The Los Angeles Clippers waited to get the player they wanted from the NBA Draft. The Clippers stayed true to the draft pecking order and wound up selecting North Carolina shooting guard Reggie Bullock with the 25th overall pick in the first round.
With his son Austin playing at Duke (now a member of the New Orleans Pelicans), Clippers coach Doc Rivers got a firsthand view of what Bullock can do on the court. Obviously, Rivers likes what he sees in Bullock and what the second-team, All-ACC player can potentially bring to the Clippers.
“I like him, Rivers said. “We targeted him. He was one one of the guys that we wanted. We felt like we needed more shooting. He does that. I love the fact that he is a big program guy. He’s kind of been a guy that understands his role. That’s what he did at North Carolina.
“Having been a guy that went to a lot of Duke games, Duke-(North) Carolina games, I got the chance to see him up close. I’ve been to two of his games live, which is unusual for a coach in the NBA…size, (he) can play the small forward position, can shoot it on the catch and can defend. Those are all of the things that we targeted and we got.”
While the Clippers stayed orderly and deliberate in their draft selection, the rest of the NBA did not.
Multiple trade deals were being hammered by teams out as the first round of the NBA Draft rolled along. No deal was bigger or will have a bigger impact than the exchange agreed upon by the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets. With Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce possibly headed to the Nets, along with Jason Terry, the Celtics has officially gutted the core of their 2008 championship team.
Ray Allen bailed out out on the team last year. He won a title this season with the Miami Heat. Rivers is now in Los Angeles, hoping to orchestrate a title run for the Clippers.
The news of the blockbuster Celtics-Nets trade that include Brooklyn sending Boston three first round draft picks, overshadowed a draft that featured a handful of shop and swap deals.
When the Cleveland Cavaliers shocked everybody by making UNLV forward Anthony Bennett the No.1 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft, convention went out the window the rest of the night.
Teams seemed bent on fortifying their roster, especially Eastern Conference squads, to make a run at dethroning the two-time champion Heat from their mantle.
Everything about the draft wasn’t in the form of shock and awe. Commissioner David Stern showed off his comedic side, getting loose a bit and injecting some lightweight humor in the middle of the chaotic madness, playing up to the crowd at times in his last call overseeing the NBA Draft.
Sterns is scheduled to step down as commissioner in 2014. But that is neither here or there right now with the Clippers. This is a big summer for the Clippers. It has already started off with a bang as the team went out and nabbed Rivers as head coach from the Celtics.
With that out of the way, the Clippers now can set their sights on personnel matters. That means re-signing point guard Chris Paul as priority No.1. They also have to work at securing the services of players that were key to the team’s 56-win success this past season.
With Matt Barnes, Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom becoming unrestricted free agents July 1, the Clippers went the route of need and talent in choosing the 6-foot-7, 205-pound Bullock. It was a great choice. Bullock can play the shooting guard spot and occupy the small forward position.
That fits in well to what the Clippers are looking for. Barnes and Odom are both versatile playmakers that can play either position. By selecting Bullock, the Clippers are keeping in tow with the formula that works for them. It is a strategy that Clippers Vice President of Basketball Operations Gary Sacks believe Bullock would fit in with.
“We feel at some point he can contribute for us,” said Sacks.
Dennis has covered and written about politics, crime, race, sports, and entertainment. Dennis currently covers the NFL, MLB, NBA, NCAA, and Olympic sports. Dennis is the editor of News4usonline.com and serves as the publisher of the Compton Bulletin newspaper. He earned a journalism degree from Howard University. Email Dennis at dfreeman@news4usonline.com
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