Freshman sensation Greg Oden will leave Ohio State after one season to enter the NBA draft, The Dispatch has learned. Oden, who is in Indianapolis for an aunt’s wedding, is expected to make an announcement Friday. He is widely anticipated to be the first pick in pro basketball’s amateur draft on June 28. Columbus Dispatch
Yeah, no shit.
Showing posts with label draft pick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label draft pick. Show all posts
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Rookie Barrage and Mirage: Vol.1
2003 was obviously the best draft class since the one that featured Jordan, Barkley, Stockton and Olajuwon. LeBron, 'Melo, DWayde, Bosh, and Josh Howard are all bona fide A-list stars now. The next tier is stacked with talent as well; Hinrich, David West, Luke Ridnour, TJ Ford, Kaman, Diaw and Barbosa. The C-List stars from that class are also nothing to scoff at; Mikael Pietrus, Darko, Zaza, Nick Collison, Marcus Banks, Sasha Pavlovic, Outlaw, Jason Kapono, Walton, Steve Blake, Willie Green, Korver, Bogans, and James Jones. Rounding out the pack are competent Kendrick Perkins, Brian Cook, Jarvis Hayes, Carlos Delfino and Michael Sweetney. And that's not to mention guys who signed after going un-drafted, which included Marquis Daniels, Matt Carroll, Udonis Haslem and Quinton Ross.
So basically out of one year we got 5 guys who were all stars within 4 years. 5 more who could be all stars next season. 18 starters. And a few guys who we've just scratched the surface of potential with (Barbosa, Darko, Collison, Pavlo and Pietrus). 4 Years later and this class is running the league. Compared with 2002(and don't understand me too fast, it was also an excellent draft class): Amare, Yao, Caron, Tayshaun and Boozer is a fantastic core. There's 4 all stars and a champion in there. The fall off is rather steep after that though; Nenad, Dunleavy, Jr., Gooden, Nene, Wilcox, Flip Murray, Freddie Jones, Nachbar, Ely, Salmons, Dixon, Barnes and Jared Jeffries. That's 4 all stars and 18 players worth even mentioning within 5 years. As opposed to 5 and 37 the next year.
So what about the 2006 class? It's a little early to tell, but the picture's getting clearer. First the guys who obviously can hang at the NBA level. They're not locks to be All Stars any time soon, but they'll all be playing prominent roles 4 or 5 years from now: Bargnani, Roy, Foye, Gay, Rondo, Aldridge, Thomas, Williams, Garbajosa, and Millsap. And I would expect Gay, Roy and Bargnani to be All Stars in the next two or three years. After them are a another string of actually decent players. This class was labeled a bust by many, but I disagree. Lowry, Farmar, Morrison, Reddick, Shelden Williams, Gibson, Carney, Sefolosha, Brewer, Miles, Balkman, Rodriguez, Armstrong, Simmons, Novak, Powe and Adams have all shown flashes. There were several immediate busts, Brown, Brown, Sene, O'Bryant, and more happening every day. But still this class has a wide field of guys getting a chance to shine.
Essentially the draft ebbs and flows with the crop of college talent. Though next year's draft potentially sports two guys everyone agrees will be immediate successes, Oden and Durant, the fall off after that is pretty steep. Some even think Marc Gasol, Pau's chump ass baby brother, could go 1st round. So stars do not, necessarily, a great draft class make. One could even argue this class will be a bigger success than that 2002 class, in that there are way more guys potentially to still be big contributors, 4 or 5 years down the line.
More on this analysis to come...
So basically out of one year we got 5 guys who were all stars within 4 years. 5 more who could be all stars next season. 18 starters. And a few guys who we've just scratched the surface of potential with (Barbosa, Darko, Collison, Pavlo and Pietrus). 4 Years later and this class is running the league. Compared with 2002(and don't understand me too fast, it was also an excellent draft class): Amare, Yao, Caron, Tayshaun and Boozer is a fantastic core. There's 4 all stars and a champion in there. The fall off is rather steep after that though; Nenad, Dunleavy, Jr., Gooden, Nene, Wilcox, Flip Murray, Freddie Jones, Nachbar, Ely, Salmons, Dixon, Barnes and Jared Jeffries. That's 4 all stars and 18 players worth even mentioning within 5 years. As opposed to 5 and 37 the next year.
So what about the 2006 class? It's a little early to tell, but the picture's getting clearer. First the guys who obviously can hang at the NBA level. They're not locks to be All Stars any time soon, but they'll all be playing prominent roles 4 or 5 years from now: Bargnani, Roy, Foye, Gay, Rondo, Aldridge, Thomas, Williams, Garbajosa, and Millsap. And I would expect Gay, Roy and Bargnani to be All Stars in the next two or three years. After them are a another string of actually decent players. This class was labeled a bust by many, but I disagree. Lowry, Farmar, Morrison, Reddick, Shelden Williams, Gibson, Carney, Sefolosha, Brewer, Miles, Balkman, Rodriguez, Armstrong, Simmons, Novak, Powe and Adams have all shown flashes. There were several immediate busts, Brown, Brown, Sene, O'Bryant, and more happening every day. But still this class has a wide field of guys getting a chance to shine.
Essentially the draft ebbs and flows with the crop of college talent. Though next year's draft potentially sports two guys everyone agrees will be immediate successes, Oden and Durant, the fall off after that is pretty steep. Some even think Marc Gasol, Pau's chump ass baby brother, could go 1st round. So stars do not, necessarily, a great draft class make. One could even argue this class will be a bigger success than that 2002 class, in that there are way more guys potentially to still be big contributors, 4 or 5 years down the line.
More on this analysis to come...
