2008 General Draft Discussion: Who to take with our picks?

kamaze · Post #241 » by **kamaze** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 2:34 am

Anyone seen JJ Hicks play for NC State? I just learned about him today on another forum.

He looks good on video some nice moves.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGYl8yBm ... re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5bHsI70 ... re=related

Serpo · Post #242 » by **Serpo** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 3:26 am

I think he could be a steal . From what i've learned about him from reading about him and asking about him on the Draft Board ( opened a tread there ) he was the main player on an underarchiving NC State team ( which is why he's been so far under the radar ) put up decent stats in a pretty good conference . He's still pretty raw but solid body and height and strengh .

I like the guy .

Preludepunk27 · Post #243 » by **Preludepunk27** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 4:43 am

Serpo wrote:I think he could be a steal . From what i've learned about him from reading about him and asking about him on the Draft Board ( opened a tread there ) he was the main player on an underarchiving NC State team ( which is why he's been so far under the radar ) put up decent stats in a pretty good conference . He's still pretty raw but solid body and height and strengh .

I like the guy .

You're pretty much on the money. I live in ACC country and have a lot of NC State friends. He's a solid player. He was a McDonald's All-American. Played well against tough ACC competition. He really likes pounding down on the blocks. Can take the contact and still finish. Needs to get consistency on his mid-range game. I wouldn't call him a "project" by any means but he's a year or two away from making some kind of impact with us. He's gotta get better on defense too. He's got a man's body but really let some pretty boy ACC kids take him to school a few times more than I liked to see last season. If we took him over Speights, I would be ok with it, but don't expect anything major from him for a year or two.

If he stayed one more year at NC State I'm fairly certain he'd be a lottery pick.

kamaze · Post #244 » by **kamaze** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:38 pm

Looks like he's got some polished moves I like what the small sample I've seen of him.
preludepunk since you've seen him play would you pick him at 10 or play it safe with a more NBA ready player?
Somebody was saying he's projected to be a Chris Wilcox type for what it's worth.

jeff1624 · Post #245 » by **jeff1624** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:27 pm

Looks like Thorn has given Gallinari a guarantee. If it turns out to be true, looks like we'll be drafting a big with the 21st. :-?

Preludepunk27 · Post #246 » by **Preludepunk27** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:01 am

jeff1624 wrote:Looks like Thorn has given Gallinari a guarantee. If it turns out to be true, looks like we'll be drafting a big with the 21st.

We'll see what happens. I wouldn't mind Gallinari here. I like what I've seen in clips, but European basketball isn't really "known" for it's defense so I hope he shows he can ball if we take him.

If this does turn out, what big at 21 would you want? I'm gonna hope I eat my words and Speights doesn't go top 15. To me it's Speights, then Hickson, then McGee (even though I cringe saying that).

ChampionRed · Post #247 » by **ChampionRed** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:17 pm

Preludepunk27 wrote:
jeff1624 wrote:Looks like Thorn has given Gallinari a guarantee. If it turns out to be true, looks like we'll be drafting a big with the 21st.

We'll see what happens. I wouldn't mind Gallinari here. I like what I've seen in clips, but European basketball isn't really "known" for it's defense so I hope he shows he can ball if we take him.

If this does turn out, what big at 21 would you want? I'm gonna hope I eat my words and Speights doesn't go top 15. To me it's Speights, then Hickson, then McGee (even though I cringe saying that).

It would be a miracle if either of those players are still on the board at #21. I really want this team to draft Speights. From what I've read, Kiki made him sound like he had the most impressive camp.

SpeedyG · Post #248 » by **SpeedyG** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:00 pm

I'm tempted with Speights also at #10. His situation reminds me of Al Horford the year they first won the National Championship. All the hype was on Noah, while Horford was just in the background. I think if Speights waits another year, he'd be a lock as a top 10 pick next year. I don't think he's as good as Horford, still, he's very intriguing.

At this point though, I think Galinari will be the pick though. Frankly, I like the pick. I haven't seen him play, but what I really like is his IQ. This team needs more high IQ guys.

