Xist's Draft Coverage, The Rest of It Edition

[Xist2Inspire]

Even though I was hunting for points with my last article (and this one), I can't leave a draft coverage unfinished, even one as inconsequential as this one. I honestly have a bit of morbid curiosity as to what my thoughts will be on these bums, so without further ado...

#15 - Nathan Ridgway, New Orleans Pelicans
Nick made it clear during the season that he would've much rather have missed the playoffs and entered the lotto than get reamed by the Magic in the playoffs, but I think that the grass was definitely greener on his side. Ridgway's almost a carbon copy of Meehan, so he's probably not worth much, but neither were half the players chosen in the lotto, so whatever. At least Nick picked up additional points for drafting his guy by making the playoffs, that's more than the Kings can say.

#16 - Kevin Brown, Utah Jazz
The Jazz still have one year left of an aging Desantis on their roster, so drafting a big here makes sense. Brown's similar to Creighton in that his biggest question mark is his ability to defend, which isn't a good thing at all for a big. Unlike Creighton, Brown's too slow to play power forward, but with Isaiah Stewart and Mike Piazza on the roster, he won't have to.

#17 - Robert Bonnett, San Antonio Spurs
Son of a...why do teams keep doing this? The Spurs already have quite a few young big men on their roster, so I can only hope that their ultimate goal is to leverage Bonnett's relative quickness and remarkably expansive potential skillset to transform him into a small forward. If not, that's fine, I guess, as Bonnett does look like a quality project, but I just...can't with these "I already have players at this position...BUT THAT'S NOT ENOUGH, I NEED MORE" picks.

#18 - Woodrow Atwater, Los Angeles Lakers
Sigh...look. The chances of Los Angeles keeping all of these guys, especially if they pan out, is slim to none, but here's how this can work. Slot in Atwater at point guard, Loredo at shooting guard, and Lopez at small forward. Bring Leiker off the bench as a combo guard, Cobb can come off the bench at small forward. Then all you need is to fill the center (Jacobs), power forward (Battle), and backup combo big slot (Nickels?), and there you go, a highly flawed, but functional 8 man rotation that not only boasts a size advantage over most teams, but at least attempts to avoid overlap while putting everyone involved in a position to do what they do best. You're welcome. Please don't make me revisit this again at #23. Oh wait...I forgot about Ronald Jackson. Sigh...

#19 - John Blakemore, Philadelphia 76ers
A point guard who can't pass...interesting. He can keep the ball secure at least, though. He also has nice offensive potential, fills a position of need, and covers Powell's weakness of being bad as a shooting guard by actually being a decent, if not stellar, prospect at his position. I'll allow it.

#20 - Benny Prouty, Brooklyn Nets
Prouty's a terrible pick, made worse by Naz Reid's presence on the roster. What self-respecting big man can't defend in the post, but shows interest in defending perimeter players, despite lacking the athleticism to handle even the Sixers' Powell? Hard pass on this one.

#21 - Robert Arroyo, Minnesota Timberwolves
The Wolves are balanced enough as a roster overall so that I'm okay with this pick, especially since we're at the point where you're no longer looking for potential starters, or even rotation players, but potential role players. Arroyo reminds me of Frederick Hughes a season or two ago in that he's an unassuming orange/yellow player whose potential and athleticism indicate a possible shift to green. I'd say the Wolves did good here, as I can see him and Hughes eventually supplanting Sabonis/Marsh as Minnesota's post duo if things pan out.

#22 - James Chaves, Oklahoma City Thunder
Even all the way down here at #22, I feel that this is a bit of a stretch. While Chaves isn't bad, especially offensively, he seems to have developed a knack for stealing the ball in order to mask his atrocious defense. Brian Green is a bit more balanced overall and probably would've been a better pick here, especially since this could be considered a position of need.

#23 - Scot Bulter, Los Angeles Lakers
Well, it only took the entire draft, but Los Angeles finally made a pick that doesn't make me want to call Hoarders for a special #SLOE edition episode. Bulter's a quality project big with enough athleticism to moonlight at power forward. More importantly, his presence now means that the Lakers no longer have to rely on Jacobs and Nickels for all eternity, they now have two young bigs ready to take over when needed. I really wish that I would've liked the other two Lakers' picks as much as I like this one, because if you don't look at fit and just look at raw talent, the Lakers won this draft hands down.

#24 - Philip Crouch, Toronto Raptors
This is another solid pick, as the Raptors, who have really struggled with post play in the Ironside era, needed another big to pair with Grinder. This draft was overloaded with average bigs, which probably explains the wild decision making from some of these teams in regards to drafting at other positions. I still maintain that seeking trades is a better way to get value though.

#25 - Thomas Navarra, Indiana Pacers
Navarra's niche is that of a stout, superb rebounding force. He's another miserable post defender, and will not be able to play anything other than center despite being listed as a power forward. Indiana doesn't really need him to do much else other than come off the bench and gobble up boards though.

#26 - Christopher Mason, Portland Trail Blazers
Mason's a decent scrub, as his size, athleticism, stealing ability, ball handling potential, and midrange game all combine to give him a fair shot at staying on an NBA bench for around 3-5 years.

#27 - David Cameron, Milwaukee Bucks
DC is an awful chucker who only has one skill, and one skill only - to shoot, and keep shooting.

#28 - Pierre Plascencia, Washington Wizards
I was asleep while this happened, no lie. If you're reading this and like what you see of him for some perverse reason, don't worry. He'll be released soon enough.

#29 - Victorino Menendez, Chicago Bulls
This guy was named after a couple of Pokémon, I'm sure of it. You know the point guard struggle in the league is real when I look at this guy and see potential as a fringe starter.

Trade: Bulls trade Victorino to the 76ers, he does not evolve into Victoriking
...why is Powell even necessary at this point?

#30 - Dannie Larabee, Philadelphia 76ers
I like this guy's defensive intangibles at least. Larabee's a perfectly serviceable scrub small forward, thus ruining any shot Myles Powell had of being considered a worthwhile addition to this roster. He might actually be a worse pick than Brooks.

And that's all, folks. No "Winners and Losers" segment this time around, as I think we could all be considered losers for having to endure this slog. Again, thanks for reading!

[false9]

5 points