Hoops4theSoul

Jun

27

Two Mornings after the 2009 NBA Draft (Part 2)

Filed Under Analysis/Commentary, NBA

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Tyreke Evans Ricky Rubio Jonny Flynn After giving you my take on the first 15 teams to make a selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, here’s how the remaining 15 teams performed on Thursday night.

16. Philadelphia 76ers: Jrue Holiday, UCLA (#17 overall)

Not a big fan of Holiday, but this is a good value pick I guess for a kid who could have went in the lottery. Like DeRozan, another guy from whom I didn’t see enough in college to be blown away. Allegedly is a point guard who had to play out of position at the shooting guard during his one year at UCLA. At the very least, a good choice for the 76ers, who can let Holiday develop. And if Andre Miller leaves in free agency, Holiday provides some insurance. Grade: B

17. Atlanta Hawks: Jeff Teague, Wake Forest (#19 overall); Sergiy Gladyr, Ukraine (#49)

While he may have benefited from one more year in college, Teague was a nice pickup for the Hawks. A fearless attacker of the rim, Teague would have been a real stud if he stay at Wake Forest for one more year. At the very least, he gives the Hawks someone to develop down the line if Atlanta is able to keep free agent Mike Bibby. As for Gladyr, who knows? He’ll likely stick in the Ukraine for a while.

Also, the Hawks traded Speedy Claxton and Acie Law IV to the Golden State Warriors for Jamal Crawford. In simple terms, I didn’t like this move. Crawford is another gunner on a team full of gunners and hardly brings any defense to a team in sore need of it. There’s a reason Crawford has never been on a playoff team. He’s a good player on bad teams but just so-so on legitimate teams (oh wait, he’s never been on a good team — see the correlation). While Crawford gives the Hawks more insurance if Bibby leaves, he could be a nice energizer off the bench. Still, not a big fan, but Atlanta really didn’t give anything up. It’s a shame that Law never found a role with this team. I loved him at Texas A&M. Maybe Golden State’s run-and-gun style will be of benefit. Grade: B

18. Utah Jazz: Eric Maynor, VCU (#20 overall); Goran Suton, Michigan State (#50)

At first glance, picking Maynor makes no sense with Deron Williams already on board. But I actually liked this pick a lot. Maynor is a tough-as-nails point guard who is not afraid to take the big shot. He will be a nice backup to Williams and may even allow Williams to play some two at times. You can never have enough guys who are willing to have the guts to take the big shot, and the Jazz added another player willing to do this in Maynor.

Suton was a stud for Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament. He most likely is headed over to Europe. If he does stick with the Jazz, he’s a highly intelligent player (a poor man’s version of Mehmet Okur in some regards) who probably won’t play much but may bring some punch off the bench with his outside shooting touch. Grade: B+

19. New Orleans Hornets: Darren Collison, UCLA (#21 overall)

Like the Jazz, New Orleans added a very solid backup for their stud point guard, Chris Paul. This is a really good fit for Collison, who had a great, four-year career at UCLA and is probably not big enough in the NBA to be a starter (as Derrick Rose’s domination of him in the 2008 Final Four showed). Still, Collison can be effective in limited minutes. It always helps to have a capable backup to your team’s franchise player, especially if Paul goes down with injury.

The Hornets also acquired LSU’s Marcus Thorton (#43 overall) from the Miami Heat. An underrated player, Thornton is an explosive scorer who could stick with New Orleans and help them make up for some of the scoring punch lost with the departure of Jannero Pargo prior to last season. Grade: B+

20. Portland Trail Blazers: Victor Claver, Spain (#22); Dante Cunningham, Villanova (#33); Jeff Pendergraph, Arizona State (#31 overall, acquired via trade for #38 pick Jon Brockman); Patty Mills, St. Mary’s (CA) (#55)

Claver is another guy that Portland can stock overseas and call upon in a few years when they’re really good. Cunningham had a great senior season at Villanova, and could stick with his work ethic. Portland gave up Sergio Rodriguez and the rights to Brockman for Pendergraph, a nice player but a bit of a confusing move. Porltand is loaded down low; I’m not sure how much Pendergraph will be able to contribute to this team. But they must have liked him. Mills could be a steal at #55. While hyped up at St. Mary’s (California), this is exactly what Portland does best under Kevin Pritchard: get really good value picks in the second round. While he probably should have stayed in school for at least one more season, Mills may take over the spot occupied by Rodriguez, whom I liked. Portland does have Jared Bayless as well from last year’s draft. This team is loaded so none of these players will be more than the last men on the bench most likely this year. Grade: B

21. Dallas Mavericks: B.J. Mullens, Ohio State (#24 overall traded to Oklahoma City Hornets for rights to #25 pick Rodrigue Beaubois, France); Acquired Nick Calathes, Florida (#45 overall from Minnesota) late in draft; Ahmad Nivens, St. Joseph’s (#56 overall)

Don’t know much about Beaubois, but he’s allegedly supposed to be another Leandro Barbosa clone. Dallas could use some more pop off the bench beyond Jason Terry, but will Beaubois come to Dallas this year? Calathes is likely going to play in Europe and develop. I like Nivens a lot. He was profiled in the great book about Bob Hurley Sr.’s St. Anthony’s team in New Jersey, “The Miracle of St. Anthony.” From what I saw of Nivens in college, he was developing nicely as an efficient scorer. He may or may not stick with the Mavs, but if there’s a second rounder I will be rooting for (besides Blair), it’s Nivens. Grade: B-

22. Los Angeles Lakers: Toney Douglas, Florida State (#29 overall traded to the Knicks for future second round pick and cash); Patrick Beverley, formerly of Arkansas but courtesy of Europe (#42 overall and traded to Heat for future second round pick); Chinemelu Elonu, Texas A&M (#59 overall)

