Time flies. More than a month has passed since the 2006 NBA draft ... and the last update to this blog. A lot has happened in July (free agency signings, summer leagues, Team USA tryouts), and many other NBA bloggers have been keeping busy despite the fact that we have entered the dog days of the NBA offseason.
I'll look at general offseason trends in a later post, but for now, here are the 2006 draftees who are generating the most discussion among NBA bloggers:
Ranked #1 in NBA.com Rookie Rankings ... named MVP of Vegas Summer League after averaging 24.8 points and 4.2 rebounds ... "by far the most dynamic and highly skilled basketball player to come out of the 2006 NBA draft" (warriorsworld.net) ... "excitement for Randy Foye is getting higher, even though he hasn’t played one minute of NBA basketball yet" (Wolves Watch). |
Named to Orlando Summer League All Tournament Team after averaging 24.6 points (Bobcat Bonfire) ... practiced with Team USA for 5 days before being cut ... could use a haircut and a shave (Need4Sheed.com). |
Drafted #1 overall by the Raptors ... made Villanueva expendable because he's "an inch taller, weighs more and is a year younger than Charlie" (The Basketball Jones) ... averaged 13.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in the Vegas Summer League. |
Pulled out of Team USA's training camp for "problems with his back and a breathalyzer" (Deadspin) ... with "Kirk Hinrich in, J.J. Redick out. Team USA just got a lot more likeable. And, well, better" (Three for All) ... prediction: "in 2009, he'll be playing Trajan Langdon's team for the Euroleague championship" (Basketbawful). |
Has already inspired a "Bench Renaldo" blog ... might have been selected to improve the Knicks' chances of landing LeBron down the road (True Hoop) ... delivered a nice facial over 2 summer-league Cavs (video via YAYSports! NBA). |
According to Jerry West, he's "the most talented player in the draft," and "has the ability to be an All-Star player every year" (Beyond the Arc) ... in his first summer league game, he "looked like a prototype three for the NBA game" (True Hoop) ... the "Rockets played the part of Santa Claus this draft by trading Rudy Gay and Stromile Swift to Memphis for Shane Battier. A role player swap, with a lottery pick...thrown in?!?" (Basketbawful). |
Averaged 10.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 2.2 steals in Vegas league play ... the "third best prospect to come out of this years draft (that played in vegas)" (warriorsworld.net ) ... could be "the new 'Glove'" (LOY's PLACE) ... or maybe just "Orien Greene with a better college pedigree" (Celtics Doom) |
Vegas summer league stats impressive (19.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists), but so were Travis Outlaw's last year (BLAZERSBLOG) ... instantly won over some Adam Morrison fans (Blazer Thoughts) ... "is a mesmerizing player to watch, especially when he drives" (Behind the Blazers Beat). |
Averaged 11.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks in the Vegas Summer League ... was "pretty disappointing in terms of where he was selected in the draft" (warriorsworld.net) ... "game is actually quite smooth and polished ... just needs time to make the adjustment, especially with his body" (Blazer Thoughts). |
Averaged 16.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in the Orlando Summer League ... "may actually be a version of what [Tyson Chandler] was supposed to be ... best comparison is probably Antonio McDyess before the injuries" (Blog a Bull) ... "hard to get enthusiastic about this one ... been hearing nothing but comparisons to fellow LSU alma mater Stromile Swift, and that's hardly a compliment" (Basketbawful once again). |
Details for the top 30 most-mentioned prospects appear in the following table. The Blogs column indicates how many different blogs referenced the player, and the Posts column indicates how many different posts from those blogs referenced him.
Most-Discussed 2006 NBA Draftees
(sorted by blog references between 7/1/06 and 7/30/06)
| Rank | Player | Blogs | Posts |
| 1. | Randy Foye | 27 | 53 |
| 2. | Adam Morrison | 24 | 34 |
| 3. | Andrea Bargnani | 22 | 35 |
| 4. | J.J. Redick | 20 | 28 |
| 5. | Renaldo Balkman | 19 | 29 |
| 6. | Rudy Gay | 17 | 24 |
| 7. | Rajon Rondo | 15 | 44 |
| 8. | Brandon Roy | 15 | 34 |
| 9. | LaMarcus Aldridge | 15 | 30 |
| 10. | Tyrus Thomas | 14 | 18 |
| 11. | Leon Powe | 13 | 36 |
| 12. | Marcus Williams | 11 | 14 |
| 13. | Mike Hall | 11 | 11 |
| 14. | Cheick Samb | 10 | 39 |
| 15. | Mouhamed Saer Sene | 10 | 33 |
| 16. | Allan Ray | 10 | 23 |
| 17. | Patrick O'Bryant | 9 | 23 |
| 18. | Shelden Williams | 9 | 14 |
| 19. | Thabo Sefolosha | 9 | 13 |
| 20. | Maurice Ager | 8 | 27 |
| 21. | Kevin Pittsnogle | 8 | 20 |
| 22. | Sergio Rodriguez | 8 | 12 |
| 23. | Hilton Armstrong | 8 | 11 |
| 24. | Cedric Simmons | 8 | 10 |
| 25. | Daniel Gibson | 8 | 10 |
| 26. | Rodney Carney | 7 | 20 |
| 27. | Nik Caner-Medley | 7 | 19 |
| 28. | Quincy Douby | 7 | 14 |
| 29. | Taj Gray | 7 | 10 |
| 30. | P.J. Tucker | 7 | 9 |
Comments[0]
Posted by jgurney on July 30, 2006 11:57:19 PM PDT