The 2012 NBA Draft: A Fan’s Journey

                             

This past Thursday, I had the privilege of attending the NBA Draft at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. The environment was very interesting, and not something I expected from years of watching it on television. There were all sorts of fans in attendance, even fans of teams as small and as far away from NJ as the Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, and Toronto Raptors. The atmosphere was also intriguing. David Stern didn’t walk two steps before accepting an onslaught of relentless boos. I almost felt bad for him. But with Veto-gate, his handling of the Hornets, and antagonizing those in attendance with “Miami Heat = Champions” jokes, it’s hard to be on the guy’s side. After watching some of the videos after the fact, it’s amazing how that noise was dulled down on television. Being there in person, it felt like everyone was booing Stern, almost at a deafening tone. Luckily, this didn’t go on for the whole draft, as fans seemed to get winded after the fifth pick or so.

There were some very interesting and notable differences between being there in person and watching the event on TV. The perspective of the stage was a clear contrast to the perspective ESPN broadcasts. We sat upstairs looking at center stage, which is the equivalent of sitting behind the basket at a game. With all of the equipment needed to televise the draft, very little room was left to see everything clearly. On the bright side, we were sitting about 30 feet from where Ric Bucher and Andy Katz provide information on trades and other possible transactions. Luckily, we had the chance to move downstairs for the second round, as at least half of the fans in attendance left in droves after pick #30. From then on, Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver announced the rest of the picks, and was welcomed with open arms by the fans. There’s no vitriol or hatred towards Silver. To us, he just seems like a nice, nerdy-looking guy doing his job professionally, opposite to the view many have of Stern. Instead of tormenting fans with the mentioning of Miami’s recent championship, Silver decided to open by saying “hello to the great state of New Jersey,” only further endearing himself to the fans at the Prudential Center. The rest of the second round was fairly uneventful, minus the annual booing of whomever the Knicks draft, this year’s player being a relatively unknown Greek player.

By sitting downstairs, we also got a much better view of the broadcast booth and the draft’s analysts. This was rather enjoyable because we got see some candid moments that only fans in attendance could see, including some chants for Jeff Van Gundy and Ric Bucher. The most fun moment was when teams started drafting a bevy of unknown foreign players, which queued ESPN to turn to international player expert Fran Fraschilla. Fraschilla was very candid and affable with fans close to the booth, including one such occasion when a foreign player was selected and he gave a noticeable “meh” hand gesture to fans before talking on-air. He talked positively about the player on camera, but it was clear to fans close to the stage that Franschilla wasn’t a huge fan of the pick.  

As for the draft itself, I liked most of the selections in the first round. Dion Waiters was a surprise at #4 for Cleveland, but after not being able to trade up with Charlotte to select Bradley Beal, the Cavs clearly wanted a scoring guard. There were also audible gasps in the crowd when Terrence Ross was picked at #8 by the Raptors, as he was projected to go about 5 picks later than he was taken. Fans that attend the draft are clearly informed about what experts think will happen beforehand, so deviations and surprises were audibly noticed. It was somewhat disappointing the no big trades went down. The Houston Rockets had 3 first round picks and were looking to make a move and trade up (or maybe trade for Dwight Howard?), but they ended up keeping all of them. Fortunately, they made 3 solid picks on players who have significant potential. It will be interesting to see how the Rockets proceed in the offseason with so many young assets on their roster.

As a Celtics fan, I was cautiously optimistic about who they chose. Jared Sullinger was a surefire lottery pick before back problems scared teams away, so taking him at #22 was a great value pick. His post game should be a welcome addition off the bench. Their other selection, Fab Melo, was also a risky pick. Melo faced maturity and academic issues at Syracuse, and with his limited experience playing basketball, it’s hard to project what he might become. On the other hand, he does have incredible size and great defensive ability, something the Celtics desperately lacked since trading starting center Kendrick Perkins last year. Both players will have a great mentor in Kevin Garnett, who recently signed on for three more years in Boston.

Going to the draft was certainly a unique experience that I will never forget. If anyone is interested in attending, the ticket prices are very reasonable. If you're a big NBA fan, I highly recommend going, if only to see the stage setup and experience the wildly entertaining crowd in person.