Official Wizards Draft Thread: Version 2.0

[Dat2U]

Dat's Mock Draft 2.0:

1. CHI PG Derrick Rose
2. MIA PF Michael Beasley
3. MIN SG O.J. Mayo
4. SEA C Brook Lopez
5. MEM PF Kevin Love
6. NYN PG Jerryd Bayless
7. LAC SG Eric Gordon
8. MIL SF Joe Alexander
9. CHA PG Russell Westbrook
10. NJN SF Danilo Gallinari
11. IND PG D.J. Augustin
12. SAC PF Darrell Arthur
13. POR C Alexis Ajinca
14. GSW C DeAndre Jordan
15. PHX SG Brandon Rush
16. PHI PF Anthony Randolph
17. TOR C Robin Lopez
18. WAS SF Donte Greene
19. CLE SG Courtney Lee
20. DEN C Javale McGee
21. NJN C Marresse Speights
22. ORL SG Chris Douglas-Roberts
23. UTA C Roy Hibbert
24. SEA PF Serge Ibaka
25. HOU C Jason Thompson
26. SAS PG Mario Chalmers
27. NOH PF J.J. Hickson
28. MEM C DeVon Hardin
29. DET SF Bill Walker
30. BOS SF Nicolas Batum

[JRYCRL]

^ that would suck almost as bad as when the Pacers took Reggie one
pick before us.
I forget who we ended up with in that draft. Someone forget-able obviously. Tom Hammond?

IIRC, didn't MIA also take Caron 1 pick before we ended up with O-face?

Reggie Miller was the 11th pick in the 1987 draft and we took Mugsy with the 12th pick.

We took Tommy Hammonds in 1989 with the 9th and there were no notables after him until
the 17th pick where Shawn Kemp was taken.

We took Juwan with the 5th pick in 1994 and it was a good one. The next 4 players taken
were Sharone Wright, Lamond Murray, Brian Grant and Eric Montross.

1995 was the killer draft with Joe Smith 1 to the Warriors, McDyess 2 to the Clips, Stackhouse
3 to Philly, the Wiz took Rasheed 4th and the T-wolves took the high schooler Garnett with
the 5th. 4 pretty good NBA PF's in the first 5 picks.

No picks in 96, 97 or 98 till we took Rip Hamilton with the 7th pick in 99.

2001 we take Kwame at 1, Bulls take Chandler at 2, Pao Gasol to Memphis at 3 and Curry to
the Bulls at 4. JRich was 5 and Richard Jefferson was 13 in that draft.

Wilcox 8, Amare 9 and Caron 10 ahead of O-face at 11 in '02 then Dixon at 17 and Tayshawn
Prince at 23 (wow).

Jarvis at 10 in '03 with David West at 18 and Josh Howard at 29.

Oh well, just a summary.

[tchmelik]

This answer is probably going to seem like a cop out, but over the past few weeks reading everyone else's opinions on the boards, I have been enticed by a few players, disgusted by others, all in all I don't know who the Wizards will pick, but I am confident Ernie Grunfeld will choose the best player at what ever pick he may end up with.

Here is a brief history of Grunfeld has drafted on both the Bucks and Wizards:

Bucks

2000
1ST Joel Pryzbilla
2ND Michael Redd

He only had three drafts with the Bucks, but this is a decent record, a star shooting guard in the second round, and a solid contributing center in the first

Wizards

2003 (Not sure if this was his draft because he was hired in June of 2003)
1ST Jarvis Hayes (We all know about Arvis, bricks galore)
2ND Steve Blake (Redeems himself with solid backup sometimes starting PG in second round)

2004
1ST Devin Harris (Turned into Atawn Jamison)
2ND PJ Ramos (Now who doesn't have their busts in the second with 7 foot centers)

2005
1ST No Pick
2ND Andray Blatche (Bulletproof was a diamond in the ruff, still a little rough around the edges, but has those glimpses of being amazing, I say even if he only becomes a solid rotation player, good second round pick)

2006
1ST OPEC (Jury is still out on this guy, I am leaning towards bust, BUT REMEMBER what he turned Kwame Brown into )
2ND Vladimir Verenmenko (Who Knows? )

