|
|
By Bryan Berg  June 23, 2009, at 10:49 pm  If you’re an Islanders fan, you’re pretty excited about this year’s draft. You’ve got the first overall pick. Then, you have the 26th, the 31st, the 37th, and the 56th. Not a bad showing for the first-round, eh? You’d have to go back to 1999 to find a better prepared Islanders team in terms of draft picks in the first two rounds.
In 1999, the Islanders had four first-round picks. They had #5, #8, #10, and #28. This, coupled with the 1997 draft which saw the Isles draft Roberto Luongo at #4 and Eric Brewer at #5, should have been the start of big things for the Islanders. After all, according the Wikipedia, the 1999 draft was “considered one of the deepest in talent in years”… something that sounds pretty similar to what people are saying about this year’s draft. Pay attention.
With the #5 pick, the Islanders selected Tim Connolly, the center of the future. Since the Isles had virtually no other talent to speak of, Connolly was immediately placed on the first line. This was a lot for the young Connolly to take, especially with the lofty expectations placed upon him. Connolly ended up totaling 75 points in his two years as an Islander, missing just one game over those two seasons. He was dealt to Buffalo as part of the Michael Peca trade; Connolly was still a 20-year-old future star at the time. He has only recently begun to reach his potential, though this high level of play has been tempered by constant injury.
At #8, the Islanders took Taylor Pyatt. Pyatt was considered to be more of a two-way player than Connolly, but still had potential as a scorer. Pyatt only played one year with the Islanders before being shipped to Buffalo in the Peca deal. Pyatt has since recorded years with 23 goals and 16 goals in Vancouver. He never became a great two-way player as many suggested he might, but he remains a solid NHL player who is in the lineup each night.
The 10th pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft was defenseman Branislav Mezei. Mezei scored exactly two goals in the Islanders organization – one in Bridgeport, and one on the big club. While it’s worth noting that the Islanders didn’t draft Mezei – he was drafted by Montreal – they should be scolded for trading then-captain Trevor Linden straight-up for Mezei. They were able to dump Mezei off to Florida for Jason Wiemer, but that’s not saying a whole lot.
Kristian Kudroc was drafted at #28 by Dallas, but ended up on the Islanders as a result of a draft day trade. His biggest contribution to the team was being part of the package sent to Tampa Bay for Raffi Torres at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.
Four first-round picks. A total of four seasons played by these four men. Wow.
It’s worth noting that the 1999 NHL Entry Draft might have been the worst draft in NHL history. The first round has produced, to date, exactly three All-Star seasons – one each by Nick Boynton, Martin Havlat, and Henrik Sedin. The top ten featured such busts as Patrik Stefan, Pavel Brendl, Jamie Lundmark, and Kris Beech. In fact, the only truly notable players picked were Ryan Miller (fifth round) and Henrik Zetterberg (seventh round).
You’d think the 2009 draft couldn’t possibly be this bad, right? Well, you never know. After all, the only real way to determine a player’s worth is to see him play in the NHL. At this point, none of the big names have proven anything aside from the ability to dominate inferior competition. So don’t get too frazzled about who the Islanders pick, because we truly know nothing about him right now. In other words, John Tavares might be the savior of the New York Islanders… or he could be the next Patrik Stefan.
By Jason Comack June 23, 2009, at 8:04 pm The Wolves are reportedly close to sending Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the Wizards, in exchange for the #5 pick in Thursday’s draft, Oleksiy Pecherov, Etan Thomas and Darius Songaila.
Good lord is that a terrible trade for Minnesota. The Wizards manage to shed Songlia’s awful contract, roughly 2yrs/10 million, swap Etan Thomas for Mike Miller (both expiring deals) and acquire Randy Foye all for the Number Five pick in the weakest draft of the decade.
The Wizards now are actually a legitimate contender in the east. It’s very possible their team might just look really good on paper but they have Areans, Foye, Jamison, Butler as their big guns with Miller, Stevenson off the bench. If JeVale McGee can develop. this team might be downright nasty.
It’s not like Minnesota saved money in this trade, their taking on Songila’s awful contract. Sure they can build around Jefferson, Love, #5/6 but this is such a weak draft. They must be banking on either Rubio falling to them or packing one of their four first round draft picks to move up to get him.
As much as I love Rubio that seems like an awful lot to give up for the fifth pick in the draft. Especially considering your going to have to give up even more to get Ricky.
[Update: Sam Amick Kings beat writer via Twitter:Rubio may be about to come off the board. Don't be shocked if Minn. packages 5 and 6 for No. 2 from Memphis.]
By Anthony De Franco June 23, 2009, at 8:00 pm Here’s the quote from Gamasutra:
In addition, famous ex-UFC heavyweight champion Tim Sylvia recently said in a radio interview that both he and notable former UFC star Randy Couture have signed up for the Electronic Arts game. None of these signings have yet been confirmed by Electronic Arts.
The article was talking about the difficulties that EA will face signing fighters because of the fact that THQ has the UFC license. That means that no UFC fighters can be in the game, or at the very least any of the names that signed over their image rights to Dana White for now and the rest of eternity.
While Sylvia has been exposed as an absolute joke, getting Couture is a positive first step. EA Sports has that the game will be released sometime in 2010.
By Anthony De Franco June 23, 2009, at 6:34 pm From good friend Mike Swick’s twitter:
X-ray was good on my hand. Not broke or fractured just swollen. Should be back to normal very soon. Should be off med suspension by July 15.
