It's time for part 2 of our re-examination of the 2001 NBA Draft's second round. Part 1 saw Gilbert Arenas go with the first pick (obviously), and there was some solid talent to be had, like Mehmet Okur, Jamario Moon, Bobby Simmons and Mo Evans. The Chicago Bulls are up first again, so hit the jump for the latter half of the round.
45. Chicago Bulls (original pick - Sean Lampley)
The Bulls shouldn't need a point guard after having drafted Gilbert Arenas in the first round, but they also don't need a big man. As noted earlier, Terence Morris has become a top Euroleague player, so perhaps he's worth a look in the back half of the round.
46. Minnesota Timberwolves (original pick - Loren Woods)
This was one of the drafts in which the Timberwolves forfeited a first-round pick for the luxury of employing Joe Smith. Even though he didn't work out, Woods wasn't a terrible pick here, as Minnesota's other centers were Rasho Nesterovic and Albuquerque Thunderbirds assistant Dean Garrett (and Marc Jackson for part of the year), but they also didn't really have any shooting guards. Plenty of point guards though, with Terrell Brandon, Chauncey Billups, Robert Pack and William Avery (and Felipe Lopez, kind of). There's only one shooting guard left, though, and he'd be a reach even here, and that's still plenty of guards. Eric Chenowith sounds like a less-good Loren Woods (or maybe equally good?), but there aren't any other good fits.
47. Denver Nuggets (original pick - Ousmane Cisse)
Center's a problem area for this team as well, but we're running out. Raef LaFrentz was serviceable at one time, so we'll let it go. Ousmane Cisse was probably a little too raw to enter the draft right out of high school, but he also didn't get much of a shot, being released after getting injured. He was a pretty good shot-blocker in high school, so we'll stick with this pick and give him another chance to develop.
48. Memphis Grizzlies (original pick - Antonis Fotsis)
I said I didn't hate the Grizzlies' earlier pick of Will Solomon, and he's still available. Solomon has become a decent point guard over in Europe, so the Grizzlies will take him despite having Jason Williams, Brevin Knight, and Eddie Gill.
49. Miami Heat (original pick - Ken Johnson)
The backup center position for this team was terrible, which is why they drafted Ken Johnson, I guess. Behind Alonzo Mourning stood Vladimir Stepania, Sean Marks, Ernest Brown and Chris Gatling. Jarron Collins is a stiff, but he's a hard enough worker and I don't remember Sean Marks being much better.
50. Portland Trail Blazers (original pick - Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje)
I can't remember if Rasheed Wallace or Shawn Kemp was the starting center for this team, but Boumtje-Boumtje was obviously meant to help fix that situation. Our center supply is running low, however (which is why Collins went with the last pick). Ken Johnson was second in the CBA in blocks with the Dakota Wizards and put up okay numbers in the D-League.
51. Phoenix Suns (original pick - Alton Ford)
I'm really resisting the temptation to have everyone pick the same guys they originally picked, as many of these players are becoming interchangeable. Ford lasted a few years in the NBA before heading overseas and finally landing in the D-League this year, where he averaged 9.5 points and 7 rebounds. Ford would be a decent pick here, except that Phoenix had several guys who could play forward, and this is who they ran out there at center: Jake Tsakalidis and Jake Voskuhl. Of course I say that like there are better centers available, when there are not. So, Ford it is.
52. Milwaukee Bucks (original pick - Andre Hutson)
I'm not even sure that Hutson made the Milwaukee roster that year. I've probably let Brian Scalabrine drop too far, so the Bucks will take him here. He can join Jason Caffey on the bench. Whee.
53. Utah Jazz (original pick - Jarron Collins)
Well, Collins is gone even though he was the perfect pick for Utah. There are only two centers left, so we'll flip a coin and go with Alvin Jones. Jones made the ACC All-Defensive Team all four years of his college career at Georgia Tech, and he's fourth on the conference's all-time blocks list. That sounds pretty good for Utah, and heck, given some development he might've turned out better than Jarron Collins. Don't pick Alvin! He literally went insane when he played for me up in Minot last year. Tragic situation, and I think he wants to kill me. Unless you think the Jazz will keep his NBA career alive, I beg for you to change his career - he created too many scary/awkward moments for me. kthxbai - Scott
54. Dallas Mavericks (original pick - Kenny Satterfield)
Dallas/we took a shooting guard at the end of part one on the theory that Dallas didn't need a point guard. They still don't, but point guards are mostly who's left. Bryan Bracey was considered a scoring wing coming into the draft, so Dallas should take him and left him learn from Michael Finley.
55. Sacramento Kings (original pick - Maurice Jeffers)
This was a really good team, though if we're going to quibble the backup guard could've used some work (Mateen Cleaves and Price). Kyle Hill has fought through some injury issues (like a ruptured Achilles) and become a solid scoring point guard over in the Euroleague, and he could've been fun to watch develop in Sacramento's system. More fun than Brent Price, certainly.
56. San Antonio Spurs (original pick - Robertas Javtokas)
Javtokas is actually the perfect pick for the Spurs (and no, I didn't hold him back for that reason). He's a European big man who San Antonio has let develop overseas, though they still hold his draft rights. And he has developed a bit, becoming a solid defender and rebounder, though his free throw shooting remains abysmal even though that's improved as well. Javtokas it is.
57. Philadelphia 76ers (original pick - Alvin Jones)
It's best-available-player time, which in this case might be point guard Kenny Satterfield. Philadelphia didn't really need a point guard with Eric Snow and Speedy Claxton (and Allen Iverson), but I'll be crass and say Satterfield's status as a minor streetball legend would've fit in with the Sixers of that era, but Satterfield also averaged 17 points and 6.5 assists in the D-League.
58. San Antonio Spurs (original pick - Bryan Bracey)
That leaves Mike Wilks as potentially the best player left (it's either him or Paul Shirley). Wilks has been on a lot of NBA rosters, which speaks to his effort and the fact that he has some baseline of skill. He was also an economics major at Rice, so he's definitely smart enough to play in San Antonio.
For the wrap-up, I'm tempted to rank the 2001 draft just below 2003 and 2005. Neither of those drafts had a Gilbert Arenas-level talent available (Monta Ellis hasn't produced on a consistent enough level yet), though they had a more consistent level of talent throughout. This one definitely tops 2002, though, and while an Alex Acker-type wasn't available for the final pick in 2001, the middle and back half of the draft still had (or could've had) some back-of-the-rotation potential. We'll continue on to 2000, though I hadn't planned to look beyond that year.
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