As I’m munching
down on Doritos, I see 13 glum, yet antsy, faces sitting before my eyes.
As Ahmad Rashad announces the picks, I can’t help but notice that not a
single one of the representatives smiled as their team was announced. That
is, all but Alvin Gentry, head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, Dominique
Wilkins, a former Atlanta Hawks legend, and Rod Higgins, Assistant General
Manager of the Washington Wizards. Ironically, those three were grinning
like chestercats. Jerry Krause wanted a cookie.
Why is it that
there was such diversity of emotion towards the pick selection each of
these lottery teams received? In years before, there was a clear cut favorite,
but aside from Tim Duncan, there was no true superstar to be had. Michael
Olowokandi, selected in 1998 by the Clippers, is producing like a backup.
Elton Brand, the 1999 Co-Rookie of the Year of the Chicago Bulls, is certainly
a star in the making, but he’s no Duncan. Last year’s top selection, Kenyon
Martin of the Nets, turned in a sub-par season shelled with another leg
injury. This year? Well, that’s the thing. There is no clear cut favorite.
With the Wizards
winning the lottery and ultimately selecting first, there has to be a certain
belief that the choice they make will be carved around Michael Jordan’s
return. This year’s lottery teams can go one of two ways: they can take
one of the many raw talents waiting to be developed, or they can take a
proven player who went to college and proved he could play at a higher
level than varsity. Eddie Griffin, a suitable and perfectly obtainable
choice for the Wizards, will almost certainly be considered, as he is widely
regarded as a physical specimen with Tracy McGrady-esque athletic ability
and the explosiveness of Vince Carter. However, trading down in the draft
will also be in consideration for the Wizards, as they are gearing for
their future, and may be better off taking lower-level players such as
Brendan Haywood and Jamaal Tinsley, who made a name for themselves at their
respective colleges.
But what about
the rest of the pack? Well, the Clippers will most definitely take either
Kwame Brown or Eddy Curry, assuming Griffin is taken as the first overall.
Brown has drawn comparisons to Kevin Garnett and Hakeem Olajuwon alike,
and although he is a remarkable talent, he was one of the many that needed
at least a year in college. Nevertheless, his talent is far too great to
pass up, especially considering that unproven talents like himself and
Curry were also preceded and given a positive reputation by Garnett, McGrady,
and Kobe Bryant. Curry is a physical monster, and the similarities to Shaquille
O’Neal are endless, but he’s going to need to take his beatings until he
becomes a force at this level. The Hawks, selecting third, will likely
choose one of these three prospects, adding even more depth to their suddenly-talented
team.
Tim Duncan.
Grant Hill. Tracy McGrady. Eddie Jones. Tim Thomas. Glen Rice. What do
all these names have in common? Krause knows, and he doesn’t want to hear
it any more - they all spurned him for greener pastures. But, even so,
he and his Bulls got the shaft again, as they were supposed to pick first,
but ended up with the fourth selection, what they had last year. The Bulls
will likely select Sagana Diop, a green, highly-touted big man with a body
already considered NBA material, or one of the big three, if any of them
drop for some reason. The Golden State Warriors, selecting fifth, have
their eyes on Tyson Chandler. Chandler, yet another high schooler making
the jump, has a rare gift: he’s a big man who can shoot from the outside.
Players like him only come along every 20 years or so, but then again,
he weighs only a meager 220 pounds, and has plenty of conditioning and
muscle toning before he is even remotely ready to bang with the big boys
of the NBA - especially in the Western Conference.
The Vancouver
Grizzlies, selecting at number six this year, could possibly trade the
pick, hoping to accumulate extra choices in the middle of the draft. If
they keep the pick, look for Jason Richardson, an awe-inspiring shooting
guard from Michigan State, to get some consideration if he is still available,
as well as any of the aforementioned top five, if any of them are to drop.
The New Jersey Nets, selecting in the seven spot, will probably select
a swingman or yet another big man, since a fire sale is fast-approaching
for this Nursing Home. Richardson, Joe Johnson, a small forward from Arkansas,
and Rodney White, a tweener small/power forward from Charlotte, will likely
warrant the most attention with their pick.
The Cleveland
Cavaliers are in an interesting situation. Zydrunas Ilgauskas will give
it another shot, but they would be fools to believe he makes it through
the year injury-free. Trajan Langdon’s future is diminishing, and fast,
but are the Cavs ready to close the book on him? With Clarence Weatherspoon
no guarantee to return, and Chris Gatling surely a goner, they should probably
select a big body, but then again, do they want to trust Langdon and Wesley
Person again at off-guard? What a predicament. I’d take a big man; Zach
Randolph, an uncut, Charles Barkley-like power forward out of Michigan
State, could very well be their selection.
The Detroit
Pistons are hoping that their main man, Shane Battier from Duke, is still
around when they select, and he likely will be. Battier represents all
that is wrong and twisted in the NBA; not in the way that you would think.
Over the past five years, the NBA has confided in young guys, albeit supremely
talented but nowhere near ready for the league, to take the jump early.
Guys like Battier, who stayed at college all four years and came out as
gloriously as possible, have become understatements. Now, instead of having
the mindset that players like him are devoted and rich-in-the-mind, scouts
perceive them as weak and slow to develop. Battier is a bonafide leader,
and they don’t come as ready for the NBA as he is. This is my top pick,
personally. I can’t think of a better attitude and a harder worker I’d
want on my team.
The Boston
Celtics will pick back to back, with their own selection and ten and the
Denver Nuggets’ at 11. Expect them to select Jamaal Tinsley, an electric,
keen point guard out of Iowa, as well as a frontcourt player. Chandler
will mark the first wave of big men, and any out of Michael Bradley, an
underrated power forward from Villanova, Loren Woods, a 7 foot pencil from
Arizona, Brendan Haywood, a living “Shrek” from North Carolina, Troy Murphy,
a self-proclaimed geek from Notre Dame, and Randolph will mark the second.
Nate McMillian
and his Sonics will take what they an get at number 12. Expect them to
take one of the frontcourt five-headed monster, likely Bradley. To close
out the lottery, the Houston Rockets do not need help in their backcourt,
but need to provide some insurance up front. Olajuwon is just as likely
to leave as he is to stay, signing Kelvin Cato to that long-term contract
looks like a “deal” gone horribly south, Jason Collier is still dwindling
over his injuries, and Maurice Taylor could walk if he chooses. Like Seattle,
expect them to select any remaining big man left on their draft board.
Put your money on Woods.
When Yao Ming
was told he couldn’t leave China, when Jason Williams decided to stick
around for another year at Duke, when DaJuan Wagner honored his commitment
to John Calipari at Memphis, any clear cut favorite was cut out of this
year’s lottery. Sure, you can make a case that there is as much, if not
more, talent to spread around in the past decade. But isn’t the draft about
selecting a player who you think will excel above the rest? Duncan, Olowokandi,
Brand, Martin, those guys were apointed that nomination in year’s past.
But this year?
