NBA Draft

2011 NBA Mock Draft: Robert Jamis runs it down

Esoteric 1 Comment

Ready for his closeup The NBA Draft is among my five favorite sports days of the year, and I’m not alone: Anybody who appreciates basketball on any level from high school to pro gets something out of it. I’ve been to three drafts, and it’s been great every time. This year, I’m ecstatic to see Kyrie Irving go at the top, having watched him play a half-dozen times in high school for St. Patrick’s.

I usually do a mock draft on the site, but this year, I’m proud to present a fresh perspective from friend of SportsAngle Robert Jamis, a Nets fan and one of the most savvy basketball observers I know.

Robert really did a terrific mock — though as anyone who’s ever done one of these knows, doing one of these amid all the rumors is like counting grains of sand on the beach, especially after the first few picks. This draft, considered very weak after guys like Terrence Jones, Jared Sullinger and Harrison Barnes stayed in school. But I think he did a fantastic job with it, and his player analysis is superb. I want to go to a Hofstra game next year with his uncles.

Check it out after the jump, and enjoy the draft tonight.

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2010 NBA Draft Preview: From Aminu… to John Wall

Esoteric 1 Comment

Florida Kentucky Basketball

As the NBA Draft is one of my favorite sports events, I spend a lot of time reading about it and following players’ workouts and the like. I also watch a great deal of college basketball. By no means does that qualify me to do a mock draft, but that doesn’t stop me from projecting the first round every year, for the primary reason that I enjoy doing it. It’s sort of a mix of what I think will happen with what I think should happen.

My track record isn’t horrible. For example, last year, I nailed eight of the first 12 picks, before proceeding to hit just one of the remaining 18. As such, I should probably just stop with the lottery, but what fun is that?

Note – before you take my picks to Vegas, I don’t feel particularly confident with this mock. And I’m not about to foresee Draft Day trades or anything.

Regardless, after the jump, let’s get our draft on.

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LeBron recruitment shows long-term value of prudent draft picks

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draftsplit
As recently alluded to here, The NBA Draft is one of my favorite events of the year for a variety of reasons, most notably that I’m fascinated by the thought process that goes into shaping teams for the future. And despite all the snap judgments made right after it happens, it’s impossible to know without a few years of perspective who truly wins and loses a draft.

But just as a team can set themselves up for success down the road, a simple mistake can come back to haunt a team years down the road.

Now the Cavaliers could very well re-sign LeBron James, and the Knicks could lure him to New York, as Stephen A. Smith feels they might. Those are probably his two most likely destinations for 2010-11. But if either or both misses out, they’ll probably have to look at early parts of this decade and understand that one crucial mistake each cost them big-time.

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