Who's excited? Anybody? Somebody talk me in to this.
Ori and I were on the phone for the picks heading up to the Cavs talking about who we wanted. He was busy talking me into Kosta Koufos. We were both proud of ourselves for jumping on the Brandon Rush and Jason Thompson bandwagons ahead of the curve. We were debating Super Mario Chalmers vs Daniel Boobie Gibson. We were amazed to see Hibbert go and amazed when McGee followed.
Then the line went dead.
Ori's reaction went "Oh sweet god. Oh lord, why? Oh, oh, oh..."
JJ Hickson? Seriously? Did ANYBODY see that coming? We've mentioned JJ Hickson all of twice on LeCavs. First, we made fun of Chad Ford, who had Hickson going 25. Then I commented on Hickson staying in the draft:
J.J. Hickson, Fr., NC State - Big mistake, unless he was just flunking out of school. I can't see how Hickson doesn't move up to mid first round by next year. His money...
I guess he knew what he was doing.
We'll have more analysis once we digest and see if the Cavs make any moves through the rest of the draft. Donte Green just went and Mario Chalmers is still on the board as of this writing. In the meantime, enjoy the highlights.
GET EXCITED CLEVELAND!
10 comments:
It took less time than I expected. I've convinced myself that I am pumped about this pick and that we just got a quick and aggressive PF.
Hickson is going to be awesome!
Neither CDR nor Chalmers went in the first round. Surely we can buy in to the 2nd, right? I mean, 3 mil is worth it for Chalmers right now... right?
what would it take to get into the second round?
Maybe the rules are different, but the max $ for buying a pick in the first round is $3 mil. Otherwise it probably needs to be part of a bigger trade.
I don't know why you initially hated the Hickson pick. EVERYONE is saying that he is a really good fit for the Cavs. Maybe Ferry did something right for a change?
FYI, the Cavs also picked up Darnell Jackson (PF-Kansas) from Miami for one of the two 2009 2nd rounders we have and we also bought the rights to Sasha Kaun (C-Kansas) from Seattle.
So instead of Arthur, we ended up with two of his teammates. Best guess is Kaun is going to play in Russia (just signed a contract overseas) for a few years.
I am guessing Jackson or Hickson gets paired with AV and perhaps Damon Jones in another deal somewhere else. Milwaukee still seems to be a fit since they have few PFs and we seem to have 4 or 5.
talonk
ESPN's draft grader gave Fery an A-minus.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=DraftGrades-080627
I don't hate it... I'm just confused. I should appreciate that it's Ferry's MO - nobody heard a word about the blockbuster in February until it was a done deal. Nobody heard a word about Hickson, except that they brought him in for a workout once. Meanwhile, all the buzz was around the local product, the French dude nobody knew about, the NBA ready guys, etc.
More than anything, I'm sure this has Lebron's blessing. Our main goal is talent acquisition and I'm sure Hickson is a big talent. I just wanted to see more. This is just the beginning of the off-season - I fully expect to see a major move from Ferry, but I'm a 21st century kid - I wanted it now! Now! Now! Now! It just seems like the cost to obtain a CDR or Walker was so low that it would have been easily worth it.
This is definitely turning into a post later.
NCSU fan in Raleigh here - JJ Hickson had an outstanding Freshman year.
However, the chemistry issues (supposedly) with him being a team player caused some serious problems. Take it for what its worth.
See StateFansNation for further reading...
Initially, I was confused by this pick, but I agree it took me about 10 mins of evaluating to agree with it. Essentially the Cavs are seeking to replace their mistake letting Boozer go. Hickson has a presence on the block and appears to be able to play w/ his back to the basket.
That being said Boston purchased the rights to Bill Walker -- Why Danny Ferry wasn't involved in that conversation is beyond on me.
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