My Reaction to the Draft

So after watching the entire NBA draft, I have many reactions to it (HUGE understatement). My first reaction was "wow, this is a really bad draft". I do like a lot of players in this draft, but after that, it really gets ugly. My second reaction is "wow, NBA GM's are really dumb". How did so many teams pass up the likes of Dejuan Blair, Sam Young and Chase Budinger? Look, I know Blair had some "knee" issues, but when teams pass up players, because of injuries in high school, its absolutely insane. This is just like when Brandon Roy had "injury concerns" as well and many GM's passed up on him as well. And whats even more frustrating is that Blair got chosen by the Spurs! The Spurs catch another break. They basically got a fabulous role player at half the price, because no one drafted him in the 1st round. The ONLY stat that truly translates from college to the pros is rebounding. Dajuan Blair is a monster on the glass. Hes a better rebounder than Blake Griffin and Tyler Hansbrough. For an example of how well rebounding translates to the pros, just look at Paul Millsap. He led the nation in rebounding 2 years in a row at Louisiana Tech and now has one of the top rebounding rates in the NBA. I have a feeling people will look back at this draft and say "I can't believe Blair fell so far, and the Spurs did it again".

Some other thoughts from the draft point straight to the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New Orleans Hornets. My question for both of these franchises are "what the hell were you thinking?!" I completely understand the Rubio pick for 'Sota. He has tremendous upside and could really put the franchise back on the map. Rubio is extremely marketable and plays a brand of basketball that everyone would want to watch. Now personally, I feel Rubio may not live up to the expectations (Nash and Pistol Pete) that many people are giving for him. Hes got extraordinary vision for a basketball player for his age. He's always 2 steps ahead of the defense and you cannot teach that skill. As much as he makes the remarkable pass or play, he also makes just as many dumb mistakes and dumb passes. Hes a major risk taker and at the NBA level, defenses will make him pay. I watched him many times this year on NBA TV and every game I watched he seemed to have just as many turnovers as assists. Granted he is only 18, but the jury is still out on this guy as far as I am concerned. Anyways, what I don't understand is why did 'Sota draft another point guard with their next pick in Johnny Flynn! How the hell did they not take the best shooter in the draft, Stephen Curry. They only traded away their 2 best shooters (Miller and Foye) earlier in the week! I know 'Sota had Rubio and Flynn ranked #1 and #2 on their draft board, but you don't pick them both! Its like the equivalent of drafting 2 QBs in the 1st round of the NFL draft, it just doesn't happen. How do you think that pick makes Rubio feel? Rubio has to risk losing out on a lot of money, by buying out his own contract to play in the NBA. Would you want to risk that, to possibly not even be the starting point guard for the Minnesota freaking Timberwolves? I could honestly go on for about 10,000 words on this. I am so bothered that an NBA organization would do this. I pray for the sake of all 'Sota fans that they have a plan and trade one of them. OK, so enough about the Wolves, on to the Hornets. The Hornets had major issues with their front court depth all season. If and when Tyson Chandler or David West got hurt, that team suffered miserably. Their back ups are Ryan Bowen, Hilton Armstrong and Julian Wright, also known as "The Poo-Poo D'jour" of back up big men. So the Hornets pick came up at #21 and you have to believe they are going to take Dejaun Blair (see 1st paragraph). This only makes too much sense. If you don't know much about the Hornets, they have the best point guard on the planet (CP3) and really only need a back up to play around 8-12 minutes per game. They could easily accomplish that via Free Agency and sign someone. And with the 21st pick of the NBA Draft, the New Orleans Hornets select...drum roll please...Darren Collison, POINT GUARD out of UCLA. Are you kidding me!? Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Darren Collison as a player. But this is the last position the Hornets needed help in. OK, well at least they have 1 more pick to address their front court issues. So with their next pick, they select...drum roll please...Marcus Thornton, SHOOTING GUARD, out of LSU. I have no idea what they are doing at this point. They have 4 other players that do the same exact thing (Rasual Butler, Morris Peterson, James Posey and Peja Stojakovic), which is shoot the 3. These GM's are getting paid to make these picks? A monkey with a dart, could have made a better pick, because at least there would have been a chance to draft a Big. Here are just some other things I noticed about the draft:

• The Phoenix Suns made a great pick for once. They selected Earl Clark, out of Louisville. A 6'10" forward, who can shoot the 3, post you up and handle the ball as well. Great pick for Phoenix.
• The Clippers couldn't mess that pick up, right?
• The Lakers saved roughly 6.5 million on this draft. A very smart move to raise more money in order to resign Odom, Ariza and maybe Shannon Brown.
• I loved the Pacers drafting Tyler Hansbrough. I hope they trot out a lineup next year of Travis Diener, Mike Dunleavy, Troy Murphy, Tyler Hansbrough and Jeff Foster. Jim O'Brien, please make this happen.
• As my Laker confidant Dave pointed out, Jordan Hill is going to be a monster for the Knicks. He is a perfect fit for Mike D'Antoni. A great sleeper pick for Rookie of the Year.