2008 NBA Draft

[djthesonicsfan]

Now that the Seattle Sonics have secured the #2 chance in the lottery its time for the faithful to start thinking about our reward for this god forsaken season. Basically, there's an 88% chance the Seattle Sonics get one of the top four picks. So below is my opening shot on who they could take on with that top pick & the associated 2008/09 roster implications, assuming no other changes.


Scenario 1 - Draft D Rose

Starters - D Rose, K Durant, J Green, C Wilcox, N Collison
Rotation - L Ridnour, J Petro, D Wilkins, (rookie big)
Reserves - M Sene, R Swift, E Watson, D Marshall

- D Rose is like J Kidd, except he can shoot. My top pick. Even over M Beasley.
- E Watson will ultimately have major personal problems that will spill over onto the entire team due to him sitting while D Rose plays, so drafting D Rose means trading/releasing E Watson. That leaves L Ridnour as the veteran backup. The PG poison situation would have to be resolved in order for D Rose to best develop.
- Add a legit starting center who can rebound/defend, make N Collison the first big off the bench, J Petro is your 4th big & this team is on its way to contending. So what

[Benjamerica]

I had this crazy idea today. . .and I'm not sure how much Seattle loves(or doesn't love) Kevin Durant. . But either way I'm sure I'll be shot down for this idea haha. .

Would if Miami would trade for Kevin Durant. Say, their first round pick + Haslem or. . .Any number of contract combinations. You could hype it all the way up to Wilcox, Durant, Marshall for Shawn Marion and their pick.

Which could(if the lotto worked out in favor of probability) make this possible

Derrick Rose
Damien Wilkins
Shawn Marion
Michael Beasley
Johan Petro

I know it's far fetched but. . Could be cool to start Rose and Beasley together on a team haha.

[Det the Threat]

I had this crazy idea today. . .and I'm not sure how much Seattle loves(or doesn't love) Kevin Durant. . But either way I'm sure I'll be shot down for this idea haha. .

Would if Miami would trade for Kevin Durant. Say, their first round pick + Haslem or. . .Any number of contract combinations. You could hype it all the way up to Wilcox, Durant, Marshall for Shawn Marion and their pick.

Which could(if the lotto worked out in favor of probability) make this possible

Derrick Rose
Damien Wilkins
Shawn Marion
Michael Beasley
Johan Petro

I know it's far fetched but. . Could be cool to start Rose and Beasley together on a team haha.

Forget it, Durant is going nowhere.
Trading for Marion is also not going to cut it, as he's gone next year, when his contract is up.

[nwsports253]

If we draft Rose I cant see both Watson and Ridnour being here. I would say Watson would be the guy to stay with the season he had this year. I dont think Swift will be back either. I have a feeling Presti will be making some moves once draft day hits.

[Yoshi2kx]

No no no to trading Durant what the hell..

anyways I agree with the drafting order though

[wiff]

I had this crazy idea today. . .and I'm not sure how much Seattle loves(or doesn't love) Kevin Durant. . But either way I'm sure I'll be shot down for this idea haha. .

Would if Miami would trade for Kevin Durant. Say, their first round pick + Haslem or. . .Any number of contract combinations. You could hype it all the way up to Wilcox, Durant, Marshall for Shawn Marion and their pick.

Which could(if the lotto worked out in favor of probability) make this possible

Derrick Rose
Damien Wilkins
Shawn Marion
Michael Beasley
Johan Petro

I know it's far fetched but. . Could be cool to start Rose and Beasley together on a team haha.

Yep that is one crazy idea!

[djthesonicsfan]

Running it forward these are my thoughts about the picks...

#2 - D Rose, M Beasley, OJ Mayo, J Bayless
#25 - C Lee, D, B Rush, T Smith, D Weaver
#32 - R Hendrix, DJ White, J Dorsey
#43 - L Hudson, J Gordon

They'll all defend, except maybe M Beasley. They can all score, except J Dorsey. Who will get his share of garbage points. Which are the best kind of points. And they all know how to play. Not a dim bulb in the set. For sure they'll all be able to play in the big boy league.

Assuming we luck out with first choice at these slots I'm seeing the team looking like this after the draft...

