1st rd pick general discussion #2 overall (Poll Added)

[Kembastockton]

Uh, b/c as NBA wings go, HE'S NOT THAT ATHLETIC.

He's a top five pick based on hype alone. He won a Nat. Championship, he hustles and is scrappy. If he was white he'd be labeled "crafty" and "gym rat" and would be drafted 10-15 range.

All I am going to say is go back and read his scouting reports.

[Benjamin Linus]

Actually if he were white, he'd be referred to as scrappy.

Usually if you're black you are referred to as a class act. Ichiro Suzuki is... inscrutable.

[Eoghan]

Uh, b/c as NBA wings go, HE'S NOT THAT ATHLETIC.

He's a top five pick based on hype alone. He won a Nat. Championship, he hustles and is scrappy. If he was white he'd be labeled "crafty" and "gym rat" and would be drafted 10-15 range.

So we go from i'lljusttypeinallcapstovalidatemyownopinion to "if he was white" in one post.

Good stuff.

I can't give you validation if your eye test is set on a "fog through glaucoma" setting. If you think MKG has a snowball's chance in hell of dominating any non-scrub with his physical "gifts" or skills you are sadly mistaken.

Seriously, dude is getting a huge bump from hype. If he was the man on practically any other time, he wouldn't be sniffing the top 5.

[StitchJones]

I agree that with MKG I just don't see it. Typically you want to see an elite skill in order to project greatness in the NBA. The only thing that maybe could be considered elite would be finishing for MKG but I don't think he's a good enough athlete for this to transfer. Both Beal and Barnes tested out as better athletes than him. So far the players with eliete level skills I am seeing are:

Robinson - Athleticism - his height might still affect that though.

Beal - Shooting

Barnes - Shooting (especially mid range)

Drummond - Atleticism

Lillard - Shooting

We should take one of these guys. Let their workouts determine which one.

[Liver_Pooty]

Barnes is such a great shooter that over the course of his two year UNC career he averaged out at about a 43% field goal percentage while shooting 35% from three.

Also shot better from the line his freshman season as opposed to this past year (72%).

Yeah. Hes a great shooter alright.

[TheKingofSting]

Barnes is such a great shooter that over the course of his two year UNC career he averaged out at about a 43% field goal percentage while shooting 35% from three.

Also shot better from the line his freshman season as opposed to this past year (72%).

Yeah. Hes a great shooter alright.

A can't miss

[Eoghan]

Yeah, Barnes is kind of lacking in the elite skill category also. But unlike MKG he does have good size to play SF. I'm still pretty torn b/w those two on which is better. The only thing MKG brings to the table that translates for us will be really good off/def awareness. Everything else is a work in progress.

[ZackAttack23]

I would love for us to draft T-Rob. Then I want us to also somehow get Moe Harkless!

[raleigh]

Athleticism describes Barnes' elite skill more than it does Robinson.

Robinson's elite skill is his rebounding.

[Bassman]

Yeah, Barnes is kind of lacking in the elite skill category also. But unlike MKG he does have good size to play SF. I'm still pretty torn b/w those two on which is better. The only thing MKG brings to the table that translates for us will be really good off/def awareness. Everything else is a work in progress.

Completely agree. MKG is undersized (height-wise), not as good an athlete as the other top candidates, and is hugely lacking in offensive production and efficiency. I think #2 is clearly becoming a decision between Robinson and Beal, or trade down.

Who knows what we will do? Between Cho's database and the new head coach from la la land, we're liable to draft some kid projected as a second rounder.

[ball teacher]

I think #2 is clearly becoming a decision between Robinson and Beal, or trade down.

I'm not really sold on either one of these guys, the first thing I'd look for in drafting a player is their physical measurements in relation to the position they play. Neither of these guys have solid measurements for their positions. Robinson had one really good year as the man on his team and Beal only played one season but he was good in that season, so in that regard, we dont have a big body of work to really judge these guys off of.

I'd rather take the gamble on Drummond or go with the safer pick and get Barnes.

[ball teacher]

Then again, Beal is 6'4 with a 39 inch vert.......

