RealGM

Assuming we don't get the #1 or #2 pick I think we should trade it away.

I don't think Thabeet is very good. He has this reputation as a good defender but he is just a shot blocker. Every time he goes across the lane to block a shot he leaves his guy wide open for an easy putback. Thabeet builds his stats against less competition and when he goes up against Pitt or somebody physical he gets dominated. Not a characteristic of a top 5 pick. Jordan Hill hasn't shown much and James Harden looked like a lazy high school player in the NCAA tournament.

I just don't see anybody in the 3-6 spot that is worth the pick. So that begs the question, should the Thunder trade the pick?

GIven a choice I almost hope we get lottery screwed and end up with the #7 pick and roll the dice on Curry. In a draft full of role players at least Curry brings more than height and provides immediate shooting needs, although he may be a volume shooter.

I just don't like this draft at all and hope the Thunder do something to get out of the 09 draft trap if they don't get the 1st or 2nd pick.

agreed.

Harden would be a nice fit for this young team.He would come in and will compliment the rest of this team.A Presti player ,team first mentality and will be happy to be 2nd or 3rd option.Would be nice to have the chance to draft Griffin or Rubio but Harden fits straight into this team without rocking the apple cart Presti has started.Thabeet is another that would fit nicely but I have my doubts purely because the past history of drafting centers.But outside griffin,rubio,harden and thabeet yes I would trade the pick Im just hoping we get a top 4 pick otherwise trade away.

I feel more or less the same way as mattle. The thing is, I don't think we'll get much through a trade as many GMs probably feel the same way. Who could we get by trading a pick from the 3-5 range? I don't know, maybe Barbosa from the Suns? Someone satisfactory, I guess we could say, as opposed to rolling the dice in the draft and potentially getting nothing. I'm open to a trade, but I'm also open to gambling on Tyreke Evans or Harden.

mattle wrote:Assuming we don't get the #1 or #2 pick I think we should trade it away.

I don't think Thabeet is very good. He has this reputation as a good defender but he is just a shot blocker. Every time he goes across the lane to block a shot he leaves his guy wide open for an easy putback. Thabeet builds his stats against less competition and when he goes up against Pitt or somebody physical he gets dominated. Not a characteristic of a top 5 pick. Jordan Hill hasn't shown much and James Harden looked like a lazy high school player in the NCAA tournament.

I just don't see anybody in the 3-6 spot that is worth the pick. So that begs the question, should the Thunder trade the pick?

GIven a choice I almost hope we get lottery screwed and end up with the #7 pick and roll the dice on Curry. In a draft full of role players at least Curry brings more than height and provides immediate shooting needs, although he may be a volume shooter.

I just don't like this draft at all and hope the Thunder do something to get out of the 09 draft trap if they don't get the 1st or 2nd pick.

Thabeet got dominated against Dejuan Blair the first game but the second game he played much better against Pitt.

I think Thabeet is going to be just fine.

I also think the Thunder have at least one more year before they are expected to make the playoffs. So it wouldn't bother me even if they picked up a guy like DeRozan who looks like he might need a year or two before he is really ready for the NBA.

But if Presti does end up trading the pick, (which I wouldn't be too surprised if he did because I do think you make some valid points) at least he has a good track record over all with trades.

Unless you OKC gets 1st or 2nd pick, which would be awesome, I think the only guy who would benefit this team right from the start is Harden. Im not too sure about Thabeet, so I guess the personnal workouts will help the management to take a decision on him.

As for trading the pick, I'm not sure what value could be acquired for this pick (assuming it's 3-5). This draft class is known to be quite poor, and I dont think that a #5 could yield a Ray Allen player like it did 2 years ago.

I thought the same thing about Harden until I watched him in the NCAA tournament. I can't recall a consensus top 10 pick playing backtoback tourney games the way he did. He was completely uninspired. He literally just walked around. I'd rather start Damien Wilkens than watch Harden play like he did.

I think if we have the #2 pick we should go ahead and take Rubio. I don't understand the crowd that says that means you are giving up on Westbrooke. Well, so what, you have to take the best available. Atlanta and the Clips draft based off of positions of need every year, but the teams that take the best available player end up helping themselves in the long run. Either Rubio outplays Westbrook and we end up as a better team or we trade Rubio to a team willing to give up too much for an 19 year old PG of the future.

As for value of any pick 3-6, I don't think it has much. You might be able to convince a team to give up a mid-level guy + an uncoditional pick in the 2010 or 2011 draft. Somebody like Tony Allen, CJ Miles, Amir Johnson, Janero Pargo, Joakim Noah, etc etc. We won't see a super star moved but a team might be willing to unload a role player + a future pick (the bulls have a log jam at PG, SG, and PF, they could look to unload somebody and replace with Thabeet who needs time). With the economy the way it is I'm sure there is a team out there that would like to dump a 5-8 million a year player for a rookie stuck in the rookie pay scale.

mattle wrote:As for value of any pick 3-6, I don't think it has much. You might be able to convince a team to give up a mid-level guy + an uncoditional pick in the 2010 or 2011 draft. Somebody like Tony Allen, CJ Miles, Amir Johnson, Janero Pargo, Joakim Noah, etc etc. We won't see a super star moved but a team might be willing to unload a role player + a future pick (the bulls have a log jam at PG, SG, and PF, they could look to unload somebody and replace with Thabeet who needs time). With the economy the way it is I'm sure there is a team out there that would like to dump a 5-8 million a year player for a rookie stuck in the rookie pay scale.

Considering a 'mid-level' value type guy, would you do a Lou Will + '11 (top 3 protected) for '09 #4?

Since you guys mention it:


There is talk (confirmed by Jonathan of Draft Express) that the Bulls are trying to move up. They are prepared to trade both picks and/or Tyrus Thomas to do so.

There is the interview on draft express. It's the second story here:

http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/Jonath ... dcast-3216

Since this draft is so weak, a number of teams are looking to trade down or trade out of it. So unless a team is in the top 3, many will be open to dealing.