Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: “None of the three players taken — Austin Daye (15), DaJuan Summers (35) or Jonas Jerebko (39) — is likely to play a pivotal role next season. In fact, a player the Pistons drafted 59th last season — 6-foot-7 wing player Deron Washington, who played in Israel last year — might have a better chance of cracking the rotation. That doesn’t mean, however, draft night was a bust for the Pistons. Far from it. ‘This is about adding to our talent base,’ president Joe Dumars said. ‘In this game today you have to have incredible depth. When you see Cleveland going out and adding a Shaquille O’Neal and Orlando trading for Vince Carter, that tells you just having one superstar on your team isn’t enough. You have to have depth, and that’s what we’ve tried to do here.’ This draft gave perhaps the first peek at Dumars’ plans for remodeling the next era. Gone, apparently, are the days of the traditional center, power forward, small forward frontcourt. It’s about length, athleticism and skill now. It’s about interchangeable parts. It’s about 6-11 players being able to handle the ball and shoot like guards, as well as being able to guard people at and away from the basket.”
Cam Inman of the Contra Costa Times: “In the world of Nellie Ball, the more offense the better, so perhaps this Curry-Ellis combo can coexist. Ellis should embrace it, not pout over it. But surely Curry can’t take over right away, right? ‘I didn’t say that,’ Nellie responded. ‘I don’t know that. It depends on him.’ Could they rotate at point guard in his fast-tempo scheme? ‘Yeah,’ Nellie responded, ‘if one guy has it, the other guy is the ‘off’ guard.’ He is not banishing Ellis from running the point. But he is convinced Curry is a natural point guard and, get this, the second coming of Steve Nash. ‘I always saw Steve Nash in (Curry), and (Nash) is the greatest player I’ve ever coached,’ said Nellie, who had Nash in Dallas from 1998-2004. ‘I’ve been looking for another one for a long time, and this is as close as I’ve ever seen in a young player. He has that same ability that Steve had — shooting, passing, knowledge, just the natural things he’s done that he’s worked on his whole life.’”
Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post: ‘Ty was one of the guys that we targeted early in the year to really watch closely,’ Nuggets director of pro scouting Mike Bratz said. ‘We felt like his style would fit in perfectly with us. When we went over a few names with Coach (George) Karl and talked about what they could do, he got excited about Ty.’ Lawson, who was in Denver on Friday to meet with the media, worked out with the Nuggets in May 2008 after he declared for the draft following his sophomore season at North Carolina. The Nuggets were impressed, but they, along with most NBA front-office personnel, had questions about Lawson’s game. His height and length couldn’t be altered, but a shaky jump shot, spotty defense and wishy-washy leadership could. Lawson went back to school and came out of the other side sparkling. ‘We have a formula here where we track point guard efficiency,’ Bratz said. ‘He had one of the highest ratings in history, not just this year. And he had by far the highest rating for a guard this season. So, (he’s a) very, very, very efficient player. The skills he has blend in very well to the team framework.’”
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: “It kills a kid to see a parent wracked with pain, to see suffering and know there’s nothing he or she can do. Trying to alleviate that is what’s driven DeMar DeRozan for years, made him spend those countless hours in the gym honing his skills to get him where he is today. And now the newest Raptor, flush with a multi-million dollar contract and the hopes of untold more riches to come, can do something tangible to help, far more than sitting by and offering only love and support. DeRozan’s mom, Diane, suffers from lupus, a disease in which the immune system attacks healthy cells and tissues by mistake, causing damage to joints, skin, blood vessels and organs. She has her good days and bad, and now her son can help limit that suffering.”
Jeff Rabjohns of the Indianapolis Star: “As a second-round NBA draft pick, A.J. Price has a challenge to make the Indiana Pacers. But that’s just a basketball challenge. He has faced far more. As a college freshman, he suffered a brain hemorrhage that threatened his life. Price had to sit out the next season after an arrest involving stolen laptop computers, an incident that strained his parents’ marriage. In March 2008, he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee before recovering to play his senior season and helping lead Connecticut to the Final Four. … ‘Every thing I went through, I wanted to bounce back. (Thursday) meant a lot for me, probably more than for a lot of other people.’ Price entered college as one of the most touted guards in the 2004 high school class, ranked with the likes of current NBA players Sebastian Telfair, Rajon Rondo and Kyle Lowry. In October of his freshman year, he was hospitalized. On his 18th birthday, he was on a respirator, and his parents, Tony and Inga, wondered whether their son would live.”
John Rohde of The Oklahoman: “Presti picked Arizona State shooting guard James Harden with the No. 3 pick; traded up one spot to get Ohio State center B.J. Mullens, who was picked No. 24 by Dallas; and acquired the rights at No. 54 to UAB shooting guard Robert Vaden from Charlotte for cash considerations. On the yawn scale of 1 to 10, this might register around 6 or 7, but Presti addressed the Thunder’s two biggest needs — a shooter and a post player. There was no spike in Thunder season-ticket sales Friday morning, but that doesn’t mean the team didn’t get better Thursday night. There was far more substance than flash with whom the Thunder selected, which helps define the ‘Presti Way’ a little more each day.”
Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: “Lesson one came on day one. A day after the Rockets acquired second-round draft picks Jermaine Taylor and Chase Budinger, both were careful to say the right things, but did not quite say the magic words Rockets general manager Daryl Morey made sure they would hear. Asked how they can grow from prospects with potential to players that can help their new team, they spoke of their willingness to play and work hard, to follow instructions and pay their dues. … It all sounded good and far more promising than a team without a first-round pick could have expected. They were, however, wrong. Morey listened to the good answers about the way to go from prospect to player and jumped in with a better one. ‘I’ll answer that one,’ Morey said. ‘We’ve had a top three defensive club for the past four years. I think to get on the court, Coach (Rick) Adelman, he’s only going to play guys who play hard on defense.’”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “According to a Knicks source, the club believes Rubio’s preference is for the T’wolves to trade him to the Knicks. Walsh and Kahn are friends, with Kahn having worked under Walsh in Indiana. The Knicks need a little help from their friends now — the same dynamic that led Kevin McHale to trade Kevin Garnett to his old team, Boston, and Jerry West to hand Pau Gasol over to the Lakers. ‘I haven’t spoken to Minnesota, [but] I will,’ Walsh said at the press conference to introduce the Knicks’ draft picks, forward Jordan Hill and guard Toney Douglas. ‘He took a lot of point guards. I want to ask him why he did that. There is something called assembling assets and I don’t know if he’s doing that.’ The Knicks have intricate knowledge of Rubio’s $4.2M buyout because their European scout Kevin Wilson lives in Barcelona and has been friends of the family since Rubio was 15. An NBA team can pay just $500,000 toward a buyout and Rubio has to pay the rest. Having Rubio on Broadway with a major marketing deal would be ideal.”
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “Meeting with the media at the Knicks’ Westchester County training facility on Friday, team president Donnie Walsh mentioned that he planned to call his former employee, Minnesota Timberwolves GM David Kahn, to find out why he drafted so many point guards. And yes, Walsh coyly stated, Rubio’s cold response to being drafted by the ‘Wolves and his probable return to Spain as a result would be discussed. I shudder at the thought of viewing the back pages of the New York tabloids on Saturday. For one, it’s my first day off in a long time. For another, Rubio most certainly will be pictured there. If not for Michael Jackson, Rubio might be on the front page. As I tried to tell you on draft night, there’s no need for this. Kahn isn’t trading Rubio. He’s not going to be a Knick, no matter how much agent Dan Fegan wants him to be.”
Sam Smith of Bulls.com: “The Cavs and Magic had terrific seasons. But you tend to react—or overreact—to your last loss. I think the Cavs may have overreacted. My guess is the Magic would not have gone for Carter unless they felt they couldn’t—or didn’t want to—bring back Hedo Turkoglu. I think both the Cavs and Magic take a step back next season with their gambles. Yes, I know, Shaq is going into the final season of his contract and likely wants an extension. The assumption then is you’ll see the best of Shaq. So, what? That means he’ll learn to play the pick and roll? So now the Cavs are going to play post up offense with LeBron? And close up the middle for LeBron? And make him a post feeder? Look, I know LeBron wanted Shaq. Kobe wanted Jason Kidd. Michael wanted Walter Davis.”
Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer: “Shaq will report with optimism, too, intending to improve even more on a body of work that has devolved into a game of championship one-upmanship with Bryant. So the hindrance will not be personalities. It will be technical basketball. The problem lies in the halfcourt offense, where predictability occurs in endless loops of high pick-and-pops with Zydrunas Ilgauskas and side pick-and-rolls with Anderson Varejao. This is because coach Mike Brown knows the last resort is also the best chance for success. Brown has had an excellent four-year run by getting the ball to James in the crunch and letting him spin gold from straw. But Brown has to put down the security blanket now and run some grown-up offense.”
Andrea Adelson of the Orlando Sentinel: “So the man who once called Vince Carter ‘fool’s gold’ now wants us to believe the all-star guard is what the Magic need to win the NBA Finals. That is pretty laughable. Maybe General Manager Otis Smith forgot he made the remark back in 2007 when rumors were flying that the Nets and Magic were talking about a trade that would bring Carter to Orlando for Darko Milicic, Hedo Turkoglu and J.J. Redick. On Feb. 22, 2007, Smith said: ‘I’m not going to take a step back and fall for what I call fool’s gold. It shines and it glitters, but it just doesn’t stick or pass the test.’ So if Carter was fool’s gold then, has he somehow polished himself up and turned into solid gold now despite two more years of wear and tear on his body? NBA pundits have praised the Magic for going all in with the blockbuster deal Thursday because it proves how serious they are about winning a title. But it was just two weeks ago the Magic were actually playing for said championship.”
Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post: “Riley wants Wade to sign on sooner rather than later, which would afford the boss the opportunity to use his superstar as a lure in attracting top-of-the-line talent such as Bosh. Riley insists it’s a chicken-or-egg thing when he says, ‘There can’t be any major franchise-saving moves without (Wade’s) commitment.’ And that’s true given the NBA’s complicated rules of economics. Nobody could blame Wade, however, should he interpret the situation not as a chicken-or-egg dilemma, but as the Heat’s willingness to play a game of chicken with him. Miami wants Wade to be patient, but what if it turns out that he does have to deal with a fall from this season’s fifth-seeded playoff position and then another first-round elimination? Nor would it require a precipitous decline for the Heat to fail to even qualify for next season’s playoffs (eighth- and bottom-seeded Detroit won 39 games last season), and what might Wade’s reaction be then?”
