Looking At Tonight's NBA Draft

By Jason Jones

Happy NBA Draft Day to all of you reading this - yes, the rumor is true - I suddenly realized that this blog thing still works and has been waiting for me to get back into the groove.

So with that, I am going to give you a few quick/random thoughts on tonight's NBA draft - just the 1st three picks and a thought or two on the Cleveland Cavaliers. I think it is a classic 'no-brainer' that the Chicago Bulls will select Memphis PG Derrick Rose. This has all the makings of a great story - the hometown kid gets selected by the hometown pro-team and leads the franchise back to glory. The Bulls are coming off of what has to be regarded as a tremendously disappointing 2007-08 season. Lots of hopes and expectations went down the drain and in a hurry as far as the Bulls are concerned.

Give Rose some time - it takes AT LEAST 1-2 seasons for an NBA point guard to develop and become something extraordinary. This 19-year-old has all the tools, gifts and talents to give the Bulls something they desperately need - leadership and hope.

With the second pick of the NBA draft, the Miami Heat select... who? TONS of speculation regarding the selection (or non-selection) of Michael Beasley. Don't buy into what you are hearing - Pat Riley WILL draft Michael Beasley. Now, will he KEEP Beasley or trade him away? That's the question you should be asking.

As for the third pick in the draft, it doesn't get better than OJ Mayo. In my opinion, he is the best at what's left in the NBA draft. Athletic, great size and great ability, I think he may be the most NBA ready player in the draft lottery. The alleged USC violations aside, Mayo has the best chance to make the biggest impact in my opinion.

The Timberwolves would be wise to select Mayo and build a team with him as their cornerstone.

Looking down the draft to the Cavaliers... I think the two most immediate needs for the team are at shooting guard and at a big man. Ilgauskas is an NBA veteran and I am not too sure how many quality years he has left in the tank.

It is odd to make this statement after seeing 'Z' come off what I consider to be one of his finest seasons as a pro. Looking at the power forward spot - I like Joe Smith - but he is a veteran backup that can deliver a quality 15-20 minutes a night. Ben Wallace is a fraud. He has his big money contract and it is apparent (at least to me) why the Chicago Bulls fans hated him with a passion.

He 'got paid' and now is doing the least amount of work as possible to stay in the league. Anderson Varejao? I don't plan on seeing him too much longer in a Cavaliers uniform. How these two needs get addressed will be interesting to watch... GM Danny Ferry can go free agency or via the draft, but at #19, finding a player that can address one of the two needs immediately will be difficult. That leaves free agency... Michael Redd is on the fan's (and Cavaliers') radar but I don't see it happening.

Here's hoping I am wrong.

Don't forget the FDH/DRAFTOLOGY/STN NBA Draft Guide is available for immediate download via this link - http://www.fantasydrafthelp.com/2008HoopsDraftologyGuide.pdf - it's all you need to follow and understand tonight's draft.

Finally, sportstalkNETWORK.com will have complete LIVE coverage of tonight's NBA Draft starting at 7p Eastern featuring Ben Chew, Rick Morris, Jason Joes, Tony Mazur and Paul Belfi.

Grading the final NBA trades of the year

By Rick Morris

ESPN.com’s John Hollinger has broken down the recent NBA trades and he has delivered grades to all teams involved. I’m going to limit my own grades to the teams in serious contention this year, because the quest for a title in the short term was the most dramatic element involved in this remarkable flurry of deals. Having said that, though, if I were going to grade Seattle, I’d give them an A+ for clearing out insane cap room to put together with Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and whichever amazing stud from the top of this year’s draft class that winds up with them – it’s just a shame for their great fans that the people in Oklahoma City will be the ones watching up-close when they’re making serious title runs in the next decade. Likewise, I’d have given an A+ to Miami for setting themselves up to have the league’s best nucleus in the next few years: Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion and Michael Beasley.

Los Angeles Lakers A Coach Pop is right; the league does need a trade review committee. Memphis got absolutely nothing in return for a legitimate star who poses matchup problems. Clearly, the Grizzlies are worshipping at the false altar of cap space. They should go ask Crumbs Krause how that ends up sometimes. The Trevor Ariza deal also helped the Lakers in terms of having enough usable depth to make the Gasol deal.

Atlanta A- The Hawks gave up absolutely nothing to add Mike Bibby, thereby solving a longtime need at point guard and procuring a shooter who can spread the floor. What’s not to like?

Cleveland A- I agree completely with the grade that Hollinger assigned. The Cavs had three main deficiencies for the past few years: point guard, an extra shooter and frontcourt enforcer. They upgraded substantially in all three areas, while not parting with anyone indispensable. Hilariously, the idiot-basher part of the Cleveland fanbase, which is one of the worst in sports, represented strongly prior to the trade in priceless fashion as no less than 16 different brain surgeons bashed outstanding Akron Beacon-Journal beat reporter Brian Windhorst for correctly indicating that a big move was underway.

San Antonio B+ They won a title with the same nucleus last year – well, scratch that, they won with much less production out of Manu Manu. Now, they add Mighty Mouse Stoudamire and Kurt Thomas to the mix. Right now, they are stronger than last year at a point when they definitely needed to be better.

New Orleans B- Once again, I agree exactly with Hollinger’s grade. Bonzi Wells fills a hole at two-guard, the only one that the Hornets have had, but the bench remains suspect. The starting lineup is very good, but not as top-heavy as other Western competitors, notwithstanding Chris Paul’s ascension to megastar this year and the fact that he’s second only to Lebron James in MVP worthiness this year.

Phoenix B- The Suns took a ginormous risk by turning their system upside down, but there’s reason to believe they will see some approximation of the Shaq of old rather than an old Shaq. Shawn Marion’s an excellent real player and an even better roto one, but he’s a small price to pay as the key component of a deal for one of the greatest centers of all time. Phoenix will now be a bit more balanced offensively and more able to play the half-court game that is so important in the playoffs.

Utah B- On the nights when “Bad Korver” materializes, the team won’t be any better off than it was before. On the nights when “Good Korver” is in the house, the Jazz will be much more frightening.

Dallas C+ Aside from Devin Harris, I don’t feel that the Mavs parted with anyone individually of any consequence. But collectively, they lost a lot of depth. Everyone points to the Phoenix as an example of a team that threw its approach of the last few years out of the window because they can’t run as much with Shaq in town. But the top-heavy Dirk/Kidd/Howard approach represents just as dramatic and risky of a break from the past in Big D.

Detroit, Boston and Orlando C- In this climate, if you’re not moving decisively forward, you’re falling behind. Granted, Danny Ferry didn’t complete his deal until the 11^th hour and many doubted whether he’d be able to get anything done with the Cavs’ plethora of bad contracts, but the gamble that he would not be able to by the Pistons and Celtics greatly reduced the chance of a late ‘80s throwback in the Eastern finals. Much as I was unimpressed by the Pistons’ moves, I don’t think the Magic sufficiently addressed their hole at two-guard or their overall need for depth.

Houston D- They’re even more of a two-man team than before and firmly on the periphery of Western relevance.