NBA Draft winners and losers

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NBA Draft winners and losers

Jack McCallum, SI.com

WINNERS

The 2003-04 St. Joseph's backcourt: Yes, it was embarrassing to watch college player of the year Jameer Nelson slide to No. 20. And yes, some teams (Miami and Portland, to name two) will regret that they didn't take him. But Nelson ended up in a good place (Orlando), and his Hawks homeboy Delonte West, who was torn about whether to stay in school, showed he made a smart decision when he was snagged at No. 24 by Boston. That's guaranteed first-round money.

The Orlando Magic: Even though we don't know whether Tracy McGrady will be traded -- or, for that matter, whether Grant Hill will be able to come back from injury -- the Magic made the correct pick when they went for Dwight Howard over Emeka Okafor. Why? For a simple reason: Howard not only has more "upside" (the phrase of the night) but he's a better player than Okafor, as much as the Connecticut deserves props for earning a degree in three years. And getting Nelson was nice, too. If I was T-Mac, I'd stick around.

Tim Grover: Through his association with Michael Jordan, the Chicago-based trainer has become the NBA's body doctor. The Clippers' Shaun Livingston and Philadelphia's Andre Iguodala are two of the high picks who trained with Grover, and his reputation for turning skinny young dudes into ready-to-play hunks is only growing. (What he can't do, though, is turn them into Michael Jordan.)

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Andris Biedrins: In a draft with too little real emotion (except from weeping mothers in the green room), the 18-year-old forward from Latvia burst into tears when his name was called at No. 11. Cynics would say it was because he was picked by the Golden State Warriors, but, see, I'm not a cynic.

Sasha Vujacic: The Slovenian guard was taken by the Lakers at No. 27. At this point, he's one of only about three guys who will definitely be on L.A.'s roster next season, so he's due for some significant playing time. But Sasha needn't worry even if he doesn't start. Lakers rookie Luke Walton didn't play much this year, but Britney Spears still engaged him in some prime-time flirting.

LOSERS

America's ear drums: Vitale analyzing the NBA draft? Why not bring in The Galloping Gourmet to analyze the war in Iraq? Vitale is a relentless self-promoter who is ignorant of the NBA game and should've gone to bed before the first round instead of the second. Vitale added nothing to the analysis by screaming about his own travel schedule, who's going to be No. 1 in college basketball next year and Jameer Nelson being overlooked. While Vitale was foaming at the mouth about Nelson, his ESPN colleague David Aldridge, who does know something about pro hoops, pointed out that Nelson would probably be traded from point guard-loaded Denver. Which is exactly what happened a few minutes later.

The Atlanta Hawks: I didn't like either of their first-round picks. Although he is a bright young man who will represent the franchise well, Josh Childress isn't quite good enough to go No. 6. And taking prep player Josh Smith at No. 17 was a major risk. Of course, the Hawks don't have anyone to coach these guys yet, either.

The compulsory workout: It's not just highly rated college guys who are kept out of workouts by agents. Seven-footer Robert Swift, out of Bakersfield (Calif.) High School, didn't audition for any teams before the draft but was drafted 12th (by Seattle) and even drew interest from a couple of franchises that were picking higher.

Jerry Stackhouse: It wasn't too long ago that Stackhouse was a supposed franchise player in Philadelphia. Then he was the purported franchise player in Detroit. Then he played second fiddle to 40-year-old Michael Jordan in Washington. Then Stackhouse got injured. Now he's almost an afterthought as part of a deal that sent him (along with another fading star, Christian Laettner) to Dallas in exchange for Antawn Jamison. Look for 'House to be a piece in a future Mavericks deal, possibly the Shaquille O'Neal Sweepstakes.

Commissioner David Stern: He wants an age minimum for his league -- does anyone with a brain disagree with him? -- yet he was forced to stand at the microphone and announce the names of eight high school players among the first 19 picks. Was it my imagination, or did he seem less than thrilled with it all and relieved when he handed over second-round duties to deputy commissioner Russ Granik?

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Draft Winners and Losers

by Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
June 24, 2004
Let's break down the winners and losers from Thursday's NBA draft.

WINNERS
Chicago Bulls
Ben Gordon and Luol Deng both are ready to step in and play next season. With Kirk Hinrich at the point, the Bulls have some nice young perimeter players. If Tyson Chandler and Eddie Curry ever figure it out, this team could be good.

Cleveland Cavaliers
Very few players in this draft are ready to play right away, but Luke Jackson is one of them. And with LeBron James drawing all kinds of attention, Jackson's shooting ability will be huge. He will find a lot of open shots, and he also has the ability to put the ball on the floor and create. The Cavaliers are building a nice team.

Orlando Magic
Dwight Howard has loads of potential and could be a player around whom to build a team. Adding Jameer Nelson to run the club gives them a tough winner with a sweet jump shot. Brazilian Anderson Varejao, the team's second-round addition, is big and moves well. That's three nice pieces for a rebuilding team.

Perhaps Nelson's addition means the rumored Houston trade for Steve Francis is off.

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San Antonio Spurs
For a team with a late first-round pick and two late seconds, they did pretty well. Beno Udrih was the best point guard at the Chicago pre-draft camp, and Romaine Sato could turn into a Bruce Bowen-type defender. Udrih could be a fine backup to Tony Parker, and Sato gives them another player with strong character, a team-first defender.

LOSERS
Boston Celtics
Danny Ainge was in a tough spot with three late first-round picks. He desperately wanted to trade up but was unable to. The Celtics ended up with Al Jefferson, Tony Allen and Delonte West.

Jefferson is an athletic power forward, but he came straight out of high school and has a long way to go before he's ready to contribute. Allen and West were nice college players who could turn into decent pros. With three firsts, Ainge had hoped to land an impact player, but it doesn't appear that he did.

Atlanta Hawks
Josh Childress will be a nice player in the NBA, but the Hawks took two players who play the same position as Childress later in the draft. Josh Smith is a talented swingman who has no idea how to play yet – he's just a kid. Donta Smith is a gifted athlete who could end up being a good player. But with Childress playing ahead of him, will be find the minutes he needs?

Indiana Pacers
Larry Bird had hoped to trade and land Luke Jackson, but he was unable to pull it off and settled for Colorado center David Harrison at the end of the first round. Harrison is big and athletic, but he was out of shape his senior year and needs to lose weight and develop a work ethic if he's going to succeed in the NBA.

Steve Kerr is Yahoo! Sports' NBA analyst. Send him a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.


Updated on Friday, Jun 25, 2004 3:00 pm EDT