2006 NBA Draft
It would have been promising for the T-Wolves if they
would have elected to keep Brandon Roy in the 2006 NBA
draft, but instead they traded him to Portland and
he’ll remain close to Washington where he attended
college. Portland is getting a complete player in Brandon
Roy. He can do it all much like Scottie Pippen. Unlike
most young talents entering the draft, Roy has an
understanding of how to play defense and works hard on
that end of the floor. He isn’t a player who’s going to
force the action, although Portland may want him to be a
little more selfish because of his great offensive skills.
He is so smooth and fluid on the court, he reminds me of
Ray Allen at times, but he is yet to develop that potent
of a perimeter shot, which could be his only weakness.
The major theme in the 2006 draft was to trade the player
whom you selected with your lottery pick. The Celtics
stayed consistent with that theme as they traded
Villanova’s Randy Foye to Portland and Portland moved him
on to Minnesota. I can’t wait until some of these players
have great rookie seasons and the teams who originally
drafted them are left kicking themselves. Boston could be
kicking themselves for shipping off Foye who can flat out
score. His game resembles Ben Gordon’s in Chicago and they
are both about the same size. The scouting report will
tell you that Foye is a scorer, not a shooter or a
playmaker and they make it sound like a bad thing. Michael
Jordan wasn’t a shooter either, but he made big shots.
Lebron James is also proof that with hard work you can
become a good shooter and I see Foye knocking down the
outside shot in the NBA for years to come. The most
exciting thing about this kid is watching him go to the
basket. His strength and great ball handling ability
allows him to score in traffic and he will provide us with
some great highlights this season.
The 6’9’’ silky smooth Rudy Gay is a steal as the 8th pick
in my opinion. He might be the most talented kid in the
draft, but I don’t think he even knows what he’s capable
of yet. He’ll need to develop more of a killer instinct to
really excel in the NBA and this is probably why Jordan
and the Bobcats elected to go with Morrison who is similar
in size but a much grittier, determined player. In ways he
does remind me of Tracy McGrady, and it took McGrady a
while before he realized the type of drive it takes to
succeed in the NBA. Gay has all the tools and I think it
will be completely up to him as to whether he becomes a
great NBA player.
With the 9th pick the Warriors went shopping in the
Missouri Valley and grabbed the big 7’0’’, 260lb. Patrick
O’Bryant from Bradley. He is similar to Gaye is demeanor
and doesn’t play with a chip on his shoulder. It will be
imperative that he get more physical if he’s going to hang
with the NBA bigs on a nightly basis. The upside is that
he has the body to do it and he’ll just have to develop
the attitude which will come as his confidence grows. I
don’t expect this guy to be an impact player right away
and I fear we could have another Michael Olawakandi on our
hands, but the potential is there and he is definitely
worth the draft pick by Golden State as they need interior
help in the worst way.
The Sonics hope they found an inside presence as well in
7’0’’ Saer Sene from Senegal. The first thing that jumps
out at me is his 7’8’’ wingspan which has prolific shot
blocker written all over it. He also shows great instincts
as a rebounder, but his offensive skills are limited. He
kind of reminds me of Dikembe Motumbo. Sene is a raw
player to put it nicely and a big risk so early in he
first round. I don’t think Seattle has found their big man
in Sene. Boone or Armstrong would have been better
selections for the Sonics in my opinion.
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