Delonte West, and even Tony Allen. Not a very productive draft. 2010 Grade: D- Boston Celtics (15) Drafted Al Jefferson. (24) Dallas traded the No. 24 pick (Delonte West), Raef LaFrentz, Jiri Welsch, and Chris Mills to Boston for Antoine Walker and Tony Delk. (25) Detroit traded the No. 25 pick (Tony Allen), Chucky Atkins, and Lindsey Hunter to Boston for Mike James. Boston sent Chris Mills to Atlanta. (40) Drafted Justin Reed Players received: Al Jefferson, Delonte West, Raef LaFrentz, Jiri Welsch, Tony Allen, Chucky Atkins, Lindsey Hunter, Justin Reed Players lost: Antoine Walker, Tony Delk, Mike James, Chris Mills 2007 Review: Boston traded a small forward who thinks he John Starks in Antoine Walker for a center who thinks he a small forward in Raef LaFrentz. That a wash. Mills was a has been Dallas Cowboys jersey
while Welsch was a never-was. That a wash. Atkins and Hunter versus Delk and James is a wash. However, with the picks they received, they did a nice job forming the nucleus of their future with Jefferson, West, and Allen. Jefferson has slowly but steadily developed into a post presence, and is the second best scoring big man in the entire 2005 draft. Considering Boston got him at 17, that a steal. Delonte West is best suited to being a backup, but is a decent guard, Tony Allen commits too many turnovers and is a poor shooter. Kevin Martin wouldve been a better pick, but Allen does have tremendous open floor skills and potential. If that potential gets tapped into, the Celtics grade goes from B+ to A. 2007 Grade: B+ 2010 Review: Boston broke up their team in 2004 and built a nice nucleus with the pieces they gave up. Antoine Walker turned into Delonte West, an underrated player who can shoot, slash, post, pass, defend, and play tough hard-nosed basketball. Mike James turned into Tony Allen, an above-average defender with average offensive skills. The Celtics own draft pick turned into Al Jefferson, a premier offensive post scorer who is improving as a jump shooter and a passer. The Celtics did a great job of drafting good young talent. 2010 Grade: A+ New Orleans Hornets (18) Drafted J.R. Smith. (44) Drafted Tim Pickett. 2007 Review: New Orleans was the first team seduced by Smith phenomenal talent. If Smith were ever given a brain to match his talent, teams would go out of their way to dish out a max contract to him. Instead we have a boy who breaks off plays in the crucial moments of playoff series so he can jack up threes. Instead we have a boy with no defense, no ball movement, and no conscious. Instead we have a boy who skips morning practices because hes not a morning person. Instead we have a boy who sits idly at the scorers table while his coach gives instructions to his team at their bench. Instead we have a boy who is too cool for any speed limit or seat belt and now has the blood of a friend on his hands. The pick gets an F, but J.R. Smith gets an F-. 2007 Grade: F 2010 Review: No player has come farther his last two seasons in the league than J.R. Smith. Two seasons ago, Smith was a disaster. A selfish miscreant of a player who didn take the game seriously and didn take his life seriously. Due to a tragic car accident that took the life of one of Smith friends, George Karl willingness to give second chances, and Smith own personal maturation, he changed his outlook on life and has improved exponentially as a player. Instead of being a gunner who broke off plays to jack up shots, Smith has refined his game considerably. His shot selection is still questionable, but improved; his passing abilities are considerable, and he shown glimpses of being a lock-down defender. All those traits are purification of the wondrous natural abilities Smith has. When his career is said and done, based on talent alone, he has a chance to be the second best player out of the 2004 draft. New Denver Broncos jersey
