Need we even go through the list of Top 10 busts in the lottery for the National Basketball Association? All of you know where it leads, because all roads lead to Darko. That is truly a shame. Darko seemed to have it all. He was young, not even 18 when everyone was talking about him. He was tall, over 7 foot. He was athletic and could easily dunk the ball. Darko Milicic even appeared to have moves.

He’s the total package. His name eases right into the lame jokes (”you could get yourself another Dar-ko Milicic; you know what I mean? This guy knows what I’m talking about!”), he’s been an underachieving flameout, he only rose to prominence by taking advantage of well-sourced but not entirely basketball-savvy (at least, then) hoops scribes who were smitten by his ability to spin and dunk in an empty gym.
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Joe Dumars could not pass him up. Who could? Those that talk about taking Carmelo Anthony forget that Anthony came out of a college system where they played strictly zone defense and to this day he shoots too much and can’t guard my grandmother. Those that say Joe should have picked Chris Bosh forget that he was not that heralded coming out of college and those that say Joe should have picked Dwyane Wade forget that Wade came from Marquette and was a tweener height. You knew he could not be a true point guard and seemed a tad small for a shooting guard. Who knew?

Topping the Top 10 Lottery Busts - Darko Milicic

There is no question now that Wade, Bosh, and Anthony are all great players, but Darko is nothing but a bust. Just take a look in the mirror before you blame Joe Dumars.
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While Blake’s brother attempts to land a National Basketball League job, Blake is voted to be the future Rookie of the Year by ESPN online. The Clippers are so fired up about Blake Griffin that they fired the human black hole, Zach Randolph. Even though it is hard to criticize any former Michigan State Spartans, Zach rarely gives back a pass to him in the post, even if he is double teamed.

(Full Disclosure: Your intrepid author is a Michigan State Spartan Alumni. Go Tom Izzo.)

The Clippers now can give Blake all the playing time he needs to develop into the star player many think he will become down the road.

Blake is so happy to hear he was voted pre season ROY

While the Clippers’ trade of Zach Randolph cleared the way for Griffin to step right in and get minutes, their new power forward has some history working against him: (1) only two of the past 10 No. 1 picks have won Rookie of the Year, and (2) no Clipper has ever won the award, despite the franchise’s near-permanent residence in Lotteryland. (The Buffalo Braves, the original incarnation of the Clips, did have back-to-back winners in 1973 and 1974: Bob McAdoo and Ernie DiGregorio.)

Those tendencies notwithstanding, most of our voters believe Griffin’s dominance at Oklahoma will translate into success in L.A.
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If Blake became even half as good as either Bob McAdoo or Ernie DiGregorio, the Clippers would be more than happy. Both players were stars in the NBA.

Other players in the running for the award include Hasheem Thabeet, James Harden, Jonny Flynn, and Stephen Curry. Keep in mind, not a single NBA game has been played yet. These votes were largely based on reputation and summer league. Once the season does begin many more factors will play into the ROY vote, including amount of playing time granted and injuries.

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It was discussed so what happened? Phoenix thought Amare Stoudemire would be sent packing to Golden State with other players and considerations and in return Golden State would ship back Stephen Curry with other players and considerations. You know how that stuff works.

The secret part of the deal that may not have been discussed from Golden State’s point of view was that Golden State was sure Curry would be off the board by pick number 7. When he was there, they did not want to part with him.

Amare Stoudemire will be a reach for the Warriors without Curry in the deal

So is the Stoudemire trade off the board?

The teams will continue talking about how a trade involving Stoudemire could be worked out but it is now just among several conversations the Suns are having. Such a deal is far less likely without Curry and Golden State’s unwillingness to part with forward Anthony Randolph.
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The Detroit Pistons face the ultimate test of the Joe Dumars regime. How about we get rid of every big guy around and then go find a friend for Tayshaun Prince?

Draft day came around and Blake Griffin went to the Clippers and will never be heard from again. He almost made the NBA, too bad. That is a joke, but then, so are the Clippers.

