NBA DRAFT
L AWRENCE J OURNAL -W ORLD
Friday, June 29, 2012
Kings could use T-Rob’s help SACRAMENTO, CALIF. (AP) — Kansas University’s Thomas Robinson was considered perhaps the most NBA-ready player in the draft and the Sacramento Kings need plenty of immediate help after missing the playoffs for a sixth straight season. While Anthony Davis was the expected No. 1 pick, Robinson was in the running to go as high as second, but the Kings were fortunate he fell to their spot at the fifth pick. “It kind of went based on team needs,” Robinson said. “The teams that
skipped me didn’t need me at that position. The Kings took a chance on me and took me at five. I’m going to make the best of it.” The Kings are coming off another disappointing season, finishing the shortened campaign 2244 to miss the postseason once again. Coach Paul Westphal was fired after just seven games and replaced by Keith Smart, who will be back for his first full season next year. With a run of high draft picks, the Kings have some pieces already in
place, most notably center DeMarcus Cousins, who averaged 18.1 points and 11 rebounds per game in his second season. Tyreke Evans, the 2010 Rookie of the Year, had career lows with 16.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, and ended the season as a small forward after playing point guard for his first two seasons. Isaiah Thomas, the final pick of last year’s draft, took over the starting point guard role and averaged 11.5 points per game. He was much more effec-
tive than first-round pick Jimmer Fredette, who averaged 7.6 points per game and shot 39 percent from the field. Robinson will provide a big boost defensively to the team that allowed the most points per game in the NBA last season. “They’re a talented team with Tyreke at the guard spot and DeMarcus down low,” Robinson said. “I’ll try to build them up with rebounding and energy.” Sacramento later sold its second-round pick to Indiana.
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There was more than the on-the-court aspect of Robinson’s fit in Sacramento that made his night, though. The Kings and Jayla share a favorite color. “She likes purple,” said Robinson, his signature smile outshining the tracks of his tears. “And now I love it.” As for Jayla, she now has a new team to root for and was not afraid to show it. With a brand new Kings hat on top of her freshly done hair, the only little girl in the green room made her allegiances known. “I love the Sacramento Kings,” she said. Asked for her feelings about the huge hug she shared with her brother, Jayla approved of that, too. “It was goooooood,” she said with an endless smile. In being selected fifth, Robinson joined Wayne Hightower (also fifth, in 1961) as the fourthhighest KU draft pick of all-time. Danny Manning was taken No. 1 overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in 1988. A decade later, Raef LaFrentz went third to Denver. And, in 2002, Memphis took Drew Gooden at No. 4. The Washington, D.C. native, became the 10th Jayhawk drafted in the lottery since 2000, which leads the nation. “To think where he was when he came, and all the
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a hug between Davis and Kidd-Gilchrist after the first selection. “My arm was shaking and my hands were sweaty. Got up and hugged Michael, my best friend, wanted to hug him for a minute,” Davis said. “When my name got called, wanted to make sure he stayed close.” He did — following Davis as the next player to climb onto the stage and shake Commissioner David Stern’s hand. Kentucky got its fourth first-round pick at No. 29 with Marquis Teague, another freshman, who is headed to Chicago as a possible replacement for the injured Derrick Rose. Doron Lamb went 42nd to Milwaukee and Darius Miller was 46th to New Orleans. Davis will begin his pro career in the same city where he ended it with a national title. College basketball’s player of the year as a freshman was the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four despite shooting just 1 for 10 from the field in the championship game, grabbing 16 rebounds and blocking six shots in the victory over Kansas. Davis slipped on a blue and purple Hornets hat above a conservative gray suit that took no attention away from basketball’s most famous eyebrow. Davis even attempted to capitalize on the attention his unibrow gets, trademarking “Fear The Brow”
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“Don’t try to be great or do anything exceptional. Just go be who you are. Because who he is is plenty good enough to make that team.” Taylor called the opportunity to go to the Nets “a blessing.” “I feel like I have the opportunity anyway because of what I can bring for a team. I can defend,” Taylor said. “Being a fouryear player at a university like Kansas, I think, gives me a step up in competition of coming into the league ready — ready to play right now.” Brooklyn general manager King said the Nets had targeted Taylor for a while before buying the pick from Portland. “We had him on our board pretty high,” King said. “We were trying to get a young point guard that we could groom. We liked his pedigree and his ability to play in big games. Once we started to slide, we made the move to get him. We liked his overall play as a point guard and we think his best basketball is ahead of him. We like his decision making and his size. He knows what it takes to be successful. “He’s played with a lot of talented players in the past and that makes you a better player.” Self admitted to being proud when both Taylor and Thomas Robinson were drafted Thursday
We liked his overall play as a point guard and we think his best basketball is ahead of him. We like his decision making and his size. He knows what it takes to be successful.” — Brooklyn Nets general manager Billy King on newly drafted point guard Tyshawn Taylor because of both players’ circumstances. Both, he said, had persevered through rough times. “Tyshawn goes from being the most criticized guy that I’ve coached — period — to now, ‘How in the world can we play without him?’ and every fan feels the same way,” Self said. “Thomas basically having no one in his life and having to be a man on his own and that kind of stuff to maturing and being an unbelievable ambassador for our university. It’s really cool how both of them handled their situations.” Self said both players ended up in good locations. “I know what drives them both: It drives them nuts to think that somebody thinks that somebody’s better than them,” Self said. “So I don’t think the draft could have gone much better for either one of them from a script standpoint.”
