2011 DRAFT blather goes here. Part 3...

[Rafael122]

I'v seen 3 mock drafts so far (Ford, DX, and RealGM) and I believe all of them have the Jazz taking Knight with their 3rd pick. I've said all along that I doubt this team drafts 3 rookies this year, I could see them packaging the 6th and 34th to move up maybe to 3 (and the Jazz still get their man). Check that, DX's draft has the Jazz taking Kemba and not Knight.

I don't know...I think there's the possibility of trading up, but wouldn't be surprised if we stood pat.

[mhd]

Honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to drafting Jimmer at 6. We know we need outside shooting in the worst way.

[DaRealHibachi]

Kahn may be an idiot at times, but he does have a point;

"This league has a habit, and I am just going to say habit, of producing some pretty incredible story lines," Minnesota GM Kahn said. "Last year it was Abe Pollin's widow and this year it was a 14-year-old boy and the only thing we have in common is we have both been bar mitzvahed. We were done. I told Kevin: 'We're toast.' This is not happening for us and I was right."

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... tory_Lines

I'm all for creating some drama for next years lottery...

Ji; make it happen, you got some making up to do...

[Black Eyed Sooz]

I definitely think we need to trade up. Including the #18 with the #6 would be the absolute lowest starting point that the teams at 2-4 would consider. I would be more than happy to throw in Blatche as well- but who knows if they would consider that sweetening the deal or not.

What would probably get the deal done immediately would be including next year's 1st round pick- and in fact there are guys on the Utah board suggesting this exact trade. But it looks like almost everyone here - and probably Grunfeld as well- would be dead set against it.

I just think we need to come away with one of Kanter, Valanciunas, or Biyombo- these guys are going to be quality big men in the league. Maybe one of them drops to #6 if the current order stands, but we don't want to have a couple teams trade in front of us to get all 3 of them and leave us with Knight, Walker, or Vesely.

[fishercob]

Kahn may be an idiot at times, but he does have a point;

"This league has a habit, and I am just going to say habit, of producing some pretty incredible story lines," Minnesota GM Kahn said. "Last year it was Abe Pollin's widow and this year it was a 14-year-old boy and the only thing we have in common is we have both been bar mitzvahed. We were done. I told Kevin: 'We're toast.' This is not happening for us and I was right."

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... tory_Lines

I'm all for creating some drama for next years lottery...

Ji; make it happen, you got some making up to do...

He absolutely 100% does NOT have a point. As Jay Bilas points out, it would be a Federal crime if the lottery was rigged.

Plus, it seems pretty evident that Kahn was kidding.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLzYrfhttT0&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[closg00]

Honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to drafting Jimmer at 6. We know we need outside shooting in the worst way.

Jimmer at 6??? Jimmer isn't the only solid shooter in this draft, there will be good shooters available at 18 also.

BTW, it is at this point of the year that I feel very nervous about having Ernie Grunfeld as our GM.

[nate33]

I definitely think we need to trade up. Including the #18 with the #6 would be the absolute lowest starting point that the teams at 2-4 would consider. I would be more than happy to throw in Blatche as well- but who knows if they would consider that sweetening the deal or not.

What would probably get the deal done immediately would be including next year's 1st round pick- and in fact there are guys on the Utah board suggesting this exact trade. But it looks like almost everyone here - and probably Grunfeld as well- would be dead set against it.

I just think we need to come away with one of Kanter, Valanciunas, or Biyombo- these guys are going to be quality big men in the league. Maybe one of them drops to #6 if the current order stands, but we don't want to have a couple teams trade in front of us to get all 3 of them and leave us with Knight, Walker, or Vesely.

Cleveland is taking Irving and at least one of Utah or Toronto is going to take a PG (Knight or Walker). We're going to get one of Valanciunas or Biyombo if we stand pat. While I would prefer Kanter, I don't want him so bad that I would trade next year's 1st round pick for him. I would offer the #18 to move up high enough to get Kanter. Or maybe I would offer Crawford (I'd have to think about that).

[mohammed10]

I think we can all agree.... if Grunfeld comes out of this mess with a good player, he gets a shrine thread. A real one, like Rico has in his closet at home.

[nate33]

Honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to drafting Jimmer at 6. We know we need outside shooting in the worst way.

Jimmer at 6??? Jimmer isn't the only solid shooter in this draft, there will be good shooters available at 18 also.

BTW, it is at this point of the year that I feel very nervous about having Ernie Grunfeld as our GM.

Jimmer is going to slip in this draft. He'll be available in the teens, maybe even as late as #18. The guy can't defend his shadow. I absolutely do not want him.

The only thing that would make me change my mind is if he ended up with elite lane agility scores in the combine. It's possible that his lack of defense was due to instructions by his coach not to get into foul trouble and to conserve energy. He might not be as bad defensively as he has shown so far.

He's got a great bball IQ on offense. We know he is smart and we can see that he is strong. If he is quick too, then perhaps he might be able to play defense at an adequate level. J.J. Redick had excellent lane agility scores in the combine. Once I saw that, I figured he'd be able to carve out a niche in this league despite his alligator arms and poor defensive rep. Perhaps Jimmer is the same.

