The What Should We Do With the 5th Pick II: IBJ Edition

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I like Harden over Evans. Harden strikes me as a stabilizer who's ready to contribute in a lot of different ways.

Evans is going to take a while to be good. He has a higher ceiling than Harden IMO, but I'd pick Harden over Evans.

[pancakes3]

curry sucks. i don't know why i even considered him to begin with. too small, too weak, too unskilled, too unathletic, and too injury prone to see any minutes. bust central, woo woo.

[DCZards]

DX wrote:
it's not quite clear why analysts (or his coaching staff for that matter) are so surprised at the success he's found at the point—it was after all the only position we've ever saw him play from watching him in high school, prep school and the AAU circuit over the last three years. Clearly he is not “learning the position from scratch” like many have suggested.

So the analysts and Memphis coaching staff that scouted Evans in h.s. say he's a converted SG and the DX writer says he's always played PG. Hmmmm...I wonder who to believe.

[dobrojim]

^ exactly

not sure who to believe here

that said, we'd be drafting him to be a combo G anyway

All I'm saying is I think he could be a very solid choice.
As would Curry, and Rubio. I'll be the first to admit Harden
could surprise me, but from what I actually watched, he
seemed completely over-hyped.

[DCZards]

curry sucks. i don't know why i even considered him to begin with. too small, too weak, too unskilled, too unathletic, and too injury prone to see any minutes. bust central, woo woo.

I disagree. Given his outstanding shooting ability, b'ball IQ and sneaky-good ball skills I think Curry will have a decent (maybe even outstanding pro career). I also like his court presence and composure. I'm certain Curry will be a 5-8 pick in the draft and have a long and productive career.

I just don't think he's what the Zards need given our already poor defense, especially on the perimeter. IMO, Evans gets the edge for his D...as well as his size and upside.

[jholmbe1]

curry sucks. i don't know why i even considered him to begin with. too small, too weak, too unskilled, too unathletic, and too injury prone to see any minutes. bust central, woo woo.

Injury prone? I really only recall him getting hurt once and he bounced back pretty quickly. Getting minutes might be a problem on some teams in this league but not on the Wizards with our glut of average to bad shooting guards. Who on our roster is going to hog all of the minutes? DeShawn isn't 1/10th of the shooter that Curry is and Nick Young is much better suited to come off the bench. The way I see it Curry would step in on day one and play pretty decent minutes with the shooting guards we have on our team.

[WizarDynasty]

sorry Curry has 8'1 reach which automatically means that Gilbert logs heavy minutes at the sg spot. If we have curry and arenas on the floor, we better have an all nba second team defensive small forward to protect arenas and curry when they are both on the floor logging heavy minutes. No way 6'5 w/o shoes Caron Butler can protect either one on mismatches. If we figure out a way to also get Earl Clark, Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom or another big defensive small forward then its possible.
Harden can't beat anyone off the dribble so that automatically means he isn't going to force alot of double teams getting in the paint and dishing out for easy assists.
Tyreke Evans is the only one that can blow nba players with his change of gears ability and cause defenses to collapse and make the right kick out pass but Clark and Mullens sound about right.

[pancakes3]

my post was meant to be mocking the fact that once hands "reminded us" of how good of a choice that Curry is, i immediately changed my mind. i didn't count on a million posts separating the two. i don't believe anything that i previously wrote. i think he'll actually be a pretty effective pg - mike bibby.

what i'm not kidding about: Earl Clark and BJ Mullens will be out of the league in 3 years. gua-ran-teed.

[yungal07]

DX wrote:
it's not quite clear why analysts (or his coaching staff for that matter) are so surprised at the success he's found at the point—it was after all the only position we've ever saw him play from watching him in high school, prep school and the AAU circuit over the last three years. Clearly he is not “learning the position from scratch” like many have suggested.

So the analysts and Memphis coaching staff that scouted Evans in h.s. say he's a converted SG and the DX writer says he's always played PG. Hmmmm...I wonder who to believe.

He was a point guard in high school...the same way Jamal Crawford was a point guard in high school and college. He took a ton of shots as the primary ballhandler. That's not a point guard to me.

