Early draft selections

Post #81 » by **mizzoupacers** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 3:39 pm

Well we've hit the All-Star break, and the Pacers are currently in position to receive the #9 pick next summer. It doesn't take too much imagination to see us falling behind Milwaukee and Charlotte and ending up with the #7 pick. It's conceivable we could bypass the Clippers as well and get the #6 pick. Can't see us going any higher than that, unless of course we land in the top three with a lucky Ping Pong ball.

As of today, I probably favor Bayless with our first-round pick, if we can get him. I'm intrigued by O.J. Mayo, but a bit scared off by his "intangibles." I think the other pgs bandied about--Augustin, Lawson, Collison--are good college players, but too small without the surreal talent they'd need to have to overcome their lack of size at the NBA level.

For our second-round pick, I think this Courtney Lee guy at Western Kentucky sounds pretty interesting:

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Courtney-Lee-471

Never seen him play, but I'm going to look for chances to catch him on TV this Spring.

I'm also intrigued by UCLA's Josh Shipp, sounds like a second-round possibility to me:

http://www.nbadraft.net/admincp/profiles/joshshipp.html

BTW, I guess it's obvious by now that I've decided I'm not too keen on any of the big guys in this draft.

Boneman2 · Post #82 » by **Boneman2** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 6:53 pm

Mizzou I think Stern owes us one. Maybe he can set up the lottery so that we can atleast be in a position to draft Gordon, going off of the concept of Lebron to Cleveland. Just kidding.

All jokes aside, if we did get to the sixth pick, I think Bayless or Mayo would be available, but I don't see either dropping too much further.

Bucky O'Hare · Post #83 » by **Bucky O'Hare** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 8:01 pm

Bayless is putting up phenomenal production for anyone, let alone a freshman. His point guard skills are a ways off, but he's a supreme scorer. Draft Express compares him to Monta Ellis, but I think he could easily end up better as he's already a vastly superior shooter to Monta. If we landed either he or Mayo (or any of the top-5 prospects) I'd be thrilled.

Post #84 » by **Grang33r** » Fri Feb 15, 2008 8:02 pm

Boneman2 wrote:Mizzou I think Stern owes us one. Maybe he can set up the lottery so that we can atleast be in a position to draft Gordon, going off of the concept of Lebron to Cleveland. Just kidding.

All jokes aside, if we did get to the sixth pick, I think Bayless or Mayo would be available, but I don't see either dropping too much further.

I like your thinking!

Post #85 » by **PR07** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 6:40 am

I'd be ecstatic if we landed Bayless, from everything I've heard about him, the kid is a flat-out playmaker.

I'd stay away from Thabeet, I just don't see him as a star. Solid role player? Yes. Star? No. A star is what this franchise needs too.

cdash · Post #86 » by **cdash** » Sat Feb 16, 2008 12:35 pm

These are the guys that intrigue me: Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez, Jerryd Bayless, DJ Augustin, Kevin Love, Nick Calathes, Darren Collison, Courtney Lee, Eric Maynor, DJ White, Hasheem Thabeet, Jason Thompson.

Note that I am not calling for these people in the lottery, I am just intrigued by them as NBA prospects.

One last thing, I take anything on nbadraft.net with a grain of salt. I dont take a lot of stock in their synopsis of players. I prefer Chad Ford at espn.com, mostly because he gets his information directly from NBA scouts and general managers. That is not to say that I agree with everything he says, but I value his information more than that on nbadraft.net.

joew8302 · Post #87 » by **joew8302** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 3:44 am

I obviously would want Rose, Beasley or DeAndre Jordan. I do think all of these guys will be gone by the time the Pacers pick. If Indiana was in the top 10 but in the 8/9/10 range I would be happy with Thabeet, Lopez, or Bayless.

Bucky O'Hare · Post #88 » by **Bucky O'Hare** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 4:24 am

I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Bayless goes before both Mayo and Gordon. He's doing everything E.J. is doing and then some.

joew8302 · Post #89 » by **joew8302** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 5:04 am

I would not be surprised at all to see Bayless go ahead of Mayo, in fact I would be surprised if Mayo went ahead of Bayless. I also don't disagree Bayless is playing better than Gordon, but EJ has better athletic ability and more size. I would be surprised to see Bayless go ahead of him.

cdash · Post #90 » by **cdash** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 9:19 am

I would be VERY surprised to see Bayless go ahead of Gordon. They are both mainly scorers, but Gordon is superior. Not only that, but Gordon is a very underrated defender. I like Bayless, but to say he would go ahead of Gordon is stretching it big time.

joew8302 · Post #91 » by **joew8302** » Sun Feb 17, 2008 4:59 pm

Although I do like Gordon more than Bayless, I am not sure how much of a better scorer he is. Jerryd can fill it up.