2007 NBA Draft Thread, started on the night of the lottery.

well okay then, more hoops for me

'o noes suns suspended nba hates fun' = most overhyped thing of all time, but you can certainly overreact to it

also: you were 10 when the celtics last won the nba championship, i was 11 when the trailblazers last won the championship, BUT I AM MUCH MUCH OLDER THAN YOU. also, ignoring 80% of nba history makes you the lex of hoops

but i still love ya jhoshea, keep it realz

IM NOT THE LEX OF HOOPS FU

it was bad no one watched it it almost went out of business people didnt know how to jump yet double teaming wasnt even invented they had player coaches and everyone loved to punch each other in the face after staying up for days high on coke - it wasnt like a real "professional sports league" something like lacrosse or the wnba

then there was dr j and he felt a little out of place then larry/magic came along and set shit off then jordan went all man/god then pat riley and david stern decided things were too fun and instituted the basketball/wrestling hybrid we now enjoy

this is what we call the nba

"IM NOT THE LEX OF HOOPS FU"

lolololo

ps. cry me a river celtic fags

i humbly submit that the hawks are the most miserable nba franchise ever, fuck anyone who disagrees and fuck their friends and everyone who they love

http://www.websurfnicaragua.com/images/random/fu.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b187/4754/theodoretugboatcopy.jpg

yep the hawks are the most pathetic franchise, that is true. i was in atl for a convention a bunch of years ago and I got great seats for a make-or-break playoff game and if I wanted I could have gone down a bunch more rows, apparently basketball is not a popular sport in that city

FWIW jhøshea, Zach Randolph is twice as boring to watch as Karl Malone was. Maybe three times, cuz Karl at least had a pretty face. He can back down most of the league with his wide body and put the ball in the hole about 47% of the time, but I just don't see how he fits into the talent the Blazers have been assembling. Coach MacMillan seems to have similar thoughts, but hides them as best he can.

I know that I am just blowing smoke, but I have been wondering about the possibility of moving Aldridge to center, drafting Durant, and building the starting team around speed and quickness. They could build a second unit with Pryzbilla at center that runs more sets.

This scheme would include trading Zach for a rebound machine who runs the court and can finish on fast breaks and maybe fishing in the free agents for a shooting guard who doesn't need to dribble to create shots (the ball belongs in Roy's hands).

Like I said, just blowing smoke.

a rebound machine who runs the court and can finish on fast breaks

Aimless, you make it sound pretty easy -- but do you really think if such a creature existed, his team wouldn't want to trade him for a player you think is so useless?

i can understand not liking randolph there is something sort of unsavory and tedious about him. but he's a monster none the less: 23 and 10. granted his fg% couldve been better for someone who spends most of his time on the block, but he offset that by getting to the line and shooting well.

agreed the the blazers would be a lot more fun if they ditched him and just ran and ran. likely durant could play the 4 on a team like that after a few years of nba weight training.

still giving away such a dynamic player for someone to fill a need would be hueg mistake for a team w/so much promise. besides zach still loves you.

http://static.flickr.com/40/79558028_60668732dc.jpg

I know Zach can be quite effective at what he does. So was Malone (although Zach is only about 85% of a Karl Malone, 90% tops; Karl was known to move his feet on defense from time to time.) But Zach needs to be at the heart of a grind-it-out half court team and he would fit much better into the Eastern conference than he will into the personnel the Blazers are putting together.

As for who would trade for him and what the Blazers could get, that is much too realistic a problem to fit nicely into my daydreaming, so I ignore it. Surely he's worth something on the trading block (gawd that's sounds so much like a meat market). =:o

Now, if only Darius Miles will declare his career over, due to injury, the whole apparatus might get enough lift to reach the second playoff round next year.

hahahaha "lex of hoops"

1. How does Chad Ford keep his job? Has he been right about a single prospect (I assume he wasn't around for Nowitzki)?

2. Are there Vegas odds on the Celtics taking the Chinese Darko Milicic yet?

Chad Ford has a folder full of incriminating photos he keeps in a safe deposit box.

interesting tidbits: http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2007/06/greg_oden_is_a_freak_of_nature.html

Yeah. Even before this I was coming around to be solidly in the Oden camp. Seems to me like a lock for #1. Durant can't quite stack up against Oden's plus side.

NEWSFLASH: Colin Cowherd can bench more than Kevin Durant.

But could he at age 18?

He was probably too busy pulling his shorts out of his ass to lift any weights.

Bump.

Pumps and a.

durant had the workout of his life for the blazers yesterday, said some organizational dude. and oden was supposedly not in the best shape for his. a flip at 1/2?

