Draft Diary

Posted on June 24, 2010 | 14 Comments

In honour of The Sport’s Guys draft diary, which is probably one of the best articles of the year, every year, I thought I would do something similar. I wrote down my thoughts while I was watching the draft.

I didn’t write down the time, which I probably should have, but you can probably figure out when each comment is.

- Blah, blah, blah. Why does it take half an hour of pointless banter before the draft can begin. I have to pick up my oldest daughter at 6 PST. Hopefully the Raptors will have picked by then.

- Why are they showing former Blazers VP Tom Penn’s resume? Is he looking for a job? Oh, I guess he is. My wife is looking for a new job. Any chance I could get her resume up there, too?

- Wall, Turner, Favors, Johnson, Cousins…this draft is starting to become incredibly predictable. And no trades yet. It’s starting to feel like every Christmas, when it finishes and I wonder why the hell I looked forward to it for so long.

- Finally, a shake up. Isn’t Odoh possibly the least Golden State-type player available? Is this a sign that Don Nelson may, in fact, not be running the franchise? If I didn’t know any better, I’d start to think that they are actually trying to be a good team by picking a player who actually plays defense.

- What’s up with Jay Bilas? He seems to like everyone. It’s sickening. What I’d give for Charles Barkley and some honest opinions about now.

- Was Flip Saunders wearing a hairpiece?

- Hilarious. The Clippers “select in the lottery nearly every year”. I can’t even add to that.

- Bilas actually seemed to show less than normal enthusiasm for Aminu. “Needs to improve skill level.” Is that really something you want to hear about an 8th pick?

- Am I the only one who thinks that Aminu looks like Erkel with those glasses? Was it supposed to be a joke, because it certainly doesn’t look stylish.

- Why am I not surprised that Utah drafted a fundamentally sound white guy with little upside?

- Apparently Xavier Henry is “somewhat lefthanded”. What does that mean?

- I can’t believe I was right about Ed Davis falling. Man I feel smart. If the Raptors don’t select him, I will take back everything good I have ever said about Bryan Colangelo. This is a gift. It reminds me of when Iguodala unexpectedly fell to the Raptors, but instead Babcock chose Aruajo. I remember listening to the draft on the internet and was momentarily confused, thinking they had actually picked Iguodala. I was a little disappointed when I realized that it was a different Spanish sounding name called.

BASKETBALL/NCAA - Wow. All I have to say is wow. I can’t believe my number one guy fell and they picked him. I am officially a happy man. No matter what else happens, this was a good draft for the Raptors.

- Since my wish came true with Davis, does that mean Bargnani should be packing his bags?

- All these guys who I remember recently watching having sons come into the NBA makes me feel old.

- DeRozan’s favourite player was Vince, Ed Davis’ favourite player was Bosh. I’m sensing a pattern, here.

- Why am I not surprised Patterson went to Houston? They seem to like solid, unspectacular players.

- Patterson looks like he’s got massive shoulders in that suit. It’s cartoonish. He looks like the guy in the wheelchair on Family Guy.

- Bilas says Patterson is “a very good defender”? He needs to read more scouting reports, apparently.

- Larry Sanders went higher than expected. ”He still needs to learn the game”?? Isn’t that really something you should do BEFORE you get drafted in the first round in the NBA? Can you imagine a law firm hiring a guy with potential even though he still needs to learn about the law?

- Wow. Luke Babbitt, the player no one seems to care about, going to the city no one seems to care about. Good match.

- I have to go pick up my oldest daughter now. At the rate it’s going I won’t miss much.

- Crap, I missed quit a bit. Bledsoe and Bradley went one after another. Why do I think Oklahoma hit another home run? And look at all the guys who I have absolutely no opinion about.

- Babbitt got traded to Portland? Well that screws with my witty comment. This doesn’t seem like a Kevin Pritchard move, for some reason.

- Pointdexter danced the Nutcracker? Did you notice the ESPN announcer say “basketball player and dance”, and could barely keep a straight face. Sure, it’s not as manly as getting made up and sitting in front of a camera, stating the obvious, but whatever.

