NBA Draft Eve

Last year's NBA Draft, along with it's plethora of trades, has left many wondering "what in the name of Zeus is going to happen tomorrow?".

Even picks 1 and 2 are still being debated, as speculation has taken center stage ever since that tragic day in Memphis Grizzlies history (oh, and I guess Boston wasn't happy either)...May 22, 2007. Maybe it was that sheepish grin on Brandon Roy's face...reminded me of when Shakespeare in Love beat out Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture. Just didn't seem right or fair or good. Everyone knew Spielberg's film should have won.

Whatever. With the number four pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Memphis Grizzlies select...

And you know what else? I don't really understand Boston's pain. Many have argued that a team with a History-leading 16 Championships has no room to whine about anything. But ok, they haven't won since '86 (awwww), so I guess that's a little bit of ill-feeling. However, would any Celtics fan like to exchange histories with a Grizzlies fan? Would they rather have grown up without a professional team (in any sport, for that matter) to cheer for at all?

No sympathy from me. Sorry. Don't wanna hear it. The Pats will probably win the Super Bowl...again...this year, so you won't be crying for too long.

Moving on...with the number four pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Memphis Grizzlies select...

Let's break down the consensus opinion:

Pretty much everyone who is paying attention thinks Memphis should take Horford.

Personally, I would like to see my Grizzlies come away with either Brandan Wright or Yi Jianlian.

Let me paint a picture to illustrate my rationale here:

Imagine you're in Vegas. You have managed to set aside $5,000 that you can blow at the tables or wherever. Your buddy knows horses like the back of his hand, and lets you in on a SURE THING tip on a race coming up. You have almost 100% confidence that this horse is going to bring you a victory. So you throw down $4,000. And you lose. So tell me this, would you be safe with your remaining $1,000...(maybe spend the rest of your time nickel and dime-ing, really just trying to break even), or would you immediately risk the remainder of what you are left with in order to hopefully bring in the maximum return (maybe even win some of that $4,000 back)?

So we didn't win the big one. No Oden. No Durant. So what now? Picking Al Horford would be safe. Going with Yi or Wright would be letting the remaining $1,000 ride on one single number at the Roulette table.

Yi could be the next Darko. Or the next Dirk?

Wright could be the next Jonathan Bender. Or the next Bosh?

But Horford. Who's he the "next coming" of? Karl Malone? A great post by MKE Bucks Diary outlines a few of Horford's pros and cons:

"(Horford)...is pretty much everything the Bucks need. He's physical, he rebounds, and he defends..."

But the following quote jumped out:

"His offensive game is pretty rudimentary at this stage. Will he develop it, or will it just stagnate at the next level like his father's did? Also, when he was asked to defend bigger players (such as Greg Oden) he got dominated. Can he adequately match up against the NBA's awesome array of power forwards? Finally, while he appears to be a safe pick, he also doesn't have that much upside. What you see now is, I think, pretty much what you're going to get from this guy."

Damn. Even called out his daddy.

"He won't be a superstar, but he should be a solid contributor in areas of need for the Bucks."

There you have it. Al Horford = nickel slots. Not much risk, but about the best you're gonna do is break even.