Starters - Derrick Rose, K Durant, J Green, C Wilcox, N Collison
Rotation - L Ridnour, J Petro, D Wilkins, Richard Hendrix
Reserves - Courtney Lee, Lester Hudson, M Sene, R Swift

Yes, D Marshall is missing. I can't stand the thought of that waste of space sticking around. Got to be traded or cut. Same with E Watson. He'd be poison on this team. He had a good enough year that someone will want him. Hopefully.

[Det the Threat]

Running it forward these are my thoughts about the picks...

#2 - D Rose, M Beasley, OJ Mayo, J Bayless
#25 - C Lee, D, B Rush, T Smith, D Weaver
#32 - R Hendrix, DJ White, J Dorsey
#43 - L Hudson, J Gordon

To me it's something like this.

#2 - Rose, Beasley, Mayo, Bayless
#23 - R Lopez, J Thompson, JJ Hickson, H Thabeet, J Alexander, Brandon Rush, Ty Lawson,
#32 - J Dorsey, DJ White, R Hendrix, S Young, D Hardin, S Foster, R Anderson, C Lee
#43 - N Jawai, N Pekovic, O Asik(could all stay overseas for some time)
#50 - D Caracter, S Erden, A Pankrashov
#57 - D Padgett, P Smardziski, M Leunen

Though, i doubt that we'll see all these picks being made by the Sonics, as Presti surely will work the phones to get something done around draft time.

[chrisjr88]

I'd rather have Bayless before Mayo. I don't know how a team of Durant/Beasley/Green would fare also.

[djthesonicsfan]

To me it's something like this.

#2 - Rose, Beasley, Mayo, Bayless
#23 - R Lopez, J Thompson, JJ Hickson, H Thabeet, J Alexander, Brandon Rush, Ty Lawson,
#32 - J Dorsey, DJ White, R Hendrix, S Young, D Hardin, S Foster, R Anderson, C Lee
#43 - N Jawai, N Pekovic, O Asik (could all stay overseas for some time)
#50 - D Caracter, S Erden, A Pankrashov
#57 - D Padgett, P Smardziski, M Leunen

Mostly all bigs... do you think E Watson sticks around as back up PG? Is D Wilkins good enough to stick as the 8th guy in the rotation? Do we need to develop a SG to step in if/when K Durant & J Green slide down to SF & PF?

[colombianbrew]

I second the call on Bayless over Mayo. I don't see Mayo fitting in well with Durant, I think he will require too many shots of his own.

On the PG situation, Luke would be the one to go. I think he would have a higher trade value as I bet some teams still peg him as having potential to be a solid starter.

[Det the Threat]

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Mostly all bigs... do you think E Watson sticks around as back up PG? Is D Wilkins good enough to stick as the 8th guy in the rotation? Do we need to develop a SG to step in if/when K Durant & J Green slide down to SF & PF?

1) Yes, i listed mostly bigs with those later picks, but if we do end up with, lets say, R Lopez with that Suns pick, then i'd be all for drafting a sg/sf with that early 2nd rounder.

2) I'd like Earl to stick around as kind of a mentor to Rose/Mayo/Bayless. Though, he surely is more tradeable then Ridnour, which might mean that Watson is gone this summer. I also believe that he's the guy that does not want to play in OK City(Clay Clay surely does not like that), which makes a trade more likely.

3) I think Wilkins could be OK as an 8th man, but as i said, i'd take a sg/sf with one of our picks and he'd probably be the 8th man. Or we're able to sign someone to a reasonable contract and make him the 8th man.

4) Yes, i think it would be good to develop a sg, as Durant should move to sf within the next year or two. Though, it's not that important to develop one this upcoming season, as we could still get another one in next years draft, free agency or via trade.

[Dick Tate]

2) I'd like Earl to stick around as kind of a mentor to Rose/Mayo/Bayless. Though, he surely is more tradeable then Ridnour, which might mean that Watson is gone this summer. I also believe that he's the guy that does not want to play in OK City(Clay Clay surely does not like that), which makes a trade more likely..

From some of the comments he's made, I don't think he wants to play for the Sonics regardless of location. I'll let Eddie guess what that reason is.

[djthesonicsfan]

I'd rather have Bayless before Mayo.

I was certainly of that opinion too earlier in the year, but now I'm pretty convinced OJ Mayo > J Bayless. On the other hand I think J Bayless is more of a PG than OJ Mayo & PG is what the Sonics need. Not that J Bayless is "natural" PG, or that OJ Mayo couldn't do the job. This is a tough decision either way.

I don't know how a team of Durant/Beasley/Green would fare also.

