2007 NBA Draft Analysis - Eastern Conference

by user Wyanlambert85

Atlanta - With the third pick Atlanta selected Al Horford who brings toughness to a very soft frontline. Horford will be able to make a difference on the offensive and defensive end of the floor due to his athleticism, IQ, and overall package of skills. Horford definitely has a bright future in the league and is one of few draftees who can come into the league and be a force. Atlanta had the 11th pick as well and selected Acie Law. Coming into the draft Atlanta needed to improve in rebounding and point guard play. Horford will addressed the first area of concern and the Hawks are hoping Law can fulfill that one spot for them. Without a doubt Acie Law has a deep desire to win and has a great ability to hit big shots during pressure situations. At Texas A&M he displayed patience and good decision making late in ball games. Areas of concern though include Law's ability to make plays for others and leading the running game in transition. Nonetheless I believe that Billy Knight for once made the most of his draft picks by selecting two proven winners who are battle tested.

Boston - Before I touch on the picks and deal to get Ray Allen, I must say that it absolutely sickens me when GM's fall into the pressures of this win now mentality in cities like Boston, New York, LA and by doing so never ever ever makes decisions to actually get them to a championship level. Rather they go forth with getting names on the roster or overpaid older guys just to appease fans, when in reality they are just prolonging the rebuilding period and bringing more losing seasons in the future. Ok now to the moves Boston made. Ray Allen is no doubt a very talented player, but analyze the situation before getting all excited. First, he is 32 years old and coming off of two ankle surgeries...something tells me his skills are beginning to decline. Secondly, his contract runs through 2010 and pays him$16 million in 08, 17.3 million in 09, and 18.8 million in 10. The Celtics are basically locked into a starting lineup of some PG, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, AL Jefferson (who will be resigned for big bucks next season), and some center. Ray and Paul will consume roughly 36-39 million of cap space until 2010 and then Al Jefferson will command roughly 10-11 million so right there puts Boston at the cap. Therefore, Boston is never going to win a championship until Ray and Paul's contracts run out or Ainge pulls a fast one and gets some team (call the Knicks in a year) to take one of those guys. As for the there two second round picks (Glen Davis & Gabe Pruitt)...both are great value selections and be able to be solid role players for the Celtics for some years. Pruitt could eventually take over the starting point job in a few years. Doesn't really matter though because he will be leading a Celtics team that will not do more than lose in the playoffs by the second round.

Charlotte - The Bobcats under Michael Jordan's leadership went into the draft hoping to get a proven vet to the squad and it didn't look like that was gonna happen after the Bobcats picked Brandan Wright at number 8, but MJ got Golden State to deal Jason Richardson for B Wright. I really like this move because Jason Richardson shoot a good percentage for a 2-guard and is a legitimate threat to get 30 points every night. Raymond Felton, J-Rich, and Gerald Wallace running the floor is scary good. Brandan Wright has a good skill set, but he is still extremely young and not shown more than flashes of that talent. The Bobcats have some decent bigs in Emeka Okafor, Sean May, Primo Brezec, and Walter Hermann. Getting Jared Dudley in the second round was a great get. Dudley brings hustle plays and a great intensity every time he steps on the floor. Very capable backup and potential replacement at the small forward spot. Hey Adam Morrison, sorry bud but I don't think you gonna get much PT.

Chicago - The Bulls had the ninth pick and needed to get someone in the frontcourt badly, especially a low-post scorer. Well they got someone who plays the frontcourt, but I am not sure if he plays offense. Seriously, Noah is capable of running in transition and scoring. He also can demand some respect albeit a very little amount, but he is an upgrade from this past season. What bugs a lot of people is that at the ninth spot typically you would hope to get a more talented player, but hey the Bulls are a team very close to getting to the NBA Finals and Noah brings intensity, rebounds, a defensive presence, and the ability to get up and down the floor to a team that can use all of that to reach that next level. If I was John Paxson, I would have been trying to get a feel for what I could get for Ben Gordon because I believe that some of the guards available at 9 could have stepped in that spot and if Gordon could of gotten a post who can score then that would have made sense. In the second round the Bulls got Aaron Gray who can play the 5 and has a couple good moves on the blocks. Jameson Curry is the other pick in the second round and he is someone who can put up points quick for the Bulls. He can add a good scoring punch off the bench, if he continues to develop.

