Friday, June 23, 2017

2017 NBA Draft, Draft Diary: Volume One


(Quick Note if you've never read a piece like this. I started writing this at around 7:15 the night of the draft and it should be published at some point on Friday. It is my live reaction while watching the 2017 NBA Draft on ESPN) I hope you enjoy!

Well we are finally here! The NBA Draft is upon us. The first thing I see as I start watching is who else but LaVar and Lonzo Ball. Hopefully, I don't have to devout too much time to writing about Big Baller Brand tonight. People have said this draft will be the best we've seen in quite sometime. If anyone said that about what is now known as 'the Anthony Bennett draft' they shouldn't be allowed to cover the event. I haven't been able to watch the draft as it happens in a few years because I was away doing summer broadcasting internships. So to say I am ready to hear Jay Bilas say, "Wingspan." a bunch of times tonight would be a massive understatement.

7:30 EST - Welcome into the 2017 NBA Draft, Draft Diary: Volume One! It's been a long day already. I was at work for a little bit before I had to get work done on my car, work on myself, and drive over to Toledo and pick up my Tuxedo for my friend Collin's wedding this Saturday. Am I ready for the draft? Absolutely. I just smashed on some Chipotle in about 7-8 minutes; so that should be enough to get me through the rest of the night.

7:35 - "These young men here tonight represent the future of our league." One of the first things said by NBA Commissioner, Adam Silver. He then said who's gonna be the next 'insert star/superstar' here. Kind of cheesy. And by kind of cheesy I mean super cheesy. The next LeBron isn't in this draft. The next Kyrie Irving isn't in this draft, either. I don't really need to go down this road.

7:39 - About two and a half minutes until the clock runs down and the Philadelphia 76ers take Markelle Fultz. Did Rece Davis just compare him to LaRue Martin? I am not that ridiculous level of NBA aficionado, but to have it make sense to people who've never heard of LaRue Martin; he was basically a Kwame Brown who didn't find a way to become a crappy NBA Veteran. I think Martin only played four years in the league. Never forget, Kwame Brown, as said by Stephen A. Smith.

7:40 - 76ers officially take Fultz. All-Time number one picks for the 76ers list is now Fultz, Ben Simmons, Allen Iverson and Doug Collins. We don't know much yet about the first two names but A.I. was a guy who changed the league in multiple ways, and Doug Collins was hampered by injuries before becoming the coach and analyst we know him as today. Like so many other people I haven't seen much of Fultz in live games. YouTube helps.

7:47 - Lakers take Lonzo Ball. Is anyone shocked yet? No? I didn't think so. We'll get some more shocking stuff later. Well maybe, at least. I loved watching Ball at UCLA last year. Do I care that he doesn't shoot mid-range? No. Teams have been getting away from that style over the last handful of years anyway. He can shoot threes from deep. I think he gets his shot changed. Maybe not a complete change, but it'll need to be tweaked to help him out down the road.

7:51 - "I got it made (purple and gold BBB hat) when he was a baby." LaVar, stop it.

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7:53 - Jimmy Butler gets traded to the T- Wolves for Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn, the 7th pick what?!?!? The Wolves now have the number 16 pick. That's huge and actually a pretty good deal for both sides. Well, by good deal for the Bulls I mean trash. Aside from already giving up on Dunn. They now have a starting five of Ricky Rubio, Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns and Gorgui Dieng. Only one really weak spot. They should be a contender next season without a doubt. Cut to Bulls fans looking at their front office like:

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7:54 - Boston takes Jayson Tatum at three. Again, not a shock there. Jimmy Butler just got traded to Minnesota! I'm still surprised about it! I haven't truly loved a Duke Product since (and actually the only one I liked in the moment) Jabari Parker. Tatum seems to be pretty dang close to what Parker's offense was when he was coming out of school. I think we only see flashes of him this year simply because he won't have a chance to score as much. You know, Isaiah Thomas might have the ball a tad too often. Nice pick for the Celtics. Will they regret making the trade? Only time will tell.

8:01 - The Suns take Josh Jackson at four. Rock chalk, not only for Jackson, but for how the draft board has been thus far. Jackson was fun to watch at Kansas last year. Playing alongside Frank Mason III. He took some of the pressure off of Jackson for stretches throughout the year. Jackson had some streaky shooting games and when those happen he is impossible to guard. He can attack the rim. He's a good defender without having a crazy wingspan. Am I nuts or have I not heard Bilas say wingspan yet? Either way, it's a good thing I'm not playing the drinking game for that tonight.

8:06 - The Footlocker Ad with the some of the prospects plays. Still the best line is, "And fishing. We went fishing a lot." Nice delivery, Jayson Tatum.

