Kevin Draper: Oh, hey.
Jacob Greenberg: Hi, Kevin. Come on in.
Kevin Draper: Am I early?
Jacob Greenberg: Nope. Right on time.
Kevin Draper: Oh. Did…did you cancel “Wild Speculation and Outlandish Guesses” this week?
Jacob Greenberg: Nope. No one came.
Kevin Draper: [Pauses] No one?
Jacob Greenberg: No one.
Kevin Draper: [Quickly looks at exit] Wow. But…they always come!
Jacob Greenberg: Not this week, they didn’t.
Kevin Draper: Jeez. Was it something you said?
Jacob Greenberg: I don’t think they liked the topic.
Kevin Draper: Well, you didn’t ask any Laker or Timberwolves questions. And you gotta at least mention the Celtics to get Snyder to do anything.
Jacob Greenberg: [Getting emotional] I…I just wanted to re-draft the first five picks!
Kevin Draper: Oh. I mean, that’s okay, I guess.
Jacob Greenberg: I just wanted to see if they would’ve drafted Thomas Robinson so high. That’s all I wanted to know.
Kevin Draper: Oh well, Jacob. Here.
(Hands over tissue)
Kevin Draper: Look, I’ll re-draft with you.
Jacob Greenberg: Oh you’re doing it to be nice.
Kevin Draper: No! It’d be, uh, fun. It’s exactly what I want to do?
Jacob Greenberg: [Sniffling] Really?
Kevin Draper: Yes! Christ. So just go one by one?
Jacob Greenberg: Yeah. Start from one, go to five. Pick who you’d pick now that you’ve seen twenty games or so. We’ll just go to five.
Kevin Draper: Yeah, then I gotta go.
Jacob Greenberg: That early?
Kevin Draper: Yeah, I gotta…thing.
Jacob Greenberg: Okay. Well let’s do this then.
Kevin Draper: Sounds good. Well Anthony Davis is
Jacob Greenberg: Wait.
Kevin Draper: What?
Jacob Greenberg: Will you do the David Stern voice?
(Silence)
Kevin Draper: What do you mean the David Stern voice?
Jacob Greenberg: You know. ”With the first pick in the 2012 NBA draft, the New Orleans Hornets select…”. That thing.
Kevin Draper: C’mon man. Can’t I just
Jacob Greenberg: JUST FUCKING SAY IT DUDE.
Kevin Draper: Jesus. Fine. With the first pick in the NBA draft, the New Orleans Hornets select: Anthony Davis, from the University of Kentucky?
Jacob Greenberg: Wow! Same pick? Even though he’s injured?
Kevin Draper: Yeah. We’ve only had the privilege of seeing him play six games this season, but those six have done nothing to make me question this pick. He’s still the only player from this class where the phrase “Hall-of-Fame potential” isn’t absurd.
Jacob Greenberg: This is why I love you, Kev-man. I totally agree. he’s 4th in the league in PER. Clearly there’s something game-changing here. Still a consensus pick, in my opinion.
Kevin Draper: Well that was easy. Only four more to go.
Jacob Greenberg: Who’s going number two for you? This one’s a bit more tricky.
Kevin Draper: Well, I’d go with
Jacob Greenberg: Ahem.
Kevin Draper: Sigh. With the second pick in the 2012 NBA draft, the Charlotte Bobcats select: Damian Lillard, from Weber State University.
Jacob Greenberg: Mixing it up! Now this party’s getting interesting. Serves those losers right for not coming.
Kevin Draper: Yeah. Sure. Whatever. The numbers Lillard is putting up as a rookie have only been matched by Oscar Robertson, Damon Stoudamire and Allen Iverson. That’s crazy.
Jacob Greenberg: Nice information. Well, I’m going with
Kevin Draper: Wait. Why don’t you have to do the stupid David Stern voice?
Jacob Greenberg: Cause you already did it.
Kevin Draper: Sigh. [Checks watch]. Who are you picking Jacob?
Jacob Greenberg: Well, I’m going with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
Kevin Draper: Nice. Invite me over to make the same picks that already happened. Sweet party, bro.
Jacob Greenberg: Thanks! Yeah, Lillard seems like an option here, but I’ve actually been relatively impressed with Ramon Sessions and Kemba Walker. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has that “it” factor, and I like him as the man there, hypothetically and actually.
