2005 NBA Draft Recap: Our Report Card BY MATTHEW HATFIELD

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1 2005 NBA Draft Recap: Our Report Card BY MATTHEW HATFIELD Every year following the NFL and NBA Draft, we like to dish out our draft report card. This year we saw what dominated the landscape: underclassmen, Euros, and players who participated in the Illinois/North Carolina Natl. Championship. Through 24 picks, 6 guys from the Illinois-UNC title game were already selected, maybe even a 7 th had Illini guard Dee Brown not broken his foot. There were a total of 17 college seniors taken and nine players from the High School ranks. Though, it was the foreign players and underclassmen at the front of the stage once again. There were 14 international prospects drafted, many of which came in the second round. A total of 20 underclassmen were taken, but a number of guys who came out early went undrafted: John Gilchrist (Maryland), Shavlik Randolph (Duke), Randolph Morris (Kentucky) and numerous others. STAT OF THE DRAFT: Dick Vitale pointed it out on draft night. Of the 20 first round players picked in the first round the last three years, only one has had a lasting impact - Yao Ming. Of course, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker were steals in the late parts of the draft for San Antonio. It speaks volumes as to how many of these players are not panning out like the NBA front office people expect. Atlanta Hawks (13-69): By taking the unselfish, multi-talented Marvin Williams with the second overall pick in Tuesday s draft, Atlanta will now have to rid themselves of the contracts of Boris Diaw, a backup guard and maybe Al Harrington. He s been labeled as the best player in the draft by many experts, but can he excel in a basketball town like Atlanta? It may take a couple of years for growth and learning. As far as the team s second round pick - shooting guard Salim Stoudamire from Arizona - I love it if he can come in with a positive attitude. The lefty Stoudamire led the nation in three-point shooting at a wealthy 50%. That is why I m upgrading them from a B- to a B, despite the fact Cenk Akyol has no chance of solving their point guard needs. Grade: B Boston Celtics (45-37): For the second year in a row, Boston gets a grade-a from me. In 2004 the team took a chance on High Schooler Al Jefferson, someone that impressed me playing for Boo Williams USA team. Jefferson had a very productive rookie season and will only improve. Tony Allen (Okla. St.) and St. Joe s Delonte West filled in as backups during much of the season, playing well overall. Bringing in another High School player in Gerald Green - one my top ten prospects - not only is helpful anyway you look at it, but it s a genuine steal at #18. ESPN expert Jay Bilas calls Green an insane athlete. He also likes to fish, shoots good from long range, though is a little light. Boston, who s coming off their first division title since under relatively new HC Doc Rivers, added another good value pick with Ryan Gomes of Providence in

2 the second round before taking Orien Greene of La.-Lafayette (not real high on him - maybe wouldn t liked them to take a more established PG). My Grade: A Charlotte Bobcats (18-64): Charlotte, who lost a ton of close ball games, went with the Carolina connection in round one. Bernie Bickerstaff s Bobcats now welcome in Tar Heels Raymond Felton and Sean May to join the likes of Emeka Okafor - the National Champion before them. With Okafor and May - the last two Final Four MVP s - Charlotte has a twin towers combination they hope turns out half as good as Tim Duncan and David Robinson did in San Antonio. Also, this will help boost ticket sales, yet more importantly hopefully get them over the 20-win mark for From rim to rim, Felton is the very best PG out there. Can he play in a methodical type of game? We know this: his life will be a lot easier with May and Okafor down low. With May, I only question his defense on pick-and-rolls, not down in the low block. Has soft hands and will have good chemistry from the start with Felton. Another tremendous athlete is lacking on the Bobcats roster at the swingman spot. My Grade: A UNC Talk: When Sean May was picked 13 th overall by the Bobcats, it marked the 8 th father-son combo to be drafted in the first round. Ironically enough, both scored 26 points in their respective NCAA title games, earning Most Outstanding Player honors. One more nugget: coming into the draft, only four Tar Heels were taken in the first round the last nine years. Four went in the lotto