09-10 WizFans Official Draft Thread

[closg00]

20 pounds? You mean, too bad he's not another 3 inches taller. He'd be in consideration for the overall pick IMO. He may be a liability defensively but put him in the right system and you may hide that. Dude is built like a bull and he dunks with authority.

I was thinking of the prototypical under-sized PF, you know, 6'7 - 6-9 and 255 pounds. Paterson has the same measurements as James Singleton so I think he will do fine in certain line-ups.

[Ruzious]

1st time seeing Patrick Patterson play last night, dude stroked a 3-pointer and grabbed 12 boards. Lot's of hustle. Too-bad he doesn't have another 20 pounds on him.

That's the impressive thing about his play this season. He was a pure back to the basket player all his career, and now he's showing he can completely change his role and hit jump shots with range. He also does a great job of running the court - and that really pays off when you have Wall as your teammate. With all due respect to Cousins, Patterson, and Bledsoe; Wall is the 1 player that makes Kentucky great. He's in a class by himself (with all due respect to Turner).

[closg00]

1st time seeing Patrick Patterson play last night, dude stroked a 3-pointer and grabbed 12 boards. Lot's of hustle. Too-bad he doesn't have another 20 pounds on him.

That's the impressive thing about his play this season. He was a pure back to the basket player all his career, and now he's showing he can completely change his role and hit jump shots with range. He also does a great job of running the court - and that really pays off when you have Wall as your teammate. With all due respect to Cousins, Patterson, and Bledsoe; Wall is the 1 player that makes Kentucky great. He's in a class by himself (with all due respect to Turner).

+1 Wall is just unbelievably good, a total game-changer.

[nate33]

I was thinking of the prototypical under-sized PF, you know, 6'7 - 6-9 and 255 pounds. Paterson has the same measurements as James Singleton so I think he will do fine in certain line-ups.

Agreed. But since we already have James Singleton, I wouldn't go out of my way to acquire a pick to use on Patterson. Singleton is Patterson with better D and worse O. Singleton is just what we need to back up Blatche.

[yungal07]

1st time seeing Patrick Patterson play last night, dude stroked a 3-pointer and grabbed 12 boards. Lot's of hustle. Too-bad he doesn't have another 20 pounds on him.

That's the impressive thing about his play this season. He was a pure back to the basket player all his career, and now he's showing he can completely change his role and hit jump shots with range. He also does a great job of running the court - and that really pays off when you have Wall as your teammate. With all due respect to Cousins, Patterson, and Bledsoe; Wall is the 1 player that makes Kentucky great. He's in a class by himself (with all due respect to Turner).

Wall is a 6'4 version of Chris Paul.

That kid is unbelievable, and is probably destined for a HOF career in the NBA. Says alot that he would go before a guy like Turner, who is a great player.

[nate33]

I so hope we land the #1 pick. Wall, Arenas and Blatche is the core of a contending squad. Add in Thornton, Young, McGee, two low draft picks and $19M in cap space and the possibilities are endless.

[Ruzious]

1st time seeing Patrick Patterson play last night, dude stroked a 3-pointer and grabbed 12 boards. Lot's of hustle. Too-bad he doesn't have another 20 pounds on him.

That's the impressive thing about his play this season. He was a pure back to the basket player all his career, and now he's showing he can completely change his role and hit jump shots with range. He also does a great job of running the court - and that really pays off when you have Wall as your teammate. With all due respect to Cousins, Patterson, and Bledsoe; Wall is the 1 player that makes Kentucky great. He's in a class by himself (with all due respect to Turner).

Wall is a 6'4 version of Chris Paul.

That kid is unbelievable, and is probably destined for a HOF career in the NBA. Says alot that he would go before a guy like Turner, who is a great player.

Could be. I think Wall is a better pairing with Arenas than Turner is - despite the benefits of Turner's height. Turner's called an offguard, but he controlls the ball more than most PGs - moreso than Wall - who sometimes defers to Bledsoe. It might be that Turner can't play effectively off the ball. He might be a controll freak. With Arenas, you want someone who can do both. And it's always an advantage to have a freak athlete - like Wall. If we end up with Turner, that's nothing to complain about, but Wall is better.

And Wall is the rare kind of player that great players will want to play with. I don't think Turner is going to fit that description. Hence the term - franchise player.

[LyricalRico]

I so hope we land the #1 pick. Wall, Arenas and Blatche is the core of a contending squad. Add in Thornton, Young, McGee, two low draft picks and $19M in cap space and the possibilities are endless.

