NBA Draft 2005 - Grading the Lottery

Last Tuesday night, the focus of the NBA was in New York where they held the annual NBA Draft. There were no unanimous impact players waiting for teams to pick them up as there have been in years past, just a group of young players waiting for their chance to make their dreams come true. Well what about the teams dreams? Here's my thoughts on how the lottery teams did with their selections.

Milwaukee Bucks: With the first selection in the draft the Bucks selected the big man from Utah, Andrew Bogut. Is he going to be a monster I doubt it, but he should be a fine center in the middle, I'd probably expect at least Yao Ming rookie numbers from Bogut, and he'll bring a sense of stability to a floundering franchise. B+

Atlanta Hawks: Atlanta must be planning to move Al Harrington or else they're completely lost as they chose Marvin Williams out of North Carolina with the second pick. Having already Harrington, Smith & Childress as their swing guys, the Hawks are slowly getting crowded with guys of the same build, when they could've traded down and picked up a good point guard. D+

Utah Jazz: Utah knew what they needed and did what they had to to get it. They traded up with the Blazers and selected Deron Williams, the point guard out of Illinois. He gives them a solid option at the point after trading away Arroyo and Lopez wanting out. A+

New Orleans Hornets: Trading away Baron Davis, one of many players on the team who's injuries hurt the development of the squad paved the way for the Hornets to select point guard Chris Paul out of Wake Forest. He's an offensive minded point who will get to the hole, the combo of Paul and Dickau at the point should prove effective for the young team. Paul is the first Wake Forest player to be picked in the top 5 since Tim Duncan. B

Charlotte Bobcats: With the fifth pick, Charlotte picked a local favorite in point guard Raymond Felton of the NCAA champion North Carolina Tarheels. Easy to see the struggling franchise made the choice to help sell tickets, but they also picked up a quality point guard who should be an easy upgrade over Brevin Knight. B+

Portland Trailblazers: Blazers gladly traded down with the Jazz, picking up an additional first round pick and having the luxury of the player they wanted still being on the board. After having picked up two high school guys the last 2 years with Travis Outlaw and Sebastian Telfair, they don't miss a beat drafting high school sharp shooter Martell Webster. After years of high paid misfits, the Blazers are slowly building a young nucleus they can develop. B

Toronto Raptors: Easily the surprise of the draft, the Raptors selected Charlie Villanueva from UCONN. Most feel they could've gotten him later on and drafted him too high and puzzling is the fact that after drafting the talented Chris Bosh, Toronto has followed up with Bonner and Villanueva, guys that play PF like Bosh. D+

New York Knicks: Surprised that their guy wasn't taken by the Raptors, the Knicks quickly snatched up Channing Frye from Arizona. While on the lean side, Frye brings comparisons to Marcus Camby as the Knicks will have him play center. Obviously a much healthier body, Frye should bring some size and stability to the Knicks frontcourt. B-

Golden State Warriors: Lacking a sense of toughness after loosing Fortson and Dampier over the past year, the Warriors drafted Ike Diogu out of Arizona St. At 6'8 and 255, Diogu could give Murphy a run at the starting spot and is a nice change of pace between the two. A

Los Angeles Lakers: With no one available that could help their needs immediately, the Lakers took the big man they'd been eyeing all along, the high schooler Andrew Bynum. At 7'0 and 280, the young man has shown in his tryouts that he has the work ethic to gain the conditioning needed to play at the NBA game. Also doesn't hurt that he plans on developing a hook shot, somewhat of a lost art since Kareem's retirement. B+

Orlando Magic: Knowing Dwight Howard can't do it alone up front, the Magic takes a chance on Spain's Fran Vasquez. The first european player taken in this year's draft, it'll be interesting to see what impact he'll have, considering he's not even starting on his own national team. C+

Los Angeles Clippers: Somewhat of a confusing pick, Dunleavy picks with his heart as they chose Yaroslav Korolev, an 18 yearold forward when they needed a shooting guard. Yaroslav reportedly reminded Mike of his son, and might not even play in the NBA this coming season so the pick is understandably questionably, especially with their small forward position filled by the talented Corey Maggette. C-

Charlotte Bobcats: Having a second pick in the lottery, the Bobcats decided once again not to veer to far away and selected local favorite Sean May from North Carolina with the thirteenth pick in the draft. With Brezec and Okafor up front it'll be interesting to see how they make room for May. C+

Minnesota Timberwolves: With the last pick in the lottery, the Twolves select the 4th Tarheel player to be taken, Rashad McCants. With Sprewell in bad position with the team, they select a talented swing man who could step right in and produce for them. A-