The What Should We Do With the 5th Pick II: IBJ Edition

[closg00]

Barring any deal that get's us someone on-parr with Amare/Bosh, right now I'm hoping we draft and KEEP Curry, Etan & James can/will be traded later. F any trade that nets us only marginal improvement for sake of salary dumping. I fear that Ernie will draft Hill because Etan is goner sooner or later, and Blatche just doesn't have it in him to bang inside.

[nate33]

With the recent chatter about Nick Young starting, maybe acquiring a pure SG with size isn't as important. Curry looks like he could be a nice fit as a combo guard who can play point when Arenas is out and play SG (on offense) alongside Arenas.

If we do end up drafting Curry, then I think it makes sense to trade Crittenton. There's no need for two point guards in training on the roster. It would be nice to trade Crittenton for raw cap space (or package him with an expiring contract to get back a smaller expiring contract utilizing the 125% exemption)

How about:
Washington trades: Crittenton + Etan + $1.5M
OKC trades: Earl Watson

OKC takes on just $1.7M in additional expenditures (after factoring Etan's trade kicker and the cash received) and lands a promising young PG prospect and a serviceable banger off the bench. Washington saves a combined $2.0M in salary and luxtax payments. We also end up with a stable veteran PG who can defend and free up a roster spot for our 2nd round pick. Finally, Watson's contract doesn't have a trade kicker so it'll be easier to use as filler in a Trade Deadline deal.

[WizarDynasty]

If anything, EG is going to go for a bigman with a post game. Right now, the best offense post player we have is Blatche. Jamison sucks in the post. Jordan Hill is way to light to really to maintain post position at 230 but he does like contact which no other skilled powerforward on the roster enjoys and that's makes him pretty valuable. I say EG goes after a big strong agile post player who can hold his position in the post and can shoot a high field goal percentage shot during clutch time.
Not one of our post players even has a patented go to move that's hard to defend. The refs don't even call a foul anymore when Jamison attempts that over the shoulder flip shot where he looks to draw the foul in someone comes over his body. That ain't a post move. A post move is when you are inside the paint and you attempt a shot.
I think Blatche has his Hakeem Shake but Blatche can't even get off the ground because his vertical is really poor.
mcGee tries is Sky hook but his strength and balance are so poor that a strong post player can just nudge him with their forearm and he is completely off balance and useless.
Haywood is mechanical and predictable with no nifty and quick footwork in post.
Jamison is way to undersized to overpower the average powerforward and he can't get any lift when jumping to make up for his lack of height.
There is not one player on the roster that has the physical tools at this exact moment in time to be a dominant post threat.
Maybe in three years, McGee may get the strength to overpower people, but he is slow to get off the ground and his balance and foot strength to make quick shifts in body weight to throw a defender out of defensive position are extremely poor.

[closg00]

Everybody wants Ricky, even with all of the other PG's in the draft.

[LyricalRico]

If anything, EG is going to go for a bigman with a post game.

Yeah, too bad there's only one in this draft (Griffin). Maybe Blair if he can overcome the size issue but that's it. Those are the only guys in this draft with existing post games. I don't want to hear about what somebody might do 3-4 years from now.

[Optms]

they'd pick jordan hill over a pg easily.

I'd much rather Washington take a point guard out of this pretty deep guard class over Hill.

[MJG]

Hollinger posted his annual draft rater article, which is an interesting read. Random tidbit from it:

+ Lawson is the highest rated player in the draft. Seriously, he edges out Griffin. Hollinger does make sure to note that that doesn't necessary mean the Lawson should be the top pick, but he does sound pretty sure that he should at least be the top PG.

+ Hill and DeRozan are the big duds, ranking 26th and 54th (!) respectively. He mentions that DeRozan does have a bit more of a margin for error, with only one year of college data, but that excuse doesn't really help out Hill.

+ Some board favorites: Evans is 3rd, Curry is 5th (though that drops to 13th if you consider him a PG instead of a SG), Blair is 7th, and Harden is 10th.

+ As if we need another reason to at least consider Calathes on the slim chance he's available for us in the second round, he finished 6th. It'd be very Spur-like to nab him, stash him for a year or two, then have a very productive player coming over.

[Severn Hoos]

Jordan Hill's workout video & recap are up at the Wiz website:

http://www.nba.com/wizards/news/workouts_090618.html

Call it perception, call it bias, call it Gladwellism, or whatever, but I just didn't like his manner in the workout. When he did the drill where he goes from one side of the court to the other, comes in and catches the pass at 15 ft. and puts up a jumper, he just looked so apathetic to me. He didn't look deliberate, like he knew what he was going to do and then do it, he kind of shuffled his feet before taking the shot. The good news is that virtually every jumper was good. But it just looked like he didn't want to be there.

Maybe it's the end of a long workout (but then - is there a stamina question?) at the end of a long week. But I most definitely did not get a good vibe from that video.

