Chicken Littles: Sky done fell! Draft Thread 2011

[spaceman_E]

Why do you think Henson looked good? He has 0 offensive game right now and I think he should come back for at least 1 more year. With some weight he could be a nice energy big in the NBA that plays 25 minutes a night. Birdman esque to me.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

My favorite guys in this draft: D. Williams, Faried, Nolan Smith (sub PG/SG, but WINNER), Sullinger (Boozer meets Haslem--floor-bound but will be a big time starting PF, like Kevin Love but much better defensively), Charles Jenkins (love this kid's game and charisma), Norris Cole (most underrated player in this draft not named Faried?), Marshon Brooks, JaJuan Johnson, both Morris twins, Rick Jackson (very underrated), John Diebler, Brad Wannamaker, Gilbert Brown. Statistically, the Missouri freshman is off the charts. Khali Leonard if his shot comes around can play. Terrance Jones projects as a defender and well-rounded player.

I also am climbing aboard the Jimmer bandwagon. That guy has fire in his voice and in his eyes! I still like Jenkins over him, but I could be very wrong. Fredette is a beast. If I weren't unfairly racially profiling with Ammo in mind, I would like Singler and John Leuer.

I don't ever remember being so unsure of who to like most. Stats to me say Faried, but doclinkin is right that he's not big in the hindparts and might struggle. I think he's going to be a very good pro and a scorer as well as top defender at SF/PF.

[Rafael122]

Is it Ruz who is pimping Henson? I like what I saw from him against Duke, very active rebounder. My only concern is that he's 6'10'' 200 pounds. Nolan Smith is 6 inches smaller and weighs 15 pounds less than Henson. He needs to put on some weight.

[fishercob]

If Nolan Smith is 6'4", then I can dunk.

I like what I see from Henson too. It's all about whether or not he can add the bulk and strength to play with the big boys. Look at how skinny Camby was:



So maybe there's hope there.

[Rafael122]

If Nolan Smith is 6'4", then I can dunk.

I like what I see from Henson too. It's all about whether or not he can add the bulk and strength to play with the big boys. Look at how skinny Camby was:



So maybe there's hope there.

My math is off, 8 inches, sorry. He's just 19...20 around there, so he has time to fill out. I'm just concerned the kid is going to get mauled by bigger and stronger guys, especially if he's going to be one of those guys who likes to play inside.

[Ruzious]

No doubt that weight is a huge concern for Henson. You should have seen him last year - he was even skinnier, and I dismissed him as a prospect then. Even though his shot was way off against Duke, he had about 18 rebounds, a couple blocks, a couple assists - battling the Plumlee boys. The less heralded Plumlee - Miles - is an NBA sized big and plays physically, so I was impressed with Henson against Duke - while UNC's golden boy did nothing other than shoot jump shots and defend his man, while not playing team defense (He's got his Nick Young imitation down pat.).

Not just Camby - remember Joe Smith was the 1st pick in the draft as a 6'9.5 215 lb PF. I read somewhere Henson recently weighed in at 210. If he can grow to what Ordinary Joe grew to during his NBA career and continue to improve his jump shot, I think he can be very effective in the NBA.

[theboomking]

Is it Ruz who is pimping Henson? I like what I saw from him against Duke, very active rebounder. My only concern is that he's 6'10'' 200 pounds. Nolan Smith is 6 inches smaller and weighs 15 pounds less than Henson. He needs to put on some weight.

I've got about zero interest in Henson. Don't we already have our tall skinny center with no refined offensive game?

Also, regarding Kanter, we all know how he dominated Terrence Jones and Jared Sullinger at the Nike Hoops Summit. I was just reading about the summit, and didn't realize that Tristan Thompson was also a part of the U.S. roster. I really like Thomson on defense and on the boards. This only reinforces how much I like Kanter as a prospect. If we are picking top 3, Kanter should be the choice.

The idea of Barnes on the wing has grown on me enough that I would trade a good bit to get him there. Does anyone think that JaVale and NY would make enough compensation to get high enough to take Barnes?

