NBA Draft and Summer Football
A total of 12 Pac-10 players were taken in the 2008 NBA draft a couple weeks ago, three more than the closest conference, the Big-12, and six more than any other conference. Headlining the Pac-10 draft class were five players taken in the lottery, making more than a third of this year’s lottery selections Pac-10 players. Those were, O.J. Mayo taken third by Minnesota, Russell Westbrook taken fourth by the former Sonics, Kevin Love taken fifth by Memphis, Brook Lopez taken tenth by New Jersey and Jerryd Bayless taken 11th by the Blazers.
Later the same night, however, Love and Mayo swapped teams in a surprise trade that both respective G.M.’s called a success for their team. Of the five players taken in the top 14 picks, I think that Brook Lopez has the greatest chance to make a lasting impact on his new team. This is not because Lopez is more NBA ready than the rest of them, he may even be the least, but he joins a team that is not going to need much from him. The Nets return the much-maligned Vince Carter, but also picked up Memphis’s Chris Douglas Roberts and California’s Ryan Anderson later in the first round. Not all three of the rookies will start, but it gives them potential to be stacked from position 1-5 with Devin Harris returning at point, then Carter, CDR, Anderson, and Lopez filling out the roster. Word is that they maneuvered well enough to free up some cap space so when Lebron James becomes available at the end of his contract in 2010 they can sign him. By then, Lopez should be more able to go stronger to his right, defend better, and keep his emotions in check so he can stay in the game longer, all things that he had problems with at Stanford.
The other player amongst the lottery picks that intrigues me as an Oregonian is Bayless going to the Blazers. I have to admit that I was hopping the Blazers would get D.J. Augustin because he is more of a true point guard or Donte Green from Syracuse. I really didn’t think the Blazers needed another combo guard since any will pale in comparison to Brandon Roy, who takes over the point in the fourth quarter anyways. Also, with Rudy Fernandez coming in next year from Spain, there probably won’t be much time to be had off the ball while Roy’s at point. However, Bayless has already responded to such criticism, explaining that the reason the public may have that perception of him is because he was forced to score more during his one year at Arizona because of the injuries the Wildcats suffered throughout the season. I’ll be curious to see if this claim actually holds any water when the Blazers begin Summer League play tomorrow, July 14, against Washington. Even if Bayless is a true point, then that bumps Roy to shooting guard where Fernandez is his most successful, and I’m not sure if Fernandez is willing or able to play small forward where the Blazers really needed their most help. I don’t mean to question the most creative G.M. in the NBA, but I’m puzzled why Kevin Pritchard loves Bayless so much. One things for certain though, the addition of Greg Oden will be a big help. Even with a congested backcourt, I predict that the Blazers make the playoffs for the first time in six seasons as a seventh or eighth seed.
In other Pac-10 news, the college football season is approaching and Ted Miller of ESPN.com previews each of the Pac-10 teams. Unfortunately, only California is free to read if you aren’t an insider.
Regardless, voluntary summer workouts are currently in swing for all ten teams, which amounts to a moderate amount of excitement for any college football fan. You can never be sure how these workouts effect the upcoming season. Dennis Dixon missed all of them for the Ducks last year while he played minor league baseball and he played Heisman-level football in a whole new offense. Still, Dixon didn’t just forget about football, he threw passes to his baseball teammates and had periodical visits from his then-new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly before fall camp began in August. So some work on football during the summer definitely helps, but it’s not damning if your favorite team doesn’t have their star players present.