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Pick 6, New Orleans Pelicans: AND HE IS FINALLY PICKED!
Nerlens Noel free fall has stopped and his landing spot is in New Orleans!
Nerlens Noel and Anthony Davis! The Thin Towers! Guys, we have a really fun
frontcourt…and he’s been traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. Does this mean Andrew Bynum will not suit up for the 76ers? ESPN is reporting that he is traded to
the 76ers along with a protected 2014 first round pick for Jrue Holiday and a
2013 second round pick. Great trade for both teams.
Pick 7, Sacramento Kings: Ben McLemore has been selected by
the Kings. A potential star with a high upside, McLemore is a great
shooter and elite athlete. The Kings needed shooting and athleticism and they
got it. Love this pick for this Kings. What this fan base needed, especially
after the shenanigans with Seattle.
Pick 8, Detroit Pistons: Rumored to be grabbing a point guard, the
Pistons have opted to pivot and grab Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. One of the best
shooters in the draft, this is a good injection of talent to a backcourt with
Brandon Knight running the point. Should be a fun backcourt to watch and keep
an eye on this season.
Pick 9, Minnesota Timberwolves: Wolves select Trey Burke and
he has been flipped to the Utah Jazz for their no. 14 and 21 picks. Jazz needed
a point guard and Burke fits the bill. Most NBA ready guard in this draft he
can start immediately for the Jazz.
Pick 10, Portland Trail Blazers: These guys have been eyeing
a PG this draft and get it in the form of CJ McCollum. He projects to be a very
similar PG to Damian Lillard making this a fantastically fun backcourt to watch.
*Immediately removes Pelicans from League Pass and replaces them with the
Trail Blazers*. This pairing has potential to score lots of points, create space
for LaMarcus Aldridge, and McCollum can shoot well, handle the ball well and
create his own shot. Good running mate for Lillard and this backcourt should
have opposing defenses in fits if they can click.
Hello everyone and welcome to my first DRAFT DIARY. That’s
right folks, I am ripping off Bill
Simmons’ shtick (and who cares? It’s
not like he’ll be doing a draft diary this year because he’ll be too busy on TV
to do one anyway, right?). This draft proves
to be an interesting one with NBA
pundits moaning that it is a “weak draft” and it’s a bit of a gamble outside of
the top 10 picks. So, without further ado, let’s start talking about David
Stern’s final draft.
But for good measure: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Pick 1, Cleveland
Cavaliers: Ok, frankly for pick 1, I am absolutely expecting that they pick
Nerlens Noel. I mean injury or no injury,
he is one of the top players in this draft and Cleveland can afford to gamble
on his ability to start giving them depth at the C/PF position. AND HOLY HELL THEY DON’T PICK HIM. They pick Anthony Bennett! SHOCKER. Bill Simmons
is genuinely perplexed. I am too. I suppose he would make a great pick and roll
partner for Kyrie Irving, and
projects to be a 20 and 10 player going forward, so I suppose it could have
been worse. They could’ve drafted me (absolutely not—Ed).
Pick 2, Orlando Magic:
The Magic are still undergoing a rebuilding project of sorts and have what they
want in explosive guard, Victor Oladipo.
There is absolutely no way they do not take him and I cannot fathom a scenario
where they don’t go with a player who projects to be a star, given his immense
upside. And that is what the Magic do in selecting Oladipo, which is fantastic.
Hopefully they can slot him into the starting rotation now that Arron
Afflalo is gone. Oladipo was one of my favorite players in the
college game last season and I’m hoping he’ll flourish in the NBA with Orlando.
Pick 3, Washington
Wizards: Washington Wizards are now on the clock. Based on conversations I’ve had with Felipe M, this is one of the teams we’re
hoping, with the right moves, can make the playoffs. And I can only see one payer over here which
addresses the need the Wizards have at SF. And as I type this out, Otto Porter was selected by the Washington
Wizards. This is a perfect fit for this team. Great wing player to pair with John Wall and Brad Beal and is able to play off the ball well. Good defender and
willing to defend, I hope he does help the Wizards make the playoffs.
Pick 4, Charlotte
Bobcats: Hey, look! Nerlens Noel is still on the board! Alex Len is still on the board! Ben McLemore still on the board! Picks
looking good for the Bobcats: three fairly safe picks up there. And the Bobcats
decide to pick CODY ZELLER!!??!! A
major downgrade from Noel or Len, Zeller is a bizarre pick for number 4. Once
again, the Bobcats are snakebitten by one Michael
Jordan. What are they thinking in Charlotte?
