Tuesday, June 28, 2005
NBA DRAFT OPEN THREAD
Hey y'all, the NBA Draft is tonight on ESPN at 4:30 Pacific.
I'll update this post with the latest news on the NBA Draft, including pick-by-pick rundowns, trades, and much more.
Speaking of trades, the Portland Trail Blazers have traded the #3 pick to the Utah Jazz for the #6 and #27 picks. Portland also received Utah's 2006 first-round choice, which the Jazz received from the Detroit Pistons in the Carlos Arroyo deal. With this turn of events, I now expect the Blazers to select Seattle Prep's Martell Webster, should he still be available at #6. The Blazers have shown great interest in Webster over the past couple of weeks.
This is an NBA Draft open thread, so use it. I'll post the Pump around 6:30 Pacific.
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2005 NBA DRAFT
FIRST ROUND
1 Milwaukee Bucks - C Andrew Bogut, Utah
---Bogut second Utah athlete to be selected #1 this year (Alex Smith #1 NFL pick)
2 Atlanta Hawks - F MARVIN WILLIAMS, NORTH CAROLINA (Bremerton!)
---There were more people at Marvin's games in high school than there will be at the Philips Arena in Atlanta. Nevertheless, MARVIN IS A PRO, BABY!
3 Utah Jazz (from Portland) - G Deron Williams, Illinois
---Solid collegian at Illinois. Jerry Sloan will love him.
4 New Orleans Hornets - G Chris Paul, Wake Forest
---Will the fans in the Big Easy care about this electrifying Wake Forest star?
5 Charlotte Bobcats - G Raymond Felton, North Carolina
---The Bobcats missed out on Paul, but draft another local guard instead
6 Portland Trail Blazers (from Utah) - G MARTELL WEBSTER, SEATTLE PREP HS
---Webster will stay in the Northwest. His family and friends are happy, I'm sure.
7 Toronto Raptors - F Charlie Villanueva, Connecticut
---I didn't expect Villanueva to be picked this high
8 New York Knicks - C Channing Frye, Arizona
---He's Loren Woods, 2005 version
9 Golden State Warriors - F Ike Diogu, Arizona State
---I like this pick. Diogu can play, folks.
10 L.A. Lakers - C Andrew Bynum, St. Joseph's HS (NJ)
---I want to make a Kobe joke here, but I'll pass
11 Orlando Magic - F Fran Vazquez, Spain
---"Low risk pick for Orlando," ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla on Vazquez
12 L.A. Clippers - F Yaroslav Korolev, CSKA Moscow
---Elgin Baylor, veteran of the lottery process.
13 Charlotte Bobcats (from CLE via PHX) - F Sean May, North Carolina
---Tickets! Tickets! The Bobcats have selected two Tar Heels so far.
14 Minnesota Timberwolves - G Rashad McCants, North Carolina
---North Carolina won the national championship last season for a reason.
15 New Jersey Nets - G Antoine Wright, Texas A&M
---College Station has a basketball team?
16 Toronto Raptors (from PHI via DEN and NJ) - F Joey Graham, Oklahoma State
---Graham was a stud in Stillwater.
17 Indiana Pacers - F Danny Granger, New Mexico
---Came on strong late last season for the Lobos.
18 Boston Celtics - F Gerald Green, Gulf Shores Academy (TX)
---Last year, Al Jefferson. This year, Gerald Green.
19 Memphis Grizzlies - F Hakim Warrick, Syracuse
---Jerry West knows what he's doing here.
20 Denver Nuggets (from WAS via ORL) - G Julius Hodge, North Carolina State
---It's hard to believe that Hodge is only the 20th pick in the draft.
21 Phoenix Suns (from Chicago) - G NATE ROBINSON, WASHINGTON
---ESPN's Ric Bucher reports that this pick will go the Knicks in the Kurt Thomas-Quentin Richardson proposed deal. The rest of the Western Conference will breathe a sigh of relief if this deal does go down.
22 Portland Trail Blazers (acquired from DEN) - G JARRETT JACK, GEORGIA TECH
---The Sonics were rumored to be very interested in Jack.
23 Sacramento Kings - G Francisco Garcia, Louisville
---Future 3-point champion at the All-Star Weekend.
24 Houston Rockets - G Luther Head, Illinois
---Hey, the college game is still good, folks.
25 Seattle Supersonics - C JOHAN PETRO, FRANCE
---He's from France. That's all I know about the guy.
26 Detroit Pistons - F Jason Maxiell, Cincinnati
---Where is Wayne Simien?
27 Denver Nuggets (acquired from POR via Utah) - F/C Linas Kleiza, Missouri
---Quin Snyder is crying tears of joy right now.
28 San Antonio Spurs - F Ian Mahinmi, STB Le Havre
---I won't doubt the Spurs when it comes to international players.
29 Miami Heat - F Wayne Simien, Kansas
---Finally!
30 New York Knicks (from PHX via SA) - F David Lee, Florida
---How in the hell is David Lee a first round pick? Nevermind, it's the Knicks.
SECOND ROUND
31 Atlanta Hawks - G Salim Stoudamire, Arizona
---Marvin and Salim. Who knew?