Orleans couldn reach through to him, but Smith needed that horrific car accident to allow himself to open up to others. Now he one of the most explosive players in the league, and a terrific choice at the No. 18th pick. 2010 Grade: A- Miami Heat (19) Drafted Dorell Wright. (38) Toronto traded the draft rights to Albert Mirales to Miami for the draft rights to Pape Sow and the No. 58 pick in 2005 (Uros Slokar). (53) Drafted Matt Freije. Players received: Dorell Wright, Albert Mirales, Matt Freije Players lost: Pape Sow, Uros Slokar 2007 Review: Dorell Wright and a bunch of stiffs. For sure, Wright has talent, but coming out of high school he wasn prepared to play in the NBA his first several seasons. Given that the Heat were busy winning a championship, developing Wright was never a top priority. Last year was his first chance to see extended minutes and he proved to still be too raw for extended action. With the Heat looking to retool their supporting cast and get younger, Wright could be called upon to produce as soon as next year. Given the dearth of small forwards selected after Wright (Trevor Ariza not withstanding), even if Dorell never develops, it hard to criticize the Heat for not selecting somebody else. Trevor Ariza is a run-and gun player while the Heat are a half court team, so you can even assume hed be a better fit in Miami. 2007 Grade: C- 2010 Review: Dorell Wright has been a seldom-used bench player who has never evolved into more than a bit rotation player. The Heat didn need a shooting guard with Dwyane Wade in tow, so passing on Kevin Martin is understandable, nor did they need a defensive-minded frontcourt player with Udonis Haslem in tow, so Anderson Varejao wouldve been a bad pick. Because of this, the Wright selection doesn quite look like an awful pick. Even Trevor Ariza open court skills wouldn translate as well to the grind-it-out Heat. It wasn an awful pick, just not a very good one. 2010 Grade: C- Denver Nuggets (20) Drafted Jameer Nelson. Traded the draft rights to Nelson to Orlando for their No. 21 pick in 2005 (Julius Hodge). Players received: Julius Hodge Players lost: Jameer Nelson 2007 Review: The Nuggets biggest need in the Carmelo era has been a quality shooting guard who can hit a jump shot. The Nuggets have been stuck with the ancient Voshon Lenard, the inept Demarr Johnson, and the brainless J.R. Smith. Jameer Nelson would have been a nice addition playing along side Andre Miller and Carmelo. Even when Allen Iverson arrived this year, Detroit Lions
Nelson could have started at point guard. His warts as a decision maker would have been hidden in the Nuggets system because Allen Iverson has the ball in his hands so much anyway. Instead, the Nuggets picked up Julius Hodge a year later. Whether it be a result of injuries or bad luck, Hodge has seen more time in the developmental league than on the hardwood. The Nuggets got the worse player in the deal and missed out on someone who couldve helped their team. 2007 Grade: F 2010 Review: Jameer Nelson has turned into a steady hand, capable of making smart decisions on the fly, hitting clutch jump shots, and making up for average athleticism with smarts, toughness, and moxie. In other words, he was Chauncey Billups before Chauncey Billups. In Nelson stead, the Nuggets drafted Julius Hidge who never turned into an NBA player. The Nuggets traded an All-Star for a scrub. That decision earns them an F. 2010 Grade: F New Jersey Nets (22) Drafted Viktor Khryapa. Then traded the draft rights to Khryapa to Portland for Eddie Gill and cash. (51) Drafted Christian Drejer. Players received: Eddie Gill, Christian Drejer Players lost: Viktor Khryapa 2007 Review: As a Florida Gators fan, I hold a hatred in my heart for Christian Drejer decision to quit on the Gators midway through the 2003-04 season to play professional ball in Europe. It no surprise that such a coward never played a single minute in the NBA. Rue Drejer for scorning the Gators and rue the Nets for drafting him! 2007 Grade: D 2010 Review: Christian Drejer never turned into an NBA-caliber player, while the Nets could have come away with more with the 22nd selection than Eddie Gill and cash. Anderson Varejao? Trevor Ariza? Kevin Martin? Even Sasha Vujacic wouldve been a more productive pick. 2010 Grade: F Sacramento Kings (26) Drafted Kevin Martin. (48) Traded the No. 55 pick (ended up with Houston as Luis Flores), Keon Clark, and a future pick to Utah for their No. 48 pick (Ricky Minard). Players received: Kevin Martin, Ricky Minard Players lost: Keon Clark 2007 Review: Sacramento got one of the steals of the draft considering how low they were picking, and they took a risk in picking somebody from Western Carolina. Instead of getting a nobody, they got a player who shows potential to put up 20 points a game for a long time. Martin still has to bulk up his frame, be more consistent, and play better against better defensesmy guess is that achieving the first will help him achieve the next two. But Martin is the best player from the middle of the draft down. Great pick. 2007 Grade: A 2010 Review: Kevin Martin is one of the most overrated players in the game todaya soft, defenseless jump shooter who can only play on the perimeter. That being said, he still a talented shooter who can create his own points. At the 26th position in the draft, it hard to do much better, especially in terms of pure scoring. A terrific pick. 2010 Grade: A Los Angeles Lakers (27) Drafted Sasha Vujacic. (56) Drafted Marcus Douthit. 