While most people were on their summer vacation, the NBA was just finishing up their season. Not wanting hoop’s fans to suffer from basketball withdrawals, the NBA offseason has just begun in earnest with the NBA draft.
And if that isn’t enough to quench your basketball thirst, then there is the ongoing Tim Donaghy soap opera, with him implicating other referees as well as the whole league in fixing games. The league, in turn, wants Donaghy to reimburse them for his shoes. The league apparently takes great pride in their willingness to walk a mile in another person’s shoes.
But last night, it was the all about the draft with the talent, the young guys, and the potential – both upside-potential and just regular potential – that was the focal point of the basketball universe.
The b-ball pundits were convinced that the Heat weren’t enamored with Michael Beasley. If they didn’t trade the pick, they would surely use it on O.J. Mayo or Jerred Bayless, especially after holding secret workouts with both players. So who did the Heat pick? Beasley, of course.
In the same vein, the Pistons were a sure pick for Bill Walker. In fact, most thought that the Pistons gave Walker a guarantee and that’s why he decided to stay in the draft. Darrell Arthur was expected to go in the lottery and not become the NBA’s “Brady Quinn of Draft Night.” Chris Douglas-Roberts was a sure first rounder.
None of the above happened, which goes to show you how much stock one should place in a mock draft.
Serge Ibaka’s agent told teams to not waste a first round pick on him. You read that correctly: a player’s agent told teams to not pick him in the first round since he intended to sign a big deal in Europe. So what does Seattle do? Take Ibaka in the first round. If I’m an Oklahoma City resident, I’m not sure I want the Sonics and their questionable decision making moving to my city.
With the 19th pick, the Cavs took power forward JJ Hickson. He turns 20 years old this September. When scouring the Internet, there was a wide range of opinions about the kid, with some calling him a sleeper pick and others saying he was a reach at #19.
The most consistent thing mentioned about Hickson is he has been described as having an NBA-ready body that can score with his back to the basket. The main weakness of his is his work ethic as he didn’t always appear to “bring it” every game.
The most ridiculous analysis of the Hickson pick belongs to CBS Sportsline’s Gary Parrish, who wrote this about the Cavs’ pick: “That’s ridiculously high for Hickson considering he wasn’t even guaranteed to go in the first round. But this just shows that talent and potential trumps all, and Hickson is talented, if nothing else.”
If nothing else, “Hickson is talented.” You know what? If I’m Danny Ferry, I can live with talent. But if you give me a player with talent AND potential, well then that sounds like a good first round pick to me. Outside of talent and potential, I’m not sure what else there is to trump.
If nothing else, give Parrish credit for managing to criticize the pick while still justifying it. That’s not easy to do.
I will go out on a limb and predict that Hickson will spend a couple weeks with the Erie Bayhawks in the D-League. With Z, Wallace, Smith, and Varejao, there are not a lot of available minutes for Hickson.
Every time I looked up at the TV, the Portland Trail Blazers appeared to be picking yet another player.
And every time I turned away from the TV, I hear the announcers saying that the Blazers have made another trade.
STAR(R) Struck 