Toronto wanted Marcus Williams

The topic of the Suns passing on both their picks in the 2006 draft has been done to death. But nothing is too dead to bring up for a revaluation. The most pressing need for the Suns this season was a backup PG for Nash. Coach Antoni had stubbornly persisted with Leandro Barbosa till last season, with very poor results.

The guys in this year's draft I was hoping the Suns would use their No. 21 and 27 picks were Marcus Williams, Jordan Farmar, Sergio Rodriguez, Sefolosha and to a lesser extent Rajon Rondo. For some reason, the Suns were not too keen on Marcus, Farmar and Rondo. The rap on Marcus and Rondo was their lack of athleticism and shooting ability respectively. Having gone to a Big East school I had seen Marcus play felt this kid really had it in him to be a future Suns PG. Almost the entire NBA went with body fat % and other such stupid numbers as indicators of Marcus' lack of potential and he slid all the way to 22nd in the draft where the Nets lapped him up.

Ultimately we did pick Rondo and Rodriguez, only to trade one of them to Boston and sell the other to Portland.

I saw a link to this very interesting war room video in basketballjones [via truehoop]. Apparently Bryan Colangelo was bullish on Marcus Williams and tried very hard to acquire him. Check this video out to watch Bryan Colangelo grapple to get Marcus.



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Around the League - Thursday

Hawks' Marvin breaks hand [AJC]
"Second-year Hawks forward Marvin Williams broke the third metacarpal on his left hand in practice Thursday and will be out of for six to eight weeks."

Did someone just yell "Hooray 2007 draft !"?

LeBron high-fives Roethlisberger during game [cleveland.com]
"Among those rooting for the MVP-to-be was Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who sat in the front row at midcourt. Roethlisberger watched his good friend sail in for one driving dunk in the first quarter. And when James slipped along the baseline for a second slam 27 seconds later, Big Ben couldn't help but grin and hold out a hand for James to slap as he raced down the court."

Stern wants players to leave guns at home [ESPN]
"It's a pretty, I think, widely accepted statistic that if you carry a gun, your chances of being shot by one increase dramatically"

Phil Jackson almost ready for opener, Bryant likely to miss [FOX Sports]

LA becoming Clippers town [FOX Sports]
"It was great if we could get a win for us and our fans," Brand recalled. How about now? "We expect to get a win against anybody in the league," he said.

NBA news, 24/7 on Sirius [nba.com]
"The NBA and SIRIUS Satellite Radio, announced today a new exclusive programming lineup on NBA Radio on SIRIUS, channel 127, the first 24/7, year-round radio channel devoted to the NBA."

Friend of Jamaal Tinsley faces charges in strip-club fight [USA Today]
"A court commissioner entered a not-guilty plea to misdemeanor charges of battery, disorderly conduct and possession of marijuana on behalf of Raymel Mattocks, 29, of Brooklyn, N.Y., a friend of point guard Jamaal Tinsley, who was also at Club Rio early on October 6."


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