Did the Thunder, Kings, Wolves & Warriors get it right?

Dan's with the Wolves · Post #1 » by **Dan's with the Wolves** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 9:03 pm

Leaving aside the first two picks that were big men, did the rest of the team get it right when evaluating the guards in the 09 draft.

3 - Thunder: Pick - Harden, Was he the best guard in the draft? Or was it that Harden + Westbrook is better than Westbrook + any other guard in the draft.

4 - Kings: Pick - Evans, Is he the best of the rest? He will most likely be the most talented guard in the draft whether pg or sg or pg/sg who cares.

5 - Wolves: Pick - Rubio, Was it the contract status that caused him to drop or is this where he belongs? Should he have been higher or lower?

6 - Wolves: Pick - Flynn, Is he the best floor leader? I think so.

7- Warriors: Pick - Curry, Should he have went higher? I don't think so.

Overall, I think they did a pretty good job in evaluating the guards. To me Rubio is the wildcard. Is he substance or flash? It is interesting to hear that the Wolves were not expecting Rubio to fall to them at 5 (Taylor said he was impress by the way Kahn and company were able to adjust their plans when Rubio fell) and alternatively that the Kings had both Evans and Flynn rated higher than Rubio.

I wonder who the Wolves originally had mocked at 5 and 6?

Ayatollahmugsy · Post #2 » by **Ayatollahmugsy** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:34 pm

I think Harden is a perfect fit next to Westbrook in OKC, and the Kings made a solid choice with Evans.

To me, DeMar Derozan was the best prospect on the board at No. 5. I think Minnesota would be in a lot better shape long-term with a Flynn/Derozan backcourt than with the Rubio mess they're in now.

Dan's with the Wolves · Post #3 » by **Dan's with the Wolves** » Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:31 pm

It will be interesting to see how the players from this draft develop over time. Currently, I see Derozan as lacking ballhandling skills and range on his jump shot.

Post #4 » by **gswhoops** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 5:50 pm

I don't think the Warriors got it right, but I've been a Steph Curry hater from day 1 (I wanted Jennings or Holiday).

I think it's pretty clear the Wolves screwed up by picking Rubio and Flynn (one of those picks should have been Curry) and IMO the Kingsd shouldn't even have given Minny a chance at Ricky.

It should have gone:

1. Griffin
2. ThaBust
3. Harden
4. Rubio
5. Evans
6. Curry/Flynn
7. Jennings

Post #5 » by **suckfish** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 5:56 pm

I don't think the Warriors got it right, but I've been a Steph Curry hater from day 1 (I wanted Jennings or Holiday).

I'm with you 100%, bar the Holiday bit. I think I've got the rep on the Bulls board as the 'Curry Hater'. I have a friendly bet with someone that Brandon Jennings will be the better player, and I'm pretty confident in saying that.

I could be dreadfully wrong, but I just don't see what everybody else sees in Curry. I think he'll be decent, but Harden, Flynn, Evans, Jennings and Rubio will all be better IMO.

Dan's with the Wolves · Post #6 » by **Dan's with the Wolves** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 6:29 pm

gswhoops wrote:I don't think the Warriors got it right, but I've been a Steph Curry hater from day 1 (I wanted Jennings or Holiday).

I think it's pretty clear the Wolves screwed up by picking Rubio and Flynn (one of those picks should have been Curry) and IMO the Kingsd shouldn't even have given Minny a chance at Ricky.

It should have gone:

1. Griffin
2. ThaBust
3. Harden
4. Rubio
5. Evans
6. Curry/Flynn
7. Jennings

Why do you rank Rubio below Harden but higher than Evans, Flynn, Curry, Jennings?

ponder276 · Post #7 » by **ponder276** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 8:33 pm

Dan's with the Wolves wrote:Leaving aside the first two picks that were big men, did the rest of the team get it right when evaluating the guards in the 09 draft.

3 - Thunder: Pick - Harden, Was he the best guard in the draft? Or was it that Harden + Westbrook is better than Westbrook + any other guard in the draft.

4 - Kings: Pick - Evans, Is he the best of the rest? He will most likely be the most talented guard in the draft whether pg or sg or pg/sg who cares.

5 - Wolves: Pick - Rubio, Was it the contract status that caused him to drop or is this where he belongs? Should he have been higher or lower?

