09-10 WizFans Official Draft Thread

[Dat2U]

I see Leonsis as being a pick buyer not a seller. A lot teams probably want to buy this year, but it still should be possible to buy in to the middle or end of the 2nd round.

We can only carry so many players, and do we want to wind up like Portland who would have to pay all their young talent a **** of money all at the same time? That has its advantages and disadvantages.

Portland's mistake wasn't having too much young talent. Just like the Baby Bulls, Portland's mistake was failing to cash in their chips when they had the opportunity. Remember those Bulls wouldn't give up some combo of Deng/Chandler/picks for KG? I think part of the reason Pritch is on the outs is b/c he convinced ownership to spend all this money buying picks and stashing players overseas but doesn't have much to show for it.

Agreed. Pritchard never pulled the trigger. Same with Pax in Chicago after both got off the such successful starts at GM. You can add in all the young talent you want at the beginning, but eventually as those young guys develop, their aren't enough minutes or shots to go around. And eventually for young players, the bloom can come off the rose if you wait too long. Deng's performance & value went into the tank after the KG & Kobe rumors. And look at Fernandez for Portland. One bad yr and a threat to go back overseas later and he's no longer seen in such a positive light.

As for the Wiz, were no where near that stage yet. We need an influx of young talent. We basically got Blatche, McGee and whatever we get in the draft. The more picks the merrier at this point.

[verbal8]

I see Leonsis as being a pick buyer not a seller. A lot teams probably want to buy this year, but it still should be possible to buy in to the middle or end of the 2nd round.

We can only carry so many players, and do we want to wind up like Portland who would have to pay all their young talent a **** of money all at the same time? That has its advantages and disadvantages.

I agree that 3 rookies is enough on a young team.

I don't think the Wizards should buy a pick before the draft, but if someone is sliding(like Blair last year) it could be a good idea. Another way to go with a 2nd rounder is to get a 19 year old foreigner, let him play a couple of years in Europe and the Wizards could end up with late 1st round talent in a couple of years in exchange for the cash to buy the pick and some patience.

[MF23]

Singler is a great all around player. His success on the NBA level is dependant on his feet. Great player who really gets basketball. I would draft him I were a GM. Potential starter on a playoff team.

[closg00]

Regarding Cousins, I could see Flip telling the FO NOT to draft this guy. Look at how Flip responds to Andray, JaVale & Nick, Cousins yelled at his coach all year supposedly.

[fishercob]

Regarding Cousins, I could see Flip telling the FO NOT to draft this guy. Look at how Flip responds to Andray, JaVale & Nick, Cousins yelled at his coach all year supposedly.

If Cousins plays in the pro's like he did this year, not only would FLip want him, Flip would let him defecate in his shoes.

[dobrojim]

Regarding Cousins, I could see Flip telling the FO NOT to draft this guy. Look at how Flip responds to Andray, JaVale & Nick, Cousins yelled at his coach all year supposedly.

If Cousins plays in the pro's like he did this year, not only would FLip want him, Flip would let him defecate in his shoes.

good one - (I do have an immature or gross sense of humor)

reading the write-ups I kinda had the same response Nate did about Favors.
The thing with either one of them (DC vs DF) is their youth. Cousins put up better
numbers with a better supporting cast. Favors appears to have better 'character'
in terms of his work ethic, not that he's a better 'person', more that his personality
seems a better gamble to be successful in the world of uber athletes where everyone
is really good and work ethic and mental approach is a huge factor in ultimate success.

if those write-ups are at all predictive, we should be well suited by any one
of a number of top 5-6 picks. Wall, ET, DC, Favors, WesJ. Cousins may have the
highest upside (other than Wall) but also seems to be the highest risk for bust.

re # of rookies on squad - it'd be nice to have one rook who is rotation ready
given the current D-league status of our team sans Gil, Howard, AT....

I would expect Wall, Turner particularly, and Cousins/Favors/Johnson
probably to be at that level, in the case of the latter, at least by around
mid-season.

Then you can add 2 more roster rooks - one that projects to a solid role
player (lo-risk) and maybe one with a huge potential upside but much higher risk.

[Hoopalotta]

Ernie usually trades or sells picks for vets and vets are what Flip would prefer.. but this will be challenging given Gil's salary and the declining cap.

Even if EG stays around, Ted has the final word on everything so I don't think that is even remotely likely to take place four months after we dumped every movable veteran under contract.

I'd give that a less than 1% chance of happening.

[fishercob]

Count me as interested both both Daniel Orton and Brian Zoubek. Givony had a great write-up on Orton today. Zoubek has the highest offensive rebound percentage in the last ten years aside from some guy named Dajuan Blair.

it would be great to land Turner and one of these guys with the CLE pick.

[miller31time]

Count me as interested both both Daniel Orton and Brian Zoubek. Givony had a great write-up on Orton today. Zoubek has the highest offensive rebound percentage in the last ten years aside from some guy named Dajuan Blair.

it would be great to land Turner and one of these guys with the CLE pick.

