Draft Decisions: On JP, Justin, and a Culture Where College Players Can't Win

Brendan Brody reflects on some of this year's early departures from college basketball to the NBA:

In perusing NBADraft.net, Facebook accounts, and media tweets, everyone likes to make their opinions known on who is making a good decision and who isn't when it comes to entering the NBA draft. I used to be guilty of this judgmental activity, as I became a little kid having a temper tantrum any time someone from UNC had the audacity to try and make basketball a professional enterprise without first earning a degree. This angst was based on a very selfish ideal. I am an unabashed college basketball fan who only pays attention to the NBA once the playoffs start. Yet I've had a recent epiphany. And I'm coming to grips with my old selfish ways.

George Hill: Keeping Hope Alive

Now that the George Hill era in San Antonio has come and gone we can say that it went exactly as we expected. He never delivered a championship or even an All-Star performance, but then again, what twenty-sixth pick from IUPUI ever does? What does IUPUI even stand for? Did we ever even find a position for George Hill? And the true answers to these questions are the paradoxical existence that is a team at the end of a championship run: Being drafted at the end of the first round to a team like the Spurs comes with all the mystery and pressure of being asked to perform necromancy, when to be picked by any other team would merely be a free pass to let the dead rest. When a team is on the rise, it relies on picking the right cornerstones at the top of the draft, but the more a team rises into the League's higher altitudes, it requires late round picks to prolong its oxygen supply, and George Hill was the Spurs' last breath.

Looking into a Black Hole: Previewing the NBA Draft

Several franchise's futures will be sucked into a black hole tonight. The NBA Draft is full of hits and misses every year, but almost no year is as much guess work as this 2011 class. No one knows what lies on the other side: a silent abyss, other dimensions, time travel, or God?  Perhaps somewhere there is a Portland Trailblazers team starring Michael Jordan and Clyde Drexler. Maybe not. The point is no one knows what's going to happen tonight or after, so enjoy the hats and the bow ties and the flashy sports jackets. Enjoy the mothers crying and the sons grinning. Understand the fact that many of these young men will never even put on an NBA uniform, that their name as a footnote in this draft is their brightest claim to being a part of this universe, and know that I wasted lots and lots of time putting together this draft preview at The Faster Times.

(And if you don't won't to travel down that black hole, then feel free to discuss matters here, such as how on earth does Yahoo! have Kyle Singler ranked above Nolan Smith.)

Ed Davis Declares for the Draft

Is he going?  Yes.  Is he ready?  Maybe.  Maybe not.  Am I upset? A little (maybe a lot).  Do I understand why he's leaving?  Yeah, it makes perfect sense.  I would probably go too.

"Two on the Aisle": Busted Brackets

From time to time, we tend to use Ed Hopper paintings as a magnifying glass for studying the ins and outs of the NBA, and, with March Madness in full gear, the NBA becomes a fan of the drama much like the rest of us.

Garbage Time: Marcus and The Fix

In this weeks edition of Garbage Time, Teach reviews the trade between Dallas and Washington while Langston gives you his take on the NBA draft...

NBA Draft: Winners and Losers (@ a glance)

The following are lists of who I think found immediate help in the draft and who missed an opportunity to find immediate help.

WINNERS

Miami Heat

Michael Beasley gives them a versatile post player. He can score from just about anywhere, which greatly improves a team that started Udonis Haslem and Mark Blount inside. The Heat also picked up Mario Chalmers, who I believe is a much better point guard for this team than Jason Williams. Chalmers is a winner. We know this from watching him at Kansas. He plays amazing defense and takes care of the ball. I think he immediately makes life easier for Dwayne Wade in the backcourt. A lineup of Wade, Marion, Chalmers, Beasley, and Blount with Haslem and Daequan Cook off the bench can get the Heat back into the playoffs in the East.

New Jersey

The moves here aren't just about who they drafted, but about Rod Thorn and company coming to the conclusion that the Vince Carter-Richard Jefferson experiment failed. Personally, I feel VC is more to blame, watching him is like watching Da Vinci burn the Mona Lisa every night.

Brook Lopez brings toughness and a bit of scoring to a frontline that on paper doesn't seem so bad now. If Nenad Krstic comes back healthy, then the Nets now have Krstic and Lopez at the four and five backed up by Sean Williams, Josh Boone, and Desagana Diop, that's better than any big man rotation they had when they were going to the Finals. Now, add to that group of guys Yi Jianlian, Ryan Anderson, and Chris Douglas-Roberts; it's like the Nets are hosting auditions for Lebron James' supporting cast in 2010.

Phoenix Suns
Yes, Robin Brooks is the savior of the Shaq Trade. If they had a player like him on their team when they made the trade, it would have made a lot more sense. At this point in his career, Shaq is always in foul trouble, and when he went to the bench, the Suns were forced to play Amare against the Tim Duncan's of the world. Now, when Shaq goes to the bench, they can keep Amare at the four, and tell Robin Brooks to go out there like a pitbull on a porkchop. With any other team, I would have shrugged my shoulders at this pick, but with the Suns, it just makes sense. Malik Hairston isn't a bad pickup either. In fact, Phoenix, it wasn't a bad idea to actually draft someone afterall, was it?

LOSERS

San Antonio Spurs

R.C. Buford and Pop, I have the utmost respect for you two, but do you think you got too clever for your own good by taking George Hill with the 26th pick? He played for IUIPUI. Doesn't this seem a bit like the guy in a Fantasy League who was always high on T.J. Duckett a few years ago? The pick just doesn't make sense to me as a fan of the Spurs. We're old, and we know we're old, especially on the perimeter. Mario Chalmers, J.R. Giddens, Chris Douglas-Roberts, and Darrel Arthur were all still on the board. All of those guys seem to fit needs on this team more than George Hill. Giddens and Arthur are athletic as hell. Douglas-Roberts can score, and Chalmers plays defense and can shoot (unlike current backup Jacque Vaugn). Oh, well, in R.C. we trust.

Charlotte Bobcats

I feel like the Bobcats needed to do something that would remind the state of North Carolina that they have a team worth watching. Drafting Brook Lopez with the 9th pick might have done this. He would have allowed the team to move Nazr Mohammed to the bench and slide Emeka Okafor over to the four, strengthening the bench and the starting lineup. Instead, the Bobcats drafted D.J. Augustin, who I like, but not when the team already has a point guard in Ray Felton. Also, add in the fact that last year the team dumped Brevin Knight to make room for Felton as the starting point guard. Felton averaged 14 ppg and 7 apg last year, so in my eyes, it seems a bit early to give up on him, especially considering the amount of time it takes a point guard to develop in the NBA (John Stockton, Chauncey Billups, Gary Payton, Tony Parker). Now, the Bobcats are in pretty much the same situation they were in before parting ways with Knight, and I still don't see them headed to the playoffs because they still have all of the same problems.

Alexis Ajinca, however, was a real steal, considering he averaged 5ppg in the French League.

Washington Wizards

After talking with my friend Stevo, I was convinced into thinking the Wizards could have gotten more for their second round pick than JaVale McGee. I hope he's a high energy guy, so we can call him Maniac McGee after the kids book.