Well, Duh!

If you've been following on Furriners NBA Draft Coverage, this should not surprise you:

David Thorpe of Scouts, Inc posts at ESPN.com (Insider access):

(Patrick Patterson) was the second-most disappointing rookie of summer action relative to my expectations for him.

I'm going to get my resume ready for when James Dolan finally cans Donnie Walsh. Those two years as Assistant Manager at a Bennigan's during the Clinton Administration should seal the deal. Knicks fans! Get ready... I'm coming to Madison Square Garden and I'll find a way to get Chris Paul! (I wonder if Derek Anderson has ever given basketball a shot?)

I'm Back, Baby!

It's been a couple weeks since I have contributed to this blog. Real life kind of got in the way for a bit. I really wanted to comment on the NBA Draft where I was almost entirely correct (only missing in that Patrick Patterson snuck in at the very end of the lottery at #14 - still 8 picks behind Epke Udoh). See here for my previous posts with predictions.

I've taken notes on several other MSNBC moments that I wanted to comment on but may not take the opportunity now. But maybe I will (even if they are no longer necessarily timely). Let me start with this which I believe is maybe already over a week old:

There are many things that annoy us here at Furriners. Very prominent on the list is Republican politicians using the phrase "the American people want..." or, of course, "the American people don't want..." whatever it is. Often they use that phrase to describe simple platitudes that are agreeable enough and are often meant to insinuate that Democratic policies are keeping the people from the laudible end (example: "the American people want to be kept safe"); sometimes they use it in a way that is vague and open to interpretation (example: "the American people don't want Big Government". Perhaps not... but, obviously, we all have our own threshold for what constitutes "big" government. And even in that example, these people who don't want Big Government are, nevertheless, typically the same people who want government to decide how every pregnancy should conclude (i.e. with a live birth) regardless of the woman's preference).

Sometimes a Democrat will also presume to speak for the American people. Such was the case on The Rachel Maddow Show on June 24 when Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) said this:

What this oil disaster - if you can find a silver lining at all - has resulted in is the American people coalescing and beginning to recognize that we have to ween ourselves off our dependence on oil - not just foreign oil - but oil. And pass legislation that will help us invest in renewable energy sources... that is the key to our long-term energy needs.

Are there poll numbers that support this? I mean, I'm sure if you ask some generic question of the masses, they'll agree we should reduce our dependency on oil... but I don't know of any evidence that the American people are willing to make any sort of sacrifice to make this happen! Is there some swelling of grassroots support for a carbon-tax that I don't know about?

If I recall correctly, Thomas Friedman considers it a given that they only way you're going to get Americans to embrace alternative forms of energy is to make it cheap and easy to do so. Thus, unless there is a game-changing technological breakthrough in the near future, the only way it will become cheap and easy (and "cheap", in this case, I mean only as a relative term because, of course, energy will actually cost more than it currently does) we're probably looking at both putting a price on carbon and the need for the federal government to massively invest in infrastructure (modernizing the energy grid and, yes, perhaps building many more nuclear plants). Do tax raises and increased government spending seem like something the American people want? Unlike John Boehner, I don't like to speak for the American people, but I will say that I don't see it.

Mock Draft Mocking

The staff at Furriners happens to love a good draft. I'm not saying we're having a draft party to watch the WNBA Draft or anything but I'd be lying if I didn't acknowledge checking espn.com to see where Courtney Paris was picked last year.

Also, as residents of the Detroit-area, the NFL draft is even more closely watched considering the Lions are so often picking near the top of the draft. Last year, while there was a healthy debate about whom the Lions should pick at #1 (locally, it was mostly between Matthew Stafford and Aaron Curry... with Pat Caputo wanting to take B.J. Raji). It is legend around the Furriners office that there was a national writer who put up a mock draft saying the Lions should take Everette Brown at #1. Everette Brown! You might ask "who is Everette Brown?" Well, he was the 43rd overall pick of the Carolina Panthers who finished his rookie season with 19 tackles and 2.5 sacks. I searched the internet for a bit to try to find a link to that mock draft but couldn't locate it. Whomever wrote it probably wants to scrub it from interest history. And I don't blame him.

The reason I bring this up is that I recently looked for an mock draft update from nbadraft.net. There most recent revision (as of today, 6/2) has Patrick Patterson going #6! They are officially f'n insane! I don't need to rehash what I think of Patterson but if you're just finding this site: please see here and here and here.

And I'm here to predict to that nbadraft.net is going to want to pretend in the years ahead that they didn't have Patrick Patterson in the top 6. They will be lying. Much like Pete Hoekstra.

Udoh over Patterson.

Jim Rome Is Right... I Guess

There was a whiff of bullshit coming out of Jim Rome is Burning on Wednesday. Honestly, I have hesitated to comment on it because the overall conclusion (that John Wall should be the #1 pick) is something I agree with. Oh well, this blog was created as a medium for us to comment on shit so here goes:

Rome posed this question to ESPN columnist Jamele Hill:

"Has there ever been a more sure fire first pick than John Wall?"

