My NBA draft predictions weren’t exactly Matt Millen-esque, actually far from it, however a couple of glaring mistakes certainly overshadowed the brilliant gems.

Like anyone is keeping score at home, besides me that is.

I keep score.

In previous posts I predicted

Shawn James, a shot blocker out of Duquesne, would be drafted.

I also was high on St. Joes forward Pat Calathes. He too was not drafted. However, I happened to notice that Jay Bilas had Pat Calathes on his list of 6 best remaining players not yet drafted, though that was after pick # 59.

My big monstrosity of an error was the George Hill prediction. Plain and simple I didn’t expect teams to have much respect for George, the little Summit League star from IUPUI.

I will say it again for whoever may have missed it: Seeing George Hill play in person, as I did late in the season last year, didn’t really allow me to gage his full repertoire and potential.

Obviously that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Now my opinion about the kid could have been swayed because of the complete beating Oakland U put on IUPUI that night, though I would have hoped it would not have because that’s not a sensible way to go about forming opinions on players. Thinking back I probably let the outcome of the game affect what I thought about George Hill.

Still doesn’t mean he will be any good but…

The guy was picked in the first round and by the San Antonio Spurs no less!

Victories

At least Sasha Kaun and Malik Hairston were drafted. And at least D.J. White was drafted in round one, even though the team who drafted him didn’t keep him.

Another little victory for me was Bill Walker. Yeah, he slipped a bit, but he’s on the best NBA team out there right now.

And finally I’d like to take credit and say I knew Jason Thompson would be a top #15 pick, but that would be a lie. Though I did say he was intriguing…

A morsel of my last post discussed Chris Douglas-Roberts’s draft night gag, and as expected, nothing much was accomplished. I guess the post was a good excuse to get Shawn Marion’s name out there, Kevin Martin’s as well, but of course I whiffed at the chance to link out to some frequently visited pro basketball blogs.

Lesson learned.

Mental note forwarded.

Will whore myself out more for the chance of getting more pv’s in the future.

So anyway, the whole story of why CDR’s stock dropped so excessively can be explained quite simply. It’s not as wondrous as a Harry Potter adventure… or an ominous kidney—but it will do for now, at least until Joe Dumars can escape the area so the steadfast anti-Tayshaun Prince portion of Metro Detroit doesn’t tear down his residence with him in it, or worse, leak out malicious, yet well meaning, trade proposals of a re-acquisition of Darko!

CDR apparently took the easy route during the draft workout period. It seems that CDR was extremely confident he would not be around at #20. Thus not only did he decline a workout with the Detroit Pistons, an organization’s fan base who is desperately wondering why Walter Sharpe was picked instead of CDR, he also most likely declined workout invitations from various other teams selecting after pick #20. If that assertion is valid, then shame on CDR for having a bigger head than Placido Polanco and for not putting himself out there to the best of his ability. After all, jobs are hard to come by in the NBA, very hard. There aren’t many openings, but when there are, there’s dozens and dozens of talented guys who would do anything to fill them.

Being picky about who you workout for not only sends a bad message to the teams he blew off, but the league as a whole. You can be sure other teams took note of his behavior.

So it seems that the “unorthodox” label was only part of the pie.

But being that CDR is from Detroit, there could be even more to the story.

Maybe a demon or two lurk in CDR’s Detroit past? Maybe he’s acutely aware of a leech like entourage waiting for him, waiting to engulf him, to suck from him the very strength and focus he had in order to make it out in the first place.

But that would only explain Detroit.

Everything aside,

CDR and I will still get paid.

Post from: EveryJoe

CDR and I: Licking our wounds, but still getting paid, probably

Memphis looks much more legit now with a Mayo-Gay combo.

Minnesota? Jefferson-McCants, Jefferson-Gomes.

Ouch.

Speaking of Memphis, Chris Douglas-Roberts did get chosen by a team on draft night. It might have been after most went to bed or stopped watching, but it did happen.

CDR got to the free throw line 63 times during last year’s tourney. He scored 20 + points in 5 out of the 6 games.

