NBA Draft June 26, 2014
Since the season ended, all I've been doing is waiting for the draft. The Thunder had two picks in the first round, picks 21 and 29. The draft is really what kicks off the off-season. Sam Presti's draft past has been exceptional, so I went in knowing it would be hard to disagree too much. The draft is really important to small market teams like OKC, because big name free agents don't want to sign here long term. So, they have to draft players and convince them to stay long term. Example: Kevin Durant, who was probably the easiest selection in the history of the draft in 07, after the Blazers chose Greg Oden number 1. He traded Ray Allen to the Celtics for the rights to number 5 pick Jeff Green. The next year, 08, with the 4th overall pick in the draft, Presti chose Russell Westbrook. At the time, the pick was scrutinized by "experts", saying his skills are too raw and he relies too much on athleticism. And now we all know how that worked out, he's one of the top 10 players in the world. Also in the same draft, with the 24th pick, he got our boy Serge Ibaka. In 09, with the 3rd overall pick, he took James Harden, who became even better than expected, which forced the Thunder to trade him. With 24th pick, Byron Mullens. LOLOLOLOLOL In 2010, OKC held 21 and 26, which they traded to New Orleans for 11th pick, which produced our toothless friend Cole Aldrich. So, we can all laugh at Presti for that one, but everyone makes mistakes. With the first pick of the second round, they got the draft rights to overseas big man, Tibor Pleiss. He hasn't played a minute in the NBA, so that one is still up in the air. In 2011, pick 24 again, we took Reggie Jackson. Still can't fully evaluate that pick, but he's given provided plenty of value for a 24 pick. In 2012, OKC only had one pick and that was 28. Perry Jones III was the selection, and if he would have entered the draft the year before, he would have been a top 10 pick. To be determined on that one. 2013, via the Harden trade, OKC ended up with the 12th pick, which they took Steven Adams. As of right now, that pick gets an "A". He was way better than expected and played huge minutes in the playoffs, having a double double in the closeout Game 6 of the Clippers series. Pick 26 was Andre Roberson, I don't know what to say other than good defender, completely awful shooter. Also, with the 32nd pick he took a 20 year old shooter from Barcelona, Alex Abrines. He's still playing in Europe, so still to be determined.
So let's grade them shall we?
2007: Kevin Durant- Is there a grade higher than A+?
2007: Jeff Green- He was my favorite player while he was here, and he was pretty good, and he was later the key piece that brought the Thunder All-Star Center Kendrick Perkins. So, we will go with F-
2008: Russell Westbrook- Whatever we decide on KD
2008: Serge Ibaka: With the 24th pick, it's considered successful if you get a good role player. Well Serge is a top 5 power forward in the league. So, A+
2009: James Harden: Evaluation gets an A+. But since he's now tearing it up for a conference rival, I'll go with a B+
2009: Byron Mullens- LOL-
2010: Cole Aldrich- Spent two years sitting on the bench making up three point celebrations. Then went to Rockets as a filler for the Harden trade, they didn't want him either, and he was cut. He spent last year with the Knicks shooting goofy free throws. F
2010: Tibor Pleiss- TBD
2011: Reggie Jackson- Like I said on Serge, you're just hoping for a role player with 24, and Reggie had his name in the mix for 6th man of the year award. Can't grade it completely until we see if we can resign him, but for now we'll go B+
2012: Perry Jones III- Showed flashes of being a quality stretch 4, but Scott Brooks really never gave him a chance to succeed yet. TBD
2013: Steven Adams- As I said earlier, developed way faster than expected and in many opinions should be starting next year. So far... A
2013: Andre Roberson- TBD
2013: Alex Abrines- TBD
Now for this years draft. My bro and I are both going to give our opinions on these picks.