[fishercob]

Morning after the lotto Fish draft blather....

My overriding thought is we don't know. We don't know. We don't know. We don't know. We. Don't. Know. We talk about these draft prospects with such certainty -- often bravado. Yet 99% of us have never met these kids or their families, talked with their coaches, or seen them live. We haven't seen their medical reports, we don't know what they're about, what drives them, what makes them tick. I'm sure it will fall on deaf ears, but perhaps keep that in mind when you think Ernie should be fired for taking player X over player Y, or lauded for trading for player Z. We don't know. Time will tell.

As for Sev's "wait till draft night" axiom, yeah probably but it really depends. If Ernie had gotten actual good players for #5 in '08 people would feel much different. If there's a great trade available before draft night, I think it would be a mistake to miss an opportunity because something better might come along. It's pretty much a semantic debate, b/c the vast majority of these moves come on draft night. I'm also less concerned that someone is going to fleece Ernie, since he very likely has to get signoff from Ted on major moves.

I like the idea of the type of player Kawhi Leonard could become. The Marion and Crash comparisons have been used a lot, but I also envision him with some Luol Deng in him. It really wouldn't be a bad thing to come out of this draft with a potentially elite role player who can be a shutdown defender on the perimeter and a great rebounder at the SF position.

I continue to think we're not going into next season with 3 more rookies from this draft, so I'd expect some sort of trade and/or a draft and stash. I'm pleased that we have some assets to use to move up if we want.

Biyombo seems like an odd fit here. (By the way, if you haven't partaken in the joy of saying "Bismack Biyombo" over and over in your best Dikembe Mutombo voice, you're missing out). McGee, even with his faults, is a promising -- and productive -- young player. Seraphin, while not yet productive, has some promise too. Bringing in a third young center -- by which I mean a big without much of an offensive game -- just seems odd. Now obviously, if our scouts are convinced he's got DPOY potential and/or is a marked improvement over what we've got, then ok, go get him. But, that's a large "if."

It's so interesting to see the huge variation in the mock drafts. Givony/DX is probably the most accomplished international scout and I found this quote interesting: "the discrepancy between the prospects perceived to be the 3rd and 10th best talents is about as small as we can remember in our eight years covering the draft..." Aldridge is probably the best connected to NBA front offices. Chad Ford is a hybrid of the two? No matter what, this draft season will be very entertaining -- lots of intrigue, trades, surprises, etc.

Finally, it's time (the year after we got John Wall) for a major overhaul -- if not complete blowing up -- of that draft lottery. I find it unseemly and incongruous that an event that has nothing to do with actual basketball has become such a big deal for the league, ESPN, and bad teams. I'd much prefer to see something along the lines of Bill Simmons' tournament idea (google it) that gives teams incentive to play hard all season long. As a ticketholder, it really sucks when the team isn't really trying to win because they have no incentive to do so (and have an actual incentive not to).

[mohammed10]

Honestly, I wouldn't be opposed to drafting Jimmer at 6. We know we need outside shooting in the worst way.

Not at #6, mhd...if GMEG did that, I would move ahead of Ji in calling for his head

[mohammed10]

I definitely think we need to trade up. Including the #18 with the #6 would be the absolute lowest starting point that the teams at 2-4 would consider. I would be more than happy to throw in Blatche as well- but who knows if they would consider that sweetening the deal or not.

What would probably get the deal done immediately would be including next year's 1st round pick- and in fact there are guys on the Utah board suggesting this exact trade. But it looks like almost everyone here - and probably Grunfeld as well- would be dead set against it.

I just think we need to come away with one of Kanter, Valanciunas, or Biyombo- these guys are going to be quality big men in the league. Maybe one of them drops to #6 if the current order stands, but we don't want to have a couple teams trade in front of us to get all 3 of them and leave us with Knight, Walker, or Vesely.

I'm sorry, but tell me again why we would go Euro in the top 2-3 when DWill may still be on the board?

Wizards need athletes, not another Pech

[Rafael122]

It's unfortunate that we have to wait another month for all of this to play out. I think with Ted on board, we could be aggressive. I wouldn't give up players nor 2012 picks to move up though. I'd package all 3 if necessary to move up.

[LyricalRico]

Biyombo seems like an odd fit here. (By the way, if you haven't partaken in the joy of saying "Bismack Biyombo" over and over in your best Dikembe Mutombo voice, you're missing out). McGee, even with his faults, is a promising -- and productive -- young player. Seraphin, while not yet productive, has some promise too. Bringing in a third young center -- by which I mean a big without much of an offensive game -- just seems odd. Now obviously, if our scouts are convinced he's got DPOY potential and/or is a marked improvement over what we've got, then ok, go get him. But, that's a large "if."

I've found myself thinking along similar lines. Biyombo makes even less sense if the team is planning to re-sign McGee. That's why I posted a scenario a week or so ago where the Wiz drafted Biyombo and then dealt Mcgee for Batum and filler. It really would be awkward to have both on the roster IMO.

