NBA Draft / Jun 29, 2007 / 2:19 am

’07 NBA Draft Winners & Losers

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Who came out of this year’s NBA Draft looking good, and who came out with lots of ‘splaining to do? Let’s break down five of the biggest winners from Thursday night and five of the biggest losers …

WINNERS
The League — The mainstream attention given to this year’s Draft was fantastic for the NBA. Greg Oden and Kevin Durant are already ready-made superstars that fell into the League’s lap at the right time, and not only have they caused a spike in fan interest for two previously low-profile smaller-market teams, they’ve no doubt generated greater interest for the NBA in general after a Finals series that turned a lot of people off.

Golden State Warriors — Marco Belinelli is supposed to be nice, but he’s not the main reason GS cracks this list. The Warriors unloaded Jason Richardson’s monster contract and managed to get Brandan Wright out of the deal, arguably the best player in the draft after Oden and Durant. And in the second round, the Warriors further addressed their frontcourt weaknesses by grabbing UMass eraser Stephane Lasme.

Atlanta Hawks — They’ve needed a solid point guard going on three years now, and they finally got their guy on Thursday in Acie Law. And while they were at it, the Hawks landed Al Horford, already an upgrade over Shelden Williams.

Paul Pierce — Who would have thought P-Double would get a future Hall of Famer to play alongside him and not have to watch Al Jefferson or Gerald Green walk away? With Ray Allen now in the fold, along with Jefferson, G-Money and the rest of that mostly-intact young core, Pierce has got to be smiling heading into next season.

Seattle Supersonics — Yeah, they’re rebuilding, but look at what they have to work with? Durant and Wally Szczerbiak to score, Jeff Green to do a little bit of everything, and Delonte West to play the point. You have to assume they’re trading Luke Ridnour any day now.

LOSERS
Michael Jordan — He should have just kept Brandan Wright and Jared Dudley and called it a night. By trading Wright to Golden State for Jason Richardson, MJ may have burned all of Charlotte’s cap room if they indeed have to eat the $12 million or so from J-Rich’s contract to make the trade work. Richardson is good, don’t get us wrong, but is he better (and more reliable) than the free agents the ‘Cats could have went after with that cap space?

Detroit Pistons — Like Charlotte, the Pistons landed some quality players in Rodney Stuckey, Arron Afflalo and second-rounder Sammy Mejia. But spending first-round picks on two guys who basically play the same position as Rip Hamilton is excessive, not to mention the versatile Mejia also plays the two. The team now has a glut of perimeter talent (don’t forget Flip Murray) but still have only free agent Chauncey Billups and might-retire Lindsey Hunter at the point.

Lakers fans — Or at least those who want Kobe to stay in Los Angeles. Javaris Crittenton is talented as hell, but he’s coming off his freshman year and still a work in progress at the point; Sun Yue is even more of a project PG than Javaris; and Marc Gasol might not have been drafted if not for his last name. Basically, the Lakers didn’t give Kobe any reason to change his mind about wanting to bounce.

Chicago Bulls — Sticking with their pattern of taking players who saw team success in college, Chicago got two bigs from winning programs (Joakim Noah and Aaron Gray), but still doesn’t have a big who can score.

Yao Ming — He just saw Juwan Howard get traded for a guard (Mike James), and then on Thursday, Yao didn’t get much frontcourt help from his team’s draft. First-rounder Aaron Brooks is a good point guard and second-rounder Brad Newley is supposed to be nice, but do the Rockets really need more backcourt players? Houston traded for second-rounder Carl Landry, but he’s basically the same player as Chuck Hayes — an undersized four who isn’t athletic enough to play the three. Unless the Rockets pick someone up in trade or free agency, Yao will have to carry a huge load up front next season.

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  • Junio Rodrigues

    Yes, J-Rich is better then all the FA scorers the Cats were targeting….More fire and younger then Carter, they don´t need Lewis cause they can re-sign Wallace. Billups wouldn´t come because of Felton…The Cats swinged a homerun tonight.

  • Derek

    Ray Allen will never smell the HOF, please never mention those two in the same sentence again. thanks bye

  • Bobby B

    And don’t forget that the Sonics also picked up Glen Davis. The guy has nice hands and great footwork. If he can lose some pounds, I think he can contribute in Seattle as well.

  • http://dimemag.com Austin Burton

    Big Baby went to the Celtics in the trade.

    Check Ray’s numbers again before saying he won’t sniff the Hall of Fame. He’s one of the best three-point and free-throw shooters of all-time.

