The official 2003 NBA Draft Thread

[Guest Smell the ratings!!!]

I still don't understand why people are bashing the Darko choice. If they took Carmelo they'd have to bench Prince and start a worthless pile of dung at power forward. makes no sense.

 

I look at it this way. If a lot of these guys will be changing teams in only 3 years anyway, might as well draft for need over potential right?

[Guest starvenger]

Dick Vitale made the draft unwatchable. He's got to be the biggest xenophobe in all of America. They couldn't go to him once without him changing the subject to how there's going to be a huge backlash with all these foreigners coming into the NBA and what a huge mistake these GM's are making drafting these evil foreigners. How many times did he bash Detroit for taking Darko over Melo. You'd think he learned his lesson last year when he claimed the Rockets were making a colossal mistake passing on Jay Williams for Yao Ming.

He does seem a little too pro-USA, doesn't he? I bet he and Don Cherry are buddies...

 

I still don't understand why people are bashing the Darko choice. If they took Carmelo they'd have to bench Prince and start a worthless pile of dung at power forward. makes no sense.

Who knows? Darko is in a good position though, where he can ride the pines and be brought along more slowly than, say, LeBron, who will have WAY too much pressure than should be put on an 18 year old.

[Guest El Satanico]

I do agree that Vitale seemed to have the mindset of "i hate dem damn foreigners...why can't we stick with americans", but I don't think he's as bad as he seemed.

 

I think he's just totally biased to college players since college basketball is his life.

[Guest Ripper]

There are a lot of those "dem damn foreigners" artiles on ESPN .com right now.

 

What I really got tired of seeing was "If Mello was from Europe, he would be the number 2 pick". SOOOOo the Pistons, who need a center...would have gone for a small forward if he had been from Europe? Kay...

 

The Pistons wanted and needed a center and they got the best one available in the draft.

[Guest Polish_Rifle]

Nothing wrong with Detroit's pick. Darko and Wallace is going to provide some strong inside presence for the Pistons and now they have some size to match up against the West.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Isn't it possible that Vitale just thinks that Anthony will be the better player than Darko? Forgetting about a specific need, sometimes it's smarter to draft the best player available. The pistons obviously thought Darko was better, but Vitale thinking differently doesn't make him a xenophobe.

[Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20]

I don't understand.

 

What happen to Marcus Hatten, Hollis Price, Jason Gardner, or Drew Nicholas ?

 

Why weren't they chosen ? You'd rather take ZZZADDSFRTGFGF ZDFGYHGGHGVICH from ? instead of players like that.

[Guest El Satanico]

I don't understand.

 

What happen to Marcus Hatten, Hollis Price, Jason Gardner, or Drew Nicholas ?

 

Why weren't they chosen ? You'd rather take ZZZADDSFRTGFGF ZDFGYHGGHGVICH from ? instead of players like that.

Because great college players regardless of the level of competition don't always make great NBA players. Also many of the foreign players are already professionals.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Price and Gardner are undersized.

 

Nichols is probably a tweener. Too small to play 2 and he can't play the point.

 

All of these guys will sign has free agents. One thing the foreign players have is they already have teams to play for the next 1-2 years and teams can be more patient with them. The college kids, either have to make the roster or become free agents.

[Guest Lethargic]

What happened to Rebraca? I remember he got sick or hurt or something. Is he gone for good? I think it's weird that nobody ever mentioned how the Pistons got to the conference finals without their starting center.

[Guest NaturalBornThriller4:20]

Either way, I only watched the Draft for Carmelo.

 

*Cough#1Cough*

[Gert T 0]

Besides all the foreign bashing I could not stand Dick's hard-on for Nick Collison. I love Collison, but Vitale is idiotic to think that Collison is going to be better in the pros than Sweetney.

[Guest Human Fly]

My cable was out all of yesterday so I missed the draft, and am now trying to digest all of the info.

 

I have seen some people saying the Knicks had a good draft, but I disagree. First of all why draft Sweetney? They already have enough PFs on that team. And Lampe could be the steal of the draft, but not until he gets out of his Real Madrid contract.

 

Can anyone back up their claim that Carmello should have been #1 over LeBron and Darko besides the fact that he is American and went to college for one year?

 

With Collison and Ridnour to go along with Barry and their tall European player (whose name escapes me) Seattle is trying to corner the market on white players it seems.

[Guest Ripper]

Isn't it possible that Vitale just thinks that Anthony will be the better player than Darko? Forgetting about a specific need, sometimes it's smarter to draft the best player available. The pistons obviously thought Darko was better, but Vitale thinking differently doesn't make him a xenophobe.

No, but writing articles on ESPN.com about how all of the college seniors will be steals in the draft and all the foreign players would be busts does.

 

And American or no, if you have a 7 foot, ball handling outside shooter, HE IS GOING TO BE TAKEN HIGH IN THE DRAFT.

 

If Darko had been from Kansas and shown the same skills without much experience he would...well...he would be Raef LaFrentz...and he would be a lottery pick.

 

Bashing teams for taking 7 footers that can play like guards is ridiculous. Or do I need to remind the world that Shawn Bradley was a #2 pick...Joe Smith went #1...Danny Ferry went #2...behind Pervis Ellison.

[Guest Lethargic]

I just read the latest on the Lampe deal on ESPN Insider. I don't know if anybody has noticed but it turns out that the contract problems with his Euro team was just miscommunication. He DOES have a buyout. So basically the entire first round skipped him for no reason. So a guy that was project to go in the lottery fell to the Knicks in the 2nd round. Let the conspiracy theories begin.

[Agent_Bond34 0]

With Collison and Ridnour to go along with Barry and their tall European player (whose name escapes me)

Are you thinking of either Vladimir Radmanovic or Predrag Drobnjak?

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Isn't it possible that Vitale just thinks that Anthony will be the better player than Darko? Forgetting about a specific need, sometimes it's smarter to draft the best player available. The pistons obviously thought Darko was better, but Vitale thinking differently doesn't make him a xenophobe.

No, but writing articles on ESPN.com about how all of the college seniors will be steals in the draft and all the foreign players would be busts does.

 

And American or no, if you have a 7 foot, ball handling outside shooter, HE IS GOING TO BE TAKEN HIGH IN THE DRAFT.

 

If Darko had been from Kansas and shown the same skills without much experience he would...well...he would be Raef LaFrentz...and he would be a lottery pick.

 

Bashing teams for taking 7 footers that can play like guards is ridiculous. Or do I need to remind the world that Shawn Bradley was a #2 pick...Joe Smith went #1...Danny Ferry went #2...behind Pervis Ellison.

He doesn't say that. He just says not every foreign player will be Dirk Nowitzki and that alot of those players are drafted because of upside without proving anything. I'm not usually one to defend Vitale, but I think he's more praising college players, more than he's saying foreign players will be flops.