The RealGM Wizards Board Draft Thread 2008/2009

[BanndNDC]

I really like the Mike Miller scenario and have had similar dreams. I fully agree that if we are going to make a run then let's make a serious run. Miller is exactly what we need. Add a rebounder/inside player and we have the talent to run with anybody.

As for the draft, obviously Id go for Griffen. But if we dont have that option id draft Harden. We really need an upgrade at starting 2. i just dont think young has what it takes to be anything more then an instant offense second squad player. Harden gives what Stevenson is sposed to but with an upside.

my plan/hope would be to somehow get either griffen/sam young or harden/dejuan blair and use anybody besides the 4, Mcgee, McGuire and maybe Critt to make that happen.

[mhd]

Jordan Hill, Buddinger, and Harden on CSN today at 3:00.

[dobrojim]

Clearly, we have little use for another big man project so Harden might be the best bet.

I swear to God (or Allah), if that ends up the thinking (banking on Blatche), and Hill blow-ups up (which he very well might), I will join the Taliban. Then, I will marry into whatever tribe I need to just to get them into the country. And I'll let them use my blender for mixing whatever they need, as I ply them with stories of the great Satan they call Abe and his mighty palace of American greed called the Phone Booth.

I'm not opposed to drafting Hill and then trading Blatche (either for a quality 2-guard or cap relief). All I'm saying is that I have little interest in having Blatche, Hill and McGee on a team where Jamison and Haywood are already entrenched as starters. (Not to mention that Songaila is around to take minutes from the youngsters too.)

I'm really wondering about Hill. He seems to be very highly rated by a
number of people who's opinions should carry weight. Good numbers in
a tough conf, good pro size yada yada.

But what scares me a little about him is this: How can AZ have 2 guys
who are being talked about as first rnd picks and still be a bubble team?
Shouldn't they have had a better record with both Hill and Budinger?
Is the rest of their team so bad that they've dragged them down
or are Hill/Budinger over-rated in terms of producing wins, the ultimate goal.

That said, I have my DVR set up to record AZ-AZState this afternoon. Should be good.

final edit - when I've seen Hill (only a couple times) I don't really see that much
intensity. Blair drips with intensity. Which of the 2 will ultimately be a better pro?
Is this even relevant as we probably wont draft a 4, unless it's Griffin.

[dobrojim]

but... but.. but...

don't we need a SG? Stevenson is done. Young is not ready. Who is supposed to play the two for us next year? McGuire?

Seriously?

good question

my 0.02 is that worse things could happen than to have DMac start with our
other 4 projected (healthy) starters. He would not be a bad fit.

Now DMac is even hitting jumpers off the dribble! He looked pretty good
last night. He can freakin guard CP3, something no one else on the team
seems capable of, something few in the league are capable of to be fair.

[dobrojim]

Jordan Hill, Buddinger, and Harden on CSN today at 3:00.

didn't see this before my post re Hill

[mhd]

Hill plays with intensity. See him coming back in the same game against Washington after severly spraining his ankle and almost carrying Zona to a win.

Arizona has NO DEPTH. They play 6 guys. They have no bigs at all besides Hill. They are forced to zone up to prevent fouls. They don't have a backup PG. So Wise, Hill, and Buddinger have to play 40 minutes to have a chance. Zane Johnson is a streaky freshman shooter who shouldn't play 30 minutes a night. Kyle Fogg is a good defender, but he's a freshman 2g who doesn't know how to play yet. Jamele Horne is an athletic wing who's forced to play PF. He's a glu guy.

If Zona had Jennings coming in/Bayless coming back, they would be the best team in the country, IMO.

[dobrojim]

I did see him come back in that game. And it's probably unfair
to criticize him for anything that happened after that. But I'm
basing my comment more on the full (but still admittedly limited)
body of work that I've seen.

He's an intriguing talent with definite pro potential.
But he doesn't have the motor/intensity of either Blair of Griffin.
From what I've seen.

That said, both of those guys have GREAT motors/intensity.

[Ruzious]

Jordan Hill, Buddinger, and Harden on CSN today at 3:00.

Harden looking even more like a shoe-in for a top 3 spot (top 4 if Rubio enters the draft). Horrible game for ChaseBud, but I still think he's going to be a very good pro.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Jack McClinton with 9 pts and 7 TOs is out of the ACC Tourney.