Bill Kostroun/AP Photo
BOSTON CELTICS HEAD COACH DOC RIVERS, LEFT, GREETS former Kansas University forward Thomas Robinson, who was selected by the Sacramento Kings with the fifth overall pick in the NBA draft on Thursday in Newark, N.J. things he’s been through, and to see that he is going to be able to provide for his family in ways he could only dream of going into this season is remarkable,” KU coach Bill Self said. “I’m so happy for him, and I’m happy for Jayla.” Later in the draft, former KU guard Tyshawn Taylor was picked 41st by the Brooklyn Nets, by way of the Portland Trail Blazers, giving the Jayhawks 14 total selections under Self and seven total draft picks in the past three years. Two of those sev-
en, twins Markieff (13th in 2011) and Marcus Morris (14th in 2011), were in the Prudential Center stands supporting their former teammate on Thursday night. “I’m basically just real happy for him,” Markieff said of Robinson. “He was texting me the whole time telling me he was nervous and I just kept telling him to stay calm and trust that he would be picked where he was supposed to be picked.” If that didn’t work, the Morris twins had a little
extra help from a woman very familiar with the arena’s green room. Angel Morris, who vowed to look after Robinson and Jayla after the passing of Robinson’s mother, Lisa, in early 2011, sat proudly at Robinson’s table, just as she did a year ago with her own sons. “It’s special, man,” Marcus said. “She’s a strong lady, and she’s been that way my whole life. She’s always taken people in and tried to make their lives better. She’s a mother — a great mother.”
2012 NBA DRAFT SELECTIONS Thursday at The Prudential Center Newark, N.J. First Round 1. New Orleans, Anthony Davis, F, Kentucky. 2. Charlotte, Michael KiddGilchrist, F, Kentucky. 3. Washington, Bradley Beal, G, Florida. 4. Cleveland, Dion Waiters, G, Syracuse. 5. Sacramento, Thomas Robinson, F, Kansas. 6. Portland (from Brooklyn), Damian Lillard, G, Weber State. 7. Golden State, Harrison Barnes, G, North Carolina. 8. Toronto, Terrence Ross, G, Washington. 9. Detroit, Andre Drummond, F-C, Connecticut. 10. New Orleans (from Minnesota via L.A. Clippers), Austin Rivers, G, Duke. 11. Portland, Meyers Leonard, C, Illinois. 12. Houston (from Milwaukee), Jeremy Lamb, G, Connecticut. 13. Phoenix, Kendall Marshall, G, North Carolina. 14. Milwaukee (from Houston), John Henson, F-C, North Carolina. 15. Philadelphia, Maurice Harkless, F, St. John’s. 16. Houston (from New York), Royce White, F, Iowa State. 17. a-Dallas, Tyler Zeller, C, North Carolina. 18. Houston (from Minnesota via Utah), Terrence Jones, F, Kentucky. 19. Orlando, Andrew Nicholson, C, St. Bonaventure. 20. Denver, Evan Fournier, G-F, Poiters (France). 21. Boston, Jared Sullinger, C, Ohio State. 22. Boston (from L.A. Clippers via Oklahoma City), Fab Melo, C, Syracuse.