Kevin Draper: Well, you draft as well as Jordan. Which doesn’t say much.
Jacob Greenberg: Who’s going third?
Kevin Draper: Well, with the third pick in the 2012 NBA draft, the Washington Wizards select Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, from the University of Kentucky.
Jacob Greenberg: Holy crap! That’s a basketblogger pick if I’ve ever heard one.
Kevin Draper: Well, he’s great, man. I haven’t watched many Bobcats games (shocking, I know) this year, but every time I do I’m impressed by Kidd-Gilchrist.
Jacob Greenberg: Yeah. He’d look really nice in Washington. The Nene-Okafor thing isn’t working out.
Kevin Draper: Who you going with?
Jacob Greenberg: Harrison Barnes, man.
Kevin Draper: Interesting.
Jacob Greenberg: Yeah. Haven’t watched a ton of Wiz ball, but from what I’ve seen, Jordan Crawford and Bradley Beal have similar games and (perhaps) similar upsides. Martell Webster is not a longterm starting option at the 3, and I have my doubts that Trevor Ariza is, either (whenever he comes back). Harrison Barnes, who is averaging 9 and 5 in 27.5 minutes per game, would be getting all the minutes he wanted in Washington DC.
Kevin Draper: Well, people care very little about the Wizards. I would know, I work in the District. Can we move onto 4?
Jacob Greenberg: Sure.
Kevin Draper: Alright. With the fourth pick in the 2012 NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers select: Andre Drummond, from Michigan State University.
Jacob Greenberg: The Drum Man! In wine and gold? Poor Tristan Thompson.
Kevin Draper: Whatever. I hate seeing him in Detroit. What’s it going to take for this guy to get more run? He is pulling down boards, gets a lot of blocked shots, and knows well enough to take easy shots, which he hits. Monroe/Drummond is the Pistons frontcourt of the future, might as well start the process right now.
Jacob Greenberg: Sound analysis. Well, I’m going with Dion Waiters.
Kevin Draper: Same pick that the Cavs made. Why didn’t you just invite me over to watch a replay of the draft? Then I wouldn’t have felt guilty about saying no.
Jacob Greenberg: Har har. I think the Cavs made the absolute right pick here in taking a combo guard, and I’ve been more impressed with Waiters than Beal in this season’s early going. I believe in the Tristan Thompson-Anderson Varejao-Alonzo Gee backcourt and Waiters and Irving have looked tailor-made for one another in the (few) games they’ve played together.
Kevin Draper: And it all adds up to 5 wins, thus far.
Jacob Greenberg: It’s not necessarily a bad thing if the Cavs get another high draft pick this season.
Kevin Draper: Whatever. Let’s wrap this up.
Jacob Greenberg: Who’s going last?
Kevin Draper: Well, with the fifth pick in the 2012 NBA draft, the Sacramento Kings select…I dunno, Harrison Barnes.
Jacob Greenberg: He’s slipping to fifth?
Kevin Draper: I think the top four (in some order) are pretty clear, but this fifth spot is shaky. Barnes has been very inconsistent; in some game he is a terribly lost rookie, and during others he looks like he is already a top 15 SF in this league. I could buy Waiters, Robinson, Ross, even Harkless in this spot.
Jacob Greenberg: I like it. I’m going with Damian Lillard.
Kevin Draper: Makes sense.
Jacob Greenberg: Yeah. I tried to think of scenarios where I could get him higher because he’s looked so good so far, but a combination of (1) the league’s depth at the 1, and (2) MKG’s upside couldn’t get him any higher than this. And the Kings would’ve been wise to make this pick, I think. Drafting Thomas Robinson created a log jam at the 3 (he’s getting 16 mpg), and he’d look better elsewhere. So that, plus the fact that Isaiah Thomas, Jimmer Freddette and Aaron Brooks are all certifiable second-and-third-string point guards, make him the more appropriate choice at 5.
Kevin Draper: Sweet. Well man, I’m gonna go.
Jacob Greenberg: But you just got here! I made Pizza Rolls and Bagel Bites! We were gonna watch “Storage Wars”!
Kevin Draper: Maybe next week dude. I gotta…thing.
Moral: It’s hard to motivate non-paid bloggers to participate in your stuff and come up with good ideas for your weekly roundtable every week while you’re working full time. Better luck next week, on all counts.
