What a day for the basketball world. We all know that after the 2010 NBA Draft, free agents are one day closer to choosing where they would like to play next year. The first two picks went as projected, with John Wall going to the Wizards and Evan Turner being drafted by the 76ers. There were definitely some trades on draft day that will make impacts in the future. Here are some teams that I thought did well or did not do well in the draft.
Winners
Washington Wizards - Before the draft had started, a trade was proposed by Chicago that would send the 17th pick in the draft and Kirk Hinrich to the Wizards. The odd part of this acquisition for the Wizards is that they didn't have to give anything up in return. These moves allowed the Bulls to open up more cap space in attempt to bring in two or maybe three big-time free agents. Then, during the draft, Washington traded for Clemson forward Trevor Booker, who I think can make an impact in a couple of years. Oh yeah, and they also had a decent #1 draft pick too: his name is John Wall.
Miami Heat - The Heat did not have a first round pick, but that doesn't mean they had an unsuccessful draft. Instead of trying to give away too much to get a pick in the top 30, they worked with what they had. I wasn't crazy about their first pick, former Texas center Dexter Pittman, but they grabbed two quality players back to back. Jarvis Varnado and Da'Sean Butler were both taken by Miami in the middle of round two. No first round pick may have actually helped them because they now have enough cap space to get two big-name free agents. Who knows, maybe these new, young talents will persuade Dwyane Wade to stay in Miami and convince another All Star to join him.
Losers
Golden State Warriors - Golden State had the 6th pick in the draft, but that's it. With that pick, they drafted Ekpe Udoh, a forward out of Baylor. I think that Udoh is a good player, but definitely not worthy enough to go #6. The Warriors already have three players similar to him: Anthony Randolph, Brandon Wright and Andris Biedrins. I felt that they should have drafted a SG or SF, and it could have benefited them to trade down and get a few more picks. Instead, they stay with just one pick who has traits from their other three big men.
New York Knicks - Sorry Knicks fans. The draft is in New York every year, and they are now known for never having productive NBA Drafts. Utah received the their first round pick thanks to the Stephon Marbury trade, so the Knicks had two 2nd round picks: Andy Rautins and Landry Fields. Rautins definitely contributed to the success of the Syracuse program this season (many felt that it would be a down year for the Orange). However, he just doesn't strike me as the type of player who could excel in the pros. Landry Fields may be good, but the pick seemed somewhat random at the time. And unfortunately, the Bulls and Heat made progress in the draft, which may give them a slight advantage over the Knicks to this summer's free agents.
No comments:
Post a Comment