Sorry this is a little late today - Jon L
Ah, the 2001 draft. A year forever etched in the memory of Washington Wizards fans. We're going to take a second look at the second round, but I thought (and probably should've done this with the others) I'd recap where we are in the draft process.
High-schooler Kwame Brown was the number one pick, selected by the Washington Wizards and GM Michael Jordan. In a way, Brown was selected for the complete opposite reasons that a lot of players are. Jordan focused mostly on Brown's intangibles, or perceived intangibles, and ignored some of Brown's tangible, physical attributes, namely that the guy has small hands.
Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, and Eddy Curry followed. The first round saw the likes of Shane Battier, Jason Richardson, Joe Johnson, Richard Jefferson, Zach Randolph, Gerald Wallace, and Tony Parker all hear their names called. The same goes for Rodney White, Steven Hunter, Kirk Haston, Jeryl Sasser and Raul Lopez. All of which, as always, we're leaving in place. The Chicago Bulls are on the clock. There are some stars and some solid players available. Who did they pick? Who will we pick for them? Part 1 is after the jump.
30. Chicago Bulls (original pick - Trenton Hassell)
The Bulls drafted Eddy Curry in the first round and traded for fellow 2001 draftee Tyson Chandler, so they don't need a big man. That Chicago team had a rather patchwork backcourt, with Jamal Crawford, Jalen Rose, Greg Anthony, Kevin Ollie, AJ Guyton, and Travis Best all getting at least a handful of starts. Oh, you say Gilbert Arenas is available? Yeah, we'll draft him.
31. Golden State Warriors (original pick - Gilbert Arenas)
Arenas wears the number 0 because that's the number of teams that drafted him in the first round. Some teams had multiple picks, though, so it's not like absolutely everyone passed him up. Golden State had just drafted Jason Richardson and Troy Murphy in the first round to complement budding star Antawn Jamison, and Jamison-Richardson-Murphy-Arenas wasn't a bad young core. The team was pretty terrible, though, which is what happens when your centers are Erick Dampier, Marc Jackson and Adonal Foyle. There aren't a ton of great centers in this draft, but the best is undoubtedly Mehmet Okur, whose relative lack of rebounding isn't as much of a weakness with Jamison and Murphy beside him.
32. Orlando Magic (original pick - Omar Cook)
Ah yes, the Patrick Ewing-Horace Grant Magic. Orlando had signed Grant Hill to complement Tracy McGrady, but Hill played only 14 games that year. The team's other offensive options were Mike Miller (fine), Darrell Armstrong (age 33) and Troy Hudson (now you're pushing it). McGrady needed help, and while Bobby Simmons is probably the best available, he likely wouldn't have gotten playing time behind McGrady and Miller. Carlos Arroyo went undrafted that year, but eventually ended up in Orlando as a decent backup to Jameer Nelson.
33. Memphis Grizzlies (original pick - Will Solomon)
Memphis traded for first-round pick Pau Gasol after drafting Stromile Swift the year before, so up front is "set." I don't hate the Solomon pick, as he's made somewhat of a name for himself over in Turkey despite not making much of an impression in the NBA. Beyond fellow 2001 draftee Shane Battier, though, the Grizzlies' small forwards were terrible. He'd need some work, but Jamario Moon would be a good complement to Battier and Gasol.
34. Atlanta Hawks (original pick - Terence Morris)
Morris was traded to Houston, we're making Atlanta keep the pick, etc. The usual deal. Those early 2000s Maryland teams really fooled a lot of NBA teams. Terence Morris has become a top player in the Euroleague, though he's considered a "big man" there despite being about 6'9" and being a small forward in college (if I remember correctly). Atlanta's guards that year were Jason Terry, Dion Glover, Jacque Vaughn and Emanuel Davis. They could've had Jamaal Tinsley, but they apparently thought they were fine in the backcourt and traded him to Indiana. We know better, though, and will draft Trenton Hassell, who's become a defensive specialist and would've been a decent complement to Terry.
35. New Jersey Nets (original pick - Brian Scalabrine)
I wouldn't say that I'm biased, because I have no real reason to be, but I was completely baffled at how much playing time Scalabrine got in the playoff this year. I know Garnett's injury forced the team to go deeper into its bench, but I couldn't name one thing that Scalabrine does well. The Celtics had three first-round picks that year, selecting Joe Johnson, Kedrick Brown and Joe Forte. Then they traded Johnson partway through the season. So, not a good draft. We'll give them Bobby Simmons to give them someone who'd produce after Brown and Forte didn't.
