There are some interesting reactions to the draft, the most notable
by the euphoniously named Herman Wendorff of Fayetteville Online
Sports, whose argument seems to be that the drafted Duke players won't
make it since Cherokee Parks hasn't been a great player, and so
on. He says the Bulls made a mistake, that Elton will be a bust,
and that Trajan looks like the MVP of the Spanish League. Pretty
funny stuff.
Chicago
did not make a mistake. They didn't take Lamar Odom, who seems to be
the most confused guy anywhere near the draft, and who was convinced the
Bulls would take him despite the fact that he refused to meet with Tim
Floyd, who flew halfway across the country to see him. When
drafted, Steve Francis showed the same punk mentality he showed in
Durham when he grabbed his crotch to insult the crowd. And Baron
Davis hasn't shown startling maturity. Brand also, though Herman
probably missed it, had some fairly startling workouts, including
dunking the ball 20 times in a row from a standstill (most guys top out
at 10 apparently).
His ridicule of Trajan is to be expected, but Trajan's character will
take him a long way. He is the first kid to come from Alaska to
the NBA (the second is on the horizon), and that alone suggests
remarkable drive and heart. At the very least, he has the
potential to have Steve Kerr's career, and Kerr has had a nice niche in
the NBA. He goes on to make a little fun of Okulaja, but says at least
Okulaja knows German, which he'll need when he plays in Europe, which is
to basketball as Fayetteville is to sportswriting. Maybe. But
Trajan has a number of career possibilities should the NBA not pan out,
including medical school, engineering, law, business - the kid's future
is as bright as a new penny, and his
character and intelligence, which is a big part of he was drafted
higher than expected, will
take him a long way.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, McHale is pleased
with Avery's attitude and maturity. Orlando is being a bit more
cautious with Maggette, but they are obviously willing to work with him.
Corey comes off in this article as a bit bigheaded, which is too bad,
but if he buckles down and works on his game, he's certainly got the
talent to excel.