Chicken Littles: Sky done fell! Draft Thread 2011

[Zonkerbl]

How does Blair do on defending the pick and roll?

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

How does Blair do on defending the pick and roll?

Just seeing Blair's named jarred a wild trade idea I hadn't wanted post but will.

Would you do both these deals if Portland and SA both agreed to: McGee for Blair and Blatche and the ATL first for Oden? The Wizards would have Blair at PF and a prayer for Oden at C. Booker and Seraphin would still be on the roster.

Washington could draft Barnes or T. Jones or Chris Singleton.

[Halcyon]

How does Blair do on defending the pick and roll?

Just seeing Blair's named jarred a wild trade idea I hadn't wanted post but will.

Would you do both these deals if Portland and SA both agreed to: McGee for Blair and Blatche and the ATL first for Oden? The Wizards would have Blair at PF and a prayer for Oden at C. Booker and Seraphin would still be on the roster.

Washington could draft Barnes or T. Jones or Chris Singleton.

Thinking about Blair + Oden with our medical staff just made me shudder

[nate33]

Okay. I'll amend my last statement.

You can't win with Sully unless you pair him with a top 3 defensive center of all time.

First of all, I was simply answering Dat's question - and very nicely, I thought. I can change the nice part, if you want to continue to push me. I've noticed that most championship teams have somebody kinda good on them.

Secondly, where do you come up with "top 3 defensive center of all time"?

I wasn't picking on you. I was responding to fishercob.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

How does Blair do on defending the pick and roll?

Just seeing Blair's named jarred a wild trade idea I hadn't wanted post but will.

Would you do both these deals if Portland and SA both agreed to: McGee for Blair and Blatche and the ATL first for Oden? The Wizards would have Blair at PF and a prayer for Oden at C. Booker and Seraphin would still be on the roster.

Washington could draft Barnes or T. Jones or Chris Singleton.

Thinking about Blair + Oden with our medical staff just made me shudder

The Vegas odds might be higher on prosthetics being required at some point for one or both than the Wizards making the playoffs with each healthy.

But what if they each remained healthy for three years?

[Mr. Grundle]

I haven't seen anything "special" from Harrison Barnes. That's from a skills and character perspective. Average ball-handler, passer, shooter, defender, creator. Average intensity. He's just average all around. I'm trying to figure out what exactly is special about this guy to make him a top 5 pick. Potential? Sorry, I'm done with that stuff.

Give me Jared Sullinger over Harrison Barnes every day of the week. He may not have the potential to get a lot better than he already is, but I know we're getting a guy that's passionate, knows how to play in the post, knows how to position himself for rebounds. We know he's a smart basketball player. He's special in these categories.

Also, he'd send Blatche or McGee to the bench, which is an absolute necessity going into next season. Drafting Barnes means sticking with Blatche and McGee most likely, while Harrison gets stuck behind our 20 million dollar SF while he tries to learn the NBA game. He won't start right away. He had a tough time adjusting to the NCAA, its gonna take a few years for him to learn the NBA game also.

Sullinger or Kanter please.

[Halcyon]

Kanter is really the guy who I'm very curious about, and wish we had more film on. He has legit size and seems to have been playing as a bigman for a while. Even if he plays below the rim, just from the small snippets he seems to go after the ball continuously and is crafty around the basket. I just have no idea about his injury status and his overall game.

[mhd]

Kanter is probably my #1 prospect right now simply because he fills a HUGE need. Dominating the hoop summitt only enhanced his value. I'd love to attempt to acquire a second lotto pick to get top teir talent.

[tontoz]

Interesting stuff from DX's latest update on Barnes.

Barnes ranks as one of the 35 best off the dribble shooters in the NCAA (min. 75 possessions) according to Synergy Sports Technology, converting 39 of 99 (39%) attempts this season. He elevates impressively with picture perfect mechanics and a beautiful follow through, showing deep range and outstanding touch.

Oddly enough, though, Barnes' accuracy falls off quite a bit in catch and shoot situations (35/115 [30%]), particularly when closely guarded. As you can see in the video above, he tends to dip the ball fairly dramatically before releasing it, which gives the defense time to recover and more effectively contest his shot. With that said, considering the way Barnes has been shooting the ball over the past month or so, most of these concerns have likely been alleviated.