Post #249 » by **Rich Rane** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:52 pm

My biggest worry on Gallinari is his defense. Yes, he'll be coming off the bench (at the 3 depth as Kiki predicts), but it's not like he'll be guarding only subs at the 3. Is he going to be a Voshon Leonard type player where he's a great shooter, but the complete opposite on the defensive side or a great shooter and efficient enough on the defensive end (sort of what KVH was to us and even then we had to trade him). My next worry is particularly for any specialized 3-pt shooter pre-NBA...can he hit the NBA three consistently?

Preludepunk27 · Post #250 » by **Preludepunk27** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:40 pm

kamaze wrote:Looks like he's got some polished moves I like what the small sample I've seen of him.
preludepunk since you've seen him play would you pick him at 10 or play it safe with a more NBA ready player?
Somebody was saying he's projected to be a Chris Wilcox type for what it's worth.

Nah he's not a top 10 pick this year. I'm almost positive he'd be at least top 12 next year barring injury or a Roy Hibbert type season. He's a great pick at 21 I feel though.

Preludepunk27 · Post #251 » by **Preludepunk27** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:52 pm

Rich Rane wrote:My biggest worry on Gallinari is his defense. Yes, he'll be coming off the bench (at the 3 depth as Kiki predicts), but it's not like he'll be guarding only subs at the 3. Is he going to be a Voshon Leonard type player where he's a great shooter, but the complete opposite on the defensive side or a great shooter and efficient enough on the defensive end (sort of what KVH was to us and even then we had to trade him). My next worry is particularly for any specialized 3-pt shooter pre-NBA...can he hit the NBA three consistently?

I feel we're gonna take him at 10 if he's there but, like all european players, I'm in the same boat as you on his defense. Everyone keeps calling him a smaller Dirk which kinda makes me laugh a little and not take him as seriously. Dirk is a 7 footer so a lot of times his defense is just "put your hands up and take up space" which is fine if you're that tall...but Galliniri is 6'9". I like the Hedo comparisons better since they're similar in size but I'll be a little uneasy drafting him until I see him pay dividends.

RJ 24 · Post #252 » by **RJ 24** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 8:36 pm

Preludepunk27 wrote:
Rich Rane wrote:My biggest worry on Gallinari is his defense. Yes, he'll be coming off the bench (at the 3 depth as Kiki predicts), but it's not like he'll be guarding only subs at the 3. Is he going to be a Voshon Leonard type player where he's a great shooter, but the complete opposite on the defensive side or a great shooter and efficient enough on the defensive end (sort of what KVH was to us and even then we had to trade him). My next worry is particularly for any specialized 3-pt shooter pre-NBA...can he hit the NBA three consistently?

I feel we're gonna take him at 10 if he's there but, like all european players, I'm in the same boat as you on his defense. Everyone keeps calling him a smaller Dirk which kinda makes me laugh a little and not take him as seriously. Dirk is a 7 footer so a lot of times his defense is just "put your hands up and take up space" which is fine if you're that tall...but Galliniri is 6'9". I like the Hedo comparisons better since they're similar in size but I'll be a little uneasy drafting him until I see him pay dividends.

I don't think Gallinari's D will be a problem early on in his career if he goes to the Nets. He would be the backup 3 and he would be our "offensive" option off the bench at 3 and Hassell the "defensive" option off the bench.

SpeedyG · Post #253 » by **SpeedyG** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:23 pm

One thing that concerns me with Galinari though is that he doesn't appear to be a very good athlete. Forgetting everything I've readon scouting reports on him and just purely looking at videos, I see a decent athlete at the SF position, who can do everything well enough, but not great at anything.

His first step looks slow (and several of his moves in highlights I saw had him using an up and under move, then taking a long step forward just to get by his man), his dribbles are pretty good for someone his height, but no more than most starting SFs in the NBA. He also has what appears to be a slow release (although this could be just because of his size and length that it fools your eyes into thinking it's slow when it's not). He also doesn't appear to be "smooth". Again, this is just an observation, and doesn't mean he'll be a bad player. Manu is probably as helter-skelter a player in the world, and we all know he gets the job done.

