NBA Draft Preview!

Hi, it's that time of year again. This time of year marks the point in which we pretend to care about the NBA Draft. Unlike their NFL counterparts, the NBA spends a lot less time picking their players, and a lot more money paying them. (By the way, when I make this statement, I realize that rookie NBA contracts are less than rookie NFL contracts; however, of the course of any player's lifetime, it is more likely that an NBA player will make more than an NFL player.)

I read another poorly conceived page 2 article, this time written by the loud Skip Bayless. Skip is the star participant of "First and Ten," and normally has very sane things to say when he writes (not when he talks). However, I feel that in his assessment of the NBA Draft, Skip kind of missed the boat.

Let's see what Ol' Skip says about Andrew Bogut...

"I'm not sure about Bogut. He averaged a not-bad 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds for Australia's Olympic team. But he could not carry his Utah team to the Final Four, which should be cause for alarm in Milwaukee (the Bucks have the No. 1 pick).

Bogut's Utes lost a Sweet 16 game by 10 to Kentucky, which didn't exactly have a front line of Walton, Olajuwon and Ewing. Bogut had 20 points and 11 rebounds. But, come on – if he were a future perennial NBA All-Star, he would have dominated Kentucky, then Michigan State, then made eventual champion North Carolina sweat in the Final Four."

Well, this line of thinking could lead to lots of bad analysis, so let's evaluate this argument. First, if I got together a group of college players to be on my Olympic team, I'd feel pretty fortunate if my center averaged 15 and 9. I think the Olympics is at least as decent of a barometer as college as far as skill level is concerned.

Second, plenty of perennial NBA All-Stars haven't led their teams to Final Fours... case and point, Tim Duncan (or Shaq.) Don't fault Bogut because his team didn't have the talent. Utah was a #6 seed in the tournament, and made it to the Sweet 16. That would have to be considered an accomplishment. Kentucky's front line was among the tougher front lines in college, with Hayes and Morris around.

Bottom line is, nobody knows what to expect from Bogut, because the track record on big white centers hasn't been very good as of late. But he sure looks like he should be able to score some points. That should be good enough to make him the number 2 pick! Why? Because the number one pick should probably be Marvin Williams. He definitely could be a force in the NBA, as he should be able to score lots of points. He's very athletic, and would've probably had better stats had he not been Sean May's backup down at UNC.

Here's my predicted Top 10:

1) Milwaukee- Andrew Bogut. Simply because I think they want to be back in the playoffs next year.
2) Atlanta- Marvin Williams. They would be stupid not to... well, they are the Hawks, but still...
3) Utah- Deron Williams. I think Chris Paul might be better, but Utah has this thing for level-headed point guards.
4) New Orleans- Chris Paul. This guy will be able to score on anyone, might be the safest pick in the draft.
5) Charlotte- Gerald Green. Since this team isn't going anywhere, they might as well draft the player with the most talent.
6) Portland- Martell Webster. This is close to home and some scoring might be desirable for the Blazers. Like the Bobcats, they aren't going anywhere.
7) Toronto- Raymond Felton. "Rafer Alston, don't let the door hit you on the way out."
8) New York- Channing Frye. At last, the Knicks are bad enough to get a decent pick, and they should get more size. Fran Vazquez might not be a bad idea either.
9) Golden State- Fran Vazquez. Here's another team that desperately needs to get bigger.
10) LA Lakers- Danny Granger. It'll be important for LA to get an NBA-ready player, and Granger fits the bill.