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Reactions LeBron at No. 1 may be lucrative but very riskyPosted: Wednesday May 21, 2003 5:41 PMSI.com's John Hollinger and Stewart Mandel went Head2Head on whether LeBron James should be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. Here's a sampling of what you had to say:
I believe LeBron would naturally be drafted at No. 1, but I would be more interested in Anthony. One of the things that is evident in the NBA is that it is definitely a team sport. Just because you have a guy who can put up big numbers does NOT guarantee a win. Consider the type of seasons Kobe, T-Mac, and K.G. have all had and the fact that all of them have been eliminated from the playoffs. If too much is expected from LeBron too early, he may very well become discouraged and not develop into the type of player that he should be.
Small forwards are a dime a dozen in the pros. I've seen Calvin Murphy, Moses Malone, Darrell Griffith, Magic Johnson as high schoolers. LeBust James is no where close to these guys at the same point in time. He will get banged around in the pros. Right now he is highly distracted, has no humility and has a great penchant for accepting and following bad advise. Bombs away!!!
LeBron has fully matured. He has a 28-year-old body who happens to be an 18-year-old kid. His body will not mature much more so therefore his skills have limited upside (other than maybe a better shooter). His skills carrying over to the NBA will not shine as much as people think. Anthony on the other hand looks (physically and in the face) like he is a freshman. His body and his skills have so much more upside, plus he has played on a much higher level. Go with Anthony.
Oh, to have the second pick! Talk about win-win! If LeBron goes #1, Anthony or Milicic make a great consolation prize. If LeBron is still available at #2, you take him and then let the team that passed on him live with the "Sam Bowie" factor.
LeBron is unquestionably the number one pick. The second his name is called, the team that drafts him will sell 5,000 season tickets. As good as Carmelo Anthony is, he doesn't attract that type of attention. The reason why a team like the Cavs or the Nuggets are most likely to nab the number one pick is because they are franchises is disarray. One step on the road to become an elite franchise is filling the arena. LeBron will do that and then some.
Without a doubt LeBron James will become the number one pick. But he is not the number one player. If I were a GM, I would pick Carmelo Anthony at the top spot. LeBron is definitely a great athlete, but he has not proved himself. Anthony more than proved himself throughout the college season and in the NCAA tournament. He was led by a great coach who used Anthony's natural talent to make him a better player and leader. LeBron is just an ankle or wrist injury waiting to happen. Sure he has potential, but we all know Anthony has a better chance to be successful. I mean come on, LeBron played against high schoolers while Anthony played against some of the best college players in the nation.
It's silly to argue about whether LeBron James deserves to be the No. 1 pick, because: A) He's going to be; and B) It'll be years before anyone can make an accurate assessment of whether he should have been. Frankly, I'm not even sure it matters anymore who gets picked No. 1. If you blow it, like the Clippers did a few years ago with Olawakandi, you can just make a few trades and pick up an Elton Brand or an Andre Miller and, presumably, become a playoff contender (The Clips notwithstanding). If you nail it, like the Magic did with Shaq, you still run the risk of losing the guy a few years down the road.
Would an NBA owner hire a straight-A high school student to run the business end of their franchise? I think not. Why, then, does it make sense to hire a high school basketball phenomenon to save the sporting end of a franchise? Basing LeBron's talent level on his waxing of high school stars before ever seeing him compete against collegiate-level athletes, much less NBA players, is ludicrous. It also conjures two sobering words: Kwame Brown.
I say pick LeBron. His athleticism and ball handling skills allow him to get out in transition and finish on the break and hit the offensive boards in the NBA, immediately. I mean right now. If he picks up decent defensive skills he will be at least as good as Shawn Marion, Doug Christie, or Desmond Mason, and that is if he never develops a consistent jump shot. I personally see this kid evolving into a Tracy McGrady-Kobe Bryant mold, only with better court vision. Its all guess work now, but ask yourself this question: Who was better at this point in their basketball career than LeBron is now? Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and maybe no one else. The only question is does LeBron want to get better and quite frankly that is a question all rookies will have to answer in practice and during the off season every year of their career. So I say draft the most talented guy. Draft LeBron.
I know with my last name you may think I am coming to the defense of Lebron. I don't think I am a relative but it would be nice to be about now. I think a lot of people included some sports writers take the Lebron thing too far. He's a great talent and it's not his fault people are willing to pay him $100 million before he steps on the court or that the whole league and sports world has become adorned with him. I don't think he will take all this too seriously, do I think he's enjoying it? Yes, who wouldn't at 18. I say give the young man a chance and stop praying that he fails. I never understand people that have a tendency to hate greatest.
The LeBron James situation is nearly identical to the Michael Vick sweepstakes from a few years ago. Certainly, there are a number of teams for whom drafting another player (such as Carmelo or Darko) would be more beneficial, but when it comes down to it, if the team holding the first selection is unsure whether LeBron is in fact the top talent in the draft pool, there will be another team willing to trade away a good amount of proven NBA talent for LeBron's services. In particular, I imagine the Cavs would be willing to part ways with their certain top-5 pick, Darius Miles, and perhaps a young big man such as DeSagana Diop or Chris Mihm in order to get the big point guard they desperately need in order to make the Dajuan Wagner 2-guard experiment work.
Call me crazy but if I had the first pick, I would trade down and go for the proven player with the most experience such as Nick Collison. LeBron has the potential but will take years to develop. Look what Tayshaun Prince did this year in the playoffs. A senior will produce results right away.
Go with the big man Milicic. Dominant big men are too hard to find, and it's not hard to fill Lebron's position with a 20 ppg type (without the hype). The hype around Jordan doomed the Wizards, and this guy will hurt his team as well - at least for a couple of years.
The American players James and Anthony will take years to develop and will likely cause more problems than they solve for the duration of their rookie contracts. This means that whomever drafts them will not reap any benefits until they win a free agent bidding war. European playes are ready to go, today. Look at Gasol, Parker, or any of the other dozen impact players coming from Europe. Milicic will make an immediate contribution. He won't need to work on his J or figure out how to play team offense and defense. These tools are already his. Milicic is the no-brainer in this draft.
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