ESPN 2009 Lottery Mock Draft

[the_bruce]

Hmm does Ford think Griffin could project into a 3? Or at least defend 3's? He seems to have the athletic makeup of the larger wing players, without the deadly perimeter game. I think he could defend nba 3's

Or does he just assume that any team at the #1 will take him because he is head and shoulders above everyone at this point?

[Worm Guts]

Hmm does Ford think Griffin could project into a 3? Or at least defend 3's? He seems to have the athletic makeup of the larger wing players, without the deadly perimeter game. I think he could defend nba 3's

Or does he just assume that any team at the #1 will take him because he is head and shoulders above everyone at this point?

The 2nd thing

[john2jer]

Draftexpress has Cole Aldrich going 27th in the 2010 draft, why would we consider him with a mid-1st this year? I watched him play against UMASS the other day and looked mediocre at best. Uncoordinated, weak, and a bit lost. Yeah he had a good tournament last year, but I think that was more because he was a 6th or 7th option and no one expected anything out of him. Now the bar's been raised and he's becoming more of a focal point and he can't handle it. I know it's early, but let's not go crazy because he's a local kid. Rick Rickert anyone?

[jpatrick]

Draftexpress has Cole Aldrich going 27th in the 2010 draft, why would we consider him with a mid-1st this year? I watched him play against UMASS the other day and looked mediocre at best. Uncoordinated, weak, and a bit lost. Yeah he had a good tournament last year, but I think that was more because he was a 6th or 7th option and no one expected anything out of him. Now the bar's been raised and he's becoming more of a focal point and he can't handle it. I know it's early, but let's not go crazy because he's a local kid. Rick Rickert anyone?

I'll make an early prediction. If Aldrich comes out this year (a big if), he'll go in the top 20 and I think there is a good chance he sneaks into the late lottery. You have to remember Pryzbilla went 7 or 8, size matters. Cole is nearly 7 feet and averaging 14pts, 10 bds and nearly 3 blocks as a sophmore. Of course I could be wrong but I don't think so.

Rickert's a bad comparison. He had skills but they were all perimeter skills and that doesn't work when you have no athleticism. Aldrich is a down low rebounder and shot blocker who is just beginning to get the coordination thing down...takes awhile for some of those big guys.

[john2jer]

Joel went 9th. I wasn't comparing Cole's game to Rick Rickert's. I was comparing the hype I've seen from some Wolves posters about Cole Aldrich. Clearly Cole and Rick are different players. In the long run I think Cole easily has a better shot of making it in the league, but like I said, I'm comparing hype because he's a hometown kid.

His stats are nice sure, but no draft site even has him in this year's draft, they have him in next year's, and he's going late in the 1st round next year. That doesn't really scream lottery pick to me.

I've watched one game of his this year so far, so clearly I'm an expert(HA!), but he looked terrible. 3 times within 5 minutes he tripped on his own feet and hit the deck. He can't defend the pick and roll yet. He has no upper body strength, many of his rebounds he lost once he got possession. His flat footed jumper looked decent because he shoots from a high angle and it's tough to block, I'll give him that. But he showed no post moves, and he kind of just stoof there like a 5th grade big man with his hand in the air. No jockeying for position, no sealing, no strength. Just threw his hand in the air as if that's supposed to give confidence to his point guard to lob it into him.

[shrink]

Chad Ford now believes our order would be:

Griffin
Rubio
Thabeet
Curry

[_AIJ_]

James Harden is the best prospect in this draft IMO.

[Klomp]

Players I'm keeping an eye on (not necessarily for our own pick)

James Harden - Reminds me a lot of Brandon Roy.
Eric Maynor - I've loved his game ever since that upset win over Duke.
Cole Aldrich - He reminds me of Joel Pryzbilla.
Jerome Jordan - Reminds me of a young Andrew Bynum. If given the time to develop, could really flourish.

[HL Slamdunk]

Okay, I have a problem with Chad Ford's mock draft predictor. He still includes Ricky Rubio on the list of Draftees, but many sources have stated that Rubio won't even enter the draft this year.

On Harden: Do you guys think that he could effectively play the 3 for us? He's 6' 5" and that may be a tad undersized for the 3 hole. He would definitely be a solid scorer at the 2 spot for us, but from what I've seen from Foye the last month, I think keeping Foye at 2 would be best for the team and for Foye.

On Griffin: He is definitely the best player available with the first pick in the draft. If we get it, do you trade the first pick for a lower pick and a proven player? Or, do you draft Griffin and clear out the logjam at PF by trading Craig Smith and one of our first rounders for a PG? All of these options seem to be decent if the ping pong balls fall our way.

[PeeDee]

On Harden: Do you guys think that he could effectively play the 3 for us? He's 6' 5" and that may be a tad undersized for the 3 hole. He would definitely be a solid scorer at the 2 spot for us, but from what I've seen from Foye the last month, I think keeping Foye at 2 would be best for the team and for Foye.

Welcome to the board. That said, no way Harden would play the 3 for us, our team is hella short to begin with. He and Foye would play a 1/2 hybrid, just like Foye/Mayo would have. That is if Foye is still on the team next year...

[HL Slamdunk]

Have any teams had lots of success running a 1/2 hybrid? I don't really know if there have been many. But, I suppose its like a lot of things in basketball, if it is run right it can really be effective.

Also, would it allow us to play more of an up-tempo offense with a 1/2 hybrid, slower, or about the same?

[PeeDee]

I would imagine it could be efficient in the half-court or the running game, if the players mesh.

Here's a sleeper for you guys...

Evan Turner SG 6-7 Ohio State
16.2PPG 7.2RPG 2.9APG 50.5FG%

Here's what draft express says about his defense:

Defensively, Turner appears to project very well to the next level, as he has great size and length for his position and also puts a good effort on this end of the floor. He’s active and fundamentally sound and doesn’t appear to take any possessions off. His numbers definitely support this claim, as he gets in the passing lanes at an outstanding rate.

Sounds like one to watch.

[shrink]

Now that we've passed a few teams, here's the new draft order Chad Ford sees for us:

Griffin
Rubio
Harden
Monroe
Thabeet
Holliday
Curry

[4ho5ive]

I was messing around with it last night. This thing is crazy. Rubio, Harden and Holiday are all players that I like with our pick. Monroe has a lot of potential but i dont advocate drafting another PF, Thabeet keeps falling out of favor for me and Curry is a big no no.