The sheer comedy with which Billy King botched Philadelphia's huge draft keeps getting more laughable. I might remind you that after taking Thaddeus Young at #12 and Jason Smith at #20 (both decent picks), King traded the team's #30 and #38 picks for the #42 and the #58 picks in separate deals. ... I'd write a joke, but seriously? Look at that.And now, to make matters uglier, the Sixers cut the #42 pick, Derrick Byars. Philadelphia obviously didn't need the pick. (Never mind Byars is a good player.) So they paid Byars some amount to hang around during summer league and training camp. After they drafted him, they reportedly asked him to play overseas (keeping a spot and some salary open while the team retained his NBA rights). He declined. You know what the funny thing is? The #30 pick King traded to Portland for Byars became... Petteri Koponen. And what's Koponen doing this year (and likely next)? Playing overseas. Costing the Blazers nothing. Taking up no roster spot on a deep young team. All those things Philadelphia needed out of one of its late picks. A 19-year-old Finnish guard and a 23-year-old from Tennessee -- hmm, I wonder who will be more willing to play overseas? What a conundrum!
I said it in March, and I'll repeat it today: You can have all the young studs and hope and potential cap room and bright future in the universe. If Billy King is running your team, it means nothing.
Crystal Ballin'
