NBA

[bodiddley]

Of the remaining 3, one was a pretty high profile player and won a title with two different teams.
The other two were role players, but lasted a decade int eh league and now coach pretty good teams.


Trivia Answer can be found here:
http://forums.escapefromelba.com/index.php/topic,49.msg279315.html#msg279315
Includes the team they coach now and who they won a title with.

[kam]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/07/kobe-bryant-tells-a-story-that-sums-up-kwame-brown/

    “But like, the game before we traded for Pau, were playing Detroit and I had like 40 points towards the end of the game. This is back when Detroit had Rasheed [Wallace], Chauncey [Billups] and those guys, so we had no business being in the game. So down the stretch of the game, they put in a box and one. So I’m surrounded by these players, Detroit players, and Kwame is under the basket, all by himself. Literally, like all by himself. So I pass him the ball, he bobbled it and it goes out of bounds.

    “So we go back to the timeout and I’m [upset], right? He goes, ‘I was wide open.’ ‘Yeah, I know.’ This is how I’m talking to him, like, during the game. I said, ‘You’re going to be open again, Kwame, because Rasheed is just totally ignoring you.’ He said, ‘Well, if I’m open don’t throw it to me.’ I was like, ‘Huh?’ He said, ‘Don’t throw it to me.’ I said, ‘Why not?’ He said, well, ‘I’m nervous. If I catch it and he foul me, I won’t make the free throws.’ I said, ‘Hell no!’

    “I go to Phil [Jackson], I say, ‘Hey Phil, take him out of the game.’ He’s like, ‘Nah, let him figure it out.’ So, we lose the game, I go the locker room, I’m steaming. Steaming. I’m furious. Then, finally I get a call, they said, ‘You know what, we got something that’s happening with Pau.’ I was like, ‘Alright. Cool.’…That’s what I had to deal with the whole year.”

[kam]

Yao
Kwame
Bogut
Oden


Don't draft a big man #1?

Dwight Howard the only one that worked out since.....

[bodiddley]

The Kwame and Yao drafts were really weak.
Instead of Kwame, Pau probably should have gone first -- and he's another C.
Yao was skilled and had a good career, but slowed by injuries.
Amare or Nene, both basically C's, could have gone first.
In the Yao draft, Dunleavy went 3rd, Skita 5th, and DaJuan Wagner 6th ...

Darko a C who went too high.
Bogut's been a very solid player, but injury prone lately.
Paul and Deron better choices (and Bynum coming on).

Problems are that very large humans get injured playing basketball more easily than more normal sized humans.  And it's tough to evaluate highs choolers and little know foreign players.

Bargnani hasn't been much of a #1 pick.  And LMA is coming into his own.
I guess both are more PF than C's.
Another real weak draft, rescued a little by Rondo and lately Lowry.

in 2008, the C's dropped too far.
Brook Lopez, 10th.
Hibbert 17th; JaVale 18th; Ibaka 24th

in 2009, Thabeet looking like a Darko style #2 pick.

The draft a crap shoot at every position.
And injuries crop up everywhere.
Think Jay Williams or DaJuan.

I think teams usually whiff most often by taking iffy C prospects in the 9 - 14 range.
Guys like Pat O'Bryant, Sear Sene, Hilton Armstrong to take 3 guys in the 9 - 12 range in the 2006 draft alone.

[kam]

Chicago (minus Deng) pushes Miami to the limit in Miami.  Drose misses 2 fts that could've put them up 1 in the waning seconds.  Chi fould Miami and LeBron then misses his 2 fts!

Drose is doing too much.  11-28 from the field.  Drose needs to trust his teammates a little more.  And his teammates need to get a little better themselves.

[Yankguy1]

I know he's number one on your Hate Parade, Kam, but I've never seen anything/anyone like James.

[kam]

I didn't really say anything bad about him.  He did miss those 2 clutch fts, but so did Drose.  It wasn't an anti-LeBron post.

And he did bike to the stadium, so i give him props for that.

His dunk in the 2nd quarter was cool.

But i did see him go 1 on 5 and hog the ball on several possessions.  So there's that.

[bodiddley]

LBJ was doing great, but then with over a minute left and up by 4, he held on to the ball, got nowhere, picked up his dribble and had to heave a falling away contested long jumper that barely grazed the rim.  Chi scores on a Rose runout and1.  Heat up by 1.
Then LBJ holds around the 3 point line, drives into 3 Bulls and tries a very difficult shot.
At least he attacked, but someone had to be open.

Weird that Rose misses 2 FT's in the last 20 ticks or so.
On a pretty cheap call.
Then they foul LBJ on purpose and his 2 rim out.
Rarely recall seeing good players miss 4 straight crucial end game FT's -- at least not involving Lamar Odom ...

Then the officials choke, with a mistaken whistle as Wade swipes the FT rebound from Taj.  So they go to a jump ball with about 10 secs left.  Chi messed up by intentionally fouling LBJ with Noah, who fouled out on the play.  So Noah want's there to get the FT rebound or to do the Jump Ball.  He probably would have been in instead of Boozer who almost dropped the ball calling timeout after Chalmers FT.

Really got sloppy at the end.

[MrUtley]

I know he's number one on your Hate Parade, Kam, but I've never seen anything/anyone like James.

Put him in the NBA when they were allowed to play defense, and we'll see how good he is. Hell, you know what Bill Russell and chamberlain and Erving would do in this modern era of Globetrotter basketball?

[kam]

BILL SIMMONS
The best possible fake trade for Orlando other than a Howard-Bynum deal: Howard and the semi-crappy Quentin Richardson/Chris Duhon contracts to Miami for Chris Bosh, Norris Cole, Joel Anthony, $3 million and a future no. 1 pick.

That possible trade frightens me as a Knicks fan.
Miami would be a lock to win every year.
But I don't think the in-state rivals would ever do it.

[kam]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/as-nick-young-goes-so-do-the-washington-wizards/2012/02/19/gIQAtYeIOR_story.html

PHOENIX — Nick Young was wandering through the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton hotel in a leather jacket, baseball cap, flip-flops and socks on Saturday when some guests of the Latif-Sidoiq wedding noticed the Washington Wizards’ starting shooting guard. Some of the guests were alums of Arizona and Arizona State and talked trash to the former Southern California standout before eventually inviting Young to come inside.

Shortly after Young walked into the ballroom, the DJ announced his arrival and before he knew it, he was munching on chocolate cake, posing for pictures with the bride and groom, and even getting on the microphone to make a toast.

“I just said, ‘Congratulations to the bride and groom,’?” Young said with a laugh. “I didn’t know nobody. I went in there and gave a speech. I was a wedding crasher. Will Ferrell. I didn’t have nothing else to do.”

[MrUtley]

Too bad it wasn't Neil Young. Would have been a helluva wedding.

[Yankguy1]

It seems that every day Kobe has another ailment added to his list of injuries from Wade's hard foul in the ASG.  I'm waiting for a diagnosis of rickets.

[kidcarter8]

Good thing it wasnt Blake Griffin he fouled - all hell would be breaking loose.

[Yankguy1]

Yep. Blake "he's the best athlete in the NBA" Griffin is every media guy's favorite these days.