Apparently Mr. Potter had a look at my look back at last years and decided that he would do the same (Correct me if I'm wrong). On his blog over on NBA.com, he took on the task of dissecting the Mad Ants portion of last years D-League draft. Interesting stuff, though apparently myself, a blogger, and Jeff, a president, don't always agree:
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Whe I looked back at last years draft, I thought the Mad Ants' first round pick Larry Turner was probably one of the best big men available through the draft last year, slottin him to the D-Fender's just one pick after the Mad Ants, but that was partially due to Turner being the last cut in Laker's camp and would have been a good place to watch over him for the season. Potter however didn't think so, going on to say "Larry ultimately is a player who should not have been taken as high as we did." While this isn't a bad deduction, I would disagree. With their expansion draft and allocation guys including everything but a big man and a kitchen sink, I don't think it would have been wise to pick much differently with this pick. A developing big man that was the last cut of Laker's camp cannot be that bad.
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Lukasz Obrzut, or Woo, as Jeff apparently calls him, was not a good second round pick. Potter and I both agree on this point, though drafting a big from a big school, Kentucky, is usually going to turn out a lot better than this experiment.
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Potter didn't even try to defend the 4th round pick of pick of Shagari Alleyne (probably not a bad choice, as I think he may have lost a bit of his credibility).
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He says 5th round pick Julius Ashby "started to play better as camp went along, but by then, it was too late". I'm not sure I understand this reasoning. Player getting better gets cut? That's not how the D-League works!
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Ron Howard in the 7th round was a steal. He played with the Bucks this preseason and will probably be back with the Mad Ants again this year. Though I think there were better D-League guys that didn't make it to an NBA camp (Wil Frisby among them), he could really develop into a good player.
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He didn't hate Nate Gerwig. We disagree. Seeing Nate Gerwig 73 times in the last month or so of the season and listening to the Mad Ants radio guys the first part of the season (Before the webcasts kicked in) were probably my least favorite things about the D-League last year.
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We both like Anthony Kyle. I think this kid will be a decent back up, either in the D-League or overseas for awhile. Good change of pace, and keep the offense running.
Overall, I really respect Potter for posting that. I'd welcome any other GM/Coach to do the same regarding their draft last year. Definitely interesting stuff to look at that you're not getting anywhere but the D-League.