A look back at the 2007 Draft

[Ducky]

Results: uosl2.proboards45.com/index.cgi?board=drafthistory&action=display&thread=1177741058

A look back at the 07 lottery:
1 - Greg Oden C 7'0'' 280 19 B- D+ D B+ B- A (Indiana Pacers)
6 Years later...
Greg Oden C 24 7'1'' 288 B+ C- D- A A- B
This is a fine pick. Oden was drafted by the Pacers, and has been there ever since.
Grade: A+

2 - Kevin Durant SF 6'9'' 225 19 B- B C- C+ C+ A (Memphis Grizzlies)
6 Years later...
Kevin Durant SF 24 6'10'' 234 B A C- A B B
Like Oden, this is a no-brainer. Durant is also still playing with the same team he was drafted by, the Grizzlies.
Grade: A+

3 - Brandan Wright PF 6'9'' 215 20 B D+ C- B C A (Golden State Warriors)
6 Years later...
Brandan Wright PF 25 6'9'' 235 A- C- C- A- C+ C
I think Wright has turned out what most people thought he would turn out to be. A great defender who blocks shots left and right. He's also a solid inside scorer who can move well. This has turned out to be a solid pick.
Grade: A-

4 - Al Horford PF 6'10'' 245 21 B- D+ C B C+ A (Philadelphia 76ers)
6 Years later...
Al Horford PF 26 6'10'' 252 B+ C- C- A- B C
Al Horford drives me crazy. He has very nice ratings and has progressed a lot since he was drafted, but he hasn't seemed to live up to his ratings. I still think he should have been a top 5 pick, knowing his future ratings, but because he hasn't lived up to the hype, I'm going to give him a little lower grade.
Grade: B+

5 - Jeff Green SF 6'9'' 235 21 B- C+ C B C B (Minnesota Twolves)
6 Years later...
Jeff Green SF 26 6'9'' 235 B B- C B- C C
Green has had a hard time finding his role in Minnesota. He put up solid numbers each year, but he wasn't really improving. I think Green is still a serviceable player, but he's definitely not the type of player iflip thought he would be when he picked him.
Grade: C-

6 - Corey Brewer SF 6'9'' 185 21 C+ C+ C B C- A (Indiana Pacers)
6 Years later...
Corey Brewer SF 26 6'9'' 196 C+ C+ C A- C C
What's funny, is this is the 4 of the top 6 picks from this draft are currently on the Grizzlies (Including Brewer). I think you can label Brewer as a bust. He's a great defender, one of the better man on man defenders out there, but he has shown 0 improvement in his scoring.
Grade: D+

7 - Julian Wright SF 6'8'' 225 20 B- C- C B C+ A (Sacramento Kings)
6 Years later...
Julian Wright SF 25 6'8'' 228 B- C- C- A- B- C
I think Wright is, right now, a little less than what most people expected, but definitely not a let down. His offense is nothing to be proud about, but he's able to get it done on defense and on the boards and that's what makes him an effective SF.
Grade: B

8 - Rudy Fernandez SG 6'6'' 172 22 C+ C+ C+ C D A (Phoenix Suns)
6 Years later...
Rudy Fernandez SG 6'6'' 180 27 B- B- C+ C D+ C
To find yourself in FA, 6 years after being drafted is never a good sign. This is probably one of the worst draft choices in UOSL2. I'm not sure what nbal was thinking here, but oh well.
Grade: F

9 - Roy Hibbert C 7'2'' 278 20 B- D+ D+ B- C+ B (Orlando Magic)
6 Years later...
Roy Hibbert PF 25 7'3'' 288 B- D+ D+ B C+ C
James should have known a player drafted and highly praised by Jeremy would never turn out to be more than what he was on draft night. At least Hibbert is good enough to start... On some teams...
Grade: D

10 - Mike Conley Jr. PG 6'1'' 180 20 C+ C B- B- D+ A (Miami Heat)
6 Years later...
Mike Conley Jr. PG 25 6'1'' 185 C+ C+ A A- D+ B
Everyone knew this Conley at 10 was a steal. And everyone was right. Conley is one of the top Handling/Defending PGs in the league. The scariest part about him, is he seems to have room to grow.
Grade: A

11 - Nicolas Batum SF 6'8'' 200 19 C+ C+ C C+ D+ A (Dallas Mavericks)
6 Years later...
Nicolas Batum SF 24 6'9'' 204 B C+ C+ B C- C
Batum started really slow in UOSL2. It took him forever to finally get his game. He was labeled a bust the first 3 seasons, and was nearly given up one. But with allstar being as patient as he is, decided to give him another year, and boy did it pay off. Batum isn't a stud, but he isn't a complete bust either.
Grade: C

12 - Yi Jianlian PF 7'0'' 230 21 B- C C+ C C+ A (Atlanta Hawks)
6 Years later...
Yi Jianlian PF 26 7'0'' 234 B C C+ C C+ B
This is just one of those picks I don't understand. Yi was loaded with potential coming into the draft, but FBB screwed him over, and jah is left with a 7 foot bust.
Grade: D

13 - Joakim Noah PF 6'11'' 232 22 B- C- C- B C+ B (New Orleans Hornets)
6 Years later...
Joakim Noah PF 27 6'11'' 240 B C- C A- C+ C
Noah surprised me a bit, by becoming one hell of a player. I didn't think he'd be much than an ok defender. But he's show he can be more than just an OK defender, and he can even put a scare on opposing defenses.
Grade: B+


Top 5 Steals:
1- Morris Almond
On Draft Night: 8th pick (2nd Round) Morris Almond SG 6'6'' 215 22 B- B- D+ C+ C C (Memphis Grizzlies)
6 Years later...
Morris Almond SG 27 6'6'' 215 B+ A- C B C- C
Almond is living proof that I do care about 2nd rounders This may be one of the biggest steals in UOSL2 history.

