pm With the twelfth pick in the draft, Philadelphia selects Thaddeus Young. Well, that was really dumb. I can’t believe they just did that, I don’t think Young is big enough for what they want. Wow, I can’t believe that they chose Thaddeus Young. Oh, but he does have a lot of great upside according to Jay Bilas.
5:48 pm My brother just suggested that the Clippers need a PG, and I agree. Maybe they draft Javaris Crittenton, or maybe they draft someone like Al Thornton so they can trade Maggette. Or maybe they draft him so they can trade his rights to Portland for Jarrett Jack.
5:51 pm Billy Knight looks like he just walked out of a bar. Wow. But he makes a good point that the guys they drafted will be ready to play right away. But Knight must be drunk, since he says that Law reminds him of Mark Jackson. There’s no question that these draft picks will be Hawks for a long time.
5:52 pm With the thirteenth pick, the Hornets select Julian Wright. He fell a little ways, but I think that’s a good choice. If he reaches his potential, that could be crazy. Dick Vitale is on drugs, and just suggested that ten players will average in double figures this season.
5:56 pm I really enjoy Julian Wright. He sounded really nervous. But I like that kid a lot. He was the pick I wanted the Blazers to make before we got the first pick.
5:59 pm With the fourteenth pick of the draft, the Clippers select Al Thornton. Maybe they trade his rights? Or maybe they just picked the best player available. That doesn’t sound like the type of pick that the Clippers would make. Stephen A. Smith says that Thornton is exactly what the Clippers need. And my brother makes a good point, Smith just said that they had to draft a guard.
6:05 pm With the fifteenth pick of the draft, the Pistons select Rodney Stuckey. I expected that one. My friend Julie is going to be a freshman basketball player at Eastern Washington, and I know that this has nothing to do with her, but that’s fantastic anyway. Bilas just called Stuckey a poor man’s Dwyane Wade. I still think this is a good pick for Detroit.
6:10 pm Stephen A. just ignored Mike Tirico’s question and said a bunch of crap. That was great. The Wizards are on the clock.
With the sixteenth pick in the draft, Washington selects Nick Young. Yup, he was the best guy left. That’s the right decision, I think. Although I can’t help but think about Bryce Taylor from Oregon when I see Nick Young, since it was against Young that Taylor shot 100% in the Pac-10 tournament. Taylor also held Young to three points in that game, I think.
6:13 pm Stuart Scott just said that the NBA drafted Nick Young. And the Knicks just traded with the BLAZERS. WHAT?!?!?!?!?.
I have no idea what I should think about this. Stephen A. Smith loves this move for the Knicks, which makes me think I probably like this for Portland.
6:16 pm With the seventeenth pick in the draft, the Nets just selected Sean Williams.
Okay, the Blazers got rid of danger Dan Dickau, which was necessary, Fred Jones (a player I like but who isn’t really necessary), and Zach Randolph to open up the front court for Greg and LaMarcus.
My brother thinks that Portland has to trade JJ now to allow Steve Francis to start, but I don’t really want to get rid of Jack. I am at a loss still as to what I should think about this.
I think the Blazers must have something else in the works. My brother suggests that Steve Francis might fit into a multi-team deal with the Lakers. I trust Pritchard, and I think Isiah is a terrible GM, so I’m looking forward to seeing how we use this.
6:22 pm With the eighteenth pick, the Warriors selected a foreign player. That makes sense. Marco Belinelli is the pick.
6:28 pm Stephen A. is screaming about the Lakers. I can’t stand him. I wonder if the Lakers are picking for Portland right now.
With the nineteenth pick of the draft, Los Angeles selects Javaris Crittenton, Huh. I don’t know much about him, but I’ve heard comparisons to another strong Georgia Tech PG, Jarrett Jack.
6:31 pm I’m eating right now, so hopefully I can deal with the upcoming Blazers trade news better.
