reflections
June 28th, 2008 2008 NBA Draft Grades: Seattle Sonics


By: Dustin Chapman

Transactions

  • Selected Russell Westbrook 4th overall.
  • Selected Serge Ibaka 24th overall.
  • Selected Walter Sharpe 32nd overall and packaged him with the rights to Trent Plaisted (46th overall) to Detroit for the rights to D.J. White (29th overall).
  • Selected DeVon Hardin 50th overall.
  • Selected Sasha Kaun 56th overall and traded his rights to Cleveland for cash considerations.

Seattle selecting Russell Westbrook at 4 ahead of Jerryd Bayless or Brook Lopez was surprising to most, but by no means was it a terrible pick. Westbrook is going to be an excellent NBA guard. Could others picked behind him establish themselves as bigger names in this league? Potentially, sure, but Westbrook will bring something to the Sonics that none of the rest could match: defense. Westbrook is hands down one of the best perimeter defenders in this draft class, and many would argue that he’s the very best. That has been an area in which Seattle has been significantly lacking, and Westbrook will add a new dimension to the roster.

The surprise of the late first round, other than Darrell Arthur slipping all the way to 27, was Seattle taking Serge Ibaka 24th overall. Not to say Ibaka wasn’t worthy of the pick, but his agent sent out a league-wide e-mail notifying teams not to select his client in the first round due to the contract he has on the table overseas. That didn’t scare Sam Presti away, however, as he took the gamble anyway.

While Seattle is waiting for Ibaka to come over in a few years, don’t sleep on D.J. White. He’s an all-out hustler with a terrific nose for the ball, very long arms, and an improving offensive game. He’ll catch the eye of the coaching staff early on with his hard work, and should be a great energy booster off the bench. DeVon Hardin could fit this mold as well, although this is just yet another project center for the Sonics to worry about. Luckily, this one is low-risk in the second round, as opposed to the previous three (Robert Swift, Johan Petro, Saer Sene).

Overall, a fairly solid draft for Seattle. They filled a defensive need at #4 and got a cast of potentially helpful role players later on. That, along with the expected growth of Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, should produce a better basketball team in 2008-2009.

Grade: B+

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