General (Non-Wiz) Draft Discussion

[Silvie Lysandra]

Blazers are silly

They needed Blair in the worst way

[verbal8]

I think watching the draft with the volume off is better. The analysts really don't tend to have very much interesting to say.

[verbal8]

2 "first round" guys(Budinger and Blair) drop to the second round. Look which franchises pick them up...the Spurs and Pistons. There is a reason these franchises are always in or near contention.

[LyricalRico]

Wow, Houston has already bought 3 second round guys:

Sergio Llull (PG)
Jermaine Taylor (SG)
Chase Budinger (SF)

They needed to get more athletic on the perimeter and got guys in Taylor and Budinger that had late first round value. Looks like they are preparing their backcourt for life after TMac.

[LyricalRico]

Wow, I just noticed that Josh Heyvelt didn't get drafted. At 6'11, 250 with good hands he'd be a nice undrafted FA pickup for somebody.

[clubbing_caveman]

Wow, I just noticed that Josh Heyvelt didn't get drafted. At 6'11, 250 with good hands he'd be a nice undrafted FA pickup for somebody.

An interesting prospect. He needs to go to big man school because he lacks the fundamentals, in addition to muscle. Still, he is a good athlete. I dont think I'd put him ahead of McGee though.

[Kanyewest]

Blazers are silly

They needed Blair in the worst way

Dante Cunningham can be a solid pro too. Here's what I said about him being a potential 2nd round pick.

I wonder if the Wizards will consider Dante Cunningham from Villanova with the pick. He's a bit undersized but was a decent defender in college. He's only 6'7 without shoes but played center in the big east against the like of Hasheem Thabeet and DeJuan Blair. As one would expect from watching his game, he's pretty strong, he benched the same number of times as DeJuan Blair (18 times). His body fat is only at 4.8%.

Cunningham would be a good fit because he is a solid catch and shoot player from 15-18 feet, although his range does not extend to the 3 point line. He uses his 35 inch vertical to finish at the rim and block shots. his low post game is adequate but could stand to improve since it's predictable. Still, he's a willing passer and doesn't force bad shots.

What stands out most about Cunningham is how much he's improved from year to year.



SEASON--------MIN------PTS------REB------AST------PF------FG%------ FT%
2005-2006------19.1------2.2------4.0------.8------2.4------.468------.394
2006-2007------ 27.3------8.7------5.4------.7------2.9------.513------.779
2007-2008------30.0------10.4------6.5------1.1------3.1------.544------.690
2008-2009------31.6------16.1------7.5------1.2------2.7------.525------.697

With the solid work ethic that Cunningham had in college he could become a solid role player in the NBA who plays solid defense and knocks down the open shot.

[verbal8]

Wow, Houston has already bought 3 second round guys:

Sergio Llull (PG)
Jermaine Taylor (SG)
Chase Budinger (SF)

I wonder if they are close to a deal to get ship out TMac.

[Dat2U]

I think our disagreement lies in the abilities of Curry and Lawson. Either of them could play effectively with Arenas. I think Lawson has much more NBA potential than Curry does.

I guess we'll disagree as well, but just on Curry. I like both as prospects. In fact I think they are two of the top five prospects in a weak draft. I'd have no problem with Lawson. I love his speed and his decision making & jumpshot has improved ten fold. He's certainly better than Ray Felton, a guy I had compared him to at the beginning of the college season.

As for Curry, I see him as a legit PG. I think his b-ball IQ court vision and is on an elite level. He's also tough as nails and has a killer instinct. He's not an elite athlete but he's got sneaky athleticism, sorta in the Brandon Roy mold. There's no wasted motion there. He's also still growing, doctors told him that he may have another 2 inches to go. He's currently 6-4. Not to mention his pure jump shot, range and shot creation abilities. I'd rate Curry just behind Tyreke Evans as the 4th best prospect in the entire draft. I may be alone on this but I've yet to find a more impressive prospect after Griffin, Rubio & Evans.

I sure did love that Curry kid!

[AFM]

Alright boss now you're going way back

[payitforward]

...I'd rate Curry just behind Tyreke Evans as the 4th best prospect in the entire draft.... I've yet to find a more impressive prospect after Griffin, Rubio & Evans.

I sure did love that Curry kid!