Tues. Cleveland Cavaliers (42-40): We ll make this short and sweet. Coming into the draft, Dan Gilbert and co. made a deal with Milwaukee, sending Jiri Welsch to the Bucks for a 2006 second round selection. Didn t the Cavs give up a first rounder to Boston for the guy? A Dan Snyder type move by Mr. Gilbert. Can t criticize this team that much considering they did not have a first rounder and got someone in the second round that would ve been first round material had he come out a season ago. Seven-foot + center Martynas Andriuskevicius comes over from Orlando in a trade, which will be insurance shall Cleveland be unable to retain Zyrdunas Ilgauskas. I apologize if either one of those centers names were spelled incorrectly. My Grade: C Denver Nuggets (49-33): I was wondering what in the world Denver was doing when they drafted NC State s Julius Hodge (17.7PPG, 6RPG) and turned around to take strong point guard Jarrett Jack (15.5PPG, 4.5APG). Does UNC alum George Karl, the Nuggets coach, have a crush on ACC players? We thought so for a second. Jack was eventually traded to Portland for Linas Kleiza and IMG Academy project Ricky Sanchez, who has to get stronger (i.e. - get your behind in the weight room). Denver made a terrible mistake if you ask me, and the way they ended the season was pleasant to watch. They showed vs. San Antonio that they needed a prime-time shooter. Unless they grab one in the free-agent market, they did not accomplish what needed to be done. Hodge has

3 tourney experience and is capable of playing three positions. It ll be a C+ or B- move at best because he s got to improve his shooting and Francisco Garcia was there for the taking at 20 or 22 as was Salim Stoudamire. My Grade: C Detroit Pistons (54-28): Let me make it clear out of the gate: I like Jason Maxiell. He s going to make their defense even better. My problem is they could ve gotten this guy in the early-mid part of the second round. So a.) Detroit, which has some nice drafts in recent years, could ve used both of those second rounders and moved up to get Maxiell or b.) traded down with that first pick a few spots and hoped he was still on the board. Wasn t thrilled with the last two choices - a couple of guys that, lets face it, are NBDL bound. At least, neither is going to crack this team s lineup soon. Grade: C Golden State Warriors (34-48): How smart are the Golden State Warriors? Well, they ve been pretty bad overall over the last several years and will enter without the longest active playoff drought of 11 seasons. It soon will snap - MARK THAT DOWN. Ike Diogu was Golden State s choice at #9 overall, which was a whole lot better than the Lakers the very next pick. Diogu has quick feet, toughness, length, good reach and averaged nearly 23PPG and 10RPG in the PAC-10. He ll have the difficult task of guarding some good power forwards in the Western Conference. Not easy. Also not easy is passing up Chris Taft, once considered a lotto pick, in the second round. Am not trying to say he ll be a superstar by any stretch of the imagination, but this guy averaged 13.3PPG and 7.5RPG in the Big East having what we call a down year. Yes, Taft should ve stayed in school. Nobody is asking him to start right now, though he has time to progress. Meanwhile, right before Taft at #40 GSW took H.S. PG Monta Ellis, a young man that has promising skills if his knee doesn t buckle up and Mike Montgomery can help him with his dribble. My Grade: A- Houston Rockets (51-31): Coach Jeff Van Gundy ($100,000 poorer) and the Houston Rockets used their lone draft pick wisely. In fact, the only knock you can have on them is that they didn t trade down a few spots to get the guy and maybe acquire a future second round choice along the way. Always have the risk of seeing the player you want then go off the board, though. What do we like about Luther Head? He s another combo guard like Jon Barry, David Wesley and Bob Sura. What makes him potentially better in the long run than those guys? Not only can he flat out shoot the rock, but he can become a minute a night guy that averages around 15PPG. By doing that, it would qualify him as the Rockets third scorer, which is what they need - someone that ll score the basketball besides Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. My Grade: B+

