The Jackson Draft

By Jon Pastuszek
HoopsDaily.com

Yesterday afternoon, the world received shocking news that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, had died of a heart attack. He was 50 years young.

Michael Jackson I do not consider myself a huge fan of MJ, and yet, I consider "Thriller" to be the second best album of all-time after Nas' "Illmatic." I, like many others, can remember where I was and what feelings were invoked when I first listened to it. At nine tracks long, its a classic from top-to-bottom, and its one of the few albums that can make any person of any race, sex or age get down on the dance floor.

To remember Jackson's magnificent career where his music touched every corner of the world, I offer up a humble list of popular tracks that also pertains to last night's NBA Draft.

It's too bad that we have to pay tribute to a pop legend by recapping such a crappy Draft, but this is the way things work sometime.

So, in honor of the first MJ, let's recap the 2009 Draft by remembering some of his most popular hits in chronological order.

Off the Wall (Off the Wall, 1979): David Kahn's plan in Minnesota

To start, I like the general idea of what Kahn is doing in Minnesota. He’s systematically dismantling the dilapidated house that is the Timberwolves and trading in the few semi-recyclable parts for a bunch of future draft picks. That is how the real-estate business – also called rebuilding – works in the NBA.

In the days before the draft, he turned Mike Miller, who was irrelevant and unneeded during this phase, and the semi-promising Randy Foye into the fifth overall pick. Already in possession of their own pick at number six and another first rounder at 18 and 27, Kahn had laid the groundwork for a solid and promising foundation that could support a franchise for years to come.

But, once you amass those picks, you have to come through with your selections and assemble a balanced and complete team. Kahn, well… he picked three point guards in a row. Now, the Wolves have the equivalent of a single bedroom house with three bathrooms (Lawson is on his way to Denver).

Kahn says he’s planning on keeping both Rubio and Flynn on the team based on the model of an Ainge-Johnson/Thomas-Dumars interchangeable tandem.

Maybe it's off the wall. I just think its stupid and not going to work. Neither of those guys, Flynn because of his lack of size and Rubio because of his lack of lateral quickness, will be able to guard opposing superstars on the wing, which will go nicely with the Wolf matadors, Kevin Love-Al Jefferson, up front.

Kahn, via trade, still has an opportunity to redeem himself to his critics.

Thriller (Thriller, 1982): The Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter trades

It’s tough not to be thrilled about these two deals if you are a Spurs or Magic fan. When the Spurs resign Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas after they’re bought out sometime this summer, the trade becomes Fabricio Oberto for Jefferson. What’s not to be thrilled about? The Spurs just opened their championship window by two years! Tim Duncan has three legit scorers around him! And if Jefferson doesn’t work out this year, they have his expiring deal next season to work with! I'm fired up. It's a no lose proposition for a franchise that has been losing too much recently.

It must be equally thrilling for Carter to come back to his hometown of Orlando. At his press conference, he flashed as much positive off-court emotion since he was seen smiling at his 2001 UNC graduation ceremony.

For the Magic, they have to be thrilled that they got a very comparable replacement to Hedo Turkoglu, who informed GM Otis Smith that he has found another team that will throw him way too much money over a far too long period of time. Enjoy Detroit, Hedo.

Even though fans aren't thrilled that last season's team MVP is leaving, Orlando is clearly gunning for a title, and that is thrilling.

Bad (Bad, 1987): James Harden’s suit

Never been a fan of cream colored clothing, nonetheless goofy three-piece suits with bowties that don't match. Harden’s game is buttery, the look, however was not.

Honorable mention goes to the Pacers, who wasted a lottery picked on a taller version of Mark Madsen. I don’t like labeling an entire draft class as “the worst draft of the decade” when I haven’t seen any of the guys play a game in the NBA, but if Tyler Hansbrough – somebody who wasn’t even expected to go in the first round three months ago – is going 13, maybe I should start to.

Man in the Mirror (Bad): Steve Kerr

There is no GM in the league who is in a worse spot than Kerr right now. No matter what he does, he will be known as the guy who unnecessarily destroyed the NBA's most watchable team of the decade and turned them into a perennial lottery team.

With the Shaq trade and the D'Antoni dismissal, Kerr demonstrated his commitment to playing a more sane, logical style of basketball geared around defense and half-court execution. Terry Porter was supposed to be the coach to help usher that in. Steve Nash was supposed to be the point guard who was skilled enough to adjust. And Shaq was supposed to have the veteran influence to get Amare Stoudemire to start playing defense.

However, by midseason Porter had been replaced by an old D'Antoni disciple, Alvin Gentry and Kerr had made a trade for a bonefied runner and gunner, Jason Richardson. The two moves were obvious in their contradiction to Kerr's previous plan. They would be the beginning of an admission over the mistake to break up the team in the first place. That admission was finally completed when he traded away Shaq for the expiring contracts of Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic.

No matter what Kerr does at this point, he is doomed. He's unlikely to get equal value for Stoudemire and if he opts to keep him, Kerr runs the huge risk of losing him to free agency in 2010. Nash, also a free agent next year, lives in New York and loves D'Antoni. He would be crazy not to sign with the Knicks next year.

The Suns are done, and its all his fault. All he can do is look at himself in the mirror and pick his poison.

