Looking back at last year's draft...the Lopez error

[Jonathan Watters]

I thought that getting into the paint was something he did rather well last year. In college he did also. But in college he was a better finisher. In the pro game he is going to need a short jumper in order to be effective, but he was able to get in the paint his rookie year.

How about you list the "Pippen tools" and we can go from there.

What is the point of getting into the paint if you can't finish? When you say Pippen "got into the paint" you aren't talking about dribbling into the lane and throwing up low percentage garbage, are you? You actually think you can argue in this ridiculous manner and then accuse me of distorting arguments?

And no, Brewer never showed any Pippen-like qualities in terms of "getting into the paint" at the college level. The vast majority of what he did was on the fast break, and he never faced a legit defense his entire career given the attention his teammates drew.

[Jonathan Watters]

That isn't an insult either since Pippen was one of the best perimeter defenders in his era.

It will be taken as such. In this warped world view, Pippen-caliber defenders can grow on trees and Love-caliber rebounders are one a generation...

[Zeitgeister]

That isn't an insult either since Pippen was one of the best perimeter defenders in his era.

It will be taken as such. In this warped world view, Pippen-caliber defenders can grow on trees and Love-caliber rebounders are one a generation...

I guess so. According to some, Love will have multiple seasons of averaging 15 RPG. Love's a great rebounder at this stage already, and his scoring is starting to come around. He's a pretty well rounded player and without taking team need into account he would be a good pick for the Wolves.

Taking team need into account though, I just do not understand the mentality of some who would rather have Love paired up with Jefferson instead of Lopez. Whether it's offense or defense, Lopez is a much better fit next to Al.

2008-2009 stats from mid range:
Kevin Love: 39% 47-121
Brook Lopez: 54% 43-79

[Luv those Knicks]

That isn't an insult either since Pippen was one of the best perimeter defenders in his era.

It will be taken as such. In this warped world view, Pippen-caliber defenders can grow on trees and Love-caliber rebounders are one a generation...

I guess so. According to some, Love will have multiple seasons of averaging 15 RPG. Love's a great rebounder at this stage already, and his scoring is starting to come around. He's a pretty well rounded player and without taking team need into account he would be a good pick for the Wolves.

Taking team need into account though, I just do not understand the mentality of some who would rather have Love paired up with Jefferson instead of Lopez. Whether it's offense or defense, Lopez is a much better fit next to Al.

2008-2009 stats from mid range:
Kevin Love: 39% 47-121
Brook Lopez: 54% 43-79

and Lopez has better D, which is something Al Jeff is lacking in.


I don't disagree with the Wolves would have been better if argument, but I'm not convinced that Lopez will have a better career than Love.


Lopez had no help from the nets on the inside. They are essentially a team without a power forward, so in that circumstance, Lopez' 8 rebounds per 30 minutes are even less impressive than it sounds. Put a rebounder next to him and what does Lopez do next year, 14 pts and 6 rebounds, 16 and 7 on a good year. Not bad numbers, but nothing to write home about.

Love on the other hand, 9 rebounds in 25 minutes was good for 3rd in the league in per 48, and with a bounder like Al Jeff next to him, that's even more impressive.


Some people say that you draft the bpa, not the best fit if you are a lotto team, so I think it's too early to say if mini made a mistake.

[Joana]

Al Jefferson can't defend PFs. He's just too slow-footed. Offensively, he plays like a prototypical center. I have no idea why people keep seeing him as a 4. The only way of hiding his defensive deficiencies is to match him with slower players and protect him from moving too much. This should be more than clear now.

I don't like the Love-Big Al pair, from a defensive perspective: lack of height, quickness, shot-blocking. But pairing Jefferson with Lopez wouldn't be better, from my perspective, quite the opposite.

[Zeitgeister]

Al Jefferson can't defend PFs. He's just too slow-footed. Offensively, he plays like a prototypical center. I have no idea why people keep seeing him as a 4. The only way of hiding his defensive deficiencies is to match him with slower players and protect him from moving too much. This should be more than clear now.

I don't like the Love-Big Al pair, from a defensive perspective: lack of height, quickness, shot-blocking. But pairing Jefferson with Lopez wouldn't be better, from my perspective, quite the opposite.

Why? It's not like Kevin Love is much better at defending the quick power forwards in the league. Jefferson would be a lot better defensively if he put in the effort and knew proper fundimentals. Someone like Brook Lopez could positively affect the entire team's defense as a legit center who could challenge anyone who shoots in the paint. Jefferson isn't a good defender no matter what position he is playing, but having a legit center next to him will improve the teams defense.

[SSUBluesman]

For some reason teams want intrigue, even if it's on the negative side ("Can Adam Morrison score on the NBA level?") over good, solid, well-rounded players.

The particularly stunning thing about Lopez is that raw, undeveloped 7 footers get drafted where he went. Sene, Bynum, etc.

[NetsForce]

For some reason teams want intrigue, even if it's on the negative side ("Can Adam Morrison score on the NBA level?") over good, solid, well-rounded players.

The particularly stunning thing about Lopez is that raw, undeveloped 7 footers get drafted where he went. Sene, Bynum, etc.

I really couldn't understand around draft time why people were saying Brook didn't have much room to improvement... I mean he was 20 years old o_o...

[Paydro70]

For some reason teams want intrigue, even if it's on the negative side ("Can Adam Morrison score on the NBA level?") over good, solid, well-rounded players.

The particularly stunning thing about Lopez is that raw, undeveloped 7 footers get drafted where he went. Sene, Bynum, etc.

Isn't Bynum pretty much case in point for why teams do it? He's had some injuries, but I'd say he worked out about as well as the Lakers could have hoped, from a talent perspective.

[Jonathan Watters]

I think that athletic 7-footers tend to get overrated dramatically. It isn't that athleticism in a 7-footer doesn't matter, but it is much more important that a 7-footer know how to play - and much more rare. There are plenty of skinny 7-footers that can run the floor and block shots. Ones that can develop the skill to actually score on the low block and keep weight on without injuries ruining their career are few and far between.

Andrew Bynum showed very early on that he knew how to play the game, even when he was at his most raw. So did Brook Lopez...

[richboy]

Jefferson would be fine at PF. There are much slower PFs in the league than Al Jefferson. With a legit center next to him you be set. Nothing against Love. But the reality is both Jefferson and Love need a center next to him. If Minny is building a team that can make the first round then perhaps you be happy with Love and Jefferson. No way a front line of Love and Jefferson is winning a title. Not unless your goal is to win rebounding titles.

[commadoor 64]

OKC, Minny, and Memphis are the obvious ones to look at. Those 3 teams needed a center and actually still need a big presence. I won't knock Memphis too much because OJ Mayo can be a star in this league.

Don't forget Memphis had acquired a few months earlier 7'1" 265lb Marc Gasol who had just won MVP of the ACB league the year before and who turned out numbers surprisingly close to Brook Lopez's rookie numbers, and he was chosen 48th in the draft the year before by the Lakers.

13.0/8.1/1.0/.5/1.8 30mins. <---- B.Lopez
11.9/7.4/1.7/.8/1.1 30mins. <---- M.Gasol

[NYC2BGI]

New York really messed up on this one especially with Eddy Curry only playing a few minutes for the whole season. Being in NY, we get to see the NJ Nets games too on the YES network and watching Lopez really impressed me. He went the whole season without a true center and suffered badly because of it. The Knicks had many needs but could have filled one need with Brooke Lopez.