Ban Howard Mass: The new draft thread

deeney0 · Post #561 » by **deeney0** » Thu May 8, 2008 5:50 pm

Except OJ can pass an play defense. Imagine how good McCants could be if he put some effort into anything besides scoring.

PeeDee · Post #562 » by **PeeDee** » Thu May 8, 2008 8:08 pm

deeney0 wrote:Except OJ can pass an play defense. Imagine how good McCants could be if he put some effort into anything besides scoring.

Agreed. If Shad was showing us anything else, I bet Mayo wouldn't be on any of our boards.

Devilzsidewalk · Post #563 » by **Devilzsidewalk** » Thu May 8, 2008 8:14 pm

so Mayo has secret Chris Paul floor general/Bruce Bowen D skills

I didn't know that, I want Mayo #1

deeney0 · Post #564 » by **deeney0** » Thu May 8, 2008 10:06 pm

He's got neither, but he doesn't really have to be a floor general, he's best at SG.

horaceworthy · Post #565 » by **horaceworthy** » Thu May 8, 2008 10:14 pm

deeney0 wrote:Except OJ can pass an play defense. Imagine how good McCants could be if he put some effort into anything besides scoring.

He can, but his willingness to do either came and went throughout the season, somewhat like Shad's (although not to the same extent).

Krapinsky · Post #566 » by **Krapinsky** » Thu May 8, 2008 11:04 pm

According to Chad Ford, Mayo is becoming the consensus #3 pick, something this board realized a few weeks ago. Maybe he read are threads?

(need insider)
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft200 ... tch-080508

TrentTuckerForever · Post #567 » by **TrentTuckerForever** » Fri May 9, 2008 2:51 pm

^Here's the Mayo part of the Ford article:

It's not easy for a draft prospect's stock to move up much when teams can't watch him play. But I'm hearing significant movement is taking place for USC's OJ Mayo.

As more NBA teams watch his tape and do background checks, the more it looks like Mayo may become the consensus No. 3 pick in the draft.

Mayo's stock suffered at the start of the season based on some pretty unrealistic expectations. He's been on scouts' radars since the eighth grade, and many expected him to be a LeBron James-type dominant player as a freshman.

His per-game numbers were excellent for a freshman: 20.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 44 percent shooting from the field and 41 percent shooting from 3-point range. But they didn't blow anyone away.

Scouts complained about his shot selection and the fact that he didn't appear to have the point guard skills they thought he might have. Many dropped him from the top 10 on their draft boards.

But Mayo finished the season strong enough that teams had to go back and re-evaluate the tape. What they're seeing now is generating significant buzz. Multiple GMs are now telling me that Mayo's talent may be as good as advertised.

"When you start to reassess a kid like that and quit looking at just the flaws, you see a very talented basketball player," one prominent GM with a pick in the lottery said. "I think he's going to be great."

But there's another story, too, that's helping Mayo's stock. More and more teams are reporting that their background checks are coming back as positives for Mayo. Teams say that he earned good grades at USC and was a good citizen for coach Tim Floyd, and they report multiple instances of Mayo volunteering to help underprivileged kids.

"Everything that we're hearing is that he's basically a good kid," another GM said. "It's a big deal when you're drafting high. He's got to be good both on and off the court. I had my worries about OJ. But my people are telling me he's OK."

We've moved Mayo up to No. 3 on our big board and will do a more extensive report on him in the coming weeks.

-----------------------

I'm sold on Mayo at 3... like Horford in the 2007 draft, he's a guy who's under the radar relative to the 'big two' prospects ahead of him. When you look at his game instead of the hype (and consider how the NBA game is called now, with the hand-checking rules), you can see as much potential as anyone else in this draft.

big3_8_19_21 · Post #568 » by **big3_8_19_21** » Sat May 10, 2008 9:24 pm

I'm so split after the first two...and even amongst the first two...I hope we just get the 2nd pick and don't have to worry about any of it. Our pick is 100% based on the 1st pick then...but of course then I still want to have the 1st pick...

....I want all of them. Give me all the picks.

Tekkenlaw · Post #569 » by **Tekkenlaw** » Sat May 10, 2008 9:55 pm

I'd be upset if the Wolves passed on Mayo at #3, Brook Lopez is solid but Mayo would just fit so well with Randy Foye. He can defend shooting guards but still split the offensive load with Foye by both handling the ball and being able to score, they would play off each other brilliantly.

collin_k41 · Post #570 » by **collin_k41** » Sat May 10, 2008 10:12 pm

If we end up with the 4th pick (i have faith we will get into the top 2) and OJ mayo goes #3 then who do we pick? It would have to be between jerryd bayless and brook lopez right? I'd say take bayless.

