SPORT
Draft-Brewed Goodness: A Look Back, and A Look Ahead
/ Adam Underhill
06.26.09
First, I understand why the Cavaliers did it. Imagine, for a moment, that you’re Cavs GM Danny Ferry. (I know. Just try.) Your team cruised to a 66-16 record, and was feeling confident and ready to take on the mighty Celtics in the playoffs. The Celtics lose Kevin Garnett and get bounced by the Magic, who go on to surprise the Cavs in the conference finals. Now, suddenly, Cleveland has a new team (Orlando) and a new All-Star (Dwight Howard) to plan around if it wants to get back to the Finals. The ferocity with which Howard ripped down rebounds probably gave Cleveland pause, as it did just about anybody who watched him. This guy actually hustles, on both ends? This is the NBA, dammit. Who does this guy think he is?
The Cavs also have one more guaranteed year of LeBron before he becomes a free agent, and they need to show they did everything under the sun to help him get a ring so that he’ll have a reason to stay in Cleveland instead of, I don’t know, sign with the Nets and become the cornerstone of the first major pro sports team in Brooklyn in 52 years. Ferry had to go for broke, and he saw staring him in the face Shaq, the four-time champion, 12-time All-Star, and terrible movie star, coming off his best season in four years, and with one year left on his contract. If Ferry didn’t pull the trigger on this, and the Cavs come up short again, he’d wind up in Cleveland’s Hall of Shame, along with Craig Ehlo, Mike Hargrove, Marty Schottenheimer, and Shawn Kemp. (Ok, Shawn Kemp didn’t fool anybody in Cleveland into believing in a title, but let’s just put him there anyway.) Considering what Ferry gave up for an aging Shaq (an aging Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, and a second-rounder), it probably made too much sense. Plus, having O’Neal around won’t hurt ticket sales, not that that’s a problem with King James on the court.
And yet, do you see this ending well? Do you see O’Neal, who is 37, out-hustling Howard, who is 23, on either end of the floor? Do you think O’Neal will play 75 games, like he did last year, or do you think he’ll miss at least 21 games, as has been the case the previous three? And, as CNNSI’s Steve Aschburner pointed out, do you envision O’Neal, who has pursued and landed in greener pastures four times now, encouraging James to hang around Cleveland? Especially when O’Neal himself could be gone? Well? Do you? Huh?
Here is what I see: Something fewer than 66 regular season games won, shaky confidence in the playoffs, a loss in the conference semifinals, Shaq retiring and LeBron heading for New York City. I’ll follow up on this next May.
I’ve just realized 26 picks have gone by since I started typing, and I couldn’t tell you who went where. I did notice, however, that a guy from Tanzania and a guy from Israel were drafted.
I also know that Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin was chosen first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers. This does not bode well for Griffin, as the Clippers are quite possibly the worst franchise in all of sports. It doesn’t bode well for the Clippers, because, well, nothing ever bodes well for the Clippers. That’s why they’re so awful.
The Cavs also have one more guaranteed year of LeBron before he becomes a free agent, and they need to show they did everything under the sun to help him get a ring so that he’ll have a reason to stay in Cleveland instead of, I don’t know, sign with the Nets and become the cornerstone of the first major pro sports team in Brooklyn in 52 years. Ferry had to go for broke, and he saw staring him in the face Shaq, the four-time champion, 12-time All-Star, and terrible movie star, coming off his best season in four years, and with one year left on his contract. If Ferry didn’t pull the trigger on this, and the Cavs come up short again, he’d wind up in Cleveland’s Hall of Shame, along with Craig Ehlo, Mike Hargrove, Marty Schottenheimer, and Shawn Kemp. (Ok, Shawn Kemp didn’t fool anybody in Cleveland into believing in a title, but let’s just put him there anyway.) Considering what Ferry gave up for an aging Shaq (an aging Ben Wallace, Sasha Pavlovic, and a second-rounder), it probably made too much sense. Plus, having O’Neal around won’t hurt ticket sales, not that that’s a problem with King James on the court.
And yet, do you see this ending well? Do you see O’Neal, who is 37, out-hustling Howard, who is 23, on either end of the floor? Do you think O’Neal will play 75 games, like he did last year, or do you think he’ll miss at least 21 games, as has been the case the previous three? And, as CNNSI’s Steve Aschburner pointed out, do you envision O’Neal, who has pursued and landed in greener pastures four times now, encouraging James to hang around Cleveland? Especially when O’Neal himself could be gone? Well? Do you? Huh?
Here is what I see: Something fewer than 66 regular season games won, shaky confidence in the playoffs, a loss in the conference semifinals, Shaq retiring and LeBron heading for New York City. I’ll follow up on this next May.
I’ve just realized 26 picks have gone by since I started typing, and I couldn’t tell you who went where. I did notice, however, that a guy from Tanzania and a guy from Israel were drafted.
I also know that Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin was chosen first overall by the Los Angeles Clippers. This does not bode well for Griffin, as the Clippers are quite possibly the worst franchise in all of sports. It doesn’t bode well for the Clippers, because, well, nothing ever bodes well for the Clippers. That’s why they’re so awful.
