2008 NBA Draft Thoughts

I am always a sucker for the drafts, NFL, NBA, MLB, and especially the Fantasy ones. The drafts somehow have me captivated and glued to my television set each year, as I sit there and openly criticize everyone from the general managers to the ball boys. So, obviously I have plenty of opinions regarded last night’s NBA Draft and shall present some of them to you right now.

• It’s been absolutely amazing to watch the development of Russell Westbrook. He couldn’t even dunk before his senior year in high school and was relatively unknown before this past college basketball season. It’s safe to say that he made a huge leap in going from a major question mark to the fourth overall pick in the draft. He deserves some major props. 
• What was Minnesota thinking? They traded away a potential franchise player in O.J. Mayo (note: I said potential) for a bunch of average players, Mike Miller, Brian Cardinal, and Jason Collins, and the fifth overall pick Kevin Love. I think Love will make a decent NBA professional, but he is not a guy you can build a franchise around. He is more a role player who could average eight points and six rebounds for a playoff contender. I really don’t see him as a cornerstone of a franchise in the way I see Mayo as.
• If I was a Clippers fan, which I am thankfully not, than I wouldn’t be too excited with the recent pick of Eric Gordon. At 6′2″ or 6′3″, depending on who you ask, he’s not really big enough to start at the two, but he’s not a natural point guard or ballhandler either. There are many of these so-called “experts” out there who are calling him a Gilbert Arenas or a Ben Gordon type of player, but he actually reminds me of the Draft Bust Juan Dixon from Maryland. Much like Gordon, Dixon was an undersized shooting guard at 6′3″ who excelled in college, but he couldn’t cut it in the pros because he lacked a definite position. Same can be said for Gordon. I’m not saying that he’ll be a total bust, but I really don’t seem being another Agent Zero.
• Davon Jefferson is one of the dumbest people on the entire planet! He declared for the draft after just one season at USC, but he wasn’t even drafted on Thursday night. I can understand leaving early for the pros if you’re going to be a definite first round pick, where you will have a guaranteed contract, but Jefferson had always been projected as a second round pick at the very best. I have no idea what his thought process was.
• Both the Lakers and Clippers got pretty good value for their second round picks. Contrary to what Justin says, DeAndre Jordan, the seven footer from Texas A&M, is still a pretty good selection for a second round pick. A month ago, many mock drafts, including mine, had Jordan going somewhere in the lottery. Whether he has lottery game is debatable but he is certainly a great value for the second round. In the second round, the Lakers 6′4″ guard Joe Crawford from the University of Kentucky. Last year he averaged 17.9 points per game and scored thirty-five against Marquette in the NCAA Tournament so there is little question that he can put the ball in the hole. At this point, he may not even make the roster but his resume doesn’t make him your typical 58th pick.