[BeesWax]

I really hope we trade down because if we stay here and draft Robinson I would be extremely disappointed. I don't want Beal or Barnes either. Both are shooters who did not shoot great this past year and neither does a lot else great. Beal rebounded well for a SG on a team without much rebounding to begin with. On an NBA team I don't think this translates. If we stay at 2 I hope we take Drummond at least he has potential to be something more than a bench player. I would rather take Ellis than Robinson.

[jstar5]

For what it's worth, John Hollinger put out his draft rater article and put together his big board. He ranked his top 5 as follows:

Davis
TRob
MKG
Waiters
Drummond

Other notables - 6. Quincy Miller; 11. Beal; 12. Barnes

[raleigh]

the first thing I'd look for in drafting a player is their physical measurements in relation to the position they play

That seems rather foolish to me.

[Bassman]

We should be thinking about this pick in relation to what we believe Cho & Dunlap are looking for in players. Per Cho, we are building using the OKC blueprint. We hear that Dunlap wants a running offense with an aggressive defense. Both Cho and Dunlap's vision seem to mesh pretty well.

To me this points to Thomas Robinson as a clear favorite. T-Rob has an endless motor, is an aggressive defender, and loves to run out and finish on the break. His rebounding will help get the Cats out and running. Robinson will need to improve his passing accuracy but his turnovers were more common in the half court than in transition. This style of offense fits Robinson well.

It probably fits MKG well also. Aggressive defender and running out in transition certainly fits his game. However, transition also means you need quality shooters who can hit jumpers during the break, and MKG struggles there. I still stongly prefer Robinson at 2.

Beal is still a possibility, but I suspect he is sliding a bit based on our direction. Barnes played this at Carolina, but he's not good enough creating his pown shot to play in this system effectively. The real wildcard here is Drummond. I'm sure Dunlap thinks he can work miracles with players, so Drummond's skill set would project pretty well with this style, IF he has the motor to go at it all game, every night. I don't see that in Andre, but it is clearly there in robinson.

ROBINSON!

[ball teacher]

the first thing I'd look for in drafting a player is their physical measurements in relation to the position they play

That seems rather foolish to me.

OK.....so what's so foolish about that and if it's so foolish why are their pre-draft measurements?

[fatlever]

another good interview this morning on WFNZ from draft guy matt moore from CBS. he talked about thor, beal and MKG with our pick.

(me paraphrasing the interview)

MKG - would fit dunlaps desire to pressure defense and run in transition. however, it would be imperative for bobcats to immediately shape the roster to fit his talents. MKG will need to have scorers around him in order for him to maximize his potential. could see MKG getting frustrated on a team that lacked scoring and he was under pressure to score like #2 pick, as well as getting frustrated with mounting loses.

beal - bobcats need scoring and beal would immediately give the team a scoring boost and a player to build around, while not hurting you defensively.

thor - scouts see thor as having the lowest bust possibility in the top 10 picks. safest pick. he won't be a bust, but probably won't be a superstar. nobody will look back on the draft in 5 years and say "i can't believe the bobcats passed on ___ for robinson", because he will be productive. would be a quality piece to add to a rebuilding team.

there was no mention of barnes or drummond.

[ball teacher]

Bassman, I think Barnes ability to make his own shot is really being belittled on this board. The guy can score and had he played on a team that didn't have such a structured style, he'd have scored alot more points. Barnes game reminds me of Jamal Mashburn, he can catch and shoot, take you down low, or score off the dribble. I don't see a more complete player in this draft from the listed lottery players than him.

Check out this highlight reel, and you'll see Barnes is like a man among boys and he's scoring from everywhere, he can easilly score 15 ppg as a rookie for this Bobcat team. Beal plays the same position Henderson plays and their about the same size, so drafting Barnes would fill an immediate need while getting Beal only means we'll eventually have to get rid of Henderson or Beal at some point.

As for Robinson, he was a good rebounder in college where he was bigger than most players, but in the league he'll be smaller than most of his opponents, and on top of that we have about 7 PF's already on this team, is he really perceived to be that good where we can add him to that already overloaded position and in doing so create one of the smaller younger frontcourts in the league with he and 19 or 20 year old Biyombo? And neither of whom are gonna be dominate scorers inside either.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcUOEv0eL2U[/youtube]

[raleigh]

OK.....so what's so foolish about that and if it's so foolish why are their pre-draft measurements?

You said it was the first thing you look at...instead of things like experience, skills, or success.