Cleveland - Nothing occurred for them during the draft. Memo to Shannon Brown: time to step up and show us what you got!

Detroit - Watching the Pistons struggle against the Cavs the one thing that was clear to me was how horrible the interior defense has gotten for Detroit. There bigs are slow to recover to help, poor in there rotations, and did anyone see Tayshaun literally run out of the way when Bron drove...wow Tay man up. At pick 15 and 27 the talent pool of bigs did not warrant a selection...except for Sean Williams, but he did have some red flags, so I can excuse them for passing on him. Furthermore, the Pistons definitely needed energy off of the bench at the guard positions. Rodney Stuckey definitely brings great energy and he can do a multitude of things on the floor. He can be the lead guard at times, he can come off of screens and drive or shoot, he has the vision to make the correct passes to set up a teammate, and can play some D. Arron Afflalo is the other first round pick and he too can bring both d and shooting to the Pistons team. He is a kid who has great mental qualities and really understands what it takes to win ball games. Afflalo and Stuckey should not be afraid to challenge the complacency that has overcome Chauncey, Rip, and Sheed. I would love to see one of the rooks get in Billups or Sheeds face at some point to get them back to doing the little things right. Sammy Mejia picked in round 2 will be someone who plays overseas or in the D-League for a season or two and might claim a roster spot down the road.

Indiana - Stanko Barac...Stanko? Nah Stanko is a quality prospect who Indiana can keep overseas another year and allow him to develop into a 4/5 who can come off the bench.

Miami - The selection by Miami surprised me because I believed they would have chosen someone who could bring something to the table next season. Daequen Cook is a phenomenal prospect, key word prospect, yes he might be able to play 10 minutes a night, but the Heat needed someone who could play 25 or so. Also, the point guard position needed an upgrade with Jason Williams being the only one on the roster as of now. Gabe Pruitt or Petteri Koponen would have been solid backups for a season or two and then could develop into the starter once J-Will's contract expires after this upcoming season. This pick obviously was a Randy Pfund pick and not Riles pick.

Milwaukee - Coming into the draft, I thought Jeff Green would be a great fit in Milwaukee but Sam Presti and the Sonics took him at 5. Yi Jianlian is certainly going to help out Milwaukee, if he does play for them. I know the Chinese government and Yi's people do not like Milwaukee, so there could be a situation arising. Yi will be a great asset for Milwaukee offensively. He complements Bogut nicely by being able to step out to 15-17 feet and knock down jumpers. Jianlian and Bogut both are athletic enough to play off of each other through different cuts, high-low actions, and weakside dives. Michael Redd's opportunities will open up with Jianlian and Bogut on the floor. I really like the other pick by Milwaukee of Ramon Sessions. Sessions is a very quick guard who can make plays off of the pick and roll. He looks to be a great backup guard in the league.

New Jersey - New Jersey needs to thank the other teams in the league for giving them great prospects gift wrapped to them later in the draft. Last year, the Nets got Marcus Williams in the late teens because of character questions and this year they get Sean Williams at 17 for the same reason. Sean Williams without these concerns would have been a top 10 pick. He has a very rear ability to dominate a game through his shot blocking ability and rebounding. Williams will give the Nets the inside defensive presence to deter guys like D Wade, Bron, Iguodala, Pierce, and other wings from penetrating and scoring at will. Another great move by New Jersey that should pay great dividends.

