By Andy Charles

Thursday proved to be a busy one in the Association with a bundle of trades and the glitz and glamour of the NBA Draft at Madison Square Gardens, where at least one of the entering class went home particularly unhappy.

Davidson guard Stephen Curry had his heart set on playing for the New York Knicks, his family had their hearts set on the same, but sadly for all of them plus the hundreds of Knickerbocker fans at the WAMU Theater, Don Nelson had other ideas and snagged him for the Golden State Warriors.

That’s right – Don Nelson, the guy who looks like your favourite uncle, the guy who never uses rookies properly and the guy who cannot get a team to defend. He goes for the rookie whose one real problem is…defense!

Curry is a superb shooter with range to die for, but just where does he fit in Nelson’s plans? He drafted Marco Belinelli in 2007 and said he could go to the next level – that would suggest he was somewhere in the basement to start with given what he actually produced.

At least last year Nellie used Anthony Randolph in spurts, more so as the season went on, to give Curry hope that his offensive game, so finely honed in college, might get some minutes in the pros come October.

Curry would have fit in perfectly in New York, but given their previous lack of defense the Warriors have shown, they are probably as close to a Western Conference version of the Knicks.

He averaged 28.6 points for the Wildcats as a junior, but Curry’s reaction to having to go to the Warriors (trades permitting of course) told the story, and the boos from the crowd told you what the fans thought.

Spare a thought as well for Jordan Hill, the player eventually taken eighth by the Knicks, and booed mercilessly as his name was announced, as he went up to meet the commissioner and even while he was interviewed on ESPN.

Hill is a fine college player, probably fits a need for the defensively-challenged Knicks and is at least as good a basketball bet as Curry to have a great career in the NBA, but those hard to please Big Apple fans might take a long time to be won over.

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