| NBA 2006 Lottery Picks Draft Capsules Authored by Scott Shniderman - June 29, 2006 - 12:03 pm
June 29, 2006
By Scott Shniderman
“With the first pick in the NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors select Andrea Bargnani.”
With these words uttered by David Stern, the Toronto Raptors started the festivities by taking the 7 footer from Italy. Bargnani was the first ever European taken #1 overall and the second ever foreign player taken #1 (Yao Ming went #1 overall in 2002). Not many people think Bargnani is the best player in this draft, so this pick is a bit of a head-scratcher. He is a 7 footer who plays more of an outside game. He can shoot the 3 and is very agile for his size. The real problem is that he hasn’t really played against NBA competition, so no one knows how good (or bad) Bargnani really is. Is he the next Dirk Nowitzki or the next Darko Mlicic? Or somewhere in between? The adage is that if you make a mistake, make it big. The problem is that Bargnani doesn’t play like a typical big man, so while he stands at 7’1”, he actually plays more like a small forward, running the wings and shooting threes. I think Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo might have been the only one in the nation thinking Bargnani is the best player in this draft. Time will tell if Colangelo is right.
It didn’t take long for the first trade of the draft to occur. The second pick was LaMarcus Aldridge, selected by the Chicago Bulls, but traded to the Portland Trailblazers for the rights to the fourth pick. Aldridge can run the floor as well as any big man, but the real question is if he can hold his own on the low post with the NBA big men. Aldridge was pushed around by Glen “Big Baby” Davis in the NCAA tournament on the block, what will happen when he encounters Shaquille O’Neal in the paint in the NBA next year? Aldridge showed his Longhorn pride by giving the Commissioner a University of Texas hat on the podium. A refreshing first, the Commissioner putting on a hat, not the other way around.
Draft the Stache. Adam Morrison now has the best mustache in NBA since Larry Bird. He might have a jump shot almost as good as Larry Legend. He averaged an NCAA high 28 ppg last year for Gonzaga, and hopes to bring some of that high scoring to Charlotte. The Bobcats new President knows something about high scoring, as the man, Michael Jeffrey Jordan now runs the basketball operations department of this up-and-coming club. MJ hopes Morrison can score in bunches to help Emeka Okafor and Raymond Felton get some Ws. Morrison needs to work on the defensive end, but that will improve in time.
The fourth pick was part of the earlier trade between Chicago and Portland. While the Trailblazers actually drafted Tyrus Thomas from LSU, he will never play a game in the Rose City. Tyrus Thomas will showcase his wares in the Windy City. The Chicago Bulls were thrilled to get Thomas at the 4 slot, many experts considered him the best overall player in the draft. Thomas is a wiry athletic player who can also shoot the rock. He has the potential to be a stud defensively and will mesh well with the up and coming Chicago squad. Hinrich, Gordon, Nocioni, Deng, Chandler, and now Thomas is quite a nucleus to build around. The Bulls are acquiring some nice young players to make a push in the Eastern Conference next season. If they can go out and sign a big man in free agency, watch out.
The fifth pick of the draft belonged to the Atlanta Hawks. I think it was etched in stone as long ago as last Tuesday that the Hawks were going to take Shelden Williams out of Duke. Williams is a tough big man, who can rebound and play solid defense. The Hawks need an enforcer and Williams should fit in perfectly in the ATL. The Hawks hope that the team can grow into a contender with Josh Smith, Zaza Pachulia, Marvin Williams and Shelden Williams (no relation) next season.
Brandon Roy applied to the NBA draft after his senior year of high school. He decided to go to college and compiled quite a resume at the University of Washington. He was the sixth overall pick, going to Minnesota. Many observers think that Roy is the most NBA ready of any of the prospects this season. Later in the draft it was announced that the Trailblazers swapped picks with Minnesota to add the local flavor of Washington standout Brandon Roy. Roy can really help turn around Portland’s public relations disaster from the last few years. Blazer fans Roy can be this year’s NBA ROY, as in Rookie of the Year.