2- Rodney Stuckey
On Draft Night: 28th pick (1st Round) Rodney Stuckey SG 6'5'' 205 21 C+ C+ C C+ D+ A (Cleveland Cavaliers)
6 Years later...
Rodney Stuckey SG 26 6'5'' 209 B- B+ C+ B D+ C
It's fun to see guys get no respect or love, that slip to late 1st round or early 2nd round, turn out better than half the guys picked in front of them. Stuckey hasn't been a great scorer or anything in the league, but he's done enough to where GMs rely on a guy like him to step in and do something big when a starter goes down. Stuckey is a perfect 6th man who could start on most teams. Great pick at 28.

3-Mike Conley Jr.
On Draft Night: 10th pick (1st Round) Mike Conley Jr. PG 6'1'' 180 20 C+ C B- B- D+ A (Miami Heat)
6 Years later...
Mike Conley Jr. PG 25 6'1'' 185 C+ C+ A A- D+ B
I'm always hearing from allstar how shitty he is at drafting, so I thought to myself, why not trade all your picks and than trade for the steals in the draft. Because that's what he did hear. Conley has shown he's for real, and that he belongs in UOSL2.

4-Jared Dudley
On Draft Night: 10th pick (2nd Round) Jared Dudley SF 6'7'' 225 22 C+ C+ C C+ C C (Miami Heat)
6 Years later...
Jared Dudley SG 27 6'7'' 225 B B+ C- C+ C D
Dudly is one of the most underrated players in UOSL2. He is a scoring machine. He went from shit to legit. Again, great value at pick # 39.

5-Derrick Byars
On Draft Night: 21st pick (1st Round) Derrick Byars SG 6'7'' 220 23 C+ B- C C+ C- B (Phoenix Suns)
6 Years later...
Derrick Byars SG 28 6'7'' 220 B- A- C C+ C C
Byars turned into a very serviceable player. He's a great scorer, and can help out a team in need for some depth.


Top 5 Busts:
1 - Corey Brewer (#6 Overall pick)
Then: Corey Brewer SF 6'9'' 185 21 C+ C+ C B C- A (Indiana Pacers)
Now: Corey Brewer SF 26 6'9'' 196 C+ C+ C A- C C
He's got the defense, but the rest of his game never panned out.

2 - Yi Jianlian (#12 Overall pick)
Then: Yi Jianlian PF 7'0'' 230 21 B- C C+ C C+ A (Atlanta Hawks)
Now: Yi Jianlian PF 26 7'0'' 234 B C C+ C C+ B
Bad luck.

3 - Roy Hibbert (#9 Overall pick)
Then: Roy Hibbert C 7'2'' 278 20 B- D+ D+ B- C+ B (Orlando Magic)
Now: Roy Hibbert PF 25 7'3'' 288 B- D+ D+ B C+ C
lol the never improving, but always going to improve big boy.

4 - Jeff Green (#5 Overall pick)
Then: Jeff Green SF 6'9'' 235 21 B- C+ C B C B (Minnesota Twolves)
Now: Jeff Green SF 26 6'9'' 235 B B- C B- C C
The consistent, but too consistent, and never improving.

5 - Marcus Williams (#19 Overall pick)
Then: Marcus Williams SG 6'7'' 205 20 B- C+ C- C+ C- A (Phoenix Suns)
Now: Marcus Williams SG 25 6'7'' 207 B- B- C C C- C
So much upside, but just not enough.


Enjoy!

[jayborne]

Oden and Conley would have been sick, but we got a ring regardless.

[idlewildsouth70]

Great article.

[ifliphottboi]

if only i got oden or durant.

at least they ain't sell outs.

[DB]

ahh man what a good draft, great read here ducky...

Rudy Fernandez, had pretty good looking ratings, c+ across in three cats, and A potential, its just one of those first round busts which sucks. good job man.

noah is a good pick up too, i wish i held onto him.

[duce]

Great article. I like the shit-to-legit line, good stuff.

[Ducky]

basone said:

ahh man what a good draft, great read here ducky...

Rudy Fernandez, had pretty good looking ratings, c+ across in three cats, and A potential, its just one of those first round busts which sucks. good job man.

noah is a good pick up too, i wish i held onto him.

True, but obviously someone like Conley, Hibbert, or Noah would have been a good pick. And in my notes and projection, I had him going mid-late 1st. So that should hint not to take him lotto.

Anyway, thanks guys. This was a pretty solid draft. None of the guys in the lotto were meant to be busts (well Rudy had low potential, but he was projected mi-late 1st). FBB screws shit over a lot, kind of ghey.

[shaunkol]

r eally cool read ... looking forward to the other draft recaps

[jahallstar]

Yi...geesh.

[CC]

great stuff duck.

[nbal22]

admin said:

basone said:

ahh man what a good draft, great read here ducky...

Rudy Fernandez, had pretty good looking ratings, c+ across in three cats, and A potential, its just one of those first round busts which sucks. good job man.

noah is a good pick up too, i wish i held onto him.

True, but obviously someone like Conley, Hibbert, or Noah would have been a good pick. And in my notes and projection, I had him going mid-late 1st. So that should hint not to take him lotto.

Anyway, thanks guys. This was a pretty solid draft. None of the guys in the lotto were meant to be busts (well Rudy had low potential, but he was projected mi-late 1st). FBB screws shit over a lot, kind of ghey.

haha..yes i dont even know what i was thinking..o well

[Ducky]

this article deserves more love, bump.

[gotrunks226]

Funny how Jeff Green is #5 overall and Top 5 Bust too..