Posted on Wednesday 29 June 2005 by G @ 11:00 am
Danny Ferry is off to a fast start. He was able to swing two trades to pick up a yound center with huge upside. Before the draft, Ferry traded Jiri Welsch and cash to the Milwaukee Bucks for a second-round pick in 2006. After the draft he traded the newly acquired pick to the Orlando Magic for 7-foot-2 center Martynas Andriuskevicius, who was drafted with the 44th pick overall in the second round of last night’s draft.
Martynas Andriuskevicius has huge upside according to ESPN. He’s 19 years old and last year he withdrew from the draft when he couldn’t get a top-5 guarantee. Phoenix was poised to take him with the 7th pick. The fact that he dropped all the way to #44 this year was a big surprise since they projected him to go between 12 and 22. ESPN projects him to be more of a power forward. He’s definitely a project, but this could be a real steal at this spot. The scouting report says he has great hands and great passing skills. He can play inside and outside and has great basketball instincts. He runs the floor well and showed impressive athleticism. It sounds like he would fit in great with LeBron. The downside is that he doesn’t have the bulk or strength to battle in the paint. Hopefully that will improve with time as he matures. Bottom line - getting him for Welsch seems like a great start for Ferry.
I still have a hard time believing that Paxson gave up a future first rounder to get Welsch, but turning that botched move into Andriuskevicius (man, that’s a tough spell!) makes it much easier to swallow.
Of course, things get real interesting beginning Friday, when the free agent period begins. Let’s hope the Cavs get the right players to fill in around LeBron (Michael Redd…) because, with the kind of money Ferry has to spend, he should be able to plug several holes.
This guy is in desperate need of a nickname. I’m going with “MA” for now. I have enough trouble spelling simple names.
I wonder how much input Z had on this transaction. Ferry and Z are close friends, so I’m sure they spoke about MA. This might make it even more attractive for Z to stay for a hometown discount if he has a chance to groom a fellow countryman.