Dawgbytes 

June 28, 2000

Draft Day Thoughts
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Your draft day winners were teams that you usually think of as jokes.

The Clippers, Nets, and Mavericks.

I love the Nets #1 overall pick of Kenyon Martin. He's a mature player who can help the Nets try and replace the recently retired Jayson Williams.

The Clippers just worked it. Elgin Baylor knows talent. I truly believe that. His owner just won't make the talent happy by spending the money to make the franchise runable.

Taking high schooler Darius Miles was genius! He's 6-9 with skills. Add him with Lamar Odom and you've got two racehorses on offense and dobermans on defense.

The Clippers also got shooting guard/point guard Quinten Richardson out of DePaul. That's a key move for Miles. Q and Miles ran together during the pre draf workouts so they can keeping hanging in L.A.

The Clips needed a point and they traded for Kenyon Dooling. I don't think the kid is worth bad salt as a point, but he could surprise me. And in the 2nd round the picked Marko Jaric from Italy. Jaric can ball.

The Mavs made a splash. They have added five new players to the roster. The drafted 2-time Big East Player of the Year in Eton Thomas. They traded with Orlando for another first rounder. At the 13th slot the chose Courtney Alexander who led the nation is scoring.

Alexander is a Latrell Sprewell type of player. He can create. You always need a creator in the NBA. Thomas is a big body, but he can contribute on the glass.

Don Nelson is trying to work this thing like Golden State. The Warriors used to be one of the league's most exciting teams back in the day.

The Mavs also picked up John Wallace who was wasting time in New York along with their 22nd pick, Florida's Donnell Harvey. Harvey only played one year with the Gators. He can work the glass and he's got mad hops.
The tough part was giving up point man Erick Strickland.

Dallas sent Sean Rooks to the Clippers for point guard, Eric Murdock. They Mavs cover for the loss of Strickland that way.

The Bulls did the right thing in drafting Marcus Fizer. Yes, they already have Rookie of the Year, Elton Brand. But the Newdawg says you never have enough good players. You can always trade a good player.

An example, Washington had a log jam at the forward slot a few years ago with Chris Webber, Rasheed Wallace, and Juwon Howard. They traded Wallace to Portland for point guard Rod Strickland.

Now you wouldn't make that deal straight up today, but at the time it worked. If Fizer or Brand can't co-exist, then they have trade value.

The Boston Celtics will quickly find out that Jerome Moiso is a big tease. He will not be a player. At 6-10 he doesn't have a real spot on the floor. Poor Rick Pitino.

The Charlotte Hornets wasted the 19th pick with Jamaal Magloire. Sure he's a big kid at 6-10, but he can't play.

He was marginal at Kentucky in the SEC. How many marginal big men become stars in the NBA? Elden Campbell is lazy, now he has a mini me in Jamaal.