Insidehoops Article: Optimistic Knicks

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2007 NBA Draft

The 2007 NBA draft was one of the most top-heavy drafts in the history of professional basketball. At this point in time, even the most conservative of NBA fans would have no problem with saying that both #1 draft choice Greg Oden and #2 draft choice Kevin Durant are future all-stars. It is a staunch pessimist that will not admit that at least one of the two will be in the Hall of Fame -- first ballot, no less. While there is not much debate surrounding who should have gone first and second in the draft, the remaining draftees do not exactly leave much to be desired either. Contrary to the opinion of many NBA analysts and reporters (I'm looking at you, Stephen A.), the 2007 NBA Draft was so good that the drop off in talent from the second to third pick was as prominent as Greg Oden's brow, yet seemingly a quarter of the players in the second round will likely go on to have long and fruitful careers in the NBA.

When talking about the 2007 NBA Draft, it is important to note that in reality, it is the 2007 NBA Draft plus the 2006 Draft's high school early entries, thanks to Commissioner Stern and Co.'s new rule. This effected the draft in two ways: it left little doubt as to whom the top two selections would be, and it pushed about a half-dozen would-be first rounders into the second round.

Talent in the Second Round:

Marcus Williams (#33 San Antonio, SG Arizona So.) -- The first example of a player that likely would have gone in the first round if not for 2006's high school class. Williams built up a reputation for being an annoyance, if not cancer, in the Wildcats' locker room during his stay at the University of Arizona. Lute Olson showed little remorse when news broke that his second year guard was foregoing his final two years at school in favor of the NBA Draft, something which speaks volumes about what a problem he was in college. In terms of ability, the combo-guard is capable of playing a significant role for any team. He has the talent to crack the rotation for the defending champion San Antonio Spurs team which owns his rights. However, as of now, it is very unlikely that Marcus Williams will play any sort of role with the Spurs next season or in the foreseeable future. It comes as a bit of a surprise that the Spurs organization that seems to put so much stock into selflessness and character would bother taking Williams, who was rumored to threaten his teammates to not play defense if they did not pass him the ball. Again, that is just a rumor, though it is all but a fact that he will not be missed in the Wildcats' locker room next season.

Nick Fazekas (#34 Dallas, PF/C Nevada Sr.) -- All scouting reports on Fazekas are pretty much the same. He is slow and awkward, though he can shoot with the best of them and has a nose for the ball. He is a hard-working character guy who has found a way to succeed at every level of basketball he has ever played on, despite all of the doubts that have followed him along the way. To reiterate just how little credit he has been given in his basketball career, the Colorado native was not even offered a scholarship by the University of Colorado nor Colorado State University, neither of which are exactly basketball powerhouses. Fazekas is the first to admit that he is not going to get the best of his opponents by out-running and jumping them. With a sweet stroke that is accurate to the NBA three point line, toughness, smarts, and rebounding ability, there is no reason why the seven-footer can not find his niche in the NBA and be productive the way he has everywhere else he has played.

It is cute that Fazekas landed on the same team as another tall white shooter named Dirk Nowitzki, though Fazekas's game is really nothing like Dirk's. If you are watching a Mavs game and you see Fazekas catch the ball on the right elbow, drive left to the hoop, evade a defender with a nifty spin move, and take a fadeaway 12 footer, the next camera shot will inevitably be of Avery Johnson losing his mind. Nick is also not afraid to battle on the inside the way seven footers are supposed to.

Glen Davis (#35 Seattle, traded to Boston, PF LSU Jr.) -- Nimble-footed, soft-handed, tough, and charismatic. Undersized and overweight. Will the positives outweigh (no pun intended) the negatives for "Big Baby" and allow him to not only stay in the league, but get minutes on a good team?

Davis is a natural leader. He has a great personality, something that the NBA loves (and something that he shares with second-round success poster child, Gilbert Arenas), and can do nothing but help the atmosphere in his team's locker room. He has good experience; he led his team to the Final Four as a sophomore, and stuck around for his junior season, when he averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds per game.