While Barnes' inability to consistently make shots with his feet set has hampered his shooting percentages this season, the more concerning aspect of his play has been his struggles scoring efficiently inside the arc.

Barnes is converting a lackluster 47% of his 2-point attempts, while getting to the free throw line just 4.3 times per-40 minute pace adjusted. By historic standards, both of these figures do not measure up particularly well compared with collegiate wing players in the past.

Barnes does not possess a great first step, nor is he a very creative ball-handler or passer at this stage. He's not particularly effective in transition or isolation situations, as he doesn't show the ability to change speeds or use advanced moves to get by his man.

Barnes has such great confidence in his ability to make shots off the dribble that he tends to settle too quickly for his pull-up jumper, a shot that classifies as a low-percentage possession even for the best scorers. He can make these at a solid 40% clip, and probably will continue to do so in the NBA, but he will not be a particularly efficient offensive player until he diversifies his slashing game and learns how to get inside the paint and draw fouls at a higher rate.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Har ... rnes-5705/


Sounds a little like Nick. I like Nick but when talking about a top 5 pick this is cause for concern.

They give him high marks for defense and character though.

[sashae]

This is going to be a very interesting tourney. I couldn't disagree more with nate, whom I respect a great deal. Barnes does not pass the eye test for me, rated prospect or not. Tall, skinny, not a fantastic shooter, hasn't taken over games except for ONE ACC tourney game. Sullinger has been solid all year, and looks good doing it. I'm done with the fantasy player aspects of the Euro guys and Kanter, and Jones, jeez. If I came to you and said "hey I got this kid, 15pts, 7rebs, 54% shooter, missed the tourney and got suspended from the team" would ANYONE be into it?

Actual performance matters. It's easy to pick people apart when you see them, and fantasize about what could be about people we have no film on.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Ok, I'm coming around some on Kanter. I don't see him going ahead of us, Sac & Minny have similar players already with Cousins & Love.

If we take Kanter, I like Singleton with the ATL pick. To add a rebounder in Kanter and a top tier defender in Singleton to our front court would be a dream come true to behold!

Center we have Kantor, with McGee off the bench. Forwards we can go any combo of Blatche/Lewis, Lewis/Singleton, Blatche/Singleton. Throw in some Booker as needed.

[FAH1223]

I want Kanter... he'd be our only big man with a polished game on the block (as a rookie no less, how sad).

[SUPERBALLMAN]

Now the 2nd rounder I've been eyeing Justin Holiday, 6-6 SG Washington & brother of Jrue Holiday.

But... I know it's high for him, but I'd love to see us take Ben Hansbrough.

[WizarDynasty]

if I don't get Kanter, i am taking terrence jones in a heart beat. Fits perfectly for the wizards. I wouldn't even consider Barnes unless i am looking a for volume perimeter shooting...shooting guard.
Kanter and terrence Jones will definitely be there at our pick so i am ok with our first pick. Sullinger is fine if we get a second pick and he drops into the teens. Nice energy player off the bench in Carl Laundry Glenn Davis role.
But T.Jones is for real---unless perry jones shows me outstanding lateral agility or i see in a my work out that he can play like Kevin Durant i would probably pass on him. T.Jones is a winner with a swagger and confidence that forces others around him to play with intensity. I like him alot as you guys can see. I would take kanter over him. all the others top picks i would consider unless we moved our atl pick down in the low teens.

[doclinkin]

The good thing about 'suck' is that the squad needs players at basically every position. As such it's pretty easy to be intrigued about any player, if you squint your eyes you can see 'em in a red white an blue Wiz uni. A few late 1st or rd 2 prospects I've been tracking who we haven't discussed too much:

Keith Benson: 6'11" center for Oakland, I've seen clips and highlights only. Shows a strong paint game, it'll be nice to see how he does against legit frontcourt talent Tristan Thompson. He's averaging a double double and even hits 40% from outside (if left wide open) blocking nearly 4 shots a game with declining foul numbers each year.

Justin Harper: 6' 10" forward Smooth strong shooter with clean form, his quick PG Kevin Andersen finds him good looks and should help the squad advance to give us a prolonged evaluation. Guards excel in the tourney and Kevin Andersen has the right kind of moxie to startle a team. Harper doesn't catch the eye as well, he just quietly racks up stats as though it were expected.

I'm similarly interested in clutch gunning forward Chandler Parsons of Florida, though to a lesser degree, he'll have a solid career in Europe if he wants it.

