Blake Griffin: Top of his ClassQ. Who is your Top 10?
1. Blake Griffin 6′10 248 PF
Powerful & athletic, quickness in the post, runs floor, should be very good in pick & roll situations.
2. Ricky Rubio 6′3 185 PG
Leader, crafty & smart, very good passer, lanky long defender creates steals with deflections. Teammates just seem to play for him and respond to his game. Stroke needs work.
3. James Harden 6′5 215 SG
Lefty, can score in a variety of ways. Strong guard with good size, can play through contact. Winner. Good guard rebounder.
4. Jordan Hill 6′10 232 PF
Long athlete, improved strength. Could be a solid defender/shot blocker, rim runner. Low block game needs continued development.
5. Stephen Curry 6′3 185 CG
Ever heard “it’s a shot makers league”? He’s a combo guard who can flat out stroke it with range. Good handle & passer. His ability to shoot will keep him in league for a long time.
6. Hasheem Thabeet 7′2 265 C
Long! Very good shot blocker who runs well. Offense will never go through him, he’ll score as result of others setting him up. Doesn’t pursue boards out of his area enough for my taste. Can’t dispute his size & potential. Weak crop of bigs, he’s by far the best.
7. Jonny Flynn 6′0 195 PG
Quick & fast with the ball, explodes to the rim & can take a hit. Strong guard and very good in Pick & Roll. Good leader should work on shooting.
Gerald Henderson: I bet none of you have him this high ;)8. Gerald Henderson 6′5 215 SG
Long armed athlete who can finish at the rim. Much improved offensively including shooting ability. Best off the bounce.
9. DeJuan Blair 6′7 265 PF
He’s strong, has a 7′2 wing span and he’s a man on the boards. Good around the basket, crafty with both R/L and draws fouls.
tie 10. Terrence Williams 6′6 212 SG
Great passer, good athlete that can defend. Great in open court, shooting could improve.
tie 10. Earl Clark 6′9 220 SF/PF
Long athlete who can shoot it. Needs NBA range. Could post smalls & drive bigs. Capable defender, is the motor there?
Others I like regardless of rank:
Sam Young 6′6 215 SF/SG Pitt – Tough, strong, athletic, and a winner
Tyler Hansbrough 6′9 239 PF North Carolina – Never stops working. Produced for 4 years.
James Johnson 6′8 250 SF/PF Wake Forest – Stud physically, skilled guy with NBA body
Jeff Teague 6′2 180 PG/SG Wake Forest – Scorer, long arms & wiry strong
Derrick Brown 6′8 225 SF Xavier – Long Lefty, slasher
Nick Calathes 6′5 185 PG Florida – Best passer in the draft, Greece bound
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70 Raps
Raps Fan,
Next time out, please ask Chris Denker what he thinks of Derrick Brown, Dante Cunningham, Taj Gibson, Marcus Thornton, Danny Green and Nando De Colo … all of whom have a solid shot at being pretty good NBA players, IMO. Thanks, in advance.
Done.
I would advocate BC drafting Nando De Colo for his name alone. Someone’s going to come up with an awesome nickname at some stage
Agreed. Not that I don’t appreciate the stuff you’ve gotten from him so far, but a look at what Toronto could do with picks besides the #9 would be nice.
I think we’ve all basically committed to memory at this point that Thabeet is a long shot blocker with offensive limitations and Curry can flat out shoot the ball. The ins and outs of Taj Gibson or Danny Green’s games, on the other hand, remain a bit more unknown, and it would be nice to get some professional opinion.
TM,
In advance of Chris Denker getting back to Raps Fan, I’ll give you my professional opinion on Brown, Cunningham , Gibson & Green. Each of these cats is going to be a proverbial steal in this year’s draft … not because they are going to be magically transformed into the next MJ, Kobe or Lebron, etc., when they hit the pro ranks, but … because each one is a very solid [but not great] NBA athlete, at the specific position he is going to need to play at this next level, with a good physique, a good motor, a diversified [base] skill set, good character, a good Bball IQ, a commitment to winning, and a willingness to play within a well-defined role. Each of these four players is going to be available toward the bottom of the 1st Round or, possibly, well into the 2nd Round … from where they should be able to become “cost-effective” contributors to the team that drafts them, within the next 2-3 years.