8:08 - The Kings take De'Aaron Fox. Also known as the guard who destroyed Lonzo Ball in Lonzo's last college game. He is also the guy who cried after the lost to North Carolina in his last game. I want to issue an apology to Fox, though. The Kings ruin everyone. Boogie might have a better attitude and cry a lot less if the Kings didn't take him. I still believe in you, Boogie. If Fox gets a jumper he will be deadly. Josh Jackson shot better in college, but Fox has a better release even though he didn't shoot very well in college. Fox seems like a really good guy. I feel like he cares a lot. Some of the other guys didn't get as emotional, for whatever that's worth. Hopefully, the Kings don't waste you.

8:12 - Why did I become a Magic fan, again? I'm scared. The first five went how we thought they would. They will mess this up, right? They have to. We rented Serge Ibaka for absolutely no reason. Ugh, don't make me scream. I do like who we put in the front office. John Hammond was my number one choice when the rumors started to swirl. Four picks in the top 35 tonight. What could go wrong?

8:14 - The Magic take Jonathan Isaac out of Florida State. That seems like the right pick? I think so. I was telling my good friend Phil that we needed basically everything. He's listed as a 6'10 small forward. Jalen Rose says he reminds him of Andrei Kirilenko also known as AK-47. That's nice to have but CAN WE GET SOMEONE WHO CAN ACTUALLY SHOOT THE BALL. Hopefully Isaac can. He seems to have a nice shot. Do we have a shooter outside of Evan Fournier? I still might scream.

8:21 - The Timberwolves take Lauri Markkanen at number seven. Except the Bulls are actually getting Markkanen because of the Jimmy Butler trade. Can we finally stop this complete charade of the team picking someone when he's already going to a different team? I don't need to see Markkanen in a Timberwolves hat for three minutes. According to Bilas, the Finnish base your speeding tickets on your income. Yeah, I think his tickets might go up a little bit. Markkanen can clearly shoot the heck out of the ball. Especially when you consider that his a seven footer. But that's really all he does well. He's not much of a defender or rebounder. He's more Channing Frye to me than Kristaps Porzingis. He can be a little better though. Can we laugh a little more about Chicago in this draft as well as trading up for Mitch Trubisky in the NFL Draft? You had the Cubs win a World Series. You'll be okay. I'm still laughing though.

8:26 - The New York DumpsterFires, I mean Knicks, take Frank Ntilikina the point guard out of France. I could talk about their crap for way too long. Anyway Ntilikina sure seems like the correct pick for the Knicks. I definitely heard Bilas say wingspan for this guy. He has some crazy wingspan for a guard. Fran Fraschilla said he's not quite a one and not quite a two. So, if I read between the lines, he isn't very good at either spot. The French league he comes from has produced some solid NBA players. My doubt for this guy is mostly due to the fact he's wearing a Knicks hat and Phil Jackson is still in charge. Hahahaha. At least the Orlando Magic President of Basketball Operations wasn't falling asleep at workouts.

8:33 - The Mavericks take Dennis Smith Jr. out of NC State at pick nine. NC State sucked so much last year they fired their coach in the middle of the season. I don't know how good he will be. He was highly ranked out of high school and then had an injury to deal with. He was still good enough to be the ACC Freshman of the year. He has a 48 inch vertical! How is that a thing a human can do? I have a feeling he will be in a dunk contest within the next few seasons. A quick reminder that this draft has still mostly been what we expected. Outside, again, the Jimmy Butler trade.

8:39 - The Kings trade down from 10 with the Portland Trail Blazers for picks 15 and 20. They take Zach Collins out of Gonzaga. The Kings are doing smart things so far tonight, or am I going crazy? Good chance for both. Watching Collins this year I didn't think that he was anything special. His story has been about being overlooked since he was in high school. Maybe there's a reason he has been so overlooked. If he is better than Myers Leonard than I guess it's a nice pick for the Blazers. I just don't really see it with Collins.

8:43 -  In my calmest voice possible: HOW IS MALIK MONK STILL ON THE BOARD. Oh, yeah, the Kings could have just taken Monk and had last seasons Kentucky guards. Only Sacramento.

8:45 - The Charlotte Hornets are gonna take Monk now, right? He has officially slipped too far. He dropped, what, like 47 on North Carolina?

8:47 - The Hornets do take Monk. It is downright nuts how many great guys Kentucky has put in the league. And even the guys that don't pan out have been taken in the first round of the draft. Monk's worst case in the league is a kind of crappy version of Jamal Crawford. He has definite potential as a defender as well. Kemba Walker and Malik Monk is a kind of small backcourt, but so is Damian Lillard and CJ Mccollum. Neither of those duos might win a title as they are currently put together. That doesn't make them any less fun to watch.