The answer should have been an emphatic "HELL YES!!! Consider LeBron James ('03), Tim Duncan ('97), Shaquille O'Neal ('92), and many others! How 'bout Lew Alcindor in 1969? Any chance he was more 'sure fire' than John Wall?"

The answer Jemele Hill gave was a more wishy-washy answer of you're right but I like Evan Turner.

Rome responded with:

"Look... Evan Turner, I love the guy... but you got a point guard. A point guard that's just gonna kill guys for a decade and he's on top. I think you gotta take him."

Okay, so he seems to be arguing that point guards are at a premium and, hence, are highly sought after even at the very top of the draft. Dear reader, are you ready to see the list of point guards that have gone #1 in the Lottery era? I hope you have several minutes to absorb this list... okay here goes:

2008 - Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls)

End of list. Did you take the time to really absorb it?

Okay, another way I want to look at it. Can we consider the best guards of the post-Earvin/Isiah era. Off the top of my head, I came up with these players:

John Stockton
Gary Payton
Steve Nash
Jason Kidd
Kevin Johnson
Chris Paul
Deron Williams
Mark Price

Do you know how many titles have been won by those eight elite point guards?

One. Gary Payton latched onto the 2006 Miami Heat at the end of his career (he averaged 7.7 ppg and 3.2 apg that season) and got himself a ring. The other seven are, at least thus far, titleless.

Nevertheless, as I pointed out at the beginning, I don't mean to denigrate John Wall's potential NBA impact. I believe I saw him in one game before reporting to my Furriners colleagues that John Wall was the real deal. Like Derrick Rose... but better. However, like Jemele Hill (and Jim Rome), I also really like Evan Turner. He is also the real deal and Philly will be getting themselves a future All Star as well.

* this prediction is moot if LeBron James signs with the Chicago Bulls.

Furriners = Super Scouts?

On two occasions in the past six weeks or so, I have challenged NbaDraft.Net for their overrating of Patrick Patterson.

In light of yesterday's NBA Lottery, I thought I'd check out Chad Ford's updated mock draft (2.0) at espn.com. I was almost shocked at the vindication my scouting report is receiving from this source. As of today's update, Ford has Epke Udoh going #8 to the Clippers and Patrick Patterson going #22(!) to Portland. Suck on that, NbaDraft.net!

To expand on my thoughts just a bit:

I am a Wake Forest fan. I am a resident of the Detroit area... but Al-Farouq Aminu at #7 to the Pistons?!?! No, no, no. I'd rather have Greg Monroe (who Ford has going #9 to Utah). I see a very high bust factor on Aminu. Monroe doesn't have a tremendously high ceiling given his lack of elite athleticism but the bust factor seems low because of his size, skill, & intelligence combination.

NOTE: as of today's update at NBADraft.net, they still have Patterson at #8 (LAC) and have moved Udoh to #15 (MIL).

NBADraft.Net Is Taunting Me

Some time ago, I predicted that Baylor PF Epke Udoh would be picked ahead of Kentucky PF Patrick Patterson in the 2010 NBA Draft.

Now, as of their May 6 update, nbadraft.net is projecting Patterson to go #8 to the Clippers with Udoh going #18 to Miami. I think that is nuts. Actually, in all honesty, I like Patterson... but he is a tweener who, in my opinion, doesn't have that one skill that will make him a useful NBA player. He actually reminds me of Ryan Humphrey, a 2002 first round pick who was essentially a bust (Humphrey was a better athlete, Patterson is probably slightly more skilled).

I can not say that I am entirely confident that Udoh will be in a rotation either. But at least he is an excellent shot-blocker and a surprisingly skilled passer and has better size than Patterson. So I'm here to say again... Udoh over Patterson.

You Heard It Here Second

It's not always obvious but I'm a pretty big deal. I am an ESPN Insider. All it takes for that revered status is having a friend with disposable income and a credit card. Luckily, I have one.

So I was perusing espn.com for what Chad Ford had to say about the underclassmen that have declared for the 2010 NBA Draft and this should be echoed all around the Ann Arbor area:

STAY IN SCHOOL

Manny Harris, G, Michigan

Harris has terrific skills, but he's still maturing as a basketball player. If he can go back to Michigan, improve his shot selection and actually lead the team to some wins, he's a first-round talent. Right now, however, he's stuck in the second round.

Let's make sure Manny knows this! We don't want him being another Marcus Taylor! He was a former MSU Spartan who made an ill advised decision to turn pro back in 2002. His wikipedia page doesn't indicate it but I'm pretty sure he's known to give $5 HJs on the The People Mover during the summer. I'm not sure we'll ever know for sure.

Anyway, Manny Harris... STAY IN SCHOOL!! U of M needs you more than the Turkish Basketball League.

Bold Prediction

I was checking out nbadraft.net and noticed that they are projecting Patrick Patterson going #9 overall in the June draft.

I want to go on the record that Patrick Patterson will NOT go in the lottery. In additon, I will add that I do not see Patterson going ahead of Ekpe Udoh - who the site is currently projecting at #16.