The Draft Thread

Post #1 » by **Nolan** » Mon May 2, 2011 5:10 pm

Well since our season is over its time to start talking about the draft. We've got both our picks this year #29 and #59. This is shaping up to be a pretty crappy draft but there's a ton of international talent available and with our great scouts and ties to europe we should be able to nab a couple good prospects.

A few players i'm interested in:

Lucas Nogueira, 6-11 225 C - He's a big athletic defensive minded center. He's still pretty young and still very raw but he's got a ton of potential.

Nikola Vucevic, 6-10 240 PF/C - He was great at USC last year. He has a great mid range jumper, he's showing progress on three point shooting, he's decent in the low post and he likes to rebound. He's not very athletic and not the best defender but he tries and he could become a very solid role player in the NBA.

Bojan Bogdanovic, 6-7 216 SG/SF - Love this dude. He's a really aggressive wing who score in a variety of ways. He's got great handles, he can finish with both hands, great outside shooter and he's got a ton of confidence. He looks like he could be a Manu-esqe type scorer.

Jimmy Butler, 6-7 220 F - Another guy I really like. He'll never be a star but he's one of those guys that does all the little things that help a team win. He's a decent athlete, good defender, he's a got high B-ball IQ, outstanding work ethic, he takes pride in his defense, he's got a scrappy demeanor and he just makes good decisons on the floor. He's a coaches dream and I really liked what I seen from him at Marquette and he was the MVP of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.

Who do you guys like in this draft?

batmana · Post #2 » by **batmana** » Mon May 2, 2011 5:32 pm

My no. 1 option would be JaJuan Johnson of Purdue - PF/C 6-10 Senior. He reminds me a lot of Detroit's rookie Greg Monroe - a big with a soft touch who's got good footwork, decent range but needs more muscle. Unfortunately for us, his stock went a bit up due to his good season and he is now projected to go in the early 20s.

After him there is somewhat of a drop-off in bigs and the next ones probably could be had in the second round. I like Rick Jackson from Syracuse and Vernon Macklin from Florida and I think we have to look at them if Johnson is gone at 29. Jackson is more of a low-post scorer but is somewhat undersized while Macklin is an energetic defensive center who I think can develop around Timmy.

My sleepers would be Terrence Jennings from Louisville who is talented but is very raw and needs to develop a lot on both ends, and Jamie Skeen from VCU who unfortunately is another jump-shooting big who needs to develop legitimate NBA 3-point range if he wants to make it on the next level. He's got a big body though and is surprisingly active on both ends of the floor which is a plus.

Obviously I'm looking towards drafting a big. Do you guys think we will address a different need in this year's draft?

Post #3 » by **Nolan** » Mon May 2, 2011 7:18 pm

^
I hoping we draft a big as well. We need some extra size and grit down low, but as always I think the front office will go BPA. And with this draft class I think that might be the best way to go.

I also like JaJuan Johnson as well. My only problem with him are his sub par rebounding numbers, they're not terrible but I think they'll scare some teams off. He looks like he could be a taller more athletic Carl Landry, a solid low post/mid range scorer and an average rebounder.

co_laper · Post #4 » by **co_laper** » Thu May 5, 2011 10:34 am

I'm really not expecting someone to come in and contribute from this year's draft. We expect that from Hill, Blair, Anderson, and Splitter. But this is the year we need to draft the guy with the best potential.

I'm not familiar who will fit this description, but I think we need a big guy. extremely athletic. Perhaps one of the best athletes in the draft. Hopefully a shotblocker. I'm thinking someone like DeAndre Jordan who fell in the draft. He was big, athletic, and can block shots. Guys like Hassan Whiteside I guess. We should take a chance on those type of guys.

Black_Jack21 · Post #5 » by **Black_Jack21** » Fri May 6, 2011 12:08 pm

Looks like nbadraft.net sees us taking Kyle Singler. Being a Duke fan i really like him, not exactly a player we need. Type of player that does a lot of good things but nothing really great. Like to see a good young big taken in the draft.

co_laper · Post #6 » by **co_laper** » Sat May 7, 2011 11:31 pm

Actually, I don't mind Singler.

He's got that tweener size we want and he's a good rebounder for his position. I don't think he's our solution for SF Of The Future stuff, but he could potentially pan out like Mike Dunleavy Jr can't he? I personally see a lot of Mike Dunleavy Jr in him.

batmana · Post #7 » by **batmana** » Mon May 9, 2011 11:04 am

I absolutely see Mike Dunleavy when I think of Singler. They have tiny differences where Dunleavy is more of a shooter while Singler is more of an all-around player with no real strengths or weaknesses. I don't think mock drafts can be trusted so early on anything more than the range where a player gets picked as they haven't considered position needs, etc. I still want us to look for a big but I agree that Singler would be good value at the end of the first round.

Post #8 » by **Nolan** » Mon May 9, 2011 9:34 pm

Tyler Honeycutt is another guy I like for us. Solid two way SF with a great understanding of the game and he's got the potential to become a much better player. He could be a Wilson Chandler type player or a current Grant Hill.

