Bleeding blue. That is what the 2010 NBA Draft was all about. Five players from the University of Kentucky set a record by all being drafted in the first round, including top pick John Wall. What made it so important, other than that fact, is that four of the five all came out after just one year of college. If the one-and-done trend had hit two years earlier with Derrick Rose leading the way, it had officially arrived as THE THING during this draft. Never before had essentially an entire team departed together. It has happened a couple of times since, with UK doing it once again since 2010 and the school likely would have seen it happen again in 2014 had they not lost the National Title game.
Outside of that, there are a lot of great prospects who are in line for big paydays in the league soon, including little Indiana boy Gordon Hayward, the once darling of the NCAA Tournament, who should be one of the most sought after free agents this summer.
Pick 1: Washington Wizards
Outside of that, there are a lot of great prospects who are in line for big paydays in the league soon, including little Indiana boy Gordon Hayward, the once darling of the NCAA Tournament, who should be one of the most sought after free agents this summer.
Pick 1: Washington Wizards
Who they took: John Wall
Who they should have took: John Wall
Why: Wall was the perfect choice for a team without a star that was just going through the rotation of over hyped players. He has been the model for consistency while being a very mature player immediately in the NBA. 0.5 rpg, 1.2 apg, 0.5 spg and 3 ppg are the only fluctuations in his career season highs and lows. He may not be the best point guard in the league, but for sure one I would want on my team.
Pick 2: Philadelphia 76ers
Who they took: Evan Turner
Who they should have took: Paul George (10th pick)
Why: I really wanted to put George at number one, but I guess I just am not sold on him yet. He has the potential to be a top 10 player in the NBA, but I don't know that he has the heart and enthusiasm to do so. Never the less, he is a super talented get to the basket scorer who can slash through practically any defense, if not all of them. Philly thought they were getting that in Turner (see pick #5). To see his scoring average go up 14 ppg in three years shows just what George is capable of on the offensive end.
Pick 3: New Jersey Nets
Who they took: Derrick Favors
Who they should have took: Demarcus Cousins (5th pick)
Why: New Jersey needed their new Kenyon Martin, a raw and vicious post who would help them to the promised land by just being a wrecking ball. Favors was surprisingly soft and Cousins has just never cared about who he runs over. He has always been a huge presence inside and just had career best numbers in EVERY statistical category as a fourth year player last year. Imagine adding him to today's Brooklyn Nets lineup with Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and a healthy Brook Lopez.
Pick 4: Minnesota Timberwolves
Who they took: Wesley Johnson
Who they should have took: Gordon Hayward (9th pick)
Why: I didn't know if Hayward could make it as a pro. Yes, he was great in high school. Yes, he was great on a team like Butler (coming literally an inch of a roll in the other direction from a national title for the relatively small school). But, did he have the size or the versatility? Was he JJ Redick or was he Adam Morrison? Reality shows he was probably neither, but better than both. With such recent draft picks, we can afford to play the what if game (as you have seen and will continue to see), so what if you put Hayward with Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love? Think the Timberwolves would still be looking at another down slide?
Pick 5: Sacramento Kings
Who they took: Demarcus Cousins
Who they should have took: Evan Turner (2nd pick)
Why: While Turner did well early in his career in Philly, he never was the player he was in college before his back injury. He still is a pretty strong offensive player, but has shown he can't succeed as a role player at this point, as seen by his production dropping significantly in his move to Indiana last season. At least with the Kings, he would have been able to be THE significant contributor.
Pick 6: Golden State Warriors
Who they took: Ekpe Udoh
Who they should have took: Greg Monroe (7th pick)
Why: Monroe has quietly been an old-school beast of a center in Detroit. He is quiet, unassuming and still physical without being overly aggressive. Though he hasn't done it yet in a single season, he has all of the potential to be a career double-double guy and would be the missing link inside that Golden State needs and have been trying to add with potential trades for Kevin Love in this 2014 off season.
