Former ISU men's basketball player Mike Taylor was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers with the 55th selection in Thursday's NBA Draft and became the first player in history to be drafted from the NBA Development League (D-League).
Taylor didn't get to spend much time with his new team. Within 30 minutes from the time he was drafted, Taylor was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Blazers received a 2009 second-round pick from the Clippers in return.
The Milwaukee, Wis., native started at Iowa State, scoring 16 points per game for the Cyclones during the 2006-2007 season. He was later kicked off the team after running into some legal trouble.
Taylor was picked up by the Idaho Stampede last season and averaged 14.5 points per game for them. The Stampede won the D-League title, partially due to Taylor's seven three-pointers and 27 points in the title game.
Taylor was eligible for this year's draft because he had never entered the NBA Draft after his one season at Iowa State and was still considered an amateur.
Taylor told www.cyclones.com that he would not be where he was without the experience he gained with the Cyclones.
Taylor will try to make the 12-man roster for the Clippers, who, after the draft, have seven guards on their roster. That list includes experienced players like Shaun Livingston, Cuttino Mobley, Smush Parker and Brevin Knight, as well as Eric Gordon, whom the Clippers took with the seventh pick of the first round.
The battle at point guard is expected to be between Parker, Knight, Livingston, who started last season, and Taylor. Taylor and Gordon, along with Texas A&M center DeAndre Jordan, were the three players acquired by the Clippers in the draft.
Peter Vecsey of the New York Post expects both Jordan and Taylor to make the team in October.
Taylor is the 33rd former Cyclone to be drafted into the NBA and the first since Will Blalock was taken by the Detroit Pistons in the 2006 NBA Draft. Taylor is also the first draft pick to be coached by head coach Greg McDermott since he came to Iowa State in 2006.
Former Cyclone center Jiri Hubalek wasn't taken in the 60-pick draft, but could find a spot in the NBA summer leagues or a European league.