32 L.A. Clippers (from Charlotte) - G Daniel Ewing, Duke
---First Duke player selected in this year's draft.
33 New Orleans Hornets - F Brandon Bass, LSU
---Local pick for the Hornets, but he's no Willie Bloomquist. Trust me.
34 Utah Jazz - G C.J. Miles, Skyline HS (TX)
---He should have went to Texas instead.
35 Denver Nuggets (acquired from POR) - F Ricky Sanchez, IMG Academy (FL)
---Go to school, young Ricky.
36 Milwaukee Bucks - F Ersan Ilyasova, Turkey
---Who?
37 L.A. Lakers (from NY via ATL and CHA) - F RONNY TURIAF, GONZAGA
---Way to go, Ronny. Too bad that he's a Laker.
38 Orlando Magic (from TOR) - G Travis Diener, Marquette
---He'll challenge Francisco Garcia in the 3-point contests.
TRADE: Portland acquires G Jarrett Jack (#22) from Denver for F Linas Kleiza (#27) and F Ricky Sanchez (#35).
39 L.A. Lakers - G Von Wafer, Florida State
---Corey, do you know anything about Wafer?
40 Golden State Warriors - G Monta Ellis, Lanier HS (MS)
---I'd go to the NBA too instead of Starkville, Mississippi.
41 Toronto Raptors (from ORL) - G Roko Ukic, Croatia
---Roko is a cool name.
42 Golden State Warriors (from LAC via NJ) - F Chris Taft, Pittsburgh
---He has no business leaving Pittsburgh.
43 New Jersey Nets - C Mile Ilic, BC Reflex (Serbia & Montenegro)
---Yawn.
44 Orlando Magic (from CLE) - C Martynas Andriuskevicius, Zalgiris (Lithuania)
---Yawn.
45 Philadelphia 76ers - G Louis Williams, South Gwinnett HS (GA)
---What is so wrong with going to college?
46 Indiana Pacers - F/C Erazem Lorbek, Slovenia
---Another European player. Surprise.
47 Minnesota Timberwolves - G Bracey Wright, Indiana
---Just another player that should have stayed in college.
48 Seattle Supersonics (from MEM) - F MICKAEL GELABALE, FRANCE
---The Sonics love the Frenchmen tonight.
49 Washington Wizards - F Andray Blatche, South Kent Prep (CT)
---Once again, what's so wrong with going to college?
50 Boston Celtics - F Ryan Gomes, Providence
---Will play in the NBA for at least 10 years.
51 Utah Jazz (from CHI via HOU) - F Robert Whaley, Walsh University
---Whaley was a former Cincinnati Bearcat.
52 Denver Nuggets - F Axel Hervelle, Belgium
---European player. That's your Fairly Fact of the Day, folks.
53 Boston Celtics (from SAC) - G Orien Greene, Louisiana-Lafayette
---Sun Belt Conference, baby!
54 New York Knicks (from HOU) - G Dijon Thompson, UCLA
---2005 All-Pac-10 player
55 Seattle SuperSonics - F Lawrence Roberts, Mississippi State
---I've seen him play in the SEC the last two years. Not a bad pick by the Sonics.
56 Detroit Pistons - F Amir Johnson, Westchester HS (CA)
---.....
57 Phoenix Suns (from DAL via NO) - C Marcin Gortat, Poland
---.....
58 Toronto Raptors (from MIA) - F Uros Slokar, Slovenia
---Fran Fraschilla is the European expert on ESPN. Yikes.
59 Atlanta Hawks (from SA) - G Cenk Akyol, Turkey
---.....
60 Detroit Pistons (from PHI via Utah and PHX) - G Alex Acker, Pepperdine
---West Coast Conference, baby!
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WINNERS OF THE DRAFT
ATLANTA - Holy hell. The Hawks may not be a contender next year, but they're going to be fun to watch. A team like Atlanta couldn't ask for better draft picks than Marvin Williams and Salim Stoudamire.
CHARLOTTE - The Bobcats need to bring people to their new arena next season. Bringing in North Carolina's Raymond Felton and Sean May will help matters. Last year, the Bobcats drafted Emeka Okafor from the 2004 national champion UConn Huskies. This year, they drafted two guys from the national champion Tar Heels. You can't go wrong with winning players, folks.
MIAMI - Wayne Simien is too good of a player to drop all the way down to 29th in the first round. The Heat got a steal in the former Kansas Jayhawk.
LOSERS OF THE DRAFT
TORONTO - Why draft Charlie Villanueva when you already have Chris Bosh?
DETROIT - They will regret not drafting Wayne Simien.
PHOENIX - I'm labeling Phoenix a loser because I would love to see Nate Robinson play in the Suns offense. He's going to be a New York Knick when the Kurt Thomas-Quentin Richardson deal is completed. Too bad, so sad.
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A couple of things before I end this:
---I absolutely can't stand Mike Tirico.
---TNT's coverage of the NBA Draft was great. ESPN's coverage? Not so much.
---Kids, it's OK to go to college.
The NBA Draft is now complete. I'll have a Marvin-related post in a little bit.
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