NBA Draft Recap By Team

Easter Conference

· Boston Celtics: Randy Foye, Sebastian Telfair, and Theo Ratliff

o The Celtics filled their need for a point guard with Telfair and picking up one of the highly touted players in Foye. With Paul Pierce hitting his prime and add in Al Jefferson and Delonte West, this team should not be that bad.

· New Jersey Nets: Marcus Williams, Josh Boone and Hassan Adams

o Talk about luck! New Jersey got very lucky by getting Marcus Williams. He is the Matt Lienart of the NBA draft. He fell into the perfect situation. He gets to learn from one of the best point guards in history in Jason Kidd. They could have done more with the Josh Boone pick but not that bad of a pick. Hassan Adams is going to be a NBDL player.

· New York Knicks: Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins

o HAHA Isiah! That a way to mess up your pick. Renaldo Balkman? He was slated to go in the second round. Isiah better be praying that this pick and team works out or he is done with basketball.

· Philadelphia 76ers: Rodney Carney

o This is a decent pickup for the 76ers. He is another Andre Iguodala in the making. Very athletic but has no true position. Nothing with the 76ers will make sense until they figure out what to do with Allen Iverson.

· Toronto Raptors: Andrea Bargnani, P.J. Tucker and Edin Bavcic

o This is a hit or miss pick with Bargnani. Colangelo is a good GM so he knows what he is doing and what he wants to build with this pick. I like the P.J. Tucker pick for the Raptors. I wanted the Raptors to take a good PG somewhere or sign in the free agent of Colangelo is going to install a run and gun system. Could Bagnani become a bust like Kwame Brown, only time will tell.

· Chicago Bulls: Tyrus Thomas and Thabo Sefolosha

o They drafted LaMarcus Aldridge and traded him to Portland. Tyrus is going to fit into what the Bulls are building. This team is going to be loaded next year and another exciting player that will hustle is only going to help them get over the hump of being a deep playoff team. Thabo is being compared to Josh Howard so the Bulls definitely got a good pick here from the 76ers.

· Cleveland Cavaliers: Shannon Brown, Daniel Gibson and Ejike Ugboaja

o WHAT A DRAFT! I am a huge Shannon Brown fan so I think this is the best pick they could have made. I am going out on a limb here but I really believe this, LeBron just found himself his Pippen. Shannon Brown has all the ability in the world. He is going to flourish under LeBron into a good shooting guard/ small forward. I love UT players but Gibson is on his way to be a great NBDL player.

· Detroit Pistons: Will Blalock and Cheick Samb (from the Lakers)

o Overall, nothing big here for the Pistons but the fact that they traded Maurice Evans for Samb. From what I’m reading, Samb is a 7-1 center that will need to step up for the Pistons if Ben Wallace leaves.

· Indiana Pacers: Shawne Williams and Alexander Johnson

o The Pacers needed a point guard but they didn’t draft one. I’m not sure how much longer Jamaal Tinsley is going to stay in Indiana. Shawne Williams is a good small forward but his playing time is going to be low due to Danny Granger. Overall, a disappointing draft for the Pacers because they did not address their need for a PG.

· Milwaukee Bucks: David Noel

o Name the one player who did not leave after the Tarheels won the championship last year. Noel! This is a solid pickup for the Bucks. The Bucks keep getting talent and they are going to be a good team next year. Noel is a freakish athlete so watch out for him.

· Atlanta Hawks: Shelden Williams and Solomon Jones

o The Landlord at 5! I think Williams is going to be a good player in the NBA. He has the physical tools, the heart and the scoring ability. Think Ben Wallace with some offense. He has that much potential. A lot of draft experts are dogging Williams but I think this guy is like Ben Wallace but with a better touch on the offensive side.

· Charlotte Bobcats: Adam Morrison and Ryan Hollins

o Morrison, Felton, Sean May and Emeka Okafor. The Bobcats have the NCAA All-Stars! This team has a solid nucleus. Morrison is going to be a great fit for this team and he has Jordan’s backing so it should be good. Morrison is going to bring emotion to this team and should help them make a run to the playoffs soon.

· Miami Heat: NO PICKS

· Orlando Magic: J.J. Redick, James Augustine

o Speaking of NCAA All-stars. Redick and Jameer Nelson should be a good backcourt. Biggest thing to watch out for, Redick’s back.

· Washington Wizards: Olexsiy Pecherov and Vladimir Veremeenko

o Forget the draft, where is Arenas! He has a warrant out for his arrest! Pecherov is a Keith Van Horn like player so this could bid well for the Wizards.

