Welcome to the 2009 NBA Draft. I’ll be your host, Aaron Jackson. Lets hope Blake Griffin doesn’t tear an ACL before reaching the podium.
7:40: Blake Griffin goes number one overall to the Clippers, sealing his fate as a future bust. Poor guy. Meanwhile, John Smoltz has given up four runs in the first inning of his first start in over a year. Uh-Oh. Blake Griffin is informed the Clippers are terrible, and he responds by saying he can’t look to the past. If you don’t look to the past it’s doomed to repeat itself Blake.
7:51: The Grizzlies select Hasheem Thabeet at number 2. Terrible choice, has bust written all over him. Jay Bilas’s thoughts. “He is not very good offensively and needs to build body mass. Dejuan Blair absolutely beasted him this past season. Is not that great one on one defensively.” Nice job by the Grizz. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City selects James Harden 3rd. I loved him at Arizona State, but I think Ricky Rubio was a better fit here. Russell Westbrook and James Harden are too similar to play together right now. If Harden is willing to become a traditional point this could work well. I’ll give Sam Presti the benefit of the doubt on this one.
7:57: Kings select Tyreke Evans 4th. I’m guessing they expect him to play the point rather than the 2, although he could be a small forward as well. Good choice if he can improve his jumper. By the way, sad day for just about every American, as Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson both passed away today. They say bad things come in threes, and that certainly was the case with Ed McMahon, Farrah and Michael over the last two days.
8:10: Timberwolves take Ricky Rubio 5th and Jonny Flynn 6th. I don’t know how I feel about that. Flynn is too short to play the two, and Rubio would be completely out of his element as a shooting guard. I’m not sure that combination is the best choice, especially this high in the draft. I like both players individually, but together I don’t think it works. The ESPN poll has voters giving the Wolves an F for Flynn and an A for Rubio. I agree.
8:21: Stephen Curry goes number 7 overall to the Warriors. He definitely fits their system and can play right away. At 8 the Knicks select Jordan Hill. Not a big fan of this move at all. He underachieved at Arizona, and the Knicks needed a player with a good attitude. Not sure Hill is the right pick, and he’s getting booed pretty hard from the crowd.
8:35: Toronto takes Demar DeRozan 9th. He’s a project player on a team that wants to win now, unless they expect Chris Bosh to resign(not happening). Brandon Jennings then goes tenth to the Bucks, and it’s announced he is not in attendance because he wasn’t sure where he would be drafted. This kid hasn’t made a right move in my mind since graduating high school. Something about his attitude rubs me the wrong way. Terrence Williams is taken 11th by the Nets. I like this choice a lot, especially now that Vince Carter is no longer with the team. He passes well, shoots well, defends well and has good size.
8:50: Bobcats take Gerald Henderson 12th. I’ve already said this once, but I think this guy will be a huge bust. On a side note, this is only the 3rd pick I have guessed correctly. I feel dumb, but you must feel dumber for actually reading me. Indiana is now up at 13. They take Tyler Hansbrough. I was one of the only people out there that had that one right. 4 out of 13 right sounds so much better than 3 out of 14. Thank you Pacers. I like this pick a lot, he has accomplished too much already to be a bust. He has a much better jumper than when he started college, to the point where he was making threes last year. He also has more willpower in his pinkie than most of us have in our body. You may see him in my notebook coming up.
9:13: Phoenix selects Earl Clark 14. I had them taking Terrence Williams, and both players played at Louisville and are very similar. I’m giving myself half a point here. At 15 the Pistons select Austin Daye. Really??? I didn’t even have him in the first round. He’s like a toothpick. The Pistons have made some terrible draft picks in the last few years (Rodney Stuckey aside), this may very well be another one. Next up is the Bulls who select James Johnson, followed by the Sixers with Jrue Holliday. While I may not be getting the actual players right, I am definitely nailing the positions teams will draft. Both teams made good selections considering their needs, and although I’m not sold on Holliday based off last season, I think he has plenty of potential. My computer is burning up, so I’m not sure how much longer I will continue this diary. I’m thinking 20 may be my stopping point.
9:19: At 18 the Timberwolves select Ty Lawson. That’s the third point guard they have taken, and two of the three are under 6 feet tall. Why would they do that? Sometimes I am just perplexed as to how people have jobs, and this seems like it’s the case. Unless there is a trade. Speaking of, there is Ric Bucher saying the pick will be moved to the Nuggets. I like that selection much, much, much, much better. Up next is the Atlanta Hawks, a team that could’ve really used Ty Lawson. They get a great consolation prize in Jeff Teague. Great selection by them, I had him going much higher. He dominated at times in the best conference in college basketball. He may pop up again in my notebook because Atlanta is a great opportunity for a good point guard.
9:36: This will be my last post, as my computer is way to hot. At 20 the Jazz select Eric Maynor. It’s a good pick, although they could’ve addressed other needs that were more pressing. 21 is Darren Collison to New Orleans. I like this pick, but I’m kind of surprised Collison went this high. I had him higher than most of the other mock drafts out there, and he went 7 picks higher than even I thought. At 22 is the Portland Trailblazers. I would like to see them take DeJuan Blair here. He could be a great addition to their team. Instead they take Victor Claver. Not a bad choice, but I don’t expect him to play with the Blazers for the next couple of years.
~Aaron Jackson
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