How far can thabeet drop in the draft...

[MitchSlapped]

If the grizzlies trade the number two (rubio likely to be pickd) and thunder take harden? Kings don't need anymore bigs, wizards are a possibility, while the wolves and warriors and knicks are leaning towards either guards or Jordan hill.

[RussellandFlow]

He would not fall past NY at 8

[noido]

That's for sure. NY will take him.
Is Thabeet working out with anyone? I haven't heard much. He is the one guy in the top 10 im least convinced about at the moment

[RoyceDa59]

Top 6 pick in the draft, no doubt about it.

Kings dont need anymore big men? They were the worst team in the league last year and would happily draft Thabeet at #4.

[the_bruce]

There is no scenario where thabeet, Curry, Evans, or Harden drop past MN @ 6. MN seems locked into Evans curry or Harden @6, but in every draft scenario where all of those guys are taken earlier that leaves thabeet @6. If Thabeet is taken earlier one of Curry, Harden, and Evans falls to 6. Unless something funky happens like OKC taking derozan or SAC taking holiday, but i think those chances are remote.

griffin\Rubio\Harden\Thabeet
griffin\Rubio\Harden\Evans\Curry\Thabeet

[TheBoondocks]

Thabeet would probably not drop past the Wizards. I doubt he'll be there at 4 to be honest.

[call.me.dude]

If my team wasn't in dire (and I mean absolutely dire) need of a center and guys like Jennings, Evans, Curry, Flynn, Derozan, Clark, Holiday (maybe Hill) and of course the obvious three (Griffin, Rubio, Harden) were still around, I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole to be honest.

I just don't think he will ever be better than say Joel Przybilla. Don't get me wrong, I love the Vanilla Gorilla, but not with a Top 10, let alone a Top 5 or Top 3 pick. Not even in this draft.

Thabeet will never be as good an individual defender and rebounder. And I bet he won't be as efficient on offense. So what's left? Weak-side shot-blocking? Yay!

Many will say now "this is why you're not an NBA GM", but I don't care. I see the whole "potential" thing with Thabeet, but to me, in his case that word means lack of skills and "room for improvement" if you want. And btw, Przybilla would eat him alive.

But I guess Thabeet won't fall further than 6. Minnesota could really use a legit center and most NBA teams obviously think he is or will be.

[TheBoondocks]

If my team wasn't in dire (and I mean absolutely dire) need of a center and guys like Jennings, Evans, Curry, Flynn, Derozan, Clark, Holiday (maybe Hill) and of course the obvious three (Griffin, Rubio, Harden) were still around, I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole to be honest.

I just don't think he will ever be better than say Joel Przybilla. Don't get me wrong, I love the Vanilla Gorilla, but not with a Top 10, let alone a Top 5 or Top 3 pick. Not even in this draft.

Thabeet will never be as good an individual defender and rebounder. And I bet he won't be as efficient on offense. So what's left? Weak-side shot-blocking? Yay!

Many will say now "this is why you're not an NBA GM", but I don't care. I see the whole "potential" thing with Thabeet, but to me, in his case that word means lack of skills and "room for improvement" if you want. And btw, Przybilla would eat him alive.

But I guess Thabeet won't fall further than 6. Minnesota could really use a legit center and most NBA teams obviously think he is or will be.

How many games have you watched Thabeet play?

[call.me.dude]

How many games have you watched Thabeet play?

About 10 games + all the tournament games of course.

How many games have you watched Przybilla play?

edit: If you think my post was so laughable, then please let me hear your predictions on how good he will become. I'd like to hear the opinion of an insider who obviously knows Thabeet as well as anyone.

[rpa]

Top 6 pick in the draft, no doubt about it.

Kings dont need anymore big men? They were the worst team in the league last year and would happily draft Thabeet at #4.

Hawes & Thompson. You don't become a better team by adding talent at redundant positions.


To answer the OP's question: I think the draft starts with Griffin/Rubio/Harden. Then the Kings pass on Thabeet for a guard (either Evans, Holiday, Flynn, or Jennings); the Wiz then pick either Curry or Hill; the T'Wolves then go for a guard (ideally they'd take 1 of Evans or Curry). The Warriors could pick him but hard to succeed with 2 anemic offensive players in the frontcourt in Biedrins & Thabeet so let's say they go for Hill or Holiday. That leaves the Knicks. I think at this point all the top guys will be off the Knicks draft board and they'll happily take Thabeet--they do need a center anyways.