Anyway, Evans' position is pretty much a pointless discussion. The guy plays like Jamal Crawford/Marbury regardless of whether he's playing the 1 or 2. I dislike his style of play. He's one of those "I need the ball to be effective" type of players, and we already have a ton of those.

Just say no to Evans.

[doclinkin]

^ exactly

not sure who to believe here.

Tell you what, I'd believe Tyreke. In interviews he has said he's always played both. Point being it's nothing new that he brings the ball up the floor and gets the first touch. I don't buy the explanation that he's never had to pass before thus doesn't know how. Or leastways I don't see this as a positive on his behalf. Shoot, LeBron passed in highschool, and he was clearly the best player on his squad.

[closg00]

Hilarious smoke-screen.

The Post has learned Knicks president Donnie Walsh has secretly coveted Jordan Hill, the 6-foot-10 big man whom they would take in a heartbeat over Stephen Curry. Walsh told confidants that after the draft order was established he thought a better chance existed of Hill slipping to them. That's because some teams picking before the Knicks weren't in the market for bigs. There have been recent reports Hill was slipping, but chances still are Hill will be gone by No. 8.

New York Post

[Leto]

Wow...you guys are really having fun this off season. On the one hand, you could draft a nice prospect at 5. On the other, anything past Griffin seems to be a crap shoot. I think that's also why you guys are contemplating trading for a vet. The other problem is you only have a couple of sure things on the team because no one knows what Gil nor Haywood will be like for a full season. Either way, I think this is going to be a critical season for the Wiz. If they don't get deep into the playoffs, I think there will be changes coming en masse next year. Good Luck.

[dobrojim]

we try to have fun around here, when we can

I would take some issue with the idea that we don't really know
what we have. Haywood missed essentially the whole year with a
wrist injury which wasn't serious beyond the time that was missed.
He came back at the end of the year and played with a vengence.

Gil's last surgery wasn't that serious. I suspect he could have played
if it had been to our advantage. It wasn't. So he only played 2 games
and had like 20 dimes and 1 (or 2) TOs. He is well rested and as recovered
as he's going to be is my guess. If he doesn't make it all the way back to
where he was in Dec-Jan of 06-07, well maybe that's more than anyone
could reasonably expect anyway. He was all-world for that brief long ago
time. But I still think he'll be darned good this year. 4 outta 5 starting spots
are sewn up with capable starters than have played together well in the past.
The bench should be reasonable given they all got experience last year.
Add in the best coach we've had in forever, and I think we'll be fine. 50 wins
would not shock me.

[dobrojim]

^ exactly

not sure who to believe here.

Tell you what, I'd believe Tyreke. In interviews he has said he's always played both. Point being it's nothing new that he brings the ball up the floor and gets the first touch. I don't buy the explanation that he's never had to pass before thus doesn't know how. Or leastways I don't see this as a positive on his behalf. Shoot, LeBron passed in highschool, and he was clearly the best player on his squad.

Didn't see that interview.

Not 'knowing how to pass' wasn't my 'explanation'. Look, I like each of the
3 guys I talked about and said a case could be made why each of them could
work for us. Or Harden, even though my own impression of him isn't terribly positive
(for a #5 pick).

If I sounded more positive about TE, it simply because I find it easier to see him
playing at the same time as Gil. That doesn't mean I can't see GIl playing with Curry.
I can see that. Rubio, somewhat less so. Harden moreso simply based on the fact he's a
true SG.

[jholmbe1]

Wow...you guys are really having fun this off season. On the one hand, you could draft a nice prospect at 5. On the other, anything past Griffin seems to be a crap shoot. I think that's also why you guys are contemplating trading for a vet. The other problem is you only have a couple of sure things on the team because no one knows what Gil nor Haywood will be like for a full season. Either way, I think this is going to be a critical season for the Wiz. If they don't get deep into the playoffs, I think there will be changes coming en masse next year. Good Luck.

While I agree that Gil is a bit of a mystery next season, I think we all know exactly what we will get out of Haywood. He's rarely injured and he came back at the end of last year and showed us exactly what we would expect - great defense, rebounding and about 10-12 points a game.

