Even beginning with the 1st Pick of the Draft, NBA fans were still skeptical to see if the Cavaliers would decide to rebound from the ongoing Lebron saga by drafting "NBA-ready", Derrick Williams, or would they gamble by putting their chips on the exaggerated "NBA-potential" of Kyrie Irving. As the pick was made, I think it was clear that Cleveland got their guy. The same guy that only played 11 collegiate games, but was giving autographs and shaking hands with the owner's son on the night of the Draft Lottery back in May... salute, Mr. Irving...
Minnesota followed Cleveland with the 2nd pick and did YAKxactly what they were supposed to do... they drafted the BEST PROVEN PLAYER in this year's draft class. Not to say Irving won't be great, but baring injury, Derrick Williams seems like he can get any team 15pts, 10rebs, 2blks, TONIGHT!!! Now, the only question the T-Wolves have is how will they get him on the court with the likes of Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, and Wesley Johnson? The verdict is out, but hey... I'd much rather have too much talent than not enough!! Not to mention the fact that Spanish sensation, Ricky Rubio (1st Round pick from 2009) is finally coming over to add some spice to what should be a very flavorful brand of Mid-west basketball next year...
At the #3 pick, The Utah Jazz found themselves in a promising position, very similar to Cleveland - either go with a potentially good guard such as Brandon Knight or Kemba Walker OR grab a hard to find big man such as Turkey's, Enes Kanter - and they chose Kanter. Having a later pick at #12, I thought this was a good move because there were several quality guards that could easily drop beyond the top 10. Of course, neither Knight, Walker, nor the BYU "legend", Jimmer Fredette made it that far, but Colorado's scoring guard, Alec Burks can definitely find a way to put the ball in the basket. His minutes may be minimal at first, but I like the young talent of Burks, Kanter, Gordon Hayward, and Derrick Favors coming off the bench behind solid starters! Watch out for Utah to sneak a few wins from teams ranked higher than them throughout the regular season...
And finally, The Washington Wizards were able to add a few pieces that can get out and run with John Wall. The size of Chris Singleton will give Andre Blatche some much needed competition at his position, and Shelvin Mack fits the mold of what an NBA coach is looking for in a solid backup PG. To be honest, similar to an Earl Watson or even a Beno Udrih, I can see Mack maintaining a role on somebody's NBA roster for at least a 10 year career.
But the true reason I'm saying "DC Stand Up", is for the acquisiton of Jan Vesley!!! Those who know me also know that I regularly question drafting European players within the lottery - not because they aren't good - but simply because the NBA game is different from the European game that most of them are used to. Therefore, it's rare that Euros are able to quickly adapt to the NBA pace and physicality, so once they get in their prime, it's usually time for them also to get traded or sign with another team for more money. So again, I'd normally pass on them, but Jan Vesley may be different!
I watched some clips of Jan last year thinking he may have entered the draft then, but he spent another year overseas getting stronger and perhaps even more aggressive. He's "tougher" than most Europen players are perceived to be, and buddy has BOUNCE!!! As a result, he was the #5 pick last night, like YAK!
Check out this footage and you might become a Jan Vesley fan too:
Welcome Kemba and Bismack to Charlotte!!!
You all are officially members of Team Jordan now...
I just hope there's no NBA lockout next season...
No comments:
Post a Comment