Officlal Prospect thread

[Krapinsky]

Have we done much talking about Solomon Alabi? He's put up some nice numbers in December...
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/pr ... erId=36130

Draft him with Charlotte pick if we don't find a C anywhere else.

I put the chances of us getting the Charlotte pick at 25%.

But, I'm with J2J -- i like Stanley Robinson with the Charlotte pick if he's available.

[john2jer]

Yay, someone else likes Stanley Robinson.

[TheProdigy]

Nothing needs to be cleared up for me. I'm well aware of the situation for Johnson. And 4? I count 5 in what you posted, and 6 according to Draftexpress.com

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Wesley-Johnson-1215

Louisiana-Monroe
Lon Morris
Patterson
Eldon Academy
Iowa State
Syracuse

Like I said, he's attended 4 schools. He never actually attended classes at Louisiana-Monroe or Lon Morris.

He'll be 23 come the draft, and he's enrolled in about 42 different schools since high school. Now I won't even claim to know why, but just that he has, that's a concern until I know why.

I was under the impression that you wanted some more information about him, that's why I posted that link to rivals.

But since you clearly have a problem with me ranking him 6th, how high do you have him? Even ignoring the 6 schools, I'd still rank Xavier Henry over him because I think Henry brings a very comparable talent level, while being 4 years younger. No chance I put Wes Johnson in the top 3 over Turner, Wall, or Favors. So really it comes down to an argument of Aldrich versus Johnson. I could easily be swayed one way or the other on that because I don't think too highly of Aldrich either. I think he's a top 6 prospect for the Wolves, but he's in the 5 or 6 slot for me. It's really a difference of opinion on Wolves needs; center or SF?

I don't have any problem with the order of your draft board whatsoever. I have the same 6 players in the top 6 of my board as well. So we're in the same boat there. I just noticed that you had really nice things to say about the other prospects but kind of skimped on Wes Johnson. So I kind of got the impression that you either hadn't seen enough of him or were a Syracuse hater or something.

I'm not even going to lie, you're right I do have a "man crush" on him. I really think that of all the players in this draft that he would fit the best on the Wolves in the long run. He's got a great jump shot, incredible athleticism, can get to the hoop, and has great defensive potential. If Rubio ever plays for us, he and Johnson would be a dynamic duo in my opinion. The only draw backs I've seen with him is that he doesn't create for others and his dribbling is a little weak. Lucky for us, he wouldn't be relied upon to do much of either of those things.

[john2jer]

I have Wes Johnson in my top 6 for the Wolves. How is that hating him? I put justification as to why he was 6th. why I ranked him where I did. As I did for each player. Wouldn't make much sense to spend any more than 2 seconds saying anything about John Wall when he's obviously the #1 player in the draft, and there's really no reason to even consider moving him lower. None of his negatives are strong enough. For Wes Johnson I feel there are enough negatives to drop him to 6th. 6th!!! I've seen plenty of him, that's why I ranked him as high as 6th on my board. Again, you act as if I left him off the board, or had him in the lower half of the 1st round. Are you upset that I didn't wash his nuts? I said he was a great shooter with good size(height), but could stand to put on a couple pounds. He seems like a great athlete. But at 23(after the draft/before summer league starts), and bouncing around schools, I'd prefer the guy who's putting up comparable numbers as an 18 year old, or rather 19 at the draft, to be fair.

I still have Wes Johnson above Willie Warren, Ed Davis, Al-Farouq Aminu, Patrick Patterson, and Donatas Motiejunas. All those are guys that either DX has above Johnson, or at least in the range of.

And I think there's a definite drop after #6 for me.

Tier 1
John Wall

Tier 2
Evan Turner
Derrick Favors

Tier 3
Xavier Henry
Cole Aldrich
Wes Johnson

Tier 4
YUCK!

If I hated him I wouldn't have even mentioned him. Hell, I might have been better off.

[TheProdigy]

Like I said, I have no problem with your board(Did you read my post at all). I was just looking for a little acknowledgement of his skill set.

Don't forget to wash his nuts next time.

[shangrila]

What are peoples' thoughts on Jarvis Varnado? I know he doesn't fill a position of need but the team could definitely use some shotblocking and he could be a nice change of pace off the bench.

[Foye]

What are peoples' thoughts on Jarvis Varnado? I know he doesn't fill a position of need but the team could definitely use some shotblocking and he could be a nice change of pace off the bench.

I'd rather gamble on a real C. Alabi for example.