Gone Too Soon (Dangerous, 1991): Stephen Curry

It was shaping up to be a memorable night in New York. After expressing mutual interest for each other well before the Draft, Curry and the Knicks slowly started to realize their dream marriage wasn't to be. Curry's all-world talent (shooting) in an all-rec league quality Draft caused him to rise up everybody's draft boards, well above the Knicks' pick at eight.

Bu, once Memphis marked the first evening of Hasheem Thabeet’s five year career in the League at number two, Oklahoma City, Sacramento and Minnesota (twice) surprisingly passed up on the Knicks’ main man. This story was about to have a good ending.

Then, the most underrated dysfunctional franchise in California (which is saying something when the Clippers, Raiders and Kings are doing their thing), stepped in an ruined everything for the Knicks and took Curry, who plays the exact same position as “Mo-Ped” Monta Ellis. Curry was gone, one pick too soon.

The Knicks hate life right now. Donnie Walsh, Mike D’Antoni, Spike Lee, Mike DeStefano... they all hate life right now. I can't blame them, either. I thought it was Curry's destiny to rain down threes in MSG and was openly pulling for it to happen. Jordan Hill isn't a bad consolation prize, but we'll only be able to wonder what could have been in New York.

Dangerous (Dangerous): Tyreke Evans over Ricky Rubio

Drafting Evans over Rubio at the number four spot was dangerous for many reasons.

One, Sacramento is counting on Evans to be their point guard of the future, which is difficult to imagine because Evans likes to shoot and dribble with equal enthusiasm. The no hand-check rules on the perimeter may make it easy for Evans to get where he wants, but its unlikely that he'll be making his teammates better.

Second, Evans' checkered past raises causes for concern.

Finally, Rubio and his agent, Dan Fegan, expressed great interest in going to Sacramento. In a small market that has struggled to attract big names since C-Webb and Mike Bibby bolted, the name recognition of Rubio alone would have brought much needed exposure and excitement around the franchise.

They passed up the purest point-guard to come out in years for a guy that has a catalog of question marks. Maybe the Kings know what they're doing, but the selection of Evans was a dangerous one that may come back to haunt them.

Earth Song (HIStory, 1995): Dejuan Blair

In the emotionally sung "Earth Song", we need to do a bit of lyrical analyzing. During the epic conclusion of the ballad, a big voiced gospel choir booms out "What about us?!" over a simple melody of brass, guitar and bass while MJ gets down on the mic.

It comes across as overblown, but the song's relevance in this situation cannot be ignored.

The "us" that the choir inquires about, as the song's title would suggest, is the environment, the most fundamentally expansive and essential -- yet also the most forgotten -- force known to mankind.

It's similar to Blair, who like the environment was unmistakably the largest entity this year's Draft had to offer. And like the environment, GMs forgot about him until R.C. Buford bailed him out during the middle of the second round.

Blair will fill an instant need for the team as a backup big man. With Oberto and Thomas (for the time being) off the team, the Spurs were thin at the position and desperately needed a guy with Blair's size and toughness every night. He very well could be the most important prospect to his specific team this year, and the Spurs snagged him in the second round.

You Are Not Alone (HIStory): LeBron James

No longer can we call them the Cleveland LeBrons. Shaquile O’Neal is here with you, LeBron!

It’s panic time in another city that’s looking for a quick fix to get to a title, which means Shaq’s on the move again. Never mind that the Cavs couldn’t defend Orlando’s pick and roll with any amount of success, nor mind the fact that their combination of old, crippled, offensively inept and/or slow big men had a lot to do with that. According to Danny Ferry, Shaq, who has been old, slow and incapable of defending the high screen and roll for almost four years, is somehow going to fix all of their problems and lead them to a title.

Though I am very pessimistic about the entire thing, I want to see it succeed. LeBron and Shaq on the same team is good for the NBA and it makes for some awesome storylines.

For LBJ, the move will determine if Cleveland has enough to get him his first title, and ultimately, whether he’ll bolt for free-agency next summer. For Shaq, he can get his fifth title and permanently surpass Kobe Bryant and establish himself as one of the true all-time greats in NBA history. For Mike Brown and Danny Ferry, their jobs are on the line.

I'm just interested to see what Brown can come up with on offense with LeBron and Shaq. I vote for sluggish pick and rolls and Shaq post ups. Hey, that's one more set than we saw all last Playoffs!

Cry (Invincible, 2001): Blake Griffin

Maybe he let ‘em flow right after the Lottery results were announced. Or perhaps he waited until the reality of being a Clipper for the next four years sunk in just before the Draft started. Whenever, its likely that Griffin had a good blubber at some point in the last five weeks.

The thing is, do you blame him? He’s joining the worst franchise in the history of sports, and a team that has twenty-two power forwards on the roster. His head coach is also his GM, and he does neither job well. The franchise's history of wretchedness has been explained by everything from Elgin Baylor's ineptitude as a GM and Donald Sterling's cheapness to an elaborate Native American curse that dates back to the 1970s.

Thre is no basis for prolonged individual and team success with this horrible franchise. Here's hoping Blake is the one to turn the Clipper ship around, and give us the great career we want to see.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson, 1958-2009.

Jon Pastuszek can be reached at jon@hoopsdaily.com