[miller31time]

Wow...you guys are really having fun this off season. On the one hand, you could draft a nice prospect at 5. On the other, anything past Griffin seems to be a crap shoot. I think that's also why you guys are contemplating trading for a vet. The other problem is you only have a couple of sure things on the team because no one knows what Gil nor Haywood will be like for a full season. Either way, I think this is going to be a critical season for the Wiz. If they don't get deep into the playoffs, I think there will be changes coming en masse next year. Good Luck.

You're right about Gil. But we all know exactly what Haywood will give us next season and beyond. It was just a right wrist injury. He came back at the end of the season and seemed back to his normal self. Much different than Gilbert.

[fugop]

I've followed Earl Clark for three years at Louisville, watched him go from being a big guard to a F/C in college. I've seen maybe 15 games live, including against some very good competition, and dozens on TV. I've seen him destroy Blake Griffin, Jordan Hill, and the Stanford twins -- and I've seen him abused by randoms at Michigan State and Hansborough.

He will be a bust if people expect him to play SF. He has the Blatche problem -- his body vaguely remembers skills that it's outgrown, and his mind isn't disciplined enough to control things. He doesn't have the acumen to be a distributor, he doesn't have the handle to bring the ball up the court. He should not be taking three pointers.

He's 6 feet f'in 9, with reach to the heavens, and needs to play like it. He has all the physical talent in the world. He has very good hands, can catch the ball in traffic. He has an unbelievable stride, a huge asset in a drop step and other post moves. He's has a strong base and is extremely agile.

If he goes to a team that wants him to play PF, there is a very good chance that he will succeed. His ceiling is Bosh level, a bit less reliable on offense, a bit better on the defensive end. He could end up like Outlaw, or Odom. He could also end up like Rodney White or Marcus Haislip.

He needs to go to the Bobcats at #13 and spend some time under Larry Brown.

* Disclaimer: In no way am I suggesting drafting Earl Clark with the #5. I do not support that, and would not be happy with that development, should it occur.

[WizarDynasty]

Clark is a shutdown perimeter defender on defense. He forces a team to transform their entire game strategy because of his length, agility, and defensive awareness.
On offense, his explosive first step allows him to beat smaller defender because if they don't play close up on him, he buries the jumper because he can easily shoot over them with his height and standing reach, most perimeter defender won't be able to match his standing reach of 9'1.
If he had a slow first step like Harden, then smaller defenders could crowd him and force him to put the ball on floor and easily recover because of his slow first step. Clark has big game time experience in a disciplined offensive system where he distributed to other players. His ability to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket with both hands are traits of an NBA small forward.
Clark fits the wizards perfectly because the wizards best defensive rebounder on the floor most of the time last year was McGuire and Haywood and Blatche are both below average defensive rebounders. Haywood excels in offensive rebounding. Harden, Curry, and Evans will not give you the what dmac gives you in thirty minutes and if you take McGuire minutes and give them to Harden all teh stats that McGuire gives on defense will be completely gone and no one on the roster will make up for it. Maybe Haywood might get one or two blocks but all of mcguire defensive rebounding, blocked shots, and lockdown perimeter defense against the opposing teams best defender will be gone when we give his minutes ot Harden, curry, or evans.
Clark gives you even more McGuire production on defense and huge mismatch potential on offense. Clark's ability to attack the rim is >>> than McGuires. Clark's jumpshot, and strength when taking it rim are better than McGuires. McGuire's reach is 8'8 while clarks is 9'1. Almost a five inch difference when both players have their hands extended straight in the sky. 9'1 gives almost any offensive perimeter player problems while 8'8 is the average standing reach of most perimeter defenders and offensive players are used to shooting against. Clark has a defensive reputation and prides himself on defense. He is michael jordan's scottie pippen.

[doclinkin]

Clark is a garble garble garble garble

Dude you just heard of this guy three weeks ago, never saw him play. Now you're the authority on what he can and can't do?

Here I'll give you another tidbit you can work into your screed: he has the same birthday as Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, and Dwyane Wade. You're welcome. Go crazy.

[yungal07]

LOL WizardDynasty posted threads asking others about a player one week on the draft board, and next week he's some expert on the player. Dude has never even seen Earl Clark play in ONE game and now he's the number one Clark cheerleader.

Kid is a serious joke.