The NBA draft Chronicle (Part 3): The Analysis

It was finally upon us. The day had arrived when NBA commissioner David Stern took center stage at Newark, New Jersey calling out names of collegiate and International players who were all in eager anticipation. The green room was set. The lucky few who were invited stormed up the stage to shake hands with the commissioner, while others waited in eager anticipation at their homes with their loved ones, waiting for a call from their agents. The GMs and their teams were ready to not only draft but also to know when to draft and when to trade. The dust of the finals had settled down, and the day when new dreams are realised was here.

PICKS 1-15

1.New Orleans Hornets: ANTHONY DAVIS (PF, Kentucky)

NEW ORLEANS, LA – JUNE 29: Team owner Tom Benson of the New Orleans Hornets presents Austin Rivers, the 10th overall pick in the NBA draft his jersey for the New Orleans Hornets at the New Orleans Arena on June 29, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

This pick was set in stone. It was from the time Davis declared for the draft. He was “numero uno” on the draft of every team and when ping-pong ball luck went the Hornets’ way, it meant it was New Orleans with the lucky no. 1 pick. Even before the draft,the pictures were out. No one doubted either Davis’s abilities or New Orleans’ intention on drafting him at No.1. He is already a beast on the the defensive end and his impact on the other end will be up to scratch in due time.

2. Charlotte Bobcats: MICHAEL KIDD-GILCHRIST (SF, Kentucky)

NBA draft had an aura of uncertainty now that Hornets had picked Anthony Davis. Wildcats made history after the 2nd pick of MKG. It was the 1st time in the common draft era (since ’66) that players from the same school were selected with the top two picks.

This pick though baffled me. Kidd-Gilchrist is solid I will give you that but he was neither the best fit nor the best player available. It was Thomas Robinson.

The Cats were abysmal to say the least last season. They traded for Ben Gordon before the draft while also having Gerald Henderson who was, at the least average. One thing they really lacked was a post presence and Robison was perfect here. MKG is a solid defender but lacks a mid-range game. The coach reasoned that he had character of a leader and came from a winning program. I really don’t see how it translated to the NBA. Just ask Kemba Walker.

3. Washington Wizards: BRADLEY BEAL(SG, Florida)

This was another pick which we all guessed right. MKG’s professional approach and work ethic may have beem more suited but they had other needs. They traded for Nene, Okafor and Ariza in recent months. So the biggest hole remained at SG.

Beal will hopefully provide John Wall with much needed help. Replacing the erratic Nick Young and Jordan Crawford. He has been compared to Ray Allen with his smooth shooting mechanics. It will be interesting to see his progress after posting not so impressive numbers in college.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers: DION WAITERS (SG, Syracuse)

Waiters is not bad at all, but at no.4? Well, this draft was getting more and more bizarre. A 25 mpg, bench player just got selected at #4. He was slated as a late in most mocks at first. He took his stock quite a notch,but such height of his stock was unexpected and quite a shock.

The last time an Oragemen wing was selected at no. 4 was Was Johnson by the T-Wolves. That didn’t quite work out either. For both his and Cavs sake, I hope Waiters proves me wrong.

5. Sacramento Kings: Thomas Robinson (PF, Kansas)

NEWARK, NJ – JUNE 28: Thomas Robinson (R) of the Kansas Jayhawks greets NBA Commissioner David Stern (L) after he was selected number five overall by the Sacramento Kings during the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft at Prudential Center on June 28, 2012 in Newark, New Jersey. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

So the guy slated to go No 2 in most mock drafts falls to Sacramento at #5. Christmas comes early to Sactown.

Robinson is an athletic, energetic, face-up 4. Alonside Cousins, the Kings form a formidable frontcourt. Two huge competitors.

Hope this starts off good times for the Kings, with the only knock for me is someone between Cousins and Robinson needs to learn to knock in mid range jumpers soon.

At No 5 this was a steal.

6. Portland Trailblazers: Damian Lillard (PG, Weber)

Centre and Point Guard was the expected overhaul of the Blazers. Most expected them to pick up Drummond at 6 and later comeback to draft a PG at 11. The Blazers were in love with Lillard however. Lillard averaged nearly 25 points per game in his fourth year at Weber State; Portland obviously are looking to make a splash with him

I love this pick by Portland, the pick-and-roll with him and LaMarcus Aldridge is going to be dangerous.

But did he warranty being picked before Drummond? Only time will tell

7. Golden State Warriors: Harrison Barnes (F/G, UNC)

So the most highly recruited talent out of high school in the year 2010, who had his name affixed as the No 1 pick for the 2011 draft stays in school one more year only to see his draft stock fall further.

The pedestal on which his performance was measured was unreal. Scouts thought of him as the next Kobe but he certainly wasn’t . He certainly passes as a good defender, has good range but struggles to create his own shot and that is where he has come up short regarding his early calling to be a prodigious superstar.

