Wild Card by Ron Richards Definition: In games of chance, specific card that acquires whatever value the player deems best. For example, jacks, twos and jokers are often used as wild cards. In the NBA draft, it has a different connotation. It signifies a draft pick that initiates a cascade of events that culminates in shifting the order of the draft significantly. Each NBA team has a list of players rated 1 to whatever number the team thinks can help their club. For example, the Jazz might have a list that looks somewhat like this. 1. Brandon Roy 2. Adam Morrison 3. LaMarcus Aldridge 4. Shelden Williams 5. Cedric Simmons 6. Patrick O’Bryant 7. Rudy Gay 8. JJ Redick 9. Randy Foye 10. Saer Sene 11. Rodney Carney and on and on. There might be twenty to thirty players on that list. Each one has been rated at their position, and each one’s character is verified and certified to be free of off-court problems. Depending on circumstance, teams want a complete physical and mental evaluation. In short, they, and all NBA teams, view the players as a huge investment of time and money. A bad draft choice can hurt a team for decades. A great choice can mean millions in revenue with ticket sales and playoff games. It can literally make or break a franchise. The Jazz have three great examples in their history, Karl Malone, John Stockton, and just recently, Andre Kirilenko. Take that list I just made up. There are several names missing that the casual observer might expect to be there. Tyrus Thomas, for example. Just as a guess, the Jazz probably aren’t that interested in a power forward, although he has great potential. Also, there might be a name not on that list the Jazz think has questionable character, and will pass on that player if given the chance to draft him. On draft night, the Jazz write the list on a blackboard in their command post in the Delta Center, and as each one of those players is drafted, cross him off their lists, keeping in mind the potential for trades as the draft unfolds. The Jazz, like all other teams, have an fairly good idea whom each team likes and will probably draft if given the chance. Smokescreens, rumors, deception and guile are the tools each team uses to hide their interest in a player. Still, they have a pretty good idea what they think will happen, and create scenarios, or possible draft selections, to try to get a handle on which player will be left when they draft. If a team is certain that a player that might drop to them is going to be the next John Stockton, they might trade up to be positive they really do draft that person. And in a way, the draft is like an auction, where a bidder might hold off bidding or pretend disinterest to keep the price of the desired object down, especially when two teams know that each is interested in the same person. For example, the Jazz and Hornets, who hold the 14th and 15th picks in the draft, respectively. New Orleans also holds the 12th pick. If the Hornets like two players, say Cedric Simmons and Randy Foye, and are aware that the Jazz might pick one of those two players, it would be to their interest to hide the fact so the Jazz can’t use that against them. The Jazz could draft one of those players, and then demand extra compensation to trade their 14th pick for the Hornet’s 15th pick, when the Jazz really had their eye on JJ Redick, who they then pick with the 15th pick. The Jazz now have the player they wanted in the first place, and perhaps a future pick or current player on the Hornet’s roster as a bonus. But that’s pretty straight forward. It’s business. If I know a firm needs a certain number of gadgets or raw material, it is wise to corner the market and then boost the price of the wanted item. But what is really interesting, and comes completely out of the blue, is what happens when a team decides to draft someone who is perceived as a reach, or completely off the radar for that team. It can have an effect that completely changes the face of the draft, can make players available that teams were certain would never drop to them, and this is what’s known as a wild card. Perhaps a GM goes against the majority of his people on a hunch, or an owner flexes the muscle known as money. It happens all the time in the Draft. It changes thinking, throws scenarios out the window, and teams have to be ready to do some really quick thinking. Stay with me now. Remember that list that the Jazz formulated? That solves everything, doesn’t it? Just scratch the players off that list, and pick the highest one left. Well, yes. And .......No. Take a look at that list. With two exceptions, all are centers and shooting guards or wing players that can play the SF and SG position interchangeably. That’s what the Jazz really need. You see, sometimes the inconceivable happens. Say for example, that the Trailblazers, who everyone knows are interested in Adam Morrison, pass on him when he’s available? Draft LaMarcus Aldridge because their GM just had a feeling, or the owner......Doesn’t matter why, but it does happen. All the time. Then the Atlanta Hawks, who don’t really need another wing player to say the least, pass on him as well? And then the Minnesota Timberwolves keep the ball rolling because they like Patrick O’Bryant? And never in the first place thought that Morrison would be available at their pick, so they haven’t really thought about it? Then the Celtics, faced with the opportunity to draft someone they never thought they’d have the chance to even get an autograph, wonder why the heck he’s dropping? Maybe it’s the diabetes. Maybe it’s worse than everyone is saying. Maybe............ And then, finally, the Jazz have a dilemma in front of them and only five minutes to solve it. And solve it, they do. They must trust their sources, the scouts and staff that have worked on that list since the day after last year’s draft. They draft Adam Morrison. Problem is, they don’t really need Adam Morrison. He’s a wonderful basketball player, perhaps the best in the draft, but they don’t really need him. They’ve got Andre Kirilenko at the same position. What do they do now? And then the phone really starts ringing. What’s the scoop on Morrison? Are you taking a chance, do you know something that we don’t? Are you interested in a trade? How about...... Now, I’m using Adam Morrison as an example. In reality, there is so little chance that he drops to the Jazz that it’s not even worth mentioning as a possibility. In fact, he’s probably not even on their short list. But examples like that happen all the time. It shakes the draft up, makes players available that teams would never have guessed...........And it can change a team’s fortune for the good or bad in that five minute time span. There are always solutions for ‘problems’ like that hypothetical scenario. Andre Kirilenko can play other positions. Perhaps he plays the SG and Morrison plays the SF. Perhaps the team that drafted Roy knows that the Jazz wanted Roy but he wasn’t the one that fell, and suddenly the grass is greener on the Jazz’s side of the fence. Perhaps a team like Portland knows the Jazz like Pryz and sign and trade him along with Jarret Jack as a back up point guard. Now the Jazz and Portland both are happy as doggies in a forest full of inviting trees. Sometimes, most of the time, the wild card is not so dramatic as that example. Say Portland drafts Aldridge, then Atlanta, who wanted to draft Aldridge, rightly or wrongly avoids Morrison and drafts Marcus Williams, the best point in the draft. Minnesota wanted Williams, but now must choose someone else, so they take their second pick, Randy Foye, who by all rights should have dropped a couple of spots more. That in turn forces Boston, who wanted Foye in the worst way, and thought they were all set to draft him, to draft their third choice at point, Sergio Rodriguez, who by all rights should have been drafted in the mid teens. Now the draft order is out of whack by two spots, and teams have two players on the board that they thought wouldn’t be there. Say Golden State wanted Cedric Simmons, but now has Adam Morrison on the board when they thought he’d be gone by now. And then Seattle, faced with Chris Wilcox demanding a lot more money than they thought, sees someone like Alexander Jones tearing the Mocks up and loved him at his workout. Now there are three men on the board who by all rights shouldn’t have been there. You never know what’s going to happen on draft night. That’s part of the reason it’s so fun. It’s also part of the reason GM’s come and go like used car salesmen at the corner lot. There is such a thing as a wild card. Keep a close eye on the draft June 28th. You might actually see it as it lands face up on the table.