[tontoz]

Is it Ruz who is pimping Henson? I like what I saw from him against Duke, very active rebounder. My only concern is that he's 6'10'' 200 pounds. Nolan Smith is 6 inches smaller and weighs 15 pounds less than Henson. He needs to put on some weight.

I've got about zero interest in Henson. Don't we already have our tall skinny center with no refined offensive game?

Also, regarding Kanter, we all know how he dominated Terrence Jones and Jared Sullinger at the Nike Hoops Summit. I was just reading about the summit, and didn't realize that Tristan Thompson was also a part of the U.S. roster. I really like Thomson on defense and on the boards. This only reinforces how much I like Kanter as a prospect. If we are picking top 3, Kanter should be the choice.

The idea of Barnes on the wing has grown on me enough that I would trade a good bit to get him there. Does anyone think that JaVale and NY would make enough compensation to get high enough to take Barnes?

Nick can't be traded before the draft because he will be a free agent after the season. You have to have a player under contract before you can trade them or you can do a SNT deal. Since Nick can't be signed until July at the earliest that rules him out of any draft day trades.

So are you talking about drafting Kanter and then making a trade to take Barnes also? If that is the case i think the Wizards 1st rounder next year would have to be involved in the trade.

[theboomking]

Is it Ruz who is pimping Henson? I like what I saw from him against Duke, very active rebounder. My only concern is that he's 6'10'' 200 pounds. Nolan Smith is 6 inches smaller and weighs 15 pounds less than Henson. He needs to put on some weight.

I've got about zero interest in Henson. Don't we already have our tall skinny center with no refined offensive game?

Also, regarding Kanter, we all know how he dominated Terrence Jones and Jared Sullinger at the Nike Hoops Summit. I was just reading about the summit, and didn't realize that Tristan Thompson was also a part of the U.S. roster. I really like Thomson on defense and on the boards. This only reinforces how much I like Kanter as a prospect. If we are picking top 3, Kanter should be the choice.

The idea of Barnes on the wing has grown on me enough that I would trade a good bit to get him there. Does anyone think that JaVale and NY would make enough compensation to get high enough to take Barnes?

Nick can't be traded before the draft because he will be a free agent after the season. You have to have a player under contract before you can trade them or you can do a SNT deal. Since Nick can't be signed until July at the earliest that rules him out of any draft day trades.

So are you talking about drafting Kanter and then making a trade to take Barnes also? If that is the case i think the Wizards 1st rounder next year would have to be involved in the trade.

That being the case, I'd be stunned if we moved up enough to get another mid to high lotto pick. I don't think we're going to trade next year's pick. That pick may well be a top 3 pick if the 2011/12 season is cancelled and they have to use recent win/loss records to determine the draft order. That pick will also have a lot of value if we need trade bait to try to pry away a player like Dwight Howard.

I can't wait for the pre-draft combine to see how Kanter, Sullinger and Barnes measure up. Just for anyone who is curious and couldn't remember, as I couldn't, last year, the NBA draft Lotto was 5/18/2010 and the combine was 5/19-5/23.

[Rafael122]

Man, if Sullinger measures in at like 6'7'' I'm gonna sour on him quick.

[theboomking]

Man, if Sullinger measures in at like 6'7'' I'm gonna sour on him quick.

Get ready then. I don't think he's going to crack 6'8" in bare feet. Maybe in shoes. I'm actually just as curious about his wingspan and especially his standing reach.

[Ruzious]

I'd guess:
Kanter - 6'11, 260, decent length
Sullinger - 6'8.25, 260, a little above average length for his height
Barnes - 6'7.5 216, 6'11 wingspan

[tontoz]

Man, if Sullinger measures in at like 6'7'' I'm gonna sour on him quick.

That is the same height as Josh Smith. Smith measured 6'7" barefoot. Smith has a 40" vertical though, at least he did at the combine.

[The Consiglieri]

I think the Wiz have to put out a legitimate NBA team out there next season - or they lose whatever remaining fan base they have. Some of the suggestions here - include plans for a less than legitimate NBA team, imo.

