Action: The Clippers win the draft lottery and the Lakers (holding the Magic pick) fall all the way to 4th (worst possible scenario for them).
Reaction: That hurricane-force gale you hear is coltsguy breathing a huge sigh of relief that going all-in for the title last season didn't mean he traded Kevin Durant for Keith Van Horn. Half of Los Angeles curses the lotto gods while the other half of LA rejoices.
Wig Liveblogs the 2007 Draft
Wig Liveblogs the 2007 Draft
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Re: Wig Liveblogs the 2007 Draft
Action: The Clippers select Kevin Durant with the #1 pick.
Reaction: This was the no-brainer pick of the draft. Durant instantly makes the Clippers better than last year. The Lakers still have holes at PG and PF, but they'll be happy to try to address those via trade or free agency (let's be honest, their late first isn't going to net them the starter they need). Whether or not the Clippers try to compete with their core this season, it's a pretty good bet that in 2008 they'll look significantly different as they try to build around KD.
Reaction: This was the no-brainer pick of the draft. Durant instantly makes the Clippers better than last year. The Lakers still have holes at PG and PF, but they'll be happy to try to address those via trade or free agency (let's be honest, their late first isn't going to net them the starter they need). Whether or not the Clippers try to compete with their core this season, it's a pretty good bet that in 2008 they'll look significantly different as they try to build around KD.
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Re: Wig Liveblogs the 2007 Draft
Action: The Sonics select Marc Gasol with the #2 pick.
Reaction: This was the right pick. The Sonics have a great backcourt rotation with Rondo and Roy backed up by Lou Williams and a good three on Granger. They needed a big and Gasol gives them a guy who can become a defensive anchor in time while also providing a nice offensive punch. The athletic advantage over Horford is what probably sealed the choice, though. Assuming Zaza is back to spell Kasun and Gasol off the bench, the Sonics look to have a nice young, up and coming seven man rotation - and that is before they hit UFA. The Sonics are poised to make some noise this year.
Reaction: This was the right pick. The Sonics have a great backcourt rotation with Rondo and Roy backed up by Lou Williams and a good three on Granger. They needed a big and Gasol gives them a guy who can become a defensive anchor in time while also providing a nice offensive punch. The athletic advantage over Horford is what probably sealed the choice, though. Assuming Zaza is back to spell Kasun and Gasol off the bench, the Sonics look to have a nice young, up and coming seven man rotation - and that is before they hit UFA. The Sonics are poised to make some noise this year.
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Re: Wig Liveblogs the 2007 Draft
Action: The Cavaliers select Al Horford with the #3 pick.
Reaction: I was expecting the Cavaliers to pick Paul Horford to pair with Paul Pierce and Chris Paul, but I guess Al will do. With a star wing in his prime, a great young PG, the obvious choice was a big man. Horford looks to be pretty much developed in his rebounding game now and should be able to add some potent offense as he matures to give the Cavaliers scoring from all over the floor. The question now is probably how fast Al and Chris can get up to speed - will they be able to complement Pierce before he ages out of his prime? All told, though, it's a good pick.
Reaction: I was expecting the Cavaliers to pick Paul Horford to pair with Paul Pierce and Chris Paul, but I guess Al will do. With a star wing in his prime, a great young PG, the obvious choice was a big man. Horford looks to be pretty much developed in his rebounding game now and should be able to add some potent offense as he matures to give the Cavaliers scoring from all over the floor. The question now is probably how fast Al and Chris can get up to speed - will they be able to complement Pierce before he ages out of his prime? All told, though, it's a good pick.
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Action: The Lakers select Mike Conley with the #4 pick.
Reaction: The Lakers have bigs and wings aplenty. The missing piece has been PG for the last couple of seasons and they make a pick they hope will address that (at least, better than Felton did). Conley's ridiculously fast and shows great potential in ballhandling and passing - I suspect we'll know sooner rather than later if he is the "missing piece" to the Lakers' puzzle.
Reaction: The Lakers have bigs and wings aplenty. The missing piece has been PG for the last couple of seasons and they make a pick they hope will address that (at least, better than Felton did). Conley's ridiculously fast and shows great potential in ballhandling and passing - I suspect we'll know sooner rather than later if he is the "missing piece" to the Lakers' puzzle.
