Who I Like/Don't Like in the 2009 NBA Draft

As easy and fun as it is to rip Kevin McHale and the 600 1st Avenue Country Club for their horrible, horrible draft record, it's only fair to give my own opinions on who I like and don't like in a given draft year. Something about accountability and transparency when ripping others. Call me crazy, but it's something I believe in.

For instance, while I liked Brandon Roy more than Randy Foye, I had no idea Roy would be THIS good! I also didn't like LaMarcus Aldridge because I thought he was too soft, but he's turned into a pretty good player. Some of my other draft hits and misses:

HITS:
Kevin Durant over Greg Oden
Carmelo Anthony over Darko Milicic
Danny Granger over Rashad McCants
Anybody with a pulse over Wally Szerbiak and Ndi Ibi
Never, ever draft a white center in the lottery, or even the first round for that matter
Hating every player the Sonics took in the first round this decade before Sam Presti took over
Hating Andrea Bargnani
Chris Paul & Deron Williams being better than Bogut and Marvin Williams

MISSES:
Adam Morrison. Wow
Gerald Green
Mike Conley and Corey Brewer (so far)
Emeka Okafor over Dwight Howard (again wow)
Dirk Nowitzki
Andrew Bynum (although after this playoff series...?)

There's plenty more, but those are a few that stand out for me. Another one, and it's one that McHale still gets heat for, is Stephon Marbury. Look, you're lying if you say you thought Starbury would be a bust, and the draft day deal of Ray Allen for Steph was a horrible idea. You are lying to yourself and the world if you say that now. EVERYBODY loved the idea of Marbury and KG teaming up for the next decade and dominating the league, and the thing that sucks is it SHOULD have happened.

Playing with Garnett was the perfect- I repeat PERFECT- situation for Marbury. A tough and engaging leader to lean on who would do all the little things, but would not only allow but LOVE for Steph to take over down the stretch. Honestly, it was a match made in heaven and it should have led to years of Timberwolves glory- it's just Marbury himself couldn't swallow it because he'd never get paid more than KG and would be overshadowed by him. The worst thing that ever happened to Steph was himself, and considering his background (he had the weight of his entire family riding on his success and was the legend of legends in NYC in high school), it shouldn't be a surprise that he would never gain the perspective needed to realize how good he had it. It was just impossible for a young Stephon Marbury to see that being the highest paid and biggest star wasn't everything, and that he absolutely, positively needed Garnett to be successful. And yet even if we could do it again, knowing what we know now, I would STILL petition for McHale to take Marbury and hope like hell it changed and he could get through to him.

Anyway, I'm not going to go through like 50 players of who I love and hate, but I'll give you five I love (besides Blake Griffin and Ricky Rubio. Duh), five I hate, and five I'm on the fence about. As you've probably heard, this is NOT a good draft- Griffin is the absolute sure thing at the top, Rubio is the consensus second best player (could be a better NBA player than Griffin, but because Griffin's chances of achieving his potential are better than Rubio's, he should be ranked higher), and after that it's pretty much a crap shoot. Get used to hearing this phrase: "but in this draft..." It means normally you wouldn't reach for or take a player because of flaws/concerns "but in this draft" there's really nothing better so you're almost forced to roll the dice. Honestly, after Griffin and Rubio, there's only two other players with star potential, yet I'm only sold on one of them. Let's start there...

I LOVE LAMP
DeMar DeRozan, SG, 6'6, USC, 20 yrs old (when the 2009 season starts)
DeRozan was inconsistent in his one year as a Trojan, but started to put it together during their NCAA tourney run. He's the perfect size for the wing and is probably the best athlete in this draft. His ballhandling could use work but has a good stroke inside of 20 ft, and you have to believe he can develop the NBA 3. His hunger is a bit of a question, but to me he's the third best prospect behind Griffin and Rubio. If he's still available at 6 the Wolves should RUN, not walk, to the podium with his name.

Jordan Hill, PF, 6'10, Arizona, 22 yrs
Not sure he's an all-star, but he should be a solid starter for a long time. In the couple of games I watched him this year, he showed a good offensive feel for the game in the post, both with his back to the basket and facing up, and scouts are saying his range goes out to 15+. A good college rebounder and most importantly, he really seems to give a crap. If the Wolves two best players weren't at PF, I'd love to see him here.

Eric Maynor, PG, 6'3, VCU, 22 yrs
What?!? A senior in the lottery? A guy who played four years of college who will actually make a good pro? Impossible, you say! Well I don't care. I don't care that Maynor isn't an elite athlete or is slim at only 164 pounds, or that he doesn't have the prettiest jumped. I don't care. Because when you actually watch the man's games, you see a point guard. You see a guy who has a high basketball IQ that knows how to run a team, and those kind of players are few and far between. In his NCAA tourney runs with VCU, his team always had less talent yet they were always in the game, and Maynor was often the best player on the floor. He might not have the Tremendous Upside Potential of some other PG's or players in this draft, but he's going to be a solid pro point for a long, long time.

DeJuan Blair, PF, 6'7, Pittsburgh, 20 yrs
Somebody made a "the next Tractor Traylor" comparison, and while that's certainly a possibility, I'd still have no problem taking Blair. Yes, he might not even be 6'7, and yes he could end up eating an entire Perkins and Denny's for a snack, but he was an elite rebounder in college in the best conference in the country, and that absolutely translates to the NBA. Again, he's not going to be an all-star talent or a go-to option in the paint, but he can be a starter and rebounding machine in the L. I'd draft him, and hire him a personal chef and trainer to keep his weight in check. And put a "stay the hell away from fast food joints" clause in his contract.