Glen Davis has battled issues with his weight, though he has worked hard to lose oodles of the "baby fat" and has kept it off. He will never be what you would describe as a svelte person, though he is as graceful as a ballerina on the hardwood and he has very good basketball instincts. I believe that Glen Davis will be able to make an impact in the NBA. I was behind Providence's "undersized" forward Ryan Gomes, the eventual 50th pick of the 2005 draft. Ryan has had a nice run thus far in his NBA career. I was in a similar situation with Boston College's Craig Smith before last year's draft, where he was chosen in the second round, and by the end of the year he was being talked about as one of the major steals of his draft class. I am confident that Glen Davis will be the third consecutive "undersized" forward chosen in the second round that will show general managers why I thought that he deserved to be chosen in the first round.

Derrick Byars (#42 Portland, traded to Philly, G/F Vanderbilt Sr.) -- I labeled Derrick Byars as my official steal of the draft when I first saw him play early in the season, before he was talked about as a first rounder, let alone a top twenty pick. I saw his name creep up draft boards to a more appropriate spot for a player with an NBA-more-than-ready-body, sweet stroke, court awareness, and toughness. Wouldn't you know, come draft night, he dropped all the way to #42 -- 22 spots below where our mock draft had him. Now, he is officially my steal of the 2007 NBA Draft.

Byars has a reputation for occasionally coasting through games, though from what I have seen, he is nothing but a competitor. He may have dropped a bit simply because he did not get too much exposure playing for Vanderbilt during the year, though he did show extremely well in the NCAAs. He is extremely versatile and can help any NBA team, especially in the toughness department and on the offensive end of the floor. Look at his season highs to see just how much he can do for a team -- 32 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, 5 three pointers (3 times). I am not totally confident that the 76ers are the team for him, though if things do not work out there, he should not have much trouble finding another team to play for.

Reyshawn Terry (#44 Orlando, traded to Dallas, G/F UNC Sr.) -- Physically, the Tarheel is NBA ready. Besides ball handling, his skill set is fairly advanced. In fact, his defense and shooting touch are both great assets to his team. Perhaps the reason that he was chosen midway through the second round is that he was overshadowed on an insanely talented UNC roster, or that he did not show the type of assertiveness that piques the interest of NBA scouts and GMs. The knock on Terry is that he not aggressive enough and is an unwilling option on offense. The criticism is legitimate, and it is for this reason that it is unlikely that Terry will emerge as a 35 minute, 18 point per game player. That being said, at a long 6'8," 230 pounds, Terry is a stellar perimeter defender and also is adept at knocking down the outside shot, not to mention there is not much opposing teams can do when he gets the ball after filling the wing on the break. In other words, he is exactly the type of roll player that nearly every winning team in the NBA has (see Bruce Bowen, Raja Bell, James Posey/Eddie Jones). Terry is not on the same level as these players, yet, though with proper coaching and some inspiration he could approach them sooner rather than later.

Demetris Nichols (#53 Portland, traded to New York, SF Syracuse Sr.) -- Nichols was a late addition to the Zach Randolph trade, which, by the way, gave the Knicks possibly the best offensive front-line as well as probably the worst defensive front-line in the NBA. Anyway, Syracuse's leading scorer last season is one of the best shooters in the draft. He is not very athletic, though he is a very smart player and can flat out put the ball in the hoop. The soft-spoken Nichols does a very good job of blending in on offense, something which hurt his stock a bit. He rarely, if ever, creates his own shot, and relies on his teammates to get him the ball when he is open. That being said, he has had no problem with getting himself open and knocking down shots. The sniper averaged just under 19 points per game during his senior season while converting on a very impressive 42% of his three point attempts. Isiah said that he would like to get a shooter, and Nichols certainly fits the bill. He will need to show well in the summer league to make the squad, though he does fill a void for the Knicks, and he is a guy who could stick around in the league for a long time.