In that scenario I'd almost want to keep a passive glue guy like Mike Miller (assuming it's at a reasonable price) to keep the offense flowing. And then something like Ross+Young for Biedrins (if he's healthy) might be the final piece.

Biedrins/McGee
Blatche/Singleton
Miller/Thornton
Arenas/#30
Wall/#35

I'm still not crazy about Blatche's mentality and we'd need some vets to round out the backcourt, but that's a completely rebuilt team that's ready to make some noise in the East almost immediately.

[nate33]

I think Wall is a better pairing with Arenas than Turner is - despite the benefits of Turner's height. Turner's called an offguard, but he controlls the ball more than most PGs - moreso than Wall - who sometimes defers to Bledsoe. It might be that Turner can't play effectively off the ball. He might be a controll freak. With Arenas, you want someone who can do both. And it's always an advantage to have a freak athlete - like Wall. If we end up with Turner, that's nothing to complain about, but Wall is better.

I agree completely. I'm really excited about an Arenas/Wall backcourt. I think they could thrive on offense and hold their own on D (if we got a real center to backstop them). An Arenas/Turner backcourt concerns me in the short term because we just don't know how well Turner can play off the ball.

That said, I wouldn't complain about Turner either. The kid has a huge heart and a great work ethic. There's no doubt in my mind he would apply himself to become a better off-the-ball player if that's what was needed for the team to succeed.

[nate33]

I so hope we land the #1 pick. Wall, Arenas and Blatche is the core of a contending squad. Add in Thornton, Young, McGee, two low draft picks and $19M in cap space and the possibilities are endless.

In that scenario I'd almost want to keep a passive glue guy like Mike Miller (assuming it's at a reasonable price) to keep the offense flowing. And then something like Ross+Young for Biedrins (if he's healthy) might be the final piece.

Biedrins/McGee
Blatche/Singleton
Miller/Thornton
Arenas/#30
Wall/#35

I'm still not crazy about Blatche's mentality and we'd need some vets to round out the backcourt, but that's a completely rebuilt team that's ready to make some noise in the East almost immediately.

Agreed. I'd prefer Josh Howard over Miller as the veteran "glue guy", but either would do. I wouldn't go after Biedrins. Golden State fans will tell you that his defense is just terrible. I'd rather go for a stop gap center (Foster, Collison, maybe Brad Miller or J.O'Neal on a 1-year deal) and give McGee another year to develop. If that didn't pan out, we'd be in position to make a run at Perkins/Gasol/Horford/Noah next summer.

[BanndNDC]

not getting my hopes up but a wall/arenas backcourt would be insanely good and fun to watch.

thinking more about those other two picks at the moment (rather than get lost in hoping for wall/cousins).

any thoughts on zoubek? he's tall (with a solid frame), dirty and bearded. 3 things we need more of. On the other hand he's d(uke)-bag and slow, things we don't need. wouldnt really be willing to draft him with our current picks but id definitely invite him to camp. like samhan a bit better.

re greivis: think he'd be good as a 2 in the NBA next to a scoring/combo type 1. he was faster than i thought and had better vision (but not as good passing - could see the pass but couldnt always make the pass). think he could be a 2nd round larry hughes. considering the complete lack of decent point guards not named wall (depending on k. lucas) he could just be the best option.

[pancakes3]

Down goes OSU. that lack of frontcourt size and depth finally caught up with them. also diebler was terrible shooting. doesn't change much for turner though. still a lock for top 3.


as for wall/arenas, it's what we had hoped Hughes/Arenas would have developed to be - mutually threatening guards either capable of pushing the tempo. i would say that wall's lack of a 3 ball is a concern but gil's 3 is spot on. also between gil's deep range and AB's emergence, the lanes are wide open for Wall to do his tyreke evans impersonation.

[verbal8]

Wall is a 6'4 version of Chris Paul.

That kid is unbelievable, and is probably destined for a HOF career in the NBA. Says alot that he would go before a guy like Turner, who is a great player.

One issue that both Wall and Turner have is turnovers and lack of a reliable 3 point shot. I think both players will develop 3 point shooting. The turnover issue could become more pronounced facing better defenders and athletes in the pros.

[miller31time]

not getting my hopes up but a wall/arenas backcourt would be insanely good and fun to watch.

thinking more about those other two picks at the moment (rather than get lost in hoping for wall/cousins).

You're assuming Cousins is a lock or near-lock for the #2 spot. I don't see that as the case. Most mock drafts have him at 3, 4 or even 5. I think a lot of teams would take Favors before they took Cousins, to be honest.

