Whose the big winner tonight?

[wiff]

Whose the big winner tonight?



Portland takes home the draft day trophy once again. Pritchard has become quite the draft day darling.

HeavyP was ecstatic when Indiana drafted Bayless so that way he wouldn't fall to Portland. Then about 15 minutes late I come back from the bathroom and HeavyP was shaking his head in astonishment and how once again Portlands makes a great draft day trade. Oh no that's not where they stopped. They manage to snag the Hornets pick and then draft Darrell Arthur whose stock dropped because of a health issue then traded him for the French All-Star Bantum.

Now for the big......


I'm afraid that's you Mcfail.



^^^^^^He's yelling "Let's trade OJ Mayo for a guy who plays the exact same positon as our cornerstone" That way we can also land Mike Miller who is too old for the team but I bet I could send him to the Celtic in a sign and trade for Bill Walker, Glen Davis, & Tony Allen.

Sometimes the truth is better than fiction.

Actually I'm not sure if he is actually planning on trading Miller but can you put it past him?

A small side note with New Jersey drafting Brook Lopez does that mean Sean Williams is available?

[S0yb3anB0y]

I think Sean Williams is available for the right price. They have 4 prospect at the 4 &5. They are really high on Yi (because of their willingness to take on bad contract and trade arguably their 2nd best player). Brook is a keeper because of his post offense. Boone out played Sean. And then their is Kristic which is higher on the depth chart.

I wonder if Memphis guards are available. Their are awfully loaded back there. I wouldn't mind trading a future 2nd rounder for Javaris Crittenton.

[djthesonicsfan]

+1 on Crittenton.

[HeavyP]

You'd have to trade more then that. Rumor has it that Lowry is more likely out then Crittenton. I guess we might be able to swing something aroudn Wilcox, even though they did just get Arthur...

[BenjaminH]

Yes, I think that MEM guards are available. But I think that the biggest winner in the draft was NJN. They do have a lot of big men. I think they will probably try to keep Williams, but he could be available for the right price. I'm not sure whether he outplayed Boone. They both played pretty well. In any case, it is close. Lopez and Yi will certainly get minutes. I don't hate the Anderson pick, but I probably would have gone with a swing man instead of another big. (I probably would have picked Batum or Greene, if not Douglas-Roberts, though picking Douglas-Roberts up in the second round was a total steal.) Really, I think Anderson is at the bottom of the depth charts behind Boone and Williams, if nothing else, because of defense. Lopez, Yi and Kristic (if he plays) should be more than enough big man scoring; a lot more than last year. But they need to keep Boone and Williams in the rotation for defensive purposes. Anderson will likely play some in the NBDL. Just my guess.

[sonictecture]

My analysis of the Sonics draft:

Westbrook: The Sonics looked to address their biggest need. I can't say that Westbrook will pay immediate dividends, which can be expected from the #4 pick, but they did select the player that fits the team and the direction they want to move in better than any other prospect, other than Derek Rose.

The interesting thing is that there were a lot of observers, both professional and casual who seemed to see that Westbrook was the type of player that would vault in value above others in future years, similarly to Rodney Stuckey, due to his athleticism, skill set and intangibles. Despite the backlash in selecting him where he might actually end up in long term value, I like the selection. There wasn't another prospect that I thought was a better fit or a more worthy gamble left on the board.

The Sonics drafted a player with future all-star potential, but more importantly a player with the potential to really help the team win consistently in the future.

Ibaka: The most important aspect of the selection is that he won't be wearing a Sonic uniform next season. After watching the Sonic's unsuccessful attempts to develop raw big men while trying to compete in games, I applaud the decision of both parties. Any initial dissapointment in the draft and stash strategy vanished when Presti used second round selections to trade back into the first round.
Presti grabbed Ibaka ahead of other teams like the Spurs or Pistons who have a history of drafting high potential foreign prospects and waiting for them to develop.

The Sonics drafted a high potential prospect that they can wait on. In four years he will be the same age as D.J. White.

White: Big Ten player of the year at power forward/center. Could become a part of the rotation in year one due to uncertainty of Chris Wilcox and ability of the centers. Would allow Carlesimo to use a 3 man power forward rotation. Is a better defender and rebounder than Petro and shoots just as well from the outside.

The Sonics drafted a rotation player, if his knee remains sound, he should have a long career.

Hardin: Most Sonic fans seem really pleased with this selection. Hardin played just over 20 minutes per game as a Senior at Cal and his numbers were down from the previous season. He doesn't have the best hands, he isn't a dominate rebounder, he is very foul prone and has little offensive game outside of a dunk. He can run the floor well and jumps quicker than a lot of players his size. Free throw percentage is inconsistant but acceptable. Good intelligence and character.

The Sonics drafted a prospect that will have to show he can rebound and or defend to stay in the league.

[djthesonicsfan]

Great analysis. And I agree with your points. I'll add this to it from my perspective. I'm puzzled by the commentators who've panned Presti's efforts. I think Westbrook is the real deal. I didn't think so until I saw the Memphis-UCLA game. Wow. And wholy crap Ibaka is a beast. He's got a legit chance to be something great. Way better than how 90% of the picks at the end of the 1st round turn out. But apparently that's not enough for the commentators who gave Presti bad marks. Maybe it was just too easy to use the opportunity to lump it all together & take a snide shot at the ongoing ownership situation. Or maybe it's those same get rich quick guys who always talk a big game but are always a few dollars short. Anyway, I think we added two quality guys to the rotation Thursday. One of them will be a starter for a long time. And the third guy may turn out to be the best of the bunch in a couple of years. Well done, Presti.

[yearsago]

Not all analysts are hammering the sonics, Chad Ford gave the Sonics a A- grade for draft night.

[Downtown]

I think it was a case of Presti believing he could trade down and still end up with Westbrook. When it looked like Mayo wasn't going to be there at #4 the Clippers deal was off. In the end Presti went with the guy he wanted regardless of where he was projected to go. I'm hoping Westbrook plays a similar style to Devin Harris, who is an athletic, fast, defensive, but unspectacular pointguard that simply gets the job done without much highlight reel stuff.

I also said I was dissapointed with the Ibaka pick. But that was mainly because I like Chris Douglas-Roberts and when he was still there I thought he was a natural. It was more a frustration reaction on my part. After giving it more thought I realize that when you pick below #20 it is going to be a crapshoot at the very best and you can't expect to find a key piece for your team there. More often than not it's more of a pleasant surprise when a pick that low ends up contributing. Like when they drafted Petro, I didn't have much in the way of expectations for him. So if Presti did a San Antonio manouver to pick a great raw prospect and keep him away for a while I guess that's decent strategy.

One team that kind of got spit on for their Love and Miller for Mayo trade was Memphis. But if Darrel Arthur ends up looking almost as good as Love then this could turn out good. The Mayo deal definitely went in Minnesotas favor, but the Grizzlies made up for it by trading Batum for Arthur. And if Mayo ends up to be as good as advertised then they are laughing. With a backcourt of Conley and Mayo, and a frontcourt of Gay, Arthur, and Marc Gasol it could produce a nice group of young players. I just don't expect them to win much since the emphasis is on YOUNG. But I think this is what they had in mind.

[BrandonE]

Your Mom.