NBA Draft

The NBA draft is coming up tonight. I am interested for two and only two reasons - who are the Pacers going to get and the new age limits.

The Pacers

The Pacers have Jamaal Tinsley, Stephen Jackson, Jermaine O'Neal, and Ron Artest as the core of their team. This is not shabby at all. Even as much as I hate Artest, if he keeps it under control he is a excellent defender. Add Jeff Foster to that group as the 6th man and you've got quite the team. So what do the Pacers need? In my estimation, they need a legitmate center
or maybe a shooter. I think a big man is more important.

The Pacers have O'Neal at center sometimes and Jeff Foster there at other times. Neither of these fit the role particularly well. Jermaine is better suited for a power forward role. Jeff Foster is not a starter. Or he shouldn't be anyway. Don't get me wrong, Jeff is a perfecty fine player and I like him on the team, but he is just not starting material. Besides, his style of play can be a big spark when used off the bench. Foster is a the guy who does the little things to get a team motivated. He'll take a charge or fight extra hard for an offensive rebound. Those kinds of things can really get a team motivated.

I don't think Reggie's retirement is as big a deal as some people see it to be. For the last few seasons, latest playoff run excluded, Reggie was not the focus of the offense like years past. Things were/are flowing through Jermaine O'Neal. Now having said that, getting a shooter who could be capable of 15 ppg could really augment Jermaine's output. I just don't see is as more important as a legitmate center who would then allow O'Neal to play the type of game of a power forward, which seems to suit him better.

Who do the "experts" predict the Pacers will pick? The two big names popping up everywhere are Rashad McCants and Francisco Garcia. I like Garcia better than McCants. Getting Rashad and Ron together may have the Pacers ending up competitng for the WWF Tag Team Title instead of the one the NBA gives out, you know - the real one. I must admit, the first time I saw Garcia was when he absolutely dismantled my beloved Hoosiers a few years ago, as a freshman. It was one of those games where you couldn't really be mad at him because he was doing everything so well.

With a lack of big men who could actually be evaluated, Garcia may be the best bet for the Pacers. Most of the centers who could be taken at #17 are from overseas, and I'm not a fan of drafting a guy because he's destroying the guys who moved to Europe because they couldn't make it in the NBA. (At first I had "destroying Serbians" and thought "Oh my, that's in incredibly bad taste" and changed it to "destroying Croats" but then thought better of
that too. But for some reason, I'm still telling you)

If nothing else, Garcia is a riot in the post-game interviews. He has to have the lowest height-to-voice pitch ratio of any basketball player ever. Usually you get guys that are gigantic with low-pitched voices, but not Garcia. Never in my life have I ever heard someone that tall with a voice that high. I'd mention the Pacers should hold off on drafting a guy who's testicles haven't decended yet, but he's 6'7", so that joke's out the window.

The New Age Limit

This year marks the last year for high schoolers in the draft. Next year, players must have been a year removed from their class' graduation to declare. I have a small beef with this, but for the most part I'm in agreement.

The new age rule only applies to American players. If age limits are in place, they should also apply to foreign players. The argument for protecting roster spots for veterans is completely negated by still allowing young Europeans into the draft. Other than this small bit, I'm in agreement with the new guidelines.

Many people point to baseball and hockey as examples of sports with young drafts. My position is that these sports have well developed minor league systems. Players are not immediately subjected to competition on the highest level. The minors serve as a safety net for young players. Players are weaned into successively tougher competition until they are ready. With the NBA, the approach is more like throwing your little brother into the middle of the pool to teach him to swim. Only instead of waiting to make sure he actually picks up on it, you go mow the lawn and forget about him. The high washout rate of NBA teens is a direct consequence of this "sink-or-swim" approach to the league.

There will always be talented players like LeBron James or Amare Stoudemire who can contribute directly out of high school. There are still others like Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O'Neal who have become dominate players after skipping college, but they were not immediately great and had to develop on the court. Writers bemoan the lack of future LeBron's for the future drafts. I have to say that waiting an extra year is hardly the apocalypse people are making it out to be. If anything, those players will be just that much better when they do make it. Carmelo Anthony went to college for one year. His path would be similar to those of future would-be draftees. Everything seems to be working out for 'Melo just fine.

Just One More Thing

Although I'm not too vested, I am curious to see where Bracey Wright ends up. My expert analysis - very late second round. He's shown he can't play on the road and he had difficulty rebounding from shooting slumps. Sorry for the basketball pun, it was only semi-intentional. I didn't want to use it, but it really is the best word for the sentence. I wish him the best, but I still feel he shouldn't have jumped.