The NBA Draft Used to be Exciting

Until 4-5 years ago, I used to love the NBA Draft. It wasn't like the NFL where 400-some players (380 that you didn't know) were chosen over 2 days out of a pool of thousands to go to teams where it'd take 3 years to make their names known. The NBA draft was a shrewd evaluation of 60 young talents, of which only 30 were assured entry into the exclusive NBA fraternity. The night was a veritable Who's Who roll call of our nation's best collegiate players; a night of excitement, uncertainty, and endless debate of the merits of one player over another. The guys that you loved, the ones you hated, and those rare few that broke your heart for 2,3, and 4 years were ready to take their games to the next level. They had grown from Diaper Dandies to whatever absurd moniker Dickie V. lays on talented seniors that have proven themselves on the "next level;" stark contrasts to what we have today - projects that, given the right combination of variables, just might pan out in the long run.

It was nice when even the most casual of fans could at least recognize the incoming talent. Christ, even my mother knew who Steve Nash was. But now I don't think I could tell you who half of the 1st round possibilities are, as at least 11 of the 30 players projected to go in the first round tonight are either from high school or a former Soviet bloc nation because they're a good investment. Half of what I hear about these kids is their great athleticism. But how are their skills? Can they shoot, rebound, play defense? Who knows. But I guess no one really cares.

I'll be honest - I think this draft blows. Sure, it's the deepest in a decade but I want someone to tell me what separates the 15th pick from the 40th. I want star power; I want a sexy pick. Andrew Bogut is gonna be the next Vlade Divac - well that definitely turns me on. That's a lot of fun. He's going to the Bucks, where he'll contribute for 10 years or until his feet give out on him ala Rik Smits and we'll all thank him for a solid career.

So in this draft tonight, I'm going to look to see what happens to Chris Paul, Channing Frye, Charlie Villanueva, and the UNC crew. After that, I might space out until I can see some familiar faces in second round. I have a feeling that had Sergei Stoudamire entered the draft instead of Salim, he'd be looking at a guaranteed contract and plenty of time to either go back to the Balkans to develop or to pull Darko duty with his new squad.

Ah well.