Man, I dunno, for franchise boys I would not be changing opinions due to workouts, I think Durant is just strutting to show Portland what they're missing or whatever, but Oden has crazy defense and that shit comes at a premium.

ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN

ODEN ODEN ODEN

AND ODEN

Greg Oden spelled backwards is Ned "OG" Erg. Think about this.

oden's funnier. that's got to count for something

Yeah, Oden is going to be comedy gold for this league for years to come. Which is a great, great thing.

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/sports.aol.com/fanhouse/media/2007/04/oden_greg_400.jpg

Watch out, Greg! That white woman's trying to steal your mojo!

Hmmn.

DURANT DURANT DURANT DURANT DURANT DURANT DURANT DURANT
DURANT DURANT DURANT
AND DURANT

the shades of bowie over jordan make for a fascinating subplot. except more like mourning over jordan. i am however starting to get a funny feeling that the blazers might wise up and draft durant.

Well it might be closer to Akeem over Jordan which actually did happen.

do you think? i havent really heard anyone say they think he'll develop anywhere near the offensive game.

which is where the whole big over small logic breaks down. sure most championship teams have dominant big men, but is oden going to be good like duncan, shaq, hakeem et al? possible but more likely he tops out somewhere sub-ewing.

imo durant and lebron are the only 2 post-jordan players that legitimately have the potential to be the best ever.

Respect the Dream,
Call him Hakeem.

"do you think? i havent really heard anyone say they think he'll develop anywhere near the offensive game."

Well I also haven't heard anything that indicates his legs are going to fall off Bowie-stylee either. Dude's only 19 years old and already has very competent offensive moves and he certainly has great defensive instincts. Nothing there indicates to me he can't be as good as the guys you mentioned and the most dominant center in the world for the next ten someodd years.

"Respect the Dream,
Call him Hakeem.

-- Leee, Wednesday, June 27, 2007 6:45 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link"

WORD

i'd still take hakeem over jordan btw~

i dont think it'd be crazy to take durant first tho

Me neither. I don't think Seattle loses whoever they get.

Nothing there indicates to me he can't be as good as the guys you mentioned and the most dominant center in the world for the next ten someodd years.

really? i watched him a bunch last season and while he was def impressive i didnt get the force of nature vibe. yeah his wrist was broken and all but he seemed sort of robotic regardless. his demeanor on the court is a little disturbing too - he could just be duncaesque i guess - still most great players seem more passionate.

Well I also haven't heard anything that indicates his legs are going to fall off Bowie-stylee either.

he actually does have some health issues: reduced flexibility in the injured wrist, a bulging spinal disc and one leg is shorter than the other. none really serious right now, but two concern his back and the other his shooting hand - should at least give pause.

but regardless the main point is that durant dominated college basketball like no freshman ever. and he was a young freshman. he just looks like the surest sure thing ever.

but regardless the main point is that durant dominated college basketball like no freshman ever

Taking sides: Carmelo Anthony vs. Someone "Duncanesque".

carmelo was great but durant was better:

anthony: 22ppg 10rebounds 2ast 2steals 1block 45% 34%3s 71%ft

durant: 26ppg 11rebounds 1ast 2steals 2blocks 47% 40%3s 81%ft

and durant has the potential to be a lock down defender, while carmelo cant guard anyone.

but that is so clever how you flipped the duncanesque line there lolololol

yeah I'm a sneaky dude.

As a Portlander though I've just been very very pro-Oden throughout this whole last month. Mostly I'm just anticipating getting this whole WHO'S IT GONNA BE HONK ONCE HONK TWICE thing over with and move on to the real business of moving Randolph and being a .500 or better ballclub next year.

Though I guess I should admit that obviously I think Durant's going to be a great deal better than Melo and is a likely future MVP etc etc etc. To me it comes down to awesome, athletic wing players being more common than awesome, athletic centers. For every like dozen or so Nowitzki/McGrady/What-Have-You types there's one Duncan/Shaq guys. And the twin towers thing with LaMarcus and Oden is just too sweet.

i dont really care unless one of them drops to number three. i dont know anything abt nba draft strategy but in futbol it's smarter to use first rounders on guys at positions that are at a premium, instead of a tight end or safety or whatever. i dont know if that really translates to basketball since you only start 5 dudes but it could be a compelling reason to take oden first. i dont think dude's gonna be the GOAT or anything but with a little polish to his offensive game you could have someone comparable to 'Zo (he's closer to Mutombo rn, which aint half-bad)

Yeah that's the draft strategy in the NBA too which is why there are a lot of center busts because they get drafted higher than their talent necessarily deserves.

