NBA Draft

[flyer85]

Does it get anymore annoying than Stephen A. Smith?

He thinks elevating his voice is the same thing as making a coherent argument.

[ochre]

The Knicks are not one of the worst run, they ARE the worst run organization. Maybe in all of sports.

The Hawks say

[Puffy]

The Hawks say

The Knicks have the highest payroll in the NBA. With that the Hawks still had more wins last year than the Knicks.

The Knicks just let Larry Brown go after signing him last year - they owe him $40 million on his contract still.

The guy who is their GM is also their president and now their head coach. He has failed at every business he has tried since his NBA career ended. Now that kind of failure obviously qualifies you to be President of the US (GWB says hello) but not to run a sports organization.

The Hawks are bad. The Trailblazers are bad. The Raptors were bad, but they hired Colango so things are looking up for them, although this first pick has Darko written all over him. But none of them hold a candle to Dolan and Isiah and the Knicks.

[M2]

Does it get anymore annoying than Stephen A. Smith?

I have to confess, I love Smith. Go to bar in an eastern metropolis and watch a game and you'll meet a guy like Smith. He'll go off on a tirade with barely any provocation. He'll lack volume and spittle control. He'll seamlessly work in digs about your mother if you disagree with him. He'll also buy you beers and throw his arm around you like you've been his best friend for years.

Sure he's loud and often preposterous, but I'll bet he's also a blast to hang out with. I find him infinitely more interesting than most of the buttoned-down talking heads ESPN airs.

[WMR]

Not to mention that the Knicks also lost the right to potentially draft Greg Oden. Wow.

[WMR]

I have to confess, I love Smith. Go to bar in an eastern metropolis and watch a game and you'll meet a guy like Smith. He'll go off on a tirade with barely any provocation. He'll lack volume and spittle control. He'll seamlessly work in digs about your mother if you disagree with him. He'll also buy you beers and throw his arm around like you've been his best friend for years.

Sure he's loud and often preposterous, but I'll bet he's also a blast to hang out with. I find him infinitely more interesting than most of the buttoned-down talking heads ESPN airs.

Doesn't everyone talk like Stephen A. Smith up north?

(JOKING... sort of)

[Puffy]

Not to mention that the Knicks also lost the right to potentially draft Greg Oden. Wow.

Yup, Chicago has the right to swap picks with the Knicks next year.

So, for those of you scoring at home - the Knicks got Eddy Curry and Antonio Davis for Tim Thomas, Michael Sweetney, Jermaine Jackson, the number 2 pick in the 2006 draft (Tyrus Thomas), the second round pick of the Knicks in 2007 and 2009, and the right for Chicago to switch 2007 draft picks (which is a definite lottery pick.

[ochre]

The Knicks have the highest payroll in the NBA. With that the Hawks still had more wins last year than the Knicks.

The Knicks just let Larry Brown go after signing him last year - they owe him $40 million on his contract still.

The guy who is their GM is also their president and now their head coach. He has failed at every business he has tried since his NBA career ended. Now that kind of failure obviously qualifies you to be President of the US (GWB says hello) but not to run a sports organization.

The Hawks are bad. The Trailblazers are bad. The Raptors were bad, but they hired Colango so things are looking up for them, although this first pick has Darko written all over him. But none of them hold a candle to Dolan and Isiah and the Knicks.

You aren't allowing for the length of time factor in your analysis. The Hawks have been doing things like this since they signed John Koncak to a huge contract.

John Koncak.

[dabvu2498]

I have to confess, I love Smith. Go to bar in an eastern metropolis and watch a game and you'll meet a guy like Smith. He'll go off on a tirade with barely any provocation. He'll lack volume and spittle control. He'll seamlessly work in digs about your mother if you disagree with him. He'll also buy you beers and throw his arm around like you've been his best friend for years.

Sure he's loud and often preposterous, but I'll bet he's also a blast to hang out with. I find him infinitely more interesting than most of the buttoned-down talking heads ESPN airs.

A guy I wouldn't mind hanging out in a bar with and a guy I want analyzing the NBA draft are two very different things.

[M2]

A guy I wouldn't mind hanging out in a bar with and a guy I want analyzing the NBA draft are two very different things.

Not me. I figure the guy in the bar is just as likely to make a cogent point as the suit.

[dabvu2498]

Not me. I figure the guy in the bar is just as likely to make a cogent point as the suit.

Then go to the bar and watch the draft with no sound. I'll take intelligence, not saying that any of the guys that were on last night are real high on that chart, but I did think Jay Bilas did a decent job.

[M2]

Then go to the bar and watch the draft with no sound. I'll take intelligence, not saying that any of the guys that were on last night are real high on that chart, but I did think Jay Bilas did a decent job.

Or I could just watch Smith on TV. FWIW, I think he's plenty intelligent. He made the absolute best point of the night on the Knicks' first pick from what I saw when he said it was a team full of selfish players who lack a work ethic and won't get physical on defense or listen to the coach so that maybe a kid who doesn't demand the ball and defends like a demon is EXACTLY what the team needs ... though whether the kid they drafted fills the bill remains to be seen.

[Outshined_One]

If Shelden Williams is one of the 5 best players available, that doesn't say a whole heck of a lot about the talent pool.

Actually, it's more like a talent puddle.

Nah, he wasn't one of the five best available guys. The Hawks had a pre-draft deal worked out with him weeks before the draft so that he'd sign on the cheap. He'll be a decent player in the NBA and was probably a low lottery pick in the overall scheme of things coming into the draft.

The Hawks could have used some one like Foye or Roy way more, though.

I liked what the Bulls did. They got two of the better athletes in the draft in Thomas and Thabo. Both guys are already pretty polished defensively with good ceilings. I don't think either guy will be a starter this season, but they will be helpful off the bench. Skiles is a good coach in a good situation, so I think they'll be in good hands. I'm curious to see where those guys will be in two years.