MVN - Most Valuable Network

Live Blog: 2008 NBA Draft

In what I’m hoping to make a yearly tradition at Showboating, welcome to the live blog for the NBA Draft! From a league perspective, I personally find this one of the more intriguing drafts in recent memory. There’s a ton of talent available beyond just Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley, and luckily for us as fans there’s also a ton of mystery in terms of what’s going to happen. There’s already been two major trades executed over the past 24 hours—Jermaine O’Neal to the Raptors for T. J. Ford, Rasho Neterovic, and the 17th pick in the draft is the more publicized one at the moment, but Milwaukee also acquired Richard Jefferson in return for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons.

From the perspective of the Dallas Mavericks, this may end up being one of the quieter nights in draft history as the currently only possess the #51 pick. While there are some curious prospects available at that point in the draft: Mustafa Shakur, James Gist (of Maryland fame), and Ante Tomic of Croatia are all possibilities, but really it depends more on whether or not the Mavs move up (which may or may not be on GM Donnie Nelson’s radar on the moment). Dallas will be in the hunt for players, since they currently have seven potential roster spots.

So check back at 6:30 Central time and I’ll hopefully get everything updated as it happens.

6:30- The show officially opens with a look at the Bulls draft room. Will they take Derrick Rose? Considering how the league runs on great point guards, they would be stupid not to.

6:31 the Bulls are on the clock, and they have 5 minutes to make their pick.

6:36- The Chicago Bulls select Derrick Rose to lead their team! I don’t know if he’ll make them good overnight, but Rose is a player with Chris Paul-like potential. If he stays focused and if GM John Paxson can get some good talent around him, he could very well be a future star or even an MVP. Now the real mystery begins…

6:41- I thought Miami would be crazy to not select Beasley, and he is of course their pick. Beasley will be a great compliment to Dwyane Wade, and could average 20-10. He’s so good, I can think of a dozen teams that would have taken him #1.

6:46- The Minnesota T’Wolves pick O. J. Mayo, who some thought might have been picked over Michael Beasley. Mayo may not have the upside of the top two picks, but he can step in and play right away. The Timberwolves need a player like this, a solid compliment to Al Jefferson.

6:53- Russell Westbrook is selected! This is a shocker to me, since I thought Westbrook would go later in the lottery. He’s going before Bayless, Lopez, and some other talented players, so it could be a risk worth taking.

6:59- The Memphis Grizzlies take the second straight player from UCLA in Kevin Love. I can’t imagine a better fit for the team who gift-wrapped Pau Gasol to the Lakers. He can play the post, score, and even shoot from long range.

7:05- Knicks fans rejoice! Your team is selecting…Danilo Gallinari. Okay, they’re not exactly cheering. It’s a dumb reason to boo, since Gallinari will be a great fit in Mike D’Antoni’s system. He’s still young, can play multiple positions, and he still has a good bit of upside. While New York needs a point guard, they got a solid player here.

7:11- The Clippers select Eric Gordon, a guy many around Dallas felt Donnie Nelson would try to trade up to get. Gordon to me is underrated because of Indiana’s collapse in the NCAA, but he is one heck of a shooter.

7:16- With the 8th pick in the draft, Joe Alexander is sent to Milwaukee. He’s another guy who can shoot in the post or capitalize on his mid-range game. Most importantly, the guy is an absolutely insane athlete. With Richard Jefferson and Michael Redd, Scott Skiles could make this team dangerous. I’d have my eye on them next season.

7:23- The Charlotte Bobcats may have made a major mistake at number 9. The Bobcats need a big man–why not take Brook Lopez? Augustin is a very good player, but he’s undersized.

7:28- The New Jersey Nets do the right thing and select Brook Lopez. They seriously need help down low, even after acquiring Yi Jianlian. He may not be super-athletic, but he will be very, very good.

7:33- Indiana selects Jerryd Bayless, a guy who I also thought would go earlier in the draft, since he’s such a good scorer and can be either the point or the 2.

10:14- So what happened? There was a little bit of technical difficulty on my end here, so let’s run real quick through the players that have been selected.

12- Jason Thompson, Sacramento- A good (though surprising) who will help them vastly improve their frontcourt.