4 Indiana Pacers (44-38): You ve got like what Indiana did to a degree. At #17 overall, New Mexico combo forward Danny Granger - the 2005 Mountain West Conference tournament MVP - fell into their lap. He s got a 7-1 wingspan, rebounds well, is not overly athletic, but averaged 19PPG and 9RPG transferring over from Bradley. It s a B move worst case scenario. Granger, who is the highest New Mexico draftee since Luc Longley, has to improve on passing. This kid has a good upbringing as his father owned a fork lift business at one time. The only thing keeping me from giving them an A- is they did not get shooter to replace Reggie Miller. Yes, free agency is always a possibility and you do have Stephen Jackson and Ron Artest coming back at the wing spots. What would ve been enormously daring is trading Artest and a second rounder for Garcia of Louisville. My Grade: B+ Los Angeles Clippers (37-45): The Clippers would ordinarily get an even worse grade than this had their intra-city rival not made a more suspect decision two picks before. Yaroslav Korolev, as far as I m concerned, is not as good as Orlando s Fran Vazquez. Korolev has to physical mature and is unselfish to a fault. The kid is talented and knows the English language which are pluses. The minuses are he s 18 years of age and won t contribute immediately. A shooter like Rashad McCants of No. Carolina or Texas A&M s Antoine Wright makes more sense to me. It also says something when two of the next three teams take those guys, whereas Charlotte wouldn t have gone Korolev at 13 if you paid them to. In the second round, Danny Ewing (15.3PPG, 4APG) can be so-so in the pros. Felt better options were there too (Ellis primarily). Grade: C- Los Angeles Lakers (34-48): A H.S. project soon to turn bust. Sounds harsh, yes, but come back in three years and tell me how wrong I am. Doubt you will because smart basketball people have told me this kid would have trouble starting at Connecticut next season. How s he - Andrew Bynum (doesn t turn 18 till October 27 th ) - going to see minutes at the pro level the next couple seasons then? No need for me to keep ranting on how bad the pick was. Lets address oddball move #2. Von Wafer from Florida State needs work and you want more consistency from him. I see him as an NBADL guy that can see marginal action in the league down the road. Why not go Roko Ukic, a Croatian that a few mock drafts had going to them in round one? Heck, Zaga PF Ronny Turiaf (2005 WCC POY) is by far a better player than the team s first rounder since he is an exceptional floor runner proven at the collegiate level. D for dummies passing on Sean May, Hakim Warrick, Danny Granger and even Wayne Simien. My Grade: D Memphis Grizzlies (45-37): Kudos to Jerry West, the best executive in all of basketball. He realizes they were the worst professional team in basketball when it comes to rebounding. To fix that, Memphis didn t get a backcourt player, which keeps them from an A-grade, but grabbed two capable guys that ll constantly clash the glass. Smart

5 move when you consider Stromile Swift is a free-agent and more than likely will not come back, and if he does you ve got to believe Lorenzen Wright will be gone. Hakim Warrick, nicknamed the helicopter, was a two-time All-Big East performer. Despite being limited offensively, Warrick can dunk, defend and rebound. His key is improving the foul shooting. They aren t sure about Warrick s position yet. What they are sure is Lawrence Roberts, the nephew of ESPN/ABC personality Robin Roberts, can be an angle/area player that poses problems for the opposition. Roberts would ve gone higher last year, watching his still gaudy numbers diminish to 16PPG and 11RPG. Grade: B Miami Heat (59-23): If he stays healthy, and that s a big if, Kansas Jayhawks high-low star Wayne Simien can split time at the four-spot with Udonis Haslem down the road. Simien is used to performing at a high level on the big stage, averaging a doubledouble in the ever competitive Big 12 while shooting 55%. Will he become a star? No. Will he turn out as a bust.? No. Can he contribute? Most definitely. My Grade: B Milwaukee Bucks (30-52): In the 1969 the Milwaukee Bucks took a guy by the name of Lew Alcindor as the #1 overall pick. Result: Hall-of-Famer. 