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Re: Wig Liveblogs the 2007 Draft
Action: The Hawks select Joakim Noah with the #5 pick.
Reaction: Three words come to mind: Big Ben Lite. Wig has a long history of being able to squeeze production out of big men (going all the way back to Pervis Ellison and Rik Smits) so it's not a surprise he went for a big man and will worry about finding a way to get him to score later. The question is now "what role does Antonio McDyess have on the Hawks going forward?"
Reaction: Three words come to mind: Big Ben Lite. Wig has a long history of being able to squeeze production out of big men (going all the way back to Pervis Ellison and Rik Smits) so it's not a surprise he went for a big man and will worry about finding a way to get him to score later. The question is now "what role does Antonio McDyess have on the Hawks going forward?"
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Action: The Warriors select Jared Dudley with the #6 pick
Reaction: The Warriors team currently consists of "Ben Wallace defending down low and a bunch of three point shooters" - and Dudley fits right into that "a bunch of three point shooters" mold. He's going to have to grow quickly on offense, because his defensive potentials aren't that great. I have to admit, I'm not the greatest Dudley fan - he reminds me a lot of Shandon Anderson, who took about 9 years to really make an impact in the league. I project this as the first "bust" of the draft.
Reaction: The Warriors team currently consists of "Ben Wallace defending down low and a bunch of three point shooters" - and Dudley fits right into that "a bunch of three point shooters" mold. He's going to have to grow quickly on offense, because his defensive potentials aren't that great. I have to admit, I'm not the greatest Dudley fan - he reminds me a lot of Shandon Anderson, who took about 9 years to really make an impact in the league. I project this as the first "bust" of the draft.
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Action: The Rockets select Thaddeus Young with the #7 pick
Reaction: Good offensive potential AND potential to become a lockdown perimeter defender in a league filled with great wings? Thaddeus isn't going to be the best player on a championship squad, but as a third banana he would look really good. It's going to take a few seasons for him to come close to his potential, but the Rockets are coming to the end of the Big Z era and will be rebuilding for a while anyway. They have time to wait.
Reaction: Good offensive potential AND potential to become a lockdown perimeter defender in a league filled with great wings? Thaddeus isn't going to be the best player on a championship squad, but as a third banana he would look really good. It's going to take a few seasons for him to come close to his potential, but the Rockets are coming to the end of the Big Z era and will be rebuilding for a while anyway. They have time to wait.
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Action: The Spurs select Arron Afflalo with the #8 pick.
Reaction: Higher offensive ceiling than Dudley in my mind, but defense is going to be atrocious. The last time the Spurs picked an offense-first, defense-never player, his name was Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who is still terrorizing defenses today. If Eazy can do the same thing with Afflalo he did with SAR, every team that has picked so far except the Clippers will be kicking themselves. Note I wouldn't love him as much anywhere else as I do with Eazy given Eazy's track record.
Reaction: Higher offensive ceiling than Dudley in my mind, but defense is going to be atrocious. The last time the Spurs picked an offense-first, defense-never player, his name was Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who is still terrorizing defenses today. If Eazy can do the same thing with Afflalo he did with SAR, every team that has picked so far except the Clippers will be kicking themselves. Note I wouldn't love him as much anywhere else as I do with Eazy given Eazy's track record.
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Action: The Knicks select Wilson Chandler with the #9 pick
Reaction: The Knicks are rounding into a really nice-looking squad (assuming Carmelo is back, which is a virtual lock). Their bigs are in their prime, and if they have been a bit TC-ravaged they are still plenty productive. Their guards and wings are young and have a ton of potential; if they can start converting potential to skill, the Knicks will be scary sooner rather than later. Chandler is a nice fit because he lets the Knicks have a lot of looks - a very "big" lineup if they go Ming/Brand/Melo/Chandler/Brown or a small, quick, athletic lineup if they go "Brand/Melo/Chandler/Brown/Robinson." In time, he'll probably be the Knicks' 4th or 5th starter, and he won't be as good as most other teams' best players - but he'll probably be better than most other teams' 4th or 5th starters.