Anyway, back to that friend for Tay. When the 15th pick rolled around the Pistons picked 6′ 11″ and 191 pound Austin Daye. That’s right, 191 pounds. Arnie Kander will have to put some beef on that guy, because right now he looks like Tayshaun’s little brother.

Austin Daye better not be late for dinner

AP writer Larry Lage writes that Joe Dumars remarked that Austin Daye is skinnier that Tay, but that he likes his skill set.
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Ok, forget the five players involved in the trade. Randy Foye, so what. Mike Miller, likes to shoot. Etan Thomas, can rebound a little. Think more on the picks. Minnesota now has both the 5th and 6th pick in the upcoming NBA draft 2009. Think about the possibilities.

For the Timberwolves, they now own both the fifth and sixth picks in Thursday’s draft. With Foye now on his way to D.C., it’s safe to assume Minnesota will likely draft a point guard with at least one of those two selections.

Multiple sources have indicated that Wolves are very high on combo guard Tyreke Evans. However, there have been questions as to whether or not Evans will be a true point guard in the NBA. With the fifth pick now in their back pocket, the Wolves could now potentially draft Evans along with another “true” point guard should they so desire. The Wolves could also package the fifth and sixth picks in an attempt to try and move up in the draft, possibly as high as #2 if the Grizzlies are willing to pull the trigger.
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Will Ricky Rubio be a Timberwolf?

Timberwolf fans have to be loving the new GM David Kahn. He has put the team in position to land two great rookies or even trade up and get a possible franchise player like Rubio or Thabeet. This was an excellent trade.
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Ok, the word is not supposed to be heck. It is really a place where bad people go and it is really hot. Actually in Dante’s version it was really cold. Anyway, Blake Griffin is going there.

Yes, the San Diego, er Los Angeles Clippers, one of the most confused franchises run by an often cheap owner have the number one pick and they plan on taking Blake Griffin. You swear this team could pick up Kobe Bryant and LeBron James and still find a way to screw it up.

Blake Griffin to the Clippers

As you may have guessed there is no love lost for the Clippers right here.

“The pick’s not going anywhere,” assistant general manager Neil Olshey said Monday.
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Hopefully they are not discussing Blake’s career with the Clippers as being a failure before it starts!

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It is draft time speculation time or something like that and the Memphis Grizzlies, a perennial loser in the NBA, have the second pick and no clue as to what to do with it.

Hasheem Thabeet towers over everybody

The most persistent rumor has the Griz taking Hasheem Thabeet, but Hasheem wouldn’t even work out for them. Hey, would you want to spend your career on a perennial loser? Ok, Hasheem said he has some shoulder problems right now, but you wonder what his response would have been if the Lakers had called?

Who would the Grizzlies pick if the draft was held today?

Truth is, no one really knows at this point. No one. Agendas are flying all over the place.

Reports that Heisley has settled on taking Thabeet are erroneous and grossly overblown, as is speculation that coach Lionel Hollins operates with a Thabeet-or-bust mind-set.

Depending on the day, Heisley, Hollins and Wallace are as excited about a potential trade as they are about possibly drafting Thabeet or Rubio. Even guards Curry and DeRozan have become prominent in discussions among decision makers in the organization.

In other words, the Grizzlies are all over the draft map as it relates to the No. 2, 27th and 36th picks.

That doesn’t necessarily mean trouble given the Griz didn’t consummate a deal for O.J. Mayo until draft night last year, and the deal turned out just fine.
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With a solid plan like deciding on draft day who to take, does this explain why the Grizzlies are always such a rotten team?

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The latest greatest almost impossible to dream rumor about is the Bulls picking up Dwyane Wade with a max contract. Can you imagine rookie of the year Derrick Rose and perennial MVP candidate Dwyane Wade in the same backcourt? Hand them a few average big guys and you are talking title contenders for years to come.

Think of your average Chicago Bulls fan tainted with the memory of the great one, Michael Jordan, still fresh in their minds and his 6 titles. They have to be hurting right now. There was the close miss with the Celtics that were without the services of Kevin Garnett and the thought that Derrick Rose is a few years away from being able to carry the team.

