2006 Draft Look: Part 2

What a draft for Brian. Kevin Garnett slips to 7th overall, then Ray Allen falls into his lap in Rd2. Check out picks four through six: Carlos Boozer, Deron Williams, and Brandon Roy. We would name this the best top of the draft if not for Boris Diaw in Rd3. That's one pick Brian would probably like back. Jamaal Tinsley in Rd13 has proven to be great value too.

Roger had quite a few excellent picks. Rashard Lewis in Rd3, followed by Baron Davis in Rd5; but we like Tyson Chandler in Rd9 for the true steal. You realize he's the mini-(healthy)-Camby right? With double doubles and 2 BLK a game? Oh wait, is the steal in Rd11? With Chandler's ex-teammate Eddy Curry (20 PTS and 7 REB)? JR Smith in the 13th was looking like a genuine steal until the whole Iverson thing happened. The one misstep might have been Chris Webber in Rd6, but that could still work itself out even if C-Webb is no longer a 20-10 guy.

Here's a team whose best pick is, by default, Chauncey Billups in Rd2. Here's picks five through fifteen for Alvin: C Kaman, C Frye, T Murphy, S Telfair, V Radmanovic, D Fisher, I Diogu, J Williams, K Brown, J Pryzbilla. See a single pick you like there in hindsight? And picks 3 and 4 (G Wallace and S Marbury) have had their ups and downs too. Seems like Alvin had the anti-Midas touch this year.

Ping had a pretty good draft, selecting exactly the best player left on the board in most instances. The multi-talented Lamar Odom returns nice value from Rd3 but there's no true steals here, unless you think Desmond Mason in Rd13 was a gem. Al Harrington in Rd7 is pretty good, but aside from that, Ping took the most logical player available so no big surprises or disappointments.

It's hard to pick out a great pick for Trieu. Ron Artest has been on fire lately, so his selection in Rd3 looks pretty good, but Artest comes with his issues. The best pick was probably getting Steven Jackson in Rd11, but that hardly qualifies as a steal. Biggest whiff? Morris Peterson in Rd5. Trieu's waived the two highest draft picks so far this season -- Morris and Mike James, selected in the fifth and sixth rounds respectively. Nobody else has outright cut anyone above an eigth rounder (Troy Murphy by Alvin).

Reno had two picks that have turned out great; Luol Deng in Rd6 and Mike Miller right after him in Rd7. Surely those two picks beat out the injured Brad Miller in Rd4 and the fading Zydrunas Ilgauskas in Rd5. Both big men are still not too bad, but they're clearly on the slide. There's no pick after Rd 8 (Steve Francis) worth noting, or still contributing to the team.