The 2009 NBA Draft's Winners and Losers

The draft has come and gone, and the mock draft didn’t look good. Some teams came up big, and some teams didn’t, here’s my take.

The Winners

L.A. Clippers: Blake Griffin

Mike Dunleavy took the best player on the board. The Clippers are a team that can never really play to its potential. They got the best player, but now they have a minor problem, they will have to trade Chris Kaman, or Zach Randolph to make room for Griffin in the starting lineup.

Oklahoma City Thunder: James Harden

Harden was the best fit. He reminds scouts of a less athletic Brandon Roy. Harden, a very versatile two-guard will fit in with a young core of Durant, Green, and Westbrook.

Golden State Warriors: Stephen Curry

The Warriors took my favorite player in the draft. The fans at the Garden booed as hard as they possilby could with their Knicks just one pick away from landing Curry. The Warriors got the best player left on the board.

New York Knicks: Jordan Hill

When Donnie Walsh was talking to the guys at ESPN, he said when it was Curry and Hill left, he couldn’t go wrong. He was right; the fans at the Garden didn’t know what they’re talking about as they booed carelessly. They have probably never seen Hill play.

The Knicks get a great shot blocker, who has a nice mid-range game, and is 6'10". Hill reminds a lot of people of a young Amare and he will be a great fit for Mike D’Antoni’s system.

Toronto Raptors: DeMar DeRozan

Chris Bosh is probably leaving in two years so who will be the new face of the Raptors? Enter DeRozan. He has a lot of potential and may not contribute right away. However he reminds me of Vince Carter, very athletic and can lead his team in big moments. He had a monster Pac-10 tournament and was the sole reason USC made the tournament.

Philadelphia 76ers: Jrue Holiday

The 76ers were in dire need of a point guard, and I thought they would have to trade up if they wanted one from the higher tier. I was wrong. If you were watching the draft on ESPN, Holiday was No. 1 on Bilas’ best available for about seven picks. In my mock draft, I had Holiday long gone. Holiday is a lottery pick and they got a steal at 17.

Holiday isn’t ready yet, but he has a high ceiling and superstar potential. He only averaged 8.8 points per game, but he was playing out of position. If Andre Miller isn’t resigned he will get significant minutes instantly.

San Antonio Spurs: DeJuan Blair

The Spurs didn’t own a first round pick, and managed to snag DeJuan Blair, a player that was rumored to go in the 10-20 range. Apparently teams saw something wrong. It wasn’t his height because there have been some smaller posts who have had long careers. It was probably his knee problems; doctors couldn’t even find his ACLs. But the Spurs get a first-round talent at 37. Blair is a fearless rebounder who will bring toughness and strong rebounding off the bench.

The Losers

Charlotte Bobcats: Settling for Gerald Henderson

The Bobcats had made a guarantee to Terrence Williams, and were sure to pick him if he fell to No 12. He didn’t, and New Jersey picked him at 11. This forced Michael Jordan to take Gerald Henderson out of Duke, and as good as he is, they didn’t get the player they wanted.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Jonny Flynn, Ricky Rubio

David Kahn made a big mistake by passing on Curry. Kahn hopes Rubio and Flynn can play together calling them Dennis Johnson, and Danny Ainge. He also went on to call Flynn a scoring point guard, and Rubio a pure point guard. Well they are both pure point guards.

Flynn was a great passer in college. I don’t know if either are happy to be playing alongside each other. Rubio’s dad went on to tell a magazine that Ricky is considering going back to Europe for a few years, which is the reason that they drafted Flynn. They were worried about both Rubio's desire to not to play in a small market and his buyout situation.

Now Rubio is upset, and Flynn isn’t happy.  How do you rebuild your starting backcourt with two point guards in the lottery? I can’t see the No. 6 pick in the draft sitting on the bench, one has to be traded if both want to be happy.

Indiana Pacers: Tyler Hansbrough

To me, this pick was a head-scratcher after Reggie Miller said that they were making room for a point guard. They needed a defensive point guard and Holiday is a lockdown defender. They could have taken Jeff Teague, the local kid, or they could have taken better forwards like Earl Clark or James Johnson. Instead they took Tyler Hansbrough. Maybe it’s just me, but this was a big head-scratcher.