  • E-ROC

    Great job, Lakers!!! Outstanding. Yeah, 3 PROJECTS. Somebody needs to buy the Lakers. They could have had Rudy Fernandez to play the point who has more experience than any of the players. That’s sad. Then the Lakers passed up on Derrick Byars and DJ Strawberry. Isn’t Ron Lewis in the draft? Kobe will be in a Lakers uniform because the Buss family want to continue using him to sell tickets instead of winning championships. Celtics stole Ray Allen from the Sonics. I just hope they have enough balls to go around. That team is going to be a beast for a long time if Jefferson and Green continue to develop and everybody stays healthy. Did anything happen with the Pacers-Nets trade involving Nenad, Jefferson, and JO? Portland will be dominating in about two or three years. I guarantee it. The Spurs are killing the competition and it’s sad. What is Phoenix doing? Why trade Rudy Fernandez when u need a back up for Nash? I do like DJ Strawberry and if he doesn’t make the team, the Suns have rocks in their heads.

  • Stevie B

    Rudy Fernandez is not a PG, he’s a slasher in the mold of ginobili.

  • http://mod Coop

    lol sorry fool but Jesus quite clearly WILL be HOF whether you like it or not. Nigh-on decade of 22ppg+.
    Count on it.

  • seth

    Coop, got to agree with you. No way Shuttlesworth isn’t getting in. 6-time All Star with over 15 thousand pts. in the bank right now. When all is said and done, he may well be a 10-time All Star with 25 grand. Derek, do you watch the NBA?

  • kudabeen

    I think the Bobcats did well. Jason Richardson, has 1 rough season with injury, but comes back and plays well in the playoffs, and people knock him. He has been a 20+ppg 5+rpg 4apg guy, who does D up and who has heart. Why knock him? Bobcats get a go to guy and that backcourt of Him and Felton, might be the pound for pound toughest in the league (Think about these two pit bulls).

    Bradon Wright would have been a nice show-piece, but who know his heart. Bobcats want to have a team of flat out warriors that will do anything to win. Jordan is picking based on competitive know-how, not just upside. I like what they are doing. They need a backup PG and a another stud 4/5 guy to really do something, because Prizmo is not that dude.

    My question is are they going to sign G. Wallace or sign and Trade him for a starting SF. Morrison is not a starter…

  • Bobby B

    My bad; I didn’t realize Davis was involved in the Allen deal.

  • Russ

    No mention of another gem by sixers gm billy king???

    has anyone been more incompetent at their job and still not gotten fired? …..well besides goerge bush.

    can we impeach king and just make hip-hop the gm of the sixers??

  • Luke

    Yes!!!

  • Tom Toronto

    I like Boston’s moves but who’s going to run the point? Telfair supposedly will never wear green again (maybe that’s why he didn’t go to the Sonics) and Rajon Rondo is nice and all, but can he hang with Pierce and Allen? Maybe have Shuttleworth run the point? I wonder if they told Seattle that Szczerbiak’s ankles are made of fabrege eggs, I hope they have a good doctor.

    PS To the guy that said Ray Allen won’t smell the HOF, are you on glue?? One of the nicest shooters in the game and classiest players in the league, and he shouldn’t be even mentioned? Go back to your home on hater island

  • Derek

    No im not on glue, if Ray Allen gets in to the Hall of fame, then they need to let every single player his caliber in. EX: Mashburn, Glen Robinson, Allen Houston, Penny Hardaway, Kerry Kittles etc

  • http://dimemag.com Austin Burton

    Mashburn? Glenn Robinson? Kerry Kittles? Be serious, yo. Those guys don’t come close to having the career Ray has had. Penny would have been a HOFer if injuries hadn’t gotten in his way, and Houston is a level below Ray.

  • sunnizzle

    Ray allen is an absolute stud.. He will be in hall of fame.. Mashburn.. is not a pure shooter, Robinson.. even in his prime was never that great, kittles.. he stunk,
    hardway.. injuries, houston.. injuries but could have been there

  • Sonic Fan

    Derek, leave this thread to folks who really know basketball, since you obviously don’t. Ray Allen throughout his career has shown class, leadership, scoring, and clutch shooting to a team that is young and rebuilding. To even put him in the same breath as hardaway, kittles, robinson, mashburn is an insult for any fan of NBA basketball. Those guys you mentioned have all been decent journeymen in the NBA, but no where near HOF consideration.

