Honorable mentions:
Charlotte Bobcats: They had a great thing going until they decided to prove a point. Rasheed is a serious downgrade from either Marion or Bosh. They need to make some trades, though, because they have four players, and literally, zero draft picks.
Minnesota Timberwolves: Any team with Lebron is automatically top-tier. However, I'm not sure Jose Calderon is the best fit for that team. He's a wonderful point guard, who would be perfect on a lot of teams. However, he needs the ball in his hands, and that won't happen with Lebron on the roster. He's going to be relegated to a spot up shooter, which is a waste of Calderon's considerable talents. The Biedrins pick was a very good one, if he continues to develop towards his potential.
Atlanta Hawks: They've got the foundation of a good team on both ends of the court. The big question mark is their "bigs"; it's hard to win in this league without a consistent big man, and right now, they don't have one (Okafor tends not to be healthy). A lot will depend upon Okafor, the continued development of Rondo, and the return to form of Deng.
Las Vegas Lakers: This is a team for the future, which has really bounced back from its first round debacle. They gave Tim Duncan away, but ending up with a core of Durant and Mayo has them in good shape. They stole Chris Kaman, and if Jermaine O'Neal is healthy and plays with effort, he could be a steal, as well.
Orlando Magic: I love Duncan and Granger on this team. I am not, however, sold on either Brad Miller or Jason Richardson. The problem I see is that they're not good enough to "win now", and they're not young enough to be a team of the future. Still, a very solid effort through three rounds.
I'm not gonna say too much about my team or others until at least the 10th round.... it's that type of thinking that led, in part, "the experts" to think the Lakers --- with arguably as good or better a "Top 3" --- would be the WORLD CHAMPION CELTICS
winning is about guys 1-15... and i really look forward to the debate/dissection portion of this draft.... i think that should be pretty interesting!
With that said, here's my thinking on Brad Miller -- especially alongside Duncan:
The Orlando Magics** have 2 of the best passing big men in the game right now (Milller leads all centers in assists) and 2 of the top 17 bigs in terms of Efficiency ratings -- none of the teams you listed below has that, nor do the vaunted Blazers
Oberto, Elson, Nesterovic, Malik Rose....
In Miller, Duncan is playing beside the best big man since David Robinson (c. 2000-01) and Duncan still won 3 NBA titles since 2000-01. The other 13 guys on those teams played a role too, but my point is that with BMiller shouldering a bigger share of the rebounding and big man defensive load than any of his previous teammates this decade --- and Miller very much *can* still do both --- Duncan looks perform even better in a Magics uni.
ubuntu, and good luck to everyone in the 4th & 5th rounds!
** please note the earlier announced name change, along with the announcement that Hubie Brown is now the Orlando head coach
Topic: 2008 CelticsBlog draft board. (Read 919207 times)