While Zion Williamson dominated the NBA Draft, and a to of big names did not get called, the Yankees have been on fire in baseball.
Now that Didi Gregorius, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are all back, watch out. Guys like Cameron Maybin, Gio Urshela and DJ Lemehieu have stepped up and put the Yankees in great shape.
Aaron Boone and Brian Cahman have done great work this season despite many injuries. The Bronx Bombers look solid.
Here are some thoughts on the 2019 draft:
WINNERS
New Orleans. Starting with Zion Williamson, the Pelicans had a lot to gain. The Anthony Davis trade turned into a haul of draft picks. Adding a young, big talent in Jaxson Hayes will pay dividends in the long run. Nickel Alexander-Walker provides an outside scoring threat.
Atlanta. The tandem of DeAndre Hunter and Cam Reddish will help up front, adding defensive help. Bruno Fernando is a nice pickup in round two. If Reddish can consistently contribute, he will be a big plus.
Boston. Brad Stevens may lose Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier, so they stockpiled guards Romeo Langford, Carsen Edwards and Tremont Waters. All three were stars on their college teams. Then add solid forward Grant Williams, the SEC Player of the Year and this is a nice group.
New York. RJ Barrett will be a star in the Big Apple. He can score, rebound, pass and defend. Iggy Brazdeikas has potential down the line.
Washington. A sleeper pick adding Rui Hachimura and Admiral Schofield. They also kept Brad Beal.
San Antonio. Luka Samanic was a factor in the combine. I love Keldon Johnson at 29 as a steal. Quanndary Weatherspoon is a nice second round choice.
Memphis. Ja Morant and Brandon Clarke will be instant impact players.
LOSERS
Houston. No picks in this draft.
EARLY SURPRISE
Cameron Johnson to Phoenix at 11. An experienced player and outstanding shooter with good range. Thought he would go around 20.
LATE SURPRISES
Nassir Little to Portland at 25. A lottery pick type of talent. Only averaged 18 minutes a game last season, he will blossom.
Keldon Johnson to San Antonio at 29. Spurs get another star late.
Bol Bol to Denver at 44. He has something to prove and you cannot teach height.
WHAT HAPPENED?
As usual, a number of early-entry players did not get picked. Teams stash foreign players and that cuts the number of youngsters chosen.
Think about some of these players who starred in college and did not hear their name called: Naz Reid from LSU, Tyus Battle and Oshae Brissett of Syracuse, Shammorie Ponds of St. John’s, Moses Brown and Kris Wilkes of UCLA, Louis King of Oregon, Luguentz Dort of Arizona State, Jonta Porter of Missouri, Dedric Lawson of Kansas, and Zach Norvell of Gonzaga.
The NBA draft is Thursday and everyone has an opinion on what to expect.
I am excited because there is a lot of talent available. Zion Williamson will go number ne and the top three appears to be set. After that, it is a crapshoot.
Here are my projections of what I think should happen on Thursday. Enjoy the draft, baby!
- New Orleans Zion Williamson, Duke
- Memphis Ja Morant, Murray State
- New York RJ Barrett, Duke
- New Orleans DeAndre Hunter, Virginia
- Cleveland Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech
- Phoenix Colby White, North Carolina
- Chicago Cam Reddish, Duke
- Atlanta Darius Garland, Vanderbilt
- Washington Sekou Doumboya, Limonges
- Atlanta Jaxson Hayes, Texas
- Minnesota Nassir Little, North Carolina
- Charlotte Romeo Langford, Indiana
- Miami Kevin Porter Jr., USC
- Boston Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga
- Detroit Brandon Clarke, Gonzaga
- Orlando Keldon Johnson, Kentucky
- Atlanta Goga Bitadze, Mega Bemax
- Indiana Bol Bol, Oregon
- San Antonio Mfiondu Kabengele, Florida State
- Boston Tyler Herro, Kentucky
- Oklahoma City PJ Washington, Kentucky
- Boston KZ Okpala, Stanford
- Memphis Matisse Thybulle, Washington
- Philadelphia Carsen Edwards, Purdue
- Portland Bruno Fernando, Maryland
- Cleveland Nickel Walker-Alexander, Virginia Tech
- Brooklyn Cameron Johnson, North Carolina
- Golden State Daniel Gafford, Arkansas
- San Antonio Naz Reid, LSU
- Milwaukee Ty Jerome, Virginia
I celebrated my 80th birthday last week and the sport world celebrated several championships.
The Toronto Raptors beat injury-plagued Golden State to win the NBA title. Kawhi Leonard was brilliant. Guys like Pascal Siakam and Fred Van Vleet stepped up their games. Congrats to first-year head coach Nick Nurse on the championship.
I celebrated my 80th birthday and was treated to great sports action.
Rafael Nadal continued to show his dominance on clay, winning his 12th French Open
Kawhi Leonard showed his greatness as the Raptors won twice at Golden State.
Rory McIlroy showed his greatness with a 61 to win easily in Canada.
Sir Winston won the last triple crown race of the year at the Belmont.