6:35 pm With the twentieth pick, the Heat select Jason Smith. That seems like a good pick here, considering Miami’s needs and Smith’s talent.
6:42 pm With the twenty-first pick, the 76ers select Daequan Cook from Ohio State. It sounds like Philly and Miami traded the last two picks, which seems like a good choice by the Sixers.
6:45 pm The more I think about the Blazers trade, the more I think it’s all about the future. Channing Frye is someone I was thinking about before we got the first pick to play up front with Aldridge. I think he could develop into a great third man in that rotation. I have to believe that Franchise is going to be traded either today or before the end of next week.
6:48 pm With the twenty-second pick, the Bobcats select Jared Dudley. He looked like a good player in the game footage I watched today on ESPN.
6:53 pm With the twenty-third pick, the Knicks select Wilson Chandler from DePaul. I know nothing about this guy. I can’t even think about anything right now while I’m trying to figure this thing out.
6:57 pm Man, the Blazers are busy this year again, just as I thought. They bought this next pick from Phoenix, and it sounds like they’re going to draft Fernandez for Portland. That’s who I wanted with a late first round pick. And that just happened. I did a little research about him last week, and I was really happy with him. But he fits Portland, he isn’t that old, and I think he’s pretty good. Man, I don’t know what to think about anything, but I sure believe that Pritchard knows what he’s doing.
7:05 pm With the twenty-fifth pick, the Jazz select Morris Almond. At this point I’m not contributing much as far as analysis goes.
7:11 pm With the twenty-sixth pick, the Rockets selected Aaron Brooks from Oregon. Dang, good choice by Houston. I love Brooks, and I had a ton of confidence in him during this whole season.
7:13 pm Andy Katz is back to talk about trades. Milwaukee doesn’t know yet if Yi will actually go to Milwaukee.
7:19 pm With the twenty-seventh pick, the Pistons select Arron Afflalo. He was picked after Brooks and should have been second to Brooks in Pac-10 player of the year voting.
7:25 pm The Spurs just picked Tiago Splitter. I think that's a smart pick.
7:47 pm It was just announced that Charlotte traded Brandan Wright for Jason Richardson. All the analysts think this was a bad move, but it makes sense to me. I missed a few of the last couple picks, so here they are: pick 28 was Splitter, 29 was Alando Tucker to the Spurs, 30 was Petteri Koponen to the 76ers, 31 was Carl Landry to the Sonics, 32 was Gabe Pruitt to the Celtics.
7:52 pm The Spurs just selected Marcus Williams from Arizona. I keep waiting to see if the Blazers are going to end up moving Franchise again. The Mavericks just drafted Nick Fazekas, which I think is a good pick for them.
7:55 pm The Celtics just got Glen Davis, which could be good with Al Jefferson up front. Wow, Jay Bilas just made an "Oprah-is-fat" joke.
8:00 pm The Blazers are up again. So much has gone on in the last year. It turns out that Portland bought Petteri Koponen. I just sighed and smiled. And now Portland has another pick. They just drafted one of Oden's favorite guys, Josh McRoberts. Apparently he's a great passer and good defender. Holy crap, the Blazers are just doing crazy things again.
8:15 pm The Blazers are up again. They had all the ESPN guys gushing about how well the draft was going.
8:18 pm Okay, it's time for Portland's pick, but it seems likly that this pick is going to Philly. The Bobcats trade for Jason Richardson was just confirmed. The Blazers just picked Derrick Byars. Okay, Byars was picked for the 76ers in the Koponen trade.
8:26 pm I'm really looking forward to seeing what Portland does in the next week. Will they do a buy-out with Franchise? Will they ship him somewhere? What are they going to do with all those picks? Will they re-sign Outlaw and Udoka? Will they try to convince one of the small forwards on the market to take the mid-level exception to come play with Oden? Kevin Pritchard is a genius.
