Round 2 Review

Round 2:  Nash-Kidd-Pau-Roy-Al-Calderon-Bosh-JoeJ-Billups-Murphy-RayRay

• Loved it:  Pau Gasol - total steal at pick 14 as I had him as a first rounder & the top center eligible.  Only downside is he's slightly dinged (missing game 1) and his team is good enough to let him fully rest until he's 100% but as Hubie would say "His upside is TREMENDOUS!!!".  Honorables to Roy, Big Al & Bosh 3 relatively young players who were solid value picks where they went particularly the center eligibility on 2 of 'em.
• Hated it:  Steve Nash - He's 35 which is an age point guards start to plummet, has a bad back and he's not playing for D'Antoni anymore.  Double-dipping on points to end the draft isn't a bad gimmick, but this was likely the wrong year & the wrong player to make the 12 pick in the draft.  If the back holds up, there's hope, but...Honorables - Jose Calderon - he played less last year, didn't play any better & leaped up to be the 17 pick from 26 last year?  I don't see it, but thought he was a solid mid-3rd rounder.  Troy Murphy - 5 years from now he's the guy most likely to be looked back on where we say "what the heck happened that Troy Murphy went in the 2nd round?"  Can he repeat last year's fantasy success?  Or was that a JERBL franchise-wrecking-type-fluke that Hammers management fell for?
• This May Just Work: Jason Kidd - yah he's actually a little older than Nash so the age criticism holds, but he doesn't have the injury history, he's currently healthy & in a nice fit in Dallas playing up tempo and doing what he does best, distribute the ball on the break.  He doesn't have to score so he can pick his spots and shoot a high % taking wide open shots when D's leave him.  I had him slotted around here, despite it being a pick that scared me (although nearly everyone drafted in the 2nd scared me a little) & feel he was the 2nd round point to get.  Ray Allen another old-timer which is the red flag, particularly for a jump shooter that relies on his legs, but he was great last year (1st round quality season), he buries treys by the bunches, is one of the best FT shooters in the league & doesn't really hurt you anywhere other than maybe blocks.  If he's got another year left, he's the steal of the 2nd round, after Pau.