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Weak End at Bernie's
Bernie Bickerstaff will not be returning as the head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats. Read the whole story here, from Yahoo! Sports.
Much like the firing of Dwayne Casey earlier this year, I'm not crazy about this move. Bick has been, in my opinion, one of the best GMs in the league over the last couple seasons, putting together the hottest looking young core of 1st round picks in the league. He's done it while maintaining an almost impossibly low payroll. To put it in perspective; the Bobcats pay Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor, Ray Felton, Sean May, Primoz Brezec, Matt Carroll, Brevin Knight, Adam Morrison less in combined salary, than the Knicks pay for just Franchise and Starbury. Who would you rather have? Granted there are a lot of rookie contracts in there, and the reason they have so many good rookies is that they're so perennially awful that they always have a high 1st round pick. Still, Okafor and Wallace should both have been All Stars this year, Felton and May could both become major contributors, and the other guys have bright futures as role players. Bickerstaff is the one who put the team in position to sign both Vinsanity and Rashard Lewis this off season. They're the only team in the league that can literally outbid anyone. If they play their cards right, they could be in the hunt for Lewis, Carter, Garnett, Gasol, Billups, and anyone else who might hit the market this summer. As a coach, I also like what Bickerstaff has done with a constant injury epidemic. His team could be a lot worse, with Okafor and Wallace always down, and the young guys having no vets to look up to, Charlotte is a piece or two away from the playoffs. They've got 22 million in contracts coming off the books as soon as the season ends. They have to consider giving Wallace fat money to keep him, but it's not a necessity, as they'll also be walking into the best draft since '03 with yet another top 5 pick. I feel like this is the wrong time to announce this. They're already deep enough in the hole that they don't need to "play for the draft." Meaning they could go 15-5 to finish the year (massively unlikely) and still end up with a top 5 pick. So why completely undermine the rest of Bick's tenure by announcing his lame duck status? The Cats are in a unique position to really start getting creative and juggling lines. They have 20 games that don't matter at all, maybe they should spend them getting to know just how good Brezec, Carroll and Hollins are? Now's the time. Okafor's injured, again, might as well deactivate him for the homestretch, let him rest up and give the "younger" guys a chance to show what they've got. On top of that, is the fact that they're either gonna re-sign Wallace, sign-and-trade him, or let him go. Regardless of the situation, now's the time to showcase him. If they want to use him to get Pau, they'll need to up his dollar. Wallace, a Bickerstaff favorite, is less likely to be amenable to... anything, with Bernie gone. Jordan's saying Bickerstaff will remain in the organization, but as what GM? Cheerleader? By being shadowy, Jordan gives me the sneaking suspicion he's about to get his hands dirty and his feet wet. Can you say coach Jordan? I know the fans of Charlotte can...
UPDATE: This just occurred to me, but can you think of a better fit to replace Bickerstaff than Paul Silas?? Oh man, that'd be flawless casting by Jordan...
Much like the firing of Dwayne Casey earlier this year, I'm not crazy about this move. Bick has been, in my opinion, one of the best GMs in the league over the last couple seasons, putting together the hottest looking young core of 1st round picks in the league. He's done it while maintaining an almost impossibly low payroll. To put it in perspective; the Bobcats pay Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor, Ray Felton, Sean May, Primoz Brezec, Matt Carroll, Brevin Knight, Adam Morrison less in combined salary, than the Knicks pay for just Franchise and Starbury. Who would you rather have? Granted there are a lot of rookie contracts in there, and the reason they have so many good rookies is that they're so perennially awful that they always have a high 1st round pick. Still, Okafor and Wallace should both have been All Stars this year, Felton and May could both become major contributors, and the other guys have bright futures as role players. Bickerstaff is the one who put the team in position to sign both Vinsanity and Rashard Lewis this off season. They're the only team in the league that can literally outbid anyone. If they play their cards right, they could be in the hunt for Lewis, Carter, Garnett, Gasol, Billups, and anyone else who might hit the market this summer. As a coach, I also like what Bickerstaff has done with a constant injury epidemic. His team could be a lot worse, with Okafor and Wallace always down, and the young guys having no vets to look up to, Charlotte is a piece or two away from the playoffs. They've got 22 million in contracts coming off the books as soon as the season ends. They have to consider giving Wallace fat money to keep him, but it's not a necessity, as they'll also be walking into the best draft since '03 with yet another top 5 pick. I feel like this is the wrong time to announce this. They're already deep enough in the hole that they don't need to "play for the draft." Meaning they could go 15-5 to finish the year (massively unlikely) and still end up with a top 5 pick. So why completely undermine the rest of Bick's tenure by announcing his lame duck status? The Cats are in a unique position to really start getting creative and juggling lines. They have 20 games that don't matter at all, maybe they should spend them getting to know just how good Brezec, Carroll and Hollins are? Now's the time. Okafor's injured, again, might as well deactivate him for the homestretch, let him rest up and give the "younger" guys a chance to show what they've got. On top of that, is the fact that they're either gonna re-sign Wallace, sign-and-trade him, or let him go. Regardless of the situation, now's the time to showcase him. If they want to use him to get Pau, they'll need to up his dollar. Wallace, a Bickerstaff favorite, is less likely to be amenable to... anything, with Bernie gone. Jordan's saying Bickerstaff will remain in the organization, but as what GM? Cheerleader? By being shadowy, Jordan gives me the sneaking suspicion he's about to get his hands dirty and his feet wet. Can you say coach Jordan? I know the fans of Charlotte can...
UPDATE: This just occurred to me, but can you think of a better fit to replace Bickerstaff than Paul Silas?? Oh man, that'd be flawless casting by Jordan...
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