if it came down to...

[grewich]

lets say we get the 4th or 5th pick and lets say theyre all available. what PF would you draft and which one do you think Bird drafts?



out of:

Cousins
Favors
Monroe
Patterson


i almost wouldnt mind seeing Monroe and Hibbert playing next to each other. i could see bird taking patterson or monroe.

[23artest23]

I would lean toward Favors or Cousins but like you said, Bird would seem to lean the opposite.

[Dunthreevy]

I don't want us anywhere near Cousins.

Favors I would love to have, which would plant Hansbrough firmly where he needs to be (if he comes back) and that's as the backup PF.

Monroe I'm not completely sold on but he could turn out to be a solid starting PF. He's not really a banger inside though and that's what we need at the PF position.

Patterson is a very solid guy and I think he's going to be a very good PF in the NBA, but he's not worth a pick that high (assuming we get top 5). I see him having only a slightly higher ceiling than a healthy Hansbrough.

[FreeRon]

Cousins is not a good fit for us. We've had enough of the attitude problems. Other than that, I'd be fine with any of them if we're not going to trade the pick to try to get a PG, which I think we need more right now.

[Dunthreevy]

Cousins is not a good fit for us. We've had enough of the attitude problems. Other than that, I'd be fine with any of them if we're not going to trade the pick to try to get a PG, which I think we need more right now.

Aside being a headcase, he's got weight problems, isn't very athletic, and doesn't have much of a post game other than just bullying undersized 4's (which won't work in the NBA). He's not going to be a good pro.

[MUpacersSIC]

How would you guys feel about trading the pick for a Darren Collison type player (plus possibly their mid-round pick) if we don't get a top 2 pick? It would be something I would consider since he has emerged a a good young player and get maybe a Larry Sander, Xavier Henry (if available), or James Anderson with the mid pick? Just something to think about. I'm not really too thrilled with anyone after the top 2 to be completely honest.

[Scoot McGroot]

By far, Cousins. If we get a coach that can actually develop some talent, while taking a bit of a hard line. Cousins is just so tremendously better than all the other guys put together naturally, and if motivated, could turn out as an Elton Brand type/caliber PF. Yeah, he could bust, but Favors has SO much he has to work on, and is likely 3-5 years away. He ideally SHOULD stay in school, but he's ranked so highly, he won't. Yeah, Cousins has had conditioning issues, attitude issues, etc., but he's played pretty well and responded well in a system that notoriously let's players get away with murder. Literally. Look at Shawne Williams.


Favors is many years away from being a starting PF. Hansbrough would be the starter for many years, and even then, Favors is far from a sure thing. After those two, Patterson then Monroe.

[floppymoose]

I'm not sure Cousins is there at 3. I don't see the Warriors passing on him.

[Scoot McGroot]

I'm not sure Cousins is there at 3. I don't see the Warriors passing on him.

Honestly, just as good. If we had 3, I'd LOOOOVE for GS to take Cousins ahead of us and leave Turner or Wall to us.

But, I can certainly understand GS reasoning behind that as well.

[OnFire]

Patterson without a doubt.

He's got the build, game,
and work ethic that will
come in very useful for
our club for years to come.

Unlike the other bigs
we can choose from,
PP is ready to play.

[mizzoupacers]

No opinion on which of those power forwards I'd want, I haven't seen them play enough.

But this is one draft where I'd hope the Pacers would favor the potential star who is raw over the OK guy who might contribute right away. Why do we need an OK guy who can contribute right away? So the Pacers can win 30 games next year instead of 27? The Pacers are going to stink for at least another year, probably longer than that. Swing for the fences, Larry Bird!

[Miller4ever]

We really got to get that PG over a PF.

[floppymoose]

I'm not sure Cousins is there at 3. I don't see the Warriors passing on him.

Honestly, just as good. If we had 3, I'd LOOOOVE for GS to take Cousins ahead of us and leave Turner or Wall to us.

But, I can certainly understand GS reasoning behind that as well.

I'm not sure how Nellie will order Wall Turner Cousins. There is just a feeling on the W's forum that those are the top three, so none of those will fall to the fourth pick.

[8305]

I'm going with Favors. Largely based off the lastest Draft Express scouting report on him. It sounds like he is a far superior athlete compared to any of the other three. I think the long development time some fear could be over rated also. He is playing in a terrible situation as to the guys that are around him. The report also says he has a pretty good attitude and is a pretty good student. Those attributes along with being the athlete that he is reminds of Dwight Howard. Not sure Howard ever has developed remarkable offensive skills but the ability to board and block shots has made him a dominate player nonetheless.

I don't think Cousins will be a particularly good complement to HIbbert. Both too slow and I think Cousins is a 5. He will be a coveted commodity and might be better than HIbbert in the long run. I see Monroe being another skilled, soft big. I'm not sure Patterson is an improvement over Hansbrough. But I think I would go with him over Monroe.

[PR07]

I'd take Favors easy, followed by Monroe.

What you need next to Hibbert is someone who compliments him:


-athletic
-mobile
-rebounding

Not only does Favors do all of that well, he has the highest upside of anyone of that group.

As for Cousins, a frontcourt of both he and Hibbert is just too slow and unathletic. Hibbert has the potential to be a nice off the ball defender, but Pacers are going to need someone who can body up on someone down low. Cousins does not strike me as that type of player.

For Monroe, he's a terrific passer and can really run the floor. He is a little soft, and he's not the greatest of athletes, but I think he'd be a nice glue guy in the frontcourt for a team, and you could do much worse. I wouldn't take him at #5 though.

[ahartleyvu]

Are you guys serious about Cousins?

He had a couple moments where he lost his cool, but he has proved that he can stay calm. Dude takes cheap shots and hard fouls all game long. Opposing fans got his phone number and sent him over 1000 text messages and numerous calls and voice mails, trash talking as well as racial slurs.

As far as being overweight? This guy is huge. He is absurdly fast for a guy with that size, so that really isn't an issue. Sure, he can stand to lose some weight, but let's see how he looks once he is able to have a personal trainer or a NBA level work out regimen.

We need a STAR player to go with Granger, otherwise we have no hope of doing any type of damage in the playoffs, if we ever make it back there. Greg Monroe is NOT that player. DeMarcus is a potential superstar IMO.

[Boneman2]

It's not only Hibbert that needs a compliment next to him, but the whole team needs to get tougher. Cousins has outperformed both Wall & Patterson to this point imo....

[Wizop]

all things being equal, Bird will take an upperclassman over a freshman.

[Scoot McGroot]

all things being equal, Bird will take an upperclassman over a freshman.

But things aren't equal. The only upperclassmen in the top of the draft is Evan Turner, and I know we'd all gladly take him if we could. He's the next Brandon Roy. Can't pass that up.


But yeah, Cousins and his toughness is what I'd want. He's strong. He's talented. He's big. He's much more mobile than we're giving him credit for. He's not a 6'8" 200 pound PF type fast, but he's an actual PF size mobile.

[jowglenn]

Yeah, you get a top-5 pick, you swing for the damn fences. Cousins all day.