Careful What You Wish For, Demetris.
by Sean Keeley on Jun 29, 2007 2:39 PM EDT
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Demetris Nichols assumed he was going to be drafted "30-35" pick range. His hope though, was to end up a New York Knick and play at MSG, an arena he knew well.
The evening didn't go quite as he planned it, as Demetris was selected #53 by the Portland Trailblazers. It seemed a rather bittersweet event. Demetris was drafted, but much lower than expected and to a place where he'd be fighting for a job from Day 1. We all went to sleep with the knowledge that Demetris was in for an interesting summer.
But there's one thing we forgot. The ever-watching eye of Isiah Thomas was upon him, like Sauron gawking at Frodo. And the great eye never sleeps. And so, in the middle of the night, the Knicks traded for Nichols for a 2008 second-round pick.
"Nichols actually just impressed us all season long with the way he shoots the basketball," Knicks General Manager Isiah Thomas said in a statement released on New York's Web site. "Syracuse is a team that definitely should have been in the tournament, and when he came down to Orlando and worked out, I just was extremely impressed by his defensive abilities, and his shooting caught my eye."
It looked like concerns about Nichols concerns lingered about Nichols defending and ball-handling outweighed the positive performance he gave at the NBA's pre-draft camp in Orlando.
With the Knicks, Demetris gets a better shot at some playing time and a somewhat of a built-in fanbase to work off of.
Daryl Watkins and Terrence Roberts went undrafted as expected, at least to everyone except Watkins' agent.
Watkins' agent Reggie Brown told The Daily Orange on Thursday afternoon that the Utah Jazz had guaranteed they would select Watkins, if he were still available, with the 55th pick. However, that proved to be a broken promise when the Jazz took Providence's Herbert Hill at No. 55. Hill was later traded to Philadelphia.
Damn Mormons. Well it all worked out in the end as Watkins signed a free agent deal with Sacramento today. I'm sure he and G-Mac will catch up soon.
For Roberts though, the wait continues. Hopefully, he'll hear from someone soon and that someone won't be associated with the SyracuseBullies SnowBallers ABA Team.
The evening didn't go quite as he planned it, as Demetris was selected #53 by the Portland Trailblazers. It seemed a rather bittersweet event. Demetris was drafted, but much lower than expected and to a place where he'd be fighting for a job from Day 1. We all went to sleep with the knowledge that Demetris was in for an interesting summer.
But there's one thing we forgot. The ever-watching eye of Isiah Thomas was upon him, like Sauron gawking at Frodo. And the great eye never sleeps. And so, in the middle of the night, the Knicks traded for Nichols for a 2008 second-round pick. "Nichols actually just impressed us all season long with the way he shoots the basketball," Knicks General Manager Isiah Thomas said in a statement released on New York's Web site. "Syracuse is a team that definitely should have been in the tournament, and when he came down to Orlando and worked out, I just was extremely impressed by his defensive abilities, and his shooting caught my eye."
It looked like concerns about Nichols concerns lingered about Nichols defending and ball-handling outweighed the positive performance he gave at the NBA's pre-draft camp in Orlando.
With the Knicks, Demetris gets a better shot at some playing time and a somewhat of a built-in fanbase to work off of.
Daryl Watkins and Terrence Roberts went undrafted as expected, at least to everyone except Watkins' agent.
Watkins' agent Reggie Brown told The Daily Orange on Thursday afternoon that the Utah Jazz had guaranteed they would select Watkins, if he were still available, with the 55th pick. However, that proved to be a broken promise when the Jazz took Providence's Herbert Hill at No. 55. Hill was later traded to Philadelphia.
Damn Mormons. Well it all worked out in the end as Watkins signed a free agent deal with Sacramento today. I'm sure he and G-Mac will catch up soon.
For Roberts though, the wait continues. Hopefully, he'll hear from someone soon and that someone won't be associated with the Syracuse
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