Reflections on the 2011 NBA Draft

The only thing worse than the actual NBA draft is the constant breakdown of it prior and after. It blows my mind how in every draft, people can jump the gun and say great pick and terrible pick. The truth is, no one really knows.

There are only two things that can be evaluated in the immediate aftermath of the NBA draft:

1.)Where was the player projected to be drafted?
- If you take a player likely to have fallen into the second round with a lottery pick, you probably deserve some criticism, just as if a "top-ten worthy pick" drops to your team in the late first round and you nab him, your team will be given praise.

2.) Did it fill your team’s needs?
- Drafting the best available player is not always the best option. When your team has 3 point guards, it doesn’t make sense to draft a fourth, even if he is the best player.

These two points are common sense, but why are all these other factors brought in. How can the average fan gauge what kind of impact a player from Europe or Africa will have in the NBA. I can’t believe how many fans were clamoring for the likes of Bismack Biyombo and Jonas Valanciunas without ever having seen them play. Relying strictly on the words of writers and analysts, fans are criticizing their teams’ picks without ever having seen these guys play.

Its OK to be mad if your team didn’t select your favorite NCAA player, but hey give the new draftee some time (maybe a game??).

Knicks fans booed Iman Shumpert, mostly because he wasn’t the sexy pick at 17th overall. Although many believe that Shumpert could have went as late as the second round, the most important factor in determining a good draft pick is how he benefits his team. The Knicks felt they needed a defensive guard and not another 3-4 player, like fan-favorite Chris Singleton (In case you forgot Knick fans, you already have Carmelo Anthony).

My overall favorite is the giving of an "A" grade to the team with the number 1 and 4 picks. Why even bother with draft grades. The Cavs picked the consensus #1 and then selected a big guy out of Texas. Congratulations your team sucked so badly it had such high picks, therefore you deserve an A. A three-year old could have watched ESPN and picked Kyrie Irving.

And then it gets worse as the media grades the other team’s selections based basically off if they matched their own personal mock drafts. If the team went in another direction in which you thought they would’ve, it’s an instant F from that author.

Garbage

In the situation the NBA is currently in, with no certainty of when the season will begin, if ever (not to mention we still have free agency), how can you criticize a team over 1-2 picks in an incredibly anonymous draft. The answer is, you can’t. This isn’t football, where a player in any round can make an impact on the roster; this is the NBA where likely ¾ of these guys wont be playing in 6 years.

One thing that is certainly disappointing to those who like the college game was the amount of foreigners taken in the draft. Fans saw Big East standouts and March Madness heroes continue to get overlooked and exchange fans heard names had never heard of and couldn’t even pronounce.

Does this mark the beginning of the end of NCAA sports generating superstars? No, of course not. But it does serve as a wakeup call to American athletes that maybe the USA isn’t the only country that can contribute basketball talent, and our kids need to step up their game.

In the end though, this was a boring draft. I can’t remember being less enthused and having less knowledge of the players. But this doesn’t mean this won’t be an important draft. We have to wait and see how many Hall of Famers come out of this crop and how many busts are made. The strength of this draft won’t be determined in 2011. Instead let’s wait until 2021.

The Mets' Decision Should be clear

The New York Mets had been stuck in a place where no team likes to be: uncertainty. After surging to a .500 record at 34-34, the team suddenly had hope again. The Mets thought they might be able to make the playoffs, a feat that would be truly remarkable considering all that has gone wrong for the franchise in recent years. The Mets have seen corner infielders, Ike Davis and David Wright miss considerable time with no exact date set for their return. Ace of the staff Johan Santana has missed the entire season and August is his earliest return time. Yet despite a pitching staff featuring names like Gee, Capuano, and Dickey, the Mets were right there. Or at least they though they were.

Now having lost three of their last four, the Metropolitans find themselves 10 ½ games behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East. More bad news comes as potential MVP candidate Jose Reyes has recently announced that he won’t engage in contract negotiations until the end of the season.

Although I say bad news, this actually may be a blessing in disguise for the Mets. It now seems much more obvious that the Mets should be sellers and look to rebuild this franchise. With the owner Fred Wilpon in financial troubles, and the team realistically out of contention, the first thing that needs to be done is trade Jose Reyes. This will be a difficult task for GM Sandy Alderson who will know he would be trading away a fan favorite and the main attraction to come see the Mets play. However, if Alderson can land talented youth in return, the fans would quickly get over the loss of Reyes.

Mets fans need to realize that this team is going nowhere this season. It’s been great to see new manager Terry Collins lead this bunch of players to a respectable position in the standings, but that doesn’t mean this team is a title contender. With this roster, the Mets are at best a slightly above .500 team. This means they will fall short of the playoffs even with the eventual addition of Wright, Davis, and Santana. Alderson should be trying to dump as many overpriced and expiring contracts as he can. This includes getting whatever he can for Carlos Beltran, trying to get rid of closer K-Rod, and perhaps somehow enticing some crazy team to take Jason Bay away from New York (wow he is awful).