“a good physique, a good motor, a diversified [base] skill set, good character, a good Bball IQ, a commitment to winning, and a willingness to play within a well-defined role”
That’s exactly what you want to hear about late-first/second rounders.
I’ve seen Gibson and Green a little bit, and I certainly think they could be valuable depth additions to just about any team. My feeling is that we’re going to see late first round teams (the Spurs being the classic example, but there could be others) grab one or two of those guys and turn them into more than serviceable players within a year or two.
Another thing about Green and Granger specifically is that they come into the NBA with experience as roleplayers. Neither of these guys were the go-to guy on their college teams, but they were solid contributors their whole careers. So the process of adjusting to playing a role would be far less of a concern for them than for say, Patty Mills or Demarre Carroll, who are projected to go around the same spots, and are used to a much greater role.
And when I say “Granger”, I of course mean “Gibson”
It’s coming…it’s gonna be a long summer man, gotta space it out.
Sorry, no need to include Derrick Brown. Missed his name first time through the list Chris provided above.
no DeRozan? no Evans?
I would assume the list is based on production more than potential seeing as DeRozan didn’t really produce much outside of a late stretch of games.
well, having a board that lines up with the chalk doesn’t get people talking.
curry’s too high at 5…says more about this draft than his pro potential, IMO. the lack of evans in his top-10 is curious. derozan could slip outside the top-10, so that’s not much of a shock. still not sold on harden being a top-3 pick…i just don’t see it. he’s got all the tools, so who knows…i just remember him being pretty quiet late in the year when the games counted (and getting outplayed by derozan…not that a single game means much). he’s got all the physical tools, and just knows how to play, yet there’s just something about his game i’m not enamoured with.
i really don’t see hill having an impact befitting the 3rd overall pick…he’s a couple years away. thabeet is going to struggle, i’m not sure picking a 7′2″ centre with zero offensive game (with the likelihood high that he’ll never develop one) with that high a pick. and what has curry done to elevate himself into top-5 status? not saying he won’t be a decent player, but i hardly think he’s gonna be some standout superstar.
it’s an interesting board, but flynn, henderson, blair & williams are all WAAAAY too high, IMO…it’s not like they aren’t good players, but generally, you think of an impact player (at least) with guys picked in the top-10. i don’t really see any of them as more than fringe guys, playing specific roles, in the NBA. flynn probably has the biggest upside, but his size makes me wonder (tj redux?).
as for trading down & acquiring an extra pick, it’s the smart way to go, but could prove difficult – i mean, what player is likely going to be on the board that another team is SO enamoured with that they’ll give up 2 picks to move up & get him? wouldn’t most teams, with a pick in the late teens, simply hold onto that pick, and hope that either the guy they want slips, or that another similar player is available? say the wolves at 16 REALLY like, oh, i dunno, earl clark…what motivation would they have to move up to get him, when he a) could drop to them anyway, or b) there could very well be a similar guy (not so much in terms of position, but as far as ‘best available) at their spot (like a williams, or henderson, or lawson, or johnson). it’s not a deep draft, and there aren’t many true stars, but there are a lot of guys who are very similar in terms of how they project as NBAers…and as such, i’m not so sure there will be a whole lot of teams looking to move up, unless it’s to the top-5-ish.
“i don’t really see any of them as more than fringe guys, playing specific roles, in the NBA.”
That made me laugh.
outside of the top-2 (griffen/rubio), who do you see as being difference-makers in the L?
I like Harden and Flynn, otherwise this draft has a bunch of good players who can fill out a rotation at some level or another.
is their stock higher (i.e. do you ‘like’ them more) on their own merits, or in comparison to most of the rest of the guys in the draft? what i mean is…if the draft is loaded with talent, as in, say, ‘03, are harden & flynn thought of as highly in terms of their pro potential?
I like them for what they do and what they can bring to the raptors. By no means do I have scout level insight into these guys, but from watching them, these are the guys I would like to get somehow.
I’m of the school of thought that you draft on immediate-production/potential at a 75:25 split. I like guys who can hit the ground running, but have some upside, as apposed to the other way around where guys are taken more on potential then what they can do out the gates.
I think most GMs would mirror your school of thought, but realistically, how many of those are in any draft? Especially those that can have a sizable positive immediate impact? 3? 4?
After the top 5-6, none of those players are left and it’s a crapshoot. Much like playing fantasy sports, you, as the GM, are left with 35% skill and 65% luck when your on the clock.