That’s good news for one of my favorite fighters. Swick’s latest victory over Ben Saunders made his UFC record a sterling 9-1, and he is 4-0 since dropping down to Welterweight. He’s defeated Marcus Davis, Josh Burkman, Jonathan Goulet and now Saunders.
I’m not saying that it’s time for a title shot, but I am saying that It’s time to start paying attention to Swick. Expect to see him back in the ring one more time before the end of the year.
By Matt Soldano June 23, 2009, at 1:39 pm The Milwaukee Bucks have traded Richard Jefferson to the San Antonio Spurs for Kurt Thomas, Bruce Bowen, and Fabrico Oberto.
This is a great trade for the San Antonio Spurs who were looking to get younger and provide a solid swingman who could play alongside Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Tim Duncan. Jefferson is 29 years old and can still fill it up. He averaged 20 points for the Bucks last season as the number one option with Michael Redd missing the majority of the season. He shot just 44% from the field. This is why I think Jefferson can really flourish in San Antonio. Jefferson had his best years when he was in New Jersey surrounded by guys like Jason Kidd and Vince Carter. With VC, Jefferson was not the number one scoring option and with J-Kidd, Jefferson played along someone who can make plays at the point guard role and could serve as a facilitator.
In San Antonio, there are a ton of guys now who are going to be averaging 18+ points. Tony Parker is a top 5 point guard in the Western Conference who can create shots by getting into the paint and dishing out to the wing. While Ramon Sessions had a decent year for the Bucks, he isn’t half the point guard that Parker is. To me, the Spurs added themselves a key piece in an attempt to get back to the top of the Western Conference. Now their main problem is going to be the health of Ginobili and how long can Tim Duncan hold up for.
For Milwaukee, their incentive to make this trade is 100% financial. All three players are in the final years of their contracts. After next season, the Bucks will have $15 million coming off the books which should allow them to be creative in the summer of 2010. The trade also saves the Bucks $3 million this year so Milwaukee has a bit more money to try and re-sign either Ramon Sessions or Charlie Villaneuava. If I am part of the Bucks organization, I am looking at re-signing Villaneuava and drafting a point guard in Thursday’s draft. There is a good chance Johnny Flynn, Brandon Jennings, or Jrue Holiday will be available when the Bucks select at #10.
By Matt Soldano June 23, 2009, at 1:12 pm Here are some updated off-season rumors and draft news in the NBA:
- From Yahoo! Sports: The Boston Celtics offered Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo to the Detroit Pistons for Rodney Stuckey, Richard Hamilton, and Tayshaun Prince. Apparently the proposal never made it to Pistons GM Joe Dumars because a lower level official from Detroit rejected the trade.
Thoughts: Um, why does Boston feel compelled to shop Rajon Rondo. Rondo had a spectacular post-season in which he almost averaged a triple double in round one against orlando and averaged 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 rebounds in the regular season. I understand Allen can be hot and cold any night, but so can Hamilton and Prince. He is also in the final year of his contract so if you want to get someone who is a little younger that is understandable. To me, there has to be something about Rondo that the Celtics are unhappy with that is putting him out on the market. If Kevin Garnett was healthy this year, the Celtics are in the NBA Finals and perhaps winning it all, so I do not understand the notion that the Celts feel the need to overload the roster.
- From the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Sixers might trade Samuel Dalembert and the 17th overall pick to the Charlotte Bobcats for Vladimir Radmonovic, Nazr Mohammad, and the 12th overall pick.
Thoughts: Philly does not help themselves with salary with this trade as both Vlad and Nazr have two years left on their contracts. In terms of the picks, maybe the Sixers can get lucky and draft someone like Brandon Jennings if he falls. However, I think Jennings will be gone at that point and the Sixers will end up taking Ty Lawson or Eric Maynor.
- From the Chicago Tribune: The Bulls have held talks with a few teams about trading their 16th and 26th pick for a higher selection in order to select shooting guard Gerald Henderson.
Thoughts: Chicago, don’t do it! Henderson might be the one guy in the lottery who can be the biggest bust. I just do not see a ton of upside from a guy who disappeared in the tournament and had an overall inconsistent college career. In this draft, you would much rather have picks in the second half of the first round rather than a lottery selection because you can get solid value, for less money, and a lot of prospects in the lottery can be very hit or miss. If you want to move up, do not move up for Henderson.
- From the NY Post: The Knicks are looking to trade Larry Hughes and perhaps Jared Jeffries for the number 5 pick (if they take both Mike James and Etan Thomas’ expiring contracts) and then parlay the pick with number 8, to acquire the second pick overall, in an attempt to draft Ricky Rubio.
Thoughts: Some people are beginning to question whether Rubio’s value is truly that high. One Western Conference coach said, “Ricky has a big upside. Nevertheless, he’s very light, like Steve Nash only without the offense. He has no mid-range game, never gets to the free throw line and is a defensive liability due to his lack of strength and size.”
- From CBSSports: The Phoenix Suns offered Amare Stoudemire and the 14th overall pick to Washington for Caron Butler, Nick Young or Javaris Crittenton, and the 5th overall pick. The Wizards turned it down as they seem intent to not trade Butler away.
Thoughts: The Wizards do need help down low so Stoudemire would help but Butler is an all-star who only seems to be getting better each year. With Gilbert Arenas coming back healthy and owning the 5th pick in the draft, the Wizards feel they are in a good position to compete next year which I completely agree with.
|
|
Tags: 