Sure didn't help his draft stock one bit.

[miller31time]

Any truth to the rumor that Vasquez may go pro?

[Rafael122]

Yeah, I mentioned that in the Maryland Terps thread. Apparently his financial situation, or his family's financial situation isn't helping matters.

He's gonna test the draft waters and see where he goes. Surely, he'd bolt if it gets a late first-early 2nd round grade. And he may still bolt if Gary doesn't get Stephenson.

[Severn Hoos]

Devin Ebanks who? His name doesn't even ring a bell - and I watched a few WVU games last year.

Hey Ruz, you have a message from a Mr. Ebanks. He said "How ya like me now?"



I'm kind of hoping WVU & UNC meet up in the tourney - so we can see the Ebanks-Green matchup.



Actually, I shouldn't bust on you, since you were straight up and said you hadn't seen him. But I couldn't help it - he does look pretty good, huh?

[nate33]

I caught the tail end of the Oklahoma/Oklahoma State game.

To tell you the truth, I'm not that impressed with Blake Griffin. His numbers are good but he plays terrible team defense. It looks to me like he's more interested in padding his rebounding stats than he is in challenging shots. On defense, he just stands in the middle and does nothing. He doesn't even bend his knees a bit in preparation to make a quick reaction. He just stands stiff, not even lifting his arms up in the air.

This draft class sucks.

It figures. We get into the top of the lottery and we get to choose among the worst draft class since... since... since Kwame Brown's draft class.

[lupin]

Vasquez is pretty straight up about it in the Post. He plans to test the waters of the draft but doesn't appear to be signing with an agent. He wants to play against other highly rated guards to see how he ranks and find out where his draft level is. He also said he would like to play along side this Stephenson if Maryland manages to snag him.

[nate33]

Screw it. I just don't like the value at the top of the draft. If we land the 4th pick in the draft or lower, I'd consider trading the pick for a future unprotected first while dumping Stevenson's contract, Obviously, the team we trade with must suck enough that that future pick could be in the top of the lottery. Somebody like Memphis or Sacramento could make sense.

2009 pick + Stevenson to Memphis for unprotected 2010 pick.

If we land a top 3 pick, we should trade down while dumping bad contracts. I like the value in the late lottery much better. I'd much rather get a guy like Curry, Blair or Henderson in the 10-15 range then Harden, Hill or Rubio at #3.

Heck, even if we land the #1 pick, I'd be inclined to trade it if we can get some serious value for it. Lots of people have bought into the Griffin hype. i just don't think he'll be any better than somebody like Carlos Boozer or Al Jefferson. He'll get numbers, but they'll be empty numbers. He won't help his team win games.

[Ji]

The best player in this draft class will be Derozan from USC...could be another Kobe. We should trade the pick and get a good young player and move down in the draft to nab him. Guy is going to be a stud

[mhd]

Screw it. I just don't like the value at the top of the draft. If we land the 4th pick in the draft or lower, I'd consider trading the pick for a future unprotected first while dumping Stevenson's contract, Obviously, the team we trade with must suck enough that that future pick could be in the top of the lottery. Somebody like Memphis or Sacramento could make sense.

2009 pick + Stevenson to Memphis for unprotected 2010 pick.

If we land a top 3 pick, we should trade down while dumping bad contracts. I like the value in the late lottery much better. I'd much rather get a guy like Curry, Blair or Henderson in the 10-15 range then Harden, Hill or Rubio at #3.

Heck, even if we land the #1 pick, I'd be inclined to trade it if we can get some serious value for it. Lots of people have bought into the Griffin hype. i just don't think he'll be any better than somebody like Carlos Boozer or Al Jefferson. He'll get numbers, but they'll be empty numbers. He won't help his team win games.

Nate, I have been screaming Hill the entire year. I want him on the Wizards. Unlike Griffin, he's a very good defender (See his shotblocking numbers).

Oh, and my second fav. player is Jeff Teague. He's MUCH better than Curry is.

[doclinkin]

Jack McClinton with 9 pts and 7 TOs is out of the ACC Tourney.

Sure didn't help his draft stock one bit.

Yeah I watched the game. He's got a knee injury that's hampered him for the last couple games, no lift at all so his shot isn't falling and he isn't as quick, he's tried to pass more to compensate, but teams can play off him more and he can't penetrate and dish at all, which is arelatively new addition to his game anyway.