Reaction: The Knicks are rounding into a really nice-looking squad (assuming Carmelo is back, which is a virtual lock). Their bigs are in their prime, and if they have been a bit TC-ravaged they are still plenty productive. Their guards and wings are young and have a ton of potential; if they can start converting potential to skill, the Knicks will be scary sooner rather than later. Chandler is a nice fit because he lets the Knicks have a lot of looks - a very "big" lineup if they go Ming/Brand/Melo/Chandler/Brown or a small, quick, athletic lineup if they go "Brand/Melo/Chandler/Brown/Robinson." In time, he'll probably be the Knicks' 4th or 5th starter, and he won't be as good as most other teams' best players - but he'll probably be better than most other teams' 4th or 5th starters.
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Action: The Jazz select Greg Oden with the #10 pick.
Reaction: A veteran-laden Jazz team that has been close but never quite able to make it over the hump had two big holes - PF/C (whichever one Duncan isn't playing) and PG. I guess the Jazz didn't like the point guards on offer and decided to get a big man. Oden might back up Samaki Walker this season though given Oden's limited offensive potential, I'm guessing the play here for Prej is to start Oden at C and let Duncan move back to PF and dominate there, with Walker backing both of them up off the bench. This reinforces the Jazz as an elite defensive team (Duncan, Battier, and Wells are all superb defenders) and if they can find a great defensive point guard for cheap, they might just be on to something with Oden (right now he's barely a passable interior defender but could get better fast) joining them to form a nasty defensive unit. With Duncan and Wells, the Jazz also could afford the luxury of taking an offensive liability.
Reaction: A veteran-laden Jazz team that has been close but never quite able to make it over the hump had two big holes - PF/C (whichever one Duncan isn't playing) and PG. I guess the Jazz didn't like the point guards on offer and decided to get a big man. Oden might back up Samaki Walker this season though given Oden's limited offensive potential, I'm guessing the play here for Prej is to start Oden at C and let Duncan move back to PF and dominate there, with Walker backing both of them up off the bench. This reinforces the Jazz as an elite defensive team (Duncan, Battier, and Wells are all superb defenders) and if they can find a great defensive point guard for cheap, they might just be on to something with Oden (right now he's barely a passable interior defender but could get better fast) joining them to form a nasty defensive unit. With Duncan and Wells, the Jazz also could afford the luxury of taking an offensive liability.
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Action: The Kings trade their first-round pick (#29) to the Raptors for cash (5 points).
Reaction:
Reaction:
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Re: Wig Liveblogs the 2007 Draft
Action: The Raptors select Rodney Stuckey with pick #11
Reaction: The Raptors' trio of spread-the-floor shooters (Tim Thomas, Joe Johnson, Ricky Davis) would really have been helped out by a defense/rebounding big man or a pass-first point guard to get them the ball. Unfortunately for the Raptors, there are no defense/rebounding big men left on the board. Stuckey is more of a shoot-first point guard with mediocre passing skills, which you can't fault the Raptors for - there were no better passers available, either. It's something of an awkward fit but I really don't see another player where I look at him and say, "yeah, they should have picked that guy" - based on fit, I think the Raptors might have been better served trying to trade out of this pick.
Reaction: The Raptors' trio of spread-the-floor shooters (Tim Thomas, Joe Johnson, Ricky Davis) would really have been helped out by a defense/rebounding big man or a pass-first point guard to get them the ball. Unfortunately for the Raptors, there are no defense/rebounding big men left on the board. Stuckey is more of a shoot-first point guard with mediocre passing skills, which you can't fault the Raptors for - there were no better passers available, either. It's something of an awkward fit but I really don't see another player where I look at him and say, "yeah, they should have picked that guy" - based on fit, I think the Raptors might have been better served trying to trade out of this pick.
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Action: The Bulls select Nick Young with pick #12
Reaction: The good thing about picking Nick Young is you know exactly what you're getting - a guy who will score a lot of points, take a lot of shots, and not much else. Other than Durant, he's probably the best pure scorer right this second in the draft, and the Bulls will give him a lot of shots, so I wouldn't be all that surprised to see him make the all-rookie team and even pick up a couple of Rookie of the Month awards with Durant out west. Even a one-dimensional player can be of use when that dimension is scoring. Not a great pick, but not a bad pick and you know exactly what niche you're filling.