Curious about multi-talent athletes like Kawhi Leonard compared to more hyped versions like Terror Jones.

And never one to sleep on the NIT -- the one and done format still sharpens steel. Washington State's Klay Thompson catches my eye whenever I see him play.

If all come out who are projected early there will be good players late, available even undrafted. This draft may not have any tier one talents but there are serviceable potential role players sprinkled throughout.

[nate33]

This is going to be a very interesting tourney. I couldn't disagree more with nate, whom I respect a great deal. Barnes does not pass the eye test for me, rated prospect or not. Tall, skinny, not a fantastic shooter, hasn't taken over games except for ONE ACC tourney game. Sullinger has been solid all year, and looks good doing it. I'm done with the fantasy player aspects of the Euro guys and Kanter, and Jones, jeez. If I came to you and said "hey I got this kid, 15pts, 7rebs, 54% shooter, missed the tourney and got suspended from the team" would ANYONE be into it?

Actual performance matters. It's easy to pick people apart when you see them, and fantasize about what could be about people we have no film on.

As I tried to point out in a post a few pages back, Barnes HAS performed well. He had a very slow start which has brought down his season averages, but once the proverbial light turned on, Barnes has played like one of the best players in the country. Over the past 14 games (all against conference teams), Barnes has averaged 19.4 points, 6.0 boards and has shot a .581 TS%. Those numbers would rank him 2nd, 11th, and 5th in the ACC. That's pretty darn good for a freshman.

[Severn Hoos]

To me, the analogy is the 2001 Draft. Suppose you were the GM on the clock at #4, after Kwame, Chandler, and Pau had been drafted. What do you do? (And no cheating, like saying "Duh, draft Gilbert Arenas!")

http://www.nbadraft.net/nba_draft_history/2001.html

Do you take the high upside guy in Eddy Curry? Think back to what we knew then, not what we know now. He was the guy who was supposed to be a game-changing Center. How about Jason Richardson? Remember, "SG is the easiest position to fill in the NBA." Do you use a top-5 pick on him? Trade down? There's no guarantee that you'd get the diamond in the rough with the lower pick anyway (though you might be just as likely to end up with Rodney White or Kedrick Perkins as with Joe Johnson or Zach Randolph. And if you are the type to shy away from "low ceiling" guys, then that's a near certainty.)

To me, the best option in hindsight would definitely be to take Shane Battier. Sure, he's a role player. He doesn't/didn't have "upside." But even with 10 years' perspective, wouldn't you rather have had Battier than any other realistic scenario?

Or take the 2009 draft. Suppose you had the 5th pick. (hypothetically speaking...) The options are: Flynn, Curry, Rubio, Jordan Hill, DeRozan, trade down/out. (Yes, I know - Jennings. But I'm still a bit of a skeptic on the prospect of him really becoming elite/efficient, still some ?s for me.)

The only guy who even looks like a good pick there is Curry. And can't you make all the same arguments about Curry that you would about, say, Sullinger? Can't defend. Too small. Can't start on a championship team. So in retrospect do you take Curry anyway, even if he's not "worthy of a top 5 pick"? Do you trade out of the draft to get cap relief? Trade down and hope you get a Jrue Holiday and not a James Johnson?

Point is, you have to deal with the reality of the situation in front of you. Get the guy who will be the best for your team, or make the deal that's the best for your team. Way too many teams have blown it by aiming for the high potential, upside guy while passing on what could have been a significant building block to make the team better - even if not championship level. I'd still rather have the solid guy who knows his role, gets it done, and sets the right tone for the team than the complete bust.

Give me Sullinger and I'm quite happy.

[Severn Hoos]

By the way, I'm not knocking Barnes or Kanter, both of whom I do like - especially Barnes. It's just to say that I still think drafting the "low ceiling, sure thing, limited upside" guy in Sullinger is likely to look like the best option 5-10 years from now.

[Mizerooskie]

I frankly don't get all the Kanter love.

The guy hasn't played in a year. What evidence is there that he rebounds (let alone does anything) well?

No chance I take that guy with a top 5 pick. Give me someone that scouts actually know something about. Kanter stinks of Darko Milicic to me.

[Mr_Wizard]

Does anybody else think Faried could even slip into the Top 12 if he plays a good tourney/rocks the boards today?