Metro area takes hit in NBA Draft

The highly anticipated NBA Draft came on Thursday evening and hundreds of potential picks and a handful of Metropolitan area players waited for their names to be called.

The top 30 picks mean a guaranteed long term contract where as the 30 second round picks mean a short term deal for substantially less money and no guarantees.

With John Wall, Evan Turner, Derrick Favors, Wesley Johnson and DeMarcus Cousins going #1 through #5, it soon became clear that the Metropolitan area players were not going to be picked in the first round and would have a hard way to go even in the second round.

Waiting patiently to hear their names were Metropolitan area former high school stars, Lance Stephenson, Devin Ebanks, Derrick Caracter, Sylven Landesberg, Da'Sean Butler, Andy Rautins and Samardo Samuels.

Late In the second round the tide started to change even though the Knicks picked non-metro player Lan...dry Fields at #39. The crowd went wild prematurely and incorrectly thinking that the announcer was going to say Lance( Stephenson). However on the next pick, Stephenson's name was finally called by Indiana, 40th. Butler then gets picked up by Miami with the 42nd pick and shortly thereafter, Ebanks get picked up by the Lakers, #43.

Solomon Alabi was picked 50th by the Timberwolves, a pick that Landesberg and his father, Steve, thought would be his.

One Metro player, who had a hard knock life was Derrick Caracter got a second chance at a first impression. The 6-foot-9 best from NJ made it at the draft buzzer as the Lakers took a shot with him with their 58th pick.

Of theseven notable NY/NJ players that entered the draft, none were drafted in the first round with five of the seven were drafted in the second round. The two Metro players left out, Samuels and Landesberg, still have the option to try out for an NBA team as a walk-on but that is a long, hard, lonely road that resembles being on a high school team where you are the 8th or 9th option and the coach has you on a short leash. A difficult position to thrive in.

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