Sham’s unnecessarily long 2009 draft diary, part 3
June 26th, 2009
Part One Part Two 03.30: Discussion is taking place about why DeJuan Blair continues to fall, and about how not having any ACLs is no doubt the cause behind his falling draft stock. I’ve got news for you, analyst’s panel – intercourse his knees. He didn’t have any ACLs last year, and he rebounded better than all but one other player in the draft. This isn’t an ability he’s going to lose any time soon. He might not have a very long career projection on those pins, but it’s not like DeMarre Carroll and Taj Gibson are going to have ten-year careers, is it? Just draft Blair and end the charade. 03.30: Also, before you go on about how he’s merely a rebounding specialist, may I remind you that we just witnessed a shot-blocking specialist get picked second overall. Teams need specialists. Teams don’t need Taj Gibson. (I’m still a bit mad about this, as you might be able to tell.) 03.31: Adam Silver comes to the stage to a far bigger cheer than anyone before him. It’s a beautiful thing. Incidentally, why does the number #31 pick get five minutes to decide and not the two minutes that second-round picks should get? 03.32: At #31, Portland picks a power forward, and it’s not DeJuan Blair. Despite needing a physical power forward after a season of LaMarcus Aldridge, Channing Frye and Travis Outlaw, and despite their rebounding being almost solely reliant on the genius of Joel Przybilla (so says I), they pass on Blair for another finesse power forward in Jeff Pendergraph, who gives them nothing that they don’t already have. In fairness, Portland were the best rebounding team in the league last year, so it’s not like they need a prolific rebounder. But they could still use a physical […]
Sham’s unnecessarily long 2009 draft diary, part 2
June 26th, 2009
Part One Part Three All times are BST, by the way. 01.27: To the surprise of literally nobody, Toronto takes DeMar DeRozan with the ninth pick. As unimpressed as I am by a shooting guard with little offensive skill, no range outside of 16 feet, inconsistent defence and unimpressive production, it’s still the right pick here, because he has a chance to be something, and the Raptors definitely need something. Their shooting guard depth chart was also to being Quincy Douby and Quincy Douby only, which is even worse than Minnesota’s was. DeRozan has completely butchered the knot on his tie, though, which is never a good first impression to make. 01.28: Jay Bilas tells us that DeRozan penetrates easily enough, but can’t shoot. There’s pills you can take for that. 01.29: An advert comes on that says “Kia – Official Automotive Partner Of The NBA”. Yes, NBA players are often to be seen in Kias, rolling on dubs, checking out them tight whips, and hooking up their Sorentos with fat chrome. They’re the new Maybachs. They really are. 01.30: (They’re not.) 01.31: Mark Jackson – whose first initial and surname are quite chilling considering the night’s events – says that Milwaukee’s biggest need in this draft is a point guard. They need a backup, sure, because near-All-Star Luke Ridnour is not up to par and everyone else is a free agent. But there aren’t a great many young point guards in the NBA better than Ramon Sessions, who just put up 12.4/3.4/5.7 in only 28 minutes per game, while also making strides with his defence. There’s not a point guard left in this draft better than him, and so no, Mark Jackson, I do not agree that Milwaukee need a point guard. 01.32: Apparently it doesn’t matter what I […]
Sham’s unnecessarily long 2009 draft diary, part 1
June 26th, 2009
Last year’s draft night was arguably the best day of my life. The 2007 draft night before that is its only competitor. I mean that, too. Sort of. It never makes for especially brilliant television, but to know that dozens of executives all over the country are making more news in a 12-hour period than in the previous 12 months combined is kind of pulsating. In the course of a day and a night, rosters, directions and allegiances will change. We spend weeks and months in advance predicting what’s going to happen on this one night, only to find that, sure as hell, we’re all more wrong than a Myra Hindley Christmas album. It’s great fun. I’m a bit apprehensive of this draft, though. This draft will be unlike any other for me, for this is the first draft I’ll have watched in which I know anything about the players involved. Before this season, I had not watched the NCAA before outside of a handful of games, for the simple reason that it wasn’t on the telly. However, this year, for whatever reason, it was. And so in keeping with my usual approach (take note ladies), I went at it hardcore, gave it my all, didn’t want to miss a single inch of skin/minute of action, and strove to be better at it than everyone else in the world (particularly that inferior man you’re currently with). Because of that, I’m going to miss out on what I’ve always considered to be the highlight of draft night; the ability to judge people for life based off of a few short clips, what kind of suit they’re wearing, their post-selection interview, a short speech by Jay Bilas and the timeless “Must Improve” captions that so effortlessly make the work of drafting websites […]
Vin Baker signs in Venezuela
June 19th, 2009
ElUniversal.com: Marinos De Anzoategui signo ex estrella de la NBA Vincenzo Panadero. Marinos reiniciará sus entrenamientos mañana en la noche. La franquicia aguarda por el ala-pivot Héctor Romero, quien está en fase de rehabilitación por un desgarro en el muslo derecho. Será sometido a una ecografía y dependiendo del resultado se sabrá si podrá unirse o no al cinco naval, que conserva en la reserva al ex NBA Vin Baker. “Llegó fuera de forma y por ello no lo probamos”. Always-amusing crude online translation: Marine restarted their training tomorrow night. The franchise is looking for the wing-pivot Hector Romero, who is undergoing rehabilitation for a tear in his right thigh. Shall undergo an ultrasound and to the outcome will be known whether or not you can join the five ships, which kept in reserve to former NBA Vin Baker. “He arrived out of shape and why they did not try.” Does this mean that Hector Romero is out of shape, or that Vin Baker is? I don’t know, because I don’t speak Spanish. (Except for the words “horse”, “donkey”, “milk”, “hello beautiful lady”, “butter”, “oil” and “exit”. So far, I’ve found that this gets me everything I’ve ever needed in Spain.) But there’s evidence that it’s the latter. Vin Baker had a trial in China earlier this season, but was released after a few days because he was out of shape. This counts against him.
