I’m sure that’s not a word but it sure was fun to write. There weren’t many more exciting days on the NBA calendar than the draft this year with amount of talent coming into the league. A lot can be also be said for the amount of rumours that were flying around leading up towards draft day.
While we knew that Oden and Durant would go one/two, the Hawks at three (new uniforms and all) were hard to predict because, well, they can be dumb at times. Selecting Al Horford and then grabbing Acie Law IV at 11 was probably the best they could’ve made out from their early picks.
The real shockers came in at the five and six slots though. First, Boston traded the number five pick of the draft, along with Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West to Seattle for Ray Allen and a pick that would turn out to be Glen “Big Baby” Davis in the second round. Seattle then used the fifth selection to take Jeff Green out of Georgetown. I think Danny Ainge proved himself as a better G.M. than he has a reputation of being (awful).
Next, already knowing that Yi doesn’t particularly want to play in a city where he would be one of seven Chinese people, Milwaukee selected him. Well, good luck working out that contract guys; should be a ton of fun, most of it lost in translation.
In a trade that didn’t involve any of the day’s picks, Isiah Thomas made a great move bringing Zach Randolph to the Knicks from Portland for Channing Frye and Stevie Franchise. Coming along to MSG were also Dan Dickau and Fred Jones in the deal. I don’t see how this deal makes sense for Portland, especially considering the front-court they could have had with Greg Oden and Randolph.