Round 1, Pick 21: Mitch McGary
D's Thoughts:
This pick was like back in the day when you were all excited about opening your stockings on Christmas, and the first thing you see is a toothbrush. First thought is: seriously Mom, you made me leave the store and go sit in the car so you can sneak a toothbrush? Then when it's all said and done you end up using the toothbrush more than anything else. Wasn't the funnest pick, and there definitely were some guys available that would be more fun. But, it fills a future need, Nick Collison is 34 and has to have surgery this offseason. Maybe he recovers fine or maybe he doesn't, but either way, McGary was drafted to fill the Collison role. He's not the best athlete, but runs the floor well, plays great in the pick n roll, a good passer for a big man, and can step out to the three point line occasionally. His Freshman year, he was the second best player on a Michigan team that made it to the NCAA championship. Overall: B+
B's Thoughts:
I watched this entire draft in pure anticipation of what the Thunder would do with these 2 first round picks. Then, pick number 21 came around and they announced...Mitch McGary. I was so disappointed. After watching the Thunder and how stagnant their offense can be when KD and Russ are struggling, I thought surely the Thunder would have their sights set on a shooter. I was really hoping they could package together some of their assets and move up and pick Doug McDermott or Nik Stauskas (youtube those guys, they can stroke it). But that didn't happen so when pick 21 rolled around, I thought someone like P.J. Hairston would be a nice pick. He had some off the court issues that had him kicked off North Carolina but he tore up the D-League and could definitely provide some scoring help. But, they selected Mitch McGary. My brother helped convince me that he can be valuable so my own personal jury is still out on the pick. I hope he and Sam Presti are right. Overall: B-
Round 1, Pick 29: Josh Huestis
D-
My initial thought was Josh Whostis? I did a ton of studying on this draft. Seriously, you can ask B, I called nine of the top ten picks, but when they called his name I had no idea who he was. But, I did some research and watched some videos. He's a 6'7" defensive specialist with a 7'1" wingspan. He holds the record at Stanford for career blocks with 190, great defender, great athlete, and above average rebounder for his size. He held number 1 pick, Andrew Wiggins, to 4 points on 1-6 shooting when the faced off with Kansas. I like the pick and he seems to have pretty good value, but it's really similar to last years 26 pick Andre Roberson. It was like Transformers 2, which was pretty much the same stuff as the first, they just put Megan Fox in sketchier situations wearing less clothes. I definitely didn't argue with that, so I'm going to keep an open mind. It seems that maybe they didn't like what they saw of Roberson last year. So, maybe he will be on the move somewhere. Overall: C+
B-
I was with D on this one. When they made this pick I had no idea who Josh Huestis was. So I also did some research. He seems to be a smart(graduated from nerd nation at Stanford), athletic, tenacious defender who I already am starting to like. I think he can be a valuable piece to their roster. I still thought the Thunder should've taken a shooter somewhere with the 2 first round picks, but they didn't. I'm hoping they have a potential trade or free agent signing lined up before the season starts, but we will have to wait and see. I like the Josh Huestis pick purely from a character standpoint. He seems like a great guy and will prove to be a great teammate for this young thunder team. Overall: B
All in all, just kind of a so-so start for the OKC off-season. But with free agency starting today, things should start to get interesting. They will make a move or more before the season starts, or at least I hope so. I'm as big a Thunder fan as anyone, but they can't win a title with the bench they would throw out if the season started today. So, cross your fingers for a trade or free agency signing in the next few weeks.
D's Thoughts:
This pick was like back in the day when you were all excited about opening your stockings on Christmas, and the first thing you see is a toothbrush. First thought is: seriously Mom, you made me leave the store and go sit in the car so you can sneak a toothbrush? Then when it's all said and done you end up using the toothbrush more than anything else. Wasn't the funnest pick, and there definitely were some guys available that would be more fun. But, it fills a future need, Nick Collison is 34 and has to have surgery this offseason. Maybe he recovers fine or maybe he doesn't, but either way, McGary was drafted to fill the Collison role. He's not the best athlete, but runs the floor well, plays great in the pick n roll, a good passer for a big man, and can step out to the three point line occasionally. His Freshman year, he was the second best player on a Michigan team that made it to the NCAA championship. Overall: B+
B's Thoughts:
I watched this entire draft in pure anticipation of what the Thunder would do with these 2 first round picks. Then, pick number 21 came around and they announced...Mitch McGary. I was so disappointed. After watching the Thunder and how stagnant their offense can be when KD and Russ are struggling, I thought surely the Thunder would have their sights set on a shooter. I was really hoping they could package together some of their assets and move up and pick Doug McDermott or Nik Stauskas (youtube those guys, they can stroke it). But that didn't happen so when pick 21 rolled around, I thought someone like P.J. Hairston would be a nice pick. He had some off the court issues that had him kicked off North Carolina but he tore up the D-League and could definitely provide some scoring help. But, they selected Mitch McGary. My brother helped convince me that he can be valuable so my own personal jury is still out on the pick. I hope he and Sam Presti are right. Overall: B-
Round 1, Pick 29: Josh Huestis
D-
My initial thought was Josh Whostis? I did a ton of studying on this draft. Seriously, you can ask B, I called nine of the top ten picks, but when they called his name I had no idea who he was. But, I did some research and watched some videos. He's a 6'7" defensive specialist with a 7'1" wingspan. He holds the record at Stanford for career blocks with 190, great defender, great athlete, and above average rebounder for his size. He held number 1 pick, Andrew Wiggins, to 4 points on 1-6 shooting when the faced off with Kansas. I like the pick and he seems to have pretty good value, but it's really similar to last years 26 pick Andre Roberson. It was like Transformers 2, which was pretty much the same stuff as the first, they just put Megan Fox in sketchier situations wearing less clothes. I definitely didn't argue with that, so I'm going to keep an open mind. It seems that maybe they didn't like what they saw of Roberson last year. So, maybe he will be on the move somewhere. Overall: C+
B-
I was with D on this one. When they made this pick I had no idea who Josh Huestis was. So I also did some research. He seems to be a smart(graduated from nerd nation at Stanford), athletic, tenacious defender who I already am starting to like. I think he can be a valuable piece to their roster. I still thought the Thunder should've taken a shooter somewhere with the 2 first round picks, but they didn't. I'm hoping they have a potential trade or free agent signing lined up before the season starts, but we will have to wait and see. I like the Josh Huestis pick purely from a character standpoint. He seems like a great guy and will prove to be a great teammate for this young thunder team. Overall: B
All in all, just kind of a so-so start for the OKC off-season. But with free agency starting today, things should start to get interesting. They will make a move or more before the season starts, or at least I hope so. I'm as big a Thunder fan as anyone, but they can't win a title with the bench they would throw out if the season started today. So, cross your fingers for a trade or free agency signing in the next few weeks.
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