13- Portland drafted Brandon Rush from Kansas, and then promptly sent him to Indiana along with Jarrett Jack for the rights to Jerryd Bayless and Ike Diogu. Probably a good trae for both teams, since Portland was shopping Jack and they got a good PG for the future in Bayless.

14- Anthony Randolph (LSU) is selected by Golden State, marking the 6th freshman taken among the first 16 picks (a record). Randolph is a solid guy, but needs to pack on some weight to be good at an NBA level.

15- Phoenix takes the OTHER Lopez in Robin. Like I was surprised to see Brook go so late, I am shocked to see Robin go so early. Nevertheless he is a pretty good defender and could help change the philosophy in Phoenix.

16- Philidelphia takes Marresse Speights, giving them a pretty solid forward to compliment Iggy. He might not be to effective early on, but I see him as a possible starter in a few years.

17- Toronto takes Roy Hibbert from Georgetown, but it’s all but a given at this point that he’ll be heading to Indiana in the Jermaine O’Neal trade. Hibbert will help Indiana, who is making a lot of moves tonight. (They will be even better if they can dump Jamaal Tinsley.)

18- JaVale McGee is taken by the Washington Wizards, which seems to fit well considering the uncertainly of Antawn Jamison at the forward position and the inability of Andray Blatche to stay out of trouble. McGee is a freak athlete, but still needs to learn the game.

19- Cleveland, yet again leaving Darrell Arthur of Kansas (who many thought would be gone by now) on the board, takes J. J. Hickson, another freshman (the eighth taken in this draft). Like most of the others Hickson is an unknown because his knowledge of the game hasn’t caught up to his ability.

20- Charlotte executes a trade with Denver, getting their pick for a future first-rounder. Charlotte then takes Alexis Ajinca from France. The guy has a 7′8” wingspan (really?) but he hasn’t been so great yet. He’s just a very raw player, a surprising pick this early in the draft.

21- New Jersey has the Mavericks’ pick due to the Jason Kidd pick, and they take Ryan Anderson. Once again, it makes me wonder why teams have forgotten Darrell Arthur.

22- Orlando takes Courtney Lee from Western Kentucky! Why am I excited about this? I was rooting for them as the underdogs in the NCAA tourney, and I loved watching this guy play. He may not be a star but he does play with a ton of energy.

23- Utah picks Kosta Koufus, in my opinion one of the best European-born players in the draft. He did go to an American college in Ohio State, so he does know the game pretty well. At 7′ tall and 265 pounds, it will give Utah another guy to bang down low.

24- Seattle takes Serge Ibaka, making him the second player in the NBA born in Congo (after former Mav DJ Mbenga). Ibaka’s very young, so it’s not likely we’ll see him in an NBA uniform for a while.

25- The Rockets have taken the third straight foreign-born player! Nicolas Batum slid a little bit on people’s draft boards, but he’s a very athletic and young player, but once again he won’t be ready to play for a while.

26- San Antonio becomes another team to pass on Arthur (apparently he has an undisclosed kidney problem that makes teams nervous). They take George Hill, a relatively unknown Summit League player. I don’t doubt the Spurs, though–they draft better than most teams out there.

27- Portland gets ANOTHER draft pick from the New Orleans Hornets, who get some cash considerations (nice for a small market team). So for the Blazers, they choose…Darrell Arthur! The New York fans cheer for him louder than anyone else.

28- Memphis is on the clock due to the Lakers trade, and take the 10th freshman of the draft, Donte’ Green of Syracuse. Donte’ is a guy with potential, but needs to work on his shooting and ball control.

29- D. J. White from Indiana is taken by the Pistons, and honestly I’m surprised DeAndre Jordan from Texas A&M is still on. He’s a player with a great upside, but he has slid drastically down draft boards.

30- J. R. Giddens from New Mexico is taken by the championship Celtics, who has potential to be a great combo guard. There’s a ton of veterans in Boston to help him develop, so in time he could be special and a nice pick this late.

31- The second round begins! Minnesota gets some help in the front court by taking Nikola Pekovic from Serbia. ESPN claims he just signed a multi-year deal with a team in Greece, but by the time he comes over he could be great.

32- Another trade! This is a small one where D. J. White goes to the Sonics, while Detroit received both the 32nd and the 46th pick. The first player selected is Walter Sharpe from UAB, a decent forward but not necessarily a guy you would think of picking.

