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Behind The Scoreboard
By Claude Vinson NBA draft The
NBA’s super market, actually known as the annual NBA draft, opened its
doors on June 25 so franchises could fill their shopping carts with new
talents in hopes of fulfilling playoff dreams. The hall was filled with
all the hopefuls with their families, future coaches, friends and
reporters. As usual it was cacophonous but orderly. Most
were anxious to see if their predictions would pan out as to who would
be the first pick. It was a no-brainer. John Wall of Kentucky had been
touted as the premier choice draftee ever since the freshman declared.
The Washington Wizards had won the draft lottery (the right to choose
first), and they selected Wall. The Wizards didn’t really have a
magical season and with a record of 26-56, they amazed few. And
at this point is where this writer cries foul. I can’t see the fairness
in the cast of a die or coin flip to see who gets the first pick when
there are teams with records lower than sea level. Would it not be more
equitable to give the five teams with the worst records the first five
picks before flipping the coin? The New Jersey Nets, by far the very
worst with a record of 12-70, certainly could have benefited from such
consideration. The Nets are apparently solving
their most immediate problems. First, the franchise was sold. Remember
the old cries – the Russians are coming, the Russians are coming?
Well, apparently they have arrived and are buying NBA teams. The new
owner of the Nets is a billionaire Russian by the name of Mikhail
Prokhorov. He has not been that visible so far but there is evidence
that he is using a new broom. Rumor has it that the president has been
fired and the GM’s contract will not be renewed. And he has hired Avery
Johnson as the new coach. Johnson has the greatest winning percentage
of any NBA coach. As was mentioned, the first
pick came from Kentucky. A beaming Calipari looked on as his university
made history. He had five players selected in the first round. Never
before in the history of the draft has this happened. Coach Cal
adroitly sidestepped the question about team decimation by saying
sweetly how proud he was of these young men, their families and the
University of Kentucky. If you were like most of
us, you were not really interested in where the Lakers and Celtics
would pick, however, you waited to see what the Memphis Grizzlies would
do with their choices at 12, 25 and 28. The week had been filled with
speculations that Memphis would take Xavier Henry at 12, Doiminique
Jones at 25 and Greivis Vasquez at 28. But, we know how fond the Grizz
is of making deals and one surfaced before the ink was dry. Jones was
sold for a rumored $3 million cash and Vasquez retained, for now. The
entire draft process was interspersed with suggestions about the future
of LeBron James, Chicago and Cleveland. And it was even disclosed that
the New York Knicks are weighing in in an effort to get King James to
come to the Big Apple. Don’t worry, this saga won’t wrap for some time.
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