what? wrote:iverson went #1 so raptors couldnt have gotten him. and probably nobody would know that nash, kobe, jermaine would be this good. and darko isnt as bad as most people think. he just never got playing time. i mean how could he start in detroit? darko has talent and orlando got a steal.

He has decent talent but the pistons would be NBA champions if they had drafted bosh or wade and probably even guys like josh howard over a guy who ended up becoming kelvin cato. you can't argue with the fact that they gave up the chance for four future allstars and ended up with kelvin cato.

and yeah, perhaps nobody though some of those guys would be good but here were the top 6 picks that year. note that the four players after camby were all stars or allstars

1
PHI
Allen Iverson
Georgetown

2
TOR
Marcus Camby
Massachusetts

3
VAN
Shareef AbdurRahim
California

4
MIL
Stephon Marbury
Georgia Tech

5
MIN
Ray Allen
Connecticut

6
BOS
Antoine Walker
Kentucky

#32 wrote:Right. I'd hardly call Darko one of the worst #2's of all time... certainly not in front of Van Horn, Bradley, and a couple others. He still has "potential" going for him...

I wouldn't say vanhorn was close to as bad a pick as darko. Van horn was a 20 ppg scorer for a while and averaged 22-8.5 one season. Darko will be lucky to ever be that good and he was picked before wade, bosh, melo, howard, and others. It is too early to tell whether darko or bradley will be looked upon as a worse pick but I think darko will be slightly better than bradley but was picked before a slightly better player (wade will be better than penny). The ironic thing is that wade ended up dominating the team that passed him up for darko, if the pistons had drafted him, even if it was just so that somebody else wouldn't, they would be in the finals right now.

you can't argue with the fact that they gave up the chance for four future allstars and ended up with kelvin cato.

And Orlando's first next year, which could be pretty high.

TMC wrote:

you can't argue with the fact that they gave up the chance for four future allstars and ended up with kelvin cato.

And Orlando's first next year, which could be pretty high.

Orlando finished strong this year and should make the playoffs in the lousy east next year. That being said, I personally think them to be this years equivalent of last year's warriors (strong finish, means nothing) so it could be worth something but unless they end up with oden or durant then it was a terrible pick

Orlando finished strong this year and should make the playoffs in the lousy east next year. That being said, I personally think them to be this years equivalent of last year's warriors (strong finish, means nothing) so it could be worth something but unless they end up with oden or durant then it was a terrible pick

Yeah, I just meant that they have something else than Cato. If they're lucky, it will be a good player, if not, they may end up with the next Darko.

I like Orlando. Unlike the Pacific Division (where every single team got better), the Southeast Division seems like rubble outside of Miami and possibly Washington (who seemed to peak last season, baring another trade/sign). Once Dwight Howard becomes the force everybody knows he'll become, I think the Magic just may take that Division. They'll have enough money in the next year or so to buy a full-on superstar in free agency (once Grant's contract expires, to coincide with Penny's)... and teams like Detroit, Miami, and New Jersey are only getting older...

They'll have enough money in the next year or so to buy a full-on superstar in free agency (once Grant's contract expires, to coincide with Penny's)

Orlando will have the money... in the 2007 offseason. Hill's contract runs one year more than Penny's.

I'm not so high on Orlando. I like Howard and Nelson and ... that's it. And that's not enough. Let's see what happens this offseason, but they're over the cap, and they have our beloved Dwarfdick in the front office... and a bad, bad coach. I think they'll have to wait one more year.

That's why I say once Grant's expires... he's got one more season under ink.

I like Orlando. Partially because of their division, but also because of what they have... and what they can get. 2008 will be a helluva summer for free agents (and that's when Orlando will have enough cash to air condition hell). I'm not saying Carmelo's coming to Florida or anything... but don't be mistaken into thinking they aren't gonna try and buy a star during the summer.

Dwight Howard is a future superstar in this league... I personally think he'll approach Garnett-status in time. He's already a rebounding machine who can score inside and block shots... once he develops a midrange J and hones his other skills, he'll be a nightmare to play against.

Jameer Nelson is also going to be a solid point guard. Not a star. 12 and 6, I think. Very solid. Zarko is flashing. Carlos was a good pickup. And Cato isn't bad, for the time being. What interests me more all lies in the future: (1) how big Dwight Howard will become... and (2) who they'll pick up with all that cash.

Let's clarify this. I'm not high on them because I don't trust that front office. So far, they've traded for Darko (giving up their pick for the 2007 draft, which I think was an awful move), and wasted a pick on Fran Vazquez.

So I think they have the foundation to become a pretty good team, but I'm skeptical about the moves they may take.

True. But they also capitalized on aquiring Penny Hardaway's contract (which was something a few teams were after), they elected to draft Dwight Howard over Emeka Okafor (which, I believe, will pay off 10-fold in the coming years), and they took a chance on the former #2 draft pick (who, even if you don't like Darko, showed game in the remainder of the season as a Magic player... it's too early to tell whether this move was smart or not).

I'd say their front office has broken even over the last few years. The good and the bad pretty much go hand in hand... but, thus far, it's not quite clear which is more frequently seen.

they elected to draft Dwight Howard over Emeka Okafor

That move was done by their former GM (I can't remember his name right now, the one who traded McGrady), and he resigned at the end of Howard's rookie season. Since then, they have only drafted Vazquez... I'm curious to see what they do in the upcoming draft.

I agree. I'm interested to see where Orlando goes, as far as positions and needs, in the draft. One could argue they need a center... but I think DHoward can cover the middle for now. To me, their main need is a shooting guard (or somebody else who can score).

TMC wrote:

Orlando finished strong this year and should make the playoffs in the lousy east next year. That being said, I personally think them to be this years equivalent of last year's warriors (strong finish, means nothing) so it could be worth something but unless they end up with oden or durant then it was a terrible pick

Yeah, I just meant that they have something else than Cato. If they're lucky, it will be a good player, if not, they may end up with the next Darko.

They have something besides cato but they also traded arroyo

They have something besides cato but they also traded arroyo

That's true, although Arroyo wasn't playing for them.