Running 2008 NBA Draft Thread

[CitizenTino]

Fairly raw offensively? If DeAndre Jordan's a steak, he still has hair and a pulse.

The draft bio compares him to Dwight Howard. If he's comparable to Dwight Howard, then I'm comparable to Mark Aguirre in my pickup games.

That's just damn solid.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to drinking myself into a stupor over the Cavs blowing yet another draft pick. I actually want to apologize to LeBron for having to deal with another two seasons under this management regime.

 

[KevinmH9]

WTF is this? The Timberwolves are trading away the rights to O.J. Mayo.

 

[dargan]

Proposed trade:

Memphis gets: OJ Mayo, Marko Jaric, 'Toine, and Greg Buckner
Minnesota gets: Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins

What is Memphis doing? It's good to get rid of the Cardinal contract, but Mayo/Jaric does not = Love/Miller.

Minnesota's a big winner. Love and Al Jefferson on the same front line. Nicely done, McHale, for once.

 

[Rumpleforeskin]

Dear God, the Blazers are loading up.


Edit: I heard Greg Buckner was the breaking point on that T-Wolves/Grizzlies trade.

 

[derwood]

Proposed trade:

Memphis gets: OJ Mayo, Marko Jaric, 'Toine, and Greg Buckner
Minnesota gets: Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins

What is Memphis doing? It's good to get rid of the Cardinal contract, but Mayo/Jaric does not = Love/Miller.

Minnesota's a big winner. Love and Al Jefferson on the same front line. Nicely done, McHale, for once.

Why would Minnesota do this? Mayo is a sure thing but there is a good chance Love will be a bust.

 

[GB-Hack]

Proposed trade:

Memphis gets: OJ Mayo, Marko Jaric, 'Toine, and Greg Buckner
Minnesota gets: Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins

What is Memphis doing? It's good to get rid of the Cardinal contract, but Mayo/Jaric does not = Love/Miller.

Minnesota's a big winner. Love and Al Jefferson on the same front line. Nicely done, McHale, for once.

From everything tonight, I think most people were trying to get Miller from Memphis in some kind of package for Love. But I think this comes down more to how you think Love and Mayo are going to fare in the league.

If you, as some do, think Mayo is going to be a perennial all-star, then you could make an argument for Memphis winning this. The trouble with that is we won't know for sure for a couple of seasons.

 

[KevinmH9]

Anyone watching Baseball Tonight? This 'Daily Draft' program their doing is rather humorous.

 

[Oz]

Proposed trade:

Memphis gets: OJ Mayo, Marko Jaric, 'Toine, and Greg Buckner
Minnesota gets: Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins

What is Memphis doing? It's good to get rid of the Cardinal contract, but Mayo/Jaric does not = Love/Miller.

Minnesota's a big winner. Love and Al Jefferson on the same front line. Nicely done, McHale, for once.

Why would Minnesota do this? Mayo is a sure thing but there is a good chance Love will be a bust.

I think Marko Jaric is still owed three years at $7 million annually. That would be one reason. I kinda like the trade for both sides on paper, but at this point, who knows.

 

[JakeandElwood]

Isn't Memphis in cost cutting mode? I assume Miller isn't that cheap.

 

[GB-Hack]

Isn't Memphis in cost cutting mode? I assume Miller isn't that cheap.

According to ESPN, Miller has three years left at $8.3 million per.

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Isn't Memphis in cost cutting mode? I assume Miller isn't that cheap.

They're trying to dump salary faster than Star Jones was dumping weight not too long ago. That explained that idiotic Pau Gasol deal ... that was no "trade." Even the GM went to the media and said he was to take that deal over better offers because, in so many words, it was a massive salary dump.

If Memphis does this, it might want to hope Mayo is everything his supporters say and more. Otherwise, Minnesota will gain about as much over the Grizzlies as it lost when it gave Kevin Garnett away last year. Greg Buckner hasn't done anything since his Clemson days, 'Toine is a selfish gunner and Jaric is the same kind of cap-killer that Brian Cardinal is.

At worst, Minnesota gets a serviceable center (Collins), some scoring (Miller), an overpriced but decent role player in Cardinal and, bust or no, I don't see Kevin Love as any kind of head case.

 

[Oz]

As someone who roots for the Blazers (a high school friend who went to KU with me is from there, so I adopted them), tonight's a disappointment.

Draft Brandon Rush, trade him to the Pacers.
Draft Darrell Arther, trade him to the Rockets.

