So the big surprise of the night was the Los Angeles Clippers selecting Blake Griffin with #1 pick in the NBA draft, oh wait that was a foregone conclusion, I guess there weren't any real surprises last night other than that the Minnesota Timberwolves drafted 3 point guards but more on that later. Hasheem Thabeet was taken second overall by the Memphis Grizzlies and then the T'wolves drafted Ricky Rubio the point guard from Spain 5th and then Syracuse PG Johnny Flynn 6th. The Warriors drafted Stephen Curry 7th and "Psycho T" Tyler Hansbrough was taken by the Indiana Pacers with the 13th pick in the draft. Minnesota drafted their 3rd PG in Ty Lawson from North Carolina but they traded him to the Denver Nuggets, which really works out for Lawson in the long run because he gets to sit and learn from a great veteran like Chauncey Billups.
The Detroit Pistons took Gonzaga forward Austin Daye with the 15th pick, Daye averaged 12.7 points and 6.8 rebounds in his sophomore season with Zags. Daye is tall and lanky at 6'11'' but he only weighs in at 192 pounds and will probably get beasted by most small and power forwards in the NBA. In the 2nd round Detroit ended up with 3 picks with the key players being their first and last pick of the round, Georgetown small forward Dejaun Summers who averaged 13.6 points and 4.1 boards and Arizona shooting guard Chase Budinger who led the Wildcats with 18 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists during his junior season. Sandwiched between those picks was Jonas Jerekbo a SF from Sweden, the Pistons addressed a few of their problems but they are obviously setting themselves up for this year and next year's free agency pool.
The Chicago Bulls had only 2 picks both of which were in the 1st round and they addressed their need for a couple of big bodies who can contribute on both ends of the floor. With the 16th pick they took James Johnson a power forward from Wake Forest. Johnson is 6'8'' and 220 pounds and averaged 15 points and 8.5 rebounds during his sophomore season with the Demon Deacons. 10 picks later the Bulls took Taj Gibson a PF from USC who is tall 6'10'' but skinny 214 pounds but he did dominate during the PAC-10 season averaging 14.3 points and 9 boards. Chicago got some guys who can score but they are under sized. Like a lot of the Bulls picks lately these guys have potential but they are probably a few years out from really contributing.
The Cleveland Cavaliers used the last pick of the 1st on Christian Eyenga a 6'6'' 220lbs SF from the Congo. This pick came as a surprise because this kid is raw offensively and will take a few years to develop and the Cavs are looking to win now. He might be able to help on the defensive end but he won't have any major contributions for a few years. The Cavs traded to get back into the 2nd round and they sured up their perimeter defense by drafting Danny Green a 6'7'' 208lb SF from North Carolina. Green routinely hit big 3 point shots for the Heels during their march to the national title and he was usually the best player on the defensive end of the court. The Cavs had a good draft with picking up Green who should be able to contribute right away but Eyenga will be a work in progress.
And in probably the biggest move so far this offseason the Orlando Magic traded reserve PG Rafer Alston, PF Tony Battie, and SG Courtney Lee to the New Jersey Nets for Vince Carter. This move puts the Magic as the favorite to win the East next season barring some huge free agent signing/trading by the Cavs or Celtics. Vince is getting a little old but hes always been the number 1 scoring option and has been dominate at times but now he won't have to try as hard because he has a lot of talent around him. The offseason is just starting for the NBA and things should get more interesting as we move along.
GO BULLS!
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