Min/Mil/LAC per the Trade Board

[shrink]

I think most of our board (Milwaukee) would do this deal hands down. Could make sense for Minny as well. I'm not sure Donald Sterling takes on Michael Redd's $16mm a year contract though, even if the deal made sense for the Clippers (which it sorta does).

I agree, and when I looked at it financially, LAC would pay Mobely and Tim Thomas the exact same as they pay Redd for the next two years (though Redd goes one additional year), so it seems more palatable for them.

[Winter Wonder]

brewer will never be a starting 2-guard in this league because he can't dribble or shoot. his future is at the 3.

I am not sure I entirely agree with the need for the 2 to be able to be able to have great ball handling skills, though we would prefer more than Brewer has currently displayed. Additionally, his offense hasn't been where we want it, but it is improving and there have been other NBA starters who aren't offensive stars that start at the 2 and/or 3.

Aside from those items, I think having a Gallinari type player with very good ballhandling skills, shooting range, and other above average guard skills would make up a deficit that Brewer may or may not have at the two from a playmaking stand point. Brewer has the passing and defense currently, and his shooting is improving making him plausible at the 2.

[john2jer]

Top 8 for me...

1. Rose
2. Beasley
3. Mayo
4. Lopez
5. Bayless
6. Gallinari
7. Randolph
8. Jordan

I would be perfectly happy with 2 of Gallinari/Randolph/Jordan.

We're not ready to compete this year, so taking Jordan as a project wouldn't be bad, plus he would move Jefferson to the 4. From what I gather, Gallinari plays with his back to the basket a lot, so that wouldn't completely hurt having Jefferson at the 5. We'd be a little inside/out, but it could work.

The #3 pick in this draft for 3 lottery picks, and peace of mind would be great. As long as #3 doesn't end up being Beasley/Rose, cause Riley is crazy, then I'd do it.

[revprodeji]

This is an interesting trade, but I feel that we shoot for the fence with 1 pick with the guy who could be a star (mayo) rather than moving down for 2 guys that would only be roll players.

[karch34]

This is an interesting trade, but I feel that we shoot for the fence with 1 pick with the guy who could be a star (mayo) rather than moving down for 2 guys that would only be roll players.

I think that's a big assumption that Mayo could be a star, but the others would only be role players. I don't think anything's a given.

McGrady went 9th after Daniels, Battie, Mercer, T. Thomas, Foyle, etc.

Pierce and Nowitski went 9 and 10th after White Chocolate, Traylor, Hughes, etc.

The year we took Wally #6, Hamilton, Miller, and Marion went after along with not quite as elite players as Terry, Artest, and Maggette.

Amare Stoudamire and Caron Butler were 9 and 10 after a lot of crappy picks.

Kwame, Curry, Battier, Griffin, Diop and others went before Joe Johnson, Richard Jefferson, and Tony Parker.

David West went #18

Redd, Rashard Lewis, Boozer, and Arenas were all 2nd rounders.

I know what you're saying in that Mayo seems much more of a sure thing than the next tier, which I can agree with. However, this is supposedly a deep draft and dropping down a bit and getting two picks could work very well for us.

Just playing Devilz Advocate.

[Winter Wonder]

Very good point Karch.

At some point it becomes a crapshoot, it's just a matter of how many bullets you have and if you can be accurate. The main idea is though, draft Mayo at 3 and see where the chips fall. If there isn't someone you like available at 7 or 8, you don't make the trade, if there is, you go for it in my mind. I don't think you do this before the draft though. See how it falls, heck if Mayo is the consolation prize, you probably win as well.

[revprodeji]

You do bring a good point. And I would normally agree with you. I just think you get a prospect like Mayo who has been considered a sure thing since he was 14 and you run with it.

[younggunsmn]

I still say you go for the best player available, the kid with superstar potential. Shoot for the moon, if it doesn't turn out It's alot easier to forgive management if they go BPA than if they get too creative.

Splitting it up into 2 players is just doubling the risk. Drafting a Euro IMO doubles the risk again. The game is so different over there, the players are slower and the defense is borderline nonexistant at times, it's so hard to predict how they'll do against bigger, quicker players who play much more physical. It's easier to project a guy like mayo, who played against most of the elite players in the NCAA last year.

We already have more "bullets" than we can probably find roster space for in the next couple years. This isn't like the post-joe smith years when we only had a post-50 draft pick to waste on training camp fodder and doody ebye-bye for 4 years. We've successfully stockpiled 2 extra 1st's and a #31 in '08 and '09.
To trade down from a "rocket launcher" like mayo for more "bullets" to use is just doubling up on similar assets, like we did with crappy pg's for years. Draft Mayo, and trade up into the mid-1st for a big using mccants/2nds if we can, or take the best one who falls to 31. As more promises get leaked and more teams workout players we should have a better idea who will be there at 31. Certainly 1 or more of Hardin/jawai/pekovic, all players I like there. I'd rather spend the year with doleac at C than pass on mayo to reach for a big at 3 or trade down for more redundant draft picks. I want us to sell the farm to draft thabeet next year too.

Brewer would be a disaster at the 2 guard. Foye becomes the only ballhandler, other teams could easily trap the crap out of us and take us out of our offense. Look at what Detroit is doing to Boston because of just 1 poor shooter at guard (rondo). Plus you take him out of the passing lanes and away from the basket where he can offensive rebound because he will have to fall back on D all the time. You are playing against all of his strengths and into his weaknesses. Brewer's quickness against 3's becomes a step slow against 2's Trenton Hassell was not an offensive threat, but his dribbling was adequate enough for him to play the 2. It still got frustrating as hell to see teams constantly double teaming off of him and him continually failing to make them pay, which will be brewer's future if he can't improve his j.

Don't leave gomes out in the cold, he is our 3rd best player. At worst he is the ideal 6th man for this team, at best he's our future at sf. His unique blend of shooting, rebounding, passing, and quickness isn't something we can easily replace..

Talking about all those players who fell in hindsight is just that, hindsight. Many of those guys who fell were 18-year high schoolers who'd never played a college game, some had position questions (like pierce), and some GM's were just plain stupid and drafted for need.

One good thing that banning high schoolers from the draft did was to take some of the risk out of it. All of the American players in the draft have played at least one year on the same level, have been away from home for one year or more, and faced the pressures. We've seen fewer outright busts in the top 10 the last 2 years because of this.

Guys like Tyrus Thomas and Adam Morrison were questionable picks when they were drafted, one for his lack of polish and the other for his extreme ack of athleticism. Others who were questionable like rudy gay and lamarcus aldridge have turned out quite well. OJ Mayo doesn't have a tyrus thomas brain (or j) or adam morrison's legs, he's actually quite impressive athletically (just not a freak like rose), and by all accounts I've heard a great teammate and extremely hard worker. I just don't see any of the warning signs that say "bust" with him.

DeAndre Jordan is popular right now because of the success of dwight howard and andrew bynum (players w/ similiar size/athleticism). One thing I noticed when watching Jordan is that his lateral (side to side) agility wasn't that great. To be a good shotblocker having that is important.
I was pimping himself as a player I'd like at 4-5 before Christmas, but his year was just beyond awful. He just showed no signs of understanding the game. And his free throw shooting makes Shaq look like larry bird. I thought he would be way better off going back to school, but I think he's had his mind made up since high school he was going pro after 1 year.