Anybody who thinks the league is set up to nurture young talent and keep them in the city which they were drafted I fear are set up for a shock. It’s a shame and it makes it that much more difficult to grow a fanbase in smaller markets.
I totally agree. That is why I feel that trading up or down to get a guy they want is the right move. Keeping the #9 pick for the hell of it, and drafting the best available fit seems a waste of resources to me.
I’m by no means the first to say this, but it would seem highly unlikely that any other team pursues our pick with any kind of decent trade (say the Bulls 16th and 26th). The same situation occurred with the #1 Bargnani pick where BC was shopping it but no one was biting. The probable situation would be drafting the best wing available and purchasing a second pick between #20 and #40 to grab a second wing for depth/to stash overseas. And anyone saying we’re drafting another position has to take a look at our depth chart – we have no wing players under contract (except maybe Douby since he would play some SG). So basically we need to start the season with a minimum of 3 quality wings (likely Delfino, Marion and Rookie) plus a few 10mpg guys.
DeJuan Blair to me will be the steal of the draft
So James Harden, who in two years at Arizona State won zero Pac 10 regular season titles and zero pac 10 tournaments is a “winner”? I guess that’s based off high school performances.
Demar Derozan on the other hand, won the Pac 10 tournament in his only year in college (beating two nationally ranked teams including Harden’s Sun Devils), and was named Tournament MVP, averaging 21 points and 6 rebounds on 57.5% shooting.
So no significant titles of any kind in 2 years of college gets you labeled as a “winner”, but one Pac 10 tournament title and one tournament MVP (in the same tournament as Harden, remember) in one year of college doesn’t crack the top 17? I’m not claiming to know more about the prospects than Mr. Denker (not even close), and Harden did have a very successful high school career (although so did many who are labeled the opposite of winners), but to champion his winning while ignoring DeRozan’s excellent big game performance seems kind of odd.
And to everyone talking about DeRozan as a “potential” or “high cieling” kind of guy, you’re correct, he’s got a lot of potential. However, he is far from a project. This guy averaged 14 points last year on 52% shooting after an acknowledged slow start. Those are not unimpressive numbers for a college freshman by any means. I know stats don’t tell the whole story of course, and this comparison is totally for interests sake, (I know someone is gonna jump all over this, so I repeat, ONLY for interests sake) but a young buck by the name of Michael Jordan averaged 13.5 points on 53% shooting as a freshman down at UNC. All I’m saying is don’t discount his freshman year as a dissapointment, because he showed a lot of good things. And I mean actually showed them, not the way Darko or Patrick O Bryant showed them.
+1
What do you guys think of this trade idea:
Bosh, Roko, & #9 to Sacramento
for Kevin Martin, #4, #23, Jason Thompson
Won’t happen, but just asking….
I think it’s interesting, as Martin solves the raptors 2-guard problem, that being said I don’t like it that much. While I think Martin will score 20 pts a game, which essentially replaces Bosh’s scoring, the rebounding hit is too big I think. The fourth pick will probably be used to draft someone to replace Roko as backup pg, I don’t think that would be much of an upgrade. Also to make salaries work, Kings need to include about $5 million more in the trade, and I would insist on the Kinds taking Marcus Banks, trade works if Banks and Kenny Thomas are included(Thomas makes about $8 million but is expiring). The thing with this trade is, I’m not a huge fan of Thompson’s, so I’m not a huge fan of this trade.
Ahhh the old adage “whoever got the best player wins” works well here – By trading Bosh for an equal amount of talent, you would think that its a wash – simply a shuffle of talent. But while you can replace all the things Bosh does on the floor with a few role players, at the end of the day you can only play 5 guys at a time ;)
meh. so the raps shore up the wing spot with martin…kinda leaves a hole in the front court, no? nothing against thompson, he’s a good young player, but…
also, you’d have to wonder if sacto would be interested in giving up a player like martin for what would likely be a one-year rental in bosh.
perhaps bargs, marion (sign & trade) & the #9 for martin, thompson & the #4? i get the feeling marion wouldn’t mind, he seems to like the idea of being a big fish in a small pond. they could think highly enough of bargs to part with thompson & martin, if they figure they can replace martin’s wing production via the draft. i’m thinking they’d probably rather trade down than pick at the 4, and with the 9th pick, they could probably find either a good PG or a decent wing.
for the raps, thompson gives them more D & rebounding from the 5 than bargs, martin provides more offensive punch than marion (though significantly less D & rebounding). with the 4th pick, they could either use it on harden or rubio or ??? or trade down for two picks (mid to late 1st & a 2nd), and/or buy another 1st.
http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-draft-measurements/?page=&year=2009&sort2=DESC&draft=30&pos=0&sort=
Ya i’m just floating stuff out there for fun…
How about Bosh and #9 to the Clippers for #1, Eric Gordon and Camby?