6 - Wolves: Pick - Flynn, Is he the best floor leader? I think so.

7- Warriors: Pick - Curry, Should he have went higher? I don't think so.

Overall, I think they did a pretty good job in evaluating the guards. To me Rubio is the wildcard. Is he substance or flash? It is interesting to hear that the Wolves were not expecting Rubio to fall to them at 5 (Taylor said he was impress by the way Kahn and company were able to adjust their plans when Rubio fell) and alternatively that the Kings had both Evans and Flynn rated higher than Rubio.

I wonder who the Wolves originally had mocked at 5 and 6?

3. Harden - good choice for the Thunder, he should be a perfect fit between Durant and Westbrook, as he's an excellent passer who really knows how to pick his spots. Tyreke Evans will be a good player too, but he's IMO too ball dominant to play between Westbrook and Durant, who are gonna need a tonne of time with the ball themselves.

4. Evans - should have gone with Rubio, IMO. Rubio really wanted to go to Sacto, I have little doubt that he would have come over, especially since he'd get more money at #4 than at #5. Evans should be a very good player, but he's a scorer first and foremost, and the Kings already have tonnes of scorers. They need a playmaking PG who can defend, and that fits Rubio to the tee.

5. Rubio - good value pick here, can't let him slip further

6. Flynn - weird pick since they just selected Rubio, but probably the BPA (big dropoff in talent after Flynn, IMO). Can make trades later. Only thing I don't like about this pick is that it means Rubio will maybe be scared into not coming over. High-risk, high-reward moves by the TWolves

7. Curry - hard to pick between Curry, Jennings and DeRozan here, Curry should fit well in Golden State's system though. At the same time, this pick might force Monta out the door, he really did not want them to draft another guard.

Dan's with the Wolves · Post #8 » by **Dan's with the Wolves** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:15 pm

ponder276 wrote:4. Evans - should have gone with Rubio, IMO. Rubio really wanted to go to Sacto, I have little doubt that he would have come over, especially since he'd get more money at #4 than at #5. Evans should be a very good player, but he's a scorer first and foremost, and the Kings already have tonnes of scorers. They need a playmaking PG who can defend, and that fits Rubio to the tee.

That's the part that scares me about Rubio. Sacto was the only team to get to look at Rubio in a workout setting and they passed!

Post #9 » by **gswhoops** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 10:22 pm

Dan's with the Wolves wrote:Why do you rank Rubio below Harden but higher than Evans, Flynn, Curry, Jennings?

The Harden/Rubio thing is mainly positional, but I think Harden is a better compliment to the players they already have (Westbrook and Durant) then Rubio is, mainly because I don't see Rubio being effective without the ball in his hands. On a team where Westbrook and Durant will be handling the ball a lot, Harden's ability to play off the ball is more valuable.

For the rest, Rubio's a better PG prospect then any of those guys...the things he can do with a basketball in his hands are once-in-a-generation type talents. So what if he can't shoot a J?

Post #10 » by **KF10** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 10:53 pm

Rubio really wanted to go with Sacramento. He really did. He has said he liked it here (plus he would play the maximum minutes possible at the point guard position. I'm pretty damn sure, he would start over Beno. Or at the very least eventually).

But we passed him. To be honest, I was surprised that he dropped in the first place. We would have have our best playmaker in the point guard position set for a decade.

But we selected Tyreke Evans. I wasn't disappointed though. Evans came a close second with Rubio. The Kings felt that Evans is their guy. He was BPA in our eyes. We believe he will be something very special in the future moreso than Rubio. And I actually believe that. Evans is 6'5''+ and with a insane wingspan of a 7 footer. (If I can recall, Evans has the largest wingspan EVER as a point guard! Or at the very least, in the last 20+ years!) Evans showed he is just nasty on one on one situations and as well as reacting to the situation as well. Most guards just put their head down and bulldozer their way in but Evans has his head straight and uses an extra gear and finishes; if not he dishes! He has shown that a lot in SL. (Even though, using SL isn't all that great but it shows an indication of a player tendencies though.) He plays very solid defense as well! His length and fundamentals on defense are very advance for a 19 year old IMO. His jumpshot is still a work in progress but I believe he can repair that eventually.