The seventh pick of the draft was actually traded before the draft from Boston to the Portland Trailblazers, and then after the pick was made to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Trailblazers sent Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and a 2008 2nd round pick to Boston for the Dan Dickau, Raef LaFrentz and the rights to this pick, which turned out to be Randy Foye from Villanova. Foye is often compared to Dwyane Wade of Miami. He has a silky inside out game and can score from anywhere on the floor. He’ll be a nice fit next to KG in Minnesota.
The eighth pick was selected by Houston, but was immediately sent with Stromile Swift to Memphis for Shane Battier. Who is Memphis getting? UConn standout swingman Rudy Gay. This looks to be a steal for Memphis. Gay has superstar potential, while Battier is the definition of an NBA journeyman. Not sure why the Rockets would pass up a potential future superstar in Gay to get a good, but not great player in Battier. Rudy Gay was the consensus pre-season #1 pick in the draft. Jerry West looks to be at it again, as he adds a player with tremendous upside for a player who seems to be on the down slope of his career in Battier. While Gay’s focus can be questioned, his athletic ability can not be. Memphis hopes to get the talented youngster’s focus on contending for the playoffs next season. The fact that Memphis also got a talented big man in Swift in this deal makes it even more of a coup for the NBA Logo Man.
Perhaps no player increased his draft status more than that of Bradley big man Patrick O’Bryant. His stellar NCAA performance catapulted him to lottery status, as he landed in Golden State as the 9th pick. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say no one outside of Bradley’s campus in Peoria would have heard of O’Bryant back in April. O’Bryant might eventually turn into a good big man in the league, but besides his 2 week stretch in the NCAA tournament, what has he really done?
Saer Sene went 10th overall to the Seattle Sonics. The Sonics went for a center for the third consecutive year with their first pick. He is a very raw player, but the team is intrigued by his near 8 foot wingspan. He has almost no offensive skills to speak of, but can be a good player defensively. It is thought that he will work on his game overseas for a year or two before coming to the Emerald City to play in the NBA.
The 11th pick belonged to the Orlando Magic, who selected JJ Redick from Duke. While his stock fell a bit in the weeks leading up to the draft, let’s not forget Redick was the all-time ACC leading scorer. Quite an accomplishment considering the likes of players coming out of the ACC--Jordan, Laettner, Bias, Sampson, Worthy, Brand, et al. While most fans hate the kid, he can flat out shoot the rock and let’s not forget he shoots over 90% from the free throw line. Redick is a nice player to pair with Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson in Orlando for the future of the franchise.
New Orleans/Oklahoma City went big and selected Hilton Armstrong from UConn at #12. Armstrong was the Big East defensive player of the year in 2005-2006. He only averaged 9.7 ppg and 6.6 rpg, but blocked over 3 shots a game and he has an NBA ready body right now. He is a great defender and will be able to help the Hornets interior game right away. Last year’s rookie of the year, Chris Paul will be sure to feed Armstrong plenty this year. PJ Brown will look to teach him a lot about how to play on the blocks in the league.
Thabo Sefolosha went #13 to Philadelphia, but was traded immediately to Chicago. Sefolosha was born in South Africa, but played in Switzerland the last few years. He is very versatile, a great athlete and actually shoots the 3 surprisingly well. His defensive ability is probably what the Bulls liked so much about him. He is 22 years old and one of the quickest risers in this season‘s draft. The Bulls traded up for this pick and really liked this kid with him adding athleticism and length to an up and coming Chicago squad.
The Utah Jazz selected Ronnie Brewer from the University of Arkansas with the 14th pick, however, an exchange between NBA Commissioner David Stern and ESPN commentator Dan Patrick stole some of the headlines before the pick. Stern asked Patrick when he was going to say something nice about any of the NBA draft picks, while Patrick rebutted saying that he always liked NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue better. Well, onto the pick. Brewer has a freakish wingspan and is a cutter/slasher type of ballplayer. His father was an NBA ballplayer as well, so he has a good pedigree.
Scott can be reached at scottx2000@yahoo.com with any comments or questions.
|
