Drafts 1990-1995

1990

Very weak draft class this 1990 one. We get one of the best defensive point guards in league history in Gary Payton but very little after that. Another blow to the dynasty of the Bulls as Toni Kukoc is taken by the Nuggets. We have lots of dependable and reliable role players. Is that a good thing to say about a player?

Championship Builders: None

Biggest Jump: Cedric Ceballos from 48th to 7th

Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Nets -- Gary Payton (2)

2. Sonics -- Derrick Coleman (1)

3. Nuggets -- Toni Kukoc (29)

4. Magic -- Kendal Gill (5)

5. Hornets -- Dennis Scott (4)

6. Twolves -- Antonio Davis (45)

7. Kings -- Cedric Ceballos (48)

8. Clippers -- Elden Campbell (27)

9. Heat -- Loy Vaught (13)

10. Hawks -- Bimbo Coles (40)

11.Warriors -- Tyrone Hill (11)

1991

Fourth straight weak year, in 4 years the biggest names selected have been Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. Together they had like a 3 year window for the championship not exactly what would you call franchise names. In this class I’m torn between keeping Larry Johnson as the first choice and selecting Dikembe Mutombo first . LJ had a great run with the Hornets it was until he played with the Knicks that his production and value went down. His collection of injuries didn’t help him neither. In the other hand Dike was a helluva defender. He could easily be swatting a couple of shots per game right now at his 44 years old

Championship Builders: None

Biggest Jump: Rick Fox from 24^th to 7th.

Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Hornets -- Larry Johnson (1)

2. Nets -- Dikembe Mutombo (4)

3. Kings -- Steve Smith (5)

4. Nuggets -- Kenny Anderson (2)

5. Heat -- Terrell Brandon (11)

6. Mavs -- Billy Owens (3)

7. Twolves -- Rick Fox (24)

8. Nuggers -- Stacey Augmon (9)

9. Hawks -- Bison Dele (10)

10. Magic -- Dale Davis (13)

11. Cavs -- Greg Anthony (11)

12. Knicks -- Luc Longley (7)

1992

Best class in the last 5 years. Not exactly a deep one but gave us two franchise centers and that’s a hard thing to find (Right, Blazers?). This class was headed by one of the top five centers of all time, Mr. Shaquille O’Neal, and one of top defenders at the center position Mr. Alonzo Mourning. Robert Horry is also in this class but not selected by the Houston Rockets, does he turns into Big Shot Rob without winning 2 rings in his first three years?

Fun fact here: 5 of these 12 picks were the original ones.

Championship Builders: Magic, Heat

Biggest Jump: P.J. Brown from 29^th to 10th.

Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Magic -- Shaquille O’Neal (1)

2. Heat -- Alonzo Mourning (2)

3. Twolves -- Latrell Sprewell (24)

4. Mavs -- Jim Jackson (4)

5. Nuggets -- Robert Horry (11)

6. Bullets -- Tom Gugliotta (6)

7. Kings -- Laphonso Ellis (5)

8. Bucks -- Doug Christie (17)

9. Sixers -- Cleareance Weatherspoon (9)

10. Hawks -- P.J. Brown (29)

11. Rockets -- Anthony Peeler (15)

12. Heat -- Christian Laettner (3)

1993

For the third straight year the number one pick doesn’t change. CWebb is going to the Magic but Penny is headed to the city of brotherly love scratching the trade that got Penny in a Magic uniform. Now, who is a better fit to play alongside Shaq, Penny or CWebb? After that we got some players that had their share of 15 minutes of fame. Sam Cassell was drafted by the Mavs stripping the Rockets, for the second straight year, of a key component of their championship teams.

Championship Builders: Magic, Sixers

Biggest Jump: Nick Van Exel from 37th to 7th.

Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Magic -- Chris Webber (1)

2. Sixers -- Arfenee Hardaway (3)

3. Warriors -- Allan Houston (11)

4. Mavs -- Sam Cassell (24)

5. Twolves -- Jamal Mashburn (4)

6. Bullets -- Vin Baker (8)

7. Kings -- Nick Van Exel (37)

8. Bucks -- Shawn Bradley (2)

1994

We get one future Hall of Farmer ( Kidd) and one guy that should had have a Hall of Fame career. I’m talking about Grant Hill. If you don’t remember him with the Pistons, let me tell you this guy was good! Injuries really did a number on this guy. A healthy Grant Hill would have really shift the power in the early 2000s. If he had been healthy while playing with a TMac in Orlando would had give the Magic a couple of players in the Jordan-Pippen mold. Only the Basketball Gods know if that would have worked...again…

Championship Builders: Bucks, Mavs

Biggest Jump: Jalen Rose from 13th to 3rd.

Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Bucks -- Jason Kidd (2)

2. Mavs -- Grant Hill (3)

3. Pistons -- Jalen Rose (13)

4. Twolves -- Eddie Jones (10)

5. Bullets -- Glenn Robinson (1)

6. Sixers -- Juwan Howard (5)

7. Clippers --Briant Grant (8)

8. Kings -- Donyell Marshall (4)

1995

Deepest class since 1987. We have 4 quality players that could have been franchise players and two others that really had a chance (can u imagine the harm that Stoudamire would inflict on others playing with the current rules). I think at the end everything worked for the best as the selections went down in the real world. I rather had seen one good year of KG in Minessota than seeing him rotten away with the Warriors. I also have the gut feeling that Sheed enjoy being healthy in his early 20s unlike Blake Griffin, Antonio McDyess or Danny Manning. Just saying.

Championship Builders: Warriors

Biggest Jump: Michael Finley from 21^th to 3rd.

Pick Order. Picking Team --Player Selected ( Original position drafted)

1. Warriors -- Kevin Garnett (1)

2. Clippers -- Rasheed Wallace (4)

3. Sixers -- Michael Finley (21)

4. Bullets -- Antonio McDyess (2)

5. Twolves -- Jerry Stackhouse (3)

6. Grizzlies -- Damon Stoudamire (7)

7. Raptors -- Kurt Thomas (10)

8. Blazers -- Theo Ratliff (18)

9. Nets -- Joe Smith (1)

Joy to the League

The Basketball Gods want to spread some joy in this very happy holidays remembering to all teams those little things that make them smile this passing year. They are aware that some teams don't seem to find anything to cheer about but hey! They are the basketball Gods, if somebody can find something good on the Knicks organizations are these guys:

Celtics: Anything. Just pick your choice: their record, the trade for KG and Ray Allen, the fact they are relevant again, the Pistons game which they lost but were damn close even though they didn't play their best game. Just let me tell you wy this guy should be smiling from ear to ear: they lost the lottery, they didn't get the chance to selecte either Oden or Durant which propelled them to get KG and Allen. The Gods work in mysterious ways

Spurs: They can be happy for a number of reasons starting with their fifth championship but they should also cheer that they current roster is as complete as any other in any of their championship runs getting good production from guys like Bonner and Udoka when given the chance.

Pistons: Everybody is expecting the year when this guys slow down. At the start of the season RIP and Sheed were a little injured and that slow them down and you started to wonder if this was the year. Well, nobody is wondering nothing with their current 11-2 stretch. I've to remind everybody that the Gods work in mysterious ways: Don't you think they have a chip in their shoulder after game 5 of the Conference Finals? That's the type of stuff that makes this team tick.

Magic: Finally Dwight Howard discover how good he can be.

Suns: Another team blessed in so many ways. Amare and Marion haven't kill each other yet, 27 games and counting and the seem like a happy and "we are on the same page" type of team. The biggest joy - not only for the Suns but also for the rest of the league - Grant Hill is playing and playing mighty good.

Mavericks:They had a 67 win season, that's a good thing. So what if Dirk can't smile anymore! Josh Howard is showing signs that they don't need to rely in Dirk "warm blood" to win a close game.

Golden State Warriors: They were the hottest team in the league for 6 weeks and got into the playoffs after a 12 year absense and make lot's of noice in the process. Nobody really thought that the Warriors could keep playing the way the played those 6 weeks - including me - and after that 0 -9 start I wasn't happy to be right. Now I'm happy to be wrong. Nellie ball rules.

Trail Blazers: They're achieving so much without their 40 year old rookie center. They can't take all the credit, it's bad karma, they need to thank Kevin Mchale and John Paxson for handing them Roy and Alridge for some other rookies... not that good. Let's leave it like that, I don't want to make anybody cry.

L.A. Lakers: Kobe's still in uniform and he says he's happy. If you want a Christmas miracle, you know outside Kobe being happy, just take a look at Bynum's progress and new found work ethic

New Orleans Hornets: None of their core players have missed more than 4 games (Peja Stojakovic ). It ain't that big of a thing but after what this guys went through last year, it is huge for them. By the way, the should also thank John Paxson for the Chandler gift. John Paxson is so good with the rest of the league.

Utah Jazz: Impressive playoff run that cemented Boozer and Deron Williams as more than up coming players, they are ready to play with the big guys. The new season brought them that old AK 47 they were mising so much.

Denver Nuggets: Thet won the Iverson sweepstakes and KMart seems to be getting back in track.

Cleveland Cavaliers: They had a easy path to the Conference finals and play inspired basketball against the Detroit Pistons including the 48 point perfomance by Lebron James. They should not only be thankful for having Lebron but they also must be appreciating this days, no matter what their record is, just a word of advice from the Basketball Gods. Enjoy this days.

Toronto Raptors: They have a Colangelo running things. Isiah Thomas used to run their team. Pretty good change, right?!

Atlanta Hawks: They are 14-12. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are playing the more mature type of basketball we've seen from them. Al Hortford might pan out as the second best rookie of the 2007 class.

Milwaukee Bucks: They get to keep Yi and Mo Williams and they are in the Eastern Conference which means that it doesn't matter how mediocre they are they still have a chance to get in the playoffs.