PeeDee · Post #571 » by **PeeDee** » Sat May 10, 2008 10:15 pm

Tekkenlaw wrote:I'd be upset if the Wolves passed on Mayo at #3, Brook Lopez is solid but Mayo would just fit so well with Randy Foye. He can defend shooting guards but still split the offensive load with Foye by both handling the ball and being able to score, they would play off each other brilliantly.

I feel the same about Big Al and Beasley. However, if we are in a position were B-easy is gone and Mayo is there, then OJ would be the best choice IMO. I agree with your assessment about he and Foye.

Post #572 » by **Klomp** » Sat May 10, 2008 10:37 pm

collin_k41 wrote:If we end up with the 4th pick (i have faith we will get into the top 2) and OJ mayo goes #3 then who do we pick? It would have to be between jerryd bayless and brook lopez right? I'd say take bayless.

No way, you gotta take Lopez. Fills a need and is IMO a better player. I would take Gallinari before Bayless.

collin_k41 · Post #573 » by **collin_k41** » Sun May 11, 2008 7:06 pm

klomp44 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

No way, you gotta take Lopez. Fills a need and is IMO a better player. I would take Gallinari before Bayless.

Ya I really don't know what I was thinking when I said Bayless at #4, but I still think he's underrated on this board.

deeney0 · Post #574 » by **deeney0** » Sun May 11, 2008 7:24 pm

Bayless isn't on the radar. I'd begrudgingly take Lopez if decent value for the pick couldn't be found via trade. Randolph is also a possibility.

Krapinsky · Post #575 » by **Krapinsky** » Sun May 11, 2008 7:49 pm

How does this Mayo scandal change your viewpoints of him being the #3 pick?

Personally, I feel bad for the kid. This Guillory character has obviously taken advantage of him from the age of 13. But if he's bringing an entourage like that to MN, I'd prefer to take our chances with someone else.

Devilzsidewalk · Post #576 » by **Devilzsidewalk** » Mon May 12, 2008 7:15 pm

It doesn't change my opinion at all because I knew this was the kind of person Mayo is - not implying he's a bad person, but he's all about the Benjamins. This isn't shocking news at all. Now if the story said he rebuffed attempts to coerce him with money or whatever, then I'd be absolutely floored.

TrentTuckerForever · Post #577 » by **TrentTuckerForever** » Mon May 12, 2008 7:28 pm

Dr.Krapinsky wrote:How does this Mayo scandal change your viewpoints of him being the #3 pick?

Personally, I feel bad for the kid. This Guillory character has obviously taken advantage of him from the age of 13. But if he's bringing an entourage like that to MN, I'd prefer to take our chances with someone else.

Doesn't change my viewpoint whatsoever. The 'scandal' here is limited to the perception (perpetrated by CBS and the NCAA, who make BILLIONS of dollars on March Madness) that these kids are student athletes. Please. I'm not devaluing a college education, but to say that the college players who make that money for the schools are being adequetly compensated is hypocritical at best and an outright lie at worst.

Did he accept gifts? Sounds like it, but it sounds like the worst he did was to verbally agree to let one of Duffy's guys represent him eventually. Somebody would have represented Mayo at this point in his career... seedy as it is, this isn't exactly a surprise to anyone who's familiar with how the AAU summer circuit works, and as Krapinski points out Mayo has been a part of that world for years. MNWI, am I right?

To use an example from a different sport - if you guys had known that Reggie Bush had accepted gifts in college, would it have stopped you from drafting him?

Krapinsky · Post #578 » by **Krapinsky** » Mon May 12, 2008 7:40 pm

With Mayo, it's not the gifts that bother me, its his entourage.

Devilzsidewalk · Post #579 » by **Devilzsidewalk** » Mon May 12, 2008 7:40 pm

TrentTuckerForever wrote:
To use an example from a different sport - if you guys had known that Reggie Bush had accepted gifts in college, would it have stopped you from drafting him?

no, I wouldn't have spent a top draft pick on Reggie Bush because he's an undersized RB, just like I wouldn't spend a top pick on Mayo because he's an undersized SG

Post #580 » by **C.lupus** » Mon May 12, 2008 7:45 pm

But you would spend it on Love, who is an undersized center?