OT- NBA Draft Open Thread

Submitted by M-Wolverine on

Front paged, starts at 7:30 pm, pre-coverage at 7 pm.  The Please Darius make the 1st Round Draft...or the Pistons don't draft someone who sucks in 3 years (insert your own favorite team if it fits).

JamieH

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:01 PM ^

You do realize that most 2nd round draft picks never amount to anything in the NBA right?

"Working out" would have been him going in the 1st round somewhere.

Yeah, he COULD still make the Laker's roster, maybe.  But there are no guarantees for 2nd rounders, and the Lakers are hardly lacking talent the way Cleveland was for Manny last year.

At least he'll be going home.  He should be happy about that.

 

JamieH

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:12 PM ^

You have no idea how much better he would have gotten in the next year or two.  A deep tournament run for Michigan next year could have propelled him into 1st round status.

He got bad BAD advice and left too early, period.  And he probably cost himself a big payday. 

jmblue

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:24 PM ^

You're only looking at one side of the coin.  Here's the other.  Next year's draft will be considerably deeper than this year's.  If he couldn't go in the first round this year, he probably wouldn't have next year, either.  In fact, if he didn't improve, he could have slid out of the draft altogether, as Manny did after his junior year.  

Right now I bet Darius is on cloud nine, getting to play for his hometown team.  There was only a one in 30 chance that the Lakers would draft him.  He probably doesn't regret a thing.

coastal blue

June 24th, 2011 at 9:12 AM ^

It's not getting to play for his hometown team (at least not in any sense that matters). It's getting a chance to play for his hometown team. He's a second round pick. That's not a lot of reassurance in regards to getting a roster spot. He's just as likely to end up on a D-League roster as he is setting foot on the court for the Lakers next year. 

Perhaps this works out well for him, but one more season - and I'm not saying this as a selfish Michigan fan - in which he improved could have moved him up no matter how deep the draft was. You are doubting his ability to get better, which is a possibility, but I seriously doubt he had peaked as a sophomore. 

If you want to be positive about it and assume he will actually play for the team that drafted him, he couldn't have done any better than L.A. 

It's congratulations, but with lukewarm clapping and a semi-frozen smile. 

mgokev

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:01 PM ^

Well, Bilas wasn't exactly complimentary of Darius.  Basically said good passer, not great on defense, bad outside jump shot, not a great athlete but an ok one, but tall for a PG.

MGoDubs

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:02 PM ^

Well with the fact that he's going home to LA you'd have to assume that will take away the pain of going in the 2nd round much more than had he gone to some sorry team. Next up taking Shannon Browns job..... Go Blue....Go DMo

I Bleed Maize …

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:05 PM ^

I think the Lakers are a perfect for Darius.  I think it was a blessing that he was able to fall to him. Congrats and he should be happy!  This is basically the Lakers 1st rd pick and they need a PG bad.  He has a shot to come in and play right away

turtleboy

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:11 PM ^

Pretty good draft for the 8th pick and a high 2nd round pick. We got the second best guard in the draft and last years Final Four MOP, or as the JoeD haters would say: "The worst draft by any team, ever. Now who do we still have? Okay get rid of everybody." Glad Morris made it anywhere except Miami.

M-Wolverine

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:11 PM ^

Get drafted, I imagine this is pretty much done for us.
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BlueAggie

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:13 PM ^

If the NBA goes to a hard cap with the upcoming CBA, the Lakers are going to be in a terrible bind.  This may work in Morris's favor when they fill they fill out the roster with low cost guys.  When Morris slipped to the 2nd round, this became about the best-case scenario for him.

Raoul

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:16 PM ^

Tweet from John Niyo:

Darius Morris on ESPN Radio after going #41 to Lakers said of teams that passed on him in 1st round: "They're gonna regret it."

To me, that doesn't sound like someone who thinks he made a mistake.

bdsisme

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:17 PM ^

I knew how this would play out.  I said the whole year that D-Mo better not go to the draft, because he isn't THAT good.  But what happens?  After a ton of Michigan fans blow him all year, he gets a big head, and thinks he is 1st-round quality.  On top of that, his brother really sells him hard on how he'll do really well in this year's draft.

 

He was in the Ross School, doing well both academically and on the court -- his stock was clearly rising.  All he had to do was stick around one more year, and he'd get his BBA and probably be a 1st-round pick after proving that he can do it two years in a row (and Michigan would've been an even better team, thus raising the hype and exposure of Morris).  Further, he would've had a great degree to fall back on if he didn't make it in the NBA (cmon, there are only 60 starting guards in the entire NBA, and we can all admit that a lot of them are better than D-Mo).  Instead, he has to go and screw it up.  I can see Manny Harris staying in the league for a long while, but I guess I'll see D-Mo at In 'n Out sooner rather than later.

MGoDubs

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:25 PM ^

I would def agree with you on D-Mo but to be devils advocate if he did come out and have a bad season, he could end up like Demitri McCamey and still be sitting waiting to be drafted if drafted at all with a poor season, thats why a lot of kids leave when they get all this hype.....However D-Mo had plenty more he could have worked on at Michigan while going after another run in the NCAA Tourny but you do have to realize it was his main goal in life to make it to he NBA and he made it

bdsisme

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:28 PM ^

Good point, except D-Mo would've had a BBA from Ross, and Demitri McCamey is getting a degree in recreation, sport and tourism-recreation management from Illinois.

 

Even if neither got drafted, D-Mo would've made 10x more in his alternate career than McCamey (and probably more than he'll make as a 2nd-round pick by the Lakers).

goblue20111

June 24th, 2011 at 12:23 AM ^

This is flamebait but berating a 20 year old by saying he'll be flipping burgers in a couple of years because he made a decision you're not happy with isn't? This place is getting to be a bigger joke by the day.  Disagree with his choice? Fine a lot of people have.  There's no need to chew him out like that. 

Maizeandbluekid

June 23rd, 2011 at 11:44 PM ^

I was having dlashes back to April with the Lions and Nick Fairley. It was just about the same position, from the BPA falling into their lap, to even the pickee looking slightly pissed lol.

Either way, it's a great pick by Joe D. Hopefully it's one positive step in direction in terms of rebuilding the Pistons.