Reaction: The good thing about picking Nick Young is you know exactly what you're getting - a guy who will score a lot of points, take a lot of shots, and not much else. Other than Durant, he's probably the best pure scorer right this second in the draft, and the Bulls will give him a lot of shots, so I wouldn't be all that surprised to see him make the all-rookie team and even pick up a couple of Rookie of the Month awards with Durant out west. Even a one-dimensional player can be of use when that dimension is scoring. Not a great pick, but not a bad pick and you know exactly what niche you're filling.
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Action: The Pacers draft Ramon Sessions with pick #13
Reaction: With Deron Williams already in the fold, this looks like an odd pick. The Pacers could have used this pick on a big man like Spencer Hawes or Tiago Splitter instead and filled a need.
Reaction: With Deron Williams already in the fold, this looks like an odd pick. The Pacers could have used this pick on a big man like Spencer Hawes or Tiago Splitter instead and filled a need.
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Re: Wig Liveblogs the 2007 Draft
Action: The Pacers trade Ramon Sessions to the Hawks for Troy Murphy and Martell Webster
Reaction: Never mind. Murphy and Webster fill the Pacers' needs nicely. For the Hawks, the fit is less clear - Sessions is basically the a worse version of Devin Harris (already on their roster) and Murphy projected as their third big with McDyess and Noah. Fun fact: Webster has been a pet project of Wig's since he picked him up two years ago... from the Pacers, and now he's going back home. Call it the circle of life.
Reaction: Never mind. Murphy and Webster fill the Pacers' needs nicely. For the Hawks, the fit is less clear - Sessions is basically the a worse version of Devin Harris (already on their roster) and Murphy projected as their third big with McDyess and Noah. Fun fact: Webster has been a pet project of Wig's since he picked him up two years ago... from the Pacers, and now he's going back home. Call it the circle of life.
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Action: The Blazers draft Tiago Splitter at #14
Reaction: The Blazers' two big needs were Center and Point Guard. With Stuckey and Sessions coming off the board, the options at Point Guard were gone. Splitter will fill a need at Center and is more ready to contribute now than the raw Spencer Hawes.
Reaction: The Blazers' two big needs were Center and Point Guard. With Stuckey and Sessions coming off the board, the options at Point Guard were gone. Splitter will fill a need at Center and is more ready to contribute now than the raw Spencer Hawes.
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Action: The Suns draft Jamario Moon at #15
Reaction: I know Moon is the most ready-to-play guy left on the board... but he's 27 years old and will be in decline before that rookie contract is up. Also, the Suns already have several post defender/rebounding types on their roster so I figured they'd take an outside-shooting guard like Fernandez or Belinelli to balance things out a bit. Scratching my head at this one.
Reaction: I know Moon is the most ready-to-play guy left on the board... but he's 27 years old and will be in decline before that rookie contract is up. Also, the Suns already have several post defender/rebounding types on their roster so I figured they'd take an outside-shooting guard like Fernandez or Belinelli to balance things out a bit. Scratching my head at this one.
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Action: The Heat draft Spencer Hawes at #16
Reaction: RFA means LeBron will have to stick around Miami for the foreseeable future, but when will the projects Miami's been surrounding him with finally become players instead of projects? Hawes is raw and at least a couple of seasons away from being ready for regular duty.
Reaction: RFA means LeBron will have to stick around Miami for the foreseeable future, but when will the projects Miami's been surrounding him with finally become players instead of projects? Hawes is raw and at least a couple of seasons away from being ready for regular duty.
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Action: The Pistons draft PF Carl Landry at #17
Reaction: Landry gives the Pistons a bench big who can score and rebound right away - he slots nicely as a third big behind Dwight and L.A. Not spectacular but a nice pickup this late in the draft.
Reaction: Landry gives the Pistons a bench big who can score and rebound right away - he slots nicely as a third big behind Dwight and L.A. Not spectacular but a nice pickup this late in the draft.
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