and “Raise The Brow” earlier this month. On the floor, Davis has the agility of a guard — and he was one only a few years ago. The 6-foot-10 Davis averaged 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.7 blocks, becoming a dominant defender after growing 7 inches from the start of his junior year of high school. A season after the Hornets traded longtime star Chris Paul, Davis is ready to be their centerpiece. Charlotte, coming off a 7-59 season and the worst
23. Atlanta, John Jenkins, G, Vanderbilt. 24. a-Cleveland (from L.A. Lakers), Jared Cunningham, G, Oregon State. 25. Memphis, Tony Wroten, G, Washington. 26. Indiana, Miles Plumlee, F, Duke. 27. b-Miami, Arnett Moultrie, F-C, Mississippi State. 28. Oklahoma City, Perry Jones, F, Baylor. 29. Chicago, Marquis Teague, G, Kentucky. 30. Golden State (from San Antonio), Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt. Second Round 31. Charlotte, Jeffrey Taylor, F, Vanderbilt. 32. Washington, Tomas Satoransky, Banca Civica (Spain). 33. a-Cleveland, Bernard James, C, Florida State. 34. a-Cleveland (from New Orleans via Miami), Jae Crowder, F, Marquette. 35. Golden State (from Brooklyn), Draymond Green, F, Michigan State. 36. Sacramento, Orlando Johnson, G, UC Santa Barbara. 37. Toronto, Quincy Acy, F, Baylor. 38. Denver (from Golden State via New York), Quincy Miller, F, Baylor. 39. Detroit, Khris Middleton, F, Texas A&M. 40. Portland, Will Barton, G, Memphis. 41. d-Portland (from Minnesota via Houston), Tyshawn Taylor, G, Kansas. 42. Milwaukee, Doron Lamb, G, Kentucky. 43. Atlanta (from Phoenix), Mike Scott, F, Virginia. 44. Detroit (from Houston), Kim English, G, Missouri. 45. b-Philadelphia, Justin Hamilton, C, LSU.
winning percentage in NBA history, had been open to moving the No. 2 pick if it found the right deal. Instead, Michael Jordan’s team went with Kidd-Gilchrist, whose selection by the Bobcats was loudly cheered, a sharp contrast from the boos Stern received when coming out to announce the picks. Florida’s Bradley Beal went third to Washington, making it three SEC freshman in the first three picks. Cleveland followed with the surprisingly early
46. New Orleans (from Washington via Dallas), Darius Miller, F, Kentucky. 47. Utah, Kevin Murphy, G, Tennessee Tech. 48. New York, Kostas Papanikolaou, F, Olympiacos (Greece). 49. Orlando, Kyle O’Quinn, C, Norfolk State. 50. Denver, Izzet Turkyilmaz, F, Banvitspor (Turkey). 51. Boston, Kris Joseph, F, Syracuse. 52. Golden State (from Atlanta), Ognjen Kuzmic, C, Clinicas Rincon (Spain). 53. L.A. Clippers, Furkan Aldemir, Galatasaray (Turkey). 54. Philadelphia (from Memphis), Tornike Shengelia, Spirou (Belgium). 55. Dallas (from L.A. Lakers), Darius Johnson-Odom, G, Marquette. 56. Toronto (from Indiana), Tomislav Zubcic, F, Cibona Zagreb (Croatia). 57. Brooklyn (from Miami), Ilkan Karaman, F, Pinar Karsiyaka (Turkey). 58. Minnesota (from Oklahoma City), Robbie Hummel, F, Purdue. 59. San Antonio, Marcus Denmon, G, Missouri. 60. L.A. Lakers (from Chicago via Milwaukee and Brooklyn), Robert Sacre, C, Gonzaga. Trades a-Dallas traded the rights to the No. 17 selection to Cleveland for the rights to No. 24, No. 33 and No. 34 selections. b-Miami traded the rights to the No. 27 selection to Philadelphia for the rights to the No. 45 selection and a future first-round pick. c-Sacramento traded the rights to the No. 36 selection to Indiana for cash. d-Portland traded the rights to the No. 41 selection to Brooklyn for cash.
pick of Syracuse sixth man Dion Waiters at No. 4. Thomas Robinson of Kansas, who hoped to go second, fell to Sacramento at No. 5. Portland took Weber State’s Damian Lillard at No. 6, and Barnes was taken seventh by Golden State. After Washington’s Terrence Ross went to Toronto and Connecticut’s Andre Drummond to Detroit, the Hornets rounded out the top 10 by taking Duke guard Austin Rivers with a pick they acquired in the Paul trade.
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