They may lose the fan base then. They are not signing free agents, or trading for vets, they are rebuilding from scratch and that isn't done in one offseason. They won't be signing any major additions this offseason, '12 at the earliest, more likely '13 in my view. My sense is that after this season they will stop trading assets for picks/youngsters, and will start locking in on the building blocks to go with our high '13 pick. This team will be competitive in '13-'14, and at best, only showing .500 potential at the end of the '12-'13 season. I would be absolutely shocked if this team wins more than 28-32 games in '11-'12.

Because of the delaying tactics in '09, the rebuild became four years of virtually guaranteed misery (post '08-'09) instead of just three. Fans need to be patient, short cuts will equal failure. If the fan base could tolerate 1980-1993, and 1998-2004, and 2008-present, it should be able to stomach some more, if it doesn't, we will simply repeat 1980-present. Whats the point of that? I'll gladly take another 2 years of suck, if the team is built properly for the first time in nearly forty years. We've seen what taking short cuts in rebuilds has done for the Redskins for the past 18 years afterall as well, purgatory at best, unmitigated disasters more commonly, no success in 18 years and counting. No point in using the short cut Snyder model, it doesn't work, and by and large, its what the boulez have been doing since 1980 anyway.

[Rafael122]

Man, if Sullinger measures in at like 6'7'' I'm gonna sour on him quick.

That is the same height as Josh Smith. Smith measured 6'7" barefoot. Smith has a 40" vertical though, at least he did at the combine.

Smith also doesn't look like he weighs 300 pounds.

[Zonkerbl]

Wait, what? If the next season is cancelled, the following draft will be determined by most recent win loss record?

Is that on paper somewhere or just somebody's guess? That would be crazy, the lousy teams this year would get twice the return. Great for us I guess but kinda unfair.

[The Consiglieri]

Wait, what? If the next season is cancelled, the following draft will be determined by most recent win loss record?

Is that on paper somewhere or just somebody's guess? That would be crazy, the lousy teams this year would get twice the return. Great for us I guess but kinda unfair.

We deserve it, the Capitals got completely hosed in 2005. Worst roster/team in the league (Bottom 3 in '04 before they jettisoned half the roster), and picked 14th in the Crosby draft. Thanks NHL.

[tontoz]

Wait, what? If the next season is cancelled, the following draft will be determined by most recent win loss record?

Is that on paper somewhere or just somebody's guess? That would be crazy, the lousy teams this year would get twice the return. Great for us I guess but kinda unfair.

I don't think there has been a determination on how exactly they would handle that. I saw someone who emailed Larry Coon about it and Coon said he wasn't sure how they would handle it.

[W. Unseld]

I've now watched a whopping part of 2 games on Sullinger and I've further soured on him. He really does the dribble-bump-dribble-bump-dribble thing way too much. Based on my keen eye for good post players, this probably means he should be drafted #1 overall.

Has anyone seen a lot of the Haynesworth the younger? I can't tell if I'm reading very, very biased press or if this guy really does have range as well as pg skills along with at least average athletecism. Wouldn't mind having him if we trade deeper into the 2nd round.

[nate33]

I caught Ryen Rusillo's interview of David Thorpe on the NBA Today Podcast today. Thorpe was suprisingly upbeat about many of the pro prospects. While ceding that there's no Blake Griffin or Lebron James in the draft, he went through the five or six top candidates and made it sound like all of them would be quality pros rather than question mark tweeners.

A couple of points:

* Rusillo said that multiple GM types would take Irving #1 overall regardless of whether or not he plays in the tournament.
* Thorpe loves Barnes. Called him another Paul Pierce.
* Thorpe said that the people who know Perry Jones call him a "good kid". Seemed to imply that there was no real attitude problem but he might need to be put on the right team and get the right kind of guidance.
* Rusillo considers Derrick Williams a power SF but Thorpe says he's more likely a "stretch 4". He wasn't too worried about his defensive footspeed because of his length, but either way, he was sure Williams would score with ease in this league.
* Thorpe didn't think Sully's weight was a problem. Says that most guys who are kind of big for most of their childhood end up losing that "baby fat" in their late teens and early 20's. They compared him to Blair - only bigger and with more offensive ability outside of 5 feet. Neither Thorpe nor Rusillo mentioned any concerns about Sully scoring against bigger NBA competition.
* The only other NCAA player that should be "in the conversation" about a top pick is Henson.