I was going to write up my review of the 2006 NBA draft held last night, but as always Bill Simmons does a better job than I could ever do. Therefore, read his article after reading mine.
All over ESPNRadio for the days leading up to the draft, the radio personalities were wondering why the NBA draft was losing it’s luster? I have many reasons why:
(1): Ninety-Nine percent of every article about the NBA draft on your website was dubbed with ugly orange “in” graphic that meant that you had to pay to read an article that will probably turn out to never happen. Want to know what happened at the pre-draft camps. Trade rumors, Free Agency Rumors?. Better have an ESPN Insider subscription.
(2): Some of your articles on the aftermath of the NBA draft on the ESPN website is dubbed with ugly orange “in” graphic that meant that you had to pay to read an article that you will probably disagree with.
(3): The high schoolers were ineligible this year. Therefore, no “Who’s the next Kobe Bryant?” or “Who’s the next Korelone Young?” questions. No “Why did this high schooler hire an agent?” questions.
(4): ESPN has the NBA draft. They do a great job with the NFL draft but that is where the NBA draft went wrong. They attempted to apply their successful NFL Draft formula to the NBA Draft and it doesn’t work. No one on the stage last night was the NBA’s version of Mel Kiper, Jr. Bilas, dry but somewhat knowledgeable. However, you have a law degree from Duke. I expect knowledgeable. I would like to see him defend the Duke lacrosse team. Dickie V was his bombastic knowledgeable self but there is a difference between him and Kiper. Dickie V has no hair while Kiper has the hair of a disgraced televangelist.
Greg Anthony and Stephen A. Smith, you are worthy analysts who do a great job but you are definately no Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley. My all time favorite NBA draft moment was when Barkley told Smith that Smith had no charisma and charm and Smith then flashed his championship ring telling Barkley that he did not have a ring and watching Barkley huff until a commercial was called.
Thank God that overated analyst (and overated top 50 all time NBA player) Scottie Pippen was not there. BORING, BORING, BORING
I miss John Thompson and Hubie Brown analyzing and overanalyzing NBA players much like Kiper does with the NFL. Is there someone who does the NBA version of a draft guide like Kiper does with an NFL draft guide?
However, Dan Patrick and Stuart Scott were their usual selves and that made the draft interesting. Patrick’s comments about landing Jets at LaGuardia and telling David Stern that he loved NFL Commissioner Taglibue better.
(5): No one mocked the one player (whose name slips my mind) who wore the pink sweater (Bill Simmons missed that one) with his sportcoat. Worse was they did not roll off the film of famous NBA fashion blunders of Karl Malone with his cutoff mesh tie, Samaki Walker and his white derby hat, and Jalen Rose’s famous red suit.
(6): Toronto had the first pick and you knew because Toronto was in Canada that they would pick a foreign guy because American college players would harp over the exchange rates. Plus, they hired the Italian executive days before. This was a no brainer that did not need an Internet article with an ugly orange “in” graphic that meant that you had to pay to read it.
(7): Because of number 6, there were no stories like the ones of the rumored ‘frozen envelope’ that gave the Knicks the first selection in the 1985 NBA Draft and caused the ‘ping-pong ball system to be implemented shortly thereafter. Nor were there any stories of the Wizards somehow getting the first pick in the 2001 NBA Draft because Michael Jordan went there. Nor were there any stories of LeBron James and how Cleveland (near his hometown of Akron, Ohio) somehow got the first pick in 2003.
I was hoping that David Stern would purposely mess up the Dallas Maverick’s draft pick just to hear owner Mark Cuban go on another rant and get a heftier fine for criticizing David Stern.
Oh well, there’s next year.
