The Morning After
Well that was five hours of my life I won't ever get back. Yeah, thats right, I actually watched the entire draft, from start to finish. I know I'm not the only one to do so, so I'm not looking for a cookie or anything but man am I exhausted. I know there are a ton of people out there who live-blogged the thing (Simmons should have his annual running diary up sometime today) but I can't imagine what they managed to write about.
If anything this draft will probably be known for the non-stop trading that happened. Five of the top eight picks got traded and Portland was wheeling and dealing all night, they made 6 trades. Honestly teams just seemed to be trading for the sake of making a move. Take the T-Wolves. They drafted Brandon Roy at number 6 overall. Then they traded Roy to the Trail Blazers for Randy Foye, the 7th overall pick. Why didn't the Wolves just take Foye at #6? Why draft him and then trade him? Yeah they got some cash in their deal with the Blazers but I mean come on, lets be real here people. It was dumb to have these kids go up on stage with their team hat on, only everyone knows that the team on the hat has already traded them. Most be weird for them but I guess the millions of bones they are about to get would make it alright.
So yeah thats the kind of night it was. Here's a complete run down of all the trades that happened. I won't do winners or losers or anything like that but here's some random thoughts I jotted down while watching.
- Whats with all the dark suits? Lots of blacks and blues, very boring. Where's Jalen Rose and his red pinstripe suit when you need him?
- The Charlotte Bobcats could be something watch next year. Adding Adam Morrison, to go along with Emeka and Raymond Felton gives them a nice coreEmekauild around.
- PFeltontraded for Rodney Carney, who I laround.Phillyey projects to be another Andre Iguodala…except the 76ers already have Iguodala. The two guys are the same player. I like the player but the team makes no sense to me.
- Another team making a duplicate move, the Pacers. They drafted SF Shawne Williams when they already have Danny Granger at the same position. Now I'm not going to critique Larry Legend but this move confuses me, especially when they needed a PG and could have have Marcus Williams.
- Please, please, please say you were watching when the Knicks picked 20th. I made the mistake of earlier in the day telling FOTSN Senor Mexican that Isiah Thomas drafts well and in my defense the guy has drafted Channing Frye and Tracey McGrady, among others. Anyway yesterday Thomas took Renaldo Balkman from South Carolina. Greg Anthony was speechless, Stephen A. Smith was dubious and Jay Bilas said the guy might not have even been drafted had it not been for Thomas. Basically an awful pick. Good luck Knicks fans. Enjoy thinking about all the guys you could have had with the #2 pick next year as you watch Eddie Curry plod up and down the court.
- The trade of the day involving players already in the NBA was pretty interesting, Sebastian Telfair and Theo Ratliff got sent to the Celtics for Raef LaFrentz, Dan Dickau and the #7 pick which, through the T-Wolves trade, ended up being Brandon Roy. Delonte West and Telfair is a pretty quick back court for the Celtics but its also kinda small. I'd have kept the pick and stuck with Foye who's going to be better then Telfair IMO. By adding Dickau to Steve Blake Portland has a monopoly on white PGs not named Steve Nash. Now if they could swing a deal for Luke Ridenour..
- The Shane Battier and Rudy Gay trade is on hold till mid July because Battier is still a base year compensation player, etc. Its complicated but if it goes down it'll be in a couple weeks. Seems like the Rockets are taking the known short term over the potential long term. They know Battier is a solid all-around player who fits in well in the Rockets lineup. Ray may someday be a star but he can't help the Rockets next year like Battier can and next year the expectations are going to be huge for McGrady and Yao to make a real run.
- J.J. Redick didn't do that poorly for himself, landing in O-town. FOTSN TVA and MHW were both pissed at this pick but I don't think its that bad. Redick will get some open looks with Dwight Howard getting attention in the post and you know Redick can hit open shots. A backcourt of Redick and Jameer Nelson is very small though and could hurt defensively. I'd have taken Rodney Carney here myself, as would MHW.
- Hey Darius Washington, good idea leaving school, you didn't even get drafted. Smart move. Kevin Pittsnoggle didn't get drafted either, which suprises me.
Thats what I was thinking. How about the so-called experts out there? Marc Narducci at Foxsports.com breaks down all the trades . Interesting, he notes that Stromile Swift is a part of that Houston-Memphis deal for Battier and Gay. I hadn't seen that. Means the Rockets gave up on Swift pretty quickly. Now I like that trade less of Houston.
Peter Gammons Update
The best baseball writer in the Gammons, Peter Gammons, is out of surgery and listed in good cGammonsn . His wife released the following statement:
"Peter is resting comfortably after surgical repair of a brain aneurysm," his wife, Gloria, said in a statement. "We appreciate all of your good wishes and ask that you keep Peter in your thoughts and prayers. Please understand that we are asking for our privacy at this time as we focus on Peter's recovery."
Peter's first CD is to be released next week. Here's hoping he'll be healthy enough to tour. Also ESPN put up a little chat thingie where people can post their well-wishethingieubt Peter will actually read it but its nice to see how many people care about the guy. Again, best wishes on a speedy recovery to Gammons.
Feel good story of the day
We'll try Gammons this a more regular feature, giving you stories that don't involve Major League pitchers punching their wives in the face. There are actually good stories out there involving sports figures. And this one's a pretty good one. Matt LaChappa was the Padres second selection in theLaChappaaft . Tragically he suffered back-to-back heart attacks that have left him confined to a wheelchair. Despite not having been in a game in over 10 years the Padres have kept him on their minor league payroll:
“When he became a six-year free agent, I just renewed him for six more years,” said Priscilla Oppenheimer, the Padres' director of minor league operations. “Nobody's said that I shouldn't, so I keep doing it. To me, it was the right thing to do. If they gave me any static about it, I would have taken it.”
The baseball salary LaChappa draws is relatively insignificant – even by the Friars' modest standards – but the gesture is absolutely grand. It helps the disabled pitcher retain his insurance coverage and fulfills a promise Oppenheimer made when the Padres picked the El Capitan lefty with their No. 2 selection in the 1993 June draft.
&ld
quo;When he was drafted and he came into the office to sign, I've never seen such a troop of tribal people,” Oppenheimer said. “I think he was the first full-blooded American Indian ever drafted.”Oppenheimer assured LaChappa's parents then that they needn't worry about their teenage son because, “I'll take care of him.” Three years later, when LaChappa was stricken in the bullpen in Rancho Cucamonga, Oppenheimer proved even better than her word.
Narrowly interpreting a vague promise by then-CEO Larry Lucchino that LaChappa would “always be a Padre,” Oppenheimer kept the young player on the club payroll and placed pictures of him on her desk.
Pretty classy of the Padres to do this. Hats off to them.
Odds and Ends
This needs to stop. Evander Holyfield, at the age of 43, is going to fight again in August . This is just sad. The guy can't fight anymore. He got his ass kicked so badly last time the state of NY banned him but good old Texas, always willing to see a guy die, is up for the bout. This is why boxing needs to be regulated because you know Evander is going to end up in some awful mental state, if not dead, from being hit so many times. I agree completely with everything said here .