Yup! Almost as much as you loved Ricky Rubio & Tyreke Evans! Both of whom you loved waaaay more than James Harden.

If we made a list of picks that year who, it turned out, were better than Tyreke Evans... how long would the list be?

Let's see... here are a few: James Harden, DeMar DeRozan, James Johnson, Jrue Holiday, Jeff Teague, Darren Collison, Taj Gibson, DeMarre Carroll, Wayne Ellington, Jodie Meeks, Patrick Beverley, Danny Green, Patty Mills.

Hey, in my case... I had a sneaking suspicion that Lester Hudson was gonna surprise the world!

[9 and 20]

Ha, I also went to page one of this (2009!) thread and saw the James Harden comments. Close!

[payitforward]

Tyreke Evans is helluva lot more impressive to me than James Harden.

Steph Curry & Ty Lawson would also be ahead of Harden IMO.

Heck, if Evan Turner from OSU would come out, I'd put him ahead of Harden too.

Harden is not the next Brandon Roy, its not even close. It's going to be really hard for him to excel as a below average athlete on the NBA level.

Solid role player? Yes, there's a good chance he becomes one. Above average starter? I have serious doubts. I still say there's no chance of him being a top five pick in the draft. Especially once teams get him into workouts and see up close that he's a subpar athlete and that he's also an undersized 2.

The mock drafts always badly overrate a few prospects each year, Harden is one of them this time around.

Hey, we all make mistakes!

[doclinkin]

I think our disagreement lies in the abilities of Curry and Lawson. Either of them could play effectively with Arenas. I think Lawson has much more NBA potential than Curry does.

I guess we'll disagree as well, but just on Curry. I like both as prospects. In fact I think they are two of the top five prospects in a weak draft. I'd have no problem with Lawson. I love his speed and his decision making & jumpshot has improved ten fold. He's certainly better than Ray Felton, a guy I had compared him to at the beginning of the college season.

As for Curry, I see him as a legit PG. I think his b-ball IQ court vision and is on an elite level. He's also tough as nails and has a killer instinct. He's not an elite athlete but he's got sneaky athleticism, sorta in the Brandon Roy mold. There's no wasted motion there. He's also still growing, doctors told him that he may have another 2 inches to go. He's currently 6-4. Not to mention his pure jump shot, range and shot creation abilities. I'd rate Curry just behind Tyreke Evans as the 4th best prospect in the entire draft. I may be alone on this but I've yet to find a more impressive prospect after Griffin, Rubio & Evans.

I sure did love that Curry kid!

I'll see that and raise that. Here's me before the season that year:

Re: The RealGM Wizards Board Draft Thread 2008/2009
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Post#13 » by doclinkin » Sun Nov 2, 2008 8:41 am

As far as potential point guards I like Greivis pretty well, despite flaws, but I'm most interested in the aborigine assassin Patrick Mills (St. Marys) and Del Curry's boy Stephen.

Both have big league quaility skill, Patty Mills scorched the US olympicsquad for 20 points, Stephen Curry's jumper is slick as a silk jockstrap and despite puny size and babyface plays decent defense makes smart passes etc.

and:

Re: The RealGM Wizards Board Draft Thread 2008/2009
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Post#31 » by doclinkin » Wed Nov 19, 2008 10:21 am

Arenas4Three wrote:
I love Curry but we dont need any more scorers....we will have Gil, DeBrick, and N1 in 2009. Griffin is a monster in the paint and has a very high basketball IQ. Staying at OU this season was a great decision and his game will develop nicely. I wouldnt mind tanking the season knowing we'd have a great shot to land Griff. If not, we can target Curry or James Harden (from Arizona State).

Scorers? I want him for Antonio Daniels' spot/DeShawn's spot. He's on a team where he has to carry the load offensively, but he's also an improving defender, ballhandler, passer, and a low-ego guy. First game out this year, and his first game as the full-time PG (after playing an off-ball catch & shoot role most often) the kid drops 9 dimes.

He just has the situation-recognition wetware that every team needs. To me that's a rarer skill than rebounding, but one that similarly makes the players around you better. Don't get me wrong I'd by no means cry about landing Griffin. Dell's boy just has that intangible thing you know when you see it. Quiet confidence, raising his game when that's what's needed. Winning more important than ego. Born to do this thing. This team is missing that more than anything else. Certainty.