Anyone think Suns shouldve picked Dejaun Blair

statisback · Post #1 » by **statisback** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 5:16 am

instead of Earl Clark? I mean Blair is more of what the Suns need which is a big time rebounder who plays physical. Clark probably has more potential but Blair is already contributing in San Antonio

MaryvalesFinest · Post #2 » by **MaryvalesFinest** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 5:19 am

To be fair 36 other teams passed on him, they did make a blunder by trading that pick for Dragic to the Spurs which they could have used to draft him though...

Jimmy76 · Post #3 » by **Jimmy76** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 5:20 am

Nah I like Clark he wont be as good now but his upside is high

We need some long term prospects

If we were a contender I would have said Blair was a better pick

statisback · Post #4 » by **statisback** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 5:20 am

MaryvalesFinest wrote:To be fair 36 other teams passed on him, they did make a blunder by trading that pick for Dragic to the Spurs which they could have used to draft him though...

Blair shouldve been somewhere in top 15. Of course the Spurs naturally got him as a gift in 2nd round.

statisback · Post #5 » by **statisback** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 5:21 am

Jimmy76 wrote:Nah I like Clark he wont be as good now but his upside is high

We need some long term prospects

If we were a contender I would have said Blair was a better pick

Some reason I am seeing Clark the same way as Alando Tucker.. riding the bench... and getting PT only during garbage time.

LV-Suns · Post #6 » by **LV-Suns** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 5:23 am

Trading 2 picks + cash to move up 3 spots in the 2nd round was a little too much. I am not sure if Blair will even be in the league in 3-5 years considering his knee problems, I like the Clark pick at 15. He has more potential and probably stay in the league longer.

Jimmy76 · Post #7 » by **Jimmy76** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 5:35 am

statisback wrote:
Jimmy76 wrote:Nah I like Clark he wont be as good now but his upside is high

We need some long term prospects

If we were a contender I would have said Blair was a better pick

Some reason I am seeing Clark the same way as Alando Tucker.. riding the bench... and getting PT only during garbage time.

Management likes him a lot more than Tucker from all the interviews ive heard

He's figuring it out im not worried about him not becoming a rotation player

If he hasnt improved in 2 years ill worry

sunfire0112 · Post #8 » by **sunfire0112** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 5:48 am

Blair would've been sweet but EC was the right pick.

Blair fell (no pun intended) because he had no ACL's. That doesn't necessarily mean his career will be short though. There are athletes who can play missing ACL's (see Hines Ward). As long as he maintains strong hamstring/quad muscles to pick up the slack, he should be able to keep playing. Still, I can see how a lot of GM's would be hesitant to invest in someone with such an injury risk.

As for the Dragic draft day trade. We only traded up 3 spots to get him but there was the real threat that Detroit would've taken him. So far Dragic is giving me hope that the trade was worth it.

harshey1388 · Post #9 » by **harshey1388** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 8:29 am

statisback wrote:
MaryvalesFinest wrote:To be fair 36 other teams passed on him, they did make a blunder by trading that pick for Dragic to the Spurs which they could have used to draft him though...

Blair shouldve been somewhere in top 15. Of course the Spurs naturally got him as a gift in 2nd round.

dont misunderstand me here but i will give credit where its due. idk if its the san antonio spurs or sterns but that franchise has some REAL management even the talent they have traded away has been GREAT players.. ex. LB so give credit to them man they know how to put a damn good team together its a whole another story that they are boring to watch and all that stuff but management A+

Never Fear 33 Is Here · Post #10 » by **Never Fear 33 Is Here** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 1:48 pm

Nope. Word on the street is that he will play a maximum of 4 years. No point in having a player like that unless you were definitely going for it within that time span and it doesn't seem as though we are.

Post #11 » by **Miklo** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 2:09 pm

Never Fear 33 Is Here wrote:Word on the street is that he will play a maximum of 4 years

Why is that?

Austin · Post #12 » by **Austin** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 3:20 pm

statisback wrote:
Jimmy76 wrote:Nah I like Clark he wont be as good now but his upside is high

We need some long term prospects

If we were a contender I would have said Blair was a better pick

Some reason I am seeing Clark the same way as Alando Tucker.. riding the bench... and getting PT only during garbage time.

Come back next season when Amare is gone...

