Sportsmeat

So the draft dealt another blow to the groin to Celtics fans around the country—first you miss on Tim Duncan in the Rick Pitino master plan for rebuilding the dynasty, then you miss out on Greg Oden (and Kevin Durant, for that matter) in the Danny Ainge plan for rebuilding the dynasty. Back to the drawing board? Draft board? Fire Ainge and Doc Rivers?

Anyway, other than releasing all their good players in an attempt to relocate to Miami, the Celts are essentially left with two options: Trade the No. 5 pick and anyone else but Paul Pierce and Al Jefferson for Pau Gasol and try to make a run in the East. Or: trade Pierce and build around a young nucleus of Jefferson, Gerald Green, whomever you get back in the Pierce trade and whomever you draft at No. 5 this year.

Last thought: that trade last year of Sebastian Telfair for what became Brandon Roy REALLY didn’t work out. In fact, it’s the kind of thing GMs get fired for. Or perhaps not.

The obvious big winners in the draft are the teams in the Top 3, but for different reasons. The Blazers get Oden and the Sonics get Durant, and the Hawks get to keep their pick—
it was Top 3 protected – if the Hawks’ pick had been fourth or below, it would have gone to Phoenix. What other sport does this with protecting picks depending on what number they are? The lottery has made the NBA a little wacky, but I’m OK with this.

So let’s break down the three draft winners:

Blazers. This team will be young and very, very good, with a potential starting 5 of Jarrett Jack (23 years old), Roy (22), Martell Webster (20), Zach Randolph (25 – I can’t believe he’s 25; Jess Settles was 25 during his third senior year at Iowa) and Oden (19). The reserves are Dan Dickau, Travis Outlaw, Ime Udoka (who was a starter last year and performed well), Lamarcus Aldridge (last year’s No. 2 pick) and Joel Przybilla. Plus, the Blazers have Jamaal Magloire, Raef Lafrentz and Darius Miles to trade if they want to shore up the backcourt. Gotta like that future.

Sonics. If they can re-sign Rashard Lewis, this team will look pretty good when it moves to Oklahoma City, building around Lewis, Durant, Ray Allen and an emerging center in Robert Swift. Looks like the West will continue to dominate well into the 2010s.

Hawks. Getting to keep the pick is great, but who to take is a quandary. The best players are UNC’s Brandan Wright, Kansas’ Julian Wright and Florida’s Al Horford, but Horford is redundant to (though better than) Shelden Williams, and either Wright gives the Hawks another 6-7 to 6-9 tweener to go along with Josh Smith, Marvin Williams and Josh Childress. Of course, nothing wrong with stockpiling talent and see who emerges to play with Joe Johnson, but what this team really needs is a point guard or a center. It’ll be interesting to see if they reach for Mike Conley, Jr., or hope they can grab Acie Law with their No. 11 overall pick (if the Kings don’t take him at No. 10).

Projected Lottery (assuming no trades):

1. Blazers – Oden, Ohio State
2. Sonics – Durant, Texas
3. Hawks – Conley, Jr., Ohio State
4. Grizzlies – Horford, Florida
5. Celtics – Yi Jianlian, China
6. Bucks – Brandan Wright, UNC
7. Timberwolves – Corey Brewer, Florida
8. Bobcats - Julian Wright, Kansas
9. Bulls – Roy Hibbert, Georgetown
10. Kings – Thaddeus Young, Georgia Tech
11. Hawks – Acie Law, Texas A&M
12. 76ers – Jeff Green, Georgetown
13. Hornets – Joakim Noah, Florida
14. Clippers - Tiago Splitter, Spain