8:52 - The Pistons take Luke Kennard at 12. Insert the comparison to Chris Mullen and/or JJ Redick. He's probably one of the most likeable white guys from Duke since... (racks my brain) I don't recall other likeable white guys from Duke. They're usually portrayed as the villian. Playing with Grayson Allen probably helped Kennard in that regard.

8:58 - The Nuggets go grab Donovan Mitchell from Louisville but he is going to Utah for the 24th pick and Trey "formerly known as Mamba" Lyles. He's a legend in his own mind. Isn't it a little awkward to ask Mitchell about the Jazz while he's in a Nuggets hat? Gosh, that is dumb. I don't know much about Mitchell. Oh, and how the f*ck is Rick Pitino still the coach there. Please keep telling me how the NCAA is all about the education and students and doing the right thing.
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9:05 - The Heat take Bam Adebayo at 14. Isn't he a worse version of Hassan Whiteside. I hope those gamblers took the over on the 2.5 of Kentucky players going in the first round. Always take the over on Kentucky guys getting drafted. Bam was fun at Kentucky with the role he had. Players in the NBA from there can stay in that mold when they get to the league (Anthony Davis) or they show their true skill set and show how much better they are then when they were wearing the Big Blue (Devin Booker and KAT) He should stay in that mold.

9:06 - The guys on the set make fun of Jalen Rose's draft day suit for about the 4th time. We also got a stay in your lane line from Bilas to Rece Davis. Some of the jokes have been a little forced, but this one seemed fine.

9:12 - At 15, the Blazers pick for the Kings and take Justin Jackson from North Carolina. The Kings now have Fox, Buddy Hield, and Justin Jackson. We know what Jackson is. I think he is a nice fit with the Kings, but they could've had Monk.

9:16 - Jimmy Butler is in Paris right now. Good for you, Jimmy.

9:17 - Now we are half way through round one. I haven't wrote this much without taking a long break since writing my final college paper. I think I got an A on it.

9:18 - The Bulls take Justin Patton at 16 but that pick is for Minnesota with the Jimmy Butler trade. This is the probable replacement for Dieng down the road. He is another guy I haven't seen much of. I like this pick. I've liked most of the picks though, right? Well let's hope this is as good a draft as people have said. Minnesota stays winning in this deal.

9:23 - Now here's ESPN giving Kentucky a stage to say, "Hey, I send people to the NBA every year. Come play for me." Just for everyone that has missed what Kentucky the last handful of years.

9:25 - I know he hasn't been picked yet, but why is Harry Giles an NBA Prospect? He has been hurt the last two years and couldn't get off the bench at Duke. Don't waste a pick on him.

9:26 - Orlando is gonna take Giles since I said that, aren't they?
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9:28 - Milwaukee takes D.J. Wilson from Michigan. He if nothing else fits the description of most of the Bucks. He's long and athletic. He's another guy that didn't stand out to me all that much when I watched him the few times I did. Seems like the right pick though for the Bucks.

9:32 - The Pacers pick TJ Leaf at 18. I really like this pick. You put him next to Myles Turner and that's at the least a good offense in the front court. I remember watching him especially when he played against Ohio State early in the season. I was really impressed with him. I knew about Ball and about Bryce Alford, but Leaf really showed me a lot not just in that game but throughout the year. Why do you need to ask Leaf about Lonzo? You think he's gonna throw him under the bus or something? They made each other better without a doubt. I hope Leaf is a good pro.

9:37 - The Atlanta Hawks take John Collins from Wake Forest. Could this be a sign they will let Paul Millsap walk this summer, or is it a sign they have the successor and they want Millsap to tutor him? A big knock on him was on his defense. Did you guys see who else was on this man's team? He had to carry them on offense. Do you want him to go all out on defense too? (ideally yes) I think there was the understanding of stay out of foul trouble and save it for offense.

9:40 - Teams are getting better at drafting. I know not all of these picks will pan out but it sure seems like teams are being smart with their picks to fill voids and they are also the right pick at the right time.

9:42 - How do we not know who won the league MVP, yet? Who decided on that stupid idea for an awards show. It's been wayyyyyy too long.

9:43 - The Kings messed up, again! I knew it was only a matter of time. They take Harry Giles at 20. I don't care if he was the top recruit in 2016. He has already went through two ACL injuries. The broadcasters on ESPN are saying how nice of a kid he is. That might be true but I don't think he ever has a relevant NBA moment.

