Never a Dull Moment in the Draft
One thing that cannot be said about the 2004 NBA Draft is that it had dull moments. From the outset – with no clear picture of who the number one selection would be – the draft kept many guessing and in suspense. Many of the selections will make for no shortage of conversation as well.
Orlando’s selection of Dwight Howard with the first pick started it off. The only thing that was clear about the first two picks was who the two players would be, and Howard was first. Howard and Emeka Okafor aren’t likely to be as inexorably linked as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, who also had a past history by the time last year’s NBA Draft came around, but there is a glaring similarity about each – both are first-class young men. Asked how he felt about going second overall, Okafor gave an answer that wouldn’t surprise anyone – “I’m too fortunate right now”. Coming out of high school, Okafor was nobody’s sure bet as an All-American.
It didn’t take long for the first surprise pick of the night, which was the Bulls’ selection of Ben Gordon with the third pick. Gordon figured to go in the lottery, but few figured he could go this high. But the Bulls did very well with their draft, as they got Duke star Luol Deng through a trade later on, and picking up Chris Duhon in the second round further shores up the backcourt for years to come.
“One of our goals was to get more than one player in this draft,” Bulls general manager Jim Paxson said. “We wanted to address scoring and shooting.”
It’s safe to say that the Bulls took care of that, and in Duhon they have a solid pass-first point guard who might really flourish with scorers around him to pass the ball to. The Bulls get the nod here for the best draft of any team. One thing they addressed besides obvious needs is experience – the Bulls are too young for more high school players, so they wind up with a junior who won a national championship (Gordon), a senior who won a national championship (Duhon) and a freshman who plays the game like a seasoned veteran (Deng).
Though the selection of Gordon was a little surprising, the first shocker didn’t come until the Toronto Raptors selected eighth overall. Needing a point guard or a big man, most figured the Raptors would go for either Jameer Nelson or Pavel Podkolzine, who most figured would go in the high lottery if he stayed in the draft last year. The Raptors’ choice? Rafael Araujo from Brigham Young. Araujo could be a decent post player, but the eighth overall pick? The Raptors could very easily have picked him up later on, about 10-15 picks down the road.
As high school players continued to get selected – eight went among the first 19 players, a record for high school players drafted in the first round – the attention continued to turn to Jameer Nelson, who was finally selected 20th overall by the Denver Nuggets and traded to Orlando shortly thereafter. One might initially think, “Nelson stayed in college for this?” But clearly, the St. Joseph’s graduate isn’t thinking about that at all.
“I understand that this is a business,” he said on the air, who knows he is good enough to be a good NBA player. “I’m fortunate to go at (number) 20.”
Nelson wasn’t the most highly-recruited player out of high school, but he became the nation’s best college player and led his team to a historic season this past year. The NBA won’t be the first challenge of this sort he will face, and it would be a surprise if he didn’t have a solid career at the very least. His college coach, Phil Martelli, can certainly see that and was as puzzled as many others surely were.
“I don’t know what these guys think, but he is going to win,” Martelli said on ESPN. “I guarantee he is going to win.”
Two high school players picked ahead of Nelson, Sebastian Telfair (No. 13 to Portland) and Dorell Wright (one pick before Nelson, to Miami at No. 19), are among the biggest surprises aside from Araujo. Telfair has an adidas contract, but has a ways to go before proving worthy of where he was selected. Wright needs to get stronger and improve his feel for the game, though he might be the best athlete in the draft. His pick was a shocker not just because he was taken, but also because of who the Heat passed on – Nelson. The Heat could use a point guard.
Telfair’s selection will continue to be talked about as much as any other. Now, more than ever, he has a lot to live up to. But while he tries that – playing alongside veteran Damon Stoudamire – don’t be surprised if more elite high school point guards think they can also make it. As it is, Telfair is quite focused on those who make it; at one point, he said in a prior interview that “they said LeBron can’t shoot”. There weren’t that many critics of LeBron James, and Sebastian Telfair, you are no LeBron James.
While Chicago gets the nod for the best draft, the Boston Celtics may get the nod for the most interesting one. On one hand, they select high school post player Al Jefferson, who might still go to college, but later in the first round, they take intriguing guard prospect Delonte West (whose game they love) and Tony Allen, who might be the sleeper pick of the first round. The selection of Justin Reed with the 40th pick overall is a head-scratcher.
Some other notes, with a focus on the second round:
• It looked like the Seattle Sonics may have done it again in the second round, before they traded Andre Emmett to Memphis.
• A couple of years ago, who would have thought that Lionel Chalmers (No. 33 to the Los Angeles Clippers) would have been drafted ahead of Xavier teammate Romain Sato (No. 52 to San Antonio)? Although Chalmers was drafted higher, there should be little argument about who wound up in the better situation.
• Michigan’s Bernard Robinson, Jr. (No. 45) could stick with the expansion Charlotte Bobcats. He won’t be a star, but he could be a nice player to help them build the franchise.
• The world champion Detroit Pistons took a hometown talent in Missouri shooting guard Rickey Paulding with the 52nd pick. He could stick, although the Pistons are in good shape at that position.
• Ricky Minard (No. 48 to Sacramenro) was thought to be a borderline first-round pick last year, and thus he returned to Morehead State. How much will this make players think more about staying in the draft instead of returning? The same could be said for Marcus Moore, who got the same feedback last year and returned to Washington State, only to not even be drafted this year.
• Not many notable players were not drafted, unlike past years. Jackie Butler was the only high school senior who stayed in the draft and was not drafted.
