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This week was the NBA draft which was considered one of the more underwhelming classes in quite a while but had a good amount of role players or glue guys to build with especially in comparison to next year’s loaded class. So here are some things I took from this year’s 2-day event.
Bronny James
This should be a happy story for this young man considering the serious health scare he had last summer where he almost died! Yes, he would not get drafted if he were not LeBron’s son, and his freshman year at USC left a lot to be desired but Bronny deserves an opportunity to shape a career of his own hard work and results.
This has been an uncomfortable subject for months because it ties back to LeBron James and his unexplainable mellow drama universe he is created where teams may draft Bronny as bait to lure LeBron to that team which makes this more impossible for Bronny James the player and more importantly the individual.
Obviously, LeBron has friends in high places who could ensure his son is drafted obviously not in the first round as we saw but hopefully in the second round OR this becomes a petty and spiteful jab to LeBron James and his circle at the cost of Bronny James which would be a sloppy disaster to say the least.
The French are coming!
A French revolution is happening in basketball. Starting with Victor Wembenyama last year and in this year’s draft three of the top six picks were French (Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, and Tidjane Salaun) certainly how global basketball and the NBA are but may be the sign that someday the French may take over.
The Big Man will never go away
As much as latest trends in basketball over the last decade or so has tried to wipe out the big man but one of things that stands time in basketball is YOU WILL ALWAYS NEED A BIG MAN! Portland doubling or tripling down on size with drafting Donovan Clingan from UConn and Memphis taking one of the steals in this draft Purdue big Zach Edey should have some immediate impact or roles on these teams next season and help them get back into the always competitive western conference.
The Spurs
Not a real surprise that San Antonio had a solid draft with selecting UConn guard Stephon Castle to pair with Wembenyama, did draft UK scorer Rob Dillingham but traded him to Minnesota for future picks would tell us they will be active this summer in upgrading the roster.
Lucky Lakers
Even when the Lakers try to be a sideshow distraction with the hiring of J.J. Reddick and what is going to happen with LeBron James, the Lakers somehow ended up having a decent draft with getting Tennessee stud Dalton Knecht in middle of the first round who will be a part of the rotation immediately.
Hidden Gems
Yes, there were quite a few steals/finds in this draft who will be consistent pros for their teams. Those players were Reed Sheppard for Houston, Ron Holland II for Detroit, Cody Williams for Utah, Matas Buzelis for Chicago, and Rob Dillingham for Minnesota who will all be great choices for those teams and be foundation pieces for the future.
