2013 Draft Thread Part 4

[BurningHeart]

This guy seems really humble. I like it.

EDIT: There's no way he watched Charles Barkley as a kid, lol. He was born in 1993.

[SunsFanSSOL]

Is there going to be a press conference for Archie?

[SunsFanSSOL]

Noooooo, old jersey.

[ShawnBronald]

Noooooo, old jersey.

Damn. And putting 13 on the back wasn't the smartest move (even though I understand why they did it).

I did really like that he says he wants to fashion his game after Tim Duncan. Suns fans don't like Duncan, but you have to admire his style of play. If Len can play anywhere close to that of Duncan, I'll be satisfied. He's already got the boring down to a T.

[sunsfolife]

This guy seems really humble. I like it.

EDIT: There's no way he watched Charles Barkley as a kid, lol. He was born in 1993.

Haha you could tell he was hesitant answering that. Stupid question really though.

[grumpysaddle]

No Goodwin press conference?

[RunSunRun]

I don't hate the concept of having a few good PGs, but if this scenario played out we would have had invested 3 picks in the last 2 years (Marshall, Burke, Goodwin) in a position in which our best player resides (Dragic). Assuming of course we still would have taken Goodwin, which seems probable since we rated him pretty highly and thought he was a top 10 pick in 2014 if he stayed in school and it seems we intend for him to play point guard in the future as well.

All hypothetically speaking of course, since we don't really have any clue what would have changed had Len been taken before we picked.

EDIT:

I like Len's attitude and demeanor during that press conference, but of course it all depends on how he produces on the court, hoping this turns out to be a great pick.

[grumpysaddle]

Nevermind, think it's coming on now.

[JDLAW]

@Press conference:
So if they have been watching him three years ago in Lithuania and knew they had something there, why didn't McDonough lock him in with a Boston second round pick a while back?

Because he was not eligible under this or the previous CBA.

[bwgood77]

The only answer I can think of as to why the Suns didn't want McLemore is that he would have made us too good too soon. Len, Burke etc would help us suck a lot for these next few years while they develop cause they likely won't make a big impact anytime soon. Getting McLemore would mean that he makes an impact right away and the Suns lose out on top 5 picks in the next few drafts cause McLemore wouldn't help us suck as much as Len and Burke would.


Their thinking long term only.

Whilst I am very much for looking at the big picture and planning long-term, this would be insane. If there is a good guy available you take him. I also think that especially in out situation it should be a BPA choice. I have no doubt that our FO thought Len was better than McLemore, but I am also very curious as to what their reasoning was.

And I am curious why so many think that drafting another PG is a bad thing or means that Dragic is on the block. A couple of teams have shown that running two PGs works very well, so having 3 makes a lot of sense. As long as the two on the floor can play off the ball I think it is ideal. You can move the ball from one side to the other quickly and have a player that can make a good play or a superb pass on either side. Ideally they should be able to nail the three too, then you stretch the floor more than a stretch four would whilst still being present on the inside and ready for the rebound/pass. Ok, I guess I love the idea of having two PGs on the court.

I love the idea if they can shoot. But if neither is very good at shooting 3 pt shots, the spacing will suck and teams will cave into the paint. What will make a guy like Len successful is if we have three pt shooters on the outside. If Goodwin or Dragic or both could hit like 40%, or even 37% from 3, that would be good to play them together, but Dragic shoots 32% and Goodwin shoots 26%. That won't cut it. Maybe Hornacek can really improve their outside shooting, but it doesn't look good now. Other than Dudley our best 3 pt shooter are PF's, which is good to have, but it would be nice to have some guards who could shoot.

[ShawnBronald]

Okay, I think Archie is my new favorite player.... and he hasn't' even stepped foot on the court yet. I think he will be that proverbial diamond in the rough.

I must say that I'm feeling better about the draft after this press conference. I like the vision that McDonough has for the team. Now we just need to get rid of Beasley to protect the good culture they talked about.

[Stix]

Where are the new uniforms!?

[ShawnBronald]

Where are the new uniforms!?