Pick 7: Detroit Pistons
Who they took: Greg Monroe
Who they should have took: Lance Stephenson (40th pick)
Why: There is no bigger spark plug in this draft than Lance Stephenson and if you watched the 2014 NBA Finals, you can't possibly disagree with that. Unfortunately, he can also be a challenge in some degrees. But to me, the juice is worth the squeeze and you can't replicate Stephenson's desire and passion. If you have read past blogs of mine, you will know that I would restructure the current Pacers as more of a 1980's Detroit Bad Boys teams, so what better fit would there be for Lance than Detroit?
Pick 8: Los Angeles Clippers
Who they took: Al-Farouq Aminu
Who they should have took: Eric Bledsoe (18th pick)
Why: I felt at the time like Bledsoe was the most raw of the five Kentucky players coming out, but didn't end up being so. I am sure the Clippers, who ended up with him via draft day trade, would have liked to get him anyway without giving anything up. While he never was the production guy in LA he has become, you take the chance that you can keep him in the long term and pick him over Aminu, who has never been much of anything and probably never will be.
Pick 9: Utah Jazz
Who they took: Gordon Hayward
Who they should have took: Derrick Favors (3rd pick)
Why: Favors will never live up to his hype because quite frankly, when the opponents were as big as him, he wilted. He is still a very strong and muscular force as a swing forward, but he will never be a dominant rebounder or post production guy. With that, he has learned to work great in a pick and roll position and has thrived moving like that in Utah anyway in recent years.
Pick 10: Indiana Pacers
Who they took: Paul George
Who they should have took: Avery Bradley (19th pick)
Why: Bradley is a solid score-first point who can rise to the occasion. As Boston's need for his production has risen, so has his game. He would be a valuable piece for the building Pacers and a true point guard, who even though he is a score-first guy, can and will pass the ball.
Pick 11: New Orleans Hornets
Who they took: Cole Aldrich (traded to Thunder)
Who they should have took: Jeremy Lin (undrafted and trade the pick)
Why: Then, there wasn't going to be a trade partner and today, there is still a smaller and shrinking aura of intrigue around Lin. Can he catch lightning in a bottle twice. Make the pick and use it as an asset when the time is right because Lin is an "OK" basketball player and has some trade value to help build up the now Pelicans.
Pick 12: Memphis Grizzlies
Who they took: Xavier Henry
Who they should have took: Larry Sanders (15th pick)
Why: Sanders won't knock your socks off, but one of Memphis' downfalls is the lack of a quality post behind Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. Sanders could be that guy as he is more suited for that role than that of leading man, which they are trying to make him be in Milwaukee.
Pick 13: Toronto Raptors
Who they took: Ed Davis
Who they should have took: Greivis Vasquez (28th pick)
Why: Consistency is a key for draft picks after 10 and after his rookie year, Vasquez has been that. Toronto has him now, but would have loved to have his consistency while they built the playoff team they have today.
Pick 14: Houston Rockets
Who they took: Patrick Patterson
Who they should have took: Landry Fields (39th pick)
Why: Fields is terrible. BUT, he wasn't early. Fields appeared to be THE STEAL of this draft and really was his first two years in the league. This is another draft and dump guy. If the Rockets could have taken Fields and dumped him off during the second year of his contract before he bounced in free agency (like he did to the Knicks), then they could have gotten another good piece for the Dwight Howard/James Harden duo. That is your end game with this pick, even if you don't know it yet.
Pick 15: Milwaukee Bucks
Who they took: Larry Sanders
Who they should have took: Jordan Crawford (27th pick)
Why: Of course, you want the early career Jordan Crawford who looked like he was going to be one of those draft day steals. You don't however want the current day Jordan Crawford who plays like the 27th pick. Business boomed for him in Washington and he did OK in Boston before becoming a trade chip. He would have been more featured in Milwaukee and they could have gotten the most out of his early career peak.
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