9:50 - The Thunder are up, no not Thunder UP.
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They take Terrance Ferguson. He took a route similar to the Brandon Jennings path. Except he played in Australia! He's the first American to do that. Seems like the perfect fit for the Thunder and that also makes Andre Roberson expendable, right? This guy can actually shoot. Roberson couldn't hit water if he fell off a boat. Was that too easy of a joke?
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9:53 - The Brooklyn Nets are on the clock and as Jalen so eloquently put it they need everything. I agree.

9:56 - The Nets take Jarrett Allen from Texas at pick 22. I like the fro more than the pick but I like the fro a lot. They just traded away Brook Lopez for D'angelo Russell so it's a natural fit to get a center. Allen is the biggest recruit Shaka Smart has got since he went to Texas. He got a couple guys from VCU into the league. Even if their stay wasn't for very long. I'm looking at you, Larry Sanders. The Nets are still going to be really bad next year. I'm not breaking any news with that take.

9:58 - Jay Bilas is trying to get so many people drunk right now.

9:59 - Bilas says, "Tip it back, people." Uber and Lyft are ways you can get home safe.

10:03 - The Raptors get OG Anunoby from Indiana at 23. If he doesn't get hurt he is probably a lottery pick. I don't know if he is scared out of his mind but he seemed pretty timid in that interview. At the least he is gonna be nice on defense. I think this signals that Kyle Lowry is gone. They are going into slight rebuild mode.

10:04 - Mini-Woj bomb. The Magic are trading their 35th overall pick to Memphis. I don't know what they are getting back for it. Don't mess it up, Orlando. (After a while it was reported they are getting a second round pick in 2019 from the Grizzles via the Nets)

10:09 - Markelle Fultz makes a Process joke. He is officially a 76er.

10:11 - Utah takes Tyler Lydon but that is actually going to Denver as a part of their trade from earlier on in the draft. Could be a nice shooter next to Jokic. Why didn't he enter the draft last year? He would've went higher than 24 last year especially coming off that Final Four year. Oh, crap. Now Orlando is on the clock. They're gonna mess it up. They're gonna take some foreign guy who sucks, right? (Gulp)

10:19 - I can't make this stuff up. I swear I already had all of that typed out. Andzejs Pasecniks is who Orlando grabs at 25. I like the country he's from. It's the same country the gave us this guy:
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I hope I am wrong. Boy, oh, boy, do I hope I am wrong. People were wrong about Porzingis. Hopefully that will happen about this guy who's name I don't even want to try pronouncing.

10:22 - (Contamplating starting the Jay Bilas drinking game)

10:23 - (Deciding it's too late and I'm already too tired. People reading this are probably calling me soft)

10:24 - Caleb Swanigan! I loved watching this dude at Purdue. He goes to the Blazers at 26. If you don't know his story look it up it's worth reading. He had such a crazy life growing up. Lots of people said he should've stayed in school but he goes in the back end of the first round. Just adds to his story. Swanigan is without a doubt someone I am rooting for.

10:28 - I check twitter and see Orlando is trading that pick. What are we getting back?

10:31 - At pick 27 the Nets take Kyle Kuzma but this is what will go to the Lakers as a part of the Lopez-Russell trade. I know nothing about Kuzma. What is Orlando getting for the trades they are making? Woj, I know you've been working hard for weeks and months but come on. I need to know!

10:35 - This pick is going to Utah and the Lakers pick 30 and 42. They take Tony Bradley from UNC. Bradley joins a list of players from North Carolina to be a one-and-done that list also includes Marvin Williams and Branden Wright. Not the best list to be a part of.

10:38 - Finally finding out what Orlando is getting: a Philly 2020 First rounder and the worst of either Brooklyn or New York's second rounder that same year. I don't know how good Philly will be at that point in time but I am having a hard time thinking they will pick number one two years a row like we are seeing right now. ORLANDO:
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99.99% chance we will be back in the lottery next year. Yes, I had to use that meme twice.

10:44 - The Spurs take Derrick White at 29. Finally a senior gets taken! Is that the first one? Yes, it is!

10:47 - The Lakers snag Josh Hart at the end of the first round. Although, the Jazz technically picked the Big East player of the year.

10:48 - Jay Bilas makes a Bill Bradley joke no one under 40 can understand.

Bottom line -  The Process is soon going to be 'The Progress'. You know, since they are going to be competitive. If someone else starts saying 'The Progress' you heard it here first. LaVar-Lonzo got what LaVar wanted. I hope Jimmy Butler missed Tom Thibodeau. Malik Monk will be a stud. If you forgot what I said, well, scroll back up!

Actual bottom line - 
I still don't know what the Magic are doing.
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As always, thanks for reading!
Special thanks considering the length of this piece!
Follow me on TwitterInstagram and on Snapchat: thelancemorris

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2017 NBA Draft, Draft Diary: Volume One