They won't be shown until September, probably so they can showcase them with our finalized roster.

[SunsFanSSOL]

Love Archie, even better than Oladipo. I think his ceiling is much higher than Oladipo's.

[ShawnBronald]

Love Archie, even better than Oladipo. I think his ceiling is much higher than Oladipo's.

I agree, though I would have loved to also get Oladipo. That being said, if Archie continues to learn and improve, his potential is extremely high. Some experts were even saying he may be the player people talk about from this draft years from now. We can only hope!

[BurningHeart]

Noooooo, old jersey.

Damn. And putting 13 on the back wasn't the smartest move (even though I understand why they did it).

I did really like that he says he wants to fashion his game after Tim Duncan. Suns fans don't like Duncan, but you have to admire his style of play. If Len can play anywhere close to that of Duncan, I'll be satisfied. He's already got the boring down to a T.

Agreed, as long as he doesn't whine after every call that doesn't go his way like Duncan does.

[Son of Ra]

@Press conference:
So if they have been watching him three years ago in Lithuania and knew they had something there, why didn't McDonough lock him in with a Boston second round pick a while back?

Because he was not eligible under this or the previous CBA.

Ok thanks, I thought that you could basically snatch up foreign players/players in foreign leagues whenever you feel like it, didn't know there were rules to it too.

@bwgood77: Well if they can't shoot this concept obviously doesn't work too well

[thamadkant]

Yup

Love Goodwin's potential.

I want to buy his jersey!!!

I posted on another board about how Goodwin would of been one of the best draftees had he stayed for sophomore year.
Great pick.

[DirtyDez]

I have high hopes for Len, and am still pretty bummed about not getting McLemore. I just really wish where McLemore was on our big board and why he was so low. If I had a good answer, I'd at least be somewhat satisfied. Especially since Jude LaCava said before the draft he knows one thing, that we WON'T be drafting McLemore, and Gambo says we would have taken Trey Burke if Len was gone.

Reading stuff like this makes me cringe a little bit:

And according to a Sacramento Bee reporter, this is what Kings owner Vivek Ranadive said to his fan base immediately after:

“He was our Number 1 choice. And we were frantically in the war room trying to trade up to the Number 2, 3, 4 slot. We were willing to pay a lot of money to get Ben and we got him at 7.”

“As I said before, seven is my lucky number. When I was with the Warriors, we got (Stephen) Curry and (Harrison) Barnes at 7. My birthday is on the 7th, the mayor (Kevin Johnson) was picked seventh, he wore Number 7 and we got the best player in the (draft) at 7.”

Meanwhile, Rex Chapman said McLemore was the second-best steal of the draft, behind the selection of Michigan’s Trey Burke at No. 9.

And then this worries me about Len, the fact that not only does he have an ankle injury now, but that he battled one all season as a freshman also:

Most freshmen at least get the easier non-conference portion of their team's schedule to get their feet wet, but Len was thrown directly into the fire of arguably the toughest conference in college basketball, matching up with future NBA players virtually every single time he stepped on the floor. A pesky ankle injury he suffered mid-way through the season likely didn't help matters either.

From DraftExpress.com http://www.draftexpress.com#ixzz2XXeMebwn
http://www.draftexpress.com

The only answer I can think of as to why the Suns didn't want McLemore is that he would have made us too good too soon. Len, Burke etc would help us suck a lot for these next few years while they develop cause they likely won't make a big impact anytime soon. Getting McLemore would mean that he makes an impact right away and the Suns lose out on top 5 picks in the next few drafts cause McLemore wouldn't help us suck as much as Len and Burke would.


Their thinking long term only.

I'm sorry but really?

Fans might think like that, not GM's... Why is McLemore a sure thing now? He was considered by many the #1 prospect from a talent standpoint yet 6 teams passed on him. There were concerns about his entourage and effort-level that probably turned some teams off. LaCava said something about the Suns not touching him before the draft. We will see but the fact we had Burke rated higher speaks volumes, IMO...

[BurningHeart]

And he went to the Kings, who aren't exactly the model of class and stability. McLemore will fit there.