NBA Draft

[Bubbles]

My initial response upon looking at half of the first-rounders: Who the heck ARE these guys?

All the people saying "You can't tell whether this is a weak draft crop or not" were lying through their teeth on national television. They ignore that a player of, say, LaMarcus Aldridge's calibur, ten years ago, would not have cracked the top 10. Adam Morrison is going to be an offensive star, and Brandon Roy has a lot of good things going for him, but that might be the extent of the star power. Tyrus Thomas may be good, and Marcus Williams was a steal for the Nets in the 20's, but those would be best reviewed in a few years.

A few questions...

J.J. Redick? Spot-up shooter, but you don't get many open shots at that level. Only good thing about him was the pressing of the mute button when that ACC suck-up Vitale came on and started gushing.

Andrea Bargnani? Who?

Renaldo Balkman? C'mon, the guy averaged 9 points and 6 rebounds at N.C. State. Since WHEN are those top-20 stats?

I get that certain intangibles weigh into the decisions to pick certain players. But it's gotten to the point where "wingspan," "potential," "pre-draft workouts," and the always-dangerous "upside" matter just as much as points, rebounds, blocks, and assists, and that should not happen.

[Valuist]

One thing doesn't make much sense to me. I can understand why a team would trade picks if they want to move up considerably. Let's take a look at the Bulls/Portland trade. This made sense for the Bulls, and absolutely no sense for Portland.

The Bulls have the 2nd pick and draft Aldridge. Charlotte takes Morrison and Portland has the 4th pick and takes Tyrus Thomas. So Portland and the Bulls swap picks, and Portland throws in a player who was their number 1 pick two years ago. Makes sense for Chicago....not much sense for Portland. Before the draft, EVERYBODY knew Toronto was going to take the Italian center, the Bulls wanted Thomas, and that Jordan (aka Charlotte) wanted Adam Morrison. In all likliehood, Alridge would've been available at #4 for Portland to take......and they wouldn't have had to turn over their top pick from two years ago. So what happens if Charlotte had taken Aldridge? The pre-arranged trade would've been bye-bye. Just doesn't make much sense.

[toetoe]

I'm miffed that the Warriors didn't think to trade their pick, by all accounts a ho-hummer, for maybe a player and a lower pick; and then take Leon Powe. This guy is a beast. He was picked 49th, then traded to Boston. This is the kind of crop to take a shot like that. Very average talent pool, and so what if Powe's knee has been sliced up more than Joan Rivers' face? Definitely worth the risk, late first or early second round.

[Hosshead]

Leon Powe was a great player. Shouldn't be a 49th pick. Maybe sombody knows more than we do,- about his injury.

I'm interested to see how Adam Morrison does in the NBA. I just like this kid.
He has a great work ethic, battles diabetes, and gives his all. (And scores a few points too).

Here's what Michael Jordan said about Morrison:

"The thing I see most is his desire to win, you can't teach that," said Jordan

"Looking at the team and what they desperately needed, they needed scoring in the fourth quarter," Jordan said. "This team plays well in the first three quarters and competes and we needed somewhat of a leader going into the fourth quarter, a guy to finish ball games and take the big shots."

"We had a split room, some guys thought about Gay, some about Roy, some about Morrison," Jordan said. "We weighed our options. Halfway through the day we narrowed it down and at the end we were on the same page."

"What's important for us is his ability to score in various ways," Bickerstaff said. "He reminds you of the Richard Hamiltons and the Reggie Millers, for how he comes off screens. He's a very confident young man."

Morrison is known to be emotional, and was criticized by some, for crying on the court in the closing moments of Gonzaga's NCAA tournament loss to UCLA in March.
Jordan, widely considered the biggest competitor in NBA history, doesn't see that as a negative.

"That to me was more a showcase of passion for the game," Jordan said. "So what, he's emotional? He's emotional because he pours his heart into it. That was a positive factor for me."

Morrison's Comment after being drafted: "Just show me where the gym's at," "That's all I need to know."