In this years playoffs we are already seeing how the 2009 NBA draft had a huge impact on teams that are in a position to possibly win a championship this year.
For those of you who don’t recall the exact results or players that were picked:
Clearly Blake Griffin is a pick that is panning out for the Los Angeles Clippers as he develops into one of the best Power Forwards in the league right before our eyes.
The pick that is the obvious head scratcher and was back in 2009 Memphis Grizzlies selecting Hasheem Thabeet who is now not on a NBA roster and one of the biggest busts in recent memory.
What if the Grizzlies selected a player like James Harden? Adding an MVP candidate to the Grizzlies right now makes them a bonafide championship contender with his elite scoring and the players like Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Marc Gasol, and Zach Randolph what don’t you like about that lineup?
James Harden adds the scoring ability to a Grizzlies team that can score already with threats like Conley, Randolph, and Gasol but gives them a post presence that already is one of the best in the game that becomes even more deadly with floor spacing provided by Conley and Harden.
Harden may not have as much room to work with while driving into the paint, but he’s crafty enough now with Josh Smith, Dwight Howard, and Terrence Jones so I see no issue.
Harden was a good pick where he was selected especially adding a good young nucleus in Oklahoma City which The Thunder made possibly the worst trade in NBA history losing Harden for practically nothing. If Memphis (who’ve never been to The NBA finals) selects Harden they make it to the finals at least once if not twice.
Harden was traded because Oklahoma City was afraid they’d lose him in free agency, but Memphis does not have the star power Oklahoma City did with Durant and Westbrook getting larger contracts then possibly Ibaka.
Harden would’ve been the highest paid player on that roster and rightfully so.
The next pick is at #4 overall Sacramento Kings with this it’s easy to look back and say wow Tyreke Evans rookie of the year what a steal at #4 then you compare him from then and now he’s about the same player, but he doesn’t have that “it” factor that the 2014-2015 NBA MVP does.
The Sacramento Kings have been in a rut for years from the Maloof brothers letting the team go down hill and eventually selling to just poor roster construction over the years too.
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The pick of Stephen Curry helps solve some of the problems The Kings are going through now adding a star point guard, and eventually DeMarcus Cousins was added a year later (if The Kings land the same pick).
In Curry’s time at Davidson you knew he was going to be a star player one day from his obvious killer outside shot to having the clutch factor already in his game after defeating No. 2 Georgetown with 8 three pointers in the second half.
Steph Curry changes The Sacramento Kings misfortunes. Unless they fail to add talent around him which seems to be a trend in Sacramento.
The same case could be made for The Minnesota Timberwolves who’ve made mistake after mistake (until trading for Andrew Wiggins) since they traded Kevin Garnett away. Minnesota took Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn then decided to draft and later trade Ty Lawson (mistake) followed by selecting Wayne Ellington later in the draft who is a nice role player for where he was picked.
The Rubio and Flynn selection is what baffled me then and still does to this day. You had to wait for Rubio to agree to come over to Minnesota from Spain, but why select Flynn when a player like DeMar Derozan is on the board or selecting Stephen Curry also boosts the ongoing rebuild project that is finally on the right track (we hope) in Minnesota.
Two players in Harden and Curry are having a big effect on the playoffs now for their respective teams imagine the impact they could’ve had for teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves and The Sacramento Kings.
A team like Minnesota set themselves up with enough picks to make the proper impact and have a quick rebuild with talent on the draft board and Sacramento had the opportunity to pick a star player even though Tyreke Evans seemed to have the make up of a star player.
Franchises that have success find the star players in the right place and the right time in the draft, and The Warriors found themselves a diamond in the rough with Curry as did Oklahoma City with Harden.
Teams labeled Curry as a player stuck between a one and a two, limited upside, backup/fringe starter, and poor shot selection.
All things he’s proven wrong.
The Clippers made the right move selecting Blake Griffin, but the teams like Memphis, Sacramento, Minnesota missed and they’re paying for it to this day. You cannot miss on superstar caliber players in the draft and you see exactly why with the situations Minnesota and Sacramento are in.
Memphis is a rare case as they’re seeing success right now.
It’s also easy to look back on the past especially when it comes to The NBA draft nobody gets the draft 100% correct, and you’ll always have teams that miss on a player. It’s just a move your team will regret for years to come and seeing Curry and Harden making a difference in the playoffs shows why.