8:34 pm The Sonics/Celtics trade was just finally announced,
and now the Lakers have drafted Pual Gasol's little brother.I'm a little disappointed that the only Blazers jersey I've ever drafted is now out of date. Maybe Oden will change his mind on number 52 and decide to wear 50 in Portland. Then maybe I can just change this jersey a little bit.
9:06 pm The draft is over. Check ESPN if you want to know who was picked. I've been trying to edit this picture for the last few minutes. Here's my first attempt on Photoshop in a while.
9:20 pm Sportscenter is covering the draft now, and they all agree that Portland did amazing things for a second straight year. I agree. Jay Bilas thought may Blazers had the best draft day, and he thought that J-Lew's Hawks had the worst day. I disagree, and I hope that Horford and Law turn into great players for Atlanta. That's all from eastern Oregon.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Oden vs. Durant and the left coast vs. the world
This morning while I was showering and shaving I was thinking again about the Oden/Durant debate. It came up in my mind because of this article I read this morning. The first part describes the über-cool plan to send Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge to the airport to meet Greg Oden when he arrives in Portland on Tuesday, and then again to meet Kevin Durant when he shows up on Thursday. The only problem I have with this is the State of the Union corollary. The part that brought the debate back into my mind is included here in full because of how much is said in the post:
The Sports Guy keeps insisting that the draft shouldn't reward teams who are always bad and who consistently make bad decisions in the front office. It's here in a question he asks David Stern, and I think he's mentioned it in other columns, though I can't find it. He thinks it's better for the league if teams who are doing things the right way end up with the best picks. You know what? I agree with him. And I think that's why the result of this year's lottery is so good. Of course I love the results because I'm a Blazer fan, and because I think the west coast--and pacific northwest in particular--gets crapped on by the media. But I also think these things need to be considered when measuring the value of the lottery:
The Blazers are clearly doing things the right way. Last year they drafted better than maybe any team has in a while, making all those draft day deals to bring in three players who are really great players and really great people. The team played well together this year, and they have a great coach and a great front office. The Sonics, despite all the turmoil with the ownership and the city, have done a good job with that too. Sure, they've been drafting centers every year. But they've also made good moves to bring in Ray Allen and Chris Wilcox, they just hired another Spurs alum in Sam Presti, and they should make a move to re-sign Rashard Lewis. These teams are both moving toward contention. They both have good basketball traditions that have recently been floundering. Even if the Sonics leave Seattle, they'll be moving to a place that will respond well to a great team. In addition to those things, the two teams have a decent rivalry that will only improve as they both get better. The last thing that is really good about the results of the lottery is that it will force people to care at least a little bit about what's happening in the pacific northwest. I don't care if people will have to stay up later to watch the games. ESPN will have more highlights from both teams, which will generate more interest in both teams, which will result in more people biting the bullet and staying up to see both teams play on TV. Oh yeah, it will also result in more of those games actually being on TV.
So there you go. A while ago my friend J-Lew asked me to write what I thought about all the claims being made that this lottery result was bad for the NBA. I've finally done it.
Even though many have conceded the Blazers drafting Oden with the No. 1 pick, Pritchard shot down the notion on Friday. He was adamant that anybody who feels Oden is the sure-fire pick should watch Durant's March 3 game during which he scored 25 first-half points against Kansas. One week later, in the Big 12 championship game, Durant had 37 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks against Kansas.I am still very much in the Oden camp, but reading all that made me start thinking about the possibility of swapping picks with Seattle and getting some more value out of it. That started me thinking about how good both teams could get with these picks this year, which pushed me into thinking about the impact it could have on the league.
In the article, Pritchard labels himself as "a risk taker" who is "not afraid to go against the current."
My sense is that Pritchard is sending smoke screens. But I have always said this: during the winter, when Pritchard and I would talk in passing before Blazers games, he would always rave about Durant. And shortly after the Blazers won the draft lottery, Pritchard admitted that his scouting staff would probably concur that he was leaning toward Durant.
This much is known: McMillan likes both players, but is clearly leaning toward Oden.
