Off the Glass

First-rounders look to make splash on fantasy menus

Miami's Caron Butler has been compared to Boston's Paul Pierce, but will Heat coach Pat Riley give him the green light? AP

By Paul Forrester, Special to CNNSI.com

What a dilemma OTG found himself in Wednesday night at New York's Madison Square Garden.

In front of me, the NBA Draft, where the future of rotisserie hoops and my television schedule would be determined over the course of a mere four hours. To my right, celebrity chef Bobby Flay, a man who offered the promise of spice-rubbed pork chops, perhaps for as little as a few kind words.

Oh, the agony! Where to turn my attention? I was there to uncover what picks would have an impact on next season's fantasy squads. I didn't have time to be tempted by thoughts of a full belly. Yet there temptation was, no more than a Yao Ming away.

Speaking of that first pick, at 7-foot-5, Ming could literally stand flat-footed and block three shots a game. Forget about much in the low-post, though, what with his inexperience with the NBA game and with behemoths such as Shaq and Tim Duncan. Still, that height should net him eight or more boards a night and with some range from outside, nobody will be complaining in Houston too much if he nails a few from beyond the 3-point arc.

A first-round roto pick? Nope. But every team needs a center and Ming is a sizable addition to a depleted stock.

With the first pick out of the way, my thoughts drifted to the side dishes I might request of Mr. Flay: garlic mashed potatoes, a creamy polenta, a ... "With the second pick in the NBA Draft, the Chicago Bulls select Jay Williams."

What? I didn't want Williams on the side, and neither will the Bulls. He'll be center stage with the young big guys they've got in Steak City.

With a fearlessness to drive the lane, Williams will only help Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler get better looks at the hoop. The Duke star can also range from downtown and knows what it's like to live up to expectations.

I still have to wonder about that free-throw shooting. Yeah, I know he hit the three to get them into that position against the Indiana Hoosiers, but column supporter the Swami reported that Williams still hadn't found the range from the stripe during a TV segment on the Today show a day before the draft. What's JW going to do when the fans are waving a whole lot more than Al Roker behind the hoop during the season?

With the first two courses ... I mean picks ... I mean, wait, I need a vegetable on the plate of porcine. Perhaps some asparagus drizzled with a little lemon and butter. Or a melange of roasted root vegetables. Or some green beans the size of "Mike Dunleavy"

No, that can't be. I didn't want him on my plate anymore than he will want to play in Golden State after he realizes how many shots Antawn Jamison takes and how much of the offense will be geared toward Jason Richardson. The coach's kid has all-around skills, no doubt, but they will have to take a backseat to the ego that is Jamison.

To be honest, the Drew Gooden and Nikoloz Tskitishvili picks at four and five really didn't crack my concentration on what had now become my ruminations on dessert. Neither selection appeared all too sweet to me.

Only in his late teens, Skita is a few years away from really producing, and Gooden will be forced into a small forward position in an undersized power forward's body in Memphis. Perhaps the best ready-to-play talent on the board at the time, OTG thinks Gooden will have a hard time finding a defined role and has a lot of Danny Manning written all over him. Not that that is a bad thing; it's just not a fourth overall selection thing.

The Dajuan Wagner pick by Cleveland, though, intrigued me. Granted, the Camden, N.J., savior is headed for the shores of Lake Erie, from which OTG hails, but, objectively, Wagner should have some impact. He likes to shoot, he hasn't met a coach yet that could stop him from shooting and Cleveland needs someone who isn't afraid to shoot. A lot will depend on Andre Miller's status and the money the Cavs dole out for free agent Ricky Davis, but Wagner might be worth a look for some supplemental scoring.

Enough of this. I would never be able to concentrate on the hoops happenings unless I told Flay he better get to the kitchen, and right quick. As I summoned the energy to leave my seat, the Nuggets added another future project (Maybyner Hilario), the Clippers added a power forward who may never play for them (Chris Wilcox) and Phoenix added a high-schooler (Amare Stoudemire) who is years away from contributing.

I turned just as Miami selected Paul Pierce, err, Caron Butler.

I'd never get my order in at this rate. Butler has been anointed by just about every human with a pen as the next Paul Pierce, a comparison his selection at No. 10 fueled further. OTG is a little wary about all of those predictions that Butler will run away with the Rookie of the Year trophy.

Unlike Pierce, Butler won't be given the green light to shoot at will. Unlike Pierce, Butler will be the third or fourth option on his team. Unlike Pierce, the coach Butler is suiting up for stresses defense to the detriment of offense.

This isn't to say Butler won't be a solid player and couldn't win the rookie title. It is to say that the system he is walking into will make those accomplishments a bit harder than the situations Jay Williams or Dan Dickau are walking into.

Oh, no! Flay was gone! Not even a frying pan left in his seat. Not a hint of juicy pork on a grill. Not a whiff of garlic being pressed into mashed potatoes.

Only the stench of an odd remainder of a first round, filled with players teams don't need (Melvin Ely to the Clippers, Ryan Humphrey to Orlando) or won't use (Juan Dixon may make for a nice story, but we all remember Bobby Hurley, don't we? Sorry, but winning in college doesn't necessarily translate into winning in the pros. It's an unfair world. I don't always get spice-rubbed pork chops and guys with heart don't always make good pros.)

Only at the end of the round, and via a subsequent trade, did I regain my consciousness. Laugh if you want, but OTG thinks Dan Dickau could do some damage in Hotlanta. The pieces are there; there just hasn't been anyone to get the pieces (Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Jason Terry, a healthy Theo Ratliff) the ball. Now there is.

An hour or so after the last impact pick of the draft I trudged home, starving. I realized that the only entity hungrier than I was that evening was the New York Knicks, who eschewed rebuilding for a last stab at respectability.

If he's healthy, Antonio McDyess offers the Knicks the best power player they've had since Patrick Ewing was in his prime. The relaxed defense the Knicks play under coach Don Chaney should keep McDyess churning out double figures in points and rebounds. But with Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell still in the mix, McDyess' point production is sure to tumble.

In an ideal world, the Knicks would find a way to share the ball between McDyess and a blossoming Kurt Thomas. As we mentioned earlier, life isn't fair, and we get the sense that one of the two big men (cough -- Kurt Thomas -- cough) will be squeezed to the background.

The perception about the Knicks is still grounded in an idea that the team can't score. Toward the end of last season, that idea had flipped 180 degrees.

The Knicks were in the lottery because they couldn't -- make that didn't -- defend. McDyess will help that. A motivated Frank Williams will help that. Allan Houston will not. Nor will Glenn Robinson if Sprewell is traded for him. Of course, big dogs always eat ... unless they're distracted by the NBA Draft.

 

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