So to answer the question: Thabeet can realistically drop to 8.

[TheOUTLAW]

I just can't see him dropping out of the top 5. To be honest, I don't see him dropping out of the top 3.

[djthesonicsfan]

I can see the big stiff going anywhere from #5 on down...

1. Padres: Griffen - luckily he's also really good at baseball because the Clips will screw it up.
2. Griz: Rubio - the only questions are "to which team" & "for whom" does he get traded.
3. notSonics: Harden - it's nice when best player available also fits highest team need.
4. Kings: Jordan Hill - Rubio for Hill, 2009 #23 pick plus rights to a 2010 1st pick swap.
5. Wizzards: ? - only if they can trade Thabeet for a win now veteran & salary dump.
6. Wolves: ? - only if Stephan Curry & Tyreke Evans are both gone.
7. Warriors: ? - only if Monta Ellis says it's ok.
8. Knicks: ? - definitely so long as Curry is gone which seems likely.

[It_Was_Typed]

If the order stays as is, he will not fall past Minnesota.

[i<3basketball]

If the order stays as is, he will not fall past Minnesota.

Exactly, won't get past 6.

[moocow007]

If the grizzlies trade the number two (rubio likely to be pickd) and thunder take harden? Kings don't need anymore bigs, wizards are a possibility, while the wolves and warriors and knicks are leaning towards either guards or Jordan hill.

Donnie Walsh has said that he'd like to trade up for Thabeet so I'd doubt if, for some odd reason, Thabeet is still on the board at 8 that he'll remain on the board at 9. So...8 is the lowest. But he's not dropping.

[moocow007]

If my team wasn't in dire (and I mean absolutely dire) need of a center and guys like Jennings, Evans, Curry, Flynn, Derozan, Clark, Holiday (maybe Hill) and of course the obvious three (Griffin, Rubio, Harden) were still around, I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole to be honest.

I just don't think he will ever be better than say Joel Przybilla. Don't get me wrong, I love the Vanilla Gorilla, but not with a Top 10, let alone a Top 5 or Top 3 pick. Not even in this draft.

Thabeet will never be as good an individual defender and rebounder. And I bet he won't be as efficient on offense. So what's left? Weak-side shot-blocking? Yay!

Many will say now "this is why you're not an NBA GM", but I don't care. I see the whole "potential" thing with Thabeet, but to me, in his case that word means lack of skills and "room for improvement" if you want. And btw, Przybilla would eat him alive.

But I guess Thabeet won't fall further than 6. Minnesota could really use a legit center and most NBA teams obviously think he is or will be.

Thabeet has noticeably improved in each season he's been at UCONN so I'm not sure I understand why people think he can't improve. For a guy that didn't play organized basketball until late his ability to improve every year is very promising.

Is he a risk? SURE. If he wasn't then he'd go one cause heck, how do you pass up on a 7'3" athletic sure thing?

Everybody is a risk aside from Griffin, which is why everyone but Griffin is flip flopping more than dolphins at sea world these days. There's no gaurantee that Harden will be able to get his shots off consistently going against guys that are as big and athletic than him (if not more so), there's no guarantee that Jennings can turn into anything more than an And1 player, there's no guarantee that Clark won't turn out to be the next Tim Thomas, that Rubio can actually play in the NBA, that Holiday has the personality to be a lead guard, etc...

[Tekkenlaw]

They only way I could see Thabeet falling past the wolves is if Rubio or Harden are there when the Wolves pick.

[NBAMAN2006]

My chrystal ball says this happens...

1. LA Clippers- Blake Griffin PF
2. Memphis- Ricky Rubio PG
3. Oklahoma City- James Harden SG
4. Sacramento- Jonny Flyn PG/Jrue Holiday G
5. Washington- Tyreke Evans SG
6. Minnesota- Hasheem Thabeet C

After that happens, Minny trades Kevin Love for Rubio.

