A quick defence of BC

Nothing about that title seems in place. But here goes:

I like the pick.

And here goes the disclaimer:

I don't know shit about this large, young man. Or any other draftee. He could be Nikoloz Vokshul while Kemba Walker becomes Magic Paul. But I'm also pretty sure Bryan Colangelo nor 25 other general managers have much more of an idea than I do. (Teams I sort of trust: OKC, Houston, San Antonio, Portland and Denver. You're my boy, Masai!)

There's an old adage about drafting the best player available (and not for immediate team need). And that old adage is fine and even dandy if it keeps you from passing on LeBron James. But in a draft like this (and frankly more drafts than not) the talent evaluation is suspect at best and a crack-house grilled cheese sandwich at worst (you know, unreliable) so fuck you and your old adages.

Does that mean you leave a good player on the board because you're coveting a back-up centre? No, sirs and madams and kitty-cats, it does not. The indemnity that Rob Babcock violated with the Araujo pick in '04 was that if he really wanted to stroke Hoffa's gel-cemented hair, why not trade down 20 spots, get another pick and owe the Brazilian Blurp less money? That and he bombed the pick, obviously.

Also, Bryan Colangelo's biggest sin wasn't drafting Andrea Bargnani, it was extending that dick-hole (it's so hard thinking up insults for Il Magoat that aren't abjectly racist)

So, here's the thing.

If I put on my "gimme gimme gimme a point guard" hat and start lusting over Kemba Walker or Brandon Knight (who college stat guys rate as a so-so player) I'm hoping the Raps dump Calderon without mercifully taking on any more salary; I'm hoping for 2,600 more minutes of Andrea Bargnani, a 15-67 record, some more ping pong balls and a shined up shotgun waiting for me to snap.

But, if I decide to select Foreign Centre #5 (as I'll never even attempt to learn his name) and stash him in Europe, I'm getting player development on someone else's dime, I'm getting $3 million in cap room I can add to the "please sell us Andre Iguodala or other players of proven quality" fund, I replace our 7 foot nothings with funny names with a 7 foot nothing with an even funnier name, and best of all, I add one more stick-figure leg to the game of hangman I'm playing with Andrea Bargnani. Raps' record is still 18-64 but the shotgun gets left in the attic next to my Troll doll collection.

And what does this peace of mind cost me? $3 million (not even half of Barbosa's salary. Hot damn) and a whiff on some of these point guards, of whom no one I trust is convinced will be better NBA players than Ramon Sessions (who's very available and had a better year with a better contract than, say, Jarrett Jack).

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe people who know, know that Brandon Knight is an Adonis of basketball purity. Maybe FC#5 is a poor man's tall, Lithuanian, poor man. I don't fucking know. But in the absence of information and reason and time and space, I say bravo Bryan Colangelo. To all the porous ass-gapes who deride the Raptors for taking a European because we've had bad luck in the past with other Europeans, you need to have your racist ass washed out with anti-racist soap. You really want to swear off an entire continent of players? That's like saying "I'll never date a blond girl again, those chicks are crazy."

I hate you, Bryan Colangelo. I hate you so much. Don't make me regret this.