Where Are They Now: The Special Derrick Murray Edition
June 16th, 2009
The look back at the compelling protagonists of the 1996 NBA Draft will be coming up soon, as soon as I can find 13 available hours in which to write it. Until them, I bring you a quasi-update from the 1994 edition. In that post, I wrote this paragraph: Last month, [Lamond] Murray signed back in the IBL for the third time, signing with the seminal Los Angeles Lightning, where he is currently averaging 25/6. You weren’t expecting that, I’m guessing. But here’s the best part – the Lightning’s line-up is freaking stacked. In an otherwise poor league, the Lightning have managed to boast a line-up full of ex-NBA players, featuring Murray, current Clippers assistant and minor league veteran Fred Vinson, journeyman big man Jamal Sampson, the artist formerly known as Bryon Russell, ex-Suns guard Toby Bailey and former Rockets guard Juaquin Hawkins, who is with his first team since suffering a stroke last year. Did you see all that coming? No, me neither. In fact, apart from Murray, I didn’t know about all those players being there when I started writing this. Good times, maybe. Well, I have an update on that. Sampson left the team after only four games, but the team replaced him pretty quickly, signing ex-Kings training campee (a new word), Adam Parada. Bailey has also now turned up, as he was still playing in the German playoffs at the time of the last update. (He’s currently averaging a triple-double through his first two games, too.) The team also boasts California State senator Tony Strickland on the team, who hadn’t played competitive basketball since averaging a double-double at Whittler College in NCAA’s Division III almost two decades ago. That’s a PR move and a half, that. But the big news is that the Lightning have since added […]
“That Guy We Drafted,” 1995
June 7th, 2009
– 1st pick: Smilin’ Joe Smith (Golden State) – Joe Smith still has lots to give. He has more good play left in him, lots of love in his heart, and endless toothy smiles that can change the dynamic of an entire room. I like Joe Smith, even if he did allegedly once bottle a gay stripper in a nightclub. You should too. (That is to say, “You should like Joe Smith”. Not “You should bottle a gay stripper in a nightclub”. By the way, Smith was acquitted on all charges.) – 2nd pick: Antonio McDyess (L.A. Clippers) – McDyess had a decent resurgent season with the Pistons this season, his solid and consistent play often showing up the remainder of their frontcourt, which featured the underwhelming youth of Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell, the remnants of Rasheed Wallace, and however you’d like to tactfully describe Kwame Brown. He also managed to annoy a lot of Celtics fans, which was a bonus. McDyess still has a year or two left, if he wants it. – 3rd pick: Jerry Stackhouse (Philadelphia) – Stackhouse is done, and has been for about three years, even if Dallas didn’t realise it. Nevertheless, you’ll hear about him again, because Stack has that rarest of prized tags next to his name – he has a partially guaranteed contract for next year. And you’d better believe that executives around the league are lining up, ready to do things they’re not proud of just to get a hold of that bad boy. Therefore, sooner or later, Stackhouse is being traded and waived. You heard it here second. (By the way, on the subject of unguaranteed contracts, do you think Memphis regret buying out Antoine Walker partway through last season? Antoine had what would have been a fully unguaranteed […]
“That Guy We Drafted”, 1994
June 4th, 2009
If you’re hardcore, you’ll probably remember the name of that random second-round draft pick your team made back in 1999. And if you’re really hardcore, you might even care about him enough to spend 30 seconds reading up on where he is and what he does now. Well, I’m here to oblige you with that. Starting as of, like, now, we will trace back drafts and draftees, from as far back as I can be bothered to go (which early estimates predict will be about 1994), to the most recent 2008 draft. Potentially, we might stumble across something interesting. —– – 1st pick: Glenn Robinson (Milwaukee) – Robinson signed two contracts in his life; the 10-year, $80 million one he signed after being drafted (one that catalysed the inception of the rookie scale the following season), and a prorated minimum salary contract with the Spurs the season after the first contract ended. With the Spurs, he coat-tailed his way to a championship ring. And then he disappeared. Last month, Mike Hutton of the Post-Tribune (a newspaper that apparently couldn’t decide what to call itself) wrote a piece that tried to track down the absent Robinson and find out what he does now. The answer appears to be…..not a lot. The comments on this follow-up post seem to confirm that. – 2nd pick: Jason Kidd (Dallas) – Still going, and now back with the team that drafted him. Kidd is going to be a free agent this summer, and even though he’s declined a lot in the last two years, he’s still got something to give to a competitor. – 3rd pick: Grant Hill (Detroit) – Also still going, and also a free agent this summer. Hill has said in the past that, if he was traded away from Phoenix, he’d […]