[call.me.dude]

Thabeet has noticeably improved in each season he's been at UCONN so I'm not sure I understand why people think he can't improve. For a guy that didn't play organized basketball until late his ability to improve every year is very promising.

Yes he has improved in each season, that's a fact. But I don't get your second statement... To me, the worse you are in the beginning or the less skills you have, the easier it is to improve significantly. While he's being teached basketball in college in a good program, he's obviously going to get better, especially since he wasn't all that great from the start. I'm not really too impressed. I mean, it's common for NBA players to improve during their college career.

And with not getting much playing time in his first seasons (he won't, because he's clearly not ready), being labeled a bust, etc. I don't think he will have the desire to improve. Also, you can only improve on things like BB IQ so much ... plus there's his hands, his lack of intensity, how he shies back from contact, his coordination, etc. .. All things that are part of his personality on the court and his body. It's going to take years to change that completely if it's possible at all. I'm not saying he won't improve overall, I just don't think it's going to be enough.

Is he a risk? SURE. If he wasn't then he'd go one cause heck, how do you pass up on a 7'3" athletic sure thing?

What do you see as his ceiling that makes you think he'd go one if he was a sure thing?
12/12 + 3bpg or what? I think it's ridiculous to think he can be that good and it probably would still not be enough to go 1st overall, except maybe if his man defense also became stellar.

[moocow007]

Thabeet has noticeably improved in each season he's been at UCONN so I'm not sure I understand why people think he can't improve. For a guy that didn't play organized basketball until late his ability to improve every year is very promising.

Yes he has improved in each season, that's a fact. But I don't get your second statement... To me, the worse you are in the beginning or the less skills you have, the easier it is to improve significantly. While he's being teached basketball in college in a good program, he's obviously going to get better, especially since he wasn't all that great from the start. I'm not really too impressed. I mean, it's common for NBA players to improve during their college career.

Is it? For guys that have never played organized basketball most of their life, how is it easier to improve when you throw them in what technically is the second most competitive environment to play (NBA being the hardest)? It's not like he's playing against JV teams, he's playing on one of the best teams in college basketball in a powerhouse conference. If he wasn't talented he wouldn't be able to last much less improve as dramatically as he did. Think about it. If you've played basketball all your life, if you've lived and drinked it, then the transition from HS to college should be a lot easier than someone that never picked up a ball until recently. What would have been easy for him to do is to stagnate and or end up on the bench because he couldn't grasp things quickly enough (and Jim Calhoun would not play him just for the heck of playing him).

And with not getting much playing time in his first seasons (he won't, because he's clearly not ready), being labeled a bust, etc. I don't think he will have the desire to improve. Also, you can only improve on things like BB IQ so much ... plus there's his hands, his lack of intensity, how he shies back from contact, his coordination, etc. .. All things that are part of his personality on the court and his body. It's going to take years to change that completely if it's possible at all. I'm not saying he won't improve overall, I just don't think it's going to be enough.

I hate using the adage you can't teach size, but in this we are talking about a bright, athletic 7'3"-7'4" shotblocker that actually has proven he can block shots (compared to so called "shotblockers" from the Congo that never really faced competition on the level of what Thabeet faced). And once again, the fact that he's been able to pickup the nuances of organized and highly competitive game played at an elite level (NCAA divison I basketball) indicates that he has the ability to learn and grow. Will he take time to adjust? Sure. But again if he was ready to go he wouldn't be talked about as anything but the no.1 overall pick cause who would not want a sure thing 7'3" athlete?

Is he a risk? SURE. If he wasn't then he'd go one cause heck, how do you pass up on a 7'3" athletic sure thing?

What do you see as his ceiling that makes you think he'd go one if he was a sure thing?
12/12 + 3bpg or what? I think it's ridiculous to think he can be that good and it probably would still not be enough to go 1st overall, except maybe if his man defense also became stellar.

Who said I said he's a sure thing? All I said is that none of the guys past Griffin are sure things. NONE. Honestly the only sure thing is that Demar Derozan will make ESPN's top 10 plays at some point this season (assuming he doesn't get injured right out of the box).

I said, that Thabeet's no guarantee bust (what you guys are saying). What I'm criticizing is the "crystal balls" that you guys (who I'm guessing are not NBA scouts) are using to determine whatever it is you guys are determining with such certainty.