[closg00]

Hollinger posted his annual draft rater article, which is an interesting read. Random tidbit from it:

+ Lawson is the highest rated player in the draft. Seriously, he edges out Griffin. Hollinger does make sure to note that that doesn't necessary mean the Lawson should be the top pick, but he does sound pretty sure that he should at least be the top PG.

+ Hill and DeRozan are the big duds, ranking 26th and 54th (!) respectively. He mentions that DeRozan does have a bit more of a margin for error, with only one year of college data, but that excuse doesn't really help out Hill.

+ Some board favorites: Evans is 3rd, Curry is 5th (though that drops to 13th if you consider him a PG instead of a SG), Blair is 7th, and Harden is 10th.

+ As if we need another reason to at least consider Calathes on the slim chance he's available for us in the second round, he finished 6th. It'd be very Spur-like to nab him, stash him for a year or two, then have a very productive player coming over.

Thanks for the "Insider" info. All of the teams that want Rubio so-badly should seriously consider drafting Calathes. Calathes isn't as flashy as Rubio, but the guy is an excellent passer AND he can stroke 3-pointers. Calathes is already hinting that he won't do the Greek deal if he is selected in the first-round. I smell a secret deal here with a team with a lower 1st-round pick.

Lawson probably goes to the bucks at 10 or the Sixers at 17

[Kanyewest]

Hollinger posted his annual draft rater article, which is an interesting read. Random tidbit from it:

+ Lawson is the highest rated player in the draft. Seriously, he edges out Griffin. Hollinger does make sure to note that that doesn't necessary mean the Lawson should be the top pick, but he does sound pretty sure that he should at least be the top PG.

+ Hill and DeRozan are the big duds, ranking 26th and 54th (!) respectively. He mentions that DeRozan does have a bit more of a margin for error, with only one year of college data, but that excuse doesn't really help out Hill.

+ Some board favorites: Evans is 3rd, Curry is 5th (though that drops to 13th if you consider him a PG instead of a SG), Blair is 7th, and Harden is 10th.

+ As if we need another reason to at least consider Calathes on the slim chance he's available for us in the second round, he finished 6th. It'd be very Spur-like to nab him, stash him for a year or two, then have a very productive player coming over.

Who was in Hollinger's top 10 last year?

[pancakes3]

they'd pick jordan hill over a pg easily.

I'd much rather Washington take a point guard out of this pretty deep guard class over Hill.

that was in response to somebody saying that Memphis would pass on thabeet since marc gasol is already a good solid center, and in passing on thabeet they would draft curry/flynn/etc. since conley isn't playing as well as they had hoped. I was saying that even if they do pass on thabeet, they'll draft jordan hill over a pg easily - not the wiz.

as for the workout video, he did look like he was dogging it but it was clearly at the end of the workout. it's more than likely that they started out with a shootaround, then checked out his post moves, then ran the hell out of him with layup drills and finished it with seeing how he'd be able to shoot at end-game situations. it's like how lots of HS coaches make their kids run suicides after practice and then stop when someone could drain 2 free throws. the mechanics of his shot were impressive - better developed than i thought. he's a souped up ronny turiaf for sure.

[closg00]

Ok, I just looked at the Hill work-out re-cap & the guy is Blatche 2.0 - I'll give him props for at-least being a good college rebounder, and he can shoot a mid-range jumper, but the guy is 6-10 230 lbs and not that terribly ripped. Hill with another 25 lbs added to him might be worth drafting for a team who can stash a project-big.

Bottom-line, we will be able to get a guy like Hill from the D-league if-needed. Curry is the guy to get in this draft for us, having him running the second unit or spelling Gilbert should be really attractive to Ernie.

[nate33]

Hmmm. If Memphis drafts Hil at #2, what does OKC and Sacramento do? Does OKC want Thabeet, Harden or Evans? I figure Sacramento takes Rubio no matter what. It'll be interesting if both Harden and Curry are on the board at #5.

[MJG]

Who was in Hollinger's top 10 last year?

1. Love
2. Beasley
3. Alexander
4. Chalmers
5. Hill
6. Douglas-Roberts
7. Rose
8. Hibbert
9. Darrell Arthur
10. Ryan Anderson

I'll add though that in the historical review he posted with the main article, he pegged last year as the worst so far for his system, mostly due to underestimating the freshman.

From looking at his previous reviews, it seems like the thing it's the best at is pointing out players that are likely to either bust or be a steal. That's not to say it captures ALL busts and steals. But if it does tab a specific guy as being significantly better or worse than his general mock position, there's a solid chance it'll end up being right down the line.

[doclinkin]

Jordan Hill's workout video & recap are up at the Wiz website:

http://www.nba.com/wizards/news/workouts_090618.html

Call it perception, call it bias, call it Gladwellism, or whatever, but I just didn't like his manner in the workout. When he did the drill where he goes from one side of the court to the other, comes in and catches the pass at 15 ft. and puts up a jumper, he just looked so apathetic to me. He didn't look deliberate, like he knew what he was going to do and then do it, he kind of shuffled his feet before taking the shot. The good news is that virtually every jumper was good. But it just looked like he didn't want to be there.

