Bay Area Citizens Now Forced To Clutch Onto Their Laptops

When I moved to Brooklyn in the summer of 2006 I was a pessimistic and non-committal Celtics fan. I had already endured sometimes mediocre, but mostly laughable pro basketball for 10+ years from the only team on TV in Connecticut and once I had settled into my new digs, my allegiance was up for sale. BBJ was adamant that I make the switch over to the Nets, yet I was still intrigued by the possibility that the Celts would secure UConn star point, Marcus Williams, and the second-coming of Bill Russell in Greg Oden over the next two drafts.

On the evening of the '06 draft, Jor and Rantin' John were waiting for me as I raced up the stairs to Jor's apartment to find out the picks I had missed while stuck on the platform waiting for the L train (a rite of passage for all Brooklyn hipsters).

"You traded for Telfair" was all it took for me to collapse to the floor in anguish.

As the remaining picks unfolded (hilariously, might I remind you that this was the draft that included MJ's pick of Morrison, Jor's assurance to commit hari kari if the Magic picked JJ Redick, Rudy Gay's watch, Balkman- inspired riots, Saer Sene, and McHale getting congratulated for picking the can't-miss Brandon Roy THEN trading him away) I saw Marcus land on the doorstep of the Nets. All of pro ball's experts and ESPN's haircuts said this was a draft day steal and that Danny Ainge was an idiot. I agreed and the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets had one new fan.

Flash forward to today, the Celtics are world champs and Marcus Williams is exiled from the Nets and is now trying to fill in the vacated point guard spot left by Baron Davis. Not that I'm bitter, but WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!?! At this point, I'm confidant that I won't have to worry that my laptop will go missing whenever I go away for a long weekend, but am not in regards to the future of Williams' career. Maybe Nets coach, Lawrence Frank's disgust for Marcus was ill-founded and Williams will blossom out west under the legendary Don Nelson, but it seems more likely that all the GMs who passed on him, including Ainge, actually knew what they were doing back on June 28, 2006.