“The Best Class Of Them All”

“The Best Class Of Them All”

With all of the teams i was rooting for seemingly about to get knocked out, it’s time to turn our attention to the draft. We’re going to go through the three best classes, and do a “where are they now?” and look over their careers. In 2003, we were treated to the best draft class of all-time (questionably). There were 58 players drafted that year, 12 of them never made the league (with one, Greece’s Sofoklis Schortsanitis, that still has scouts trying to bring him over). Twelve more are out of the league now. That leaves 34 players from that draft still in the league!

Marcus Banks, Dahntay Jones, Brian Cook, and Matt Bonner are essentially bench-warmers. Though Marcus Banks will likely get a shot at a starting gig in Miami next year and Cook and Bonner may pick up some big playoff minutes in Orlando and San Antonio, they are all non-rotation players at this point.

That leaves 30 out of the 58 players drafting, that are still contributing in the NBA. That is completely nuts! I have separated these guys into five groups. Let’s take a look at how they all panned out:

Solid Contributors:

Three-point ace Jason Kapono (#31 overall to Cleveland) leads this group off. Washington’s picks, Steve Blake (#38 overall) and Jarvis Hayes (#10), have both turned into solid rotation guys for other teams. ZaZa Pachulia (#42 overall) is the third big on a playoff team. Luke Ridnour (#14) had one good playoff series a couple years ago. Carlos Delfino (#25) is a key role player for the Raptors, in their playoff run. And Brian Cook (#24) has been in and out of the lineups on different Laker and Magic playoff teams.

Top Of The Rotation Guys:

The Warriors’ Mickael Pietrus (#11) is definitely the most talented of this bunch. But Luke Walton (#32) is having an incredible series for the Lakers right now. James Jones (#49) has had the most playoff success as a defensive/3 point ace for the Suns and Pacers. Darko Milicic (#2) still has a chance, but he’s looking more and more like a bust every year. Yet he’s been good enough to stay in rotations in Orlando and Memphis. Willie Green (#41) is sporadic for the over-achieving 76ers. Keith Bogans (#41) has featured a reduced role this season, but still stays in rotation in Orlando. And Nick Collison (#12) has been a standard in Seattle.

Championship Level Starters (meaning that they’re good enough to be starters on championship teams

Kendrick Perkins (#27) has the best chance this season to end up a starter for a Championship team in Boston. Three point ace Kyle Korver‘s (#51) addition has Utah looking like a title contender as well. Kirk Hinrich (#7) had a down year for the Bulls, but last year at this time everyone was on his nutts. Plus he turned it around and had a stellar second half, but the team still stunk. Boris Diaw (#21) and Leandro Barbosa (#28) have tasted plenty of success in Phoenix, but don’t look like they’re quite on that championship level again. Travis Outlaw (#23) was perhaps the second best player on a good Portland squad. He hit a lot of threes and most of them were in clutch spots. Sasha Pavlovic (#19) developed into one of Lebron’s favorite running mates in Cleveland. And while Mo Williams (#47) took a step backwards this year, he’s still a very solid player for Millwuakee.

All-Star Level Players

Here we’ll start with Chris Kaman (#6), who has played at a just-below all-star level the past two seasons. The Caveman has plenty of jokes cracked at his expense, but has turned into quite a presence in the low post. He can score, rebound, and take a lot of pressure off Elton Brand. When together and healthy, Kaman and Brand can absolutely dominate the boards. In a weak league for centers (where all the best Centers consider themselves “Power Forwards), Kaman could definitely add an all-star appearance or two before he’s done.

The next here is TJ Ford (#8). Despite the media’s bias against him for supposedly being outplayed by Jose Calderon, Ford is still a top 10 point guard in the league. At his best, he is the second best player on this team and a potential all-star. At his worst he is still the third best player on this team (behind Chris Bosh – see later, and Calderon). And this team is in its’ second straight playoffs, in the second year since Ford arrived. Coincidence?

We’ll flip to the self-imposed pot-head Josh Howard (#29). I have the Black Gumby as the sixth best player from this draft, but he was the last pick of the first round, quite a diamond in the rough. He was an all-star last year and very well could have been one this year. He has the arms to give any player 1-4 trouble on the defensive end, and shoots the mid-range shot with ease on offense. And despite his struggles against the Hornets, he’s traditionally been quite a good playoff performer as well.

