Draft Day

OK, let me just say right off the bat that I don't ordinarily pay much attention to the NBA draft, and this year was really no different. But with the Red Sox beating Pedro 8-0, I had to watch SOMETHING. Draft day is a big deal for the players (and their families), for team executives (who for a few short hours ALMOST get to be the center of attention), and for true NBA geeks (who really DON'T have anything better to do with their time). But from my perspective, all these kids are going to get their chance to show their stuff on the court, where it matters, and if they've got game they may stick around, and if they don't they won't. I guess I've got lots of other opinions too about the age limit, foreign players, developmental leagues, agents, contracts, the salary cap, and the relative merits of coming out early vs staying in school...but they're all just more hot air -- who really cares what I think anyway?

But here are a few random thoughts about the draft anyway:

Adam Morrison at #3 to the Charlotte Bobcats. Morrison grew up in Spokane and played at Gonzaga right in his own home town, where he showed himself to be a great college player with lots of heart: a scorer, a gamer, and (of course) a little suspect defensively, with lots of personality, plus a goofy haircut and facial hair. The kinda guy who brings people into the arena, and can step right in and contribute from the get-go. Everybody seems to love this pick, but I feel a little sorry for Mr Morrison himself...I think he's already playing pretty close to the top of his game, he's going to have a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, and he's NEVER going to be able to satisfy Michael Jordan. And he's certainly not the next Larry Bird. Of course, I could be wrong. And he IS getting paid....

Brandon Roy at #6. Another homegrown product of the Pacific Northwest (Seattle), who wanted to go to Arizona but ended up playing locally at the University of Washington. I was really excited for this kid when he was picked this early by Minnesota, and thought that he would love playing there; then the next thing I know he's traded to Portland, which is good news for the Trailblazers but a mixed blessing for Brandon. Meanwhile, Randy Foye is going to the Timberwolves, and high potential/potentially problematic problem child Sebastian Telfair is coming to Boston...but who knows for how long?

And speaking of high potential problem children, it will be interesting to see what happens with Marcus Williams in New Jersey, who was taken by the Nets at #22 (along with UConn teammate Josh Boone at #23) after Isiah Thomas and the Knicks (and, lets face it, at least a dozen other teams as well) passed on him two picks earlier in favor of...Renaldo Balkman? The Gotham press is going to go nuts with this; meanwhile, Williams gets to apprentice under Jason Kidd, and Balkman better have a lot more going for him than meets the eye, or else Zeke is history with the Knicks...and everyone else in the league as well....

I'm also really happy for the Lakers, getting UCLA's Jordan Farmar at #26. Farmar's a good player with lots of upside, who will fit well into the triangle, and gets to play in front of the hometown fans. What a great outcome all the way around.

Meanwhile, God only knows (or maybe Danny Ainge) what's going on here in Boston. The Celtics add Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, Rajon Rondo, Leon Powe and (now retired?) Brian Grant to their roster. Meanwhile, Boston's trading partner Portland ends up with Dan Dickau and Raef LaFrentz, plus Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldrige, Sergio Rodriguez and UK project Joel Freeland. The scuttlebutt is that Boston really wants Alan Iverson here in Beantown, and was fishing for someone like Telfair who might entice the Sixers enough to trade The Answer for a question mark. The Trailblazers end up with five solid players who will now get a chance to compete for a spot on a very fluid roster, plus an English "freebie" who may well turn out to be a pretty decent player down the line.

And finally, my own hometown Supersonics. Seattle makes no trades, and uses this draft to acquire the rights to three foreign-born players: Mouhamed Saer Sene from Senegal: an athletic seven-footer with a 7' 8.5" wingspan who only began playing basketball three years ago; Canadian Denham Brown, a Ray Allen clone who once scored 111 points in a High School game; and 22-year-old Yotam Halperin, a 6' 5" Israeli now playing in Slovenia. You may see Brown in Key Arena next year, but it seems to me that the Sonics are very much thinking toward the future. And looking overseas to find it.