In a few days, the NBA regular season will officially end.
I have mixed feelings about this.
On one hand, the playoffs will start, thus commencing one of my favorite times of the year. Only the best (or, in the case of the Eastern Conference, slightly above average) teams remain with a championship on the line.
But at the same time, the end of the regular season only serves as further reminder that basketball will soon come to an end. Come June, I’ll be stuck with only the Cubs to watch every day. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.
So, in honor of what has been a wildly entertaining regular season, I’ve decided to have a little fun with this column. It has been a surprisingly effective year for the NBA’s rookie class, which was originally panned by the media as one of the decade’s worst.
There are a lot of teams kicking themselves over what could have been last summer. Let’s revisit the first few picks and see how they might change if the draft were held today.
First pick: Los Angeles Clippers
Originally picked: Blake Griffin
Today’s pick: Griffin
The poor Clippers. They pick the one player assumed to be a sure thing in the draft, and he gets injured before he can play a game. It wouldn’t be fair to say they made the wrong pick, and I still think Griffin will have a good career. If anything, I’d say Griffin would ask for a mulligan so that he could be picked by a team with better luck than the Clip show.
Second pick: Memphis Grizzlies
Originally picked: Hasheem Thabeet
Today’s pick: Ricky Rubio
Oh, boy. This looked like a bust from the beginning, and in this case the experts proved correct. Thabeet has struggled to find his place in the league and even spent some time in the D-League at one point during the season. The Grizzlies are pretty filled up at most positions, but they could still use a point guard. I don’t trust Mike Conley, and it seems like everyone’s forgotten how hot of a prospect Ricky Rubio was last year. He’s completely unselfish and would have plenty of weapons with Rudy Gay, O.J. Mayo, and Zach Randolph by his side. It’s really too bad this didn’t happen.
Third pick: Oklahoma City Thunder
Originally picked: James Harden
Today’s pick: Stephen Curry
It’s tough to argue with the Harden pick, as he’s turned out to be a nice complementary player who fits in perfectly with Kevin Durant and Co. But can you imagine the Thunder trotting out a starting five of Russell Westbrook, Curry, Durant, Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic? Poor Krstic sticks out like a sore thumb, but the other four could easily be All-Stars someday.
Fourth pick: Sacramento Kings
Originally picked: Tyreke Evans
Today’s pick: Evans
No argument here, as Evans has been superb and looks to be a star for years to come. Whether or not he’s really a point guard remains to be seen, but this kid’s got game no matter what position he plays.
Fifth pick: Minnesota Timberwolves
Originally picked: Ricky Rubio
Today’s pick: Brandon Jennings
Rubio is off the board, so we’ll go with the next best option in Brandon Jennings. Quite a consolation prize, if you ask me. Jennings may not boast the individual stats that Evans and Curry have, but he’s the only one of the three that will lead his team to the playoffs. That has to count for something, right? Oh, and he did score 55 points back in November. No big deal.
Sixth pick: Minnesota Timberwolves
Originally picked: Jonny Flynn
Today’s pick: James Harden
Here’s where the draft went off the deep end last year. David Kahn, freshly anointed as Minnesota’s new general manager, decided that it made sense to draft two pure point guards in a row. Flynn is listed at 6-feet, Rubio is 6-feet 4-inches and can’t shoot. Which of the two are you playing at shooting guard? I could go on and on about this. In our new draft, Minnesota already has Jennings locked up, so Harden makes sense here. Corey Brewer could move over to small forward, and Harden would plug in nicely at shooting guard.
I’d love to go on, but I’m officially out of space. A few more quick thoughts: picks fourteen through sixteen were disastrous. Earl Clark, Austin Daye and James Johnson. I’ve had plenty of time to watch Johnson for the Bulls this year, and it’s safe to say he’s Chicago’s worst pick since Eddy Curry. His potbelly rivals that of Rasheed Wallace.
So yes, the regular season is just about over. But … the 2010 draft is just over two months away. I’m feeling better already.
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