The Bee's Joe Davidson breaks down the first round hits and misses, surprises and drops:
Most curious draft -- Portland
With no preps in the draft to take, the Blazers were forced to break tradition. Instead, Portland did a lot of drafting and dealing (four trades in the first round). When finished, it landed the player it really coveted in Washington guard Brandon Roy after landing LaMarcus Aldridge, a forward from Texas.
Portland was criticized by national media for perhaps over-dealing, but when your team limps to the finish, why not pull stops? The Blazers unloaded point guard Sebastian Telfair on draft day to Boston and actually got better by indicating that the steady Steve Blake will be the full-time starter. All in all, it may shape up to be an A-day for Portland.
First-round steal
Rudy Gay. He was projected as the first pick during the season at UConn, and there were rumblings as recently as Tuesday night that Toronto might take him No. 1. The guard went No. 8 to Houston, which traded his rights to Memphis for Shane Battier, prompting Grizzlies general manager Jerry West to nod and grin at his sudden stroke of good fortune in declaring that Gay was "one or two of the best players in the draft." In grabbing point guard Kyle Lowry of Villanova at No. 24 and acquiring Stromile Swift in the Houston deal, the Grizzlies, it can be argued, had the best draft day.
Surprise pick
Why, the New York Knicks, of course. Already the laughingstock of the league, the Knicks selected South Carolina swingman Renaldo Balkman at No. 20. He wasn't on anyone's first-round mock draft sheet and was said to not even be on a single NBA team's first-round want list -- outside of New York. He's the "wow" pick of the draft, since he was second-round material, but the Knicks have specialized a lot in the "wow" of late.
Surprise drop
Marcus Williams. The UConn product, deemed the top point guard on the board, plummeted to No. 22 to the New Jersey Nets. He looked stunned at the slide, though he admitted that his connection to stolen laptops last year didn't help his reputation. Now he joins a talented team and has the chance to learn the game from Jason Kidd.
Thanks, but no thanks
The Phoenix Suns, on the cusp of the NBA Finals the past two seasons, had two lower first-round picks but traded them away for honestly sound reasons: The players they liked were not available, and in order to spare a luxury tax hit and to keep the roster intact, they bowed out of the first round.
Best bit of recruiting news
Connecticut. You can believe the assistant coaches and public relations staff at UConn are cranking out material and text messages to recruits this very second about how the Huskies produce NBA talent. UConn had four first-round picks, tying the most in NBA history with Duke in 1999 and North Carolina in 2005.
It's academic, but still ...
If high school players were still eligible to be drafted, it's a near- certainty that 7-footer Greg Odem would have been Toronto's top pick. He is instead headed to Ohio State, and the Raptors went to Italy to find their 7-footer in forward Andrea Bargnani.
More Knicks love
With the draft in New York, the grouchy Knicks fans were prowling and chanting "fire Isiah," aimed at coach Isiah Thomas, before the first pick.
There were also chants of "Sell the Knicks!"
More New York love
When Bargnani was picked, there were cries of "over-rated" that rang out. Knicks fans should talk. What has their mess of a franchise become?
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14273074p-15083231c.html
Most curious draft -- Portland
With no preps in the draft to take, the Blazers were forced to break tradition. Instead, Portland did a lot of drafting and dealing (four trades in the first round). When finished, it landed the player it really coveted in Washington guard Brandon Roy after landing LaMarcus Aldridge, a forward from Texas.
Portland was criticized by national media for perhaps over-dealing, but when your team limps to the finish, why not pull stops? The Blazers unloaded point guard Sebastian Telfair on draft day to Boston and actually got better by indicating that the steady Steve Blake will be the full-time starter. All in all, it may shape up to be an A-day for Portland.
First-round steal
Rudy Gay. He was projected as the first pick during the season at UConn, and there were rumblings as recently as Tuesday night that Toronto might take him No. 1. The guard went No. 8 to Houston, which traded his rights to Memphis for Shane Battier, prompting Grizzlies general manager Jerry West to nod and grin at his sudden stroke of good fortune in declaring that Gay was "one or two of the best players in the draft." In grabbing point guard Kyle Lowry of Villanova at No. 24 and acquiring Stromile Swift in the Houston deal, the Grizzlies, it can be argued, had the best draft day.
Surprise pick
Why, the New York Knicks, of course. Already the laughingstock of the league, the Knicks selected South Carolina swingman Renaldo Balkman at No. 20. He wasn't on anyone's first-round mock draft sheet and was said to not even be on a single NBA team's first-round want list -- outside of New York. He's the "wow" pick of the draft, since he was second-round material, but the Knicks have specialized a lot in the "wow" of late.
Surprise drop
Marcus Williams. The UConn product, deemed the top point guard on the board, plummeted to No. 22 to the New Jersey Nets. He looked stunned at the slide, though he admitted that his connection to stolen laptops last year didn't help his reputation. Now he joins a talented team and has the chance to learn the game from Jason Kidd.
Thanks, but no thanks
The Phoenix Suns, on the cusp of the NBA Finals the past two seasons, had two lower first-round picks but traded them away for honestly sound reasons: The players they liked were not available, and in order to spare a luxury tax hit and to keep the roster intact, they bowed out of the first round.
Best bit of recruiting news
Connecticut. You can believe the assistant coaches and public relations staff at UConn are cranking out material and text messages to recruits this very second about how the Huskies produce NBA talent. UConn had four first-round picks, tying the most in NBA history with Duke in 1999 and North Carolina in 2005.
It's academic, but still ...
If high school players were still eligible to be drafted, it's a near- certainty that 7-footer Greg Odem would have been Toronto's top pick. He is instead headed to Ohio State, and the Raptors went to Italy to find their 7-footer in forward Andrea Bargnani.
More Knicks love
With the draft in New York, the grouchy Knicks fans were prowling and chanting "fire Isiah," aimed at coach Isiah Thomas, before the first pick.
There were also chants of "Sell the Knicks!"
More New York love
When Bargnani was picked, there were cries of "over-rated" that rang out. Knicks fans should talk. What has their mess of a franchise become?
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14273074p-15083231c.html
