Operation Beast: Prospect Thread II

[Devilzsidewalk]

can Wesley Johnson play off guard?

this part worries me:

Still not what you would call a great shot-creator, Johnson continues to struggle to get to the free throw line at a high rate. His ball-handling skills are average at best, as his left hand is weak, he has a difficult time changing directions with the ball in tight spaces, and he’s not very effective if he’s unable to beat his matchup with his pure first step.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Wes ... nson-1215/

[Casperkid23]

can Wesley Johnson play off guard?

this part worries me:

Still not what you would call a great shot-creator, Johnson continues to struggle to get to the free throw line at a high rate. His ball-handling skills are average at best, as his left hand is weak, he has a difficult time changing directions with the ball in tight spaces, and he’s not very effective if he’s unable to beat his matchup with his pure first step.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Wes ... nson-1215/

Well, next to Rubio, how big of a shot-creator do you have to be? Wes utilizes shot fakes very well, and screens reasonably well. I think that's all you need really. Plus, with his athleticism, there's no reason to doubt that he could guard SGs, so that side of the floor shouldn't be an issue.

If you want more on this, check out my blog where I talk about his scoring for 3-4 paragraphs.

[Devilzsidewalk]

I just keep thinking about how there's no elite scorers that don't get to the line and he's not a playmaker, seems like we're aiming low by taking Wes Johnson at 4. On the other hand, I like the athleticism, the shot, the length...it'd be easier to accept if Rubio were already here

[shangrila]

I think even with Rubio it'd be nice to have someone that could create their own shot. It's always kind of sad watching the wing players for teams like Utah and New Orleans who have no idea what to do when they're asked to create for themselves.

How's people interest in Jordan Crawford? He looked interested in playing here and could be a good pick up with that later pick, if they decide to keep it.

[Casperkid23]

Paul George is in Minnesota - should send him a message and follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/King24George ; he is pretty good at answering his fans.

[Klomp]

Paul George is in Minnesota - should send him a message and follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/King24George ; he is pretty good at answering his fans.

HoopsCasper @King24George Hey I got a tip for you - stay away from a reporter named Jerry Zgoda (he's the one with thick glasses), he's bad news

AWESOME!

[Esohny]

Very nice.

[Esohny]

Interesting new material at the Timberwolves website. They've turned it into "Draft Central 2010"

They've got breakdowns of possible picks at each position, which is interesting...are they actually considering these players, or is at least some of it a smoke screen? Hopefully the former, since they've got Paul George in the running for the 16th pick

http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/dr ... _2010.html

[TheProdigy]

Why can't I find prospects' verticals from the combine? Wall and Turner's no step verts were released but that's all I've heard thus far. What gives?

[Esohny]

Why can't I find prospects' verticals from the combine? Wall and Turner's no step verts were released but that's all I've heard thus far. What gives?

I read somewhere that everything should be available by tomorrow night. Don't have a link though.

[Krapinsky]

Interesting new material at the Timberwolves website. They've turned it into "Draft Central 2010"

They've got breakdowns of possible picks at each position, which is interesting...are they actually considering these players, or is at least some of it a smoke screen? Hopefully the former, since they've got Paul George in the running for the 16th pick

http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/dr ... _2010.html

I don't think there's a lot of communication between the Wolves brain trust and the content that goes on the website. I imagine such decisions are largely delegated to people in charge of such things.

[Esohny]

Interesting new material at the Timberwolves website. They've turned it into "Draft Central 2010"

They've got breakdowns of possible picks at each position, which is interesting...are they actually considering these players, or is at least some of it a smoke screen? Hopefully the former, since they've got Paul George in the running for the 16th pick

http://www.nba.com/timberwolves/news/dr ... _2010.html

I don't think there's a lot of communication between the Wolves brain trust and the content that goes on the website. I imagine such decisions are largely delegated to people in charge of such things.

Yeah, I actually looked a little closer. They appear to be using a composite of several mock drafts to present possible picks at 4, 16, and 23. They've also got Jonah Ballow's analysis of players, which doesn't particularly impress me.

I suppose the main message is that Kahn seems to be tying himself to the actions of this summer, particularly the draft. Not surprising.

[Krapinsky]

Two things I noticed --

The top 14 is the same as Draftexpress'

Paul George is the only player listed at 16 and at 23

[Krapinsky]

Aside from George, another player I'm becoming a fan of the more I see is Babbit. I didn't get to see his team play at all this year, but his videos show a lot of skill and much more athleticism than I'd expect. He had more dunks in his mix videos than Love has had in the NBA the last two years. If George and Henry are gone at 16 he's definitely a player I'd target.

Here is a sample:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0_PCqoB0aI[/youtube]

[dunkonu21]

Wesley Johnson specifically addressed his ball handling in an interview recently. He apparently played Point Guard in high school, so that may impress some people.

lol to 3:10 in that Babbit vid, he looks interesting!

[shangrila]

I always thought he was a Singler clone, but after watching that he looks more athletic then either of Singler or Hayward. Maybe that's why there's talk of Memphis picking him at 12.

[Devilzsidewalk]

I want Babbit to go 5-15 range, that'd make me very happy

[karch34]

I like Babbit. When I think about a scenario where we draft Cousins at #4 and trade Al for Prince and #7, we take either Henry or George at #7 then go for Babbit (if we got Henry) or James Anderson (if we got George) at #16.

[Esohny]

I like Babbit. When I think about a scenario where we draft Cousins at #4 and trade Al for Prince and #7, we take either Henry or George at #7 then go for Babbit (if we got Henry) or James Anderson (if we got George) at #16.

The way he seems to be sliding down the board a bit, we might be able to get Henry at 16, or trade 16 + 23 to move up to the late lottery for him.

[Casperkid23]

I want Babbit to go 5-15 range, that'd make me very happy

While that'd be nice, I think it'd be even better if a team in the mid-lotto who likes Babbitt thought he would slip to #16, so they were more open to trading down.