[slinky]

Meh, if he can block shots I dont care if he is 6'9" or 7'0". I think too much gets made of Varnado's lack of height. Does anyone know of his other measurements? (Insert Joke) Standing reach? wingspan?

Thats not to say Alabi isnt the guy we need either, I dont know much about him, but I think Varnado gets too overlooked immediately cause his size. There are other factors defensive IQ, man to man defense etc. But if based purely on shot blocking, I dont think we can dismiss Varnado.

[Esohny]

If we didn't move up into the top 10, I wouldn't mind either Varnado or Jerome Jordan with the Utah pick.

[PeeDee]

I think too much gets made of Varnado's lack of height.

While this may be the case for Varnado, it is certainly not the case with the Wolves. Not enough gets made of their lack of height and length. Watching them vs taller teams is down right pathetic.

[slinky]

But what is it that you want from the height? If its shotblocking or shot altering than I dont care if its Shawn Bradley or Jarvis Varnado, as long as they are altering 6-8 shots a game. Or deterring the opposition from going into the lane.

Now again, I am not necessarily for drafting Varnado or against drafting someone like Alabi. I am just saying that depending on what you want out of 'height', if you want blocks dont discount someone who is a couple inches shorter. Ryan Hollins is living proof that you cant teach shot blocking instincts. Varnado is blocking 5 shots per game. Alabi is blocking 2 per game. Again, I dont draft someone in the teens or higher, just because they can do one thing well like block shots. And right now thats about all Varnado does, but I also wouldnt draft someone in the teens just because they have height and length.

[PeeDee]

I want someone who can match up better defensively with the Gasols, Bynums, Lopezs and Howards of the world. Varnado, while talented, would still get punished by these guys.

[NewWolvesOrder]

Varnado is too weak to be a dominant defender, same as Brewer.

[slinky]

I completely agree. If you want man to man defense on a C than Varnado is not your guy. Although he might hold up better guarding PF's.

[TheProdigy]

Varnado is too weak to be a dominant defender, same as Brewer.

I don't think a shooting guard/small forward like Brewer necessarily needs to be strong to be a good defender. Length and speed are more important to a wing player's defense.

The biggest weakness in Brewer's D is his help defense. A lot of times he comes to help against post players but then completely loses the man that he's supposed to be guarding. He's pretty good at stripping the ball from a post player but once the ball comes back out to the perimeter it's too late.

[moss_is_1]

Like others have said since we already have Love and Al who are undersized I want a 7 footer in there, like Hollins now. Alibi would be alright, he seems pretty dumb at times but he's not Dalembert. Aldrich will probably be too high.

[shangrila]

What I meant with Varnado was basically what would you think of him as someone who could maybe provide something different off the bench for the team. He's honestly not a centre though (hence my comment about not fitting a need) and I did kind of mean would you like it if the team picked him as a sort of backup pick, if the team missed out on guys like Alabi, Sanders, Aldrich, etc.

[Klomp]

In my mind, we are looking for three things in this year's draft (and/or offseason).

1. Three-Point Shooting - It's been painfully obious all year long that we need someone who can consistently be a threat from behind the arc. Preferrably, from the wing position.

2. A Defensive Seven-Footer - OK, so maybe 7-footer is just a number...but we need someone who can actually provide some defensive toughness, and not be in there to take 6 fouls against the likes of Dwight, Gasol, Bynum, Lopez, etc.

3. Best Player Available - While it would be nice to get one or both of those things this offseason, I think we still need to take best player available. If that BPA fills a need, GREAT! If not, it still is likely to provide an upgrade somewhere. Taking fit over talent is what's caused us to take Foye over Roy. Talent over fit was Flynn over Curry and DeRozan.

[cpfsf]

woah, what happened to Rodney Williams? He started out hot and hasn't done anything spectacular since.

[moss_is_1]

In my mind, we are looking for three things in this year's draft (and/or offseason).

1. Three-Point Shooting - It's been painfully obious all year long that we need someone who can consistently be a threat from behind the arc. Preferrably, from the wing position.

2. A Defensive Seven-Footer - OK, so maybe 7-footer is just a number...but we need someone who can actually provide some defensive toughness, and not be in there to take 6 fouls against the likes of Dwight, Gasol, Bynum, Lopez, etc.

3. Best Player Available - While it would be nice to get one or both of those things this offseason, I think we still need to take best player available. If that BPA fills a need, GREAT! If not, it still is likely to provide an upgrade somewhere. Taking fit over talent is what's caused us to take Foye over Roy. Talent over fit was Flynn over Curry and DeRozan.

Agreed, I would say that you could bump all those down a notch and then put draft a stud wing at the top.