MVN - Most Valuable Network

Breakdown of Eastern Conference’s Draft

Unlike last year, this draft didn’t include a trade that would send a team from lottery to champs in a year. There were 2 headline names going in and the rest of the draft was with players that will turn into solid pros for years to come. This is an analysis of how the East fared in last night’s NBA draft:

Atlanta Hawks- No picks in either round. Not good when you might be losing a player or two this offseason.

Boston Celtics- Well, they got younger. The Champs picked up two freakish athletes in J.R Giddens (New Mexico) and Bill Walker (Kansas State), but I don’t think either will crack the rotation.

Charlotte Bobcats- They seem to be making no progress in their drafts. Last year, they traded for Jason Richardson, but where in the world is Adam Morrison? This year, they drafted 2 point guards including D.J Augustin (Texas). What does that say about Raymond Felton? What Larry Brown wants, Larry Brown gets.

Chicago Bulls- They won the lottery with 1.7% chance and picked their hometown kid. Lovely story. They still have a glut of guards that can’t do much but shoot and Jay Bilas said Derrick Rose (Memphis) is better than everyone on that team. Ouch! More moves are on the way.

Cleveland Cavaliers-They took PF J.J Hickson (N.C State). I like this kid and think he can become a solid player in their rotation. Again, LeBron doesn’t exactly get the help he needs but another team may have made a move to clear room for him (see N.J. Nets).

Detroit Pistons- After making 6 straight conference finals and only 1 championship, they have a new coach and Joe Dumars is looking to make moves. They got PF Walter Sharpe out of UAB. Jason Maxiell has the role of bench PF squared away but if ‘Sheed is moved he may see time.

Indiana Pacers-  Indiana got the person I wanted most Brandon Rush (Kansas) and Senior Roy Hibbert (Georgetown). Prior to the draft, Indiana received T.J Ford and Rasho Nesterovic from Toronto in return for Jermaine O’Neal. They also sent Ike Diogu to Portland for Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts. I think T.J Ford is a great PG when healthy and they finally got rid of injury-prone JO. Plus they have a budding star in Danny Granger.

Miami Heat- Pat Riley took Michael Beasley (Kansas State) with the #2 pick, stole Mario Chalmers (Kansas) in the second round and got a sleeper in Darnell Jackson (Kansas). Shawn Marion is expected not to opt out so they have a superstar SG and superstar SF and a possible superstar at PF. They had a great draft, unfortunately they lack the two most important positions.

Milwaukee Bucks- The athletic big man, Joe Alexander (West Virginia) went #8 to Milwaukee. The problem is earlier, they traded for Richard Jefferson. Their styles of play are pretty similar unless Joe can develop some low-post moves. With Mo Williams, Richard Jefferson and Michael Redd, I think the Bucks have a shot at the postseason if they can stay healthy. I feel like I say that every year.

New Jersey Nets- Rod Thorn had a pretty good day. He drafted Brook Lopez (Stanford), who I think is the same as Krstic if he he could’ve stayed healthy, and Ryan Anderson (California) the shooting big man who I really like. He actually led the Pac-10 in scoring, over O.J Mayo, Jerryd Bayless, Kevin Love and Brook Lopez. They also stole Chris Douglas-Roberts (Memphis) late in the draft.

In return for Jefferson, they received Bobby Simmons and Yi Jianlian. When Bobby Simmons’ big contract comes off the books in 2010, that opens the possibility for Dwyane Wade or Jay-Z’s good friend LeBron James to go to Brooklyn with the team when their contracts expire.

New York Knicks-  Of course, the Knicks fans booed the pick. The pick was Danilo Gallinari who has the potential to be great, but guys like Andrea Bargnani make you think other wise. The Knicks have a new coach, new president but same ego-filled team.

Orlando Magic- I really like Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky). It’s not the sexiest pick, but they needed a SG and he is a good one. He could possibly start this season over Keith Bogans, but I don’t think it was much of an upgrade.

Toronto Raptors-  The Raptors traded away their first-round pick in the Jermaine O’Neal trade and got back a second-round pick to select Nathan Jawai. Toronto made themselves a top 4 team in the East with the trade. A front-court of Chris Bosh and a healthy Jermaine O’Neal is scary, but his health is a big question. Moving the disgruntled T.J. Ford secured Jose Calderon as their starting point guard and their three-point shooting style will only get better with O’Neal and Chris Bosh drawing double-teams.

Not many teams made big, world-changing picks but it was a draft filled with freshmen that have the possibility of becoming stars.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 27th, 2008 at 11:32 am and is filed under Nenad Kristic, Ike Diogu, Kevin Love, Ryan Anderson, Pac-10, D.J. Augustin, Jose Calderon, O.J. Mayo, Derrick Rose, Andrea Bargnani, Pat Riley, Bobby Simmons, T.J. Ford, Michael Beasley, Jarrett Jack, Bill Walker, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Danilo Gallinari, Jay-Z, Courtney Lee, Nathan Jawai, J.R Giddens, Brooklyn Nets, Maurice Williams, Joe Alexander, Walter Sharpe, Brook Lopez, J.J. Hickson, Mario Chalmers, Darnell Jackson, Jerryd Bayless, Jay Bilas, Jermaine O'Neal, Josh McRoberts, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks, Adam Morrison, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Bobcats, Larry Brown, Jason Maxiell, Rasho Nesterovic, Jason Richardson, Shawn Marion, Michael Redd, Brandon Rush, Richard Jefferson, Danny Granger, Rasheed Wallace, Rod Thorn, Joe Dumars, Chris Bosh, Roy Hibbert, Yi Jianlian, Raymond Felton. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.