At first that's what I thought too. Especially with K Durant eventually moving to SF. Which I think happens eventually. But then I thought about it some more, but I still think that. The only problem is M Beasley is too good to pass on. Here's to hoping the ping pong gods give send us D Rose.

[djthesonicsfan]

Yes, i listed mostly bigs with those later picks, but if we do end up with, lets say, R Lopez with that Suns pick, then i'd be all for drafting a sg/sf with that early 2nd rounder.

That Suns pick is now either 24 or 25 as the Rockets also won 55 games. Don't they flip a coin to determine the order in the case of tie?

Anyway, I'm thinking R Lopez & H Thabeet aren't going to be anything more than a backup NBA centers. In a couple of years. With no offensive game. Jason Thompson, on the other hand, doesn't play defense and is as dumb as a box of rocks. Besides, for some insane reason I can't seem to walk away from the chance that R Swift returns to form after completely recovering from his knee injury. At least for any of these guys.

I admit JJ Hickson has freshman promise. And a low post game. And some shot blocking ability. But little man-man defensive presence & less court awareness.

Compared to those guys, DJ White & especially R Hendrix are way ahead. Both can score, defend, good bball IQs, block shots & are big tough in your face guys. Exactly the kind of friends a guy like K Durant is going to need as defenses get more desparate trying to figure out ways to "defend" him. Both those guys will play in the NBA a long time.

I was pretty high on J Dorsey, and I still think he's a player, but I think both DJ White & Richard Hendrix are just as tough with much better offensive games. I just would want to avoid another Reggie Evans situation.

I like your wings. J Alexander can play. Lots of upside. Too bad I think he'll be gone by pick 24. Brandon Rush would be a great pick, but so would Courtney Lee. It's close though. Either one would work. Both have the athleticism & skills to become starters. In the end I'd pick Courtney Lee based on his more agressive on court personna. Brandon Rush is a bit too much Derrick McKey.

I think the trick will be getting two solid players, a big & a wing, with those 24/25 & 32 picks. With the draft being so deep this year both those players should be solid additions to the team.

I'd like Earl to stick around as kind of a mentor to Rose/Mayo/Bayless. Though, he surely is more tradeable then Ridnour, which might mean that Watson is gone this summer. I also believe that he's the guy that does not want to play in OK City(Clay Clay surely does not like that), which makes a trade more likely.

I'd like it if E Watson would stick around too. As a backup. But that's the problem. He won't do it. He'll pitch fits & cause problems. The good thing about E Watson is that he's a competitor who believes in himself and wants to play. The bad thing about E Watson is he's not shy about expressing his point of view if he's not playing as much as he thinks he should be playing. Which is a lot. I just can't see E Watson staying with the Sonics unless it's M Beasley. On the plus side, E Watson's trade value is pretty good right now. And there's only two years left on his contract making it more digestible.

I think Wilkins could be OK as an 8th man, but as i said, i'd take a sg/sf with one of our picks and he'd probably be the 8th man. Or we're able to sign someone to a reasonable contract and make him the 8th man.

Wouldn't it be nice to get some stability going? Let the rookies sit on the bench & learn the game the old school way? Besides, if D Wilkins sticks to defending, finishing & shooting rhythm jumpers when he's open (as opposed to pretending to be his uncle in a one on everyone contest) he's a solid rotation guy at a reasonable salary.

But one guy I think would fit on the Sonics is Utah's CJ Miles. He's buried on the depth chart on that team. The fiscally conservative Jazz are close to the luxury tax. They might not even match a $2.5M - $3.0M offer.

Yes, i think it would be good to develop a sg, as Durant should move to sf within the next year or two. Though, it's not that important to develop one this upcoming season, as we could still get another one in next years draft, free agency or via trade.

You're probably right. Still, the roster wants balance. No sense in having too many bigs. C Wilcox, N Collison, J Petro, Rookie... that's four. Add M Sene & R Swift... that's six. Not to mention waste of space D Marshall who'd be seven. So taking a shot at adding a SG/SF is probably the right ratio.

[Det the Threat]

First of all, i'd like to say that it would be great if the mods would sticky this one, as it's going to be a great thread and i just can't wait for the 20th of May(Lottery) to come.

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That Suns pick is now either 24 or 25 as the Rockets also won 55 games. Don't they flip a coin to determine the order in the case of tie?