Ticket sales are a concern right now, and the Mets might be hyping themselves up to be more then they are just to keep the fans interested. However, when these trades are made, and they will come eventually, fans will cast aside the 2011 NY Mets season. This is unfortunate, but the fans would be willing to cast aside a team with Reyes, Beltran, and K-Rod if the team wasn’t performing. A .500 record is a good season, due to the expectations on the team this year. If you go back to 2008 though, a .500 record would be far from satisfactory. The best thing the Mets can do is throw in the towel on a chance to make the playoffs, trade some of their veteran talent, acquire youth, and have the remaining team continue to play hard. \

Sure there will be no “Jose, Jose, Jose.¤.¤.” chants next season. But if promising trades are made, at least there may be a winning buzz at Citi Field in 2012.

Dont Be So Quick to Name Rory the Next Tiger

Rory McIlroy was sensational this past weekend at Congressional, where he took home the US Open Championship. Winning by 8 strokes and setting the lowest score in US Open history at –16, he is definitely worthy of much praise. But to call him the next Tiger Woods? Let’s relax here.

As brilliantly as McIlroy played this past weekend and how quickly he recovered from a meltdown at the Masters earlier this year, many quickly jumped the gun and named Rory the next Tiger. Heck, some even said he would surpass Tiger and catch Jack Nicklaus’s mark of 18 major titles.

This is all after he had won ONE major. Yes he was great, yes he was dominant, and yes he is still very young. But it is very difficult to win majors. At the Masters this year, he held the lead going into the final round, until he shot an 80 and finished well off the lead. It is hard to win majors, hence why they are called MAJORS. Players like Woods and Nicklaus are once in a generation players.

And Woods’ reign surely isn’t over. He will return healed from his current leg injury either later this year or next season and you can bet that this talk of a new golf king will be enough motivation to get Tiger going. During Tiger’s absence, no golfer has really stepped up and emerged as the next in line. Now with McIlroy seizing the moment, many have deemed him the likely successor. Surely Tiger will not hand the throne over gracefully, however.

Although McIlroy appears to be fed up with all the comparison to golf’s historic players, the media continues to ask ridiculous questions. Some are implying that he could create his own “Rory Slam” by winning the Open Championship, the PGA, and next year’s Masters. How about we wait and see if he can win the next one before asking if he will win the next three. You don’t talk Triple Crown after a horse wins the Kentucky Derby and you don’t need to talk Grand Slam until McIlroy proves himself in more than one major.

The kid is talented, very talented. He will surely win more majors, But let’s not rush to dub him the next great thing and instead let us let his career unfold.

And remember, in the distance, a Tiger lurks.

Why the Hype Surrounding Kolb

During this NFL offseason of uncertainty, many things remain up for questioning. However, one thing that many scouts and analysts seem to be deemed as a lock is the rise of Kevin Kolb.

Kevin Kolb?

You know, the guy who backed up Donovan McNabb for three years and showed a decent ability when needed. Then, when he was given the starting job last year, he quickly lost it to Michael Vick. Although this was partially due to the concussion he suffered in Week 1 and the amazing play of Vick, Kolb is far from a shoe-in to becoming an elite NFL QB. Yet over and over again, Kolb seems to be the guy many teams without quarterbacks continue to focus on.

This actually probably says more about the QB desperation many teams are feeling. It’s hard to compete in the NFL without a solid quarterback. Just look at all the playoff teams from last season, almost all of which had franchise-caliber gunslingers. Having an elite qb is almost required to being an elite team (Exception: 2000-2001 Ravens).

But why is Kevin Kolb the guy? Im not sure. Maybe the media is just desperate for something to write in the lockout times. Although Kolb certainly has some ability, there isn’t much that seperates him from the rest of nobody quarterbacks out there: Jake Delhomme, Alex Smith, Vince Young, etc.

One thing is for certain, Kolb will get traded, and some team will likely overpay for him. However, it is far from a lock that Kolb will be a huge success in the NFL. Let him play a full season in the NFL before we declare him on the path to becoming a top QB. He still has a long, long way to go.

Ricky Rubio is Coming

Why should I care about Ricky Rubio?

The answer simply is: I shouldn’t. The 5th overall pick in the 2009 draft has recently decided he will leave Barcelona and join the Timberwolves.

Finally!

But Ricky hasn’t exactly panned out to be what all the scouts had envisioned him to be in 2009. Sure, he’s only age 20, but he managed only 6.5 points last season with Barcelona and couldn’t even keep his starting spot. Don’t even try to argue; The Spanish league is far inferior to the NBA. Analysts will tell you that the smaller court and game-style that doesn’t revolve around guard play has hurt Rubio, but I’m sorry Ricky: GOOD is GOOD, and quite frankly you stink.

An ESPN poll had more than half of the fans thinking the Timberwolves could contend for a title with a lineup consisting of Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Rubio, and consensus #2 pick Derrick Williams. I guess this just shows you that average sports fan is a moron. Unless Williams turns out to be the next Jordan, I’m positive the T’Wolves will still be miserable. After all they are the Timberwolves, a perenially bad team. Even when they had talents like Garnett, they never amounted to anything.

