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You win some, you lose some: a 19-year-old who was passed over, a seven-time All-Star and a cue ball motormouth all had story lines in this year's draft—but who won and who lost?

Sporting News, The, July 15, 2005 by Sean Deveney

A strange thing often happens in the NBA draft. A player is expected to be drafted, say, in the top 10, which leads teams outside the top 10 to stop thinking about the player. They don't work him out. They don't check his background. They prepare draft lists without him. When he somehow slips out of the top 10, the teams outside that realm go into brain-freeze mode--they stick with their draft strategy, even after this gem fails into their laps.

That is how Gerald Green went from being a top three pick--Portland was interested in him, but after trading down to No. 6, the Blazers took prep star Martell Webster--to sliding out of the top 10 and into a free fall. This also is how one NBA head honcho, the Celtics' Danny Ainge, emerged a big draft winner for the third straight year.

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As Green slid, Ainge rejoiced. He landed a promising, hard-working 19-year-old swingman who already has a nice jumper and might well be the best athlete in the draft. "I guess we're the lucky team," Ainge told reporters.

Indeed. Ainge also grabbed Providence's Ryan Gomes in the second round, a player he had considered for the 18th slot. That puts Ainge squarely on the top of the winners list--there are more, of course, as well as a handful of draft-night losers.

Those who won ...

Warriors. On the morning of the draft, Ike Diogu's stock had dropped, and the fact that he wasn't invited to New York by the league seemed a bad omen. There was no reason for the stock-drop, though. Diogu is one of the toughest, most mature players in the draft, with long arms and smarts. The Warriors grabbed him at No. 9, and he will help immediately with Golden State's biggest weakness--interior toughness. The Warriors also picked two players with first-round potential, underachieving big man Chris Taft and high-scoring high school point guard Monta Ellis, in the second round.

Pacers. Just as Green was a surprise drop, the Pacers were surprised to find versatile small forward Danny Granger still on the board at No. 17. Granger, a four-year college player who finished at New Mexico, is a play-right-away type, a solid defender who has good perimeter skills. He immediately will be plugged in behind wingmen Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson.

Roy Williams. Sure, the North Carolina coach watched four players from his national championship team leave, but he made the best of it, taking every opportunity to pop on various television networks for interviews. He even went to the podium with Sean May during May's interview session. Williams clearly wanted to get the message out to potential recruits: Come to Carolina and I'll get you to the NBA. Of course, no one asked him how many of those four lottery picks he had recruited.

And now, the losers ...

Raptors. Choosing Charlie Villanueva at No. 7 was baffling, just as the choice of Rafael Araujo at No. 8 was a head-scratcher last year. The team was fortunate to get small forward Joey Graham and guard Roko Ukic later in the draft, but it's difficult to understand what Toronto will do with Villanueva. Villanueva does not have the bulk (he's 6-11, 230) or the defensive ability to handle the center spot. Incumbent Chris Bosh does not want to play center, and keeping him there almost guarantees Bosh will want out when he becomes a free agent in two years.

Dick Vitale. Vitale's enthusiasm for the college game is admirable, but when it comes to the NBA draft, he's jingoistic and ignorant. He pointed out several times that no international players (other than Yao Ming) have had an impact in the past three years, but that is disingenuous. It takes picks out of context.

Has Jiri Welsch, chosen in 2002, had a big impact? No, but neither has Marcus Haislip or Melvin Ely, college players chosen ahead of him. Who has had a bigger impact, Nenad Krstic (24th in 2002) or Curtis Borchardt (18th)? Zarko Cabarkapa (17th in 2003) or Troy Bell (16th)? The list goes on, much like Vitale's mouth.

Kobe Bryant. Bryant turns 27 in August, meaning he is in his prime and will be for the next four years or so. Now is the time for the Lakers to put their best team on the floor, but with the 10th pick, they passed on immediate contributors and went with 17-year-old center Andrew Bynum. There's a lot to like about Bynum--he's huge and should play at about 300 pounds--but by the time he is ready to produce in three or four years, how much time will Bryant have left as a dominant perimeter player?

speed reads

Ian Mahinmi, welcome to the NBA. The league was so unprepared for the Spurs' first-round selection that Mahinmi (a French forward) was not listed in the NBA draft guide and did not have a nameplate at Madison Square Garden. Any other team and this IV pick would have gotten ripped. But it's the Spurs ...

The Nets were the most bummed-out team on draft night. Yes, they're happy with Antoine Wright, but they had hoped to land Fran Vazquez, Charlie Villanueva or Sean May to help on the front line. All were gone by the time the Nets picked at No. 15.

You win some, you lose some: a 19-year-old who was passed over, a seven-time All-Star and a cue ball motormouth all had story lines in this year's draft—but who won and who lost?

Sporting News, The, July 15, 2005 by Sean Deveney

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