The 2009 NBA Draft has gone just as expected, with Blake Griffin going first overall to the Clippers and things shaking out pretty predictably after that. Most of the surprises of the day have come in the form of trades, with Vince Carter heading to Orlando and of course the Shaq trade that became official this morning.The Sixers also didn't break the mold with their pick, selecting point guard Jrue Holiday from UCLA. Even if the Sixers end up re-signing Andre Miller, they needed a point guard of the future, so the Sixers selected the point with the most talent in Holiday. Only one of the mock drafts I looked at pointed to the Sixers taking Holiday, but that was because most thought he wouldn't fall all the way to the 17th pick. Holiday has a ton of potential, but he will need some time to develop into a solid NBA player. Many think Holiday isn't even a true point guard, but he has the passing ability and the court sense to one day be a floor general.
Here is Holiday's profile on NBA.com and his profile on DraftExpress.com.
Sixers GM Ed Stefanski still has some work to do this offseason. Barring a trade back into the draft, the Sixers are done for the day. The team now has 10 players on their roster for the upcoming season and a few decisions left to make about which free agents they should pursue. Stefanski would be smart to assume that Andre Miller won't be back next season, meaning he needs a contingency plan for who will start at point guard until Holiday is ready.
Here is the breakdown of how the Sixers roster looks right now:
Guards:
Jrue Holiday
Andre Iguodala
Willie Green
Lou Williams
Forwards:
Elton Brand
Thaddeus Young
Jason Kapono
Marreese Speights
Jason Smith
Centers:
Samuel Dalembert
Really don't know about this one. Yes, Holiday was projected by some as high as the top ten, but based on what? Certainly not experience, versatility, or even a decent year in college. In fact, his UCLA season pretty much sucked, though admittedly he was playing slightly out of position since the point guard was already locked up. Even so, he had plenty of opportunity in that system to show something, and he came up really lame. Yes, he was a much heralded high school star who may have an untapped upside, but high school phenoms who possess the total package (see Kobe, Lebron) only come around once in a blue moon, and Holiday certainly ain't it. It's already acknowledged that he needs to step up his shooting percentage -- not a good sign since the Sixers current roster already has enough crappy shooters. I guess in this dubious respect he'll at least fit right in...Would have preferred a pick with a better shot of making an immediate impact, rather than yet another multi-year project. As with any prediction, I could be totally off base about this, but I'm really afraid that Jrue has bust written all over him...
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