Draft Night 2010

Making the trip to Conseco Fieldhouse tonight to cover my second straight NBA Draft. Since a basketball arena isn’t the most exciting place without well, basketball, I figured I’d write updates on the blog to pass the time.

7:15 PM: Just arrived at the media room. Setting up my laptop, getting ready for a long night of watching a scrolling ticker at the bottom of a screen. TV set up here is pretty brutal, five 20-inch tube sets with no good view from where I’m sitting. Oh well, at least there’s free pizza.

7:22 PM: Draft is minutes away. Should be an interesting night. Can’t remember a more anticipated draft for the Pacers. At this point a straight-up pick at No. 10 would be a complete letdown.

7:37 PM: Wall to the Wiz. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

7:43 PM: And Turner goes No. 2 to the Sixers… no surprises here. Not sure how he fits in with swingman Andre Iguodala already in place, but I can’t fault Philly for the pick. Definitely the second-best player in college basketball. Turner’s Big Ten tourney sold me.

7:48 PM: This is where it gets interesting. What will the Nets do at No. 3?

7:49 PM: NJ picks Derrick Favors. The rumor of the Pacers sending Granger and the No. 10 to the Nets for Devin Harris and the No. 3 goes up in flames. Gotta say I expected more out of New Jersey’s James Bond villain owner. Figured he would shake things up a bit.

8:00 PM: Wow, Wesley Johnson and DeMarcus Cousins go 4-5 to the Wolves and Kings. Every mock draft writer in the country is looking like a genius right now. I wonder what will last longer: the draft going on without a trade or the pizza supply. The media horde looks pretty hungry…

8:07 PM: Warriors take Epke Udoh and Pistons go for Greg Monroe. I really think Monroe is a good fit for the Pistons, he gives them some much-needed size in the frontcourt. Things are getting interesting. Is Hayward next?

8:19 PM: No Hayward, Clippers take Al-Farouq Aminu.

8:25 PM: Perhaps the biggest temptation of Bird’s career as Pacers GM is gone. Hayward to the Jazz. It’s definitely for the best, Hayward should love playing for Jerry Sloan.

8:30 PM: It’s Paul George. Don’t like it. Don’t want to judge George right away, but he plays the same SG/SF/PF position as Dunleavy, Rush, Granger, and Murphy. He shoots the three and doesn’t play defense. Why pick him?? He wasn’t even first team All-WAC. I’m hoping I’m wrong.

8:31 PM: Does anyone else find it hilarious that the only guy reacting to the Pacers’ pick in the New York crowd is wearing a 1994 Reggie Miller jersey?

8:41 PM: First trade of the night: New Orleans’ draft pick Cole Aldrich and Morris Peterson to OKC for the 18 and 21 picks. Bad news: there goes Indiana’s Eric Maynor trade. Worse news: the pizza supply is gone.

8:57 PM: Just got back from the Jim O’Brien press conference. He rejected any questions about potential trades, saying George was drafted “for us.” Someone has to be on the way out. George is essentially Murphy, Dunleavy, and Rush – he shoots the three-pointer and doesn’t play defense. I’m guessing Murphy is a goner.

9:23 PM: Interesting that Bird went against his usual preference of picking experienced, four-year seniors. I guess that’s the way it is in the NBA now, you don’t draft a player for what he’s done, but what he can become. That’s nice and all, but who is going to play point guard??

Pacers have some options on draft night

Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.

For a franchise that’s hit rock bottom with horrid contracts, bad decisions, and stupid off-court incidents, the Indiana Pacers go into Thursday’s draft with plenty of options.

Bird needs to hit a home run in this year's draft.

They hold a valuable pick at No. 10. They’ve reportedly been active in trade talks. They suddenly find themselves with players who’ve gone from overpaid stiffs (Mike Dunleavy, T.J. Ford, Jeff Foster) to the NBA equivalent of gold (expiring contracts).

One good draft night won’t erase a half-decade of blunders, but Thursday could be an important step in the right direction. I have no clue what the Pacers will ultimately do — does anyone? — but here are some of their options.

Use the pick
Boring, but safe.

The Pacers could go the Bill Polian route, taking the “best player available.” Unfortunately that would probably mean point-guard starved Indiana would take a big man.

Plenty of talented forwards have worked out for the Pacers — Baylor’s Epke Udoh, North Carolina’s Ed Davis, and Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson to name a few — but the real difference-makers would be off the board. You can’t help but think one of those guys would just be another role player in the mold of last year’s pick, Tyler Hansbrough.

