The bright lights, the surprise picks, the trades…yeah, the draft definitely didn’t disappoint.
Jay Z’s mini castle in the better part of Brooklyn, N.Y., managed to steal away the 2014 NBA Draft from Radio City Music Hall, and though Hova is no longer able to reap the benefits of NBA ownership, his Barclays Center stole the show before the draft took center stage.
With V.I.P. passes being flashed, cameras being configured and fans prepped to boast their team’s colors, the 2014 NBA Draft was flashy and extravagant.
“Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,” two fans dressed as kangaroos and holding an Australian flag belted across the Barclays Center. The Dante Exum fan club has officially started operation in case you were wondering.
“Oy, oy, oy,” was the response from the Toronto Raptors’ faithful across from the fans from down under. Perhaps they were more pleased by the selection of three Canadian-born players in the first round than by the Raptors’ selection of Bruno Caboclo, a player of whom they probably have never heard, with the No. 20 pick.
But fans will be fans, and there was plenty to cheer for in the cases of some and plenty to scoff at in the cases of many others.
Cleveland Cavaliers fans had to sigh with relief after Andrew Wiggins’ name was the first one called. Cleveland’s draft history has not been pristine, but who can argue with picking Wiggins? It’s very unlikely he suffers the same fate as Anthony Bennett.
Jabari Parker was the second name off the board, and his comments after the draft have to bring a smile to Bucks fans — at least while the team is still in Milwaukee. Parker essentially said he would like to stay a Buck for his entire career. To be fair, many players say that and end up pulling a LeBron. So don’t fall head over heels yet, Milwaukee. Parker will be good, but anything can happen.
Personally, I wasn’t surprised by the Philadelphia 76ers picking Joel Embiid with the No. 3 pick. Philly let Nerlens Noel sit all of last year in order for him to bounce back completely next year. Why wouldn’t they do the same thing with Embiid if it means pairing them together? If everything works out, Philly could have the best frontcourt duo since Tim Duncan and David Robinson.
I think it’s hard for a team to make seven picks and not immediately improve its roster, but the Sixers did that. Embiid could be legendary. He could also be the next Sam Bowie. They picked up Dario Saric in exchange for Elfrid Payton, which baffled me because Saric just signed a three-year deal to remain in Turkey. My guess was Philly was going to move up to take either Wiggins or Parker, but it just didn’t happen. We’ll see how they move on from here because the free-agent class is not bountiful.
Perhaps the first shock of the draft was the Orlando Magic taking Aaron Gordon at No. 4 when he was projected to be taken in the latter of the lottery picks. Many Orlando fans were disgruntled, because they thought Exum was going to pair up with Victor Oladipo. That’s why tying your hopes and dreams to a mock draft can ruin you.
Honestly, I think Orlando did very well in the draft. Rob Hennigan was called a fool for taking the Los Angeles Lakers’ offer for Dwight Howard. He was called a fool for shipping J.J. Redick to Milwaukee for an unproven small forward named Tobias Harris.
Don’t be so quick to assume Hennigan messed up this time. Gordon has drawn comparisons to Blake Griffin, and though it’s way too early to compare them, Gordon does play phenomenal interior defense, and he runs the floor like a gazelle.
The Magic now have one of the youngest defensive-minded teams in the NBA. Payton can’t shoot — now — but shooting is the easiest thing to teach. You’d rather have him play great perimeter defense and get to the basket in transition. Those two guys, combined with Oladipo, will make playing defense easier for Nikola Vucevic and Harris (neither of whom is an elite defender).
Watch out for Orlando.
It’s hard not to love what the Boston Celtics did, as well. Getting Marcus Smart may signify a Rajon Rondo trade is about to transpire, but also picking up James Young was big. Young could flourish next to Smart. Again, this is assuming Rondo and Jeff Green are indeed on their way out. Either way, Boston added young, talented players with high ceilings.
The New York Knicks got the steal of the draft in Cleanthony Early. Early reminds me of Kawhi Leonard with his on-ball defense and ability to make things happen in transition. He was supposed to be a top-20 pick, and Phil Jackson nabbed him at No. 34. New York also got Thanasis Antetokounmpo, and though they play the same position, the Knicks are preparing for the possible departure of both Iman Shumpert and Carmelo Anthony.
It’s hard to see what Flip Saunders is trying to do in Minnesota. Kevin Love is basically out the door, and the Timberwolves drafted two unproven players. Zach LaVine has a lot of promise, but he’s a guy without a position, and no one knows how he’ll transition to the next level. He’s a freak athlete, and that’s fine in college. But don’t expect him to take over the NBA like he did UCLA. LaVine could be good, but it could take a while. Glen Robinson III is another guy who is unproven. He was up and down at Michigan. We’ll see how many minutes he gets, because there’s going to be a logjam at the two and three positions.
Many teams got players who I believe can help right away. One of them is Doug McDermott for the Chicago Bulls. Don’t be surprised if he’s the starting small forward for Chicago next year. The Bulls need points.
The Los Angeles Lakers added a potential franchise power forward in Julius Randle – and a guy who very easily could have been a top-three pick. And the San Antonio Spurs did what they do best. They acquired skilled players with late draft picks.
The results of the draft didn’t exactly mirror many “expert” mock drafts, but a lot of teams did get better. Overall, the 2014 Draft had everything you could expect. There were trades and surprising picks.
Knicks fans booed and stared at Isiah Thomas as if they were secretly hoping they’d unlock a Superman-like heat vision to burn through the man who traded away the Knicks’ future.
There was an abundance of Sixers fans peacocking their red, white and blue jerseys to support their team and their country (the World Cup is still going on, you guys).
This wasn’t the best draft ever — I don’t think. And only time will tell who turns into what. My best guess, however, is that it will ultimately belong with the draft classes from 1984, 1996 and 2003 as one of the best ever.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
