Former Indiana teammates Victor Oladipo, left, and Cody Zeller, right. Credit AP
By: Jesse Moore
Leading up to this year’s NBA Draft was minimal anticipation. A draft that lacked potential superstars but filled with players who predict to have average NBA careers gave its fans and viewers nothing to be too excited about heading into Thursday night. Once David Stern took the podium (and boo’s) and announced the Cleveland Cavaliers to be on the clock, surprise and shock would soon be the new words of the night. Surprising everyone, the Cavs selected freshman power forward Anthony Bennett out of UNLV with the first overall pick. Nerlens Noel, Victor Oladipo, Alex Len and Ben McLemore were all names that looked to be in the mix of the number one pick and just about no one had Bennett slotted there, except the Cavaliers. Trades, international talent and another player from a mid-major program landing in the top 10 are the other storylines that became of notice. Here’s a recap of it all.
Anthony Bennett being selected with the number one overall pick has to be the main headline of Thursday night’s draft. This strong, versatile, athletic and very young power forward that was born in Canada had a great freshman campaign at UNLV this past season. He was clearly the team’s best player as soon as he stepped foot on campus and it became known shortly after that he was one of the best players in the country. With a solid frame that allows him to rebound well and play with his back to the basket combined with a solid outside jumper were all reasons why Cleveland took him number one. The Cavaliers front office had to have seen a potential lethal pick-and-roll combo with him and point guard Kyrie Irving for the next 10 plus years or else they would have gone big with their pick and taken one of the top centers.
The drop of Kentucky center Nerlens Noel to 6th overall surprised many. He was predicted number one by the vast majority and was viewed as a lock to be taken somewhere in the top 5. Selected by the New Orleans Pelicans (I still don’t know what they were thinking with that name), Noel was planning on playing alongside the guy he replaced at Kentucky last year, Anthony Davis. A “twin tower” combo underneath the basket would have made it virtually impossible for players to get to the rim against them. As it turned out, it is impossible because shortly after the selection Noel was traded to the Philadelphia 76er’s for point guard Jrue Holiday and the team’s first round pick for 2014. The biggest trade of them all though involved no players in the draft. The blockbuster deal that sent the Boston Celtics Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnet and Jason Terry to the Brooklyn Nets for Gerald Wallace, a few other players and the team’s first round picks of the 2014, 2016 and 2018 drafts. Garnet and Pierce leaving Boston came as no real shock after head coach Doc Rivers was dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers and has now left the Boston Celtics in a rebuilding process.
Besides the 76er’s, the team that has to be most excited about their team’s draft is the Sacramento Kings after they selected shooting guard Ben McLemore out of the University of Kansas. McLemore was widely viewed as the most talented overall player in the draft and left the Kings ecstatic once they saw him fall into their laps at number 7. Looked at as one of the few players in this draft who has All-Star potential in the NBA, McLemore will be looked to contribute in a big way as soon as he steps on the floor for the Kings. Now that Sacramento has their team intact and doesn’t have to worry about possibly relocating anymore, McLemore will bring much needed excitement to a city that desperately needs it.
The biggest head scratcher of this year’s draft has to be the Indiana Pacers selecting Arizona senior small forward Solomon Hill with the 23rd overall pick. Sure, players selected outside the top 15 are rarely impact players anyway but you can still get value at number 23. Hill didn’t appear to be on many teams’ big board’s leading up to the draft but the Pacers surprised everyone by taking him in round one. Looked at as a late second round talent, Hill should bring energy and a solid basketball IQ to Indiana but Pacer fans shouldn’t expect much more. They might have been better off going after an international player and worst case they keep him over sea’s for a few years and hope he develops and save some the team some money.
Anytime 7 foreign players are taken in the first round of the NBA draft, you know it’s not filled with superstar talent. Only a handful figure to make NBA rosters out of camp, but selecting over sea’s talent in the first round is a smart business move especially if you’re drafting late. All first round picks are guaranteed contracts and if an international player is not yet ready for NBA competition, a team will feel safe knowing that they have that player’s rights and can send them back over to Europe and hope they can develop into an eventual NBA talent.
The 2013 NBA Draft has come and gone without much excitement. A surprise number one pick and a blockbuster trade not involving any draftees consumed most of the little excitement there was. Teams are already looking towards next year’s class where top-ranked player Andrew Wiggins is viewed as a can’t-miss prospect. A few other to-be freshmen and point guard Marcus Smart from Oklahoma State are also players who have teams excited about already for next year. The 2013 draft class lacks star power but it seems that the 2014 class does not. Guess we’ll have to wait another year to see.
