In 2006, many thought Bargnani was the next Dirk Nowitzki. Many were wrong. LaMarcus Aldridge at second is now an overpaid basketball player for a team that hasn't been past the first round in over a decade. Max contracts should only be given max players. He's a nice player to have, but overpaid. That's the market for post players. Everyone wants him at $8,000,000 and more than a few still want him at $10,000,000. Moving on to the others and the busts: 3) Adam Morrison - lol 4) Tyrus Thomas - He should have a decent career. Everyone thought he would be the next Stromile Swift, but the screws in his head aren't that loose. He's not the best rebounder, but he's a terrific shot blocker in the league. 5) Shelden Williams - Whenever people think of him they will always wonder how the hell he ended up with Candace Parker. 6) Bradon Roye - I always thought he would be the best player in this draft, and I've wanted him in a Rockets uniform since his debut season...oh how that's changed. Rudy Gay is now the second best player drafted that year. 7) Randy Foye - He plays for the Clippers, nuff said. 8) Rudy Gay - I really wanted to keep him, but he is overpaid. 9) Mouhamed Sene - Third string center in OKC 10) Patrick O'Bryant - Plays in the D League. 11) J.J Redick - People talked about him and Morrison like they were the next Bird and Stockton. He's still a nice role player for Orlando. 12) Hilton Armstrong - Third string center for Atlanta 13) Thabo Sefolosha - Role player in OKC. This guy over Gay? Really? 14) Ronnie Brewer - Former Jazzhole who plays for the Bulls. And that concludes the lottery portion of this draft. Yep, it was a pretty bad lottery that was once decent before Roy's injury. Rajon Rondo at 21 is head and shoulders above everyone else. He is the only true all-star in this draft. Kyle Lowry at 24 is the player everyone wants on their team, and I'm glad he's on the Rockets. Honorable Mentions: (32) Steve Novak, (47) Paul Millsap
Aldridge absolutely is NOT overpaid. He is a legitimate first option post player who also plays defense.
Not sure if this is another Rockets should have chosen Gay thread or that every draft has its hidden treasures but LA overpaid??? Guy averages 22 ppg, 9 rpg, 1 bpg, shoots 50% from the field and 79% from the line...all while playing adequate to good defense. Do you know what he'll make next season...12 million+. Sounds like he is a bargain not overpaid.
OP, you should take a closer look at what LaMarcus did this year. He was absolutely dominant at times and lead his team. There were no better performers at PF this year than Love, Z Bo, and LaMarcus.
Adridge is a nice player to have, but that doesn't change the fact that he is overrated. Players that perform for four quarters deserve max contracts. I meant to put this in the NBA dish. Mods can you please move it?
Knowing what we know, the draft according to ME would go like this. 1. Aldridge 2. Millsap 3.Gay 4.Andrea 5.Rondo 6.Lowry Where did five years go..seems like just yesterday.
I would love to have Aldridge on our team. If anything, he might be underrated. How did he not make the all star team?
Andrea Bargnani was ballin' last season. He is only 25 so he still has many years to get even better than he already is. <iframe width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TRr7jgb-FDM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
That is one hell of an awesome draft for Portland had Roy's knees not fallen apart. Roy could be a #1 option on just about any team (with healthy knees) and Aldridge would be one of the best if not the best #2 in the league. Imagine if they still went out and got Wallace from Charlotte, they would be the "it" team this year, not the Thunder, who can matchup with them: Andre Miller, Roy, Wallace, Aldridge, Camby. Absolutely amazing combination of size, length, defense, and offense in that start 5, and you can bring Matthews, Batum, Fernandez off the bench would make this a scary good team. I disagree that this draft sucks (as it seems you were implying). Gay is a bit overpaid, but players with his talent don't come around all the time and I don't think they could've kept him without overpaying. Aldridge is in no way overpaid. Barganini would make a great #2 imo. He is a great shooter, and even as the only real scoring threat on the Raptors outside of Derozen he managed to score 25 ppg, likely getting doubled (don't know if he was doubled for sure because I didn't watch many Raptors games). Reddick will always be a good Mike Miller/Kyle Korver type player, as a #3 or #4 option who is just in the game to shoot. Rondo is in the best situation ever it makes him look a lot better than he is. He is a very solid PG, but sans big 3, he would be so easy to stop and exploit his weaknesses (his jumpshot is so bad, could be so easily exploited). Lowry is a really solid role player. Millsap I think could become a perennial all-star. Guy is tough and plays with a chip on his shoulder.