New York - Isiah Thomas you better be able to develop Eddy Curry, Zach Randolph, Jared Jeffries, Jamal Crawford, David Lee, Balkman, Chandler, Mardy Collins, and Q because they all will be Knicks for a while. The New York Knicks of 2007-08 will almost certainly be the New York Knicks of 2010-2011. So either hope Randolph and Curry work well together or that these other somewhat young guys continue to develop into better team players. Actually, I just don't see any hope for them to contend for a title until 2012 at the earliest. That is if Isiah stops adding big long contracts and just gets the Knicks under cap to sign a legitimate star that can be built around with quality role players. Right now Eddy Curry is a centerpiece, but he doesn't rebound or defend well and neither does Randolph. I see the Knicks getting man handled on the glass and just being run out of the gym by quality teams. Wilson Chandler and Demetris Nichols are both good prospects, but they will not do more than fulfill a role on the team. That is not necessarily a bad thing because anyone who wants to shoot the ball should not join the Knicks until 2 of the three leave (Stephon, Zach, and Eddy).

Orlando - The Magic made the most of there draft by picking Reyshawn Terry in the second round. Currently , the Magic have Hedo Turkoglu and Trevor Ariza as potential guys at the 3. Terry brings another capable backup 3...Reyshawn should be able to help the Magic next year and yeas after. Orlando has a very interesting off-season upcoming. Do they sign Darko and then through the resigning of Dwight Howard and probably Jameer Nelson that will eat up a majority of the cap space for the next 4 or 5 years or would you say good-bye to Darko and save money for the following off-season and go after one of several star players in 08? I might choose the latter because I still am not sold on Darko as a player worthy of anything more than the mid level exception.

Philadelphia - Philly is a team that confused me this draft. I think Andre Iguodala is going to be a superstar, thought so since his high school days in Illinois. Andre Miller is a very nice point guard under contract for 2 more years and with Kyle Korver, Willie Green, and Rodney Carney I felt that the Sixers had good pieces at the 2 and 3. Shavlik Randolph as you only 4 should make you want to stab yourself if you coached that team, so I would have tried to get a guy who could play the 4 with that 12th pick. I know Philly wanted to trade up, but was unable to but I would have looked to trade down a few picks and get Sean Williams or package the later first rounders to get a pick at 14-16 to get him. Sean Williams would be a great fit in Philly. Julian Wright or Al Thornton would have been pretty good too. The Sixers went with Thaddeus Young, who can jump out the gym and really attack the basket. He has the size to get rebounds and the length to be a force defensively. I do think Iguodala and Young side by side is a very freakishly athletic set of wings. Can never complain about that, my only reservation is that Rodney Carney has some of those same traits and he is still 20 or 21 years old. Later in the draft Billy King addressed the situation with the bigs by getting Jason Smith and Herbert Hill. Jason Smith is a very athletic skilled big man. He will be able to space the floor and play off of the slashing of Iggy and Thad. Herbert Hill is a potential backup 4/5 who can come in for 10 minutes and get a bucket or two and some boards.

Toronto - No Picks..they traded to get Carlos Delfino about a week ago and he will be able to come in and fit into the running style of Toronto. Look for Delfino to be a good reserve for Sam Mitchell this upcoming season.

Washington - I like Washington, plain and simple. There lead 2 guard princeton offense is very fun to watch especially with Gil. Washington got Nick Young with pick 16 and I personally felt Nick Young was a top 8 prospect in the draft. He very well could be the most athletic kid in the draft and he has the ability to create his own shot. He shoots the ball well and has the tools to be a defensive stopper. Being in Washington defense seems to not be a priority, so hopefully Nick Young has the desire and heart to bring it on the defensive end night in and night out. Gilbert, Nick Young, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and Haywood is a very formidable lineup in the eastern conference. The Wizards took Dominic McQuire later in the second round and he can shoot the ball as well. He also can scrap for loose balls, bring good ball pressure, and do the dirty work. Good backup for Caron Butler.

New Jersey and Detroit are probably the two teams in the eastern conference who got guys that will make an impact and could potentially help shake out the playoff in 2007-08. For you Celtics and Knicks fans, yea you might get in the playoffs, but it won't last long.