NBA Draft and more

Well if you enjoy pro drafts at all (not likely) then you really enjoyed Thursday's NBA draft. Lots of crazy trades and of course, Kevin McHale didn't disappoint with his wheelin' and dealin'. Here are the teams who I think are looking good for the future.

Miami Heat:
I know there's talk that they are shopping Marion (primarly because his contract is up next year ad he likely will go elsewhere...and they need to ensure they shore up Wade before this time next year), but until they do trade him I'm considering him a Heat. So...they've got Marion, Wade, Beasley, and they added Mario Chalmers in a trade. Good experience, good youth. We'll see if they're able to pull something for Marion.

Only concern is Dwayne Wade - since the championship he's been pretty extinct. I know he's been injured, but he has missed a lot. Good news is he's still young AND he's entering a contract year next season so I imagine that will motivate him quite a bit, but unfortunately motivation doesn't cure injuries. If he can stay healthy and have a strong year, they should be vastly improved.

New Jersey Nets:
Clearly these guys are clearing space and making a run for Lebron after next season. They didn't get equal player value for the Richard Jefferson trade, but they did get a very young player with a ton of potential in Yi, and an expiring contract with Simmons. Don't get me wrong, I'm not singing the praises of Yi and suggesting he's the shiznit, but with Devin Harris, Vince Carter and a good potential for Lebron James after next year...well, that's a good core group. Throw in Josh Boone, Yi and Diop and you've now got some guys who can come off the bench and give you tough, solid minutes. I'm a huge Devin Harris fan and still can't believe Dallas let him go so I'm very big on him running the show. If Vince Carter can FINALLY learn the meaning of the word consistency and learn how to play in a system, they should have all the pieces to make a run - especially with the Boston window closing in the next 2 years. Of course, the Lebron "if" is a pretty big if.

Indiana Pacers:
I'm a little luke warm on this one. I do agree with his trade of Jermaine O'neal - that simply wasn't working out and he's a good player. He got a solid PG in TJ Ford (assuming he stays healthy), a couple of big men in rookie Roy Hibbert (huge guy) and career backup Nesterovic, and a solid combo guard prospect in Brandon Rush. If I were Bird I think I would have stuck with Bayless (their 11th pick they gave up for Rush and others) - I think his upside is bigger than that of Rush. We'll see, but they've got a good, young core of players to make some noise in the East.

Toronto Raptors:
Indiana's partner in crime in that O'neal trade, these guys scored pretty big on draft day. They can now combo O'neal with Bosh and have a pretty wicked front court...of course we'll see if O'neal can stay healthy for 30 minutes. With Calderon playing better than Ford (injury) they could afford to deal him for the front court upgrade.

Portland Trailblazers:
For the second straight year these guys made a flurry of trades on draft day. I'm not going to begin to think I know all that they did and I'm not interested in looking too hard. The main thing you need to know is they added Jerryd Bayless - how in the world did they end up with this good of a player? Let's take a look at their core roster going into next season: Greg Oden, Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, and now Bayless. That's a TON of youth and quite a bit of talent. I don't see any major super starts (possibly Roy down the line), but this a very solid group of guys. The trick will be putting it all together.

You know how I feel about Oden (grossly overrated), but there's no doubt he'll be a solid player, I just don't think he's anywhere near as good as people think/say he is. How would they know? They've never seen him play more than 20 or 25 games. Either way, this is a great young roster.

Other Random NBA Thoughts:

• I'm curious to know how so many experts can honestly say that Derrick Rose (or any other freshman for that fact) has "proven leadership experience and can come in and lead this team right away". What? His one year in college gives him the experience to come in and lead an NBA team? Huh.
  
• I know the media doesn't like talking about it, because he sort of owns the sports world, but could Michael Jordan be one of the worst execs in the league today? The Bobcats organization has been stuck in "expansion team" mode since the organization started. His drafts have been busts, although Okafor has had a solid career. And on Thursday he takes Augustin over Brooke Lopez? Don't get that one, you know I'm big on Augustin, but if I see Lopez there knowing you can pair him with Okafor I think I take that...without hesitating. We'll see what Larry Brown can do...before he leaves in November.
  
• Kevin McHale had better to pray to everything Holy that Kevin Love works out. He shouldn't even have a job right now.
  
• I was watching some of the draft on Thursday and heard Jeff Van Gundy say that Stephon Marbury was a really good point guard....what? Has JVG been paying attention to Marbury's career? There have been few players who have underachieved and screwed up their own career more than Stephon.
  
• Don't be shocked to see the balance of power shift a bit back towards the Eastern conference in the next few years - I look at what Indiana, New Jersey, Toronto, Miami and Orlando are doing, coupled with the current Boston regime and I can't help but to think that these are going to be some very good teams in the next few years - at least a few of them. Look at the youth out there: Lebron, Dwight Howard, Bosh, Wade and now this incoming class of guys - could be a tough conference very soon.
  
• Will be interesting to see if Washington can retain both Antwain Jamison and Gilbert Arenas - I either see both of these guys staying or both bolting. This will be the most interesting story in free agency...
• ...that and what Elton Brand does. He's coming off of achilles injury and speaking from experience, he may lose a step or 6. I've always been a fan of this guy, but not sure he can command a whole heck of a lot coming off an injury like that - we may have another Dominique Wilkins situation here - same injury killed his career back in the day.....and mine.
  
• Memo to Kobe Bryant - don't give the Shaq "rap" more than one second's thought - Shaq is bored and clearly still has a tarnished ego so let him continue to act like a fool while his career screams down the drain faster than you can say Kazaam. I've always been a huge Shaq fan, but man, grow up and shut up.....and fyi, you didn't win a championship without Kobe, you just happened to win one with Dwayne Wade playing at his best.
  
• What in the world are the Chicago Bulls going to do???? So many players to mess with including Deng and Gordon who are free agents.
  

Football News:
Don't really have any - just wanted to put that up there to tease you a bit. Here are some occasional tid-bits I've been hearing/reading about the last few weeks:

• Minnesota is projected to be good....real good. Which means they'll probably go 9-7.
  
• Do the Dallas Cowboys have a receiver who's not a member of AARP?
• It's nice to hear the commissioner publicly say how ridiculous rookie salaries in the NFL are becoming - now let's just see if they do anything about it. Doubt it.
  

That's what I got folks - enjoy the rest of the summer. I'll be back when training camps and 2-a-days start.