NBA
Draft April
20, 2001 - - - - -
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The
Joke that is the NBA Draft By
COREY WOODS
There's
nothing like the NBA Draft. Well, at least that's how I used to
feel.
I've got two thoughts as I look long and hard at mock drafts floating
around
the Internet:
1.
Who are these guys?
2.
Stay in school.
The
NBA Draft now takes on the theme of a classic Marvin Gaye song: What's
Going On? Whatever happened to the days when the NBA Draft was for
four-year seniors and superstar underclassmen? The NBA Draft is so
hopelessly watered down this year, I doubt that anyone will have any real
interest beyond the tenth pick. It has gotten so bad that getting
the number one pick doesn't mean you're drafting the future cornerstone
of your franchise. At most, you might be getting a player who might
someday average fifteen points and seven boards. When the Spurs drafted
Tim Duncan, you knew that they were getting a superstar who would be a
force in the pivot for years to come. Everybody had that same feeling
when Shaquille O'Neal was drafted first by the Orlando Magic out of LSU.
The consensus was that Shaq would dominate for at least the next fifteen
years. Now what do we have to look forward to this June? There are
almost no certainties. The only two players that definitely warrant
high picks are Seton Hall's Eddie Griffin and Duke's Shane Battier.
And speaking of Shane Battier, let's talk about this talk about him sliding
down to number nine on one Internet Draft board that I viewed earlier this
week. Drafting Battier would be a great pick for any poor team trying
to improve. He is a four-year senior coming off a national title
and a Naismith Award. He has an NBA body, and does everything well.
He shoots it with range, rebounds, plays solid defense, and is a stellar
citizen. If you draft Battier, you know what you're getting.
What's wrong with that? It seems that these days the NBA Draft is
all about general managers gambling on who's going to be the next Jordan
instead of simply making a solid pick. GM's are more likely to draft
Tyson Chandler than Andre Hutson. Hutson may never be a superstar,
but I don't think that anyone doubts that he will be a solid player at
the next level for years. What do you get when you draft Tyson Chandler?
If the name Jonathan Bender comes to mind, probably not much. Wally
Szczerbiak may not ever be Kobe Bryant, but he's turned into a very good
player very quickly, while Bender rides the pine. Does anybody remember
that Paul Pierce was drafted tenth back in '98, while the Clippers drafted
Michael Olowokandi with the first pick? Olowokandi is still a raw
project with little to offer while Pierce drops thirty a game.
My
other problem with the NBA Draft is the amount of people who have no business
declaring. What are those two guys up in East Lansing thinking?
Jason Richardson? Zach Randolph? Richardson shot 35.7 percent
in the NCAA Tournament along with a numbing two for eleven in the Final
Four. And forget how bad he looked getting shut down by Richard Jefferson
of Arizona. Randolph's story is even more puzzling. He didn't
even start for a large part of the season. Some of the other names
are even more peculiar. Did someone drop a hallucinogen in Kevin
Lyde's fourth hamburger? What does any NBA team want with a 6' 9"
overweight center who's not that good to begin with? Michael Wright
will be lucky to be a first round pick. Gilbert Arenas is a good
player, but does anyone really feel that he's going to dominate at the
next level? And don't even get me started on Jason Gardner.
Most
of these underclassmen need to stay in school where they belong.
Most of the high-schoolers need to go to college for at least a couple
of years to mature both physically and emotionally, while learning how
to play a team game. The problem with the NBA starts with my favorite
June tradition, the NBA Draft. The younger these players get the
worse the game gets. There are far too many isolations, and too little
passing. There is so much emphasis on the fancy dunk that the midrange
jumper has all but dried up.
The
NBA's developmental league can't come a minute too soon.
