Now's When the NBA Really Gets Interesting

I was pretty pissed that I had to miss the first two hours of the NBA Draft last Thursday (stupid full-time job!) but thanks to the internet, I was able to follow the proceedings pick-by-pick. Here are some random thoughts in the wake of the first week of the NBA offseason:

* Has this been the most exciting offseason week in NBA history? I mean, Shaq trade demands, a new McGrady rumor every 2 hours, and a draft filled with unknown talents galore. See, the NBA is taking after major league baseball and developing a hot-stove league. Offseason hype is great for the sport, as fans and journalists go apeshit for every nugget of speculation. I'm telling you, Offseason Illustrated needs to hit the newsstands immediately!

* The Mavericks need to bite the bullet and make this Shaq trade happen. The Mavs are the only team with enough tradeable assets to even make it feasible, salary-wise. And Mark Cuban needs to face the fact that Dallas will not win a title with that core. Dirk, Nash and Finley have created an entertaining brand that fans like, but you just can't win without a gritty, put-the-team-on-my-back kind of player. That's why Cuban needs to be willing to part with Dirk in order to make the deal happen. It's like buying a really expensive car- you only cry once.

* I don't know what to make of Tracy McGrady. First he bolted Toronto so that he could step out of Vince Carter's shadow and be The Man on his own team. Now he realizes he can't elevate a team by himself and wants to play for a contender. But there's no way McGrady can coexist with another star- he's more of a ball-hog than any player in the league. Once he realizes he can't score his 29 points a night, he'll have the Payton pout going.

Furthermore, Houston would be the worst fit possible for McGrady and for Yao, who needs to be the focal point of the offense. The whole problem with Steve Franchise was that he was a scorer, not a passer. The smart thing would be for the Rockets to trade Francis and Mobely for some rebounders and then sign Steve Nash as a free agent.

* I still can't believe Orlando passed on Okafor. He's a sure thing who's proven himself at the highest level, so why take a chance on a potential Eddy Curry? The Charlotte Bobcats (who bamboozled the Clippers into getting the second pick) have gotten themselves off to a very nice start.

* I'm happy for Josh Childress, who became the highest draft pick in Stanford history. Atlanta is probably the best city in the country for a black, 21 year-old NBA player, as we found out from the Gold Club trial. Here's hoping that he keeps the 'fro and doesn't resort to the cornrows, which are ubiquitous in the dirty south.

* When Portland picked Sebastian Telfair with the 13th pick, a nation rolled its collective eyes. Will the Blazers ever learn? I'm setting 5 as the over/under on months until Telfair's first marijuana arrest.

* Once again, the Warriors had the 11th pick. Once again, they selected a Euro that nobody's heard of. I hope Monty knows how to curse in Latvian. But since my boy Chris Mullin is calling the shots, I'll withhold judgement until at least 2 weeks into the season.

* On his radio show, Dan Patrick pointed out that race always plays a factor in those draft scouting reports. For example, white players like Luke Jackson are always described as with the same workmanlike adjectives. He's "hard working...a real gym rat...the son of a coach...his teammates love him." And my favorite: "He's deceptively fast!"

* I seemed to be the only guy who thought that Boston had a really good draft, especially with their picks of Delonte West and Tony Allen at the end of the first round. Allen will will follow the Gilbert Arenas-Tayshaun Prince-Josh Howard mold of "Gee what a surprise! A guy who was good in college gets drafted late then turns out to be good in the NBA!"

* From what I saw, I felt that ESPN's draft coverage wasn't as good as last year's and wasn't nearly as good as TNT used to be. For a proceedings as outlandish as the NBA Draft, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith definitely need to be on hand.