NBA Draft 2008 review
Professional sports nerds such as myself got their fill on Thursday night with the second most anticipated draft in sports. The NBA Draft which takes place in New York City has always been friendlier to the A.D.D. sports fan due to the fact that it is only 5 hours instead of the 2 DAYS it takes to get through the NFL draft.
The Chicago Bulls kept the suspense to a minimum by wasting little time in selecting Memphis “super guard” Derrick Rose as the number one pick. In the weeks leading up to the draft there was speculation that the Bulls might select Kansas State forward Michael Beasley, but they instead chose Rose, a Chicago native, to fill the point guard spot which was unsuccessfully manned by Kirk Heinrich.
Perhaps more intriguing than the number one pick was the question of who the Miami Heat would choose at number two. Would they pick for need and draft a point guard such as USC’s OJ Mayo or Arizona’s Jared Bayless, or would they pick arguably the drafts best player in Beasley. After talks of trading the pick, the Heat would decide on Beasley. The 6-8 240 pound Beasley was a monster at Kansas State, breaking rookie records left and right. He will beef up the Heat frontcourt that already features swingman Shawn Marion, and solid forward Udonis Haslem. Beasley will take some of the slack off of superstar Dwayne Wade, who lacked a second fiddle after the departure of the Big Cactus Shaq O’Neal to Pheonix. The Heat are looking to rebound from an abysmal 15-67 record after winning the NBA Championship only 3 years ago.
History would be made when the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Mayo with the 3rd pick. It was the first time that freshmen were selected with the first three picks. Mayo is the most intriguing player in this year’s draft. The Huntington West Virginia native has been followed by reports since middle school and has been compared for years to other prep-to-pros stars like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. Having watched and personally played against Mayo in WV I can say that he is the real deal.
He holds himself with class and dignity and he has more upside and potential than anyone in the draft. Mayo will be a perfect compliment for Minnesota big man and rising star Al Jefferson.
The Seattle (or possibly Oklahoma City) Sonics selected UCLA combo guard Russell Westbrook with the number four pick. The Sonics continue to build their young roster that features Rookie of the year Kevin Durant and former Georgetown star Jeff Green. UCLA once again in the spotlight one pick later when freshmen phenom Kevin Love was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies who look to stabilize their frontcourt after their mind-boggling trade with the Lakers that shipped of Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown…..yeah they know they got ripped too. Shortly after beginning this story Mayo was sent to the Grizzlies for Love. It was an eight person trade. Details can be found at ESPN.com
The New York Knicks once again were the brunt of many NBA jokes as they passed on Indiana guard Eric Gordon, who may be the best shooter in the draft. Instead they choose an unproven Italian teenager Danilo Gallinari. The LA Clippers…very familiar to the Lottery, wasted no time in making New York’s loss their gain as they selected Gordon with the seventh pick. The 8th pick has sentimental value to me. West Virginia Forward Joe Alexander was taken by the Milwaukee Bucks. Alexander is the first West Virginia player in my lifetime to be taken in the lottery. The WVU coliseum is 30 minutes up the road from where I live and it is a real pleasure to see one of our great players selected so high. Alexander jumped up the draft boards with his phenomenal workout, (strongest player in the draft) work ethic, and great potential. The Bucks traded Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons earlier in the night for New Jersey forward Richard Jefferson. The frontcourt of Jefferson, Alexander, and former number one pick Andrew Bogut could prove to be a force in the Eastern Conference. Other first round highlights and surprises included Stanford Center Brook Lopez going to New Jersey at the ten spot. Arizona freshmen guard Jarryd Bayless was selected 11th by the Indiana Pacers who earlier in the week send All-Star forward Jermaine O’Neal to the Raptors for PG T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovich. With Ford it was a surprise to take fellow PG Bayless. However the Pacers soon traded Bayless to Portland for the Trailblazers 13th pick, Kansas junior Brandon Rush. Toronto sealed its middle for years to come by selecting Georgetown big man Roy Hibbert with the 17th pick. Hibbert, along with All Star Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, and the newly acquired O’Neal, have arguably the best frontcourt in the East.
Seattle lucked out again by trading Detroit for their 29th pick of Indiana power forward DJ White. White was a monster at Indiana, and could allow Kevin Durant to focus more on his offensive game. All American Chris Douglass Roberts fell all the way to the 40th pick, where he was grabbed up by the Nets. Douglass Roberts is a lottery talent whose unorthodox playing style created concerns among some teams. Michael Beasley’s K-State teammate Bill Walker would be selected by Washington with the 47th pick, but would be sent to the Celtics. Walker recently injured his knee, which dropped him down in the draft. He is another player that I have personally played against and I can say I have never seen anyone other than Vince Carter jump like Walker. Even after knee surgery in his freshman year, he still retains one of the best verticals in the game. Walker is another lottery talent who is a second round steal.
So another draft has come and gone and the speculation begins for the draft class of 2009. At some point next season look for a follow up rookie report, keeping you updated on the progress of the class of 2008.