The best of this group is David West (#18). While he is a VERY good player, i would not quite consider him a franchise guy. It would be interesting to see how good he was without Chris Paul, however. But as it stands now, he is a slightly smaller, more athletic Elton Brand. He is money with that 12-15 foot jumper, and plays off the ball very well. He also has very good chemistry with Paul, and was rewarded with his first trip to the all-star game this season.

Franchise Guys

The Raptors saw their two best players drafted in this draft. While they had to trade for Ford, they drafted Chris Bosh (#4), and he became the franchise player. “Lefty KG” as I like to call him, has led them to two straight playoffs, and is now a three-time all-star. If not for the team’s location in Canada, he would probably get alot more spotlight in a bigger market. He is one of the most exciting players to watch in the league, and has quite a fun rivalry with the Magic’s Dwight Howard.

Despite calling out his team this weekend, Carmelo Anthony (#3) has thus far been a franchise player on the court. He has had his share of incidents off of it (including one on it), but his talent is enough to always take a chance on. He is absolutely unstoppable when he faces you up within 12 feet. But he could learn to pass better and play better defense in order to be among the league’s truly elite players.

Dwayne Wade (#5) is one of the most fun players to watch in the league. He is among the fastest, and can jump out of a gym. Plus he’s not afraid of contact. When he’s on (as he was from the end of the 05 playoffs through the point he was injured last year), he’s another Jordan on offense. Defensively, he could use some work. But he’s still an above average defender and used to (before the acquisition of Shawn Marion) draw the best offensive wing player on the other end of the floor. He’s a top 5 player in the league today when fully healthy, but as much as it pains me to say this, he’s not quite as good as….

The King, Lebron James (#1) was picked first overall in this draft, and is the second best player in the league today.

 

When they reminisce over you…..

So it has been brought to my attention that Nuggets fans are criticizing the trade for Renaldo Balkman. It strikes me as odd that people still haven’t figured out that this guy can play. To prove my point, I think it’s time to revisit the Lottery of the 2006 NBA Draft. If it were to be re-done, how would it go?

1. Toronto picks Brandon Roy, G (Washington) [actual selection: 6, Portland]

Think the Raptors wouldn’t like to have Roy now?  Now that the swingman position is their weakest link as a team?  Sure Bargnani is a nice option to have as a sixth man, but a first overall pick?  Roy is the only all-star from this draft class thus far.  Though two or three of the other guys could end up being there.  But Roy is hands down the first pick overall if we were to re-tool this draft knowing what we know now.

2. Portland picks LaMarcus Aldridge, PF/C (Texas) [actual selection: 2, Chicago – but dealt to Portland immediately]

That Portland ended up with the two best players from this draft is not particularly surprising, knowing what we now know about their GM.  Neither is the fact that Aldridge, who was picked second, is the second best player of his class today.  What is surprising is how much better he’s been than the man he was traded for – fourth pick Tyus Thomas.

3. Charlotte picks Rudy Gay, SG/SF (UConn) [actual selection: 8, Memphis]

Everything Charlotte was looking for out of their three position – a young player with huge upside who can score in bucketloads – ended up being taken 5 spots lower.  Gay still has the most pure talent out of this draft class, and it’s still mind-boggling how he fell to eight.  We knew how talented he was then! Of course the guy that Michael Jordan actually did select is probably going to be out of the league this offseason.

4. Chicago picks Rajon Rondo, PG (Kentucky) [actual selection: 21, Boston]

At the time the draft was done, I personally considered Rondo and Marcus Williams the two best points in the draft by far.  It absolutely shocked me how far both of them fell.  Especially considering how high the previous class’ points were taken.  So it doesn’t surprise me in the least that Rondo is the first one in this class to get a ring (there have been only two titles since this draft – and San Antonio, who won the other, didn’t have a first round pick).  He is the ultimate team-first point guard.  His main concern was that he couldn’t shoot.  Well, he still can’t.  But he sure can bling!

5. Atlanta picks Daniel Gibson, PG (Texas) [actual selection: 42, Cleveland]

This is probably the best draft pick that Cleveland’s made since LeBron.  Plucking Boobie Gibson out of the second round was a perfect set-up.  He is an almost-perfect role player alongside LeBron.  Sure he’s not going to wow anyone on either side of the ball.  But boy can he shoot.  And in a weak class, he’s probably the fifth best player.  Especially for an Atlanta team that he would fit perfectly on next to Joe Johnson, who is sort of a poor-man’s Lebron.