2007
1ST Nick Young (Shown he can be a great scorer, just needs to improve defense, possible future starter)
2ND Dominic McGuire (IMO a good second round pick, has shown a few times he can rebound the ball well, I hope to see him do more of the same in the future, hopefully he'll be a Dennis Rodman type player - a rebounding specialist)

2008
Well I think he will choose the best player on the board, I don't see any glaring holes at any position other than PG (That's only when Agent Zero is injured), I don't care if others say he won't draft a PF because there is already so many of them on this team, simply put he will draft the best player available with picks he has, I think if you look at the past draft break downs he has shown he does this.

[rook6980]

docs areas of interest:


2. Hibbert --he'll be long gone by them as workouts say he's positively killing the competition and is not only more athletic than is perceived but mature and interviews like an ambassador.

doclinkin - you're spot on (as usual) about Hibbert dominating in his workouts. I was also impressed by several of his post-workout interviews. Especially, the Toronto interview:

http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/2008_draft.html

Toronto is reportedly interested in Hibbert... as is Utah and Cleveland... Another reported suitor is the Sacramento Kings... I read that in the Sacramento paper- but I just can't believe that they would use their 1st round pick 2 years in a row to select a Center (Spencer Hawes last year)....

[closg00]

docs areas of interest:


2. Hibbert --he'll be long gone by them as workouts say he's positively killing the competition and is not only more athletic than is perceived but mature and interviews like an ambassador.

doclinkin - you're spot on (as usual) about Hibbert dominating in his workouts. I was also impressed by several of his post-workout interviews. Especially, the Toronto interview:

http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/2008_draft.html

Toronto is reportedly interested in Hibbert... as is Utah and Cleveland... Another reported suitor is the Sacramento Kings... I read that in the Sacramento paper- but I just can't believe that they would use their 1st round pick 2 years in a row to select a Center (Spencer Hawes last year)....

They are going to move Hawes to PF, hence all the Hibbert talk.

[Rafael122]

Quick scouting report on Donte Green would be greatly appreciated. I've only read about how he likes to shoot a lot and he doesn't make them the majority of the time.

[LyricalRico]

^ Hawes at PF? Wow, I never would have guessed that. They'd be EXTREMELY slow up front. But they'd have the size to compete out West. I guess the biggest problem would be a lack of a point guard.

Miller/HIbbert
Hawes/Moore
Artest/Salmons
Martin/Douby
(nobody)/(nobody)

Brad Miller is their most tradeable asset. Would they move him for TJ Ford?

[mhd]

I think DeAndre Jordan will be there at 18. IMO, we have to take him. He's got far too much potential not to have him as the pick. He's already a great rebounder and shotblocker.

[Soup's Uncle]

Man, Sacrementos front office sucks.

[Ruzious]

Quick scouting report on Donte Green would be greatly appreciated. I've only read about how he likes to shoot a lot and he doesn't make them the majority of the time.

Tim Thomas part II. Since EG had Thomas at Milwaukee, I think he's smart enough to stay away from Green.

[Kanyewest]

Quick scouting report on Donte Green would be greatly appreciated. I've only read about how he likes to shoot a lot and he doesn't make them the majority of the time.

Tim Thomas part II. Since EG had Thomas at Milwaukee, I think he's smart enough to stay away from Green.

Tim Thomas is considered such a disappointment because he was taken so high with the 6th pick. If the Wizards can get Tim Thomas part II at the 18th selection, it wouldn't be such a bad pick.

Apparently, Greene ha fueded with Jim Boheim for not showing enough hustle on the defensive end. That makes me more wary of picking him.

[Ruzious]

Quick scouting report on Donte Green would be greatly appreciated. I've only read about how he likes to shoot a lot and he doesn't make them the majority of the time.

Tim Thomas part II. Since EG had Thomas at Milwaukee, I think he's smart enough to stay away from Green.

Tim Thomas is considered such a disappointment because he was taken so high with the 6th pick. If the Wizards can get Tim Thomas part II at the 18th selection, it wouldn't be such a bad pick.