33- Memphis has another player entering the NBA in Joey Dorsey. I watched this guy play against SMU in college and he is a beast. Portland will be lucky to have him, and he reminds me of a less talented Glen Davis.

34- Minnesota picks Mario Chalmers from the champion Kansas Jayhawks, and he’s a guy who may be able to play the point for the T’Wolves. It’s a position where they need some serious help.

35- DeAndre Jordan gets his due as a selection of the Los Angeles Clippers. Early on people thought Jordan could be the next Dwight Howard. However, he needs some major help offensively. With some improved effort he could be great, but give him time.

36- Omer Asik is taken by Portland, and he’s another guy we won’t see for years . Like Pekovic earlier he just signed a contract with a European team, so we may not seem him for a while.

37- The Bucks take the award-winner for the funniest name: Luc Richard Mbah A Moute, a supposed prince back in an African village. He does come from a great program in UCLA, so more than likely that will help him.

38- Charlotte takes Kyle Weaver, a guard from Washington State. He’s a taller guard, and he can really pass the ball and defend. While he doesn’t have much of an offensive game, Larry Brown will love his hustle.

39- Sonny Weems is taken by the Bulls, and he is a guy with good skills and the ability to dunk like nobody’s business. He needs to improve on the rest of his game, though.

40- After dropping nearly 20 picks from ESPN’s projection, Chris Douglas-Roberts is taken by the New Jersey Nets. They really got a steal here, as he was probably the most consistent player for Memphis last year.

41- Indiana picks Nathan Jawal from Austrailia, and he will be heading to Toronto along with Jermaine O’Neal.

42- The Sacramento Kings, in the first of two picks, take Sean Singletary from Virginia. A good guard for sure, but he isn’t exactly what you would call tall.

43- Patrick Ewing was taken! Wait, never mind…this is Patrick Ewing, Jr. Sacramento has found a great athlete, but a guy who still needs to improve offensively.

44- Ante Tomic, a guy who I thought the Mavs could select, is taken by the Jazz.

45- Goren Dragic from Slovenia is taken by the Spurs, taking yet again a foreign player who will stay overseas for a while.

46- Trent Plaisted is the next guy taken by the Sonics (who will be traded to the Pistons), and he is from BYU and a solid player. He may not do much in the NBA, but he’s a solid second-round pick.

47- Bill Walker from Kansas State is taken by the Wizards, and he’s a guy who knows how to play with some good guys. He played with Michael Beasley in college and O. J. Mayo in high school.

48- Phoenix takes Malik Hairston, a forward from Oregon.

49- Golden State adds another athletic forward to the mix with Alabama’s Richard Hendrix.

50- The Sonics get Devon Hardin, a guy who might actually have a chance of playing some minutes considering the Sonics’ shortage of reliable big men.

51- And now for our beloved Mavericks. With pick #51, Dallas takes Shan Foster, a guard from Vanderbilt. He plays a position desired by the Mavs in shooting guard, but I worry about his range. The best part: he’s a musician! I’m excited about having him on board, and with the shortage of players right now he might be able to make the team.

52- Miami takes Darnell Jackson, the fourth guy taken from Kansas.

53- Utah- Tadija Dragicevic is picked for Utah, but he’s a Serbian player who may never join the team.

54- Houston now has another Oregon Duck on their team, taking Maarty Leunen to compliment second-year pro Aaron Brooks.

55- First of all, we have a new trade! Minnesota trades Mario Chalmers to the heat for a 2nd rounder in 2009 along with cash. Interesting move, since I personally found Chalmers to be a steal. Anyway, at #55 Portland takes Mike Taylor from Iowa State, who has also played in the NBADL.

56- Seattle takes Sasha Kaun, whose name reminds me too much of Shaka Kahn. He’s another Kansas Jayhawk.

57- The Spurs take James Gist, one of the guys the Mavs were looking at with #51.

58- First, Washington trades Bill Walker to Boston for cash. Now, it’s Joe Crawford. I’m not talking about the ref here…

59- Detroit picks Deron Washington from Virginia Tech.

60- The Celtics finish it off with Semith Erden from Turkey.

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We leave with a decent draft. It wasn’t as exciting as previous ones in terms of draft-night trades, and it’s hard to see what Dallas will get from Shan Foster. Only time will tell.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 4:51 pm and is filed under Showboating. 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.