2007 Review: Sasha Vujacic can hit standstill threes with good accuracy, and isn a bad third string point guard. Chris Duhon would have been a better pick, as he could help take pressure off of Kobe much more than Vujacic can. 2007 Grade: C- Green Bay Packers jersey
2010 Review: Trevor Ariza wouldve been a better pick than Sasha Vujacic, as Vujacic has been an embarrassment the past handful of seasons. He a respectable standstill shooter but he takes too many bad shots and plays overaggressive, but ineffective, defense. The only caveat is that he also a shooting guard, and the only backup shooting guard on the Lakers roster the past handful of seasons. No other shooting guard taken after Vujacic contributed much in the NBA. 2010 Grade: D+ San Antonio Spurs (28) Drafted Beno Udrih. (52) Drafted Romain Sato. (57) Drafted Sergei Karaulov. 2007 Review: Chris Duhon penchant for partying too hard and missing team functions wouldn fly in San Antonio. Beno Udrih is steady as can be and helped the Spurs win a championship later the next season. Even with a late pick and an awful crop of players to choose from, the Spurs select a player that helps their team. That why they're the best run organization in the league. 2007 Grade: B 2010 Review: Beno Udrih steady play helped the Spurs win a championship, so that tilts the pick heavily in San Antonio favor. Only Anderson Varejao, Chris Duhon, and Trevor Ariza were selected after Udrih and still have prominent roles in the NBA. Varejao wouldve fit in perfectly, but Duhon partied too hard during the early portion of his career, and Ariza more of an open-court gambler than the disciplined defender Spurs coach Gregg Popovich wants his players to be. Varejao may have been the better choice, but Udrih acquainted himself well as a mediocre starter/solid backup in his career. 2010 Grade: B Indiana Pacers (29) Drafted David Harrison. (59) Drafted Rashad Wright. 2007 Review: David Harrison is a stiff. Anderson Varejao would have been the right pick. Rashad Wright was the last pick of the draft so you don expect anything out of him. Still, the Pacers haven gotten much out of their first round pick. 2007 Grade: D 2010 Review: The Pacers got nothing out of their two draft picks whatsoever. The very next player chosen after Harrison was Anderson Varejao. Oops. 2010 Grade: F New York Knicks (16) New York traded their No. 16 pick (ended up in Utah as Kirk Snyder), Antonio McDyess, Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, Maceij Lampe, Milos Vujanic, and a future pick to Phoenix for Stephon Marbury, Penny Hardaway and Cezary Trybanski. (43) Drafted Trevor Ariza. Players received: Stephon Marbury, Penny Hardaway, Cezary Trybanski, Trevor Ariza Players lost: Antonio McDyess, Howard Eisley, Charlie Ward, Maceij Lampe, Milos Vujanic 2007 Review: As much as you criticize the Marbury trade, look at the players traded to get him. With the exception of Antonio McDyess, all those names disappeared when they left New York. Also, with the Knicks pathetic cap situation and abysmal talent base, there is no reason to believe superstars such as Gilbert Arenas and Steve Nash would have wanted to come to New York, and there is no reason to believe the Knicks would have had the cap Houston Texans jersey
room to sign them as free agents, or the resources to acquire them in any sign and trades. Trevor Ariza can run all over the court, defend, score in transition, finish above the rim, and provide energy off the bench. Ariza feuded with then-coach Larry Brown about Ariza desire to have more plays run for him on offense and about David Lee taking his minutes. With Ariza becoming a nuisance, the Knicks decision to trade him was justified.
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