6. Portland picks Randy Foye, PG (Villanova) [actual selection, 7, Minnesota]

Foye is one of the few solid starters in this draft.   He gets the nod over Brewer here because Portland – while they have a lot of points, none are established – has three established players on the wings.  Even without Roy (who in this case would be in Toronto), the wing isn’t really a need.  Point guard, however, is really their only hole.  But this draft was secretly about how loaded Portland was beginnig to become.

7. Minnesota picks Ronnie Brewer, SG (Arkansas) [actual selection, 14, Utah]

Brewer is a perfect fit in Utah, and he would answer one of Minnesota’s many holes.  Actually, I put him here because he’s the best player available and Minnesota has holes everywhere but the post.  Brewer, very much in the Rondo-mold, does not shoot well but does just about everything else very well.

8. Memphis picks Leon Powe, PF (Cal) [actual selection, 49, Boston]

Everyone remembers Portland’s draft, but Boston had a quietly significant draft as well.  Powe and Rondo turned out to be key components on last year’s title team.  Powe was, essentially, the team’s first big man off the bench.  With Posey gone, he will probably become a more pure sixth man.  To be honest, the team’s most effective offensive lineup is sliding KG to center, and throwing Powe in at the four.  He is, very quietly, one of the most efficient bigs in the league.

9. Golden State picks Paul Millsap, PF (Lou. Tech) [actual selection: 47, Utah]

See how Golden State actually picked Patrick O’Bryant in this spot?  See how he did absolutely nothing?  Now imagine Millsap here.  They’d probably be in the playoffs last season.

10. Seattle picks Renaldo Balkman, PF (South Carolina) [actual selection: 20]

While everyone hated on it at the time, Isiah actually made a very good pick.  In this scenario, knowing that they’d get Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, and Westbrook down the road, Balkman is a very good hustle-guy compliment to form a very good nucleus.  Here, your 1-4’s are set for the next 10 years (barring injury).  So do i think the Nuggets could use him.  He’s sort of like a more athletic Najera.  And in this poor of a draft, he is one of the 10 best players.

11. Orlando picks Andrea Bargnani, F (Italy) [actual selection: 1, Toronto]

This feels like the right spot for Bargnani.  He is a very good player at times.  But he’s inconsistent and probably a bottom-rotation guy at best right now.  He still does have some upside, but he hasn’t shown why we should believe he’ll ever quite get there.  In this case, he backs up Rashard Lewis, and he doesn’t need to bring it every night.

12. New Orleans picks Jordan Farmar, G (UCLA) [actual selection: 26]

Sure they’d just picked a PG the year before, but they’re quite loaded anyway, and this is a horrible draft.  Farmar is by far the next best player on the board.  He probably backs up both guard positions and allows them to let Pargo leave this current offseason.

In retrospect, the complete flops:

3. Adam Morrison to Charlotte (Gonzaga) – Though he still seems to have a following, he sucks.  If he’d shown any flashes at all his rookie season, J-Rich would probably still be a Warrior.

4. Tyus Thomas to Portland (then traded to Chicago)(LSU) – It’s funny how Thomas is a second banana to Big Baby on a Final Four run, but Thomas gets all the draft-hype and gets picked #4 while Davis goes in the second round the next year.  Then Big Baby ends up the better pro.  But there’s home for Tyus, he’s still very young and raw.  But he seems to have fallen out of favor in Chicago and it might be time to send him packing.

5. Sheldon Williams to Atlanta (now with Sacramento)(Duke) – It’s funny that the bottom three of the top 5 all ended up sucking.  And the top pick wasn’t particularly impressive either.  now that‘s a shitty draft.

9. Patrick O’Bryant to Golden State (now with Boston)(Bradley) – You’ve gotta be pretty bad for a team as big-man-starved as the Warriors to completely give up on you

I’m reserving judgement on the last 3 lottery picks of that year (Saer Sene, JJ Reddick, and Hilton Armstrong) just because for one reason or another (injuries for Sene, being behind all-stars for Reddick and Armstrong), they’ve had the deck stacked ahead of them.  So it’s not really fair to judge what they can/can’t do just yet.  But if I was a betting man, I’d think all of them turn out to be journeymen, with Sene probably out of the league quite soon.