No, there aren’t any LeBron’s by any stretch of the imagination. The 2006 NBA Draft does not seem to have a consensus #1 overall pick and offers many more uncertainties than sure things. The current draft class is a lot less top heavy than it has been in the recent past and franchise players may be few and far between. This is the first year with the new drafting rule of eliminating high schoolers from the mix. The 2006 draft is more balanced in terms of talent. Therefore, as FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman writes, Wednesday night’s draft will offer it’s fair share of mystery and nobody really knows who is going where and when.
“I wouldn’t characterize it as weak, but more balanced,” said longtime agent Bill Duffy, whose client list includes Steve Nash, Carmelo Anthony and Yao Ming. “It’s not top heavy. There’s no LeBron or Greg Oden. Many teams feel that there’s so much parity from one to five and that having the first pick in a draft like this is a curse.”
“This is the most uncertain draft I’ve ever seen,” added Duffy, who represents point guards Marcus Williams and Rajon Rondo in this year’s draft. “I don’t recall a guy being mentioned going anywhere from one to five. It’s usually pretty clear at the top.”
The consensus is that Bargnani, Aldridge, Morrison, Tyrus Thomas, Rudy Gay and Brandon Roy are the top half-dozen players in the draft. However, no one has any idea — including NBA teams — if those will be the top six that come off the board on Wednesday night.
Unlike in the NFL, you can’t always get a franchise player in the first round of the NBA Draft. Most of it is so hit and miss anyway that you rarely know exactly what you’re getting. However, this year’s draft does pose some intriguing elements. Because of the deep and balanced pool of talent, it’s possible for a player projected in the mid first round to slip to the second, or even vice versa. The unpredictability in itself will make this year’s draft all that more interesting and exciting.