Maybe it's the end of a long workout (but then - is there a stamina question?) at the end of a long week. But I most definitely did not get a good vibe from that video.

Nah, I'm tepid on JHill but that drill is specifically to see how well you shoot while exhausted. They run you to death at a quick tempo after all the other drills then make you trot the side-to-side and take that shot. If you see a guy look good in that drill then you know that's a significantly well-conditioned athlete.

[daSwami]

Based on the little work-out footage I've seen of our prospective options at #5, I was most impressed with Evans. My only concern being his odd sling-back release on his jump shot. I mean, he cocks that thing back way behind his ear, but overall his motion looks pretty smooth to me. Plus, he appears to have legit NBA range and decent handles, which makes him an instant upgrade over NY and DS, respectively. As a matter of pure observation, he also seems physically well put-together, whatever that means. He just has a frame that to me says "NBA ready." So, that said, I'm squarely in the Evans camp as of today.

[tkunit]

Who was in Hollinger's top 10 last year?

1. Love
2. Beasley
3. Alexander
4. Chalmers
5. Hill
6. Douglas-Roberts
7. Rose
8. Hibbert
9. Darrell Arthur
10. Ryan Anderson

I'll add though that in the historical review he posted with the main article, he pegged last year as the worst so far for his system, mostly due to underestimating the freshman.

From looking at his previous reviews, it seems like the thing it's the best at is pointing out players that are likely to either bust or be a steal. That's not to say it captures ALL busts and steals. But if it does tab a specific guy as being significantly better or worse than his general mock position, there's a solid chance it'll end up being right down the line.

the second best player in the draft didn't even crack his top 10. Lopez is the real deal

[DCZards]

Based on the little work-out footage I've seen of our prospective options at #5, I was most impressed with Evans. My only concern being his odd sling-back release on his jump shot. I mean, he cocks that thing back way behind his ear, but overall his motion looks pretty smooth to me. Plus, he appears to have legit NBA range and decent handles, which makes him an instant upgrade over NY and DS, respectively. As a matter of pure observation, he also seems physically well put-together, whatever that means. He just has a frame that to me says "NBA ready." So, that said, I'm squarely in the Evans camp as of today.

Welcome aboard, Swami. Like you, I've been impressed by Evan's physical presence. I also like his length and ability to get to the rim. But it's his perimeter D that, imo, the Zards need the most. He's also a true combo guard and Gil had some of his best years playing with another combo guard--Hughes.

Assuming they keep the pick, I could live with the Zards selecting Curry or Harden, both of whom appear to be more polished than Tyreke and more likely to contribute right away. I also wouldn't mind them moving down and drafting a Lawson. But, imo, Evans has "future star" written all over him and therefore would be a great pick.

[Severn Hoos]

Jordan Hill's workout video & recap are up at the Wiz website:

http://www.nba.com/wizards/news/workouts_090618.html

Call it perception, call it bias, call it Gladwellism, or whatever, but I just didn't like his manner in the workout. When he did the drill where he goes from one side of the court to the other, comes in and catches the pass at 15 ft. and puts up a jumper, he just looked so apathetic to me. He didn't look deliberate, like he knew what he was going to do and then do it, he kind of shuffled his feet before taking the shot. The good news is that virtually every jumper was good. But it just looked like he didn't want to be there.

Maybe it's the end of a long workout (but then - is there a stamina question?) at the end of a long week. But I most definitely did not get a good vibe from that video.

Nah, I'm tepid on JHill but that drill is specifically to see how well you shoot while exhausted. They run you to death at a quick tempo after all the other drills then make you trot the side-to-side and take that shot. If you see a guy look good in that drill then you know that's a significantly well-conditioned athlete.

You mean like the slow, unathletic, 10.5% body fat James Harden, right? (He looked very good on that drill, IMO)

I hear ya, and I get the purpose of the drill. And it's not entirely fair to compare Guards and Big Men in the same drill. But I'm not even talking about the shuffling from side to side before he gets the pass. I'm talking about getting the pass, commit and make a decisive move. Tired or not, he shouldn't look like he's shooting hoops in the driveway with his family after a cookout while wearing sandals.

But that's just my irrational initial reaction. Hill has looked better in real games. I'd just have liked to see him leave it all out there on the court, since this is his job interview. Still, I'd be very surprised if he's the pick.

[Kanyewest]

1. Love
2. Beasley
3. Alexander
4. Chalmers
5. Hill
6. Douglas-Roberts
7. Rose
8. Hibbert
9. Darrell Arthur
10. Ryan Anderson

I'll add though that in the historical review he posted with the main article, he pegged last year as the worst so far for his system, mostly due to underestimating the freshman.

From looking at his previous reviews, it seems like the thing it's the best at is pointing out players that are likely to either bust or be a steal. That's not to say it captures ALL busts and steals. But if it does tab a specific guy as being significantly better or worse than his general mock position, there's a solid chance it'll end up being right down the line.

Certainly, this kind of data seems valuable for getting a steal with the 2nd round pick. I wouldn't value it too much for the WIzards top 5 pick though.