And now a reserve point guard in Spain is going to change that?

No.


Saying the Timberwolves will be good is like saying it is a good idea to draft 2 point guards with the #5 and #6 pick (Rubio/Flynn). Good job Minnesota, no wonder you are terrible. And when one turns out to be lousy (Flynn) and the other hasn’t even played in the USA(Rubio), that’s a recipe for the worst record in the league.

So don’t get too excited Minnesota. The Timberwolves will still stink. You have a better hope of Brett Favre coming back to QB one more season for the Vikings.

The NBA's Top 5

Over the past week, a number of conversations have broken out about the best NBA players. It’s amazing how in two weeks, many people have altered their top 5 completely, and some have even been ludicrous enough to take Lebron James off this list. What? The 2-time MVP, who lead the pathetic 2007 Cavaliers to the NBA finals, and is just as dominant on the defensive side as he is offensively?? You can’t be serious.
Yes I agree: Lebron is a jerk, and that may even be an understatement. His “decision” to go to Miami, his fake coughs with D-Wade, and his inability to understand why people hate him is more then frustrating. Add that to his consistent failure to deliver in the clutch and a putrid performance in the 2011 NBA Finals and now you have given people a reason to forget his talent.

James is an unbelievable athlete and can seemingly score at will. He averaged 26.7 pts, 7.5 rebounds, and 7 assists in 2010-2011, and oh yeah, he shared the court with 2 other superstars in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. He helped lead the Heat all the way to the NBA Finals, putting up big numbers against Boston and Chicago along the way. Throw in the fact that he not only shut down the “MVP” Derrick Rose at the end of numerous games in the Eastern Conference Finals, James made Rose look more like Malik Rose (my apologies to the former Knick).

So James shuts down Rose, his team advances further, but Rose is in the Top 5, and LeBron is not? That’s moronic. What terrible memory people have. Maybe we should be giving Coach Carlisle and the Mavericks credit for completely taking LeBron out of his rhythm and doing what so few have been able to do: make James look ordinary.

Obviously, LeBron is in my Top 5, but who joins him. I’ve always been a Dirk fan,
and his run this playoffs, including a remarkable Game 1 against the Thunder, flu-like symptoms in the Finals, and a Finals MVP award has to make Dirk a part of my list. Dirk has somehow been flying under the radar for years, despite everyone knowing that the guy has game. Now that the monkey is off his back and the championship is his, he will never be dissed again. Although he is not the Top 10 all-time player his coach thinks he is, he is definitely a stud and at times the true definition of being unguardable.

My man the Black Mamba deserves to be on this list. I don’t care of you think he’s past his prime, and that the Lakers were a huge disappointment against Dallas this season, Kobe is the best shot-maker in the game. Oh and not to mention he has won 5 titles, including 2 and 3 years ago!!! People are talking as if the Lakers dynasty is over and the team needs to be broken up. Prior to this season, they had been to the Finals for three years in a row, and Kobe had lead them strongly. A clutch player with a tremendous work ethic, it’s hard not to like Bryant. Yes he made mistakes when he was younger, but for those not concerned with off the court drama and are just interested in Kobe Doin Work, Bryant cannot be passed up on this list. His career alone warrants at least another year on this list.

Next on my list is the Durantula, the Backpack kid, Kevin Durant.
It would be foolish to leave the NBA scoring champion of the past two seasons off this list. Durant led the young Thunder to the Western Conference Finals and battled with the Mavericks before eventually losing. Everytime he takes the court, Portland fans think about the possibilities of what could have been had they chose KD over the injury-prone Greg Oden. Durant can score the basketball better then anyone else, and he has to be included on this list.

This list cannot be complete without the only true dominant center in the NBA, and that is Dwight Howard. Superman is much more then just a former slam dunk champion, the man is a beast. His ability to rebound and his defensive intensity/shot blocking ability make him a feared player.
Although recently, Dwight seems to be drinking some of the LeBron/D-Wade immaturity juices and is creating a scene in Orlando, his dominance cannot be overlooked. In 2009 he led the Magic to a NBA Finals appearance and he has only continued to improve his play.
Players just falling short of the list include Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade, and Derrick Rose.

I was very impressed by CP3’s ability to lead a mediocre Hornets team to battle the defending champion Laker team in this year’s playoffs. However, I soon became less impressed as even JJ Barea had his way with the Lakers in the next round of the playoffs. D-Wade is just way too into himself and never looks to even be trying on the court. Yes, he’s incredibly talented, but I’d still take LeBron of D-Wade and I can’t take two players from the same team. That wouldn’t be fair. D-Rose lost all points from me for getting completely destroyed late in games by LBJ and Miami and looked borderline pathetic. I know his supporting cast isn’t the greatest, but it’s called passing the ball. Why was Russell Westbrook crucified for taking too many shots when surely Rose’s were much worse in the playoffs. D Rose got rejected by James numerous times and it was getting close to embarrassing. Sorry Derrick, you just miss the cut.