Those stout postseason numbers combined with an impressive 3 year career, in a logical world, would have meant a nice first round guaranteed contract.

Instead he went 40th.

He went AFTER college players such as D.J. White, Courtney Lee, the impervious George Hill, the literal sleepy man Walter Sharpe, household name Sonny Weems and even the next Bruce Bowen, Luc Richard Mbah A Moute.

During the draft the term “unorthodox” was thrown around every time CDR’s name came about.

News Flash

Shawn Marion
Manu Ginobili
Kevin Martin…

are just a couple off hand names that came to mind of unorthodox players.

East Coast Bias has this to add about CDR and fellow New Jersey draft pick Ryan Anderson #21

Additionally: the Nets drafted Ryan Anderson and Chris Douglas Roberts. I love Anderson’s ability to shoot the ball. Chris Douglas-Roberts has some ability as a slashing scorer, but he’s not NBA quick, and he never struck me as that strong. But he’s gotten it done on one of the best teams in the country, so he gets a second round look.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of CDR, yet his success during his college career cannot be overlooked. The stats are there.

West Virginia phenom Joe Alexander was drafted at #8.

Talk practice believes Joe Alexander is a Mandarin speaking, semi-athletic, solely mid-range jump shooting defensive liability. Well they got the Mandarin part right. Apparently Joe stole the walk-on spot at WVU of someone over at talkpractice—nobody would otherwise be able to come up with that conclusion. The guy has a go get’em attitude and all the skills to be a big time player in the NBA.

WBGV discusses Joe’s weaknesses and strengths with a little less vim and a little more sense.

Pac 10 Strong

12 Pac 10 players were taken, the most out of any conference. A few surprises, at least from my point of view

Maarty Luenen #54

Bayless slipped to #11

Moute was indeed drafted, much to the surprise of… well, probably just me.

Other suprises

Patrick Ewing Jr., all 6.1ppg of him, was drafted at #43.

Bill Walker #47, the guy I’ve compared to Paul Pierce, will actually get to suit with Paul this coming season. Not a bad guy to be mentored by. His reoccurring knee problems were really the red flag that kept many teams away.

Darrell Arthur was THE Surprise of draft night. The Kansas star, after being passes over selection by selection, sunk lower and lower into his chair, all the virility he held at the beginning of the night gone, but at #27 his wait was over. For a short time he had to think it was well worth it, because New Orleans picked him, meaning he would play with the best point guard in the world.

That was not to be. Memphis ended up receiving Arthur at the conclusion of the draft wheeling and dealing. What a find.

Some kind of supposed kidney problem really scared teams away from Arthur.

Was it all just a big misunderstanding? Did 15 or so teams really just pass on a future NBA starter? More info here at SI.com

Kansas was well represented on draft night. Not only did Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur get selected, but fellow starters Darnell Jackson and Mario Chalmers were selected in round two, as was super sub Sasha Kaun.

It didn’t stop there. Former Jayhawk J.R. Giddens (New Mexico) was the last player drafted in the first round.

Rider product Jason Thompson was drafted at #12. I had a good feeling about him going into the draft, but top 15 was beyond outstanding. Remember small school star Rodney Stuckey? Don’t sleep on those small school guys.

Some mentionable undrafted players

Chris Lofton- Will get his chance
Gary Forbes- A guy who could improve his craft overseas
Josh Duncan- A tweener who will have to take the tough route
DeMarcus Nelson- Could latch on somewhere as a lock down defender
Pat Calathes- His inability to out jump and run people really got him
Jamont Gordon- Should have returned to school and improved his stroke
Davon Jefferson- Came out way too early and didn’t play with enough passion in the Pre-Draft camps
David Padgett- Better off not drafted, he will get to choose which team is best for him to try out for. Good chance he’s on a roster within a couple of years. He’s still really cool either way.
Drew Neitzel- Spartan Weblog believes this was best for Drew. He, like Padgett, gets to choose the “best fit”

Here are all the draft picks with trades included

Round 1

Round 2

Post from: EveryJoe

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