Thoughts on the Draft

Published by http://www.dailybasketball.com/ on 28/06/2008
Link: http://www.dailybasketball.com/2008/06/28/thoughts-on-the-draft.html

San Antonio Spurs
What do the Spurs have against promising young power forwards? First, they trade away Luis Scola, and then pass on Kansas forward Darrell Arthur in the draft. It’s not as if they are stacked at power forward. In fact, I believe it’s their weakest position, with Matt Bonner, Fabricio Oberto and Ian Mahinmi the only guarantees to return next season. A guy with a diverse skill-set like Arthur would have been perfect to develop alongside Tim Duncan. Let’s remember, Arthur had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the victory over Memphis that gave Kansas the NCAA title. Even with concerns over a kidney issue he was worth the risk. Instead, they give a valuable first round contract that is guaranteed to IUPUI guard George Hill. Not only was he absent from most mock drafts, he was not even listed in the 224 page NBA Draft Guide. At best, he will be Tony Parker’s back-up. A puzzling choice by the Spurs.

Indiana Pacers
Instead of being thrilled to grab the steal of the draft at No. 11 (Bayless), the Pacers immediately sent him packing to Portland in exchange for role players. Brandon Rush will be a solid pro but will back-up Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy, whilst Jack will sub for T.J. Ford. Jerryd Bayless was tipped to go fourth to the Sonics because he is a potential 20ppg scorer and Allstar. It seems as though the Pacers are content with mediocrity. Either that, or Larry Bird has no idea what he is doing.

Boston Celtics
With the 30th pick the Celtics should have grabbed crafty Memphis swingman Chris Douglas-Roberts. CDR would have immediately brought extra scoring off the bench, and may have been an eventual replacement for the aging Ray Allen. Whilst I do approve of the Celtics taking a risk and trading for Bill Walker in the second round, selecting CDR at No. 30 would have been a steal for the champs.

Portland Trail Blazers
You’ve got to hand it to the Blazers, they sure know how to manipulate the draft. To come away with Jerryd Bayless and Nicolas Batum when their roster is already stacked with young stars, is very impressive. GMs around the league could learn a great deal from watching Portland’s Kevin Pritchard operate on draft day (are you listening Larry Bird?).

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Pacers must overhaul roster

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* This article was written in May 2008

Some teams take the long route by rebuilding with youth (ex. MIN/SEA), others look to add a few new pieces to reach the playoffs (ex. PORT/GS) and some are searching for that one last player to complete their championship puzzle (ex. UTAH/CLEV). And then there is the Indiana Pacers, seemingly doing neither.

The Pacers do not have a franchise calibre player to build around. They don’t have a collection of young players that would offer hope for the future. Nor do they have a group of veterans that would make any significant difference between winning and losing. The Pacers are a team made up of players that are either a) grossly overpaid in relation to their talent, or b) not talented enough to get the job done. The only exception to this is Danny Granger.

Danny Granger is a terrific young player that is gradually becoming a star in this league. However, his style of play is more suited to that of a complimentary role on a successful team. He would therefore be most effective when used as a team’s third option, á la Lamar Odom with the Lakers.

Besides Granger, the core of the team consists of Jermaine O’Neal (2 years at $44m), Mike Dunleavy (3 years at $29m), Troy Murphy (3 years at $33m), Jamaal Tinsley (3 years at $21m) and Marquis Daniels (2 years at $14m). Mike Dunleavy is probably the most useful player of the bunch, but his salary indicates that he should be a viable second or third option. However, his talent would be best utilized as a fourth or fifth option. Both O’Neal’s and Murphy’s salary are atrocious as they don’t produce nearly enough, O’Neil because of injury and Murphy due to a lack of talent.

So what should they do? Apart from Granger, I believe they should explore trade opportunities for the entire team. History has told us that no one is untradable in the NBA (ex. Larry Hughes, Ben Wallace, Shaq), even so, unloading these players and their contracts won’t be easy. The reality is, these players will not fetch young talent in return, but may bring back expiring contracts or second round draft picks. If I were sitting in Larry Bird’s chair I would be content with this strategy as a means of rebuilding. The sooner they realise they must take one giant step back in order to move forward, the better. One thing’s certain, the status quo of consistent mediocrity is unacceptable.

Their pick in this year’s draft is crucial (No. 11). They cannot afford to select another player who fails to produce and must not risk the pick on a project type player (ex. DeAndre Jordan, Kosta Koufos or Donte Greene). Rather, they should be looking at players who can contribute immediately, or at the very least in two or three year’s time. DJ Augustin, Darrell Arthur, Brandon Rush or Chris Douglas-Roberts would fit the bill and team with Danny Granger to form a solid foundation for the future.

If they are successful in unloading the majority of their bad contracts, make no mistake about it, the next two to three years will be extremely tough and require tremendous patience. But such a process is necessary if they wish to rebuild this team. Who knows, a couple of high draft picks in 2009 and 2010 could put them back on track with a collection of young, talented players who possess the right attitude to succeed, and in the process win back the Indiana faithful (ex. Portland).

One thing is sure, they cannot go on blaming the Ron Artest incident as a reason for their woes, but instead must immediately get on with the job of rebuilding this once proud franchise. Larry Bird, it’s time to earn your pay check.