First up: The Minnesota TimberwolvesThe T-Wolves had 4 first round picks, and had the potential to do an awful lot this year and fill a lot of holes. Somehow, however, they just plugged the same hole 3 times, drafting 3 point guards with the 5th, 6th and 18th picks.
For starters, their #18 pick, Ty Lawson, is as good as gone, as the word on the street is that they'll ship him to Denver to learn under living legend Chauncey Billups. It looks like Ricky Rubio may be staying in Spain for another year or two (the article in the link is in Spanish, so consider yourself warned), so perhaps the Jonny Flynn pick wasn't that bad of a choice, since he'll have to step up during that time and run the point.
Another possibility is that the Wolves will trade Rubio. He appears to have the most value, and the Knicks are said to be VERY interested in making a deal.
Does Rubio even want to stay in Minnesota? He has dropped a few hints here and there that he doesn't, so that definitely makes the trade rumors even more intriguing.
Next up: DeJuan Blair
DeJuan Blair seems to be the consensus pick for the steal of this year's draft. But in the end, he landed with a very good team (the Spurs) who will be able to give him a little time to develop, but could also give him a chance to get minutes very quickly, if he shows that he's ready. Tim Duncan could play the 5 with Blair in the 4 spot, and that could make quite a formidable frontcourt.But on the bright side, is this actually an advantage for Blair? Sure, he'll lose a couple dollars in the short term, but there are actually a lot of good things that could come out of him dropping this far. It's probably not what Blair would have wanted if he had his choice, but he definitely could have done worse for himself.
Finishing it off: Brandon Jennings
The kid who was a huge prospect coming out of high school and made the revolutionary move to Europe instead of playing for an American university somewhere. Since many scouts didn't get to see him play in Italy as much as he probably would have liked, there were rumors that he could go anywhere from #3 to in the 20's. Thanks to that high level of uncertainty, he wasn't invited to the Green Room, and elected to not even attend the draft at all, despite the fact that he was in the area at the time.So after being drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks with the #10 pick, he decided he would make an appearance. Of course, he was a little late, so he actually ended up taking the stage and being announced by David Stern right after the 14th pick. It looks like he'll be one of those guys who just does things differently in his career.
What were your most memorable moments of this draft, and which picks really stood out to you?
















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