Who Cares? (Or Why I Don't Give a Shit About the Draft.)

I'm not excited about the upcoming draft. You won't find an analysis of the top prospects here.

Call me a pessimist, but I've been through this before.

For every Dwayne Wade, there are 2 dozen Shelden Williams and Raymond Feltons. Maybe Williams and Felton will turn out ok. But they didn't have a huge impact in their rookie years, and they're more likely to become a run of the mill NBA journeyman than an important piece of the puzzle.

Then, there's always the Nikoloz Tskitishvili scenario...

Whether it's Felton or Tskitishvili, there's almost no chance any player the Grizzlies pick at #5 will lead the Grizzlies out of the cellar. Drafting Dwayne Wade is even less likely than getting the top pick in the lottery.

I'm reading that OJ Mayo may have star potential, but even if he does, how long will we have to wait? Rudy Gay took a full season to show signs of stardom. Haven't we waited long enough?

The only scenario that peaks my interest is the possibility that the Grizzlies will trade a few players (eg Miller, Lowry, and Mayo) to the Heat for Michael Beasley. However, it seems more likely that Anthony Randolph is the next Chris Bosh.

So here's what everyone should expect on June whatever date it is:

The Grizzlies will draft someone who has a 'ton of potential'. He'll be the next (insert former 5 time allstar here). We'll get pumped up about him while we wait three months for the season to start. We'll wonder why he doesn't look like Michael Jordan playing against the scrubs in the Vegas Summer League. When the season starts, he'll show some promise. He may hit the twenty point mark against the Timberwolves. At the end of the season, he'll average about 12 points in 25 minutes, and the jury will still be out on whether he's the next Rudy Gay or another Drew Gooden.

Rinse and repeat.