May 16, 2007

The Kevin Durant Mock Draft -- Round 1, Pick 2

With the second pick of the Kevin Durant Mock Draft, Peter selects...the Indiana Pacers.
Why Indiana? Two words: Larry. Bird.

Okay, four words: Larry Bird and Reggie Miller.

Shit, that's five, but you get the idea. When thinking about where I want the most talented Texas Longhorn basketball player of all time to wind up, I can't help but reminisce on my two favorite players of my formative basketball years.

If Durant goes to Indiana, he gets hands on Larry Bird guidance. There aren't many non-sleazebags in the NBA who I'd trust not to sully our pristine hero, but Larry Legend's one of 'em.

Meanwhile, the Pacers desperately need a face to their franchise now that Reggie's boring us from the announcers' table, and damnit, I need a reason to like the Pacers again. When Miller finally retired from basketball last season, I realized that I wasn't so much an Indiana Pacers fans so much as I was a Reggie Miller fan.

Without Miller, the Pacers are a mess of a basketball team desperately in need of a big scoring guard in Durant's mold. If Larry Bird gets to draft KD to Indiana, the Pacers get what they need, I get what I need to root for the team again, and Durant lands in a city with fans who will worship him. And appreciate him.

It's hard to even talk about KD as a professional just yet, as I'm just now emerging from the "If I can't have him, nobody can" phase, but I know my road to letting go would be infinitely more bearable if he somehow fell into the Pacers' lap.

Here's to hoping…

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