BarbaGrizz · Post #9 » by **BarbaGrizz** » Sun May 15, 2011 6:58 pm

Lucas Nogueira has huge potential, runs the floor really well and is a top notch shotblocker. If he´s available at the end of the 1st round he´ll be an absolutely steal.

Post #10 » by **Nolan** » Sun May 15, 2011 11:45 pm

BarbaGrizz wrote:Lucas Nogueira has huge potential, runs the floor really well and is a top notch shotblocker. If he´s available at the end of the 1st round he´ll be an absolutely steal.

I really hope he falls to us, the kids going to be a great player.

starbuck785 · Post #11 » by **starbuck785** » Tue May 17, 2011 1:18 am

Lucas Nogueira Has 3 years left on a contract and is 18 we need someone to step in a be a big body not 18 and 200lbs.
How bout.
1st round
Jordan Williams Maryland
Chris Singleton Florida St.
Kyle Singler Duke
2nd round
Keith Benson Oakland
Gary Flowers Southern Miss

co_laper · Post #12 » by **co_laper** » Tue May 17, 2011 12:08 pm

I don't think we should be expecting a rookie big man even if he's 8 feet and 500 lbs to come in and contribute right away. I doubt if we get a big, he'll even get into the rotation. We all see how hard it is for Blair and Splitter to earn rotation minutes in their first year and they were highly regarded.

When it comes to big man rotations, 3 players always get regular rotation minutes, the 4th guy gets like 8-10 minutes or if someone gets into foul trouble. the 5th guy is like an injury replacement. With Duncan, Splitter, Blair, and Bonner, we're set at that position. Unless we get a veteran guy (Gasol etc), it's not likely that we draft/sign anyone that will take their spot in the rotation. Our hopes of being better at the frontcourt lies on the development of Splitter and Blair. It's something that has to come from within.

I don't know anything about that lucas guy, but this is the time we gamble on potential. It's the time to take chances on potential instead of sure things.

Post #13 » by **Nolan** » Thu May 19, 2011 4:15 am

starbuck785 wrote:Lucas Nogueira Has 3 years left on a contract and is 18 we need someone to step in a be a big body not 18 and 200lbs.
How bout.
1st round
Jordan Williams Maryland
Chris Singleton Florida St.
Kyle Singler Duke
2nd round
Keith Benson Oakland
Gary Flowers Southern Miss

Like Co_Laper already said we're not going to find a big late in this draft thats going to contribute right away. Nogueira would be worth the wait, and the rumour is the new CBA is going to be much friendly towards overseas buyouts.

Nogueira looks like he could be an Ibaka'ish player. He's a freak athlete, he's got a 7'6 wingspan, he's got a great work ethic and he loves playing defense.

Post #14 » by **Nolan** » Thu May 19, 2011 4:19 am

Here's DX's new mock after the lottery:

http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-mock-draft/2011/

Also I=i'd like to say I was suprised that the Cav's won the lottery with the Clippers pick but i'm not. Me and Chad Ford totally seen that coming, just the Clippers luck.

Blame Rasho · Post #15 » by **Blame Rasho** » Fri May 20, 2011 1:41 am

I say we trade away the pick... the guy isn't going to be a difference maker anytime soon.

Black_Jack21 · Post #16 » by **Black_Jack21** » Fri May 20, 2011 1:45 am

Lol i wonder if thats what the clippers said

Not a bad idea seeing as it is the 29th pick, i wonder what we can pick up with it.

Post #17 » by **Nolan** » Fri May 20, 2011 1:52 am

Blame Rasho wrote:I say we trade away the pick... the guy isn't going to be a difference maker anytime soon.

I`d love to try to deal the pick but I doubt we get anyone/anything of value for it considering how horrible this draft is.

Blame Rasho · Post #18 » by **Blame Rasho** » Fri May 20, 2011 2:14 am

Nolan wrote:
Blame Rasho wrote:I say we trade away the pick... the guy isn't going to be a difference maker anytime soon.

I`d love to try to deal the pick but I doubt we get anyone/anything of value for it considering how horrible this draft is.

There is always a team that wants pick... I think we can unload it for some 2nds and use them on some prospects.

Post #19 » by **Nolan** » Fri May 20, 2011 4:19 am

^
That's a good option as well. There's a ton of guys projected to go in the 2nd round that I really like.

One of them being Keith Benson from Oakland. He's got great size and he can score around the bucket. People criticize his defense but he was that Oakland team, they didn't want to see him getting into foul trouble.

batmana · Post #20 » by **batmana** » Fri May 20, 2011 6:48 am

I think we should target a guy in the draft and if there is a possibility to trade down and still get him, that's fine with me. If for example we decide on Keith Benson and expect him to be available at the start of the second round, and there is a team that wants to get in the first round, I don't see anything wrong in swapping picks.
But the draft is a good opportunity to get a good young player on a good contract and our front office has done a tremendous job at finding talent where others do not see any (George Hill being one of the most recent examples) so I fully expect us to add a player for the future.