HOWEVER in this case I think that it's safe to say that Oden is not going to be Olokwandi or Manute Bol.

yeah no doubt that center is a more valuable position to fill - but when that's the only argument yr getting into dangerous territory. talent has to be a factor in the equation too. and i havent heard anyone say they think oden is better at basketball than durant.

unfortunately in the nba the big man first logic has become self-perpetuating conventional wisdom - gm's take front court players early for the sake of their resumes. a center bust is fine cause everyone wouldve done the same. but if you take a point guard early and he sucks then youre an idiot headed for the cba.

historically the draft has way overvalued big men - like way past the relative merits of their position.

but yeah oden would be first pick worthy most years. just not this one.

He also gives the guy he's guarding about 30 a night while he's obsessing over his own 20 and 10. I went to almost every game at the Rose Garden over the last couple years. Hope Knicks fans enjoy watching Zach stare at the stat counter for 48 minutes.

Now the Knicks have two Eddy Currys, although at least Randolph can stick his arms up in the air and grab some boards. The DePaul kid is benefiting quite nicely from the Renaldo Balkman effect!

I love how Marco Bellinellinnellyball wasn't on ANY first round mock drafts, but the talking heads still insisted he was a good pick. It reminds me of when the Patriots draft ... automatic praise. If the Warriors drafted Roberto Benigni or Francesco Totti, I think the response woulda been exactly the same.

Was Tiago Splitter DESTINED to go to the Spurs or what? I was kinda hoping they'd grab Big Baby and have Duncan/Pops whip him into shape, though. Also, I really liked Oberto's play in the playoffs, so it'd be weird if they let him get away in free agency. Resign that fella.

Minnesota drafted Rashad McCants for the third consecutive year.

I'm gonna miss J-Rich. :(

Haha, Tiago fulfilled the Spurs annual requisite foreign power forward selection (Luis Scola, Ian Mahinmi) and I'm guessing dude will probably never play for us.

Aimless is otm with this: "but his big problem is that he can't be a role player and you can't build a successful team around him." How many guys in the league can be described this way that basically fill up stat sheets and do fuck all for a team?

oh right. "The brother from DePaul" was maybe my favorite moment of the draft.

Is anyone calling Oden "thunder god" yet?
Because I am.

Man, Spencer Hawes, strikes one and two here:

Spencer Hawes is a hardcore conservative from, of all places, the liberal stronghold of Seattle. He was drafted into a city (Sacramento) where one of the country's most recognizable Republican governors (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is in office. Hawes says he "loves" Arnold, and that he brought True Lies with him on the trip to New York, with plans to watch it on the flight home. "Now it has a little extra meaning for me," Hawes said.

When I spoke with Hawes at the league's predraft camp on May 31, he talked about a recent Public Debate class exercise at the University of Washington. In it, he said, he denied the entire existence -- and human cause -- of global warming. When asked for his take on Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, Hawes said, "It's one big lie. I talked about that in my opening speech -- it's the media's liberal overexaggeration of just about everything."

Will root for his demise openly.

God of lightening, more like.

The past two days I've picked up The Oregonian newspaper to find stories and photos that try to emphasize how immensely huge Greg Oden is. That's silly. He isn't a new Shaq. The Trailblazers already have a center, Pryzbilla, who's bigger than Oden in both height and weight.

Oden's gift is his quickness and timing for his size. He runs like the wind, moves his feet like blue blazes, shifts to the weak side in a blink, and times his jumps excellently well. He's a 7 ft. gazelle, not a sasquatch. He even looks Bill Russell. Sweet.

But he isn't the biggest guy in the league by a long shot.

Could someone tell Spencer Haw-Hawes that Arnold favors gay marriage and a federally mandated cap on CO2 emissions?

yah oden is much more in the david robinson mold

shit, shaq used to run like a deer. he wasnt just some big motherfucker when he first came into the league~

When Shaq really starts to let himself go, it is going to be a woeful sight to behold.

So why are so many people taking pains to pronounce Yi's surname the "right way" when so few have done so with me???

Obviously, you are inconsequential. I said it. Satisfied now?

No. ;_;

What's it going to take, then?

2 years, $6 million with an option for a third year.

My people will get in touch with your people.

Oden out for entire season ;_;

Why my life always gotta get ruined??????????

if the blazers dont take durant 1st they are toal retards part2 ala the jordan draft. oden is mr alonzo mourning if every thing works out ok. i keep saying this but no one is listening. not that i like basketball at all any more ever.

-- jhøshea

respect

lol amazing document with the slur and everything

When Shaq really starts to let himself go, it is going to be a woeful sight to behold.

― polyphonic, Monday, July 2, 2007 5:18 PM (sixteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Not sure I agree with myself there lol he looks okay