Also, Pritchard loves Durant, but is also enamored with the potential of an Aldridge-Oden frontline that would evoke memories of the Spurs title tandem of David Robinson and Tim Duncan.
Another nugget: Pritchard says that Roy and Aldridge are leaning toward favoring different players. Which ones? Who knows.
The Sports Guy keeps insisting that the draft shouldn't reward teams who are always bad and who consistently make bad decisions in the front office. It's here in a question he asks David Stern, and I think he's mentioned it in other columns, though I can't find it. He thinks it's better for the league if teams who are doing things the right way end up with the best picks. You know what? I agree with him. And I think that's why the result of this year's lottery is so good. Of course I love the results because I'm a Blazer fan, and because I think the west coast--and pacific northwest in particular--gets crapped on by the media. But I also think these things need to be considered when measuring the value of the lottery:
The Blazers are clearly doing things the right way. Last year they drafted better than maybe any team has in a while, making all those draft day deals to bring in three players who are really great players and really great people. The team played well together this year, and they have a great coach and a great front office. The Sonics, despite all the turmoil with the ownership and the city, have done a good job with that too. Sure, they've been drafting centers every year. But they've also made good moves to bring in Ray Allen and Chris Wilcox, they just hired another Spurs alum in Sam Presti, and they should make a move to re-sign Rashard Lewis. These teams are both moving toward contention. They both have good basketball traditions that have recently been floundering. Even if the Sonics leave Seattle, they'll be moving to a place that will respond well to a great team. In addition to those things, the two teams have a decent rivalry that will only improve as they both get better. The last thing that is really good about the results of the lottery is that it will force people to care at least a little bit about what's happening in the pacific northwest. I don't care if people will have to stay up later to watch the games. ESPN will have more highlights from both teams, which will generate more interest in both teams, which will result in more people biting the bullet and staying up to see both teams play on TV. Oh yeah, it will also result in more of those games actually being on TV.
So there you go. A while ago my friend J-Lew asked me to write what I thought about all the claims being made that this lottery result was bad for the NBA. I've finally done it.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Another non-US center for Portland?
In response to Ek's comments on the last post: I agree that the real problem is the reffing in general around the league, and not just what happened in that great series. I complained enough this season about what happened in various Blazer games, but I'm sure you're right about being able to find video evidence in every game of bad officiating. Unfortunately our satellite went haywire just as the playoffs were getting goohttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifd, so I didn't see hardly any of the other playoff games, which means I missed the Tayshaun call to which you're referring. I love Sheed, but it's always fun to watch him go nuts.
The draft lottery is on Tuesday, and I can't wait to see what Portland gets. Yesterday I read a little about Yi Jianlian and watched some video of him on YouTube. Just now I watched the ESPN video about him. I'm apt to compare people more favorably than they deserve with big names. Still, I couldn't help but see the similarities between him and Garnett. What's even better--or worse, if it isn't true--is that he reminded me of a young Sabonis. There's nobody better in my mind, which means I'm already sold on him as a potential pick if we can't get Oden or Durant. This is the video I watched on YouTube, picked especially for placement here because the song is so good. I've included a video of Sabonis at the bottom. I know that I've put this up before, but it's just so good and he holds such a high position in my mind that I have to include it every once in a while.
The draft lottery is on Tuesday, and I can't wait to see what Portland gets. Yesterday I read a little about Yi Jianlian and watched some video of him on YouTube. Just now I watched the ESPN video about him. I'm apt to compare people more favorably than they deserve with big names. Still, I couldn't help but see the similarities between him and Garnett. What's even better--or worse, if it isn't true--is that he reminded me of a young Sabonis. There's nobody better in my mind, which means I'm already sold on him as a potential pick if we can't get Oden or Durant. This is the video I watched on YouTube, picked especially for placement here because the song is so good. I've included a video of Sabonis at the bottom. I know that I've put this up before, but it's just so good and he holds such a high position in my mind that I have to include it every once in a while.
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