Or anyone have any other ideas to deal with the Clippers?
That would be an interesting trade. There isn’t much aside from Gordon and the #1 pick that I would want from the Clippers though. Camby is nice, but plays the same position as Bargnani and old. How would that work out?
Raps Fan,
In less than a heart-beat, I would take Al Thornton from the Clippers … in a trade involving anyone on the Raptors’ current roster not named Bosh or Calderon.
with dunleavy involved, you never know…
Ya I’d rather have Thornton too but I doubt the Clips would part with him. Camby makes the salaries match a bit better and would provide some interior D off the bench.
Calderon
Gordon
Marion
Griffen
Bargs
Camby
Evans
Delfino
backup PG
etc… Ain’t not bad.
Forgot about Thornton. I agree btw.
I don’t get the Thornton love. I have seen very little of him admittedly but he’s 2 years older than Bargnani and puts up worse numbers. He strikes me as somewhere between average starter to role player. What would he give the Raptors?
If the Raps are going to trade with the Clips then flip Calderon for Boom Dizzle. That would change the chemistry, fast.
At his size, with his athleticism, and his specific skill set, Al Thornton is versatile enough to:
A. Defend multiple positions;
B. Rebound effectively at multiple positions; and,
C. Execute Offensively at multiple positions.
Although he is far from being a star in the NBA he is a highly serviceable player who should always have a reasonable price-tag, unlike certain over-priced former high draft picks.
His PER is about the same as Bargnani’s 1st year PER (around 12) for both years he’s been in the league. He’s the 39th rebounder (according to rebound rate) as a SF in the NBA. His “estimated wins added” score is about 2 lower than Bargnani’s for the past season. HE IS 2 YEARS OLDER THAN BARGNANI. I still don’t get it. At his price he might be a decent bench player, especially since he can score but I wouldn’t part with a starter to get him.
I saw Thornton in person play, at FSU and knew right away he would be a contributing NBA player someday. I like to think of him as a poor man’s version of Lamar Odom. If you see the guy in the NBA you don’t get overwhelmed by his height 6′7″, but once he spreads his arms you see how long a wingspan he has, you know that this guy can get after it. He has great offensive tools and he definitely can rebound. Clippers have all sorts of guys I think the Raps could target. Camby is obvious, but I think Eric Gordon is gonna be a tight 2 guard in the years to come. Just don’t get Baron Davis that guy is an injury machine and he is getting long in the tooth. I think he is over rated too. I mean what team has he ever won on? Golden State has some guys too to try to get. Everybody here goes on and on about Corey Maggette, but I don’t think he is the answer. Don’t hate on Biedrins, the dude blocks shots really well and he rebounds at a great pace also. I don’t want Monta Ellis though, he is just John Starks version 2, waiting to blow a gasket and flip out and end his career. It’s a problem when a little guy who came from no where gets too big for his britches and thinks he is all that, when in reality his hard work is what got him there. Zach Randolph is kinda scary to get, but he might work in Toronto,(probably not, since he is a locker room problem). In closing I think trading with either California team this summer is a good idea.
Just say no to Z-bo:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh2fn01cngg
Suggesting that any of the available draft pick rookies could start with the Ratpors is plainly ridiculous and a prescription for disaster. If anybody here hopes that a rookie will be the Ratpors salvation at SF or SG, they are desperate and delusional..!!!
I don’t think anyone expects the Raps to be going for it all next season. Therefore the rookie will be someone for a few years down the road to hopefully be contending with. So having a rookie start isn’t that ridiculous if they are the one who wins the spot after camp.
Okay … who would you prefer at SF/SG .. Joey Graham or DeRozan … and why??!!!
Beginning of the year, probably Graham, but I see know reason the DeRozan can’t outplay him and take his spot later on in the year.
Morris Peterson took a starting spot in his rookie year and played just fine. Courtney Lee did the same this year.
What he said.