Zoubek is one of those guys who just annoys you from an opposing team's point of view - because he simply does everything right. His screens are great, he's selfless, he's always in perfect box-out position, he's efficient from inside without ever commanding the ball, he makes excellent defensive rotations and he has an obvious passion for the game.

But as a UMD fan, I absolutely despise the guy.

[Rafael122]

Iz Zoubek even on the mock drafts for either of the big websites? I think he's undrafted free agent material.

And Orton...5 star recruit, but I have no idea why he's testing the draft waters. He didn't even start this year.

[montestewart]

Iz Zoubek even on the mock drafts for either of the big websites? I think he's undrafted free agent material.

And Orton...5 star recruit, but I have no idea why he's testing the draft waters. He didn't even start this year.

If he stays, he's certainly the starter. If he explodes into something, and goes in, say, the top-5-7 next year, how does that compare, career salary-wise versus coming out this year and being drafted in the mid-20s or so? He doesn't have an agent, so he can test the waters, right?

I'm perhaps too cautious, and I'd rather have Zoubek; he's more polished and developed, and he's pretty much shown what he's got and how he can plug in. Orton maybe has a huge upside, but he's a more extreme version of "wait and see if it pans out" than McGee. I forget who said it here (maybe it was you) but someone observed that late 1st round is where to swing for the fences with all-or-nothing picks. In that case, maybe Orton is the way to go.

[Hoopalotta]

Another chat on Hoopsworld from Jonathan Givony of Draft Express:

http://www.hoopsworld.com/chat.asp?chat ... s=Inactive

[closg00]

Another chat on Hoopsworld from Jonathan Givony of Draft Express:

http://www.hoopsworld.com/chat.asp?chat ... s=Inactive

After reading the transcript, I am really starting to favor Favors

[verbal8]

Zoubek is one of those guys who just annoys you from an opposing team's point of view - because he simply does everything right. His screens are great, he's selfless, he's always in perfect box-out position, he's efficient from inside without ever commanding the ball, he makes excellent defensive rotations and he has an obvious passion for the game.

But as a UMD fan, I absolutely despise the guy.

I think Zoubek is a big young version of Oberto(maybe not as skilled passing). He is so effective in college because of his size. It will be interesting to see if his athleticism is good enough to be effective at the pro level. I think he would be a great guy to bring into camp if he slips out of the draft. He might even be worth buying a late second to pick up. He might be worth having on the team just to practice against McGee.

[fishercob]

Iz Zoubek even on the mock drafts for either of the big websites? I think he's undrafted free agent material.

And Orton...5 star recruit, but I have no idea why he's testing the draft waters. He didn't even start this year.

Why he's testing the draft waters...

1) he saw what happened to Desean Butler and doesn't want to risk losing everything when there's a good chance he'll be a first rounder
2) starting his rookie contract a year earlier means getting an extension a year earlier

So I don't fault him for that at all. He's got a ways to go, but he's got great size and defensive instincts. Read Givony's writeup on both guys.

[dobrojim]

I like what Givony said about this being a good or great year to have
multiple picks. Woo-hoo.

[pancakes3]

i like zoubek as a FA signing. he's huge, and i don't understand why coach K chained him to the bench for 4 years. Aaron Gray and Spencer Hawes are NBA centers. Zoubek can be too. right now he's slated to be the 2nd to last pick in the 2nd round. if he's available for summer league, sign him. if not, then not a huge deal. i wouldn't use our "high" draft picks to take him over guys liker Varnardo, Vasquez, Brackins, or Harangody though.

[Dat2U]

Zoubek is a solid 2nd rounder. A poor man's Haywood, or maybe Aaron Gray with a bit of fire & nastiness. I think I'd give him heavy consideration with our 2nd rd pick.

Orton looks like a mid-to-late 1st rounder to me. I'd love him at 30 but he'll be long gone before then. If we could procure an additional pick around 18-20, Orton would be the first guy I'd look to.

[dobrojim]

i like zoubek as a FA signing. he's huge, and i don't understand why coach K chained him to the bench for 4 years. Aaron Gray and Spencer Hawes are NBA centers. Zoubek can be too. right now he's slated to be the 2nd to last pick in the 2nd round. if he's available for summer league, sign him. if not, then not a huge deal. i wouldn't use our "high" draft picks to take him over guys liker Varnardo, Vasquez, Brackins, or Harangody though.

I thought the story on Zoubek was one of recurring injuries

[BanndNDC]

the problem with zoubek is he is really slow and cant jump. he's like yao ming but much shorter and without the little jumper. that being said he's a good guy to have around. i think his dominance in college is primarily due to him being one of the few guys left in the college game to have legit NBA bulk, height and size so i wouldnt read as much into stats as with blair. very useful to have as a third center and will probably make the NBA. great guy to have in practice. definitely not worth to draft at our current spots but would be nice to to have at the end of the 2nd and should definitely be invited to camp.