25 years later Milwaukee chose Purdue small forward Glenn Robinson over Jason Kidd and Grant Hill - the co-rookies of the Year for the next season. Robinson became a perennial All-Star for the next 6-7 seasons before winning an NBA title in San Antonio this June. Where will Andrew Bogut rank among the all-time greats when he s done? Extremely hard to say right now, but my guess is somewhere in between and no where near 77 #1 choice Kent Benson. Bogut had an NCAA best 25 double-doubles this past year and can become a constant low-profile All-Star with better defensive post play and more mobility. He s not going to be the type of off-ball defender Ben Wallace is. That being said, he ll have a much better offensive game with two or three un-defendable moves. Turkey small forward Ersan Ilyasova has promise. When he develops will be interesting because some tell me he is in that Toni Kukoc mold. My Grade: B Minnesota Timberwolves (44-38): Does Minny need another potential headache player to go along with Latrell Sprewell? T-Wolves should ve probably gone with the guy former Utah coach Rick Majerus says is multi-faceted. That being High School stud Gerald Green. Rashad McCants has a great middle game, squares his hips as good as anyone according to the ESPN college hoops analyst Majerus, but getting him to be in sync with everyone else will be the major question mark. Then at 47 th overall you go the same position in Bracey Wright instead of taking foreign big man Marcin Gortat or Lawrence Roberts? A tad on the puzzling side. McCants will either be a consistent 20+ point scorer year in and year out, or someone that makes the intelligent Kevin McHale look bad. Other than being a lengthy shooter that led the Big Ten in scoring with 18.3 a contest, what else does Wright offer? We ll see. My Grade: C-

6 New Jersey Nets (42-40): New Jersey really had about three or four PF s on their wish list: Warrick, May and Diogu most notably. It came down to shooting guard where either Antoine Wright or Francisco Garcia was the pick. I personally like Garcia. However, Wright helped improve a dreadful Texas A&M team by leaps and bounds, averaging a more than solid 17.8PPG. By going 17 th to the Nets, Wright became the highest Aggie ever selected. New Jersey clearly needed an upgrade at the power forward spot to help ease the loss of Kenyon Martin to Denver from last off-season, preferably Joey Graham or Warrick would ve been my way to go (or SG). What Wright will do is knock down the occasional 20-foot jump shot. Yugoslavia center Mile Ilic could ve gone about ten picks higher so adequate pick. Since I m in a good mood today I ll say B- instead of C+. My Grade: B- New Orleans Hornets (18-64): Chris Paul became the third Demon Deacon to ever go in the top when New Orleans made him their first round draftee. Paul s the best scoring PG in the draft and gives any team instant offense, something New Orleans is in desperate need of since they averaged just 88.4PPG. I thought maybe swingman with the next pick, but Brandon Bass is a good alternative. Bass, a zone rebounder, really turned it on mid-year at LSU, average 17.3PPG and 9.1RPG. My Grade: B+ New York Knicks (33-49): New York, which was a dismal away from MSG last season, got two experienced players from the Pac-10 who will help them go into hostile buildings and have a chance to win. The Quentin Richardson-Kurt Thomas deal has now gone through, sending UCLA swingman Dijon Thompson to the Suns and Nate Robinson joining Richardson in New York. Robinson came to the University of Washington on a football scholarship and his dad was the Orange Bowl MVP many years back. This small guy defends and possesses deceptive athleticism. Also has the heart that can make him the next Earl Boykins in a quick second half spurt. As far as the Channing Frye pick goes, it s an excellent one by my estimation. Frye, who blocked 249 shots at Arizona (2 nd most in school history), has a good inside-outside touch to go along with more pluses than minuses. Is not frail like one analyst says, and one more intriguing nugget on him is his grandfather was a Tuskegee Airman. My Grade: B+ Orlando Magic (36-46): Orlando kind of surprised us with Fran Vazquez, a 22- year-old that did not attend U.S. college or High School. You can debate back and forth that the Magic needed a D up player (i.e. Warrick or Granger). He ll give them offensive punch at times as will combo guard Travis Diener (19.7PPG, 7APG), a smallish guard that is not a liability defensively in spite of durability questions. My Grade: C+