James Harden and Tyreke Evans could absolutely start for Toronto next season. I’m not saying they would, because only Jay Triano knows that for sure.
DeRozan, Curry, and Henderson would also likely get long looks at a starting spot if they performed well in summer league and training camp.
And in regards to your DeRozan vs. Graham question, Joey started 24 games as a rookie (many near the start of the season if I recall correctly) and hasn’t made a whole lot of progress since. So it is by no means out of the question for the Raps to consider starting a rookie at a weak position.
I would love to see the raps look for proven NBA help instead of relying on a rookie for serious contributions.
Let’s assume that a cash strapped team like Chi, L.A. or Utah will sell a first rounder for cash.Raps pick up Young or Teauge or Ellington or such.
Let’s say Marion has a sign and trade value of 9 mil,
Marion, #9 and Banks for Richard Jefferson
Jose
Delfino
R.J.
Bosh
Bargs
Retain Parker, add Anthony Johnson, or Earl Watson or some 10 min. a night guard and you have a team that will be better off than a team depending on rookies
I wonder if the Bucks would do that trade WITHOUT the pick though…or maybe just a switch of picks 9&10.
Can’t see the bucks making that, i would think in trading rj, they would be trying to save money, i believe that trade would equal out in salaray. As rj is owed about 14.2 next season,
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/milwaukee.htm
Signing marion is what at least 8,9 mill per, banks is at 4.6 next season. Thats what 12.5-13.5 mill with those two, i doubt they make the trade for a saving for a mill or two.
Teague seems like a guy whose stock dropped as a result of a poor showing at a key time… doesn`t he have the potential to be a very good water bug type scoring g, perhaps off the bench? i’d love to see the raps buy his pick.
I’m not a fan of Al Thornton. He’s an inefficient isolation based scorer who can’t pass the ball, has a poor jumper, and plays very little defense. A selfish me first player who doesn’t understand how to play winning basketball.
The lack of improvement he showed from his rookie year to his second year is a hugely worrying sign. Especially so because he’s older (25) than most second year players.
hey dave, what are your thoughts on kevin martin as players, i read often on how efficient he is as a scorer but am not familiar with his game. This is in reference to the trade proposed above which i think the raps absolutely rob the kings of.
I believe you have addressed a few times on your blog..
Kevin Martin is a phenomenal scorer. He can score just about every way possible — moves extremely well without the ball both coming off screens and as a cutter, can create off the dribble, brilliant jump shot from inside and outside the three point line, midrange game, great finisher in traffic, gets to the free throw line, brilliant in the open court — his wide range of scoring abilities makes him impossible to shut down, especially if he’s the second or third best scorer on his team. He’s one of those uber-intelligent scorers that just finds the gaps in a defense and exploits them.
Last season, the ‘07-08 season, Kevin Martin led the NBA in free throws. He’s unbelievably good at creating contact and getting to the foul line, both off jump shots (like Billups or Kobe) and on forays to the rim (like Wade, Bron). It’s his ability to get to the free throw line so often that makes him such an efficient scorer.
Martin shoots 45% from the field for his career, 39% from three, and 85% from the line. He takes about 30% of his attempts from downtown so his adjusted FG% rises up to 51.5% when you take into account his three ball. Martin’s true shooting percentage (accounting for 3s and FTs) rises to 60.5% for his career (unbelievably good).
Martin isn’t the type of player who dominates the ball either. He gets his buckets within the flow the offense, and on a low number of touches and shot attempts. This will make him a hugely dangerous 2nd or 3rd scoring option once Sacramento find him some more help.
——————————————————
So, Kevin Martin is an excellent scorer. One of the most efficient in the league.
The rest of his game isn’t a lot to write home about though. His defense is very poor, ergo he needs to play alongside a legitimate stopper on the wing so he can defend the lesser offensive threat. His rebounding is decent (slightly below average but respectable), although it dropped this year but I think that was only because there was too much weight on his shoulders, give him some help and his rebounding likely props back up. Another problem is that he doesn’t create much offense for his teammates, which makes him a bad first option and a questionable (depending on who’s alongside him) second option. He isn’t good at creating shots for his teammates.
Kevin Martin is a solid passer and ball handler though, albeit, not a creative one. He’s a team first guy who’ll move the ball and be very unselfish … but he doesn’t create shots for teammates at a high level … if you get my drift.
