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Draft has depth but not much star power
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Draft has depth but not much star power
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Tuesday, June 28, 2005
It has been called the deepest NBA draft in many years.
It has been deemed an otherwise average crop of newcomers devoid of a franchise centerpiece to sign, allowing teams to exhale and wait for the NBA championship parades.
Today's draft has a mixture of youth and foreign flavor, and unlike recent drafts that included Yao Ming and LeBron James, there isn't a sure No. 1 pick. So, do the Milwaukee Bucks select Utah center Andrew Bogut, the most fundamentally sound big man in the draft? If parading him around elementary schools in Milwaukee - in a suit even - is an indication, Bogut will be a Buck.
Who goes next? Marvin Williams to Atlanta, where the Hawks won the fewest games in the NBA last season? Williams was on a North Carolina team so talented that the freshman forward didn't even start for the NCAA champion. He played a supporting role to other Carolina blue chippers who also are expected to go in the first round: Raymond Felton, Sean May and Rashad McCants.
And what do the Portland Trail Blazers do at No. 3? Take the best point guard prospect, Wake Forest's Chris Paul, or trade the pick to a team eager to move up? The draft is loaded with point guards, and some NBA general managers swear a quality floor leader is the only way to save a team.
The past 10 NBA drafts, however, only have produced one top-flight class of point guards. In 1999, Steve Francis, Baron Davis and Andre Miller were drafted in the top 10.
So, do teams draft for need, or do they pick the best player on the board? And how will the player pan out?
"The draft is very tough to tell," Kings director of player personnel Jerry Reynolds said. "Think of if you are trying to find the best 58 or so teaching candidates, lawyers and salesmen - any profession - and try to get it right. Some get it right, some don't."
One thing is certain. This will be the last preps-to-pros draft for a while.
With the new collective bargaining agreement, athletes will have to be 19 - or one year removed from their high school graduating class - to be eligible for the NBA draft.
Gerald Green and Martell Webster are the top two high school prospects today. Green is a 6-foot-7 shooting guard from Texas who has wowed scouts and coaches with his athletic ability. Webster of Seattle is an inch taller and a fine shooter with an NBA build.
The high school phenomenon began in 1995, when Kevin Garnett became the first prep in 10 seasons to make the jump, kicking down the door for several others, including some real hits such as Kobe Bryant and some real misses such as Jonathan Bender.
Will there be teams trading up or down? The Charlotte Bobcats, an expansion franchise last season, have the Nos. 5 and 13 picks. Teams have called to inquire about trade possibilities.
And trade rumors run rampant this time of year, especially on the Internet. They ruffled the feathers of Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, who told the Associated Press last week, "Every trade I've heard has been completely inaccurate."
The Lakers have the 10th pick in the first round and two in the second.
The draft also will include Europeans, many of them more fundamentally skilled than American players. In short, they grow up dribbling, shooting and boxing out, while Americans try to reach the rim and dribble between their legs.
In 2003, a record nine international prospects were taken in the first round. Last June, there were eight.
It has, as NBA Commissioner David Stern said during the NBA Finals, become "a global game. We're reaching all corners."
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Draft has depth but not much star power
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