Thoughts the Day After

Last night was the 2007 NBA Draft. Below are bullet points of my thoughts the day after the draft:

-Boston's trade to acquire guard Ray Allen and the draft rights to Glen Davis from the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for forward Wally Szczerbiak, guard Delonte West and the draft rights to Jeff Green, was an awful move for the Celtics. The Celtics have limited themselves to two years of the Allen-Pierce combination to win the championship. After that, they will be right back to the rebuilding phase.

-The trade the Celtics made was the worse thing they could have done. In my mind, the Celtics had three options:
1) Take a young wing player and continue the rebuilding phase.
2) Trade Paul Pierce and get another pick in the first round.
3) Trade for an established big man (Kevin Garnett, Zach Randolph, Jermaine O'Neal) to put next to West, Pierce, and Jefferson to compete for the Eastern conference championship.

-The only logical thing the Celtics could do next would be to package Gerald Green, Theo Ratliff and his expiring contract, and Al Jefferson for Jermaine O'Neal. A lineup of Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Jermaine O'Neal, and Kendrick Perkins could certainly be a top three team in the East.

-The Sonics made a great move here with this trade both financially and for the benefit of their team. General manager, Sam Presti, certainly will be building the team around Kevin Durant. Jeff Green is a perfect fit with Durant. He is a great passer and can take some of the heat off Durant on the defensive end. Receiving Delonte West back is also a great move because he can defend multiple positions and be a great guy off the bench for the Sonics.

-The Sonics still have a handful of assets to move to improve their team. Rashard Lewis in a sign-and-trade, Luke Ridnour, and a trio of young, unproven centers (Johan Petro, Mouhamed Sene, Robert Swift) could still be moved to fill in some holes. Devin Harris, Monta Ellis, Kyle Lowry, Mike Bibby, and Andre Miller may all be targets here for Presti.

-The New York Knicks were active again on draft night. The Knicks and Trail Blazers reached agreement on a deal that swaps Zach Randolph and teammates Dan Dickau and Fred Jones for guard Steve Francis and Channing Frye. I think Knicks general manager, Isiah Thomas, made a great deal here. Randolph was one of only four players in the 2006-07 season to average more than twenty points per game and ten rebounds per game. Kevin Garnett, Carlos Boozer, and Chris Bosh were the other three to reach this feat.

-Some people may criticize Thomas for making the deal to acquire Randolph because he already has a legitimate post man with Eddy Curry. In the Eastern Conference, there are so few post players that I think the advantage of having two is such a big advantage. The Knicks would benefit from moving point guard, Stephon Marbury, to acquire a pass-first type point guard. Nevertheless, this trade was certainly an upgrade, at least from a "talent" perspective for the Knicks.

-It became quite apparent last year that Randolph was a poor fit with the Trail Blazers. He was creating a bad environment for the team and with Greg Oden, it was time for him to move on. The Blazers got back Steve Francis and a young, post player in Channing Frye. The Trail Blazers are expected to buy out the final two years and $34.25 million of Francis' contract, freeing him to agree to terms elsewhere after he clears waivers. With Frye joining Aldridge and Oden, Portland's rotation of big men will be strong for many years to come.

-I really love what Pritchard and the Trail Blazers did on draft night. Along with adding Oden and making the trade with the Knicks, Portland made some strong moves late in the first round and throughout the second round. Picking 6'6" shooting guard, Rudy Fernandez, from Spain at twenty-four was a move that will payoff soon. Fernandez is a creative slasher to the basket, in a Manu Ginobili mold. He shows a high basketball IQ, but needs to improve on the defensive end. At pick thirty, the team took 6'4" point guard, Petteri Koponen, from Finland. Koponen was one of the youngest players in the draft and may stay overseas for a few years. However, he certainly has potential with the team down-the-line. Koponen posses great court vision and has shown that he is willing to learn. He still needs more experience and could be more confident on the floor. Early in the second round, Portland drafted power forward, Josh McRoberts, from Duke. Although McRoberts was a disappointment this past college basketball season, he could be a great role player off the bench this upcoming season. Roberts needs to develop more of a post game and become more of a consistent mid-range jump shooter. Late in the second round, Taurean Green was the pick out of Florida. Green will fight to make the team, but could be a nice addition to the bench. He certainly came up big when it counted at Florida and at pick fifty-two, he was worth the selection. With strong leadership abilities and a great deal of quickness, Green may be able to carve a niche in the league, similar to a guy like Tyronn Lue.