7 Philadelphia 76ers (43-39): Philly took one player in High School phenom Louis Williams, who assisted his team in an upset of prep powerhouse Oak Hill Academy. Williams weakness is ball handling skills so because of that and average range he won t see floor time in the 2005 season from what I gather. My Grade: C- Phoenix Suns (62-20): Because of Nate Robinson s heart and hustle, it seemed like an ideal fit for Phoenix in their run-and-gun style of offense. The Suns used him to get Kurt Thomas and Dijon Thompson. We re not going to include the Thomas move into the equation all that much. Reason being Ike Diogu and his PF friends were not there for the Suns, therefore making them having to get a small/wing player. Can t penalize them for that, but on the same token you ve got to consider another big. My Grade: C Portland Trail Blazers (27-55): I ll give Portland a semi-pass. The Blazers used the picks of Linas Kleiza and Ricky Sanchez to get Jarrett Jack, a strong physical point guard to spell Sebastian Telfair. Don t they already have Damon Stoudamire as a backup. Last time I checked they did which means he s now officially trade bait/ on the open market. Martell Webster is a Parade All-American who must be more aggressive due to the fact he does not have the athleticism of say a Gerald Green. My Grade: C+ Sacramento Kings (50-32): Absolutely love the steal Sacramento got in Francisco Garcia, a top-ten level player who they got in the ladder part of round one. Garcia is a shooting stud that will be an integral part on Sac s bench. Problem is they did not have a 2 nd rounder (aren t penalized though) and needed a muscle man at the power forward position. Nonetheless, a passing grade is well in order. My Grade: B- San Antonio Spurs (59-23): I hate to do this to the NBA Champs, but they could ve gotten a better player in my humblest of opinions. It s understandable, though that they wanted to get a European for the simple fact almost half the roster consists of non-american born players. My Grade: D+ Seattle Super Sonics (52-30): The Sonics needed a guard with their second pick. We correctly had Johan Petro going to them in the late first round and it was a pure guess to be honest. You re going to need more emotion and intensity from Petro if he s going to make any type of contribution by A lot of college programs would ve been estatic to get this young man and the same for Mickael Gelable. Steal there? Might

8 be, but Thompson of UCLA and a couple other players would have helped. As in charge of the Sonics, I would have traded Danny Forston and the second round choice for Travis Diener of Marquette -a guard with grit and shooting ability that can blend right in there. They didn t goof, but at the same time, they don t become better. My Grade: C+ Toronto Raptors (33-49): Couldn t agree more with Stephen A. Smith on being critical of GM Rob Babcock and the Raptors for their puzzling first selection. First off, Charlie Villanueva would be a hands down lotto pick in my mind had he come out next year, as a junior. Villanueva has skill, but lack the work ethic and ball handling skills in the high post. It was a huge surprise for the simple fact doesn t this team have Chris Bosh? Didn t they draft BYU center Rafael Araujo, average so far, last season? This marks the third season in a row they go PF/C and you traded away the franchise in Vince Carter. Mr. Babcock - what are you doing? It would make some sense if they use one of these rookies to acquire a more seasoned, athlete. Taking Roko Ukic in the second round keeps them from a D-. Joey Graham (17.7PPG, 6.2RPG) is an athletic player that has a good mid-range game. Decent is my description of the pick because he gets to the line and is an adequate at best offensive rebounder. Granger makes more sense here as does High School product Gerald Green, who I think would ve done more for them than Villanueva at #7. To pass him up twice is nutso. My Grade: D Utah Jazz (26-56): Utah s trade up to #3 to get Deron Williams is grade-a worthy as far as I m concerned. There isn t a better defensive point guard and playmaker, especially creating shots for other guys down the stretch, in this draft than him. He made that Illinois machine go in big games, most notably in the Elite Eight vs. Arizona. Williams, who became the highest Illinois pick in history, led the Big Ten in assists three different times. Utah will shoot up the charts in scoring offense (26 th ) and field goal % defense (21 st ) for sure. C.J. Miles - the team s choice at 34 - has said he wants to go to Texas. Although, it would not shock me to see Jerry Sloan use him by his second year if he gets in the weight room. Robert Whaley is solely a developmental piece that will require tons of work and time to make it in the NBA. My Grade: A- Washington Wizards (45-37): In my final mock draft, Andray Blatche was penciled in at 39 th overall. Washington was able to get a semi-bargain, selecting him with their lone pick of the draft at #49. The pound center needs more weight. My question is does this selection mean bye-bye Kwame Brown, a 2001 #1 overall pick? Maybe. My Grade: C+