Archive for Friday, June 27, 2008
Keegan: Arthur gets shaft in draft
Darrell Arthur was chosen with the No. 27 pick by the New Orleans Hornets, then traded to Portland, then to Houston and then to Memphis.
June 27, 2008
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Jayhawks selected in the 2008 NBA Draft
Portland drafted Brandon Rush, but traded him to Indiana. New Orleans drafted Darrell Arthur, but the pick was on behalf of Portland (and he was later sent to Houston in a separate deal, then immediately shipped to Memphis). Mario Chalmers was selected by Minnesota, but was traded to the Miami Heat.
Spodcasters
Spodcasters: Draft Day Edition
Ryan Greene and Tom Keegan break down Kansas University's record-tying night in the NBA Draft. KU became just the third program (UConn in '06, Florida in '07) to have five players drafted in the first two rounds. The guys break down who has the best chance to succeed in '08-'09, and who is set up for the best pro career. <a href="http://www.myspace.com/spodcasters">Visit the Spodcasters on MySpace</a> <strong>(Note: This was recorded before we found out about Darrell Arthur's <i>third</i> trade of the night in the wee hours of the morning)</strong>
All Jayhawks drafted in the 2008 NBA Draft were traded at least once.
Somebody done somebody wrong, and the second somebody is Kansas University forward Darrell Arthur.
This became obvious to the world when Arthur was queried on national television about a reported kidney issue that led to him tumbling in the draft.
"My health is fine," Arthur said. "I took another blood test in Washington, and everything came out fine, but I guess those guys never contacted anybody. Everything is cool."
If by Washington he meant the Washington Wizards, well, it's not on one NBA team to let the rest know about the intelligence it has. It's on a player's representatives to let every team know everything about a player that could help his draft stock. A favorable blood test for a player whose kidney became an issue certainly would qualify as good news that could have helped Arthur from slipping all the way to 27th.
It's tough not to wonder where Arthur would have gone in next year's draft had he returned to Kansas and had there not been a kidney issue. He might have gone high in the lottery. Oh well, too late to fret about that.
Watching Arthur and his family in the green room long after the other anticipated early picks already had been selected led to speculation as to what was happening.
Arthur's younger brother, Juicy, already long since had passed out, his head on the table, when ESPN's Ric Bucher revealed why the KU sophomore who pinned 20 points and 10 rebounds on Memphis in the national title game kept getting bypassed for lesser talents. Bucher said that multiple NBA general managers told him that they learned of kidney concerns regarding Arthur, requested results of lab work and were denied.
The mistake made on Arthur's behalf came in either not offering to take blood tests for interested teams or in not distributing the favorable test results from Washington to all teams.
Fear about Arthur's health spread, and with a better distribution of information, that seems as if it could have been avoided.
At least there was an explanation for Arthur's slipping.
Why Mario Chalmers wasn't chosen until four picks after J.R. Giddens remains a mystery. Back on the day Chalmers announced he was making himself eligible for the draft, the information given to him was that he would be taken somewhere between the 25th and 35th pick. Then his workouts went so well that his stock seemingly soared. Chad Ford of ESPN had Chalmers getting drafted with the 12th pick in his mock draft. In the end, Chalmers was viewed as combination guard with a point guard's size.
Never mind the three-point shot Chalmers hit against Memphis; how could so many teams see what he did against Texas in the Big 12 tournament title game and not use a first-round pick on him?
It bodes well for Chalmers' future that Miami Heat General Manager Pat Riley, who has such a keen eye for talent, was the man who traded for Chalmers.
It also bodes well for Chalmers that Dwyane Wade, such a master at drawing multiple defenders, will set him up for open jumpers. We all know what Chalmers does with those.
Jayhawks in the 2008 NBA Draft
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27 June 2008
at 9:45 a.m.
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oldvet (Anonymous) says…
He'll pull another “Paul Pierce” on the NBA, drafted late and performing far beyond his draft #. Maybe not the star or MVP that Paul has been, but far better than his draft position… I expect his second contract will pay much more than his first will.
27 June 2008
at 10:50 a.m.
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Confrontation (Anonymous) says…
Although he didn't get the high spot he deserved, he's still a millionaire and will now make the other teams regret their decisions.
27 June 2008
at 11:18 a.m.