Here's a thought...assuming we're able to get Biyombo at #6, we then send McGee+Crawford+18 to Minny for DWill's rights? Maybe included a protected 2012 pick to tip the scales?

Biyombo/Seraphin
Blatche/Booker
Williams/Lewis
Young/FA
Wall/FA

[nate33]

After reading Aldridge's column on centers, I'm a bit more optimistic on Valanciunas. Some GM's are calling him a Noah type of player: lots of energy and length. And his shooting touch will certainly help him in the NBA.

Maybe the DX guys are right and that it's premature to consider Kanter to be head and shoulders above Valanciunas. Maybe all three foreign big men (Kanter, Valanciunas, and Biyombo) have a pretty high upside in this league. If that's the case, we should be in pretty good shape with the #6 pick. All it takes is for one of Knight, Walker, Leonard or Vesely to get picked in the top 5 to ensure that one of the foreign bigs is there for us at #6.

Actually, I kind of like that Valanciunas has buyout issues. Ideally, we leave him overseas for another year to develop (on somebody else's dime) and then have the option of bringing him over hear next summer. It should help our negotiating leverage with McGee.

[pineappleheadindc]

.

For what it's worth, NBADraft.net has us taking Jan Vesley at #6.

I feel old. The dude was BORN in 1990.

[nate33]

Biyombo seems like an odd fit here. (By the way, if you haven't partaken in the joy of saying "Bismack Biyombo" over and over in your best Dikembe Mutombo voice, you're missing out). McGee, even with his faults, is a promising -- and productive -- young player. Seraphin, while not yet productive, has some promise too. Bringing in a third young center -- by which I mean a big without much of an offensive game -- just seems odd. Now obviously, if our scouts are convinced he's got DPOY potential and/or is a marked improvement over what we've got, then ok, go get him. But, that's a large "if."

I've found myself thinking along similar lines. Biyombo makes even less sense if the team is planning to re-sign McGee. That's why I posted a scenario a week or so ago where the Wiz drafted Biyombo and then dealt Mcgee for Batum and filler. It really would be awkward to have both on the roster IMO.

Here's a thought...assuming we're able to get Biyombo at #6, we then send McGee+Crawford+18 to Minny for DWill's rights? Maybe included a protected 2012 pick to tip the scales?

Biyombo/Seraphin
Blatche/Booker
Williams/Lewis
Young/FA
Wall/FA

I'm not thrilled with this. I'm not sure if I would trade McGee straight up for Williams. I'm just not convinced that Williams is a can't-miss star. I'm also real tired of relying upon woefully inexperienced big man to handle defensive rotations.

I've got no problems with drafting Biyombo at #6. Hoopalotta already laid out our plan if we draft him. We leave him overseas for a year during the lockout, while simulataneously trying to pump up Seraphin's value. Next summer, we trade Seraphin for another piece and bring Biyombo over.

[Rafael122]

After reading Aldridge's column on centers, I'm a bit more optimistic on Valanciunas. Some GM's are calling him a Noah type of player: lots of energy and length. And his shooting touch will certainly help him in the NBA.

Maybe the DX guys are right and that it's premature to consider Kanter to be head and shoulders above Valanciunas. Maybe all three foreign big men (Kanter, Valanciunas, and Biyombo) have a pretty high upside in this league. If that's the case, we should be in pretty good shape with the #6 pick. All it takes is for one of Knight, Walker, Leonard or Vesely to get picked in the top 5 to ensure that one of the foreign bigs is there for us at #6.

Actually, I kind of like that Valanciunas has buyout issues. Ideally, we leave him overseas for another year to develop (on somebody else's dime) and then have the option of bringing him over hear next summer. It should help our negotiating leverage with McGee.

Team needs help now though. What does it tell your fanbase and your team that we're picking 6th and we're picking a guy who won't be here until 2013? Draft and stash would be the worse move we could make IMO.

[nate33]

Team needs help now though. What does it tell your fanbase and your team that we're picking 6th and we're picking a guy who won't be here until 2013? Draft and stash would be the worse move we could make IMO.

Rookies never help unless they're number 1 overall picks or senior classmen role players. I've got no problems whatsoever with planning for the long term in this draft. Most of our improvement next year will be based on the development of Wall, Crawford, Booker and McGee. It's not going to come from the #6 pick.

Honestly, the best immediate impact player available at #6 is probably Kahwi Leonard or Marcus Morris. Kahwi Leonard as a rookie won't be any better than Mo freaking Evans. And Morris won't be any better than Rashard Lewis.

[Ruzious]

And I think the fan base understands that the team is still in rebuilding mode - due to the hole the team made for itself before Ted bought it. I will say - next season is the last one they get a free pass. They've got to show results in the 2012/2013 season.

I'm all for getting Jonny V if he has to stay 1 (but no more than 1) more year in Europe. If he shows considerable improvement, he becomes a very valuable trading chip.