I'm waiting on Portsmouth to see how he bounces back. Interesting that for non-seniors the Tourney (or NIT) is the absolute last chance to see them in a game, since the NBA won't run a pre-draft camp, just a 'skills' tryout. Seniors get the PIT. But even the NIT should see prospects actually playing hard, maybe ramp up the competition here and there compared to previous years. Curious to see how it affects the dynamic of the second tier tournaments.

[Benjammin]

I caught the tail end of the Oklahoma/Oklahoma State game.

To tell you the truth, I'm not that impressed with Blake Griffin. His numbers are good but he plays terrible team defense. It looks to me like he's more interested in padding his rebounding stats than he is in challenging shots. On defense, he just stands in the middle and does nothing. He doesn't even bend his knees a bit in preparation to make a quick reaction. He just stands stiff, not even lifting his arms up in the air.

This draft class sucks.

It figures. We get into the top of the lottery and we get to choose among the worst draft class since... since... since Kwame Brown's draft class.

I didn't see the game, but are you following the Malcolm Gladwell "Blink" form of scouting? I've seen Griffin play several times. You have to remember that in college big guys sometimes are coached to avoid getting into foul trouble. I'm not saying that Griffin will be a great PF, but I don't know that Al Jefferson and Carlos Boozer put up empty numbers on a balanced and quality team. I think Boozer's problems have been injury related and to a lesser extent attitude. Now if we get the first pick and the right deal comes along I would be more than willing to trade him, but he's not chopped liver either.

[GeneralGil]

Okay guys, its been awhile since I posted (not that I did much anyways back in the day) but I'm getting draft fever... maybe it's because I've been watching two horrible teams this year (the Wiz of course, and the Knicks because I now live in NYC).

I admit I was admired, nay- stricken with Blake Griffin. Every 20+ rebound game would give me the vapors. However, I can't help thinking lately that we'll be a better team if we DON'T land him. A lot of the sentiment here seems to be kind of similar, which I was glad to see. Honestly, the lotto pick I think would be the best for us... James Harden.

Here me out before you hate me.

We haven't had a legit 2-guard in this town since RIp, and he was still learning then (and being muddled with by MJ). Not only can he knock down a shot but he makes the extra pass. This is the exact kind of guard we need alongside GIl (if he ever comes back to within 50% of what he was). I don't place much stock in comparisons but I kind of love that everybody compares him to Ginobli. I'll admit before anyone that I hate that Argentinian as much as the next non-Spurs fan, but I can admit that he knows how to play the game. He scrounges against his man on D and sacrifices his body (and team role) for the good of the team. This is the consummate kind of basketball player we need. If we get the right coach, maybe even someone from the Spurs like Mike Budenholzer... this Wiz team could really start going somewhere.

I also bring up Harden because I'm not a believer in Nick Young, who I think is a bit of chucker in the AI/Vince Carter mode but with none of the killer instinct those two have. True, he could turn it up, but I feel like shooting guards either have it (and get it right away) or they don't. We could still be waiting for N1's shot to develop 2 years from now. Let's face it, the guy left college a year too early, and would have benefited immensely from learning to be second fiddle to OJ Mayo (not to mention a possible final four berth). Lets cash in on N1 while his value is still somewhat high, he's cheap and talented which teams seem to like.

Getting Harden at number 2 or 3 also lets us trade some combo of Blatche-Young-DeShawn-Songalia-Etan-Future 1st for someone like Josh Smith (though I know he's got restrictions which make it tough if not impossible to work out), who could blossom after being free of Mike Woodson. The only thing that's bad about Smith is that he likes to chuck threes, but the man can D and he's an athlete, pure and simple, something we don't have enough of on this team (cue the injuries).

Seriously, a trade of blatche, young and songalia for someone like Smith, who's likes to block shots and can run (maybe Anthony Randolph, we wouldn't have to give up so much for him) paired with Gil (in some form), Harden, CB, LongMan, Haywood would give us something we need, depth. I think AJ could be talked into being our Ginobli and coming off the bench but still playing 30-35 a night. McGee will get better and McGuire is bench D.

Okay, long post, sorry for that. I like to go for quality long posts over short little ones (because I always think of stuff later). If you don't agree with me on Harden, you might still want to think about the non-Griffin possibilities, because while he is the safe pick (which is what they said about Greg Oden) since when has safe ever been fun?