Hanging Chad: Chad's 2006 So-Far
Now that the Finals are over, it's Chad Ford time! But before the final week of fun begins, let's see the gems that Chad has dropped so far in this draft season.
- One of his reasons for doubting that Ty Thomas had a top three promise:
- He swears by his report that Shelden Williams has a promise from the Hawks even though Shelden never worked out for the Hawks and there is little-to-no chance that he would go before the Hawks pick at #5. This is really a key moment for Chad. His history with reporting promises is spotty at best. Socks Bynum's promise from the Lakers snuck past ESPN's draft guru as he was too busy reporting promises for guys like Roko Leni-Ukic to Boston (Ukic didn't go until the second round).
- Chad also goes with agent-speak way too often. For instance, he reported that five or six teams are trying to trade up to get Morrison. His source? Morrison's agent.
- I can't imagine he wrote this blurb with a straight face:
- Chad stated that Patrick O'Bryant might be worth the #1 pick because of his athleticism. A little more than a week later, Patrick O'Bryant took part in the NBA combine and ranked a startling 79th in athleticism. His vertical was worse than JJ Redick's. Chad was left scratching his head, labeling this "a major surprise."
- Chad makes a lot of comments that make sense for team officials and agents but that reporters should probably stay away from. For instance:
- One of his reasons for doubting that Ty Thomas had a top three promise:
For one thing, Michael Siegal, one of Thomas' agents, told Insider earlier on Monday that Thomas did not have a promise. On the other hand, Siegal told me that before the Oregonian story about Thomas' workout appeared.That's like saying, "There are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq because George W. said so. On the other hand, he said that before reports came that there actually weren't WMD's in Iraq." I would expect an "Insider" to go back to the source rather than rehash old information. Ford made a similar gaffe in his report on how Michael Jordan is shaking up the Bobcats' draft plans. After spending an entire blog entry stating how Jordan is in charge, trying to figure out who to draft, and not hot on Rudy Gay of whom Bernie Bickerstaff is a huge supporter, Ford dismisses a potential deal with the Hornets (the Hornets' picks and JR Smith for #3) by writing: "an NBA team source laughed off the rumor, saying that Smith is not a Bickerstaff-type of player." So a source from another team said JR Smith isn't the type of player the guy who isn't making decisions for the 'Cats anymore likes? This is your denial? I'm not saying the trade is going to happen but to rule out JR Smith (who wears #23) because of Bickerstaff doesn't make much sense with Jordan in town.
- He swears by his report that Shelden Williams has a promise from the Hawks even though Shelden never worked out for the Hawks and there is little-to-no chance that he would go before the Hawks pick at #5. This is really a key moment for Chad. His history with reporting promises is spotty at best. Socks Bynum's promise from the Lakers snuck past ESPN's draft guru as he was too busy reporting promises for guys like Roko Leni-Ukic to Boston (Ukic didn't go until the second round).
- Chad also goes with agent-speak way too often. For instance, he reported that five or six teams are trying to trade up to get Morrison. His source? Morrison's agent.
"I've had five or six teams call me trying to find a way to move up in the draft to get him," Bartelstein said. "I still believe that at the end of the day, Adam will be the No. 1 pick in the draft. Gauging from the interest I'm getting, a lot of teams think he's the best player in the draft."Why in the world are GM's calling Adam Morrison's agent trying to make deals to move up? Wouldn't it be a wee bit more helpful to call the other GM's who actually have the higher draft picks? It was a rare sign of restraint that Ford didn't start a rumor that Morrison would be #1 because the agent said so. I'm still waiting for the Insider report in which Chad Ford reports that gullible is written on the ceiling.
- I can't imagine he wrote this blurb with a straight face:
Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray worked out against former Oklahoma State center Frans Steyn on Thursday afternoon. It's not the best environment for Gray, and the workout didn't go well for him.While I can understand how Aaron Gray might not be a workout wonder, if battling some shmoe named Frans Steyn isn't the best environment then I'm really not sure how the NBA is an environment he will ever be able to survive.
- Chad stated that Patrick O'Bryant might be worth the #1 pick because of his athleticism. A little more than a week later, Patrick O'Bryant took part in the NBA combine and ranked a startling 79th in athleticism. His vertical was worse than JJ Redick's. Chad was left scratching his head, labeling this "a major surprise."
- Chad makes a lot of comments that make sense for team officials and agents but that reporters should probably stay away from. For instance:
There's no question the Rockets want to be back in the playoff hunt next season. Besides Redick, Brandon Roy, who's unlikely to slip to No. 8, is probably the only guy in the draft who could play for the Rockets right now.Did Chad Ford watch any Rockets games last season? Did he notice that the guy the Rockets got at #24 in last year's draft started a quarter of their games? This draft would have to be one of the worst ever if the 8th pick couldn't step in and get minutes for the Rockets who essentially have two good players and a bunch of scraps. To say that only two guys in the draft could play for the Rockets is beyond laughable. The Rockets have the 32nd pick in the draft this year and I would be stunned if THAT guy doesn't get decent minutes this season, let alone the guy who they grab at #8. This has to be one of the dumbest comments Ford has made in quite some time. Luckily for us, the final push to the NBA Draft is upon us so we can expect more of the same from the worst Insider ever, Chad Ford.
