It’s that time again! Guest blogger Dylan Murphy from Pardon the Opinion has provided us with his reaction to the NBA Draft Lottery.
They say that a picture is worth one thousand words. Well, so are facial expressions.
Take, for example, Jrue Holiday, Mikhail Prokhorov and Irene Pollin. During the NBA’s perfectly ironic showcase of its worst teams, each representative accurately mirrored the future outlook of their respective franchises.
But before I tackle the all-telling science of face reading, I would like to congratulate Vince Carter on another terrible acting job after “injuring his wrist.” Just play the game for once. (If you watched game 2 of the Celtics/Magic, you know what I’m talking about.)
Anyway, to science.
Fans of the New Jersey Nets, don’t panic yet. While the ever-trendy LeBron/Calipari/Wall combination will never come to fruition, Mikhail Prokhorov’s face at the NBA Draft Lottery spoke volumes.
99% of NBA owners would have freaked after missing out on the only “can’t miss” prospects of the upcoming draft in Evan Turner and John Wall. But Mikhail Prokhorov is not just any owner.
After receiving the 3rd pick and every reason to go home crying, billionaire/womanizer owner Prokhorov reacted like he had just lost $20,000: Whatever.
Thus far in his life, he has conquered everything that stood in his way, whether it was women, the economy, or Russia. And in that moment when New Jersey Nets fans could not begin to live their future fantasy, Prokhorov realized he had to do what he always does: buy his way to success.
No NBA Draft Lottery will stand in his way. So instead of pouting, Prokorhov maintained his fake smile and walked off like a man on a mission. No billionaire buys a franchise to lose. Especially a Russian billionaire.
A secondary note about the Nets: Everyone claims that Chicago or Cleveland will provide LeBron with his best chance for winning and New York the best chance for marketing. But will New Jersey, and soon to be Brooklyn, not give him both?
He’ll still be in New York City (eventually) and he’ll only increase his global reach with a foreign owner. In terms of winning, there’s a solid young nucleus, other possible free agents and Derrick Favors or Wesley Johnson.
Based on his reputation, I assume that Prokhorov will have no problem with providing anything and everything for LeBron. What’s a few hundred million to a multi-billionaire?
I know I’m in the minority (and I’m a Knicks fan, so I would love to be proven wrong), but I would not be surprised if LeBron ended up a Net.
Jrue Holiday’s reaction to the 2nd overall pick was, in short, hilarious. If you missed it, do not worry. I will recount it here.
Assuming Wall and Turner go 1st and 2nd, Jrue was probably praying for the #2 pick. Considering John Wall would immediately eliminate all of Jrue’s playing time, I can’t say I blame him. And oh, how did his reaction deliver.
Considering the Sixers were on the verge of the 1st overall pick, any executive would have been disappointed after landing the 2nd pick. But Jrue, in the awkward situation of hoping for #2, could not suppress his relief.
In fact, he exhaled in relief (think O.J. when he was found not guilty). How am I so certain that it was relief and not disappointment? Because he cracked a slight smile. Had any other Sixer representative stood in Holiday’s shoes, he would have been pissed to come so close to #1. But not Holiday. Enjoy your starting position on a 30 win team, young fella.
Congratulations, fans of the Washington Wizards. Management officially has every reason to cut gunslinger Gilbert Arenas with the arrival of John Wall.
Considering they’re 80% done cleaning house in the personnel department, this looks to be one of the final steps. If I were Flip, I’d just sit him on the end of the bench while Wall flourishes.
Irene Pollin’s face, however, captured Wizards fans feelings in an instant: Holy S**t! Something good could potentially happen to us. Mouth wide open in complete disbelief, she was more surprised than Tim Duncan after being called for a foul.
Six months ago, every Wizard fan knew the Jamison/Arenas/Butler combo had about as much a chance of success as Prokhorov becoming celibate. But the Draft Lottery brings hope. So Washington, this your chance.
Don’t mess it up.
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I’ll bet Prokhorov DOES turn Knicks fans into Nets fans. If there’s one thing New York fans are known for, it is that they are open-minded to the fact that other teams have potential/are good/exist.
well, only because the knicks have sucked for so long. (thanks, isiah…) once lebron/wade/someone/anyone comes, i doubt any new yorkers will be supporting the giant russian playboy. though jay-z is still a personal idol. garden state of mind?
on another note: great article. the facial expressions really are priceless.