2009 NBA Draft Awards

What better way to celebrate the coming and going of another NBA Draft than giving out some hardware. Without any further adieu the best and the worst of the night and the week that was in the Association.

Best Quotes – “If I have to, I have to, but I don’t really see that as possible.” – Shaq responding to a question about coming off the bench

“If Mike Brown wants to be fired, he’ll put Shaq on the bench.” - JVG

You really ask Shaq...if he is going to sit on the bench...behind Big Z and Andy Varejao...wow. How do you apply to be one of these ESPN interviewers??

Worst Quote – “A lot of the people on the east coast knew who Johnny Flynn was…for the length of the game and how late it was on people on the west coast, mid coast got to see me play.” – Johnny Flynn

I love, love, love Johnny Flynn, but there are more than a couple things out of whack here:

1.) Referring to yourself in the 3rd person = never a good idea, unless you're Rickey Henderson.

2.) I'm pretty sure national exposure isn't a problem since most of your games are on ESPN/CBS, it's called national TV for a reason.

3.) I have a million dollars waiting for the first person who can tell me the location of the "mid coast."

Useless Stu Scott Stat – "Hasheem Thabeet has met 3 Tanzanian Presidents."

So many choices to choose from, so little blog space!! Stu Scott makes me long for Chris Berman hosting drafts...yikes! But still, this gem about Thabeet stood out above the rest. Too bad diplomacy can't help his offensive post moves.

Mark Jones Terrible Segue –After talking to Demar DeRozan (Raptors) about health issues in his family: “They’ll enjoy the great public transit system they have in Toronto, the street cars, Stu, are very efficient, back to you.”

Huh?

Best NY Crowd Reaction – "Overrated, overrated, overrated"

Much to the chagrin of Dickie V, this was the chant that broke out when the Pacers picked Tyler Hansborough at #13, you can’t fool the NY basketball fans.

Best Dressed – Blake Griffin

Go ahead, try and tell him he's not the best dressed player in the draft, I dare you.

Worst Dressed – James Harden

Sorry to pile on to our bust projection yesterday, but the gold suit with the red bowtie isn’t working for you James.

Best Pick – DeJuan Blair (Spurs)

Can any team besides the Spurs make a great late 1st/early 2nd round pick? Blair is an absolute animal and will get some solid playing time this year with Tim Duncan slowing down a bit. Blair is a more accomplished Paul Millsap and will contribute to a winning team immediately.

Worst Pick/Awkward Moment – Brandon Jennings (Bucks)

After being told he wasn’t a guaranteed lottery pick, Jennings apparently skipped out on being in the draft green room and watched the draft in a hotel. 20 minutes later, after being picked 10^th by the Bucks, Jennings comes out from behind the stage in an Orwellian moment after Phoenix picks the absent Earl Clark at #14 to a puzzled, mostly indifferent reaction. If you're going to talk smack about how good you are before the draft, man up and sit in the green room with the other draftees. Maybe he was afraid Ricky Jonas would give him an old-fashioned Spanish beatdown...

Winners

Shaquille O’Neal – In the twilight of his career he gets to move from a non-playoff team to playing with the King. You know he wants to get back at Kobe and get ahead of him in the ring count and he’ll have no better chance than next year in Cleveland.

Clippers – They won the lottery in a 1 person draft. B-Griff…uhh ok that doesn’t work. Blake needs a nickname, how 'bout the Beast? It’s hard to call any team with Mike Dunleavy as coach AND gm a winner, but the Clippers should be drastically improved with a talented core of young, improving players all over the floor centered around the Beast.

Bill Simmons – It's time to start the Simmons for Wolves GM campaign again! How are Rubio and Flynn going to play together? Why trade away two of your best players for a redundant pick? Seriously though, if championship teams were built around 7 solid PGs then the Wolves are in great shape!

Losers

Ricky Rubio - not only do you get to go to a team that just traded two of their best players and fired their coach, but you move from Spain to Minnesota. Enjoy those Minneapolis winters Ricky!

Dick Vitale – Enough with this tired act, we get it. Dick loves guys who stay in school, he loves Steph Curry, he loves Tyler Hansbrough, he loves Duke, etc. DeMarre Carroll from Mizzou plays with as much heart, hustle, and determination as Hansbrough but why isn’t Dukie V screaming about him? Vitale goes on TV and yells a lot of nonsense about how great the college game is, and pushes his guys. Wake me up when you have something new to say Dickie.

Suns – Earl Clark is an ok pick, but he probably won’t light up the league. If giving away Shaq for a hodgepodge of clearance items wasn’t bad enough, there are rumors that Amare is next to the Warriors with Andres Biedrins as the centerpiece coming back, maybe Steve Kerr should go back to the broadcast booth before he becomes the NBA's Matt Millen?

3 Things we’ll remember about 2009 NBA Draft Week

1.) The Contenders Roll the Dice

The Spurs get Richard Jefferson, the Magic trade for Vince Carter, and the Cavs finally land Shaq. All of these trades help the contenders because of how little each team gave up in the respective deals. With the top teams all bulking up, next year promises to be one of the most compelling in league history.

2.) The Night the Clippers Were Saved

While the Beast might not turn the Clippers into a contender overnight, this will be the night they went from a laughingstock to a legitimate, consistent franchise. Along with good young players like Eric Gordon and Al Thornton the Clips will flourish in the long run with Griffin and co. as long as they can get rid of the dead weight on the floor and the bench.

3.) LeBron IS Staying In Cleveland

LeBron wanted Shaq, and he got him. There is no doubt that he runs the Cavs organization right now. The team has done enough recently to show him a willingness to win and with the Diesel in the wine and gold they will again have the team to beat next year. Only time will tell whether or not ShaqBron is good enough to give Cleveland the title they've longed for, but at least they should have plenty of opportunities.