Tyreke Evans, SG, 6'5, Memphis, 20 yrs
Love the Jerry Stackhouse comparisons, or even Jamal Crawford or Larry Hughes. After watching him in college I'm surprised how many NBA people seem to be down on him. He dominated college against the best competition and just showed a natural will and feel as a scorer that you can't teach. I don't care how ugly his jumper is or that people think he's not an elite athlete, I think he'll step in and contribute immediately, and I believe a Stackhouse-type career (a borderline allstar) is not only possible, but probable.

ON THE FENCE
Earl Clark, SF, 6'10, Louisville, 21 yrs
This would be the fourth guy with "star potential", but I have such a big question about his motor and whether he's going to care much once he's got a guaranteed contract for millions, I'm putting him here. Has all-star talent at small forward and everything you'd ever want skill-wise at the position (his jumper needs work but that's about it), but I see him being the next Tim Thomas, and that friends, is not a player I'd want to pay big money to. Still, he's such a freakish athlete and looked so dominant at times, in this draft...

Brandon Jennings, PG, 6'3, Virtus Roma, 20 yrs old
Was the top PG in last year's high school class, and took a huge risk by playing a year in Europe instead of the NCAA. The team he chose wasn't a good fit for his wide-open style, and so folks are down on him. Still, in this draft, I chalk up the shaky year in Europe to him being 19 and trying to adjust to a completely different lifestyle and country, and style of play. I focus on the fact he's a ridiculous athlete who can get to the rim whenever he wants, is quick defensively, and shows a good feel for the game. The big question is can he run a team? In a draft with so few impact guys, I'd roll the dice.

Jonny Flynn, PG, 5'11, Syracuse, 20 yrs
If you love basketball and you watched any of the 19 million Syracuse games that were on this year, you had to love Flynn. Had to. I certainly did and would love the guy on my team, but I'm just not sure what he does or is in the NBA. He's got a big wingspan for a little guy, great quickness, is strong for his size, and can do the "Sam Cassell Giant Cahones" dance as well as anyone (or that he has incredible intestinal fortitude). He was fearless and a great leader with The Orange, but in the pros he's a 5'11 combo guard who can't really run the point and doesn't shoot well. I want him to succeed, I'm just not sure he will.

Stephen Curry, PG?, 6'2, Davidson, 21 yrs
With the Knicks he's a solid contributor and possible starter. Anywhere else he's a 3-point specialist like his dad was.

Chase Buddinger, SG, 6'7, Arizona, 21 yrs
You don't want him as your best player, or even your second best, but if he's allowed to be a third option he could be good. I like the Glen Rice/Brent Barry comparisons nbadraft.net makes. Great shooter and solid athlete (especially for a white guy).

THANKS BUT NO THANKS
Hasheem Thabeet, C, 7'3, Connecticut, 22 yrs
From his nbadraft.net profile, this sentence about sums it up for me:
"Looked absolutely helpless against Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, one of the few players he faced with an NBA-type body"

So you're telling me the guy will be fine unless he faces somebody with NBA size? Shouldn't be that big a deal unless...well yeah, unless he's trying to play in the NBA. I think it was Bill Simmons who wondered aloud why people were making such a big deal of Thabeet's shot blocking, because after all- he's 7'3 and there's so few good post players in college anymore. I didn't agree with him at the time, but do now- Thabeet dominated weaker competition because there were no real centers that could challenge him. And yet even with that, he STILL couldn't score to save his life. He has showed zero post moves or any semblance of an offensive game. Add to that the dubious track record of NBA players over 7'1 (they're generally either terrible or terribly injury prone), and you couldn't keep me far enough away from taking Thabeet.

James Harden, SG, 6'4, Arizona State, 20 yrs
Won't be a bust, but won't be a star either. Yes, he's strong for a two guard, but he's a bit undersized, isn't a superior athlete to make up for it, and right now is an ok shooter. Wouldn't touch him in the top 10, let alone the top 5.

Gerald Henderson, SG, 6'4, Duke, 21 yrs
So let's see, he's from Duke, he's undersized, he's not a great shooter, he went to Duke, HAD MORE TURNOVERS THAN ASSISTS LAST YEAR (felt like I needed to yell that point), couldn't consistently be the go-to player his team was dying for him to be, and he's also from Duke. Other than that, what's not to love?

BJ Mullens, C, 7'0, Ohio State, 20 yrs
Had to save my most hated player for last. This guy will be the prime example that NBA GM's just will never, ever learn- no matter how useless a white center is in actual games, if he shows a pulse and some semblance of ability in workouts, they're going to take him in the first round. I will never understand it. Mullens has NBA size and according to all of these experts has all of these skills, so why was he so bad at Ohio State? The Big Ten was way down this year, there were zero big men to challenge him, and yet he never took over games or came close to dominating. If you average his stats out to 40 mins per game, he averaged a respectable 16 points, but only 8 boards and 2 blocks. If he couldn't get motivated to dominate in college, why does anyone believe he's going to be motivated to dominate the NBA once he gets a guaranteed contract? He's the unquestedioned leader in the clubhouse for the 2009honorary "Shawn Bradley Award" for useless white center taken in the first round who teams had talked themselves into thinking wouldn't be a useless white center. Past recipients include Michael Doleac (1998), Frederick Weis (1999), Chris Mihm (2000), Nickoloz Tskitishvili (2002- I know he's not a center and I don't care), Darko Milicic (2003), Pavel Podkolzine (2004), Yaroslav Korolev (2005- narrowly edging Bogut in one of the great Useless White Center draft debates of all-time), Andrea Bargnani (2006 hahaha SUCK IT TORONTO!!), Jason Smith (2007- who? Exactly), and last year's winner Kosta Koufus (bigger shock- that he went to Ohio State or was drafted by Utah? Discuss, discuss...). Congrats BJ on the only NBA award you'll ever win.