Countdown to the Draft

by user Sportsbrief

With seven days and counting until the NBA Draft, I thought about updating my mock draft. After giving it closer look, I’m not sure I have any better answers than I did before. Besides the obvious change of DeVon Hardin from Cal, (who I had 30th overall, just bump Gasol up) who is returning to school, I didn’t want to switch anyone. The risk you run when you make multiple mock drafts is similar to creating multiple brackets for the NCAA tourney. Sure I could say the updated one is the only one that counts, but then when I get more right on my initial attempt, I’d try to lean toward that one. I only fill out one bracket, and I’m only going to do one mock draft. Word is Horford will be picked 3 rd over Conley, and the Ohio St. point guard drops to 4th. Again, I still don’t see Horford being a dominant player, and feel the Hawks should pick Conley. But enough about the soon-to-be rookies, I stand by my original choices, I want to address some of the many rumors floating around the league.

Some of the biggest names in the game are being discussed right now: Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Shawn Marion to name a few. Where will these superstars be playing next season, and how important will the draft be in attempts to acquire them? Let’s first examine a trade rumor surrounding my team, the Boston Celtics.

Al Jefferson, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Ratliff/ Wally contract, and the No. 5 pick for Kevin Garnett.

So potentially the C’s would be trading an entire lineup for the 10 time All-Star. And you know what, if I’m either team here, I do it. For one the T-Wolves, who are stuck in the dominant Western Conference aren’t going to win anytime soon. They might as well build around some young guns and hope to win in a few years when guys like Nash, Duncan, Dirk, and Kobe are on their way out. You bring in Jefferson, Green, Telfair (who I don’t think is done, he’d be entering his senior year at Louisville right now had he gone that route), and the No. 5 pick, and combine them with the No. 7 pick, Randy Foye, Craig Smith, and Rashad McCants (who maybe can do something), and that’s a young and exciting team. The Celtics on the other hand have two top 10 players in the Eastern Conference. LeBron won the East on his own; I think Pierce and Garnett could do pretty well together. Garnett could opt out of his contract at the end of the year, and that scares me, but if the Celts do go through with this trade they would need to address that. Also I would be much more comfortable with this trade if Boston just switch picks (the 5 th and 7 th) rather than just tossing away their first rounder in this loaded draft. Should be interesting to see what happens.

What about Garnett to the Bulls or Suns? I don’t know. I think the Celtics have the best chance if they are willing to part with Al Jefferson, who will be an All-Star for years to come, as well as other young parts, like Green and a draft pick. There’s no way the Suns give up Amare, nor should they. And that might be the only way to get Garnett away from Minnesota and to Phoenix.

The Bulls are intriguing as they talk about Garnett as well as Kobe. They are not that far off from winning the East, and how much would they have to give up in order to acquire one of these studs? Gordon, Deng, Thomas, the No. 9 pick, all of these names have been thrown about. Why are they in so much of a rush? I know every team wants to win now, but when they have a solid young squad, why not keep them together? Salaries can screw that up, but a nucleus of Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, Thomas, and their lottery pick could be competitive for a long time. Teams like the Celtics or Suns who have Paul Piece and Steve Nash need to win now.

The Suns are already “winning.” No they haven’t won the championship, but it’s clear they’re on the right track. But what if they get rid of Shawn Marion? I think he’s far more important than anyone thinks. And why would he want to play anywhere else, unless Nash was going with him? I don’t get it. I like the rumor of the Clips sending Corey Maggette and the No. 14 to the Suns for Boris Diaw, the No. 24, and No. 29 picks. Phoenix probably won’t keep the two picks anyway, so this would be a great move. Also Maggette could provide some of the scoring they would lose with Marion, but the Matrix’s defense may not be replaceable. If Marion wants to get out of Amare’s shadow, maybe Boston would be a place he could do that.

Pierce and Marion, although not as daunting as Piece and KG, could still do damage in the East. Also you would assume Ainge wouldn’t have to give up nearly as much to get Marion. But here’s the dilemma. Yes you may have to give up a lot in order to get a big name veteran to go along with Pierce, but you would be winning, and not losing 18 straight and playing for a top pick in next year’s draft. If the Celtics do keep Pierce, I believe they owe it to him to go out and get either Garnett or Marion. But if they decide not to bring in a superstar, maybe, as much as it pains me to say it, they should part with Pierce and get some more valuable young parts.

I’ll finish with this. Next year’s Boston Celtics rotation should look like one of these, and not a hybrid.

A. Pierce, Garnett, West, Rondo, Gomes, Perkins, Allen, Dudley (with the 32 nd pick)

Or (using a Pierce for Gordon and the No. 9 pick, as well as a third team to make the money work trade)

B. Jefferson, Ben Gordon, Al Thornton, Yi Jianlian, Rondo, West, Green, Allen.

All these rumors and mock drafts are driving me crazy. Bring on June 28!

-Rich Keefe