So ultimately, I think we made the right choice in Evans. And most Kings fans (well in these boards, feel that way too)

Smills91 · Post #11 » by **Smills91** » Sun Jul 26, 2009 11:07 pm

kingsfan10 wrote:Rubio really wanted to go with Sacramento. He really did. He has said he liked it here (plus he would play the maximum minutes possible at the point guard position. I'm pretty damn sure, he would start over Beno. Or at the very least eventually).

But we passed him. To be honest, I was surprised that he dropped in the first place. We would have have our best playmaker in the point guard position set for a decade.

But we selected Tyreke Evans. I wasn't disappointed though. Evans came a close second with Rubio. The Kings felt that Evans is their guy. He was BPA in our eyes. We believe he will be something very special in the future moreso than Rubio. And I actually believe that. Evans is 6'5''+ and with a insane wingspan of a 7 footer. (If I can recall, Evans has the largest wingspan EVER as a point guard! Or at the very least, in the last 20+ years!) Evans showed he is just nasty on one on one situations and as well as reacting to the situation as well. Most guards just put their head down and bulldozer their way in but Evans has his head straight and uses an extra gear and finishes; if not he dishes! He has shown that a lot in SL. (Even though, using SL isn't all that great but it shows an indication of a player tendencies though.) He plays very solid defense as well! His length and fundamentals on defense are very advance for a 19 year old IMO. His jumpshot is still a work in progress but I believe he can repair that eventually.

So ultimately, I think we made the right choice in Evans. And most Kings fans (well in these boards, feel that way too)

+1.
The Kings got the BPA. I was for RUbio or Evans, and one of the biggest pushed of Evans' on the Kings board for MONTHS now. With that said, I feel even MORE confident about Evans' as teh Kings saw Rubio up close and personal and still chose Tyreke. Looking back at Geoff's history of picks, it's hard to argue that he probably took the BPA on the board, and maybe, actually, the best player in the draft(yes I'm well aware Blake Griffin is in the draft, but IMO it's one or the other, and Tyreke has the potential to be the BPA in this draft).

LOOSH · Post #12 » by **LOOSH** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 12:18 am

I like Evans, think he'll be a player, but I'm very skeptical of him being a PG and him fitting well with Martin in the backcourt. Would've gone with Ricky at 4.

The Skyhook · Post #13 » by **The Skyhook** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 4:15 pm

The first 3 picks probably wouldn't have gone any other way. Clips and OKC picks were good and Memphis feared that Rubio wouldn't come and Thabeet was a nice pickup for them either way. After those 3 picks I think the rest of the draft was a little screwed up.

Once it was the Kings turn to pick I had a feeling it wasn't going to be Rubio with the way they were talking about what the Kings might do. I like what I saw from Rubio and as a fan of basketball seeing a player like Rubio in the NBA would have been great. As a fan of the Lakers it would have been even better if Rubio went to the Kings because they are in the same division so that would mean I would see Rubio play against the Lakers more. Kings have a solid offensive weapon in Kevin Martin and pairing him would Rubio would have been the smart choice. The things that Rubio could do with the ball would benefit Martin and give him more looks. Rubio would have came over to Sacramento but I don't understand why they never picked Rubio.

The Wolves would have went with Evans if Rubio was gone and then they could have picked Flynn right after. Evans/Flynn would have been a smart choice for the Wolves and the two would probably be a nice fit playing together with Flynn at the 1 and Evans at the 2. Wolves wouldn't have the entire Rubio dilema and they would of had 2 players that would be ready to play at the start of the season.

Cruel_Ruin · Post #14 » by **Cruel_Ruin** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:49 pm

Evans in Summer League showed that he has the tools to become a star in the NBA. He got the rim at will. I have no doubt that he fits well with Martin the backcourt, because Martin likes to play off the ball.

vincecarter4pres · Post #15 » by **vincecarter4pres** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:27 pm

I think the Kings and Sacto screwed up big time.
I think it is obvious Rubio is all hype and he isn't all that good, hence the reason Sacto passed on him, but I think Evans is wildy overrated as well.
They should have went with either Curry or Flynn.
Then Minny should have snagged Rubio and either Curry, if he was still there or Evans.
GSW did just fine, I am quite high on Curry, although I question the fit some. Truthfully though, I question why they don't trade Monta, dude is just never going to get it done, he's not good enough to build a team around and his glaring weakness and holes to his game, or his limited physical attributes make him a serious liability and his attitude is downright horrible.
If I'm GSW, I'm shopping the hell out of Monta, but I want true value back for him.