Herbert Hill (#55 Utah Jazz, traded to Philly, PF Providence Sr.) -- Herbert Hill was an absolute stud his senior year at Providence. It was obvious that he had potential during his junior year at school, though he leaped to a whole new level for his senior year. Posting averages of 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks, Hill scored double figure points in every game of his senior season except one. Hill finished the season on an absolute tear, averaging 25 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 blocks per game over his last five collegiate games. All but one of those games were losses for the Friars, though Herbert went down fighting without a doubt.

Hill has a slight build, though he is lanky and has very good timing on defense. He goes to work inside on a nightly basis and has an improving post game that is more than adequate by NBA standards. He is a very hard worker that is interested in improving -- his point, rebound, and block production literally doubled from his junior to senior season.

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All of the players mentioned have one or two flaws that scouts and GMs believed were so significant that the proven, experienced collegians did not warrant a first round pick. Two players that could have been on this list are Wisconsin's Alando Tucker and Jared Dudley of Boston College. Alando, who did not have the handle or outside shot that many scouts wanted to see, narrowly escaped the second round. Dudley from Boston College, someone who was expected to go in the second round because of his lack of athleticism, was chosen by the Bobcats at 22.

Random Thoughts & Observations:

- The Hawks significantly improved on draft night. Al Horford is a rock inside and Acie Law IV is a leader with a lot of experience. It was a lot of fun watching Acie come up huge at the end of close games time and time again last season. Next season the Hawks may actually be in a position to win a few meaningful games for the first time in... a while.

- There was some talk that Yi Jianlian and his agent Dan Fegan were hoping, if not praying, that he is off the board by pick #6. Well, he wasn't, and when Commissioner Stern announced that "...in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Milwaukee Bucks select Yi Jianlian," Yi did not exactly hide his discontent. His facial expression was very telling.

- Jay Bilas made a few noteworthy statements throughout the night. "Kevin Durant will lead the league in scoring one day," and "Greg Oden was way more advanced as a freshman than Tim Duncan." He also described Joakim Noah's outfit as looking like his brother's 1974 prom tux. Noah explained, quite simply, "I had to rep NYC and keep it funky." Mission accomplished, Joakim.

- After Rachel Nichols repeatedly told us that Michael Jordan was tired of telling Bobcats fans to be patient, they chose Brandan Wright with the 8th pick. This made little sense, since Wright is much more of a project than an immediate impact player. It turned out that Wright was just a piece to a trade which sent Jason Richardson to Charlotte and Wright to Golden State. Jason Richardson was an integral part to the Warriors' playoff run last season, and the Bobcats have more than enough cap room to take on his large salary. MJ said that he wanted to win now, and Richardson will help them do so. Will they make the playoffs next season? I give them a 25% chance. They could use a lot more depth.

- The Blazers organization talked about what a great person Greg Oden is, though everyone (Commish Stern claimed that over 200 countries were watching the draft) saw it first hand when Oden told Stu Scott that before he went to shake Stern's hand, "I was just putting on hand sanitizer, I didn't want to get Commissioner Stern sick!" Oden had a cold.

- Jeff Green gave a very good interview. When confronted with the criticism that he is too passive on the offense, he replied, "I'm playing with Kevin Durant, I can still pass." Green will be a very, very good NBA player. He did not get to show everything he is capable of in college. For example, would you have ever guess that the guy has a 38" vertical?

- Fran Fraschilla described Yi Jianlian as being "hip-hop" and "50 Cent"... I thought it was funny.

- Stu Scott tells Brandan Wright that he is the only guy in the draft who can't beat his boss. Brandan Wright responds, "I don't think Jordan wants any right now." News breaks that Brandan Wright has been traded to Golden State. Hmm....

- Yesterday Nate Robinson and Fred Jones became the first Dunk Contest Champion teammates since 'Nique and Spud. The Knicks might be able to make a little money off selling tickets to watch practices this year... don't forget about David Lee, the 2001 McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Contest champion, either.

- It was a great and eventful draft. In a few years this one should be looked at as one of the best ever, no question.