2009 NBA DRAFT

And with the 1st overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers select.....

I know what you're thinking. They will screw it up. They always do. In their 25 years in existence, they have been in the draft lottery 20 times!! Wow. Amazing. Check it out. It's true.

Can the Clippers really get this one wrong though? The name to call is Blake Griffin. I've only seen him play a couple of times, but the kid is a beast. There are all sorts of comparisons going around. Karl Malone with the jumper (yet). Anthony Mason, but better. A Buck Williams workhorse. An AC Green with an offensive game. All are very good for a kid whose never played a game in the NBA yet.

Make no bones about it - not even the Clippers can screw this one up. Can they? There is no choice between Rose or Beasley. There is no Oden or Durant debate. The pick is Griffin.

If they pick Griffin - then the trades will have to begin. You can't have Zach, Camby, Kaman, and Griffin. I don't care how Captain Dork Dunleavy can spin that one. It won't work. What would he say? "We wanted to go really big to slow the pace down so we're going to play Zach at the 2 tonight."

Already today I saw a Camby or Kaman to the Bulls for Hinrich. So, once they take Griffin, one of the 3 bigs will have to go.

BUT.....what if Oklahoma City comes-a-callin'? "Hi, it's Sam Presti here. We have the #3 pick this year and four #1's in the next two seasons. Can we make a deal?"

Oklahoma would obviously want their #1 son. (Griffin is from Oklahoma and played college ball there!). The Clippers would have to at least listen.

Now, that being said, I actually think the #3 pick for Oklahoma should be Thabeet from Connecticut. They say he could be a Mutombo like player - which is exactly what Hijack City needs - a big shot-blocking presence. That's what they have missed having to play Collison and Krstic in the middle.

So, look at the Clippers roster right now.

G - Baron Davis, Eric Gordon
F - Al Thornton, Zach Randolph
C - Camby/Kaman/Jordan

So, let's say the Clippers draft Griffin and trade Kaman for Hinrich

G - Baron, Gordon
F - Thornton, Zach
C - Camby
Bench - Hinrich. Griffin, Jordan

can that work? it looks good on paper doesn't it? (well, in my books, Baron de beuf isn't running my team but...)

that doesn't even count your specialists like Novak or Mardy Collins or those types...

I'm not saying the Clippers are making the playoffs or anything but drafting Griffin and then making a smart trade of one of their big guys would do them worlds of good.

Personally, I'd move Randolph and his punk attitude so I could start Griffin right away...

So, it all makes sense, with the 1st pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the LA Clippers select.....

Ricky Rubio.

And then...

Well, I just returned from Disneyland. I could have gone to a the Lakers vs. Rockets at the Staples Centre, but a ticket in the upper bowl, endzone, was over $100 bucks. Ridiculous. Plus, there just isn't enough time in the day when you're at the Happiest Place on Earth and you have a 5 year old! Anyways....

What has happened since my last post? Well, the Cavs continue their dominance. They are crushing the hapless Hawks. It must be kind of disappointing for Hawks fans because they know they have no chance - yet they still have to play the games. I bet sometimes the players wish they could just call it a day. OK, OK, we're playing the Cavs, no thanks, we'll pass, they win.

The Nuggets are up 3-0 on the Mavs. Surprising? No, not really. I didn't really think the Mavs were that good to begin with...but what is surprising is that the Nuggets are better than I thought they were. Can one player (Billups) really mean that much to a team? Apparently. They are a very deep team with many ways to beat you. They have 4 legitimate scoring threats (Carmelo, Chauncey, Nene, and JR Smith), they have 2 shut-down defenders in Jones and K-Mart and they have the Energizer Bunny Birdman in Chris Andersen...there is a lot to like there. They will be tough to beat.

The Lakers and Rockets are now tied 2-2 - this after the Rockets beat LA without Yao today. Why is it that the Rockets get better once their so-called superstars fall off?? T-Mac goes down and the Rockets gel. Yao goes down and Brooks, Scola, and Battier save the day?? In the end though, I think the Lakers are just too good. And besides, the NBA wants a Lebron vs. Kobe final - so that's what they will get. On a side note - why is Andrew Bynum not playing? Did he forget? Does Phil know he's back? I find this a bit odd.

The Celtics and Magic are now tied 2-2. Does it matter? Can either of these teams beat the Cavs? Unlikely. I think the Magic would fare much better with Jameer Nelson running the show instead of 'jack'em if you got it' Rafer Alston. He's shooting 40 and 32 in the playoffs...right on his averages. Go check out Rajon Rondo's playoff stats - amazing. 29.6 tendex (Woo would be proud of me for getting a Tendex reference in). Rajon is averaging 18ppg, 11apg, and 9rpg with 2.7 steals. Holy Moly!

I want to comment on two former players, no, Superstars who continue to amaze me with their current employment.

Isiah Thomas and Michael Jordan.

First off, I believe MJ was the greatest player of all-time. No doubt about it. He transcended the game. He made basketball a passion of mine. He was fun to watch. He made me believe that you never give up. The guy, on the court, was amazing. But what is his off-the-court legacy??

MJ "retired" to play baseball. I think we all know by now that he didn't quit to play baseball - he was forced to take a leave of absense due to gambling problems. We can't say that because it would ruin his reputation.

Jordan's father was murdered in 1993 by two teenagers. Was this payback for unpaid gambling debts? Who knows...

