NBA Draft: Not Fit for Kings
Written by MC Homer, Wednesday May 20 2009
Without as much as a whimper, we now know the order for the 2009 NBA Draft. Since 1950, amateur basketballers have been throwing their name into the mix hoping for their shot at the big time. Since it’s beginning, the NBA has had a lottery to determine who is lucky enough, or in some years, unlucky enough, to attain the first overall pick. A lottery you say? The NBA is the only sport to not automatically give the worst team in the league the top pick. I’ll leave that for you to decide if that is right or wrong.
The Sacramento Kings had the worst record in the NBA this season, with an embarrassing 17-65 mark. It’s really too bad for the team and the city of Sacramento because after having a 25% shot at landing the top overall pick, which has now only gone to the worst team in the league twice in the last 21 years, the Kings will be picking fourth. For all the futility in Sacto in recent years, barring a big name free-agent, they will enjoy another pathetic season next year.
Playing second, or eighth, fiddle to the Lakers in the city of angels, the Clippers won the right to select Blake Griffin with the top overall pick. Let’s be honest, he is the clear-cut number one pick without question. Can we agree this will not make up for decades of misery suffered by Clipper fans? It is a start, but one man a team does not make, not even if your initials are MJ.
The Thunder, who already boast one of the rising stars in the league in Kevin Durant, have another fantastic young talent named Russell Westbrook. They will choose third, after the Memphis Grizzlies, who also have their own young star in OJ Mayo. Both of these teams ended up with the other bottom feeders in the league this year, but both are extremely young and have time to grow. Both also beat out the Kings for the right to the lottery selections (the top three picks). Again, poor
Every team hopes for a draft like, most recently, the 2003 draft, which featured the likes of LeBron, Carmelo, and Wade among other NBA regulars. The 1984 version is arguably (favorably, if I do say so myself) the greatest draft ever. Hakeem Olajuwon was the top pick, Michael Jordan went third, and Charles Barkely was chosen fifth. All three are now Hall of Famers. That wasn’t the end of the ‘class’ of that class either. Alvin Robertson, Kevin Willis and John Stockton, who was selected 16th, were all products as well. Not too shabby.
If a Draft could talk, the 1996 version would be saying “what about me?!?” Most draftees are still playing, so they’re shot at the Hall has not been awarded to them yet, but the likes of Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen (or Jesus Shuttlesworth if you prefer, I certainly do), Steve Nash, Jermaine O’Neal, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas all were chosen in the first round that year. While not all will make the
Of course, no team in the league wants to see another 2000 draft, ever, which is widely regarded as the worst draft in the history of the game. When Kenyon Martin, broken leg and all, is the class of the draft, you have get the idea that it is less than stellar. Hedo Turkoglu was chosen 16th and he hasn’t turned out half bad, but the majority of the rest are either warming the very end of a bench or out of the league already.
On June 25th, at
So which draft will we get this year? The one in 1984 that was loaded with future stars or the anything-but-impressive 2000 version? Obviously it’s too early to tell right now, but from the looks of it, this one will fall right smack dab in the middle. There will be some future superstars (i.e. Blake Griffin and maybe Ricky Rubio from
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4 comments
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I, personally, don't like the 'lottery'. I like the idea, but let's be real, if you have the worst record, you should get the first pick. Sucks for Sacto, that's for sho! I'm not sure what you can get for Captain Jack, but the W's need a true point. They have talent (albeit not tons) at the other 4 positions. Hopefully they can just trade the pick if no point is available. Picking 7 this year is no bueno.
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That is the key for the Warriors draft: picking a solid point guard. This is not a deep draft, and picking seventh isn't as good as it sounds. Brandon Jennings or Stephen Curry could be available, but both are scoring point guards, not passers. I think it's time to ship out Jack before it's too late. I don't see this team doing much in the near future, and ditching Jackson for some picks or younger talent to go with Andris and Monta would be the smart move. Oh, and Sacramento is screwed.
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So true. But if they get a 2, what do you do with Ellis? He sure can't play point full-time. If they got a true point, they could be semi-dangerous.
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The Clippers will screw it up, no doubt. Even if they take Griffin, the Clippers are the worst run organization in sports, if not the worst run business in the country. There is no way this will work out. As for the Warriors, I'll take another two-guard over a big man. Joe Smith, Andrew Declercq, Todd Fuller, Troy Murphy and Partick O'Bryant were all pretty much wastes of draft picks, and that doesn't even get into the C-Webb debacle. Biedrins is the only big man that GS has drafted that is worth a damn. Anthony Randolph and Brandon Wright show promise, but the Warriors streak of bad big men will haunt the franchise for a long time.