For the first time in about 13 years the Orlando Magic opened the door of the TD Waterhouse Center for an NBA draft party. Yours truly, Mike Robillard, was there from beginning to end just soaking up all the excitement, fun and all the free drinks and popcorn a human being can inhale in one night.
Eventhough this year's crop of NBA hopefuls didn't have the star power and excitement of a Lebron James, Dwight Howard, or Shaq, the entertainment was up there with the Oscars. Even the usally conservative NBA commissioner David Stern joined in the drama when he took a brief moment to openly squable with one of the announcers for being too critical of the picks as they were coming.
With such uncertainties about this year's draft picks a number of candidates could have been picked as the #1 draft pick, so the first 5 or so picks were more of a 'fit the needs' type of situation and after that it just came down to getting the best player.
This years draft will go down in history as the first time an Italian was selected as the #1 pick when Toronto selected Andrea Bargnani at the start. People are already trying to compare him to Dirk Nowitzki, the German phemon of the Dallas Mavericks.
Chicago selected Lamarcus Aldridge at No. 2, then sent him to Portland for the No. 4 pick Tyrus Thomas. Michael Jordan made his debut as the new minority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats and made his presence felt as he took Adam 'the mustache' Morrison at No. 3. Jordan is expected to play a major roll in getting the Bobcats to a playoffs caliber team and beyond.
This offseason is projected to be a very exciting one with talks of so many teams starting over, and many other teams believing that with just the right piece, they can make a playoff run for the 2006-2007 season. 15 trades where made on draft night and expect many more during the summer.
The only selection of the night which shocked many, was from the controversial president/coach of the soap opra like New York Knicks, Isiah Thomas who picked South Carolina forward Renaldo Balkman at No. 20. Most believe this to be a bad choice because Balkman is considered a 2nd round pick at best. If Isiah was at MSG he would have been booed out of the building as the shocked NY fans made it clear how they felt about him and his choice. The only fan who seem hopeful about the pick was Spike Lee as he said 'he could be a diamond in the rough.' Keep hoping Spike I know know exactly how you feel. As a true blue Magic fan myself, I've been there, road the ride, bought the shirt.
This time last year it was the Magic in the hot seat after they selected Fran Vazquez who quickly jumped back over to spain for a bigger and better deal. This year the Magic were on point with their selection. With the No. 11 pick in the Draft, the Orlando Magic selected Duke sharpshooter J.J. Redick. Redick, considered the best overall shooter in the Draft, holds the ACC record for scoring. Finally: The Magic are making good decisions. With Redick on the court it will be very hard for teams to double team Howard and Nelson next season which will cause a lot of defensive problems for opposing teams. I can't wait to see what else the Magic will do during the summer.
Whether people agree or didn't with their team's choice on Draft night the bottomline is this; only time will tell who truly won and lost on draft night.
For the complete draft line-up go to:
http://www.nba.com/draft2006/board.html
For complete trade coverage go to:
http://www.nba.com/transactions/current_month_transactions.html
Michael Robillard
