Draft update #5

Today is officially the day! the 2010 NBA Draft is here and with it comes one of the most exciting offseasons in NBA history. Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Joe johnson, Dwyane Wade, and Dirk Nowitzki, and Kenyon Martin are just a sample of the some of the players that could potentially change teams this offseason. With that still being a week away, we will stick to what is going on now.
In a move that clears enough money for two max free agents, the Heat yesterday traded Daequan Cook and the 18th pick to the Thunder for the 32nd overall selection. As stated above, we know why the Heat make this trade. For the Thunder, it also makes sense. They now have three first round picks. That gives them a great opportunity to get a couple big men to work with over the next couple years. They add a great outside shooter in Cook and they don't really spend much to get him.

With the draft being tonight, I am going to finish team previews with the Houston Rockets. Sorry to all the teams that made the playoffs this season, you don't need my expert input as much as these other teams do!

In what was yet another injury plagued season, the Rockets actually performed above most people's expectations. Granted, they slowed down after the first couple months. They finished with the most improved player in Aaron Brooks. The addition of Kevin Martin didn't appear to help as much as some would have liked, but this is a team that already has a lot of guards to begin with. The Trevor Ariza experiment hasn't exactly panned out, but it could be a lot worse. Yao Ming has played the equivalent to just over three full seasons in the last five. That is obviously not good. As most people are aware, he missed this whole last season and probably won't be ready in time for the start of this coming season. As I have said for a few seasons now, his body clearly can't take the toll that an NBA season (and sometimes even a playoff run) puts on your body. With that in mind, I think it is time to cut losses and start drafting more big men. As I have mentioned before, I am a diehard Kansas Jayhawks fan. If Cole Aldrich were to still be available here, that would fit a lot of needs. He will never be a superstar NBA Center, but he should be serviceable for the next eight to ten years for an NBA franchise. Butler's Gordon Heyward is a name that has been attached to this pick a lot as well. I hope the Pacers get him so Houston can focus on a big man with this pick, even if it ends being a power forward. Currently, this is their only pick. I have read reports of them trying to move up in the draft though. They won't have any cap space this summer, so hopefully they can trade Trevor Ariza for Lebron James.

With the draft taking place in eleven hours, I am going to listen to a little bit more of this Chris Bosh interview on Mike and Mike before I finish my mock draft. I would also like to now point out that my roommate Brian last night yelled "Thank God tomorrow is Friday" last night.