Pick 5, Phoenix Suns:
ALEX LEN HAS JUST BEEN DRAFTED AHEAD OF NERLENS NOEL. Hey, maybe we have a Geno Smith situation occurring here at
the NBA draft regarding Noel. Somebody cue Tom Petty. Anyway, this was a
fantastic pick for Phoenix. Rumors pegged the Cavs picking Len as well and I’m
not surprised. Suns love him and he can take over for Marcin Gortat eventually. Of course the Suns medical team had
hang-ups about Noel’s knee, but Len is the second best big man in this draft
and a good pick for Phoenix.
The Kansas Jayhawkslost their third straight game on Saturday: all to unranked opponents. Falling to the Oklahoma Sooners 72-66, it was their second straight loss on the road. Just last week, the then ranked number two Jayhawks were on the verge of being number one when the then, number one Michigan Wolverines fell to the Indiana Hoosiers. Now after three straight loses in conference play, the Jayhawks find themselves now in third place in the conference after starting out 7-0 in the Big 12.
The Jayhawks hadwon 18 straight games before hitting this three game slide. Now they find themselves in dangerous waters. In the next four games, they play two of the teams whom have already handed them a loss.
"Obviously three in a row is not good, but this game to me today [against Oklahoma], I'm not leaving out of here disgusted with my team at all because we actually played better today," said Kansas coach Bill Self, who was highly critical of his team after a loss at last-place TCU on Wednesday.
The Jayhawks will be leaning on freshman guard Ben McLemore to help them get out of these muddy waters. McLemore, who had jumped from #3 to #1 on the NBA 2013 Mock Draft has to show why he should be selected with the top pick. A 6-5 shooting guard from St. Louis, he has the size and the durability to become a good pick for an NBA team in desperate need of scoring. McLemore averages 16.3 PPG and 5.4 RPG. McLemore has infinite shooting range shooting 42% from behind the arc. I know this is asking a lot for a Freshman, but he has to step up even more to guide the Jayhawks to a championship this year.
(All stats are as of Monday, February 11, 2013 before tonight's game between the in-state rivals from Kansas--Ed)
As I was watching the game against the Sooners, I watched McLemore use his talents to help create off the dribble. He stood behind the arc and gave a quick pump fake to get the opponent off his feet. He then drove to the hole and drew the foul. He is NBA ready. Anytime you can keep opponents guessing, you will always have the advantage. So at least he can rest assure that he will be a very high lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. But first, he needs to take over and dominate for Kansas this year.
This was just a bad week in college hoops for ranked teams, as the top five ranked teams all lost (see my "Hot Potato" simile from last week). With the conference tournament a month away. I really don't see an established team to run through the big tournament. Nobody wants the trophy as I think its up for grabs! I wouldn't be surprised if an unranked team wins the whole thing. None of these so-called "good teams" can win away from home: THEY GET HOME SICK!
Kansas is the team I'm most worried about; anytime you are a ranked team and you lose three straight to unranked opponents, red flags just pop up all over the place. That tells me no one is helping McLemore at all. Other players have to help step up and play to the potential, in which they had before winning 18 games in a row. But the biggest concern about the the Jayhawks is that this is basically a team that is run by upper classmen. For example, 6 Kansas players played in double-digit minutes against the Sooners. Two of those players were under classmen. The other 4 players were all upper classmen. You're supposed to be a better team! How is a team led by battle-tested players drop games against unranked opponents? It just doesn't make sense (so much for staying in school--Ed). The Jayhawks haven't dropped three straight since 2005.
The last Freshman that comes to mind to take over games...Carmelo Anthony's Syracuse Orangemen, as he pretty much carried that team to a championship in 2003. That team had only one senior, but they had a phenomenal Freshman who averaged 22.2 PPG and 10 RPG. Can McLemore be that phenomenal Freshman? Absolutely, but first he needs to show that he can actually dominate and take over this team. Add the fact that this team, unlike 'Melo's Syracuse team, actually has Senior leadership on the squad and Kansas makes for a great recipe for success in this year's tournament. However, Kansas needs to step up and step up quick, because Kansas State, I can assure you, will show no mercy.
Tell us what you think below in the comments' section.