The Lakers may have been wise to hold onto Douglas, who could have brought some actual production off a bench which saw its guards Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic struggle. Ultimately, this offseason is about the Lakers trying to bring back Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza, thus trading Douglas and Beverley made sense. As for Elonu, I’d say with 99.9% certainty that he never plays a regular season game for the Lakers. Grade: C

23. Cleveland Cavaliers: Christian Eyenga, Congo (#30 overall); Danny Green, North Carolina (#46)

Could have done better than Eyenga, another guy who is a couple of years away from the NBA. Green was a very solid, all-around player at UNC who could stick with the team. With that said, the Cavaliers made a big deal earlier on Thursday when they acquired Shaquille O’Neal from Phoenix for nothing in Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic. This move at least appeases Lebron James for one season and may get the Cavs to the Finals. Who knows? What’s safe to say is that the Cavs will become a little more obnoxious with O’Neal added to the bunch of followers all about kissing up to Lebron, who’s going to bolt Cleveland regardless of what happens in Cleveland next season. That’s just the type of guy Lebron is. O’Neal had a great bounce-back year last season, but how much is left in the tank? While he can defend Dwight Howard, the Cavs still have other issues to fix, making their selection of Eyenga a bit worthless for the immediate time being. Grade: B

24. Washington Wizards: Jermaine Taylor, University of Central Florida (#32 overall)

Washington traded Taylor’s rights to Houston. The Wizards made a splash earlier in the week by trading the #5 pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Mike Miller and Randy Foye. Call me crazy, but I loved this move by the Wizards. This gives the Wizards more depth in case Gilbert Arenas is hurt yet again. Miller was a bad fit in Minnesota and Foye is a guy who was forgotten in Minnesota. This trade may push the Wizards back into the playoffs, as long as everyone can stay healthy on this team. A very astute deal for the Wiz in my opinion. Grade: A-

25. Denver Nuggets: Sergio Llull, Spain (#34 overall); Acquired Ty Lawson, North Carolina (#18 overall from Minnesota Timberwolves)

The Nuggets traded Llull’s rights to Houston. Apparently Spain is the new hotbed for international players. Anyways, Denver made a nice move earlier in the night, acquiring the #18 overall pick Ty Lawson from the Minnesota Timberwolves. There were a lot of good point guards in this draft (Lawson, Maynor, Collison) who may not have what it takes to be starters but are going to be really good backups in the NBA. Lawson’s speed is a great addition to a Nuggets team that could have beaten the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals if they were a little smarter and composed. Lawson was the straw that stirred the drink for the Tar Heels, and will give the aging Chauncey Billups some breaks when necessary. Grade: B+

26. San Antonio Spurs: DeJuan Blair, Pittsburgh (#37 overall); Jack McClinton, Miami (FL) (#51); Nando de Colo, France (#53)

Talk about your winners this past week. It has to be the Spurs, which not only acquired Richard Jefferson earlier in the week to make one last push for a title and then stole Blair at 37 and made a great value pick in McClinton. Sadly for Blair, his size and knee problems caused many teams to pass on him. Blair is going to make them pay and be a solid player for 10 years in the league. He shouldn’t be disappointed about going so long, as he landed in the perfect spot. The Spurs may just have what it takes for one more title run, as long as Manu Ginboli can stay healthy. As streaky of a shooter there is, McClinton is another guy who could break the Spurs rotation next season and bring some more pop off the bench for a team that looked old in the playoffs. de Colo will stay in France. All in all, the Spurs had themselves a tremendous week, and this is coming from a guy who can’t stand this team. Grade: A+

27. Miami Heat: Marcus Thornton, LSU (#43 overall traded to New Orleans); Robert Dozier, Memphis (#60 overall)

The Heat would have been better off keeping Thornton rather than making a trade with the Lakers for Beverley. Dozier was a nice complementary player on great Memphis teams, but I don’t see him sticking in the league. All in all, the Heat didn’t have a first round pick but could have done better in the second round, especially with their earlier pick. Grade: D

28. Boston Celtics: Lester Hudson, Tennessee Martin (#58 overall)

I don’t know much about Hudson and the Celtics were drafting late here, but come on. For a team that needs to improve its bench, they could have done better than a 6-foot, unknown shooter. Marquette’s Jerel McNeal not only would have been a good value pick but a great Irish name for the Celtics. And they could have signed Hudson as a free agent if they wanted. Grade: D

29. Houston Rockets: Acquired Three Players in Trades, Jermaine Taylor, Sergio Llull and Chase Budinger. 

Don’t know much about UCF’s Taylor or Spain’s Llull, but Budinger could be a nice addition and good guy to spread the floor with Yao Ming in the post. Grade: B-

30. Orlando Magic: No Draft Picks

With no draft picks, the Magic made their presence felt before the draft by trading Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston and Tony Battie to the New Jersey Nets for Vince Carter. I absolutely have to say that I hate this move. Lee was a nice, young talent and Carter is a scorer who makes no one better. And if Carter is going to replace Hedo Turkoglu (who is going to opt out of his contract), the Magic are in trouble. I don’t see Carter (who is not a winner) making the Magic any better. In fact, I can see Head Coach Stan Van Gundy and Carter clashing big time.

On paper, this trade looks great. And if the Magic are able to re-sign Turkoglu, they may have the best starting five in the game. Still, I just don’t feel good about this move. Carter has been a non-factor for years now. While Alston had to go, I don’t understand why the Magic would get rid of Lee, who had a great rookie season. I seem major chemistry issues with Carter going to Orlando. Grade: D

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