mattyj · Post #16 » by **mattyj** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:35 am

vincecarter4pres wrote:I think the Kings and Sacto screwed up big time.
I think it is obvious Rubio is all hype and he isn't all that good, hence the reason Sacto passed on him, but I think Evans is wildy overrated as well.
They should have went with either Curry or Flynn.
Then Minny should have snagged Rubio and either Curry, if he was still there or Evans.
GSW did just fine, I am quite high on Curry, although I question the fit some. Truthfully though, I question why they don't trade Monta, dude is just never going to get it done, he's not good enough to build a team around and his glaring weakness and holes to his game, or his limited physical attributes make him a serious liability and his attitude is downright horrible.
If I'm GSW, I'm shopping the hell out of Monta, but I want true value back for him.

must have been a big screwup for both the Kings AND Sacto to screw up :wink:

vincecarter4pres · Post #17 » by **vincecarter4pres** » Thu Jul 30, 2009 7:25 am

mattyj wrote:
vincecarter4pres wrote:I think the Kings and Sacto screwed up big time.
I think it is obvious Rubio is all hype and he isn't all that good, hence the reason Sacto passed on him, but I think Evans is wildy overrated as well.
They should have went with either Curry or Flynn.
Then Minny should have snagged Rubio and either Curry, if he was still there or Evans.
GSW did just fine, I am quite high on Curry, although I question the fit some. Truthfully though, I question why they don't trade Monta, dude is just never going to get it done, he's not good enough to build a team around and his glaring weakness and holes to his game, or his limited physical attributes make him a serious liability and his attitude is downright horrible.
If I'm GSW, I'm shopping the hell out of Monta, but I want true value back for him.

must have been a big screwup for both the Kings AND Sacto to screw up

Lol. I meant the the Kings and the Wolves.

Smills91 · Post #18 » by **Smills91** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 12:15 am

vincecarter4pres wrote:
mattyj wrote:
vincecarter4pres wrote:I think the Kings and Sacto screwed up big time.
I think it is obvious Rubio is all hype and he isn't all that good, hence the reason Sacto passed on him, but I think Evans is wildy overrated as well.
They should have went with either Curry or Flynn.
Then Minny should have snagged Rubio and either Curry, if he was still there or Evans.
GSW did just fine, I am quite high on Curry, although I question the fit some. Truthfully though, I question why they don't trade Monta, dude is just never going to get it done, he's not good enough to build a team around and his glaring weakness and holes to his game, or his limited physical attributes make him a serious liability and his attitude is downright horrible.
If I'm GSW, I'm shopping the hell out of Monta, but I want true value back for him.

must have been a big screwup for both the Kings AND Sacto to screw up

Lol. I meant the the Kings and the Wolves.

I'm a big fan of Flynn, but I think you're wrong here. Evans is and will be the better player between the two overall. Flynn will be a Tony Parker caliber player, whereas Evans will probably be found somewhere between Penny Hardaway/Dwayne Wade echelon.

Curry is nothing special IMO, a solid shooter, a solid player, nothing more, nothing less.

ponder276 · Post #19 » by **ponder276** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 3:40 am

Smills91 wrote:I'm a big fan of Flynn, but I think you're wrong here. Evans is and will be the better player between the two overall. Flynn will be a Tony Parker caliber player, whereas Evans will probably be found somewhere between Penny Hardaway/Dwayne Wade echelon.

Curry is nothing special IMO, a solid shooter, a solid player, nothing more, nothing less.

Flynn = Tony Parker, and Evans = between Penny and Wade? Wow, might wanna curb your expectations just a little bit . . .

Dewey · Post #20 » by **Dewey** » Fri Aug 21, 2009 6:01 pm

At this stage, Rubio might very well be the most naturally skilled player of the group, but at the same time, but certainly not the physical specimen at this point.

Player = Current ... impact year 1 ... impact long-term.
Harden = Protype SG ... Moderate/High impact ... Moderate/High impact.
Evans = Most NBA ready ... High impact ... Moderate/High impact.
Rubio = Most Naturally Skilled ... Moderate impact ... High impact.
Flynn = Best PG ... Moderate/High impact ... Moderate/High impact.
Curry = Best Shooter ... Moderate impact ... Moderate impact.
DeRozan = Best Athlete ... Moderate impact ... Moderate impact.