The first round of the 2009 NBA draft at Madison Square Garden in New York City may have been all about youth, potential, and the prospect for future results.
But this was the Verizon Center in Washington.
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Shortly before watching 18-year-old Ricky Rubio go to the Minnesota Timberwolves with what had been their fifth overall pick, the Wizards introduced Mike Miller and Randy Foye, two players with a combined dozen years in the league and symbols of the franchise’s determination to more than simply rebound from a 19-63 season and contend in the Eastern Conference in 2009-10.
“They brought in two guys and sold a fifth pick, which could’ve been a really talented player,” said Miller. “It could be an All-Star in this league some day. You never know. But they’re trying to win now. They have the pieces now to win, and you’ve got to respect that.”
Miller, a former rookie of the year and sixth man of the year, averaged double-figures scoring in eight of his first nine seasons. But the 6-foot-8 small forward wants to win in the postseason, and that means helping Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler do their thing.
“I’m all about winning now,” said Miller. “This is my tenth year. I haven’t had a chance to really make a splash in the playoffs and make a big run. It’s their show. I’m playing off of them. I just want to make them better, let them make me better.”
Foye, averaged 16.3 points for the Wolves last season, his third in the NBA. But he knew he wasn’t in new Minnesota general manager David Kahn’s plans, and he arrived in Washington with a trade veteran.
“Mike’s been from Orlando to Memphis to Minnesota, and now Washington,” said Foye. “This is my first time being traded, so I’m in shock. I’m still going through the emotions right now, but I’m excited to be here.”
New Wizards head coach Flip Saunders boasted that as soon as Washington made a trade, both Cleveland and Orlando followed suit.
“I think that both of those teams are going to be where they were a year ago, in terms of their wins, and they’re going to be in the playoffs,” said Saunders. “From our standpoint, we think we made a drastic improvement of our roster and put us in a situation where it’s going to be more difficult for teams like that to guard us.”
Although Rubio’s slide was somewhat unexpected, Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld said he was happy with the moves the team made.
“We wouldn’t have done anything different,” said Grunfeld. “The only player I would’ve been upset if he had slipped to five, would’ve been [No. 1 overall] Blake Griffin.”
Washington took Central Florida guard Jermaine Taylor in the second round (32nd overall) and dealt him to Houston for cash considerations.
