Wow. I can openly admit that I was completely wrong about the draft status concerning Dejuan Blair, mostly because everyone out there was wrong as well. Draft boards had him anywhere from 10 to 22, but I had a feeling it would be around the mid-teens. Yet, the Big Fella dropped all the way from the first round, only to be drafted 37th by the San Antonio Spurs. There is a consensus that Blair's knees caused the fall, because he aced every part of his pre-draft workout-we're talking interviews, shooting, weightloss, etc.
Teams seemed to collectively have been looking for a player that they can develop in the next few years, with the selections of Earl Clark, Terrence Williams, James Johnson, and Jrue Holiday coming early. These athletes are not impact players nor are they immediate starters. Instead, these guys have the youth and athletic ability to raise their chances of being a contributor in 2 or 3 years. But it's still a big chance. Odds are that one of these ballers-if that, will become a high caliber starter in 3 years-especially given the lack of a specific talent in their college games.
Although Blair's knees do pose fair concern, it's not something to jump over, only to get a guy solely with athletic ability and physical attributes-for example Portland's pick of Spain's Victor Claver-with the 6-11 frame the only thing going for him . Or maybe the Cavs' selection of Christian Eyenga from the Congo, standing at 6-6 with very raw offensive ability and almost nothing to contribute for now.
I can't help but wonder if these teams are going to regret not selecting Blair, especially when their picks are on the bench while he gets starting minutes and quality rebounds for a good 2 years.
The Spurs got incredibly lucky, in that their one basic need for their lineup was a quality rebounder, and the best rebounder in the draft-best college offensive rebounder in the last decade-fell into their championship caliber laps. Last year, the Spurs were one of the worst rebounding teams in the NBA, and through this quality pick, they will have addressed that need and more with Blair. Not only do they get his quality rebounds, they also get his strong will to prove the entire NBA wrong, as almost every team passed over him because they doubted him-those doubts based entirely on an X-ray. No injuries in college, no days off and no ice packs-an x-ray.
Look-there is a small possiblity that Blair plays 3 or 4 years and starts to decend into wobbly knee syndrom. However, teams should've taken that small risk, given that the players they drafted instead have the same chance of actually producing as much as he will have in those years. In fact, they could be looking at a guy with a ring or two on his hand. Oh-and one other thing. I can't wait to see Blair face off against Thabeet on a monthly basis-they're in the same division, and we will see how the #2 pick fares against those doubted knees.
I'll end this one with a quote from #45
""I think its the perfect situation for me. All the teams that didnt pick me I’m gonna make you regret it. I’m with the Spurs. I can’t wait to get down there to San Antonio. The Spurs are the one team that believed in me, and since they believed in me, ima give them 1000 percent."
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