Western Conference

· Dallas Mavericks: Maurice Ager and Danilo Pinnock

o Ager reminds me a lot of Jason Terry. He is a good guard that can play 2 or 1. He is athletic and can lock up on defense when needed. The Mavs got a steal for a team who just lost in the Finals. Dallas has a lot of talent so they can use Ager in a trade if needed.

· Houston Rockets: Steve Novak and Shane Battier (pending trade opening period) and Lior Eliyahu

o Houstonians must be angered right now. The Texans blow a draft and now the Rockets. Look, Battier is a nice player but Rudy Gay was a top five pick. He has a lot of upside and team him with T-mac and Yao! This could have been the combo for the future. Battier is a solid player that will fit into the Jeff Van Gundy system. He is a hard nosed player with is consistent. The Rockets also traded Stromile Swift back to Memphis so they lost more athleticism. The Rockets are obviously talking to teams about a trade so maybe it will all make sense in a few months. The Rockets were going to trade for Brandon Roy but those talks fell apart when the Celtics swooped in and took him from Minnesota. Battier is not the piece that is going to push the Rockets over the top.

· Memphis Grizzlies: Kyle Lowry, Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift.

o Memphis hit the jackpot here. They got a nice PG in Lowry and of course Rudy Gay. Memphis should be loaded and maybe next year they will win their first ever playoff game.

· New Orleans Hornets: Hilton Armstrong and Cedric Simmons

o The Hornets got a steal last year with Chris Paul so this year they were bound to come back to Earth. I like Armstrong as a player but they took him too early for the 12^th pick. Cedric Simmons is going to be a good combo with Armstrong in front court. The Hornets addressed their concerns of getting big.

· San Antonio Spurs: no picks (traded pick to Bucks)

o The Spurs have a nice forward coming in named Robertas Javtokas. Not sure who this guy is, look him up YouTube. Should be a great fit for the Spurs.

· Golden State Warriors: Patrick O’Bryant

o The Warriors are excited about O’Bryant because of size and touch. The Warriors needed to address the guard spot due to an aging Derrick Fisher and an injury prone Baron Davis.

· L.A. Clippers: Paul Davis and Guillermo Diaz

o Paul Davis has good size but think Shawn Bradley here. He reminds me of Bradley because of his inability to block shots against athletes. Guillermo Diaz is going to be a good fit for the future. He is a good SG that has a lot of athletic ability. Trade rumors say that the Miami Heat are trying to acquire Diaz, a University of Miami player.

· L.A. Lakers: Jordan Farmar and Maurice Evans

o It doesn’t matter who the Lakers drafted here because Phil Jackson does not play rookies that much. The Lakers picked up the hometown pick in Farmar and he should be a decent backup to Smoosh. The biggest winner here is the pickup of Evans. Right now, the Lakers have Chris Mihm and Maurice Evans, both UT players. Wait until T.J. Ford hits the free agent market, the Lakers could have three UT players! The Lakers are still in the KG sweepstakes so a lot of changes could be made.

· Phoenix Suns: traded away all picks

· Sacramento Kings: Quincy Douby

o Douby is a good guard but has no true position. The Kings can try and mold him into the player they want but its going to be tough. Douby is a good driver so that should help the Kings a lot.

· Denver Nuggets: traded Leon Powe. No other picks

· Minnesota Timberwolves: Randy Foye

o I’m upset about the trade the Wolves made. I think Brandon Roy would have been a better fit for the Wolves than Foye. Foye is destined to be the next Wade by the media but I don’t think he is big enough to take the constant pounding. A core of Brandon Roy, Rashaad McCants and KG has a lot of promise but KG wants to win now. KG is on the trading block so the Wolves are not done yet.

· Portland Trailblazers: LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy

o How did the Blazers get two of the top five players in the draft!! The Blazers are going to be a solid team in a few years. They are going to trade Darius Miles and Zach Randolph so look for some more veterans to come in. The Blazers might be returning to the Blazers of old very soon.

· Seattle Supersonics: Mouhamed Saer Sene and Denham Brown

o The Sonics might move Sene so don’t get too comfortable with it. I like Brown on the team because he brings defensive intensity and a good scoring game.

· Utah Jazz: Ronnie Brewer, Dee Brown and Paul Millsap

o Brewer is going to be a good 2-guard for the Jazz. He is a good defender with a good scoring game. The Jazz have a lot of young talent that should mesh together very soon to make a good run. Jerry Sloan is slowly getting the Jazz back into the mix. Dee Brown gets to be re-united with his old Illinois running mate Deron Williams.

-Big Winner: Portland…they pulled in two of the top five. Enough said.

-Future Watch: Shannon Brown and LeBron.

-What the F are you thinking?!: The Knicks