The crowning question on his career is whether or not he can improve his defense, and to what level can he improve it too. That’ll decide whether he’s a notch below an All-Star level, or a perennial All-Star.
Dave,
Might you see him as a poor man’s version of Rip Hamilton?
[IMO, Martin's strengths & weaknesses are pretty much as you've outlined. As his career continues to evolve, his major challenges will be finding an updated version of C-Bills and Tay Prince to ride shot-gun for him.]
Emm … somewhat similar to Rip Hamilton … I think it’s a decent comparison, but not a great one.
I think Kevin Martin has long since surpassed Rip as a scorer. Martin is far more versatile, hugely more efficient, and far less reliant on his teammates or style of play. Then the massive difference in defensive ability, with Rip being a very good defender and Martin being a very poor one.
I’m not sure who I would compare him too. I haven’t heard a good comparison yet, the versatility + effectiveness of his scoring makes him a highly unusual player. Couple that with his weaknesses, and it makes it difficult to come up with a good comparison.
The combination of being both a very efficient + prolific three point shooter and also being able to get to the free throw line at a prolific rate, ruins most comparisons for Martin.
Martin has averaged 9.5 and 10.3 free throw attempts per game in the last two seasons. Add in the 40% three point shooting on four-to-five attempts per game and you have a very unusual player.
There just haven’t been that many players who combine those two traits, and it’s huge part of what makes Martin so effective as a scorer.
Dave,
Al Thornton is still at least 2 years away from reaching his physical peak, as an NBA player. Over the years, there have been a number of “Al Thornton” types who’ve undergone a transformation, as they reach their late 20’s, and then went on to have solid careers. Al is what you say he is, right now, but it would not be unheard of for a leopard like that to develop some new spots in the coming years.
Khandor, I was quite happy to buy into that theory during Al’s rookie season … but his lack of improvement last year has severely hurt my confidence in Thornton figuring things out.
At this stage, I think it’s very unlikely that he develops into the player I initially hoped he could become.
Next season will be huge for him. That should give us a fairly definitive answer on where his career will go from here.
Dave,
Players like Al Thornton often have uneven development arcs early in their careers. If he gets lucky though and gets paired up with a superior head coach, who he hits it off with, it should come as no surprise to see Al Thornton play an important role for a high end team in his later years. As I said, I don’t think he’s a star player, but what he does can be very useful to the right team.
khan – i think you hit the nail on the head when you mention coaching. is it possible for a guy like thornton to have been in a worse situation his first two years? i’m not suggesting it’s all on the coaching staff, nor am i suggesting dunleavy is the worst coach of all time (though it’s a possibility), but his lack of progression from year 1 to year 2 (at his age, and with his skill-set) runs counter to what one would expect, if he was receiving even a modicum of NBA-calibre coaching.
“Strokes for folks” and “horses for courses” is a huge part of Success in Life, and the NBA is no different. At the highest levels of the game, most players have some sort of athletic talent and associated high end skill level [in 1 or more specific areas] that it comes down to character, coaching and GMing when determining how far they can go as individual players in this league. Great character is more difficult to find than many people think; as are great coaching and GMing. When the three come together, however, it can produce magical results.
Or he could be the 2nd coming of Joey Graham, who he resembles statistically. Is he older than Joey?
Joey Graham is a better player than many people realize. That said … the skill set Graham has is very different than Al Thornton’s. Relatively speaking, Thornton’s is more “valuable”, overall, although neither one is a star player by any stretch of the imagination.
I think this draft will have a lot more good players then people think.
Maybe not any Kobes, Lebrons, but maybe a lot more quality starters.
I really like Evans and am hoping he somehow slides to us at 9 I believe not trading down and taking either Evans, Derozan unless someone we did not expect to fall to us do Harden, Curry is the way to go, followd by buying a pick in the first round where players like Lawson, Williams, Teague, Clark, Henderson, and take a chance. If a 2nd rd pick is going for dirt cheap maybe grab one as well.
My sleeper of the draft is Jodie Meeks I am not saying he becomes an allstar I am saying he will go very late first round to late 2nd round he will turn to out to be a very good rotation player in realistic time off course.
I am hoping for 2 picks at the very least as you would have to think teams will be selling late firsts and second round picks. Considering we only have Douby signed you would have to think a wing player will be drafted at 9 by BC. If some how Bosh gets traded before the draft maybe we draft Blair???