- The Nets get Derrick Favors and Damion Jones. I think they’ve done very well and if nothing else, they’ll be harder to score on, now.

- Wow. Greivis Vasquez’s mother looks like Catherine O’Hara.

- Orlando selects Daniel Ortez. Could that pick upset more people, do you think? Both Gortat and Ortez are probably pissed. I smell a trade.

- Why did David Stern have to read “First Round”. There are only two rounds. Did he forget which one it was? Do you think he’s rethinking holding the draft in New York every year? I think the fans booed at everything, and chanted USA when the Raptors were picking. Way to come across as classy, guys.

- Look at how far some of the guys fell! Whiteside, once a lottery pick, goes to the second round. The Raptors were looking at grabbing Alabi in the late first round and he lasts until 50. Willie Warren almost wasn’t drafted! That’s a long way to fall in one year. He was a projected lottery pick last year.

- Nice. The Raptors get Alabi and only give up a future second rounder and cash. They’ve done very well, despite not making any big trades. Raptor fans on some of the sites are looking like idiots, complaining about the Ed Davis pick and the lack of big trades. Apparently they believe that today is the only time trades are allowed to happen. I’m amazed by the pessimism.

- Well, that’s it for me. I’m actually a little shocked that no top 15 picks were traded. I was sure a couple of big deals would go down.

- Tomorrow I’ll do a report card of the draft.

—————–

I just thought I’d share a couple of quotes from Draft Express about Ed Davis, which might explain why I am so excited about him…

Defensively and as a rebounder is where Davis shows the most potential, thanks to his rare combination of fundamentals and physical tools. He ranks as one of the best shot-blockers in college basketball, being a major presence in the paint with his terrific length and timing, and should be able to make big strides as a post-defender and rim-protector as he continues to add strength to his frame. His wingspan allows him to go well outside of his area for rebounds as well, again being very productive in this area on both ends of the floor with his 12.4 rebounds per-40 minutes pace adjusted.

STRENGTHS:
- Executes offensively
- Excellent hands
- Excellent Touch
- Ability to contest shots
- Commitment to playing defense
- Defensive fundamentals
- Shot-blocking tools
- Basketball IQ
- Potential
- Role-player potential
- Strong Intangibles
- Above average athleticism
- Solid frame
- Wingspan
- Rebounding ability

——————-

Last minute update:

Kevin Pritchard was fired on draft night. Isn’t that kind of like being dumped on prom night? Sure, there might have been reasons, but I don’t think there could be a worse time to fire a GM. The guy turned the team around and now he gets the shaft. Id really like to know what went on behind the scenes there.

Join the discussion: 14 Comments

Category: Draft, NBA, Raptors

Comments

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http://raptorsrepublic.com/forums/ Doc

That pattern regarding VC and Bosh you speak of Tim, are you implying that in another 5 to 6 years DeMar & Ed will follow suit ala Carter & Bosh?

I certainly hope not.
J

Oh and BTW, this is what apparently happened:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-trailblazers032210

Unless you mean how the firing actually went down last night, of course, then I’m curious too.
J

(I guess you have a limit on message size? Going to split this one up then, so it might seem out of order.)

Hehe, I was wondering how you missed the Aldrich trade. Guess you were distracted by the combination of 1) Ed Davis falling and falling right to the Raptors, and 2) watching the clock for when you’d have to pick up your daughter. =P

- When they said the Clippers are almost always in the lottery, that was the perfect precursor to OKC’s Bledsoe trade. From 2nd round to mid-late 1st round to probably lottery pick, wow!

- I don’t know how Portland, having effectively fired Pritchard before the draft, could expect a man they felt was unclassy enough to be fired to be classy enough to make all the right moves for the benefit of the organization.
J

- The Nets actually ended up getting Jordan Crawford, I think. Atlanta traded him for James.

- Seems you had Vasquez or his mother on your mind ’cause you called Daniel Orton Daniel Ortez, haha. Nice one!

- Having spent considerable time in NYC (as well as loving the city), I can sort of see where the fans attending the draft were coming from. Being Canadian though, I wouldn’t have been cheering USA-USA (though I’m also American, lol), but definitely NYC-NYC. We are simply snobby that way because we love our city (I heart TO too, though). Speaking of unclassy, it’s not like the folks in the RR chat room were the epitome of class either.