Anyway, I'm thinking R Lopez & H Thabeet aren't going to be anything more than a backup NBA centers. In a couple of years. With no offensive game. Jason Thompson, on the other hand, doesn't play defense and is as dumb as a box of rocks. Besides, for some insane reason I can't seem to walk away from the chance that R Swift returns to form after completely recovering from his knee injury. At least for any of these guys.

I admit JJ Hickson has freshman promise. And a low post game. And some shot blocking ability. But little man-man defensive presence & less court awareness.

Compared to those guys, DJ White & especially R Hendrix are way ahead. Both can score, defend, good bball IQs, block shots & are big tough in your face guys. Exactly the kind of friends a guy like K Durant is going to need as defenses get more desparate trying to figure out ways to "defend" him. Both those guys will play in the NBA a long time.

I was pretty high on J Dorsey, and I still think he's a player, but I think both DJ White & Richard Hendrix are just as tough with much better offensive games. I just would want to avoid another Reggie Evans situation.

I like your wings. J Alexander can play. Lots of upside. Too bad I think he'll be gone by pick 24. Brandon Rush would be a great pick, but so would Courtney Lee. It's close though. Either one would work. Both have the athleticism & skills to become starters. In the end I'd pick Courtney Lee based on his more agressive on court personna. Brandon Rush is a bit too much Derrick McKey.

I do not believe that we'll end up with that Suns pick being our 2nd first rounder. Presti should and will work the phones like hell and i fully expect him to trade up somewhere between 10 - 18. We've just got way too many trade chips that other teams might like for something like that not to happen.

I also strongly disagree with you on Robin Lopez. I think he'll be a very solid center in this league, when all is said and done, and even though he probably won't be a guy you can always throw it down low, he's got enough potential to score some down low. Right now he's a very solid defender, grabbing boards and blocking shots. So even if his offense doesn't comes around, he'd still be a guy we could plug into the middle and at least have an inside presence on the defensive end, which is something we're lacking for like for ever.

Hickson has got quite some upside, but he's a little like Wilcox in that his defense isn't all that great. Though, if we got a shot at him in the early 2nd round, we should take a real good look at him.

White and Hendrix are surley better offensive players then Dorsey, but they're only about 6'8 as well and i don't think that this will make them a real thread to block some shots in this league. Though, i'm not opposed to take them over Dorsey.

I really like Alexander as well and as i've said, i fully expect Presti to trade up, which should give us a shot at any of the guys i've listed.

Yes, Brandon Rush sometimes seems to be to laid back, but he wouldn't be required to be the aggressor with Durant and (hopefully)Rose around.

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I'd like it if E Watson would stick around too. As a backup. But that's the problem. He won't do it. He'll pitch fits & cause problems. The good thing about E Watson is that he's a competitor who believes in himself and wants to play. The bad thing about E Watson is he's not shy about expressing his point of view if he's not playing as much as he thinks he should be playing. Which is a lot. I just can't see E Watson staying with the Sonics unless it's M Beasley. On the plus side, E Watson's trade value is pretty good right now. And there's only two years left on his contract making it more digestible.

You're right, it really looks like Watson won't be around anymore next year. He's very vocal about his playing time(if he's having a limited role), which could be disruptive for team chemistry. His solid season also makes him interesting to a couple of teams and with him clearly stating where he thinks the Sonics should play, he'll probably be used as trade bait as well.

-= original quote snipped =-
Wouldn't it be nice to get some stability going? Let the rookies sit on the bench & learn the game the old school way? Besides, if D Wilkins sticks to defending, finishing & shooting rhythm jumpers when he's open (as opposed to pretending to be his uncle in a one on everyone contest) he's a solid rotation guy at a reasonable salary.

But one guy I think would fit on the Sonics is Utah's CJ Miles. He's buried on the depth chart on that team. The fiscally conservative Jazz are close to the luxury tax. They might not even match a $2.5M - $3.0M offer.

Yes, if Damien would go back and play like he did during his rookie season, then there'd be no problem with him. Though, i doubt that he's ever going to concentrate that much on to the defensive end, cause he's not playing to keep a job in this league anymore.

Miles could be one of those players that needs a fresh start and could be the odd man out in Utah. He's also one of your favourites, as i've recognized. Though, i haven't seen enough of him to really have an opinion on this.