The Pacers don’t need another role player, they need a home run.

If Kansas forward Cole Aldrich falls to them, fans will storm Conseco
Fieldhouse with torches and pitchforks.

Trade up
I don’t see this happening.

While it would be nice to sucker Philadelphia into a deal for the No. 2 selection and take Ohio State’s Evan Turner, I don’t think the Pacers could offer anything a team higher up the board would want without parting with Danny Granger.

But Pacer fans can dream, can’t they?

Trade down
An attractive option.

The last thing the Pacers want to do is overvalue a prospect that has no business being a lottery pick. They got burned last year, reaching on the NCAA’s golden boy (Hansbrough) at No. 13.

The Pacers obviously need a guard, but this year’s draft isn’t very top-heavy at that position. Kentucky’s Eric Bledsoe, Texas’ Avery Bradley, and Kansas’ Xavier Henry should be available mid to late first round. If they find a trading partner desperate enough, the Pacers could
pick up multiple first-rounders later in the draft for the No. 10 and fill needs without having to reach.

Good deal.

Trade out of the draft
This would be my choice.

No rookie point guard outside of John Wall would give the Pacers a chance to win now. Indiana could pry a veteran point guard from Denver (Ty Lawson) or New Orleans (Darren Collison). The Pacers have also been rumored to be interested in San Antonio’s Tony Parker, but they should go after another Spur — George Hill.

Parker would be a one-year rental at best, there’s no way he’d re-sign after next season. I spent more than a few nights covering Hill’s IUPUI teams, and he can play when given the opportunity. His NBA career averages aren’t staggering (9.1 ppg, 2.3 apg) but for a player who nobody thought would be a first-rounder two years ago on a team with an established point guard, those numbers are impressive. Just the fact that Hill’s play has made the Spurs consider what was once unthinkable, trading Parker, says a lot.

The Pacers whiffed by passing on Hill two years ago. This is your second chance Larry, make it happen.

Franchitti wins second Indy 500

INDIANAPOLIS — Nothing could stop Dario Franchitti Sunday.

Not even a low fuel tank.

Dario Franchitti wins again.

Pit strategy came into play late in the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500 when the leaders were running dry, but a violent last-lap crash involving Ryan Hunter-Reay and Mike Conway – who went airborne – sucked all the drama out of the finish.

Franchitti led 155 of 200 laps and held off former teammate Dan Wheldon under yellow to win the race for the second time in his career.

Franchitti had just 1.6 gallons of fuel left.

“This tastes just as good the second time,” said Franchitti, the 2007 winner. “Up until 10 laps to go, I was pretty relaxed. Then all hell broke loose with fuel savings and all.”

Starting from the pole, defending champion Helio Castroneves attempted to become just the fourth four-time winner in the history of the race.

He nearly pulled it off, leading Franchitti by more than five seconds with eight laps to go.

But Castroneves was forced to pit to replenish fuel, and Franchitti grabbed the lead for good on Lap 192. Castroneves – who finished ninth – made his previous pit stop on Lap 150, while Franchitti waited until Lap 163. After the race, winning owner Chip Ganassi stressed the importance of smart pit strategy.

“A lot of guys are kicking themselves because they ended up with more fuel after the race,” Ganassi said. “The worst thing you can do is come in second or third and have fuel left in your tank that you didn’t use.”

The 2005 champion Wheldon finished runner-up for the second consecutive year after starting 18th. Third-place finisher Marco Andretti also emerged from the middle of the pack, as he started the day 16th.

“Second two years in a row is not good,” Wheldon said. “I’ve got to make sure I improve that one more spot next year. We came up a little short but it was still a fantastic result.”

Alex Lloyd and Franchitti’s teammate Scott Dixon rounded out the top five. Tony Kanaan, who slided into the 33rd starting spot after a dramatic day of qualifying, ran as high as second and finished 11th. Fuel was also major factor for Kanaan, who trailed Franchitti by just .3858 of a second with five laps to go but had to stop to refill on the next lap.

Kanaan was attempting to become the race’s first driver to start last and finish first.

“We took a gamble,” Kanaan said. “It could have gone the other way. We could have gotten the lead and won the race, and we could brag about it for the rest of my life. I hope I made it exciting out there.”

Franchitti’s win was the 14th of his seven years in the IndyCar Series. The victory also made Ganassi the first owner ever to win both the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Daytona 500 in the same year.