Why did Jordan come back as a Wizard? Was this really necessary? What did he have to prove? It was a disaster.

So, MJ joins the Wizards front office and convinces them to draft Kwame Brown 1st overall. Ouch.

So, MJ is the best player of all-time - does that necessarily mean he's a good GM?? No.

Yet he continues to get those types of jobs. He failed miserably with the Wizards - yet - for some reason (because of his name) - the Bobcats say come on in and run our show. And to this day, the Bobcats still suck.

And Isiah Thomas is the same way. I don't need to rant on about his Knicks performance - which may just have been the worst GM'ing ever seen!! So, why on earth does Florida International offer this guy a coaching job????? When does your name not mean anything anymore?? I'm going to assume that most college kids don't get paid (most of the good ones probably do) so why would kids wanting to find a University to play at pick FIU? Because Isiah Thomas is the coach? Has he made anyone better as a coach?? If he can't write you a cheque - why pick that school? Just so you can say you played for Isiah Thomas? Is that worth anything these days? Is that worth bragging about? Why is Isiah Thomas getting this opportunity? What has he done in the past to say to FIU that he should be coach?? Did he go to FIU? No. So what gives? Why does he continue to get jobs?? Because of who he is. Simple as that. No other reason. Face it, this is how the NBA old-boys club works. It still shocks me. Oh well.

I emailed Chris Pershick the other day hoping to get his year-end Basketball story. No luck. I was kind of hoping to get his take on the 08/09 JBL season. I have started my Excel spreadsheet for next season already. I think I will protect Jameer Nelson, Eric Gordon, Dwayne Wade, and maybe Francisco Garcia. So, my draft focus will be forwards - and lots of them. I'd also like to get my hands on this Blake Griffin kid - he looks like the real deal. Whoever gets the #1 pick will have themselves a solid player for years to come. But who gets that pick? We find out at the end of the month.

Until next time....enjoy the offseason. Free agency is just around the corner!

Playoff Update & Random Thoughts

The Bulls & Celtics head to a game 7 tonight. This series has been a classic (so they say) with 4 of the 6 games going into overtime! The Baby Bulls are growing up fast and are certainly giving the defending champs a big test here without KG. Should we be surprised though? The Hawks took the Celtics to 7 games last season WITH Garnett! What has this series taught us?? Rondo is a major stud. Rose is on the verge of stardom. And the Bulls aren't that far away from being really good (considering they are playing without Luol Deng).

The Magic disposed of the 76ers in 6 games. Ho-hum. D12 put up 24-16 and 3 blocks per game. Ho-hum. IF the Celtics lose to the Bulls...are the Magic good enough to challenge the Cavs for East supremacy? NO. The Cavaliers will represent the East in the NBA finals. Lock it up.

The Cavs destroyed the Pistons in 4 games - beating them by double digits every night. They are ready for their makeover.

Could this off-season actually be a busy one with numerous teams in need of makeovers?

The Pistons will certainly look to make changes. Rasheed and Iverson are FA's and I can't see them coming back.

The Hornets just showed that they are no where near where they need to be to contend out West. Chris Paul and David West got man-handled by the Nuggets in the 1st round - including a 58 point loss. The Hornets were 49-33 in the regular season - but they looked horrible in this series. Byron Scott will surely be canned because this team quit on him. They need to add a SG and some depth. Rasual Butler scares nobody and Peja/Chandler look like they're ready for the retirement home. And the bench saviour of James Posey is not enough. Tell me who else is on their bench?? You can't. Hilton Armstrong. Sean Marks, Morris Peterson, and Antonio Daniels? Come on! Did they really expect to beat anyone with that bench?? So, my question would be is this the worst 49 win team ever??

What about the Utah Jazz. The Lakers took them out 4-1. Boozer is unhappy. AK47 is overpaid and under-utilized. What about Korver? Okur? Paul Millsap needs an extension. Can Boozer and Millsap co-exist? Numerous changes could happen here too. Boozer to Detroit is one prominent rumor.

Oh how the mighty Spurs have fallen. They got really old once the season ended. Even Timmy D couldn't help them this time. Tony Parker looks amazing and Timmy can handle being 2nd fiddle - but without Manu and a deeper supporting cast, this team appears doomed. The Spurs have always been good because of their system...but at some point, I think, you have to at least have SOME talent on your roster. Plus, having some athletes helps in todays NBA. Does the 3-head monster of Matt Bonner, Kurt Thomas, Fabricio Oberto really scare any opposing PG's from driving the lane? Bruce Bowen got old like light-switch fast. Whammo. He's old. Will they look to get younger?

And what did the Blazers learn from their 1st round exit?? That Roy and Aldridge need a 3rd option. Roy averaged 27ppg and LA scored 20ppg - no one else averaged over 10ppg. That's a problem. They might have too much depth and need to package them up to get a 3rd option.

So, you have all these playoff teams that need minor/major upgrades. That doesn't even address the 14 other teams that missed the playoffs and who you know will be looking for change.

The Clippers will have to do something with Kaman/Zach/Camby - cause that doesn't work.

The Warriors have 9 swingmen on their roster and have told Jamal Crawford to opt out.

There are plenty of possibilities this season as numerous teams want to make a change to get better and then numerous teams want to make a change so they can clear cap space for the 2010 sweepstakes.

I look forward to seeing what happens this summer with player movement and seeing what happens at the draft.

I think my next post will deal with 2 former superstars who continue to get 'breaks' just because of who they are....stay tuned.