I would have the Raps draft board as follows assuming these players are gone: Griffin, Thabeet, Rubio.
Harden – I know he wil 99% be gone
Curry – I know he is not fan favorite on here but I still believe he will be a very good and efficent player for 12 years. He is moving up fast supposedly. Think cross between Mark Price and Reggie Miller.
Evans – This kid gets to hole has a sick wingspan and can flat out score with ease and he is a freshman, he has a very big upside. worst case scenario Jamal Crawford best case scenario Manu Ginobli.
Derozan – Very raw will take a while, half court game especiallybut he will be good on transition right away he is an exciting finisher but could very easily be the next Fred Jones or could be That Vince guy he always gets compared too. High risk reward.
Henderson – I think they were be a lot beeter picks here mostly PG’s who ever is still on the board between Flynn, Jennings, Holliday may be a better pick but I can BC taken a PG here unless he has allready made a trade for a wing player prior to draft day. As for Henderson I think he will be O.K pick sort of like a Mo Pete comparison (Not in type of game but in impact)
Clark – If the Raps really like this guy maybe they draft him to replace Marion and spend that money on a 2 guard (Iverson, Gordon, Jack, etc. I don’t suggest this move and I am not saying Clark would start right away.
I would really like to see the Raps trade Bosh, Banks for Monta Ellis, Rony Turiaf and there pick. I would then like us to say bye to Marion and use that money to give to David Lee 8-10mil a year.
You would have money to still sign Parker or Delfiono, Rasho,
You could draft with picks 7 and 9 you could Evans or Derozan and Flynn or Holliday.
you would have:
PG’s:
Jose
Flynn or Halliday
Ukic
Wings:
Monta Ellis
Parker or Delfino or both
Derozan or Evans
possible later first round pick (Clark or Daye, etc)
free agent or Douby or both
Bigs:
Lee
Andrea
Evans
Hump
Turiaf
Obyant or Jawai or Pops or Rasho
I know it would not happen I think GS would not give up that much but I just love Ellis so I can dream…
Lee is a weak defender , and is not a shot blocker. if we keep calderon (and don’t get a wing kirilenko type) we need another strong interior defensive presence.
if we trade bosh to g.state, I’d prefer a package of biedrins and ellis.
but I still see detroit as the best target;
my dream is the following lineup:
Calderon
Hamilton
Prince
Marion
Bargnani
not so great on boards…but experienced, team first players, good defense, and all good passers.
cant wait to see reggie evans start the break and sometimes be the playmaker on the break as well lol. (he has a tendency of morphing into a point guard at times) nevertheless, he really knows his role and what he can bring to this team. draft day coming soon!!!!!!!!
the celtics are one year older, the cavs are angry, magic might lose turk, philly is a question mark, atlanta will be steady, charlotte might win 41 games with their roster, bulls will stay the same, knicks will stay the same, miami will drop, new jersey will win 37 games, detroit drops, wizards could be healthy, raps gotta hang in there…
its goin to be a fun season in the east with 3 great teams and 8 teams being almost equally talented.
the west will have 6 bottom feeders and get all the high draft picks again. lol.
We are proud & grateful members of the (L)eastern conference.
i watch the clippers, i like that team for some reason, maybe cause camby was on the fantasy and he was 17 rebs, 6 blks. anyways… al thornton needs to grow a brain and he will be fine, he’ll have the joey graham spectacular dunk while making 12 foot jumpers type of games, and other days his head is just not there. and he is already in his mid 20’s. dude can dunk though. who did he have that nasty slam on this year, i can’t fucking remember…
found it, solomon jones. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5IEJAcvhdo&feature=PlayList&p=C331F12124595B8F&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=10
re the discussion of Al Thornton, I agree that he has (i) the athleticism, (ii) the size and (iii) the skills to be a very effective role player in the NBA. However, IMO, what he doesn’t have is a sense to how to be a role player. Instead, he’s one of many players who have merely “above-average” talent and skills who THINK they have “star” talent and skills.
This could certainly happen through coaching, but my view is that if Thornton figures it out and stops shooting every single time he touches the ball, he has a chance to be a solid contributor on a good team. If he doesn’t, he’s doomed to a life of being one of the better players on a very weak team, or warming the bench on a good team.
Not saying he’s a bad character, but I think the willingness and ability to embrace a supporting role is often a determining factor in an NBA player’s career arc.