NBA Draft Reactions

A hodgpodge of thoughts following one of the best sports night of the year - NBA Draft night.

Best value picks:
- Jerryd Bayless (11) - Had top 5 talent, but slides to 11, and will join an already talented cast of Portland Trailblazers. He can eventually be paired with Brandon Roy in the backcourt... neither guy is probably a natural PG, but both are good enough ballhandlers and passers to run the offense.

- Courtney Lee (22) - I like Lee quite a bit. He's an unselfish player who should in seamlessly with Orlando's Big 3. Playing the 2 spot, he's a lot more athletic than holdover Keith Bogans, and he still maintains 3-point range. He's also better than Bogans creating his own shot off the dribble. Just a really nice pick for a really solid player.

- Kosta Koufos (23) - He's not NBA ready yet, but at 23, he's a talented player to get. Also, he's white, so he should fit well in Utah.

- Mario Chalmers (34) - Chalmers was too good of a player to slip this far. Solid defensively, good outside shooter, unselfish with the basketball... perfect addition to a team with Wade-Marion-Beasley.

- DeAndre Jordan (35) - Not that I love Jordan's game (I actually have serious doubts as to whether he'll ever be a consistently productive player), but at 35, it's a good risk to take for the Clippers. He's got the athleticism and rebounding ability to be a very good player if he can develop some type of offensive game.


Worst value picks:
- DJ Augustin (9) - I was a little confused about this pick for the Bobcats. For one, I'm not huge on Augustin... he's small, doesn't have the quickness of a top-flight PG, and is a bit of a liability on the defensive end. But is he really going to be better than Raymond Felton? And doesn't Brook Lopez fit a big need there?

- Anthony Randolph (14) - Randolph is similar to Brandan Wright, who the Warriors got in the draft last year. What are they going to do with 2 raw, athletic PFs?

- Javale McGee (18) - Speaking of raw... he's a long ways away, and I think a guy like DeAndre Jordan might be a little better risk if you're going for the upside pick. But there were more proven 4 men like Kosta Koufos and Darrell Arthur on the board, both of which seem like they would have made more sense.

- Sonny Weems (39) - It's hard to have too many qualms about a mid 2nd round pick (same goes for Ewing next), but I was a little perplexed by this choice. Weems is freaky athletic, but with the addition of Rose to a backcourt already featuring Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich, Larry Hughes, and Thabo Sefalosha, I think a big man would have been a better choice. Or if they were going to go this position, Chris Douglas-Roberts was still on the board.

- Patrick Ewing (43) - Ewing is big and pretty athletic, but he doesn't really have any discernible NBA skill. Ewing was a decent 6th man as a senior in college... how does that translate to the #43 pick?