-The San Antonio Spurs have continued their tradition in taking foreign players late in the first round. These type of players are low-risk, high reward. At worse, they never come over and are a waste of a low pick. At best, these foreign players become Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili. In Tiago Splitter, they get a guy who is legitimately seven feet tall and can run the court well. He possesses great footwork in the post and has shown soft touch around the basket. Splitter will most likely play the 2007-08 season overseas and come over to San Antonio the next season. General manager, R.C. Buford, most likely got a steal, as he will have acquired a starting center at pick twenty-eight.

-In addition, I like Buford's pick of Arizona's Marcus Williams. Williams is 6'7" with a seven foot wingspan who can guard both guard positions and small forward. He has had a questionable shot selection in the past and tends to be a little careless with the ball. However, he should be able to succeed once he starts working wtih Coach Popovich. Ideally, he will be able to play major minutes once guys like Brent Barry, Michael Finley, and Bruce Bowen end their careers. Coming off a championship, the Spurs can afford to be patient with guys like Williams.

-I continue to praise the Washington Wizards front office staff for always thinking a step ahead. The Wizards selected shooting guard, Nick Young, with the sixteenth pick last night. With this pick, the Wizards are free to let DeShawn Stevenson and Jarvis Hayes walk and use the money to re-sign promising prospect Andray Blatche.

-Chris Mullin and Don Nelson certainly receive some recognition for being able to trade Jason Richardson to Charlotte for North Carolina swingman, Brandan Wright. Richardson has three years and $36 million remaining on his contract and has probably peaked in Golden State. Wright will be able to play multiple positions for Nelson and has the potential to become one of the best players in this years draft. Monta Ellis should continue to improve and with a full-year from Stephen Jackson, the two should be able to makeup for the production lost from Richardson. In addition, the Warriors received a $10 million trade exception. Because the Warriors dealt Richardson without taking back any salary - draft rights are worth zero dollars for salary-cap purposes - they are free to absorb up to $10 million worth of excess salary in a future trade or trades completed before June 28, 2008 (assuming they don't stay under the salary cap, which is a safe bet). So, the Warriors are sure to be players in the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes.

-Speaking of, along with the $10 million trade exception and a group of attractive players like Al Harrington, Patrick O'Bryant, Monta Ellis, and the expiring contract of Mickael Pietrus after this upcoming season, the Warriors certainly have the ammo to make a trade for Kevin Garnett. If the Warriors can keep a nucleus of Baron Davis, Matt Barnes, Andris Biedrins, Brandan Wright, and Stephen Jackson and add Kevin Garnett to the mix as well, they certainly will look like serious playoff contenders this upcoming season.

-I like the two players that the Atlanta Hawks pulled in last night in Al Horford and Acie Law. However, I am not sure that Law is the right fit in Atlanta. For a team with a variety of scorers already on the roster in Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, among others, Acie Law is not the distributor they needed. I think the Hawks should have taken Mike Conley at the third pick or should have tried to acquire a veteran point guard. Law needs the ball in his hands to be successful and is more of a shoot-first point guard. Although I like him as a player, I am not sure that this was the right fit. The addition of Horford sure looks like the Hawks are admitting that they stretched on Shelden Williams at the fifth pick in last years draft when guys like Brandon Roy, Randy Foye, and Rudy Gay were still around.