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fu7il3 (Anonymous) says…
He denied having a kidney problem but refused to let teams do blood work. This is no one's fault but his own. Sure, he's a better player than where he was drafted, but it was believed he had health issues, and he wasn't taking steps to correct that belief. Sure he said he was in good health. He also said he was eligible when he left high school.
27 June 2008
at 11:34 a.m.
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4chewnut (Anonymous) says…
Remember this is a young guy. If his agent wasn't taking the lead on this, then shame on him. Hopefully no other KU players will use that agent. Good luck to Arthur!
27 June 2008
at 11:36 a.m.
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sizzleplate (Anonymous) says…
fu7il3,
It wasn't that he refused a blood test, that was bad information that espn initially reported… He did take the blood test, which came out clean, but his agent did not ensure that this was communicated to the NBA teams.
27 June 2008
at 1:01 p.m.
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fu7il3 (Anonymous) says…
This is a young guy who is a soon to be millionaire adult. He can be responsible for his own life. Do we know that was bad information, or do we just know that he says he had a blood test in Washington and it came out clean?
Washington passed on him, too.
27 June 2008
at 1:08 p.m.
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Haiku_Cuckoo (Anonymous) says…
Darrell's agent, Jerry Hicks, just became the poster boy for poor management. He had an obligation to let the other teams know that Darrell's blood test came back fine. Instead, he kept quiet and let the rumors fly. His blunder cost Darrell hundreds of thousands of dollars.
27 June 2008
at 4:56 p.m.
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penguin (Anonymous) says…
actually if you compare the salaries of last year's 13 pick-1.7 million (around where Arthur was projected give or take) and last year's 27th pick-944,000+ , his agent lost him roughly 700,000+ per year over 3 years or roughly 2.1 million over the life of his first contract.
I am not sure what the rate of inflation is on contracts, but the NBA CBA sets salary rates. Again, not a small chunk of change, but pretty significant.
This is completely his agent's fault. This is why you hire an agent and pay the guy. Their only job is to represent you and give you good advice. Oh well, hopefully the green room agony that Arthur experienced will lead to the sort of success that a guy in another sport experienced…Roethlisberger.
27 June 2008
at 5 p.m.
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penguin (Anonymous) says…
Also a quick search of Jerry Hicks shows he only has one other client: Kurt Thomas. So I am wondering if he is new at this or some sort of family friend. It just seems odd for an agent to have only two clients and for him to mess this up so badly for Arthur.
27 June 2008
at 5:53 p.m.
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chapdaddy (Anonymous) says…
Declined having the blood work done???? Hmmm………weed? HGH?
27 June 2008
at 6:08 p.m.
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jonas (Anonymous) says…
chapdaddy: Nope, you're wrong. Do try and keep up.
27 June 2008
at 6:42 p.m.
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jayhawks71 (Anonymous) says…
Why am I supposed to feel sorry for a guy who is making more his first year out of college (without a degree) than every KU graduate their first year out of college and when he will make more in one year than many will make in 20 years? I wish Darrell the best, but I won't be shedding a tear for him. He will be just fine on his current three-year guaranteed salary. How many of you have that kind of deal for even $30k?
27 June 2008
at 6:43 p.m.
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KSA_21_3503 (Anonymous) says…
I heard that Hicks was only hired two days before the draft. All this blood stuff was going on long before that when his mom and his AAU coach were acting as his agents. I don't know how much an agent can fix in two days if the damage has already been done.
27 June 2008
at 6:56 p.m.
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Piggles (Anonymous) says…
My heart bled for Darrell- I felt so sorry for him as he kept getting bypassed for other people. I couldn't go to bed until he was called— and Chalmers too. I'm happy that all our guys got picked and I'm sure they will do well in the NBA. Good Luck Brandon, Darrell, Mario, Darnell and Sasha!!
27 June 2008
at 9:25 p.m.
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frisbeenation (Anonymous) says…
In my mind Self has a bit of explaining to do as far as why Mario went in the second round behind nobodies like Courtney Lee, Serge Ibaka, George Hill, and JR Giddens,
28 June 2008
at 1:25 a.m.
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janeyb (Anonymous) says…
I don't understand why Chalmers second round pick is Self's fault? It was up to Mario to work out with the teams and impress.
28 June 2008
at 2:25 a.m.
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Bone777 (Anonymous) says…
His agent will take his cut all the same. Mistake or no mistake.