36. Cleveland Cavaliers (original pick - Jeff Trepagnier)
Hassell would've been a nice pick here, as Cleveland's defense that year was terrible (hi, Ricky Davis). Maurice Evans, another defensive specialist, is available, and hopefully he can take some of the minutes away from Davis and Lamond Murray. Or failing that, from Trajan Langdon.
37. Philadelphia 76ers (original pick - Damone Brown)
Yes, that Damone Brown. The Sixers made the playoffs that year with a lineup of Iverson-Snow-Harpring-Coleman-Mutombo. Coleman as in Derrick. That's an okay lineup, but their bench was pretty terrible, especially the frontcourt. As I said earlier, though, there aren't a lot of great big men in this draft. Could I interest you in the lesser Collins brother? How about Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje? Loren Woods? No? I'm not going to lie to you, this one really stumped me, as the team's needs don't really fit the draft's strengths. Sean Lampley has become a decent scorer in Australia, and was an okay-but-not-great bench player in the NBA.
38. Detroit Pistons (original pick - Mehmet Okur)
Other than Jerry Stackhouse and Chucky Atkins, Detroit's guards that year were Michael Curry, Jon Barry, Dana Barros and Damon Jones. Charlie Bell has had his moments in the NBA, and would be a hometown pick.
39. New York Knicks (original pick - Michael Wright)
This might've been the last Knicks roster that made sense. Unfortunately that didn't give them very many wins. That's because they were a bad offensive team, with only three players that scored more than 700 points for the season. Omar Cook is often cited as a guy who went to the NBA too early, and was never much of a scorer anyway, but he showed an ability to rack up assists and steals in the D-League, and perhaps receiving tutoring from fellow St. John's point guard Mark Jackson would've helped him out.
40. Seattle SuperSonics (original pick - Earl Watson)
Seattle needed a shooting guard more than a point guard. Horace Jenkins went undrafted in 2001 and went overseas, where he became a pretty good scorer, and earned a contract with the Detroit Pistons in 2004-2005. He may not have been able to contribute immediately, but he is/was certainly a hard worker and could've developed for Seattle.
41. Indiana Pacers (original pick - Jamison Brewer)
This was the year Indiana made a big trade with Chicago, so Ron Artest, Brad Miller and Jalen Rose spent part of the season on their roster. Indiana was pretty set up front, with Reggie Miller, Al Harrington, Jermaine O'Neal and Jonathan Bender plus Austin Croshere and Jeff Foster (remember that team?). Brewer didn't work out for them, but Earl Watson might have.
42. Seattle SuperSonics (original pick - Bobby Simmons)
Simmons was traded to the Wizard for Predrag Drobnjak. The SuperSonics have a weird history of accepting lousy center from Washington - Drobnjak, Jim McIlvaine, Calvin Booth. Michael Jordan loved Bobby Simmons. Even after he was traded to Detroit as part of the Stackhouse deal, Simmons was cut by the Pistons and Jordan re-signed him. Simmons had a few productive years in Milwaukee before getting injured. Seattle just had a pick, and while they had four centers on the roster that year, they were all lousy. Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje racked up the blocks in college, so maybe he could've produced with the Pacific Northwest's other franchise.
43. New York Knicks (original pick - Eric Chenowith)
This was originally Seattle's pick as well. Chenowith practically defines "well-traveled" as according to, uh, Wikipedia he's been under contract for eight different NBA teams and four D-League teams as well as the ABA and CBA, and has played in France, China and Puerto Rico. Apparently he shoots and runs the floor well for a guy his size (7'1"). Well, the Knicks obviously didn't want him, so we'll go with Loren Woods and hope he can beat out Felton Spencer and Travis Knight for the backup center job.
44. Dallas Mavericks (original pick - Kyle Hill)
This team had a lot of point guards, including Steve Nash, Avery Johnson, Nick Van Exel and Tim Hardaway. Oh, and Darrick Martin. Van Exel could play shooting guard, as could Michael Finley, but that's still a little point-heavy. All of the decent shooting guards are disappearing, so we'll take Jeff Trepagnier, who averaged about 11 points a game with the Bakersfield Jam this past season.
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