NBA Draft Last Night

[eagle eye]

The NBA draft, much like the MLB draft is sort of a low rent affair next to the specticle the NFL draft is. But, the draft did take place last night and unlike the 7 rounds and 3 days of picking new players like the NFL or the 40 rounds and 3 days for the MLB draft the NBA draft is just one night and consists of just 2 rounds. No compensatory picks or compensatory rounds. No tricks to add and little confusion to the process. That doesn't mean there weren't trades and deals made. I'm not going to deal with listing them but if you care there are plenty of outlets for that info. I care about the Rockets and I care some about the Heat and the Bulls and OKC. I have a passing interest in the Lakers and Celtics but the main focus of my interest is the Rockets and Heat.

The Rockets are in the discussion about where LeBron may end up next season. I'm here to tell you that Houston would have to lose all the role players worth having to land King James so I believe it's out of the question. The Rockets did draft a big man, 6-11 forward Clint Cepela from Europe who played in France last season. This guy isn't going to help out at all this season. The word is he's long and athletic and raw as the day is long. Projections about him say he has a lot of upside but he won't make any sort of impact until 2017 or 2018. Great. The other player Houston drafted was a guard named Nick Johnson from Arizona. The word is he's very athletic and a good shooter. If he can handle the ball this may be the end of oft injured Jeremy Lin. This kid looks like a nice fit and someone who could help the Rockets this season. I'm disappointed right now in the Rocket taking a project player in the first round. The Rockets are a playoff calibre team who needed to inject some life into the their roster not get a guy who won't be of any help until Dwight Howard becomes a free agent.

 

The Miami Heat maybe broke the Rockets heart by trading up 2 picks from 26 to 24 with the Charlotte Hornets to pounce on a player that many are surprised was still available. That would be point guard Shabazz Napier from reigning NCAA National Champs UConn. LeBron James was happy tweeting that his favorite player in the draft was coming to South Beach. Among other things the Heat gave up their 2nd round picks in the this year's and next year's drafts. This could be the swan song for Mario Chalmers who completed disappeared during the NBA Finals for Miami. Chalmers is streaky and inconsistant and he one of the players Miami needed to step up against the Spurs but he failed miserably.

 

I think the Celtics got a steal in the first round, pick #6 by selecting Okla State guard Marcus Smart. Smart and Rajon Rondo should make a formidable backcourt for the Celts. To bolster the frontcourt they drafted small forward James Young from Kentucky with the 17th pick.

 

The Lakers ---- who cares.

 

I think San Antonio got better by drafting power forward from UCLA Kyle Anderson. At 6'8" he may be a bit of an NBA tweener but he may end up being a point guard in the NBA. The scouting report on Anderson is that he is an exceptional passer with great court awareness and vision. He's not an exceptional athlete but he can shoot from the perimeter which would make his a threat at small forward as well. He also plays defense which is right up the Spurs alley. The Spurs also drafted a project player, Nemanga Dangubic, a small forward from Serbia who will likely won't be playing in San Antone this season.

 

One thing I noticed when I was looking at the draft was a bit of a surprise---the Dallas Mavericks did not have one pick in the draft. But, a day or two ago the Mavs pulled off a 6 player trade with the NY Knicks. The crux of the trade was Dallas getting big man Tyson Chandler back in Dallas. After the Mavs beat the Heat for the NBA championship in 2011 Chandler and other players were allowed to leave via free agency. Chandler was an emotional leader for the Mavs during their championship run and reuniting him with Dirk Nowitzki will be a big boost to the Mavs roster. Dallas also got guard Raymond Felton as well in what is considered a roster overhaul by the Knicks. Here's the ESPN article with all the details of the deal.

 

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11135060/dallas-mavericks-acquire-tyson-chandler-raymond-felton-new-york-knicks