We are here. The dog days of summer when the only sports to watch are meaningless baseball games, men turning left in their cars for hours on end or golf. Yuck. But, before we officially enter the dog days of summer we have tomorrow’s NBA draft. Most people don’t care about the NBA anymore, but I still love it. The NBA draft is my favorite draft as well. The excitement of players that can change a franchise, Jay Bilas talking about how long everyone is, Stuart Scott having really awkward conversations with the draft picks, 7 foot tall men wearing suits that are comically long and extravagant, the mom’s crying, David Stern pronouncing the names of all the foreign players, terrible draft picks all the talk of upside. It is really an uplifting experience. So to get you in the mood, I offer my lottery mock draft and predictions about some of the players.
| PICK NO. |
PROSPECT | RESULT | YOUR SCORE |
||
| 1 | Greg Oden Center Ohio State |
 |
 |
0 | |
|
|
||||
Forward
Texas
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Forward/Center
Florida
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Guard
Ohio State
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Forward
Florida
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Forward
Guandong Southern Tigers (China)
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Forward
North Carolina
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Forward/Center
Florida
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Center
Washington
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Forward
Georgetown
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Guard
Georgia Tech
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Forward
Florida State
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Guard/Forward
Southern California
| PLAYER |
| PLAYER | CLOSE |
Guard
Texas A&M
A few predictions about the players. Oden seems headed for a David Robinson kind of career. Robinson was spectacular, a top 50 all time player, great guy, and someone who needed someone with more killer instinct (Tim Duncan) to win a championship. Durant is just plain nasty. Would I gamble by taking a scrawny 18 year old kid who can’t bench press 185 pounds over a proven stud like Oden? Yep. Durant’s got it, whatever it is, and he is the real deal. Al Horford is NBA ready. Big, active, nice post game. The only way he doesn’t succeed is is he ends up in Atlanta where players go to die. Oh they have the #3 pick, sorry Al. At least your daddy is famous. Mike Conley will never be the dunker his dad was, but he seems like a great point guard. You just wonder if his tiny frame can take the pounding of driving the lane where a guy without an outside shot is going to have to live. The Chinese Dude is a mystery. But seriously, tell me the difference between Yi and Nikolos Sktivili from a couple of years ago? They are both 7 foot jump shooters without a post game who have never played against real competition. No way I am picking that guy with a top ten pick. Brandan Wright has no motor but some nice skills. He reminds me of a guy like Charles Smith. (If you can remember him, kudos NBA fans).
Joakim Noah looks like a really ugly woman. That being said he is a rich man’s Mark Madsen, an upgrade over Anderson Varejao. He is the crazy energy and glue guy. No way he is ever your go to guy in the clutch however. Spencer Hawes is supposed to have game, but his name is Spencer. Can a Spencer ever dominate the NBA? I wonder… Jeff Green from my beloved G-Town has a lot of nice skills, but he is mostly a complimentary player. Great fit on a team with a primary scorer. Corey Brewer is another it guy. He has got it. He is a great defender, has a nice outside game, would thrive in an up tempo game and needs to be a Phoenix Sun. Let’s hope they find a way to get him.
Other players to watch…… I hope my beloved Wizards get their hands on Thaddeus Young who looks like he is going to be a stud or Julian Wright who is slipping down a lot of draft boards. Just don’t take the white guy from Colorado. Why? He is a white guy from Colorado. Taurean Green from Florida is a sleeper. Watch for him in the late 1st to early second round. He has a pro game and will really help some one. Also watch out for Sean Williams from BC. As long as he doesn’t end up on a team with Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire, he should be a force. I would be fine with my Wiz grabbing him as well. A beastly shot blocking rebounder would be nice on any team.
Anyways, enjoy the draft, then say goodbye to sports for a while. But don’t worry, preseason football isn’t that far away…
June 27, 2007 at 2:58 pm
I was watching Around the Horn the other night and Woody Hayes and others were going on and on about how they believe Horford could be the best player in the draft not named Oden and Durant.
I think Oden goes No. 1 tomorrow. A player like Oden only comes around once in a generation. He will be a dominating presence in the paint and will have some longevity, if he really is just 19. I still think he is closer to cashing in on his social security.
Durant is good. If I was a GM, I would throw a yellow flag because of his strength. That doesn’t mean you can’t draft him, but you have to wonder how he would handle in a physical game when making a cut to the basket.
I wouldn’t want to go to Seattle. Too many problems, namely the fact the team won’t hire a coach until after the draft. If I’m a high lottery pick and get drafted to Seattle, I’m going to demand a trade immediately.
June 27, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Come on…How about beach volley ball? Women’s?
June 28, 2007 at 12:43 pm
You mentioned Brandan Wright at 7, but when will his ears get drafted?
Durant is the best player not named Todd…
With the imminent demise of the WWE you can always watch the Cubs play…they like to mix it up…meaningless baseball games indeed!
June 29, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Nice job, Greg. I watched the draft last night with great anticipation to see how your picks would fare…. not bad!!
Alas, I must agree with Maggie… volleyball IS the most important sport!! And no I’m not biased just because I coach a pretty awesome team!