Cody's Blog

In yesterday’s 2009 NBA Draft, a total of 31 point guards or shooting guards were taken in the draft. (Total of 60 Picks) That is over 50% of the picks in the draft going to the little men. The rest of the picks that were drafted were centers or forwards and were more scarce than the drafting of the guards by the NBA teams. There were also streaks of positions taken in the first round, including guards at picks 3-7, 9-12, and 17-21. I never knew that the guards were that hot of a comodity in this draft, but I’m not the one making the decisions. In the second round, there were strings of guards and forwards drafted. (Guards at 41-45 and 51-55, and forwards at 35-40) Below are my thoughts on the picks in Round 1.

1. L.A. Clippers- Blake Griffin- great size and strength, possibly the second coming of Carlos Boozer
2. Memphis Grizzlies- Hasheem Thabeet- protects the basket well, needs offensive work
3. Oklahoma City Thunder- James Harden- one of the most all around players in the draft
4. Sacramento Kings- Tyreke Evans- great ball handler and has unique size for a guard
5. Minnesota Timberwolves- RickyRubio- very mature for 18, possibly trade bait (seeing as he might go back to Spain for a few years)
6. Minnesota Timberwolves- Johnny Flynn- confident, fiery player that can run a team
7. Golden State Warriors- Stephan Curry- tremendous shooter with great range
8. New York Knicks- Jordan Hill- solid rebounder and scorer that hasn’t reached his ceiling yet
9. Toronto Raptors- DeMar DeRozan- very athletic with a great motor, has drawn some Kobe comparisons with size and ability
10. Milwaukee Bucks- Brandon Jennings- great in traffic with good quickness and leaping ability
11. New Jersey Nets- Terrance Williams- has great vision and can play some point 
12. Charlotte Bobcats- Gerald Henderson- great perimeter defender with a versatile offensive game
13. Indiana Pacers- Tyler Hansbrough- has unique intensity and puts forthgreat effort
14. Phoenix Suns- Earl Clark- long and athletic, has good skill set
15. Detroit Pistons- Austin Daye- has good touch, will probably go to D-League for a while to refine his skills
16. Chicago Bulls- James Johnson- has a good long distance shot
17. Philadelphia 76ers- Jrue Holliday- good teammate that rebounds, needs to work on his shot
18. Minnesota Timberwolves- Ty Lawson- speedy ball handler that is great in open space (traded to Denver Nuggets)
19. Atlanta Hawks- Jeff Teague- can get his own shot and does well in transition
20. Utah Jazz- Eric Maynor-  makes good desicions with the basketball
21. New Orleans Hornets- Darren Collison- good defender and great free throw shooter (over 90% at UCLA)
22. Portland Trailblazers- Victor Claver- high b-ball IQ
23. Sacramento Kings- Omri Casspi- very tough on the boards 
24. Dallas Mavericks- B.J. Mullens- great at shotblocking and rebounding (traded to Oklahoma City Thunder)
25. Oklahoma City Thunder- Rodrigue Beaubois- quick with a good wingspan (traded to Dallas Mavericks)
26. Chicago Bulls- Taj Gibson- decent inside-out game
27. Memphis Grizzlies- DeMarre Carroll- tenacious player with great physical abilities
28. Minnesota Timberwolves- Wayne Ellington- complete offensive player
29. L.A. Lakers- Toney Douglas- great athletic scorer (traded to New York Knicks)
30. Cleveland Cavaliers- Christian Eyenga- guard with a quick first step