Random thoughts from Cavaliers draft headquarters near Cleveland: * Regarding the Cavs, I like their second-round pick (Danny Green) a whole lot better than their first-rounder (some guy from Congo named Christian Eyenga). But that's only because I haven't seen Eyenga play. The Cavs have, and they swear he's a keeper. While he's young and fairly raw, GM Danny Ferry said the team's scouts were "ecstatic" that they were able to land Eyenga with the final pick of the first round.
* Meanwhile, Cavs assistant GM Chris Grant had this to say about Eyenga: "He's a skilled player who's very athletic. He's on his way." Grant compared Eyenga to Orlando's Mickael Pietrus -- stressing Eyenga isn't nearly as good as Pietrus, but that he has that type of potential.
* Basically, the Cavs didn't really need to get anyone that good, having dominated the news on the eve of the draft by trading for Shaquille O'Neal. But I still like Green. He's athletic, played for a winning program (North Carolina) and really gets after it on defense. "We think he can come in, compete for a job and be an NBA player," Ferry said of Green.
* OK, on to the rest of the draft ...
* Hey, Stephen Curry, good luck getting minutes in Golden State. Coach Don Nelson has a history of not playing rookies -- especially early in the season. It's a nice pick for the Warriors nonetheless, as Curry's game is a good match for Nelson's run-and-gun philosophy.
* Of course, as ESPN reported all night, Curry could be on his way to Phoenix -- along with Andris Biedrins, Marco Belinelli and Brandan Wright -- in a deal for Suns center Amare Stoudemire.
* This has to be the heaviest father-son draft in NBA history, with three sons of former pros being selected within the top 15 picks. They were: Curry (No. 7, Warriors); Gerald Henderson (No. 12, Charlotte); and Auston Daye (No. 15, Detroit). Interestingly, Henderson's dad (Gerald) and Daye's dad (Darren) both played for the Celtics.
* If nothing else, Philadelphia picked one smart cookie in first-round draftee Jrue Holiday. After all, Holiday was manager of the girls tennis team while in high school. Manager of the girls tennis team? Why didn't I think of that?
* Covering the NBA doesn't afford me much of a chance to watch college basketball, but I was able to watch Toney Douglas at Florida State twice (Douglas was drafted by the Lakers at No. 29, then promptly traded to New York.) I didn‘t set out to see Douglas -- his team just happened to be playing when I turned on the TV. And let me just say I was impressed both times, thinking that hey, this kid is gonna be an NBA player. Douglas was an outstanding defender with the Seminoles, a great athlete with a quick release on his jump shot. He should fit in well with the Knicks.
* Every time I see second-round pick Jermaine Taylor, the first person who comes to mind is Atlanta guard Flip Murray. Taylor was a high-scoring guard at Central Florida, and let me tell you, this kid can light it up. He was named MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational, was second in the nation in scoring (26.2 ppg) and was named Conference USA Player of the Year. Taylor was drafted by Washington with the No. 32 pick, and is now property of Houston after being traded.
* On the eve of the draft, I wrote that Kentucky guard Jodie Meeks could move into the middle of the first round. Shows what I know, as Meeks was actually selected with the 41st overall pick (by Milwaukee). Maybe my friends are right. Maybe I really should quit writing about the NBA and start covering team handball.
* Is it just me, or were the Rockets determined to just give away cash for second-round picks? They gave some to Washington for Jermaine Taylor, they gave more to Denver for Sergio Llull, and they gave even more to Detroit for Chase Budinger. Sure wish they would've thrown some my way.
* And lastly, Minnesota still had three young point guards on its roster as of late last night: first-round picks Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn, and of course, Sebastian Telfair. Why do I get the feeling at least one of them will be moved before the start of training camp?
Sam Amico is the editor of Pro Basketball News and is a regular contributor to Sportstime Ohio and TheClevelandFan.com. He can be reached at amico@probasketballnews.com.
