With some predictable moves and some bizarre moves, the 2007 NBA Draft was nothing short of captivating.
With Greg Oden headed to the Portland Trail Blazers and Kevin Durant headed to the Seattle Supersonics, the biggest news of the draft involved veteran Sonics guard Ray Allen. The Sonics traded fan favorite Allen to the Boston Celtics in exchange for the fifth overall pick, which was used to select Georgetown University forward Jeff Green, injury prone Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West.
The trade left Sonics fans confused and frustrated at the Sonics' new ownership, which has threatened to move the team to Oklahoma if a new arena deal cannot be made. Many fans had dreamt of a Kevin Durant-Ray Allen-Rashard Lewis trio. Yet, the Sonics' current roster is overloaded with young forwards and void of solid shooting guards. Adding insult to injury, the trade announcement was flashed on screen at the Sonics' fan draft event seconds before Durant was announced as the second pick of the draft, so instead of cheers, the selection of Durant was met with mixed crowd reactions.
The Portland Trail Blazers made the second significant trade of the night, sending forward Zach Randolph along with guards Dan Dickau and Fred Jones to the New York Knicks in exchange for Channing Frye and Steve Francis. The Blazers hope that Francis can rejuvenate his career after disappointing stints with New York and the Orlando Magic.
The Golden State Warriors didn't draft a power forward with its 18th pick, as they were expected to do. However, they did manage to land a very talented one in Brandan Wright by sending Jason Richardson to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange. The Bobcats finally get the veteran scorer they've been searching for and the Warriors get a young, freak-of-an-athlete prospect in Wright.
Here are the top fourteen picks of the Draft.
- Portland Trail Blazers selects C. Greg Oden
- Seattle Supersonics selects F. Kevin Durant
- Atlanta Hawks selects F. Al Horford
- Memphis Grizzlies selects PG. Mike Conley
- Seattle Supersonics selects F. Jeff Green
- Milwaukee Bucks selects F. Yi (pronounced "E") Jianlian
- Minnesota Timberwolves selects FG. Corey Brewer
- Charlotte Bobcats selects F. Brandan Wright (traded to Golden State)
- Chicago Bulls selects F. Joakim Noah
- Sacramento Kings selects C. Spencer Hawes
- Atlanta Hawks selects PG. Acie Law
- Philadelphia 76ers selects F. Thaddeus Young
- New Orleans selects F. Julian Wright
- LA Clippers selects F. Al Thornton
Check out the full results of the 2007 NBA Draft.
The Milwaukee Bucks selects Yi despite his agent not allowing him to work out with the team. This was because the Chinese government did not want Yi playing for a small market team.
Many teams are certainly not through making deals. For example, the Supersonics still insist that they intend to re-sign star forward Rashard Lewis, despite having a logjam at power forward and other needs to fill. It could be a farse, so that they don't lose leverage while trying to trade Lewis.
The next step for teams is to play the free agent market and play the trading game. This summer promises to be an exciting one in the NBA.