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You're probably right. Still, the roster wants balance. No sense in having too many bigs. C Wilcox, N Collison, J Petro, Rookie... that's four. Add M Sene & R Swift... that's six. Not to mention waste of space D Marshall who'd be seven. So taking a shot at adding a SG/SF is probably the right ratio.

If Presti is able to get another really solid big then i doubt that Swift will come back. I also think that Mo Sene could be gone as well, with him not being given a chance at all this season and with the team not being able to send him to the D-League anymore. That should give Presti the possibility of adding another big or two.

[djthesonicsfan]

I do not believe that we'll end up with that Suns pick being our 2nd first rounder. Presti should and will work the phones like hell and i fully expect him to trade up somewhere between 10 - 18. We've just got way too many trade chips that other teams might like for something like that not to happen.

That's an interesting idea. I've been thinking about that too. The Sonics have C Wilcox, E Watson, the #24/25 pick & the #32 pick to work with. Probably enough to trade up to a #10-15 pick. But why? Supposing the Sonics get their PG with the top pick, center is the next priority. Other than Brook Lopez there's not a center worth taking in this entire draft. Except possibly K Love. But I thought the UCLA-Memphis was telling. 12 points, 4-11 shooting, 9 boards, 1 assist. K Love is a super smart, efficient, talented big. But he lacks elite athleticism. He's going to run into Joey Dorsey type guys every day in the NBA. Interesting that it was R Westbrook, with his elite athleticism, that was able to compete against the Memphis athletes. And yes, I've changed my tune regarding R Westbrook. Still, it was just one game. And K Love is that smart. With skills. I could see some GM deciding he's worth the risk. And if that GM does decide that, K Love won't be around by the time the #10 pick is called. So I have to disagree with you on this one, Det. At least for now. I just can't figure out which available draft pick would be better than adding say Courtney Lee & Richard Hendrix and keeping C Wilcox & E Watson. Also, the possibility of trading for an existing center still exists. Besides, J Petro, M Sene & R Swift are only 22, 21 & 22 years old.

[djthesonicsfan]

White and Hendrix are surley better offensive players then Dorsey, but they're only about 6'8 as well and i don't think that this will make them a real thread to block some shots in this league. Though, i'm not opposed to take them over Dorsey.

I hear you on this. Every one starts out by looking for a 6'10" or 7'0" PF. But remember, you don't really want a PF that is big, you want a PF that plays big. And there's a lot more that goes into that equation than a guy's height. I am convinced that both DJ White & Richard Hendrix are plenty big & tough enough to play PF in the NBA for a long time. Not saying they'll be starters. Could be, but the odds are guys taken at the bottom of the 1st round or the top of the 2nd round are going to be rotation players. If you're lucky. Both those guys are good bets & fill a team need. Works for me.

[djthesonicsfan]

If Presti is able to get another really solid big then i doubt that Swift will come back. I also think that Mo Sene could be gone as well, with him not being given a chance at all this season and with the team not being able to send him to the D-League anymore. That should give Presti the possibility of adding another big or two.

I agree with you that R Swift is in a precarious situation. But like I mentioned before, for some reason I'm not quite convinced he's a wash out. I think he was still injured last year. I want to see him this training camp because I think he still has a legitimate shot.

I'm the same with M Sene. Have you ever just stood next to the guy? He's a freak. It's almost impossible to not think he's going to be a very solid defensive center. But then you watch him play & you appreciate just how savvy Kevin Love is. Too bad you couldn't put Kevin Love's brain into Mo Sene's body.

Anyway, I recognize many other will disagree with my position, but I think given the centers in this draft (no chance at Brook Lopez or Kevin Love, all the other blah) the Sonics are better off picking up solid SG/SF/PF basketball players at #24 & #32 and upgrading at center via trade or development of the young guys.

[djthesonicsfan]

And just to follow up on the making trades along with this draft thought, how about this...

Sonics send C Wilcox, E Watson & D Marshall to Pacers for J O'Neal.
Sonics send #50 pick to Jazz for CJ Miles in a modest sign/trade deal.

I know J O'Neal always seems injured, he wouldn't want to end his career on a non-playoff team & he's making $40M the next two seasons. I'm definately not saying this trade should be made, but it's interesting. Anyway, it'd leave a roster of...

Starters - Derrick Rose, CJ Miles, K Durant, J Green, J O'Neal
Rotation - L Ridnour, N Collison, D Wilkins, J Petro
Reserves - Courtney Lee, Richard Hendrix, Lester Hudson, M Sene, R Swift