Dammit. But hey, at least Chalmers and Jackson will still be teammates, only now with the Heat.

 

[GB-Hack]

It may have been disappointing for you as a Jayhawk fan, Oz, but I think the deals and picks Portland made allowed them to become very good next season.

As someone mentioned early, they could have something very special there soon.

 

[dargan]

Proposed trade:

Memphis gets: OJ Mayo, Marko Jaric, 'Toine, and Greg Buckner
Minnesota gets: Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins

What is Memphis doing? It's good to get rid of the Cardinal contract, but Mayo/Jaric does not = Love/Miller.

Minnesota's a big winner. Love and Al Jefferson on the same front line. Nicely done, McHale, for once.

From everything tonight, I think most people were trying to get Miller from Memphis in some kind of package for Love. But I think this comes down more to how you think Love and Mayo are going to fare in the league.

If you, as some do, think Mayo is going to be a perennial all-star, then you could make an argument for Memphis winning this. The trouble with that is we won't know for sure for a couple of seasons.

Going with cliched speak here, Mayo has a higher ceiling, but Love should be more consistent early. And Miller's much better than Jaric.

Isn't Jaric dating Adriana Lima. How did that happen?

 

[Oz]

It may have been disappointing for you as a Jayhawk fan, Oz, but I think the deals and picks Portland made allowed them to become very good next season.

As someone mentioned early, they could have something very special there soon.

No doubt, I was being greedy. With Oden coming back and the talent they got tonight, that's going to be a fun team to watch.

 

[bostonbred]

Draft thoughts: IMO, there were four teams that had very good drafts.

1. Miami. Michael Beasley fell into their laps and they also picked up the criminally underrated Mario Chalmers. Great night for them and if Wade stays healthy, they should make the playoffs.

2. Indiana. Not only did they get rid of the underperforming O'Neal, the Pacers added Brandon Rush, Jarrett Jack, and Roy Hibbert. Interesting group of players and I like all three. Can Hibbert continue improving in the NBA game?

3. Boston. The defending champs made themselves even more dangerous, particularly with the addition of a player I love in Bill Walker. J.R. Giddens is an intriguing prospect who would have went in the lottery if not for character issues...it's definitely a risk, but there's leadership and accountability in place and Giddens can easily be let go if he misbehaves.

4. New Jersey. I'm not sold on Brook Lopez, but he's a great pick at no. 10, especially for a team that needs inside help. Chris Douglas-Roberts and Ryan Anderson should help them a bit. For a team that's clearly rebuilding and waiting to court LeBron, NJ could make a playoff push.

I'm interested to see how Love plays in Minnesota. Love the Eric Gordon pick for the Clippers. Robin Lopez to the Suns is one of the most telling selections of the night.

 

[Oz]

Every year, I forget how quickly trades can happen.

Darrell Arther was picked by the Hornets, then traded to the Blazers, Rockets and finally the Grizzlies.

And apparently Darnell Jackson (Heat) and Sasha Kaun (Sonics) have been traded to the Cavs. So all five Jayhawks have been drafted and traded tonight.

Amazing.

 

[bostonbred]

Every year, I forget how quickly trades can happen.

Darrell Arther was picked by the Hornets, then traded to the Blazers, Rockets and finally the Grizzlies.

And apparently Darnell Jackson (Heat) and Sasha Kaun (Sonics) have been traded to the Cavs. So all five Jayhawks have been drafted and traded tonight.

Amazing.

Wow...that is an insane statistic. Has to be the first time five teammates have been drafted and traded, no?

 

[Oz]

Not sure, it might be. I was stunned to see Arthur had been traded twice some time between leaving work and logging on to the laptop at home.

I'm still stunned the Celtics took Giddens, who was misguided, to say the least, during his two years at KU. The kid might have straightened himself out at New Mexico, but when that pick came up, I was so hoping the Celtics would take Chalmers. His defense would have fit nicely in Boston. As it is, Miami's a good fit, too.

 

[bostonbred]

Not sure, it might be. I was stunned to see Arthur had been traded twice some time between leaving work and logging on to the laptop at home.

I'm still stunned the Celtics took Giddens, who was misguided, to say the least, during his two years at KU. The kid might have straightened himself out at New Mexico, but when that pick came up, I was so hoping the Celtics would take Chalmers. His defense would have fit nicely in Boston. As it is, Miami's a good fit, too.

I was also stunned that Chalmers lasted that long. He would be a great fit in Boston, or even with many other teams who passed him over for lesser talents. I have to think there's something there that we don't know about.