Post-Lottery/ Pre-Draft Thoughts

At the bottom of the page there are the pre-lottery %'s and the official lottery draft order...

The NBA Draft Lottery was on Tuesday. There were no real surprises, as the final draft list looks very similar to the pre-lottery draft list. Portland (best chance @ #1) dropped to 4 (like I said, nothing out of the ordinary - things didn't go the Blazers' way. Except this one they can't blame on Darius Miles and/or marijuana). The Hawks moved down as well, to #5, only a 1 spot descent. The biggest surprise came when Team Canada got the #1 pick (5th best chance). Now they have a decision to make.

The Toronto Raptors do not have much. Their only players of any value are Charlie Villanueva and Chris Bosh. Both are extremely long athletes whose offensive games are lightyears ahead of their defensive games. Bosh is a long 4 or skinny 5; Villanueva is a good sized 4 or a slow 3. Last year, when Toronto made a big gamble by taking Villanueva in the draft, many pondered whether or not Raptor personell actually wanted the team to succeed or if they were just some practical jokesters. For one, they took him about 5 picks earlier than he was projected to get chosen. Second, he plays the same position as Bosh. It turns out that Villanueva and Bosh were able to play side by side fairly well, but needless to say Toronto should go for a different type of player this year. You should not see a 6'9" - 6'11", 230 - 240 lb finesse player who would rather play Russian Roulette than defense drafted this year.

Unfortunately for the Raptors, given the talent pool, the #1 overall should be used on a player that fits that very mold. Lamarcus Aldridge is a less talented Chris Bosh. Andrea Bargnani is Bosh's size with explicitly perimeter offensive skills (I don't mean his offensive skills are strictly perimeter oriented... I mean his only skill in basketball right now is his ability to play on the perimeter on offense). Tyrus Thomas, who would bring a defensive presence to the defensively challenged team, can only play the 4. In other words, it wouldn't make sense for the Raptors to use this #1 pick.

Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo has a fairly easy decision here being that there are seemingly unlimited options for him to explore in terms of trading the pick. Being that there are no sure-shot big men in the draft, he may look into acquiring Jamaal Magloire, the second best (and worst) Canadian in the NBA. And although Magloire cannot do much, the man can rebound.

Colangelo could also look to trade down and get either Brandon Roy, Marcus Williams, Randy Foye, Ronnie Brewer, or Mardy Collins; all of whom would be superlative additions to the team. Brandon Roy could become the best player in this year's draft (not that that's saying much) and at the least would add a strong defensive player to the squad. Marcus Williams would bring his outside shot and court awareness as he would gladly distribute the ball to Chris and Charlie. Randy Foye could play point guard, and would create for himself as well as both Bosh and Villanueva while making the Raptors one of the more fun teams in the league to watch (as Foye will get 2 steals and a few highlights per game). Brewer and Collins are both talented, lengthy distributers that would keep Charlie and Chris happy while getting theirs by slashing to the hoop.

***New: 5.28***
So it turns out that the Knicks traded this year's draft's #2 pick for Eddy Curry. Of course it is simple and boring to continue thinking about how bad the Knicks are, so I will take the alternate route (and I do actually believe what I am saying, not just disregarding logic and trying to put a method to Isiah's madness). They were the only team in the lottery to lose their pick, but it is not so bad. I would still, despite his knack for underachieving (seems to be his best quality, actually), have Eddy Curry rather than whoever will be taken at #2. Eddy Curry is still 6'11", 285 lbs. He is still athletic. He is still young; only 23 years old.
The guys at the top of the draft simply don't wow me that much. Also, with Channing Frye and David Lee, the Knicks would just be clogging up their roster with Tyrus Thomas, and certainly don't need "hey, what happened to our 5th defender? Oh, he's down at our end under the hoop waiting for the ball" Andrea Bargnani and Adam Morrison. The Knicks have enough of those as it is.
Belying my positive attitude toward the Knicks, I do have one reservation: if the Bulls get Lamarcus Aldridge 2nd, the trade may end up turning into a big, big mistake. Maybe... not definitely.
I am still excited for the Knicks in this draft though, as it is not very talented at the top compared to previous years, however it is deep as ever. If Isiah plays his cards right, he could get 2 rookies (with their 2 first round picks: 20 & 29) that could be useful contributers within a year, if not right off the bat. The draft is also Isiah-safe, as the athletes that he will undoubtedly pursue can all play ball and have good (enough) attitudes. Isiah (I wouldn't put anything past him, but it seems he) can't screw up. So knick fans, be thankful that Saer Sene and Hassan Adams (who Isiah has expressed interest in) do not have Stromile Swift disease, and do actually enjoy playing basketball and will help a team with their hard play.
***5.29***
Adam Morrison should be available for the Bobcats with the 3rd pick in the draft. So long as the Raptors take Aldridge, he definitely will be. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, it looks far from certain that the Raptors will go with Aldridge. In fact right now I'd say that Bargnani is the favorite to be numero uno. Let's assume, for your sake (sparing thousands of different situations), that Morrison is available. Under these conditions, crazy as this may sound: the Bobcats should be good next year. No, seriously. Adam Morrison would be the perfect addition to a team (when all healthy) whose, really if you think about it, only weakness is that it has no wing scorers. Emeka Okafor/Sean May/Primoz Brezec manning the 5/4, Bernard Robinson/Adam Morrison/Gerald Wallace at the 3/2, and Raymond Felton/Brevin Knight at the 1 is a pretty nice team. (When they play) Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor are both very good defenders (although for Gerald, not quite the superlative defender that his insane defensive stats suggest - 2.1 steals, 2.5 blocks). Brevin Knight is wanted for grand-theft-basketball, while Felton is no slouch himself. All these steals lead to fast breaks, which Felton and Wallace excel at, and Morrison could trail for the 3 or midrange J. If I were a Bobcats fan, I'd be excited. But I'm not. I'm a Knicks fan...

Chances @ #1
1. Portland 25.0%
2. Chicago* (from New York) 19.9%
3. Charlotte 13.8%
4. Atlanta 13.7%.
5. Toronto 8.8%
6. Minnesota 5.3%
7. Boston 5.3%
8. Houston 2.3%
9. Golden State 2.2%
10. Seattle 1.1%
11. Orlando 0.8%
12. New Orleans 0.7%
13. Philadelphia 0.6%
14. Utah 0.5%

Actual Order:
1. Toronto
2. Chicago* (From New York)
3. Charlotte
4. Portland
5. Atlanta
6. Minnesota
7. Boston
8. Houston
9. Golden State
10. Seattle
11. Orlando
12. New Orleans
13. Philadelphia
14. Utah