NBA Draft Review
After watching the 2007 edition of the NBA Draft, I can now take some useless time to provide my own insight on the Minnesota Timberwolves picks, and the draft in general.
Minnesota Timberwolves:
The Wolves had the #7 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, and they did not disappoint, as they got a solid pick with Corey Brewer from the University of Florida. As I stated in a previous post, I would have been happy if the T-Wolves got either Brewer or his teammate Joakim Noah with their first round draft pick, so getting Brewer made me happy. He is a great defender, something the Wolves need, and he also seems to have a good jump shot that just needs a little more development. Brewer will be a good fit with Randy Foye in the back court, and the two should be a great duo for the Wolves once they both develop into sound NBA players.
With their second pick in the draft, the Wolves took Florida forward Chris Richard, a teammate of Brewer's with the 44th pick in the draft. Kevin McHale, GM of the T-Wolves thought Richard would be a good fit for the Wolves, and in a press conference today at Target Center, he stated that, "Two Gators are better than one,". Personally, I don't know much about this guy, other than he was another Florida Gator. I do however like the fact that the Wolves got a package deal with two college teammates who know each other very well. I am hoping that this will result in an increase in team chemistry and that Richard will ultimately pay dividends down the road as a person who can bang in the paint with the best players in the NBA.
Lastly, after many rumors floating around television networks in the days leading up to the NBA Draft about Kevin Garnett getting traded, draft day came and went without him getting traded. I think this was a bad move by the Wolves, as it seems that he is going to want out after his contract is up, and if traded during the draft, the Wolves could have gotten some great future talent for him. In addition, with draft day being gone, it will now be even harder for the T-Wolves to get something descent in return for Garnett. I guess this is just another boneheaded move by Timberwolves management, and that I should have seen it coming.
Draft Day Notes:
- Seeing Joakim Noah go to the Bulls "in style" with his white suit and hair flying all over the place was quite the attention getter at the draft, even though he was not the number one pick or the first Florida player to be drafted. It should also be noted, he did the Gator chomp as he walked up to the podium, which excited the fans at the draft and made the ESPN crew chuckle. I will say that after being drafted by the Bulls, it should be interesting seeing what he does with his hair upon playing in Chicago, as Scott Skiles has a "no headband" policy, and Noah will need something to help keep all that hair out of the way. Also Joakim and Ben Wallace will possibly be known as "twin afros" and will also set a record for largest amount of hair to occupy the lane in an NBA game according to my buddies over at Stats Inc.
- The Milwaukee Bucks took China's Yi Jianlian with their first overall pick, an interesting pick, as the Bucks will have to work hard to sign him. Initial reports out of the China camp are that they are unhappy about where Yi went (go figure...it is Milwaukee), and that could add to the long process of signing Yi to a contract. This same situation took place a couple years ago when Yao Ming was drafted by the Houston Rockets. It took awhile for him to get signed, but the key difference was that the Rockets had almost all of the paperwork done before the draft, whereas the Bucks don't have much of it done, and they already drafted Mr.Jianlian. Another parting thought was that at the draft, he was interviewed, and it should be known that he seems to be a big party goer, knows more English than Yao currently knows and likes that Sean John gangsta clothing.
- Trades in the NBA Draft this year did occur, but they did not involve KG, and some of them surprised some people. The one that surprised me the most was the trade of Ray Allen to Boston, as he will now play alongside Paul Pierce, as both of these players will now be able to fight for ball possession, as they both like to shoot up the rock. In addition, the Portland Trail Blazers got rid of Zach Randolph and sent him to New York in exchange for Steve Francis and some other players. I thought this was a odd trade, as I will predict that Mr. Randolph will get into some off-court trouble in the NYC area. Whether it be packing heat at the strip joint like Pac-Man Jones, or smoking weed in his whip like Damon Stoudemire, I will say he will get into some trouble during the upcoming season, and face the wrath of Knicks coach/GM Isiah Thomas.
- The ESPN crew did a great job of covering the draft like usual, and they actually kept my interest as I watched past the first round of the draft this year on TV. Seeing Dickie V and Stephen A. Smith verbally spar throughout the draft was pretty good, and between that, you had the monotone voice of Jay Bilas spewin out draft day info, and riling up Stephen A. some more. Also, Mike Tirico was clutch, although seeing the draft did not have any exciting gamelike plays, he was unable to bust out any large signature lines.
The above stories I talked about were just some of the intriguing things to transpire at the NBA Draft on Thursday night. I will say that there were other big things did happen as well (Three Florida players picked in Top 10, DJ Strawberry drafted, etc.), but I would rather save myself from typing it all up right now and get some sleep. Good night!
Labels: nba draft, timberwolves
for a couple more months. So what is the cure for this? Sure, watching ESPN Classic and NBA TV will help starve off the demons of the NBA off-season, as will some cowbell, but the NBA Draft is another alternative, as tonight, the draft selects the future talent of the association and gives fans another reason to groan or cheer for their team, depending on the type of draft they have.