I think the Dunleavy and Hedo comparisons are fair, much moreso than the Dirk. Again, just purely watching him and not taking into account the actual scouting reports, who he reminds me of will probably scare most Nets fans: Zoran Planinic.

They look the same with the ball in their hands in the way they dribble and move. They are not strong finishers, but are creative enough with the ball that they can take contact and then flip the ball for a crazy finish. Both will most likely struggle defensively, and both have good handles, vision, and passing ability for their size.

Danilo does have an advantage in that he's taller, which allows him to shift to SF, whereas Zoran had to be either a PG or a SG, both of which he lacked key attributes for to be successful (not quick enough for PGs, not good enough of a shooter as a SG).

Toxicity · Post #254 » by **Toxicity** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:31 pm

Trust me guys: Danilo at #10 is probably a steal...

p.s.= he's basically 6-10 in shoes...

Preludepunk27 · Post #255 » by **Preludepunk27** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 9:37 pm

Toxicity wrote:Trust me guys: Danilo at #10 is probably a steal...

p.s.= he's basically 6-10 in shoes...

I think he's gonna turn into a solid player personally. When we have lottery picks, we always put higher expectations on players right off the bat then later picks.

deviljets7 · Post #256 » by **deviljets7** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 7:37 am

There's been talk that Portland might be interested in trading up for one of the PGs. I'm curious what everyone's thoughts would be on this trade:

Pick #10, Swift, Hassell and Van Horn for Pick #13, Raef LaFrenz, POR's 09 1st (lottery protected) and $2 million cash.

This allows NJ to get out of Hassell's 09/10 salary and gain an additional future 1st rounder. The cash covers the difference in salary between Swift/Hassell and Raef next season.

If Gallinari is on the board at #10, I think he is very likely to slide to #13 since Indy (has Granger, Dunleavy, Shawne Williams and Daniels) and Sacramento (has Martin, Artest, Francisco Garcia and John Salmons) don't need a SF.

Portland does the trade since they need to leapfrog the Kings and Pacers for a PG such as Augistin. They would still have $10 million in expirings (only $6.2 mil of it guaranteed) as part of a trade package for a SF elsewhere.

Post #257 » by **Rich Rane** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 3:41 am

RJ 24 wrote:I don't think Gallinari's D will be a problem early on in his career if he goes to the Nets. He would be the backup 3 and he would be our "offensive" option off the bench at 3 and Hassell the "defensive" option off the bench.

We have a defensive minded coach who doesn't know a thing about defense, but always plays his defensive players (last season alone: Collins, Diop, Hassell, Armstrong. You'd think the guy would plays Sean Williams a little more). If he wants to play the 3 with consistent minutes, he's got to show something on that end.

Oden · Post #258 » by **Oden** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 8:06 pm

I now expect some type of trade between the Blazers and the Nets. The Nets are in possession of 2 items that the Blazers would love to get their mitts on. 1. Blazers want to move up from #13 to #10 so they can have a shot at either Augustin, Gordon or Alexander. They have 5 draft picks (two firsts and 3 seconds) as ammo. 2. Blazers have interest in RJ. In additon to the picks, they'll dangle Martel Webster, Jarrett Jack, Travis Outlaw and/or Raef LaFrentz' large expiring contract to get it done.

Stay tuned!!!!!!

Preludepunk27 · Post #259 » by **Preludepunk27** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 8:35 pm

I think something can go down too. I like Webster, Jack and Outlaw. Man I'm so pumped for the next 30 hours!

halfHAVOC · Post #260 » by **halfHAVOC** » Wed Jun 25, 2008 10:16 pm

btw i doubt RJ gets traded to the blazers imo were going to strengthen our bench if we can make a deal involiving the pick and maybe player or two.

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quick question if anyone can answer

Does CHRIS WILCOX have any good post moves? i just saw a mix with him schooling shaq in the post but thats like one clip lol. if he has some solid moves and hes tough in the paint i know he can run the floor and finish, why not trade up the 21 and krstic or something.