Apparently, Greene ha fueded with Jim Boheim for not showing enough hustle on the defensive end. That makes me more wary of picking him.

I don't think being the 6th pick had anything to do with it. He was obviously very talented and an under-achiever - even in college. Same thing with Greene. Tim Thomas was never a good player for more than a few games at a time. I expect Greene will be the same kind of player - based on his undisciplined play and stupid comments he's made.

[FreeBalling]

Quick scouting report on Donte Green would be greatly appreciated. I've only read about how he likes to shoot a lot and he doesn't make them the majority of the time.

Sounds like Opec in the summer league, or passing the ball to Eton.

[Kanyewest]

I don't think being the 6th pick had anything to do with it. He was obviously very talented and an under-achiever - even in college. Same thing with Greene. Tim Thomas was never a good player for more than a few games at a time. I expect Greene will be the same kind of player - based on his undisciplined play and stupid comments he's made.

Tim Thomas was a solid role player. He was just never the superstar that teams expected him to be. He excelled in a smaller role with Phoenix and isn't doing too bad for himself with the Clippers. If Tim Thomas was the 18th pick in the draft, he would have been considered an alright, but not great pick. Perhaps the only player who overachieved after the 18th pick in 1997 NBA draft was Stephen Jackson, who played abroad before making an impact in the NBA

Donte Greene has all the potential that Tim Thomas has. He could be better or worse. But his ceiling is just as high as Thomas which had him in talks for being the #10 pick earlier. Greene is obviously would have growing pains wherever he ends up but at least he has played a year of college where he played nearly 35 minutes per game. If the Wizards drafted him, he would come in to be a role player.

By the way, from my recollection this was a Billy King pick. The 76ers took Tim Thomas over Tracy McGrady. The following year they took Larry Hughes over Paul Pierce. I'm trying to figure out which one was worse considering Hughes and Thomas were traded within a few years after they were drafted.

[MJG]

So, Walter Sharpe of UAB has become the first and only player that we have worked out twice. He's made some bad decisions though.

http://www.bulletsforever.com/2008/6/9/ ... y-of-walte

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/wizardsi ... ate_6.html

And lookie here, who does Chad Ford have us taking in the second round ...

47. Washington Wizards

Walter Sharpe | PF | UAB
This former blue-chip forward from Alabama struggled with grades and, believe it or not, narcolepsy during his college years, but the scouts -- and especially the Wizards -- are intrigued by his talent.

[Rafael122]

You do have to take it as a sign when Ernie brings in someone to work them out two or three times, so I wouldn't be surprised if he got picked by us in the 2nd round.

[miller31time]

When I watched Greene play at Towson Catholic High School, his biggest weakness was that he was too unselfish. I felt like he should have been much more dominant and much less passive on offense. Now, the TC teams I'm referencing were stacked with talent and also with friends of Donte, so it's not all too surprising that he wanted to share the ball a lot, but it's interesting hearing how he is a shot-jacker in 'Cuse when he was so unselfish in high school.

Here is his summary on NBADraft.net...

(NBA Comparison - Rashard Lewis / Marvin Williams)

Strengths: A long and versatile player that possesses tremendous perimeter skills ... An athletic specimen with enormous potential ... Deadly out of the triple threat, where he utilizes jabs and pump fakes to attack the opposition ... A shot maker with the ability to convert on a variety of acrobatic and off-balance shots ... His skill, athleticism and size make him a difficult match up ... His leaping ability and body control allow him to finish over and around people in the lane ... He possesses a terrific spin move ... Also shows great form and range on his shot ... Shows a nice pull up off the dribble ... He's willing to mix it up in the post where his repertoire is growing, has a nice right mini-hook and a very effective fade away ... Has a good feel for the ball, combined with his length make him a dangerous shot blocker as well as a disruptor in the passing lanes ... Attacks the offensive glass aggressively ...

Weaknesses: Far too often settles for fade away 3 point shots instead of trying to create a better shot. This was especially true late in the season which could have been a product of fatigue ... Shot nearly twice as many 3 pointers as free throws, which shouldn't be the case considering his size and athleticism advantage over most opponents ... Needs to get stronger and bulk up, shows an excellent frame, but still needs to add strength ... Struggles finishing after getting hit ... Shies away from contact which is reflected by his measly 3.8 free throw attempts per game ... Dribbles with his head down and is somewhat uncomfortable handling the ball in transition, also struggles dribbling against more aggressive defenders that put pressure on him ... Although his form is very nice, his shot is somewhat inconsistent and he settles for too many 3's (over half of his FG attempts come from behind the arc)... Has a tendency to coast and defer to less skilled teammates ... Needs to play with more of an edge and develop a killer instinct; he should be dominating the college game with his versatility ... Defense is a bit of a concern because he has minimal experience playing man to man, and seems to be very lazy about his stance and anticipation ... His length and athleticism should help to make up for his less than ideal lateral speed and quickness ... Still a very young and raw player with a lot to work with, that needs to learn the nuances of the game ...

Strengths: Greene is an especially long and talented wing who can score in bunches. When he's on, he hits long three pointers casually and seems to have the confidence of a legend. He has the offensive ability to take over games and calls for the ball on the court when he's feeling it. He has the ability to handle the ball, and take it to the basket aggressively and with a quick first and second step. He draws fouls well. He can pass and plays tough defense when he wants to. He can defend the power forward position, can block shots and is an excellent rebounder with the ability to dominate the glass. Donte plays very relaxed, and loves to make big loud plays on both offense and defense. He shows an interest in being a vocal leader on the court. Greene was a man among boys at the 2006 Nike Camp where he made everyone else on the court look completely out of place for stretches of certain games.

Weaknesses: He tends to over focus on his offense sometimes, creating situations where his teammates bring the ball up the court and look to him to score instead of playing as a team. In these situations is where he shows his great scoring ability, but he has a tendency to force shots and make poor decisions. He needs to add weight to his frame, as he is pretty skinny. He may be forced to play power forward in college, but even though he has some power forward skills his overall skill set is more suited to the 3, especially on offense.

MyNBADraft.com...

A high prospect because of the incredible potential, is a 6'10'' wing with the game of a guard. While ball-handling is a times sloppy, as well as mechanics on both sides of the ball, Greene is incredibly talented with a solid jumpshooting game to compliment a whole host of off the ball skills. Can finish with the best of them. Will take time to adapt to the speed and workouts that demand a lot in the NBA, but should be an impact player within a year.

Long report from DraftExpress...

(NBA Comparison - Rashard Lewis)

While many of the elite members of this terrific freshman class have taken their game and their teams to an entirely new level as the regular season comes to a close, one of its most talented players—Donte Greene—has not shared the same fortune.

Greene is still the same super-scoring oversized wing player oozing with NBA potential—standing 6-10 or possibly even 6-11, with a terrific frame, smooth athleticism, and uncommon mobility and coordination for a player his size. He seems to have hit a bit of a wall late in the season, though, after averaging over 35 minutes per game for 30 games now, as his team has been crippled by injuries and has basically nothing to turn to off the bench, and the fatigue now seems to be catching up. Syracuse looks to be outside the bubble at the moment, and will likely miss the NCAA tournament unless they string together a few wins in the Big East tournament.

Greene has become more and more of a spot-up shooter as the year progresses, attempting over 50% of his shots from behind the arc on the season, but seeing his accuracy drop to a miserable 28.7% in 17 Big East conference games thus far (32.9% total). At his size, Greene can get his shot off virtually whenever he pleases, which is precisely part of the problem, since he’s shown very little self-restraint. His 7.3 3-point attempts per game ranks him 3rd amongst all players on our 08 or 09 mock drafts.

What’s ironic is that he actually has one of the prettier shots you’ll find in this draft, blessed with picture perfect mechanics, a high release point, and a very quick release. The problem is that his shot-selection has been poor, as he’s fallen into some of the same selfishness that has plagued his entire team (particularly Paul Harris) in Big East play. Greene has been taking too many rushed, off-balance, contested shots as of late, not fully setting his feet, contorting his body unnecessarily, and thus not getting the kind of accuracy he enjoyed earlier in the season. Regardless of whether his shot has been falling, he’s continued to take them (he attempted sixteen 3-pointers in a single game a few weeks back), and thus has shot his team out of a few games.

