Re: And more draft thoughts

["Francis Hsu" <hsu@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

[...]
> Got to also totally question the Memphis picks. I mean, we totally took 
them 
> this time. We got the players we wanted at the expense of the Grizz. I 
think 
> West got snuckered by Papile sweet nothings about Bell and Jones being 
better 
> than they are or that they wouldn't be available later. However, I 

I wouldn't go so far as to say we hoodwinkled them or anything.  The 
difference was that the trade was the C's Plan A, while it was the 
Grizzlies' Plan B or C.

The following articles provides some insight into West's thinking:
http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/grizzlies/article/0,1426,MCA_475_2072014,00.html
http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/jw_draft_comments_03.html

Basically, the guy West most wanted was gone in the top 10 picks (it 
wasn't Pietrus, as some believed).  They were unable to trade up to get 
him.  So there went their Plan A.  Pietrus may have been their Plan B. 
Quote from West: "We would have taken a hard look at Mickael Pietrus at 
the 13th pick, but we would not have done what some people wanted to do to 
get him."  The wording is a bit odd, but I interpret it to mean that they 
would have drafted him for a trade.  Anyways, by the time their pick came 
around they wanted Bell/Jones.  But they weren't sure that Jones would be 
available at the 27th pick, just like how the Celtics weren't sure whether 
Banks would be available at 16.  So the trade was a great way of both 
teams achieving their goals.  Also, for those who believe that the 
Grizzlies effectively drafted two second-rounders, West insists that Bell 
would have been taken in the first round by someone else, if not by him.

In the process, there's strong evidence that the trade screwed up 
Orlando's Plan A, which was to draft Banks at 15.  A post draft article in 
the Orlando Sentinel has a statement that Banks was their first choice; 
Gaines was their second.  Someone on ESPN's message board claimed that Doc 
Rivers had a rather unhappy expression on his face when Banks was picked 
at 13.  Also, some believed that Seattle wanted Banks over Ridnour, even 
though post-draft quotes from the Sonics has them asserting that they 
would have taken Ridnour over Banks.  If Seattle did want Banks over 
Ridnour, then they screwed up by not taking Banks at 12.  Of course, they 
probably had no clue that West would have picked Troy Bell at 13, leaving 
Collison for them at 14.

So all in all, the fact that the C's secured Plan A via trade, used West 
to do it, and foiled Orlando and/or Seattle in one fell swoop prompts me 
to give them a Grade A+.  And even if you don't like who they picked, you 
have to give them some bonus points for the way they got them.

Francis

[...]
> DJessen33