The Jackson DraftBy: Jonathan Pastuszek

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.

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 [email protected]