The class of 2008, or should I say the freshmen class of 2008, decided to throw out its education and declare for the NBA Draft. Honestly, though, if it wasn’t for new rule forcing basketball players to finish at least one year of college, half of this class would have been drafted last year.
Instead this draft class was one of the strongest draft classes in recent memory. With this draft class it’s only going to make the NBA better for next season. With a bunch of fresh new faces entering the league this season it looks like the NBA might be getting a new face lift when it comes to different teams making the playoffs.
Last year in the Eastern Conference we saw two teams make the playoffs with a losing record. The Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks are very thankful to play in the Eastern Conference. However, will they be able to make the playoffs this year with faces like Derrick Rose and Michael Beasley the top two picks in the NBA Draft heading to the Eastern Conference?
Free agency hasn’t started yet but this draft class might be the reason why some teams will be playing in May and other teams will pull a Miami Heat of 2008 by losing the rest of the games in hopes of landing someone like Blake Griffin, BJ Mullens, Demar DeRozan and Brandon Jennings to say good-bye to their college careers and go to the NBA (that is if Jennings does in fact go to college and not play in Europe next season).
Despite winning 4 of their final 25 games they only landed the second overall pick the NBA Draft. Which proves once again having the worst record in the league you will not get the top pick in the draft. At least the Heat won their final game of the season.
This brings up an interesting observation, who will be the worst team in the NBA next year? My opinion, it is the New York Knicks. I’m sorry for you Knick fans but I think your team is just doomed.
The one good thing the Knicks have done was getting rid of Isaiah Thomas, however, that is not enough. You have to clean up the mess that he has made and that isn’t going to be overnight. I have never seen someone dismantle a team so badly than what Thomas did.
Thomas was like the European version of the black plague where everything he did was wrong and not just wrong but god-awful. Whether it was the signing of Jared Jeffries, the trade of Eddy Curry, which helped the Bulls draft LaMarcus Albridge (who was then traded to Portland in exchange for Tyrus Thomas and Viktor Khryapa) and Joakim Noah both players could turn out to be better players than Eddy Curry.
Then there was the sexual harassment case involving a team employee, which led to the eventual firing of Thomas.
Let’s face it there was nothing good out of the Isaiah Thomas' tenure with the Knicks and because of that the Knicks are in trouble. The hiring of former Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni is a sign of good things to come but not next season.
And with the sixth pick in the NBA Draft the Knicks drafted Danilo Gallinari whom not a lot of people are sold on. Then again the last thing the New York Knicks need is another guard.
With that said what does the rest of the Eastern Conference look like? The Eastern Conference looks to be making some changes next year as we might see the return of the Chicago Bulls making their return to the playoffs.
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