"Lies and Obfuscation, Misdirection and Outright Manipulation"

by Jeff Clark on Jun 22, 2009 9:17 AM EDT in Rumors Comment 4 comments

Some fun quotes from the New York Times:

The draft is Thursday. Fans are devouring mock drafts and player biographies and learning hard-to-pronounce European names. They are refreshing Web pages every few hours to read the latest insights from people like Givony, NBADraft.net’s Aran Smith and ESPN’s Chad Ford.

It should be a glorious time. It isn’t.

"I hate mock drafts," Ford said. "I just think they’re a joke."

To be close to the process is, apparently, to loathe it. The draft is a signature event for the N.B.A., a hype-filled evening of optimism and suspense. It is the night when teams’ intentions are revealed and fates are set.

The days that precede it, however, are filled with lies and obfuscation, misdirection and outright manipulation. Agents inflate their players’ value and trash the clients of their rivals. Team executives, fearful that another team will snatch their favorite prospect, spread false reports about a player’s workout, or his health, or his character.

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The draft is great fun

I’m not as big an NFL fan but those fans love their draft. I love all this stuff leading up to the draft. It is a bummer to be basically on the sidelines even though the draft is supposedly weak. The next Michael Redd is out there somewhere but not at 59. Without McHale we’re probably done picking Minny’s pocket.

by Wildblu1 on Jun 22, 2009 10:45 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It all depends on which side your bread is buttered on.

For the guys up close with the most expertise, it’s not a lot of fun having everyone see how little you might actually know. And for those of us who are very distant, it’s great fun to imagine that we have a lot more insight than we truly do. But it’s all okay, and builds interest in the league.

by no kidding on Jun 22, 2009 11:22 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs