Why do teams pick players for the positions they're already stacked at or been filled? New Orleans picking Paul. Don't they have Dickau at PG? Or is Paul going to be a backup? Charlotte going after Felton. Don't they have Brevin Knight and Jason Hart running PG? Raptors going after Villanueva? Don't they have Bosh, Marshall, Rose, and Peterson playing Fs? Charlotte going after May? Who plays PF on their squad? Isn't it Okafor? I thought Brezec was their C.... Indiana going after Granger? Don't they have O'Neal playing PF w/ Foster at C? Or is Granger running SF? Isn't that Artest's position? Memphis going after Warrick? They have Swift and Gasol as the front line along w/ Posey and Mike Miller at the Fs, right? You would think the teams would want to fill their weak positioned areas...
Those two were done just to spite the Nuggets fans who got excited only to have the carpet pulled out from under them. Seriously though, in the late teens to early twenties, you just grab the best player available, especially if it's like those two which were supposed to be lottery locks (and top five in Granger's case).
It started to feel like a fantasy basketball draft. Whatever best player was available to pick them up instead of filling weak areas on the team. And Toronto must of saw something in Villanueva that the other teams didn't see. Everyone was surprised by that pick.
I wouldn't exactly call Brevin Knight and Jason Hart "stacked" at point guard. You have to remember that there are 3+ months of trades and free agency ahead. Look at the Rockets. PG is probably their deepest position with Sura, James, and Wesley, but they drafted Luther Head. CD is definitely making a deal for a PF this summer. Really bad teams like New Orleans or Charlotte don't have many trade commodities, so they draft the "best player available" to possibly facilitate a trade. West picked Warrick because Boston took Gerald Green one spot ahead. He's probably going to lose Swift to free agency, anyways. The only pick that puzzled me was Toronto's...time will tell...
Paul is an astounding upgrade over Dickau (who's best served coming of the bench as a sparkplug). Raptors are just dumb for taking Villanueva, but getting a PF with size makes sense. Marshall is as good as gone, and they need a big body next to Bosh. Peterson is two inches from scrubville. Charlotte badly wanted a real PG, and the Knight-Hart tandem doesn't put fear into anyone. Brevin's alright but he's limited on defense because of his size (5-10). I'm surprised that they were so desperate that they picked Felton up that high, but they refused to trade both their picks to Portland for the #3. Adding May at #13 is what I was expecting yesterday, but that's before Green free-falled. I think they're really going to regret that. But a 3 big man rotation is important to have. Granger's a 3, and was a good pick for two reasons: with Reggie gone, they needed depth at the swing positions; and, it may make it easier for them to deal Artest or Jackson. Warrick's small, but Swift is out of Memphis. He's not going to be able to play center, but he will give them defense and rebounding (something that's not in aboundance with the Griz). Evan
As far as Charlotte goes, they only have 4 players under contract for next year. That's why they refused to package 5 and 13 to move up to get Paul or Williams. In their case, you have to pick players, plain and simple. Doesn't hurt that Charlotte has a huge UNC fan base. May and Felton as selections has already stirred the interest in season ticket purchases.
Dickau is a FA this summer IIRC. But Paul is a much, much better player than Dickau will ever be. This was a simple matter of picking a franchise player for the team. Once again, Felton will most likely be better than Knigh and Hart. Charlotte made it known that they wanted a PG and they got the 3rd best one. This is what I was confused about. Charlie V is a PF, people are saying he can play SF, but he doesn't have a good enough shot, good enough handles, or good enough quickness to guard SFs. This was a terrible pick. They have Bosh at PF and Graham should be there starting SF. Seems like they spent the #7 pick on a bench player. Marshall is good as gone so look for Charlie V to back Bosh up. Picking up Felton and May was a PR move to keep these kids in state. They will see a lot of tickets just by ticking these 2 guys up. May is going to play PF w/ Okafor playing C. Don't worry about Brezec. The only problem I have with this pick is that they need scorers. A May/Okafor frontcourt would be nice, but they would be sooo slow. Green or Granger would have been the better pick. When a lottery-bound player falls that low to you, you take it. Granger is a SF so don't worry about JO. But this will most likely be the ultmate replacement for Artest. Great pick for the Pacers. Once again, you have to take Warrick if he falls that low to you. Swift is gone so I think this was a pretty good pick for them. IF he can get strong enough to hold down the PF position, look for the Grizz to be an up-tempo team.