    Boston definitely got the better end of the deal, and I am torn because we got another lottery player – but does not address an immediate need at shooting guard for my Sonics. So what if they will be playing in the pro-sports starved state of Oklahoma in a few years, they still need to make smart choices, which they recently did not do on Draft night. Allen for a draft pick that is good but not a great fit, Washed up Wally and Mediocre Delonte, it is a sad day for Sonic fans.

  • Dan

    Be very afraid to bash on MJ. He likes to bite back. I think he made an excellent move. Gerald Wallace will be resigned, along with Matt Carroll. He will still have cap room for a back-up point guard and a 4-5 veteran. The Bobcats will be a playoff team in the upcoming season. Steven A Smith is a loud, irrelevant, wannabe buffon.

  • Tom Toronto

    Did this guy seriously just compare Ray Allen to Kerry Kittles?? Kittles has a career total of 7,165 pts, 14.1 per game, which is certainly respectable, but we’re talking about Ray Allen here. 16,954 pts total (and counting) 21.5 ppg career average, 24.9 avg in the playoffs, plus seven all star appearances. The rest of that list are quality players, but no one has even come close to Jesus Shuttleworth, not to mention that Ray is STILL playing. He’s still got a few good years on the Boston parquet, while your list is long gone (possible exception: Allan Houston). Stop playing NBA Live 1996, a lot of things have happened since then.

  • mitch

    Landry is a stud and will battle in the paint

  • http://dimemag.com ronnie

    Allen definitely HOF….Hardaway not journeyman…probably if not for recent comments….he would be HOF…i think he made allstar team 6times.

  • http://dimemag.com Austin Burton

    You’re thinking of Tim Hardaway, Ronnie. We were talking about Penny Hardaway.

  • dave

    if you dont think that Ray is a hof caliber player you dont watch the teams he’s played for.. the bucks sucked the sonics are worse he is a top 15 player in the nba, a player of the year in college…. he will be the reason paul pierce has a shot at the hall. Match ray up with a big like Yao or Shaq and forget about kobe and wade every kid on block would rock a ray jersey and he would of had 3 or 4 rings because he can actually play in a system and doesnt need all the glory. If ray isn’t in then T-MAC has no shot has anyone thought about that.

  • rpcjr72

    if Reggie Miller’s one dimensional ass can be considered for the HOF, so can Ray. that being said, does he really seem like a HOFer? what’s he done that Glen Rice hasn’t?

  • Sean Wallace

    the bobcats didnt need b.wright. they already had 3 other guys that play the same position. May, Okafor, andPrimoz so keeping brandan would have made no sense. now they have another scorer if they can resign gerald. i just hate that jRich has this big contract.

  • Mark

    I like what the Bulls did. I don’t know who the Bulls were suppose to pick at the #9 position who score in the post. Hawes?!? The guy couldn’t even get his team to the NIT. And that would have been way too high for Davis. They basically took the best player available, not the player with the most hype which Dime seems to always choose (than watch fizzle).

    Also I like what the Bobcats did. Sure they had a lot of money, but were any of those guys actually going to sign there? Personally, if J-Rich can stay healthy, I’d rather have him than Lewis. J-Rich just has tons more fire, plus he is a 2 and Lewis is a 3, same as Wallace. Felton, Richardson, Wallace, Okafor, Primo – with Carrol, Morrison, May off the bench. That is a pretty nice start – Jordan gets far too much criticism for just being him.

    And Atlanta moves were mediocre at best. Acie Law has bust written all over him. He is not quick enough or a good enough shooter or playmaker to consistently run the point in the NBA. Horford is good, and a soon starter, but I think if they took Conley, they could turn their team into an uptempo scoring, dunking high-flying team. You can’t play Horford, Sheldin, Marvin W., Josh Smith, Joe Childress and Joe Johnson all at the same time. You need a point guard at some point; Law isn’t the answer.

  • bill

    seattle got robbed. only good thing they got in return was the pick and they messed that up pretty bad…. and rondo will be runnin point in beantown. that was most the reason that delonte was in the deal, they wanted him to get outta the way cuz its rondo’s job for now and the future….. delonte was expendable (was only gonna be rondo’s backup)… wally obvioulsy great to get rid of, and ray allen (veteran, great player, leader) was much more important for celts to add to the young team n paul than another 21 year old rookie……. great move by celts and they didnt give up any of their young talent to get future hof’er comin off his best year.

  • buddha

    derek you make me sick… jesus(ray allen) will light you up with 2 bad ankles

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