Here are a few post-NBA Draft thoughts from my hotel room in
New York this morning:
1) I thought the Los Angeles Clippers came out of last night with one of the
top drafts. They got Eric Gordon, the arguably the top perimeter scorer in the
draft, with their first-round pick and then took a flyer on long 7-footer DeAndre
Jordan in the second round.
2) What are the New Jersey Nets thinking?
They added three players who basically play the same position within a
24-hour period. They dealt for Yi Jianlian and then drafted Brook Lopez and
Ryan Anderson. None of those three is a legitimate center, all three enjoy
playing on the perimeter.
3) Still can’t believe that Seattle
took Russell Westbrook at No. 4. I’ll say it again: He’s not a point guard and
not a great shooter. He’s a terrific defender, but I think general manager Sam
Presti made a mistake on this one.
4) Poor Darrell Arthur. The kid was dealt more than a deck of cards. Try and
follow: First of all, he slipped all the way to No. 27 overall, then was traded
from New Orleans to Portland
for some cash. He was dealt to Houston
in a deal that brought Portland Nicolas Batum and Joey Dorsey and traded a
final time to Memphis for Donte
Greene.
5) Memphis general manager Chris
Wallace, who didn’t exactly light the world on fire when he was the boss in Boston,
has basically decided he’s going to make the Grizzlies O.J. Mayo’s team. Can’t
wait to see how this one works out.
6) My guess is that Larry Brown isn’t much of a Raymond Felton fan. It’ll only
be a matter of time before D.J. Augustin displaces Felton as Charlotte’s
starting point guard. In one of the draft’s biggest shockers, Augustin was
taken ninth overall.
7) Best trade of the night belongs to Portland,
who dealt the No. 13 pick for Jerryd Bayless, who went 11th overall.
The Trailblazers are now a veteran or two away from contending for an NBA title
in a few years.
8) I guess Detroit boss Joe Dumars
is shaking things up. He took Walter Sharpe. Talk about character issues.
9) Love Utah’s pick of Kosta
Koufos at No. 23.
10) How in the world are Kevin Love and Al Jefferson going to be able to stay
on the court together defensively?
Brook Lopez is a perimeter player? I think he'll play just fine inside the paint in the NBA. You're point of New Jersey taking 3 players that basically play the same position is well understood though.
Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com - This is the only place you'll find continuous daily updates from the world of college basketball, so check back as often as you'd like.