- Had fun reading your notes. Thanks for taking the time!

(Okay, it isn’t message length, I think it doesn’t like my ASCII heart.)
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J

Sorry, my bad, Crawford and James went the way you suggested. It’s hard keeping all these swaparoos accurate, lol.
http://www.wearingfilm.com Tim W.

J,

- Ya, I think I was still giddy over Ed Davis falling and think I missed a few things, including the Aldrich trade. Actually, I think I still am.
- I just read Bill Simmons’ draft diary and he made this comment about the Bledsoe trade…”any time you can trade for a future No. 1 from the Clips, you have to do it” rule. It’s just the rule.”
- I have to say, the Pritchard thing was beyond bizarre. No matter what happened in Portland, I think their stock as a franchise has gone down the way they’ve handled things.
- I actually called Orton “Ortez” twice. It’s hard to say it’s a typo twice.
- A bunch of the people in the RR forum could certainly have out-unclassed the New York fans. It was embarrassing.
- Thanks
“(Okay, it isn’t message length, I think it doesn’t like my ASCII heart.”
Sorry to hear that. Did you have to find a donor for that, or did they build it from scratch?

And for anyone interested, here’s Bill Simmons’ draft diary.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100625
It’s not as funny as it used to be. I liked it better when he’d watch it with his dad.
J

Thanks for the link. And I replaced it with an alphabetical heart and it worked just fine. =P Just doesn’t like the “less than” sign.
J

That Simmons draft diary was actually pretty damn funny. A bunch of real LOL moments.
http://khandorssportsblog.com/wordpress khandor

Tim,

I’m afraid that you are eventually going to be proven incorrect in each of your current opinions about:

i. Ed Davis
ii. Luke Babbitt
iii. Gordon Hayward

and,

iv. Hassan Whiteside … as expressed on RR.

Shame on each of the individual NBA teams in need of a quality Big Man who passed on this young man.
http://www.wearingfilm.com Tim W.

J,

Ya, there were definitely some very funny parts, but I just remember it being a lot funnier before. Now, only about 20% is funny, whereas I remember it being well over 50% back when he was in Boston. Living in LA kills the funny. Look what happened to Eddie Murphy. And half the other comedians out there.

khandor,

Don’t tell me you don’t like Ed Davis! I’ve got to vehemently disagree with you there. Babbitt and Hayward you might be right about. I just don’t know, myself.

As for Whiteside, if the fact that he has ADD dropped him is ridiculous. What difference does that make on the court? I gather, however, there were other reasons he dropped out of the lottery. Not really showing he cared during workouts apparently was a big red flag for a lot of teams.
http://www.wearingfilm.com Tim W.

Doc,

Sorry, your comment went to spam, as did some of J’s. Weird.

No, I hope that’s not the pattern! No, the pattern is to find guys that idolize(d) former Raptors. Either that means finding a PG who was a big Damon Stoudamire fan, or trading for Kevin Durant!
http://khandorssportsblog.com/wordpress khandor

Tim,

As I’ve written on my blog already, it’s not that I don’t “like” Ed Davis, or that I think he is somehow not going to pan out in the NBA, as a solid PF, as the years go by, etc.

It’s more a case of …

When a series of possibly outstanding G/F players like Aminu, George, Hayward and Babbitt come along in a specific Draft Class – all with good size, relative quickness, motors, and diverse skill-sets, including the ability to REBOUND, score, pass AND shoot the ball – slotted behind a slew of mostly “above average-to-good” [i.e. non-dominant] PF-type players, IMO, you do not pass those players up in the middle-to-later stages of the Lottery … if you’re a top flight organization that really knows what’s it’s doing.

[i.e. Davis is certainly a good player (Sam Perkins/Stacey King?), IMO, but he does not really have a good chance to develop into an outstanding high impact player at the NBA level, in comparison with players like Aminu (Paul Pierce?), George (Penny Hardaway?), Hayward (Rick Barry?) and Babbitt (Larry Bird/Chris Mullin?), who have a broader skill-set.]