As the year moves on, the scouting report has gotten out to a certain extent about how best to neutralize his potent scoring—further aided of course by the injuries and lack of depth Syracuse suffers from. Teams are forcing him more and more to his off-hand (his left), which he’s not particularly comfortable operating with at the moment. He’s struggling to beat players off the dribble, and has thus failed to emerge as the shot-creator Syracuse needs in their half-court offense. Not being incredibly explosive finishing around the rim, and possibly lacking some toughness at times going through contact, he’s had his problems finishing his drives in traffic, and isn’t getting to the free throw line at a particularly high rate. To his credit, he’s responded by showing a better post game than we had seen earlier in the year, hitting some beautiful jump-hooks and turn-around jump-shots, even if it hasn’t been on a consistent enough basis.

Defensively, it’s never easy to evaluate Syracuse players because of how heavily they rely on their zone defense. There might be some question marks about how he’d be able to defend NBA small forwards, though, considering that he at times struggles to stay in front of players attacking him off the dribble, getting stuck flatfooted on the perimeter. He does have excellent size, length and a good frame, and seems to be a fairly smart player, so he should be able to become at least decent in this area down the road if he’s willing to commit himself. He picks up a solid number of blocks and steals already within Syracuse’s zone.

We’re definitely holding Greene to a high standard here, especially considering that he’s just a freshman, as he obviously has the potential to emerge as one of the most talented players in the NCAA. Considering his size, tools, and scoring instincts at the small forward position, it’s hard to see him not getting drafted somewhere in the lottery, even despite his struggles this season, as he has more upside than any small forward in this draft. From what we understand, it’s still somewhat up in the air whether he enters the draft this year or not, although it seems like if he gets word that he’ll be taken in the lottery, he will probably leave. He’s the type of player that will look phenomenal in private workouts, and thus could see his stock bounce right back into the top 10 fairly quickly. He won’t be rolling into the NBA on the red carpet (with the huge endorsement deals and marketing hype that goes along with that) though—he’d need another year in college to achieve that most likely

And finally, a report from hoopshype...

(NBA Comparison - Rashard Lewis)

Big, smooth, athletic combo forward with a very high skill level, particularly facing the basket. A terrific perimeter shooter who can get his shot effectively in a multitude of ways. Excellent coming off screens or pulling up off the dribble. Can put the ball down and operate in the mid-range area, and has shown sparks of potential with his back to the basket as well. Shot-selection can be poor—falls in love with the 3-point shot excessively. Needs to improve his ball-handling skills. A poor defender who still needs to learn the nuances of the game. A project, but with great upside.

[MJG]

I don't know if this will satisfy those who have wondered about the quality of people we seem to be working out, but ...

Philadelphia will be conducting a group workout on Tuesday, which will be open to two other teams drafting immediately after them—Toronto and Washington--featuring prospects such as Darrell Arthur, Marreese Speights, Jason Thompson and Alexis Ajinca. Their pick could very likely come out of this group, although they are rumored to have strong interest in DeAndre Jordan as well, who they recently worked out, and will very likely be on the board here.

So it's not as though we're totally ignoring all the guys projected to go in the middle of the first round.

[fugop]

From a needs perspective, I'd be pretty dissatisfied with the selection of Greene. We don't need another perimeter oriented one-way offensive player. Unless EG thinks he's really got superstar potential, I hope we stay away, in favor of anybody that can play a lick of defense.

I really want Mbah a Moute in the second round, or brought into training camp as a free agent. He's horrible offensively, but would be great off the bench as a dedicated Lebron pest. He's a smart defensive player, well schooled by Howland, the linchpin of a 3peat Final Four team. He can develop a shot, or more accurately confidence in his shot, over the next few years. He could easily develop into a Battier-type player.

[Kanyewest]

^^^^ Is Moute that good of a defender, or does he look so good because UCLA has a great team defensive scheme? I'm sure EG will figure out if Greene can play defense. While it would be nice to have a LeBron pest, it's also important to make LeBron work on both ends of the court, especially since he's dangerous if he's playing off his man.