NBA Draft 2012: Our man Masai is back at it again
The NBA Draft sure did sneak up on us quickly, didn’t it?
Unlike the NFL Draft, which is surrounded by more pomp and circumstance than a Presidential election, the NBA Draft has never been given as much love by the media.
The reasons are two-fold: 1) The NFL is vastly more popular than the NBA and 2) There are so many college players that become busts in the NBA.
And for Nuggets fans, the NBA Draft has been a yawner the last decade.
In 2003, Denver selected Carmelo Anthony—you may remember him—No. 3 overall when Detroit infamously took Darko Milicic (who?) No. 2 and let Melo slip to the Nuggs. Denver went to eight straight postseasons with Melo as the superstar in charge.
But since then, the Nuggets’ drafts have been more misses than hits.
Denver drafted Jameer Nelson, Axel Hervelle, Jarrett Jack, Julius Hodge, Leon Powe, Sergio Llull and last year, Kenneth Faried.
Nelson’s been a solid starting point guard in Orlando, but many of the rest of the players are either deep on the bench or out of the league all together.
Nuggets’ GM Masai Ujiri found a diamond in the rough with Faried at No. 22, it was Ujiri’s first draft and something tells me Faried will have a place in the league for a long time with his unstoppable effort and unquenchable thirst for victory.
And Masai the mastermind didn’t stop there, he also traded Raymond Felton for Andre Miller and the No. 25 pick, then sent the pick to Dallas for Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer.
Talk about an eventful evening.
Ujiri went out and traded away one player—which he acquired soon before in the Melo Megadeal—and came back with four impact players.
Miller backed up Ty Lawson at point and basically played starter’s minutes, Fernandez was huge in the first half before hurting his back, Brewer’s relentless hard work on both ends of the floor was key to some wins while Faried is simply a freak.
And it looks like Masai is up to his old tricks again, as word broke early Monday morning that he’s looking to deal Wilson Chandler to the Golden State Warriors for the No. 7 pick.
Of course, the deal wouldn’t be that simple unless the Warriors front office is as slow as the Rockies’, but it’s encouraging to hear that Ujiri isn’t sitting back and waiting, he’s already firing big-time trades to try and move up and steal one of the immediate impact players of this year’s draft class.
If Masai and the Nuggets can pull off the trade and acquire the No. 7 pick, it would be the highest Denver’s drafted since Melo at No. 3 in ’03, and he’ll undoubtedly land a true talent that high.
It’s getting exciting Nuggets fans, and the Draft doesn’t start until 5:00 p.m. MDT Thursday.
Rich Kurtzman is a freelance journalist. You can follow him on facebook and/or twitter.