8. Toronto Raptors: Terrence Ross (SF, Washington)

If the draft wasn’t already becoming unpredictable, the selection of Ross as high as #8 took most by surprise. This pick seems like a big reach by Collangelo and the Raptors.

The wing spots still had Lamb and Rivers on the board. If they had wanted to go big, Drummond was there as well. Pairing Drummond with Jonas Valanciunas would been real nasty. Something must have impressed Callengelo and Casey for them to pick Ross so high. What that is, remains to be seen. NBA Drafts are generally crap shoots and you generally get to know if a decision was right or not until 2-3 years of seeing the player grow.

9. Detroit Pistons: Andre Drummond (C, UCONN)

If he had performed as everyone had expected of him, he would have been the lock-on for the No 1 pick this year. He is physically a beast with great size and athleticism. So why didn’t he go higher? He just didn’t have the win it all attitude, lost focus a lot of times and has a questionable motor and a woeful free throw shooting percentage.

His pairing with Greg Monroe in the Detroit front court will be intriguing to say the least, with both supposedly Centres. Who creates room for whom remains to be seen. If Drummond can realise his potential, he has a great ceiling but the if is a big “IF”. However at No 9 the rewards outweigh the cons of Andre Drummond.

10. New Orleans Hornets: Austin Rivers (SG, Duke)

NEW ORLEANS, LA – JUNE 29: Team owner Tom Benson of the New Orleans Hornets presents Austin Rivers, the 10th overall pick in the NBA draft his jersey for the New Orleans Hornets at the New Orleans Arena on June 29, 2012 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

This was the pick that caused a lot of hyperbole last year. David Stern rejected a proposed trade between the Rockets, Lakers and the Hornets for “basketball reasons”. He later sanctioned the Chris Paul trade to the Clippers in exchange mainly for Eric Gordon and this pick from the Timberwolves. Bill Simmons claimed this pick to be worthy of MVP in his pre-season predictions last season. But with Rubio and Love at the helm, Minnesota was not so bad they had been in previous years.

This pick was also worth raising eyebrows. Austin Rivers plays at a position that New Orleans shouldn’t have any worry about with Eric Gordon in their line-up. They also had stated that they would match any offers for Gordon who is currently a Restricted Free Agent. They had a chance to pick up a floor manager in Marshall or a front court mate for Davis in Jones or Leonard.

Rivers needs to answer question both about his attitude and for being a scorer with efficiency.

11. Portland Trailblazers: Meyers Leonard (C, Illinois)

The Blazers went PG first, C second. Leonard was the best Centre available and Portland used their two picks quite diligently to have good overhaul of Leonard and Lillard in their pockets.

Leonard basically measured himself into the lottery. One of the most popular sayings in the NBA is “You Can’t Teach Height”. Leonard is a legitimate 7 footer measuring at 7′ 1.25″ with shoes and a 7′ 3″ wingspan. It will be interesting to see what kind of a future lies ahead of him especially as the Blazers have already proposed a 14mil/yr offer sheet to Roy Hibbert.

12. Rockets: Jeremy Lamb (SG, UCONN)

The first of 3 picks the Rockets had in the teens was used to pick up Jeremy Lamb. Lamb is a solid SG prospect and helped his game by staying an extra year in school.

However, when your team needs an SG as your coach doesn’t like a certain guy called Kevin Martin and you get him only for your head coach to say “I wish we could have made a trade to really help the team”?? Now that’s one way to knock the spirits out of your first pick.

13. Phoenix Suns: Kendall Marshall (PG, UNC)

Steve Nash’s association with the Suns is over. If the Suns fail to bring in Goran Dragic or any veteran PG for that matter, Kendall Marshall will have the unenviable task of filling the shoes the great maestro.

Marshall is good floor leader but how he leads a team at the big level remains to be seen.

14. Milwaukee Bucks: John Henson (F/C, UNC)

Ersan Illyasova had a breakout season last year. Too bad he is already a free agent and likely to get huge offers for his services. I however,don’t think the Bucks would miss him so much if Henson pans out the way he is expected to. A great post presence with the highest Block in college basketball last season. Henson at #14 is a real steal.

15. Philadelphia 76ers: Maurice(Mo) Harkless (SF, St Johns)

NEWARK, NJ – JUNE 28: Moe Harkless (R) of St. John

The first thing that we knew about Harkless was that he preferred to be known as Maurice Harkless rather than Mo Harkless. Philly already has a plethora of wingmen, so why did they need another? Well, Maurice Harkless can SHOOT which they lack in their wings.

That’s it for now . Picks 16-30 will be analysed on the next part of the NBA 2012 Draft Chronicles. Till then.