FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Welcome to another blog, by me, Ahung. In light of the upcoming Draft next week, I have decided to make an All-NBA team on players that were steals. By this, I mean they were either picked late in the draft, or not picked at all. To keep this within my knowlege, I'm only going to use players drafted or signed from 1996 onwards. Also, I'm going to try and keep this to only players that were drafted in the second round, except for one special player. The reason for this is, alot of players can be considered steals. Even Kobe Bryant, picked 17th, was a STEAL. But he was still a first round pick. So, other than one particular player picked LATE in the first round, this whole team will be second round draft picks or undrafted players.

Center: Ben Wallace

Ben Wallace is one of those rare undrafted guys that has a possible Hall of Fame career. In fact, he may be the only one, for all I know. Ben Wallace went undrafted, but was signed by the Washington Wizards. His first four years were decent, with him having his best year in his third year with averages of 6 points per game, 8.4 rebounds per game, 2 blocks per game, and 1.2 steals per game. However, then he got traded to Orlando, where he had a slight dropoff in stats. The next year, he ended up with Detroit, and that's where it all took off. Ben Wallace won 4 Defensive Player of the Year awards, and led the league in rebounding multiple times. He peaked in 2002-03, averaging 7 points, 15.4 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, and 1.4 steals. All this from a guy who went undrafted. Ben Wallace has overcome his lack of height and weight against many of the Centers in the league by sheer effort. He's listed at 6'9 and 240 pounds, but is closer to 6'7. He is possible the worst free-throw shooter in the league, and has a forgettable offensive set. However, his amazing defense, and work ethic, have made him the starting Center for my team. Unfortunately for Wallace, when he left Detroit for Chicago, his career took a downturn. After a productive 2006-07 year with Chicago, his 2007-08 and 2008-00 seasons have been injury plagued and subpar.

Power Forward: Carlos Boozer

 Unlike the above mentioned superstar, Carlos Boozer did get drafted. He was picked #34 in the 2002 draft from Duke University. Right from the start he was something special. By his second season, he was averaging 16 points and 11.5 rebounds. However, that's where the Drama starts. Carlos got into controversy as he made an under the table handshake with Cleveland which let him opt out of his meager contract of $700K a year, to get a better deal from them. However, when he did opt out, Utah offered him an amazingly large contract. Boozer, being a young kid, went for the money and ran, leaving Cleveland hanging and without a solid low post player to this day. Boozer was criticized by many, but vehemently argued that he did not make any such deal with Cleveland. Whether or not he did make this deal of no importance to me, but if he did, it is fair to say Karma got him back. For the next 2 years, he was plagued by injuries and played fewer than 50 games for those two seasons. He stayed relatively healthy for 2006-2008, but in 2009, the injury bug bit him again. He is still, however, had a succesful career, putting up atleast 20 points and 10 rebounds the 2 years previous to this season. As a result, he too makes the list.

Small Forward: Rashard Lewis

No matter how the Magic, or anybody else try to argue this, Rashard Lewis is not a power forward. As a result, he does not make the list at that spot. But, he does make it as a Small Forward. Rashard Lewis was picked 32nd in the 1998 draft, and had to watch in horror as his home town team Houston had 3 draft picks but passed on him for Michael Dickerson, Bryce Dew, and Mirsad Turckan, who the team later decided should never be allowed on the court except with their bucket and mop. Rashard Lewis was heartbroken his home team didn't pick him, but vowed to excel with Seattle. Which he did, at his peak, he averaged 25 points per game with them. However, the next year, Orlando offered him an extremely bloated $120 million contract, which he accepted. 2 years later, he helped lead the Magic to the NBA Finals, and carried them through much of the entire postseason. Congratulations, Rashard.

Shooting Guard: Michael Redd

Drafted 34th in the 2000 draft, nothing special was expected of Redd. Then again, nothing special was expected of any of the guys on this list. Redd started off his career as a backup to Ray Allen. Now, years later, he is the next Ray Allen. In 2006-07, he averaged 26.4 points per game, a career high. He has averaged over 20 points for the past 6 years now, and was even selected to the All NBA Third Team in 2004. He is arguably the best player in his entire draft, and has made 29 other teams regret passing on him.

 Point Guard: Gilbert Arenas

Ah, Agent Zero. Everybody's favorite. The eccentric, almost crazy guy who can keep us laughing and gasping at the same times at his crazy antics. His wild statements, predictions, and actions leave NBA fans standing on their toes trying to see him. And, this is off the court. On the court, Gilbert Arenas has developed into one of the best scorers in the league. He came into this league as an extremely strong and quick player who could get to the rim at will. However, people did not know whether he would be able to play point guard in this league, and as a result, he fell to #31 in the draft. However, he's proven all those wrong, and played point guard yet remained the lethal scorer. Along with that, he's added his deadly jump shot, which extends to deep 3-point range. He has hit over 200 three-pointers in a season twice in his career. In 2005-06, he average 29.3 points per game, the most by any player on this list. He has made the all-star team, and has gone as high as the All NBA Second team, in 2007. Gilbert is now recovering from knee surgery, which has damaged him for 2 straight seasons. He is expected to come back next year fresh as ever, and return to the killer assasin he was before. Wizards fans are pleased to see that in the two games he played this year, he dished out 20 total assists(10 in each game). They think he's more ready to be a facilitator now. If he can become more of a facilitator while maintaning his amazing scoring, the Wizards will be an amazing threat next year.

 6th man: Tony Parker

As I said, one guy on this team would have been drafted in the First Round. Tony Parker is that guy. He was picked 28th in the 2001 Draft, by the Spurs. Right from day one, he was the starting point guard. He did make some mistakes, as he was learning on the job. However, today, he has become an Elite point guard, and one of the premier reasons the Spurs have done so well these last few years. He was the Finals MVP in 2007, and made the All NBA team in 2009. A great guy for the Spurs, and when Duncan retires, Parker will be the Franchise Player.

Rest of Bench                                                                                                           

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SG-Manu Ginobli:57th Pick by Spurs

SF-Stephen Jackson:43rd pick by Suns

PF-Mehmet Okur:28th pick by Pistons

Center:Brad Miller-Undrafted

So, there you go. Here's my team of NBA steals. If you don't agree with me, tell me. Now, I know usually there are honorable mentions for players that almost made the cut, but didn't. However, my rule is, if you weren't good enough to make it, you don't deserve mentioning. Well, I hope you like the blog. Thanks, and come back for my now more regular blogs due to summer break! Later.