WTFsunsFTW · Post #13 » by **WTFsunsFTW** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 4:09 pm

He supposedly has little to no cartilage in his knees. There was a reason he dropped so low.

aIvin adams · Post #14 » by **aIvin adams** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 4:17 pm

he was awesome last night tho. it says smth if a player can accidentally score a bucket for the opposing team, but the home crowd still cheers when he leaves the court for a breather. he also kept tim duncan on the bench until there was 4 min left in the game.

EC was a much better pick but its like salt in the eyes to remember that SA got him right before our 2nd rd pick...w a pick we gave them. ahhhh

SA mgt is really good. the thing they do best tho is getting the #1 pick the very year tim duncan is in the draft. obv SA mgt is better than, say, minnesota. but the suns have never had that luck, ever. KERR IS THE BEST GM OF ALL TIME

whambamslam · Post #15 » by **whambamslam** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 8:43 pm

aIvin adams wrote:he was awesome last night tho. it says smth if a player can accidentally score a bucket for the opposing team, but the home crowd still cheers when he leaves the court for a breather. he also kept tim duncan on the bench until there was 4 min left in the game.

EC was a much better pick but its like salt in the eyes to remember that SA got him right before our 2nd rd pick...w a pick we gave them. ahhhh

SA mgt is really good. the thing they do best tho is getting the #1 pick the very year tim duncan is in the draft. obv SA mgt is better than, say, minnesota. but the suns have never had that luck, ever. KERR IS THE BEST GM OF ALL TIME

and the only reason they were even in the lottery was because David Robinson was hurt that year.

Post #16 » by **rsavaj** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 9:42 pm

whambamslam wrote:
aIvin adams wrote:he was awesome last night tho. it says smth if a player can accidentally score a bucket for the opposing team, but the home crowd still cheers when he leaves the court for a breather. he also kept tim duncan on the bench until there was 4 min left in the game.

EC was a much better pick but its like salt in the eyes to remember that SA got him right before our 2nd rd pick...w a pick we gave them. ahhhh

SA mgt is really good. the thing they do best tho is getting the #1 pick the very year tim duncan is in the draft. obv SA mgt is better than, say, minnesota. but the suns have never had that luck, ever. KERR IS THE BEST GM OF ALL TIME
and the only reason they were even in the lottery was because David Robinson was hurt that year.

"Hurt".

plonden · Post #17 » by **plonden** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 10:32 pm

Here is a nice summary of why Blair fell on draft night from Basketball Prospectus for those that are interested.

A small quote from the article:

Still, it was evident that Blair's fall had less to do with his game and more to do with another product of Pre-Draft testing--doctors "red-flagged" his physical because of Blair's knees. He underwent reconstructive surgery on both ACLs during his high-school career, and before the draft reports trickled out suggesting the possibility, seemingly preposterous, that Blair no longer had ACLs in either knee.

To get some perspective, I turned to Prospectus injury expert Will Carroll and did some additional research.

First, the idea that Blair has no anterior cruciate ligaments is a tad misleading, conjuring up a notion that he was born without them or they somehow disappeared. It is entirely possible that Blair has no working< ACLs, and this scenario is apparently not entirely uncommon for players who experience knee injuries in high school (or earlier) and do not enjoy professional treatment.

Beyond that, as remarkable as it seems, it is possible for athletes to compete, even on the highest level, without the benefit of an ACL.

Frank Lee · Post #18 » by **Frank Lee** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 10:38 pm

Being a long term Suns fan.... any question that starts with
" Anyone think the Suns should've..." causes a slight dryheave

.

Classick · Post #19 » by **Classick** » Fri Dec 4, 2009 11:38 pm

Blair would have been a perfect fit for the Suns if they only wanted him for the next few years in hopes of a title. With no ACL's, he's a high risk high reward type of player.

Earl Clark has really yet to make any sort of impression on me, negative or positive, considering that Gentry only really plays him in garbage minutes during which Dragic is usually the one scoring all the points so it's hard to say whether or not he was a bad pick.

Realistically, EC was the better pick at the time. Blair getting hurt at any second is much more likely than EC.

And let's not forget that Blair got a put back in the wrong basket last night. lmao

Christine-In-AZ · Post #20 » by **Christine-In-AZ** » Sat Dec 5, 2009 2:11 am

(the obvious)

Unfortunately, Suns weren't in a position to roll the dice on a small PF without ACLs.

I shudder to think how this board would blast Kerr if he had gambled.. took him at 15 and just one of Blair's knees blew out this year or next.

"Kerr's an idiot drafting a player with partial knees"

Spurs taking Blair was smart...not risky at that position...playing with house money.

Suns didn't have the luxury of gambling on high risk/reward