Could Rose be teamed up with Wade?

Oh, it could be great. In a couple of the OT games with the Celtics the Bulls went to Rose in tie breaker situations at the end of games. How nice it would be to hand the ball to Dwyane Wade instead. No knock on Derrick, but it would be his job to set Wade up for the victory shot.

Wade could walk right into a backcourt with Derrick Rose, two potential all-league players with a nice supporting cast with Joakim Noah, Luol Deng and John Salmons. Such a plan likely would preclude making a big offer and bringing back Ben Gordon. But then you also risk Miami pulling off a coup, and, say, getting Bosh and then ending up with the 2010 version of Ron Mercer.

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It is the consensus of the experts that Blake Griffith will be the number one pick in the draft, because he has it all, size, speed, talent, and strength. After Blake, the draft in the NBA for 2009 will get a little dicier.

Blake Griffin will fall to the top of the NBA draft

There’s no consensus. Some are pining for Spanish guard Ricky Rubio [above], who has a huge buyout from his Spanish team, Jovenut, to work out before he can come across the Atlantic . Others seek Connecticut’s 7-foot-3 junior center, Hasheem Thabeet, who has not yet formally decided whether he’ll skip his senior season and enter the draft. If Rubio and Thabeet are in the Draft, they’ll probably go No. 2 and No. 3.

But which one goes two or three depends on who’s picking. And, seven weeks before the Draft, the rest of the top half of the first round is equally unknowable. The difference between this year and previous years is we still may not know the complete top five well into June — perhaps into the final week before the draft.

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The NBA draft is so different from the NFL draft in that there are only 2 rounds in the NBA draft and the first rounder’s are guaranteed 3 year contracts. The players drafted in the second round usually don’t even make a roster.

One big surprise in the draft might be from Ohio State. Their freshman center, B. J. Mullins, has declared for the draft. He played against my MSU Spartans and was quite impressive for a freshman. Excellent footwork and great size. Is he NBA ready? Probably not, but there is a dearth of 7′ centers, so look for him to go high in the draft.

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Hasheem Thabeet was showing off his big game in the NCAA tournament. As Tom Izzo said, “Until you are on the court and have to face him, you cannot believe how tall he is”.

Special Tom Izzo timeout: A big shout out to my MSU Spartans in the final game of the NCAA facing everyone’s favorite the North Carolina powder blue. May my Spartans rule!

Thabeet behind Kalin Lucas of MSU. It looks like he is playing with a bunch of 8th graders.

7′ 3″ tall and with a build that says he is strong, instead of tall. If you were in the stands watching him play, you might think he was a shorter player playing on a shorter rim, in other words he is not some bean pole.

And Thabeet has skills.

Now, less than three years removed from his days at Cypress Christian, Thabeet has plenty of reasons to smile. A junior who is still considered a raw talent by N.B.A. standards, he has developed into the Big East’s co-player of the year and the league’s back-to-back defensive player of the year. He is expected to be a top-five pick in the N.B.A. draft in June.

His shot-blocking and rebounding have been instrumental in the run that Connecticut (31-4) made to Saturday’s national semifinal against Michigan State (30-6) in Detroit.

This season, Thabeet is averaging 13.5 points, 10.9 rebounds and 4.28 blocks. Not bad for a player who had to be prodded by his high school coaches to dunk in layup lines.
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Hasheem is raw talent in a very tall body and the NBA needs him now.

Why? Will he begin to dominate the NBA?

No, Hasheem is not skilled enough to dominate, but he can begin to bring back the athletic big man to the NBA. It is a league that has oddly grown shorter at the center position and opted instead for speed. Hasheem can bring speed with tall, an odd mix of words, but you get it.

With Shaq on the way out, there are few big physical centers in the league left, maybe Oden or Howard. The NBA has always had big physical centers. We love to watch them play and smash against each other underneath the basket.

Yes, Hasheem wants the NBA and the NBA needs Hasheem.

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