[Ruzious]

Wall is a 6'4 version of Chris Paul.

That kid is unbelievable, and is probably destined for a HOF career in the NBA. Says alot that he would go before a guy like Turner, who is a great player.

One issue that both Wall and Turner have is turnovers and lack of a reliable 3 point shot. I think both players will develop 3 point shooting. The turnover issue could become more pronounced facing better defenders and athletes in the pros.

TO's aren't an issue with Wall, imo. PGs just make more to's in college, for whatever reason. Look at the 2 top NBA assist men of this era. Jason Kidd average over 4 to's a game as a 20 year old college soph. Steve Nash - same thing as a 20 year old junior. And Nash's A/TO ratios were never impressive in his 4 years of college.

[Benjammin]

Wall is a 6'4 version of Chris Paul.

That kid is unbelievable, and is probably destined for a HOF career in the NBA. Says alot that he would go before a guy like Turner, who is a great player.

One issue that both Wall and Turner have is turnovers and lack of a reliable 3 point shot. I think both players will develop 3 point shooting. The turnover issue could become more pronounced facing better defenders and athletes in the pros.

TO's aren't an issue with Wall, imo. PGs just make more to's in college, for whatever reason. Look at the 2 top NBA assist men of this era. Jason Kidd average over 4 to's a game as a 20 year old college soph. Steve Nash - same thing as a 20 year old junior. And Nash's A/TO ratios were never impressive in his 4 years of college.

One reasonable explanation for the turnover numbers in college being higher would be that they are playing with inferior players and carrying an even higher burden for the offense. Watching Turner last night I could see him forcing things, but it didn't seem like he had a lot of good options, either. Plus, guys continue to develop their game and PGs need more time to be comfortable running the point effectively.

[nate33]

There is less spacing in the college game because most college bigs can't shoot. There's also a lot more zone defense. It doesn't surprise me that PG's turn the ball over more in college. I don't think Wall will be turnover prone at all, at least not after he's had a few NBA seasons under his belt.

I'm less certain about Turner. He turns the ball over a lot while he's dribbling (rather than when passing). Basically, his handle is overrated. If Turner played PG in the pros, I suspect he'd turn it over quite a bit. That said, it's unlikely that he'll play point in the pros. As a SG or SF, I think he'll turn the ball over rarely.

[Ruzious]

There is less spacing in the college game because most college bigs can't shoot. There's also a lot more zone defense. It doesn't surprise me that PG's turn the ball over more in college. I don't think Wall will be turnover prone at all, at least not after he's had a few NBA seasons under his belt.

I'm less certain about Turner. He turns the ball over a lot while he's dribbling (rather than when passing). Basically, his handle is overrated. If Turner played PG in the pros, I suspect he'd turn it over quite a bit. That said, it's unlikely that he'll play point in the pros. As a SG or SF, I think he'll turn the ball over rarely.

That's what I worry about with Turner. His personality as a basketball player is to control the offense - even moreso than your typical PG. Call him a point forward or whathaveyou, I think he does have to effectively play PG on offense - other than bringing the ball up court.

[no D in Hibachi]

Agreed Ruz, Turner really needs to dominate the ball to be effective, but I don't think he's a Lebron or Wade type player. He's more like Roy. Roy dominates the ball in P-town and they're the 8th seed because of it. He's pretty good, but not really good. I don't see him having an awakening like Vasquez where he realizes he was the alpha dog but can't be that going forward. I'm affraid Turner will eternally consider himself the alpha dog on his team in the pros. He'd be a good second option, great 3rd option. An alpha dog Turner in the pro's will be like Danny Granger. Good enough that they screw themselves out of a good lotto pick.

My list is: 1) wall, 2) Cousins, 3) Turner, 4) Favors.............................................5)everyone else

[Benjammin]

Shooting and spacing in general is worse in college, not just with the big guys. The impact of zone defenses and gimmick defenses (box in 1) are factors in turnover rate. I agree with Nate that Turner should be fine turnoverwise if he's playing the 2 or 3. I don't know that he has to dominate the ball to be effective, but it's something to consider. If Turner ends up being as good as Granger that's not a bad thing at all. Granger's "supporting cast" is more of a problem than Granger being just "good enough that they screw themselves out of a good lotto pick". For a high volume offensive player, Granger is very efficient. He's not much a passer, his defense is decent, but if you look at their roster there's not very much talent around Granger.