Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Whew....

I'm exhausted from that Draft. I'm not sure if it was a record for trades, but it seemd like they just kept coming and it might just be my imagination, but I think Portland was involved with every single one.

The Lakers did not take one of my 6, but they did snag previously-profiled Jordan Farmar in somewhat of a surprise. Both Ager and Collins were on the board, but Kupchack went for a more prototypical point guard. I'm not sure if Farmar will be a great fit, but he's a very nice pick at 26. He should be able to spell Smush and help bring energy at both ends of the court. If his outside shot improves before the season, he could see upwards of 20 minutes a game by the end of the season.

With their 2nd round pick, the Lakers chose Cheick Samb. I'm pretty sure that was a dartboard pick. Here's your scouting report on Samb: He's tall and can jump high. The nice way of saying that is "Raw with potentially explosive athleticism." He essentially needs to learn how to play the game of basketball. He'll be 22 in October. I don't know the exact rule for how long a team keeps the rights of a 2nd round player, but maybe he'll turn into something and help the Lakers down the road. I would've preferred the Lakers to take Pittsnoggle.

The Clippers had themselves a nice little draft. Paul Davis is a big man with solid fundamentals, he'll do nothing spectacular but will be an assest as a back-up PF/C. Guillermo Diaz at 52 looks like a huge steal. I thought he could go in the 1st round; instead he was the 16th guard taken. Perhaps it was his smallish frame or the fact that people thought he was a tweener, a shooting guard caught in a point guards body. I think he could be Leondra Barbossa-esque. I'm not sure what happened, but Elgin Baylor seems to have gotten this whole draft thing down.

Other Teams Drafts I liked:
  • Memphis - Top all-around athelte in the class. Check. Help at PG. Check. Highly athletic PF. Check. Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry and Anthony Johnson are a great draft class. Gay for Battier may go down as one of the all-time draft steals. What was Houston thinking?
  • Utah - Adding Ronnie Brewer gives Utah a very solid starting 5 that could challenge for the playoffs. Dee Brown and Paul Millsap were very strong in college and excellent 2nd round picks.
  • Orlando - No matter what you think about Redick, the man can shoot and last I checked that was still the only way to score in basketball. Even more, adding Redick will prevent teams from completely doubling down on Dwight Howard and the emerging Darko. This pick will help their development. Last note, Redick scored most of his points last year through double/triple teams. No way he sees anything like that this year. Plus he's a sick FT shooter. I like Augustine in the 2nd round as well.
  • New Jersey - Gets the top PG in the draft in Marcus Williams, adds a shot-blocking presence in the athletic Josh Boone and picks up an athletic wing in Hassan Adams.
Drafts I didn't like:
  • Minnesota - Hey Wolves fans, how'd the last SG-for-PG in consecutive picks in the draft trade work out? I think Ray Allen is slightly higher regarded than Stephon Marbury. Also, you gotta love undersized non-athletic PFs in the 2nd round. What a joke this team is becoming.
  • New York - Four words: Renaldo Balkman at 20.
  • Houston - You have the top PG and a stud SF drop to you and you end up with an old SG who is the world's most average player and a tall white guy who can shoot. If Jeff Van Gundy had more hair to lose, it'd be gone by now.
  • Seattle - The Detroit Lions of the NBA. 3rd consecutive year drafting a Center. Will probably still need one next year too.
Team that I'm still trying to figure out all of its ramifications:
  • Portland: I think they turned over about half their roster today, but I'll have a piece up about their transformation shortly.

2 Comments:

Blogger SAMO said...

I think Farmar will be very beneficial for the Lakers. Kobe only passes in an attempt to make his teammates better during the playoffs, Farmar does this all the time. He is a great player, can hit the open shot, and is a good defender. If he stayed in school, he certainly would have been a top 10 when he graduated. Good pick Lakers, I think you will enjoy him!

10:44 PM  
Blogger Tim Moore said...

The lakes got a steal with farmar, not only is he a substantial back-up, he is right at home with the glitz of LA. i loved him at UCLA, and i will lov, even more, getting to watch him every night on local programming.

12:26 AM  

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